“Where’s Maii?” Zoey asked.
Ethan shrugged, never once looking away from her, inspecting every inch of her body with both eye and delicate touch. “Around somewhere, I’m sure,” he said. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m sure,” she said, nodding.
Ethan said nothing as he found himself lost in her dark eyes, his heart a jumbled mix of worry and relief. Slowly, he drew her toward him, sliding his hands around the small of her back and resting his forehead on hers. “Good,” he whispered. “You scared me for a moment.”
“I’m fine. I promise,” she whispered back with a smile.
Katryna cleared her throat. “Ahem.”
Neither vampire moved, at least, not until she cleared her throat again, to which Ethan sighed heavily and turned partially toward her. “What?”
“If you two lovebirds—or is it bats—are done, there’s a couple of things I feel like I ought to say,” she said, holding up a pair of fingers.
“Which are?”
“First, you owe me a half crown, and don’t you dare argue it.” She tilted her head with a slight glare when Ethan did, in fact, start to argue. After he wisely remained quiet, she grinned and went on. “And second, I think you two need to check your character sheets.”
To that, Ethan furrowed his brow, and Zoey had an equally confused look upon her face. “Why?” he asked.
“Because this—” she said, using her index finger to make a swirling motion at them both, “—is not normal.”
Ethan shrugged. “I don’t care.”
He then planted a kiss on Zoey and relished every second as she pressed back into him. Euphoria ran through him as butterflies made a home in his stomach and his heart beat feverishly against his chest.
“Just do it,” Katryna huffed. “When you two can finally come up for air, that is. In the meantime, I’m going to go find Maii.”
Chapter Eleven
Breaking Maii
Maii ran through the chaos with a deadly, singular focus. The man who’d brought the giant golem—the witch doctor—had broken away from the melee, no doubt realizing it was only a matter of time before Ethan, Zoey, and Katryna brought down his bodyguard.
The ahuizotl didn’t care all that much if one man escaped, or even a dozen for that matter. But he’d be damned to a century of servitude if he was going to willingly pass up such a delicious meal where not only flesh would be consumed, but powerful magics as well—and a witch doctor such as the one he pursued had so much magic infused in his body, it practically seeped from his pores. If Maii could consume him fresh, who knew what sort of growth he’d see or new powers he’d develop. By the trickster god, if the ahuizotl dared to dream, he might even grow strong enough to finally break the hold Ethan’s ring had over him.
Maii shook his head, narrowed his eyes, and refocused. He was getting ahead of himself, he knew. Freedom would come soon enough. For now, he had to ensure the witch doctor didn’t slip away in the forest or make it to a rowboat and get back to the ship that lay anchored not far away.
A flash of steel sent the ahuizotl sideways. One of the few surviving corsairs, locked in a battle with two skeletons, had taken a wild swing at Maii as he passed by—likely purely out of reflex. For a moment in time, as Maii’s legs went from one stride to the next, he considered taking a chunk out of the man purely on principle, perhaps out of his neck or groin if he were feeling particularly vicious. In the end, however, Maii drove himself forward even more, leaping three dozen yards to clear the corsair.
The skeletons could finish him off. Besides, the longer the fight in the fort took to ultimately wrap up, the longer Maii could do what he wanted without anyone noticing.
The witch doctor reached a small side gate, some fifty yards away next to one of the watchtowers, and quickly tossed the bar to the ground before running through. Had it been anyone else, Maii would’ve closed the distance in seconds, but the man worked and ran unnaturally fast, practically a blur of movement in the shadows even to Maii’s keen predatory eyes.
“You’ll not catch me, stupid beast,” he called out with a mocking laugh. “Ol’ Sejour has dealt with far craftier than the likes of you.”
Maii growled and redoubled his efforts. He could feel the claws on all four feet lengthen in both anticipation and determination. The man threw the gate closed behind him, and Maii plowed through without hesitation, using his shoulder as a battering ram. The heavy door half swung, half disintegrated from the hit, and the ahuizotl found himself several dozen yards away from an open beach. The witch doctor ran on, his bare feet leaving a perfect trail in the powder-white sand as he went.
