The Isle of Torment

by Andrew Hunter

  Tanys: The Isle of Torment

  By Andrew Hunter

  Copyright 2014 Andrew Hunter

  Kindle Edition

  Discover other works by Andrew Hunter at Freemancer.com

  Chapter 1

  "The Captain's a fool to take the straights by moonlight!" muttered Grund. The bearded sailor winched the halyard until it creaked in protest.

  "Why don't we go around the island?" Tanys asked, wiping salty spray from her face, and shifting her weight against the roll of the deck. Her bare feet slipped a fraction of an inch before catching on the rough wooden planks.

  "Devil winds would smash us to flinders if we go 'round," the sailor said, "Straight's the only way, but you take it by daylight... daylight if you wanna live. Here, girl, hold this for me."

  Tanys hunched as another wave smashed against the side of the Gannet, showering her with cold seawater. Her clothes were soaked, even beneath the oilskin jacket the sailors had given her to wear on deck. She grasped the winch handle and held it tight as the sailor jammed a wooden pin into place just in time. The sail boomed, and the Gannet drove toward the dark island that rose, silhouetted like a shark tooth against the moonlit sky.

  "Are we afraid of hitting rocks at night?" Tanys asked.

  Grund laughed, "If running aground's the worst thing that happens to us tonight, I'd drown with a smile on my face!"

  Tanys pushed a wet strand of raven black hair back from her eyes. "Just tell me what you're afraid of, man! All this mystery is making me want to throw up again."

  "He's afraid of pirates, ma'am," said Morrel, the young navigator, as he stumbled against the mast. He quickly shifted his unbalanced stance into a casual lean. The skinny blonde boy managed a single over-confident smile, then the ship's roll reversed, and his eyes widened as he shot out a hand to catch himself on the rigging.

  "Fah!" the grizzled old sailor shouted, "I'm not afraid of pirates! I'm afraid of the folk what lives on that island!"

  "I'm sorry," Morrel chuckled, "I meant to say cannibal pirates."

  "You've never seen what they do to you when they catch you!" Grund said, "When I was a boy, they found a ship set adrift off the coast near here. The island folk had had their way with the crew. They left one of 'em alive to tell the tale. His tongue was the only thing he still..."

  "That's enough, Mr. Grunt!" the Captain's voice bellowed from the castle deck.

  "It's Grund, Sir!" the bearded sailor growled.

  "Yer name'll be Sharkshit if I hear anymore mutinous guff outta yer hole!"

  "Aye, Cap'n," Grund mumbled.

  "I won't have you frightening the ladyfolk with wild stories!" Captain Harferd said. His bushy black eyebrows curled like two angry caterpillars above his beady eyes, and his ivory pipe danced in the gap between his yellow teeth when he spoke.

  "You'll find I'm not so easily frightened, Captain!" Tanys said, her hands moving unconsciously to the bulges in her oilskin poncho where the twin ghast-wrought daggers hung on her belt.

  "I wasn't talkin' about you, ma'am," Harferd said, "I just don't want him upsetting Miss Morrel there."

  All the crew within earshot shared a laugh at young Morrel's expense. The journeyman navigator was the only member of the Gannet’s crew not sporting a full beard.

  Morrel rubbed a hand over the downy fuzz that covered his chin, but had the sense to hold his tongue.

  "Now back to work, you slags!" Captain Harferd bellowed, "And Mister Morrel, I'll thank you to take the cargo below decks." He pulled his pipe from his mouth to jab it in Tanys's direction. "She's distracting the men from their work."

  Tanys glared up at him, but the captain had already turned his back to her. Morrel stepped forward and offered his hand and a rueful smile.

  "He's a charmer, is he not?" Morrel whispered.

  Tanys made a rude noise. She looked at Morrel's hand and then shook her head. She strode quickly across the rolling deck toward the angled hatchway that led below. She heard Morrel curse as he slipped and fell behind her.

  She paused in the flickering lamplight below decks, stripping off the dripping oilskin. Morrel stumbled down the wooden steps, bracing his back against the bulkhead with the toes of his canvas boots pressed to the opposite wall.

  "So, that's life at sea," Morrel said. His eyes fell to Tanys's chest where the sodden fabric of her tunic clung tightly to her glorious breasts.

