by Logan Jacobs
We all went to sleep early that night, along with the sun, since I wanted all of the women to get the best night’s sleep they possibly could. It wasn’t that I thought the training would be more rigorous than when Mira and I had taught them before, but I did know it would be more stressful, especially for the women who would train with Sela. The dragonkin woman was one of the best warriors we had, second only to Mira, but she also had a penchant for barking orders and coming off a little mean. I would know, since she’d ordered me around and kept me chained up for the first few days I was on the island. The deer women didn’t have quite the mental capacity for verbal assaults that I did, but I knew that wouldn’t stop Sela from using them.
In a way, it was probably a good thing the warrior’s words were always so biting. It had definitely contributed to a lot of learning for myself and some of the other dragon women, and it might be helpful to really kick the deer women’s perfect asses into gear.
When I woke up, my body was already excited and ready. I didn’t spend the first five minutes of my morning in a bleary, confused haze the way I normally did, and instead sprang straight out of the bed. I also scared the daylights out of Mira, who had been sound asleep next to me.
Not anymore, though.
“My gods, Ben!” she gasped as she sat bolt upright with a look of complete shock on her face. “You scared the dung out of me.”
“The correct term, my dear Mira, is ‘scared the shit out of me,’” I laughed. “And I’m sorry. I’m just excited. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for them to finally be ready for hand-to-hand combat?”
“Not so long that another five minutes of sleep would have killed you,” the warrior grumbled and flopped back down onto the bed.
But there was no way in hell I planned to let her fall back asleep, not when I was so wired I might as well have shot up an entire syringe full of caffeine.
“Uh-uh.” I shook my head and latched onto her smooth arm. “Up and at ‘em, soldier.”
“At what?” she sighed. “There is nothing out there. Nothing but sleep.”
Mira once again tried and failed to turn over and fall back asleep. My grip on her arm was ironclad, though, and I slowly dragged her out of the bed until she had no choice but to get up, unless she wanted to fall right on her ass.
“Alright, I am up,” Mira grumbled as she scratched the shaved side of her head and adjusted one of her many earrings. “I do not think I have had a solid night of sleep since I met you, Draco Rex.”
“I wonder why that would be?” I mused as I changed out of my nightclothes.
“I think you know why,” the warrior giggled and smacked my ass on her way to the bathroom behind us.
“What should we teach them first?” I called out to her. “Chokeholds? Punching? Stabbing?”
“As much as I would love to watch Sarayah stab something with all of that pent up anger she possesses, I believe it would be best to start with some punches,” Mira replied when she came back into the bedroom. “We should make sure they understand how to use their bodies for defense, first and foremost. There have been many times in battle where I was not quick enough to draw my weapon and had to resort to these.”
Mira held up two tightly closed fists and punched gently at the air to emphasize her point.
“Good plan,” I replied. “Breakfast, and then we meet in the town square in an hour. This is going to be a great day!”
Mira drank some simple coconut milk and ate a banana for breakfast, whereas I filled up on some eggs from the jungle birds, a slice of bacon from the boar meat, and multiple pieces of soft coconut bread dipped in the warm milk.
Jemma and Ainsley joined us halfway through, and when Ainsley stumbled into the kitchen, she looked like a total zombie.
“How are you feeling?” I grimaced as I watched her get a glass of clean water and take a few tiny sips.
“All I can say is I hope our baby does not feel half of what I currently feel,” the blonde laughed half-heartedly.
“I’m sure the kid doesn’t,” I reassured her. “Do you want to sit out of the training today? Mira and I can always catch you up another time.”
“No, thank you.” Ainsley shook her head, and a look of determination crossed her face. “I will train today, with the rest of my sisters.”
“Alright,” I conceded. “But let us know if you feel too sick at any time, alright?”
Ainsley nodded, but I knew the strawberry blonde well enough to know she wouldn’t actually keep to that promise. I’d have to keep my eyes on her and make sure she didn’t look like she was about to pass out at any point. I understood why she wanted to train with the rest of us, but it wasn’t worth it to put her or the baby’s health at risk.
We finished breakfast and headed to the town square, where Sela and the rest of the deer women were already gathered.
“Good morning, Draco Rex.” Sela clapped her hands together and flashed me a wicked grin. “I am ready to whip these women into shape.”
“Glad to hear it,” I chuckled.
At the same time, I caught both Jemma and Brenna cast a sideways glance at the gleeful Sela, and worry crossed their faces.
“Let’s all split into three groups,” I called out. “The first will go with me, the second with Mira, and the last will go with Sela.”
Both Brenna and Jemma managed to take their places in my group, but Theora and Sarayah were both with Sela. Then the three groups split off to take up space among the huts and in the grass behind them.
“Okay, ladies, line up, face me, and plant your feet a shoulder’s width apart,” I instructed them.
The group of deer women did as I said. Ainsley was in the back right corner, and I made sure to place myself somewhere I could see her easily. The blonde looked a little pale, but wore a look of grim determination, and I knew from experience that I wouldn’t be able to talk her out of this when she had that expression on her face.
