The Unicorn: Chapter 3

*Writers Notes: Up until now I know that my writing has been poor. Most of this is due to lack of time. I have not been able to Edit/Re-write my chapters as I would like to. Without any other person editing my story, most of my chapters have come out far below where I know my writing skill is at. I would like to apologize for this. This chapter took far longer then I thought it was going to, and I'm glad it has. I've made myself take time to edit this, so I hope you see an improvement in quality. Thank you.

         Despite the rolling waves and blinding rain, Michael and Lucy had fought their way across deck and then below. It didn’t make much difference. The old ship had more holes and cracks then could be counted. Rain fell effortlessly from the ceiling, leaving only a few spots on the floor that hadn’t been completely soaked through, but none of them offered shelter from the dripping water. After a while they finally settled underneath one of the large support beams, pillows and blankets they had stripped from the beds piled around them. The storm showed no signs of letting up or slowing down. Wave after wave rose up over the porthole, sending water gushing through the cracks in the wall. The agitated shouts from the deck only seemed to get louder as time went by. Every once in a while the deck would go quiet, something would crash into the side of the boat, then the shouting would continue. Most of it was gibberish; perhaps a completely other language, or just words being distorted by the rain. None of it made sense either way.

There was no way to tell how long they’d been down there, but it seemed like it was a couple hours at the least. When the doors flew open and banged violently against the wall, it was almost a relief to see Eric standing there. ”There it is ” Someone yelled out from the deck. A chorus of footsteps ran across the deck, assumedly to look at whatever “it” was. “What are the two of you waiting for?” The violent wind had swept into the small room, and both Michael and Lucy had buried themselves deeper into the blankets..“Get up and get out here, you’re going to want to see this ” The smile on his face seemed too genuine for the circumstances, like he didn’t really care if the ship sunk or not. Just enough of the deck was visible to see that the storm, if anything, had gotten worse. “Are you mad!?” Michael yelled over the wind at the man. “The storm’s gotten worse!”

“Hurry up now,” Eric grinned at him, ignoring their complaining. “Hurry up or you won’t get a chance to see it ” Jumping up with a child’s exuberance, Lucy ran up the stairs and out onto the deck. Michael took his time. There was no rush to go out and get wet, or wetter. When he finally made his way up into the storm Lucy had already made her way over to the railing, smiling and chatting with a few of the men. Men had begun tying lines to the masts as the waves got bigger, so Michael made his way over there. The lines were nothing more then ropes tied around metal pegs which had been driven into the masts. Wrapping one around his waist, he slid his way across the wet deck towards the railing.

He’d just made it to the railing when a great rushing sound filled the air. A huge wall of water rose up before the ship, falling over the deck and crushing several men to the floor. Lines began to snap, men went overboard. Chaos erupted as the men who were left standing tried to pull their buddies back onto the ship. They struggled for a while until most of the men had been retrieved, but the few left in the water had become the least of their worries. Everybody had heard the stories of large sea snakes. The Loch Ness monster, Kraken and any other myriad of creatures. None of them could even compare to the huge beast that had risen from the sea. As tall again as the center mast, it must have been at least three times as long as the ship. Lightning reflected in it’s massive, round eyes, it’s teeth bared in a nasty growl.

“What the hell was that?”
“We can’t fight something that big, it’ll rip us apart ”
“The captain never said anything that big would come after us ”

In all there were maybe seven rows of teeth in the things mouth, each tooth twice the size of any man Michael had seen. Men cowered against the deck as it leaned over the railings. The huge mouth fixed itself on the center mast, ripping it apart effortlessly. Wood splinters rained down on the deck. The remaining mast took less time then the first had as the snake ripped that one apart as well. A loud shrill whistle split the air, and the serpent stopped dead in it’s tracks. A few moments later another whistle sounded, and just like that the snake disappeared beneath the surface of the sea. “I-is it gone?”somebody asked from amongst the huddled crew members.

