Chapter 50 - The Great Serpent

  Aki sucked in a breath. The edge of the world… what is that girl thinking?

  Waves of mutters rippled along The Harpoon's crew. About a hundred men on deck, and a hundred slaves below rowing endlessly. It had been quite the task staying out of sight while chasing after Eksa. A storm had come at last, one where The Harpoon would have a greater mobility advantage over her prey. This was to be the moment to strike, but she's led us straight to the edge of all maps…

  Lightning streaked across the sky. Drops of rain still pelted the deck. Aki raised her monocular, frowning thereafter. The girl's ship was caught in a whirlpool, only it wasn't natural. The legends…

  No. Those were fishermen's tales. Stories made up in moments of boast or to scare children. Tales my father once told me. But the nearer she approached, the more she could not deny her eyes. There was something large in the waters and it had trapped Eksa's ship in a spiral.

  Aki let her nails dig into her palms. Perhaps if she stayed still, she would not need to kill Eksa at all. Perhaps that monster below would do the job for her. And I'm just going to watch while she dies…

  The men's eyes turned to her as they came to see what she'd seen. “We continue forward to complete the mission,” Aki said, her voice deep and full of command. The flames of a soldier's duty filled her breast as she sought to fulfill her given orders. Only, she did not go forth to fulfill Crow's demands, but that of her own heart.

  ***

  Control of the helm was wrenched from Aaron's sweaty palms. It spun with a will of its own. The ship was caught in a vortex that gained in speed with every blinking breath. Dozens lost their footing and slammed down on deck. Desperate mutters rose in volume, a single word standing out from all the rest. 'Captain'. Aaron looked to Eksa as well, spreading apart his feet to maintain balance, but even she seemed at a loss. And amidst it all, a slow rising reality gave birth to a fear he hadn't felt since facing off against Orion all those years ago. The fear of death inevitable. I can't swim…

  New enemies be damned. Will we even survive this?

  “Eksa!” Aaron cried, speaking every deckhand's pleas aloud. She backed away from the ship's edge, shoulders trembling. Aaron had said nothing when Eksa set out on this journey. He hadn't the right. He'd hurt her. Eksa needed time to herself. Ruling the waters had never been her goal, but his. He'd been pushing it on her, Aaron realized, as a means of obtaining power for himself. As a means of skirting around his own responsibilities as heir to the throne of Xenaria, while denying he'd ever been trying to attain it.

  Eksa's true dreams lay in the unknown. She had an adventurer's heart, innocent and curious, seeking the truths of myths and legends most would dismiss as rambling nonsense.

  Well, she's discovered something alright, and it's about to Flaming kill us all. Aaron scoured his memories, pulling at something that was there, but also not. It was like wading through a swamp for a thumb sized gem. This creature was something known to his ancestors, but not something that had induced a strong enough emotion for him to recall it, nor something deemed as important knowledge.

  Eksa met his eyes —something she'd been avoiding for the past cycle. Her brows were tilted down. She mouth 'I'm sorry'. Aaron felt hope die with those words. He —and everyone else— was now relying on her and that was all she had to say for it. He ran over to her, losing his balance and falling flat on his face mere feet before her.

  “Aaron!” she said, kneeling down with a hand outstretched.

  He grasped her hand, expecting her to pull him up, but Eksa went rigid and clenched her eyes, her disgust at his touch a stab in the chest. “No,” she mumbled, though squeezing his hand with her own.

  Aaron let go. “Eksa, you don't have to look at me. But hear me out at least. This isn't your fault. But if any of us are going to see the light of day tomorrow, it will be because you've gotten us out. Because you are—”

  She covered her ears, eyelids still shut.

  Aaron swallowed. Heavens. What have I done to her?

  The ship moved even faster. Eksa slipped and fell on top of Aaron. He held her there out of instinct, one arm on her waist and the other to the back of her head. She squirmed uncontrollably. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It's my fault,” she moaned.

  “No its n—”

  “It's all my fault. I shouldn't have gone to your room. I should have respected your privacy. I should have—”

  “Eksa! Look at me. For what happened that night, I am to blame. Me and me only. What I did to you—” This close, with their faces mere breaths apart, Aaron felt he got his first true look at the woman in his arms. Flames she's beautiful. And I ruined her. He felt a growing lump in his throat. She was there, in his arms, but he felt so distanced from her then. She's not mine, he realized. “What I did to you can't ever be forgiven. But this isn't about any of that. This is here, out nowhere where everyone and everything we've built together faces the jaws of death. You, Eksa, are the captain of this ship, and the Red Serpent of Kovar,” he whispered, cupping her cheek in his hand. His gaze flickered to those lush red lips parted just a fraction. “You've stared defeat in the eye and then spat in it. You're not one to quit. So please, give them orders. They will obey.”

