A Lotus for the Regent Read Online Free PDF

an
Ausir galleon out at sea. Kamen sighed. That was just what he needed—having to
deal with damned Ausir technology. He rode down to the docks, dismounted, and
sprinted to the King's flagship, the Aramina , which lay with sails
furled in the harbor.
    He stood at the
end of the gangplank. “Permission to come aboard!”
    The captain
appeared at the railing. “Granted, Regent. Get your ass up here, Kamen!”
    Kamen bounded
up, thrilled to feel the creaking of the ship beneath his feet. “Ruben.” He
embraced the captain.
    Ruben held him
out at arm's length. “A bit fancy for going to sea, don't you think?”
    Kamen had not
even realized that he still wore his gilded sandals and long, white skirt. And
he was still bare-chested.
    “ Not to worry,” the captain said. “We'll get you a sea-jacket and
some proper boots.”
    Kamen took the
spyglass the first mate offered him. He peered through its scope to see
ballistae firing from the lower deck of the Kimereth galleon and smashing apart
the hulls of the Losiengare caravels that were turning to flee. One galleon
would be enough to sink three caravels, and the Losiengare must have known it.
Kamen made his call right there: though two of them might get away, one of
those ships was going to end up on the bottom of the sea.
    “ Did the Kimereth surprise them?”
    Ruben shrugged.
“Don't know, but from the looks of it, I'd say so. There are a lot of islands
out there, as you know. Nice little places for an ambush.”
    Kamen glanced
over at the captain and then peered back into the spyglass. “One hell of an
ambush.”
    The caravels,
flying the Losiengare flags depicting three grey deer drinking from a blue
stream on a green field, came about and fled. The galleon, flying the Kimereth
flag of a silver fish on a blue field, reloaded their ballistae and pursued.
And then Kamen's heart sank into his stomach. The Losiengare were not fleeing
farther out to sea; they were heading straight for Arinport.
    “ They're making a run for it,” Kamen said, “hoping to find protection
here.”
    Ruben was at
his elbow. “Orders?”
    Kamen had only
a moment to weigh all his options, size up the tactical situation, and
extrapolate how his decision would affect the precarious political situations
among the many vying nations, not only among the Ausir across the sea but also
the Fihdal and Vadal to the north.
    “ Pull up anchor. We cannot let those caravels reach the harbor.”
    “ Aye aye.” Ruben cried out his commands, and the crew hopped to work.
They were underway in minutes.
    The Losiengare
were almost at the sea wall when the Aramina , every bit the size of a
galleon though of different design, met them and barred their way. Through the
spyglass Kamen spotted the Ausir sailors. He had never spent any considerable
amount of time among them, so he still found their appearance striking. They
all had horns, some sleek, some branching, some black, some brown, and a very
few gold. Their faces were longer than humans', and their ears rose in high
points that stuck out of their long hair. They had always struck Kamen as
majestic, magical beings, but now they scurried around their ships, screaming
orders, putting out fires, and plugging holes, like any harried Sunjaa sailor
might.
    High whistling
filled the air, and Kamen caught sight of the smoky trails in the sky.
"Incoming!" Incendiaries fired from the Kimereth ship splashed not
far from the Aramina . Some ripped through a caravel's sails and set the
mast alight. One missile struck a Losiengare ship directly in its rudder,
shattering the aft bulkhead. The Ausir on that ship cried out in panic. Kamen
watched through the spyglass as Ausir sailors on fire like torches flailed and
jumped into the sea, only to disappear beneath the waves, their charred bodies
never seen again. Another volley. The fiery missiles sailed over Kamen's ship,
and he ducked. But nothing hit them. He heard another explosion, and then
screams came from the harbor.