by Eric Vall
I’d known him well though many people didn’t know his name or face. Those who remembered him feared him beyond anything, more than me even.
That was foolish of them.
Olrith had been Eris’s lapdog when she’d been the ruler of the Underworld, and when I came into power, he’d expected me to be the same. The other demons in the Underworld called him ‘soul-eater’ and that’s quite literally what he was. He would do my bidding when I commanded, but instead of laying at my feet at the end of the day like a good dog, he expected a reward when he returned. Eris turned a blind eye and allowed Olrith to consume the souls of the undead, but I wasn’t going to let such a thing happen under my rule. Once a soul is condemned to the Underworld, it stays there for the rest of time. The souls in the Underworld are there for a reason, may it be punishment for not obeying the deity of their region or a myriad of different reasons but they are to stay in that state for eternity. Eris allowed the hell-beast to eat the souls, and if a soul is consumed, it will never rise back to life, it is simply gone and lost forever.
I’d banished him to the farthest caverns of the Underworld, and that’s where I assumed he’d stayed, but it seemed that these pirates prayed to the demon enough to make him a god in their eyes. He’d gotten loose during my absence and found a few followers of his own. I scoffed loudly in disgust, and my minions turned their heads to look at me questioningly. I told them nothing about the beast carved into the front of the ship and instead turned, with my hands folded behind my back.
“Minions,” I said as I formally addressed them, and their backs snapped to attention at the change in me.
“Master.” They said together in unison.
“Do you know what that is?” I asked as I half-turned and pointed to the two ships following us.
“Uh, ships!” Carmedy answered with a smirk.
“Pirates?” Rana asked as she scratched at her ear.
“Yeah, those are definitely pirates.” Annalise nodded.
“All of those answers are correct, but what are they to the five of us?” I smirked as Morrigan’s wholly black eyes met mine, and a wicked smile spread over her pale features.
“They may be pirates, but to us, Master, they are prey.”
Chapter Four
I could tell that most of the crew on this ship had never been in battle from the way they scrambled around the deck without much sense of direction, but my minions grouped together with their weapons drawn as they came up with a plan.
I listened in to their conversation as I kept a steely eye on the nervous captain. The poor man kept glancing over his shoulder as if his prayers would help put distance between him and the pirate ships. There was no such luck, in fact, the two ships had gotten even closer, and I felt their evil intent from where I stood.
But these mere humans with their swords and scabbards were no match for the sheer power of the god confined within my avatar’s body.
“Master?” Carmedy called to me, and I turned to look over at her.
“Yes?” I answered as I gave her a small smile, and I saw the fire burning behind her bright, emerald eyes.
“We’ll take one ship if you take the other.” The feline grinned as she held up her slingshot and five glass bottles filled with potions.
“Is that a challenge?” I smirked as I gripped the God Slayer tighter, and the cat’s eyes widened even more as a sly smile crept over her lips.
“It wasn’t, but it is now!” Rana cried as she tucked one of her elven daggers away and placed her paw over her chest.
Light exploded from the middle of her breastplate, and the hilt of the Eye of Alipsis rose from the depths of the fox. Rana grabbed onto it and pulled it free as a few of the crewmembers stopped to stare with their mouths agape. An unseen gale whipped around the redhead and blew her curls around her stunning face as she lifted the claymore over her head.
“If we’re making this a competition against Master then I guess it’s time for me to get serious.” Annalise laughed as she sheathed the unnamed sword and placed her thumb over the augmentation stone at the end of Bloodscale.
The swordswoman slammed her finger down onto the rune, and light flooded the deck as she transformed before our eyes. The heated air around us crackled and snapped with ethereal power as Annalise threw her head back. Her chocolate brown eyes burned hatefully towards the invading ships as she raised the broadsword in front of her. Her long braid fell over her shoulder as liquid gold raced over her armor and sunk into every inch.