  She was stiff still, her discomfort painfully obvious. But she managed a nod and slowly picked herself up. “I think the creature means to sink us. It will come to a sudden stop and the momentum will carry us into those pillars of rocks.”

  “And how do we stop it?” Aaron asked.

  “All I can think of is closing all sails and predicting the moment of launch to unfurl them, hoping that throws off its aim and we narrowly avoid crashing into a stalagmite. After that, we'll have to slowly navigate our way back out to open waters to retreat.”

  And while doing that, we'll end up sitting ducks for the creature to emerge from below, or for whoever that is behind us to lay waste to us with their own artillery. Aaron didn’t point that out to Eksa. He reiterated her orders to raise all sails and assured the crew that their captain had a plan. No one seemed convinced, the ship spinning even faster, but they obeyed.

  “Why do you suppose the creature hasn't already made its appearance if it's much larger than the ship? Or even tipped us over for that matter,” Viper whispered from the Umbra.

  “I don't know,” Aaron said. He glanced northward, seeing that other ship far nearer now. “Perhaps deterrence is its intent rather than killing. Might be that it seeks to protect something, and would rather us live to tell of its strength. That, or perhaps it fears our artillery.” Dillon's ballistae were not the naval issue weapons that the Reaver had received, but they were artillery weapons nonetheless. They'd do damage to a sea creature given the opportunity.

  “Whatever the case,” Viper said, “if it appears, well, I don't know. I do not recall anything from my kind's Spoken History. Then, my da died before he could tell and teach me many things. Dusk approaches. I can't shadow walk on water, nor can I swim, but at least Jack will be made stronger once the sun sets.”

  Aaron nodded. Viper already had free reign of movement with a grey sky. It was darkening further now, the sun sinking toward the west. He helped with the ropes, raising all sails. Jack at last decided to come down too, apparently deciding the peril was great enough to warrant his aid.

  “Very amusing situation we've gotten ourselves in,” he said, smiling wide with his hands behind his back. He seemed unaffected by the lack in proper footing. Some (many) uttered curses at him, seeing him all leisurely. Insults they'd never dare utter had they not been in distress.

  “Amusing isn't quite the word I'd use,” Aaron said. He flexed his muscles and tugged on a thick rope.

  “Oh no? Pray tell! What word would you use?”

  “Flames, Jackrin. Now isn't the time!” Aaron spread his legs wider for balance. Jack shrugged and grabbed hold of the rope as well. The wind was in their faces, making their hair fly and clothes billow. Aaron's muscles burned as time passed. He felt his grip begin to slip.

  “Release the sails!” Eksa cried.

  Aaron grit his teeth as he loosed his hold on the rope he held, letting it drag up as its rough surface brushed against his naked palms. He had to clutch it every so often to not be thrown aside by the ship's rotating momentum. His hand burned from friction and the skin of his palms began tearing away. Screams ensued from crewmates. Some let go of the ropes and were tossed about on deck like ragdolls before gliding into the air and disappearing below the depths. Aaron clenched shut his eyes and screamed with a wide open mouth. Before him, he could hear Jack wheezing.

  A fierce gust struck the bow, greeting all on board with a furious force. Aaron was made to grasp the ropes with all his might to stop from being knocked off his feet. The rope no longer slid, all sails fully unfurled. Aaron opened his eyes, regretting it immediately as a torrent of sea spray blasted forth from the caravel's unbelievable speed. Salt water slapped his face and entered his gaping mouth. He coughed and gagged. His eyes stung and his vision blurred.

  The ship eventually slowed. There was no powerful crash like the one Eksa feared. Aaron rubbed his face, squinting at his immediate surrounds.

  “And that,” Jackrin was saying, “is why you wear a mask.”

