Magic

Chapter 5. Childhood’s End. (Buccaneer Jones and the Fires of Peace)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

Bucc didn’t sleep much that night either. He cradled the old boot in his arms as he lay in his bed. A rich smell of soil filled his nostrils. Every now and then he would carefully stroke the tiny leaves of the daffodil within. He usually found that this helped, but it did little to calm him now.

Knowing that the next time you went to sleep you would no longer be a child was a daunting thought. Questions and fears raced through his mind. What if he didn’t have the right affinity? What if he had no choice but to fight? What if the ceremony changed him in some way, took away a part of who he was as a person?

He gave up trying to sleep and decided to wander the ship. He stepped out onto the deck and felt insignificant beneath the millions of stars that shone above him. Bucc didn’t see the universe with the enthusiasm that people like Adward managed to. For Adward, he saw stars as a symbol of the vastness of the universe, a sign that there are so many wonders out there to explore. All they did for Bucc was to remind him how absolutely tiny he really was.

Neither the helmsman nor the few pirates that occupied the deck paid Bucc any notice. With so many people aboard the floating village, there were always people up and about whatever the hour. 

The world glowed with a silver light from the bloated moon above. Tomorrow would be a special full moon. There was only a single night each year that the Awakening could take place, so every ship across the world made the pilgrimage to one of the many moonspires that were scattered throughout the seas.

It seemed that Bucc wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep. Adward sat at the forecastle staring up at the sky. Bucc sat down beside him without speaking. They just sat there for a while, watching as the darkness of the sky grew murky with the first hints of morning.

“Did Jesse manage to sleep?” Bucc asked after a while. Adward chuckled at the question.

“No. Last time I looked she was hyperventilating in the corner of her cabin. You worry about far off things like the future. She worries about being forced to stand in front of the entire ship as the centre of attention. Unless she calms down you might just get out of the ceremony when she drops dead from a heart attack.”

“What about you?”

“Me? I’m fine with it all. I’ve never really had any hangups like you and Jesse. Things will be different, but that isn’t a bad thing. I can’t change it so why waste time worrying?”

“Has anyone ever told you how annoying it is that you’re always so calm?”

“A few people might have mentioned it.”

Bucc stared out at the sea thoughtfully. “I just wish Kaz was here. This feels like something he should have seen. Though I doubt we’d be worried at all if he was still around.”

“Yeah. I know. I think a lot of Jesse’s nightmares have been about him. She still blames herself. For him and our Ma.”

“I know the feeling,” Bucc answered tiredly. He was all too aware how large a part in Kaz’s death he had played. “Do you think he’d still be proud of us?”

“He always had big dreams, for himself and for us. He wanted to surpass Captain Dread, find his treasure, and become the greatest pirate in the world. He probably could have done it too. But he also taught us to be our own people. He was the one who showed me my first map of the riftways. He was the one who showed Jesse how to use and maintain a pistol, and he gave you your first seed, as well as that book on plants. As long as we are the ones making our own choices, I think he’d believe in us to do what is best.”

“You’re right, as always. Thanks.”

Adward turned his eyes back to the sky. He lifted a finger and traced a constellation. His lips moved silently as though he was trying to work something out. 

“We’ll reach the moonspire about two hours after dawn,” he said. “We should really try and get some sleep. It’s going to be a busy day.”

Bucc agreed and returned to his cabin. He managed to get an hours’ fitful rest before being subjected to his mum’s suffocating enthusiasm when she came to wake him.

“Today’s the big day,” she said in that universal tone of sickly sweet maternal pride used by mothers across the known world. “My little boy is going to be all grown up.”

“Ma! This whole thing is embarrassing enough without you getting all soppy. Can’t I just stay in my cabin until tonight?”

“Of course you can’t. The Awakening might be tonight but there’s still a lot of preparation needed. Anyway, it’s your special day. Everyone wants to see you,” his mum said, ploughing through his complaints. Shayla wove around their feet with her tail held high in the air.

“I’m pretty sure that nobody wants to see me,” Bucc answered miserably. “Most of the ship is waiting to see how I disappoint their already low expectations. I just want to have my affinity confirmed then get out of here.”

“Of course people like you,” she said, hearing only the parts of his reply that she wanted to. “You’ll look at everything differently after the ceremony. You’ll see that everyone only has your best interest at heart. Why, once you become a full pirate we can see about getting you in some raids to capture someone from another ship and woo them, just like I did with your Pa. Or, if that isn’t your style, we can see about getting you and Jesse married.”

“What? Ma! Why do you have to be like this! I don’t want to be a pirate and I don’t want to get married yet!”

“But you and Jesse get on so well together. Her ambition and your confidence might make a full pirate.”

Bucc ignored the unintended insult. “We get on well because we’re friends. Now for the love of the Noodly One, please stop talking about it. This day’s going to be hard enough already.”

As Bucc emerged onto the deck, his eyes were immediately drawn to the tower of white rock that rose up out of the sea ahead of them. It was as wide as the Seal was long and reached up through the clouds to pierce the heavens above. The spire looked like it was polished pearl but nobody had ever been able to chip any fragments off for a closer inspection. A few greedy captains had even opened fire with cannons over the years, but nothing had ever left a scratch.

The deck was already busy with activity. The Awakening ceremony was the largest event in any given year. The only thing that could eclipse it would be a new promotion of a ship’s captain to a Pirate Lord. It seemed that extra supplies had been set aside for the ceremony despite the recent food shortages. Decorations were hung and tables were being laid out with food and kegs of ale and rum.

Despite his mum’s insistence that he be seen, there really wasn’t much for Bucc to do. He was led around to speak with just about everyone on the ship until what little energy he had was drained from him. A few times he had tried to slip away and escape, but his mum’s familiar, Shayla, had taken to sitting on his shoulder to keep an eye on him.

It was only when evening began to set in that Bucc really had any role to play. His father finally appeared and led him away from the deck back to Bucc’s cabin. His familiar was nowhere to be seen. A chest sat in the middle of the room that hadn’t been there that morning. His father opened it to reveal a neatly folded set of white clothes.

“It’s finally the day,” his father said solemnly. “It’s been just over twenty years since I stood where you are now. A lot’s changed since then. I used to be like you. I was small for my age, and really shy. Things got better though. I gained my affinity, joined in with the raids and made some good friends. Then your Ma clobbered me in the head and tied me up for a few days. I’ve never looked back.”

Bucc picked up a shirt from the top of the pile as his father spoke. The white material was thin and ornate, with an uncomfortable amount of ruffles and lace. Everything else in the chest had the same design. 

“Doesn’t it look good,” his dad said with a smile. “It’s tailored using your birthshroud. The first thing you ever wore will be the first thing you wear as an adult. Then one day you’ll have children of your own and these clothes will be joined with your partners to create a new birthshroud, continuing on the cycle.” He was starting to get teary eyed now. Despite his appearance, Bucc’s dad was as sentimental as pirates came.

It was a fight to get into the elaborate clothing but eventually Bucc managed it. There were no mirrors in his cabin so he could hardly begin to imagine how ridiculous he looked. The only colour came from plain gold jewelry that adorned his wrists and neck. 

His dad fussed around him, brushing his scruffy hair and scrubbing at his face. Bucc had given up resisting. It was proving quicker and less painful to just surrender. Sweet smelling oil was rubbed into his skin, then his father stepped back to admire his handiwork. 

“You look good. Like a proper pirate.” He paused, then after a small hesitation, he hugged Bucc. “I know that you have your own dreams, and that maybe your Ma and me have wanted you to live a different way, but I just want you to know that we’re proud of you whatever happens. Even if you don’t have an affinity for earth like you want, there’s plenty of roles on a ship that don’t need you to fight. And you never know, maybe your mind will change as you grow up. The sight of blood used to make me pass out, but your Ma helped me to overcome that. I wanted to be a tailor before she bludgeoned her way into my life. So let’s go and show everyone what you’re made of, okay?”

Bucc took a deep breath. “Okay. It’s not like there’s anywhere to run or hide, so let’s do this.” He didn’t feel even close to as confident as he tried to sound.

Together they made their way back up to the deck. The bleached white shoes that Bucc wore echoed loudly with each step. It was a warm evening but a fierce chill seemed to surround him. It took all of his effort not to visibly shake.

Previous – Chapter 4. The Riftways.

Next – Chapter 6. Awakening.

Chapter 4. The Riftways. (Buccaneer Jones and the Fires of Peace)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

The next morning, Big Tim pulled several flintlock pistols from his bag and handed them out. Bucc held the gun as though it were rotten. When nobody was looking, Jesse sniffed hers deeply.

“Right then, you lot,” Big Tim began. “Today we’re going to get your blood fired up with some firepower. Everyone loves bright lights and big bangs. Well, except for the guy on the receiving end. But hey, just make sure that isn’t you and everything’ll be peachy.”

Bucc felt his body lock up. Even without the pistol being pointed at another person, he knew just how much power was resting in a single finger. Long repressed memories began to surface. He remembered the bang and the blood, the two forever entwined in his mind.

Bucc blinked. He was on the floor with a pounding headache. Jesse and Adward stood over him.

“What happened?” he asked groggily.

“You had a panic attack and blacked out,” Adward told him. He handed Bucc a flask of water.

“I can’t do it,” Bucc said weakly. “I just can’t.” 

The siblings helped him back to his feet. Big Tim was standing to the side with a look of concern on his face. He frowned then finished packing away the pistols. Instead he brought out a map and an armful of battered books. He handed them to Adward.

“Looks like that’s enough excitement for one day. You can do some navigation study instead. Only, I’m not so good at reading stars, or books for that matter. So I leave it in young Adward’s hands. Now I need a drink. Don’t bother me unless someone is dying.” He winced and glanced over at Bucc. “Sorry. Poor choice of words. Err, I’ll be over there if you need me.”

Adward was only too happy to talk about the stars. Where Bucc’s passion was plants, and Jesse’s was weaponry, Adward studied the stars and read maps with an unending thirst. His mother had been a cartographer and she had passed that passion on to her eldest child, even though she hadn’t been alive to teach him directly. Jesse knew the basics well enough but didn’t have the raw passion that drove her brother.

Even Adward’s enthusiasm couldn’t lighten Bucc’s mood though. He felt numb and very tired. When the lesson was over he didn’t even bother with supper. He went straight to bed yet found little sleep.

The next morning there was no training. Most of the crew were busy making preparations for a trip through the riftway. Without anything better to do, Bucc moped around his cabin for most of the morning. His stomach rumbled and whined but he wasn’t in the mood for food. The prospect of a journey through the riftway lifted his spirits somewhat, but the knowledge that the Awakening waited on the other side of it stifled any emotion but dread.

By the time that the Seal was ready for the last leg of its journey, Bucc was positively ill with apprehension. It took both Adward and Jesse to drag him from his cabin up to the deck. Most of the crew was already assembled there to watch. 

Captain Gus stood at the helm with a look of concentration on his face. Several maps and compasses were laid out around him. Riftway journeys weren’t uncommon, but each trip needed to be carried out perfectly or risk disaster.

Without knowing what to look for, someone might have missed the telltale signs of a nearby riftway. There was a shimmer in the sky like on a hot day, and a slight static charge filled the air. Bucc could feel a faint pulling at his soul.

As they drew closer, the shimmering air took form, becoming a swirling tunnel through the skies like a near transparent tornado that had been tipped horizontally. The tunnel dipped and weaved erratically. There was no visible beginning or entrance. Getting in and out was all down to the skill of a ship’s crew.

A group of wayfarers had gathered around the railings of the ship in a large ring. Most were crewmen with affinity for air to match the floating riftway. If it had been one that snaked its way below the waves then the bulk of wayfarers would’ve had water affinity. They began to channel their powers and the riftway thrummed in response. 

The captain barked orders as they began their approach. A sheen of rushing air started to form around the Seal. The ship lurched and the bow rose up out of the water slowly until the bowsprit drove into the swirling wall of the riftway. A low vibration shook the ship and reverberated up through the feet of every pirate. 

Light stretched and twisted as the ship crested into the racing torrent of energy. The bubble-like membrane that the wayfarers were maintaining around the ship protected the pirates within. Even so, the pressure increased noticeably. Momentum took hold of the ship and it was launched at great speed along the passageway through the sky.

The world beyond looked distorted as it sped by. Sea and tiny, barren islands zipped past with dizzying speed. What would have taken them days by sea took mere minutes in the riftway. 

Adward was furiously scribbling in the old notebook that he always carried with him. Very few pirates cared for books or documentation. This meant that most knowledge about things like the layout of the riftways was passed down from pirate to pirate by word of mouth. Adward was one of the rare breed that did care.

“Why even bother trying to sketch out the riftway when you know they can be moved with enough wayfarers?” Jesse asked him. “You keep looking for patterns that don’t exist.”

Her brother didn’t look up from his work. “You keep saying that, but it can’t all just be random. There has to be some sense of logic that we’re missing. If somebody figures out the full riftway network then they can trace it back to their origin: The Shores of the Nexus. Then comes the fame and glory, but I’m in it purely for the thrill of discovery.

“If they didn’t find it in the Golden Age then there’s probably nothing to find.”

“Maybe. Legends say that Lord Captain Dread found it, and that’s where he hid his treasure. Wherever he vanished to, he took more gold with him than is in all of the southern sea. My heart says the Nexus is real, and there’s no more accurate compass than that.”

Captain Gus shouted over the low roar that filled the riftway. The pirates braced themselves as the wayfarers strained to wrestle control of the ship’s direction. The captain span the wheel and the Seal veered into the swirling wall. There was a moment of calm then the vibrations that shook the ship grew to an almost unbearable level.

They tore through the side of the riftway and fell into the ocean below with a splash. The Seal rocked slightly then steadied. If they had exited at a higher point then the ship likely would have been smashed to pieces. It was one of the many dangers. 

Bucc looked around. There were no landmarks to tell where they had emerged, which meant they were still a distance from the moonspire. It was risky to leave riftways too close to landmasses. He expected a gentle sail to their destination from here. 

The day was finally drawing near. Tomorrow, Buccaneer Jones would become an adult and full-fledged pirate. Whatever happened, his life was going to change forever.

Previous – Chapter 3. Pirate Practice.

Next – Chapter 5. Childhood’s End.

Chapter 3. Pirate Practice. (Buccaneer Jones and the Fires of Peace)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

It was late afternoon the next day when the Singing Seal was once again ready to set sail. Bucc had spent the night in the woods with Jesse and Adward, and had been reluctant to return to the ship. 

Now they were making up for lost time, pushing forward at full sail to reach a large rock known as a moonspire in time for the yearly Awakening ceremony. It was a simple rite of passage for any pirate that had turned thirteen since the previous year’s ceremony, and this year it was Bucc’s turn to become an adult. Both Jesse and Adward, who had been born a short eleven months apart, were joining him, as were another two children.

Every year Bucc had watched the Awakening take place with a growing sense of dread, each time knowing that his turn was another year closer. He knew everything that the rite entailed, but it still scared him. Childhood was a shield. How long would he be able to avoid conflict after becoming a fully-fledged pirate? That was why developing an affinity for earth was so important to him. 

Bucc was in his newly repaired cabin, where he had planned to hide away for as long as possible, but the world had other ideas. There was a noise from near the door. He put down his book and looked across the cabin to find his mum’s familiar staring at him. It cocked its head in an all too human way, motioning for Bucc to follow.

Arguing was pointless, so Bucc slipped on his boots and followed Shayla out into the corridor. None of the six paws made any sound as they padded across the wood floors. It walked with the dangerous saunter of a proud hunter. The familiar led him up onto the deck where his parents were waiting for him. Beside them were Captain Gus, Big Tim, Jesse, Adward, and the sibling’s father, Jon-Boy Reeds.

“Nice of you to join us, lad,” the captain said impatiently. He leaned in towards the three children, his face darkening. “The crew’s decided that it’s time for you three runts to get a real education in piracy before the Awakening. Jim Haddock and Annie Clyde have already stepped up and embraced the life. So Big Tim here is going to show you the ways of true pirates.”

Big Tim smiled at them, then remembered that he was teaching them to be feared pirates, he turned the smile into a scowl. 

