Page 62 of Pregnant With Their Babes

“You woke early,” Dagr said behind him.

He turned a bit and smiled at his lover. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“I’m sure I know why.” Sadness swirled in the golden-brown depths of Dagr’s eyes.

Oz looked away, the sight of it painful. He stared at the pale cliff faces, searching for anything else to view besides the loss surrounding him. Lifting his gaze, he noticed a plume of gray smoke rising above.

“What’s that?” Dagr asked at almost the same second.

“Not sure,” he murmured, a sudden sense of apprehension filling him. The witch had said his father would need saving. He spun to the crew. “Lower the main topsail!”

“Sir… we’d come in too fast ta tha docks,” one of the crewmen yelled.

“There’s no time to waste,” Oz said.“Lowerthe damned main topsail!”

The crew raced to follow his order.

“All hands on deck!” Oz raced across the deck and climbed to the bridge. Eyeing the captain of the watch, he yelled, “Turn for the beach! Not the docks… do you hear me, man?”

“Wot is it, cap’n?” the man asked.

“I fear what we’ll see around that bend,” Oz answered before returning to the bow.

The break in the cliffs appeared. As they rounded into the entrance of the cove, Oz gasped. Dagr, who’d been checking that all of the men were following orders, came to stand beside him.

“Dear gods,” Dagr whispered as they entered the bay.

War had reached home before they could arrive. Hundreds of men filled the beaches, so many he could not see the town. He reached for his telescope and searched the chaos. Swords swung and gun smoke left a white fog amongst the combatants. Spells blasted in the air, fending off the attackers.

Men… witches…

And dead things…

“The Draugar,” Oz spat.

“Sothisis where they went,” Dagr replied.

“But why? Why would they attack our home?”

“No idea,” Dagr said.

Panic clawed Oz’s chest. “They’re likely headed for the castle. We need to protect the king.”

“What… what’s going on?” Llyr said, arriving late to the commotion.

Dagr took the telescope from Oz’s hand and offered it to Llyr. The merman took it and eyed the beach. “Oh no…no… why are they attacking your home?”

“You have as good an idea as we do,” Oz said. An idea hit, and he spun to face the bridge. “Hard to starboard, boys!”

The order was sent down ship, parroted until it reached the bridge.

“You’re leaving the fight?” Dagr asked, incredulous.

“No… remember our inlet? We’re going to sneak into the castle.”

“There’s no way we can fit this ship into that narrow entrance,” Dagr said, frowning.

“No, but we can get as close as possible and row in,” Oz said, striding back toward the bridge. “We can sneak in under the castle and save the king.”

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