Leather hissed at Jherek's side. In the next instant, Sabyna held long-bladed knives in both hands. The young sailor hadn't made a move yet.

Vurgrom grinned. "You can come easy or you can come hard. If I have to, I can chop some pieces off and take your captain what's left. I'm still going to wager he'll be ready to deal."

"No," Sabyna answered.

Vurgrom waited just a moment, then nodded. He didn't wait for his men. He brought the battle-axe forward, holding well down on the haft so he'd get a full stroke.

The axe blade whistled as it cleaved the air and sped for Jherek's head.

X

5 Kythorn, the Year of the Gauntlet

Stepping to the side and twisting to avoid Vurgrom's battle-axe, Jherek slid his sword and hook free of his waist sash. His clothing still remained wet from his earlier dip in the harbor and constricted his movement. His muscles flared in protest at being forced to perform again without rest.

Vurgrom's axe missed him by inches, biting deep into the cobblestones and shattering some of them as the other men closed in. For the moment their numbers worked against them, though Jherek was sure that wouldn't remain so.

The young sailor moved aggressively forward, slashing at Vurgrom. The blade crashed fire across the mail shirt without penetrating. For a big man, Vurgrom moved surprisingly fast, bringing the shield around as Jherek hammered at him again. The sword struck sparks from the shield. While the young sailor tried to recover after expecting the sword to find a home in flesh, Vurgrom stepped forward and body-blocked him with the shield.

The massive blow slammed Jherek from his feet and knocked him back almost three feet. Shaken, the young sailor stumbled back and set himself again. Vurgrom lashed out with the shield again, expecting Jherek to still be off-balance. Instead, the young sailor slammed into the shield at an angle, rolling off it toward Vurgrom's front. He brought the sword around again, but this time barely succeeded in getting it up in time to block the battle-axe.

The impact rang along Jherek's arm.

Vurgrom came for him with the shield again. Anticipating the move, recognizing it as a favored one, the young sailor ducked and went low. The shield raked against his chest but lacked the force to knock him away. Reaching with the hook, he snaked it under the shield and hooked Vurgrom in the back of the leg. The big man yowled in pain.

With the hold secured, Jherek yanked. For a moment he thought the man's sheer weight would keep him from succeeding. If it had been strength against strength, Vurgrom might have held, but the hook was firmly embedded in the big man's flesh with tearing pain.

Screaming curses, Vurgrom stopped fighting the hook's pull. The leg came up and he went down.

Jherek didn't have time to capitalize on his success. One of Vurgrom's men came at him with a short sword. The young sailor abandoned the hook, unable to tear it free of Vurgrom's leg. Swiveling, he met the man's attack in a fencer's pose that Malorrie had taught him.

Steel rang on steel as the man sought to tear through Jherek's defenses. The young sailor gave himself over to his training, keeping his arm loose but strong, defending then attacking. The sword became a live thing in his hand, compelled by countless hours spent under Malorrie's demanding tutelage. Jherek moved ceaselessly, small steps that kept them in a tight circle, using the man's own body and attack to keep the others from them.

A man staggered away, grasping futilely at the throwing knife protruding from his throat. Evidently Sabyna's skills with a knife were considerable.

"Skeins," the ship's mage called from behind Jherek when he'd deliberately tried to protect her. "Attack."

From the corner of his eye, Jherek watched as hundreds of scraps of cloth flew from the bag of holding the ship's mage held open. They whirled and flew as if trapped in the eye of a hurricane, stretching out and growing longer until they reached serpentine proportions.

Even though he'd seen it before, Jherek's first impulse was to get away from the creature, and it took a lot of control not to act on that impulse. It was a raggamoffyn, a sentient creature that could strike or simply wrap around a human and take over that person's thoughts. The young sailor had seen it in action before.

There were some who said raggamoffyns were a race unto themselves, while others said they'd been created by a wizard with only evil intentions. Sabyna had created this raggamoffyn to be her familiar, taking the scraps that made up its physical body from her dead brother's burial shroud.

The raggamoffyn rode the breeze, nearly nine feet long now, coiling restlessly. Its initial appearance startled the attackers, driving them back. Sabyna threw a second knife, piercing a man's leg and eliciting a sharp yell.

The noise of the battle attracted a nearby group of Flaming Fist mercenaries. The four warriors sprang into action, shouting to the pirate group to identify themselves as they ripped swords from scabbards.

The thin-shouldered man with Vurgrom turned and gestured at them, saying words Jherek couldn't understand. Three of the men staggered and fell limply to the ground. The fourth appeared disoriented but that lasted only until one of Vurgrom's men ran him through.

The raggamoffyn streaked through the air and broke into its myriad pieces. It plastered itself to the man, covering him from the waist up in seconds, each piece locking into place securely. The man's mouth opened as he tried to scream but no sound came out. He dropped to his knees, letting go his sword as he struggled to tear the cloth away.

More knives glinted in Sabyna's hands as she avoided an attacker and partially turned the blade aimed at her head with one of the knives. Razored steel edges whispered together for a heartbeat.

Beyond the battle, Jherek saw men standing in the shadows, unwilling to take part in any fight that wasn't their own or where they couldn't tell immediately who was in the right. The young sailor fought deliberately, parrying, blocking, then riposting quickly, escalating the speed until he went from the defensive to the offensive. The sword was a blur before him and he stared through it, concentrating on the man across from him. He beat the man's shield down, knocking it from his numbed hands and causing him to step back.

"Damn you, Pharan!" Vurgrom roared as he pushed himself to his feet. He threw the blood-covered hook away. "I told you I wanted that woman alive. If you hurt her, 111 kill you myself!"

Pharan drew back. Taking advantage of his withdrawal, Sabyna lashed out with one of her knives, scoring a bloody line on his face.

"Zensil," Vurgrom shouted. "I want this ended now."

The thin-shouldered man nodded. Arcane words spewed from his lips, and his hands traced curious designs in the air. He drew a long length of small-linked chain from a pouch at his waist, stringing it out with quick movements.

Pressing his own advantage, Jherek slapped his opponent's sword aside a final time, then put a foot of steel through the leather armor and into the pirate's heart. The dead man started to fall, taking the young sailor's sword as well. Jherek faced the mage, not knowing what the man planned to do with the chain. Placing his foot on the corpse, the young sailor yanked his sword free. He breathed heavily, perspiring from his efforts in spite of the wet clothes.

The pirates drew back as the mage worked his magic. Even Vurgrom hesitated.

Jherek stomped on the abandoned shield at his feet, flipping it up in a trick Malorrie had taught him. He caught the shield, managing to run his hand through one of the leather straps on the back. Pulling it over his arm, he ran for the ship's mage.