I managed to dodge thanks to pure, terrified, adrenal instinct more than anything else. Being charged by a were-beast is a uniquely alarming situation, capable of rendering even the most seasoned of combatants into a naked ape, fleeing creation’s deadliest predators after straying too far from the pack.

  But a were-beast was far worse than a mere saber-tooth or grizzly bear; they retained their human intellect, provided they had proper training. My lycan opponent had been very well-trained indeed.

  I learned this lesson with alarming speed as my opponent and I duelled. The lower deck was fairly cramped, leaving me little hope of getting behind her without being bisected for my trouble. After her initial lunge, her swings took on an almost casual manner; she didn’t need to catch me, she just had to keep boxing me in, until I ran out of boat.

  Which I soon did, hitting the curved wall of the ship’s bow with a thud.

  My eyes went wide, hand shaking as I clenched my stolen dirk.

  The were-beast chuckled, getting back on her hind-legs, preparing to lunge. “Got you.”

  There were no windows or doors through which I could escape. In this instance, I did the only thing I could think of. I used my stores of fresh blood to enhance my strength and stamina, and I jumped.

  Straight through the ship’s roof, and just in time to dodge the wolf.

  I landed on my feet amidst a shower of splinters, smiling to myself as I heard my opponent crash through the bow and into the water behind me. This satisfaction was short-lived, however, as I soon took stock of what was happening on the top deck.

  Aside from a few dead mercenaries and surrendering sailors and passengers, there were at least two dozen Ostlanders aboard, their numbers having easily overwhelmed the lightly-defended river barge. Like their countrymen I’d seen in Bloemsport, their bodies were covered in intricate tattoos and piercings. They wore simple leathers and shirts, and carried all manner of weaponry; swords and pole-arms, pistols and arquebuses, all of which were now pointed at me.

  I put my hands outwards in a gesture of surrender, which in retrospect probably wasn’t all that convincing given my failure to throw my dirk to the floor. I once again backed up against the ship’s bow, this time hitting a short wooden railing instead of a solid wall. The Ostlanders exchanged some words with each other, and I saw one of them laugh with her comrades, most likely in regard to my naked form.

  Fortunately, I had little time to be embarrassed about this; with a heavy bang and the cracking of wooden planks, the werewolf leapt up onto the ship’s deck, fur soaked with river water. She got between myself and her fellows, growling something in their native tongue which I took to be an order to stand down. Then she turned to me.

  “Didn’t think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?”

  I could only swallow in response, before yelping as I flipped out of the way of another claw-swipe. With some acrobatic skill and the enhanced strength of my limbs, I managed to grab onto the ship’s railing and use it to swing behind her, landing with a flip amidst the other Ostlanders, who cleared the way for me and her to continue our little duel.

  Alas, on the top deck I encountered the same issues as I had below; limited space in which to run. I knew I couldn’t juke her along the side of the ship forever; it was a risky maneuver, and required drinking deep of my stores of blood, which were quickly running dry from all the exertion.

  Eventually, our dance of lunging and evasion led us to the base of the ship’s single mast. Seeing how a strong jump had saved me a few moments prior, I though to repeat the trick here; as the she-beast swung her claws at my head, I used the last of my reserved blood to leap up and grab onto one of the sail’s ropes, from which I precariously swung above the ship’s deck and the inky waters of the river Hud.

  My opponent smiled up at me in that terrifying manner of hers, then sank her swordlike claws into the mast itself, and began climbing after me. The whole structure groaned in complaint from the added weight, but I scarcely noticed; I held my dirk between my teeth, and climbed until I could climb no higher.

  As I reached the top of the mast, alone in the dark, wind in my hair, the werewolf laughed out loud, just a few feet below me. “Nowhere to go, Firman. Ready to die?”

  Her words snapped me out of my adrenal panic, into reality. I recalled the fate of my crew, of my sister, of all those who’d betrayed me: Hilda, Bloem, Azure. I could not allow myself to die while these wretches clung to life, or even the undeath I was now cursed to bear.

  I remembered Carmina plucking that blade out of her sleeve, before plunging it into that castle guard’s neck.

  I took my dirk out of my mouth to scream, and I let go of the rope. Gravity did its job, and I plunged my blade into the werewolf’s right shoulder.

  This alone would not have done much to my indomitable opponent, but it was just enough for her to lose her grip on the narrow, creaky mast. We both plummeted downwards, through the upper deck of the ship, landing in one of the cabins below-deck with an almighty crash.

  It was my cabin, as it turned out; we narrowly avoided crushing the swabbie, who leapt away from us with a cry.

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  I was more than a bit stunned, to say the least, but I was largely unharmed; my own unnatural endurance, combined with the fuzzy body of my opponent, cushioned my fall well enough.

  The sound of said opponent’s laughter was enough to rouse me from my stupor, and I felt my heart freeze in terror at the realization that I was inside her guard.

  But she did not eviscerate me. Instead, she gave me a pat on the head.

  “Good. You fought back.”

  I scowled, remembering that this was all meant to be some sick recruitment test. “Only after I had nowhere else to run; I thought you were going to kill me!”

  “Indeed, and I might well have, Firman. Consider it a taste of the predicament my people find themselves in.” She picked me up and put me upright, and it was only then that I realized how light-headed and lethargic I felt. Burning through all that blood so quickly left me positively famished.

