Hell's Ascendant (Mantles of Power Book 3) Read online

  “What’s so funny?” Rose asked, glancing at Kitania curiously.

  “Nothing, really. Just a random thought that has nothing to do with our situation,” Kitania assured her, shaking her head, then glanced at Riss as she added, “My apologies, Captain, it isn’t my intention to make light of our situation, my thoughts are just wandering.”

  “As long as you have them in order when the pirates catch up, I don’t give a damn how you feel,” Riss replied, her smile vanishing abruptly as she scowled at Kitania, then spoke bluntly. “Just no breathing fire on my ship, you hear me? If you do, I’m throwing you overboard.”

  The captain turned and left as Kitania stared after her in confusion. Looking at Vinara, Kitania murmured, “I can’t breathe fire, though. Why would I breathe fire?”

  “I suspect it’s the draconic heritage,” Vinara said, not even trying to suppress her smirk. “Come on, we have things to prepare.”

  “Alright,” Kitania said, following the others as they started toward the cabin.

  At least the interior of the Dryad’s Gift was nicer than other ships Kitania had been aboard. Unlike many of the others she’d had the dubious pleasure embarking on, the bulkheads were polished smooth and reasonably well-lit, even if the passages were cramped. The room they’d been assigned was tiny, with six bunks, which she supposed were better than the hammocks that the crew seemed to use.

  Eziel looked up from folding a tunic, smiling as she spoke. “Welcome back, ladies. I presume you heard about the pursuers?”

  “How did you hear about that? We were just barely told by the captain!” Isalla demanded, staring at the angel like she’d grown another head, and Kitania resisted the urge to laugh as she slipped into her bunk for the moment, since there definitely wasn’t space for all of them to stand around. Instead she hefted the bag with her armor in it and opened it, planning to look her armor over even if she was sure it was in good shape.

  “The crew’s been discussing it for close to half an hour or so. I simply overheard their discussions, and thought you’d be back relatively soon,” Eziel said calmly, slipping the stack of tunics into a cubby for the moment. “From what the crew’s said, they’re pretty sure these are corsairs or privateers in service to the Fallen Kingdoms or a demonic faction. Probably the former, but the latter is what makes them nervous, since demons usually have at least a few crew members that are capable of flying.”

  “Indeed, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be dealt with. No matter who it is, we’re going to have to deal with them,” Vinara said, glancing at the angels with an idle smile. Kitania knew she wasn’t saying anything about them not using their full capabilities on purpose.

  Looking over her armor, Kitania frowned, a little annoyed despite herself. Vinara had cast a subtle, long-lasting illusion on it to make the armor look like simple polished steel, and part of her really disliked the change. She liked black, probably more than was necessarily healthy, and it bothered her. At least the others were in the same position, so it wasn’t just Kitania having to deal with the simple coloration.

  “I see you’ve been informed about our unwelcome guests as well,” Yain said, the soldier appearing in the doorway rather suddenly, bracing herself against the bulkhead as she looked them over. “Getting ready for a fight already?”

  “Mostly it’s in case there’s another ship ahead of us that could cut us off, since the captain suggested the possibility,” Rose explained, looking up from her own armor with a slight smile. “I’m not happy about the idea, but there’s nothing we can do but play the hand we’re dealt.”

  “True, I suppose. I hope we don’t have to deal with three ships… two is going to be bad as it is. The crew is military, so we’re not defenseless, but privateers usually have oversized crews to take prize ships,” Yain said, looking rather unhappy as she looked at them.

  “Yes, but they also tend not to have skilled magi. I wonder if I can set their sails on fire when they get close… that’d ruin their day,” Vinara said, smiling broadly.

  “Most ships have enchantments to make that unlikely, I’m afraid,” Yain replied dryly, shaking her head as she smiled. “Still, you have a good point. We’ll just have to see what happens.”

  “True enough,” Isalla murmured, and Kitania nodded in agreement.

  Her armor was fine, Kitania knew that much, so her examination was entirely for show. The real question was whether they’d fight soon, and why the other ships were after them. It was possible that they were here coincidentally, but somehow Kitania doubted that. After the past weeks, she didn’t believe that any of this was happening by chance.

