The porthole windows were dark and the cabin light was warm as Jonah woke, head aching so much that he rose quickly, legs over the side. His jacket was on a chair and the coolness of his own hand helped him ease the stabbing pain in his temple. His stomach growled, that must be why he felt so light, there was nothing in him. There were a couple trays of food on the nightstands. The moment he wondered about the time, it showed up before his eyes, overtaking his vision, 1:08am in white font.

He jumped at the sudden image and it vanished. He had absorbed the phone, all the memories rushing in as he gulped up the glass of still chilly water. How could he see it in front of his eyes? He imagined his phone screen, watching the unlock process and then his background flash before him. It moved faster than his fingers or the phone could go. He selected the gallery, able to scroll through all the photos within it. Going too fast, he felt his heart beating harder. The images had turned into blurs. Closing it, it vanished and the room was back again, he was able to calm down.

Bringing up his arm, the phone screen floated up to the top of his forearm. The unlock was already gone and he could scroll through it without a single touch. No Signal was still in the corner of the screen. No way that this world had cell towers, he thought.

“Wait,” he said softly to himself. “I absorbed it into my right arm, now it’s in my left…”

He heard a rustling and saw that Diana was asleep on the couch at the end of his bed. On her back, a book lay across her chest and a star shaped rock was not far from her hand hanging off the side of the couch. Her skirt had rode up her bare legs, her shoes kicked off a ways from her bare feet. There was no one else in the room and as he moved quietly up to her, Aiko the house cat raised its head from the end of his bed.

“Wake her up, I don’t want to startle her,” he whispered to the cat.

With heavy eyes, the cat blinked, regarding its master and then him. Yawning, Aiko settled back in.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he hissed. “Fine.” Remembering the wind she had launched out last time, he moved to the side of her. “Diana… Diana…” he said, raising from a low whisper to a higher one.

She didn’t stir.

“Diana,” he said in a normal voice, coming closer to her.

Her eyelids tensed, face frowning.

Yelling was rude. He recalled waking his grandma up hundreds of times when he was a kid. The woman took a midday nap after lunch, but would commonly start it in her chair. “Gentle, baby, gentle,” she used to say when he woke her loudly.

Now, he touched Diana’s shoulder as light as he could. “Diana, come on, wake up, it’s the middle of the night,” he said softly.

After the third little shake of her body, Diana’s eyes snapped open. Her hand reached up, unseeing and a gust of wind pushed Jonah back. It wasn’t the force of the magic, more the shock of the attack. He stumbled into the wall of the bathroom, hitting his shoulder blades with a blunt force.

“Oh gods, I’m sorry!” Diana said, rushing towards him. She caught him by the arm, straining to lift him up to his feet. “I’m sorry Jonah, it wasn’t personal, I swear to you.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he said quickly. He could stand, the pain dulled down as his arm was around her.

She smiled from her place under his arm. “Did you bargain with Aiko to wake me on your own?” she asked.

“Aiko wouldn’t wake you,” he said.

The expression faded to a scowl as she detached from him, heading to her cat on the bed. “Stop moving independently, I hate it,” she scolded.

The cat rolled onto its back, its upside down face cute and smug.

“You don’t even need to sleep, you brat,” she said, scooping the cat up under the arms. “Why do I have you if it isn’t to stop situations like this?”

“Mew!”

“Oh stop, don’t send me that,” she countered, tossing the cat onto the bed. It landed perfectly on its paws. The Druid turned to Jonah, ashamed. “Are you injured?”

He rolled his shoulders. “No, I don’t think so,” he said.

She sighed. “I should check anyway, come here,” she said, beckoning.

“It’s okay, nothing really hurts,” he said.

She padded over to him, lifting his shirt by the back. Her hands were warm on his skin, her fingers pressing into him. Around his left side he gasped in pain. “Don’t pretend I didn’t hurt you when I did,” she said. “Sit down, I’ll put something on it.”

“I wasn't, I just didn’t feel it,” he said, sitting on the couch. “I’m sorry…”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, don’t worry,” she said. She applied a cream to his back, the magic of it caused a sound like rushing water. It was warm and the pain eased quickly. She ran her hands along his bare back and he sat up straighter. “I’m not groping you, merely checking your progress. Kalyah’s meal plan has added a bit of weight, good.”

The rolled up tunic shirt was agitating his nipples and that hurt his pride. Not to mention that her knees had pushed him almost fully into the couch’s back. The nurse’s touch wasn’t like the Druid’s at all. He looked at her, curious and wounded.

