Chapter 42
Jak
Talons struck moss as Jak landed in the dark forest, feathers rippling into flesh and cloth until boots dug into the soil. He swore under his breath and turned to his crew waiting in the tree line, weapons already in hand.
“Screw sneaking in,” he announced as they all eyed each other warily. “Something’s happened and we’re out of time. We go through the front fucking door.”
That earned a ripple of movement. Half of them were grinning while the others stiffened, looking uncertain. All eyes flicked toward the towering elven walls in the distance, widening at the sight.
They all knew what elven mind magic could, and would, do to them. They’d suffered in the grasp of it before, and he couldn’t blame any of them for their hesitance.
Because he felt it too…that crawling fear at the base of his skull. A single glance from one of those creatures lurking within the castle would have them all seeing their worst nightmares, driving them to near madness.
Still, Jak lifted his chin. “I think the Phoenix was trying to warn me through the window that something isn’t right,” he admitted.
“You think?!” Alec interjected, staring at him beneath furrowed brows.
Hot rage shot through Jak. “This is our only godsdamn shot at getting Esmi out! If we wait, we lose her.” He took a step into Alec, and he matched it with a step back. “Now we didn’t come this far to give up when we see the end in sight, now did we?”
Jak’s stare roamed over the entirety of the crew, who began to nod in agreement. “We’re here to get our girl. Aye?”
“Aye!” they boomed in unison, a bit too loud for comfort.
Gods, these idiots. He suppressed rolling his eyes.
He didn’t dare voice what they were all thinking, though… That he might be leading them into a trap none of them would come out of.
But Esmyra was their captain, and she would come for them. So now, they’d come for her.
Jak turned toward the castle, jaw clenched and heart hammering. “On my mark, we storm the gates.”
They quietly crept to the edge of the forest, preparing to kill anyone who dared get in their way. Just as the crew prepared to burst from the tree line, shouts of terror split the night air.
They froze, exchanging confused looks.
“What the fuck was that?” Riven murmured.
Jak glanced around them, taking a quick head count. “Whatever it was, it wasn’t caused by us…”
And then a barrage of screams erupted.
They weren’t the poised, barked orders of the castle guards. These were guttural. The kind of screams that ripped from the throat as life abruptly came to an end.
“Shit. Get down!” Jak gasped out, his arms rushing out to his sides as he shoved down both Ren and Riven's heads, bringing them to the ground with him.
All the pirates crouched low, staring through the bushes as bodies began to fall from the high walls like stones, while those on the ground dropped to their knees with blood pooling around them.
Elven guards tumbled in limp spirals, thudding into the ground with sickening cracks in an unseen attack.
One of the males rushed out only feet away from where they hid in the brush. Jak’s hand moved to the hilt of his sword, glaring at the guard beneath furrowed brows. But then, flashes of movement caught his attention, and a hiss rushed through the air.
Thunk.
A spear buried itself into a tree only inches from Alec’s head.
“What the fu—”
Another whoosh followed by a thunk.
A second spear went through the guard’s chest who stood barely ten feet from where they crouched, dropping him mid-breath.
“Kaelypso’s tits!” Jak gasped, his mouth falling open. “Who the fuck is doing this?!”
Figures surged out of the darkness then, cresting over the hill on the opposite side of the castle. There were too many to count. Their armor shimmered faintly in the moonlight, parts of it even resembling scales.
The warriors were foreign to him. In all his years, Jak had never seen anything like them.
Some looked mortal, but the others…they were part man and part beast of the depths.
Their skin tones ranged from the lightest pale to the richest brown, all with an iridescence.
Their sleek bodies bore webbed and elongated fingers as gills trailed up their necks.
Their armor didn’t even cover all their skin.
Jak assumed that would leave them more vulnerable, but then he noticed fin-like ridges tracing the contours of their limbs.
Even their ears appeared pointed and finned.
Maerinys. All fucking gods. They must’ve been here for Esmi too.
Their war cries rose in a haunting, layered harmony that sent chills through every man crouched beneath the trees. The crew watched, stunned, jaws slack as the wave of warriors crashed against the elven’s outer walls.
“What the hells is happening?” Ren murmured, eyes scanning the chaos.
