Chapter Four Hundred and Twenty-Three - Awake at the Witching Hour

Chapter Four Hundred and Twenty-Three - Awake at the Witching Hour

Chapter Four Hundred and Twenty-Three - Awake at the Witching HourRêAd lateSt chapters at novelhall.com Only

I flew out of my room while tugging my armoured skirt on and hugging my cuirass under an arm. By the time I reached the stairs leading up to the main deck I had cinched my belt on and was starting to squeeze into my chestpiece when I realized Id run out of my room barefoot.

I hesitated for just a moment at the edge of the stairs. Did I have time to get my boots on? Could I fight without them?

There were some noises behind me, the others not on watch coming awake.

Another call of pirates! from above.

Ah, shoot, I swore before fiddling my armour on and running up the steps. Without my gambeson on beneath, the cuirass was loose and uncomfortable, as if I was wearing one of my dads too-big shirts or something, only it was made of cold metal. Where are they? I asked as I ran onto the deck. There was barely any light to work with. The clouds above masked a quarter moon, and there was nothing to see beyond the deck of the Beaver and the circle of light created by our navigation lights.

I recognized the voice of the one calling out the alarm. Gordon was running across the bridge between decks, looking a bit panicked. Captain! he said. Pirates on our starboard stern, I spotted three ships.

How close? I asked.

He shook his head. Two klicks, captain, but theyre closing. Could be more of them, visibility isnt great and theres clouds.

I ran past him, feet thumping along until I was stopped by the rails on the starboard deck. My upper half dangled off the edge of the ship as I looked back.

It took some squinting to see the first of the ships, but I spotted it soon enough. It was hard to tell the size of an airship with nothing around it for scale, but I judged it to be a bit bigger than the Beaver, at least in length. The balloon was a dull grey, which hid it well within the clouds, but it had a red blotch on either side of the balloon that gave it away.

The other two took me a while longer to spot, they were flying a little lower, and some cloudy pillars obscured them partially.

How do you know theyre pirates? I asked Gordon as he joined me.

He pointed a talon towards the ships. They have markings. Dont you see them?

The red things? I asked.

He nodded, then realisation flashed in his eyes. Ah, right, harpies have good eyesight for this kind of thing, he said. Sorry captain. Theyre Red Wing pirates. All of their ships have their markings.

Are you sure theyre after us? I asked. Maybe the pirates werent the bad sort of pirate and they were just heading off to adventure in the same general direction as us?

Theyre gaining altitude, he said. And heading our way.

I sighed and pulled myself back. Keep flying us straight and keep an eye on them, Ill make sure everyones awake. Then well prepare the Beaver for a fight if we need it.

Aye! Gordon said before running off to the poop deck and the helm. He wasnt supposed to be the only one on the morning watch. Awen was supposed to be up too. Then again, she might just be working on something. One of the Scallywags was meant to be up too. Joe, I thought. As I started to run back to the other end of the ship I noticed him up by the helm. So he wasnt napping on duty, that was good.

I ran back to the port hull, then towards the cabin at the back only to meet Amaryllis in the entrance. Whats going on? she asked.

My best harpy friend looked dishevelled and still more than a little tired. She was in her PJs still, but had her dagger-wand in talon. Pirates, I said. Red Wing Pirates, theyre coming up behind us, I said before squeezing past her.

Where are you going? she asked.

To wake the others and get dressed! I said.

Ah.

Yeah, I could imagine Abraham leaping off towards the pirates with nothing more than a haha! Ill see if Amaryllis can manage something, I said.

Awen nodded, then ran off to do her work. I checked the helm and noticed that Clive was now standing next to the wheel, lighting his pipe while Joe hung on and kept us flying straight. That was good, Clive was the best pilot we had, so if he was by the wheel, things were going to be alright.

My heart was pitter-pattering harder than ever as I jumped ahead and jogged over to where Amaryllis was stacking the lights in a crate. We need to get a message to Abraham, I said.

Amaryllis nodded. Makes sense. Go ask Caprica.

Caprica? I asked.

Shes the one with the most military training. I know a few spells that can relay messages, or we could use a light code to send a message, but she has better spells and more experience with them than I do.

Oh... thats surprisingly humble.

Amaryllis stopped her work to give me a look. Its not a question of humility, its a question of common sense, something that Im aware you are very unfamiliar with.

I grinned. It was nice to have Amaryllis calling me an idiot. Comforting, really.

With my heart beating out a staccato rhythm in my chest, I sprinted across the deck, dodging crew members as they hurried about. Caprica was busy at the other side of the deck, methodically unplugging the lights and stacking them in another crate. As I approached her, she glanced over at me, the glowing orbs reflected in her dark eyes.

We need to get a message to Abraham, I panted, leaning against the railings as I tried to catch my breath.

Caprica raised an eyebrow, her hands pausing for a moment. I quickly explained the situation. When I finished, Caprica was silent for a moment, her eyes staring off into the distance. Then she nodded. I can help with that. I have a decent spell that can send messages over a short distance.

Does it need anything special? I asked.

Just that the receiver be willing to accept the message, she said. I think it might be best to target Raynold first. He seems the more... reasonable of the pair.

I bobbed my head in a nod. That made perfect sense to me. Okay... can I leave you to it?

She sniffed. Of course. I have always taken my duties seriously. You might want to find someone to take care of these lights. For what little its worth. The sun will be rising within the hour.

The pirates might reach us before then, I said. I couldnt, and didnt want to, hide the worry in my voice.

Well be fine, Caprica said. Probably. Most of us can put up a better fight than the average merchant. They wont be expecting the amount of trouble we bring. Find someone for the lights, Ill get to casting.

I kinda wanted to stay and see the spell at work, but she was right, I needed to get to work. I bounced my way back up to the helm, then tapped Joe on the shoulder and told him to go help with the lights before I turned to Clive. What should we do? I asked the pipe-smoking harpy.

Clive exhaled a cloud of fragrant smoke, his gaze steady on the pirate airships in the distance. We can try and outrun them, but our ship isn't the fastest and they'll most likely catch up to us. We can try and fight them off, but we don't know how many of them there are or how well-equipped they are. Or we can try to outsmart them.

I dont know if Im smart enough to do that, I admitted.

Clive chuckled. No worries, captain. Pirates are hardly known for their smarts. Cunning, yes, but not smart. He took another puff from his pipe. We could try to lose them in the clouds. Still dark out. We can dip into the clouds, turn hard, then go quiet and coast along as much as we can.

I bit my lip, thinking. Running seemed to be the best option, especially if Awen could give us more speed. But if we couldn't outrun them... Let's start with the clouds, I said, finally. If we can lose them, we can avoid a fight. And if not, we'll be ready to face them.

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