Savage Messiah

As she breathed out a long stream of smoke, she pulled out her desk chair and sat down. Then she reached for the open bottle of red wine atop her desk and took a long swallow straight from the lip. Leaning back in her chair, she gave herself to the seductive rocking of the Reprise as it plowed through the waves.

The comforting sound of ship's bells rang out on the night air. She was so used to their sound that they automatically registered in her mind, without the need to be counted.

"Ding…ding…" came the clear, bright tones. Two hours to dawn, she thought, as the last of them faded away.

She walked back over to the windowsill and sat down again. She took a pull on her cigarillo, and then flicked the ash from its glowing end into the sea before having another sip of wine.

She had begun as a pirate, and ended up…legal. And it was all due to Prince Tristan of the House of Galland.

Tristan had seen to it that she received her letters of marque and the one hundred thousand kisa that had been part of their bargain for taking him safely home. She was now most probably the wealthiest woman in all of Eutracia. It had also been Tristan who had given her the twelve stout, ex-pirate vessels she now commanded, not to mention her new seat on the Conclave of the Vigors. She owed him much. And she missed his company, though she would never admit it, except here, in the safe confines of her own cabin before dawn.

Taking another swallow of wine, she closed her eyes. Tristan's heart belonged to Celeste, a woman whom Tyra

An urgent pounding at her door sent her thoughts flying. She knew Scars' insistent knock when something was wrong.

"Come!" she shouted.

The door swung open to reveal her first mate. At seven feet tall, he seemed to take up the entire entry. His head and face were clean shaven, and his only clothing was a pair of ripped, worn trousers. His body and face were covered with scars, the most marked of which was a prominent line that ran diagonally down over his left eye and across his cheek.

"What is it?" Tyra

Scars smiled. "The Minion K'jarr tells me that his scouting warriors have sighted a lone ship. She tacks her way west-northwest toward Eutracia, about one hour's sail from our current position."

"And…" Tyra

"She is ma

Tyra

"I will speak to K'jarr immediately," she said. "In the meantime, turn us west-northwest and douse our ru

Scars turned to go, and she followed him, ru

As ox soared high over the sea of whispers with his coterie of warriors, his eyes scoured the moonlit waters for Tyra

Making matters worse, he was frantic over what might have happened to the prince and the First Wizard. He knew he was not among the most intellectually gifted of the Minions. Still, what he lacked in quickness of mind he felt he more than made up for with devotion and loyalty-especially where the Jin'Sai was concerned.

The wheels of thought ground slowly in his head. His immediate focus had to be on finding Tyra

He had a general idea of where to look-information supplied by one of the prince's newly constructed seaside outposts-but that still left a huge area to search.

Pulling his dark, leathery wings through the sky, Ox became more and more concerned. They needed to find Tyra

Banking slightly to the left, he led his warriors in a curving turn designed to compensate for the reported movement of Tyra

If it wasn't, they would soon all suffer a cold, watery death. As tyra

Before she knew it, K'jarr, the Minion officer Tristan had assigned to her, was standing by her side. He looked tired and worn, and she understood that he had led the patrol that had sighted the demonslaver vessel.

"Your report," she said briskly. Despite his exhaustion, with a click of his heels K'jarr came to attention.

"She is a demonslaver ship, of that there is no doubt," he answered. "I saw the white-ski

"They're about one hour's sail from our current location-provided the winds hold and they haven't changed their heading since then," he continued. "I doubt they have, since they seemed to have been tacking for the Cavalon Delta. By my estimates, we should be able to see their ru

Tyra

This was no invasion. The demonslaver ship traveled alone because she had a singular mission.

Tyra

"I want every ship in our fleet rigged for stealth," she added. "There must be no warning bells from the crow's nest. Send word to the fleet by whatever Minion warriors are still able to fly, rather than by signal lantern. I want quiet and darkness."

With a quick nod, her first mate went to carry out his captain's orders.

Then she heard the unmistakable flurry of Minion wings. She looked up just in time to see a number of dark, winged silhouettes crossing the luminous discs of Eutracia's three moons. She was surprised, because after K'jarr's group had landed she had sent out no new patrols. Suddenly, a mass of unfamiliar Minion warriors came half crashing, half landing onto the decks of the Reprise.

She finally recognized Ox. He looked completely played out, as did all of the Minions with him. Some of them were so spent that all they could do was sit or lie upon the shifting decks and try to reclaim their breath.

Tyra