The Scaled One held a stiff leather megaphone up to his mouth while shaking Izzy’s bound arms with his free hand. “Throw your weapons overboard, and prepare to be boarded, or I toss your beautiful engineer over the side,” he shouted. For good measure he pushed Izzy away from him, and then yanked back hard on her arms right before she fell over the side.
Tralnis listened to the Scaled One’s demands as he untied the ropes binding Pilot. When he was done, he looked over at Gareth to see how his son was holding up. He wasn’t prepared to see tendrils of purple magic crawling from the staff, to Gareth’s hand, and then back again. Tralnis definitely wasn’t prepared for Gareth to leap over the side of the Glorious Dawn.
Chapter 20
The muscles in Gareth’s cheeks stood out as he clenched his jaw to keep from screaming at the Scaled One. He wanted to scream in fear for Izzy’s life, and in anger that anyone would dare threaten someone he cared deeply for. The knuckles on his right hand turned white from how hard he was grasping his strange weapon. As the seconds ticked by, Gareth’s anger became more pure, and less diluted with mortal concepts, such as pity or mercy. Eventually, the turbulence of his thoughts became disturbingly calm as Gareth came to a decision. The Scaled One’s life had become forfeit the instant he had threatened to harm Izzy. Once the decision had been made in his heart, Gareth’s vision quickly blurred, and then went black. Not the black that comes from closing one’s eyes, but the absolute absence of light that characterized his strange new weapon.
From a distance that was somehow infinitely far, yet at the same time right next to him, points of light started to form around Gareth. The lights began to gain substance, shifting and stretching into elongated shapes. Soon, the shapes took on the form of at least two dozen “humans” with pointed ears. The light directly in front of Gareth took on a form that was vaguely familiar to him.
As the figure became solid, Gareth recognized the form fitting armor of the underwater statue that he took the rod from. The warrior’s armor was a dark gray, much darker than was implied by its stone statue. He cocked his head in confusion as he looked Gareth over from head to toe. “Odd,” was all he said to Gareth.
“Of course he looks odd, styles change over the years. Trust me, I know,” a cheerful voice said from behind and to the right of Gareth. A gray haired man, wearing only a leather kilt and a loose linen shirt the same gray as the warrior’s armor, stepped around Gareth to stand in front of him. “Congratulations on mastering the T’shun meditation techniques, young man” he praised Gareth.
“The what?! Where am I?!” Gareth demanded.
The gray haired man frowned for a moment, and then perked back up. “Perhaps over the years, the name of the techniques I developed have come to be known by something different. As for where you are, I would think that would be fairly obvious considering you just spent two days fasting and meditating to get here,” he said.
The warrior raised his hand for the man in the kilt to stop. He had been watching the newcomer intently, and saw genuine confusion on the newcomer's face. “Hold, old one. I do not believe he knows of what you speak,” he said slowly.
Gareth nodded in thanks to the warrior. “Exactly. I haven’t a clue as to what you are going on about. And like I said, I don’t know where here is,” he repeated.
The man in the kilt ran his hand through his long, gray hair. “The rod, boy! You must have meditated and fasted in order to get your consciousness to enter the weapon,” the gray haired man explained.
Holding both hands up, Gareth took a step back and looked around at the absolute blackness surrounding him. “Wait a minute! Are you trying to tell me we’re inside that black rod?” he asked to make sure he was hearing things right.
“Of course we are. What did you think the purposes of the fasting and meditation were for?” the gray haired man demanded.
The warrior shook his head no. “Again, I say hold. From his answers, and obvious confusion, our new brother did not partake in the usual ceremony to join with the Void Rod,” he suggested.
“Then how else do you explain…” the gray haired man started to ask before he was cut off by the warrior.
“What is the last thing you remember, brother,” the warrior asked Gareth.
The scholar’s eyes widened in fear as he remembered what the Scaled One had been threatening to do. “Izzy! That bastard is threatening to kill her! I have to go back to help her!” he yelled. Gareth turned around in a full circle, trying to find a way out. As he turned, he saw the other apparitions were a combination of men and women. All but the two who had already spoken to him stayed silent, but looked upon him with curious eyes.
