Wrath of the Dragon 2, page 3
I could tell that things were about to get very bad very quickly for the cat. She didn’t seem able to hear her master as she swam in circles underwater, and the demon was making a beeline right for her.
“Ryan,” Cyra warned as she looked at me. “Don’t you dare risk your life for a fucking cat.”
“I like cats,” I muttered as I slid off my cloak. “I’ve saved a bunch of them out of trees. Also, we could use this guy on our side.”
“Ryan,” Cyra hissed. “Don’t!”
“Stay away from the edges,” I murmured and slid off my boots. “Stay out of sight.”
The captain wailed beside me like his heart was breaking, and then I dove right into the sea.
It was very fucking cold. My entire body suddenly felt like it was made of ice, but I slipped my dagger from its sheath and made my way toward the blue cat. The demon was only a few feet away from her, and its webbed feet helped it move through the water like a creepy seal.
I swam as quickly as I could and reached out a hand to grab the cat by the midriff. Princess hissed a blob of bubbles at me as I pulled her out of the water, and she kept on objecting as I turned back to the boat.
Then the demon seemed to speed up, and I knew I wasn’t going to make it back without a fight.
I swung the cat onto my shoulders, and she seemed to suddenly realize she was in danger, because she dug her claws into my skin with a death grip.
Just as the demon reached a webbed hand toward me, I spun around and raised my dagger. The creature had muddy-green eyes, and gills flapped on its neck between the various shells that had stuck to its skin. It snarled with yellow, piranha-like teeth as I plunged my dagger right down into its outstretched hand, and I managed to pierce the webbing.
Dark blue blood began to ooze into the water around us. The demon made a gurgling hiss and launched itself at me with its teeth bared, but I swung backward and delivered a kick right into its stomach.
Princess yowled as she clung on for dear life, but my kick sent the demon spinning backward, and I dove forward with my dagger raised above the water. Then I grabbed the creature’s neck, shuddered at the cold sliminess of its flesh, and slammed my dagger directly into the top of the demon’s skull.
There was a sickening crunch, and its muddy-green eyes rolled back in its head. Blue blood spilled out from the gash as I pulled back my blade, and I let go of the limp body to let the demon sink down into the depths of the sea.
“Fuck,” I sighed as I tried to catch my breath, and Princess scratched at my shoulder.
“Ryan!” Cyra yelled. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I called as I turned back to the boat. “So is Princess.”
“Hurry!” Nisha said urgently. “There will be plenty more where that one came from.”
The cat stuck her claws into me like I was a human pincushion as I swam. The cold water began to sting my flesh, and when I grabbed a hold of the boat, the cat leapt up into her master’s arms. I hauled myself up, and the angels helped me climb back onto the deck as water dripped from every inch of my body.
Cyra clutched my face, kissed my cheek, and held her fiery palms up to warm me. She kept both hands right up to my face before she began to move around my torso and legs. The heat started to creep in, and I stopped shaking as the angel worked.
“Ryan,” Nisha said. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
The night angel studied my shivering body with a worried expression, and her silver eyes gazed up into mine.
“I’ll be fine,” I assured her. “It’s just very fucking cold in there.”
Captain Wilton rocked his cat back and forth in his arms as he muttered to it, and Princess purred as she nestled into his chest. The old fisherman pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and blew his nose before he turned to look at me.
“Thank you,” he said as his gray eyes watered. “She’s my whole life, so she is. Don’t know what I would do without her.”
“Maybe you should put her on a rope or something,” I suggested as I rubbed my arms. “Having her roaming free doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
“Maybe.” Wilton nodded. “She’s normally smart, but I suppose she’s getting older.”
Cyra kept moving her hands until my pants and shirt were almost dry, and my skin didn’t sting with the cold anymore. I gave her a grateful smile and kissed her forehead. Then Nisha passed me my cloak, and I draped it back over my shoulders with a sigh. The heavy material felt like bliss after my dip in the icy water, and I felt my toes start to thaw as I slipped my boots back on.
