them past his access point, but would also risk drawing the attention of those currently ensconced in the rear cabins.
Clenching his fist around the gunpowder, he raced to the stern, blowing by the two knights as they stumbled around trying to find something they had no chance of locating in the first place. He vaulted to the poop deck and, from there, hurled himself upward into the rigging where he scampered like a monkey to the furled mizzen sail. Then he poured out the powder in a long line along the furl.
Shaking off the last vestiges of the powder, he reached down to his belt and extracted a thin silver tube about the circumference of a pencil and as long as his pinkie. He thumbed one end, activating a five-centimeter laser beam from the other that he then used to touch off the powder.
He scrambled along the rigging as the flames spread behind him, dropping back down to the deck as near to the cargo hatch as he could get. He waited for the inevitable cry, which didn’t take long. There were few things more deadly at sea than a fire.
The knights, seeing the blaze flaring along the furled sail, took up the warning. In seconds, the deck was swarming with panicked sailors.
He took advantage of the distraction to roll open the booby hatch and drop into the hold. The darkness within didn’t faze him in the least; his vampiric senses allowed him to see in the gloom as well as a mortal might under an overcast sky.
www.samhainpublishing.com 75
Saje Williams
He saw a number of chests strewn about the cabin and it took him a few minutes to locate the right one. Once he had, it was a simple matter to draw upon a nearby mana strand and seal the chest away. He gathered up the newly created dimension pocket, tied it to him with another thread, and grabbed a third to facilitate an escape.
He cast one end out, aiming it toward his own vessel, and willed the near end to open just as he heard someone drop through the hatch behind him. He didn’t even bother to look. He knew that as soon as he started casting they’d be on him, and he didn’t really have any interest in sticking around to play.
He leaped through the transit tube, landing hard on the pitching deck of his target vessel, whirling in place to grab the end from which he’d just emerged before anyone could follow. He sealed and tossed it away, watching it evaporate into mist as its energy dissipated into the night sky.
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. That had been a lot closer than he’d wanted. Had it been a Deacon who’d dropped into the hold, he might’ve had a real fight on his hands before he could make it out. Being highly resistant to magic didn’t make one immune to it. He’d tensed up at the last second, expecting to feel a bolt of lightning or fire raking his back as he’d leaped away.
He’d emerged onto the Rakehell’s main deck to find it empty except for a certain furry hulk who’d been making himself scarce for the past several days. Cerberus really didn’t like ocean travel, and spent most of his time in the hold guarding Raven’s crate. Most the crew had never even caught a glimpse of him—his powerful psychic gifts enabling him to cloud their minds whenever he chose. A good part of the time he slipped by so craftily Raven himself forgot he was aboard the ship at all.
They’d been fortunate enough to find a sheltered alcove in which to anchor within a couple miles of the Church vessel, well within Raven’s striking range. The others didn’t have any idea how close they’d come to the other ship and that was just the way Raven and Val had wanted it.
Now all she had to do was come up with a way to prevent them from 76
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Sword and Shadow
setting sail too early the next morning and, hopefully, the church ship would be well on its way before the Rakehell lifted anchor.
Unless they decide to try and track down the cause of this night’s misfortune, a niggling little voice whispered in his head.
Clenching his fist around the gunpowder, he raced to the stern, blowing by the two knights as they stumbled around trying to find something they had no chance of locating in the first place. He vaulted to the poop deck and, from there, hurled himself upward into the rigging where he scampered like a monkey to the furled mizzen sail. Then he poured out the powder in a long line along the furl.
Shaking off the last vestiges of the powder, he reached down to his belt and extracted a thin silver tube about the circumference of a pencil and as long as his pinkie. He thumbed one end, activating a five-centimeter laser beam from the other that he then used to touch off the powder.
He scrambled along the rigging as the flames spread behind him, dropping back down to the deck as near to the cargo hatch as he could get. He waited for the inevitable cry, which didn’t take long. There were few things more deadly at sea than a fire.
The knights, seeing the blaze flaring along the furled sail, took up the warning. In seconds, the deck was swarming with panicked sailors.
He took advantage of the distraction to roll open the booby hatch and drop into the hold. The darkness within didn’t faze him in the least; his vampiric senses allowed him to see in the gloom as well as a mortal might under an overcast sky.
www.samhainpublishing.com 75
Saje Williams
He saw a number of chests strewn about the cabin and it took him a few minutes to locate the right one. Once he had, it was a simple matter to draw upon a nearby mana strand and seal the chest away. He gathered up the newly created dimension pocket, tied it to him with another thread, and grabbed a third to facilitate an escape.
He cast one end out, aiming it toward his own vessel, and willed the near end to open just as he heard someone drop through the hatch behind him. He didn’t even bother to look. He knew that as soon as he started casting they’d be on him, and he didn’t really have any interest in sticking around to play.
He leaped through the transit tube, landing hard on the pitching deck of his target vessel, whirling in place to grab the end from which he’d just emerged before anyone could follow. He sealed and tossed it away, watching it evaporate into mist as its energy dissipated into the night sky.
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. That had been a lot closer than he’d wanted. Had it been a Deacon who’d dropped into the hold, he might’ve had a real fight on his hands before he could make it out. Being highly resistant to magic didn’t make one immune to it. He’d tensed up at the last second, expecting to feel a bolt of lightning or fire raking his back as he’d leaped away.
He’d emerged onto the Rakehell’s main deck to find it empty except for a certain furry hulk who’d been making himself scarce for the past several days. Cerberus really didn’t like ocean travel, and spent most of his time in the hold guarding Raven’s crate. Most the crew had never even caught a glimpse of him—his powerful psychic gifts enabling him to cloud their minds whenever he chose. A good part of the time he slipped by so craftily Raven himself forgot he was aboard the ship at all.
They’d been fortunate enough to find a sheltered alcove in which to anchor within a couple miles of the Church vessel, well within Raven’s striking range. The others didn’t have any idea how close they’d come to the other ship and that was just the way Raven and Val had wanted it.
Now all she had to do was come up with a way to prevent them from 76
www.samhainpublishing.com
Sword and Shadow
setting sail too early the next morning and, hopefully, the church ship would be well on its way before the Rakehell lifted anchor.
Unless they decide to try and track down the cause of this night’s misfortune, a niggling little voice whispered in his head.
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