Unhonored (24 page)
Authors: Tracy Hickman
Ellis pulled the spyglass away from her eye.
“You've done it, Ellis.” Silenus grinned. “We're free!”
“What about Alicia?” she asked.
His smile fell slightly as he looked at the deck.
“Silenus Tune,” she said as she looked at the young man. “What about Jonas?”
He glanced at her and then toward the storm in the distance off the side of the ship.
“No,” Ellis said, setting her jaw.
“Please, Ellis. Jonas came to get you out,” Silenus pleaded. “He came to help you get Jenny out.”
“No!” Ellis shouted. She started back down the length of the deck, moving quickly past the deck hatch cover toward the quarterdeck. “I'm not leaving him!”
“It's what he wanted,” Silenus said, gripping her arm and turning her back to face him. “He knew the risks when he came.”
Ellis pulled her arm away from Silenus. “You have
no
idea what risks he took or why he took them.
I
know!
I
know because I
chose
!”
She turned back to the ladder at the rear of the deck, pulling herself up onto the quarterdeck.
“If you do this, you put us all at risk, Ellis!” Silenus shouted. “Not just us, but everything he tried to do. You'll make his sacrifice
meaningless
!”
Ellis ignored him. She strode to where Captain Walker stood at the helm. “Captain, steer to ⦠to larboard.”
The captain looked at her in horror. “Beggin' yer pardon, ma'am, but we're running with a favoring wind and we've no real crew to man the sails.”
“You've got Ely here and Silenus to help you and Dr. Carmichael for that matter, for all the good he'll do you. Show them what to do and I'll steer the course.”
“Ma'am, I think you had better justâ”
“You'll never get out of the Tween without me, Captain, you know that,” Ellis said in the firm voice that she had inherited from her mother and which she had used to great effect in the hospital wards with her “angels.” “Follow me and you may yet live.”
Walker considered this for a moment and then stepped back.
“Take the helm, ma'am. Steer your course and I'll do my best to keep the rigging in trim.” The captain turned to the young man standing on the quarterdeck next to them. “Come with me, Master Ely, and I'll show you a thing or two about the sheets.”
Ellis gripped the handles of the heavy wheel with both hands as Walker and Ely moved to the larboard rail.
“At your leisure, ma'am,” Walker called as he put his hands to the lines secured around the belaying pins.
Ellis only nodded and started turning the wheel.
The bow of the ship swung to port.
They were heading straight into the storm.
“I choose,” Ellis said into the gathering wind. “I choose us.”
THE END OF PART TWO
Â
NOVELS BY
TRACY
&
LAURA HICKMAN
THE NIGHTBIRDS
BRONZE CANTICLES
Mystic Warrior
Mystic Quest
Mystic Empire
Tales of the Dragon's Bard
Eventide
Swept Up by the Sea
St. Nicholas and the Dragon
NOVELS BY MARGARET WEIS &
TRACY HICKMAN
DRAGONSHIPS
ALSO BY
TRACY HICKMAN
THE ANNALS OF DRAKIS
Song of the Dragon
Citadels of the Lost
Blood of the Emperor
The Immortals
StarCraft: Speed of Darkness
Fireborn: Embers of Atlantis
Wayne of Gotham
*
A Tor Book
Â
T
RACY
H
ICKMAN
and
L
AURA
H
ICKMAN
have been publishing game designs, books, and stories for more than thirty-five years. In addition, Tracy is a
New York Times
bestselling coauthor of many novels, including the original Dragonlance Chronicles, Dragonlance Legends, Rose of the Prophet, and Darksword trilogies, as well as the seven-book Death Gate Cycle. Tracy and Laura live in Utah.
Visit them on the Web at
www.trhickman.com
, or sign up for email updates on Tracy Hickman
here
and for Laura Hickman
here
.
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CONTENTS
Â
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously.
UNHONORED
Copyright © 2016 by Tracy Hickman and Laura Hickman
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Cliff Nielsen
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Tor
®
is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
ISBN 978-0-7653-3204-2 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4299-5333-7 (e-book)
e-ISBN 9781429953337
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First Edition: October 2016