Regaining his footing, Petran patted his newly acquired sword. Still there. May he not need it.
Boom!The ship rocked again, heeling to starboard. Petran slid down the deck— bare feet slipping in blood. He rolled and tumbled toward the bulwark. A hand on his arm stopped his fall. He stared up into the eyes of his Da. The ship righted. “You all right, there, son?”
Petran nodded, scrambling to his feet. His father released him, hurrying toward the possible boarding point.
Surely Petran hadn’t saved Arkenn and brought him aboard to die in battle, or worse, be caught and hanged as a pirate. No! Petran struggled back to the cannon, wiping who knew what from his brow.
The other ship burst through a wall of smoke and fog, a wraith coming to take them all. He stood on deck, staring straight down an enemy cannon.
Some overwhelming power forced him to stillness, legs and arms outstretched. The too-calm wind formed a gust and then a gale, filling the sails. TheSeabirdgained speed, pulling away from the other vessel. He lowered his arms. The winds stopped.
He lifted them again. Glancing right and left, he saw pirates, weapons in hand, ready for close fighting. No one noticed him. Raising his arms higher increased the wind. What was this? How was he doing this? It couldn’t be him.
Each time he lowered his arms, the wind died.
Raised arms, it was.
The battle continued around him, pirates shouting, mouths moving, yet he couldn’t make out the words. Lights flashed around him.
A flash of lightning split the sky, the winds picking up. Yes, yes. If the winds prevailed, they just might escape.
Petran’s arm muscles began to burn from the effort of reaching upward. Afraid to look astern at the approaching ship, Petran focused straight ahead, feeling the cooling wind on his skin.
TheSeabirdtossed upon the waves, a child’s toy adrift on the ocean.
Cheers erupted from the pirates. He finally turned around. The other ship grew smaller and smaller behind them. Yes! They were getting away!
Another flash came from the enemy cannon. Quiet.
Then the world exploded.
Chapter Six
Arkennhuddledinthebunk, trying to still his trembling. If captured by pirate hunters, he’d be considered a pirate and hanged. What of Petran, who’d risked much to save Arkenn, and who was never allowed to be a pirate but even now defended his father’s ship?
Arkenn watched the battle through the porthole, cringing at the screams of anger and pain. Every shriek brought terrible images of Petran, body lying broken on the deck.
Or, worse, dead.
No. He couldn’t be.
The skies lit up. The other ship appeared huge compared to theSeabird, close enough to hear the shouts coming from its deck. Shouts from sailors who’d kill Arkenn, Petran, and anyone else aboard.
Petran couldn’t be killed. Arkenn wouldn’t let him. Sitting cross-legged on the bunk, he focused, demanding the strange energy he’d usually hidden to do his will.Keep Petran safe.
In the dark, tuning out the noise, the nose-burning stench, Arkenn put everything he had into protecting his friend. If only Gran had taught him what he needed to know instead of insisting he hide his heritage.
The ship rolled and shuddered. He clutched the side of the bunk. Thank goodness the bed seemed affixed into place.
The battle raged forever, the enemy cannon fire growing closer. Who was it? Other pirates? Pirate hunters? Neither boded well. Here Arkenn was, a runt of a man, helpless. Weak.
Facing almost certain death for the second time in recent memory.
If he survived, he’d do whatever he could to never feel this desperation again. He’d become someone others could depend on for salvation, like he did Petran.
Lightning flashed outside the window. Cheers sounded from the deck above. Were they winning? Getting away?
The ship shuddered, shattering his concentration. A direct hit? Screaming. Shouted orders.
