by H. D. Gordon
“That was… uneventful,” I said.
Before the words had even left my mouth, the scene before us changed, coming into focus as though the lenses in our eyes were being adjusted. We stood in silence, blinking as a bustling fishing town came into focus, complete with old taverns, docks and various other shacks. The water that I’d glimpsed in the distance was part of a large bay, and beyond that, the open and endless sea. A couple impressive ships were docked, their tall masts striking up at the blue sky and serving as a landing for several seabirds.
Above, the seabirds cried out, and the air smelled so strongly of salt and fish that I found my sensitive nose twitching. The breeze was more intense on this side of the border as well, carrying in off the water and seeping through the fabric of my clothes, making me suppress a shiver
Glancing over at my companions, I almost laughed at how out of place we all looked, with Asha in her outfit of thick leather, and Vega still wearing his armor and mask. To the right, there was a small pasture with a flock of sheep that took one look at me and scooted to the opposite end of the field. To our left, a path that crossed an arched bridge and led down to the dusty streets and docks leading out over the bay.
My companions and I headed there. When we passed over the bridge, I saw that the people moving about in the town were all short males. On average, they were three quarters my height, and I was not a particularly tall Wolf. They hobbled about over the docks, all wearing the same old trousers and suspenders, hats with curved brims and shoes that shined brightly in sharp contrast with the rest of the ensemble.
I cast a glance over at Asha, and without taking her eyes off the short men, she leaned over and whispered, “Leprechauns.”
I managed to school my expression into neutrality, but on the inside, I wanted to gape like an unworldly idiot. I wondered just how many creatures that I’d been reading about in Mina’s library I would encounter on this journey, and how I would be different at the end of it.
Because if there was one thing I knew about new experiences, it was that they had a way of altering a person. I could only hope it would be for the better.
“They’re some tricky little bastards,” Asha said, pulling me out of my thoughts as we stepped off the arched stone bridge and into the little town itself. “Keep an eye on your pockets,” she added, and her dark gaze flicked to me briefly before returning to our surroundings. “And your words, for that matter.”
I gave a single nod in understanding, not liking how every head turned our way as we moved through the town. The little males stopped in their tracks and stared outright, thick brows lowered deeply over their green eyes, weathered faces scrunched in either confusion or suspicion or both. One of the little bastards even winked at me as I passed by, wiggling his long tongue in a suggestive manner and grabbing himself grotesquely, gold teeth flashing in his mouth as he did so.
As he did this, Vega surprised me by turning his masked face in the Leprechaun’s direction. Though we could not see his expression, the tilt of his head made it obvious that he was looking at the little man, and the Leprechaun’s eyes went as wide as saucers before he quickly scuttled away.
Asha and I exchanged a look at this, but neither of us commented.
“This place looks as good as any,” Asha said, approaching one of the larger taverns close to the water. It was just a two-story wooden building that looked as though it had seen better days, with a wooden sign hanging on chains and swaying in the sea breeze that read: Green Tavern.
We followed Asha inside, and Vega had to duck just to fit through the doorway. The interior of the place was dim and smelled strongly of alcohol and sweaty bodies. The ceiling was just high enough that Vega could stand up, but the top of his masked helmet nearly brushed against the beams.
There was a long bar on the eastern end of the room, behind which a female version of the Leprechauns we’d seen strolling in was filling glasses with foamy beverages. The rest of the space was filled with wooden booths and tables, where patrons of various sorts laughed and drank and cursed at one another in languages I couldn’t begin to guess at.
When my strange party of three entered, the same reaction we’d gotten on the streets received us. Every head turned our way.
Asha pretended not to notice the ogling looks we were receiving, and she sauntered up to the bar in the swaggering way she had, claiming a seat on a stool and leaving Vega and I to follow. I claimed a stool beside her and saw that the Valac warrior had decided to remain over by the exit. He folded his thick, armored arms over his chest and stood as still as a statue staring silently out at the room.
The female Leprechaun behind the bar hobbled over to us, and I saw that there was a ledge behind the bar on which she stood in order to see over the surface.
“What can I get ye, ladies?” she asked, speaking the common tongue. Her voice was high-pitched and heavily accented, the words lilted and staccato.
Asha reached into her jacket and discretely slid something over the surface of the bar. When she removed her hand, I saw that two gold coins glimmered there, but I only got a glimpse of them before the bartender snatched them up with lightning fast, sausage-like fingers. The single glance she cast around the room revealed that the rumors about Leprechauns and gold likely held true.
The Leprechaun raised her thick eyebrows, the question in them obvious.
“We need someone who can get us across the Seventh Sea,” Asha said, her voice just above a whisper.
The Leprechaun grinned, revealing a mouth of gold teeth. “Well, then, mi lady, ye come to the right place.”
11
We drank, and waited.
There was nothing else to do, and I was tired from all of the physical activity we’d done in the past day and a half, anyway. Eventually, the patrons of the tavern went back to their revelry, the novelty of our appearance apparently having worn off.
