The Princess and the Blade

[Soran Nightblade]

Lee staggered off balance at the unnatural pitch of the ship. "Fine. I didn't sign up for this shit," he muttered, pocketing Laurius's dagger. "Guide me to a lifeboat, and you can live."

___________________

Havi stared up at Tenara. Her power had begun to let him up for air, and her hand no longer gripped his horn like he was a bull led by the nose. He drew a deep, jerking breath into his starved lungs and struggled to take in what was happening. Terror he couldn't place was coming to the fore of his senses, and he pushed it wildly back. He couldn't do that right now. He had a strong intuition that if he explored that feeling here, he'd become useless.

He smelled smoke. The ship tossed unnaturally, like a beast with a severed leg. He didn't need to hear the alarm or the shouting for lifeboats to know that they'd need one soon. He turned his head and blearily scanned the skyline. The other ship was no longer tethered alongside. It floated at least 20 yards away, and it was aflame. Someone had dropped a lantern amidst the chaos. The flames already licked up one of the sails.

Havi shoved himself upright, his ribs screaming at him. His muscles still felt sluggish, but he managed to stagger to his feet. Behind them, Preshton had already fled and was boarding a lifeboat alone in a hurry. He bent down and gently lifted his sniffling Yurivis off of her hound. He didn't meet her eyes as he cocooned her against him and began slowly guiding her toward the lifeboat. "We're escaping," he promised her quietly.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius nodded, his gaze lingering on the dagger the man had tucked away. He stood and tugged his pants straight, buttoning them as he stooped around the room and collected a few things, but mostly he searched for the pill case that held Artisuren's magic torture device. They might need it, depending on how injured the princess or her phage was. He could only think of a few things that could trigger such destructive magic.

He grabbed his bag and pulled it over his shoulder. "Come, Ren," he said, and headed out the door. "Let's lead our new friend to safety."

When they rose on deck, Laurius spotted Havitharon moving to one of the available lifeboats. He glanced back at Lee, knowing he needed to keep the man close if he wanted that dagger back. "You know, if Preshton went to all of this trouble to get my assets, it means he's out of money. He's broke and I'm not. So, how about we strike a better deal? Work for me, give us protection, and I'll give you one of those estates when we land in Ighten."

Laurius stepped up to the lifeboat, feeling dizzy. Strange, he thought. He'd felt fine a moment before. But, when Laurius looked down, he noticed how damp and red the front of his shirt had become. He felt up his neck at the fountain pen wound.

[Soran Nightblade]

Artisuren followed slowly after the two men in a daze. Laurius's command, a moment ago... it had no impact on him.

Lee didn't look impressed by Laurius's offer. "Fraid I'm not in the mood to job hunt at the moment," he snarled. "And you look like you need me more than I need you." He frowned at the lifeboat. He had no idea where the nearest land was. He needed help to row the damn thing. "We in the middle of nowhere. We won't get far without food." He looked at Artisuren. "You, go raid the canteen. Grab as much food as you can carry, and water. Quick."

Ren's stomach clenched as the man's words sent a sense of compulsion through him. It felt nothing like Laurius's commands. There was no surge of relief. Only force. He looked over his shoulder, at where the canteen was on the sinking end of the ship, and back at Laurius. His green eyes scanned the man's bloody shirt, and his alarm grew stronger. "Yes," he responded, and turned to obey Lee's command.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius frowned. He was correct. They would need food and water, but he wouldn't. Laurius planned to get that dagger back and slit his throat when he slept. He stumbled up and into the lifeboat, half-falling to sit on the bottom. His gaze drifted dizzily up to Tenara in the front corner of the lifeboat with her hound pressing into her like a weighted blanket. There was an air of danger in its presence, a protective aura radiating out.

She was covered in blood. How could there be so much blood? Was it hers? "Tenara?" he asked, shifting to move closer to her, but the hound snarled and Laurius fell back on his butt. Her blue eyes darted from the ship to him, but they went back just as quickly, admiring the damage with a sad frown. A black bruise bloomed in a ring around her neck, the markings of hands that had been too tight, squeezing the life from her.

He was going to kill Jim Preshton.

The ship pitched again, sharp this time. It rattled the lifeboat and shifted it forward a little. Laurius's heart lurched, and Tenara yelped, grabbing hold of Stalker and reaching for Havitharon.

Laurius turned his gaze to Lee. "Tell him to come back. He's more use to you alive than drowned trying to get food."

[Soran Nightblade]

Lee glowered at Laurius. "What use is he, exactly? Do I look like I need my dick sucked?" he scoffed.

