Qing stood at the prow of the ship, the deck roiling beneath him as they rode up and over the waves. The sea wind tore at his hair, blowing it every which way as it propelled them through the tumultuous ocean. Qing gritted his teeth as the ship crested, his belly sinking, and they tipped into the long descent between waves.

This is taking too long. We’re trapped on this damn ship, while Rufus struts through hell with Cleo in tow, about to free the Devil. And even if I manage saving them, Blaine’s goons are waiting for me in the storage units.

Ghida’s fingers squeezed tight around his arm, her grip on the railing white-knuckled. “I miss the sand dunes,” she said, and a smile found its way onto Qing’s face, even as the wood creaked and they slammed into the next wave, beginning their ascent once more.

At least I have my friends around me, my powers are unlocked, and I’m dating a princess.

He was grateful that Ghida had stopped throwing up; the first few days at sea had been rough. “Not long remaining,” Qing said, offering her a reassuring smile.

“Unless those bastards catch us first,” Ghida replied.

Qing turned and looked back across Thundershield’s ship, glancing past the main sail and the smaller one behind it. The oars had been stored long ago; he’d been informed they would splinter and break in this weather. As they crested another wave and the ship straightened, Qing got a clear view of the stern. Spread out behind them were five warships, their visage familiar after days of pursuit.

“They won’t catch us,” Qing said. “They can’t.”

There is no time.

Quest: [Stop the Devil from escaping his prison]

Stop the Devil’s champion from using Cleo Chambers, the last female descendant of Selena the Moon-borne, to unlock the Devil’s prison.

-Objective: Stop the unlocking of the Devil’s prison

-Optional objective: Kill Rufus Grimshaw, The Stygian Bonecaller

-Optional objective: Save Cleo

-Optional objective: Become level thirty

-Optional objective: Become level forty

-Reward: [1 level six skill-book]

-Optional reward: the Upgraded Moon-borne Set (3 items)

-Optional reward: Twelve extra stat points

-Optional reward: Twenty-six extra stat points

Morgana stalked across the deck towards them, the constant scowl still plastered on her face. She shifted her weight forward and backward, side to side, walking like a circus performer as the ship plummeted once more.

“What news?” Qing asked.

“More whining,” Morgana said, stepping up to the railing on his other side. “Captain’s being a baby. Afraid putting up another sail will rip the boat apart.” She cleared her throat as if to spit over the side, but halted, feeling the tumultuous wind around them, and swallowed instead.

“Thanks,” Qing said.

Morgana grumbled.

“What are our chances of escaping? Of arriving in time to disembark without a fight?” Qing asked.

“With this distance? Slim to none,” Morgana replied.

“Any new ideas on what we can do about those ships?”

Morgana shook her head. “Unless we’re willing to let them get within range of our spells, which puts the ship at risk... It doesn’t matter if you can swim. Stuck in the middle of the ocean, you’ll drown, sooner or later. And even if we could get away in a smaller boat, our supplies—”

“I know, I know. We can’t risk the supplies,” Qing interrupted. “But there has to be something we can do.”

Morgana looked up at the gray clouds. “We’ll try losing them again tonight in the darkness. It’s our last chance. By night tomorrow, we’ll make landfall.”

Ghida asked, “Have you spoken to your father yet?”

“I just did,” Morgana snapped.

“I meant—”

“I know what you meant,” she cut her off. “But I want nothing more to do with him. He’s only here for the gold and the pardon. All for himself, like always. I’m glad he doesn’t know how to truly listen, because if the Devil had made him an offer, he’d sell the entire world in a heartbeat.”

She cleared her throat and hawked into the wind. Qing grabbed Ghida by the neck and pulled her back with him, the wind carrying Morgana’s spit past them.

“He didn’t have to come,” Qing said softly. “You don’t see how he looks at you when you’re not looking, but I do.”

