I woke with the worst headache I’ve ever experienced. Every throb of my pulse caused a steady trickle of pain from the back of my skull. It was hard to focus on much of anything at all. I tried to sit up, and nothing moved.
Oh. That’s right. I’m kidnapped.
Yes, that’s right, we’re kidnapped as part of the plan.
This was a stupid plan. Why’d they have to hit us over the head?
Easier to tie us up, and gag us.
Now that otherme mentioned it, I did feel the overly dry feeling of cloth binding my mouth. Now that I had remembered, I could feel the tightness of ropes on my wrists and ankles as well. I was laying on my side on something very hard and very uncomfortable. My hips and shoulders ached fiercely, though they were quiet compared to the raging headache throbbing in my skull.
The only sounds I could hear were a slosh of water somewhere nearby, the distant shouts of men muffled by something, and the screech of seagulls. I opened my eyes very slightly. Hard wood decking. Dirty, scuffed and scarred. The smell of pitch and sea water.
What a wonderful smell we’ve discovered. I don’t suppose you caught anything while they were carrying us here?
A sense of baffled confusion. What are you asking? We just woke up, just now! How would we hear them when we were unconscious!?
I let out a sigh. Because I hoped you would stay awake when I was out?
This again? We’re the same person. I can’t be awake if you’re not awake.
You were awake for sixteen years before I even knew you existed!
That’s different. You weren’t asleep in the same way. It was like you were… healing. I can’t describe it any better.
I swallowed. “Wonderful.” I muttered into the gag, then shut up, hearing the sound of boots heading towards me. I squeezed my eyes shut, and listened as hard as I could.
A door banged open and two loud male voices entered.
“See? She’s still out.” Said one.
“Well what did you expect?” The other said. “You hit her hard enough to knock her clear to Spyre!”
“Hey, I had no way to know she was so soft!”
“Oh come on, just look at her! Anyone would know with a glance she can’t have more than 50 hit points at most! As to the soft part…”
Well, now I know he hasn’t put any effort into a {Study} of me… that’s good, I think?
I felt a toe nudge into my stomach and rock me slightly.
“Don’t think I didn’t see the look in your eyes when we were carrying her out of the bar.” The voice continued. “The church bounty is very explicit, and if you cost me 10 million zeni just because you can’t keep your hands off a pretty girl, I will have your eyes, Dinesh.”
“Oh come on!” The other man, presumably Dinesh whined. “Look at her! What’s a little grope or squeeze going to hurt?!”
I felt a chill crawl all the way up my spine and settle into my head. I really had not thought about that… possibility. I was a girl and they were pirates. I had no guarantee that simply being the heroine granted me any immunity!
“I’ll hurt you.” The second man grated out. “Ten million zeni worth.”
I could hear the clomp as Dinesh took a step back. “Right, right, sorry Captain Devdan.”
A satisfied grunt, and a feeling of closeness, before I felt rough hands checking the knots on my bindings, lifting my hair to check the back of my head. I did my best to stay limp and still. I didn’t even dare use a {Persuade}, since they might feel it. I blessed the filthy rag shoved into my mouth, it let me bite hard on something to avoid shrieking in fear and rage.
I heard the captain get to his feet, and the sense of nearby presence eased. “Well she’s still out and the bonds are secure. Don’t know what the church wants with her anyway.”
“I still think we should have sold her!” Dinesh griped. “Do you know how much a {Spiritist} can go for in the southern deserts?!”
“Less than ten million zeni, I imagine.” The captain said. “So you’ll keep your hands to yourself and your ideas where they belong.” Clomping boots faded off. I felt a presence move closer to me, and the voice of Dinesh grew closer. A hand rested on my hip in a manner than made all the hair on the back of my neck stand right on end.
“You’re lucky the captain is so set on the terms… such a waste.” Dinesh muttered.
“Dinesh! Outside! Now!” The captain’s voice roared.
I heard Dinesh leap to his feet and dash off. “I hear ya, I hear ya! I’m your crew, not your slave!” And then a door slammed, the sounds of angry voices slowly fading away.
I let out a quiet moaning whimper into the gag. I wasn’t sure which of me it was, but both of me suddenly had third, fourth, and fifth thoughts about this oh so cunning kidnap plan…
“Eshaan… Soriya… please hurry…” I whispered into the gag.