Diana pulled down his shirt for him. “I might as well be your caretaker, same as Kalyah,” she said, as if she read his thoughts. “You don’t react the same to me though…” She smirked and then let out a sigh. “I am sorry about attacking you. My sister was killed in her sleep, it’s not left my mind yet.” She frowned. “It never will.”

“I know, I should have left you alone,” he said quietly.

“No, no, it’s okay. I only recently fell asleep, at least I think. I was practicing my magic for a few hours,” she said, taking in the room. “Where’s the damn clock when you need it?”

“It’s almost one fifteen in the morning,” Jonah said.

“Hm, is that right? Your sheet phone still tells the time?” she asked.

“Cell… you know what it is,” he said. “Yes, it still tells the time, everything it did before.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She nodded. “Kalyah and Stephan were in here, going over you. You’re lucky nothing was seriously hurt or damaged from your performance,” she said. “A few of the anchors were loose and they corrected them. I was left as the guard when they went to bed at ten or so. Strangely I have not stayed up this late on the ship before.” She scanned around once more.

There was an eerie wind blowing that Jonah had not noticed before. It got louder as they sat there quietly. Aiko raised its head as a series of creaks went across the ceilings. Suddenly the cat rose up into a tiger, making the springs protest.

The two humans stood from the couch, following the gaze of the tiger. The wind raised as the creaks became quick thuds. Jonah shrank before the sounds. Diana summoned her staff from the floor and rushed to the door, still barefoot as she threw it open. Her familiar lopped out with her, taking a place in front of her. Not wanting to look like a coward, Jonah went after her as well.

There was a scraping sound, strangely metallic above them. Aiko was constantly sniffing the air and went padding towards the stairs. Diana was quick to follow. His heart pounding in terror, Jonah kept after her. What the fuck was it? He was reminded he lived in a world of unknown possible terrors. He imagined a spider having overtaken the ship’s upper deck. He wasn’t even an arachnophobe or anything, it was just the first creature to pop into his mind. Before his eyes came the cellphone’s transparent screens. What help was he going to be to her? What good was he at all? Was there anything he could do?

He nearly bumped into her at the foot of the stairs. Aiko was pushing up on the door to no avail, it was trapped in place. The tiger growled in frustration, sniffing at the hinges of the door. The tiger’s hackles raised and it stepped back, bearing its long fangs and black gums. Diana levied her staff at the door, knuckles white, eyes wide.

“What is it?” Jonah asked in a hush.

“Aiko smells something unnatural… undead…” Diana replied in the same volume. Her shoulders were trembling.

“Oh God, there’s a fucking zombie hoard, isn't there?” he said in a panic.

“No, not that many, only a few things, I could handle a zombie,” she replied. The end of her staff swirled with a thin ring of flame. “I haven't ever fought one, necromancers don’t practice long in Magi.” She went from panicked to confident and back to fear. “I should get Kalyah, I don’t know what it is. She would know how to fight an undead.” Diana’s tremors grew worse as the thuds came closer.

“Whatever it is, get away from the door,” Jonah said, lightly pulling back on her shoulders.

They both jumped as the door swung open and the wind howled in the pitch black. There was a figure in the shadow, a moonless night outside. A chill rushed into the lower deck, blowing out Diana’s fire and causing her to land into Jonah’s chest, which made him grunt. Aiko roared loudly and the figure in the night stumbled back, cursing.

“Caw fuck you, fuck you!” came the parrot with a fluttering of heavy wings.

“Holy shit! Diana… Jonah!” the Pirate said, panting. She returned to the threshold of the door, this time stepping down and closing the thing. The tiger pushed through it, sniffing louder than the winds. The door started to rattle on its hinges, the howling of the air carrying a sinister tune to it.

Diana stepped out of Jonah’s hold, pointing her staff at the door. “We heard noises, Aiko smelled the undead,” she said firmly.

The Pirate corrected her tricorn hat, placing a calming hand on the staff. “We’re close to Grunhir, it was probably the Wild Hunt or something. You know they have a problem with them, stinking up the place,” she said calmly. She wiped at her face. “Otherwise, it was just me, Killigan, and Crug securing stuff up there.”

The Druid considered it, drawing her staff back. There was a scratching on the door and the Pirate lifted it to let the tiger back in. There was a silent exchange between it and Diana, who’s face became placid.

