Farix had his back to Deniz.
Holding the zenblade with one hand, the other clutching his throat, Deniz put all of his remaining strength into his strike. At the last moment Farix dodged, as if sensing the coming blow, but Deniz moved with him. The commodore felt the sword meet resistance as it struck the pirate king’s neck.
In the battle of lore, the zenblade won. Farix’s head came cleanly from his shoulders. The body fell down to the deck.
Deniz stumbled and then fell back to his knees, and finally onto his back. He once more stared at the sky. This time he only saw clouds.
He was tired. It was time to sleep.
26
High in the sky, winds tossed a solitary dirigible to and fro in unpredictable air currents as the pilot struggled to keep the vessel afloat. A boatlike tub hung under the rune-covered cylinder by wires as the vessel’s two occupants clutched onto the rails with white knuckles.
Miro had been told it was dangerous to fly so high, but he’d instructed the pilot to take him up anyway. In his heart he knew it was foolish to risk their sole dirigible, not to mention the lives of its occupants, but below, in the deep sea, the brave Veldrins and Buchalanti fought a battle that made the risk pale in comparison.
He felt a surge of joy as he saw the Veldrins’ first pass, watching the warships shatter the enemy vessels one after the other. As Deniz circled around, Miro saw the Buchalanti charge into the armada from behind, and then a haze of smoke clouded the vista while he struggled to make sense of the battle.
“So many,” the pilot whispered. “There are just so many of them.”
Deniz destroyed more than a dozen ships with his second pass, but this time the enemy was ready for him, and he lost four of his own Veldrin warships. The commodore disengaged, and the Veldrin fleet sped away.
The Infinity led the point of a wedge deep into the armada. Launching their salvos ahead of them, the Buchalanti smashed ship after ship, and Miro soon realized the black specks in the water were bodies. Every revenant lost to the sea was a revenant he wouldn’t have to face on the beaches.
Miro saw the Infinity crash into a big black warship.
Then, on the other side of the armada, Deniz became embroiled in close fighting, smoke clouding the scene as the Veldrins became encircled. Miro’s fists clenched at the dirigible’s rail as he wondered what was happening inside the cloud of gray haze.
The smoke cleared for an instant, and Miro saw the Seekrieger dangerously engaged, grappled to an enemy flagship. Miro felt his heart race, and he pinched his palms. Then Miro’s heart leapt out of time as he saw the Seekrieger slowly sink into the water.
“High Lord, I must take us down,” the pilot said.
“Soon!” Miro barked.
Fighting at the heart of the armada, the Buchalanti vessels fell to the enemy one after another. Miro saw the Infinity crippled with a battering broadside. A dreadnought took fire and returned with a fierce energy weapon, blasting vessels into halves. Then the dreadnought broke up under a sustained barrage.
Two Veldrin warships tried to break free of the encirclement, but the enemy shattered them with blasts of cannon. Smoke clouded the air once more, and Miro felt the blood drain from his face as he waited for it to clear.
The armada burst free from the smoke, leaving their sinking ships behind. Moving inexorably forward, the enemy left the destruction of the naval battle behind.
It was over.
“Take us down,” Miro whispered.
The pilot struggled against the wind and for a moment almost lost control, but he managed to descend, and the passenger tub steadied.
The pilot turned them back toward Castlemere, and Miro soon saw the harbor come into view.
“Back behind the defenses,” Miro instructed.
The dirigible descended and soon hovered over the ground as Miro threw down the ladder. He scurried down and then stood weaving on the ground as the pilot took his vessel back to safety. Miro was shaken.
“What news?” Beorn rushed up. His expression registered Miro’s white face.
Miro looked around to make sure he couldn’t be heard.
“The naval engagement is lost,” Miro said. “The Veldrins and the Buchalanti . . . they’re gone . . . all of them.” He took a deep breath. “We destroyed a great number of enemy ships, perhaps half their force. But it wasn’t enough. The rest will soon be landing.”
“Miro,” Beorn growled, “pull yourself together. We will mourn them later. Scherlic and Deniz . . . all those who fought . . . we will mourn them. But now is not the time.”
Miro nodded. He took a deep breath and straightened, aware of his men’s eyes on him. He pulled the mask of the high lord back over his face.
“You know what has to happen now,” Beorn said, his face grim.