by Jack Crosby
He swiped at me with his spike. “You think you two puny fucks can defeat Adobe the Angry?”
Ducked another attack. “Well, that’s the plan big guy.” I was close to his knee, so I jabbed forward with my laser sword and skewered him. This time he didn’t just take it, he yelled – a lot. “Doesn’t seem like that bad a plan either from here.”
Me and my big mouth, another trait I got from dear old dad. Even with a fresh, oozing wound, Adobe lashed out and kicked me. His goat hoof for a foot did some major damage and sent me into the shop of Darina and Argus. I landed against the counter as the two of them looked on.
Argus gave me a hand up. “You need any help out there with him?”
I grabbed my sword, ready for some more beatings. “Nah, I think the two of us have it.”
As I ran back out of the shop towards the battle, I swore I heard Darina say, “They remind me of us from back in the day.” Oh man.
Cassandra was peppering Adobe with more different colored blasts. It was like a proverbial rainbow of witch powers: red, green, blue, and even orange too. Each blast seemed to do something a bit different to him, whether slow him up for a moment or hit him like a battering ram.
She hit him with the orange one again, the one that slowed him up. Seeing as how last time the spell lasted for maybe a moment or two, I had to time this just right. Using my wings to get a little extra boost, I jumped in again with my sword flailing around. His reaction time was severely diminished, and as his head turned to see more, I rammed the laser end right into his eye.
The spell broke right after the hit and his hand swatted me away again. The problem? The damage had already been done.
As he clutched the wound with both hands, I yelled over at Cassandra. “Can you try to knock him down?”
She nodded and charged up the blue magic before sending two torpedoes at his legs. The spells were true and swept his feet right out from under him. He landed stomach first in the street, leaving his back unprotected. The place where he pulled out the spike was sticking out like a sore thumb. Back on the attack, I raced forward and delivered a major blow to the open skin.
My blade must’ve dug in deeper than I thought as a massive amount of black demon blood came shooting out of Adobe. He began to pound his fists into the cement, but it was all for naught. As more and more of his blood left him, his body eventually turned to dust and blew away in a spring sea breeze.
Cassandra was about five feet away when she stopped. “Amazing work Oz!”
A little winded, “Anytime. Glad… I could help.” I fell back, sweat pouring from my hairline.
The witch seemed tentative to come over to me. Two others weren’t; Argus and Darina. “Well done Oz.” Argus was pumping his fist like his favorite team won the Super Bowl. “It wasn’t pretty, though it usually isn’t.”
“Excuse me, who are the two of you?”
That’s right, Cassandra had no idea who my new friends were. I made some quick introductions to keep things moving. Afterwards, “So, did you land separated too?”
Tears formed in her eyes. “Oh my God, no! Though moment we landed, that thing tried to kill us. Cas fended him off, that is until another demon took him and pulled him into the sea. I had to run for my life just to avoid being captured too.”
“Did you say pulled into the sea?” Argus dropped to a knee in front of Cassandra. “Was your companion taken by a demon pirate?”
“Caspian is my twin brother. And yes, the demon was dressed up rather corny like a pirate since you made mention.”
Oh damn, it was time to drop some bad news. “That wasn’t any corny pirate, that was Davey Jones.”
She still looked confused. “Okay, so how does that help us?”
I deferred to Argus to explain. He basically said the same thing he told me before we were rudely interrupted by that Wrath demon. The more he talked, the more mortified Cassandra looked. “You mean to tell me my brother could end up in Hell?”
“Aye that I am; unless we get to The Flying Dutchman and save him.”
She stomped her foot on the ground. “What are we waiting for, we need to go!”
“Hold up, we also need to find Tyra. We can’t have her roaming around the streets either. This place is dangerous.”
Anger filled her face as she looked at me. “I don’t care much about the angel who shouldn’t even be here. We find my brother and save him, understand?”
It was truly impressive how level she sounded even though being afraid and pissed off were right there. Still, I wasn’t about to abandon a friend who saved me either. Well, we had a voice of reason with us, Darina. “I can find the angel for the two of you and my husband will assist you on your journey to save your brother.” She took Cassandra’s hands in her own. “Would that be an acceptable solution dear?”
The witch calmed down a bit. “Yes, thank you. I don’t mean to be some emotional, but he’s my brother.”
Argus looked out over the water in the background. The sun was beginning to set behind the water. “We leave at first dawn you two. I don’t attempt to find The Flying Dutchman at night. In fact, it’d be best if you got off the streets too. Nights here are not pleasant for the celestials. Let’s hope your angel friend has found a safe haven for the time.”
Cassandra was about to say something again, so I wrapped her up in a hug. Looking over her shoulder towards Argus, “We can handle that. Should we meet you here or at your ship?”
“Meet me at The Black Cat. Just head to the pier and take a left. You’ll see me.”
We bid good evening to our new friends and Cassandra and I went back down Duval Street. Just two blocks down was a bed and breakfast with a vacancy sign lit up on the front door. We stayed relatively silent until we got to the room.
As the door shut, “Thanks Oz, I know I’m kinda a pain.”