***
Two hundred meters away, Soriya and Eshaan were struggling to row as quietly as possible, following a pirate sloop in thick mist.
“It’s a good thing. That the mist. Is so thick!” Eshaan panted, hauling on the oars for all he was worth.
Soriya grimaced. “I know, I know, they’d see us for sure if the mist wasn’t here, but this wasn’t the plan! We were supposed to be aboard by now!”
Eshaan hauled on the oars, sweating heavily. “Lily. Can handle it.” He panted out.
“How can you be so confident!?” Soriya snapped.
“Because. She told us. She can.” While hauling on the oars, he managed to give a shrug. “But we have to. Catch up. Do our part.”
Soriya fidgeted. “If you’d just let me cast {Gale}-”
“No!” Eshaan was emphatic. “Will blow. The mist.”
Soriya fidgeted again, frustrated but unable to refute the point. Eshaan was right. He’d said it before, but this wasn’t the plan. And despite Lily’s insistence that she could handle herself, she was far too sweet and naive for her own good! Letting pirates capture her! What had she been thinking! This wasn’t some game, for all the stats and numbers! The pirates could do… all kinds of things! Why had she agreed with this?!
From the direction of the pirate sloop, there was a soft thud and splashing noise.
“What’s that?!” Soriya’s eyes widened in panic.
Eshaan grinned broadly. “What I was expecting.” He eased off on the oars, pulling them aboard. “That’s.” He caught his breath, then continued. “That’s the breakwater, and the jetty. They have to slow down. Now we can catch them!” He put his hands back to the oars and started pulling. He winced. “Been too long. Lost all my fisher’s calluses!”
The little rowboat pulled steadily through the mist, the soft sounds of the pirate vessel growing louder, carried over the water to them.
There was a shout and another splash, and a voice calling “Right lads! Our fortune’s made with this pink doxie delivered to the church! Haul sail!”
Eshaan went pale under his tan, and his expression grew bleak.
Soriya grimaced. “Right. The look on your face tells me things went upside down. When do our plans ever work right?” She pulled Diaboli from her storage pocket with a flash of light.
Eshaan protested. “You can’t! They’ll hear!”
Soriya stood up in the boat and yelled out in a clear and firm voice.
“This is the Dread Pirate Soriya! Haul to and prepare to be boarded, or we’ll send you to the bottom!” She chanted a {Flare} that shot a bright bolt of red-yellow into the mist, coring a hole in the wall of wavering grey.
Eshaan groaned and slapped his palm over his face. “Or we could do that.” He muttered.
The mists tore apart, revealing the pirate sloop, it’s sails half unfurled and already starting to kick up a wake as the ship slowly pulled past the breakwater of the harbor jetty. Shouts of alarm and the sight of pirates scurrying across the deck with weapons met their gaze.
Eshaan hauled mightily on the oars, swearing. “I thought I was the impulsive madman here! This was not the plan!” He snarled angrily at Soriya.
“If you’ve got breath to talk you’ve got breath to row! Actually, screw that.” She abruptly sat down, and brought Diaboli to her shoulder.
Soriya took a breath and shouted. “Spirits of Water, heed my call! Show my foes your might! Iceberg!”
A spiraling arcane circle glowed at the mouth of Diaboli, and Eshaan swore he could hear the howl of the blizzard from the Tol Jaegren range as Diaboli bucked against Soriya’s shoulder and a jagged bolt of blue white shot out of the barrel, enlarging into a razor-sharp spike of ice that howled overhead and tore through the sails.
It was answered by the abrupt bark of firearms echoing across the water, bright muzzle flashes reflecting from the corridor of mist coiling around the two ships.
“They’re shooting at us!” Soriya protested.
“They do that when you attack them!” Eshaan shouted, frantically pulling at the oars for everything he was worth. Small splashes of missed shots plunked into the water sending gouts of water over them, while others hit closer to home, sending a spray of splinters from the rowboat’s hull.
“Well, let’s see how this works then” Soriyra raised Diaboli to her shoulder and fired again, the green streaks of a {Poizon} filling the air. Dismayed shouts and screams of pain from the ship testified to the impact her spells had.
“Could you please not sink the ship that we’re trying to steal before we steal it!?” Eshaan called out.