The chase sent Maii across the beach for a hundred yards, passing by two longboats beached and tied to a thick palm tree. The witch doctor may have been fast, but apparently, he didn’t fancy himself as being able to launch, let alone row, the small craft quick enough to get away from the ahuizotl.
The hundred yards between them closed to fifty, and not long after, disappeared to twenty-five. Twenty. Saliva dripped from Maii’s lower jaw, and his nostrils flared, desperate to take in more and more of the sweet aroma of power he was about to dine on.
Fifteen yards from his quarry, still racing along the beach, Maii pounced. He careened through the air, silent and deadly. His mouth clamped down on the back of the man’s neck, but instead of sinking into flesh, his teeth cut through nothing but air, and Maii passed through the witch doctor as if he were nothing but mist. He slammed into the ground but found his footing quickly enough. Maii spun a couple of times, his head low, eyes darting left and right. His prey, crafty indeed, had not thrown him completely. Fifty yards away, Maii caught sight of the witch doctor fleeing into the jungle.
The ahuizotl bolted after his prey once more. He was annoyed he had fallen for what was a relatively simple illusion, and he even chided himself for thinking such a man would be caught so easily. But when he heard the witch doctor’s laughter, taunting and mocking him, those feelings vanished as Maii vowed once he had the man pinned, he’d eat him over the course of several hours. Maybe then the fool would learn a little respect.
Powerful legs carried him through the jungle, padded feet barely making a sound as they struck dirt, rock, or brush. As he ran, he’d occasionally slow to tip his nose upward, ensure that he was following the scent and not another illusion.
Ahead, he saw the man dart behind a large boulder near the top of a small rise. Maii almost cut right, intent on shaving some distance off between them, but then he realized the ground dropped sharply to the left by the giant rock—a drop sharp enough to hide the movements of someone crouching.
Maii cut left, and within seconds, he cleared the top of the drop and smiled wickedly as he saw the witch doctor not even five feet away. Maii pounced with such power and speed that when he connected with the man, he not only drove him into the ground before he could even cry out in fright, but every last rib in his body shattered on impact.
The two skidded across the jungle floor for several yards, and when they finally came to a stop, Maii lazy straddled the broken man, dropping his haunches on the man’s hips and digging his foreclaws into the witch doctor’s biceps.
“Do you have a preference where I dine first?” the ahuizotl said as he kneaded his claws against the man’s skin. “I’ve always been fond of starting at the fingers thanks to their crunch, but mother always said the best place to start was the calves.”
To Maii’s surprise, the man grinned, flashing an array of dirty—and bloody—broken teeth that contrasted sharply against his pale face paint. “How about I be making you a better offer, great trickster?”
“Great trickster?” Maii echoed with amusement. “Such flattery will get you nowhere, my delicious fellow, but make your offer if you like. It’s always fun to see what people think their lives are worth.”
The witch doctor cackled, which turned into a coughing fit, sending flecks of blood into the air. When he f
inally recomposed himself, he kept his lively attitude, despite his injuries and Maii’s threats. “My life? No, no, great trickster. I offer your life.”
Maii cocked his head and used the claws on the end of his tail to scratch the top of his head, all of which was nothing more than theatrics. “My life? I think I’ve got that under control, and I think when you’ve filled my belly, it’ll be even better than before.”
“Ah, but it’s not yours, is it? Your master owns you, enslaves you,” he went on.
Maii clenched his jaw at the thought. Though Ethan had proved to be a surprisingly fun owner to be bound to, and now that he was a budding vampire, even more opportunities crested the horizon in terms of fun, power, and meals, none of those could compare to being free. “Go on,” Maii said.
“I be thinking you let Ol’ Sejour go, and Ol’ Sejour be freeing you in kind,” the witch doctor said, pointing a bony, crooked thumb at his chest.
Maii smirked. “And give up such a delectable meal?”
