38. Fenric
“Thank you for sailing with us. We hope you had a wonderful voyage. Yes, here. This is for you. Just remember to tell all your friends that the villains of E.V.I.L. were the ones who destroyed Count Pierres’s sex ring and kidnapping operation in Baza.
Yes, E.V.I.L. is an acronym. It stands for Every Villain Is Legendary.
That’s us. We’re all remarkable villains.
One of these days, we’re going to be the highest-ranked villains.
Don’t forget to take your coin pouch. Thank you! ”
Fenric scrubbed a hand across his face as he watched Malfas standing at the head of the gangplank leading down to the docks of Relos, his bright red hair shining in the morning light.
As each of the former captives stepped up to leave the ship, they received a few coins to help get a room at an inn, some food, and possibly passage on a caravan heading back toward their home village.
But that wasn’t all. Oh no, of course not.
Malfas just had to admonish each one to spread the word that E.V.I.L.
was the group who’d stuck it to Count Pierres.
He understood Mal’s desire to spread the word that they were a villain group on the rise and others shouldn’t fuck with them.
However, Fenric didn’t think this was going to impact their reputation like Mal thought it would, judging by the broad smiles he was receiving as they left the ship.
No matter how many times he tried to explain it, Malfas just didn’t get that you couldn’t save someone and call it evil. It didn’t work that way.
Kidnapping? Yes.
Rescuing? No.
“Remember! Don’t say we saved you. We kidnapped you from those evil fuckers. We stole you away,” Malfas shouted after them as the last woman walked along the gangplank.
Fenric rolled his eyes. Eh. Malfas was learning. Fenric still didn’t have high hopes that this was going to help. It was more likely they would see some improvement if it got around that they’d defeated Count Pierres’s goons in Baza.
Count Pierres.
Fuck. If they had to make an enemy, at least they’d aimed big right from the start. The man had money, power, and connections. This wasn’t going to be the last time they crossed paths with him. Especially with Malfas spreading the word on who ruined his profitable business.
A cool, damp wind roared in from the ocean and pummeled the small port town with its thick cluster of buildings huddled together under a dreary sky.
Curls of grey smoke rose from hundreds of chimneys as people fought to stay warm or just finish their day’s work.
Relos was little more than a two-day trip by boat from Baza and didn’t draw the attention of most traders, who preferred to stop at the larger village just a few hours north or even wait until they reached Baza.
Caravans and ships liked it as a place to briefly grab supplies before moving on to their ultimate destination.
Either way, Fenric was looking forward to getting farther south, where the temperature was warmer and the skies were bluer, even if it meant having to trudge through Dead Man’s Curve again.
Hopefully, the kraken had learned its lesson and would leave them alone on this pass.
Giggles rose from the docks, and Fenric peeked over the railing to see the women clustered together, waving at Malfas like he was their savior, not their captor. They were screwed. If this shit put them on the Heroes List instead of the villain one, he was going to personally fillet Malfas.
“Ahhh!” Malfas sighed as he walked over to where Fenric leaned against the railing, his always-present club tucked under his arm. “The captives are all free, and the ship already feels roomier.”
“We’ve still got one left,” Fenric muttered, not that he had a problem with Aria tagging along for a while longer. Lirion seemed more at ease and his smiles lighter now his sister was at his side.
“What’s next?” Malfas inquired, poking into Fenric’s thoughts.
Fenric shoved away from the railing and started across the deck with Malfas walking beside him. They went below and found almost everyone in the galley. Belstrom was sorting through the barrels and boxes that held their store of food.
“How’s it looking, Bel?” Fenric called out.
“We need to increase provisions.” Belstrom turned to the rest of the room, dusting his hands off. “There is only a day’s worth of sustenance left in storage. Basic medical supplies are also heavily depleted.”
Fenric grunted. “You, Malfas, and Hapi stole a tidy bundle from Count Pierres and his fleeing customers during your raid.” Fenric still didn’t know whether to smack or kiss those fools.
The plan had never included them breaking into the building to steal goods, but since they’d been nearby, they’d decided to sneak in during all the chaos.
Fenric couldn’t complain too much since their efforts had made the endeavor a profitable one.
“Pawn a couple of things and use the money to get us some supplies. Take Malfas with you. He’s pretty good at knowing which medicinal herbs to get. ”
“Not too much,” Rain interjected. “We can stop again before we reach Dead Man’s Curve. I don’t want to linger in Relos for too long. It’s closer to Baza than is comfortable.”
The pirate made a good point. They’d made a hell of a mess in Baza, and it was going to take a while for the group to pull itself together, but not that long.
Someone would guess they’d need to dock for supplies and come looking for them.
Running into more trouble would delay their trip to Lord Mire’s even more, and Fenric was tired of waiting to reclaim what had been stolen from him and his mother.