“It’s cool, I get it. With Cas and Tyra missing, this whole adventure got off to a bad start.”
Cassandra walked over to the window and looked out. Night had just fallen and already I could feel a lot of demonic energy. Apparently so did she. “Where ever they are, I do hope they’re safe until we can find them.”
Chapter 8 – My Inner Demon
A loud bang from outside the room woke me up. I’d fallen asleep quite early, as the entire negative aura from the demon energy really was draining me. I checked the clock and saw it read two fifteen in the morning. My sleep induced fog was beginning to lift and I realized something was pressed up against me. It was Cassandra’s ass and it was settled in nicely against my groin.
I had no idea when she got into bed. Before I laid down, she said she had a few things to do to ensure our safety and began doing whatever it is witches do. Fast forward to now and we were in quite the predicament. Just the heat from the contact against me was really stimulating my senses.
I tried to move but she slid with me and we ended up in an even more awkward position. Oh man, she was only wearing a thong too. I felt a stiffening in my groin area and just like that, it popped out of the slit in my boxers and rested against her well-toned ass.
She stirred, just enough to make the situation worse. The brief rubbing against me turned on a lust I’d never felt before. Instincts kicked in that had never been there before and I let things happen that I knew I shouldn’t. I slowly pulled off her thong and exposed Cassandra to me. It seemed our sleeping arrangements had turned her on as well, as I could see the slick wetness that had formed. I slipped myself in and as I went deeper, she awoke with a muffled, “Oh!”
“Do you want me to stop?”
Her voice was husky, raw from just waking up. “No, I’ve needed this for so long.”
By now her hips were gyrating against me, helping to create even more sexual energy between us. I reached around and took her breast in my hand, fondling it as we continued to work back and forth on each other. She raised her leg a bit, giving me easy access to her. The quick change in position sent my nerves on edge. The feeling was incredible.
“Is this your first time Oz?”
I was embarrassed. “Yes it is.”
“I wish I could say the same.” For some reason that eased my tension. Her hand found my hair and pushed through it. “Keep going, just like that. You’ve found my spot and it feels so good.”
Closing my eyes, I did what I was told. I had to tense up a few times, worried that I was orgasm before I was ready. I didn’t want to too quickly and ruin what was happening. Then, as she picked up speed, it was hard not to. After a few more moments, I couldn’t control myself. “Ahhh, oh man!” I thrusted myself deeper with each volley. Again, something inside me told me this was what I needed to do.
Maybe my orgasm triggered hers as she started bucking against me violently. She gripped my side and her eyes rolled back in her head as she began to let out weird half screams. “Ugh, ugh, ughhh!”
This lasted a few more moments before we both came back down from the euphoric high the sex had led to. Spent, I rolled back on to my pillow, my chest rising quickly as I tried to catch my breath.
Cassandra snuggled up against me. “I’m glad you did that Oz. Did you feel the chemistry between us?”
Words were failing me. I pretended that I was still just trying to calm down, to give me time to answer. “That was something alright. You hear the stories from others, but you don’t really know what to expect until you jump in.”
Her fingernail drew a line up my chest. “I should’ve waited for you. That would’ve made this even more magical.”
Man, confusion was gripping me like vice. On one hand, here was this smoking hot witch who was one hundred percent sure I was her soulmate. On top of that, together we were supposed to save the world. Then on the other, the only reason I was here in the first place was to save my brother and I’d been lying if I said I didn’t have a huge crush on the angel Tyra.
Her fingers closed my eyelids. “Let’s rest before the sun comes up. We have a long day waiting for us.” Her words were like dreams wrapped up in counting sheep. Sleep overtook me before I could argue.
****
One moment I was falling back asleep and the next I was gently being woken up. “Oz, we must leave soon. I would get yourself ready.”
I rolled out of bed, walking to the bathroom. A quick shower was what this morning needed. I didn’t take long, just enough time to clean myself and allow the water to wake me up. When I got out, my clothes from yesterday were sitting on the counter, clean. “When did we have time to do laundry?”
“After you returned to sleep, I cleaned our stuff up and prepared a few more protection spells. We can’t go out into the world being all sticky and smelly.”
My shirt smelled like a rainy forest. “Well this is a nice surprise.”
As if she was trying to sell herself to me, “All witches are practitioners of the domestic arts. Cooking and cleaning are two of my more desirable qualities.”
From my time in the Garden, I’d actually gotten quite good at cooking with the help of the angels posted there. When you had fresh ingredients readily available, it was something you took pride in. “As it so happens, I’m a famous chef myself. The denizens of the Garden can’t get enough of Chef Oz’s chicken cordon blue.”
Cassandra had a wonderful smile. “I look forward to trying that one day soon.”
Sunshine came through the closed off curtains to our window. That was our signal it was time to go. I got my clothes on quickly and we left, headed down to the pier. It was a quick walk this time of morning, as most people were nursing the aftermath of last night. The stench of brimstone still lingered, but there were no active signs of demon activity.