“Right boys, they want trouble! Let’s give it to them!” A voice called out from the decks, and a hail of bullets and spells came roaring towards the little rowboat. Bullets smacked into the hull, splinters flew digging sharply into Eshaan and Soriya’s skin, and not-quite-misses grazed lines into their bodies.
“I don’t think we’re going to get a choice!” Soriya shouted.
“There’s always a choice!” Eshaan replied, and grabbed the boat anchor and rope from the bow. He lifted it over his head and started spinning it, then hurled it outwards, landing with a solid THUNK-chunk around the sloop’s railing. Eshaan grinned. “Hah. Still got the old eye!”
Pirates rushed towards the rope to cut it loose as Eshaan started hauling the rope towards him hand over hand. Soriya whooped, and fired Diaboli in short controlled bursts of ice and fire as pirates reached the rail and then staggered backwards with a face full of elemental spell power.
Eshaan pulled the little rowboat level with the pirate sloop, and leapt aboard, swinging over the railing with the easy grace of a man at home on the water. Soriya couldn’t help but wince as further near misses tore at his clothes and left bloody trails on his arms and cheek.
“If you give us the lady Lilyanna-” He broke off as a group of pirates charged, and he was forced to parry their attacks.
Soriya huffed her way up the side of the sloop. “Never thought long nails would be this much of a drawback.” She muttered to herself. “Being fashionable is such a chore!”
She raised Diaboli and casually fired a blaze of fire into the face of a pirate looking to score a quick victory with an easy target. She blew a wisp of smoke off the barrel. “Honestly, you people are barely fit companions. If it wasn’t for Lily, this wouldn’t even be a concern.”
***
The muffled sound of spellfire and gunshots from outside the small room I was tied up in brought me out of my haze of worry.
Oh thank the spirits! They’re here!
The rush of relief I felt was almost overpowering in it’s intensity. I wiggled against the ropes, but they were still bound as tightly as ever. My quick survey of the room didn’t provide any obvious ways to cut them either, just like the last three times I’d checked. I huffed in frustration and struggled into a sitting position, my legs curled to one side. It wasn’t much but it was better. This being kidnapped business was really quite boring, aside from the immense terror.
The fight didn’t seem to be going well for the pirates, and I could hear shouts and screams of pain from them as the sound of blade ringing on blade joined the sound of spellfire and bullets.
“Give em honey, Eshaan”. I muttered into my gag, and then made a face. The taste of the dirty rag in my mouth hadn’t gotten any better either. Though compared to the smell and taste of the sewers under Farna, this was a trivial inconvience.
Still tastes foul though. Rinsing my mouth out, first thing.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
The door slammed open, and feet rushed in. I looked up, but my hopes were dashed, this was clearly one of the pirates. His hair was rough brown, his bare arms were muscular and covered with small white scars, and a particularly nasty cut across his cheek had pulled his lip up into a permeant sneer.
“Right!” He snarled. His voice matched the voice of the captain, Devdan. He strode across the room in one quick burst of action, grabbed me painfully by the upper arm and hauled me roughly to my feet. I winced as his fingers dug into my flesh. “Your friends have come to save you, so you must be worth a lot more than I expected! But they’re damn fools, so you’re going to help me escape!”
I glared up at him. I felt terrified, but also furious. He must have picked up on it, as his sneer lifted a few degrees. “Not keen on the idea? We’ll see. Come on, princess!” He hauled me out the door, my bound feet stumbling awkwardly.
I felt a mad giggle rising in my throat. What could I say? ‘You’re hurting me’? Why was that the first thing that even came to mind, he wouldn’t care!
I’m not a trope, I won’t trope this encounter! I thought defiantly.
Really? That’s what you’re worried about?! Otherme said. Our friends are fighting for us, and our lives! Look how much trouble we’ve made for them! We should apologize immediately!
I did feel horribly guilty, seeing Soriya and Eshaan surrounded by the mob of pirate cutthroats, but the only thing that drifted through my head was, Huh, I recognize several of these men from the bar.
“Right! That’s enough!” The captain shouted, still holding me firmly by the upper arm. He laid his blade against my throat, and pulled it tight. I felt the sting as it cut into my skin, and a wet trickle slid down my throat, and nestled against my clavicle.
