Strength

by Angela B. Macala-Guajardo

  “You are dismissed.”

  Daio felt the wind tunnel sensation overcome him as his spirit flew back to his body, and then cold metal chilling his cheek. His body jerked and he accidentally kicked the stall door. Back on the ship. He peeled his face from the stall divider and sat upright. How much time had gone by? Most likely enough to fall out of that babe’s favor. He left the bathroom and found the lady in black waiting outside the entrance with her arms folded and a thoughtful pout on her high cheekbone face. Her eyes widened.

  “For a moment I thought you were trying to ditch me,” she said.

  “Never.” Daio’s put on his most seductive smile as he put one arm around her back and lifted her into his arms. She interlaced her fingers behind his neck. “Which way, hot stuff?” He’d worry about murder in the morning.

  Chapter 11

  Daio stared down the massive turbine connected to the cruise ship’s port propeller, the shaft spinning under its oily sheen. The engine room felt like a sauna, and the din of all those pumping gears and combusting fuel made it hard to think. But he had to think. Once he acted on his choice, there was no reversing it.

  In truth, he had no choice. Nexus was a god, his master. Daio was an Aigis, a slave to his master. Free will no longer existed once the master gave his slave a command. It was the only drawback to being an Aigis. And now slave him had to kill someone he never wanted to kill: Aerigo. Even though they didn’t get along anymore, it wasn’t reason enough to get murderous over.

  There was no loophole in Nexus’s orders. Kill either Aerigo or the girl. Or both. Daio punched one of the tanks feeding diesel fuel to the injectors and left his fist inside the dent.

  It wasn’t fair. This wasn’t how things were supposed to unfold. Daio punched the tank with his other first and heard some voices comment on the bangs. Daio repeatedly punched the tank until he made a hole in it the size of his head, and hopped out of the way of spewing fuel. He turned his attention to the cylinders and began ripping them out one by one, each taking as much effort to dislodge as if he were landing a big fish.

  A siren went off and the lights started fading in and out as they interchanged between red and white. Daio climbed the bus-sized engine, poised himself in front of the turbine, then started kicking the shaft with the heel of his boot. The shaft screeched and whined, and sent sparks into the leaking fuel, which ignited. Two more kicks and the shaft snapped. Daio hopped down and pushed the shaft’s free end into the rest of the engine, creating more sparks, along with a series of earsplitting thumps against the stern’s hull. Water began pouring in and the ship listed.

  ***

  Roxie woke as she was bodily flung from the love seat and into the coffee table. The wooden piece of furniture collapsed under her weight, and she rolled into the wall. The tumble didn’t hurt, but that and the ship’s alarm sure were a rude awakening.

  Aerigo rushed to her side and put a hand on her shoulder.

  “Never been woken up like that before.” She picked up the blanket that had been placed over her sometime during the night and noticed the floor sloped towards the patio. “We’re listing!” Even with the history of the Titanic, it was hard to fathom a ship so big losing its balance.

  “Towards port,” Luis said, getting off the floor, his hair disheveled. He retrieved his cell phone from a nightstand. “Anna, get Jake and yourself ready to abandon ship if we have to.” His voice was calm, assertive, and worried.

  “No,” Aerigo said, standing. “Stay aboard. Bring someone who can lead me to the engine room.”

  “What do you mean?” Luis lowered the phone as his wife ushered their son into the bathroom.

  “Just call someone now!”

  Luis called a crew member up to their cabin over the alarm’s racket, and a minute later, a disgruntled crew member wearing a PFD entered their suite.

  Aerigo retrieved his dagger from his pack and strapped it on his arm. “Rox, just stay here. Daio’s somehow managed to get on the ship.”

  “Great,” she said sarcastically.

  “Stay alert.” Aerigo told the crew member to lead the way and together they hurried out the suite.

  Since Roxie had gotten a whopping three hours of sleep, staying alert wasn’t much of an option, even with Daio about. How the heck would he find her out of the zillion people on this ship anyway? She stepped out onto the balcony and lay on one of the beach chairs. The breeze gave it a bite, making it just right for resting, and it gave her a chance to wake up gradually—well, as gradually as the stupid alarm would allow.