“So, the first thing I want to show you is called a punch,” I said. “Now, one of the most important things with a punch is your form. First and foremost, never put your thumb inside your fist. I guarantee you will break it the second you make contact with anything, and that won’t be helpful in the middle of a fight. Now, the next thing is you want the power of the punch to come from your body, not just your arms.”
I showed them the right stance and how to throw the punch with a rotation of their body so their arms didn’t look like limp spaghetti as they tried to hit their targets. The women all practiced as I walked around the group and helped to perfect everyone’s form. Even in her tired state, Ainsley was still the absolute best at punching. She kept her back straight and her eyes straight forward as she rotated her back leg in and out with the swing of her punch.
“Good job, Ainsley.” I grinned at her, and this earned me a soft smile in return.
After the punches, I went over how to kick. The deer women were at an extreme advantage when it came to kicking. Not only were their legs super powerful and full of muscles from all the climbing and running they did, but they were way longer than any dragon woman’s or orc’s legs could ever hope to be. One well placed kick from the deer women could stop an orc in his tracks, and he’d never even get close to her.
“Always remember, aim for the balls,” I instructed while I walked amongst the group. “It’ll hurt like hell and almost definitely send your attacker to his knees. Then, you can come in with a spear, or bow and arrow, whatever you want.”
A few hours later, when the women were completely exhausted, we decided to call it quits for the day on hand-to-hand combat. The next day, I planned to split into the same groups and work with our new spears, but for now, the deer women were all clearly ready to drop.
Still, the sore muscles and purple bags under the eyes of the women in my group were absolutely no comparison to the way Sela’s deer women looked. When I strode to the town center to reconvene with Sela and Mira, Nima rushed past, staggering, like she needed to climb int
o bed right now or she’d collapse in the middle of the village and not get back up until she’d slept for a million years.
“What did you do to them?” I asked Sela with a laugh.
“Train them.” The warrior shrugged. “Is that not what you asked me to do, Draco Rex?”
Sela batted her eyelashes at me innocently, though we both knew she was anything but.
“Oh, you completely wore them out, huh?” I sighed jokingly. “Will they even be able to get out of bed in the morning?”
“I promised any who didn’t rise at the crack of dawn would receive a bucket full of ice cold ocean water dumped right over their heads if they did not,” she replied with a smile. “So, I should hope, for their sakes, that they can get out of bed.”
“You are evil,” I snickered. “How’d they do?”
“The redhead is rather talented,” Sela replied and nodded in Nima’s direction. “And very fast. I think, with the right training, she might give Mira and I a run for our money, eventually.”
“That’s high praise,” I mused with raised eyebrows. “What about you, Mira?”
“They have a ways to go,” the jade-haired warrior said. “But, like with the training we have done before, I know they will get to where we need them to be. These women are nothing if not determined.”
“Very true.” I nodded. “Ainsley’s got really good form. I bet she’s going to be the best out of all of them when they’re done training.”
“Are we surprised?” Sela chuckled. “I would expect nothing less from a woman you chose as your mate. All of us can hold our own in a fight.”
“You’re right about that.” I grinned. “I am starving, though. Let’s go get some dinner.”
Despite the fact that the three of us had done almost no physical work, we were exhausted. Training others took a big mental toll, and I fell into bed and asleep almost immediately after dinner was over.
When I woke up the next morning with the dawn, the way Sela had instructed her group to do, I saw a pair of very wide, very innocent purple eyes over me.
“Good morning, Daddy,” Marella giggled.
I glanced down to see the kid had managed to crawl onto my chest and perch there while I was asleep. She had some serious ninja-like abilities, and I was suddenly very glad there were no boys around. If she was a teenager on earth, I had no doubt she’d have given me hell and snuck out of the house every single weekend.
“Good morning,” I muttered. “Why are you sitting on my chest?”
“I wanted to talk to you.” My daughter shrugged, swung a leg over, and sat criss crossed on the bed next to me. “Arrick and I want to train.”
“Arrick and you want to … ” I repeated her sentence blearily until her words actually lodged themselves in my brain. “No way.”
My words were a gut reaction, and not exactly reflective of how I felt, but the idea of my kids training to fight orc invaders in a battle was not my cup of tea. They could get themselves killed or kidnapped by the invaders if they weren’t careful.
“I knew you were going to say that,” Marella grumbled, and my little girl crossed her arms over her chest and gave me as much attitude as any sixteen-year-old. “But think about it, we should learn how to fight. What if something happens and Arrick and I are taken by the orcs? Or if they get into the castle and Mommy and Auntie Nerissa can’t fight them off? What are Arrick and I supposed to do, then?”
That gave me pause, as I was sure my kid already knew it would. Her words were smart and logical, but more than that, they hit home. Marella was right. The fact they were on this island meant they were susceptible to the orc invaders, just like the rest of us. And as much as I would love to believe there was an invisible bubble of protection that surrounded all of my kids, I knew this just wasn’t true.
So, I sighed and looked into Marella’s innocent purple eyes.