The witch doctor laughed, much to Maii’s surprise. “What good is a meal without your freedom, eh? Surely there are things you be wantin’ to do.”
The smirk on the ahuizotl’s faded away, and Maii reluctantly conceded the point. There were a great many things Maii wanted, all of which, however, required him to be free of the ring, which is why he’d been so focused on eating and growing. But if he didn’t have to worry about that anymore, he could get on with life: Find a forest to terrorize or even an entire country. Or perhaps take over a ship and be the first pirate ahuizotl to sail the eleven seas. But before he could indulge in such wishful thinking, the monster had a more pressing question that needed tending to. “Tell me, friend,” he said. “Why should I believe you can do such a thing?”
The witch doctor shot him a look of indignation. “Why should you be believing I can’t? You see my Buttons.”
“Buttons?”
“My Buttons! He be fighting your friends. Why you insulting me, thinking I can’t break a simple binding spell if I can make Buttons?”
Maii eased his claws off the man’s arms. The golem had been impressive, even if it had been constructed of cloth and thread and not metal or stone. “That’s an intriguing offer, I must say.”
“Then we be doing business together?”
“I think we might be able to come to some sort of arrangement,” Maii said. “But indulge me in one other curiosity: where do you plan on going? You’ll find no quarter with anyone else.”
“Don’t you be worrying about Ol’ Sejour,” he said. “I call the sea turtles and ride them away.”
“If you say,” Maii replied, unconvinced but ultimately not caring.
“I do say!”
Maii shrugged. “Fine. You say. Now release me.”
The witch doctor chuckled and waggled a finger in front of Maii’s face. “Not till I have your word that Ol’ Sejour be free to go.”
Maii sat back on his haunches, thinking such oaths were pointless and stupid. But in the end, if such promises were needed to be free of the ring that held him, so be it. “You have my deepest, unbreakable word, my good man, that if you free me from this ring, I shall let you go.”
“And not be attacking me later,” the witch doctor quickly tacked on. “I want your promises to include no tomfoolery.”
“I’ll not attack you later, on my word and my honor,” Maii said with a huff of annoyance as he eased off the man. “Now, free me.”
The witch doctor stiffly pushed himself to his feet after giving a short nod. With his right index finger, he lifted paint from his body and smeared it across Maii’s forehead. After making a few figures the ahuizotl couldn’t see, Ol’ Sejour began chanting. The words came low and quiet at first, but as warmth built in Maii’s skull and radiated through his body, those words grew louder and faster. After several more moments of this, Ol’ Sejour popped Maii’s forehead with the heel of his hand, and a loud bang, almost like a gunshot, reverberated in Maii’s ears.
“Ah, see?” the witch doctor said, grinning wide and backing away like an artist might looking upon his finished work for the first time. “Feeling better now, yes? Just like Ol’ Sejour said.”
Despite the glow Maii felt in his soul, he still felt a little skeptical. Did the gods actually grant him his freedom so easily, he wondered? Perhaps. He stretched each limb, one at a time, shook it loose, concentrated on how every fiber of his being seemed freer and quicker, and most important of all, seemed as if each was completely his. Gone was the sensation someone or something shared his body with his soul. Gone were the invisible walls that kept him from doing all that he wanted, and gone was the invisible hand that forced him to do things he didn’t.
“It seems, witch doctor, you’ve granted me my freedom,” the ahuizotl said, the tone in his voice darkening as a world of limitless opportunities opened up before him. “And for that, I’m compelled to give you my thanks.”
“My pleasure, great trickster,” Ol’ Sejour said with a sweeping bow. “Now, if you’ll be excusing me, I’ve got some sea turtles to call.”
Maii smiled. The man before him smiled back and nodded, no doubt first thinking the ahuizotl’s reaction was permissive, possibly even friendly or sweet. But when Maii’s true nature surfaced, and his eyes glowed red, panic struck the witch doctor’s face right.
“But you gave Ol’ Sejour your word!” he protested, hobbling back.
A devilish grin spread across Maii’s face. “And what makes you think that binds me to anything, pray tell?”
