by Eric Vall
“That’s not what I mean,” Carmedy cried as fat tears spilled down her cheeks, and her hands clenched into tight fists as she tried to reason with the pale elf. “These guys weren’t the ones who hurt you, and they certainly weren’t the men who hurt those ghosts up there. Maybe we can come up with a plan that involves no one getting hurt.”
“Your innocence is a hindrance, and you should cast it off before it gets us killed,” Morrigan snapped, and I could see the emotion plainly on the elf’s face as she raised her hand into the air below the hatch and jade light flickered from her fingertips, the same green light that she protected Rana with.
I seldom had to chastise or scold my minions, but at this moment I needed to. The High Elf had spoken unkindly to her sister, and it was making me angry. Morrigan rarely spoke like this to her sisters, but as I opened my mouth to speak, Rana spoke first. The redhead’s unruly curls blew back as she strode forward, her expression hard and fuming.
“Apologize to Carmedy right now,” the fox demanded, and Morrigan’s white eyebrows raised in surprise. Annalise had wrapped her arms around the cat again and rested her chin on the crown of the hiccupping and sniffling alchemist’s head.
The High Elf was silent for a while as her dark eyes moved between Rana, Carmedy, then me. I tightened my grip on her and shifted her away from the ladder. Her hand dropped from the crew member’s wrist, and he scuttled away terrified.
“Yes, you are right Rana,” Morrigan whispered as she nodded to the fox. “I am sorry for my words and actions.” She shifted her dark eyes and landed on the cat who straightened and nodded for her to continue. “I am especially sorry for the way I spoke to you, Carmedy, that was very unkind. You are both my sisters, and you are right, these men are not guilty of what others have done. I let my passions get the best of me.”
“It’s okay,” the cat whimpered with a small smile as she scratched at her cheek. “I know you didn’t mean it because you’re upset.”
I reached out for Morrigan and held her to my chest. Then I pressed a tender kiss to her ear and whispered to her, “You must remember they are your sisters and they are not here to hurt you. We protect each other, Morrigan, we stand by you but you too must stand by us. They may not know the pain in your heart, but lashing out will do nothing but cause more heartache.”
“I know, it is hard for me to control my tongue but I will work harder to keep our family strong,” she muttered back to me, then she lifted her head and looked me in the eye. “I must apologize to you too, Master. I am sorry. I do not wish to cause a rift in our family.”
I nodded and stroked the soft white hair at the top of her head to signal I had accepted her apology. Then she pulled away from me slightly as Rana began to speak.
“What are we going to do now?” Rana asked as she turned and looked into all our faces. “We can’t stand down here until we run around. We have to do something.”
“I would still like to go up and speak to them, or least try,” the elf said, and the entire crew turned to stare at her in horror.
“No way in hell, we’re not going up there,” the captain said as he came forward, his arms crossed over his chest resolutely.
Morrigan leveled her dark eyes at him, and he shied away. “Did I say you were going up there? No.” The elf’s eyes cut into the captain, and he shrunk back into the mass of his crew.
“Any other ideas besides throwing the elf to the wolves?” Rana asked as she turned to each of us. Carmedy opened her mouth to speak then closed it, and Annalise shook her head. The fox placed her hands on her hips and looked into my eyes. “Well, I guess we’re going with Morrigan’s plan. We can go up while the crew stays down here, she did say they were only interested in the men with Tintagal blood. Which ones of you were either born in Tintagal or live there currently?”
Almost all of the men, the captain included, raised their hands in the air, and the redhead bit her lip thoughtfully. I could see the fear in the faces of the crew and could hear each of their hearts hammering in their chests.
“Morrigan will take the lead since she can speak to them,” I said with a nod. “The rest of us will fan out around the hatch and protect the crew, understood?” I looked into the faces of my women, and they nodded in agreement.
The High Elf stood below the hatch and raised her hand once again, and before I could utter a word, the hatch blew open with a crackle of jade light. We climbed out, Morrigan first, then me, and then the rest of my minions. The deck of the ship was bathed in dense fog that billowed around us and obstructed almost everything from view. I could hear the high-pitched clicking noises of the Rusalka communicating with each other but strangely could hear no other sounds, not even the cracking of ice from the water below.