The etched scales of Bloodscale hummed loudly as runes and arcane symbols flashed over its hilt and pommel in quick succession. The sword’s blade extended twice its normal length as the swordswoman held it aloft for all to see. Bright white and burning emerald light flashed around the high queen as her transformation completed with a shower of multicolored sparks. Across her smooth, delicate collar bone, an enchanted golden necklace rested, and the rune pressed within the middle was identical to the augmentation stone in the hilt of Bloodscale.
On each arm, golden gauntlets reached almost to her elbows, etched with the same jade that moved and flashed as if it were alive. She planted her strong, shapely legs on the deck, and the open-sided chainmail she wore was carved and honed to look like the hide of a dragon. Through the gaps in her chainmail, the shin guards and the cuisses strapped to her thighs were crafted from the same fine metal and stopped mid-thigh. The parts of her body not protected by the beautiful beaten armor were clothed in dark creamy looking leather. She was so beautiful, but the high queen also looked like a mighty warrior strong enough to strike down thirty men alone. Annalise brought the sword down and looked me in the eye as she gave me a wicked smile. From the beat of her heart, I knew she was ready for battle.
Morrigan was the last to step forward, and she looked to me expressionlessly. Her delicate hands hung limply at her sides as she breathed in deeply. Her almost black eyes met mine, and something within them flashed with sinister intensity.
“Want to see something I’ve been working on in private?” the pale elf asked in a hushed tone.
“The thing you were doing on the deck a few nights ago?” Carmedy questioned excitedly as she rushed forward with her paws pressed against her chest.
“…You saw?” Morrigan asked in a horrified voice, and the feline’s expression broke as she scrambled to cover up the fact that she’d seen the elf practicing.
“Well, I mean, I just happened to be walking by as I went for a midnight snack…and you were up on the higher deck all by yourself…” the feline’s ears lowered to the sides of her head as she took in Morrigan’s cold expression. “I didn’t mean to see, I’m sorry.”
“It is fine, Carmedy, but I wish you had made your presence known, and I would have shown you what I was working on,” Morrigan said in her stoic voice, and Carmedy’s mouth dropped open.
“Really? You would’ve let me watch?” the feline asked as she clasped the elf’s hands, and Morrigan nodded.
The elf let go of Carmedy’s hands as she looked to me, and the question aimed at me still hung in the open air. There was no way I could deny her when she looked at me so sweetly but not only that; I was genuinely curious at what the elf had been practicing by herself.
“Of course, my love,” I said as my eyebrows raised in surprise, and the mage stepped forward.
“Stand back, all of you. I’ve never tried this with so many people around.” Morrigan admitted to us, and Rana’s eyes widened in dismay.
“What does that mean?” the redhead started as she waved her paws through the air. “Could you kill us or--”
Rana barely had time to finish that sentence before the pale woman closed her eyes and breathed in deeply through her nose then exhaled through her open mouth. Her smooth, colorless eyelids stayed clamped shut for a moment, and I wondered if she’d mastered whatever she’d been practicing, but I didn’t have to wait for long for her magic to appear. Dazzling emerald light surrounded the elven woman like a cloud of swirling s
moke. Every few seconds dazzling sparks of blinding white light or gold whizzed past in the haze. Her white hair floated around her like she was underwater, and when her eyes slammed open, they weren’t the wholly black I’d expected to see but instead, white as if the elf were possessed by one of the holier gods. Morrigan raised her clenched hands into the air as she gritted her teeth in a snarl, and a loud crack could be heard across the ocean. Crewmembers stopped and whipped around to stare, and far off in the distance, I saw a few pirates lift their heads at the sound.
Morrigan’s face was a frozen scream of rage, but another sound overtook her silence. The water just behind our ship churned angrily, and my eyes narrowed to the middle where something rose from the depths. The frothy seafoam rose higher and higher, then collected on the surface. I couldn’t believe it but had to as I watched the first few tentacles rise from the cerulean water. They beat at the air like whips as the bulbous head of the Kraken made entirely out of seafoam rose to the surface with an earsplitting roar. The suction cups on the underneath of the tentacles were coral colored with nasty looking spikes surrounding them. The two huge eyes were larger than the cannons on deck and an electric yellow as they rolled in their gooey sockets.