  Aaron spat at his friend's feet. When in Ashes did he wear it? He fell to his knees, struggling not to cry. His palms were red, and bleeding. Flesh showed like freshly cut meat hung from a butcher's hooks. He could see the individual threads of his muscle tissue. As well as see droplets of clear saltwater on them. Every millimeter of surface area felt as if they'd been stabbed by needles. Jack's hands were bleeding too, but he didn't seem to care, smearing them over his damp white clothes. If he made a pained expression, it was hidden beneath his mask. A droplet rolled down from the purple eye slit like a teardrop. Aaron shook his head. Performative to the end, this one. Even when he might not mean it.

  “And that,” Viper muttered from below, “is why you wear gloves. Or just hide in the Umbra.”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Aaron groaned. “Not you too.” Jack was a bad influence. Now was hardly the time to be mucking around. Aaron pulled himself to his feet. He looked around to see most of Eksa's crewmembers crying over their torn hands or massaging what had to be damaged bones. Several of them had perished, fed to the wind by the merciless creature. Eksa herself was on her knees, clutching tight the wheel of the helm. She looked up at him, managing a smile. They'd avoided being dashed against the stalagmites entirely, instead being sent the opposite way toward open waters.

  For a moment, all was calm. The immediate danger had been avoided, and the ship was clear of the rocks and facing open waters again.

  The brief lull ended with a brilliant crash that sounded of thunder too near. The ship that'd followed crashed into Dillon's midsection, tearing it in half. Those close to the edge were caught in the maelstrom of splintered wood flying a dozen different directions. Some fell in the cracks made, only to be doomed below before they could scream.

  Aaron and his friends were taken off their feet, but his fear came not for his own life, but Eksa's instead. He reached an arm toward her as he felt himself fall. But she was on the other half of the now torn ship.

  Cries of battle erupted as Crow's hunters boarded both halves of Dillon.

  ***

  “Shuari's charred corpse,” Aki cursed as she picked herself off the floor. The impact had thrown her forward a few feet, and she'd scraped her knees for it. Air was pulled from her breast and her mouth went dry as the realization of what she'd done struck her.

  She's rammed Eksa's ship just as Crow had asked of her, and now the rogues aboard The Harpoon descended upon both halves of torn ship to kill every survivor. What happened? The girl's ship was suddenly thrown in our way and then…

  No time to think. She pulled the spear from its straps and followed after her men if only to stop them. It was no use ordering them now, not when the fervor of bloodlust clouded their thoughts.

  ***

  Aaron's own cries hurt his eardrums as he cut passed several thugs barring his path toward Eksa. He could see her, standing with shaky legs and cutlass in hand. Severum and the Foura twins were all that stood before her and a dozen pirates, with more yet descending.

  Aaron rage magnified as he saw Aki come down from the the enemy ship to bolster their numbers. That woman… So she's here for vengeance, is she? Butter Knife fed him more strength and he channeled it into his legs, leaping over the wreckage, as might a full blood Vampire, to land on the other half of Dillon with an ungraceful crash. He had no control over the amount of strength needed to jump and land, and instead fell forward, falling on his shoulder and rolling a half dozen feet.

  Aaron groaned as he picked himself up, the world spinning around him. All he saw of his attacker was bare chest marked by scars and tattoos before a fist slammed into his face and sent him back to the boards. White clouded Aaron's vision. He barely caught sight of a cutlass coming down toward him when a spear slammed into the attacker's side, skewering him like her were a kebab.

  Aaron quickly sat up, noticing Aki's hands void of their most favored weapon. The barkeep sneered his way, as if lamenting having saved him. That won't earn you a thank you, Aaron thought hotly, returning the sneer with a glare of his own. Regardless of his feelings, he recognized her as the strongest fighter present, and cut his way toward her with the aid of his Chronary blade.

  “Your welcome,” Aki hissed, pressing her back toward his as more rogues descended the enemy vessel and came to surround them. Traitor some among them hissed, pointing their weapons at the barkeep.

  “Burn to Ash,” Aaron said. “You came to kill us.”

  “I changed my mind,” Aki said, drawing her shamshir and taking a stance.

  Aaron took measure of Eksa. The pirates were focused on him and Aki rather than her for the moment. “Changing your mind after you've doomed us already. You better hope to die, woman, or I'll kill you myself if we live through this.”

  “My pleasure brat. We never did settle our score.”

  Aaron bent low to lunge at his foes when the creature from below erupted from the waters. A foul cry covered welcomed the dimming light of day —a cry come from three reptilian heads. Their scales shimmered a royal blue, their eyes were orbs of gold with black discs for pupils, and their fangs made Jack's canines look like an insect's in comparison. All three heads pointed to the sky, mouths gaping wide, revealing a vicious pink inside lined with sharp and noxious teeth. Another shriek escaped its chords —a horrid high pitched sound that made everyone close their ears.