Rana, Annalise, Carmedy, and I stood protectively around the mouth of the hatch and kept our eyes peeled for any sign of movement, but there was none. Morrigan stepped out closer to the massive mizzenmast, her slender hands held out at her sides, and I could clearly hear her calm breathing as she sensed the presence of the Rusalka. A white mass moved through the fog and passed behind the mast, icy blue eyes trained on my elven woman.
A high-pitched call rang through the air, and both my cat-woman and fox winced but stayed strong where they stood. Morrigan’s head jerked to the right of her, her eyes slowly turning black as she concentrated on words we couldn’t hear. Then I saw them, moving as a unit in an arrow-shaped formation.
The spirit women were all translucent, and their appearances were similar. Each woman was as beautiful as the next, and I could almost imagine what they looked like in life. The lead Rusalka was tall, taller than Morrigan and Annalise, and her long-snow white hair hung to below her bare breasts. I gazed over them, and my throat tightened as I saw each Rusalka had a different gaping wound.
The lead woman bore a long slash that started at the base of her throat and ended below her belly-button. The edges of the wound moved and swayed, opening and closing like her whole body was still submerged underwater. The Rusalka to her left had her throat ripped open, and the one on her right was sliced across her belly. They stepped in unison, and as they neared, the high queen gasped and stiffened from beside me as her eyes wandered over the lead Rusalka.
“What is it?” I whispered to her, not breaking my eyes away from the approaching creatures.
“The one in the middle,” the swordswoman muttered through gritted teeth as her hand reached for Bloodscale, “I recognize her, her name was Viktória. She was a Tamarischian countess who debuted the same time I did … how did … how did she end up like this?”
The ghosts surrounded Morrigan, and I summoned my dark power to me. While the elf had assured us that they meant outsiders no harm, if they showed any sign of aggression towards my women or me, I’d rip their lost souls apart. The leader, the woman once named Viktória, tilted her head at Morrigan, her huge eyes moving over the elf’s face as the same clicking sounds came from her throat. I could tell they were speaking to each other, but I had no idea how. Perhaps there was a connection from one magical being to another.
These creatures seemed docile as they moved in closer to Morrigan, but I kept up my guard in case the situation changed. Below my feet, the heads of the crew members peeked up to see what was going on. When they saw the Rusalka, they ducked back down into the hatch.
One crew member stayed up, his eyes just above the level of the deck, and I watched as one of the Rusalka spied him, and her face split all the way up to her ears in an evil smile to reveal long pointed teeth. The man’s eyes glazed over, and I realized what was happening and hurriedly reached for the wooden hatch to close it, but it was too late. The man burst from below and stumbled forward as if in a dream, and all of the spirits turned, their mouths opened with loud hisses. Annalise raced forward to grab his arm, but he pulled away with a grunt as the Rusalka swarmed on him and left Morrigan in their wake.
The clicking and squealing that roared up their throats was deafening, and Rana and Carmedy lowered
themselves to the deck, their paws clamped over their cotton stuffed ears. Morrigan whirled around, her red coat flying out behind her as she raised a hand into the air, and the white spirits exploded away from the sailor with loud shrieks. The only one who clung onto him was Viktória. Her white hair, so much like the elf’s, whipped around her, and she leveled her hateful blue eyes at Morrigan and hissed. Viktória opened her mouth, and it was like her head was split in half to make room for the massive jaw and needle-like teeth inside.
She lunged forward, and her teeth were about to sink into the poor sailor’s shoulder when her eyes widened, her clawed hands let go, and her translucent form exploded into nothing. The air cleared as her soul dissipated to reveal Morrigan panting hard, her wholly black eyes searching for her next victim.
“What just happened?” Rana shouted from the ground and I watched as the elf’s head whipped in different directions, listening to the far-off clicks and calls of the other four Rusalka.
“Soul exorcism,” I said as I too searched the hazy white fog for moving creatures. “It's much easier with this type of being. The Rusalka are essentially souls without bodies.”