“No,” came the steady, unshaken voice of the captain. “The ships masts were destroyed for a reason. It appears that we aren’t meant to escape, and whoever is responsible for that serpent will probably be making his presence known soon enough. Eric, Casside.” Eric appeared from below deck, holding an unconscious Lucy in his arms. Standing beside him was a frail, tiny looking woman. “We can’t allow him to get near the children. There should still be a couple lifeboats in working condition; shore can’t be too far away. I suggest you make a run for it whilst you can.”

“What about you, captain?” The women, or Casside as she had been called, had a sweet almost lyrical voice that somehow managed to carry itself over the storm.

The old captains shoulders sagged, his head fell limp and he turned away from them. “I, and the rest of the crew, will stay behind. There aren’t enough lifeboats in working condition for all of us. Besides,” he paused, a resigned smile filling his face. “I think I’m just about ready to see my children again. Now go, chances are the serpent won’t be held back for much longer.”

Silence settled over the deck. For once nobody was worriedly talking, nobody was screaming questions that had no answers. Panic and fear still dominated most of their faces, but nobody said a word. Even Eric, who had seemed so cheerful at the thought of the serpent said nothing. He merely shook his head and began to lower the nearest rowboat into the water. “That’s it ?” Michael couldn’t hold himself back any longer. “You’re all going to die, and that’s it What the hell is the matter with you people?” Throughout the day Michael had tried not to look or sound shaken or scared, for Lucy’s’s sake. But this... this was too much People were actually going to die. Everybody knew it. When that snake came back it wouldn’t simply attack the ship. Men were going to die, and for what? Explain as much as they want, one of it made sense. Opening his mouth to say more was a mistake. Eric, who had apparently heard enough, silenced Michael for the time being with a well place punch to the stomach. Michael had never been punched before, not this hard anyway, and he doubled over coughing and wheezing before he eventually passed out.

!~~~~~~~~~~!

         The storm had dissipated by now. The black clouds were still there, hovering menacingly in the sky, but the rain had finally stopped. Thunder-less lightning flashed harmlessly across the sky. Even the waves that had been washing up over the deck had quieted down, adding to the eery feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach.. Despite the improving weather, most of the crew had fled beneath deck. You couldn’t blame them. Even the bravest man would have trouble facing his own death. He was the only one left on board now, something he would have cherished earlier. The deck could still be called beautiful, it was to him at least. Even with the fading gold trim and the worn wood. The deck looked a brilliant red thanks to a wood with a name he couldn’t remember. Gold paint lined the ship on the railing, different shades in places due to repair. No, it was not an ugly ship. At least not for it’s age. At well over three hundred the ‘ol girl was in decent shape. It had no name, not as far as he knew. Nobody had been captain of it long enough to give it a name. Perhaps that should have been a foreboding warning, but he’d always been a little slow with things like that.

“My, my. What do we have here?” The voice broke the silence, jarring him from his thoughts. “When I heard some fool had signed on for this mission, I hadn’t dreamed it would be you. What a... pleasant surprise.” The voice spoke in long, slow drawls, as if it was bored already with the conversation.

There was no reason to look around for the origin of the voice. The air began to crackle with electricity. The robes he was wearing began to cling to his body, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. “You look surprised to see me,” The voice was coming from almost directly above now. About fifty feet up, just floating lazily on the breeze was a tiger-like beast. If there was anything it could be compared to accurately in size, it would have been a Rhinoceros, perhaps even bigger. It’s fur shone a magnificent purple, It’s eyes glowed red against the flashes of lightning. Every couple seconds a yellow glow flew down the length of it’s body, and it became clear that, however impossible it should have been, the lightning was drawn to this animal. No... not just drawn to it. The lightning seemed to be coming from this animal. Flashes of yellow flittered around the deck as the huge beast set down on the ship. Astride it’s back sat a man, black robes flowing in the increasing wind.

Long brown hair hung wetly just above the mans shoulders, his piercing green eyes immediately fixing on the old captain. “Hiram Lewtoof. Or, should I say Captain Lewtoof.” The word captain came out as more of a chuckle. “I’m sure you remember Spark? Of course you do, who could forget him?” The man waved a hand at the beast and it took off into the air, disappearing into the clouds.

