distant flash of oars – afraid that he had it wrong, and equally afraid that he was correct.
The beach was full of movement. This was a veteran, and well-paid, crew. The oars were already going back aboard. The marines were forming on the beach, led by their captain, Karpos. He watched Melitta run by with an appreciative glance while checking his men’s readiness. Xeno stood in the front rank, his aspis on his shoulder and a pair of heavy javelins in his hand.
Behind the marines, the archers formed. There were only half a dozen of them, with Scythian bows and quivers that held two dozen arrows and some surprises, as well.
Peleus kicked one of the half-asleep sentries in the crotch. ‘Fear the evening, Agathon!’ he spat at the other one. ‘I’ll have the hide off you, you whore’s cunt-washing.’ He looked under his hand and turned back. ‘Dead right, boy. Coming out of the eye of the wind at dawn – no honest sailorman would do such a thing.’ He looked at the beach. ‘Fight or run?’
Satyrus wasn’t sure his opinion was even being asked, but curiosity got the better of him. ‘Surely we could just wait for them on the beach. The men of the town would stand with us.’
Peleus nodded. ‘Yes – but we’d lose the Lotus. If we were lucky they’d just beak her and leave her to sink. More likely they’d board her over the bow and row her away. Hard to hold a boat on a beach. Not impossible.’ He shrugged. ‘Thanks to you, we’ve got the jump on ’em. I think we should run.’
‘Run?’ Satyrus asked. ‘Can’t we take them?’
Peleus curled the corners of his lips down. ‘Listen, Navarch – this is your call. Your uncle put you in charge of the Lotus and that makes it your decision. But we’re merchants. We have a full cargo and your sister, too. And fighting pirates is soldiers’ work.’ The old helmsman pointed at the beach. ‘How many of them are you ready to lose so that you can have a hack at some pirates? And what happens to your sister if we lose?’ The man frowned. ‘Or you, for that matter.’
‘Point taken, helmsman. We’ll run.’ Was it cowardice that Satyrus felt better already?
‘Good lad. You may yet make a sailor.’ Peleus sprang off the rocks like a man in his prime and started bellowing at the oarsmen.
Xenophon already had his armour on, and Melitta had her gorytos out of her deck baggage and an Aegyptian corslet of white quilted linen and a small Pylos helmet on her hair. ‘Pirates?’ she asked, her eyes gleaming.
‘Put that away!’ Satyrus said.
Xenophon’s grin was just the same. ‘Let her fight!’ he said from the ranks. ‘She’s a better shot than Timoleon!’
‘We’re running,’ Satyrus said.
‘We’re what?’ Melitta asked. ‘Are you joking?’ She went from elated to angry in a heartbeat.
‘Running.’ Satyrus shrugged. ‘We’re merchants, Lita. We’re running. ’
He hated the looks on his sister’s face and on Xenophon’s.
‘This is Amastris’s noble warrior?’ Melitta asked him. ‘How will you tell this story to her? Eh, brother?’
‘Lita, mind your manners.’ Satyrus turned away, because Peleus was calling to him.
Melitta wouldn’t let up. She followed him down the beach. ‘Peleus told you that you couldn’t risk me, right? Fuck that, brother. Let’s get ’em! Think about the ones they’ve sold into slavery – think about whoever they catch tomorrow – all on our heads.’ She glared at him. ‘You’re afraid I’ll be raped? Fuck that. You’re as pretty as I am.’
‘No!’ Satyrus said, a little too loudly.
‘Are you afraid, brother?’ she shot back, and she said it so loud that every man left on the beach could hear her.
‘Fuck off, sister. We’re running!’ Satyrus was up the plank in three long strides.
Peleus pulled Melitta up behind him and then kept her hand pinned in his. ‘If you were a man, I’d beat your fucking head against the steering post,’ he said. His face was red. ‘Dare to question the officers?’ he asked with murderous quiet.
Angry men did not intimidate Melitta. ‘Only when they make bad decisions, Peleus. Those are pirates. We should kill them.’
