by Eden Redd
“You understand, Jon Song,” Lilly whispered.
Jon looked up, his grip tightening on Lilly’s hand. “Fate has brought us together to destroy an empire. I, for one, will not disappoint fate’s desire. I stand by you, my Captain.”
“You understand what is at stake?” Lilly asked with unblinking eyes.
“I understand with every piece of my soul,” Jon said with confidence.
“My… love,” Lilly whispered with a tear streaking down her cheek.
The two leaned in close, lips touching in a warm kiss before they parted and pressed their foreheads to each other. The moment was sweet, a gentle mood wrapping their senses like a cozy, velvet blanket. It seemed to linger, their senses drinking in scents and body heat.
Lilly reached down and took hold of something. Jon blinked as the beautiful elf raised the empty bottle of rum.
“We need a little more,” the Captain said with a sly grin.
“I do have another bottle in the kitchen,” Jon returned her grin with his own.
Lilly was up and on her feet. Jon slowly rose up, the stupid grin still on his face. The pair gave each other a loving gaze before they stepped for the bedroom door.
Jon lifted his hand and pushed on the door, his spirit light as air. All he could think about was how the world, fate, and their attraction came together for a perfect moment.
Lilly eyed Jon’s neck, planning a sensual feast as she would not sleep this very night. Heart pulsing rapidly, she licked her lips, wanting to taste more of him.
Jon pushed the bedroom door open, his gaze turning from a hazy shade to ice crystal clarity. The thick inebriation evaporated as shock touched his eyes and slid into a protective and menacing gaze.
Lilly looked past Jon’s shoulder, her rapid heartbeat slowing down as cold logic took root. A hand moved to the small of her back as she and Jon halted their advance, one foot from the bedroom door.
The living room was filled with people. Zelda sat up on the couch, three men pointing pistols to the back of her head. To the right, a lone elf woman held a single pistol to the side of Syndra’s head as they stood by the kitchen. Zelda’s brow was hard and rigid as she sat and seethed. A piece of cloth was tied over Syndra’s mouth, her teeth visibly biting down on the fabric. The elves by them were dressed in black and red leather, bandanas covering their heads, but not their ears. They wore simple jackets, earrings hanging from pointed ears and an assortment of swords and daggers at their belts.
Between the two groups, a male and female elf stood. The male was dressed in an extravagant long leather coat. Black colored the outside while red was along the inner seam. The male elf’s silver hair was long and flowing. His features were like porcelain, with high cheekbones and thin, silver eyes. The top of his white shirt was open to reveal a strong chest and a blue amulet. He had a small smirk as he held what looked like a rune covered cutlass blade to the side of his leg.
Next to the silver-haired elf was another elf. Her hair was black as night and tied back into a tight ponytail. Her ears pointed up along the sides of her head as her near perfect features narrowed into a focused gaze. She wore a tight, black leather bodysuit. A strap crossed her chest, the end of a rifle stabbing up from behind her shoulder. In each hand was a pistol but they were oddly shaped, resembling long barreled handguns with six-shooter chambers. Both pistols were aimed, one at Jon and the other at Lilly just behind him. Unlike the male elf’s smarmy smirk, the female elf’s expression gave off a no-nonsense attitude.
The silver-haired elf spoke up, “It’s good to see you again, Lilly. I wish it wasn’t under such circumstances, but time has not been very forgiving lately.”
“I wish I could say the same, Storm,” Lilly said with narrowed eyes.
“You know them?” Jon asked over his shoulder while never taking his gaze off the elves.
Lilly nodded. “Captain Storm Wyther, Empire lackey and my previous Shullkar.”
Jon raised an eyebrow, “He’s your ex-boyfriend?”
Storm bowed his head slightly with an amused smile. “Our time was as majestic as it was beautiful.”
The supernaturally handsome Captain centered his gaze on Jon. “I see you’ve turned to slumming for a new lover.”
“Enough of this,” the elf at Storm’s side hissed with menace.
The elf kept her pistols trained on Jon and Lilly, her eyes never blinking.