Argus was right where he said he was going to be. Darina was with him as he was working his boat to get it ready to set sail. It looked like an Almighty’s honest old pirate ship. From the crow’s nest, to a ridiculously large canon jutting out on the port side, The Black Cat was everything you’d want from a pirate ship. Argus saw as approach and gave a wave.
When we joined him near his ship, “I hope all is well. Last night was a bit more dangerous than usual here.”
Besides weird noises and the demon aura, nothing seemed that dangerous from the safety of our room. “Why was last night different?”
“To make a long story short, the people of Key West are splitting off from the United States, or so they claim. Last night was Key West’s first night of freedom and let me tell you, the demons loved the greed, sloth, and lust the night produced.”
None of the history books in my school ever talked about Key West leaving the States. “Are you making stuff up?”
Darina backed him up. “I wish he was. Key West is calling itself The Conch Republic. It’s a publicity stunt with the unfortunate draw back that it is attracting more evil to the island.”
Argus pulled one last rope and the sail to the main mast dropped down. “Enough with local nonsense, we have a demon pirate to find and you my love, have an angel to rescue.”
“I love it when you go all Captain Merciless on me.” Darina reached in and gave him a deep kiss. “Come back to me and there will be more where that came from.”
I hadn’t seen it before, but Argus walked over to one of the posts coming out of the pier. He grabbed an old tri-point pirate hat and perched it on top of his head. “It’s been too long since I sailed the sea under my old banner. Today, Cassandra and Oz, we make sail under Captain Fletch the Merciless!”
Cassandra laughed at him, but for me, this was awesome. “It’s just like the story my mom told me. What are we waiting for Captain, to the high seas!” And my enthusiasm carried me up the gangway and on to the ship. It was time to go save Caspian in my own pirate adventure!
From below, I heard a few snickers. Darina addressed her husband, “He’s certainly excited, isn’t he? I think you have a lot to live up to Captain.”
Chapter 9 – Cas and Tyra: The Update
**Tyra**
I had taken refuge in a safe house not too far from the downtown area. The sheer amount of brimstone on this island was awful. As much as I wanted to keep my search up for Oz, and I guess the others as well, I knew I needed to stay here and wait this out.
The night was rough. A few times I was worried my aura would draw demons to me, yet I managed to stay hidden. As daylight drove off the underworld element, I stretched my wings and walked back out on to the island.
As much as I wanted to, I could not fly. I did not want to risk being seen by an angel and then having to explain what I was doing here. It was bad enough that I willingly went along on this terrible idea, all because Oz asked me too. There was something about him that made me lose my sensibility for moments at a time.
The shops along the streets were not open yet. There was a delicious smell of key lime pie lingering, so I knew someone was out and about. I found the source of the smell, a small bakery just off the main thoroughfare. I knocked on the door gently, hoping someone would answer.
A young lady with baking powder all over her hand did. “We don’t open until ten.” She tried to say it kindly, even though I could tell she was in a hurry.
“I will keep this short; I lost a few of my friends last night. Where would be the best spot on the island to try and locate them?”
She leaned against the door and honestly gave it some thought. “Two places – the first is down in the bar district on Duval and if they aren’t there, I’d try down by the pier.”
I thanked her for her information and she even pointed me in the right direction. I made my way down, passing all sorts of funny looking places. Even more ridiculous was the number of drunken humans wondering around, each with the smell of brimstone on them. I had a feeling that a great many demons had their pleasures last night.
There was no sign of Oz or the Twins. I had suspected the male, Caspian, to be here. He seemed like the kind that would indulge booze and fast women. Still, there were no traces of any of them. I continued on my way, passed some stores on my way to the pier. Out on the
water, an old time looking pirate ship was sailing away. Maybe they did tours around here?
There was only one person on the pier by the time I arrived. She was a beautiful redhead with a very strange presence to her. She was most definitely not human. The even stranger part was when she smiled at me as soon as we made contact. “Well, this job was easier than I dreamed it would be.”
I took a step back. “I am sorry, but I do not think we have anything-”
She gently slapped herself. “Of course, I should explain a few things first. My name is Darina and you must be the angel Tyra. Your friends Oz and Cassandra were worried about you.”
She mentioned Oz and Cassandra! “You know them? That is fantastic! Can you take me to them?”
She pointed to the boat out at sea. “I’m afraid they are with my husband doing something rather foolish. Another one, Caspian I think they said his name was, is being held by the demon pirate Davey Jones. They are trying to free him.”
“We must go to them and help!” I began to unfold my wings, ready to fly out to the ship.
Darina grabbed my arm, gently, but with enough force to keep me grounded. “That’s not a good idea dear. There’s a portal to Beelzebub’s realm on that ship and if you were to get caught…”
I pulled away and took two big strokes of my wings to get airborne. “I appreciate the concern, but I must go. I will tell them that we met.”
She gave me a smile and watched me fly off after them. I had to be quick though, from this vantage point I was too exposed from both angel and demon.
**Caspian**
The ship was fucking cold. It didn’t help that I was soaking wet from my time under the water. “This is bullshit people!” I grabbed a piece of coral off the ground and rattled it against the bars keeping me in the cell. “If I get out of here, you’re all fucking dead!”