Ghida nodded. “True. We will find enough damnation where we are going to last us a hundred lifetimes over, of that I am sure. If you can unburden yourself of even one while here, do so.”

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“There ain’t nothing I can do,” Morgana said. “I don’t care about him. He’s just a ride, and a dumb one at that. A big pain in the ass.”

“But he is your father,” Ghida said gently.

“Enough,” Morgana said. “He’s just a guy who fucked my mum. Alright? Besides, I didn’t see you have any tearful farewell with your old man before we left, princess.”

Ghida looked away. “That was different.”

“Oh, really?”

Qing was sure Morgana raised her eyebrow, even though the eye patch hid it.

“Yes,” Ghida said. “It was simply too hectic for us to talk before I left.”

“So, nothing to do with the way he tried to make you stay?” Morgana pressed. “How he glares at Qing’s back at every turn? And how he refused to apologize to Knut for nearly burning him to death? And the horrible things he called you, and the way he treated you over the past years?”

“Morgana,” Qing warned, and her mouth clamped shut.

“I’m sorry,” Morgana said after a moment. “I know you mean well, Ghida, but my life is no fairy tale.”

Ghida chuckled as they crested another wave, plunging down until water sprayed around them, laughing all the way. “A fairy tale life? That is hilarious. I have seen more of what is outside the palace walls since meeting you than I did in my entire life up to then. I have been a bird kept in a gilded cage most of my life, spending my time learning tricks—”

“Magic ain’t no trick,” Morgana said.

“Fine, fancy tricks,” Ghida said. “I was paraded in front of the powerful, reciting lines given to me like an actor.”

“And I ate scraps thrown from taverns, just to stop my belly from clawing its way out of my stomach,” Morgana said.

Qing chuckled.

They both turned to glare at him.

“Explain yourself,” Ghida demanded.

Qing sighed. “I thought my life growing up was tough. Being bullied, my only friend moving away when his family left... School was torture. But I’m pretty sure I had the best upbringing here.”

“And what is so funny about that?” Ghida asked.

A wry smile played on his lips. “I can’t count how many times I wished I was born a pirate or royalty. Those were like two of my top five growing up.”

They looked at each other and smiled before chuckling together.

“Life is not always what we expect it to be, is it?” Morgana said, her gaze drifting following the waves.

Ghida’s sigh was lost to the stormy wind. “No. And even in death, Wazir is making a mess. Thulenorean warships coming to sink us without questions.”

“And all we are trying to do is save their stupid countries,” Qing said. “If only we had left a day earlier or taken another route. But we didn’t, so here we are now.”

Ghida nodded. “What were the other three?” she asked.

“Three?” Qing asked with a frown. “Other three what?”

“Pirates, royalty, and?” Ghida’s voice trailed off as she smiled.

Before he could reply, a piercing wail reverberated through the air, haunting in its depth and power. It was as if the sound had been released from lungs and throats large enough to swallow boats whole. Qing’s head whipped around, searching for the origin of that bone-chilling sound.

“What was that?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Morgana’s face had gone pale. “Never heard anything like that before in my life.” She set off towards the stern and the captain. “Come,” she called over her shoulder.

Qing grabbed Ghida’s hand and the safety line, hauling his way across the deck. Before they reached midship, the door to the lower decks opened, and Knut stuck his head out.

“Did you all just hear that?” Knut asked, his eyes wide.

“I’m surprised you did, considering the noise you two make at all hours,” Qing said, forcing a smile despite the growing unease in his gut.

Knut scratched the back of his neck, but pressed on. “That cry came from something big. Something unnatural.”

Before anyone could respond, Cedric’s voice forced its way up the stairs. “Move! Get out of the way!”

“It’s fucking freezing out there,” Knut said, giving a shiver.

“You should have put on more than your pants when you came up for air, then,” the wizard said. “Now move. I need to see the deck.”

Knut grumbled and stepped out, his britches loosely laced. Qing glanced at Ghida. Her lips were stretched tight. As happy as she was that her mother was off the drugs, having Knut be the substitute she used to scratch every itch might not be exactly what she had dreamed of.

