He stood wielding a huge battle ax by the mast, striking at the beasts that raged around him, lopping heads and arms and tails like a woodman. The scattered humans rallied and began to fight their way toward him, step by bloody step. Perias the erinye was everywhere, a flying fury, ripping and biting and smashing with wing-blows. Corun loomed huge over the men who fought beside him, the sword shrieking and thundering in his hands. Imazu stood stolidly against the mast, smashing at all comers. A rush of Xanthi broke past him and surged against the foredeck. The defenders beat them off, Chryseis thrusting as savagely with her sword as any man, and they reeled back against the masthead warriors to be cut down. A Xanthian sprang at Corun, wielding a long-shafted ax that shivered the sword in his hand. The Conahurian struck back, his blade darting past the monster's guard to stab through the throat. The Xanthian staggered. Corun wrenched the blade loose and brought it down again to sing in the reptile skull. Before he could pull it loose, another was on him. Corun ducked under the spear he carried and closed his hands around the slippery sides. The clawed feet raked his legs. He lifted the thing and hurled it into another with bone-shattering force. One of them threshed wildly, neck broken--the other bounded at Corun. The man yanked his sword free and it whistled against the golden head. * * * * * Back and forth the struggle swayed, crashing of metal and howling of warriors. And the Xanthi were driven to the rails--they could not stand against the rallying human line in the narrow confines of the ship. "Kill them!" roared Imazu. "Kill the misbegotten snakes!" [Illustration: _"Kill them!" roared Imazu. "Kill the misbegotten snakes!"_] Suddenly the Xanthi were slipping overboard, swimming for their mounts beyond the zone of magic. Perias followed, harrying them, pulling them half out of the water to rip their throats out. The ship was wet, streaming with human red and reptile yellow blood. Dead and wounded littered the decks. Corun saw the Xanthi cavalry retreating out of sight. "We've won," he gasped. "We've won--" "No--wait--" Chryseis inclined her head sharply, seeming to listen, then darted past him to open a hatch. Light streamed down into the hold. It was filling--the bilge was rising. "I thought so," she said grimly. "They're below us, chopping into the hull." "We'll see about that," said Corun, and unbuckled his cuirass. "All who can swim, after me!" "No--no, they'll kill you--" "Come on!" rapped Imazu, letting his own breastplate clang to the deck. Corun sprang overboard. He was wearing nothing but a kilt now, and had a spear in one hand and a dirk in his teeth. Fear was gone, washed out by the red tides of battle. There was only a bleak, terrible triumph in him. Men _had_ beaten the Sea Demons!