  ***

  Roxie woke again feeling groggy. Her eyes felt heavy with sleep and refused to open right away. None of her limbs wanted to respond either. She had to wiggle and flex each one before she was able to scoot upright on the beach chair.

  Roxie yawned for what felt like five minutes, stretched, and lazily opened her eyes.

  Daio sat perched atop the balcony’s railing with his elbows propped on his knees, and mischievous eyes staring intently at her. “It’s about time you woke up. I’ve been here a whole five minutes now.”

  Roxie felt quite awake. “Get too close and I’ll kick you again,” she warned in a low breath. As much as she wanted to scream for Aerigo, wherever he was, she didn’t want to pull Luis and his family into whatever danger she’d been pulled into.

  “Oh, getting brave, are we?” Daio said. “Don’t get too comfortable. I have come to kill you.”

  Roxie’s stomach churned. “Then why am I still alive?”

  “Three reasons,” Daio said and held up a finger. “One: I believe you deserve a death more noble than strangulation in your sleep. Either that, or I just wanted to prove to you that you’re no match for me. Our second meeting injured my pride.

  “Two: I want to get away with my own life. You see, I’ve discovered our inability to bodily leave this planet. This rift we’re headed to will up my chances of escaping a certain someone’s revenge—oh, and I heard about your planned trip to Phaedra. So I know what Aerigo’s planning.” He plucked at metal bands around his thighs identical to the ones Aerigo wore. “These things somehow still work, but now’s probably a good time to replace them.” He propped his elbows on his knees and looked seriously at her. “But anyway: the third and most important reason you’re still alive is because your death would be inconvenient to me, for the time being.”

  “Then why not just let me live?”

  “Master’s orders,” he said, drooping his shoulders. “I’d like to wait until we reach the rift, but Nexus would get suspicious of the delay. So, as I see it right now, if you live, then I definitely die. But if you die, then I might live. However, your existence has presented me with an opportunity I’ve been waiting a very, very long time for.”

  “Opportunity?”

  Daio leaned closer and dropped his voice to a whisper. “No point in telling you since you regrettably won’t live to experience it.”

  He hopped off the railing and stood at the foot of the beach chair.

  Roxie tried to hold a brave face as she cowered lower in her chair, but she could feel the telltale heat behind her eyes. She was in no position to defend herself, yet she couldn’t bring herself to yell for help.

  Daio held his arms at his sides as he made and unmade fists, then held them still. “I really wish I could have waited to kill you. If it had been anything but a rift I had to follow you through...”

  “You can pretend to have killed me,” Roxie said wanly.

  He looked at her as if he was considering the idea. “Any idea how to lie to a god and get away with it?”

  Roxie shook her head. What kind of question was that?

  “So,” he continued casually, “when my boss says ‘It’s time to kill,’ it’s time to kill. I promise to make this as painless as possible.”

  The patio door slammed open and glass shattered.

  Roxie flinched. A furious Aerigo stood in the doorway, eyes blazing red. He clenched the snapped frame in one hand, and in the other
his dagger. His arms were smeared with what looked like oil.

  “Morning, princess,” Daio said. “Did you enjoy my distraction? Roxie and I were having such a nice little chat.” He backed to the railing.

  “Rox, go inside,” Aerigo said in a flat voice and lunged at Daio.

  Before Roxie could leave her chair, Daio yelled a commanding word and a fireball erupted from an outstretched palm. The fireball exploded in Aerigo’s face and black smoke engulfed his head. Aerigo wiped soot from his eyes.

  Roxie had every intention of following Aerigo’s command, but the sight of the fireball rendered her immobile. Daio had just conjured that out of nothing. This part of magic being real wasn’t so cool. Aerigo’s face was blackened but he seemed to be alright.

  Daio lunged for her as she swung her legs over the side of her chair and Aerigo caught him by the neck, Daio’s clawing hands falling short of her arm. Something nailed her in the back of her head and her whole body somersaulted onto the glass-covered deck as her vision blotted with fuzzy stars. Her rolling was brought to a halt by the other beach chair and the patio table, which toppled into the railing. She clamped the back of her head and sat up. Roxie squinted open her eyes, blood pounding like a drummer’s mallet trying to crack her skull. Some of the sharp debris stuck to her skin, but nothing cut her.