“Righteous anger…” the gray haired man mused for a moment.
The warrior nodded his head in agreement. “Fueled by his love for another,” the warrior added.
The gray haired man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Yes, I suppose that could work, but he would have to have truly tremendous magical powers to do that. I’m talking about magical strength on the level of the Mintels,” he stated.
The warrior frowned for a moment as he mulled that over. He was shocked when the newcomer said softly, “My name is Gareth Mintel.” Many of the figures around them went down to one knee, while the others, including the warrior and the man in the kilt, bowed their heads in respect.
“Well met, my lord. It makes my old, dead heart swell with pride to know that one of the Void Rods I fashioned is being wielded by a Mintel once again,” the gray haired man said sincerely.
The warrior’s eyes darted from side to side as he processed what he had just learned. They snapped up to meet Gareth’s suddenly as his old oaths reasserted themselves. “My lord, this ‘Izzy’, is she your mate?” he asked.
“Um… no…” Gareth replied, drawing out both words.
The warrior’s eyes narrowed as he stared into Gareth’s. “Do you wish her to be, or have you already wed someone else?” he inquired.
The unflinching eyes made Gareth look deep inside himself. He realized that he had come to love the quirky engineer, and couldn’t really see a future without her in it. “If I can save her, then yes, I want to stand by her side for the rest of my life,” he admitted.
The warrior nodded once, and took the gauntlet off of his right hand. The gray haired man grabbed the warrior by the shoulder to make him stop for a moment. “You know what will happen if you go through with this, don’t you?” he asked in almost a whisper.
“I swore to protect the Mintels in life and beyond. This includes their mates. I will fulfill my oath, old one,” the warrior said firmly, as he shook off the old man’s hand. As he stepped closer to Gareth, purple colored magic engulfed his outstretched hand.
“What are you doing?” Gareth asked, feeling a strange affinity for the purple magic, even though he had never shown a trace of magic in his body before.
“I’m going to give you that which you will need to save the next Lady Mintel,” the warrior replied. As he placed his glowing hand on Gareth’s chest, he reverently intoned, “By my own free will, I give unto thee my strength and knowledge. May you use them to protect those whom I no longer can.” When he was done speaking, the purple magic flared and engulfed the warrior’s whole body. With a bright flash, the warrior disappeared and the magic forced itself into Gareth’s chest.
The shock and pain drove Gareth to his knees. The gray haired man looked at Gareth solemnly. “You have been given a great gift, young Lord Mintel. One that very few of our people have ever been granted. Use it well, and go kick those feces extruding orifices straight to the lowest level of the hells for me, my lord!” he instructed.
As Gareth’s vision started to blur again, he quickly called out, “Wait! What are we?” he begged, somehow knowing these were his people.
“Those who wield a Void Rod, of course” the gray haired man chuckled, as he faded from view along with the other figures surrounding Gareth. As soon as they were gone, Gareth had a brief falling sensation before his
consciousness returned to the physical world.
As the Scaled One shook Izzy again to make sure that those on the Leyship got his message, Gareth used the knowledge the warrior had forced into him, and let the magic he never knew he had mingle with that of the rod. Using the extra power gained from the Void Rod, Gareth was able to jump over the railing of the Glorious Dawn and down onto the pirate ship far below them. After crossing a distance no man should be able to, he crashed into the deck, going down onto one knee and his free hand. Gareth looked down at the cracked timber below him and then up at the pirates, letting his hate for them show. For their part, the pirates nearest him took an involuntary step backwards when they saw his purple eyes were quite literally glowing with barely contained energy.
Gareth quickly stood up, while spinning the end of his staff up, across his body, and then over his head. He continued the spin using his left hand to add momentum to the bottom of the staff. The pirate nearest to Gareth on his left side died instantly as the end of the staff slammed into his skull, sending splinters of bone into his brain.
