Page 134 of The Sea Witch
“It’s searching for something,” she breathed. “Someone.”
A man bellowed, “You.”
She turned to face Lambert. Her hand went to the grip of her cutlass. “Me?”
Their host advanced, his face twisted in fury as he blocked their path to the stairs. “Magic seeks magic.”
“There are dozens of mages here,” she countered.
“The monster wantsyou, witch.” Lambert pointed at her. “Youbrought it here.”
Drawing their swords, six pirates collected behind Lambert. The other guests surged down the stairs, buccaneers and women running.
“We should give it what it wants,” one of the pirates with Lambert shouted.
“Push her back! To the monster!”
Alys and Ben glanced at the creature behind them, ripping out more chunks of the building, and the armed angry pirates ahead of them. She and Ben shared a look, coming to a silent agreement, and pressed toward the pirates.
A pair of buccaneers moved in front of them, a square-set man facing off against Alys and a tall man against Ben.
Her opponent struck first, and she blocked his strikes. Knocking his guard low, she then punched him in the face with the bell of her cutlass.
With quick decisive strikes, Ben drove his opponent intothe railing at the edge of the catwalk, where the pirate then teetered. He glanced behind him nervously as he nearly fell over the balustrade, the floor fifteen feet below.
Before the off-balance pirate could fall, Ben grabbed him by the front of his coat. The man tried to jab with his cutlass, but Ben spun, throwing the buccaneer toward the creature behind him. The pirate scurried to a corner, cowering as the beast’s claws narrowly missed him.
All the while, the creature continued to roar and tear down the walls in its search. The floor juddered and everyone battled to keep standing.
Lambert and four more pirates remained, blocking Alys and Ben from reaching the stairs.
“Straight down the middle,” she commanded Ben.
“Aye, aye, Captain,” he answered.
She and Ben attacked with a flurry of slashes.
Gritting her teeth, Alys traded strikes with a pirate, and their cutlasses rang out above the creature’s roars. As she fought, Lambert attacked.
Ben stepped between her and Lambert, wielding his blade.
With all the force of her body, Alys kicked her opponent in the chest. Cursing, he crumpled.
Ben pushed Lambert back. There was just enough room to give Ben and Alys access to the stairs.
She raced down one section of the stairs, until she reached a landing. Reaching deep into herself, she summoned the destructive force of an earthquake. She turned to launch the spell at the stairs.
Yet Ben was still on the steps, fighting with Lambert and several of his men.
“Get to the landing!” Alys shouted at Ben.
He was a whirl of steel and fury as he attacked Lambert, fierceness in his eyes and his movements. It wasn’t pretty, his combat, but it was beautiful.
Lambert and his cohorts edged backward in an effort to dodge Ben’s strikes. With enough space to move, Ben leapt down to the landing.
With Ben now beside her, Alys cast her spell, pushing the force from her body as she groaned from the effort. The marble stairs between the landing and the catwalk shuddered and then shattered, breaking into pieces that rained onto the floor below.
She and Ben sprinted down the remaining steps. They reached the ground floor of the main hall. The long feasting table was abandoned. Plates and goblets and cutlery were scattered across its surface and over the floor.