Vega continued to stand over by the door, unmoving and silent. I nursed a glass of foamy ale and took stock of those around us, sniffing discretely at the air.
“What kinds of creatures are these?” I asked Asha, my curiosity winning out over my desire to avoid one of her signature you’re-not-the-brightest-flame-on-the-candle look she always gave me. I sniffed at the air again. “I don’t think I’ve ever come across their scent before.”
Asha snorted, taking a sip from her own drink before casting a look around the tavern. “I doubt that you would have,” she said, “because they’re human.”
I nearly spit out my drink, but managed to swallow the bitter liquid instead. “Human?” I said.
Asha smirked, giving me the aforementioned expression. “Dead Pirates,” she said. “Though that is just a name. They’re not actually dead. Just cursed.”
“Cursed humans?” I said.
“Mmm,” Asha replied, wiping the back of her hand over her mouth. “The most dangerous of creatures to ever exist, despite their lack of magical abilities.”
“I thought humans kept to their own realm,” I said, recalling some history I’d read in the library not too long ago. “That the Gods separated them from the supernaturals to keep us from killing each other.”
If I wasn’t mistaken, Asha looked almost impressed. “They did,” she answered, “but the Dead Pirates made a deal with a Sea Demon, and were cast out of their own realm, never to return. Now, they wander the seas between the realms, not really a part of one world or another.”
I reminded myself not to stare at the people in the tavern. They looked so normal, like they could be any Wolf or Vamp or Magic User, save for the fact that their scents had a unique flavor that was all their own. They were mostly male, and dressed in sea-stained jackets and trousers, with black boots that were well worn and long blades hanging about their waists. In the corner, I spotted what I thought might be a group of females, but could not be sure for their tri-cornered hats and baggy clothing.
“That sounds terribly tragic,” I said, and didn’t realize I’d spoken the words aloud until
Asha snorted.
“You think curses are supposed to be jolly?” she asked.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “You said they made a deal with a Demon… a Sea Demon… Do you know him?”
Asha looked at me like she might smack me, and I braced myself for a blow that didn’t come. “Why? Because all Demons must know each other? That’s racist, Rukiya dearest.”
I blinked, surprised that I’d offended her. “I didn’t mean it like that,” I said.
Asha sipped her drink, angling away from me in a silent indication that she was done indulging my questions. “Whatever,” she mumbled.
Splendid, I thought. Our relationship was coming along swimingly, then.
We didn’t speak anymore for a while, and I was just getting ready to run out of patience and ask what the hell exactly we were waiting for when the door to the tavern opened, and a female pirate flanked by two other females strolled into the place as if they owned it.
In the same manner as the eyes had assessed my group’s arrival, all the gazes in the room went to this new addition. My nose twitched as a familiar scent filled the small space, a scent that a Wolf recognizes in any creature, no matter their origins.
Fear.
My brows lowered as I studied the female pirates anew. My instincts told me the one in the center was the leader. I didn’t know much about humans, but any female who could incite fear in her male counterparts just by entering the room was someone who had my keen interest.
The female pirate captain moved with a smooth grace that suggested she was lighter on her feet than most might suspect. Knee-high, black boots with short heels clicked over the wooden floor of the tavern, and form-fitting trousers were tucked into them. On top, she wore a sharp-shouldered dark blue coat with duel sets of gold buttons running down the front, flaring slightly at the hips and concealing her feminine shape. Her hair was long, dark, and dreaded, her skin a light brown that might have been deepened from hours in the sun on the deck of a ship, and a face that was as beautiful as the fabled mermaids that lured unwitting sailors to their deaths.
“Our ride has arrived,” Asha said, draining the last of her beer and plunking another coin on the bar in payment. The bartender snatched up the gold piece as swiftly as she had the first, then hobbled back to the other end of the bar to fill the order of another.
I raised a brow but otherwise refrained from comment. When Asha pushed away from the bar and approached the table in the rear of the room where the female pirates had joined their companions, I had little choice but to follow.
To my ultimate surprise, Asha bowed at the waist upon greeting the women. In the time I’d known the Demon, I’d never seen her offer respectful pleasantries to anyone. My eyes went back to the dreaded leader, and I found that her light brown eyes were already fixed on me.
“Rukiya Moonborn,” the pirate said.
I blinked, unable to hide my shock and confusion. “You know me?” I said, still holding the female’s steady gaze.
“Ay,” she replied in an accent that could have been from anywhere, or nowhere, I supposed. “I know you.”
“How?” I asked.
“Because of that map in your pocket,” she said, nodding toward the exact spot on my jacket where the magical scroll the Erl Queen had given me was tucked. “It belongs to me, and I intend to have it back.”
There was the sound of metal and steel sliding out of scabbards, and before I could blink again, ten female pirates were surrounding us, the tips of their slightly curved blades held poised in our direction.
The female pirate said, “I’m Captain Aryna Amadika, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
I swallowed, my eyes leaving hers for just a moment to glare at the blade hovering right between my eyes.
I feigned an unimpressed look, and replied, “The pleasure is all mine.”
