Read Warriors [Anthology] for Free Online

a gold rim and he was yelling orders. He bellowed, “Somebody has somebody, Bui. Reverse! Reverse!”
     
    Conn wheeled. “They’ll take us in with them!” The iron ship was already sliding backwards on her sterncastle oars, rowing back in among the other Tronder ships. By the bow, Seabird, with six men at the oars, was staying near as she could, but she dared not go into the midst of the Tronders. Conn shouted and pushed Raef ahead of him, and Raef shoved the other men on up to the bow of the iron ship.
     
    The first four men leapt easily enough into Seabird, and then Raef clambered up the gunwale and jumped across the widening water, but Conn threw off his helmet, and dived into the bay.
     
    The iron ship was stroking steadily backwards, into the thick of Hakon’s ships. A stretch of clear water opened between the Tronder fleet and the Jomsvikings. Conn swam hard through it toward his ship, her oars coming out, hanging in the air, ready to row. A spear sliced through the water just past his head. He reached the ship and Raef leaned down to haul him up. He went facefirst into the space between the front two benches, into several inches of water.
     
    He rolled over and straightened, on his knees, looking back toward the iron ship. Raef pushed up beside him.
     
    “We’re full of water.”
     
    “Bail!” Conn yelled, and got his feet under him, to his ankles in water. Seabird was rowing rearward, sluggish; she was always stiff going stern first, but this was more sluggish than usual. All around the ship, the crew bent to slinging the water out.
     
    The fighting everywhere had stopped. Between them and the Tronders now was a broad stretch of the bay. Hakon was pulling his whole fleet back toward shore. The water between was scummed with blood, filthy with broken gear, bits of ships and oars, bodies like unsteady islands bobbing in the little waves. Down past his own stempost, he could see an arm floating a few feet below the surface.
     
    The water in his ship did not seem to be going down. He reached into the forecastle and found a bucket and began to throw water over the side. Raef vaulted over the gunwale into the bay, and went hand over hand around the outside of the ship.
     
    “King of Norway!”
     
    Conn straightened, looking around. Aslak’s big dragon was gliding up just off his bow. The big bald Jomsviking stood by the mast.
     
    “You don’t look so good!” Aslak shouted. “Eirik’s claws ripped you.”
     
    Conn pointed toward Hakon’s fleet. “Is he giving up?” He bent to bail; the water was coming in as fast as he and his crew threw it out again.
     
    “No—he’s just gone for help,” Aslak bellowed.
     
    Raef’s head appeared above the gunwale, near Conn’s knee; he boosted himself smoothly up onto the ship. His left side was all bruised, Conn saw, and he was bleeding from a cut on his arm, but he looked hale enough.
     
    Raef said, “The ship is sinking. I think that damned toothed thing tore one of the strakes loose.”
     
    Aslak bawled, “Come over here! Come on—half my crew’s gone anyway.” He turned and gave orders, and his ship began to scull sideways toward Conn’s.
     
    Conn shouted, “ Seabird —everybody—go over!” He waved his arm. They were already scrambling over so fast, the ship rocked, even wallowing half-full of water. Conn went back into the stern and got Finn.
     
    The boy was only half-conscious. His leg had swollen fat enough to split his legging, the flesh black underneath. Conn lifted him up and he whined. Raef came and helped him carry Finn onto Aslak’s ship. They set him down in the hollow of the sterncastle, behind the steering bench. Raef went off immediately. Conn found some beer, but Finn choked on it. His eyes opened, wide and dark with pain. Conn left the beer by him and stood up.
     
    Amidships he saw Raef standing also, his arms at his sides, watching Seabird go down. Conn went up beside him. For a while, their dragonship seemed to