Page 13 of The Sea Witch
“Miss, you must come with me,” he said. “I’ll get you to safety.”
“Just the same,” the woman answered in the flat accent of a Colonial, “your help isn’t wanted.”
Only then did Ben realize that thebarmaidwas wearing a full billowing shirt, leather tunic, and snug breeches with boots that climbed up to her thighs. With her own brace of pistols, her cutlass, and the dagger poking up over the top of her boot, he’d never seen any woman so well armed. Hair the color of the burning sky at sunset trailed in a braid down her back, and though it wasn’t possible to tell the hue of her eyes in the candlelight, they gleamed with intelligence and determination.
In her hand, she held a shield made of glowing energy, carrying it with the confidence of one who was well-familiar with wielding magic.
She was no tavern wench. She was Alys Tanner, the captain of the pirate vessel theSea Witch.
And a witch herself.
Her attention ricocheted between him and the window she stood before. The glow of her magical shield revealed what appeared to be writing on the glass.
Before he could make out what the inscription said, Alys Tanner threw her energy shield through the window, shattering the glass. She gave him a tiny ironic salute before diving through the open pane.
Ben hesitated. And then he leapt after the pirate witch into the darkness.
Chapter Three
Alys tucked herself into a ball. She surrounded herself with a cocoon of protective energy, hit the ground, and rolled. Even with the shield of her magic, the impact jolted the breath from her body.
She leapt to her feet and took off at a full run, down the road and toward her ship. The rutted dirt path threatened to trip her, but she fought to stay upright and moving forward. She ran straight through puddles of unknown origin, splashing herself and anyone who happened to be unluckily nearby, ignoring their cries of outrage.
She risked a glance over her shoulder.
“Fuck.” The naval officer chased after her, and it was a damn shame that he was so well-conditioned, because he wasn’t more than a dozen yards behind. His long legs were far too quick.
She leapt over a cart holding jugs of wine, then paused long enough to summon energy to knock over the heavy cart. Clay shattered and wine spilled everywhere, filling the air with the sharp smell of cheap alcohol.
Taking off again, she chanced a quick look back, to see the naval officer vaulting over the mayhem before continuing in his pursuit.
The town was a maze, winding and snaking in confusing disorder, leading to dead ends. Yet no matter how many twistsshe took, he stayed close on her tail. There wasn’t time or focus to summon a spell to hide her from his sight. If she paused long enough to call forth a shadow, he’d be upon her.
She couldn’t veer into the woods. They were full of jumbies—spirits of the dead—and drunken pirates who wandered into the forest were often never heard from again.
She had to get to her ship, and the fastest way there was a tricky one, but she’d no choice.
Instead of making for the quay, she sped along a slick, uneven cobbled path toward the cliffs at the very edge of town. Buildings thinned out as she neared the village’s perimeter. She dodged the few drunkards and surly dockworkers that staggered along the lane. Moments later, she reached the bluffs.
She gulped. The bluffs soared above the water. A fall from them meant shattering your body on the pointed rocks below, where waves hammered against stone.
The naval man drew closer, leaving her no choice.
She reached her hands toward the crashing water below, stirring it higher and higher. The breeze rose up from the now towering waves. The wind transformed—from gusts of air into powerful swells of energy so strong they buffeted Alys as she stood upon the rock.
She took a breath, and then stepped out into nothingness.
A terrifying moment passed as she fell through space. Her stomach pitched into her throat in the freefall.
Half a second later, the gusts lifted her, as if she was sea-foam spinning upon the breeze. She half tumbled, half danced atop the air, high above the water. A startled laugh leapt from her. This wasn’t exactly flight, but it was damned close, and it was wondrous.
Hell.Her elation crashed as she spotted a naval ship. It hadn’t been there when theSea Witchhad dropped anchor. Cannons bristled from its decks, and the man-o’-war was nearly twice the size of her own vessel. It lay between her and theSea Witch.
Worse, it was theJupiter. The navy’s flagship.
Teeming with guns and armed seamen, the flagshipstruck terror into the hearts of every pirate, and, seeing it for the first time, she was no exception. If she’d thought she’d left the danger behind on land, she was dead wrong.
Sea air magic couldn’t carry her far enough to theSea Witch, anchored hundreds of feet away. Beside the Royal Navy ship, the horrifying, slithering shape of a leviathan shadowed beneath the water.