Havi held tight to the edge of the boat and braced Tenara to the bench next to him. His hands were still slick with blood from when he'd stabbed Preshton and thrown him overboard. After that, the next few minutes were a blur. He'd barely even registered Laurius and Lee as they boarded, but he looked up now, trying to get his head around the situation. "Artisuren?" he said.

________

Ren skidded into a wall and held onto it as the ship tossed angrily. Only a lunatic would be going to one of the lower decks in this scenario, but he did as he'd been ordered and rushed down the stairs. The canteen was already knee-deep with water. He rushed to fish an empty potato sack out of the mess and began throwing anything he could find inside it. The water was trickier. Everything here was stored in barrels, and most had tipped over. Some oranges had fallen as well and were bobbing around him in the dark like eerie sea creatures. He swooped as many as he could into the sack while the room rapidly filled with water. A loud slam sounded behind him, and his heart dropped. He made his way back toward the door to find the waves had pressed it shut. He shoved against it fiercely, but the water was stronger. Shitshitshit. He turned in the chest-deep water and began wading to the other side of the room, hoping there was a different exit.

[Emora Deen]

"He has the dagger," Laurius said, nodding to Lee. "He told Ren to get food and he's gone." Laurius began to tap his foot against the bottom of the lifeboat. He moved toward Lee. "Tell him to come back. The ship is sinking. He'll drown."

"He's inside?" Tenara asked. Her voice rasped out of her throat, strained by whatever damage the hand around her neck had done. Her pale face turned panicked. She stood up. The boat wobbled on the pully. She clutched Havitharon's shoulder to steady herself. "Call him back."

Laurius lunged toward Lee, tackling him down into the boat. He moved sluggishly. Weak. His hand was slick with blood. It coated his palms where it ran down his arm. "Give me the fucking dagger," he snarled, trying to fish it out of the man's coat.

[Soran Nightblade]

"Sit your ass down," Lee snapped, throwing a hook across Laurius's jaw and shoving him back under him. "You ain't winning any matches in that state. It's just a fucking knife."

From on board, two new figures scurried up to the lifeboat, looking scared to death. Havi recognized them from the kitchen staff.

"I-is there still room?" Merry asked, taking in the sight of the men fighting in the belly of the boat. She had a protective arm around Tabetha at her side, who looked like she might faint at a moment's notice.

______________

Ren half-swam through a narrow galley at the back of the kitchen, and found himself in the boiler room. He scanned the ceiling desperately, and sure enough, the stove had a wide chimney stretching up through the ceiling. The flood had already drowned out the fire in the furnace. He held his breath and dove to get a better look at the coal shoveling grill. Filthy saltwater stung his eyes as he felt his way to the grill and pulled it loose. It was much smaller than the belly of the furnace itself, but he thought he could make himself fit. The sack of food, however...

He couldn't abandon it. Literally couldn't. But well... that thug had said "as much as you can carry". He frantically opened the sack. He could bring about half of it. The ship pitched again, and suddenly he had to tread water to stay above the water line. The room was slowly breaching sideways. He kicked his legs to stay afloat and rummaged through the bag in a panic. The oranges were the only water. He prioritized them, and abandoned most of the rest of the food.

In the end, there was some dried meat, oranges, and a bundle of rags. He'd taken them on impulse, thinking of Laurius's wound. Indecision wasted precious seconds as he stared at them. This wasn't disobedience. He'd been told to bring all he could carry. Not to carry nothing else. Apparently, his body accepted the logic, because it permitted him to dive back down and stuff the sack up into the stove grill. Once it was in, he began shimmying himself through after it.

[Emora Deen]

Laurius reeled on the impact to his jaw, his dizzy mind blacking out a second. He was back in the room with Artisuren. Comfortable. Half-naked. Cuddled together.

He blinked his eyes open to the night sky. The sound muffled.

Something was growling.

“Stalker,” Tenara’s soft, strained voice warbled in the air. He missed the sweet sound of it, how kindness rolled off her tongue even when she was angry. The change punched home what Preshton had done to them all.

The hound shifted, snarling at Lee. He backed the man to the far end of the boat and sat in front of him, pinning him there.

Tenara’s hand touched his face, turning it to her. It trembled against his skin. He wondered how hurt she was. If they would both die here. Then she looked up at the women and replied, “There’s room. Don’t mind the hound. He won’t hurt you.”

“Artisur—“

“Shh,” she whispered, pressing her hand into his bleeding neck. She was holding back tears. “Rest. It’s okay. If we get far enough from the ship, the dagger will pull him out of it. We just have to get far enough away…”

Tenara turned for Havitharon. He seemed just as dazed as Laurius felt. She said something to him, something about the rigging.


