by Jack Crosby
“You lose asshole.”
Chapter 16 – Seasick
“This is terrible Khloros. How did we get stuck in such a ridiculous position?”
A cat that was not the Nyx was climbing on my back. “I do not know. Our riders have much to explain.”
Pyrrha and I were in some sort of pen made to hold animals. As two horses, we were obviously the biggest animals in the area. The other animals, dogs, cats, even a ferret were no longer fearful of our appearance. No, it seemed we graduated to entertainment. This was not my idea of relaxation.
“Did you feel that?”
I broke my attention off the cat scratching me. “Was that the ship?”
We both waited and there was another shift in the boat. “Something must be wrong.”
“We cannot jump to conclusions Pyrrha.” The door to our area opened and two demons walked in. “Or you may be correct, something is wrong.”
The two demons were of the Greed variety. They tried their best to look human, but when you are as old as Pyrrha and I are, nothing gets by you. Knowing we would not fall for such a flimsy disguise, “Look what we found Trele.”
“Two horses, trapped in a pen Wicz.”
They dropped their pathetic glimmers and the greenish lizard demons approached without much caution. The other animals we were with ran back to their jail cells, leaving just the red and pale horse to handle these fools. I stomped towards the gates, “Fools! We are the immortal horses of the Riders of the Apocalypse! Do you honestly think you will survive?”
One of them started laughing, but it came across as snorting. “You think we came on this ship alone? No, we’re being led by a powerful demon named Fultzam!”
The other one slapped him stupid. “Trele! Don’t tell them who we work for!”
“Why did you slap me you bitch?!” The one named Trele hauled off and punched his companion in the face. “I am the one who he handpicked to finish these horses off!”
“Don’t make me laugh! You can barely wipe your own ass when in human form! Fultzam chose me for this task and after it’s complete, he promised me three Lust demons to ravage!”
“Only three! I get to fuck the shit out of four!”
This was pathetic. The Greed demons were fighting each other, forgetting the primary reason they were down here. “So my red friend, would you like the honors or shall I do it?”
Pyrrha walked up to the gate and turned around. “This will bring me great pleasure.”
The two were in a full blown fist fight. With as much brute strength as he could muster, Pyrrha kicked through the gate and made contact with each demon. His horseshoes burned as they made contact with their heads, crushing them and sending Greed demon blood and gunk everywhere. It almost reminded me of that human comedian Grimm found particularly funny who squashed watermelons with a large mallet. “That was most enjoyable to watch.”
“I forgot how juicy Greed demons can be. It will be ages before I get all of that mush off my shoes.”
Another cat jumped on my back with the threat gone and began pawing me. “It is a shame we cannot do the same to these animals.”
Laughing at my misery, “Come now Khloros, they are not that bad.”
**Bridge – Death**
I waited patiently for War to open the door. I know he heard me use the proper code; he was just being a jerk. Finally, “What took you so long?”
“We have more problems.” That was never good.
“Like what?”
He ran back into the room, I guess he wanted me to follow. When I caught up, he was showing me a screen I didn’t understand. “What’s all this?”
“It’s a bloody storm and it came out of nowhere! I guess someone Downstairs knows Fultzam failed.”
A large white blob was making its way towards us. “What can we do? We’ve got a lot of innocent people on board.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “This isn’t my strength. I steer the ship, you figure out the rest.”
“Fine, you keep us afloat and I’ll figure out the people situation.”
He pushed me out of the way to get back to the controls. “I’d hurry up, you maybe have an hour tops. I can already feel a shift in the sea.”
Without having much time, I took off and skipped the elevator in favor of the stairs. I made it all the way back to our rooms in record time and barged right on in. Roxanne and Veronica were huddled close to the Nyx. “Derrick, what is going on?!”
“No time for small talk Roxanne! We took care of the Envy demon, but now we got even more problems! A demonic storm is headed our way!”