Storm sighed. “My dear Lilly, I’m afraid we must conclude this dirty business. Tell us where Princess Lufina is and we can leave without a single shot fired.”
Jon glanced around, not seeing the thin elf anywhere.
Lilly kept her hard gaze on the other Captain, “We both know that’s not how this is going to end.”
“You have my word,” Storm said as he placed his left hand over his heart, “There will be no violence or bloodshed if the princess is returned to us this moment. Anything else will be treason against the Empire and lives will be forfeit.”
Lilly’s mouth curved into a wicked sneer, “It’s treason then.”
Ten
“This is a waste of time,” the elf with two pistols growled as her fingers moved and touched triggers.
Jon and Lilly kept their cool as Storm lifted his hand before the pistols.
“Ashlyn, if there is bloodshed, the people of Urth will put restrictions between our worlds. I doubt the Emperor will want to risk the prosperous trade route,” Captain Wyther said with a silky-smooth tone.
“You failed at the boardwalk. If you fail here, you die here,” Ashlyn said with a dark edge.
Storm sighed. “Negotiations sometimes take more than one attempt.”
Lilly’s hand hovered behind her as Jon’s body blocked everyone’s view. Fingers touched her pistol before she spoke up.
“I recognize the rifle from the Boardwalk. For an assassin, you have poor marksmanship,” the crimson-colored haired Captain said with sardonic ease.
Ashlyn’s body was still as frozen ice, her gaze unmoved.
Lilly gave a single nod. “You’re not an assassin. You’re one of the Emperor’s Shadow Enforcers.”
“Captain Wyther, continue your negotiations or I will,” Ashlyn seethed.
Syndra and Zelda kept their gaze on Lilly, ready to follow her lead the moment the match was lit. Jon’s body was loose, ready to advance and hope his luck will help keep him standing as he took these intruders out.
Storm let his hand drop to his side, his gaze firmly on Lilly. “You understand what the Emperor wants, the Emperor gets. He wants his daughter and bride. If he cannot have her, it will be more than just our deaths. He will exterminate half of the free people’s populations. No one wants that. Turn Princess Lufina over and we all get to keep our lives and live to fight another day.”
“How much are they paying you to be the Emperor’s shadow puppet?” Lilly pointed the question at the handsome Captain.
“Enough so my pride isn’t concerned,” Storm smirked.
“Gold has always been more important,” Lilly scowled.
“Gold is the most important thing to us pirates,” Storm grinned.
“I can see why she didn’t want to be with you anymore,” Jon growled.
Storm turned his attention to Jon, eyes half closing, “Jon is it? I left her. I was her Shullkar, but she wasn’t mine.”
Jon’s eyes narrowed. “Good to know. Now, I can show her what true love is and not the sick, perverted love you have for gold.”
Lilly looked to the man shielding her with his body, “Jon.”
Jon smiled, but never took his eyes off the home invaders, “Lilly, you said I’m your Shullkar, but I didn’t fully understand. Now I understand and proud to say you’re my Shullkar!”
Captain Wyther tut-tutted, “She will break your heart.”
Jon kept his smile as he spoke, “That’s the thing about love, broken hearts can be a part of it, but it doesn’t mean you stop loving them, ever.”
Storm gave Jon a knowing gaze.
“Enough!” Ashlyn shouted as she lined up her shots when the doorbell rang.
The tension was split in half as everyone turned their attention to the door. Brows rose up before the elves glanced at each other. The air was still as no one moved or made a sound.
The doorbell rang again.
“I have to answer it,” Jon said flatly.
“No. They will move on,” Ashlyn growled.
“Jon! I know you’re there because I see the lights on! Open up!” a man’s muffled voice came through the door.
Ashlyn’s lip curved downward before she flicked the barrel of one of her pistols to the door, “Answer it and send them away. If you give any hint of what is happening here, the sea elf will be killed first.”
Jon looked at Zelda, but the sea elf gave off no fear. In fact, her eyes betrayed an eagerness to rip limbs from bodies.
The female elf holding a pistol to Syndra pushed the gagged witch across the room to the same side as Zelda and the other pirates. The group moved so they were angled from the door so they couldn’t be seen.
