by Riker Kane
They moved into the next section of the lower decks. It appeared to be some type of engine room, judging from all the machinery that surrounded them. It was a combination of new and old technology. Steam rose from a fire burning in a furnace on one side of the room while gears cranked on the other. A couple of men dressed in dirty linens and leathers tended to the machinery.
“What do we do?” Kailani asked. “I don’t think we can sneak past them.”
“I say we fight,” Clayton said.
Mirella gave him a nod.
He was eager to put his sword to use. He smiled as he gripped his weapon tight. He moved forward when Mirella grabbed him by the shoulder.
“You must end this quickly,” Mirella said. “Before they warn the others.”
“Got it.” Clayton moved forward with a dash right behind one of the men. He raised his hands up to swing but he savored the moment for too long. The man turned around like he sensed something.
“Hey! What are you—” Clayton shut him up with a violent slash against the chest.
The other man in the room turned around and charged at Clayton with his own sword. He met a quick end when one of Kailani’s daggers found his throat.
“Taking your sweet time, huh?” Kailani sighed as she picked up her dagger.
“He didn’t warn anybody,” Clayton said. “Piece of cake.”
“There is no time to waste. We have much more of the ship to cover.”
The group moved through the engine room and proceeded through the lower decks. More long, dirty hallways with the stink of drunken pirates nauseated all of them but it wasn’t enough to distract them from their goal.
They sneaked their way through, quickly cutting down and hiding the bodies of unsuspecting passengers. It wasn’t long before they’d moved from one side of the ship to the other.
Clayton looked up at the writing on the door. “It says ‘Control Room’ on it. This must be the control room.” He turned around and smiled in appreciation of his own joke. Mirella had no expression as did Kailani, the latter not even bothering to roll her eyes. “What? It’s funny—”
“Come on,” Mirella pushed her way by him and into the control room. “We must disable this ship then deal with the invaders.”
The control room was completely different from the rest of the ship they’d just walk through. It was large enough to house several mechanisms. Twisting and rotating gears were in every direction. Off to one side, there was a small control panel with steam rising in a chamber right in front of it.
“Over here,” Clayton said as he walked up to the panel. He looked down and examined all of the details. “There must be some way to shut this thing off—”
“I’ve got an idea.” Kailani pulled a dagger from her hip and threw it between some of the gears. The gears screeched to a noisy halt. The metal twisted and bent until eventually snapping.
“I suppose that works.” Clayton and Mirella got to work, slashing and stabbing at all of the machinery. With every piece of metal they destroyed, the more violently the ship began to shake. It shook so much they were unable to stand still.
“Keep going!” Mirella shouted. “We must cause irreparable damage or this will be for nothing.”
Clayton and Kailani were more than willing to keep going. Despite the massive trembling, they continued to destroy the machinery until the entire room was filled with steam. The gears fell off their assembly. Fires erupted and burned through the metal. Clayton added fuel to it, shooting several fireballs to ignite everything around him.
“I don’t think they’ll be able to repair any of this!” Kailani shouted over the noise around them. “We gotta get outta here!”
“Agreed!” Mirella nodded and quickly headed for the exit. The entire ship was beginning to crumble. The wooden walls splintered. The floors started to give and the ceilings started to sink. The sound of men shouting echoed through the entire ship.
The trio raced through the halls, trying to find a way to ascend.
“Hey!” They were spotted by a group of pirates who drew their swords on them. Fighting in a narrow hallway proved tricky for Clayton. Fortunately for him, the long thrusts of Mirella’s trident proved to be too much for the men to deal with.
As more water began to cover their feet, they climbed up and managed to make it to the deck of the ship. Clayton noticed how sideways the ship had become. Men lost their footing and tumbled over the side rails.
“Oh, yeah,” Kailani said. “This ship is definitely sinking.”
“These men are leaving,” Clayton said. “Aren’t we supposed to arrest them or something?”
“There is no escape from Azure for them,” Mirella said. “They will not escape justice.”
“You bastards!”
A sudden shout got their attention. Clayton turned toward the man standing on the other side of the deck. Dirty, disheveled clothes and boots like the others. A long, scruffy white beard. A wrinkled face, dirty like it hadn’t been washed in weeks and yellow teeth just as grimy.
He was an average-sized man but the crossbow he wielded was a lot bigger than average, Clayton thought.
He took a step forward and shook his head. “What have you done to my ship?”
“Your vessel is no more,” Mirella responded. “You are no longer allowed to sail these seas.”
“I think I will. These men are cowards but I’ve got enough fortune from these waters to buy a new army. I’ll build a new ship! I’ll strip the sea dry!”
“You will not.”
“Mirella, the ship is sinking…” Clayton said.
“His ship is sinking. But I must make sure a new one will not rise in its place.”
“Mirella—”
The man fired a bolt at them and they all moved out of the way. Clayton quickly ignited his sword and fired flames in his direction. The man moved with surprising quickness to avoid the fire.
“Any man who stays and fights with me will receive triple what I promised!” the man shouted. “All you’ve gotta do is kill these three!”
