Page 36 of Among the Burning Flowers
‘What about the others?’ Melaugo croaked. ‘There were people in the water, they were swimming—’
‘I see none.’
Melaugo slowly looked. She was right.
Several oars swashed through the waves. For a time, Melaugo could do nothing but hold on to a shivering Liyat. To her faint surprise, Liyat grasped her just as tightly, even brushing a kiss against her temple. Melaugo leaned against her and let her eyes drift shut. A man gave them both knitted work caps to keep the chill at bay, placing them on top of their wet hair.
By the time they reached theRose Eternal, it was almost dusk. The harbour blazed in their wake, though the rest of the city was darker, only its greenery burning. The Act of Preservation was protecting it from the fire – but while the law might save the buildings, it would not help the people inside. Not for long. All she could hear in the distance was screaming.
TheRose Eternalwas anchored in deep water, where the Halassa Sea was rough. Its lanterns had been dowsed, so it could no longer be seen from the shore. Melaugo climbed on to its deck, still drenched to the bone, with Liyat justbehind. Harlowe waited on the quarterdeck, his pipe in hand.
‘Estina,’ he said.
‘Harlowe,’ she rasped.
‘I see you’ve accepted my offer. Only took the end of the world.’
Melaugo wheezed something that might charitably be described as a laugh.
‘Liyat. Good to see you.’ Harlowe gave her a nod as she reached the deck. ‘I knew Sigoso was a hypocrite, but I didn’t quite expect this. I imagine you’ll want to go to Nzene, but for now—’
‘Yes. I accept the offer, if it stands,’ Liyat said. ‘Both of us will join the crew.’
‘Good. I could use someone with your knowledge.’
‘Captain,’ came a cry from behind him.
Melaugo turned. A single wyvern was flying in their direction, just visible in the dying light.
Harlowe watched it approach with a stony look. It was coming towards them quickly, its vast wingspan eating up the distance. As it drew closer, he signalled to one of his crew.
‘Harlowe?’ Melaugo said, her voice higher than usual. ‘Harlowe, I hope you’re planning to fire at—’
‘I see you’re already taking to the job,’ Harlowe said drily. She glowered at him. ‘Ready the harpoon gun. Plume, fire on the upward roll!’
‘Fire on the upward roll,’ the quartermaster echoed, his voice loud and clear.
Melaugo reached for the mast of the ship, while Liyat gripped the wale. As the Halassa Sea raised theRose Eternal,their boots slipped on the deck, and Melaugo wondered if this was how she would die, like Sabran the Ambitious and King Bardholt, burned alive on a wooden bier.
By now the wyvern was close enough for her to see its eyes, its maw. Melaugo turned numb. The guns boomed – a sound so colossal it rattled her teeth – before cannonballs and chainshot went soaring. One chain ensnared the wyvern by its foot, while a ball struck it hard in the breast and a harpoon missed it by an inch.
The wyvern screamed and beat its wings, wrenching itself back. The downwind was strong enough to knock most of the crew off their feet, and Melaugo went right down with them, smashing her elbow against the deck. She forced down the pain and stared up at the wyvern, at its horns and teeth. It had to be sixty feet long, with a wingspan at least twice that length.
Liyat had been right. During the Grief of Ages, ships would have seemed like toys to a wyvern. Now it was confronted with a man-of-war, with more than a hundred guns on the broadsides alone.
‘Fire,’ Plume roared again, and the cannons released another volley. The wyvern spat embers, which rained on the deck, before it banked away and flew back towards Oryzon.
‘Get us out of here,’ Harlowe said to his quartermaster. ‘Before the damned thing returns with its friends.’
His deckhands were already smothering the small red fires. Melaugo caught her breath and stood. When Harlowe turned to her, she folded her arms with some difficulty, dripping salt water.
‘Listen to me,’ he said. ‘I’m heading for Ascalon, to warn Queen Sabran of what has befallen this place. If we reachPerchling and you still don’t want to be my boatswain, I’ll let you disembark there, and you can go wheresoever in this world you will. But give me this one voyage to convince you. Have we a deal, Estina Melaugo?’
He held out a weathered hand, unsmiling. Melaugo glanced at Liyat, who gave her a nod.
‘You win,’ Melaugo said, and shook.
****