Ashlyn took charge, “Captain Wyther and myself will be in this darkness of the hallway. I have a clear shot to shoot you in the back of the head so don’t try anything.”
The Captain and the enforcer stepped back until they almost disappeared into the darkness of the hallway.
Jon felt Lilly’s hand touch his back and traced a comforting spiral against him. Jon wasn’t sure what it meant but his first instinct was this was all going to end in violence. Mentally preparing, he barely gave an approving glance back to her before he stepped through the living room to the front door.
A shadow moved by the shuttered window near the entrance. The bell rang again before a fist hammered at the door, causing it to vibrate. Jon let out a long exhale as he approached and placed his hand on the doorknob. The young man glanced back to Lilly as she stood by his bedroom doorway. The beautiful elf gave an approving nod.
Jon turned back to the door and twisted the knob.
The entrance light glowed, revealing Commander Locke’s stern face.
“It’s about time! I have to speak with you,” the Commander said gruffly.
“Now is not a good time. Can we talk in the morning?” Jon asked.
The Commander shook his head. “No. We need to speak now.”
Locke was about to enter when Jon held firm with the door, not letting him in.
“Now is really not the best time,” Jon reiterated.
Locke’s eyes narrowed. “Jon, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important. Open the door so we can talk privately!”
Jon’s body language shifted into defiance. “I’m sorry Commander Locke. I don’t trust you enough to enter my home. You’ve been a real pain in the ass to me since day one. I know you want to interrogate the elves living with me, but I won’t risk their lives with someone like you. Now, please go.”
Jon tried to close the door when Locke’s boot stepped in and stopped it from closing. Jon looked into Locke’s expression and was taken aback by the somber gaze looking back at him. Locke stood like a whipped dog, shoulders down and darkness in his eyes, but his boot remained firmly at the bottom of the door.
“Jon, you have every right to not trust me. My past has haunted me for a long time, but that is not who I am anymore. I was corrupt and took gold and soozes to look the other way many times. Greed has always been a weakness for me and it’s something I fight routinely in my life.
“I wanted to speak about this inside, but if you won’t let me in, I will say it here. I know I can be strong willed, but the reason I was on the docks and wanting to speak with your elves is the fact I heard they might be in danger. I received the information anonymously so I could not bring it to my superiors. The less people who knew about it, the better control I had.
“About thirty minutes ago, I received new information that you and your elves may have bounties on you. I wanted to take you all into protective custody before I alerted my superiors. I was caught in my corruption, but there are those in the departments that haven’t been caught. It makes this difficult, but I am trying to help.”
Jon drank in the Commander’s words, the added wrinkle to the situation only making everything worse. An idea formed and Jon mentally nodded to himself.
“Commander Locke, I will not allow you to enter my home unless you have a warrant or Form 827.”
The Commander’s brow went up. “Don’t you mean Form 87…”
“I said Form 827! I will not be subject to this kind of harassment! If you don’t have the form or a warrant, I will not allow entry. If that will be all, have a good night!”
Commander Locke pulled back his foot as Jon slammed the door shut. The young man whirled around to see Storm and Ashlyn step slightly out of the shadows.
Jon walked to the center of the living room, his senses trained on everyone. “He won’t come back until he gets those forms. We have some time to negotiate.”
“I’m pleased we are still at the bargaining table,” Captain Wyther said with a slight sneer.
Syndra closed her eyes as the tension began to build again. The witch’s mouth moved silently, despite the gag in her mouth. It carried on until her eyes flashed open and she looked over to her Captain.
Lilly’s gaze was already on the witch. Green eyes looked down and back up in a blink. Syndra knew what it meant and made an obscured grin.
Jon and Wyther eyed each other, ready to speak. Syndra’s thoughts touched the spirits within the home. They moved with protective urgency, several of them placing ghostly fingers on the TV remote and pressing down. At first, the button didn’t budge. Syndra cried out to the spirit realm for them to try with everything that they had. The spirits tried it again and the button sank down to their dead power.
The flatscreen flashed on to loud moaning and several people having sex.