The elf slammed out her hand as elvish words spilled from her pale lips and the hulking beast ripped through the water faster than either of the boats. I smirked to myself, I’d challenged my minions, and my elven lover was the one who was setting the rules before the game even started. It aroused me in ways that I couldn’t even begin to describe, and I watched Morrigan float in her emerald orb of light as if she were a goddess sent from the heavens.
I’d trained them well and yet, they’d exceeded my expectations once again. If Morrigan wanted to play with beasts, then so be it. I crossed to the panicked captain and placed a heavy, gloved hand on his shoulder. The man jumped and squealed in surprise as he lifted his blue eyes to mine, and I noticed the long drips of sweat working their way down his wrinkled face.
“Wha-what?” the captain croaked as he glanced back at the open sea in front of us.
“Stop the ship, lay anchor,” I told him in my calmest voice.
“Like hell! Do you want to die?” the captain sputtered as he stared at me in disbelief.
“No one will die,” I stated firmly as I gave his shoulder a reassuring pat. “I can promise you that.”
“There is no way you can promise that! Do you know who’s behind us? The Verraters! The foulest band of pirates that sailed on the seas!” the captain shouted as he whipped back to the wheel.
“No harm will come to you or your crew,” I told him as I grabbed the helm from him and held it in my vise grip. “You have a god in your presence.”
“Excuse me?” the captain cried as he struggled to take the helm back from me, but my strength was massive compared to his. “The lady floating back there? If that’s what you call a god, then I’m sorry to inform you--”
I lifted the hand that held the God Slayer and pushed my power into it with all of my might. Black flames engulfed the weapon and crackled upward towards the sharp blades. The captain finally let go, and I held the wheel tightly in my hand as I kept it steady and looked deeply into his eyes.
“Drop the anchors, get the men who are too frightened to fight below deck, and prepare for hell,” I growled through my teeth, and the captain nodded weakly as he scurried away to the railing.
“Drop the anchors!” He shouted, and a few of the crew stared up at him in confusion. “Do as I say, drop the anchor and all those who can’t fight, get below deck to safety!”
“What?” Miguel shouted as he scurried by rolling a barrel of gunpowder. “Are you mad?”
“Drop the goddamn anchors and get below deck, you bastards!” the captain screamed, and spittle flew from his cracked lips as he tripped down the stairs towards the hull.
“Do as he says!” I shouted over the yells and shouts of the crew. “Drop the anchor, and if you can fight, prepare for battle!”
I looked out over the water and watched as Morrigan’s Kraken dove deep under the water. I could just make out its hulking shadow under the surface, but other than that, it was completely obscured from view. I smirked to myself as I walked down the steps from the helm and headed toward the stern. The elven woman had brought forward her challenger, and I’d yet to summon mine. Those pirate bastards didn’t know what was coming, and I’d make them rue the day they came across our ship.
I stood on the stern and looked out over the rolling water behind us. There was no sign of Morrigan’s beast, but I knew it was there as it stalked its prey from below the clear surface. I focused in on a single spot in the water then closed my eyes as I breathed out, similarly to the way Morrigan had earlier. I pushed my dark power forward and into the salty water as I gave birth to the beast. I felt it all come together underneath the crashing waves as the creature’s eyes opened for the first time. My eyes snapped open, and I watched as the surface rippled once as the beast dove deep under the ships. I felt my creature pass Morrigan’s, and the two creatures acknowledged each other as two unearthly giants. Two crashing sounds came from below me as the crew dropped anchor and the massive ship slowed as they grabbed for purchase on the ocean floor. The two pirate vessels seemed to come even faster now, and I felt my avatar’s heart beat wildly like a war drum in my chest.
I could see the faces of the pirates from this distance, and they saw me. Their expressions and mannerisms told me that they thought they’d already won. We’d dropped our anchor and given in to their will, but that was not the case. This ship, named the Royal Fortune, looked to be an easy opponent, but they were very wrong. They’d never suspect that they’d picked a ship to rob with a living and breathing god on it, but they were about to learn.