“Yarr! I’ll have you scallywags ready to plunder Davie Jones himself by the time I’m finished with you. Yarr!” Since getting the eyepatch, Big Tim had really been playing up his pirateness. 

“Ah, what a good idea,” Bucc announced, nodding his head enthusiastically. “Teaching the next generation of pirates to navigate the wild seas and club each other in the head with heavy objects. I’m sure Jesse and Adward will gain a lot from the experience. So, who’s teaching me correct methods of irrigation?”

Captain Gus gave Bucc a look that would wither stone. “I don’t know nothing about this irrigation, but you’re already a master of irritation. You’ll all be pirates. Whatever your affinity, no soul leaves the Seal as anything other than a pirate. What you do off my ship is no concern to me.”

The captain pulled the parents to one side and began to discuss preparations as he led them over to his cabin. Big Tim looked down at his wards and cracked his meaty knuckles. Bucc took a nervous step back.

The large man stomped closer to the children and stood at his full height. He looked very intimidating but he lowered his voice to a near whisper. “I’ve got three days to turn you into pirates. The captain offered me extra rations if it pays off, so do me a favour and pretend to be cool, okay?”

He took a breath then spoke loud enough for the whole deck to hear. “Right then, you maggots. It’s time you became real pirates, and being a pirate means you can do whatever you want, whenever you want to.”

“I want to go to my cabin,” Bucc said.

“Whatever you want, so long as you want to fight, steal, or drink,” Big Tim reiterated loudly. Bucc sighed.

“Captain Gus chose me specially for this job because I’m so good at being a pirate,” Big Tim continued. “So I’m going to pass on my skills to you. I’ll show you how to hit people and shoot people. Then I’ll show you how to navigate and swing on ropes so you can find people to hit and shoot. Simple.”

He handed the children three blunt cutlasses from a bag he was carrying. It felt heavy to Bucc, but it wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling. Basically from birth, pirate children were given toy swords and flintlock pistols. Jesse tried to point this out but fumbled over her words. She clamped her mouth shut and looked away to hide her frustrated blush.

“You’ll also learn to shout. Pirates need to be loud and confident. It’s in our blood,” Big Tim explained. He pounded his fists into his chest and gave a mighty “Yarr” to demonstrate. 

He pointed to where some sandbags had been hung from the sails. “We’ll start simple. I want you to give a battlecry as you hit the sandbag. Like this.” He drew his cutlass. It was a giant hunk of metal closer to a club than a blade. He swung and shouted another “Yarr!” as loud as he could. Pirates all around them stopped what they were doing to see what the commotion was. The bag burst in an explosion of sand.

“Your turn.”

The three children stepped up to the bags. A few Pirates had gathered around to watch. Bucc felt their eyes on him like a physical force. He half-heartedly hit the bag with a mumbled “yarr”.

Big Tim clicked his tongue. His familiar, a bloated toad with a comically big head, jumped up and spat a burst of water at Bucc’s face.

“Show me passion. My Glug will keep spitting until you do it right. And believe me, each time he does it makes the water grosser.”

Adward was taking no chances. He whacked the sandbag and shouted as loud as he could. He glanced nervously at the familiar but Big Tim gave him an encouraging thumbs up. Glug gave a threatening rumble and edged towards Bucc, causing the boy to flinch. He wiped his face then attacked the sandbag with all his strength. All of his strength still wasn’t a lot, but it was enough for Big Tim.

Jesse was frozen in place. The cutlass shook in her hands. Her eyes darted between the onlookers frantically. Bucc hated to see her like this. Especially since he knew just how much she hated herself for being that way. He thought for a moment and an idea came to him. 

He walked over to Jesse and smiled reassuringly at her. Not making any sudden movements, Bucc reached out and took one of her pigtails in each hand. He pulled them over her shoulders then tied them together in front of her eyes. 

“Don’t look,” he told her. He guided her carefully until she was right beside the sandbag. “Just take a deep breath and ignore everything else. The only thing that exists in your world is your dream, okay? No people staring, no judgement, just you and the steps needed to wear that spiffy captain’s hat.”

Jesse was breathing deeply. Bucc stepped back but stayed close enough for support. She swayed slightly where she stood. Seconds passed. Then, out of nowhere, Jesse released an unholy scream of rage and smashed her cutlass repeatedly into the sandbag. In the frenzied movements, the knot came loose and her pigtails slid away, uncovering her eyes. Finally, she stopped and staggered backwards, panting heavily. 

Adward barrelled into his sister and wrapped his arms tightly around her. Bucc just watched in stunned silence. A few of the watching pirates recovered themselves enough to cheer. Jesse’s eyes were still scrunched shut. 

Glub spat several streams of water into the air that fell around the group like rain. Big Tim tapped the tip of his cutlass on the floor to get their attention.

“Not to rain on anyone’s parade,” he started. There was a moment of silence as he waited for someone to appreciate his pun. Nobody did. “That was child’s play. I want you to keep doing it until your arms are about to fall off and your lungs are on fire. Maybe then you can get a pat on the back. No food until you’ve done.”

“What? That’s not fair!” shouted Bucc. 

“Welcome to life, laddie. Now save that voice for battlecries, eh.”

Time passed with agonising slowness. Big Tim hadn’t been exaggerating about how long he expected them to keep up the training. By the time the giant pirate signalled for them to stop, Bucc’s arms were numb and his voice was hoarse. Even Jesse had managed to keep up the display. They had found some spare cloth which Adward fashioned into a blindfold to cover her eyes more securely. She swung blindly at the sandbag and had almost hit Bucc and Adward several times.

Their reward of food turned out not to be worth the effort. They were served a thin broth of noodles and potatoes with the odd green pea floating at the top. The children stared at the meagre bowls disappointedly. 

“How do they expect us to grow up big and strong serving us this?” Jesse vented. “Especially after everything I just went through.”

“It does look less than usual,” Adward said with a trace of concern in his voice. 

“Surely we just picked up supplies while we were at Cantruug, right?” Bucc added. His stomach grumbled in agreement. “Let’s go ask Grim Jimmy. It’s not like him to be stingy. Maybe he’ll give us something better if we ask nicely.”

They headed down into the galley only to find the cook grumbling to himself. He was looking flustered. He glanced at the children and scowled, shooing them away without a word.

Bucc wasn’t about to leave without answers. “What gives?” he asked. 

“What gives?” rumbled the cook. “What gives is that I can only cook what I have and what I have isn’t enough to last the crew as long as it needs to last them.”

“But we just stopped at Cantruug. Surely we picked some more supplies up there?”

“Bah!” the cook spat. “Cantruug had a poor harvest last year. Supplies are already tight. And guess who got what supplies they did have to trade? Those mongrel seadogs of the Vigilous. Smashed up our ship and bought all the food. Sure, we could have got a bit more, but old Golden Gus wasn’t willing to pay the asking price. So now it’s me who has to deal with every hungry blighter coming down here to complain.”

The children left the poor cook in peace and ended up going to bed tired and hungry.

Previous – Chapter 2. Landlubbers Paradise.

Next – Chapter 4. The Riftways.

Chapter 2. Landlubber’s Paradise. (Buccaneer Jones and the Fires of Peace)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

It was an hour later when Bucc finally managed to get away from his parents. He found Jesse and Adward playing cards out on the forecastle. It looked as though Adward would win again. He always did, but that never stopped Jesse from trying.

Jesse looked at the cards in her hand, tried to maintain a neutral expression, then sighed. She dropped the cards and turned to Bucc, welcoming the distraction from her inevitable defeat.

“You look tired. Your folks find out that you didn’t actually fight?”

“No. That’s the trouble,” Bucc said quietly. He leant against the railings and stared out at the endless blue below. “Trying to play up to their expectations is exhausting me. They’re so confident that one day I’ll open my eyes and realise how great this life is. This is a phase to them. They say that I loved battles as a kid, and that I’ll love them again when it’s time. It seems alien to them that people can have different ideas about how to live life.”

“So firing that cannon didn’t send tingles down your spine?” Jesse pressed, her eyes taking on that slightly manic glint. She had a weird fondness for gunpowder.

“Not the good kind. Look, I want to create, not destroy. Is that really such a weird dream to have? We all saw what violence can do when we lost Kaz three years ago, but nobody cares. Everyone grieved then went straight back to doing the same stupid things that led to his death in the first place.” He looked to Adward for support. “You’re not a fighter either. Back me up.”

Adward nodded. “A pirate’s life isn’t about fighting.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s about adventure.”

“What? No!”

“Sorry, Bucc. That’s the way it is. Sailing stormy seas, exploring new islands, testing your skills in combat, it all fulfills a pirate’s basic need for adventure. That’s what Kaz taught me. Staying in one place watching plants grow over several months just isn’t very adventurous.”

“Well, neither is looking at the stars.”

Adward glanced up at the sky. “True. The stars are a map to be studied though. If you can navigate them then you can travel anywhere. Even to the Shores of the Nexus if we could just work out the way. Now that would be an adventure.”

Jesse snorted. “Now who’s living in a dream world?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Remind me how your goal of becoming a captain is going, little miss Can’t String a Sentence Together While Being Looked At,” Adward snapped.

Jesse seemed to deflate. All three sighed. They remained silent for a while, locked in their own thoughts. Bucc looked out over the rails and watched the waves. The ocean stretched out as an infinite expanse of blue that connected with the even bigger infinite expanse of blue that was the sky. There wasn’t a single island or ship in sight. Only the endless blue. The sight couldn’t have been more boring if it tried.

It was Jesse who broke the quiet. She played with her pigtails absently as she spoke. “We all seem a little lost without Kaz. Do you think everything becomes clearer after the Awakening?”

“Of course it will,” Adward said with confidence. “Adults always know what to do. You never see them worrying about the future because they’re living it, you know. It stands to reason that things get easier.”

Bucc thought about this. It seemed to him that all of the adults were somehow too similar. They all acted the same. Maybe the ceremony didn’t give them the wisdom of being an adult, but instead took away the curiosity of childhood. The thought secretly terrified him.

“Land ho!” came a call from atop the crowsnest. “Cantruug is on the horizon!”

Bucc squinted but couldn’t see anything yet. Jesse and Adward joined him at the railing. They peered ahead for a few minutes until Adward finally spotted a dark smear between the sea and sky. Following the direction of Adward’s finger, Bucc caught sight of the distant spec. Slowly but steadily the dot grew until it took on the clear silhouette of a wooded island. As they came nearer, the sea became shallower and the whole world seemed to change.

Vague shapes moved through the afternoon light, both swimming in the waters below them and floating through the air. Bucc pointed them out excitedly.

“Look there! I’m not used to seeing this many blanks together. Some of them even have forms!”

Blanks were the only living creatures in the world other than humans. They were transparent spheres that looked like head-sized bubbles, each one identical other than slight colour variants of their translucent skin.

“You think we should try and catch some?” Jesse asked. “Having a familiar would be awesome.”

“We aren’t allowed familiars until after the ceremony. You know that,” said Adward. Despite his words, he too watched the blanks with thinly veiled longing.

“I wonder why?” Bucc asked nobody in particular. “Can’t the blanks join with children, or is it just a silly rule?”

“We’re pirates, Bucc. I doubt it’s just a rule. Life is all about freedom from rules.”

“Is it? We obey the captain. That’s a rule. We have instructions about running the ship that need to be obeyed. They’re also rules.”

“Yeah, but they’re just common sense, aren’t they?” Jesse argued. “Nobody would get far with a badly run ship. We aren’t talking about silly stuff like ‘no dessert before supper’, or ‘be in bed by sundown’. We’re free to do what we want as long as it doesn’t risk the ship. Makes sense to me.”

Bucc shrugged. “I guess you’re right. We’ll find out soon enough.”

In the centre of the blanks was a large fish with a series of tentacles around it. Bucc watched it with wonder and sadness. Blanks were the only creatures in the world, but they had the ability to evolve. From the dawn of humanity, blanks had developed a relationship with humans. When a human and blank connected with one another, the blank would take on attributes of the human’s personality, the human’s soul giving the blank a new form. These were what became known as familiars.

Once a familiar was formed, it stayed by its human’s side for life. Only, familiars lived for hundreds of years while humans had a much shorter life. When a human died, their familiar was left to wander the world alone. Most returned to nature, never again to be joined with a human. Every wild familiar was a reminder of a lost human life, and a soul cursed to be alone.

By now the deck was beginning to fill with people again as the pirates began preparing to dock. The island of Cantruug dominated the horizon at this point. At several miles long and covered in rolling hills and trees, Cantruug was the largest landmass in a hundred leagues.

A large shadow loomed over the children. They turned to see Captain Gus standing over them. He wasn’t a big man, but his status as captain made him intimidating even if his appearance didn’t.

“Now then, me hearties, can I trust you three not to cause trouble when we dock?”

Jesse took a deep breath and tried to speak. “Y-y-y-y-ye.” She slammed her mouth shut and swallowed audibly. 

The captain scowled at them. “This time next week you three scamps will be real pirates. Watch your elders closely, because very soon you’ll all be working and fighting alongside them. I don’t have room for anxiety, pacifism, or people who try to be too smart for their own good. Don’t forget that.”

He left them, shouting orders at any pirate who so much as crossed his sight. Bucc ignored him and returned to watching the island. The captain was a grumpy man who hated to part with anything, especially coin. Rumour had it that he had sold his own sister for the funds to become a captain. He didn’t like anybody that didn’t make him richer.

The settlement of Three-Potatoes was clearly visible now. The small traders’ port was a shanty town of wooden buildings that were vibrant with greenery. The Singing Seal pulled into the port and was greeted by a team of workmen from the island. The ship made the village look small and squat as it loomed over the collection of shacks. Captain Gus was the first pirate to disembark. He met the islanders and instantly launched into haggling with the workmen over repair costs.

A number of pirates made their way straight to the tavern. Others carried bundles towards the merchant quarter to buy and repair items and clothing, or sell what they had plundered from other ships.

Bucc didn’t care about any of that. He ran down the gangplank then tried to take off his shoes and socks without stopping. After nearly falling over, he threw them to the floor and jogged across to the nearby beach. He felt the warm sand between his toes and giggled. 

Sand was nice, but it wasn’t quite perfect. Enjoying every footstep, Bucc made his way further inland, leaving the beach behind as he took to the woods. The sand gave way to soil that felt cold in the shade of the canopy. This was bliss. Nothing on a ship could replicate the feel of nature around you. The crunch of fallen leaves, the smell of hundreds of unique scents filling the air, all of the colours and sounds, it was beautiful.

He slowed his pace and allowed himself to soak in the peace and quiet. There was no creak of wood or background murmur of voices. Even the waves sounded distant. His fingers brushed against the smooth bark of a birch tree, then tall strands of wild grass, and dried leaves that had yet to fall from the branches. He tried to touch everything he could reach as he let the sounds and smells of the woods wash over him. 

Only a small patch of woodland remained on the island. Most of the area had been dedicated to farming. The few islands that dotted the ocean were the backbone of life for all pirates. They produced the food to eat, wood for ships, and metal for weapons and tools. For a culture that lived on the waves, the sea offered very little to help humans to survive there since all the fish had mysteriously disappeared over fifty years ago, along with every other animal in the world. It was for this reason that the few pirates born with earth affinity were so important. Without their ability to nurture plants to grow faster there simply wouldn’t be enough resources.

Bucc stepped out from the trees into a clearing filled with golden wheat. Wheat was Cantruug’s main produce. It was the staple crop for a pirate’s diet since it was used to make bread, and more importantly, spaghetti. Since spaghetti was light weight, easy to store, long lasting, and easy to cook, it suited a life at sea well. Side portions of fruit and vegetables filled in any nutrients the filling main was missing. The wheat was highly valued, second only to the sugarcane that was turned into rum.

A single farmer watched over the field, a pale ribbon of smoke rising up from his pipe. He was a squat man with greying hair called Scratch Blackfoot. He nodded amicably to Bucc when he noticed the boy. Bucc had been to the island a few times over the years and had taken to watching the farmer work. 

“Wasn’t expecting to see the Singing Seal back here for a few weeks yet,” Blackfoot said after greeting Bucc. His familiar, a mole like creature with a long tail, dozed lazily beside him. “Tell me, did you have your Awakening yet? Is that why you’re here?”