The tension in the tavern was suddenly so thick that one of the pirates could have sliced through it with their blades. Asha and I held utterly still, both of us understanding perfectly well that any sudden movements might lead to a swift disemboweling.
I stole a glance at Vega, who was still over by the tavern door, four of the female pirates brandishing their own blades at him. The Valac warrior did not move an inch, but something told me he was as unimpressed with the threat as I was pretending to be.
Asha was also cool, and I wouldn’t have told her, but I admired the defiance it must have taken when she actually rolled her eyes at the pirate captain.
“We didn’t take that map from you,” she said slowly, “we traded for it. Fair and square.”
Captain Amadika’s lips twisted into a sneer, and I wondered at how a person could be both beautiful and terrifying in a single expression. “Oh, I have no doubt that’s true,” she replied. “Made a deal with that Erl Queen bitch, is that right?”
Neither Asha nor I answered, but whatever looks were on our faces must’ve given us away, because the pirate captain only laughed without humor.
“Of course you did,” she answered for us, and leaned forward in her seat, brown eyes still boring into mine. She held out a gloved hand and flexed her fingers. “So why don’t you just make this easy, and hand it over?”
Now it was my turn to twist my lips in a sneer. We needed the map to find the City of the Seers, free the Dogs, and save Adriel. No way was I handing it over. One of the Gods themselves could have been making the same demand, and my answer would have been no different. And, Asha was right; I had made a trade for it, fair and square.
“I’m not handing over shit,” I said.
A couple of the pirates holding up their swords cursed and spat at my feet, but the captain raised her hand to calm them. She had not dropped my gaze, and the fact that she was able to meet mine despite her being a mere human, and I a Wolf, afforded her some begrudged respect in my estimation.
“Easy,” she told her band of sneering women. To me, she said, “We will slit your throat and toss you in the bay for the fish to feast on your flesh.”
This threat was not taken lightly on my part, but there was still no way I was handing over my map. The bitches would have to pry it from my dead fingers.
“I’m aware that you will try,” I replied, and allowed my eyes to flare Wolf-gold, a silent threat that the captain only smirked at.
Beside me, Asha flexed her fingers, and small bolts of lightning began to flash between them.
Around us, the tavern had gone utterly silent. No one seemed to breathe or move.
I raised my hands, still holding the captain’s steady brown gaze, trying for one last shot at diplomacy. “It doesn’t have to go down like this,” I said.
“You’re right, Miss Moonborn,” the captain said. “It doesn’t. Just give me my map.”
I shook my head. “I can’t do that,” I replied.
And no sooner had the words left my mouth before all hell broke loose.
12
The female pirates slashed with their swords, and while they were clearly practiced with their weapons, as humans, they were no match for my supernatural speed and strength.
I sent the first one that attacked sailing halfway across the room, gripping her by the collar and tossing her with ease. Asha raised her hands and blasted another two back with twin bolts of lightning, and their bodies went rolling over the top of the table, where the captain sat watching.
The next female managed to draw a line of blood from my shoulder before my backhand rattled her teeth in her head.
They kept coming, and I batted them away again and again.
Still, we were outnumbered, and as the other pirates continued to converge on us, it became apparent that this would not be an easy fight.
“Kill them,” the captain said, still seated, sipping from her foamy glass as though she were simply enjoying the weather on a fine day.
This angered me even more than her flunkies, who were still trying to impale me with their swords, and I shifted into my Wolf form out of rage more than anyth
ing else.
Asha was still blasting the pirates with her lightning magic, and Vega stood over by the door, watching the fight. The pirates who had been holding their swords up at him had abandoned him when it became clear that he wasn’t going to intervene, and I told myself that if we made it out of this, I was going to punch the bastard right in his mask for his inaction. What good was having him on this journey if he wasn’t going to step in when we needed him?
I was much, much larger in my Wolf form than I was in my mortal form, so much so that the tip of my head on four legs was as tall as the top of the humans who stood on two. Though she hid it well behind years of stoicism that had likely been hard fought to win, there was nothing the pirate captain could do to keep the scent of fear from leaking out of her at the sight of me as my beast.
My ears were pressed flat to my head, my dark brown fur raised between my haunches. I loosed a growl that would have made a lesser human wet herself, ropes of saliva hanging from my massive jaws as I met Captain Amadika’s stare in open challenge.
Her pirate companions were not so bold and brave, and they scrambled back from me when I turned my head their way and snapped my jaws a couple times, eyes glowing as bright as duel moons.
Beside me, Asha burst out into taunting laughter. “Who’s afraid of the big bad Wolf?” she said, and I made a note to tell her later on how unhelpful this was once I had mortal vocal cords again.
For now, I turned toward the pirate captain, my bushy tail held high and my sharp teeth still bared in anger. As I stalked toward her, the captain raised her chin, her hand tightening around the handle of her own weapon, her eyes defiant, but the smell of her fear ticking up steadily as I approached.
“Ready to chat now, Captain?” Asha asked, the smug smile on her face making another low growl rumble up my throat.