The captain strode over to me and offered out his gnarled hand. I gave it a firm shake, and he put Princess on his shoulder.
“I’m in your debt, young man,” he said as he bent down to grab his pipe. “Anything you need to know, I can help.”
I grinned at the angels, and their faces lit up at the offer of help.
“Thank you,” I replied. “Like I said, we really just want to help our friend. We’ve never been here before, so anything you can tell us about the lay of the land and the demons would be great.”
Wilton nodded as he relit the pipe, and he glanced up at the gray sky before he spoke.
“Water Lands have a simple layout,” he said. “Sea on this side. The river runs right through the lands over to the west, and that’s where the waterfalls are.”
“Waterfalls.” I nodded. “Okay, got it.”
“Well,” the captain grunted. “They used to be waterfalls, back when the gods were here. Now they’re just dried-up hills that line murky lakes.”
“That’s a shame,” Nisha hummed. “The gods used that as a punishment?”
“Yes, they did,” the captain sighed. “Dried those water sources right up. They thought it might force us all together, I suppose, but it’s done the bloody opposite. Ruined the water supply, and all the Shores are fighting worse than before.”
“Shores?” Cyra asked. “Are those the cities?”
“No cities here.” Wilton shook his head. “The Shores are the communities and towns throughout the lands. They’re all different, lived in by all sorts of species. Spread out right from the sea to the falls.”
“Okay.” I nodded again. “So… we’ve got the sea, a bunch of Shores, and then the falls at the other end. Where is the Demon King in all of this?”
“I don’t know.” The captain shrugged. “All I know is that the bloody things are everywhere. In the sea, in the river, in the lakes.”
I glanced overboard and could see several shapes of demons swimming around nearby. They didn’t seem interested in the boat, though, and I wondered if they even knew we were here.
“They don’t look like they care about us,” I said. “Do they not ever attack?”
“Not my boat.” The captain grinned and beckoned for me to move closer, like he had a big secret to share. Then he lowered his voice. “I’ve got an enchantment. Those swimming bastards don’t even know I’m here. That’s the only way I can ever get out far enough to fish without being noticed.”
“An enchantment?” Nisha asked as she twirled her dark hair. “That’s interesting, who gave you that?”
The night angel’s voice was more sultry than usual, and I found myself staring at her and wishing she’d speak again. Then I wondered if she was using this alluring tactic to get more information, because it seemed to work on more than just me.
Wilton leaned in even closer as if someone might be listening.
“Sirens,” he hissed with a wink. “They’re some of the most powerful beings in these lands. Endless supplies of magic, but they’ve been living scared ever since the demons came. Don’t show their faces very much anymore.”
“How come you got an enchantment, then?” Cyra asked as she tentatively peered over the edge of the boat at a passing demon.
Even though they couldn’t see us, the fire angel shuddered and stepped away from the edge quickly.
“I helped one of them,” the captain said as he puffed his chest out. “Got her free from a net she was all tangled up in. I managed to pull her onto the boat before the demons came for her. Her group was so grateful they gave me a permanent spell on the boat.”
“Not a bad deal,” I chuckled. “That must have really helped with the fishing business.”
“It does.” He nodded. “But it doesn’t stop these bloody demons swimming around and eating as many fish as they can.”
The boat rocked slightly as a large demon swam below us, and Cyra shuffled closer to the middle of the boat as water splashed near her. I watched the fire angel carefully adjust her cloak so that her wings were fully covered, and I wondered how we were going to navigate this land safely. I knew Cyra would be as safe as possible, but there was no way we could avoid her touching water for this whole journey.
“The sirens…” I said as an idea occurred to me. “How willing do you think they would be to help us out? Cyra can’t touch water or it weakens her. Do you think there’s anything they could do about that?”