  “LEAVE!”

  “Did that thing just speak?” Aki asked.

  Aaron wasn't sure, nor did he think he cared. That thing looked angry, and that was about all he needed to know.

  The rogues trembled at the sight of it, while the quicker witted ones retreated to their own ship to man their artillery weapons. All three heads stared with malice, nostrils flaring, steam come from their insides. Steam when the weather is hardly cold. Heavens have it that creature can't breathe fire.

  Ballistae were fired at the creature from aboard The Harpoon, the enemy ship. They struck true, but the scales of the beast were thick, deflecting two of the four bolts fired. The other two struck its underside, where the flesh was softer.

  All three heads shrieked in unison. The pirates aboard The Harpoon cheered, but it was far from over, Aaron knew.

  “It's real,” Eksa muttered, slowly walking forward. “It's really real.”

  Aaron sheathed his blade and gripped her by the shoulders. There wasn't any time to be gentle. “Yes, it's real. Now snap out of it. This ship is done for. Order everyone to climb on to that one before that thing decides to eat us all!”

  But even as Aaron said those words, the great serpent heads rose higher out of the water, their shadow engulfing all. All three heads descended, jaws wide and ready to bite. Two of the heads were aimed at The Harpoon while the third aimed for the half of Dillon where Jack and Viper were.

  Those two would be safe, surely, Aaron thought.

  Of course, Jack, ever the showman, ran straight into the approaching jaw of the serpentine head, laughing whilst throwing knives into its open mouth. The creature jerked back, but not before Jack got a hold on to one of its teeth, being pulled into open air by the motion of the serpent.

  Aaron felt a heinous stab at the jester's folly, cursing with his mouth whilst losing his sanity to constant worry, all while that fool of a friend laughed while spinning about in the air like ragdoll thrown high.

  ***

  So that's what flying feels like.

  Jahck saw the sky. Then the sea. Then the sky again. And then the sea again. He was spinning in air, rising higher and higher until he went no further. Then he began to fall, cackling all the while, twisted dagger in one hand and trusty knife in the other. It really was quite the conundrum. He didn't know how to swim. And here he was on the verge of crashing into the sea.

  He considered a hundred options as he descended, twisting this way and that, feeling the wind's caress at every part of his body. He came dangerously close to falling back inside an open serpentine jaw, barely twisting out of the way. With an awkward effort, he stabbed at the scales with his twisted dagger. The Artifact proved sharper than the scales were hard, plunging inside and bringing Jack's fall to a sudden halt that twisted his arm in a painful manner. He laughed the pain away. Didn't fall into the sea at least.

  The great creature hissed. Forked tongues slipped out of all three heads. Multiple bolts were embedded into two necks. But given the size of the creature, those would be nothing more than flesh wounds.

  The sun had sunk beneath the horizon and Jahck felt his strength grow. The third hear writhed, trying to shake him off. Jahck did as wanted of him, pulling his dagger out and letting the creature toss him into the air again. His fear was dulled with how much stronger he felt at night. He blitzed through the air, laughing, and collided with the underside of one of three necks. Pain from the impact reverberated across every bone in his body. Breath stolen, his laughter was cut off. He began slipping off the slimy scales.

  With a soundless scream, Jahck plunged the scarlet blade of his twisted dagger into the beast, hanging on for dear life. The creature cried its screeches made his ears ring. But he held on, letting the dagger feed off the beast's blood while hacked at the plated scales with his knife, only marring their vibrant blue lustre.

  “LEAVE HUMANS,” the creature seemed to say. It swayed its three necks back and forth to dodge a round of bolts fired at it from the enemy ship. Jahck could faintly hear Eksa screaming orders to board that ship amidst the sounds of the sloshing seawater and the hissing of the beast.

  An enemy vessel with a hundred men out to kill us. The thought of it excited the mad jester. This shall be a performance worth remembering.

  The neck from which Jahck hung started to twist about like a tornado. His dagger began slipping out. A thick line of blood rolled out from where the wound had been made. Seawater splashed everywhere with the beast's violent movements. Jahck's torn hands stung. He grit his teeth and pressed himself against the slippery scales, pulling out his dagger and stabbing at a different point.