  Tanys glanced down to see the prominent bumps where the hard, cold tips of her nipples strained against the thin cloth of her shirt. She frowned, leaning forward to wring the seawater from the shirt with her hands.

  Morrel looked away, grinning. "Can I show you back to your cabin, Miss Tanys?"

  "It's just Tanys," she said, "and I know the way."

  "I didn't mean to imply that you didn't," he said. He leaned closer and whispered, "I just didn't want any of these hairy old pirates to bother you."

  "And you'll protect me then?" she smiled.

  "Aye, I'm scrappier than I look," he said, "I could bite their ankles while you beat them up."

  Tanys laughed. "All right, walk me back to my cabin then, but don't be expecting a good-night kiss or anything."

  Morrel's grin nearly split his face. He stripped off his oilskin so quickly that it took his shirt with it. Tanys watched as he fished the tangled garment out of the bag-like overcoat. His skinny, hairless chest lacked mass, but what muscles he had were well toned. Her eyes followed the curve of his rippling abdominals, down to where they disappeared into the cinched waist of his linen britches. The damp fabric clung to his loins, revealing that some portions of his manhood at least had surpassed his beard in development.

  Tanys chewed her lip. Perhaps she had been a bit hasty in foreswearing that goodnight kiss.

  "Ready?" Morrel asked, pulling his shirt on again. His wispy blonde hair stood out at an odd angle as his head emerged from the neck hole.

  "Yeah," Tanys laughed.

  They started down the hallway toward the passenger cabins, swaying from wall to wall with the roll of the ship. Tanys let Morrel take the lead. She preferred to keep people where she could see them, and, anyway, she liked the way his trousers clung to his backside.

  "So, where did you find the cat?" Morrel asked.

  Calling Ghodn a cat was something of an understatement. Tanys's mountain tiger companion easily outweighed Morrel twice over. "I found him in Cashuun," she said, "His previous owner didn't appreciate him."

  "Ah, did he cost much?"

  "Just the previous owner's life."

  Morrel chuckled. "Met the pointy ends of your blades I take it?"

  "No," Tanys said, "the pointy ends of Ghodn's teeth."

  "Ugh," Morrel said, "not the way I'd want to go."

  "No," Tanys agreed, "especially since the tiger usually starts with the entrails... or the groin."

  Morrel made a sort of gagging noise. "You do keep him well-fed, right? I'd hate for him to get hungry..."

  At that moment, one of the cabin doors burst open, and a slim girl, wrapped head to toe in shimmering blue silk robes, flew into the narrow hallway.

  "We must go ashore at once!" the girl shouted, turning back to look inside the cabin behind her. Tanys caught a glimpse of large jade-green eyes, barely visible through a thin slit in the girl's blue silk headdress.

  "It will all be over shortly," hissed the well-dressed man inside the cabin. He was easily the most handsome man that Tanys had ever seen, handsome to the point of offensiveness. She found herself immediately disliking a man she had never met based solely on his artfully false appearance. From his perfectly slicked black hair to his tiny curling goatee, he exuded an air of perfection. His gold-threaded jacket and crimson silk hose reflected in the score of mirrors that co
vered the walls of the brightly lit cabin.

  "I don't like this, Cranston!" the girl in blue moaned, stamping her small, silk slipper on the deck, "I don't like this at all!"

  Cranston's eyes flashed, a darker shade of green than the girl's. He saw the two strangers watching from the hallway and his perfect lips curled into a snarl. "Come back inside at once!" he said, forcing his voice into an even tone, "We can discuss this in private."

  The girl looked around, suddenly aware that she was not alone in the hall. She recoiled visibly from Morrel who stood nearest her. Then her doe-like eyes turned upon Tanys, and she flinched, but did not look away.

  "Come inside!" Cranston said. He reached out from the cabin, touching the girl's shoulder to usher her back inside. She complied, sweeping from the hallway with a silky rustle. Cranston glared at Tanys and Morrel in turn then pulled the cabin door shut with a dull bang.

  "What the hell was that?" Tanys asked.

  Morrel pressed his finger to his lips and motioned for her to follow him further down the hall. When they were a good distance from Cranston's cabin, he whispered, "Zhadeen nobility."

  "So that's why this was the only ship with harbor papers to put in at the Celestial City?"