Time slowed down as chaos slowly bloomed. Attentions shifted, some in surprise and others with deadly intent. Bodies reacted, some faster than others as the entire bottom floor of the home turned into a powder keg.
Jon’s body was low, his hand stabbing out to the nearby kitchen table. The sheathed dagger Lilly gave him sat on it, well within range of the moving young man. Storm turned his attention to Jon as Jon grabbed the dagger and threw it.
The dagger spun through the air as Ashlyn stalked forward, two pistols going off. Lights flashed as two stone rounds cut through the air. The two rounds flew over Jon’s head as he continued to advance on Captain Wyther.
Lilly pulled her pistol from the small of her back, swung her arm around and pulled the trigger. An ice bolt blasted out. The two stone rounds passed outside of the ice bolt as it shot towards its target. Lilly was already moving, the pistol opening and the spent spell shell ejecting. The Captain was loading a new shell as one of Ashlyn’s rounds hit the slightly open bedroom door and the other one hit the wall, several inches from Lilly’s head.
Round chambers shifted along Ashlyn’s pistols as hammers cocked back. The shadow enforcer was re-aiming as grunts and other pistols went off. Zelda stabbed out an arm and spun, knocking into the three elves on her. Their pistols went off, inches from her head and face as she spun around. The sea elf lost her sense of hearing, but not her intentions. Her long arm came around, crashing into her captors and knocking all three of them into the couch. Legs were up as the sea elf crouched back and launched onto them with her mouth open and sharp teeth gleaming in the light.
The dagger spun until it struck Storm’s wrist as he held his sword. The attack was deadly accurate, the sword knocked from his hand as Jon charged him. The smug Captain turned to the oncoming young man and beckoned with his hand before the two men clashed. Fists and arms were up, blocking and punching. The elf and man moved with skilled blows, trying to land a strike on the other. Arms moved with power and ease, each side parrying every blow.
Ashlyn ducked down as the ice bolt missed her shoulder by inches and pulled triggers again. White energy
bolts blasted out this time. Lilly aimed and pulled the trigger as she continued to step out of the path of the energy bolts. Lilly’s bolt struck one of the incoming, exploding into flashes of brilliant light. The other bolt struck a wall and blew a hole through it into Jon’s bedroom.
Syndra lifted up her boot and slammed her heel down on the elf holding her hostage. Bone shattered as the female elf screamed, her pistol moving away from the witch’s head and going off. A bolt struck the ceiling, blasting a hole to the second floor. Syndra reached up, grabbed the gag and tore it off as she lifted her leg and slammed it into the female elf’s stomach. The elf folded in half, Syndra kicking the pistol from the elf’s hand and sent it spiraling through the air.
Jon’s fists flashed out with skill, but he still continued to not land a blow.
I should have hit him by now! What’s wrong with me?
Storm moved with ease, blocking punches and his own leg kicking out. The boot struck Jon’s thigh, forcing him to stumble to the side and regain his balance, but Storm was on him. A single punch connected with Jon’s cheek and pain roared. Jon felt it to his core as the powerful strike caused him to stumble back into Ashlyn’s line of fire.
“Dead,” Ashlyn said as she aimed both of her pistols at Jon’s chest.
Cora slipped out from the cabinet under the kitchen sink. Rising up, she opened the utensil drawer as she drank in everything in slow motion. Hands grabbed knives as her body turned around, seeing the shadow enforcer aiming at Jon.
The front door kicked open, Commander Locke stepping in with his pistol drawn. He took in the scene, picked Ashlyn, aimed and pulled the trigger.
Jon crossed his arms, instinctually expecting the rounds to hit him. Eyes drank in the events as they played out like an action science fiction movie from his youth. Knives flashed, two sinking into Ashlyn’s back while a third struck the side of one of her pistols. The pistols went off in different directions, one into the ceiling and another into the kitchen table. Ashlyn grunted until her eyes bulged in her head, a round from Locke’s pistol hitting her shoulder. The shadow enforcer’s entire body swung from the blows as she crashed into the hallway wall and bounced off, knives still sticking out of her back.