“Afraid not, Mister Blackfoot. The ceremony is next week. We’re only here for repairs after a skirmish with the Vigilous.”

“The Vigilous you say? Well. They were here a few days before you for repairs themselves. No doubt you’ve damaged them again now. You seafolk sure know how to keep us islanders busy. If you’re not careful we’re all going to run out of supplies. I’ve heard that a lot of islands are already hard pressed to meet demands. Then there’s talk of war up in the north. Troublesome times these are, young Bucc.”

“Hasn’t it always been this way though? Pirates fight each other, things get broken, then they get fixed again. Rinse and repeat.”

“Aye, that’s the way it’s always been. Trouble is there’s a lot more of us about these days. The leviathans and other predators used to keep folk on their toes. My old pops said that they couldn’t waste anything back then because one mistake would lead to a quick death. Without any predators there’s nothing stopping the number of humans from swelling. That’s more food and more ships that are needed. That’s why I hope you do turn out to be one of us earthers. We’re always needing more hands.”

Bucc gave the farmer a thumbs up. “On that subject, do you have any work I can help you with while I’m here?”

“Afraid not, lad. It won’t be long until it’s dark and most of my work is done in the mornings. Go, explore the village for a change. By the sounds of it you’ll be back here after next week anyway, so don’t worry about it.”

Bucc took Mister Blackfoot’s advice and headed into the village to try and find Jesse or Adward. He expected the other boy was off in the hills waiting for the stars to come out. He was usually somewhere quiet with a notebook. Jesse on the other hand was likely easier to find. 

His instincts told him to follow the sound of hammering to the blacksmith’s forge. Set up beside it was a storefront filled with weapons of all kinds. It had a good crowd viewing its wares, and as expected, Jesse was staring longingly at a large blunderbuss. Bucc approached her and tapped her shoulder to get her attention over the hustle of the crowd. Jesse jumped and let out a startled cry.

“Do-don’t d-d-d-do that!” she stammered. She took a step back and pulled Bucc to the side. Away from the crowd Jesse recovered herself quickly. “I think I’ve figured it out,” she told him confidently.

“Figured what out?”

“How to get over my anxiety. I think I get nervous because I doubt myself in front of others. My mind goes blank and I just imagine all the bad things that could happen. If I want to be a captain I need to be top dog. So what I need is a ginormous gun!”

“Er…”

“Just think about it! With a big gun in your hands you don’t have to worry about anyone. Then there’s the thick smell of gunpowder filling your nostrils with its beautiful scent. Who could be nervous in that position?”

“I would be,” Bucc pointed out blandly. “Everyone has a gun. How would that help?”

“I just get a bigger one. People respect two things: charisma and superior firepower. Also, look how nice that blunderbuss is. That’s genuine bone, not wood, and black iron too. That’s a real relic of the past. The monochrome look and silver inlay are breathtaking. I want it so badly. Just thinking about it sets my heart fluttering.”

“I can’t tell if that’s an unhealthy attitude to take or if my pacifism in a culture of pillage is the truly damaging mindset.”

“What?” 

“Nothing. Never mind. Have you heard how long repairs will take?”

Jesse shook her head. “When I was passing by the captain he was still haggling over basic labour charges. The damage wasn’t too bad though. I’d expect us to be back on the seas before tomorrow night.”

“I was hoping we’d be here a little longer.”

“Maybe you want to waste your time here, but nobody else does. Can you imagine how much chaos there would be if a few hundred pirates were left bored for days with nothing to do but drink and fight?”

“Sounds pretty normal to me.”

“It’s worse,” she answered knowingly. She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “It’s the soil, you see. Too much exposure to dirt makes a pirate go crazy. They get landsick. Someone starts out feeling real antsy, then irritable, until full blown paranoia sets in. That’s what an old geezer told me when I was at the Klamnet bazaar last year. Only the earthers can stomach it.”

 “Huh. I guess that means I really am going to have an affinity for earth. Awesome!”

Jesse shook her head with a grin. The crowd around the store had become smaller now. She fixed her eyes back onto the blunderbuss. 

“I’m still holding out for fire. Water is a realistic second, but fire is without doubt the best. Just think of the respect I would have with that kind of power,” she said dreamily. She snapped herself back to reality. “Failing that complete miracle, I need to save up a lot of doubloons for a nice weapon.” She held out her hand toward the gun. “Wait for me, my sweet prince. We will be reunited.”

“Maybe if you just imagine everyone as a weapon of destruction then you’ll suddenly be okay. You do seem pretty comfortable speaking to them.”

“Shut it, or you’ll be the first person I make lick my boots once I’m captain.”

Previous – Chapter 1. Why Must it be a Pirate’s Life for Me?

Next – Chapter 3. Pirate Practice.

Chapter 1. Why Must it be a Pirate’s Life For Me? (Buccaneer Jones and the Fires of Peace)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

A cannonball crashed through the wall of Buccaneer Jones’ tiny cabin. He yelped and fell out of his bunk, then frantically scurried underneath it. Through the hole in the wall he could see the raging ocean outside, and the pirate ship that was rapidly approaching.

There was a thunderous noise from above as the Singing Seal returned fire with her own cannons. Bells began to ring through the floating village that Buccaneer called home. It was a call to action, but the only action that Buccaneer took was to grab a padded hat from a hook and ram it onto his head. The thick material covered his ears and muffled the sounds enough for him to ignore them. He picked up an old, dog-eared, botanical encyclopedia, then shuffled back beneath his bunk and tried his hardest to forget about the battle, even as sea water sloshed into his cabin from the hole and the smell of gunpowder swirled around him. 

The two ships closed the distance until men and women could swing from one to the other with cutlasses gripped between their teeth. Shouts and laughter filled the air, punctuated with pistol shots and the clang of swords. To them it was all a big game.

Buccaneer sighed and started to hum loudly. Despite his name, Buccaneer didn’t like fighting. In fact, he hated it, just like he hated his name. To his friends he was just Bucc. Not that he had many. Bucc was considered odd by most people. He didn’t like violence, couldn’t stand loud noises, and he willingly washed at least once a week. The other pirates didn’t know how they were supposed to treat someone who didn’t like to fight, pillage, and drink. 

Bucc’s door was kicked open and his parents rushed into the cabin. His dad was tall and gangly with a bald head, while his mum was a stout woman with thick blonde braids. Both were grinning excitedly and had their weapons drawn. As his dad approached him, the black scaled, snake-like creature that was draped around his neck lifted its head and hissed towards the growing puddle that was leaking in through the hole. Its spiked fins quivered agitatedly.

“What are you still doing in here, Buccaneer?” asked his dad. As he spoke, he absently motioned with one hand towards the water. The water rose up and snaked its way back through the hole. He always cast magic with his injured hand, the missing thumb made it more difficult to hold his cutlass. “Come quick. Big Tim got a splinter in his eye. We need you to man the cannon.”

“You’re not serious.”

His mum shifted her two iron mallets then grabbed him by the hand. Their weight didn’t seem to bother her in the slightest. Bucc tried to huddle further away but a six-legged cat with horns pulled itself from under a blonde braid and dropped from his mum’s shoulder, moving behind him. His mum pulled him forward, her clothing making a swirl of bright colours with every movement. “It’s time for you to become a real pirate. When the adrenaline starts pumping through you, you’ll realise what you’re missing out on. It’ll be just like back in the old days.”

Bucc didn’t have time to argue. He was pulled from his cabin and dragged through the maze of wooden corridors up to the deck, where he emerged into a scene of chaos as pirates fought all around them. Some swung above their heads on ropes, while others fell into the water below where they continued to fight. 

Tendrils of water rose up from the waves to lash out at anything nearby while jets of fierce wind knocked unwary pirates overboard and blew into others’ eyes as they tried to aim their pistols. Familiars of all shapes and sizes scurried across the deck or swooped through the sky. Bucc had no idea how anybody could tell friend from foe through the pandemonium.

His dad pushed him towards an unmanned cannon. “Go and shoot some seadogs. Do us proud, my boy!”

His parents rushed off into the thick of the battle. His mum’s familiar, Shayla, immediately leapt at the closest attacker and clawed his face while Nadir, his dad’s familiar, wrapped around his master’s arm and lashed out at anybody who got too close. His parents’ ferocity and teamwork saw them cut a clean path through the chaos.

Bucc stared at the cannon, then at the battle. All of the movement and noise was too much for him. He just needed to do something so he could leave as quickly as possible. The cannon was already aimed perfectly at the other ship but Bucc didn’t want to damage someone else’s home. There would be young children and injured people still on the ship, just like there were on the Singing Seal. 

Bucc unlocked the cannon’s pivot and tried to turn it but the cannon didn’t budge. The metal suddenly lurched. Bucc looked to his side to see Jesse and Adward Reeds, fair haired siblings and Bucc’s only friends.

“What you doing?” Jesse asked in her soft, slightly playful manner.

“My parents won’t let me stay in my cabin. They said I have to take part in this stupid battle. I don’t want to hurt anyone though. But if they find I haven’t fired a single shot then they’ll make me walk the plank!”

Adward made a sympathetic shrug. “It was only a matter of time until they put their foot down about it. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Doesn’t mean I have to like it. Look, just help me aim at that figurehead on the front of their ship. It causes wanton destruction without hurting anybody. Everyone’s happy.”

“If you say so,” Adward said. “Skin grows back. Art doesn’t. But whatever. It isn’t a very good carving anyway.”

The three strained against the heavy metal, slowly bringing it around until it clicked. The weapon was built to lock every few inches to stop it from swinging around in rough weather. Bucc pulled the lever to unlock it again then moved the cannonslightly further until it was staring down the shark-shaped figurehead. 

He grabbed a cannonball and barely managed to lift it off the ground. Adward helped him to lift it into the barrel of the cannon while Jesse lit the fuse with an excited giggle. Bucc took several steps back and put his fingers in his ears. The ship hit a wave and the cannon fired, shooting the cannonball over the figurehead to splash harmlessly into the sea beyond.

Bucc sighed with relief. “Well, we tried our best. Nothing more we can do here. Let’s leave the fighting to the experts, eh?”

“Come on, Bucc. We can at least try one more time,” said Jesse. She was already replacing the gunpowder and fuse. “Just think of the reputation we’d get for blowing up that ugly shark head.”

“Fine. One more shot.” 

He took a step towards the cannon only to be thrown back as a cannonball smashed into it from the opposite ship. Bucc picked himself up and stared at the twisted metal. Jesse stood with the torch held above the wreckage, her face white. Adward was laid on his back but gave a shaky thumbs up.

“On second thought, one shot was plenty. That’s enough battle for the next, ah, I don’t know… fifty years at least. I’m out!”

Bucc ran to the door and skidded down the stairs. Breathing heavily, his feet pounded across the wood until he threw himself into his cabin. He sat in the corner beside an old boot filled with dirt and hugged his knees as he tried to curl into himself. Jesse and Adward joined him a few moments later.

“Not to point out the obvious,” started Adward, “but you do know that you’ll not be able to avoid fighting for much longer. In a few days we’ll have our Awakening and then we’ll be full pirates. You’ll have to fight then. It’s who we are.”

“But why is that who we are?” Bucc snapped back. “I don’t want to be a pirate. After the ceremony I’m going to have an affinity for earth and go to an island to become a farmer. That’s my dream.”

“Earth is a pretty rare gift. Not as rare as fire, but there’s no guarantee that’s what you’ll get,” Jesse tried to point out gently. She pulled on one of her pigtails as she spoke.

“Maybe there isn’t, but our affinities are supposed to represent our soul. I love nature, and watching plants grow. I know all about them, and have already grown some myself. I’m gentle and nurturing, what other element could I be?” Bucc picked up the old boot and showed it off proudly as he spoke. Inside was the first shoot of a daffodil.

There were a series of cheers from above. Through the hole in his wall, Bucc could see the other ship pull away. The sounds of gunshots and fighting fell quiet.

“Looks like we won this one,” Jesse said with a small smile. She had the heart of a true pirate, it was everything else that let her down. She was small for her age, spoke softly, and had major anxiety around people. It would take a lot for her to win respect as a warrior but she was the kind of person who would always try anyway.

“Good,” muttered Bucc. “At least my parents should be in a good mood. They’re always happy when we win a skirmish.”

A bell rang out to call the Seal’s crew to the deck. Bucc placed the shoe in the light that spilled out from the damaged wall, then the three of them made their way out of the cabin. As they emerged into the hustle of the deck, some pirates were putting out fires and clearing debris, while others were already breaking open casks of rum to celebrate. Hundreds of people were crammed onto the deck. A near equal number of familiars filled the remaining space, clinging to their owners or darting through the crowds playfully. Together, they were the Singing Seal family.

This was how Pirate society was formed in Hylantia. With so little land to support settlements, vast ships were built over many years. These ships became mobile villages where hundreds of pirates lived. Most pirates only spent a day or two on dry land each year.

Bucc found his parents standing over the remains of the cannon he had been asked to man. His mum held her hat in her hands solemnly as his father inspected the crumpled metal.

“Poor thing,” his father said quietly. “She was a good cannon, wasn’t she? Pity it had to end like this.”

“Err, I’m okay,” Bucc announced. “Just in case you were wondering what had happened to me.”

“Course you are,” his mum said. “You’re a Jones. Mine and your Pa’s families have survived since the dawn of time. That takes a special luck, that does. Born survivors, you see. Why, the chances of you dying early just seem ridiculous.”

Bucc frowned. He passed the words through his head a second time but it didn’t make any more sense. 

“You know that everyone alive today is only alive because their families survived, right?”

“See! That’s you thinking with your head again instead of your heart. Bad habit, is that,” his father said sagely. 

“Hearts don’t think, they pump blood!” Bucc started to argue. 

A gunshot cut through the noise and silenced the crowd as a man in a yellow frock coat stepped up onto the helm. It was the captain of the Singing Seal, Golden Gus. He held a smoking pistol in his hand and an oversized hat rested atop his matted hair. He looked fairly plain aside from a fake nose made of gold that was strapped to his face.

“Well done, me hearties!” Captain Gus announced in a bellowing voice. “Those seadogs thought they could pluck a crow with us but we proved them wrong, didn’t we!”

The crowds cheered and raised mugs of ale in celebration. 

“It was a good fight. Just enough to get the old blood pumping. A few bumps and bruises were passed around, but all in all a fun little encounter with the devils, eh?” 

This was met with more shouts and cheers. Captain Gus motioned for calm again. “Our poor Seal took a beating though. Sightsaw has confirmed that Cantruug is vacant, so we set sail for the island to make our repairs and restock. The Seal’s too unstable for the riftways. I want a team of wayfarers assembled and ready. Everyone else to your stations!”

The captain’s familiar, a winged bat-like creature with a wicked beak, cawed assertively. It surveyed the crew before taking off into the air. Sightsaw was the captain’s eyes and ears.

Bucc watched the pirates return to their business. Only a few crewmembers were needed to actually man the giant ship. Most of them simply resumed their drinking while a large group gathered at the base of the front mast. These were the Seal’s chosen Wayfarers.  

There wasn’t anything special about these particular men and women. Most pirates were wayfarers. Any pirate with an affinity for water or air, the two most common elements, were suitable wayfarers. Individually, they could barely affect the raw power of the sea and wind, but in large enough groups they could change the tides and bring favourable winds. Some could even create cyclones or whirlpools.

The wayfarers stood in a wide circle and held up their hands. Each had their own method for channeling their powers. Some waved their arms, others wiggled their fingers, and a few chanted words under their breath. 

Bucc felt the wind change direction and the tides calmed. That was the one good thing about all of the battles that the other pirates found so fun. A good skirmish meant that repairs were needed, and repairs meant that Bucc could spend a few peaceful hours away from the lifeless planks of the floating village. He was eager to be back on land. Nothing was better than feeling the earth beneath his feet and embracing the smells of flowers and trees.

Knowing that his parents would start to question him about his exploits in the skirmish, Bucc quickly slipped away from the deck to make his way through the labyrinth of passageways within the hull. His cabin was too obvious a place to hide so instead he made his way down to the galley.

