She swallowed, suddenly understanding the captain’s reluctance. Yet, she did not tell them to turn back. Her senses still thrummed, pointing towards the largest of the islets, a black piece of jagged rock that rose up from the waves like the very top of some broken underwater mountain.
As they moved slowly closer, weaving through the narrow channels between rocks, a sudden murmur went through the crew, and then enthusiastic shouts broke out.
“By God Almighty,” Jamie breathed. “Is that…?”
Elise squinted against the glare off the water and the drenching spray. There was something on the islet. Three dots of color decorated the rocky side, and as they moved closer, those dots of color resolved themselves into shapes. Three men, clustered on a narrow ledge on the islet’s jagged flanks, waving desperately. Shrill cries carried over the waves.
“Help! Help us!”
“Survivors,” she breathed.
Things seemed to happen quickly after that. The captain snapped orders and the steersman took the ship as close to the islet as he dared. The waters around the islet were too perilousto get close so the ship’s launch was lowered, a much smaller rowing boat that would be able to navigate the treacherous shallows more easily. But even this couldn’t get close enough to the islet to land.
So, while two of the oarsmen held the boat as steady as possible, two others threw lines out to the three stranded men. One by one, they lashed the line around their waists and then jumped into the water, swimming for all they were worth until they were able to be pulled aboard the launch by the sailors.
Elise joined the rest of the crew at the ship’s starboard rail as they watched the launch’s return and the rescued men being hauled aboard. All three collapsed to the deck, puffing and blowing, looking exhausted, battered, but very much alive. Elise joined Jamie as he pushed through the ring of sailors that had surrounded the men and crouched in front of them.
“Well met, lads,” he said gruffly, in a voice full of strangled emotion. “Well met.”
All three were young, Elise noticed, youths in their late teens, too young to be subjected to such an ordeal. What had they seen during the pirate attack? What had they been forced to endure?
“My…my lord,” stammered one of the lads, a youth with his chestnut hair tied into a tail at the back of his head. “Ye…ye found us.”
Jamie shook his head. “It wasnae me that found ye, but our spellweaver.” He nodded at Elise.
The youth’s eyes shifted to Elise and widened. “Our…thanks, my lady,” he stammered. His voice shook a little and he seemed on the verge of tears. He blinked, trying to fight them back. “We thought that was it, that we would drown out here or…or…”
“Easy, lad,” Jamie said, placing his hand on the youth’s shoulder. “Can ye tell us what happened?”
The youth glanced at his companions and then swallowed thickly. “The voyage from the mainland went well. The weatherwas good and we saw no sign of other vessels, either friend or foe. The captain kept changing course, to keep any pirates off our trail and confuse them. It seemed to work. That is until we got here. They were waiting for us, my lord. They knew where we were going to be all along.”
Jamie’s expression tightened and his nostrils flared in a flash of anger. “What were their demands?”
“None, my lord. They surrounded us and the captain flew the flag of surrender just like he’d been ordered to. It made no difference. They began firing at us anyway. Then they boarded us, took the cargo, and captured the crew. Anyone that resisted was killed.”
“But ye got away.”
“Aye. We were in the rigging on the mainmast when they set fire to it. It was either jump or die. After that, they seemed content to let us drown. We managed to make it to that rock, and we’ve been there ever since. We thought…we thought…” His lip trembled and he clamped his mouth shut, refusing to cry in front of his laird.
“It’s all right, lad,” Jamie said softly. “Ye are safe now and I swear we will take vengeance on whoever did this. On that ye have my word.”
“Wait,” Elise said, crouching next to Jamie. “You said they were waiting for you? That they knew where you’d be?”
“Aye,” the youth replied. “It was an ambush and we sailed right into it.”
Elise frowned as things fell into place. “But that means…” Her eyes widened and she whirled towards the helmsman. “We have to get out of here!”
But it was already too late. Even as the words left her lips, a cry went up. “Ship to starboard!” And then another. “Ship to port side!”
The deck exploded into chaos. The crew scattered to their positions, the captain began yelling, and Jamie spun to the railing, a snarl on his lips. Elise’s heart was suddenly pounding. Two ships were closing on them, having appeared from behind two of the other islets like predators springing on their prey.
Elise saw at once how they’d been able to avoid detection. They were much smaller than the cargo vessel they’d attacked and looked sleek and easily maneuverable. Elise didn’t know much about ships but even she recognized war galleys when she saw them.
They drew closer with incredible speed and had covered half the distance while Jamie’s own galley was struggling to come about.
“Archers at the rail!” Jamie bellowed.
Jamie’s warriors let loose a flight of arrows in both directions, and for a moment the sky turned black with them. They rained down on the decks of the attacking vessels, but the men held round wooden shields above their heads, blunting the attack.