“That’s bloody unfortunate,” Wilton snorted. “You’re in the wrong land for that, love!”
“I know,” the fire angel sighed. “Sadly, I care about my sisters, so I had to come and help.”
“Well, then,” Wilton said as he stroked his beard. “I reckon they could fix you up with something. Maybe tell them that the Captain sent you, they might be more willing to trust you then. I’m a… bit of a favorite amongst them.”
“So you said,” I chuckled. “Where can we find them?”
The captain chuckled some more as he took a draw from his pipe, and he seemed to get even more wrinkled as he smiled.
“They’re bloody hard to track down,” he said. “But luckily, you’ve got yourself a friend who knows their whereabouts! I’ll take you there myself.”
The captain strode over to a creaky lever that opened a white sail. It seemed to appear out of nowhere and sat on top of the little hut unlike any boat I had ever seen on Earth.
“Thank you.” I grinned. “This is amazing.”
“Least I can do,” the man grunted. “You saved my little Princess.”
Then he turned a nearby wheel and started to spin the boat around, and we began to speed along at once.
I narrowed my eyes as we picked up a surprising amount of speed, and my mind started to go wild as I imagined all the new kinds of magic these Water Lands might have in store.
“Nice work,” Cyra hissed at me, and I snapped out of my thoughts. “I suppose it was worth saving the stupid cat.”
“Don’t let him hear you say that.” I grinned. “He’ll probably throw you overboard if you call her names.”
“Her name is Princess,” Cyra snorted and raised an eyebrow. “Nothing I call her can be worse than that.”
I looked out at the sea around us, and it started to become slightly misty as we sailed. The water was a murky gray in all directions, and the shadows of various creatures passed below us. Mostly, it was demons that swam by, but there were a few fish and something else that looked like a giant crab.
The land was over on our right now, and I could see one of the Shores that sat in the distance. I could only vaguely make out some small houses, and a few shapes that moved around them. The land itself looked grassy and fairly flat, and I hoped that it wouldn’t be too long a trek to gather information on where the demons’ headquarters were.
Someone must know for sure where the Demon King was. Apparently, it wasn’t common knowledge, but the king must have been spotted at some point. The one I had killed in the Night Lands had been fucking huge, and even with a whole palace full of underlings to wait on him, he’d still kept his location hidden from the majority of the residents.
But not from all of them. The night witch had known where to go.
There must be someone who could point us in the right direction here, too.
I really hoped this king didn’t somehow live under the water, though, otherwise we were going to need a hell of a lot of magic to help us out. In my satchel, I still had a smoke cloud potion from the night witch, and my dagger was always ready for action by my side, but swimming deep into the water for a long stretch of time wouldn’t be an easy feat.
“Now, I’m happy to help you…” the captain growled over his shoulder. “But I need you all to make sure you don’t go flying around like that again. Not when you’re all out in the open. The demons will see you, and the whole land will fall into chaos.”
“We’ll be careful.” I nodded. “I just needed to use that form so we could get over the lava. It’s brutal that you’re all trapped here.”
“It is,” the captain sighed. “The gods knew exactly how to punish us, didn’t they? The lava drips right into the outskirts of the sea, too. Ends up poisoning the damn fish. And as for escaping… Well, there ain’t no hope for any of us here. Not anymore.”
I frowned as the old man stared sadly across the sea, and beside me, I saw Nisha’s forehead crinkle with worry. She kept her silver eyes on the boatman like she wished she could help him somehow, but Cyra cleared her throat and studied the seascape instead.
The further we sailed, the more misty the sea became. After a while, I could barely see a few feet ahead, but Wilton steered the boat confidently as if it was sunny skies all around.
He hummed to himself as he steered, and Princess slept on his shoulder.
“You must have a great memory,” I said after a few minutes of silence. “I can hardly see the front of the boat.”
“Not by memory, lad,” the captain said. “Seeing through the sea mists is my power. It’s not much, but it does well for fishing.”