  She must have noticed me leaning against the wall for support, for she soon rose to her own feet, and began her transformation. Her frame shrank from a terrifying mixture of beast and woman, to the body of a merely intimidating mortal warrior. She was taller than me by a foot at least, her flowing hair the same raven pitch as her beast-form’s fur. Like me, she was totally nude, but there was no awkwardness or shame in it; everything about her exuded an easy confidence.

  She took my hand in hers, then craned her neck to one side, offering it up to me. “You’ve earned your keep. Drink.”

  I furrowed my brow at this. “Are you sure? Everyone I’ve drank from before has fainted.”

  “I’m well aware of your bite’s side effects, vampire, but they will have little effect on me. Drink up quickly, or you’ll be the one fainting.”

  I sighed, leaning in with some hesitation, having to get up on my toes to reach her neck. I heard the door creak shut, the swabbie closing it to give us some privacy, though that mattered very little with moonlight pouring in through the big hole we’d punched in the roof.

  Nonetheless, I sank my teeth into her neck, and drank deep. Her blood was intoxicating; I had to wipe my lips free of crimson as I pulled away.

  “... What is your name?” I asked.

  “Ana, of the Wolf clan. Yours?”

  “Sig. Sig Messer.”

  She put a hand on my shoulder. “Then I welcome you, Sig, to the struggle for my home, and her people.”

  We burned the barge before departing, cutting through the heavily wooded country surrounding the Hud on foot. Save for myself and a couple dozen hostages, the Ostlanders won very little from their riverine raid; the weapons and trinkets they plucked off the passengers were a boon quite unworthy of the spectacular risk inherent to the mission, and the only other cargo aboard was a few barrels of hardtack.

  Then again, the ship had been chartered to one of Bloem’s companies, so perhaps injuring his finances was the real prize.

  Soon enough, the blaze of the vessel’s wreckage faded, and we had only the light of the moon to guide us. I travelled towards the front, leading the way with Ana; my gift ensured I had little trouble navigating in the dark.

  “What are we to do with these hostages?” I asked.

  She could tell I worried for their safety, and smiled. “Ransom them for coin and weapons, or cut them loose after a couple weeks if no one comes forth. Interesting decision to use ‘we’ there, instead of ‘you.’”

  I shrugged. “It’s as you said, we have common cause against Bloem. You lot are the first people I’ve found taking the fight to him.”

  “Fair enough; what did Bloem do to you, to warrant his murder?”

  “He killed my sister, and my two best friends. You?”

  Ana laughed. “He’s put my people to the sword, forced whole nations to sign themselves into slavery, cut down countless acres of our sacred woods. That which he cannot take with his extortionate treaties, he seizes with blood and iron.”

  I pursed my lips at this. “Are there any other Ostlanders fighting back?”

  She nodded. “We are allied with the Bears and the Stags, but it’s a far cry from the united front. The Boars have bent the knee, becoming debt-peons on Firman plantations. Others have fled further east, to the source of the Hud in the Himur mountains, or even further to the Heavenly Principalities. But there is only so much land we can cede until we run out.”

  I contemplated these words for some time as we cut our way through the undergrowth. Ana’s predicament was very different from my own; an evil thing was being done in this land, but Bloem was far from the only perpetrator. He had the backing of the Confederation, and tens of thousands of Firman settlers, from the most desperately impoverished laborers to the most ostentatious merchants and lords. Indeed, the Confederation wasn’t even the only power knocking on Ostland’s door; I knew Aquamere and Hammerskal both had smaller settlements and trading outposts scattered along the coast.

  If I did manage to kill Bloem and Hilda, my revenge would be had. Ana could end Bloem’s entire bloodline, and the Stadtholder would just send some other tosspot to take his place.

  After a couple hours, we were greeted by more Ostlanders, who emerged from the bushes in elaborate camouflage disguises. Ana exchanged some words with them, and our whole party of warriors and hostages were led through to the Wolf camp.

  The camp was built around the mossy stone of some ruined settlement. There must have been hundreds of warriors, plus all the pack animals and assorted craftsmen required to keep an army of such a scale on the move. At this late hour, most of them were asleep in their tents, but there were still night-time guards watching the perimeter, in the trees or atop the more intact structures.

  I raised both eyebrows, recognizing that particularly brutal style of architecture from my time in the Southern city-states. “Imperial ruins.”

  Ana nodded her head. “Bloem is not the first Firman to have designs on our home. Come, I will show you to your quarters.”

  She led me into one of the stout Imperial structures, through the front door and down a set of steps. I supposed this place must have been a legionary barracks, returned to service so it could play host to a different sort of army; the single hallway stretched on for nearly fifty feet, with a series of doorways lining either side.

  Ana paused in front of the only doorway which still had a door, gesturing for me to enter. “Believe it or not, you are not our first Firman ally. I trust you and her will get along swimmingly.”

  I looked up at her with a frown, before stepping forward and throwing the door open. The woman inside bolted awake almost immediately, and I came face to face with perhaps the very last person I wanted to see.

  “Sig? Sig Messer?” Asked Henrietta Hubernout, the self-styled Pirate Queen. “Char’s cock, it’s been far too long!”

  She rose from her cot and pulled me into a spine-popping hug. I did my best to stifle my wince.