Chronicles of the Dragon Pirate (7 page)

Looking beyond the soldiers, I realized the jaguar shaman had become a monster. He was still vaguely human in shape but was now completely covered in black fur, his head now changed to a jaguar’s and his fingers had become glittering claws. He moved with blinding speed as he leaped at Lord Marcus.

The old man went for his sword and almost drew it, but the creature was faster, stabbing its claws into Lord Marcus’s eyes and the skull beyond, leaving them there as the old man dropped his sword and clawed at the jaguar-creature’s face. A moment later the old man’s body began to shake, and the jaguar-creature let him go. Lord Marcus fell to the ground.

Overhead I heard several women’s voices cry out in alarm. Then an air-golem of a winged woman formed and attacked the jaguar-creature as the wolf-creatures went after the men in front of them. Alfonzo had almost drawn his sword when one of the wolf-creatures slammed into him and knocked him down. The wolf-creature leaped on top of him, and Alfonzo’s scream abruptly cut off as it leaned down, coming back up a moment later with its muzzle dripping blood.

The two silver wolf soldiers got their swords out. One of them thrust forward as the wolf-creatures came at them, stabbing it in the upper thigh. The creature screamed in a voice both man and wolf as the other two wolf-creatures leaped upon the other soldier, knocking him to the ground as General Alfonzo called out, “First row fire and fall back!”

Captain Cholula hauled me back with her as she broke the spell of immobility we’d all seemed to fallen into as the first row of soldiers fired. Muskets and blunderbusses roared, and the front rank of warriors blew apart like red spray on the rocks as the first row fell back to reload and the second row made ready. Captain Cholula ran towards the mission church and I ran with her, Karl and the golem-wolf behind us as I looked over my shoulder.

The jaguar-creature had ripped apart the air-golem, but two more attacked, the three of them rolling around on the ground, tearing up chunks of dirt as the creature tore at the air-golems with claws and teeth. The wolf-creature with the wounded leg knocked the soldier who’d stabbed it to the ground. Jaws slathering as it batted the soldier’s black blade away, the creature tensed to strike as General Montejo fired the Wheelock pistol in his hand. The creature clawed at its face as it was blown backwards.

Suddenly I saw flashes of fire coming from offshore. A moment later I heard the roar of cannons as General Montejo shouted, “No, who gave the order to fire?” My heart began pounding as three fiery streaks came arching over the trees at us, General Montejo shouting, “Fall back, fall...”

The ceremonial center exploded. All of us were thrown to the ground as the earth rocked, men screaming as fire then smoke and grey ash filled the air behind us. I scrambled to my feet as Captain Cholula and Karl got to their knees, the mercenary’s laughter turning to a cough as the acrid smoke reached us. He said cheerfully, “If Montejo’s dead then Sebastian’s lost his worst enemy.”

Captain Cholula climbed to her feet. “I’m still alive.”

Karl grinned like a fiend as he used his weapons like canes to regain his feet. “The night is young”.

Captain Cholula gave him a sour look as she drew her swords, an indistinct figure running towards us out of the smoky chaos of swirling ash. A moment later I saw it was one of the wolf-creatures, blood running down its side as it rubbed at its eyes. The wolf-golem ran to meet it. The golem leaped before the wolf-creature knew it was there, its jaws ripping into the creature’s shoulder as its claws dug into the wound in the creature’s side. The wolf-creature screamed as the golem knocked it to the ground, both of them snarling as they began to roll around.

Two more wolf-creatures ran at us out of the smoky ash, and Captain Cholula ran to meet them, Karl right beside her. “Run for St. Augustine,” she yelled back at me. “Find Johanna; I’ll meet you there.”

I needed no prompting, looking over my shoulder as I ran toward the stable. The two wolf-creatures were also bleeding and seemed to be half-mad with pain as one leaped at Captain Cholula. It hit her dead on, but she rolled back with the blow, using its own momentum to flip it backwards with her legs. Like a dancer she rolled with the creature, her Artifact cutlass biting deep into its leg as she went after it. Behind her, Karl laughed as he charged the other wolf-creature, burying his black axe in its chest as he used his hammer to block its jaws from tearing out his throat.

Another, larger figure was coming out of the maelstrom, and I ran for the stable door, now only a few paces away. But suddenly my legs were swept out from under me and I dropped to the ground, the breath knocked out of my chest. I spat dirt out of my mouth and rolled onto my back.