“What about when it’s dark?” Cyra smirked, and the old man shot her sharp look.
“I said I can see through the mist, not the dark,” he grunted. “Weren’t you listening?”
Nisha fought to hide her smirk as Cyra rolled her eyes, and I leaned over to murmur in the fire angel’s ear.
“Be nice,” I said.
“It was a simple question,” she muttered innocently.
The boat slowly turned, and the mist cleared slightly as we approached a cove that was surrounded by jagged rocks. The sea lapped against the dark stone, and there was an entranceway that wasn’t big enough for the boat to fit through.
The water through the rocks seemed much clearer than out in the sea, and it looked much calmer, too.
“I’ll drop you here,” Wilton said as he pulled up to a rock that had a flat ledge. “You can climb out here and walk right over. It’s only a few steps until you’ll be on the shore.”
Cyra eyed the sea warily, and I knew even this small stretch of walking would be tricky for her.
“Maybe I’ll just fly a little bit,” she said hopefully. “I can just glide over the rocks to the shore.”
“You better be bloody careful,” Wilton warned. “What did I just tell you about flying all over the place? Look down there!”
The captain pointed a wrinkled hand down into the water, and two demons swam lazily past. It wasn’t worth the potential danger it could put us in.
“I’ll carry you,” I said firmly. “We’re not risking being spotted, okay? You can climb onto my back, but keep your wings tucked under that cloak.”
Cyra nodded as she bit her lip, but then I suddenly heard a strange noise coming from the cove.
It was a dream-like sound that made my face feel warm, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. As the sound got louder, I could hear three different voices singing a wordless song. It sent a feeling of calm through my body, and I immediately knew who was making it.
“There’s no sound quite like it…” Wilton grinned as he studied my face. “On you go, lad. The Sirens are waitin’.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “Thank you for this. We really appreciate it. Hopefully, we’ll see you again sometime.”
“I’m sure you will,” Wilton growled. “I stay in a little hut down near the harbor. There’s a tavern near there where I spend my free time. If you ever need me, I’ll either be there or out on the water.”
I nodded again and gestured for Cyra to climb up onto my back.
“This is stupid,” the fire angel muttered as she grabbed my shoulders. “I’m an angel. I can fly!”
“Not near the sea,” I said as I lifted her onto my back. “I’ll put you down the second we reach land, okay?”
“Fine,” the fire angel grumbled. “These sirens better have something useful for us.”
“Thank you, sir.” Nisha smiled at the boatman as she stepped up onto the edge of the boat. Then she sent him a friendly wave and stepped off onto the rocky surface. Her inky hair danced in the wind, and her silver skirt rippled against her skin.
I waved goodbye to the captain, too, and took a step up onto the cove walls with Cyra on my back. The song of the sirens continued, and I couldn’t help smiling as the gentle notes washed over me.
“Good luck, then!” Wilton called as he began to steer his boat around. “Remember what I said. Keep to yourselves, and come find me if you need anything more!”
With a quick salute, the old boatman sailed back off into the mist and was quickly enveloped by the fog. I turned to look at the cove, and we began to walk toward the small beach that joined the water and land.
It was time to meet my very first siren.
Chapter 3
I tried not to let the heavenly singing put me at ease too much. Nisha walked behind me as I carried Cyra, and I was extra careful with each step on the slippery rocks. The fire angel gripped me tightly, and I scanned the cove for any signs of movement.
I knew the captain trusted the sirens, but that didn’t mean we would have the same luck with them. Even though I hadn’t met this species before, I would never forget my run-in with the mermaids in the Night Lands. I would have assumed before that encounter that merpeople were friendly, magical beings, but they ended up trying to drown Cyra before I slaughtered them all.
You could never be too careful in this world, and now I had two angels to protect.
“Have you ever met sirens before?” I asked quietly as we walked over the rocks toward the sand.