She jumped up, “What can we do?”
“I need you to come with me to get all the people to safety. Veronica,” she looked up at me, “Take the Nyx and head to the level that’s holding Khloros and Pyrrha. You’ll be safe with the two of them.”
“Are you sure I cannot be of assistance?”
I was slowly beginning to trust her again, but the Nyx had to be protected at all costs. “That cat is our number one priority. You keep it safe no matter what happens, understand?”
She left her seat and started to leave the room. “None shall harm the princess. I swear it on my life.”
I patted her on the back, “I believe you. Now go! We don’t got a lot of time.”
I watched her make it to the elevator and head down. With Roxanne, “We need to start at the top since it’s exposed. Without the captain being here, we’re going to have to improvise.”
“Hold on, this will be quick.” She left and went down the hallway, towards two crewmembers walking out of one of those ‘crew only rooms.’ I watched in horror as she turned on the sexual charm all the way to one hundred and pushed them back in. It wasn’t even a minute later she was walking out with a few uniforms. “Will this help?”
Grabbing one of the outfits, “Yeah, yeah this will work.”
Five minutes later we both were in uniform and headed up to the top. I could really feel the waves hitting the boat and was doing my best not to throw up. “I hate the ocean.”
Looking on in amusement, “I would’ve never guessed you experienced seasickness.”
“I do and it sucks. Let’s just hope I make it to the top in one piece.” I did, but as soon I we stepped off the elevator, I blew chunks into a trash can next to the door. “I actually feel a bit better.”
“I will take the adult side of the deck, Derrick, you take the family side.”
We split up and began the long process of getting everyone back inside. At first, I think the people thought I was screwing with them. But when a giant wave hit the boat and we lurched pretty damn good, that went away. By the time I wrangled up the last of them, the seas were a rocking and rolling mess.
I found Roxanne close to the elevator. “My side is clear! How’s the adult side?”
“It took some convincing and some skin, but everyone’s inside.”
I felt better about that, but what in the world was causing this storm. “Do you know anyone from your time that could do this?”
In the not too far distance, a large black cloud was looming. Lightning was flashing everywhere and the wind was really starting to whip around. More and more waves rocked the boat, but War was doing a damn good job keeping us as stable as he had been. Roxanne’s eyes hadn’t left the storm. “This is not the work of a demon.”
It sure looked like it. “How can you tell?”
“This magic is of someone long forgotten, the last relic of an ancient time.”
She was speaking in riddles and that didn’t bode well and also was a bit annoying. “So you do know who’s doing this?”
She walked over to the side of the boat and took a deep breath. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
I joined her at the rail, “Roxanne, we really don’t have time. If you know who it is…”
“The sea titan Oceanus.”
My mouth dropped. “Please tell me you’re just shitting with me?”
Chapter 17 �
� Oceanus, the Sea Titan
Sit down class; it’s time for another history lesson! Notebooks out and attention on your teacher please. I’m sure you’ve all heard of Greek gods and whatnot. So they obviously weren’t gods, there is only one and we refer to him as the Almighty. No, the Greek, Norse, Egyptian gods were actually children of the Titans who were fallen angels who chose not to follow Lucifer Downstairs.
Over the years, between the Horsemen and task forces of angels, they’ve been wiped out. They were neither useful or all that pleasant to deal with. Apparently one escaped judgment and was causing my seasickness. “How the hell did Oceanus escape? And more importantly, who’s telling him what to do?”
Roxanne began stripping down to her bra and panties. “There’s only one way to find out. We go ask him.”
“I hate it when you’re right.” Joining her in only my boxers, the two of us jumped off the top level of the ship and fell a long way into the rough ocean below. At least we were smart enough to bring our weapons with us.
As I broke the water’s surface, I saw all sorts of marine life around. Most of it was angry sharks and rays. They were at least smart enough to get the hell out of the way. Neither Roxanne nor I needed oxygen, as being a celestial being had some perks, so we could swim hard and fast, just the way I like it!