Kailani looked around and realized she was suddenly surrounded. “Well, that’s just great…” A couple of pirates rushed at her but she leaped out of the way. She ran up the side of a mast then came crashing down with her bone daggers into one of them. She flipped and twisted to avoid the blades of more attackers.
Clayton was too busy dealing with his own attackers to admire her. Half of his sword was enough to deal with all of them, though being surrounded by a bunch of bloodthirsty pirates certainly drained his energy.
Mirella stayed by his side, pushing them off and stabbing them with her trident. The end of her weapon proved to be just as lethal as it looked, piercing through the men without much resistance.
“Look out!” Clayton tackled Mirella and landed on top of her when another crossbow bolt came flying her way.
She looked up at him and smiled softly before regaining her composure. “Deal with him. I will assist Kailani.”
Clayton nodded and got back up to his feet. He chased after the man as he ran toward the other end of the ship. The deck continued to tilt. Along with the water splashing from the sea, Clayton had trouble keeping his footing.
“Come back here!” he shouted. He just managed to narrowly avoid a bolt headed right at him. The man quickly fired another one. Clayton moved but not fast enough, taking the bolt in the shoulder. He grimaced in pain but kept moving forward.
Eventually, the man had nowhere else to run. He kept his crossbow up, aiming it right at Clayton.
“Why are you doing this?” the man asked. “I’m a man trying to make a living. Is that so wrong?”
“They say you are planning an invasion of Azure. Is that true?”
“An invasion? I merely wanted to pay them a visit.”
“A visit where you take all that’s precious to them.”
He smirked, his dirty yellow smile somehow darker underneath the sun. “They won’t miss it.”
“It’s over fo
r you.” Clayton rushed forward just as the man fired again. He leaped just in time as the bolt went sailing past him. He gathered as much strength as he could then came crashing down on the man, sinking his blade down into the man’s chest and out through his back.
The crossbow fell from his hands. Blood trickled out of his mouth, staining his face even further. The man stared up angrily at Clayton before the life left his eyes.
He sighed as he pulled his weapon free. Clayton raced back to the other side of the deck as the ship began to capsize. Everybody was continuing to jump over the rails. He spotted Kailani and Mirella standing back to back with one another.
“I got him!” he shouted. “I think we should get off this thing before we get stuck underneath it.”
“Agreed,” Mirella said.
The trio moved to the railing and jumped into the water just as the ship turned over. The men abandoning ship swam in every direction, only to be met by Azurean soldiers rising from the water to detain them.
Kailani took some water into her mouth and spit it out like a spigot. “After walking through that stinkhole, I think I need a good soak.”
Clayton chuckled at her and sighed a deep breath. “Let’s go talk to Queen Izumi. I’m sure she’ll be willing to provide us some accommodations.”
Chapter 19
“You know, BB, I’m beginning to think it was a great idea to come along with you.”
Kailani had her eyes closed. She sighed softly through her nose with her arms and legs splayed at her side. The green water bubbled up all around. Her face was the picture of blissful contentment.
Clayton chuckled at her before scrunching his face in confusion. “…Hold on a second. Are you telling me you didn’t think this was a good idea before?”
“Lemme see… You had me wandering through a damp cave fighting giant spiders. Then we were seized with spears pointed at our throats. Then we had to sneak through a dirty ship and fight pirates while that same ship nearly capsized on top of us.”
“I thought you wanted a little adventure.”
“I like the adventure, all right. That doesn’t mean I can’t question it while I’m dealing with it.”
“Remind me not to force you into anything more…”
“Don’t worry, BB. You keep a rejuvenation pool like this waiting for me and I’ll sink with you to the bottom of the sea.”
“How romantic…”
Kailani was too busy relaxing on the other side of the water to care about Clayton’s sarcasm. Not that he minded anyway. It felt like ages since he was able to relax like this. After so many fights, he wanted nothing more than to take a break.
The room was quiet and comfortable just like his quarters back in Nalore. The only difference was the view. The sea life was visible through the walls all around them. All species of fish and crustaceans floated by him peacefully. The sharks were somewhat unnerving and the giant whales got closer than Clayton wanted but he wouldn’t trade his position for anywhere else in the world. It helped that Kailani was naked in front of him.
“I wonder… Do you think the fish can see in here?” he asked.
“What’s it matter? You never one for modesty.”
“I was just thinking. What would happen if you and I did something here? You think the fish would mind?”
Kailani slowly peeked an eye open, an eyebrow raised. “I’d ask you what’s on your mind if it wasn’t so obvious.”
“Is it that bad?” Clayton floated toward the water close to her. He moved right next to her, admiring her youthful appearance. He’d gotten so used to the red marking on her cheek he didn’t even notice it.
She playfully pushed him away as he tried to wrap his arm around her.
“Why are you playing hard to get?” he asked.
“Hard to get? Maybe I’m just not in the mood.”
“Don’t gimme that!” He swam across the pool after her. She giggled as he took her in his embrace. She stopped resisting when he brought his lips to hers. His desire slowly began to stir. Hard swelling between his legs couldn’t be contained.
“Ahem. I’m sorry to interrupt.”