  Aerigo held Daio by the throat in one hand, his dagger poised within inches of Daio’s forehead, staved off by his struggling grip, who then swept one of Aerigo’s feet out from under him. They both twisted and fell next to each other with a heavy thud. Daio peeled himself from Aerigo’s grip, surged to his feet, and lunged at Roxie.

  Rolling to his stomach, Aerigo discarded his dagger and caught Daio by both ankles, causing him to belly flop with a thud, and glass scattered. Aerigo surged to his feet and yelled, “Chac!” as he clapped his hands together. A bolt of lightening erupted from his fingertips and exploded on Daio’s back. The patio vibrated and Daio cried out in pain. Aerigo grabbed Daio’s ankles and dragged him away from Roxie.

  Daio clawed for a hold as he tried to catch his breath, then jabbed his fingertips through the wood. He corkscrewed his legs free and knocked Aerigo off balance.

  Aerigo defensively held up his arms as Daio swung one of the patio chairs at his chest. The thick plastic shattered on his forearms. Eyes blazing, Aerigo ripped the chair from Daio’s grip and hammered him with it as if he were trying to split wood. Daio shielded his head and the elongated chair shattered into smaller pieces.

  Aerigo chucked a piece of a chair leg well over the railing—probably over the side of the ship—and tried to stamp a heel into one of Daio’s knees. Daio rolled toward the railing and ripped all eight feet of it free and stood. He paused a moment, face etched with concentration, then chest-passed it at Aerigo, pinning his arms to his sides.

  Eyes on the railing, Daio swirled his hands in front of his chest as if he were spinning two horizontal wheels in opposite directions; the railing coiled around Aerigo’s chest and above his wrists. Daio dropped to one knee and slapped the patio with both hands. The wood rippled as if made of water and Aerigo sank through the wood up to his knees.

  Eyes wide, Aerigo stopped trying to force his way out of his metallic bindings to catch his balance. He teetered backward and used whatever his legs had sunk into as leverage to right himself. Wood groaned and began to splinter as he tried heaving one leg free.

  The moment Daio rounded on Roxie, it dawned on her just how vulnerable she was, cowering in her corner. Daio stood between her and the door, and by the painstaking slowness of Aerigo’s progress to free himself, he wasn’t in an immediate position to help. Roxie needed to run, but which way?

  Then again, if Daio could make feet sink through solid objects, then there was no point in running. She needed to make her stand and hold out as long as it took for Aerigo to jump back into the fray. How could she hope to beat the magic she didn’t know how to use of defend herself from? Roxie had to keep herself alive long enough to—

  “Ah, I love irony!” Daio said, waving Aerigo’s dagger at him, then turned back to Roxie.

  Roxie blindly reached back, felt the edge of the table, and hoisted herself to her feet. Dizziness made her vision spin as bile rose in her throat. She fell against the table and slumped to the floor. Her breathing grew heavier as she stared at the stolen blade that looked like several.

  “Just stay put, kid,” Daio said. “This won’t take long.”

  Roxie forced herself to stand. She wasn’t ready to accept death. She didn’t want to feel cold metal slip between her ribs.

  “Kill her and I kill you!” Aerigo yelled with so much force that Daio flinched and goosebumps formed on Roxie’s skin.

  Daio lost his grin to a pensive frown. He tilted his gaze in the direction of where the patio railing was supposed to be.

  Aerigo freed one leg and chunks of wood and cement littered the patio. Despite his attempt to lunge toward them, his other foot remained firmly stuck. His restricted movements turned from furious to desperate, and his glowing eyes shifted to golden yellow.

  “We’ll see,” Daio said, turning back to Roxie. “Our fight isn’t over yet.” He raised the dagger.

  Daio took a deep breath and delivered the thrust. His attack veered off-course when a sweltering burst of air caused him to lose balance. The dagger thunked into wood just to the right of Roxie’s ear and Daio tumbled into her, squishing her into the table and knocking the wind out of her. She pushed him off and the enigmatic gale force wind helped flick Daio over her head and out of sight. The hot wind held her pinned to the table until it died down.

