by Thomas Green
“Consider me impressed.” Ur’Thul’Gar smiled. “I had arranged chambers for your stay within the palace so you can all get used to the sea drakes. Since my men shall show you there, I wish you a pleasant time. In the meantime, we have a war to plan, so let us withdraw into the room that shall be our headquarters.”
“As you will.” Mathilde nodded and turned to leave with Ur’Thul’Gar. She glanced at Zerae over her shoulder. “Watch over the warriors and make sure there are no problems with the mounts.”
Ur’Thul’Gar raised an eyebrow. “I believe Zerae should join us.”
Mathilde’s eyes lit up with anger. “If you consider that wise.”
Zerae followed her with a satisfied smirk.
13
Luna
Luna lay on the forecastle deck, exhausted, staring at the cloudless sky beyond the garnet sails, enjoying the ocean breeze. Zakuma sat by her side, his brow covered by a few beads of sweat. “I think we can have a little break.”
She frowned. “What’s wrong with my regeneration? I should have been fine by now, but I’m still sore and stiff.”
He arched an eyebrow. “How did it work before?”
“It always fixed everything the moment I got out of backlash. But I haven’t backlashed yesterday and have eaten more than enough aether since then. So I should be okay, but I’m not.”
“Well, I don’t know how your regeneration worked, but the normal functionality is that it doesn’t heal non-major issues when you are under half of your strength.”
She gaped at him. “That doesn’t sound natural at all.”
He laughed. “What did James tell you about the origin of werewolves?”
“Nothing. He never used the word in my presence.”
“Then I will keep it that way.”
Luna shook her head. “I so wish I could hit you to punch the smirk off your face.”
“Keep practicing and you might, one day.”
She narrowed her eyes. “That didn’t sound like you expect it to happen soon.”
“I am difficult to hit in single combat.”
Steps approached, and Luna glimpsed Daniel scaling the ladder leading to the forecastle deck. She dragged herself to her feet and arranged her chocolate brown hair.
He greeted her with a broad smile. “Chief Bull sent me. We are to relax for the rest of the day, for we have a mission tonight.”
Luna rubbed her chin. “It sounds like we are about to re-visit the town.”
Daniel nodded and, after an awkward half a minute of silence, spoke again. “May I talk to you in private?”
She looked around, watching the sailors working on the ropes and decks surrounding them. “Sure. Let’s meet in the supply compartment.”
He smiled and left.
Luna glanced at Zakuma. “You don’t look like you are going on the mission.”
“No. My days of killing are long over.”
She shrugged and went to grab a new sewing kit before she headed to meet Daniel. He already awaited her within a narrow compartment filled with crates. She entered, closed the door. Her heart started pumping wildly as she realized they were alone in a small room. His scent lurked through the place, making it impossible to ignore him. She searched for words but found none.
He gave her an empathetic smile. “I’m worried about Nancy.”
Luna’s heart leapt into her throat. “What happened to her? Is she okay? Where is she?”
He shook his head. “Not in this way. I can’t stop thinking about the incident with Willem. Wound infections need days to spread, but his did so in mere hours.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What does that have to do with Nancy?”
He looked into the ground, stammering. “No matter how I think about it, the only thing that could have caused the swift spreading of the infection was whatever Nancy rubbed into his wounds.”
“That’s nonsense! Plus, she made the elixir that healed Willem.”
Daniel sighed. “I know what this sounds like, but there’s more. She sometimes leaves the sleeping compartment in the middle of the night.”
“I saw her when I had a watch. She goes to catch plants floating on the sea to make her things. You are paranoid.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“But I do. There’s nothing off with Nancy, so let her be.” She stepped to him and caught him in a hug. “Everything is okay.”
He relaxed and wrapped his arms around her. A blast of heat burst through Luna his sculpted chest pressed against hers, his heart beating next to hers. His large hands were electrifying to her back, making breathing speed up.
