Chapter FourMelcorka looked dazed. 'My sword,' she said. 'I've lost Defender.' She felt at her shoulder. 'I threw it away.'
'You did,' Bradan agreed.
'I must get her back.' Melcorka stared over the side of Catriona, desperate to find the white island with its mysterious occupant.
'We have other things to worry about,' Bradan said. 'Get on the tiller, Mel, and I'll hoist the sails. These vessels may not be friendly. They may be the Thiruzha pirates that Chola shipmaster warned us of.'
The fleet was spread out, with the vessels extending from the coast to the horizon. Drumbeats throbbed across the intervening water, ominous, dangerous, as the drummers marked the time for the oarsmen who propelled the vessels toward Catriona with frightening speed.
'That looks and sounds bad,' Bradan sai
