“This doesn’t look good,” DeFrantis said, scowling at the men at the bow of the barge.
Antonerri turned. Three men had just stepped off the pier onto the barge. The way the Giant had stepped back defensively was telling. They weren’t too far away, so DeFrantis and Antonerri could hear the conversation easily in the otherwise quiet night.
“What is it you’re looking for?”
“Oh, don’t play like you don’t already know!” One of the men jumped up on some cargo boxes and began to move across them, toward the stern, toward DeFrantis. He was looking closely at each crate as he crawled over it. The other two reached into their cloaks and drew out short swords.
“Oh this is definitely not good.” She whispered. She saw Antonerri grip his own stolen sword more tightly, keeping it hidden from the view of the assailants. “What have we gotten ourselves into?”
I don’t know who’s good or bad, here. Granthurg’s been very kind and gave us a good price on our passage, but he looks to be tangled up in some real problems!
The apparent leader jabbed his sword at Granthurg, who jumped back. “Hey, easy, there...”
“Just tell me where it is, and nobody has to get hurt!” He jerked his head a bit, signaling his companion. The other man ran around the boxes to the other side of the barge, heading toward the stern.
The giant staggered backward, calling out, “Thissraelle! Get the barge moving!” He was trying to get to her without losing sight of the one threatening him. The man followed, holding the sword steady before him.
What to do? She glanced with worry at Antonerri. He was watching the drama unfold intently. As the two went past him, he spun and lunged at the human, knocking him off his feet into the railing. The two of them tumbled to the deck. The giant and DeFrantis both looked on for a moment, surprised by the attack.
“GRANTHURG!” A high voice called out. They both turned to see a huge double-handed warhammer floating quickly through the air. He reached up and grabbed it, then reset himself for the battle.
DeFrantis saw the other man moving past the corner of her eye. He was almost to the steering platform where Thissraelle was standing, arms still raised to guide the hammer. DeFrantis quickly reached into her own will. She drew the shadows from around the crates and the pier upward, into the air, twisting around the man, binding him fast in darkness. Thissraelle looked at her in surprise, then smiled quickly, and jumped back to her task on the platform.
Just as quickly, DeFrantis was knocked to the deck as another assailant landed on her from behind. She wriggled and struggled beneath him, feeling a sharp cutting pain in her arm. As she twisted, she found her face pressed to the floor as fingers twisted into her hair and pulled her head back. She saw the brief flash of lantern light reflected off a bloody dagger in front of her face.
I’m going to die!
Another heavy weight hit her and the man on her back, slamming them both flat, and knocking her breath out and smacking her head onto the deck. In another instant, the others rolled off her back and she could breathe again. She looked and saw Antonerri wrestling her attacker to the deck. Who had the advantage was not at all clear, though.
She tried to lift herself up, but one hand slipped on something wet and warm. She looked at it and saw blood. It hurt, too, higher up toward the shoulder, and it felt weak. Is that my blood? She managed to lift herself up with her other arm. She could hear the clang of the sword on the hammer to her left. To her right, Antonerri was on his back trying to fend off fist blows being thrown to his face.
The barge lurched in the water and, with a loud crunch, banged against another barge berthed beside it. The impact flipped her over onto her back. It lurched again, as it began to move away from the pier.
She felt dizzy, and that made it hard to get up. She could feel her will slipping away, releasing the shadows holding the third man. She tried to maintain their strength, but finally had to let them dissipate. .
What did we get ourselves into?
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