  Roxie looked to Aerigo for an explanation. Both feet were free, yet his torso was still clamped inside the railing, eyes glowing that same molten color from on the bus. The molten glow disappeared.

  “Are you able to get up?” Aerigo said, his deep voice full of concern.

  Mouth ajar, she nodded. How did he—?

  “Can you stand? He’s coming back!”

  “I’ll try crawling.” She rolled onto her hands and knees.

  Aerigo made fists and forced his arms to spread. The railing squeaked and groaned as it bent like clay. He heaved the railing over his head and tossed the thing off the ship.

  Daio landed between Roxie and Aerigo.

  Aerigo grabbed Daio by the shoulders and brought his spine down on a knee. Daio let out a sharp cry and fell onto the patio floor.

  Aerigo circled Daio’s writhing form like a tiger waiting for the opportunity to make the kill, eyes blazing red, and muscles bulging with rage. He jerked his dagger free of the table and stood between Daio and Roxie. “Rox, get inside now.”

  One had clamped to her throbbing skull, Roxie accepted Aerigo’s hand and got to her feet. It felt like her forehead was going to split. She winced, but pushed through the pain as she made for the door slowly enough so she wouldn’t lose her balance.

  “I knew I shouldn’t have put my back to you, Aerigo,” Daio said and let out a laugh.

  Roxie paused in the doorway, feeling pity for Daio, and he spun in place like a top. Next thing Roxie knew she was on her back, staring skyward with the wind knocked out of her, and her head throbbing with renewed vigor and tears blurring her vision. Trying to ignore the pain, she pushed to her feet, Daio raise his hands, his fingers curled like claws at Aerigo. What looked like black transparent ropes shot out of his palms and the ends wrapped themselves around Aerigo’s wrists and ankles. He struggled against his new bonds and discovered he could move in any direction but closer to Daio, who rapidly chanted under his breath.

  Aerigo forced his arms forward and leaned in with all his weight. The transparent ropes writhed like snakes.

  Daio chanted his archaic words louder, forcing the big man back.

  Aerigo tried maneuvering around Daio, but Daio used his heels to twist his body to keep himself facing him. Aerigo stopped when Daio had his back to Roxie.

  “Argûs mero fer’anzha!”

  “Shevisz!” Ae
rigo spat back. It sounded like a command.

  “Nhah!”

  “Shevisz!”

  “Nhah!” Daio yelled. “Dji sho mi ghuz den!”

  Aerigo went red in the face and let out a guttural roar.

  “Just stay captured you stupid, stubborn Aigis!” Daio let out a shaky breath and sucked in more air. “Provelin!”

  Roxie flinched from the thunderous explosion and found herself on the ground for the umpteenth time. Rising to her feet, she discovered Aerigo was missing. But a sprawled-out and conscious Daio wasn’t.

  She started backing into the suite when he rose, dusting off his pants.

  “What’s going on?” Luis said. “Who’s that?”

  That halted Roxie’s retreat. While she knew she was the primary target, she feared Daio might go for anyone else out of necessity. Kill all the witnesses. Roxie stood her ground and hoped to whatever was out there that Daio would present her with another opportunity like kicking him below the belt.

  “I admire your bravery,” Daio said, trudging closer. “But—ah, I knew you’d try that again.” He donned a wicked grin, yet it looked empty.

  Roxie had her foot caught in his grasp and her balance wavered before she drove all her weight onto her seized foot and was back on both feet.

  Now that they were face-to-face, Daio grabbed her by the throat.

  Roxie pried at the crushing grip. She tried to cry out for help but couldn’t get any air in or out. Her skin grew clammy and she began to feel lightheaded.

  “It really is a shame,” Daio said sincerely. “You are rather good looking, and I like your spirit. But to be honest, you wouldn’t stand a chance against my master. Baku’s decision to create you was a desperate, last-ditch effort. You can’t even beat me.”

  Her legs gave out and Daio let go and gasped. Roxie sat on her heels as she clamped her neck. Her head still felt no better, but the crushing attack on her larynx hurt more than her pounding head. One of Aerigo’s strong arms was coiled around Daio’s neck, Daio limply clinging to it and blood trickling from both corners of his mouth.