They pulled away from each other to see Mirella standing at the edge of the water. Despite what she’d just seen, she was calm, standing as stiff and poised as always with her hands behind her back.
“Don’t worry. You weren’t interrupting anything at all.” Kailani pushed Clayton away then swam to the other side of the small pool. “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong. I wanted to check in on you. To make sure your accommodations are appropriate.”
“Honestly, I was just looking for a soft pillow to rest my head,” Clayton said. “I didn’t know you had rejuvenation pools in Azure. This is more than I need.”
“Queen Izumi has finished dealing with all of the invaders. She sends her limitless thanks, though she regrets to inform you she cannot do it in person.”
“That’s not a problem. I figure a queen gets pretty busy.”
“She also instructed me to introduce you to our home. Azure is a large place and I am to show you around. I can give you a tour of the city when you are ready.”
“I’m ready!” Kailani pushed herself up from the water. Her wet figure reminded Clayton of just what he’d missed out on. He sighed as he nodded to Mirella.
“All right,” he said. “Let’s go see Azure.”
~ ~ ~
“Azure stretches for more than 30 kilometers in every direction. It is not large but the thousands of Azureans who live here are comfortable. There is not a citizen who is not well-taught, well-fed or well-trained. We have advanced greatly over the centuries. Art. Philosophy. Science and technology. Mathematics. We are not unlike those on the land. I am proud to call Azure my home though, as you witnessed for yourself, there are those who seek Azure to find riches.”
The underwater city of Azure had no streets, as everybody got by on foot. That meant there was more than enough space for all of the buildings. Shops and markets. Blacksmith forges and armorers. Potion sellers moving exotic goods.
Kailani examined one of the smaller vendors and saw all of the fish hanging for sale. “I guess you don’t have to wonder if any of this is fresh.”
Azureans walked about like ordinary citizens, though they did little to cover themselves up outside of trinkets made of jewels and shells. Clayton could appreciate their willingness to bare their bodies.
But what made Azure more interesting was up above and all around them. Instead of the familiar blue sun and sky, Clayton saw nothing but the sea. A large dome stretched high above and covered everything as far as Clayton could see.
“This dome we’re in,” he said. “It covers all of Azure?”
“The dome stretches all around us. Even beneath us. It is the reason we do not sink to the bottom of the sea or float to the surface. The dome also serves as protection, not just from invaders but the dangerous sea life.”
“Like living in a giant fish bowl…”
“It is quite safe in Azure. Threats only come from the outside. Queen Izumi has inherited a peace from her predecessors and maintained it for more than a decade since her rule began.”
“I suppose you have a lot to do with that, pointing your trident there at dissenters.”
“My weapon is mostly symbolic. I am properly trained though there are few occasions in which I am forced to use it, as you witnessed for yourself.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t get on your bad side.” He smiled at Mirella. The Azurean responded with a soft smile and bowed her head before turning to continue walking through the markets.
“Come… I will take you to the Central Square. You can partake in the view and enjoy the local delicacies.”
“Delicacies.” Kailani smacked her lips. “Now that’s why I’m here.”
They moved toward the center square, which was just like a park. The grass was greener and the trees seemed healthier. The Azurean children played with one another while their older counterpa
rts relaxed. It was a peaceful existence in Azure.
Mirella led them to a table. “Sit here. I will get you something to satisfy your appetites. A sampling of what my home has to offer.”
After Mirella was gone, Clayton looked around. He’d gotten some of attention from the Azureans.
“I wonder what they’re thinking,” Kailani said. “Freaked out? Scared?”
“I think they’re just curious. You and I are the only ones without blue skin like them. I wonder if any of them have seen someone like us.”
“Well, be sure not to leave a bad impression on them, BB. Just because they’re naked doesn’t mean they’re willing.”
“Don’t worry, Kailani. You’re the only one I plan on sleeping with at the moment.”
“Oh… You’re so sweet…” She stuck her tongue out and winked. “Now save your sweet talk.”
The Azurean returned with a large tray. She set it down on the table and Clayton saw all of the plates. The food wasn’t as strange as he expected it to be. Most of it resembled the fish and crustaceans it was made of. The smell alone filled his nostrils and made his stomach rumble.
“We filet and fry our fish,” Mirella pointed out. “Not unlike what you do on the surface. The shellfish are gutted and seasoned. Here is a raw sampling of oysters and clams. These fish are roasted over an open flame and prepared in the Azurean tradition. This soup is made from the broth of kelp, designed to give you maximum energy.”
“What about this?” Clayton asked as he held up a glass with a clear liquid. “This appears to be some sorta drink. It doesn’t smell like anything.”
“That is a glass of water.”
“Oh… Right.”
“Pfft!” Kailani laughed then grabbed one of the plates for herself. “I’m not waiting for ya, BB.”
Clayton picked at the fish between his fingers and chewed on it. The food was as fresh as it could be. Whether raw or cooked, the meat was tender and juicy. The flavors were succulent. Each bite was just as satisfying as the last.
Mirella sat up straight while she watched the two of them dive into their meal.