“The other question is how many people am I buying supplies for?” As Bel spoke, his gaze landed on Aria, who was seated between Rain and Lirion.
“True.” Fenric smiled at the young woman. “Have you decided where you’d like us to drop you off? You mentioned Loksi. Is that still the plan?”
“Actually, I’m staying…for now. If it’s not too much trouble.”
“Really?” Maxie gasped from his spot across from her. “Are you going to join us and become a villain as well? They have been training me up to be an expert poisoner, and I think you could be an amazing villainess if you wanted to be.”
The room exploded in shouts and chaos, but it all stopped as suddenly as it had started at the sound of Aria’s melodious laughter.
“Oh, goodness no.” She leaned across the table and pinched Maxie’s cheek. “You are just the sweetest thing. You could seduce the most lethal of my kind with those gigantic eyes.”
“I could?”
“Dear gods, no,” Fenric muttered, dropping his face into his hand.
He’d already survived Maxie’s seduction lessons with Lirion.
Maxie didn’t need more help. The world would go up in flames between his deadly eyes and his even deadlier cooking.
He couldn’t take Maxie having two bad influences at his beck and call.
“Behave, Aria. You’re killing Fenric over there,” Lirion cut in with a chuckle.
Fenric looked up to see Aria drop back onto the bench with a playful smile drawing up her pale pink lips.
When they’d finally rolled out of bed the day after the “kidnapping” in Baza—and after Lirion had enjoyed a very decadent meal of Fenric—they’d talked a little about Aria.
Lirion was concerned she might be more fragile in spirit than she let on, but she was on the path to healing.
Her captors hadn’t broken her stubborn spirit or her playful nature.
Even now, two days later, he could see the young woman was quite resilient and on the mend.
Shadows might still lurk in her eyes, but her smile seemed more genuine and confident now.
“Actually, my plan is to remain with Lir and travel at his side for a bit. He explained how you’re all heading back toward Bjornkill so he can help with another job as payment for rescuing—”
“Kidnapping!” Malfas sang out, correcting her.
Aria smiled and nodded at the warlock. “Right. Payment for kidnapping me.”
Yeah, no one was fooled, but it didn’t matter.
“While I’m sure none of us have a problem with you remaining on the ship until we get to Bjornkill, there is a question of how you are going to sustain yourself since it will take at least five days to get back. You need the same energy Lirion needs to feed and survive, right?” Fenric asked.
Aria smirked and her gaze darted to the ceiling, or rather where the helm would be with a certain sassy pirate.
“I do, and I’ve already worked out a system.
Rain has selflessly volunteered to feed me while I’m on the ship.
And if necessary, I can catch a nibble from Malfas since he exudes a lovely and delicious horny energy. ”
Fenric clenched his teeth to hold in a groan. There were things he would have preferred to go through life without hearing. Specifically, that anyone found Malfas’s horny energy delicious or lovely.
However, that raised one question. How was that going to work with Rain and the tub? They were going to be sailing, and the pirate spent most of his time in the tub so he wouldn’t become seasick. Did that mean he was going to be taking the medication he hated so much to combat the seasickness?
Or did that mean they were going to be fucking in the tub where they all sat during Tub Time?
Fenric had lifted a finger and opened his mouth to ask just this.
Thankfully, his brain caught up with his tongue and stopped him at the last second.
He curled his finger back into his fist and lowered his hand.
“You know what? Never mind. Whatever. So long as you have everything worked out, it’s fine with me.
I’ll give you the same rule we set with Lirion—don’t feed off Puppy. He’s too young and innocent.”
“Awww,” Maxie whined. He placed his forearms on the table and leaned forward far enough he was almost standing. “I’m not that young and innocent. Wouldn’t it be wrong of me not to do my part to feed our guests?”
Fenric rolled his eyes. Lirion and Aria were not in danger of starving on the SS Horndog. There was so much lust, sexual energy, and just general horniness rolling off everyone that Lir and Aria could get by just fine basking in their cabins.
Aria reached across the table and patted his hand. “Don’t worry, Puppy. It’s not a long trip, and I don’t need to feed as much as my brother. Rain will be more than enough for me.”
As if to distract Maxie from his disappointment, the succubus deftly shifted the subject. “Lirion has been telling me about the lessons he’s given you on seduction.”
The incubus nodded. “He’s gotten quite good at Level One Puppy Eyes, and he’s made excellent progress on Level Two. Just needs a little refining.”
“Wonderful. I want to help teach you even more seduction and manipulation tactics.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice to a stage whisper. “You’re going to need them so all these old men can’t boss you around.”
Maxie’s excited “Yes!” was almost drowned out by the loud chorus of “No!” that rose from nearly everyone else in the room.
Aria remaining on the ship was going to be an interesting adventure.