  The snake head stopped moving. For a moment, Jahck thought he'd won. That perhaps he'd struck a nerve, dumbing this head, or that his dagger had consumed enough blood to kill the beast entirely. But the world around him grew dark —darker than it already was. His senses were in disarray for him to have noticed it sooner. Another head was rounding around to him to pick him off with its teeth.

  Jahck swung his feet back, straining his shoulder further with the burden of supporting his entire body. His momentum went the other way and his body swayed forward. He pulled out the dagger in that moment, summersaulting in the air. Beneath him was the sea. Jahck sacrificed the knife in his right hand, letting it disappear below and grasped at one of the bolts embedded in the snake's hide. The iron shaft was pulled out of the wound, unable to bear Jahck's weight, but it had slowed his downward momentum enough for him to again stab at the snake with his dagger.

  All three heads shrieked at the same time, speaking incomprehensible words in what seemed a frothing rage. The beast swung its head around coming close to one half of Dillon. Jahck took the opportunity to leap off the snake, flipping through air again. He landed on the crow's nest of the broken ship, the main mast tilted at an angle as the remains began to sink with what water seeped into its innards.

  The serpent had had enough with the way its golden eyes bulged. A deep orange glow like a great hearth shone through the dark waters below where the serpent's main body was hidden. The light rose, soon emanating from the long underside of all three snake heads. But rather than Jahck, the heads were pointed toward the deck of The Harpoon where most of Eksa's crew were trying to climb.

  “Oh Flames,” Jahck groaned. He sucked in a breath to scream a warning but the serpent heads breathed fire over the deck, laying waste to its surface, sails, and crew alike. The burning heat could be felt despite the cool pellets of rain that fell from the grey clouds above. Jahck's mouth went dry as he scanned the surface for his friends, relieved to find Aaron and Eksa at the corner where the flames had not reached. Oddly, Aki was there as well, helping them.

  “WRETCHED INSECTS. FORCING ME TO USE MY FLAMES!”

  Ah, so it can speak. But how much did that change things? Perhaps it can be reasoned with, seeing as how it is intelligent.

  An ear shattering scream pierced the night air again.

  Or perhaps not, Jahck thought. He conjured an illusion with his mask to make it seem as if there were no fires aboard the ship at all, wondering if the Artifact could fool a creature as it fooled people. All three heads froze as if stunned. Is it working?

  Not important for the moment. Jahck lunged from where he stood, arcing through the air and toward the head with the most wounds to its underside. He slammed into it, plunging his dagger inside again, dispelling his illusion in the process.

  “TREACHRY,” the heads hissed.

  Ah, so the mask does work!

  One head moved in to destroy him, mouth wide open, an array of sharp fangs displayed for him to see. Their brilliant white surface dripped with smoking green at parts. An acrid smell that burned Jahck's throat came therefrom.

  Jahck's confidence was shattered.

  His whole body went slack with the sudden remembrance of that cold forest, of that bear's massive fangs and foul breath. He was face to face with that void again, seeing nothing but sharp teeth and an abyss beyond. Tremors began to form in his joints as the snake's mouth neared. His grip on the dagger's hilt began to slip. “Karine?” he squealed.

  The beast roared as a five bolt struck its underside. Puffs of smoke escaped its mouth. Noxious droplets fell into the ocean and made it steam. All three heads turned to the burning ship, a ghastly glare piercing through layers of haze.

  Jahck swallowed his fear for the breadth of a second, pulling out his dagger and falling down to his end. To his surprise, the fall was not long. He expected water to embrace him, but he'd instead fallen aboard the burning ship, next to Aaron, who with one hand held his Artifact, and in the other a thick iron bolt that should not have been possible for a human to lift with one arm alone, let alone throw it with the power of a ballista.

  But Aaron did just that, his eyes full of rage. He threw the bolt and it landed true. The serpent shrieked and descended to the depths, fleeing from the site of carnage.

  Jahck broke out in a cold sweat despite the heat of fires. Harsh screams echoed from the below deck where numerous slaves were surely trapped. To some great fortune, the rain chose that moment to pick up.

  “Are you alive?” Aaron asked, looking down.

  Jahck was sprawled out, bruised, but alive. He grinned, though Aaron could see it not what with the mask. That memory of his childhood was still caught at the forefront of his thoughts. Karine… She'd never loved him at all. He sat up and began laughing again.

  Within the depths, a great shadow slithered around the protruding stalagmites and disappeared into the mouth of the cave at the side.