The cook was a round man called Grim Jimmy. His parents had envisioned him as a warlord, but it had quickly become apparent that his calling was cookery. He had a huge handlebar moustache that he usually wore pulled back and tied behind his neck, and had a giant tattoo of a chef’s hat across the top of his bald head. He offered Bucc a slight nod as he chopped potatoes. Bucc was a frequent visitor.

Seated beside the cook was the giant of a man known as Big Tim. He was prodding tentatively at a new eyepatch he was wearing. When Big Tim saw Bucc he smiled broadly and pointed at it proudly.

“Look what I’ve got.”

“Looking good,” Bucc said with false enthusiasm. Pirate skirmishes were more of an exciting game than a real battle. Serious injuries were rare, but any wound was a sign of honour. Peglegs, hooks, and eye patches were the ultimate status symbols. “How bad’s the damage?”

Big Tim’s face dropped slightly. “Not bad. Only a little splinter. The surgeon said it’ll be all better in a few weeks. I had to beg him just to give me this cool eyepatch.”

Bucc offered him a supportive thumbs up. “It suits you. Really adds to the whole intimidation thing you have going.” Big Tim grinned like a child at that and clapped his hands together excitedly, breaking the illusion. 

Bucc watched the two men’s familiars as they scurried around the floor, playfully fighting over an apple. His eyes were only drawn away when the distinctive sound of footsteps became audible from the corridor outside. Bucc recognised their rhythm instantly. 

“Noodle protect me, they’ve found me already. Quick! Tell me where to hide.”

“You’re on your own kid,” the cook said with a disinterested grunt. 

Bucc didn’t have time to run. The door opened and his mum stepped into the galley.

“I thought I might find you here. Replenishing your energy after your first battle?”

“Err, yeah, sure. I’m totally doing that. I’m just so hungry after all that action.”

The cook eyed Bucc wearily then threw a banana over to him. Bucc tried to catch it and failed. It hit his head then fell to the floor.

His mum’s smile only made Bucc feel a sense of guilt. It was a good job that he’d at least been born with a pirate’s innate ability to lie and tell tall tales. She ushered him out of the galley.

“Come on lad, your Pa and I want to hear all about your first skirmish.”

“Okay, Ma,” he sighed.

Next – Chapter 2. Landlubber’s Paradise.

Chapter 1. (Thorns of the Shadow: Blood, Blades, and Bacon)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

It was three years until the apocalypse, not that anyone knew it yet. For the young man staring out the window of an isolated Scottish lodge it was boredom that was the biggest concern. He was perched on a broad staircase and stared up at the high window across the hall that revealed nothing but darkness. He knew there was nothing to see, but even the void was better than the picture of social awkwardness that surrounded him. 

Outside of the large wooden building known as Aife’s Lodge, there were no signs of civilisation for miles, only the dark expanse of Abernethy Forest and the Scottish wilds. The lodge had once been a private manor house but now served as a homely hotel. Fitting with its remote location, it was the kind of place where people went to escape society completely.

The clouds parted just enough to reveal the moon through the window. It was just before midnight on New Year’s Eve and the few guests of Aife’s Lodge had forgone seclusion and gathered together in the main hall to celebrate. A stone fireplace dominated one wall while numerous mounted animals showcased the local fauna. Long dead deer and wildcats seemed almost alive in the flickering light. The guests mingled awkwardly in groups of two or three, the conversations gradually becoming less passive as the alcohol flowed.

“Why the hell are we stuck here?” he muttered. He wore a hoodie bearing the name of an obscure rock band who hadn’t been famous since before he had been born, and toyed idly with an array of silver rings that adorned each of his fingers “I should be back home, partying it up with friends and hot girls, not sitting here in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of anti-social old people and weirdos,” he continued. As he spoke he brushed dark hair from his eyes and tried to suppress a yawn. Crimson highlights ran through the carefully constructed mess of black. He was the picture of a rebel without a cause.

“Stop whining already, Kai,” said the girl on the opposite side of the step. KT Redthorn looked equally as bored as her brother, Kai, but she had always been more at peace with her own company. She was dressed similarly to her companion, her hair long and straight, ending at the small of her back, vivid blue streaked through it in contrast to the red of his. Her jewellery was kept to a minimum, and a few splashes of colour from a multitude of wristbands broke the monotony of black jeans, shirt and hair.

“Look, I don’t like it either but it’s one week. Aunt Susan hasn’t asked us to come up here in years.”

Kai sipped glumly from a glass of cheap cider as he surveyed the room. “She can’t imagine the amount of parties I’m missing out on because of her. ‘Tis the season to be blackout drunk while surrounded by pretty girls.”

“Every season is party season for you.” KT took a sip of her own drink, which was also cider but with enough blackcurrant cordial to drown out the bitter taste, then continued. “After all the money she’s given us over the years, we owe her a few weeks of our time every now and then.” Despite her words, she didn’t sound too happy about it either.

“Still doesn’t justify her timing. She’s rich though so she must have a pretty good inheritance for us. Maybe we should be kind to her. KT, use your female bond to get in her good books or something.”

“You’re a terrible person,” she said then sighed, staring glumly into her drink.

Kai noticed her expression and frowned. “You still beating yourself up about uni? It’s been months now. Forget about it.”

“Yeah, I know. There’s just nothing to distract me from it here. This should have been my first Christmas as a student in the big city and instead I’m sat here. I worked so damn hard to try and get into that veterinary degree and one bad day screwed me. One bad test and suddenly everything else I’ve ever done is now worthless.” She made a frustrated sound and downed her drink.

“That’s where you went wrong. You tried. You had hopes and dreams. Expect the worst and you can only ever be pleasantly surprised.”

KT shook her head. “That doesn’t work and you know it.” Her eyes glanced around to a large picture that had pride of place at the top of the staircase. Blue eyes stared down at them from a young face. If they didn’t know better, it could easily have been an image of KT herself. “Being here doesn’t help. Seeing her face everywhere is kinda unsettling.”

“Yeah, no kidding. For someone who died two decades ago, she could be your identical twin. Christ. Imagine there being two of you.” Kai frowned and looked away. “I never did like photos anyway. Not hung up like that. It always feels like they’re watching you. Judging you. Knowing they’re dead just makes it weirder.”

“You can’t imagine how awkward it is talking to Aunt Susan. It’s clear that she only sees her when she looks at me. It’s so sad.” KT muttered. Kai wasn’t listening to her though. His eyes were locked on one of the guests below.

It was a young female guest. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, red lips and two very defining features that instantly drew attention. Her low cut top allowed a fair view of these features while long legs led up to a very short denim skirt. A small love heart tattoo adorned her chest, rising up from the gap of her cleavage. Kai stared at her with a dumb grin on his face.

“Scratch my previous comments, this place just got good. Time to work my charm,” he smirked, rising up from his perch.

His sister shook her head. “You’re hopeless. A damn hopeless pervert. Women will be the death of you.”

“And a good death it’ll be,” he joked as he made his way down the stairs. Still shaking her head, KT put on the headphones that rested across her neck. Heavy guitar cut off the world around her.

Kai wove through the hall and stopped beside the girl, confidence radiating from his every feature.

“Hey,” he greeted with a friendly smile and a sparkle in his eyes. “I’ve not seen you around here. You just arrive?”

The girl nodded, locking eyes with him. She bit her lip slightly and played with her skirt.

“You in need of some company? I’ve been here a few days now so can show you the surroundings if you want.”

“Ya. I would like that,” answered the girl with a thick accent. Her eyes never strayed from Kai’s. They seemed to tug at him, pulling him closer.

Kai’s grin widened yet further. “Is that a Swedish accent?” The blonde nodded. “You’re a long way from home. You here all on your lonesome?”

“Ya. I am exploring the world. See new sights, meet new people, find new experiences,” she purred.

Kai coughed and fought to calm himself. He looked again and noticed that her eyes seemed more green now. It must have been a trick of the light, or maybe the alcohol was starting to kick in. He downed the rest of his drink and set the glass down on a table beside a basket of grapes. The woman skewed one with an overly long nail and held it up to Kai’s mouth. A heavy scent rose from her skin that seemed to muddle his thoughts. He took it in his teeth.

“It is getting hot in here,” the woman stated. “Come. Let us go outside.”

She smiled at him and took his hand in hers. She had the most beautiful hazelnut eyes. Or were they red? Kai couldn’t tell any longer. She led him to the door as he staggered clumsily after her. He couldn’t believe his luck. 

They quickly eased open the door and slipped outside. The cold hit Kai like a physical blow despite his thick clothes. He suddenly realised how ill equipped the girl was for the Scottish winter, though she showed no sign of discomfort. Her hands were cold against his skin but they looked warm.

“Aren’t you cold?” he tried to ask but his words came out slurred. He didn’t think that he’d drank that much.

“No.” Her voice echoed hollowly and her accent seemed less pronounced.

Kai tried to pull away from her but the woman spun him around and planted a hard kiss on his lips. The feeling was nice but sent cold shivers down his spine. Her lips were as cold as her hands. He vaguely noticed that her breath didn’t mist in the air like his own.

The girl pushed him against a tree with a strength that contrasted with her slender frame. Her hands were all over his body. Each touch burned even though her skin was like ice. Kai was struggling to breath. He tried to move her back slightly but she slapped his hand away.

In the heat of activity she lifted her shirt until it hung around her neck like a scarf. Her hands slid under his shirt, her nails raking sharply across his back. Kai felt the skin break and welt, small trails of blood forming in the nails’ wake. He tried to move aside but was locked firmly in place.

He looked down at her face and suddenly tensed up. Her eyes were changing, growing darker, their colour indistinct. He’d known people’s eyes to dilate through bliss but never anything like this. Her pupils spread out like a drop of ink until her entire eyes were consumed with darkness.

Things were moving faster than his muddled mind could manage. Her hands moved lower down his body. In their transition from his shirt to his belt he saw that her nails had grown to resemble claws. He knew that this wasn’t right but his body wouldn’t obey his commands. He watched in horror as her lips parted and a snake’s forked tongue slid out.

He tried to scream, to fight, but his limbs felt numb. He should have been wide awake and roaring with energy, lust and fear flooding his body with adrenaline, but instead he could feel his strength seeping from him with every passing second. Every touch the girl made sucked the life from him. He could feel the energy bleeding out of him, draining him and leaving behind only a sour sensation.

In an instant she had sliced through his belt with one knife-like claw. She reached inside his trousers. Kai shuddered, his brain flickering in and out of consciousness.

There was a snap of a branch behind them. “Damn it Kai! You can’t just take a girl you’ve only just met into the forest to have your way with.”

He saw KT enter the clearing and freeze. The other girl whipped around at the intrusion, hissing like an animal. Without the woman’s attention on him, Kai could feel his thoughts drifting back into place.

“What the hell?” KT began, but the monstrous woman bounded at her and slammed a fist into her gut. The force of the blow threw her back into a tree several feet behind her. She hit it hard then slumped to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood. Faint music still played from her headphones. The sounds drifted hauntingly in the quiet of the night.

As though nothing had happened, the beast turned her attention back to Kai. He had tried to escape, dragging himself forward through the snow, but his strength was dangerously low and he had only made it a short distance. She pulled him around to face her then shoved him to the ground, climbing onto him to straddle his waist. The weight was like lead on his soul, contracting it and pulling it down into the abyss. He was struggling to even keep his eyes open regardless of the immediate danger. Everything grew dark. She grew more beautiful…

A bang roared through the forest, shattering the quiet like a hammer on ice. The woman screamed a monstrous scream that sounded more like a crazed bat than a human. Kai was vaguely aware of being showered in dark blood as his assailant’s right shoulder and breast blew away in an explosion of gore and bone. A white shard sliced across his cheek. Blood drenched him, running down his face to drip into his gasping mouth. Enough of his mind remained to make him gag at the burning taste.

The woman jumped away from Kai with astounding speed. He watched vacantly as the grievous wound knitted itself back together like a spider weaving a web at high speed. Then his eyes closed and his body became still as his consciousness finally surrendered…

 

“Kai!” KT shouted as she tried to pull herself to her feet using the tree as support. Her stomach was in agony but she forced it to the back of her mind as she took a determined step towards her brother.

The monster screeched again, this time in rage. It charged forward, sprinting on all fours like an animal. Another bang echoed out into the night as a cloud of blood erupted from the woman’s body. A new figure entered KT’s line of sight, his right arm held straight out, a pistol in his hand. More jarring cracks assaulted her ears as tainted blood cut crimson streaks through the snow.

The ensuing sound was almost more than KT’s ears could handle. She saw the man step into the clearing beside the tree she had hit. The monster screeched but he ignored it, instead bending down to pick up the discarded headphones. They were broken in half but KT’s phone still hung from the wire. The woman’s screech became a howl as it burst into a sprint, razored claws flashing in the moonlight. 

“Watch out!” KT yelled. The man made no effort to raise his gun.

The hellish woman had closed the gap almost instantly. Without looking up, the man grabbed the phone and pulled the wire out. The background crackle of sound became a blaring guitar solo that seemed to fill the forest.

Claws lunged and the man grinned. He flowed around the attack with inhuman speed, slamming his head into the creature’s skull, using its own momentum against it. She staggered back then tried to slice at the man’s throat only to be blocked by the pistol. He span in time with the music, stamping a booted foot into the woman’s knee with a sickening crunch then firing a point blank shot at her face. Blood-slick teeth exploded out like a nailbomb. She screamed gutturally and hopped back with increasing panic.

KT watched wide eyed as leathery black wings ripped through the skin on the woman’s back and spread out around her like liquid shadows. The monster flexed its beautiful body as the wings shuddered then started to rise and fall. She shot into the sky and attempted to make her escape. Gouts of blood marked the passage of another volley of bullets. The winged creature faltered and crashed into a tree which she used it as a springboard, launching back into the air and out of sight. The man shrugged then tapped KT’s phone screen, killing the music. Silence flooded in like a tide.

KT tried to move to her brother but pain shot through her again. She fell face first to the ground. She lay there panting through the snow, tears in her eyes. Her hand reached out towards Kai. There was the sound footsteps and the crunch of snow.

“He’s fine,” came a deep, rough sounding voice. She turned her head slightly to see the gun wielding figure bent over Kai’s prone body. “Just sleeping,” the voice explained.

“Sleeping? But she… but he…Y-you shot her! What the hell is happening?” KT stammered, unable to get a single clear thought into her brain. Everything hurt.

“Would you believe this was all a dream? It would certainly make my job a lot easier,” continued the man, his voice taking on a lighter tone.

The girl stared blankly at the shadowy figure. He shrugged. “Didn’t think that would work. Right, let me think how to put this. This guy is asleep because he had his life-force drained by that creature. You might know it as a succubus. That means he just needs to sleep and he’ll be fine. She didn’t go far enough to do any real damage, if you catch my drift.”

KT stared at him in disbelief as a thousand thoughts fought for control of her mouth. Pain underpinned them all. “You want me to believe we were almost killed by a sex demon? That’s impossible! My drink has been spiked and all of this is a bad drug trip.”

“Of course. This was all a figment of your imagination. Problem solved. My work here is done.”

KT tried to focus on the man as he spoke. He was tall and well-built from what she could see of his body. He wore a hardened leather jacket and dark trousers, both of which were covered in straps and pockets. A dark green cloak draped him from his shoulders to his knees and sturdy leather boots covered his feet. Black fingerless gloves and long sleeves hid his arms. His face was angular and weatherworn, handsome in a rugged kind of way. His golden blond hair was tied into a loose ponytail. Over his shoulder she could see what looked like a guitar case hung across his back.

It was too dark to make out any extra detail. What she could make out was becoming harder to focus on as her vision blurred. Anything further than the man’s face was an unintelligible smear.

KT coughed up more blood as a sudden spasm wracked her body. She heard the man rush to her side. He rolled her onto her back then she felt his hands on her stomach. She struggled to open her eyes through the pain but managed on her second attempt.

A look of surprise flitted across his face as he stared down at KT. It almost seemed like he was frozen in time for a moment until he blinked and visibly shook himself. His face became a blank mask and concentration filled his eyes.

“Lie still,” he commanded. He sounded shaken but he quickly composed himself. Whether it was his voice or her own pain, she felt impelled to obey. He moved her limbs gently and straightened her body out. “It’s just severe bruising, some internal ruptures. Nothing too bad.” She gave him an incredulous look through the pain. Internal rupture was not good in anyone’s book.