Stepping back with his right foot, Gareth shifted his weight, and slid the staff through the air perpendicular with the deck to strike the pirate behind him and to his right. The base of the staff crushed the pirate’s trachea, and knocked him onto his back. The pirate suffocated as he clawed at his throat in a vain attempt to get air.
Elizabeth rubbed her good eye with the back of her left hand in an effort to make sure what she had just seen was real. When the image of the Professor still standing on the deck of the pirate ship remained, she spun around and looked for one of the trophies from their last fight with pirates. She picked up the harpoon gun, and tied off the end of the rope around the base of their single cannon. Sighting along the barrel, she squeezed the trigger of the harpoon gun. The black powder charge ignited and launched the barbed projectile into the wall of the enemy’s wheel house.
After dropping the empty gun, Elizabeth threw her mechanical arm over the rope. She grabbed her artificial wrist with her flesh and bone hand. With the rope sliding in the crook of her mechanical elbow, Elizabeth ran along the deck, and then leaped over the railing. She slid down the rope to the pirate ship below them. Drawing her sword as she hit the deck, Elizabeth rolled with the momentum, and thrust her weapon through a pirate who had stood gawking at her audacity. She pivoted while she stood up, slicing her sword through the pirate’s torso on its way up and out. For a brief instant, the pirate was able to look down and see his own heart before he died.
Gareth brought his staff down onto the arm of a pirate in front of him like he was chopping firewood. The pirate shrieked as his forearm shattered. Gareth spun around in a complete circle, and slammed the opposite end of the staff into the man’s other shoulder. The impact of the magical weapon drove the shoulder through its socket into the man’s lung. Gareth stepped over the man he had crippled on his way to his primary target, the Scaled One who had threatened Izzy.
Elizabeth stepped to her left to avoid a slash from a garishly dressed pirate who obviously thought of himself as something of a swordsman. Unfortunately for her, he seemed to be correct and was in fact, just slightly better than her. Using his advantage, the pirate pressed hard, forcing Elizabeth to give ground. The other pirates gave them room as they performed their deadly dance with the beat being kept by the clang of steel against steel. The pirate continued to drive Elizabeth until she was forced to stand back to back with Gareth.
“Captain,” Gareth greeted her as their backs touched.
“Professor,” Elizabeth replied politely. A small part of her was glad that if she were to die on the deck of this pirate ship, at least she would die trying to protect her little sister. She shook off those negative thoughts, and decided to gamble her life on a stunt that would have her old fencing instructor swearing off teaching and opening a brewery instead. Elizabeth lowered her sword to her side in preparation for a vicious upward stroke.
The pirate took the bait when he saw she had left herself open for an overhand strike with no chance of getting her sword up in time to block it. The evil sneer of triumph on the swordsman’s face melted away as his killing blow never landed. As he swung down, his sword was firmly caught in in a three fingered mechanical claw at the end of his opponents out stretched prosthetic arm. Eyes widening in fear, the pirate watched as Elizabeth swung her sword up and through his armpit. A bit of cloth at the pirate’s shoulder caught on Elizabeth’s blade causing the man’s severed sword arm to fly into the air.
Sensing motion above him, Gareth flicked his eyes upwards and then back at a pirate wearing an antiquated three corner hat who was keeping just out of range of the deadly black staff. Gareth shifted his hands on the staff, as he waited for gravity to do its job. Swinging from the hips, Gareth hit the falling limb right as it was even with him. The bloody arm flew through the air, and slammed into the pirate in front of Gareth with enough force to stagger him.
The pirate looked down at what was suddenly in his arms, and he let out a high pitched scream of horror. He continued to stumble backwards as he threw the arm away from him in disgust. The deck railing was suddenly upon him, and his backwards momentum, combined with the force of his throw, caused the pirate to fall over the rail backwards. An updraft caught the pirate’s hat as he fell, and brought it in for a soft landing on the deck.