To my left, Annalise spun around and slammed Bloodscale down on top of the hatch as a Rusalka attempted to crawl inside. It shrieked, narrowly scrambled out of the way of the blade, then drew back. She was too slow as Morrigan flung her tensed hand out, and the spirit, like its sister, exploded into thin air. A smile spread across my lips, proud of my student of the dark arts, but when I looked into the elf’s face, the smile fell away.
The usually unemotional Morrigan was crying. Tears fell from her abyss-like eyes, and her lips trembled at the corners as she turned away and searched for the next Rusalka. I didn’t know what they said to her, but I could tell from the wild beating of her heart that it had shaken the steadfast, serious elf to the core.
“Morrigan,” Carmedy yelled as she pointed to the wooden railing of the ship, “there!”
The pale woman turned and saw one of the spirits clamoring down the railing, trying to return to the water, and with a loud, pained cry, she thrust out her hand again. The Rusalka wailed as it let go and attempted to fall back into the water, but it was too late. The soul exorcism blasted the being into wisps of gray fog that were pushed away on the wind. Morrigan was sobbing now, and her thin chest rose and fell with the noise as she turned towards the helm, but I stepped out in front of her protectively. She raised her head to my back in shock as her mouth dropped open and tears spilled down her beautiful face.
I nodded towards my other minions, and they moved from around the hatch and rushed to steady the High Elf as she weaved emotionally on her feet. I turned back to the Rusalka crawling behind the helm, and with a wave of my hand, I unleashed my own soul exorcism. Its soul was released into the sky with a howling cry. I whirled around, searching for the last Rusalka, but the slinking white form amid the fog was nowhere to be seen. The only sounds I could hear was the wind blowing in the sails and the soft, comforting whispers of my minions soothing Morrigan’s frayed nerves.
With her sisters gathered around her, Morrigan placed a hand over her mouth as a loud splash came from below, and all of us rushed starboard to stare into the deep blue water. We stood together, Morrigan in the middle, as our eyes searched the icy surface for any sign of the fifth and last Rusalka. Bubbles formed then a white face broke the surface and stared up at us with sharp, sad eyes. The elf raised her hand one last time, but I reached out with a tender hand and lowered it as the creature blinked up at us. Water streamed down its hair making it look like the creature was crying along with Morrigan. The elf’s hand tightened on mine, and she stared down at the Rusalka with a mix of sadness and hate, her wholly black eyes squeezed shut as she yelled at the creature bouncing along with the wake of our ship.
“Leave!” Morrigan screamed as she launched herself forward, her pale face turning red with strain. “Can’t you see I am going to kill you?! Leave! Run!”
Carmedy hastily grabbed the back of Morrigan’s coat before the elf could topple over the side, her emerald eyes wide at the sudden and unwarranted outburst from the usually calm and collected woman. Without a sound, the white silhouette of the last Rusalka sunk into the azure water and was gone from sight. Morrigan collapsed to the deck, her head hung and her white hair a curtain around her face as she was wracked with sobs.
My minions glanced at each other quickly then lowered themselves around the elf’s shaking form. They wrapped their arms around her and comforted her the best they could. I too bent down, and my minions parted to allow my entrance. I reached out and lifted Morrigan’s chin with my pointer finger. Her thin cheeks were smattered with wet tears, and I stroked them away with my thumb. Her sobs quieted at my touch, but her tears continued to course down her face.
“Tell me what pains you,” I stated as I stroked her cold cheek, and her eyes closed as she hiccupped for breath.
“He killed them, he snatched away their lives and gave them to the river,” she muttered, and her supple lips trembled with emotion. “And I killed them all over again. What does it feel like to die, then suffer a second death? Is it still as painful as the first? If you heard what they told me, you would be angry, too. I did not want to hurt them and yet I had to. They were women like me … women like all of us, and I still had to kill them.”
“Hey,” Carmedy soothed as she rubbed the elf’s back, “remember what Annalise said? When their time is up as a Rusalka, they are reborn as babies. I bet there were a bunch of babies being born all over the world right now, and four of them were souls of women you released. You didn’t kill them, Morrigan, you gave them new life.”
“Is that true, Master? Did I release them to new life?” the elf asked hopefully as she reopened her eyes and looked me directly in the face.