It didn’t take us long to find the source of the storm. The millennia hadn’t been kind to old Oceanus. He had the bottom of an octopus, a giant shark fin growing out of his back, and his arms were covered in barnacles. He sensed our presence and turned his giant body towards us. “Death, what an unwelcome surprise.”
His voice produced a million bubbles that scattered across the sea. “I can’t say I’m thrilled to see you either. How the hell did you escape the purge?”
“After the death of my son Poseidon, I went into hiding deep in the ocean, biding my time. As you can see,” he gestured to his body, “I’ve improved myself.”
If by improvements, he meant turn into a monster, than yes he did. “So what’s it going to take to get you to stop the storm up there? It kinda sucks.”
He apparently lost interest in me. One of his tentacles darted forward and wrapped around Roxanne. Just as quickly, it brought her up to his head. “You are a demon but not. How is that possible?”
She struggled against him. “Put me down you slimy fuck! How dare you handle a woman like this?”
I tried to swim up, but another tentacle swatted me away. “Most interesting. You’ve been touched by an angel, Michael by the looks of it.”
Her wings came to life and burned right through the squirmy arm that had her. Oceanus roared in pain and Roxanne swam over to me. “You imbeciles dare attack me? In my ocean?”
“Yeah, because you’re rocking my boat! If I were you, I’d stop this now.”
He scoffed as the tentacle that was burned away grew back. “It will take more than just you two to destroy me. I will do as I please.”
Well, I did warn him. With Leviathan, I cut down a great white shark that got a little too close for comfort. At the death of one of his beloved creatures, Oceanus went nuts. “What are you doing?!”
“I might not be able to do much to you without more help, but the two of us can do a lot of damage to your little friends.”
To demonstrate my point, Roxanne swam up and quickly cut off the head of a hammerhead shark with the Grasscutter. The blade sliced through the shark like it was hot butter. “This is fun! Can I kill some more?”
The monstrous titan curled over in pain. “Why would you do this? What kind of sick freaks are you?”
I held up my hand for Roxanne to stop. “We don’t want to kill these animals anymore than we want the humans on that ship to die. Call off the storm and let’s make a truce, for the present moment anyways.”
He waved his hand through the water. Even this deep, I could feel the magic break on the surface. “It is done. However, the two of you are enemies of the sea. Should you ever return once you leave, every creature will know to destroy you.”
“Speaking of before we leave, you need to tell us who ordered you to do this and I personally promise not to tell anyone of your existence.”
His grey eyes focused on me. “No one can know, not even your horse.”
Newsflash, keeping secrets was not one of my many talents. At this moment, it was one I’d have to make and keep. “Deal - your secret for information.”
With another wave, the animals all around us swam back into the depths of the ocean. “Baal hired me to destroy the ship you were on should his demons fail. With the death of the Envy demon and the two Greed idiots, I made my move.”
I wondered who killed the Greed demons? That was another question for when we got back. “What did Baal offer you?”
The titan shook with laughter. “Offer me? The death of two horsemen plus providing quite a few meals to my kingdom was all I needed. Had I known you would be so bold to confront me, I would’ve asked for more.”
“I’m glad to see you think so highly of me.” I looked around and saw nothing else besides us. “Were you the last line of defense in the ocean?”
“If you are asking am I the last celestial being down here, than yes I am. The last line of defense has already been unleashed. For that, I cannot stop.”
Not known for her couth, “What the hell did you do asshole?”
“I like this one, she is most frisky.” Ugh, he and Azrael could start a club. “As for that, I uncaged an ancient horror. It knows to stay close to the Spanish border.” He reached down into his tunic and pulled out something green and took a big bite out of it. “After all these years, it is very hungry.”
The boat was getting away from us and we needed to get back. Before I left, I wanted to know exactly what we were up against. “Does this mysterious horror have a name? Or are you just screwing with us?”
