The Eternal Darkness (21 page)

Once his stomach settled a bit, he went back down to his cabin and put on his armor and weapons.  He returned to the deck, forgoing the food that was being offered.  He went to the side rail and stared out into the mist.  The mist seemed to glow, lit by the sun, but obscured everything more than a few yards from the ship.  The crew was going about their work with a minimum of conversation, so the waves lapping against the hull seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet of the mist.

“How are you feeling?” Dominic said softly as he joined Jake.  Even that seemed loud to Jake.

“Better,” Jake replied quietly.  He could not say why, but he did not want to speak in a normal tone of voice.

“That is good to hear,” Dominic said.  He gazed out into the mist.  “I wanted to speak with you about this new power of yours.  Just remember that it is like any other weapon you wield.  The weapon itself is neither good nor bad; it is simply a tool.  It is how the wielder uses it that matters.”  He paused for a moment.  “If you must use this power, then use it to good effect.  A half-hearted blow can leave the attacker vulnerable.  If you use it, then use it fully.”

“Hopefully, I won’t need to,” Jake said, comforted by Dominic’s perspective.

They stood there silently for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts and contemplating the swirling mists.  “Dominic, what do you-“Jake began, but stopped when Dominic laid a hand on his arm.  Jake glanced over and saw a focused look on Dominic’s face as he stared intently out into the mist.  He held up a finger to his lips, signaling silence, and then moved quickly, but quietly, towards the bridge.

Jake saw that Norai, standing on the bridge, was also staring out in the same direction.  Dominic reached him and they quietly conferred.  Confused, Jake turned back to the sea.  He could only see the mists.  He tried to listen carefully, but did not hear anything at first.  Then, he heard the very faint sound of water gently splashing against something.

Before he could react, a black bolt of demon fire streaked out of the mist and over his head, its passing sounding as if it was ripping apart the air itself, narrowly missing the main mast.  Shaking off his surprise, Jake instantly embraced his power, the sword’s presence magnifying it, his shining form coloring the nearby mists in cobalt light, and responded, sending his magic flying blindly into the mists.  He heard the collision of power in the distance.

“Battle positions!” he head Norai call out to his crew.

More demon fire slashed out of the gloom, coming from different angles.  That took Jake by surprise, as he was focused on where the first one came in.  He tried to deflect them all, but one got past him, striking a sailor, blasting him off the deck and over the side, his body engulfed in dark flame.

The wind unexpectedly surged, pushing the mist away and exposing the sky above.  In the sudden clearing, Jake made out the dark shape of a ship, closing with his vessel.  The wooden ship was long and narrower than Norai’s, with a single large mast.  Along the hull, he saw that there were oar slots as well.  The rail was covered with heavy wood, allowing the crew to duck behind its protection.  The front of the bow was thick, made of reinforced wood and metal.

As it drifted closer, Jake could see its sailors armed with spears and swords, gathering to attack.  He also saw several demons on the deck.  He recognized the two red males, like the ones he fought on the island and the northern fortress.  There were also several of the female demons.

Seeing him as well, they began to concentrate their attack on him.  He pulled in as much power as possible and fought back, deflecting their black fire and sending his own bright magic at them.  The sounds of exploding power rolled out over the open sea, like thunder in a clear sky.  He saw one of the males rock back when his might struck it, but he could not follow up as the other demons continued to attack.

One the demons shouted something that Jake could not hear over the clash of the conflicting powers, but they changed their tactics.  The female demons began to attack Norai’s sailors, forcing Jake to concentrate on defending them.  While he did this, the males attacked.  Jake was knocked back by the attack, but quickly regained his feet.

His frustration mounted as he was hard pressed to keep the demon fire at bay.  He knew that it was only a matter of time before he missed an attack and more of Norai’s sailors died.

He was trying to defeat another wave of dark power when a beam of brilliant golden fire streaked past him, striking one of the male demons, knocking it down, its form steaming.  Jake spared a glance to see Jonas on the deck near the bridge, staff in hand, glowing in power.  Next to Jonas, Hailyn, her shining form rivaling Jonas’, began to attack as well.

Jake slowly moved back toward the clerics. As he got closer, the sword’s presence began to increase their power as well.  When he stopped, still slightly ahead of them, the runes on Hailyn’s bracelet and Jonas’ staff began to glow, infused with pale white light.  Together, they began to overcome the demons’ power.