“You are right. I’m sorry,” he whispered and detached.
Luna wanted to protest but stopped herself. She spun to hide her bright red face, biting her lip as she opened the door. “You worry too much,” she said without looking at him and headed to their sleeping compartment.
Nancy sat on a crate by her hammock, grinding something in her mortar. Luna threw her a broad smile, her heart jumping when Nancy returned a pleased grin. Luna spent the rest of the day sewing her uniform, making sure it was as spotless and perfect as James would have expected it to be.
***
When the time to go came, Luna and Daniel departed for the armory while Nancy stayed behind, as she was to be a part of the reserve that remained on the ship. She told them to be careful, leaving a deep feeling of happiness within Luna’s chest. Tense air filled the armory as their company entered, straight after the previous company left. In awkward silence, they geared up, donning their armor, readying their weapons. Luna cared not for the crowd and made sure Daniel’s armor was correctly strapped and that he picked the newest shield she found, making his face red as an old tomato.
Lieutenant Redeye entered, and Chief Bull stomped onto the ground to get everyone’s attention. The lieutenant spoke calmly as if explaining how to bake bread. “On top of the usual, everyone grabs a pavise, crossbow, and at least forty bolts.”
I’ve never used anything from that. She walked to the crossbow section and took one, strapped two bolt quivers behind her lower back, and then went for a pavise, a shield the size of a door with the symbol of Palai in its center.
They left the armory and descended into rowing boats, using the nets hanging by the port of the ship. Fog filled the air, dense as milk. All Luna could see were mere silhouettes of the dozens of other boats.
Forty soldiers sat within their boat when they departed, rowing at a steady pace away from Angry Judith.
Lieutenant Redeye cleared his throat. “We visit the town of Vlatton, where we land by the east side of the docks, form a shield wall in the third road from the left and hold the position until ordered to advance.”
“Aye, aye, sir!” echoed from the ship.
Chief Bull threw her a compassionate smile. “First time in a big battle?”
Luna nodded.
“There isn’t much difference from small fights, so help whoever has our symbol, and kill everyone else. If you get too wounded to fight, retreat to the rowing boats, where you wait for someone to patch you up. Also, don’t backlash. This will take most of the night, so blowing up all your aether in the first ten minutes won’t let you live through till tomorrow. And when you don’t know what to do, stand and fight.”
Luna smiled. “Thank you.”
Rod laughed. “The second fucking part is that you don’t fucking freeze when you have to kill whatever fucker you wouldn’t want to. Oh, and looting is fucking done later, so no grabbing of coins till the fucking battle’s over. Got it, Stilts?”
Daniel gasped. “Looting?”
“What did ya fucking expect? We ain’t fucking here to fuck around, so we fucking loot every-fucking-thing after we are done fucking the town up.”
“Silence,” the lieutenant said, and the whole ship obeyed.
They soon approached the shore. Everyone leapt outside the rowing boat to drag it into land while dozens of other boats landed near them.
/> The lieutenant raised his arm. “Square formation.”
Luna followed Chief Bull to stand by his side in the first row of the formation, making a rough square with Lieutenant Redeye standing at the head.
“Advance.”
They stepped forward, walking up the ramp by the side of the docks.
Luna almost tripped over the corpse she missed in the fog. The body was once a soldier, a sentry, now with a slashed throat, the blood still bright red. That’s why there is no alarm. We first sent in whatever assassins the force has to dispose of the sentries.
They entered the street, a wide road lined by wooden houses. Everything stood quietly as if the rest of the world was but a dream.
“Line formation.”
They spread into a line, two men deep. Luna copied Chief Bull in how he planted the shield, grabbed her crossbow, spun its crannequin till the string stopped at the catch, and loaded a bolt. She supported the crossbow by the pavise, aiming at the empty street ahead.
Over her shoulder, she spotted Daniel, holding his shield with both hands, his eyes wide. Beyond him, the fishing boats were leaving the port, stolen by the sailors of their other companies.