—-


“Let’s lower the boat,” Tenara said, reluctantly peeling her hand from Laurius’s bleeding neck. She stood and fumbled her hands over the release on the rigging. But her arms were too tired, and corrosion too pervasive.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi's large hand closed reassuringly over Tenara's shoulder. He guided her gently backward, down onto the bench. "It's going to be fine," he assured her in his low, even voice. "I will lower it."

He held a steadying arm out to the two chefs and allowed them to use him as a railing as they climbed into the boat. Tabetha lost her balance, and had to be lifted down. He touched them the way you would poke a fire, strategic and brief. Even Lee finally sat down, tired of being in a standoff with the hellhound. Havi looked back up at the deck, scanning it for any signs of life. Artisuren didn't appear.

Tenara was probably right. He would probably return to the dagger, if they left. He admitted to himself that he was concerned for the other Ivis. He shouldn't have let him go.

There was no use regretting it now. It normally took two to operate the pulleys, but Havi's arms were long and his adrenaline was high. He turned to the pulleys and lowered them down hand over hand, ignoring his angry ribs. As soon as they settled on the surface, he tossed the line away and unlatched the oars. "You do it, too," he ordered Lee, dropping a fist on the release for the rear oars. "We have to move fast."

_____________________

Ren scrambled at the sides of the narrow chimney, struggling to wedge himself through. His muscles were beginning to shake. The adrenaline could only carry him so long. He was only 2 floors down, so the chimney couldn't be much longer. He finally climbed above the flood line and was able to peer up and see the night sky at the end of the tube from around the edges of the food sack. From there, the climbing got easier, as the water rose as fast as he climbed, helping buoy him upward.

When he finally reached the mouth of the tube, however, his hopes collapsed. The ship was pitched vertically out of the water, rapidly dropping into the sea. He peered at the spot where the lifeboat would be, and saw it gone. He scanned the water, and thought he could spot something afloat in the distance. He was alone.

He laughed, breathless and sour. The smokestack plunged beneath the waves, and he scrambled to get the rest of his body free of it. He wasn't sure why he was trying. There was nowhere to go. The stupidest part was that he couldn't seem to let go of the sack of food. He kicked free of the smokestack, only to feel the undertow of the sinking ship suck him back down. He kicked and thrashed upward while the ship pulled him in like a cherished toy.

He closed his eyes and let the current do as it pleased. This was for the best, he told himself. He'd failed. He only ever failed. The depths squeezed in around him, pressure blooming into pain as his air gave out. Dying hurt. It will pass, he promised himself, the same words he'd told Laurius earlier. It will pass.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara’s hands rattled in her lap as the ship sank downward. Dull muffled screams wailed into the air from those still trapped inside. She covered her ears, choking out a sob as she watched the last of the ship slip beneath the churning waves.

She couldn’t cry. Havi would want to comfort her and he needed to row. They had to row. Faster. Faster. Artisuren was inside. If they could save him. Save one person from what she’d done…

“I’m sorry,” Tenara croaked out. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t…”

Laurius’s bloody hand landed on her leg, and then took her hand. He squeezed. She could barely see him in the dark. But, there was a faint orange glow to his skin, and the glow pulled her gaze to the source.

Beyond their sinking ship, the other one burned. Small shadowed shapes of rowboats loitered in the water around it. The air filled with a sharp crack as the mast broke and collapsed inward. A second later, that ship disappeared beneath the waves too, and they were in the dark.

“I’m sorry,” Tenara said to Laurius. “I should have let him. I should have let him. I should have let him…”

—

Let him what? Laurius wanted to ask. Instead, he pulled weakly on her hand, and tugged her down into the bottom of the boat. He wasn’t strong enough to really pull her there, but she seemed to collapse down with him. He tangled his arms around her shoulders, and stared at the glittering stars. “Are we far enough?” he asked, afraid of the answer.

[Soran Nightblade]

Havi hauled on the oars. He was out of breath and needed more air, more adrenaline, more strength. "I don't know," he answered Laurius in a rasp. He looked over his shoulder at the stranger who had taken the dagger. He didn't know the whole story, but it seemed safe to assume he was one of the pirates. But they needed him. They needed two people strong enough to row. "That dagger," he told the man, "Return it."

"Everyone on o' you lot seem to think I'm an idiot," Lee muttered. "And what the hell are we rowin' so hard for? There's no land for miles."

Merry carefully approached Laurius and Tenara and sat on the bench beside her. "Hush. Don't be sorry, darlin," she said, pulling Tenara's face against her chest. "You didn't do anything wrong. Are you injured?"