  Chapter 9

  “Right where my contact said they’d be,” Captain Corbek said, grinning as he looked at the ship running from them.

  Arrogance and Vengeance were slicing through the water more quickly than the elven ship, though they weren’t gaining quite as quickly as Corbek would’ve liked. He’d hoped to catch the elves the previous night, but unfortunately they’d managed to get farther than he’d expected before they’d spotted the elves. It made for a longer chase, but they wouldn’t get away in the end.

  “What’s the plan, Cap?” Evan asked, the big man looking at the elven ship suspiciously. “I know we’re after the passengers, but how do ya want to go about this?”

  “Aim for the rigging to slow them down, strafe their decks with the hailthrowers, then board from either side,” Corbek replied instantly, looking at the elven ship for a moment before adding, “Be careful, though, that is a military ship. Even if we’ll outnumber them three to one or more, they could always surprise us, and I’m told the passengers are probably warriors.”

  “Won’t help them if they get mobbed,” Evan said, shaking his head. “Why’re we after them, anyway?”

  “Because my contact is willing to pay a fortune for them, of course!” Corbek said, grinning broadly in return as he slapped Evan on the shoulder. “Now, get to it! We’ll catch up within the hour.”

  “Yes, Cap,” Evan grunted, then stepped forward as he started bellowing at the crew.

  Corbek just watched the elven ship with a hungry gaze. Whether the targets were aboard or not, he was sure they’d be able to capture a fair number of elves aboard the ship, and if the Forest of Sighs wouldn’t ransom them, elves tended to go for a good price on the markets. He’d make a profit off this one way or another.

  “Marren Corsairs, shit,” Captain Riss said, lowering her spyglass and cursing. Kitania winced slightly at her tone, though she could understand why the captain was upset.

  Marren was a primarily maritime port, and it was located on a slightly larger island southeast of the Forest of Sighs, one with its own portal to the hells. Worse, the domains below that portal were some of the more unfriendly ones, in Kitania’s opinion. Their influence had led to Marren becoming a haven for pirates, smugglers, assassins, and other extremely unpleasant activities. Like slavery.

  “Well, that means surrendering really isn’t an option. Does your kingdom ransom captives from them?” Isalla asked, not sounding very happy.

  “No. His Majesty says that giving them money would only encourage them, so… if we’re captured, at best we’ll be sold on the auction block,” Riss replied unhappily. “Worse, this has to be a wealthy captain, as the ship coming up to the starboard has two hailthrowers mounted on the aftcastle. Those will make defending the ship hell.”

  “No, I don’t think they will,” Vinara said, glancing at Kitania pointedly as she added, “I know a little about defensive magic, but I know Kim can do more. I’m fairly sure that between us we can deflect the majority of their fire, which should help on the whole.”

  “Thanks for volunteering me,” Kitania replied dryly, folding her arms as she continued. “I don’t make wards that large normally, and I’m not sure I can do it.”

  “You know how to use protective magic? I thought you were a healer,” Riss said, looking at Kitania in confusion.

  “I’m an alchemist t
rained as a physician. My magic is mostly defensive, because that’s my strongest talent and a healer isn’t much use when they’re bleeding out on the ground,” Kitania replied shortly, looking down the length of the ship unhappily.

  Dryad’s Gift wasn’t enormous, but it wasn’t small, either. The schooner was a bit under fifty feet long and cramped, especially with the oversized crew aboard. Thirty-odd sailors, the captain, plus their own company filled most of the deck, and Kitania glanced back at the other ships unhappily. She didn’t like the idea of straining herself to put up a ward, but hailthrowers were dangerous. Kitania didn’t know who’d developed the first one, but the magical weapons were used to spray hundreds of shards of ice in a cone, which allowed them to be used to clear the decks of ships relatively easily and without risking setting the ship on fire.

  “Are you saying you can’t do it?” Vinara asked, a smile flickering across her face.