“Of course it does, it once roamed my seas as the apex predator, but since has all but disappeared. I kept an especially old male alive using an ancient Titan ritual just in case.” Oceanus prepared to make his exit, back down to the ocean floor. “If you’ve ever watched National Graphic, you’ll know what a megalodon can do.” With two huge strokes of his octopus legs, he was out of sight.
“Hey Derrick, what’s a Mega London? Is it some kind of British monster?”
We began the long swim back to the boat. “No, a megalodon is a super shark, probably anywhere from sixty to eighty feet long. It’s big, fast, and eats just about anything.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“Yeah, no shit.”
When we got ourselves back on to the boat, Roxanne knew as much about the shark as I did. She’d been hammering me with questions nonstop, so I was actually quite thankful for a few moments of silence. We snuck back to our rooms and dried off. With fresh clothes on, “Let’s go get Veronica and then all of us will go up to the bridge and inform War.”
The panic from the humans had died down. On our walk down, most were now telling stories about how they bravely looked death in the eye and survived. Newsflash to all of you, you all looked me in the face at some point and survived. Well except for Captain Barth and Stewart, but that really wasn’t my fault.
When we made it to the animal level, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Khloros had two cats on his back and a ferret was weaving its way through his legs. War’s horse Pyrrha was sitting down and three dogs were using him as a pillow. “Look at you two regular old Jack Hanna’s. Where’s my phone so I can take a picture of this?”
Veronica was sitting to the side, holding the Nyx. “Derrick, do not tease them like that.”
“Why? It’s rather amusing.”
She came over and handed the cat to Roxanne. “Is everything okay?”
“The storm is gone if that’s what you mean.” I turned to the animal jungle gyms, “I’m guessing you two took care of a pair of Greed demons?”
Khloros shuddered in some sort of weird horse laugh. “You owe me a favor Pyrrha. You said he
would be too stupid to figure that out.”
I looked at the red horse, insulted. “You think I’m stupid?”
Not even blinking, “You are not known for your brains Death. Power and skill? Yes. Intelligence, not even close.”
Chapter 18 – Unexpected Friends
“Those bastards have been tracking us. We bloody hell can’t go to Spain with that monster in the water.”
War was even more grumpy than normal. I tried to amuse him with my human lingo. “So we go either a bit north or a bit south. Ain’t no thang.”
He actually bared his teeth at me like some sort of possessed animal. “Quit talking like an uneducated human for the love of the Almighty. What does that even mean, ain’t no thang? Heaven help me…”
I was getting nowhere with him. I looked back at the girls, “Either of you have any ideas? I thought maybe we could steer this thing to Greece and go from there.”
Veronica took a second, looking at one of the maps on the wall. “Greece is a land full of monsters. I would suggest a more neutral landing, such as The Netherlands. It is a tourist spot and we would blend in well.”
I could live with that. War seemed to be impartial, so The Netherlands it was. Now came the fun part. “As the acting captain, you get to make the announcement to all the people that we need to avoid Spain and go north. Good luck buddy!” And like a kid who just stole a cookie, I was out!
I heard him grumbling all the way to the elevator, but by the time I finished my mad dash back, he was making the announcement. “This is acting Captain Warner Battlefield. Due to rougher than expected seas and a storm that pushed us off course, we no longer can safely make it to Spain. Our current course will lead us to The Netherlands…” and he kept droning on. After the day I had, I zonked out on the couch.
“Derrick Grimm, get your ass up!”
The voice was loud and close, causing me to fall off my comfortable spot and fall on the floor. “Damnit, what was that for?!”
Roxanne was all at once incredibly sexy and incredibly scary. I couldn’t help but notice the way her beautiful white legs shined like in the moonlight – “Eyes up here! We’ve been busting our asses working over all the humans to keep them from asking questions and you’ve been sleeping! What do you even have to say for yourself?”