“Why are we so far north? Wouldn’t the weather freeze up the engines?” Diana wondered. “I remember that you had to rely on the local ships to navigate the northern part of the Magi continent.”

Angelina scoffed, as if proud and annoyed. “We’re not that far north, you didn’t hear the hoof beats of the undead stampede, did you?” she asked back. “We’re waiting to enter Grayhill, princess, we might as well enter from above. If the ship’s loud or the door is locked, then blame it on the hurricane and I guess the gods you find annoying.”

“Hmmm…” Diana said, turning back towards the room. She took Jonah’s arm, her grip distressingly tight.

“Goodnight, princess, goodnight newbie,” Angelina called.

Back in Jonah’s room, Diana shut the door and locked it. The tiger sat in front of it and Diana sat violently on the bed, staff across her lap. Jonah was frozen, the chill had not left him and a colder dread filled his being. He knew that something was wrong, but he wasn’t sure what. Vaguely he recalled the Earthly legends of the Wild Hunt and was horrified to learn that in Hera they were real.

“I have seen the Wild Hunt, I’ve heard them, smelled them, it is not something Aiko or I would soon forget,” Diana said after a moment of silence. “They’re a procession of ghostly hunters, apparently an honor for the people of Grunhir to enter upon death. Or wait, not, um, oh gods…” Jonah realized that she was shaking, that eased him strangely and he took a seat a few feet from her, joining her in a nervous energy. “It’s led by a Grunhir god, the Huntsmen, a ferry to the afterlife. There’s a bunch of…” She gestured her hand in a circle. “Grunhir is our northern ally, I can speak some of the language, I dated one of their princes. There’s more names for these things, in their tongue.” She took a deep breath, staring at Jonah with a tremble in her lip. “Angelina is lying to us and I don’t know why,” she admitted quietly. "There was no one and nothing up there, even the smell had cleared."

There was a long silence and Jonah felt the urge to hold her. He wanted to be held too, he was practically paralyzed though. He had landed in another world and was wrapped up into something beyond what he had ever handled before. Wasn’t this supposed to be amazing? The escape he had always longed for? A whole new world of excitement?

It was too late to reach out for Diana by the time she stood up. “I need to eat. I skipped dinner. You skipped two meals. It doesn’t matter how well you’re gaining, you need something,” she said, inspecting the dishes on the nightstand. “Plenty in here, yes, we should be fine. If this isn’t enough, then I have some rations in my bag.” Her face was one of restraint, bravery through perseverance.

Jonah steeled himself as well. “I can take the couch, if you need to stay here,” he said. His voice felt like someone else was speaking.

She shook her head. “The bed is large enough for the both of us,” she said.

They didn’t talk as they ate mechanically. There were no more footsteps or scraping above them, and he knew they were both listening. It was nearly three by the time they laid down, the light still on. Both fully clothed, there was a canyon of space between them. Backs facing each other. Jonah kept track of the time, disturbed that it showed up against his closed eyes. It was impossible to relax when he felt this tense. There was no levity to add in the dark night of blowing wind. He almost jumped to his feet when it started raining at four.

“Jonah,” Diana said quietly as the rain pattered. She had already turned to face him when he rolled over. “I believe we can trust Kalyah.”

“Yeah,” he said. He had to keep his hand under his pillow, the new metal flesh didn’t give enough to lay his head directly on it like he had before. He had not slept without the nurse’s sleep aid in the last few days.

“Don’t say anything on the ship, don’t act differently,” Diana went on.

“Yeah.”

“If they wanted to harm us, then they would have done so already,” she said.

He nodded.

She frowned, laughing darkly. “So why can’t we sleep?”

“I don’t know, I’m just too nervous…” He shifted his hand and body awkwardly.

“Sit up higher on the pillow,” she instructed. “Your hand is only flattening it.” She took out his hand, gripping it in her smaller one. Hers was still strong, he thought, they could do all sorts of magic. They had helped to give him back all of his limbs.

She held his hand there in the gap between them. “I am here, Aiko is at the door,” she said quietly.

He was eased by her dark eyes and the warmth of her hold. “Thank you.”

“You are here too,” she said with a little smile. “I didn’t get as much sleep as you, I need more. Wake me if Aiko fails to, I won’t harm you as I did before.” She closed her eyes.

“Okay.” He shut his eyes as well. Joined with the rushing wind was her breathing and his own. It was going be alright, at least for now. When he woke up, when he was surrounded by powerful people willing to hide something in the dead of night. Well, that was a different story. Now he had his peace with Diana.