“You’re going to put down your weapons, or this pretty girl dies!”
There was a tense silence.
I know how this scene goes. I know every beat. I. Will not. Be. Bait.
Wait, what are you doing- Otherme’s cry of alarm was crushed as I suddenly made a hopping jump, and slammed the full weight of my foot onto the captain’s instep. I felt the cold sting of his knife cut deeply into my throat, followed by the horrified realization that I’d just helped him cut my throat!
Oh… oh honeysuckle…
“Lilyanna!!” Eshaan’s cry was a panicked scream, and he suddenly became a whirling dervish of blade. The world started to grow dim, and I felt my knees buckle.
So that’s… why the heroine… stays so still… when she’s grabbed… I thought through the haze of pain and the growing darkness.
The captain threw me away from him with a curse and I slid to the deck, my legs suddenly unable to hold me up.
This. Is so unfair.
***
Eshaan watched Lilyanna slump to the deck, blood pooling from her slashed throat. “LILYANNAAA!!” He screamed and charged forward. He wasn’t sure how he pushed past the horde of pirates, or how his blade seemed to move so quickly. It wasn’t quickly enough, Lilyanna was dying!
Why did she do that?! Why did she…? It didn’t matter. She’d distracted the pirate captain and that was the opening they’d needed. Eshaan felt a red haze of fury slowly building in his mind, and fought to keep it down, the voice of his Commander Khine ringing in his mind.
“Fury is a useful tool, but a dangerous one, quite like a sword. Control is needed for both. Do not let your rage overwhelm you. Use it, like any good tool.” He had said.
Eshaan pushed back the red haze as he crossed blades with the pirate captain, and shoved him backwards, fumbling with his belt for a healing potion. His voice was low and deadly as he said. “You are presented with a choice, captain. You can let me pour this healing potion over my friend’s throat, or I will personally send you to the justice that she is too kind to wish on you.”
“I have a counter offer, whelp!” The captain sneered. “You die, and I get rich from the church’s coffers!”
“You fool! You think they’ll pay for a dead woman!?” Soriya called.
The pirate paused, and Eshaan dove towards Lilyanna’s terribly pale body, his thumb flicking off the cork of the healing potion. Behind him, Soriya’s chant and the roar of a {Flare} was followed by the choking scream of the captain as he stumbled backwards, the smell of burning flesh and hair filling the air. Eshaan had little time to care, his hands trembling as he gently pulled Lilyanna’s head into his lap, and poured the glowing red potion over her throat and lips.
“Please work… please work…” he murmured.
***
I came to with a gasping choking cough, feeling my lungs convulsing and my head and neck burning. The whole world seemed to swim blurrily, then slowly came into focus, Eshaan’s worried face staring down at me.
Oh. I’ve got my head in his lap again. I thought blurrily.
Eee! We’ve got our head in his lap again! Otherme cried.
I wanted to jerk upright, but every part of me ached, and my head pounded like a drum. And instead, the only thing that came out was the thing I’d promised I wouldn’t say.
“I’m sorry.” I whispered up at him. “I’m so sorry, I messed it all up.”
Eshaan choked back a laugh, wiping at his eyes.
He was crying? Why was he crying?
Why do you think he was crying?! Otherme was in ecstasy. He was crying for us! He was worried about us! Eee! It’s so romantic! Just like a prince in a storybook!
I groaned, and closed my eyes.
“Lily?!” Eshaan’s worried voice overhead made me open my eyes again.
“I’m fine.” I croaked out. Actually, I didn’t sound fine… in point of fact, I probably sounded like somebody who had had her throat cut and then magically stitched back together. And since that’s what I felt like too…
I coughed again, turning my head to the side, and speckles of black red blood sprayed out of my mouth onto the deck.
I panted softly. “Ok, I’ve been better.” I wheezed, my voice a soprano who’d smoked a pack of cigarettes. I wonder if this is why batman sounds like he does? Does the whole family smoke? I could feel my mind drifting.
“Just…” I coughed again, and closed my eyes. “Gonna rest my eyes, ok?”
“No, no, Lily, you can’t rest! You have to drink another healing potion!” A bottle was rudely thrust to my lips, and I choked as the taste flooded my mouth. It did ease the pain, but I was so tired. So very tired.