“ Isaac Antonov, I thought you were dead by now. What hole have you been hiding in?” The old captain, or Hiram, whispered in a very small voice.
“Hiding? There’s no reason to be insulting,” Isaac said. “I hide from nobody, let alone the likes of you.”
“The humans aren’t on this ship anymore. You’re wasting your time.”
“Humans? You mean those children you stole from the portals?” Isaac began to laugh, a low cackling sound that echoed around the ship. “Surely you didn’t think I cared about them. No, I’m here solely for you dear captain. You have something I want.”

Hiram’s hand instinctively grabbed at his chest, a dawning look covering his face. It had been years since he could remember exactly how old he was. His old age was not natural, but very few knew his secret. The fact that Isaac knew about the stone meant that one of his very close friends was most likely dead.

“Yes, I know you have a piece of the stone. It wasn’t information easily come by either. I had to go through seven people before they finally gave your little secret up. Trust me, you don’t want to be as stubborn as they were.”

Fear was a funny thing. Men could fear the slightest things; a sound in the dark, a shadow on the wall. Standing there, facing his own death Hiram had expected to be scared. There was no fear though, not the slightest quake in his legs, nor a shaking in his hands. Perhaps he was not afraid to die because, after living so long, he had seen too many things that were truly scary. Dying was nothing to be afraid of.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Isaac interrupted his thoughts. “Whether or not you struggle doesn’t change a thing.” His lips curved into a large, toothy grin. “I plan to take my time killing you.”

Isaac began to pace the deck, head bowed and eyes closed, hands folded behind his back. “You have quite a resume of achievements, Hiram. Second rank Regulator, Third acting General in the great war. Steward of the great library and a member of the high court,” Isaac began to shake his head disapprovingly. “So why then, with all your supposed wisdom, would you waste your time trying to save some humans? It boggles the mind really.”

“You never were a fast one Isaac.”

The old captain seemed completely serious, but Isaac couldn’t help but chuckle at him. “Me? Slow? Come now Hiram, I think you know that isn’t true. Could it be that fear is clouding your judgement?”

“I do not fear someone like you,” Hiram spit at the mans feet. “You are nothing but a traitorous coward.”

“Now now Hiram, can’t we keep this civilized? There’s no reason to resort to petty insults.” Isaac stopped pacing, turning to face the old man. “But you are wrong about one thing. You should fear me. Especially because I’m about to kill you.”

!~~~~~~~~~~!

         If he had wanted to, he could stop the rain. It was a simple magic that even the most incapable mage should be able to do. There was just so much blood that he saw no reason to. The old man had been a bleeder. These clothes were beyond repair now. It was a small price to pay for such a big reward. “There you are....” Isaac whispered. Lodged securely in the rib bones was what looked like a blue stone. There had been no way to tell were the dottering old fool had placed the stone in his body, so there’d been no other choice but to rip him apart. “Who would have thought it would be somewhere as obvious as the chest?”

The bones began to crumble into dust as he ripped the stone away. It fit int the palm of his hand, but was heavy enough that he had to hold it with both.”This is going to be a pain to haul around. Spark, come carry this. Gust.... Do what you want with the ship and the rest of the crew.”

!~~~~~~~~~~!

         Sometime during the night the small little lifeboat had finally given up. Water had finally forced itself through the numerous cracks, and it had torn apart. It took hours of swimming to haul the two humans to land, and neither of them had woken up since. Eric was not a doctor, neither was Casside. Hell, he didn’t even know what you were supposed to do if somebody got water in their lungs. But somebody did know. The only problem was he was late.

“Where is this friend of yours? We can’t stay here much longer.” The short brunette that called herself Casside had hardly spoken a word during their escape. The harshness of her tone and the volume of her voice, especially coming from somebody so small, was surprising. Eric wouldn’t be considered tall in most crowds. He was a good five-nine or so, but this Casside person was even smaller. Standing on the tips of her toes he doubted she would be as tall as his chest. Nevertheless, she carried herself as if she was bigger then anybody around her, and it was amusing.

