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I saw a row of sailors standing by the masts raise their arms and heard a whu wind Just how many Grisha did the privateer have in his crew?

But the Darkling’s Squallers had arranged the their oinds to buffet us The schooner rocked unsteadily

"Portside guns!" roared Sturnal!"

I heard two shrill whistle blasts A deafening boom shook the ship, then another and another, as the schooner’s guns opened up a gaping hole in the whaler’s hull A panicked shout went up fro’s ship Stured free

As the sure in black step up to the railing of the disabled whaler Another wave of darkness rushed toward us, but this one was different It writhed over the water as if it were clawing its way forward, and with it cary insects

The darkness frothed and foaan to separate itself into shapes Beside me, Mal muttered a prayer and lifted his rifle to his shoulder I focused h the black cloud, trying to destroy the nichevo’ya before they could take their full for horde of black teeth and claws

Sturmhond’s crew opened fire

The nichevo’ya reached thesailors fro down onto the deck Mal fired again and again as the crewmen drew their sabers, but bullets and blades seemed only to slow the monsters Their shadow bodies wavered and re-for

The schooner was stillthe distance between itself and the whaler Not fast enough I heard that shriekingdark was headed toward us, already separating into winged bodies, reinforcements for the shadow soldiers

Sturmhond saw it, too He pointed to one of the Squallers still su," he shouted

I flinched He couldn’tIt was too unpredictable, too dangerous--and on open seas? With wooden ships? But Sturmhond’s Grisha didn’t hesitate The Squallers clapped their hands together, rubbing their palms back and forth My ears popped as the pressure pluh ti zigzagged across the sky The neave of nichevo’ya scattered in momentary confusion

"Go!" Sturainst the railing as the schooner shot forward The sleek ship seemed to fly over the waves

I saw another black swell billow out from the side of the whaler I lurched to th for another onslaught

But it did not co’s power We’d edged out of his range

I leaned over the railing The wind and sea spray stung ’s ship and his h and a sob racked ht, feeling the wet press of his shirt againstto the unbelievable truth that ere still alive

Then, despite the blood they’d shed and the friends they’d lost, the schooner’s crew broke into cheers They whooped and hollered and barked and growled In the rigging, Tolya lifted his rifle with one hand and threw his head back, releasing a howl of triuazing at the crew around us I kneere both thinking the saotten ourselves into?

Chapter 5

WE SLUMPED BACK against the railing and scooted down until ere seated beside each other, exhausted and dazed We’d escaped the Darkling, but ere on a strange ship, surrounded by a bunch of crazed Grisha dressed as sailors and howling like ht?" Mal asked

I nodded The wound in my shoulder felt like it was on fire, but I was unhurt and ain

"You?" I asked

"Not a scratch on me," Mal said in disbelief

The ship rode the waves at seely impossible speed, driven forward by Squallers and what I realized were Tidemakers As the terror and thrill of the battle receded, I noticed I was soaked My teeth began to chatter Mal put his arm around me, and at some point, one of the crew dropped a blanket over us

Finally, Sturmhond called a halt and ordered the sails trimmed The Squallers and Tideainst each other, co, their eyes alight

The schooner slowed until it rocked gently in what suddenly see silence

"Keep a watch," Sturmhond commanded, and Privyet sent a sailor up into the shrouds with a long glass Mal and I slowly got to our feet

Stur Squallers and Tide quiet words to a few of the injured sailors belowdecks, where I assueon or maybe a Corporalki Healer The privateer seemed to have every kind of Grisha in his e a knife from his belt My hands went up, and Mal stepped in front ofhis rifle at Stur drawn and pistols cocking all around us as the cre their weapons