Black Sunshine
Chapter 13 - A Friend You Can Rely on is Like a Sturdy Ship in a Storm
Nera made her way down the creaking dock toward the host of skeletons loading and unloading cargo from a ship. At the front of the Belmarie was a giant skeleton hanging from the mast of the all wooden ship. In the past, she had only done deals with Captain Ruth, but she knew that Ruth’s wife was very well versed in magic.
If she had any hope of avoiding another encounter with Rain, it was by asking for help from Ella the Necromancer. In all honesty, if she had been aware that the Belmarie was in port, that would have been her first stop. She had often gone drinking with the crew, though not even she could keep up with even the lightest lightweights among the girls and was on a first name basis with everyone. Unless they had added new members.
She stopped when a strange squawking voice called out from on top of a stack of crates, “Intruder!”
As one, the skeletons all put down their cargo, and she was met with a wall of sword tips leveled at her ready to fight.
“Not an intruder,” Nera said, putting her hands up to show she wasn’t a threat, “I’m just looking to talk with Ella.”
“Intruder,” argued the woman.
The points all inched closer, and she took a step back.
“Harper, no!” called another far more familiar voice from the deck of the Belmarie. The small figure of Obvinda, one of the crew she was familiar with, scurried down from the main deck towards them, “She’s a friend, not an intruder!”
“Intruder!” the woman argued back.
“If you’re not going to keep a proper watch, you can go back below the deck,” Obvinda argued back.
“No!”
“Then behave. You’re supposed to ask people what their business is, not attack on sight,” Obvinda had her hands on her hips which might have been intimidating if she weren’t just under 3 feet tall, “You lot get back to work. Sorry, Nera.”
The skeletons all sheathed their swords in unison, and began carrying cargo like nothing had happened.
“New crew?” Nera asked, trying to keep her teeth out of her smile. Goblins didn’t appreciate seeing bared teeth, and while Obvinda knew that people sometimes couldn’t help it, it was still polite to try and abide by other race’s customs.
“You have no idea. This one came out of nowhere, flying off a cliff near the Hegsburg knell, claiming she’s actually a harpy that was cursed. Probably lost her damn mind.”
“That’s one I haven’t heard before.”
“Yeah, we try to put her to work but she’s stubborn and aggressive. Not good for much more than keeping watch. Anyway, what can I help you with?”
“Is Ella around? I need some help with magic.”
“Well, that’s an odd request coming from you. Yeah, I’ll take you to her.”
Obvinda turned and gestured for Nera to follow her. Obvinda talked all about the latest gossip and news aboard the Belmarie with no prompting. Nera knew that they were pretty much all shameless gossips, but she didn’t mind. They went below decks and ended up standing in front of a door with a picture of a skull carved into it.
“Nera,” a kind voice called from behind the door, “come in, dear. In all honesty, I was expecting you much sooner than this.”
Nera looked at Obvinda who shrugged, and left. Nera opened the door to a woman in an overstuffed armchair puffing on a cigar. Nera choked on the thick smoke that filled the room.
“Oh, sorry, dear. Forgive an old woman her bad habits.”
With a gesture a large fan on the ceiling made of bone began to spin and clear the air.
“You said you were expecting me?”
“Oh, yes. Spirits have a tendency to find their way to me, you know. They told me about a young demon woman with long black hair and a penchant for violence rampaging through the city. I only know of one such person in all of Helios City that matches that description, if not all of Wirmbold.”
“And that made you think I was coming to see you?”
“They mentioned a strange source of powerful magic. Mind manipulation.”
“Mind manipulation?”
“It’s truly despicable taking control of someone else’s mind. Not something I would ever engage in. And apparently the rampaging demoness was seeking someone in particular.”
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“So you knew I’d come looking for help with magic, and if the Belmarie is in port, that means you are the best source of help.”
Ella laughed, and with her skeletal right arm grabbed a bottle full of bright green liquid from the box on the table next to her chair.
“This is what you need to find the person you’re looking for, Nera. It does have a cost. Though not much of one. I only need two sil for the ingredients and my time.”
“Gladly,” Nera said, reaching into her pockets for the money.
She handed over the money and unstoppered the bottle to drink it.
“Stop! It’s not for drinking. That stuff could drop a direbear in an instant.”
Nera made a face and corked the bottle.
“You need a hair from your target to activate the spell.”
“She’s not a target.”
“Oh my, I had assumed…”
“Someone kidnapped Solana, my girlfriend.”
“I am sorry, dear. That is rough.”