“He’ll be here soon enough.” The man who they were waiting for wasn’t exactly known for being on time. Nonetheless, with things as they were being even the slightest bit late was reason for concern. “In the meantime,” Eric said to the still brooding woman, “it won’t hurt to move the children farther inland. If they happen to wake up soon we don’t need them to see the wreck.”

The large ship they had come from had apparently sunk. Without any naval savvy whatsoever, Eric couldn’t really gauge how far they had traveled in the life raft. Some small part of his mind had tried to theorize that the ship hadn’t been destroyed at all. That, seeing that the humans and their escorts escaped, the man pursuing them had left the boat and it’s crew alive. That hope was destroyed this morning. Scattered across the beach where pieces of wood, several painted a glowing gold that he’d recognize anywhere. The lifeboat had, of course, been painted the same shade of gold, but that wasn’t all that had washed up on the beach. The sound of the ship sinking would have attracted numerous meat eating fish, and there was never any real chance that a body would wind up floating to the island. There were, however,... body parts. Bits and pieces of flesh had washed up along the shore, and it had been Eric’s unfortunate job to collect them all, lest the human children wake up and see them.

No intact body had been found as of yet, which was a blessing of sorts. None of his friends would ever see a proper burial. Then again, he didn’t know how he could handle seeing one of their lifeless bodies. He would do his duty of course, bury every last one of them properly. Up to this point he had never actually seen a dead body though, and his emotions might betray his mind. There was no time to dwell on these things. Without the captain they were completely on their own, and they had to figure out what the hell to do next.

“I’ll take the boy, you get the girl.”

Eric hadn’t meant it as some sort of slight against her. The boy was almost as tall as Eric was, and he didn’t think that Casside would be able to pick him up, let alone carry him. She had other ideas though. Glaring at him the whole way, she marched over to the boy and slung his slack body over her shoulder. Even more impressive was the fact that she didn’t even seem to notice his weight as she marched angrily off towards the tree line. “I’m glad to see you’re in a good mood,” he muttered under his breath. In one quick motion he scooped the small girl off the beach, cradling her in the crook of his arm while he fetched his traveling bag from the shore.


!~~~~~~~~~~!

         “I told you to take care of it if Isaac couldn’t.” The master was angry. A fool could tell as much. The entire cave seemed to rattle at the sound of his voice, as if the mountain itself was shaking with fear. Just a rock. He has no real power without you. Just a rock. None of these thoughts could calm his fear today though. He had made a mistake. A big one. One he easily should have avoided. The Master was angry.

“I am sorry master. I thought Isaac would be smart enough to sense their escape on a lifebo-“

“SILENCE ” The cave shook with the mere force of the voice. Rocks shifted across the ground. Spires of stone fell from their spots on the ceiling, crashing to the ground around him. “You’re incompetence knows no bounds ” The voice from the rock screamed. “Did you honestly think that Isaac would have any interest in the humans? Why do you think I sent you if he was intending to kill them ”

The hooded man had covered his ears, just trying to soften the volume of the voice but to no avail. Both his ears were ringing now, and he was sure one of his eardrums had been torn to shreds. “I am sorry master. I assumed that he would think of the humans as a threat, just as you do.” Even before he said it he knew it was a mistake.

“Leave the assumptions to the competent minds, you worthless shit. I don’t keep you alive so you can make assumptions.” The voice was calm now, which only served to make things worse. The stone had begun to grow brighter now. The master was angrier then he could ever imagine him being. “Isaac has taken that old fool Hiram’s stone piece. I assume you let him get away?”

“Well y-yes my Lord,” the man stuttered. “B-but you see–_Augh ”

The stone had grown intolerably bright, waves of power spreading out around it. The walls shook, stone fell from the ceiling and the hooded man fell to his knees, tearing at his chest with his hands. “P-please..... m-master.....s-stop....”

It took a few more minutes, but the stone did stop. The glow slowly faded away, the waves of energy died down. The man lay there on his side, gasping for breath. “Never forget the power I have over you,” the voice growled out. “Fail me again and your usefulness will have met it’s limit. Now, go. Meet these humans and finish the job.”

“Yes master...of course.”