‘You may yet get your wish,’ Peleus said. ‘If you want to impress me, you’re going about it the wrong way, girl. Now get to your station. Not with the archers, missy!’ She went sullenly to the amidships awning with Dorcus, glaring at every man in sight.
‘You should discipline her,’ Peleus said.
‘You first,’ Satyrus said, and drew a quick half-smile. And then the half-deckers and the sailing crew were pushing on the stern and the Lotus hissed down the last of the shingle and her stern bumped the beach again, causing a little restrained chaos among the rowers for two strokes, and then they were clear of the beach, and Lotus’s bow was cutting the breakers, the bow-ram showing copper-red on the rise in the red morning sun.
‘Left one of the cauldrons’ the sailing master said, pointing at the beach.
‘We’ll get it next time. If we live. Poseidon, stand with us,’ Peleus said, and he tipped a phiale of red wine into the sea.
The pirates came around the last point – two black ships crammed with men. Both were the size of the Golden Lotus, one a trireme of the old Athenian pattern and the other a heavy Phoenician, and as soon as they saw their prey afloat they sprang forward, their oar masters calling for the fighting stroke and getting it with a speed that showed that these crews knew their business.
‘Nope,’ Peleus said, looking astern. ‘We don’t want a piece of that, boy. Steady on that tiller. We’re heavier with our cargo, and they’ve got weed and those hulls haven’t seen a drying shed in years. This’ll be close.’
‘Should you be at the tiller, helmsman?’ Satyrus asked.
Peleus shook his head with his half-smile. ‘No. You can handle it.’ The old man rubbed his beard for several breaths and then pointed aloft. ‘Get me the boatsail, you bastards,’ he called, and the deck crew sprang to their stations – they already had the sail spread on the deck. Satyrus couldn’t help but notice that Agathon had led the men in putting the sail out – trying to make up for his lapse.
Satyrus felt the change under his hand before they had the whole sail aloft – Lotus’s stern rose as the boatsail pressed her ram-bow deeper in the waves, but she also sprang forward. Steering became easier as speed increased – a big ship like Lotus went straight very easily at speed.
They’d cleared the beach with just the lower bank manned, but now Peleus ordered all the banks manned, and they pulled easily, supporting the sailing speed and adding to it. Then the helmsman came back to the stern and stood with his thumb covering the enemy.
‘Just even,’ he said. ‘Just want to tell you, Navarch – if we dump the hides, we’ll run away from them in an hour.’
Satyrus shook his head. ‘Would you?’
Peleus scratched his beard. ‘Probably not. Not yet, anyway.’
‘Fair enough,’ Satyrus said. ‘No, we’ll-’
There was a crash from aft and a spear the size of a boatsail mast shot by the stern. Satyrus ducked – he couldn’t help himself.
‘Shit,’ Peleus said. ‘One of those new-fangled engines. Where the fuck do a pair of Cypriot bum-boys get an Ares engine?’
They lost ground because the rowers were as confused as Satyrus. The black ships gained steadily, and then the engine fired again. This time, Satyrus had the time to see the whole flight of the lance – it vanished in the waves well to starboard of the stern.
‘Now I’d dump the hides,’ Peleus said. ‘If he gets a bargepole into our rowers, we’re dead.’ He was watching the sea. ‘Good time for a chance Rhodian patrol,’ he said under his breath. ‘Usually a ship out this way. Or off the beach round the point. It was my station, once.’
Satyrus felt curiously light. He shook his head. ‘Poseidon stand with us,’ he said. ‘We can do it.’ Akrotirion promontory was close, just a dozen stades away on the starboard bow, and Satyrus knew that the moment they weathered the point they’d have deep water in the bay and a wind change.
One of the engines fired with a wooden crash that was audible over the water and the lance flew true, straight on for the Lotus but aimed too high, so that the whole shaft passed down the main deck, missed the mast and vanished ahead of them.
‘Get me Timoleon,’ Peleus called. In seconds, the archer-captain was standing with them. Peleus waved
