Shipwreck

The waves from the crashing pirate ships went in every direction. The impact was so large that splinters touched both banks of the river. Water poured over the wooden hulls like grasping arms until only a set of new rapids remained in the flow.

One wave hit Devrim's small life boat and flipped it over. The grey-eyed man's training took over and he paddled to break the surface. He searched frantically for Mairwen and Eira, the other two people who had been with him.

He was relieved when their heads bobbed to the surface. "Get back to the boat!" Devrim yelled.

The two ladies struggled against their clothing and weapons to make it back to the overturned rowboat. Eira, who had not been trained to swim, relied purely on instinct to keep her alive. She almost gave up when her fingers brushed against the wooden rowboat. Grabbing it to stay afloat, three humans kicked the boat and themselves to shore.

By the time they made it to the muddy bank, they were far downstream from the crash. Devrim,