  “I don’t know if I can do it, so if you’d shut up and let me think I’d appreciate it,” Kitania retorted in annoyance but flushed slightly as several people looked at her in shock. Probably because she was taking such an angry tone with a mage, but Kitania didn’t really care what they thought right now. Her worry was that she might not be able to defend the ship.

  Kitania quickly ran through several spells internally but discarded each of them in turn as being impractical. Eventually she grimaced and spoke. “I think I have a method of defending the ship, but it doesn’t make me happy. I have a spell which can deflect small, high-speed objects to some degree, but it’s not one-way. If I cast it, we’ll be hampered by the spell as much as they will, and it won’t guarantee that all the attacks will be deflected, just the majority. The other options are worse or would take far too much mana to maintain as they approach.”

  “Goddess grant me strength…” Riss muttered, scowling as she glanced back at the pursuers and added, “Just what we need, our bows to be taken out of play, too.”

  “If I may, is this spell supposed to be all around the ship or just along the side?” Vinara asked, tilting her head slightly. “If it’s the latter, we could always hit them as they approach, then take shelter behind the spell without them knowing.”

  “Just along the side of the ship. I’m not an archmage, warding the entire ship for better than an hour with a spell like that? Please, that’s far beyond my capabilities. Even making it travel with us is difficult enough as it is,” Kitania said, shaking her head unhappily. “I’ll be able to cast a couple of basic defensive spells beyond this one, but that’s as far as I can go.”

  In truth, Kitania was understating what she could do slightly. She didn’t have any other spells which could defend the ship, it was just too large for her to reliably shield it, but defending herself was an entirely different story. The thing was, these were just pirates, and revealing the full range of her defensive spells would be foolish and might even reveal her identity. Riss’s worry seemed to ease a little, though it didn’t fade entirely.

  “That would be better, yes. I’m not sure how much good it’ll do, but it’s better,” Riss said, glancing back as she considered the ship, then asked Vinara, “What about you? You’re a mage, so how’re you going to contribute?”

  “Not at all, initially. I want to let them get close, then I’m going to try to drop a fireball on the second ship’s main deck after they’ve assembled,” Vinara said, her expression turning icy, and she glanced at Eziel as she continued. “Emma, Yain? Would the two of you assist me, and try to take out their helmsman? I’d like to keep them out of the fight for as long as possible.”

  “What? But what about the first ship? They’re the one who’s more dangerous!” Riss exclaimed, much of her unease returning suddenly.

  “They have hailthrowers, so they’re much more likely to have defenses against spells. That being the case, if we don’t hit them with obvious magic initially, both ships will let their guard down a little,” Vinara explained patiently, meeting Riss’s gaze levelly. “I’m going to participate, don’t worry, I just want to do as much damage immediately as I can. So as soon as they come alongside, I’m going to ice over their boarding planks.”

  “Ah, that makes more sense. Well, we’d best get to work, then,” Riss said, glancing at Kitania, and the demoness suppressed the urge to sigh or bristle. She really didn’t like being given orders, even implied ones, but she chose to obey. It wouldn’t do to anger the captain at this point, and Riss had good reason for being upset.

  Kitania settled down to cast her spell, weaving it as carefully as she could, and as she did she heard Maura speak to Rose softly. “Where do you want me?”

  “You and Yain are our guides, so don’t endanger yourself too much. Watch Isabel’s back and try to keep us from being flanked,” Rose replied calmly, the whisper of metal indicating that she’d unsheathed her blade to check it, then sheathed it again. “We’re going to try to block as many of them as possible, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to come around behind us.”

  “Alright,” Maura agreed, not sounding very happy. Kitania couldn’t blame her, since this wasn’t the best start to their trip.

  Unfortunately, while the others continued talking among themselves, Kitania couldn’t participate due to the spell she was casting. The crew was unhappy, based on what she heard, and more than a touch scared. They’d seen close to forty people on the deck of the ship following them, and a quiet furor had rippled through the crew when they’d learned the ship was named Arrogance. They obviously recognized the name, and it demoralized them.