He dug through one of his many pockets until he pulled out a small blue pill. “Here, swallow this. It’ll ease the pain.”

Warnings of not accepting tablets from strangers swam through her mind. She had no idea who he was, what his motives were or what the hell was happening. She tried to turn her head away to refuse the pill but a sudden jolt of pain made her cry out. The man sighed then grabbed her head, forced open her mouth and slid the pill between her lips. KT tried to fight but the man kept her firmly pinned down. A few seconds passed. Numbness began to spread across her stomach. 

“You’ll start to feel drowsy now,” he informed her. “I’m going to try and sort you out but I need you to stay awake. Always remember, it’s when we don’t feel pain that we’re most vulnerable to death. Do you understand?”

She nodded, unable to prevent a shiver running through her.

“What’s your name?” he asked calmly, his tone becoming casual, friendly.

KT stared up at him. His relaxed posture and soft voice couldn’t disguise his threatening presence. She felt short of breath and afraid but almost against her will the words started to spill out clumsily. “Catherine Redthorn. Katie for short. Just the two letters, K and T. Why use nine letters when two works just fine,” she babbled. She was becoming delirious.

“That’s good,” he soothed. He pulled her shirt up slightly and placed his palms against her now purple skin. They began to glow faintly with a pale blue light. She watched blearily as the bruised skin seemed to soothe itself, the dark colours fading, becoming paler. The tension inside her gut grew looser, more natural.

KT’s mind felt clearer by the second. “Who’re you?” she asked. “What happened?”

The man hesitated for a moment. “Like I said, your brother was drawn in by a succubus. She gave you a good beating and took all of his energy before fleeing. Strange but true.” He spoke matter-of-factly, as though this kind of thing happened every day.

“That’s not right. I’ve read about them. If succubi are real then they’re supposed to target people who’re asleep.”

“Try telling her that,” commented the man with a slight grin. KT didn’t look in a joking mood so he returned to a stern look. “Think of it this way: times have changed. When the prey changes, so must the predator. Society is more…open with sexuality now so there is less need for stealth. Hmm, an example of this change is the way she looked. That appearance a few hundred years ago would have been a no go. Men back then preferred the more petite figure while men now like more…exaggerated features. In reality they look more like giant bats than humans. It’s an individual’s perception that gives them a more pleasing form. Are you following?”

“I-I think so,” KT replied shakily. Her shattered thoughts were quickly rebuilding themselves. “What about my first question?” she pressed, her confidence and strength returning to her.

He sighed. “The name’s Déaþscúa.”

“Death-shoo-a?” KT repeated, rolling the strange word across her tongue.

“Yeah. Lots of funny letters and accents. It’s a long story.” He offered her his hand and she took it.

With his help KT struggled to her feet. She lifted her shirt to examine the wound but nothing remained other than a large red mark as though she had been slapped. Tentatively she prodded the skin and winced slightly after realising it still felt tender. Her legs shook but she willed herself to stand tall. Subconsciously she took on a fighting stance.

“How did you do that?”

“Questions, questions,” the man said agitatedly. “Make yourself useful and help me get your brother back inside. Exposure to this cold won’t help him recover.”

Each grabbed one of Kai’s arms and hoisted him up. The man took most of his weight as they made their way back toward the lodge. KT checked her watch. 12:15. Lights were still visible within and sounds seeped dully through the walls.

“You’ll have to take him from here,” Déaþscúa told her. “If anyone sees you just say he drank too much. He’ll wake up sometime late in the day feeling groggy but will otherwise be fine.” He positioned Kai fully onto KT then turned to leave. Without looking back he spoke again. “Some parting advice. Don’t go out again at night. Don’t go out in the day alone. It’s a dangerous world for the unwary, especially at the moment. Stick to that and you’ll be fine.”

Then he was gone, his shadowy form melding into the darkness between the trees. She stared after him but all evidence of his presence had vanished with him. Stood there beside the lodge, bathed in light and surrounded by the sound of merriment, KT could almost believe it had all been just a strange dream.

up at high window that revealed nothing but darkness. He knew there was nothing to see, but even the void was better than the picture of social awkwardness that surrounded him. Outside of the large wooden building known as Aife’s Lodge, there were no signs of civilisation for miles, only the dark expanse of Abernethy Forest and the Scottish wilds. The lodge had once been a private manor house but now served as a homely hotel. Fitting with its remote location, it was the kind of place where people went to escape society completely. 

The clouds parted just enough to reveal the moon through the window. It was just before midnight on New Year’s Eve and the few guests of Aife’s Lodge had forgone seclusion and gathered together in the main hall to celebrate. A stone fireplace dominated one wall while numerous mounted animals showcased the local fauna. Long dead deer and wildcats seemed almost alive in the flickering light. The guests mingled awkwardly in groups of two or three, the conversations gradually becoming less passive as the alcohol flowed.

“I should be back home, partying it up with friends and hot girls, not sitting here in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of anti-social old people and weirdoes.” The young man continued. As he spoke he brushed dark hair from his eyes and tried to suppress a yawn. Crimson highlights ran through the carefully constructed mess of black. He was the picture of a rebel without a cause.

“Stop whining already, Kai,” said the girl on the opposite side of the step. KT Redthorn looked equally as bored as her brother, Kai, but she had always been more at peace with her own company. She was dressed similarly to her companion, her hair long and straight, ending at the small of her back, vivid blue streaked through it in contrast to the red of his. Her jewellery was kept to a minimum, and a few splashes of colour from a multitude of wristbands broke the monotony of black jeans, shirt and hair.

“Look, I don’t like it either but it’s one week. Aunt Susan hasn’t asked us to come up here in years.”

Kai sipped glumly from a glass of cheap cider as he surveyed the room. “She can’t imagine the amount of parties I’m missing out on because of her. ‘Tis the season to be blackout drunk while surrounded by pretty girls.”

“Every season is party season for you.” KT took a sip of her own drink, which was also cider but with enough blackcurrant cordial to drown out the bitter taste, then continued. “After all the money she’s given us over the years, we owe her a few weeks of our time every now and then.” Despite her words, she didn’t sound too happy about it either.

“Still doesn’t justify her timing. She’s rich though so she must have a pretty good inheritance for us. Maybe we should be kind to her. KT, use your female bond to get in her good books or something.”

“You’re a terrible person,” she said then sighed, staring glumly into her drink.

Kai noticed her expression and frowned. “You still beating yourself up about uni? It’s been months now. Forget about it.”

“Yeah, I know. There’s just nothing to distract me from it here. This should have been my first Christmas as a student in the big city and instead I’m sat here. I worked so damn hard to try and get into that veterinary degree and one bad day screwed me. One bad test and suddenly everything else I’ve ever done is now worthless.” She made a frustrated sound and downed her drink.

“That’s where you went wrong. You tried. You had hopes and dreams. Expect the worst and you can only ever be pleasantly surprised.”

KT shook her head. “That doesn’t work and you know it.” Her eyes glanced around to a large picture that had pride of place at the top of the staircase. Blue eyes stared down at them from a young face. If they didn’t know better, it could easily have been an image of KT herself. “Being here doesn’t help. Seeing her face everywhere is kinda unsettling.”

“Yeah, no kidding. For someone who died two decades ago, she could be your identical twin. Christ. Imagine there being two of you.” Kai frowned and looked away. “I never did like photos anyway. Not hung up like that. It always feels like they’re watching you. Judging you. Knowing they’re dead just makes it weirder.”

“You can’t imagine how awkward it is talking to Aunt Susan. It’s clear that she only sees her when she looks at me. It’s so sad.” KT muttered. Kai wasn’t listening to her though. His eyes were locked on one of the guests below.

It was a young female guest. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, red lips and two very defining features that instantly drew attention. Her low cut top allowed a fair view of these features while long legs led up to a very short denim skirt. A small love heart tattoo adorned her chest, rising up from the gap of her cleavage. Kai stared at her with a dumb grin on his face.

“Scratch my previous comments, this place just got good. Time to work my charm,” he smirked, rising up from his perch.

His sister shook her head. “You’re hopeless. A damn hopeless pervert. Women will be the death of you.”

“And a good death it’ll be,” he joked as he made his way down the stairs. Still shaking her head, KT put on the headphones that rested across her neck. Heavy guitar cut off the world around her.

Kai wove through the hall and stopped beside the girl, confidence radiating from his every feature.

“Hey,” he greeted with a friendly smile and a sparkle in his eyes. “I’ve not seen you around here. You just arrive?”

The girl nodded, locking eyes with him. She bit her lip slightly and played with her skirt.

“You in need of some company? I’ve been here a few days now so can show you the surroundings if you want.”

“Ya. I would like that,” answered the girl with a thick accent. Her eyes never strayed from Kai’s. They seemed to tug at him, pulling him closer.

Kai’s grin widened yet further. “Is that a Swedish accent?” The blonde nodded. “You’re a long way from home. You here all on your lonesome?”

“Ya. I am exploring the world. See new sights, meet new people, find new experiences,” she purred.

Kai coughed and fought to calm himself. He looked again and noticed that her eyes seemed more green now. It must have been a trick of the light, or maybe the alcohol was starting to kick in. He downed the rest of his drink and set the glass down on a table beside a basket of grapes. The woman skewed one with an overly long nail and held it up to Kai’s mouth. A heavy scent rose from her skin that seemed to muddle his thoughts. He took it in his teeth.

“It is getting hot in here,” the woman stated. “Come. Let us go outside.”

She smiled at him and took his hand in hers. She had the most beautiful hazelnut eyes. Or were they red? Kai couldn’t tell any longer. She led him to the door as he staggered clumsily after her. He couldn’t believe his luck. 

They quickly eased open the door and slipped outside. The cold hit Kai like a physical blow despite his thick clothes. He suddenly realised how ill equipped the girl was for the Scottish winter, though she showed no sign of discomfort. Her hands were cold against his skin but they looked warm.

“Aren’t you cold?” he tried to ask but his words came out slurred. He didn’t think that he’d drank that much.

“No.” Her voice echoed hollowly and her accent seemed less pronounced.

Kai tried to pull away from her but the woman spun him around and planted a hard kiss on his lips. The feeling was nice but sent cold shivers down his spine. Her lips were as cold as her hands. He vaguely noticed that her breath didn’t mist in the air like his own.

The girl pushed him against a tree with a strength that contrasted with her slender frame. Her hands were all over his body. Each touch burned even though her skin was like ice. Kai was struggling to breath. He tried to move her back slightly but she slapped his hand away.

In the heat of activity she lifted her shirt until it hung around her neck like a scarf. Her hands slid under his shirt, her nails raking sharply across his back. Kai felt the skin break and welt, small trails of blood forming in the nails’ wake. He tried to move aside but was locked firmly in place.

He looked down at her face and suddenly tensed up. Her eyes were changing, growing darker, their colour indistinct. He’d known people’s eyes to dilate through bliss but never anything like this. Her pupils spread out like a drop of ink until her entire eyes were consumed with darkness.

Things were moving faster than his muddled mind could manage. Her hands moved lower down his body. In their transition from his shirt to his belt he saw that her nails had grown to resemble claws. He knew that this wasn’t right but his body wouldn’t obey his commands. He watched in horror as her lips parted and a snake’s forked tongue slid out.

He tried to scream, to fight, but his limbs felt numb. He should have been wide awake and roaring with energy, lust and fear flooding his body with adrenaline, but instead he could feel his strength seeping from him with every passing second. Every touch the girl made sucked the life from him. He could feel the energy bleeding out of him, draining him and leaving behind only a sour sensation.

In an instant she had sliced through his belt with one knife-like claw. She reached inside his trousers. Kai shuddered, his brain flickering in and out of consciousness.

There was a snap of a branch behind them. “Damn it Kai! You can’t just take a girl you’ve only just met into the forest to have your way with.”

He saw KT enter the clearing and freeze. The other girl whipped around at the intrusion, hissing like an animal. Without the woman’s attention on him, Kai could feel his thoughts drifting back into place.

“What the hell?” KT began, but the monstrous woman bounded at her and slammed a fist into her gut. The force of the blow threw her back into a tree several feet behind her. She hit it hard then slumped to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood. Faint music still played from her headphones. The sounds drifted hauntingly in the quiet of the night.

As though nothing had happened, the beast turned her attention back to Kai. He had tried to escape, dragging himself forward through the snow, but his strength was dangerously low and he had only made it a short distance. She pulled him around to face her then shoved him to the ground, climbing onto him to straddle his waist. The weight was like lead on his soul, contracting it and pulling it down into the abyss. He was struggling to even keep his eyes open regardless of the immediate danger. Everything grew dark. She grew more beautiful…

A bang roared through the forest, shattering the quiet like a hammer on ice. The woman screamed a monstrous scream that sounded more like a crazed bat than a human. Kai was vaguely aware of being showered in dark blood as his assailant’s right shoulder and breast blew away in an explosion of gore and bone. A white shard sliced across his cheek. Blood drenched him, running down his face to drip into his gasping mouth. Enough of his mind remained to make him gag at the burning taste.

The woman jumped away from Kai with astounding speed. He watched vacantly as the grievous wound knitted itself back together like a spider weaving a web at high speed. Then his eyes closed and his body became still as his consciousness finally surrendered…

 

“Kai!” KT shouted as she tried to pull herself to her feet using the tree as support. Her stomach was in agony but she forced it to the back of her mind as she took a determined step towards her brother.

The monster screeched again, this time in rage. It charged forward, sprinting on all fours like an animal. Another bang echoed out into the night as a cloud of blood erupted from the woman’s body. A new figure entered KT’s line of sight, his right arm held straight out, a pistol in his hand. More jarring cracks assaulted her ears as tainted blood cut crimson streaks through the snow.

The ensuing sound was almost more than KT’s ears could handle. She saw the man step into the clearing beside the tree she had hit. The monster screeched but he ignored it, instead bending down to pick up the discarded headphones. They were broken in half but KT’s phone still hung from the wire. The woman’s screech became a howl as it burst into a sprint, razored claws flashing in the moonlight. 

“Watch out!” KT yelled. The man made no effort to raise his gun.

The hellish woman had closed the gap almost instantly. Without looking up, the man grabbed the phone and pulled the wire out. The background crackle of sound became a blaring guitar solo that seemed to fill the forest.

Claws lunged and the man grinned. He flowed around the attack with inhuman speed, slamming his head into the creature’s skull, using its own momentum against it. She staggered back then tried to slice at the man’s throat only to be blocked by the pistol. He span in time with the music, stamping a booted foot into the woman’s knee with a sickening crunch then firing a point blank shot at her face. Blood-slick teeth exploded out like a nailbomb. She screamed gutturally and hopped back with increasing panic.

KT watched wide eyed as leathery black wings ripped through the skin on the woman’s back and spread out around her like liquid shadows. The monster flexed its beautiful body as the wings shuddered then started to rise and fall. She shot into the sky and attempted to make her escape. Gouts of blood marked the passage of another volley of bullets. The winged creature faltered and crashed into a tree which she used it as a springboard, launching back into the air and out of sight. The man shrugged then tapped KT’s phone screen, killing the music. Silence flooded in like a tide.

KT tried to move to her brother but pain shot through her again. She fell face first to the ground. She lay there panting through the snow, tears in her eyes. Her hand reached out towards Kai. There was the sound footsteps and the crunch of snow.

“He’s fine,” came a deep, rough sounding voice. She turned her head slightly to see the gun wielding figure bent over Kai’s prone body. “Just sleeping,” the voice explained.

“Sleeping? But she… but he…Y-you shot her! What the hell is happening?” KT stammered, unable to get a single clear thought into her brain. Everything hurt.

“Would you believe this was all a dream? It would certainly make my job a lot easier,” continued the man, his voice taking on a lighter tone.

The girl stared blankly at the shadowy figure. He shrugged. “Didn’t think that would work. Right, let me think how to put this. This guy is asleep because he had his life-force drained by that creature. You might know it as a succubus. That means he just needs to sleep and he’ll be fine. She didn’t go far enough to do any real damage, if you catch my drift.”

