Bastion put himself between them and Ulla as the first man came around the wall of cargo.Bastion dodged his sword and grabbed him by the wrist.He hurled the pirate headfirst into a beam.The second swung too soon.Bastion sidestepped the weapon and elbowed its wielder in the face.He spun, leg lifted, and crashed his heel against the back of his head.The pirate went down, his cutlass clattering across the floor to land at Ulla’s feet.
She grabbed it and thrust it into Bastion’s hands.His fingers closed around the hilt, that simple motion grounding him.
More men funneled towards them.Bastion gave in to the strange knowing in his bones, letting it guide his movement.He anticipated their strikes, feinting from side to side.The clang of steel reverberated up his arms.He didn’t think about how fast his heart was racing or the lingering pain in his shoulders.They had numbers on their side, but Bastion had days, months,yearsof intentional practice behind him.
And Ulla.
He remembered his vow–he would not waste this opportunity.
Screams echoed around him as he parried and sliced.Flesh opened beneath the blade, adding fresh blood to the killing floor.In a matter of heartbeats, steel shone vermillion in the smoky lamplight.
The ship pitched to one side.The pirates fought to keep their footing as the bottleneck of errant cargo, tight quarters, and the newly dead slowed them.Ulla crouched behind the barricade and ambushed them, smashing faces with the forgotten manacles.Bastion let the motion of the ship carry him forwards to finish what Ulla started.His strikes hit with so much force the pirates dropped their blades, giving him the opening to deliver a killing thrust.
Their deaths gave him no satisfaction.
When the last man fell, Bastion allowed himself a second to assess the situation.
He frowned.The other Yvri were gone.
Anger boiled over the adrenaline still pumping through his veins and reinforced it like armor.The conditional nature of their help went against everything he valued.
Bastion glanced at Ulla.Her face was drawn with fatigue, and she breathed heavily.In her hands, she grasped not only Taro’s dagger, but a smaller blade.The dagger Haddrick had given her.
Haddrick.Rowan.
“We have to find the healer!”Bastion exclaimed.
Ulla furrowed her brow.
“They have his son!”Bastion sputtered.“We can’t leave them!”
Her eyes widened.The ship rolled and groaned again, and they braced against it.
“Is the whale still here?”he whispered.
She nodded, and the movement highlighted the fine sheen of sweat coating her face.The sight of it sent his stomach plummeting.Healing him had cost her.
“Stay behind me,” he said.They rounded the barricade of cargo, keeping low as they stepped over dead bodies and lifeless weaponry.Unsecured crates littered their path.A surge of guilt hit him as they passed the panicked goats, tugging uselessly at their tethers.
They reached the bottom of the stairs as someone began to descend.Bastion spun and, in one swift movement, swept Ulla into his arms.He stepped behind a beam, every newly healed muscle singing with tension.Her heart raced in time with his, hammering against their sternums.
His gaze dropped to hers.All the calm had drained from her eyes, leaving only fatigue.They were so close, and oh, how he wished this was a stolen moment back at the tavern instead of a scrap of reprieve while fighting for their lives.
“We need to take shelter before the squall hits!”a voice cried as it passed.
Bastion tore his eyes away from Ulla.
“Haddrick!”he hissed.
The healer spun, terror plastered across his face.He clutched Rowan to his side.Tears streamed down the boy's face.
“You’re alive!”Haddrick exclaimed.Relief and regret mixed on his face, only to be swept away by fear.“You have to warn Lord Kyrith about the weapon!”
Bastion tightened his grasp around Ulla.How could he have forgotten about that?
“I need to see it!”he said.Haddrick shrank, eyes darting nervously towards the stairs.Bastion stepped closer.“Show me!Quickly!”
Something slammed into the hull, and the healer staggered to the side.He gathered Rowan up against his chest and pointed to the long crate.“It’s there!”