“She’ll need to rest, after you feed her that many healing potions in a row.” Soriya’s voice floated down through the layers of blackness I floated in, and then everything was quiet.
***
“She’ll be fine.” Soriya reassured Eshaan. “You just fed her 3 healing potions right after she got her throat cut. A body needs time to recover after that. Didn’t your trooper training cover how healing potions can take a toll on you?”
Eshaan grimaced, lightly brushing a strand of pink hair out of Lily’s face, leaving a smear of soot behind. “Yeah. They did.” He heaved a long sigh, then looked up at Soriya. “Are you sure she’s going to be ok?”
Soriya grinned, resting Diaboli on her shoulder. “She had enough strength to quip. She’ll be fine. Now.” She kicked one of the random drops that was rolling around the deck with the slow motion of the ship. “How about we tie up the prisoners and collect the drops, so our Lily doesn’t have a crying fit when she realizes how many people we killed with this plan of hers?”
***
I came to with the slow rocking of the boat, the sound of slapping water and sails shifting overhead. I coughed, and sat up, my hand going to my throat.
Not slit open. That’s good. “Test?” I said very softly. Soft soprano, and no rough harshness to it, but best of all, my throat didn’t hurt, though I did feel like I’d slept on a bed of gravel for a day.
I blinked slowly, and looked around. The deck was bare, a few bloodstains here and there, but with no sign of any pirates. The sails billowed overhead, mostly furled but with a few still running. Eshaan stood by the ship’s wheel, his hand firmly on the spoke, the wind tousling his hair even further. Soriya stood next to him, gesturing with her usual energy. I blinked slowly, and climbed to my feet, letting out a moan of pain.
Eshaan immediately threw a loop of rope around one of the wheel spokes and hurried over. “Lily! You’re up, thank the dragon!”
I blinked, and shook my head, then clutched at it with my hands.
That was a mistake. I thought, as the world spun a bit around me. I grabbed for Eshaan to steady myself.
“Thanks.” I murmured, as he held me upright. “Sorry. Don’t quite have my sea legs.”
“I’d give you another healing potion, but Soriya says you’ve had too many already, you need real rest to recover.”
“Oh.” I said, turning that thought over in my head. “That’s… what, Three? Five?”
Three for someone our size. Maybe five for somebody like Daniyel. Otherme quietly added.
“Three.” Eshaan said. “When you went down I…. what on earth possessed you, Lily!? You could have died!” His arms trembled and I flushed.
“I’m sorry!” I stumbled back a bit, and found myself bowing repeatedly. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”
Oh spirits bless me, this is exactly what I didn’t want to do! This was the whole point…!
I sagged, and Eshaan caught me before I hit the deck again. “Lily, you need rest.” He said with concern.
I shook him off. “How many?”
Eshaan looked at me, then looked off to the horizon. “How many… what?” he said, and I felt my heart crumble.
“Oh spirits bless me; they’re all dead aren’t they!?” I wailed.
“No, no, Lily, they’re not all dead!”
“We killed six of them.” Soriya said, her quiet voice cutting through the creak of the ship.
I looked up, feeling tears stinging my eyes. “Six?! There’s… maybe ten left?”
The guilty look on Eshaan’s face told me what I wanted to know.
“Oh spirits, why does it always wind up like this?!”
Eshaan held me without words, and Soriya was silent. I felt guilty for the enjoyment that his hug gave me, but at the moment, I needed it more than I’d ever imagined.
A long moment passed, and I drew a shaky breath and nodded against his chest. “Ok. It’s ok, I’m not going to break.” I drew back.
“They were bad men, Lily.” Soriya said firmly.
“I know that! You think I don’t know that?! They made it very obvious that they were bad men! But now they’re dead, and they’ll never be anything but dead! You can’t change your ways if you’re dead!” I burst out.
“You can’t save the world if you’re dead either.” Soriya said quietly.
Eshaan nodded, then added. “You tried, Lily. And most of them did surrender.”
I took a deep breath and nodded, standing a little straighter. “Right. So. My turn now.” I glanced around the ship, then back to Eshaan. “I see you were right; you are able to handle a ship.”
Eshaan grinned at me. “Fisher’s son. Told you.”
I smiled back at him and nodded. “Alright. So, where are we headed?”