“How do I deal with the mind control magic?”
“Well, since she’s your girlfriend the easiest method is with love. Even the strongest spell can’t destroy the bonds of love.”
“So I just love her and she’ll be fine?”
“It’s a little difficult to explain. Just trust that she’ll know you when the time comes. Now go find your girl, before it’s too late.”
Ella shooed Nera out of the room. Luckily she knew just where to find Solana’s hair.
The door to Solana’s apartment opened to an elven woman with disheveled hair in an oversized shirt and shorts. She looked like she’d had a run in with a disgruntled owl and hadn’t slept in over a week. The bags under her eyes looked like they could hold a week's groceries.
“Where’s Solana?” she demanded upon seeing Nera.
“Nice to see you too, Penelope. And that’s what I’m here to find out,” Nera snapped back. She didn’t get on well with Solana’s roommates, least of all this one.
“What the funt is that supposed to mean?”
“Look, I don’t exactly have a lot of time, okay? Solana’s been kidnapped, and I need some of her hair to go rescue her from the weirdo nuns that took her.”
Nera pushed her way through the door.
“Hey! You can’t just barge your way in here!”
“I’m pretty sure I just did.”
Nera tried to open the door to Solana’s room, but it was locked. She took a step back, and kicked the door open.
“That’s it, I’m calling the cops.”
“Sure, you do that. Meanwhile, I’m going to be actually doing something constructive.”
Nera grabbed Solana’s hairbrush and puzzled over the bottle. Ella hadn’t said how much hair to add. She decided to go with the ancient principle that more is better, and rolled everything from her brush into a ball, and stuffed it in the container before corking it again. She gave it a solid shake for good measure.
Instantly the bottle began to glow. A thin bright green line of light extended out of the bottle for a few handspans. When Nera turned the light continued pointing in the same direction.
Nera left the apartment, ignoring a barrage of swearing from Solana’s roommate, and drove with the light providing the directions. Because the light was always pointing in the direction of Solana, and not which road she needed to take, it took a while to make her way through the confusing one way streets of downtown and where she needed to go.
After a half hour of driving, the light took a sudden turn to the left, and Nera slammed on her breaks, forcing the car behind her to do the same. The driver blared his horn and shouted insults as he sped past. Nera eyed the device for a moment before realizing it was pointing to a church she had nearly passed.
It was actually an old cathedral that had overgrown weeds in the yard, and vines climbing up the decaying stone walls. She decided that her best bet for dealing with the army of nuns that she would no doubt have to deal with was to breach the doors with explosives. Plus it would look cool as shit.
She pulled charges from her trunk, and slowly rolled out the wire to a safe distance to the detonator. Nera flicked the switch and with an explosion of fire, the doors blew inward. As the smoke cleared she walked in like she owned the place. Her rifle was charging an electric round to counteract any of the strange magic the nuns used to stop bullets.
Instead of a horde of charging nuns, the cathedral was empty except for Solana sat at the front of the cathedral, next to the strangest person she had ever seen. Standing at the altar with flowing pristine white robes and a strange hat, was a person with red skin.
Nera wasn’t necessarily thrown off by the color of his skin, she had cousins who were red. It was the fact that his face was cylindrical, and he had only one large eye. No mouth, no nose. Just an eye. He stood nearly eight feet tall, and she somehow got the impression, despite the lack of a mouth, that he was smirking at her.
“Ah, you must be Nera,” the Bishop of Ruin intoned with what seemed like amusement, “I am known as the Bishop of Ruin, and you, my little demon saboteur, have been futzing up my plans!” The last bit was shouted and the stained glass windows cracked from the force of it.
“If you know who I am, then you know what I’m here for,” Nera replied, lifting the rifle to her shoulder and aiming for the man, electricity crackling at the end of the barrel, “and that I don’t give a rat’s ass for your plans.”
She fired at the Bishop of Ruin, but the bullet lost all of its momentum and fell harmlessly to the floor about halfway to him. A weak spark flying from the harmless hunk of metal, and fizzling out.
“Well, shit,” Nera said.
Solana stood from her place beside the Bishop of Ruin and her eyes began glowing a vibrant shade of pink. Energy crackled in her hands, and with no hesitation whatsoever, she fired a spell at Nera.
Nera tried to dodge but the edge of the pink ball of magic hit her shoulder, searing her skin and sending her spinning into the stone wall of the cathedral. Nera let out an involuntary “oof” at the impact.
Solana was already charging another spell, and slowly walking down the center aisle between the two columns of pews towards Nera.