John and Ian yelled down at their men simultaneously, “Climb!”
The crew started immediately for the ropes.
The air was torn by the roar of a dozen multi-barreled Velociter-Magnus Machine Guns spewing one hundred-twenty bullets per minute into the men. Others turned theirs on the Wraith and lead projectiles chewed the deck and gunwales into splinters as the rounds traced lines from one side to the other.
John spun the wheel and yelled at Ian, “Cut the anchor!” In an instant the Highlander slipped the claymore from its sheath and slashed the rope, freeing the Wraith. The frigate veered sharply left, flinging Avi and Bixie across the deck as John maneuvered the ship out of the hail of bullets.
John started to circle back for his men when Ian said, “Nae, John. They’re all dead. We have Avi, we need to flee.”
John steered the frigate in an S maneuver, “I’m going to sting them some before we go.”
Ian nodded and went below deck for a moment, returning with the tall longbow and a quiver full of long arrows. He stood at the gunwale and notched one to the string. The distance was constantly varying from one-hundred to one-hundred-thirty yards, with both the black ship and the frigate flying in angled crossing patterns.
Bixie touched Ian’s arm and said, “Bend yer beautiful head down tah me hands, Scotsman.” Ian hesitated a second, then did as she asked. Bixie placed her small hands on the side of his face and touched the li
ds of his closed eyes with her thumbs. She whispered a soft prayer in some language Ian had never heard. Then she kissed his forehead and said, “Dese brave eyes be tellin’ yer arrows where tah go, now.”
Ian smiled down at the little woman. “What a bright, bonny lass ye are!”
John said, “If you can stop sparking the girl and let fly an arrow, it might be a good thing. They’re turning into us.”
Ian winked at Bixie, then raised the longbow, felt when it was right, and let the barbed missile fly. The arrow crossed the space between the two ships in an arc and went into the open hold a foot above one of the machine guns. It hit an orange-haired man high in the chest and penetrated all the way to the feathers.
Ian shot three more arrows in the next five seconds and three more shooters fell. The others ducked behind cover and stopped firing.
John pushed the Wraith to top speed and it seemed to fly through the sky. He spun the wheel hard left, then right as he worked the air rudders to drop the ship below the tree canopy, where he had to slow. “Can you see it?” He asked the others.
Avi said, “It is coming, but does not see us, I am believing.”
“Go back,” Bixie said, “Toward dah prison. The black ship, she don’t be lookin’ behind.”
John realized she was right. He spun the wheel and worked through the trees, watching the black ship pass overhead, going in the opposite direction. The air vibrated so strongly that leaves and small limbs shook loose from trees, and monkeys and birds ran panicked in every direction, or fell to the jungle floor like stones. The buzzing vibrations made everyone on the Wraith nauseous and caused Avi to vomit.
Bixie shuddered and moved close to him. Avi wiped his mouth with his wrist and asked, “What is the matter?”
“Dere be foul creatures aboard the black ship.”
“Yes, I am believing also that they are evil men.”
“Not men, Avi. Dey be some-tin from Hell.” To take Avi’s mind off his nausea, Bixie pulled his arm and said, “Come help me.” She led him to the gunwales as the greenery and flowers scraped past the ship. She pointed at a long bank of flowers and said, “Pick them, many as you can.” They did so, and Avi followed Bixie’s example of dropping them in a pile on the deck.
“What are they for?” Avi asked.
“Curin’ sick folks. And spells. Some be good for magic.” They continued to pluck leaves, flowers, berries, unopened buds, some pulled plants for their roots, and even thin vines of different colors as the ship slid through the jungle, until there was a sizeable pile of them on the deck. Bixie went below deck, and returned with a burlap sack. She stuffed the gatherings inside, then tied it with a slipknot to the gunwale using a small leather string. “I be keeping it handy,” she said.
For several minutes, John thought they had escaped the black ship, but as he sailed the Wraith up out of the jungle, he saw the black ship was coming toward them at an incredible speed, and writhing like snakes on Medusa’s head were the tentacles, already reaching toward the Wraith. “It’s coming!” He yelled.
[ 16 ]
The Argent zipped through the thin atmosphere at 50,000 feet, and Pat was amazed as he looked out the window. “You can see the curve of the Earth, and I think I see some stars.”
Billy said, “You might be, we’re close to high enough for it.”
Pat said, “And down there, the clouds look like tiny pieces of white cotton on blue porcelain. I never knew it would be so eye-catching.”
“Pat, would you mind checking with Ekka and see how the repairs to Guthrie are coming? We’re almost ready to start down.”
“Already? You have a true believer now, Billy. Yeah, I’ll check with her.” The lanky lawman left the seat to find Ekka and the robot, and Billy worked the bank of dials and levers in front of him.