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Back A Burning Sea
Chapters (54)
  1. CAST OF CHARACTERS
  2. PART ONE
  3. CHAPTER ONE
  4. CHAPTER TWO
  5. CHAPTER THREE
  6. CHAPTER FOUR
  7. CHAPTER FIVE
  8. CHAPTER SIX
  9. CHAPTER SEVEN
  10. CHAPTER EIGHT
  11. CHAPTER NINE
  12. CHAPTER TEN
  13. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  14. CHAPTER TWELVE
  15. PART TWO
  16. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  17. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  19. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  21. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  22. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  30. PART THREE
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. PART FOUR
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  45. CHAPTER FORTY
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  53. HISTORICAL NOTE
  54. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

They untangled themselves, scrambling up and over the rocks under the Boukoleon’s grim facade. Erlan’s gaze raced ahead to their quarry. The figures had already reached the landing steps. The kidnappers were separating a boat from the flotilla of launches. The women were struggling in the shallows but to no avail. The men flung them into the boat like pig carcasses at a fair.

Erlan yelled her name, running, running, but she seemed a world away. As he reached the steps one of the men turned back. Aska was beside him. Arbasdos’s blade was in his hand, his throat was dry, thirsty for blood.

The Arab struck at him but Erlan never broke stride, smashing aside the blade and driving forward. They went down in a tumble. He got a grip around the man’s throat and with a single jerk of his arm, he smashed his head against the stone, hearing the skull crack. Aska was on the crumpled body at once, fangs ripping at his throat.

The boat was just there; one of the men was frantically trying to lever them clear with an oar. There was a rope trailing on the surface. Erlan leaped for it into the water, his fingers snatched, and he had it, waist deep, winding his fist around the rope. He braced his legs and heaved on it, hard as if he had to move a mountain. The bow-post jerked round towards him, and the man with the oar fell into the water.

Illustration

Lilla was in the hold, curled tight as in her mother’s womb, fighting for her last chance, wriggling and straining to squeeze the binding around her wrists past her buttocks. It was the sudden jerk that did it. Her hips were through.

Katāros was screaming above her, shrill as a gull’s cry, ‘Cut the rope! Cut us free, you imbeciles!’ but someone had fallen out.

There was still a chance. She worked her hands to her knees, twisting her legs till her joints nearly popped. Then one heel was through, now the other. There was a mooring pole in the hold. Her fingers curled around the wood, she took a deep breath and stood up.

The last Arab was struggling to fix the oars in place. Behind her, Katāros was screaming at Battal who was in the water. With no time to see more, she swung the pole into the side of the Arab’s head, stoving it in with one blow.