“My‑re killed us all!”
“We can’t outrun it!”
“We should’ve sailed to the far shore!”
“The patches aren’t stopping the water from coming in!”
“We’re going to sink!”
“Run away!”
“Control yourselves!” Sheila Greywand roared over the crew of the Nightie. She then turned to My‑re, grasping her arm, and said, “This was your plan. Lead them. Get them home.”
My‑re saw the panicked faces. Morale had all but collapsed, and fear took hold. It had already made a lovely little home in her gut.
“Stop extinguishing the lights!” My‑re bellowed.
“Are you mad woman? That was your plan,” Darien pointed out.
My‑re ignored him. “Captain Phetmolge, continue full ahead and wait for my orders.”
The captain nodded and said, “I hope you know what you are doing.”
“Ssskah, instruct Rao to abandon patching the hull. I need everyone to row and make the best possible speed.”
“The ship will sink!”
My‑re ignored her. “Listen. When I signal, reverse course and row backward.”
“Are you mad? At this pace, the oars will splinter under the strain. If not, we will lose them altogether,” Ssskah explained.
“No, we’ll lose half of them. Keep half of the oars up and half down in the water.”
“Madness,” Ssskah replied, shaking her head and descending below deck. She continued, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
The tempo of the rowers increased, and the ship pushed faster through the water. The nighttime wind blew stronger through My‑re’s hair. They were listening to her. At this speed, stopping the Nightie and reversing course backward would likely cause them to lose their oars. Ssskah was right. Captain Phetmolge gripped the massive helm at the aft of the ship with strength the gods would envy and watched her intently.
“Come with me, Lady Greywand,” My‑re said. They pushed through the Lord Protectors to the ship's bow. “Darien, gather the men with the remaining torches and lanterns, and come with me.”
They all followed.
THUD!
The creature had caught back up to them and began ramming the hull again.
“Breach!” a panicked voice called from below.
“Everyone with a light! Gather at the bow!” My‑re called out to the Lord Protectors. Come on! Come on! A few more seconds thought My‑re. “Gather! Hurry!”
“We're taking on water!”
“My‑re!”
A few more moments.
“My‑re!”
“Reverse course!” My‑re roared. “Hold on!”
Everyone grabbed the railing as the ship lurched backward. The Nightie strained. Wood creaked in loud protest, threatening to break at any moment. The sounds of oars snapping like twigs carried on the nighttime air. The ship lamented its doom. But the Nightie began moving backward.
“Toss the remaining torches and lanterns high and forward!” My‑re bellowed. “Now!”
The lights sailed into the nighttime air and gave the illusion that the ship continued to travel forward.
“Captain! Hard to port!”
The ship lurched to the left.
A bulge from the water appeared from the bow of the ship. It continued straight and followed the lights. Darkness shrouded the Nightie.
“Greywand! Blast that thing back to the nine hells!” My‑re roared.
A bolt of electricity shot from her wand, hitting dead on, causing a massive geyser to shoot up from the water upon impact. She fired three more bolts. The Nightie continued to retreat. Water sprayed the entire bow of the ship.
Several heartbeats of silence passed. The waters calmed. Nothing stirred on the lake. My‑re used her hands to squeeze the excess water from her short black hair and licked it from her lips.
The head of Ssskah appeared from below deck. The tuxedo-colored were-cat had a wide grin plastered across her face. “The patches are holding. Barely, but holding.”
Wet, cold, and exhausted, My‑re moved through the crowd of the elite tower guards from Primus to the aft of the ship.
“Lord Protector,” came a solitary voice from the crowd as My‑re passed.
More acknowledgments for My‑re followed. Darien came forward, nodded his head in approval, smiled, and gripped her shoulder. “Well done. Lord Protector.”
“My‑re, your orders?” Ssskah said as the captain listened.
“Get the remaining oars going and start bailing water from the ship. Captain Phetmolge, take us home.”