At the same time there was a tremendous clatter as hatches and gratings flew open all along the enemy's deck amidships. The gunports on the ship's side dropped open with rattles and bangs. Blade saw helmeted heads thrusting forward from the gloom below decks, looking out past the muzzles of the guns. He recognized the helmets and armor of the Imperial Corps of Eunuchs.

Then the commandant whirled, his sword leaping from its scabbard. He slashed down at Blade so quickly and so hard that only Blade's miraculously fast reflexes kept his head on his shoulders. He ducked, went down, rolled, and sprang up again.

The commandant was just as fast. He gripped the knotted rope and shouted. Above, the men on the enemy's foc'sle heaved. The rope tightened, and the commandant flew straight up into the air as if he'd been shot out of a circus cannon.

Then the eunuchs at the gunports pushed forward, raising muskets. At the same time dozens more eunuchs with both crossbows and muskets sprouted from the enemy ship's bulwarks. All the muskets and bows seemed to go off at once with one tremendous, ringing crash. Bolts and balls whizzed past Blade, struck the deck, clanged off the gun barrels, drove into human flesh. Screams of agony and the smell of blood and powder surrounded him.

From forward one of the enemy's guns fired at pointblank range. Its ball smashed squarely into the muzzle of the heaviest gun on Kukon's bow. The gun flew backward off its carriage and right off the foc'sle, to smash down onto the deck below.

It also smashed down squarely on top of Luun. The man had time and breath to let out one blood-freezing scream of agony and terror as the tons of bronze crushed him into the deck. Then there was silence, soon broken by the sound of more muskets and crossbows going off.

Prince Durouman was still on his feet, although blood was streaming down his face and both helmet and breastplate were dented. He waved his sword, and his guards crowded around him, raising their muskets.

«Fire!» he roared. More than twenty muskets crashed out in a single volley, and as many helmeted heads vanished from along the enemy's bulwarks. Blade saw one eunuch throw up his arms and fall backward, a great hole gaping squarely in the middle of his forehead. He wouldn't have believed such shooting possible with matchlock muskets.

But for every eunuch shot down by the prince's guards, two more appeared. Their fire grew steadily. In another minute Blade knew that the only thing left for Kukon was to get clear, if she still could.

«All rowers man your benches!» he thundered, in a voice that carried over the swelling noise of the battle. «Port side rowers, push us off. Then everyone to ramming stroke!»

Oars clattered out through the ports and a gap of water began to open between Kukon and the Imperial ship. Some of the rowers on the starboard side continued to stand, firing muskets and bows, until they saw their comrades to port beginning their stroke. Then all the rowers went furiously to work. Kukon slid rapidly along the enemy's side and passed her stern.

«Why, Blade?» screamed Prince Durouman. «Why? We can take her and kill that traitor. We can!»

«We can't!» shouted Blade. «We haven't a chance. She's got two hundred of the Corps of Eunuchs on board besides her regular crew. Maybe more. We'd lose every man aboard Kukon trying to board against the eunuchs!»

«No!» the prince cried.

«Yes,» said Blade more quietly. «The commandant led us into a trap. There's nothing more we can do about it except get clear if we can.»

The prince stared at Blade, his eyes wild and red, his sword shaking in his hand. He snatched off his helmet and threw it down on the deck with a clang. Then he crumpled. He lurched and would have fallen to the deck if he hadn't been able to brace himself against the breech of a gun.

Blade had no more time to spare for Prince Durouman. He leaped off the foc'sle onto the main deck and ran aft. Reaching the stern, he ordered the gunners there to elevate their pieces and open fire on the enemy. They obeyed with a will. They hadn't been able to take any part in the battle until now, and most of them had comrades to avenge.

Kukon's stern guns kept up a steady fire until the two ships were out of range. Blade kept the rowers at the ramming stroke for another few miles, then let them slow down to the fast cruise stroke. It was not until the enemy ship was out of sight even from the masthead that he let the rowers leave their benches. Kukon's sails filled, and she swung away toward the north once more.

Then at last there was time to check the damage and casualties. Except for the dismounted bow gun, there was little serious damage. There were half a dozen shot holes, none of them below or even near the water line. That was all. Blade promptly set men to work with tackles and levers to remount the gun.

Casualties were another matter. Beside Luun, nearly thirty men had been killed and more than fifty wounded. Kukon's scuppers were running with blood, and wounded men lay groaning and screaming along every gangway.

Most of the casualties were among the boarding party rather than among the rowers. Only fifteen of Prince Durouman's guards were still on their feet, and some of those were wounded. The prince himself had been grazed by three balls.

The prince sighed with more than the pain of his wounds when Blade reported the casualties. «It was all my fault for listening to that-!» Words failed him and his shoulders slumped again. He looked as if he wanted to jump over the side and let his armor carry him down into the depths, into an oblivion where he could forget the men his error had killed.

«Cheer up,» said Blade. He had long ago learned that there was no point in lamenting mistakes already committed-only in learning from them. «We've still got a seaworthy ship under us and a crew that can row and fight her behind us. We can approach the pirates just about as well as we could have anyway.»

«The pirates, yes,» said the prince. «But what will the commandant say to Kul-Nam? What will that monster do? How much does the commandant know?»

«He knows most of what we've planned,» said Blade reluctantly. «He also knows that you're making this move on your own, that the Five Kingdoms have nothing to do with it. So they may not be attacked.»

«You're assuming that Kul-Nam is sane,» said the prince bitterly. «You know perfectly well that he isn't.»

«Not sane, perhaps,» said Blade. «But he probably still has enough common military sense not to attack the Five Kingdoms for something they haven't done.»

«I hope so,» said the prince. «Does he know about Princess Tarassa's support of us?»

«If he doesn't know it for certain, I'm sure he can guess it. Why?»

«Kul-Nam might not attack the coasts of the Five Kingdoms. But he might attack Parine if he thinks Tarassa has aided his enemies.»

Blade laughed. «Let him. Parine is about the toughest proposition he could tackle. If he does try there, he's likely to get his fleet and army well mangled, enrage the Five Kingdoms, and have little to show for it.»

«I hope you're right,» said Prince Durouman. It was growing chilly as the sun sank toward the western horizon. The two men pulled their cloaks about them and went aft toward their cabins.