Before the witch doctor could reply, Maii pounced and tore out the man’s neck.
Chapter Twelve
Loot
Ethan and Zoey stumbled, arms tightening around one another, hands exploring bodies, all the while both ignoring the macabre battlefield. Together, they sidestepped a fallen corsair, lips locked, and when her hands plummeted down Ethan’s stomach toward his pants, Ethan’s desire to ravish jumped tenfold.
He pressed forward even harder, and Zoey giggled as she went for the ride, right up until her back hit the wall. Her breath shot out with an explosive burst, and her jaw clenched tight as she grimaced. In turn, Ethan cringed, feeling as if his own sore ribs had taken the blow.
“Sorry,” he said. “Hope that didn’t kill the mood.”
Zoey shook her head, eyes smiling with amusement. “Given everything else we’re ignoring around here, a little roughness isn’t going to stop anything.”
Ethan relaxed and toyed with her hair by her ears. “Good.”
“Now shut up and kiss me.”
Ethan leaned into the vampire, ready to oblige, but never made it all the way. A searing pain erupted from his ring finger, and he doubled over, clutching his hand. “Damn it to hell,” he said through clenched teeth. “That hurts.”
Zoey grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him upright, eyes wide with fear. “What hurts?”
“My freaking finger,” he said. Ethan raised his hand to show it off, half expecting to see the digit in question burnt to a crisp—or at least, split open to the bone—but it looked normal. Minor addenda. While he found his finger as it had always been, the ring upon it looked tarnished along the edges.
“Oh, I don’t like the look of that,” Zoey said. She reached up and toyed with the ring. It spun freely on his finger, and her face soured. “And I really don’t like the look of that as well.”
Ethan played with it as well. The piece of jewelry easily slipped over his second knuckle, something it hadn’t ever done before. He paused before sliding it completely off his hand and decided to put it back in place. “What do you suppose that means?”
Zoey shrugged, lines of worry appearing on her face. “My guess is Maii is either free or dead. Check your sheet. Maybe that’ll say.”
Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out his character sheet. His face lit up the moment he scanned the first few lines. “Sweet! I’m level seven now,” he said, but as fast as t
hat excitement came, it faded when he realized, experience-wise, it wasn’t that much of a jump.
Zoey wrinkled her brow. “What?”
“I’m only level seven.”
“That’s more than you were before.”
“I know, but I just thought I’d be even higher, what with all the dead corsairs and whatnot.”
Zoey laughed. “This place isn’t that retro.”
“Say again?”
“What I’m saying is you don’t get to hog all the experience, sorry,” she said, smooching him. “It got split between everyone.”
“Damn,” Ethan said. He then flashed a smile with a heavy sigh. “That would’ve been pretty awesome, though. I’d have become the fastest formed vampire lord, hands down.”
“Well, prince, at least,” she said, kissing him again. “Where are you going to spend your skill points?”
“I was going to start working on getting to the next level of swordplay, but then I remembered you said I’d have severe penalties for any untrained skill.”
Zoey raised her eyebrow. “I did,” she said, sounding impressed. “Glad to see you’re still not behaving like someone with eight INT.”
“I have eleven now, thank you very much.”
Zoey laughed. “I know.”
“Anyway, it says I can take Leadership now. I think I should bump that to at least novice, so I’m not untrained.”
“Good idea,” Zoey said with a look of approval in her eyes. She then smirked. “Can’t believe I didn’t insist you do that already,” she said. “You crit fail on that, and you’re looking at a total mutiny if things go to hell on the open seas.”
Ethan felt his gut tighten. “Could that be a problem?”
“Out here? Are you kidding?” Zoey said, laughing with disbelief. “Not only is it a possibility, but if you’re lucky, when it happens, all that they’ll do to you is maroon you on a tiny island with a pistol and a single shot.”
Ethan’s gut went from tightening to souring completely. “Ugh,” he said. “I get the feeling I’m going to want to level that up even more.”
The Crew (Captains & Cannons Book 2) Page 10