Sensing their danger, the demons began to shift around the deck, trying to make themselves harder targets.  Jake saw one point towards Jonas and one of the enemy sailors rose up with a short bow drawn back.  Jake watched as the arrow released and flew towards Jonas. Without thinking, he threw himself in front of the arrow, hoping to shatter it on his breastplate.

Because of his angle, the arrow did not shatter, but deflected into his left shoulder.  Jake staggered back, his left arm suddenly weak, the black shaft of the arrow sticking out of his shoulder.  He could feel the arrowhead grinding against the bones and the warm blood running down his arm.  The sensation of shock began to set in, his vision narrowing and a loud buzzing in his ears.  He forced himself to fight through it and brace as he saw the bowman bring up the bow again.

Before the enemy archer could launch, two arrows seemed to sprout from his chest, the man collapsing and his arrow flying harmless into the sky.  Jake saw that several of Norai’s crewmen were armed with bows and using them as well.

He felt Jonas come up behind him, the hand holding the staff wrapping around his chest to steady him.  “We don’t have time to do this properly, so it will hurt,” Jonas said as he grasped the arrow with his other hand.  “Be strong.”

With a sudden wrench, Jonas pulled the arrow free.  Jake nearly collapsed as burning pain flared in his shoulder, but Jonas quickly laid a hand against Jake’s face, healing him.  With Jonas’ power greatly enhanced, the warmth of healing was almost hot as the wound sealed shut and the pain faded.  Jake stepped away from Jonas, and brought his power up again.

With Jonas directing them, the three magic wielders began to destroy the demons.  They concentrated their combined might, quickly overwhelming the demons’ defenses.  One after another, the demons fell.

Even as the last demon was destroyed, the distance between the ships had closed and the enemy sailors began to throw grappling hooks, most of which made it over the rail.  The enemy pulled on the ropes, driving the hooks points into the wooden deck and rail.  Once they were secured, they began to pull the ships together.

“Prepare to repel borders!” Norai shouted as his crew armed themselves with axes, swords and short spears.  The crew rushed to form a defensive line along the side of the ship.  Dominic, sword in hand, positioned himself in the middle of the line.

“Jake, defend Jonas and the girl, in case any get past us,” Dominic called out over his shoulder.

Jake slipped the Guardian’s sword off his back and handed it to Hailyn.  Stepping forward, he drew his sword and waited.

With a hollow boom and the squeal of grinding wood, the two ships came together.  Jake was staggered, but caught his balance, as the deck rolled under him.  The enemy shouted battle cries as they leapt over the rails onto the deck, Norai’s crew stepping forward to confront them.  With the sharp clash of metal, the two forces collided.  Jake watched as men began to fall on both sides.

As one of Norai’s men went down, the attacker darted past the line and towards Jake.  His mind suddenly and strangely calm, Jake stepped forward to meet the attack.  His foe, a lean man with his long hair tied behind his head, was armed with a spear, the foot-long spearhead sharp and bright.  The man came at him, the spear lashing out.  Jake parried the blow and countered with a low thrust.  The man danced out of the way, and then attacked again.  Jake twisted to avoid the strike, slashing with his sword.  He hit the man’s arm, drawing blood.  The man leapt back, moving to get to Jake’s side.  Jake let him, bracing for the attack.

The man closed, the spear seeking Jake’s heart.  Turning at the last moment, Jake let the spear scrape across his breastplate and thrust out with his sword, driving it into the man’s attack.  The man tried to spin away, but Jake’s sword cut through the man’s leather armor and slid into his chest.  The man shuddered and the spear fell from suddenly numb fingers.  Jake stepped back and the man collapsed onto the deck.

When he focused again on the battle, he saw that the attackers were being pushed back.  Norai’s men fought with the sure knowledge that it was either win or die.  Jake saw Norai with his sword drawn, fighting with his crew, while his first mate Batrei defended his back, wielding two axes, wreaking havoc.

While Norai’s men held their own, it was Dominic that broke apart the attack.  While the enemy appeared used to fighting other sailors, they seemed unable to face such a hardened warrior.  Any enemy that confronted him quickly fell as he cut into their ranks, shifting from one man to another, his sword like a living thing in his hand.

