The Pirates of Pacta Servanda (Pillars of Reality Book 4) by Jack Campbell Read Free Book Online Page A

thinking.”
    “Like Mechanic Dav. It is useful to have such companions,” Asha concluded, “and such weapons as theirs when the power to use Mage spells is lacking. Though now I sense more power available with each moment.”
    “It is because we are moving,” Alain explained. “I am still weary. Can you cast a spell?”
    “It is possible. Where is it needed?”
    A weak point, Mari had said. This galley had already lost its mast, and losing a single oar wouldn’t harm it much. “Do you see the large wheel that the sailors call a helm? If something were to happen to that, it would hurt the ship.”
    “I will see what can be done.”
    The galley was coming toward them, the drum cadence fast, the oars flashing up and down in a quick beat that drove the enemy warship closer at ever-increasing speed. Soldiers packed the forward fighting platform, swords in hand, ready to fight hand-to-hand. “He means to ram us!” the captain called from the quarterdeck, sounding very anxious.
    “Hold your course!” Mari called back. She was aiming along her rifle like the other Mechanics, still looking angry. “Why do people make us do this?” she grumbled to Alain. “Why do they have to try to harm others?”
    “I do not know,” Alain said.
    The crash of Mechanic Alli’s weapon surprised everyone. There was a pause as Alli worked the lever to load a new bullet, then a figure in grandiose armor staggered backwards on the Syndari quarterdeck and fell.
    Alli bent to aim again as chaos erupted on the galley.
    “Get the helm!” Mari ordered.
    The enemy ship seemed very close indeed as the three other Mechanic weapons boomed almost in unison. Two more figures fell, but the galley kept on.
    “Move however you want!” Mari called to the captain of the
Gray Lady
, and a moment later the clipper heeled over hard as she turned away from the charging galley.
    The sailors at the galley's helm began turning to stay on a collision course with the
Gray Lady
, but as Alain watched they suddenly staggered back, the wheel free in their hands instead of firmly attached to the post where it had been.
    He felt someone slump against him, then Alain and Mage Dav were holding the limp figure of Mage Asha, who had exhausted herself with her spell.
    Mechanic Alli fired again, and another grandly dressed figure dropped on the galley. The other Mechanics fired a volley, though with everyone scrambling around on the galley’s quarterdeck and falling against each other it was hard to see the effect. What Alain could tell was that the galley was swinging wildly to one side, its earlier turn becoming more and more extreme with no means of controlling the ship’s rudder. The drumbeat broke off, the oars trying to stop and instead crashing into each other.
    Once again the Mechanic weapons fired, and this time everyone visible on the galley went flat or dove for cover. Its oars in a shambles and the useless wheel sliding unheeded off one side of the quarterdeck into the water, the galley glided past the stern of the
Gray Lady
.
    “I think they’ve had enough,” Mechanic Alli commented, standing up and canting her weapon over her shoulder.
    “Yeah,” Mari agreed. She turned, looking at the other galleys, now visible as the last remnants of the fog dissipated. Both were drifting and showed no signs of wanting to renew the fight. The galley that had hit the rocks had taken on so much water its bow was nearly awash, with most of the crew busy using any available container, including their helmets, to try to bail out the seawater before the galley sank.
    “Mage Asha?” A stricken-looking Mechanic Dav was kneeling beside the female Mage, across from the apparently placid Mage Dav.
    “She is tired,” Mage Dav explained. “Not hurt.”
    “Back to work, Mechanic,” Bev said, helping Mechanic Dav stand. “The job’s not completed yet.” They walked back to the railing to help keep watch on the galleys.
    “Steady!” the captain of the
Gray