“The Port of Ebureh, gateway to Spyre. It’s at the mouth of the Zafir River. Once we reach that, we can sail our way up the Zafir to Spyre. I’d estimate it’ll take about three days if the wind holds fair.”
I nodded again, then {Studied} myself to call up my status screen.
{Name}: Lilyanna of Breezewood {Level}: 13
{Classes}: Spiritist 6/Orator 4/Arcanist 2/Gourmet 1
HP: 430 MP: 730(360) DEF: 63 M.DEF: 106
Current Status:
DEX: 63 INS: 106(53)
MIG: 63(32) WIL: 106(53)
Skills: Heal, Barrier, Aura, Cleanse, Awaken, Bonds of Friendship, Encourage, My Trust in You 2, Persuade, Bind & Summon, Arcane Circle 1, Cooking 1
Special: Ætherborn
I blinked in surprise. “We leveled?!”
They both nodded. “We did, yeah.”
“I didn’t know that could happen when you were unconscious.”
“Apparently.” Eshaan said.
“Hm. I’ve got some nasty status effects from potion overdose, but my mana is fine. I can call Gate.”
“Lily, are you sure you’re all right?” Eshaan stared at me seriously.
“I’m fine.” I hung my head, at the obvious lie. “I will be fine. I can do this much at least!”
He stared at me, then looked over to Soriya. She smiled and nodded wryly at him. “You’ll get nothing from her until we let her try. She’s stubborn, in her own quiet way.”
I flushed in embarrassment, and opened my mouth to complain, but Eshaan turned back to me and tipped his head to the side quizzically. I closed my mouth and looked down, nodding. “I guess I am.”
“Wow, you got her to admit it! Nice work!” Soriya slapped Eshaan on the shoulder. “Alright! Lets bring up the prisoners and we’ll Gate them off. We’re not dropping them in Breezewood, right?” She asked me.
I shook my head. “No of course not! But it’s clear they won’t get justice in Eien, so that leaves Farna.”
“Why not drop them off at Hausser, or somewhere closer?” Eshaan asked curiously. Otherme filled in a mental map. The capital of Ilmora, and halfway between Farna and the Tol Jaegren range.
I glared at him in frustration. “Because I’ve never been to Hausser!” I reminded him with an angry huff.
“Ah. Heh heh.” He rubbed at the back of his head again. “Right. Sorry.”
“Look who’s a world traveler!” Soriya grinned at him. “We can’t all have a past as an imperial trooper!”
“Sorry, Lily.” Eshaan bowed apologetically to me. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
I scowled but let it go. I clapped my hands together in front of me, feeling a slight tremble as I did. “Right. Lets do this.” I nodded again, then planted my feet apart to steady myself, and raised my hands.
“Gate! I call on you! Allow us to transit the space outside of space!” I pushed my mana into the chant, and felt the uncoiling power slowly awaken.
We hear your plea, Child of Æther. I felt Gate begin to unfurl within me, the familiar rising tide of power and the shimmering of purple black energy that accompanied him.
Suddenly, the rising power within me burst, flooding outwards as though it had reached the summoning point, but it was too soon! Far far too soon! I staggered, and fell to my knees, feeling the world going grey and shimmering around me.
Gate erupted from my chest, a burning purple and black negative image. “We are too close, Child of Æther. The conduit cannot be formed, the Way has been opened to the Wake. I am sorry I cannot bear you to your destination until you clear the miasma of the broken Veil.”
I barely had time to process what Gate was saying, as the whole world around us shimmered, and suddenly tore as the ship and the everyone aboard it was plunged through a misty curtain that sent chills through my whole body. Howls of triumph and rage erupted from the air around us.
MURDERER! PIRATE! WE HAVE YOU NOW! TASTE OUR VENGEANCE! The voices were like a whisper and a scream, an echo and a thunderclap all in one.
Echoes of glowing light formed in the mist, and then the sound of crunching wood all around us. Ghostly hands reaching up out of the sea, skeletal projections tearing at the wood of the ship, reaching for me, for Eshaan, for Soriya.
YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES! YOU WILL ALL PAY! The voices raged and screamed, the ghostly white skeletal claws reaching for us, tearing at the wood of the sloop. Deep inside the hold, screams of terror and agony erupted.