  "Just be glad you're not the ship's cook," Morrel laughed, "I swear he nearly killed himself when the captain handed him those two's dietary demands."

  "Who are they?" Tanys asked.

  "Don't know. Didn't ask," Morrel said, "When it comes to those sorts, the farther you stay clear of them, the better."

  "Why would someone who can afford that many mirrors travel on a ratty old boat like this?" Tanys wondered aloud.

  "Hey!" Morrel said, "You have maligned this good vessel with your foul talk, woman!"

  "Are you going to defend her honor, sailor?" Tanys laughed. Her hands went to the pommels of her daggers.

  Morrel chuckled weakly. "To tell the truth," he said, "Only a ratty old boat like this would take on a virgin navigator."

  "You're a virgin?" Tanys asked.

  "No!" Morrel said, "I just meant I've never navigated... really before. The other I've done, you know... plenty of times. Dozens of times, I mean..."

  Tanys laughed again. "Let's get me back to my cabin. I'm not safe alone with a lady's man like you."

  "Aye, ma'am," Morrel said.

  The two doors at the end of the hall marked Tanys's and Jorva's cabins. Jorva's door burst open as they approached, and Naietta, clad only in a thin gown danced lightly into the hall with a grinning, bare-chested Jorva in close pursuit.

  Morrel stepped aside to let the smiling, mute girl pass, and his eyes fell to the magnificent jeweled necklace that lay across her creamy, scar-laced breasts. Despite the cruel tortures she had endured, Naietta's innocent beauty shone through, and her sensual curves soon drew the young navigator's gaze away from the jewels at her throat.

  Jorva fixed him with an evil stare. The tattooed dwarf's sharp-toothed grin had turned into a snarl. Morrel flushed red and found a safer place to rest his gaze.

  "Going out, Jorva?" Tanys asked with a smile.

  "Too hot in there for…" Jorva's face went red now, "…for Jorva's resting."

  Tanys looked up the hall toward Naietta whose nightgown hung askew, riding up over one butt cheek. The girl grinned at her and then made a little cooing noise, waving for Jorva to follow.

  Tanys patted her friend on the shoulder. "Go get some rest, Jorva."

  She watched them go with a little pang of jealously. Jorva was her oldest and dearest companion who had saved her life many times. Naietta too was a good friend who had nursed Tanys back to health in the bonds of Cashuunite slavery. She did not begrudge those two the happiness they found together. Still, she missed her friends.

  Tanys opened the door to the cabin she shared with the Neshite sisters, Berra and Tyll. The two gladiatrices lay, snoring in their bunks. Morrel dared a glance inside, blushing again at the sight of the two well-built warrior women asleep within. The sisters had been raised as slaves in a desert city, and though they had consented to wear clothing during the waking hours, they still found it only possible to sleep in the nude.

  "Good night, Morrel," Tanys said, "and thank you for the escort."

  "Are you sure there isn't anything else you need?" the young navigator asked, "Can I..."

  "Good night, Morrel," she smiled, "Wake me if you see any pirates."

  "Aye, Ma'am."

  She closed the cabin door and latched it quietly. She peeled off her wet clothes and dropped them with a sullen thump in the corner. She hung her dagger belt within easy reach of her bunk, the largest of the three, and climbed in.

  She had to shove against Ghodn's bristly back until the tiger consented to give Tanys her third of the bed. The big mountain tiger lifted his gray-furred head and rumbled questioningly.

  "Thanks for keeping it warm for me," Tanys said, "You can go back to sleep now."

  Ghodn sniffed and lowered his head once again.

  "But keep one ear open, boy," Tanys said, "keep one ear..." Tanys's words trailed off into a yawn as the rhythm of the waves rocked her to sleep.

  ****

  Tanys awoke to the sounds of distant screaming.

  "What is it?" Berra mumbled from her bunk.

  "Goddamned cannibal pirates," Tanys groaned.

  The two sisters' feet hit the floor simultaneously. Their shortswords gleamed dully in the dim light of the short-wicked lamp.

  "You sleep with those under your pillows?" Tanys asked, tugging her weapon belt from its peg.

  "You don't?" Tyll said with a grin.

  The deck shook as Ghodn leapt to the floor. The big cat growled dangerously, sniffing the air.

