Pirate's Tail

Chapter Twenty

Ace tucked his body into a tumble to cushion his jump and rolled right through a puddle that lay on the deck of the Visp. The wetness on his back was refreshing after spending the last few minutes in the inferno that was the Grass. He glanced around, evaluating the situation onboard the Menquin ship. The crew of the Visp stood in a line from port to starboard in front of the main mast with their weapons drawn, intent on keeping the pirates from advancing. The pirates charged at the line, hoping to break it and take possession of the Visp.

The bowsprit, long mast that stuck out on the front of the Visp, had penetrated deeply into the Grass when the two ships collided. The crew of the Visp had two large poles and were pushing against the side of the Grass, attempting to free the trapped bowsprit of the from the side of the Grass. The crew manning the poles pushed and poked at the hull of the Grass, but couldn't disengage the Visp from her side. He didn't know the crew member holding the pole on the left, but recognized the person on the right.

"Mr. Bahnhoff," Ace said calmly with a grin. "You having fun poking around?"

Mr. Bahnhoff shot him a nasty look and pushed the pole with all his might against the Grass. The pole gave, lurched forward, and Mr. Bahnhoff stumbled and fell. Ace looked over his shoulder, expecting the Grass to be floating away on its own, but all he saw was that the pole had punctured the fragile, flame-encrusted side of the Grass.

"Smart move!" Ace yelled. A crew member of the Visp charged at Ace, hacking at him with an axe. Ace spun away from the attack and slashed at the attacker with his Dusägge, missing him. Ace's opponent attacked again, which Ace parried easily. He kicked his attacker in the stomach, sending him backwards over the side of the Visp. The man fell into the water with a cry. Ace thought he saw, out the corner of his eye, a fin speed toward the struggling man in the water.

Mr. Bahnhoff passed off the pole to another crew member and walked toward Ace, drawing his cutlass. "Smart move!" he said mockingly. "We rescue you on this ship, take you in as family, train you to be a sailor, then you betray us all! You're as worthless as the orphanage you were raised in!"

Ace smiled, trying to mask his fury growing with Mr. Bahnhoff's words. He stood as still as he could in the rain, trying to listen to Mr. Bahnhoff's words without reacting to them. Ace took note of his soaked jacket in an attempt to think of something other than locking blades with his one-time friend. He tried to resist the temptation to fight Mr. Bahnhoff, but the taunts continued.

"You were always a weak sailor, and an even weaker person for having trouble with following orders! So what if you have to enslave some pirates and savages? Be a man about it! Collect the gold you get from it and get on with it! Don't come whining to me—"

Ace couldn't take it any longer. He lunged at Mr. Bahnhoff with his Dusägge. Mr. Bahnhoff easily parried and returned the attack, coming at Ace from above. Ace spun out of the path of Mr. Bahnhoff's sword, and Mr. Bahnhoff's cutlass struck the deck of the Visp, missing Ace narrowly.

Mr. Bahnhoff quickly raised his blade from the deck, directly at Ace. Ace didn't have time to bring his Dusägge around to block the attack and, in a desperate moment, reached out at the coming attack with his arm. The moment he extended his arm he knew it had been a mistake.

Mr. Bahnhoff's attack came in slow motion, yet Ace had no time to react any differently. He waited for his one-time friend's blade to connect with his arm and send it tumbling to the deck. The cutlass connected with Ace's right forearm, and his arm shuddered from the impact. The blade glanced off of him and his arm held fast, painless except for the bruise of the impact. Ace glanced down and saw that Mr. Bahnhoff's cutlass had been blocked by the lily wrapped around his wrist.