The Scaled One looked on in horror as one by one, his crew was killed by these demons straight out of his worst nightmares. The woman’s scarred face and mechanical arm was proof that she didn’t die like most decent people would in her shoes. As for the man, the Scaled Ones had legends from a time before the Second Great Apocalypse. Legends passed on from generation to generation that spoke of terrible warriors with purple glowing eyes. Warriors who were able to kill entire raiding parties singlehandedly. Watching this demon tear through his men brought those legends to life in a way the Scaled One had never wished to experience. Realizing that his enemies hadn’t attacked until after he threatened the red haired human, the Scaled One grabbed both of her arms and pulled her in front of him to use as a shield.
Izzy caught the Scaled One of guard by sighing in relief. He had no idea she had been waiting for the lizard-man to hold her tight against himself. When she felt her back touch his chest, she went limp and buckled her knees. Not wanting to let go of his human shield, the Scaled One was forced to lean over slightly to keep his balance while holding onto her. With all of her strength, Izzy straightened her legs, and stood up in an explosive motion. The pain to the top of her head was nothing compared to the pain the Scaled One felt as she drove her head up into his jaw.
The stunned pirate captain let go of Izzy’s arms, and staggered a step to the side. Izzy followed up her jaw breaking strike by kicking backwards like a mule through the Scaled One’s left knee. With a sickening snap, his leg bent in a direction it was never designed to go in. The Scaled One fell to the deck on his good knee, while his shattered leg stuck out to the side. Izzy brought her foot back, and then spun on that foot as fast as she could. She used that speed to slam the heel of her other foot into the pirate captain’s temple, knocking him out cold.
Izzy looked upon her handiwork, and nodded in satisfaction. She looked up, and met Gareth’s cold, purple glowing eyes. As she stared into his eyes, they quit glowing, and regained some of the compassion she was used to seeing there. Sensing that the threat was over, his strange staff reverted back to its original form as a Void Rod.
Elizabeth stepped in between Izzy and Gareth, and motioned for her to turn around. With a quick flick of her blade, Elizabeth cut the ropes binding her sister. When Izzy turned back around, she couldn’t decide who she wanted to hug first, her sister or Gareth. The decision was made for her after Gareth looked around at the death and destruction he had wrought. Without a word, he ran to the railing, and emptied his stomach over the side of the ship.
Chapter 21
Standing at the bow of the Glorious Dawn, Gareth tried to make sense
of the multitude of emotions swirling around in his soul. Relief that Izzy was safe warred with disgust at how easy he had found it to kill the pirates. He was so focused inwards that he flinched when he felt a hand put on his shoulder.
“I’ve been looking for you all over the ship,” Izzy said softly. I should have known you would be here. Perhaps we should hang a plaque that reads ‘Gareth’s Brooding Spot’,” she teased.
Refusing to turn and look at her, Gareth continued to stare at the horizon, not really seeing it. “Looking for me? How can you even stand to be near me after you saw what I did to those pirates?” he asked. Knowing that actions spoke louder than words, Izzy smacked the back of Gareth’s head with the palm of her hand. “Owe! What was that for?!” he demanded as he spun around to glare at Izzy. His angry expression softened when he saw Izzy smiling at him.
“Now that I have your undivided attention, Professor, I’ll answer your question with one of my own. Why wouldn’t I want to spend time with a man who was willing to jump overboard onto a ship full of pirates to save my life?” Izzy countered. Gareth started to turn away again, but she stopped him by grabbing his arm. “Let me ask you something, Gareth. If you had to do it over again, would you? When we find Teesh, and there are more of those bastards between us and her, will you let them hurt her, or will you destroy them like you did earlier? Keep in mind, these assholes are only going to give you those two options,” she inquired.
Gareth fought down the urge to grab the Void Rod at the thought of Teesh being hurt. His voice was a whisper when he responded to Izzy’s question. “I’d kill every damn one of them with my bare hands if it meant keeping you two safe. That’s what is bothering me so much. I feel horrible about what I did, but I would do it again, and even more without hesitation,” he admitted.
Gareth and th Lost Island Page 17
