THERE WAS NO need for a spyglass now. The frigates were so close that Joseph could make out cannons poking from the gun ports and groups of white-jacketed magicians standing at each prow, their hands spread out in front of them, smoothing the water ahead. Beyond he could see the movements of marines getting ready to board the Sharkbane. Real, battle-hardened soldiers. League soldiers. Soldiers who’d swept through the Old World, taking the Flatland Duchies in little more than a month and defeating the trolls of the Crying Mountains within a week. Soldiers who would kill anyone who wasn’t human without a second thought. Butchers, some folk called them – because in battle, their white uniforms were stained with their enemies’ blood.
Joseph pulled the cutlass from his belt, its weight reassuring him just a little. Frank and Paddy had been teaching him how to use it, and he tried to run through their lessons in his head to calm himself down. But the advice kept getting jumbled up. He decided to think about something else. There was nothing though – except those frigates bearing down on them. He pressed his fingers more tightly around the leather hilt.
He could make out the names of the enemy vessels now, painted on the prows. As he watched, the two flanking ships, the Last Redemption and the Radiant, peeled off from the White Crusader to port and starboard. Soon they’d come up alongside the Sharkbane. Joseph didn’t know much about warfare, but he could see that there were enough guns on board the League ships to smash the smuggler’s wavecutter into matchwood.
There was a CRACK! from the nearest frigate and Joseph ducked, almost without thinking. Adrenaline coursed through his body.
‘Heads down, everyone,’ roared Frank or Paddy – in the confusion, it was difficult to tell which. More cracks sounded and musket balls whirred past.
‘Snipers,’ shouted Tabitha, as if it wasn’t obvious by then. She flicked her wrist and sent a knife flashing through the air towards the enemy ship, before ducking down below the gunwale. There was a gleam in her eye and a second knife in her hand. Scared as he was, Joseph couldn’t help but marvel at her excitement. Almost as if this was some kind of game, rather than a deadly skirmish they might very well not survive.
‘To me!’ shouted the other troll twin, and Joseph, Tabitha and Hal scurried to the edge of the poop deck and dropped down onto the upper deck.
Phineus Clagg was hunkered down behind the wheel, his podgy face pale. He had stopped chewing now.
‘This is the Sharkbane,’ he muttered to no one in particular. ‘Fastest ship in the Ebony Ocean …’
A few of the smugglers were returning fire with pistols, blunderbusses and crossbows. One caught a musket ball in the arm and whirled away, growling with pain. Joseph hurried onwards. The watchmen were gathering by the mainmast, while Clagg’s crew milled around them.
‘We’ve got to stop the butchers from boarding,’ said Paddy.
‘Soon as we let them onto our ship, it’s over,’ added Frank.
‘So we’ll split up, help the smugglers fight them off. Joseph and Tabs, we’ll stay on the port side. Frank and Hal – you take the starboard.’
There were nods, and the watchmen dispersed, positioning themselves to repel boarders. Joseph hadn’t known the troll twins for long, but even he could see that they didn’t rate their chances. He lifted his cutlass and told himself he was ready for anything. He didn’t believe it though. What good was a sword against musket balls and cannon fire? The thought made him feel faint. He staggered and grabbed the gunwale to steady himself.
The Last Redemption was edging up, closer and closer.
‘Don’t worry,’ said a voice to his left. He turned to see Tabitha watching him, doing her best to smile. ‘We’ll get through this. Somehow we’ll—’
The Sharkbane jolted, throwing them both off balance. There was a beating and a flapping from overhead, and Joseph looked up to see the ship’s sails hanging loose from their yards, as if the wind had gone out of them.
A low, grinding noise rose up from below his feet, and the deck shuddered. Joseph gripped the gunwale tighter.
What in all the sea … ?
‘Hey, Cap’n Cuttlefish,’ Frank shouted. ‘What’s happening?’ But Phineus Clagg had gone as white as the sails above. His mouth hung open and his tobacco dropped onto the deck.
The grinding grew louder, and with a lurch of his stomach Joseph realized what was happening.
‘Sinking!’ he yelled. ‘We’re sinking!’
He leaned over the gunwale and saw the waves bubbling up to meet him.
Cannons flashed on the Last Redemption, and a rolling symphony of booms rang out as the cannonballs hurtled towards them.
‘Down!’ barked Tabitha.
Joseph had no time to duck. But the Sharkbane was lower in the water than it had been a few seconds ago, and the cannonballs just tore through the sails, shredding the canvas.
Clagg found his voice at last. ‘Not sinking,’ he shouted above the chaos. ‘She’s going down too fast for that. It’s like … like …’
‘Like we’re being pulled under,’ Frank finished for him.
Joseph felt a prickling at the back of his neck. He couldn’t help thinking of the Maw, the monstrous sea demon he’d seen rise out of the ocean less than two weeks ago. It still haunted his dreams. And who knew what else lived beneath the waves?
‘We got to do something,’ Clagg was howling as his crew ran in every direction like headless cockatrices. ‘Yer supposed to be the Demon’s Watch, ain’t yer? So do something. Sky’s sake, this is my ship! My dear, lovely ship!’
‘Get back!’ shouted Paddy. ‘Away from the gunwales.’
Joseph didn’t need to be told twice. He joined the smugglers and watchmen scurrying towards the mainmast. Soon the whole crew was huddled together in the middle of the deck, weapons facing outwards, waiting for whatever was going to happen. Joseph found himself squeezed between Frank and Tabitha. She didn’t look so calm any more.
Cannon fire exploded from the Radiant. Everyone ducked as the sails were torn up again and chunks of wood burst from the foremast.
They were practically at sea level now, and Joseph didn’t know if it would be safer above the waves or below them. Not that he had any choice in the matter.
‘Stick together,’ said Frank sternly. ‘No matter what.’
Seawater spilled over the gunwales, racing across the deck, surging through their shoes and up their legs. It was freezing cold. Joseph thrust his cutlass back into his belt and took a deep breath, sucking as much air into his lungs as he could. The deck juddered downwards, and suddenly they were all adrift. He gasped as water flooded his clothing, like icy fingers clamping onto his skin.
‘Look out!’ yelped Tabitha. Joseph floundered out of the way as the mainsail yard came down, smacking into the water and sending up a great gout of spray as it disappeared beneath the waves. Within seconds, the whole ship was gone.
Shouts and screams rent the air as the smugglers and watchmen trod water. Some struck out for the League ships, which towered above them on every side, vast and implacable. But what was the use? There would be no mercy for them there. Joseph had heard the stories. The Duke of Garran’s butchers would kill them all, if the sharks didn’t get them first.
‘Help!’ he shouted uselessly. ‘Help, please! Help—’
Someone grabbed hold of his ankles. What in Thalin’s name … ? He tried to wriggle free, but the hands were strong and determined, tugging him downwards.
‘No! Wait! Let me—’