  The two nude gladiatrices took only enough time to strap on their bucklers before flinging open the cabin door. They heard a woman's scream from somewhere above.

  "You coming?" Berra called back to Tanys.

  "In a minute!" Tanys said, tugging on a dry pair of pants.

  Tyll rolled her eyes. "See you on deck," she said.

  The Neshite sisters disappeared into the dark hallway beyond.

  Ghodn groaned, pacing near the door. The tiger cast Tanys a pleading look.

  "It's fine for you!" Tanys said, pulling a fresh tunic over her head, "You've got fur. It's fucking cold up there!"

  Tanys belted the daggers around her waist and followed Ghodn as he bounded up the hallway. The door to the Zhadeen couple's room hung, broken on its hinges. Tanys glanced inside as she passed but saw only mirrors and scattered clothing. The sound of steel on steel rang out from above decks. Berra and Tyll had made it to the party.

  Tanys emerged from the hatchway an instant behind Ghodn. A scene of chaos and death played out across the Gannet’s deck as sailors and pirates battled for control of the ship.

  Tanys sensed her tiger's bloodlust through the strange link their two minds shared. She watched through her own eyes, as well as a ghostly mental image of what the tiger saw, as Ghodn pounced upon an enemy.

  The gangly pirate appeared to be a man, but his skin shone, pale and colorless, in the moonlight. He wore only black trousers and a wooden mask, carved in the shape of a devil's face and painted red.

  The enemy screamed as Ghodn eviscerated him with long, curving claws, and Tanys tasted the sweet tang of fresh blood on her tongue as the tiger crunched the pirate's head in his jaws, splintering the devil mask.

  A second pirate leapt at Tanys, two black blades in his hands. She ducked beneath the pirate's wild swing and drove her blade into his armpit. The pirate screamed and crumpled to the deck. Tanys reversed her grip on the dagger and hammered the point down into the back of his head.

  Her sorcery-worked blades cut easily through flesh and bone, and she slashed effortlessly through the bindings of the dead man's mask. She knelt beside the body and rolled him onto his back. Tanys yanked the mask free to reveal the pallid, almost human face beneath.

  "Ghasts!" she exclaimed.

  The scream of
the Zhadeen noblewoman split the night once more. Tanys raised her head to see a pair of ghast pirates dragging the blue-robed girl over the starboard railing. The girl's veil had been torn away, revealing a golden-haired girl of flawless beauty. Her companion was nowhere in sight.

  Tanys stood, and would have hurled her dagger, but she thought better of it. The blades had been a gift from someone very special, and she could not bear the thought of losing one overboard. More pirates swarmed over the railing to replace those stricken down by the Gannet’s defenders. The Zhadeen girl was their prize now.

  Tanys moved to engage the foes, weaving and slashing with her twin daggers as Ghodn ripped and tore men into quivering chunks of dying flesh. Berra and Tyll controlled the ship's castle deck now, having butchered the pirates there.

  Something heavy struck Tanys's shoulder. A length of thick rope lay at her feet. She looked up to see pirates in the rigging. They scurried like monkeys among the lines, cutting ropes and sails.

  "Where the hell is Jorva?" Tanys shouted.

  "Haven't seen him or Naietta," Tyll called back as she face-kicked a pirate who had tried to mount the ladder to the castle deck.

  Tanys grabbed the collar of a panicked sailor as he rushed by, dragging him to a halt. "Where's Captain Harferd?" she demanded.

  "Dead!" the sailor said, "We're all dead!"

  Tanys shoved him away in disgust, then spied Grund and two of the older members of the Gannet’s crew, working to load a dart into the arbalest mounted on the prow of the ship. She ran toward them.

  A pirate moved to intercept her, his red devil mask carved into a leering grin. Tanys dove beneath the wild sweep of his hand axe, and knocked his legs from under him as she rolled across the deck. The pirate hit the planks face first. The thwack of his mask hitting the wood muffled his cry of pain. Tanys silenced him forever with a dagger thrust to the back of his neck.

  She scrambled to her feet and made it the arbalest just as Grund managed to lock the heavy arrow into place. He swung the oversized crossbow on its swiveled mount to aim high into the rigging and squeezed the trigger lever. The bow snapped taught with a solid "thwump" and Grund grinned as a pirate plummeted hard to the deck with a feathered shaft buried deep in his chest.