It had been close to dusk by the time the barkeep had knocked on their door with news about passage across the Azure Sea. A merchant vessel on its way to Emmanuel was scheduled to leave in two days. Gideon thanked the man and told him he would receive his promised money when they were ready to depart for the ship.
“I’ll take you down tomorrow and introduce you to the captain, myself,” the barkeeper said.
Ethan and Gideon had another day and a half to wait before they could leave the Weary Traveler and the town of Tilley. They decided their time would best be spent if they did not venture far from the inn. The pirates they had encountered might be waiting for an opportunity to exact revenge.
Ethan watched the last rays of the sun sink below the deep blue horizon of the Azure. He had never been to the ocean before, but he had heard of the Azure Sea. Its waters had often been compared to sapphires. Seeing it now for the first time in his life, Ethan understood the analogy. It was simply beautiful. Even in the moonlight, it sparkled.
Gideon lay on the bed, getting some sleep while he could. Trying to get any quality rest aboard a merchant vessel would be nearly impossible. Ethan took the first watch.
Sailing ships were busy entering and leaving the harbor up until just after nightfall. The docks functioned like a well-oiled machine. Ethan wondered where the ship was that he and Gideon would be taking to Emmanuel. He paused, thinking about what the priest had told him. Then he prayed silently for Elspeth and the journey they were about to make in hopes of rescuing her.
A noise woke Ethan. He couldn’t place the sound-perhaps a distant musket shot. He had little doubt that things got very dangerous in a city like Tilley after dark. It had been seedy enough during the day.
He quickly scanned the room. The light of the full moon shone through their open window. Ethan sat in the shadows just out of the oblong moonshine’s reach. He held one of the pirate captain’s black powder pistols in his lap, just in case.
Gideon was still asleep. Sound sleepers those priests, Ethan thought. He was actually glad he woke before Gideon did. He felt like kicking himself for falling asleep in the first place.
Ethan heard more noise in the street now. There were at least two people brawling outside. He peered out the window and saw one man stagger as he threw a punch and missed. The other fellow returned the compliment and did not miss.
More noise came from outside their room, downstairs. Ethan crept over to the door to investigate. He heard people pass in the hall-a man and woman. He waited until their voices trailed down the corridor. Ethan heard a door open and close, assuming it must be clear now.
He opened the door to their room. No one else was in the hall. An oil lamp flickered from a mount at the far end of the corridor. Ethan stepped into the hallway and closed the door. He heard a commotion coming from downstairs. A glass broke. Ethan knelt down at the second floor landing to see what was happening in the main room of the inn.
A group of pirates had congregated near the bar. The pirate captain from earlier stood at the forefront. He held the barkeep by the shirt with his good arm. “Where are they?” he bellowed as he pulled the man halfway across the mahogany countertop. Two of the captain’s men cocked the hammers on their pistols and placed them on either side of the barkeep’s head.
He’s going to tell them. Ethan knew silver coins wouldn’t keep the man from saving his own skin.
“They’re up in seven!” he confessed.
The pirate captain grinned, showing all of the cavities he had been cultivating in his smile. He shoved the barkeeper back into the ceramic mugs stacked against the back wall. They flew in every direction as the barkeeper spilled to the floor in a heap. “Come on, lads. We’ve got revenge to take in number seven tonight!”
As the men turned toward the stairs, Ethan caught sight of other visitors in the bar with the pirates. Demons! Ethan hurried back to the room and shut the door quickly, hoping that he and Gideon could still sneak out in time.
As Ethan turned to wake Gideon, the head of a demon rose through the dusty floorboards, its form passing through solid matter. Ethan froze mid-step, startled by the sudden appearance of an enemy there in the dark. For a second, he almost forgot the creature could not see him.
The demon ascended into the dark room, until its feet cleared the floor. Then it looked around, searching the shadows for anyone else who might be present. The demon wore the same black and red garment as the others-Mordred’s colors. A sword hung near the creature’s hip, suspended in mid-air.
The demon hopped up to the edge of the bed’s footboard, perching there like a vulture over its prey. Ethan couldn’t decide what to do. If he woke Gideon, the demon might kill him. If he did not, at the very least, the pirates were coming up the stairs to kill them both. He had no choice.
“Gideon, there’s a demon in the room, wake up!”
The creature did not move until Gideon flinched and sat up. The demon snatched the sword hanging by its side. Ethan dove across the space between the door and the bed, catching Gideon with both hands. The demon slashed into the mattress, just as Ethan pulled Gideon out of the way, onto the floor.
The blade tore a huge gash through the bed, sending goose down up in a white plume. The boys rolled off the floor to their feet with Gideon still held in Ethan’s grasp. They backed into a corner as the demon frantically searched for the invisible boys.
The pirates came down the hall. Their heavy footsteps fell on the old floorboards like an army on the move. The demon ran out of the room, its body passing through the wooden door unhindered.
Gideon and Ethan grabbed the weapons they had commandeered earlier and rushed toward the window. The door burst open behind them, slamming into the wall as Gideon followed Ethan over the windowsill. The pirate captain spotted them and fired his pistol.
Gideon rolled down the slope of the roof out of control, until Ethan grabbed him. “Thanks,” Gideon said.
The pirate captain appeared at the window. He howled in pain as his men pushed behind him, mashing his broken arm. “Off me, you dogs!”
Ethan and Gideon ran along the shingles until they found an adjacent rooftop. It stood about ten feet lower than the roof of the Weary Traveler with a gap of fifteen feet. “We’ll have to jump for it,” Gideon said.
Ethan was not afraid of heights, by any means, but the jump looked like a one-way ticket to a broken ankle. Gideon took a good run and sailed over the expanse. His loose-fitting, priestly attire billowed around him. He dropped to the neighboring rooftop, allowing his body to collapse at the knees. He rolled out of it and back to his feet.
Ethan didn’t know if he could make it or not. He was quite sure his attempt would not be as graceful as Gideon’s, even if he did make it. The sound of pirates smashing through the window and spilling out onto the roof convinced him.
Ethan backed up, then surged forward into the fastest run he could manage before running out of rooftop. He kicked off with the last step, vaulting through the air. There was nothing now but wind and gravity in the dark. He tried to judge the distance and speed, but didn’t quite manage it. He landed with a bounce, of sorts, shaking every bone in his body from his feet upward. His tuck and roll fumbled into a stagger and crash.
Ethan hit the roof hard with his shoulder and face. Gideon rushed to him and helped Ethan back to his feet. The left side of his face felt numb, yet it burned at the same time. Blood dripped from cuts on his cheek and shoulder.
More pistol fire erupted behind them. Gunpowder flashed in the dark. They heard shots whiz through the air around them, ricocheting off the rooftop as they ran across it trying to find a way down to the street. The deep voice of the pirate captain bellowed behind them, “Bring me their heads!”