Flames split the sky, blazing above them before smashing through the house, another house and then exploding into a fiery inferno. The alarm bells rung, waking the city into the nightmare.
Blazing projectiles filled the sky, descending onto the town in a rain of death. People burst onto the street.
“Fire. Let none approach,” Lieutenant Redeye ordered and released a bolt, shooting a man who ran out of a house. Everyone else did the same, killing everyone who appeared in the street. Men, women, elderly, children, all were equal before their crossbows, falling dead to the ground.
Luna’s gut clenched, but she kept shooting. She knew it was wrong. She didn’t want to do it, but she was in the army, and so she had to. The mere idea of her refusing and being dishonorably discharged was so terrifying she made sure to aim for the chest, so the deaths were quick. The air carried screams, explosions, cracking of flame, the stench of blood and burned bodies. Time lost its meaning. She wanted to smile at Daniel, who stood petrified behind her, but she did not manage.
Corpses soon covered the street in front while the burning buildings bathed the night in orange light.
Lieutenant Redeye raised his hand with a clenched fist, and everyone hung the crossbow over their back to grab a shield and draw the sword. “Advance.”
They stepped forward, walking over corpses, heading into the blazing town. Luna allowed herself a glance over her shoulder to glimpse the fishing boats were all but gone from the port. The street led them to a large square where the local garrison was forming a semblance of ranks beyond a tall, ornate fountain.
Lieutenant Redeye stepped forward. “Wedge formation.”
Bull and Rod stood behind him while Luna was in the third row, straight behind Chief Bull.
Luna clenched her fists to calm down. “Permission to take the helm, sir.”
The lieutenant measured her with a swift stare. “Granted.”
They switched positions, making Luna stand at the head of the unit that formed behind her. Next to them, other companies stood in similar formations, filling their side of the square.
A woman stepped to the front of the units, her ginger hair glistening in the flames while a golden-rimmed cloak weaved over her back, ending above her stylish leather boots.
Chief Bull leaned to whisper to Luna’s ear. “That’s Captain Beatrice Hellwind, the next in command above Lieutenant Redeye.”
Luna nodded.
Captain Hellwind drew her sword, a decorated cutlass, and swung toward the enemies. The units stepped forward, advancing while the captain returned to the head of her unit. They sped into a trot while the enemy, local soldiers wearing poorly matching uniforms, formed a defense line with shields propped against the ground and spears pointing above.
Luna grabbed the shield with both hands, filling her body with her aether to prepare for the impact. As the enemy line approached, she crossed her arms by her shield and darted forward, sliding by the spears. She slammed into the defense line and pushed with all her strength.
Her shield shattered upon contact and the soldiers flew apart like tumbleweed in a hurricane. She dove into the formation ahead, prolonging her fingertips into vicious claws, swinging wide. Her world turned into a blur of blood, flesh, and bodies. Despite the first line of the town’s soldiers being clad in heavy plates, the men beyond wore light armor, if any at all, making her claws slice muscles and bones, unimpeded by the need to avoid armor.
Lost in the swarm of enemy soldiers, her strength waned.
The beast within her snarled into her mind. ‘This won’t work without you fighting seriously.’
Luna sighed. I don’t want them to see me like that.
‘Would you rather watch them die because you were too shy to kill their enemies?’
No. Luna’s mouth extended from ear to ear, filling with a nightmare of fangs. She knocked the helmet of the soldier before her, grabbed his neck, jerked him to herself and opened her mouth, squeezing his entire skull between her jaws. Luna crunched the bones and sucked in the blood and brain, giving her a jolt of power from the aether she absorbed from the man. She wished the aether wouldn’t be so intoxicating, the sensation eating it gave her so exhilarating. As her eyes turned white, Luna dove into the soldiers, losing track of time.
She didn’t know how long has it been, what or how happened. Now, she stood at a square littered by bodies. She gazed upon her hand, seeing it covered by blood above the torn sleeve.