KT stared at him in disbelief as a thousand thoughts fought for control of her mouth. Pain underpinned them all. “You want me to believe we were almost killed by a sex demon? That’s impossible! My drink has been spiked and all of this is a bad drug trip.”

“Of course. This was all a figment of your imagination. Problem solved. My work here is done.”

KT tried to focus on the man as he spoke. He was tall and well-built from what she could see of his body. He wore a hardened leather jacket and dark trousers, both of which were covered in straps and pockets. A dark green cloak draped him from his shoulders to his knees and sturdy leather boots covered his feet. Black fingerless gloves and long sleeves hid his arms. His face was angular and weatherworn, handsome in a rugged kind of way. His golden blond hair was tied into a loose ponytail. Over his shoulder she could see what looked like a guitar case hung across his back.

It was too dark to make out any extra detail. What she could make out was becoming harder to focus on as her vision blurred. Anything further than the man’s face was an unintelligible smear.

KT coughed up more blood as a sudden spasm wracked her body. She heard the man rush to her side. He rolled her onto her back then she felt his hands on her stomach. She struggled to open her eyes through the pain but managed on her second attempt.

A look of surprise flitted across his face as he stared down at KT. It almost seemed like he was frozen in time for a moment until he blinked and visibly shook himself. His face became a blank mask and concentration filled his eyes.

“Lie still,” he commanded. He sounded shaken but he quickly composed himself. Whether it was his voice or her own pain, she felt impelled to obey. He moved her limbs gently and straightened her body out. “It’s just severe bruising, some internal ruptures. Nothing too bad.” She gave him an incredulous look through the pain. Internal rupture was not good in anyone’s book.

He dug through one of his many pockets until he pulled out a small blue pill. “Here, swallow this. It’ll ease the pain.”

Warnings of not accepting tablets from strangers swam through her mind. She had no idea who he was, what his motives were or what the hell was happening. She tried to turn her head away to refuse the pill but a sudden jolt of pain made her cry out. The man sighed then grabbed her head, forced open her mouth and slid the pill between her lips. KT tried to fight but the man kept her firmly pinned down. A few seconds passed. Numbness began to spread across her stomach. 

“You’ll start to feel drowsy now,” he informed her. “I’m going to try and sort you out but I need you to stay awake. Always remember, it’s when we don’t feel pain that we’re most vulnerable to death. Do you understand?”

She nodded, unable to prevent a shiver running through her.

“What’s your name?” he asked calmly, his tone becoming casual, friendly.

KT stared up at him. His relaxed posture and soft voice couldn’t disguise his threatening presence. She felt short of breath and afraid but almost against her will the words started to spill out clumsily. “Catherine Redthorn. Katie for short. Just the two letters, K and T. Why use nine letters when two works just fine,” she babbled. She was becoming delirious.

“That’s good,” he soothed. He pulled her shirt up slightly and placed his palms against her now purple skin. They began to glow faintly with a pale blue light. She watched blearily as the bruised skin seemed to soothe itself, the dark colours fading, becoming paler. The tension inside her gut grew looser, more natural.

KT’s mind felt clearer by the second. “Who’re you?” she asked. “What happened?”

The man hesitated for a moment. “Like I said, your brother was drawn in by a succubus. She gave you a good beating and took all of his energy before fleeing. Strange but true.” He spoke matter-of-factly, as though this kind of thing happened every day.

“That’s not right. I’ve read about them. If succubi are real then they’re supposed to target people who’re asleep.”

“Try telling her that,” commented the man with a slight grin. KT didn’t look in a joking mood so he returned to a stern look. “Think of it this way: times have changed. When the prey changes, so must the predator. Society is more…open with sexuality now so there is less need for stealth. Hmm, an example of this change is the way she looked. That appearance a few hundred years ago would have been a no go. Men back then preferred the more petite figure while men now like more…exaggerated features. In reality they look more like giant bats than humans. It’s an individual’s perception that gives them a more pleasing form. Are you following?”

“I-I think so,” KT replied shakily. Her shattered thoughts were quickly rebuilding themselves. “What about my first question?” she pressed, her confidence and strength returning to her.

He sighed. “The name’s Déaþscúa.”

“Death-shoo-a?” KT repeated, rolling the strange word across her tongue.

“Yeah. Lots of funny letters and accents. It’s a long story.” He offered her his hand and she took it.

With his help KT struggled to her feet. She lifted her shirt to examine the wound but nothing remained other than a large red mark as though she had been slapped. Tentatively she prodded the skin and winced slightly after realising it still felt tender. Her legs shook but she willed herself to stand tall. Subconsciously she took on a fighting stance.

“How did you do that?”

“Questions, questions,” the man said agitatedly. “Make yourself useful and help me get your brother back inside. Exposure to this cold won’t help him recover.”

Each grabbed one of Kai’s arms and hoisted him up. The man took most of his weight as they made their way back toward the lodge. KT checked her watch. 12:15. Lights were still visible within and sounds seeped dully through the walls.

“You’ll have to take him from here,” Déaþscúa told her. “If anyone sees you just say he drank too much. He’ll wake up sometime late in the day feeling groggy but will otherwise be fine.” He positioned Kai fully onto KT then turned to leave. Without looking back he spoke again. “Some parting advice. Don’t go out again at night. Don’t go out in the day alone. It’s a dangerous world for the unwary, especially at the moment. Stick to that and you’ll be fine.”

Then he was gone, his shadowy form melding into the darkness between the trees. She stared after him but all evidence of his presence had vanished with him. Stood there beside the lodge, bathed in light and surrounded by the sound of merriment, KT could almost believe it had all been just a strange dream.

gns of civilisation here other than the large wooden building known as Aife’s Lodge. It had once been a private manor house but now served as a homely hotel. Fitting with its remote location, it was the kind of place where people went to escape society completely. 

The clouds parted just enough to reveal the moon through the black veiled sky. It was just before midnight on New Year’s Eve and the few guests of Aife’s Lodge had forgone seclusion and gathered together in the main hall to celebrate. A stone fireplace dominated one wall while numerous mounted animals showcased the local fauna. Long dead deer and wildcats seemed almost alive in the flickering light. The guests mingled awkwardly in groups of two or three, the conversations gradually becoming less passive as the alcohol flowed.

“Tell me again why the hell we’re stuck here?” muttered a black clad teen who lounged on the broad staircase. He wore a hoodie bearing the name of an obscure rock band, The Sightless Protectors, who hadn’t been famous since before he had been born, and toyed idly with an array of silver rings that adorned each of his fingers. Poorly drawn skulls marked the back of his hands, poking out from the edge of low-cut fingerless gloves. 

“I should be back home, partying it up with friends and hot girls, not sitting here in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of anti-social old people and weirdoes.” As he spoke he brushed dark hair from his eyes and tried to suppress a yawn. Crimson highlights ran through the carefully constructed mess of black. He was the picture of a rebel without a cause.

“Stop whining already, Kai,” said the girl on the opposite side of the step. She was dressed similarly to the male. Her hair was long and straight, ending at the small of her back. Vivid blue streaked through it in contrast to the red of her brother. Her jewellery was kept to a minimum and a few splashes of colour from a multitude of wristbands broke the monotony of black jeans, shirt and hair. She had an athletic figure, as did Kai.

“Look, I don’t like it either but it’s one week. Aunt Susan hasn’t asked us to come up here in years.”

Kai sipped glumly from a glass of cheap cider as he surveyed the room. “She can’t imagine the amount of parties I’m missing out on because of her. ‘Tis the season to be blackout drunk while surrounded by pretty girls.”

“Every season is party season for you.” She took a sip of her own drink, which was also cider but with enough blackcurrant cordial to drown out the bitter taste, then continued. “After all the money she’s given us over the years, we owe her a few weeks of our time every now and then.” Despite her words, she didn’t sound too happy about it either.

“Still doesn’t justify her timing. She’s rich though so she must have a pretty good inheritance for us. Maybe we should be kind to her. KT, use your female bond to get in her good books or something.”

“You’re a terrible person,” she said. She sighed then stared glumly into her drink.

Kai noticed her expression and frowned. “You still beating yourself up about uni? It’s been months now. Forget about it.”

“Yeah, I know. There’s just nothing to distract me from it here. This should have been my first Christmas as a student in the big city and instead I’m sat here. I worked so damn hard for years to try and get into that veterinary degree and one bad day screwed me. One bad test and suddenly everything else I’ve ever done is now worthless.” She made a frustrated sound then downed her drink.

“That’s where you went wrong. You tried. You had hopes and dreams. Expect the worst and you can only ever be pleasantly surprised.”

KT shook her head. “That doesn’t work and you know it.” Her eyes glanced around to a large picture that had pride of place at the top of the staircase. Blue eyes stared down at them from a young face. If they didn’t know better, it could easily have been an image of KT herself. “Being here doesn’t help. Seeing her face everywhere is kinda unsettling.”

“Yeah, no kidding. For someone who died two decades ago, she could be your identical twin. Christ. Imagine there being two of you.” Kai frowned and looked away. “I never did like photos anyway. Not hung up like that. It always feels like they’re watching you. Judging you. Knowing they’re dead just makes it weirder.”

“You can’t imagine how awkward it is talking to Aunt Susan. It’s clear that she only sees her when she looks at me. It’s so sad.” KT muttered. Kai wasn’t listening to her though. His eyes were locked on one of the guests below.

It was a young female guest. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, red lips and two very defining features that instantly drew attention. Her low cut top allowed a fair view of these features while long legs led up to a very short denim skirt. A small love heart tattoo adorned her chest, rising up from the gap of her cleavage. Kai stared at her with a dumb grin on his face.

“Scratch my previous comments, this place just got good. Time to work my charm,” he smirked, rising up from his perch.

His sister shook her head. “You’re hopeless. A damn hopeless pervert. Women will be the death of you.”

“And a good death it’ll be,” he joked as he made his way down the stairs. Still shaking her head, she put on the headphones that rested across her neck. Heavy guitar cut off the world around her.

Kai wove through the hall and stopped beside the girl, confidence radiating from his every feature.

“Hey,” he greeted with a friendly smile and a sparkle in his eyes. “I’ve not seen you around here. You just arrive?”

The girl nodded, locking eyes with him. She bit her lip slightly and played with her skirt.

“You in need of some company? I’ve been here a few days now so can show you the surroundings if you want.”

“Ya. I would like that,” answered the girl with a thick accent. Her eyes never strayed from Kai’s. They seemed to tug at him, pulling him closer.

Kai’s grin widened yet further. “Is that a Swedish accent?” The blonde nodded. “You’re a long way from home. You here all on your lonesome?”

“Ya. I am exploring the world. See new sights, meet new people, find new experiences,” she purred.

Kai coughed and fought to calm himself. He looked again and noticed that her eyes seemed more green now. It must have been a trick of the light, or maybe the alcohol was starting to kick in. He downed the rest of his drink and set the glass down on a table beside a basket of grapes. The woman skewed one with an overly long nail and held it up to Kai’s mouth. A heavy scent rose from her skin that seemed to muddle his thoughts. He took it in his teeth.

“It is getting hot in here,” the woman stated. “Come. Let us go outside.”

She smiled at him and took his hand in hers. She had the most beautiful hazelnut eyes. Or were they red? Kai couldn’t tell any longer. She led him to the door as he staggered clumsily after her. He couldn’t believe his luck. 

They quickly eased open the door and slipped outside. The cold hit Kai like a physical blow despite his thick clothes. He suddenly realised how ill equipped the girl was for the Scottish winter, though she showed no sign of discomfort. Her hands were cold against his skin but they looked warm.

“Aren’t you cold?” he tried to ask but his words came out slurred. He didn’t think that he’d drank that much.

“No.” Her voice echoed hollowly and her accent seemed less pronounced.

Kai tried to pull away from her but the woman spun him around and planted a hard kiss on his lips. The feeling was nice but sent cold shivers down his spine. Her lips were as cold as her hands. He vaguely noticed that her breath didn’t mist in the air like his own.

The girl pushed him against a tree with a strength that contrasted with her slender frame. Her hands were all over his body. Each touch burned even though her skin was like ice. Kai was struggling to breath. He tried to move her back slightly but she slapped his hand away.

In the heat of activity she lifted her shirt until it hung around her neck like a scarf. Her hands slid under his shirt, her nails raking sharply across his back. Kai felt the skin break and welt, small trails of blood forming in the nails’ wake. He tried to move aside but was locked firmly in place.

He looked down at her face and suddenly tensed up. Her eyes were changing, growing darker, their colour indistinct. He’d known people’s eyes to dilate through bliss but never anything like this. Her pupils spread out like a drop of ink until her entire eyes were consumed with darkness.

Things were moving faster than his muddled mind could manage. Her hands moved lower down his body. In their transition from his shirt to his belt he saw that her nails had grown to resemble claws. He knew that this wasn’t right but his body wouldn’t obey his commands. He watched in horror as her lips parted and a snake’s forked tongue slid out.

He tried to scream, to fight, but his limbs felt numb. He should have been wide awake and roaring with energy, lust and fear flooding his body with adrenaline, but instead he could feel his strength seeping from him with every passing second. Every touch the girl made sucked the life from him. He could feel the energy bleeding out of him, draining him and leaving behind only a sour sensation.

In an instant she had sliced through his belt with one knife-like claw. She reached inside his trousers. Kai shuddered, his brain flickering in and out of consciousness.

There was a snap of a branch behind them. “Damn it Kai! You can’t just take a girl you’ve only just met into the forest to have your way with.”

He saw KT enter the clearing and freeze. The other girl whipped around at the intrusion, hissing like an animal. Without the woman’s attention on him, Kai could feel his thoughts drifting back into place.

“What the hell?” KT began, but the monstrous woman bounded at her and slammed a fist into her gut. The force of the blow threw her back into a tree several feet behind her. She hit it hard then slumped to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood. Faint music still played from her headphones. The sounds drifted hauntingly in the quiet of the night.

As though nothing had happened, the beast turned her attention back to Kai. He had tried to escape, dragging himself forward through the snow, but his strength was dangerously low and he had only made it a short distance. She pulled him around to face her then shoved him to the ground, climbing onto him to straddle his waist. The weight was like lead on his soul, contracting it and pulling it down into the abyss. He was struggling to even keep his eyes open regardless of the immediate danger. Everything grew dark. She grew more beautiful…

A bang roared through the forest, shattering the quiet like a hammer on ice. The woman screamed a monstrous scream that sounded more like a crazed bat than a human. Kai was vaguely aware of being showered in dark blood as his assailant’s right shoulder and breast blew away in an explosion of gore and bone. A white shard sliced across his cheek. Blood drenched him, running down his face to drip into his gasping mouth. Enough of his mind remained to make him gag at the burning taste.

The woman jumped away from Kai with astounding speed. He watched vacantly as the grievous wound knitted itself back together like a spider weaving a web at high speed. Then his eyes closed and his body became still as his consciousness finally surrendered…

“Kai!” KT shouted as she tried to pull herself to her feet using the tree as support. Her stomach was in agony but she forced it to the back of her mind as she took a determined step towards her brother.

The monster screeched again, this time in rage. It charged forward, sprinting on all fours like an animal. Another bang echoed out into the night as a cloud of blood erupted from the woman’s body. A new figure entered KT’s line of sight, his right arm held straight out, a pistol in his hand. More jarring cracks assaulted her ears as tainted blood cut crimson streaks through the snow.

The ensuing sound was almost more than KT’s ears could handle. She saw the man step into the clearing beside the tree she had hit. The monster screeched but he ignored it, instead bending down to pick up the discarded headphones. They were broken in half but KT’s phone still hung from the wire. The woman’s screech became a howl as it burst into a sprint, razored claws flashing in the moonlight. 

“Watch out!” KT yelled. The man made no effort to raise his gun.

The hellish woman had closed the gap almost instantly. Without looking up, the man grabbed the phone and pulled the wire out. The background crackle of sound became a blaring guitar solo that seemed to fill the forest.

Claws lunged and the man grinned. He flowed around the attack with inhuman speed, slamming his head into the creature’s skull, using its own momentum against it. She staggered back then tried to slice at the man’s throat only to be blocked by the pistol. He span in time with the music, stamping a booted foot into the woman’s knee with a sickening crunch then firing a point blank shot at her face. Blood-slick teeth exploded out like a nailbomb. She screamed gutturally and hopped back with increasing panic.

