Savage Messiah

Frantically they pushed up and down on the pumps' wooden handles, sending bursts of seawater shooting up and through the canvas tubes that made their way to the decks above. The warriors were barely holding their own. Each time they seemed to gain a little against the rising water, the ship would roll to starboard again and more would come rushing through the jagged tear in her side.

The Reprise pitched high in the bow and Shailiha almost fell from the stairway. Tyra

While the warriors pumped the seawater out, Tyra

Shailiha watched as several crewmen placed thick wooden handles into holes in the sides of the giant hardwood screw. As a group they began turning them. The flat iron panel at the end of the screw slowly made its way toward the broken hull.

Some crew held high fresh boards cut to cover the hole in the hull. As the screw turned, it would force the iron panel against the boards and hold them in place. Other crewmen stood by with trowels full of pitch and tar, ready to seal off the joints between the boards. As the warriors ma

Just as the screw began to seat itself against the freshly cut planks, the Reprise rolled to starboard again. Another rush of water flooded in, knocking the men over and causing them to drop the screw and the boards.

As the men tried to stand, it was plain to see that the ice-cold water was even higher now, and that the situation was quickly becoming hopeless. Soon other sections of this deck would be engulfed, and the Reprise would almost certainly go down. Shailiha looked over at Tyra

"Scars!" Tyra

At the sound of her voice the gigantic first mate looked up and saw the two women standing halfway down the stairway. It took several precious moments, but he finally managed to wade over to them.

"We aren't going to make it, are we?" Tyra

Without answering, Scars turned back to look at the rent in the hull. They heard a harsh, tearing sound, as yet another plank flanking the damage came loose and flew into the room. More seawater flooded in behind it. It was now nearly as high as the crewmen's chests.

Scars turned back to his captain. "Our problem isn't so much the damage as it is the storm!" he shouted back at her. "If the ship wasn't rocking back and forth so badly, we might be able to repair her! But the situation only grows worse. If we do not succeed very soon, she will surely go down!"

For several moments Tyra

Scars looked horrified.

"Captain, you can't do this!" he shouted back. "In a storm like this you must leave the sails furled and allow her to nose into the wind! It's the only way she'll survive the stresses! You know that! Raising the sails now could rip every remaining mast from the ship and tear the hull in half!"

By now every man and warrior in the chamber had stopped what he was doing and strained to hear the argument above the raging storm. Looking down into the rapidly flooding chamber, Tyra

"This is not up for debate!" she shouted at them. "True, what I propose may not work! But if we don't try, what do you think will happen, eh? At best you have one more chance to succeed! And if you don't, we're all food for the fishes anyway!" Then her expression softened a bit, and she looked down at Scars.

"Don't fail me," she said. She turned and pushed Shailiha back up the stairway.

When they reached topside, the storm was raging worse than ever. Glancing around, Tyra

"I want every sail unfurled-now!" she shouted. "Be quick about it! This is a matter of life or death!" His mouth hanging open, the officer looked at her as though she had just gone mad.

Tyra

"Now!" she barked. "Or I'll throw you overboard myself!"

With a quick nod, the officer went to give the orders.

"You're with me!" Tyra

"Stand clear!" Tyra

Tyra

Finally free, the wheel spun madly, its spokes a blur as the ship's rudder struggled to find its equilibrium in the raging currents. As the wheel settled down, Tyra

"Now!" the privateer shouted. "And with everything you have!" Straining against the wheel, the two women began to turn it with all their might.

With an agonizing groan, the Reprise did her best to heel over toward the port side. As she started to come about, Tyra

Knowing there was nothing else she could do, Shailiha closed her eyes. She thought of Tristan and Morga

CHAPTER XXXI

Eyes closed, Faegan smoothly stroked the strings of his centuries-old violin. As the sorrowful melody rose into the air, he focused on the many problems plaguing his nation. He had been playing and thinking for more than an hour now, yet no concrete answers had come to him. Too many pieces of the puzzle were still missing.

He suddenly sensed an extra weight upon the scroll of his violin, and felt an unexpected breeze caress his face. With a short smile he stopped playing and lowered his bow. He opened his eyes.

Caprice, Shailiha's yellow and violet flier of the fields, perched upon his violin as if to tell him not to worry, that everything would be all right. The wizard found such a thought to be a very tempting luxury. But then his mind started to work again and he sighed sadly.

"You're lonely for your mistress, aren't you?" he asked. Caprice slowly opened and closed her wings one time: Yes.

He smiled. Although Shailiha and Caprice were oftentimes inseparable, the princess had chosen to leave the flier behind when she left on her mission with Tyra

"I know," Faegan said. "I miss her, too."

The wizard sat on the balcony overlooking the aviary of the fliers of the fields. This was perhaps his favorite place in the world. He often came here to be alone and to think. Located in the depths of the Redoubt, the aviary was more than three stories high and filled with soaring fliers of all the colors of the rainbow. Oil sconces on the light-blue marble walls gave the chamber a soft, welcoming feel.