The shaman who had turned into a jaguar-creature was crouched over me. Its torso was too hunched over for it to stand up straight, its muscles rippling underneath its black fur as its claws retracted into its paws. The creature’s muzzle was wet with blood, its breath rank with a coppery smell as it spoke in a voice both man and jaguar. “Are you ready to take a trip?” It spoke cultured Spanish, and as I gasped for breath it seemed to smile. “My mother, Olde Bone Woman, dearly wants to meet you.” Its paws were more like a human’s hand, I realized as they reached out to grab me.

A blazing shadow leaped onto its back. An air-golem wolf of swirling wood chips, ash and fire bit down on the back of the jaguar-creature’s neck with a mouth of flame, and the creature screamed as it rolled away, the air-golem yelling in Smoke’s voice, “Tomas, run!”

I lurched to my feet. Throwing open the stable door, I saw Master Gomez’s horse was gone, but Alfonzo’s was still in her wooden stall with the half-door closed, the poor beast’s eyes white with fear as I leaped up over the rough planks and onto the horse’s back. “Tiger,” I gasped, “the latch!”

Tiger had already created a small air-golem manikin from the strength I’d given her earlier, and now she flipped the piece of wood keeping the stall’s door closed. I put my heels to the horse’s flanks as the jaguar-creature staggered in front of the stable door. The horse smashed into the creature and knocked it aside with her shoulder then turned toward the beach path back to St. Augustine, the manikin air-golem bouncing on the back of the horse behind me. I prayed the mare wouldn’t break a leg as she galloped down the path towards the ocean. But the light was good and luck stayed with us as we made it to the beach, the horse swerving toward the hard packed sand close to the water as I looked back.

The jaguar-creature was right behind us. Its tongue was lolling out of its mouth as it ran, and I feared we wouldn’t escape it this time. But Smoke was at its heels, the rushing air making the flame inside her flare up, although I knew it wouldn’t last. A thought struck me, and I yelled, “Tiger, its legs!”

She leaped off the horse at once and threw herself into the jaguarcreature’s knees. It couldn’t stop in time and lost its feet, rolling in the sand as Smoke pounced on its back once again. The creature screamed and the horse galloped like the hounds of hell were behind her while I clung to her back, praying I wouldn’t be bounced off.

We reached the spot where the trees jutted out into the sea before I dared look back again. Smoke and the jaguar-creature were far behind, the fire gone out of the air-golem as the claws of the creature ripped into her, while the little manikin tried to blind it by clinging to its face. I lost sight of them as the horse swerved toward the lights of St. Augustine, now coming up ahead of us. But farther back I saw the light offshore a moment before I heard the cannons roar again, one exploding shell hitting the spot where I knew the mission church stood, while other explosions ripped up the forest nearby. The horse began to slow, and I let her drop to a canter as the fort guarding the city came up on my right.

Suddenly Tiger spoke excitedly in my ear. “Tomas, did you see that fight? Me and Smoke really took care of him, didn’t we sis?”

Smoke sounded amused. “I don’t think Kan Balam expected us to fight together. You know I hate admitting you’re ever right, Swamp-rat, but having the two of us work as partners really made a difference.”

“I never thought it would be so important,” I admitted. “Are you both unhurt? And how do you know his name, anyway,” I added.

“We can’t be hurt when we take physical form,” Smoke replied, “and his dragon-ghost’s locked into the human body with Kan Balam, so the only attacks they can make are physical. As for his name, your friend Dancing Bear told me, but,” and her voice became peevish, “I didn’t have a chance to tell you because of that Cholula woman. She made a dog’s dinner out of things tonight.”

That’s one way to describe it, I thought as I approached the fort. “Bide with your talk,” I said quietly as I approached the gate. They both went silent as the soldiers on the roughhewn log walls hailed the guards at the gate to let me in. The wooden gate rapidly opened wide, and I saw all the soldiers were in full armor, their steel breastplates gleaming in the light of the torches they carried. Several of them grabbed the horse’s reins as the guard captain, a big Spaniard with a bushy beard, strode over and stood on the beast’s flank. “Down off the horse, lad,” he said, catching me as I slid off and almost fell. “Master Gomez gave us what he knew before he fled, but he didn’t know what happened to Alfonzo.”

“Dead,” I gasped as I straightened up and he let me go. “As is Lord Marcus and maybe all of the Draco Dominus that were out there, for all I know.”