KT watched wide eyed as leathery black wings ripped through the skin on the woman’s back and spread out around her like liquid shadows. The monster flexed its beautiful body as the wings shuddered then started to rise and fall. She shot into the sky and attempted to make her escape. Gouts of blood marked the passage of another volley of bullets. The winged creature faltered and crashed into a tree which she used it as a springboard, launching back into the air and out of sight. The man shrugged then tapped KT’s phone screen, killing the music. Silence flooded in like a tide.

KT tried to move to her brother but pain shot through her again. She fell face first to the ground. She lay there panting through the snow, tears in her eyes. Her hand reached out towards Kai. There was the sound footsteps and the crunch of snow.

“He’s fine,” came a deep, rough sounding voice. She turned her head slightly to see the gun wielding figure bent over Kai’s prone body. “Just sleeping,” the voice explained.

“Sleeping? But she… but he…Y-you shot her! What the hell is happening?” KT stammered, unable to get a single clear thought into her brain. Everything hurt.

“Would you believe this was all a dream? It would certainly make my job a lot easier,” continued the man, his voice taking on a lighter tone.

The girl stared blankly at the shadowy figure. He shrugged. “Didn’t think that would work. Right, let me think how to put this. This guy is asleep because he had his life-force drained by that creature. You might know it as a succubus. That means he just needs to sleep and he’ll be fine. She didn’t go far enough to do any real damage, if you catch my drift.”

KT stared at him in disbelief as a thousand thoughts fought for control of her mouth. Pain underpinned them all. “You want me to believe we were almost killed by a sex demon? That’s impossible! My drink has been spiked and all of this is a bad drug trip.”

“Of course. This was all a figment of your imagination. Problem solved. My work here is done.”

KT tried to focus on the man as he spoke. He was tall and well-built from what she could see of his body. He wore a hardened leather jacket and dark trousers, both of which were covered in straps and pockets. A dark green cloak draped him from his shoulders to his knees and sturdy leather boots covered his feet. Black fingerless gloves and long sleeves hid his arms. His face was angular and weatherworn, handsome in a rugged kind of way. His golden blond hair was tied into a loose ponytail. Over his shoulder she could see what looked like a guitar case hung across his back.

It was too dark to make out any extra detail. What she could make out was becoming harder to focus on as her vision blurred. Anything further than the man’s face was an unintelligible smear.

KT coughed up more blood as a sudden spasm wracked her body. She heard the man rush to her side. He rolled her onto her back then she felt his hands on her stomach. She struggled to open her eyes through the pain but managed on her second attempt.

A look of surprise flitted across his face as he stared down at KT. It almost seemed like he was frozen in time for a moment until he blinked and visibly shook himself. His face became a blank mask and concentration filled his eyes.

“Lie still,” he commanded. He sounded shaken but he quickly composed himself. Whether it was his voice or her own pain, she felt impelled to obey. He moved her limbs gently and straightened her body out. “It’s just severe bruising, some internal ruptures. Nothing too bad.” She gave him an incredulous look through the pain. Internal rupture was not good in anyone’s book.

He dug through one of his many pockets until he pulled out a small blue pill. “Here, swallow this. It’ll ease the pain.”

Warnings of not accepting tablets from strangers swam through her mind. She had no idea who he was, what his motives were or what the hell was happening. She tried to turn her head away to refuse the pill but a sudden jolt of pain made her cry out. The man sighed then grabbed her head, forced open her mouth and slid the pill between her lips. KT tried to fight but the man kept her firmly pinned down. A few seconds passed. Numbness began to spread across her stomach. 

“You’ll start to feel drowsy now,” he informed her. “I’m going to try and sort you out but I need you to stay awake. Always remember, it’s when we don’t feel pain that we’re most vulnerable to death. Do you understand?”

She nodded, unable to prevent a shiver running through her.

“What’s your name?” he asked calmly, his tone becoming casual, friendly.

KT stared up at him. His relaxed posture and soft voice couldn’t disguise his threatening presence. She felt short of breath and afraid but almost against her will the words started to spill out clumsily. “Catherine Redthorn. Katie for short. Just the two letters, K and T. Why use nine letters when two works just fine,” she babbled. She was becoming delirious.

“That’s good,” he soothed. He pulled her shirt up slightly and placed his palms against her now purple skin. They began to glow faintly with a pale blue light. She watched blearily as the bruised skin seemed to soothe itself, the dark colours fading, becoming paler. The tension inside her gut grew looser, more natural.

KT’s mind felt clearer by the second. “Who’re you?” she asked. “What happened?”

The man hesitated for a moment. “Like I said, your brother was drawn in by a succubus. She gave you a good beating and took all of his energy before fleeing. Strange but true.” He spoke matter-of-factly, as though this kind of thing happened every day.

“That’s not right. I’ve read about them. If succubi are real then they’re supposed to target people who’re asleep.”

“Try telling her that,” commented the man with a slight grin. KT didn’t look in a joking mood so he returned to a stern look. “Think of it this way: times have changed. When the prey changes, so must the predator. Society is more…open with sexuality now so there is less need for stealth. Hmm, an example of this change is the way she looked. That appearance a few hundred years ago would have been a no go. Men back then preferred the more petite figure while men now like more…exaggerated features. In reality they look more like giant bats than humans. It’s an individual’s perception that gives them a more pleasing form. Are you following?”

“I-I think so,” KT replied shakily. Her shattered thoughts were quickly rebuilding themselves. “What about my first question?” she pressed, her confidence and strength returning to her.

He sighed. “The name’s Déaþscúa.”

“Death-shoo-a?” KT repeated, rolling the strange word across her tongue.

“Yeah. Lots of funny letters and accents. It’s a long story.” He offered her his hand and she took it.

With his help KT struggled to her feet. She lifted her shirt to examine the wound but nothing remained other than a large red mark as though she had been slapped. Tentatively she prodded the skin and winced slightly after realising it still felt tender. Her legs shook but she willed herself to stand tall. Subconsciously she took on a fighting stance.

“How did you do that?”

“Questions, questions,” the man said agitatedly. “Make yourself useful and help me get your brother back inside. Exposure to this cold won’t help him recover.”

Each grabbed one of Kai’s arms and hoisted him up. The man took most of his weight as they made their way back toward the lodge. KT checked her watch. 12:15. Lights were still visible within and sounds seeped dully through the walls.

“You’ll have to take him from here,” Déaþscúa told her. “If anyone sees you just say he drank too much. He’ll wake up sometime late in the day feeling groggy but will otherwise be fine.” He positioned Kai fully onto KT then turned to leave. Without looking back he spoke again. “Some parting advice. Don’t go out again at night. Don’t go out in the day alone. It’s a dangerous world for the unwary, especially at the moment. Stick to that and you’ll be fine.”

Then he was gone, his shadowy form melding into the darkness between the trees. She stared after him but all evidence of his presence had vanished with him. Stood there beside the lodge, bathed in light and surrounded by the sound of merriment, KT could almost believe it had all been just a strange dream.

Next – Chapter 2.

Epilogue. (The Sword Summoner: History Repeats)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

In a vast golden chamber at the heart of an empire fought eleven warriors. Eight were men, three women. Each had a different weapon and knew how to use it. The warriors twisted and curled in a vicious dance of death to the symphony of clashing blades.

One man fought the other ten, testing his skill to the maximum. He fought on equal grounds against every opponent and showed no sign of struggling. His cropped golden hair and short beard framed a hard, sharply defined face.

A colossal bell toned high above them and the fighting stopped. The lone warrior strode to a highly decorated throne that was positioned behind the open space they had battled in, then sat. The ten others lined up with the throne, five on either side.

Every person stilled like a statue as the huge, gold plated doors opposite them groaned open. A tall, lean man with fuzzy hair wearing a white robe walked in and stood where the men and women had sparred moments ago then bowed deeply.

The warrior on the throne inclined his head slightly for the man to begin.

“Sir, the scouts have just returned and have brought information you will want to hear,” reported the man in a very deep tone.

“Very good. Tell me,” said the seated warrior in a waxy voice.

The messenger removed a sheet of paper from a pouch on his belt and began to read from it. “Ninety percent failed to find anyone of higher skill than normal war heroes but the other ten percent found some very interesting warriors.”

“In the country of Edu there are two brothers who can control the very elements. In Jorig there is a man that survived nine poisoned arrows then butchered the men who shot him. In the land of Sikame there is a group of mercenaries that destroyed the Lorilian Empire without aid.”

None of the warriors looked impressed with the lineup as the list was read out. The messenger continued the report before he reached the last part of his list.

“The last scout to report in had by far the best feedback. He was assigned to a distant country called Farava. While there he found five warriors worthy of your attention. There is a male and female that fought in the Klade wars yet still somehow live. The Alpha of the brutish Forukks was last seen in the same battle as the other two. A descendant of the last Seshikedasu has also made a name for himself there. The most notable warrior is far more to your liking though, my Lord. The current Seshikedasu resides in that land.”

The eleven warriors in the line perked up as the messenger finished the report.

“So there is a Sword Summoner within my lifetime. He, along with the other four will give me the war of the century. It may even match the Klade wars. Men, ready your soldiers. We head out for this Farava.” The warriors at his side bellowed and cheered.

“I, Emperor Relious Olingus Xui of the Khawei Empire will slay a Sword Summoner!”

From beyond the door echoed the roar of a hundred thousand warriors as they raised their weapons to the sky and howled out war cries at the top of their lungs.

The Emperor turned to the men at his side. “Dragon generals, kill all that you want, but the Summoner is mine.”

The End.

You did it! You finished my first ever completed novel! I know that The Sword Summoner is less than perfect, but it will always hold a special place in my heart. I hope that you enjoyed it.

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Previous – Chapter 59. A New Normality.

Chapter 59. A New Normality. (The Sword Summoner: History Repeats)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

The early morning sun shone down past nomad clouds before bathing the city below in warmth. A gentle breeze drifted through the grass and birds sang in every tree.

Trey walked slowly through the empty streets of Pastrino while assessing the last few weeks. They had gone by so fast and there had been so much to do that all of the recent events still had not fully sunken in yet.

After the battle at Lanstiro, they had all gorged themselves in a well deserved feast before resting in the mass of rooms that littered the fortress city. Those who could stomach food and find sleep from the waking nightmares anyway. The host of animals had left as soon as the last living Forukk had been butchered. When the morning arrived the grief of loss came with it. Every person that still lived had lost a friend or family member and were only now able to properly mourn the dead.

Work had been done to collect and burn the enemies’ bodies before preparing their own dead to be transported. The journey had been long and hard and almost had not seemed worth it after arriving back at the ruins of Pastrino.

Buildings lay as rubble and bodies still littered the streets. Ashes formed the top layer of soil for miles around the city and all but the strongest trees had died. The taint of the Shadow Lands had been brought with the Forukks and was only fading slowly. There were no crops, no food left in storage and staying warm in the winter months had become a problem.

A vast graveyard had been constructed for the victims of the war and all of the bodies were buried, including Sarah and even Zendek. Xion had been left to rot where he had fallen. Almost two thirds of the city would never return home beyond that grave-filled field. The Yuxova and Onlasarian armies had left Pastrino after only a single night’s rest before heading out to return their dead to where they belonged and rebuild their own homes.

Every able bodied person was tasked with tilling the fields so that crops could be planted and grown to insure their survival over the coming months. Then the construction began and consumed every waking hour until every house with living occupants was fully rebuilt.

These efforts were ongoing; even now as Trey walked the streets he could see half finished buildings. Trey had worked from sun up to sun down, as had every other Pastrinian. Every other waking minute had been spent training with Zenbou. Without the pressures of a battle the sword was near impossible to control but he was learning, slowly but surely.

Between Zak and the Heptalli Elder he had learned that Zenbou was the mark of the Sword Summoner. That marked Trey out as a warrior of legend, however much he wanted to avoid it. People were suddenly placing titles upon him and were bowing on sight while others now pushed him to step up and be the grand saviour that they expected him to be. Trey just wanted to sit alone and forget it all. That was not an option any longer. He pushed these thoughts from his head.

From the fires of war and death, strong bonds had been formed between the peoples of the cities and desert. Liam and Dawn had become representatives of their people and worked tirelessly with Pastrino to rebuild Farava into one great nation.

Trey stepped through a shining gate and walked among the rows of gravestones until he had arrived at the one he was looking for. He knelt down next to his mother’s grave and placed a single flower on the mound. He had come here every day to talk to Sarah and inform her of how things were going.

“Hey Mum, it’s only me. Things are going well. Our house is almost back to normal and we’ve also fixed all the things you always complained about while we were at it.”

“Billy has recovered well, both physically and mentally, as has everyone else. Life is good but I still miss you so much,” he said to the stone. “Liam was given a position as a sergeant in the Onlasarian army and is finally gaining the respect of his peers. I think he is finally starting to enjoy life. There’s still no message from Htaed and Lily on their hunt for the Alpha Forukk but we’re keeping our ears open.”

“You have to stop talking to yourself, people will think you’re crazy,” came a voice from behind Trey. He turned to see Blake.

“Oh, hey Dad. I was just talking to Mum,” replied Trey. “Did anything come up in the reports?”

“Nothing of note,” Blake answered. “I have gotten further with the books from Dill’s old house but they don’t help us a great deal. They chronicle the fall of Lanstiro and fill in a lot of the past but don’t mention anything that is relevant to us now. It’s funny, Dill’s descendent was a prince who escaped the city after realising that the corruption was consuming everything. He was the last heir to that land and so cut off Lanstiro’s growth. By going back there, Dill unwillingly set everything back into motion. I still have no idea what the coming storm was that he mentioned.”

Too much had not been answered. What was the threat that pushed Zendek to harden Farava? Where had Maklar and the Alpha Forukk disappeared to and when would they return? Was Mellow truly dead or still alive as Dawn believed? Just what was the smiley-faced reaper they had seen in the desert? Too many questions.

Trey sighed, his eyes drifting up to the clear sky. “It is strange to think that a strong man with a pure heart and dreams of peace could be warped so badly by something out of his control. I guess in the end we are all weak to fate.”

“Maybe,” shrugged Blake. He knelt down beside Sarah’s grave.

“Any news on your end?” he asked while he offered up a prayer to his wife.

“Yeah, you have to become our new leader.”

Blake raised an eyebrow. “Oh really? Why is that?”

“They tried pushing it onto me but I refused. If you don’t take it then Zak is the only one who wants the job,” said Trey with a smile.

“I can see your concern,” laughed Blake. His face became more serious as he continued. “You know how I said we need protection against future enemies? Well I have talked it through with some select people and we have decided we need something more than guards, peasant militia and hastily built armies. We need a group of strong warriors who are willing to fight for peace. I just can’t shake Dill’s final words about strengthening us for the coming storm. Are you in?”

“I suppose I have to as the new Sword Summoner,” sighed the teen, still not used to the idea of being a legendary warrior.

“Not at all,” smiled the man. “Although I’m sure that the other members would be very sad if you didn’t accept.”

“Other members?” questioned Trey.

“Yeah. I picked people who had proved themselves worthy during the war. I think you may know them.” Blake whistled loudly then a group of people entered through the gates.

At the front of the group were Commander Nakai and his Lieutenant Suzy Fireblood. Behind them came Billy and Zak who were closely followed by Liam and Dawn. Pux stood proudly upon Zak’s shoulder. Lieutenant Gapon arrived last. They walked over to Sarah’s grave and greeted the two already there.

“We made a few suggestions for a name but we wanted you to make the final say,” said Blake.

“Okay,” said Trey, not fully sure what was happening.

“We thought of ‘The Order of the Blue Sword’. What do you think?” asked Dawn as she tried to keep a straight face at Trey’s reaction.

“Sounds good to me,” chuckled the teen.

“Good,” said Blake with exaggerated relief. “It would have been bad if you hated the name after we had already gotten our tattoos.”

“Tattoos?”