Cedric stepped out onto the deck, and Qing couldn’t help but marvel at how different he looked to when they had first met. Having spent the time waiting for the ship in Shadowgrove, absorbing more of his magic, he claimed to be at three-quarters strength, and looked to be in his mid-thirties, hale and hearty.

Then the lookout tied to the top of the mast shouted over the wind, “Off starboard stern!”

Qing rushed up the stairs to the aft deck. Captain Thundershield stood by the wheel, his black satin pants and shirt drenched and clinging to his powerful frame. His long mustache was soggy, and his ridiculously massive hat had to have been glued to his head. He grinned at Qing.

“Barbecue weather, eh?” Thundershield said.

“Captain,” Qing said, nodding his head. “Any idea what made that sound?”

“One or two. Care to see for yourself?”

Qing stared out across the stormy sea. All he could see were white-topped waves in the deep, nearly black and blue ocean. Far behind, about the size of his thumb held at arm’s length, were the five ships following them. But then he saw it—a massive, dark shape, darker than the surrounding water.

“What under the sun is that?”

“Nothing natural, that’s for sure, your princess-ship,” Thundershield said with a smirk.

As Qing watched, the water broke across the massive form as it surfaced. It was like a gargantuan submarine made from flesh and muscle, surrounded by eight massive tentacles. Staring out of the water, straight at Qing, was an eye the size of an inflatable pool, red and orange. White horns encircled its waist.

“That’s an elite demon,” Qing said. He knew its name instinctively. “The devil has released the Kraken!”

“Excellent,” Thundershield said, his grin widening.

“What the fuck do you mean, ‘excellent’?” Qing said. “That thing’s nearly half again as big as your damn ship, and it sure looks to be faster!”

“Don’t listen to that idiot,” Morgana said. “He is crazy.”

“Nothing crazy about having a dream, is it, my little baby seal?”

In a flash, Morgana appeared next to the captain, her dagger drawn, its tip stuck under her father’s chin. Blood ran down the blade. Two burly sailors stood nearby with half-drawn cutlasses, but the captain’s raised hand stilled them.

“Not now, Morgana,” Qing said, his voice tense. “We need him.”

Qing glanced over at the demonic Kraken moving through the water, approaching them with terrifying speed.

“I told you never to call me that again,” Morgana said, her dagger carving into her father’s flesh as he adjusted the course, spinning the wheel a few degrees.

“You better listen to your boyfriend,” Thundershield said, his voice surprisingly calm despite the blade at his throat. “Don’t do nothing you’d regret.”

Morgana inched the knife deeper, and Thundershield gave the first grunt of pain. “You know he ain’t my boyfriend,” she said. “And the only regret I’d have in killing you would be that I could only do it once.”

Thundershield’s eyes gleamed with a mix of pride and amusement. “On a normal day, I’d welcome this fight. It would beat dying in a duel with a drunk Thulenorian over some spurned honour. But today, we’ve been offered a truly outstanding way to die. So, unless you’re offering all our lives to the sea without a fight, remove your needle and let me prepare the ship for combat.”

“Listen to your father,” Cedric called, jogging up the stairs. “Do not make me waste magic, girl. You know we need it.”

For a second longer, Morgana stood frozen. Then she withdrew the dagger, wrapped one of her father’s drooping mustaches around her index finger, and cut the hairs straight off, tossing them into the stormy air before stomping down to the deck.

The captain laughed uproariously. “What a woman she has grown to be!”

“Yup,” a sailor said, leaning out and staring at Morgana’s ass.

Without looking, Thundershield slammed his fist into the man’s face, breaking his nose. “That’s my daughter you’re talking about,” he said. “Show some damn respect, or I’ll have you keelhauled.”

Before the man could reply, the captain bellowed across the deck. “Ring the bell! To battle stations!”