The Seekrieger wallowed and groaned as she took on more water.
“Bladesinger,” Deniz called to the Alturan who stood with one arm on a mast and the other holding a bared sword of shining steel. “It appears you may soon get a chance to use your weapon.”
The bladesinger turned and nodded. “I am ready.”
“Grapples!” Deniz called. “Prepare yourselves! We’re going to hold the enemy’s broadside and board her!”
Deniz could now feel the decks dropping beneath his feet as his ship sunk. But the enemy vessel was close. He fixed his gaze on the man in the three-cornered hat and urged the Seekrieger forward.
Commodore Deniz thought about his homeland. Better to die on a Veldrin ship than on foreign soil.
Farix called out an order, and a ragged blast of cannon fire tore into the crippled Seekrieger. Still Deniz’s ship came on, sluggish but moving, on a direct path for the pirate king’s flagship.
The crackle of musket fire sounded on both sides, and the air filled with whizzing balls. Deniz was now close enough to see the glowing runes on Farix’s neck and hands. Revenants snarled as the Veldrins threw grapples and hauled the two ships together.
“Make fast!” Deniz cried.
With a roar Deniz drew his straight sword and led his men forward, the bladesinger at his side. He leapt over the side of the Seekrieger and landed nimbly on the deck of the enemy warship, immediately ducking under the blow of a warrior with mottled skin and a thin line across his throat. Deniz countered and weaved around a second blow before slashing deep into his opponent’s neck, severing the spine so that the head lolled to the side.
Cannon on both sides continued to fire and muskets cracked. Warriors screamed with swords held high. Limbs were shattered by the flying balls.
The bladesinger reached the pirate king first. Farix turned white eyes tinged with pink on his new enemy and dropped into a practiced stance. Both swordsmen held blades blazing with the glow of activated runes. In contrast, Deniz’s sword was made of quality steel, but steel was all it was. Deniz now regretted turning down Miro’s offer of an enchanted blade.
Farix launched a series of blows as the eerie sound of the bladesinger’s song filled the air, audible even over the thunder of muskets and cannon fire. When the zenblade met Farix’s enhanced sword, sparks scattered into the air.
The bladesinger moved quickly; the zenblade flickered to meet each blow. Searching for his own opportunity, Deniz couldn’t fault a single strike.
Farix moved faster.
The two combatants moved in a dance of death, and Deniz could see they were both formidable swordsmen, their skills honed by years of practice. A strike from the pirate king smashed into the bladesinger’s armorsilk but was deflected by the supple material. The bladesinger thrust into the pirate king’s chest, tearing a fist-sized hole at the precise location of his heart.
But Farix kept going.
Around Deniz, Veldrin marines and sailors battled revenants while smoke filled the air, making it hard for Deniz to see anything but the bladesinger’s struggle. Timing his attack, Deniz came up behind the pirate king and hacked at a limb, but when his steel sword came forward, Farix simply wasn’t where he’d been a moment ago.
Another blow from the pirate king struck the bladesinger’s neck. The hood protected him from some of the blow, but a splash of blood dripped down the green material. Deniz struck at the pirate king’s leg, but Farix danced out of the way, and his backswing cut across Deniz’s cheek, opening up a wide gash from his ear to his chin. Deniz narrowly avoided the next blow, rolling out of the way an instant before the pirate king’s blade sliced the air.
The whirling swords increased speed until they could hardly be seen. Suddenly, the bladesinger was on the ground, gasping. Farix held his sword with both hands and thrust into the Alturan’s mouth. Blood gushed out, and then the bladesinger shuddered and died.
Deniz roared and launched his own series of blows, ignoring the battle around him, fighting with the skill that had seen him destroy his foes time and again when battling other pirates for the Emir.
Farix’s enchanted sword flickered out, almost contemptuously, and Deniz felt the burning blade slice across his throat.
He coughed and pressed his left hand to his neck. Blood spurted out and Deniz suddenly found himself on his knees, head lolling back, eyes looking up at the sky.
The smoke parted for a moment, and Commodore Deniz saw the blue and brown flag of Veldria, flying tall and proud from the mast of the Seekrieger.
Deniz pushed himself up onto one knee. He’d lost his sword. Where was it?
The crumpled body of the bladesinger was just near his feet. The bladesinger’s chant had only just stopped. The zenblade still sparked with red and blue fire.
Still holding his throat as his life force left his body, Deniz picked up the zenblade. It felt made for his hand.