Free From Whence You Came by Laura Anne Gilman Page B

the neck.
    It screamed, its head thrashing in the air, and another beast rose next to it, not quite as large, with darker, more muted scales, and a more slender, triangular head, its snout adorned with long whiskers on either side.
    â€œMore to the left,” the solitaire said, her voice hoarse with either fear or awe – or perhaps both. Another spell-blast hit the serpents, catching the pair equally, and they turned as one, moving toward the Iajan ship. The movement the Solitaire had called resolved into three more shapes, gliding through the water. 
    â€œFive? Five!” Rini was thrilled, and then terrified. One serpent was a risk. A pack of them? She had never heard of such a thing. Dare she get closer, dare look away long enough to take up her sketchbook?
    â€œBe careful, be careful,” the solitaire was whispering under her breath, but Rini realized it was not directed at her, but rather the souls on the other ship.
    â€œListen!” Rini forgot everything else as a sound carried in the wind. It was faint but unmistakable. “They’re singing!”
    She strained to hear better, to confirm that this was the same sound she had heard, so many month before. These creatures did not look like the serpents she had seen back home, but yes, they sounded the same: a sweet, warbling noise that sounded like a cross between a bird’s cry and a hunting cat’s yowl.
    Harini repressed the urge to show her triumph in a manner unseemly to her position and family name, but she could not hide the glee in her voice. “They’re speaking to each other.”
    â€œYou don’t know that for certain.” The solitaire tilted her head, as though trying to hear more clearly.
    â€œYes. Yes I do.” Rini was convinced. They were speaking to each other, coordinating their approach on the Iajan ship. 
    â€œBirds sing. Dogs bark. That’s not speech.”
    â€œIt is to them,” Rini said. Before, she’d not argued because she needed proof. And there it was, in front of her, the solitaire was a solid witness – but she needed more. More information, more time to observe.
    The other ship, though, had no interest in her studies. As the five beasts slid through the water, another blast of wind came, and with it, another explosion of fire
    The beast hit sank below the water, while the other four continued on as though nothing had happened.
    Rini was nearly knocked off her feet as her own ship took sail.She was ready to cry out in protest when she realized that they were sailing towards the other ship.
    Her concentration broken, she became aware of the shouts, and the sound of running feet behind her, and risked a glance at the solitaire, seeking explanation.
    â€œThe Captain will not see another ship endangered,” the woman said calmly, her balance undisturbed, although one hand rested lightly on the railing. She seemed almost excited, and Harini was reminded that this was a woman who had chosen to make her living with a sword and bow, not in a shop or kitchen. The idea of a battle excited her.
    Harini shuddered at the idea, then grabbed for the nearest handhold as the ship forced its way across the current, turning so that it was on a direct course to intercept the serpents before they reached the Iajan ship. 
    â€œI assume it would be useless to tell you to go into the cabin and hide. So brace yourself,” the solitaire warned, as her other hand, strong and capable, curled around her weapon’s hilt in anticipation. “This could get bumpy.”
    Harini merely rolled her eyes, and held on more tightly.
    A course correction, and more yelling in the background and overhead, and their ship sailed too close to the Iajan ship for Rini’s comfort – she could see the Vineart standing, a smaller figure by his side, the Vineart’s hands now down at his sides. A heartbeat of suspense, and then they were past, slowing down reluctantly, like a horse