“Lord Marcus dead? Bloody bones,” the guard captain swore, “no wonder they’re shelling everything. The war for succession’s already begun.” Suddenly his face changed and I felt a stab of fear at his next words. “You need to go home, lad; there’s been trouble.” He motioned towards one of the younger guards. “Juan, mount up and take him to the apothecary shoppe, but come right back in case we’re attacked.”

Juan guided the horse over as the other guards led Alfonzo’s sweat soaked horse away, and the guard captain helped me scramble up behind him. Then we took off at a fair pace down the hard packed dirt streets of St. Augustine. Houses flashed past in the light of dragon-globes set on poles, and the lamps people held in their hands, watching the north coast in fear as more shells flashed red as they exploded, the trees on fire now as screams drifted over the water like the acrid smell of ash in the air, its taste bitter on my tongue. People in clothes all askew shouted questions at us as we passed by, but Juan never even slowed until we’d reached the other side of town.

The knot of fear riding my back threatened to choke me with cold hands as we reached the apothecary shoppe, the painted wooden sign of a mortar and pestle creaking in the wind. I slid down off the horse. Two soldiers with pikes as tall as I was were standing guard outside the door, while small groups of my neighbors stood close by, talking among themselves. One of the guards called up to the horseman, “Juan, what the devil’s going on?”

“World’s gone mad,” he replied as he got the horse turned around. “Don’t be surprised if we start getting shelled next. Hiyap!” He put his heels to the horse’s flanks and took off down the street as the guards raised their pikes to let me in.

The front of the shoppe was ablaze with light from the pair of dragon-globes the guardsmen must’ve brought and set on the back shelf, and I gasped as I looked at the table. Gran-Pere was lying face down on the wooden tabletop with a wood axe driven deep into his back. Blood had flowed out and onto the floor of packed earth, which had absorbed what it could before the rest congealed into a coppery smelling pool. Flies buzzed as they sought out the choicest morsels. One of the guards had stepped inside behind me, and as I looked at him in horror he gave a sympathetic shrug. “Governor gave orders not to move the body until he’s had a chance to look at it.”

“But who would do such a thing?”

From across the room a familiar woman’s voice answered. “It was Seth,” and I recognized her as Mistress Margaret as I turned to look. She was sitting beside the hearth with Belle-M’ere, holding a cup to my foster-mother’s lips. The look Mistress Margaret gave me was grim. “He wanted revenge on you.”

“Is that Tomas?” I heard Belle-M’ere say as she turned towards me and the knot of fear wrapped itself around my throat like a hangman’s noose as Mistress Margaret put the fired-clay cup down. Belle-M’ere was untouched; she had no bloodstains, no marks of violence, but she was just as dead as Gran-Pere. Her lips were black as the depths of the sea, as were her eyes.

I ran to her, almost knocking us both into the fire crackling in the hearth, and we wrapped our arms around each other as we cried, Belle-M’ere’s tears leaving black trails on her face. Mistress Margaret spoke quietly in my ear. “Is there truly no hope?”

My head still resting on her shoulder, I shook my head no. “The fruit of the Goblinsbane stops pain like its root does, but it also causes numbness. Goblinsbane seed makes the body go so numb the heart soon stops beating... and there’s no way to stop it.”

“Seth came into the shoppe after you left,” Belle-M’ere said as I pulled back to look at her. “He claimed to be on an errand for Master Gomez, and while he was here he asked papa if there were poisons that mimicked swamp-water fever, where you watch the person slip away without being able to do anything about it. Papa didn’t think about who was asking, but told him, showing Seth the seed I’d been saving for next spring’s planting. It was only when Seth snatched it out of his hands that papa realized anything was amiss. He yelled for the guard, and that is when Seth...”

She broke down in tears and I held her against my chest, blackness staining my shirt as Mistress Margaret said sharply, “Why did you say nothing when Seth began asking questions?”

Belle-M’ere pulled back and dried her eyes with the black stained edge of her linen apron. “He was cordial to me for the first time ever, and I hoped he had finally gotten over the death of the immoral woman he’d...he had been living with. But his grief has turned to evil.” Belle-M’ere looked at me, her expression the determined one I was used to. “Tomas, listen to me. If dragon-spirits could transmute poison, I know I would be saved, no matter how much strength Smoke needed.” I nodded unhappily, and she took my face in her hands. “Bright-eye tea is keeping the goblinsbane at bay for the moment, but it will not last. I have perhaps two hours, three at the most, but you must be gone long before the last hour approaches.”