Herva heard the pursuing launch before the stern guard named it.
She changed the Cinderwake’s angle a little, putting open water between her loaded side and the reed bank. Belis answered the engine call from below. The heavy exchange core remained secured in its cradle, one dense useful load that could not be wished lighter because the river had acquired an argument.
Iven stood beside the forward rail.
“How many?”
“Two launches,” the stern guard called. “One coming out of the bank.”
The nearer boat showed no ordinary hull call. Four men crouched behind its low shield. A grafted figure stood at its bow with a coiled line over one arm.
Herva rang the working alarm.
“No one cuts the cargo fastenings,” she said. “Guards keep their view. Deck crew inside the marks.”
