Chapter 48 Serena #2
I shoot her a look, catching a glimpse of a familiar blue powder in a glass jar.
“That blue stuff—what is it?”
“Blue moon? Oh, just a sedative. This one might be my favorite. Comes from the venom of the rarest reptile in the world.” She proudly holds up a beautiful iridescent vial, like crushed diamonds in liquid form.
“Hunted the bastard for years in the jungles. Nearly killed half my crew before I severed its head and took its tail as a keepsake.”
Okaaaay.
“What do I owe you for this?” I hold up Dover’s cure.
She walks over to a small broom closet, pulling out a bucket and a long, rough-bristled brush.
Shoving it at my chest, she says, “Tell your little prince friend that the deck needs scrubbing.”
After a week of rough sailing—the six of us crammed into one claustrophobic cabin—the ship rolls to a stop in a shallow, rocky harbor. I stand on the deck, listening to the crew shout orders as they lower the creaking ramp to the pebbled shore.
Heeled boots echo across the floorboards, and Kai glances up from his scrubbing as the Pirate King appears from the upper deck, a jeweled belt of weapons slung low on her hip. I take it as no coincidence that Kai chooses that moment to shuck off his shirt and wipe the sweat from his brow.
He’s been on cleaning duty for days as punishment for his crimes. The scutwork doesn’t look fun, but it beats the plank.
He sinks back on his heels, the wet floor around him glistening as the Pirate King approaches.
“Missed a spot,” she says, breezing right past him to stop before Zadyn and me. Kai’s gaze climbs her legs as she adjusts her wide-brimmed hat over one eye. “Showtime, witch.”
Our feet have barely touched down on the ramp before she wheels around, pressing a hand to Zadyn’s chest. “Where do you think you’re going, handsome?”
His eyes shift between us. “With the two of you.”
“I don’t think so, lover boy. The more the merrier does not apply here. But don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her.” She flashes him a flirty smile as she wraps her long fingers over my shoulder. “Let’s go.”
Zadyn catches my hand.
You call me the second you feel something is wrong, he says, a stern expression on his face.
I will.
His hold tightens a fraction before he releases me.
The Pirate King leads me through a patch of wild trees until the forest thins and we step onto ashen ground.
Skull Valley yawns before us—cold, barren, and brittle. As we wind the grim-looking gap between gray, snow-dusted mountains, I see where it got its nickname.
Piles of skulls line our path through the towering ranges.
The sun-bleached skeletons of people and horses are littered all around in a macabre fashion.
There are so many, it’s hard to avoid stepping on them.
I try to focus my attention ahead, but every so often my gaze wanders, and my stomach twists.
I squint up at the bright sun as a dull ache begins to form between my brows.
I rub my temples, trying to ease some of the tension.
“Still breathing, Blackblood?” the Pirate King calls over her shoulder.
“I’m fine,” I grouse, picking up my pace to match hers. “So if this compass was so precious, how did you manage to lose it to the Valley Dwellers?”
A dark expression crosses her face.
“A few decades ago, we were sent on an errand. We had no choice but to take this pass. Some things were lost in the crossfire.”
She stops short at the mouth of a dim cavern. I nearly bump into her back. “What I’m looking for is in this cave.”
Without hesitation, she plunges into the darkness.
It’s quiet here. Quiet enough to hear the thin ribbons of water trickling down the walls, the crawling of insects on the uneven floor beneath us.
The cave narrows into a jagged tunnel that we have to duck to fit through.
The outside world grows smaller and smaller until it is no more than a tiny pinhole of light behind us.
When we come out the other side, my jaw drops.
We’re standing in a cavernous dome of glittering gold. Piles and piles of jewels and trunks brimming with treasure. It looks like King Midas’ palace.
“Don’t touch a thing,” she warns me.
“I’m not.” Although I can’t say that I’m not tempted. “The compass is in here? It will take days to search this place.”
“No, it won’t.”
“Why is that?”
She shushes me. “I know exactly where I left it.”
I lower my voice to match hers. “How do you know it’s still there?”
“I just know.”
I stagger, a strange wave of dizziness hitting me. “Woah. Hang on a second.”
The Pirate King threads her arm through mine and hauls me forward. Every step becomes harder until I’m depending mostly on her to keep us moving. That sickly feeling intensifies, pooling in my stomach and making my head foggy.
“Something’s wrong. I need to sit down.”
“Quiet,” she hisses, glancing around the cave.
She pulls her arm from mine, and I sway on my feet, catching myself against the rocky wall. She stoops beside a humanoid skeleton leaned up against the cave. Disintegrated scraps of clothing hang from its tall frame.
“Hello, Father.”
The Pirate King reaches out a gloved hand, carefully running it down the milky cheekbone.
Hollowed-out eye sockets stare back at her like two dark voids as her fingers close around the circular pendant dangling from her father’s neck.
With a hard tug, she yanks the chain free.
The skull topples off, knocking against her boot.
She skitters back, falling on her ass. Then she’s scrambling to her feet, towing me toward the sliver of daylight at the mouth of the cave.
“Let’s go.”
I’m all but delirious at this point.
My boot catches on something. I see a flash of gold, and then I’m on the ground.
Pebbles bite into my palms as I try to push myself up.
The Pirate King freezes, watching the gleaming chalice that tripped me roll away.
It rattles across the floor until it disappears into a dark corner. My ears zero in on the sound.
Then the rattling stops altogether.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that silence is not a good thing.
“Get. The Fuck. Up,” she demands.
Through my delirium, I swing my head in the direction of her gaze.