I called out to my beast as my eyes settled on the ship that planned to flank us on the left side. I called the creature’s name loudly in my head, and I felt it respond like a dog faithfully obeying its master. The water to the right of the pirate ship rippled, but none of the men on board seemed to notice until the surface broke and a hulking body exploded upwards. I smirked as the rows of sharp teeth glinted in the bright sunlight as the sea serpent shrieked towards the sky. The beast’s fan sprouted from its serpent-like body and rippled colors of blue and purple as its head weaved through the air. The pirates screamed and scurried away from the humongous creature as the serpent dove down towards the main deck. A few of the enemy sailors dove off the deck as the serpent’s mouth swallowed two men whole. I chuckled and turned as the pirate ship dropped anchor and sailed up alongside us.
Miguel and his crew were ready with the cannons as soon as they came in sight and loud explosions sent the huge metal guns reeling back. The crew hurried to get them reloaded as the pirates pulled out grappling hooks and prepared to board us. The other ship stopped a few paces away from ours in the water as tentacles thick as tree trunks gripped their sides and worked their way up on deck. Morrigan’s Kraken wrapped its seafoam tentacles around the whole ship, but that didn’t stop it from crashing forward towards us. The men on both pirate ships were in a panic, and I could tell from their thoughts that they no longer planned to take just our riches and our lives but the Royal Fortune too.
I pulled my power away from the serpent, and it moved on its own without my help. The creature grabbed up three more pirates and swallowed them down with a spray of scarlet blood. I turned my back to it as it plunged headfirst into the ocean and resurfaced on the other side of the ship. The ship on the opposite side still had the Kraken clinging to its sides, and visible cracks split up the wet, wooden planks as the creature clung on tighter. Morrigan floated above the decks with her legs tucked up underneath her, and her hands outstretched as she commanded the beast in her elven tongue.
Annalise stood on the lower deck with Bloodscale out in front of her as she waited for the pirates to make a move. Not to my surprise, Rana ran along the opposite side of the deck with the claymore waving wildly over her head as she hurle
d obscenities at the enemy sailors.
“You want our ship, come and get it, you fucking bilge rats!” the fox screamed as she jabbed out with the massive sword. “We’ll skewer you through the asses with our swords then string you up!”
I couldn’t see Carmedy, and my eyes searched for the feline as I scanned all the decks for her. I felt my stomach drop in disappointment when I couldn’t find the feline anywhere. When I’d first met the petite alchemist, she’d been a pacifist through and through but slowly over time; she’d changed her view on violence. In fact, at times, the cat-girl could be the most violent out of all of my minions; her thirst for blood was like no other when she deemed the person worthy of death. I knew that this was the most danger we’d encountered in a few weeks, but I hadn’t expected the cat to revert to her old ways so quickly.
“A little bit of black powder from the cannons, a pinch of thermite, oops, more like a handful.” A sweet voice giggled, and I smiled to myself as I raised my eyes towards the rigging.
Among the swinging ropes and sails, Carmedy perched on a bundle of rigging as she mixed up a bundle of noxious powders. The feline’s tail swished out behind her, and as she concentrated, her tongue went into the corner of her mouth. Her emerald eyes were huge and dilated like an ordinary street cat up to no good in the middle of the night. She caught sight of me as she closed the small bundle and dropped it into the cradle of her slingshot. Carmedy gave me a curt wave, balanced herself on the ropes, and took aim at the Kraken’s ship.
“Yohoho and a bundle of boom!” the cat-girl sang for all to hear as she pulled the sling-shot’s leather strap back and let the packet fly.
It whizzed through the air with deadly accuracy, flew through the maze of ropes and rigging and hit the middle of the mainsail with a crack. Orange and yellow flames burst upwards and consumed the fabric of the sail in a manner of seconds. Carmedy giggled to herself, leaped higher into the rigging until she was nearly to the crow’s nest then settled down to mix up another potion. I was very wrong in my assumption that the cat would run and hide from a fight, especially when I had trained her myself to be a mighty warrior. The cat-girl now looked into the face of danger and stubbornly stuck out her tongue, and I was immensely proud.
