The Ember Thief

Chapter Fourteen - A hole in the ocean

'Duck!'

Raide dipped his head. The wind of the right hook brushed the back of his neck. Charm kicked Raide's leg back with her own. 'High right knee,' she ordered.

Raide jerked his knee upwards, connecting with the dock worker's nose, sending the man reeling backwards, holding his face.

A tall, gangly man with a ruddy complexion came charging in, with his hands raised in front of his face. He feinted with the one arm, before throwing a straight punch at Raide's face.

Charm easily spotted the feint. She guided their hands, in the sandal, to meet the strike, diverting away from Raide's face. 'Punch!' she roared. Raide fumbled with his arms and just ended up slapping the back of the man's head, sending him stumbling forward. 'With the other hand,' she scolded, rapping his head with a sandal.

'Sorry, there's a lot to think about,' Raide panted.

The tall man quickly regained his balance and threw himself back at Raide.

'Kick him in the face,' she ordered.

Raide lifted his leg feebly to waist height. 'I don't think I can lift my leg that high,' he blurted.

Charm pulled them both backwards sharply as a gangly arm came whistling passed his face, missing him by an inch. 'Right-hand punch,' she barked.

Raide threw a clumsy fist. Charm relaxed her arm, guiding his fist down, catching the man perfectly in the jaw. The sailor fell like a sack of potatoes unconscious to the floor. Two dock workers came from the opposite side, trying to flank them. Charm heaved Raide's body to the left. 'Stop fighting me and relax,' she shouted, in his ear.

'I'm trying not to; it's harder than it looks,' he shouted back.

Charm darted her head from left to right behind Raide's neck, watching the two men circling around them. The crowd that gathered whooped encouragement to the dock workers. 'Now what?' Raide said, frantically looking at the one man moving to his left and the other shifting to his right.

'Do you know how to do a split-kick in the air?' she asked hopefully.

'What? That's a ridiculous question!' Raide baulked. 'I think I pulled a muscle lifting my leg just.'

'Raide, I need you to watch my feet and copy what I do,' Charm instructed. 'And relax your arms. I mean, really relax your arms,' she said, shaking the sandals limply.

Raide looked at her bare feet on the wooden pontoon and mirrored her posture. As both men came charging in, Raide instinctively lifted his head.

'Feet!' she screamed.

Raide shot his head back to her dainty feet and matched his own in front of hers. He could feel his arms moving at angles. His right arm was blocking high while his left was diverting an attack low. She moved as gracefully as a dancer. He mirrored her footing, pushing back against one attack, then giving ground to absorb another. She then moved quickly to her left, and he felt the palm of his hand firmly against the man's chest. The force of it sent him over the edge of the dock, and into the water.

'Head up!' the Sakari Chimera snapped.

Raide lifted his head to see the other man out of breath in front of them. The dock worker roared with anger as he came running directly towards them, intent on pushing them all into the calm blue waters.

Charm didn't have time to explain her actions; she pulled him back sharply. Raide's legs left the ground. He saw the sky, water, then wood in quick succession. His hands had been guided on the floor as his legs flung up and over his head. He felt his one foot connect squarely in the chin of the dockworker before cartwheeling backwards and ended up facing the opposite direction. His head was dizzy as he tried to gain his balance, making him stumble in the wrong direction. The angry mob took their opportunity and grabbed Charm from Raide's back and ripped her out of the sandals. Raide turned to see the Duchess being dragged into the centre of the group of men.