”Gate! What have you done!?” I shrieked in terror as I stumbled aside from a reaching ghostly hand.
“I have done nothing. This is the Wake, Child of Æther. You must find your own way out.”
The dragon faded into sparkling mist and vanished.
I hurriedly threw up a {Barrier} around us, skeletal hands clawing at the shimmering white light around us. “Where the honeysuckle meadowlark are we?!”
“Gate said… the Wake…?” Soriya looked around wildly.
“The Wake… the Wake of the World?!” Eshaan shouted in disbelief. “It’s real?!”
Soriya pulled Diaboli out of her storage space. “Apparently.” She said calmly, cocking it. “My theories will need significant revision.”
The sloop came to a shuddering grinding halt, causing all of us to topple forward. The sound of water roaring into the hull was mingled with shouts and screams, human and otherworldly.
“We’ve got to let them out!” I shouted wildly.
Soriya shook her head, her face set in grim stone. “No. We don’t. This is what you wanted. True justice.”
“What?! What are you saying?!”
“All the souls of the innocents they’ve killed. All the souls of everyone they’ve killed. All the ghostly wrongs they’ve committed, they all trail a person through their life, trailing them like a ship’s wake. The Wake of the World. That is who has come calling for them. And if they are screaming for help, then it is the souls of their victims who are screaming in triumph.”
Eshaan looked around at the ghostly figures and skeletal hands clawing at my {Barrier}. “And these are…?”
Soriya nodded. “Our victims as well. We are in considerably less trouble than the pirates, and yet things are not looking good for us.”
My {Barrier} gave a flickering spark as another assault on it was repulsed.
“So many…?” I whispered.
Eshaan grabbed me by the shoulder. “Bad men, Lily! Remember! Bad men!”
I turned to him. “But how can I be sure?!” I wailed.
There was a crunching sound from below our feet, and the sloop suddenly lurched to the side, staggering us, and started to ride lower in the water.
“Moralize later, survive now!” Soriya snapped, then fired Diaboli into the mist of groping hands. They scattered in fragments of dust and grey mist. “Eshaan. Lifeboat. Where?”
Eshaan pointed. “There. Probably not in great shape but-”
There was a sudden BOOM and the air seemed to fill with shrieks. A flash of bright light streaked overhead, and looking through the mist surrounding us, a ship slowly emerged into the little pool of light around us. A ship with tattered grey sails, and a hull of ivory white bones, woven into the shape of a pirate’s galleon. Several more shuddering blasts from the black muzzle ports along it’s side, and the shrieking ghosts clawing at my {Barrier} fled into the mist around us.
“What the honeysuckle is that?!” I whispered, feeling my whole body lock up with a cold dread.
“Ahoy, ye overworlders! Ye be looking as such ye could use a rescue, aye?” A raunchy voice that roared out with powerful bellow, despite also sounding as though it was rotting from within. Along the deck of the ghost ship pulling alongside our rapidly sinking sloop came a figure straight out of a pirate movie. Clad in gaudy finery draped in rotting weeds, a skeleton with a jaunty cavalier hat with a bright sea anemone where a feather might be strolled the deck.
“There be a price to pay, sure enough, but I’m thinking you’d not have much choice, am I right?”
The splintering crack of the hull under us and the sudden gush of water up through the lower deck hatches reinforced his point. I swallowed down a gush of guilt and self-loathing. The screams and cries of the pirates in the hold had gone silent, as had the gleeful screams of their former victims.
This adventure just keeps getting better and better. All aboard for a discount Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Real ghosts a specialty!
Eshaan nodded, and grabbed both Soriya’s and my hands. “Right. Scary skeleton has a point, let’s go!” He pulled us towards the rope ladder thrown over the side of the ghost ship, up the slanting deck.
We ran for it, grabbing at the rope ladder as the ship under us started to go, tipping onto its side and then sliding slowly under the surface. Eshaan grabbed onto my arm, and I held on for dear life, Soriya gripping the ladder beside me. The black water under my boots seemed to suck greedily at my toes as I flailed wildly before getting my foot solidly on a rung.
“Right.” I breathed a sigh of relief, seeing Soriya also get her high heeled pumps into the rungs. “Let’s find out what Skull and Crossed Bones is going to demand…” I followed Eshaan up the ladder and onto the ivory white deck of bones.