Seeing his numbers dwindle, the enemy captain tried to form some semblance of a line, but Dominic attacked any grouping of the enemy, charging in and disrupting them with his sword and body.  As the enemy sailors focused on Dominic’s assaults, Norai’s men fell upon them, bringing them down.

Despite the losses and immanent defeat, the enemy continued to fight. Norai’s crew finally cleared the deck of enemies while Dominic leapt onto the enemy ship, continuing to attack the remaining foes.  “Go with him!” Norai shouted to his men.  The men surged over the rail, following Dominic.

The enemy captain, wielding a sword and knife, confronted Dominic as he fought his way across the ship.  The captain, a slim man with fine scars on his face, was an experienced fighter.  He struck quickly, his sword a blur.  Dominic blocked the strike and counterattacked, drawing his own knife as well. His opponent was able to turn aside the attack, spinning away and striking again.  Their swords and knives flashed and darted as they fought in a whirlwind of steel.

Jake saw the captain’s knife draw blood when the two men closed again, but Dominic ignored the injury as he charged into his opponent, knocking the man off balance.  Dominic, moving forward, stayed within the man’s guard and slammed an elbow into his throat.  The captain staggered back, his eyes wide, unable to react as Dominic drove his dagger into the man’s chest.  The man fell back onto the deck, mortally wounded.

As soon as Norai’s men had finished off the rest of the enemy crew, Jake went to stand near Norai while Jonas and Hailyn moved forward and began to heal the injured.  He could see that Dominic was standing near a small door on the enemy ship that led below decks.

“Jake,” Dominic called over.  “Come over here.  I need you in case any demons are hiding below.”

Jake carefully crossed over to the enemy ship, trying to avoid the bodies of the dead.  He made his way over to Dominic, who called a couple of Norai’s sailors to join them.  “You should go first, Jake,” Dominic said.  “You are the only one who can confront a demon in these close quarters.”  He clapped Jake on the shoulder.  “I will be right behind you.”

Jake nodded, embracing his power as he pulled the latch to open the door.  In the light of his shining body, he saw a short set of stairs that led below.  Sheathing his sword and drawing his dagger, he took a deep breath and went below.

At the bottom of the stairs, he found a narrow corridor that ran the length of the ship.  There were doors on both sides of the hallway.  He went forward, holding his power tightly and opening doors as he moved, prepared to respond to any attack.  They only found empty berthing rooms as they made their way down the corridor, with no signs of any additional crew.  They discovered another set of stairs that led to the hold on the lowest level.  In the hold, there were barrels of water, extra weapons and additional supplies.

As they searched the hold, Jake heard a faint sound.  Pulling in more of his power, he went towards the rear of the hold.  He saw a stack of barrels and boxes in one of the corners.  As he listened, he thought he heard the soft sound of someone trying to control his breathing.

He signaled to Dominic as he moved forward.  Dominic joined him as he stopped at the pile.  With a shared look and a nod, Dominic reached out and pulled away some of the boxes.  Jake shifted and glanced into the sudden opening.  He stopped in shock on what his light revealed.  Huddled against the hull, he found a boy around thirteen, eyes wide with fright.

“Come out,” Jake said softly as he slowly reached for the boy.  “You are safe now.”

Despite Jake’s soft words, the boy did not move, only whimpered slightly and huddled tighter.

“Just grab him,” Dominic said.  “We don’t have all day.”

“He’s scared, Dominic,” Jake replied.  For some reason, the boy reminded him of Russ, his younger brother.

“Let me then,” Dominic said as he nudged Jake aside.  He reached out his hand. “Come here, boy.  I will not let anyone harm you.”

The boy’s attitude changed slightly when he saw that scarred face.  Some of his fear seemed to fade.  Slowly, he reached out and took Dominic’s hand.  Dominic, with unexpected gentleness, lifted him up and pulled him out.  The boy stayed right at Dominic’s side, as they worked their way back out on deck.

Norai was on the enemy ship, speaking with Batrei while the rest of the crew was moving the bodies of the dead.  Jonas was standing nearby, staring at Norai with an uncharacteristic look of anger on his face.  Jake and Dominic joined him, the boy never leaving Dominic’s side.