“Yes,” Dawn smiled. She pulled up the sleeve of her right arm to reveal a finger-length image of Zenbou inked into the skin of her inner wrist. The glorious blue of the blade appeared slightly illumines, almost glowing in the early morning sun. The others raised their sleeves too and showed off identical copies. Nakai’s was the odd one out on his left wrist.

“Think of it as a badge of honour, a mark of our rank.”

Trey didn’t know what to say. He just stared at the blue blades that would be a part of his friends’ bodies forever.

Blake clasped Trey’s shoulder. “Come on then. There’s a lot still to do, least of which is giving you a tattoo as well. We can’t have our leader go without, can we?”

“Right. Just give me a minute alone please,” asked Trey.The others nodded then left him to finish talking to his mother.

He smiled reflectively. Things really were moving fast. “Times will be tough and stronger enemies will always try to shatter the peace but I will protect everyone. If I had been stronger that day then you may never have died and I can never forgive myself for that. I will get stronger though and shield my friends from all harm. This I promise to you, Mum.”

He could feel Sarah’s presence at his side and knew that she would always watch over him.

“I will not fail you again.”

Previous – Chapter 58. Endings.

Next – Epilogue.

Chapter 58. Endings. (The Sword Summoner: History Repeats)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

Dawn struggled to heal Lily’s wound as man and beast fought within inches of where she knelt. Zak had warded the enemies off but then he had run off and had not returned. Without his support she doubted her ability to save the young woman.

She was deep into enemy lines and soon the last human was slain. Forukks formed a ring around her, readying themselves for an easy kill. Dawn knew that she could not fight them so instead she grabbed the amulet that hung from her neck. It had worked well on the assassin so she was sure it could deal with a few Forukks.

The ground around her shook as her amulet pulsed. From the earth lifted odd grains of sand. More and more rose from the soil, some churning the ground as they shot from several foot under the surface. The sand curved around her, floating in a spiral pattern as more and more grains joined the mass. Within moments there was so much sand that it fully encased Dawn. Then suddenly the sand shot out as a fearsome sandstorm, hitting the front Forukks with such force that it stripped their hides from their bones.

Her lungs caught when she tried to breathe. Dawn knew that that move was too powerful for her to use but it had been her only choice. Having done it twice in one day though left her doubts if she could survive the consequences.

“It appears that our caged bird needs our assistance,” said an old, ragged voice.

Dawn’s lungs began to let air in once more as a soothing sensation bathed her body. She looked up to see her grandmother, the Heptalli Elder, standing over her. Dawn gave a gasp when she saw who attended Lily. Her mother stood with one arm in a sling and a black eye but still very much alive. The Heptalli Matriarch smiled at her daughter and Dawn returned the smile, relieved beyond belief that her mother had not died in the explosion.

“Rest my little desert princess,” cooed the old woman. “Do you still have the same opinion of the princess life? Do you still want to live this life?” asked the Elder as she motioned at the death around them.

Dawn thought for a moment. She was terrified, her whole body ached and she had not had a good night’s sleep or a hearty meal since they left Onlasar. The answer became clear to her.

“Yes. This is the life I wish to lead.”

Her mother looked shocked but the Elder shook her head like she had expected that answer.

“We shall see where your path leads if we all survive this battle,” the old woman stated. “Anyway, you are fine, as is the young woman. We end this now.”

* * *

Htaed had not fought so hard in centuries, he noted dryly in the back of his mind as his duel with the Alpha Forukk continued. Both bled profoundly from hundreds of small cuts and dozens of life endangering wounds. Fatigue burned at their muscles yet still they fought like mad men.

The Alpha Forukk fired a green beam from its mouth that Htaed had not expected. The beam struck his chest and sent him hurtling to the ground. Somehow that attack had paralysed him so all he could do was glare angrily as the Forukk approached him.

“Time to die, mighty warrior,” hissed the Forukk with the faintest touch of respect in his voice.

“That’s what you think!” shouted a voice from behind the Forukk. It looked up to see that it was surrounded by humans.

Under normal circumstances he would have butchered them all but he was already drastically weakened. To make matters worse there were several notable foes. The two warriors that had fought at Htaed’s side were worthy opponents to all but himself, there were three generations of the Heptalli tribe leaders and most interesting of all was the boy who held in his hands a sword that the Alpha Forukk had hoped never to see again.

A wave of pressure hit the humans in front of him and they all crashed to the ground. The strange being known as Maklar stood with one hand out, straining to keep the humans down.

“It is time for us to leave, King of all Kings,” droned the humanoid in his usual dull tone.

A black light shot up from the ground around the Forukk. It bared its fangs then disappeared. Maklar gave them all a creepy smile before he too stepped into the light and vanished. Htaed roared in frustration at having his foe escape him. The others sighed in relief at not having to fight such a powerful creature.

After having both their leaders taken from the battle and their men vastly reduced in number, fear began to spread through the enemy armies. They still vastly outnumbered the human armies but after seeing one leader slain and the other flee, the moral fell drastically. The allies were severely weakened though and the fate of the battle still balanced on a knife edge.

Through the chaos sounded a single piercing howl. Humans and Forukk alike turned to the east to see a large, white furred wolf standing proudly atop of a steep hill. Its fierce eyes glowed in the dim light and wicked fangs shone in the surrounding flames.

It howled again and the horizon burst into motion. Hundreds of forest wolves bounded down the slope, covering the distance before their appearance was fully registered. Wildcats danced among them and hulking bears thundered along at their rear. Even elegant stags flowed around the predators, their antlers lowered and ready to strike. A cacophony of bestial roars filled the air as the host of forest animals crashed into the Forukk ranks. Teeth and claws punctured leathery flesh while darkened metal hacked at fur-coated skin. Blood misted in the air and streamed across the craggy ground.

After initial resistance, the Forukks were swept up by the wrath of nature. Their lines shattered and panic spread through the remaining Lanstirian forces. Seeing no way to stand against the relentless hammer blows of the ravishing animals, the Forukks turned and fled back toward the protection of Lanstiro’s walls.

The enemy forces converged on the fortress city’s gates when the doors swung shut in their faces. From the walls, thousands of tiny pin sized arrows flew down at them. Volley after volley came down around them, leaving the terrified enemies looking like pin cushions. The remaining allied forces and the frenzied beasts of the forests obliterated the remaining enemies with ease.

From the wall flew a single bird. On its back was a tiny man the size of a man’s finger.

“Pux! Glad you could join us,” yelled Zak as he held out his hand for Bo-bo to land on.

“Welcome to the newly named castle Yuxa. You may rest in our many beds and may eat our wealth of food until your health is replenished,” greeted the small Captain.

“How the hell did you take this place over?” asked Billy.

“We Yuxova weren’t about to let you humans take all the glory. After dealing with our internal problems we gathered our army and set off to save your sorry hides. We mustered our woodland allies while we were at it as they too were eager for revenge upon their ancient enemies. Upon arrival we felt we would make a bigger impact by taking over their fortress so we swooped inside, killed the few guards that remained then began preparing a victory party,” laughed Pux as he took a bite from a small fruit.

“Amen to that little dude. We’re ready for some victory celebrations!” shouted Zak, followed by a vast cheer of agreement from the people behind him.

Previous – Chapter 57. Destiny from the Flames.

Next – Chapter 59. A New Normality.

Chapter 57. Destiny from the Flames. (The Sword Summoner: History Repeats)

~ Matthew Roys ~ Leave a comment

“You’re kidding me,” spat Billy as he watched Mr Xion weave his way through the battle, staying clear of conflict. He was carrying a long item wrapped in cloth. “First he joins the enemy, now he is trying to run away from his comeuppance.”

“We should leave him. We have other things to worry about than that gutless worm,” reasoned Trey as he scoured the battle to see where they would provide the most help.

“I’m not letting him escape after everything he’s done. Why should traitors like him live while good people like my parents died?” Billy hissed through gritted teeth, holding back a fresh wave of tears as he ran after their former teacher.

Trey followed reluctantly. It was hard to keep track of the man in the chaos that enveloped them but Billy’s determination soon paid off when he was within swords reach. With a quick burst of speed, Billy caught up to Xion and grabbed his collar, swinging the man around to face him. A quick punch to the nose sent the man staggering back, his hands cupping his face.

“You really think that you can run without being punished for what you have done?” growled Billy.

“Ah, if it isn’t Billy Delb. Are you looking forward to your family reunion?” smiled Xion cruelly.

“You scumbag!” snarled Billy as he leapt forwards to attack, rage overriding common sense.

Xion flicked his wrist and the cloth fell from whatever it was that he was carrying. His arm lashed out and before either teen could register what had happened, Billy crashed to the ground as blood began to soak his clothes.

In Xion’s hands was a large metal lance unlike anything Trey had ever seen before. It was a black metal like the usual Forukk weapons but it was smooth and glossy like glass and had fine golden inlay that made strange symbols and patterns. Along one side was a blade so that the lance could be used to slash as well as to lunge.

“So, once again we are at a face off, Trey,” spoke the man as he fixed Trey a death glare. Trey stared at the lance, mesmerised by the dancing flames that reflected off of its surface.

“You like this?” Xion asked, amusement evident on his face. “You see, I never joined these mindless brutes because I believed in their cause or feared for my life. No, I joined them because it was the only way to get hold of this. The Lance of Arkima, fabled slayer of Sprites. With it in my possession I can raise my own army and take over the world with minimal effort.”

“I will stop you,” stated Trey as he blanked his face of emotion.

Near ecstasy played across Xion’s features. “I have wanted to kill you for so long and now that time is finally here. I shall truly enjoy this.”

As Trey dodged a lunge from Xion’s lance he saw Liam in the distance fighting with a guard. “Liam! Get Billy to safety,” he shouted as he rolled away from a high slash. Liam nodded and quickly finished off his opponent before running to Billy’s side.

“You can’t avoid my lance forever,” sneered Xion while he lunged at the boy again.

The very tip pricked Trey’s stomach and his nerves exploded in an outburst of pain. It was like being shot by a flaming arrow despite the fact that the wound was nothing more than a pin prick. Only with intense concentration did he not fall to the ground in agony.

Xion laughed like a mad man, upping the pace of his lunges until Trey could not see the individual thrusts. Unable to dodge the attacks, the teen tried to parry the blows but each time the blades connected chunks of Trey’s sword flew off as deadly shrapnel.

Xion’s grin could not have grown any more. His eyes shone feverously with glee. “Do you like the lance’s power? Only a truly evil being could create such a weapon but now that it exists, to not use it would be idiocy.”

After a second attack hit him, Trey was in too much pain to defend against the others. Dozens of small cuts and scratches appeared on his skin. Xion was only playing with him, causing him a world of pain without inflicting a single serious wound.

The attacks stopped and Trey just lay on the ground twitching in pain. “Time to end this!” screamed Xion in excitement. He lunged at Trey one final time, putting all of his strength into the attack.

Warm blood splashed Trey’s face and a pain like no other he could ever imagine ripped through his whole body. He felt his world disappear. The pain was not physical though.

Stood in front of him with arms stretched out was his mother. Xion’s lance protruded from her chest and blood covered her whole body. She was facing her son, her back to the enemy.

“T-Trey…” she gasped.

“It seems we have an uninvited guest,” cackled Xion. Keeping his eyes on Trey the whole time he swung the lance around, flinging Sarah’s body away into the chaos around them. An insane smile spread across his face.

Emotions cascaded through Trey’s mind but at the same time it was blank. No thoughts entered his head, just a swirl of riotous feelings with no meaning. Wind eddied around him as his body stood up without conscious thought.

He locked eyes with Xion, his muscles shaking and his hair lashing around his face as the wind became fiercer. “I…will…KILL YOU!” the teen screamed as all of his emotions burst from his soul.

A blinding light enveloped the battlefield, stunning every warrior present. A hurricane raged outwards like a ripple from where Trey stood, knocking down every person within a mile radius. As the light faded and the winds ebbed, Trey was once again revealed to the stunned Xion.

The man who stood before Xion was not Trey. That is to say, not the same Trey that had entered the battle. No vestiges of childhood remained on his person. His eyes were hard and his mouth was stern.

Xion hardly noticed these changes. His focus was on the sword in Trey’s hand. Its blade was pure energy that glowed azure and was double the length of common swords. Its guard looked as though it belonged on a lance, its conical shape curving down to protect the wielder’s hands. The metal was elegantly engraved like a king’s personal blade and small hollows suggested that jewels had once graced the hilt. Its handle was wrapped in dragon skin and what appeared to be a giant jagged tooth stuck out from the pommel.

A deep voice inside Trey’s mind told him what to say and the teen obeyed without conscious thought. “The scourge of the Klade has risen once again. Zenbou has returned!”

An internal nudge directed Trey to attack without warning. Xion managed to parry the blow but the recoil nearly sent the lance from his grip. Trey allowed his emotions and the rough voice to guide his actions, his own mind retreating into a deeper sanctuary.

Xion knew that if it was not for the Lance of Arkima he would be dead already. Since Trey had gained the strange sword the boy’s skill and power had increased tenfold. He had read about the mystical sword Zenbou and knew it was an even match with his lance if not superior.

Their battle raged on, creating as much carnage as the ongoing battle between Htaed and the Alpha Forukk. The black and blue energies clashed with their own hatred towards the other as did their bearers.

A bone in Xion’s arm shattered as Trey brought down Zenbou into a devastating counter attack. At that moment he knew that he could not win. From one of his pockets he grabbed several small balls and threw them at his feet. The balls exploded into fountains of black smoke, obscuring him from his opponent’s view.

As the smoke cleared Trey saw that Xion had ran for his life, already too far ahead to catch up  with. On an impulse that Trey guessed came from the sword, he faced the blade behind him and poured all of his energy into it. The blade flared up then like a rocket propelled him forward. Everything immediately behind him was incinerated. Within seconds he had caught up to the coward.

With the blade still propelling him, Trey slashed at Xion’s back. The additional force shredded the man’s body and caused him to topple over. Xion rolled onto his back so that he faced Trey and made one last thrust at the teen. Trey yanked the lance from the man’s grip and cast it away in disgust.

“P-please don’t kill me,” whined Xion. He was already a bloody mess who looked on the verge of death. “Please, please-” his cries were cut off as Trey stabbed down with all his might, splitting the man’s heart into two. The blue energy burned at the man’s flesh, reducing his organs to ashes.

Trey watched Xion die instantly, then Zenbou disappeared. Without the sword’s power he collapsed to the ground. Unable to move he decided to look around him at the battle. A few foot to his side he noticed the body of his Mother. Even though he had no strength left he still managed to crawl to her side. She still breathed but only just.

“Mum?” he asked softly. One of her eyes half opened and she tried to smile.

“My beloved son,” was all she managed before stopping to regain her breath.

Unable to control himself he sobbed at her side, only stopping when someone else rushed towards them and knelt down next to him. It was Blake. Tears filled his eyes too and his clenched fists shook at his side.

“Go away,” muttered Trey to the man, anger and sorrow raging through his brain.

“Trey, I know it is hard but don’t let the anger take over you,” Blake tried to soothe him. His voice was strained and he too seemed on the verge of lashing out at the world.

“What would you know?” Trey snapped. “Why would you care? She is the only family I have. How could you possibly understand what I feel?”

“I understand all too well. She…she is my wife.

“Your w-wife. But that means… No you’re lying!” shouted Trey as he grabbed Blake around his already bruised throat.

“It is true, Trey,” whispered Sarah. “He is my husband, and your father.”

“My f-father?” stuttered Trey. He released Blake from his grip.

“Yeah. I was shocked too, son,” said Blake. It felt strange calling this kid son, he thought to himself.

Sarah coughed weakly. “I’m so sorry I cannot be here for you. Promise me you will look after him.”

“I will,” promised Blake.

“I was talking to Trey. It’s you who needs looking after,” she laughed. The laughs grew quieter and quieter until Sarah made no sound at all. Blake clasped one of her hands while Trey held the other, both shuddering as they tried to put on a brave face for the dying woman.

“Goodbye,” she breathed. “I will wait for you in the next life, but don’t try and rush there.”With her last breath the words “I love you,” escaped her lips.

After a long moment of silence Blake rose. “I suppose we should finish up this battle, son.”

“I suppose we must, Dad.”

Previous – Chapter 56. A Long Awaited Showdown.

Next – Chapter 58. Endings.