Except, they didn’t look quite so innocent right then. She had one eyebrow cocked as she waited for an answer I was pretty sure she already knew.
Gods, she looked just like Talise when she made that face.
“Alright, the two of you can train,” I relented. “You already knew I was going to say that, didn’t you?”
“Maybe.” She grinned as she launched herself into my arms. “Thank you, Daddy! I’m going to go find Arrick.”
I sighed as I watched her scramble off the bed and race out of my room. That girl was going to make me go gray prematurely, I just knew it.
Later that morning, I found Talise in the kitchen, along with Jemma and Mira. When I walked in, the healer stirred a pot of tea over the fire with an intense look in her clear blue eyes.
“Morning,” I said to them. “Talise, our daughter is quite the persuasive little devil.”
“Tell me about it,” the healer laughed. “What did she convince you to do for her this time?”
“She and Arrick are going to train with us,” I replied. “As long as that’s okay with you.”
“I think it’s a good idea.” Talise nodded. “Marella has been begging me to teach her how to sword fight for weeks, but I just do not have the expertise. Sela offered, of course, but I am not sure she is the right teacher for the children.”
“Oh, no, Sela is definitely not the right teacher for the children,” Mira snorted. “I can take one, Ben, and you can take the other. That way neither of us has to keep an eye on those two troublemakers together.”
“Good thinking.” I nodded.
We hurriedly ate breakfast, and toward the end of our meal, we heard a few screams of outrage echo throughout the village.
“I suppose some of the women did not wake up in time,” Jemma giggled. “Nima mentioned Sela’s threat to me. I am a little disappointed I have missed the show.”
“Trust me, where Sela is concerned, it won’t be the only show,” I laughed. “Let’s get down there before she gets bragging rights over us.”
Our second day of training went even better than the first. Sela’s group was, of course, already down in the village and well into their training when Mira and I arrived along with the rest of the deer women.
I watched as the warrior’s light blue head bobbed in and out of the crowd of women, and she ducked and weaved as she went so as to avoid any wayward spears. Sela was one of the few women I knew would never get hurt, even in a crowd of fifteen women who held sharp spears in their hands for the first time.
I decided to take my group down to the beach today. I wanted them to have a change of scenery, be a little more spread out from the rest of the women, and also be able to move just a little bit easier. The sand also offered a softer surface for any falls that might happen.
My kids dashed down to the beach by my side, with their two dragons not far behind. The entire day, I watched as they struggled to keep their eyes away from the ocean. I knew the two would have liked nothing more than to dive into the crystal blue waves and have a day of fun among the fishes, but they were true warriors now. They kept their minds occupied with the training, and they never once tried to go into the water.
I’d let them have a treat at the end of the day and swim with them for a little while, but for now, it was time to work on spear wielding techniques.
I started out with the same moves I’d taught Jemma on the first day I’d made the spears. As the day progressed, the moves became slightly more complex, but what I really began to focus on was defensive measures.
Surprisingly, Jemma was a master at defense. The deer women had a slight advantage, since she was just a bit smaller than everyone else, but it didn’t matter who I paired her up with. She would dodge, weave, duck, and jump over every single attack that came her way.
For the second day in a row, we ended training just before the sun began to set.
“Go get some rest, everyone,” I said to the deer women with a giant, almost dopey grin on my face. “You all did great. We may just beat those orc suckers yet.”
“Thank you, Ben.”
“Have a good n
ight, Ben.”
The deer women echoed their praise and well wishes as they trudged off back to their huts to wash themselves, eat some of Hali’s delectable dishes, and fall into bed.
I stayed behind for a few minutes to play in the ocean waves with my children before I sent them off to bed, as well.
Then I headed up to the guard tower to take the night watch. Theora was already up there, since she’d taken the day watch. She’d have a one-on-one session with Mira in the morning to make up for what she’d missed.
“You are officially relieved, m’lady,” I told her with a dramatic, sweeping bow.
“Thank you, Ben,” the brunette deer woman sighed as she stood up. “There is nothing to report. No strange ghost ships have appeared on the horizon.”
“Good.” I nodded.
Theora squeezed my bicep as she slipped past me and then gracefully climbed down the ladder.
I sat down on the smooth bamboo platform and snuggled my back against the wall, ready for a long night. The moon had just started to make itself known in the pink and orange sky, and it hung low just above the horizon line.
I was only able to appreciate its majestic beauty for a few minutes, though, because as I examined the craters and peaks in its barely visible surface, a wavy, ghostly white object appeared in front of it.
The ghost ships.
“Fuck,” I hissed as I shot to my feet, and my heart pounded in my chest as the other two ships popped up next to the first one.
All three were back.
Chapter Thirteen
I watched the ships for a moment as they sailed across the choppy ocean water, and from up in the guard tower, I could see them much more clearly.
The ships were truly massive. They looked like something straight out of a nineteenth century war movie, where all of the troops are aboard the battle ships as they offload cannonball after cannonball and sail around in all sorts of crazy shapes while they do battle with one another. I could tell the size of these vessels, about three hundred feet, would easily outgun the little orc battle ship we’d commandeered.