Something bigger was unraveling. And now… they weren’t the only ones storming the castle.
Maerinys’s warriors moved like shadows of the deep. They were silent, swift, and unrelenting, moving in a kind of grace Jak had only ever seen from Esmi. In less than a minute, the courtyard fell silent, save for the soft thuds of bodies hitting stone.
Then came the war cry.
Jak’s stare flew to the source, to what he could only assume was their leader.
He was tall, towering over his kin, every inch of his body lethally lean.
The male’s face was mortal, but his arms and spine bore those same sharp fins as the others.
His long, dark hair was pulled back into braids, as jewelry made of some kind of massive teeth, driftglass, and bones swung from his belt, clattering as he moved.
But out of everything Jak was witnessing these past several moments, it was that male’s eyes that unsettled him more than anything. They were depthless, like pearls of obsidian shining in the moonlight.
A thunderous roar echoed, erupting from the rest of the warriors, sending a chill down Jak’s spine.
And with it, they surged forward, rushing up the castle’s steps.
When they reached the top, the grand doors didn’t swing open, they shattered by the force, fragments raining down like hail as the Maerinyseans poured inside.
Jak gulped and turned to his crew, eyes blazing as his heart hammered in his chest. “Now’s our chance!”
They all looked less than convinced.
“Really? You were ready to face down elvens, but not these things?” He threw a thumb over his shoulder back toward the castle.
“What the hells even are they?!” Riven challenged.
“Don’t know. Don’t fucking care.” Jak pushed himself to his feet. “They just made our jobs a hell of a lot easier. Now, what say you?!”
With a chorus of their own war cries, The Night Wraith’s crew leapt from the tree line. Boots thundered across the grass, blades drawn, and pistols raised. They stormed Sumnae’s castle in honor of their captain, crashing through the ruined gates just behind the Maerinys intruders.
And then chaos exploded inside.
The air was thick with the metallic tang of blood, and the floors were already slick with gore, littered with fallen guards and warriors tangled in death.
Screams erupted from every corner of the entryway. A sling of elven stood along the staircases and balconies, their hands raised, eyes glowing faintly as they cast their minds upon their attackers.
Fucking hells. That was what his crew was most afraid of. But they knew it would come to this. They just had to be strong enough to push through.
The creatures of Maerinys clutched their heads, their bodies convulsing as the elves clawed into their thoughts.
But even then the warriors pushed through, hurling their barbed, coral-tipped spears into the balconies.
The weapons struck true, impaling guards through the chest and pinning them to the walls.
Others lunged forward with blades, cutting down any elven who dared stand their ground.
The pirates froze in the doorway, stunned by the sheer ferocity of the battle. Jak’s heart pounded like a drum as he took in the carnage. This was no simple fight…this was a massacre.
His eyes flew to the far end of the hall, where he watched as the lead warrior caught an elven by the throat and drove a spear through his chest. The guard screamed in terror as blood dribbled from his lips, cursing the sea creatures as he was lifted into the air and tossed aside.
“MOVE!” Jak shouted, snapping the crew from their shock, and they all dove into the fray, blades flashing.
Through the chaos, his eyes caught a narrow hall branching away from the slaughter. The path was littered with bodies, but it was clear enough to slip through.
“There! With me!” Jak barked at Ren and Riven, jerking his head toward the opening.
They exchanged a quick nod and followed as he sprinted forward, cutting down anyone in their way.
Esmi was here and she was hurt. He had to find her before these other creatures did.
But the moment his boots hit the edge of the hall, a cold, prickling sensation crawled up his spine, and then before he could react, the world warped.
The clashing of steel and cries of agony faded into silence, replaced by the roar of flames. The corridor erupted into a blazing inferno, fire clawing up the walls and devouring everything in sight.
Heat slammed into him, blistering his skin. Jak glanced down as his arms were engulfed in the fire, the skin bubbling as the stench of burning flesh seared his nostrils.
Panic tore through him.
No, no, no. It’s not fucking real!
But the pain screamed otherwise, and fear clawed at his resolve like a rabid animal. His lungs burned as much as his skin, every breath a ragged gasp of panic.