  Channeling her mana into the spell took far too long, but at last Kitania finished, and she reached out to run a finger along the railing, willing the spell into existence. Unlike most of her spells, this one was almost silent, like a whisper in the wind as the air shimmered ever so slightly, then it snapped into being along the side of the ship and the majority of her mana rushed out of her.

  “It’s done,” Kitania said, flicking her tail nervously as she glanced at Riss and the others, then smiled at Isalla as she added, “Hopefully it’s an unwelcome surprise for the attackers.”

  “Agreed. We should be in extreme ballista range any moment, so we’d best prepare ourselves,” Riss said, glancing at Rose, then shook her head as she added, “I really don’t envy you, with that heavy armor. I’d be afraid of drowning.”

  “Fair enough,” Rose replied with a chuckle, and Kitania smiled as well. At least drowning wasn’t something they needed to worry about.

  Then the first enemy ship fired its ballista.

  The ballista bolt skipped across two waves before sinking, having come nowhere near the elven schooner, and Corbek resisted the urge to swear. Fortunately, Evan was on the foredeck, and he made his displeasure known vocally.

  “Where were you daft sods aiming? Were you blindfolded or summat?” Evan roared angrily. “Reload and aim properly this time! We don’t have ammo to waste.”

  Corbek chuckled, glancing up at the flags to ensure the windstone was working correctly as well. It should, with as much as he’d paid for it, then he glanced to the side, at the plain redhead standing there, her slit eyes deep crimson and calm as she looked at the ship ahead of them. The scars over her left eye and right cheek gave her a slightly more sinister look, and her black and rust-red armor accentuated the impression, even if the leather wasn’t the best that she could afford. Corbek knew he paid the woman enough, but what she did with it was an entirely different question.

  “What do you think? Do they have spellcasters?” Corbek asked, watching her curiously. As much as Corbek hated it, he was attracted to the sorceress, even if it was mostly because she wouldn’t give him the time of day. The forbidden fruit always seemed so much sweeter, which was somehow maddening. He also wasn’t about to ruin a perfectly good relationship because he was feeling randy. Not unless he was about to retire, anyway.

  “I’m uncertain. We’ve only just reached a distance where spells could be used to attack, much like siege engi
nes. I don’t see any obvious casters, but that doesn’t guarantee anything,” Beatriz said, her voice slightly distant as she watched the ship warily. She never let her guard down, it seemed like, which Corbek thought was probably for the best, and she continued after a moment. “I cannot say, but I’ll be ready to counter their spells if they attack us.”

  “As you say. At least we’re not seeing a lot of magi, that would be… annoying,” Corbek said, his mood improving as he looked at the elves. His ballista crew fired again, and this time the bolt came closer to hitting, which improved his mood.

  That improvement vanished as the elves returned fire an instant later, and he swore as the ballista they fired glanced off the front of the hull. Scowling, he roared. “They scratched my paint job! Tear out their entrails and serve them for supper, already!”

  Several crew members flinched at his roar, and Corbek couldn’t resist a grin. It was good to have a reputation as a bloodthirsty captain sometimes.

  Besides, it wasn’t as if he was bluffing.

  Chapter 10

  Eziel held her bow and focused like she’d never focused before. Before she’d been captured in Estalia and met its queen, she’d always been fueled by her faith and conviction, which had allowed her to focus on goals to the exclusion of most other desires, but it hadn’t been perfect even then.

  After meeting Estalia, though, she’d been given a purpose, one which was more important than anything else. Pleasing Estalia was more important than her life, and it was what truly made Eziel happy. Then, wonder of wonders, Estalia had given Eziel a quest to make up for her horrid mistakes, entrusting Kitania’s happiness and safety to Eziel.

  A large part of Eziel had expected Kitania to kill her when they met, yet the demoness hadn’t. Based on the activities she’d seen around Estalia’s palace, Eziel had also expected to be asked to warm Kitania’s bed for her. Somewhat more disappointingly, that hadn’t been one of Kitania’s requests either, and Eziel was perceptive enough to know that offering wouldn’t be a good idea. It was something which a part of Eziel had hoped for, but she would never try to force the issue. It wasn’t her place, after all.