Tabetha took her lead and crawled up to Laurius. "Mr. Marr," she murmured, staring at his bloodied collar. She reached down and began to rip the hem of her dress.

[Emora Deen]

Tenara shook her head, feeling her skin so stiff from dried blood. She wanted to flop into the sea and wash it off.

She didn’t remember what happened to Pete, not really. It was there in the back of her mind, like another person’s memory had been shared with her. Everything up to the memory, from the pirate’s grip, and weight, and… it was all a vivid burn in her mind, but then everything after was like looking at the world through the bottom of a whiskey glass.

“It’s not mine,” she said, referring to the blood. But she touched her tender neck and looked over Merry’s shoulder at the pirate in their company.

—-

Laurius dully felt the woman’s gentle touch as she pressed the rags into his neck. He wondered if he was dying. It was too gentle a way to go compared to Artisuren.

His eyes burned.

He’d almost drowned once. Scared him off from swimming for a year. He didn’t want to think of Ren’s last moments in the dark, the water flooding in, the burn of it in his lungs…

They were still rowing. Was it far enough? Was it far enough?

“Do you see him, Tenara?”

Tenara shook her head. “It’s so dark.”

“Do you hear him? Call to him.”

“Artisuren!” she tried to scream his name, but it came out weak, barely above the sound of the waves slapping against the boat. “Artisuren!”

“Ren!” Laurius called dizzily. “Ren!! Do you hear him? Tenara?”

Tenara bit back tears, trying to find her voice over the ache and knot of anguish in her throat. “Artisuren!!”

Laurius pushed the woman helping him away, and lumbered to his feet. The boat rocked. He lurched forward, and fell towards the man in the back of the boat. “Give me the dagger or I will fling us both into the sea, and drag you down with me.”

[Soran Nightblade]

Lee backed up as far as the confines of the boat would allow. "You people are acting insane," he muttered. Who the heck were they talking to? It was obvious no one else was here? These people were nuts. From the looks on the two servants' faces, they were thinking something much along the same lines.

Havi kept rowing. Even though they should certainly be far enough by now, it felt like if he stopped rowing, his thoughts would no longer stay manageable like they should. Usually, when he was pulled away by the sword, he managed to keep his physical form, but there had been instances where he was weakened, when he had appeared as a ghost. And once or twice, when he didn't have the strength even for that... He thought of Laurius's apartment, of being too spent to be anything but a loose ball of thoughts bound to a sword. In that state, the only way to detect him was...

"Give him the dagger," he turned on Lee, finally letting the oars settle.

Lee groaned. "Trade me one of yours first," he demanded.

Havi took the knife he'd pocketed from the pirate earlier, the one that had been used to threaten Tenara. He chucked it at Lee so that it stuck hard into the gunnel right next to him. Lee looked a bit wide-eyed, but managed to yank the knife free of the wood. He took the silver dagger and slid it across the floor to Laurius. "Y'all are a bunch of lunatics."

[Emora Deen]

Laurius snatched up the dagger, holding it with both hands.

“Come back. Come back. Come back,” he muttered, and it became a mantra. He didn’t see him—couldn’t see him like she could. He growled in frustration, but it only turned into a stifled sob. That poor creature. That poor thing he’d dragged from his home and his child. That he’d conjured and controlled… “Fuck,” he spat. Why did this feel so terrible? He was a thing! A blade. A tool!

[Soran Nightblade]

The whole boat waited in eerie silence while the waves chopped against the sides of the dinghy. Seconds turned to minutes, and still there was no sign of the phage's presence. Even Tabatha and Merry waited quietly, afraid to break whatever somber spell had been cast over them.

Finally, Havi moved from his seat and knelt next to Laurius. He could hear the tears in the man's breath, and it surprised him that Laurius seemed to care about Artisuren. Sure, Laurius had lost more than that today, but the merchant did not strike him as a man who cried simply because he'd lost money. He was the type who could always make more.

He pulled Laurius's collar wide and inspected his neck wound as best he could in the late moonlight. It had been bleeding heavily, but seemed to have slowed now. It didn't look like any arteries were wounded, or he'd be unconscious already. "Please finish what you were doing," he said over his shoulder to Merry.

Merry had been cuddling a tearful Tabetha. At Havi's request, she crawled forward, the strip of her dress she'd torn free earlier still in hand. "Mr. Marr, I'm just going to put some pressure on your wound," she said carefully. She'd never expected to see her employer in this sort of emotional state. "Ok?"

Havi left her to deal with it and moved on toward Tenara. "Are you injured anywhere?" he asked her quietly.