“Yes, my love, you did.” I smiled as I offered her a hand. “Morrigan, you did something good for those women, you gave them freedom from their torment.”
Morrigan gripped onto me tightly and at last, the corners of her lips twitched up into a smile and she brushed away the tears drying on her cheeks. The High Elf may have been the most emotionless of my minions, but she still had feelings and emotions buried deep inside. In these times, they needed the network of love and care I built with all of my minions to support each other when one of them faltered. I helped my elven woman to her feet, and my other three minions brushed off her red coat as the crew and the captain slowly emerged from the hull. I observed my women for a moment with warmth in my heart, watching each woman fret over their sister in a different way.
“Are you okay, Morrigan?” Carmedy asked as she held the elf’s pale hands in her paws.
“Of course she’s okay! She’s tough as nails!” Rana shouted as she soothingly rubbed Morrigan’s thin shoulders.
“Aye,” Annalise warned the others with a chuckle and a grin. “Give the woman some room, she needs to breathe.”
“I’m better now, thank you everyone,” the elf whispered as she reached out and touched each of them with a kind smile on her supple lips.
The crew’s eyes wandered around the deck of the ship in search of any more of the Rusalka, but they soon realized the man-eating creatures were gone and sighed in relief. Annalise took the High Elf’s arm and led her back down towards our bed to rest for a bit. My eyes followed our cowardly captain as he resumed the helm, and I came to stand next to him.
The much smaller man jumped once he noticed my presence, and I chuckled darkly at his reaction. He kept his eyes straightforward over the bowsprit and the water ahead of us. We were silent for a long time, and I could tell the silence was making him very uncomfortable as he shifted from foot to foot and took quick glances at my stern face. He cleared his throat meaningfully, and I raised my eyebrows at him, but he didn’t speak, only turned the wooden wheel a little towards the left, and the ship shifted slightly.
“How much longer until we reach Machstein?” I finally asked in my gruff voice, and his hands tig
htened on the spokes of the helm. He didn’t speak to me. He only lifted his right hand and pointed. As I looked, the fog ahead of us broke and revealed a huge black mass in the distance. As we sailed nearer, the fog dispelled, and the sun shone through for the first time in months, bathing the expansive island in bright rays of yellow.
The island of Machstein looked to be made entirely of a rock formation towering up into the sky, an extinct volcano from the shape and size perhaps. The city of Eifersucht seemed to float on the waters around it. I assumed the buildings and houses were tethered together on a complex system of stilts and posts that gave it the appearance of floating. It was a beautiful place, and I had to catch my breath as I took in more sights. From this far away, I could spy small fishing boats darting in and out of its ports, gondoliers with their long wooden poles moving between city streets and under bridges that connected each building to the others.
Higher up the cliffside, hidden between trees and boulders, I caught glimpses of another city, but the ship turned, and it was gone from sight. I strained my eyes towards the top of the mountain, and I could just barely make out an open cave mouth with two golden pillars on each side. I focused hard on them as the pillars flashed and glowed before they were obscured by trees.
I knew exactly what those pillars were. What I had seen was an entrapment spell. Though I couldn’t be sure of the source, it was probably put in place by the Holy Band of Mages, like the one that kept me trapped in the rock for thousands of years. I knew this must be the dungeon of one of the gods on this island, but which one I could not tell yet. Excitement bubbled in my stomach as our captain steered us closer to Eifersucht. I could taste the salt in the air, and I breathed it in deeply with a loud enough sigh that it made our captain give me a sideways glance.
There were so many different things I enjoyed these days I hadn’t known I would miss. The hot summer sun on my back, the icy winter chill on my face, the sunset on a crisp autumn night, and even now, the crashing salty sea as it moved unbridled and unobstructed by ice. I was able to enjoy all of these things because of my minions, and I was grateful as I listened to the babble of their cheerful, far-off voices. They had given me a new life just as Morrigan gave the Rusalka new life. I kept my face towards Machstein as the pale elf came to stand beside me and slipped her hand into mine. I grinned down at her, and she returned the smile as we sailed on toward it, toward a new city, new dungeons, new gods to conquer and new powers to obtain.