Tiredness hit her so strongly she wobbled. Willem, pale and terrified, caught her by the shoulder to stop her from falling. She looked around and saw the Palai soldiers stepping over bodies, stabbing each with swords and spears before proceeding further. By the edge of the old fountain stood Captain Hellwind, the beheaded body of the enemy commander lying beneath her feet. The battle was over.
Willem led her to the rest of the side of the square where most of their company was gathered. Daniel sat on steps, pale as death, reciting one prayer after another. Sparks was next to him, holding a wound by his side, insisting it was but a scratch.
Luna sagged down by their side, exhausted.
Daniel stared at her as if seeing a ghost. “How… how are you still alive?”
She raised an eyebrow but did not speak, saving her strength.
“You got slashed by swords, stabbed by spears, and disappeared among the enemies… I thought you were dead.”
He didn’t see me. Good. Luna smiled, her muscles unclenching as her spirit reinvigorated her body. “I heal fast.”
“They sliced your throat.”
She reached to her neck, feeling dried blood and slashed apart collar of her uniform while a jagged scar marred her skin. “I guess.”
“You… guess?”
“I lost the sense of time. What hour is it?”
Daniel motioned to the sky that was no longer dark. “It’s dawn. We were fighting for the entire night.”
Luna scanned the square again, noticing the piles of corpses by the sides, and that the buildings were almost burned to nothing. A soft crying caught her ears, sobbing of a child. Luna propped her leg against the ground to stand up. “I will be right back.”
Before the others could answer, she disappeared among the ruined houses. She walked through the smoldering remains of the city while bodies lay everywhere. Torn, burned and crushed under the collapsed buildings. Men, women, children, death didn’t ask, accepting all in its endless embrace.
She roamed through the ruins, searching for the crying she heard, wondering if it wasn’t a mere prank of the emptiness that filled her insides. She knew not what to think, but she approached the sound. Long minutes of seeking later, Luna determined it came from beneath a pile of rubble. She grabbed the collapsed beam to shove it aside. After she moved the remains of the shattered wall of the wooden house, saw a lit
tle girl trapped underneath. The child stared at her, so terrified she stopped crying.
“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you,” Luna whispered. “Are there any others?”
The girl shook her head and pushed herself away. She shouted out in pain, caught herself by her wounded leg and broke down into tears.
She wouldn’t be here alone. Luna scanned the environment and realized there was a trap door straight next to them. She yanked it open and leapt down the shaft, falling into a small, dimly lit cellar.
The air was warm and breathed out while shrieks of terror welcomed her upon landing. Inside were a dozen children huddled by a wall, in front of whom stood a young man. He held a sword in his right hand and a girl in his left. Neither of them was older than Luna. She threw them a curious look.
The man straightened. “We have nothing valuable. If you’ve come to loot, there is nothing here, only the children. Please leave.”
Loot? Do they think we are pirates? No wonder the town was defenseless, for they didn’t know there was a war about to happen. And they weren’t any better than pirates. She remembered the words her father once hammered into her. The uniform makes the difference between a hero and a murderer. She scanned them, slowly exhaling to calm down her voice. “I was looking around, sorry, but do you need water?” Luna released a water skin from her side, offering it in her hand.
The children stared at her, terrified. She drank from it before tossing it to them. The man glared at her as if she was a ghost that had come to haunt them. “Do you think it changes anything? You destroyed our homes, slaughtered our families, and this should make up for it?”
Luna sighed. “No, but the battle is over. If you remain here, the building will collapse and imprison you, so you need to leave, now when the Order is returning to the ships.”
“Stay away! We won’t fall into your trap.”
She stepped toward him. “If I wanted to kill you, you would have been already dead. I know this won’t change much, but I’m trying to help you save the children.”
He put the girl down on the ground and stood to block her path. “Why would you care? You destroyed our lives, so why would you try to save us?”