Out of the shadows steps a giant clawed foot.
Skin like albino leather is stretched over its tall, gangly frame.
It stands easily over seven feet, red, beady eyes peering out with eerie vacancy.
Yellow hair like straw sprouts from its head, forming a thin line down its thick neck and horned back.
It licks its lips, the rancid saliva leaking from its gaping jaw adding to my nausea.
I stop breathing.
It sniffs the air, its nostrils flaring. Then it falls forward onto its taloned hands and roars.
“Run,” the Pirate King says before sprinting headlong toward the exit.
I try to dash after her, but everything feels heavy. Lethargic. The cave walls seem to be closing in on me as I trip through the tunnel. It takes a moment for the beast to cram itself through the narrow space. That is my only saving grace as I army crawl toward my escape.
“Wait! I need help!” I call out. Her hand closes around my wrist, and she groans, hauling me out of the tunnel and to my feet.
“Gods damn it, you’re heavy.”
I don’t have time to snap a witty retort as the creature springs for us.
“Sorry about this,” she whispers before shoving me into the beast’s waiting claws.
Grizzly teeth sink into my arm. Blood spurts everywhere as I howl, trying to wrangle free.
I’m rummaging through the pain, searching for my magic in my state of disorientation, but before I find it, the creature’s jaw unlatches from my skin. I stumble backward.
Just in time for it to projectile vomit all over me. Black, sticky, tar-like goop drips from my head to my toes.
The creature makes a mewling sound, clawing at its throat. My fingers start to spark, and I shoot out whatever I can muster to torch it. My flames are pathetically weak, but at this point anything is better than nothing. I spin, scanning for the Pirate King.
“HEY!” My shout echoes off the cave walls as her silhouette darts out into the light.
That bitch left me!
More creatures appear from the shadows, cramming into the tunnel, shoving against each other, bloodlust lighting up their crimson eyes. I stumble outside, teetering on my feet. The Pirate King is now a small dot bobbing in the distance.
That backstabbing little—
The beasts tumble after me, lured by my blood—charging at me on all fours like a pack of hyenas with the speed of a Stygian horse. I’m no match. My muscles lock, and suddenly I can’t move at all.
I’m going to die. It’s been real, world.
That’s when I hear the snarl. Feel it in my bones.
A flash of white appears in the distance, growing closer and clearer through my fuzzy vision.
Zadyn bounds toward me in OrCat form, his thundering steps kicking up mountain dust as he gallops at the speed of light. He leaps over me as I collapse, latching onto the neck of the beast hot on my heels.
I flatten out on a bed of broken skulls. And I don’t even care. It feels so nice to rest.
Don’t you dare go to sleep, Zadyn commands. I hum in response. Serena, answer me, damn it!
Mkayyy, I’m just resting.
STAY. AWAKE.
Another growl rattles the ground. It’s louder. Loud enough to shake a few rocks loose from the surrounding mountains. I lift my face from the dirt to glance at the shadow blotting out the sun.
Powerful arms shift beneath me as I’m lifted into the air.
My head lolls against Zadyn’s shoulder, bouncing violently as he runs me out of range just in time for Furi’s blue fire to incinerate the horde of Valley Dwellers.
Her rage is palpable as she breezes overhead, scorching the earth and doling out death.
She finally settles on the ground, and I watch as she bares her teeth and chomps down on them one by one.
That’s my girl. I smile to myself.
“Serena?” Zadyn slows as we reach the trees, his voice thick with concern.
“Hmm.”
A slow clap sounds from up ahead. I manage to pry my head off Zadyn long enough to glimpse the Pirate King leaning against an evergreen tree, a smug smirk on her face.
“Bra-fucking-vo. I really didn’t think you were going to make it.”
My stomach gurgles.
“Puhmedown,” I slur, struggling against Zadyn’s chest.
“What?” He glances down at me, still breathless.
“Down!”
He lowers me to the ground, and I squirm away just in time to puke my guts up.
“Hey. Hey, you’re okay.” He holds my hair back as I retch on the forest floor. My vision almost instantly sharpens, and my senses return. I glare up at the feline pirate towering above me.
“What the fuck did you do to me?”
“The Dwellers have a taste for powerful blood. So I poisoned yours.”
She shrugs as if she just told me it was Tuesday.
“What the fuck?!” I screech, fighting back another wave of nausea.
“Oh, relax, I didn’t give you enough to kill you. Honestly, that was mild compared to the cocktail I slipped you and your friends to dampen your magic.”
“You poisoned me and fucking left me to die!” I seethe, black tar still dripping from my face and clothes.
“Self-preservation,” she explains with an unnerving level of nonchalance. “Oh, don’t pout. You’d do the same.”
“No. I would not.”
Rolling her azure eyes, she says, “You’ll get over it. You’re alive, aren’t you? Lover boy over there is quite the hero.” I want to smack her when she tosses him a wink. “Besides, you should be thanking me.”
“Really. Why is that?”
“I just provided you with a very valuable lesson. Never trust a pirate.”
She spins and sashays away. I glare at the back of her head as Zadyn helps me back to the ship.
Kai straightens when he sees me clomping up the ramp still covered in black-tar, Valley Dweller vomit. “What in hell happened to you?”
“Don’t ask.”
The Pirate King’s poison takes an hour to exit my system. An hour in which I can barely lift my head from the bucket. Zadyn coaches me through it despite my futile efforts begging him to look away, and let me suffer my hideous fate alone.
Once there is nothing left in me but my soul, he guides me into the bath, then back into bed where I sleep like the dead.