by Logan Jacobs
Jemma was no longer curled up by my side, and my fingers searched clumsily for her in the dark as I tried to wake up. I was still in that hazy state between waking and sleep, though, when a hand gripped my shoulder firmly and started to shake my body with vigor.
“Ben, please, wake up!”
The voice belonged to Ainsley, and the fear in her tone shot through me like a lightning bolt.
Instantly, I was so awake, it was as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over my head. I shot up from the mattress with the speed of a puma, and I went from a flat position to standing so fast, it was like a blur.
“What is it?” I demanded as I turned toward Ainsley.
Her electric blue eyes were wide with fear, and she held both her hands over her stomach protectively.
That was enough to send a shiver of fear through me. Ainsley wasn’t normally one to hold her stomach that way. She touched it often, but it never looked like she was afraid something might hurt her baby.
“Up top,” she managed to croak out.
“Stay here,” I ordered.
I took the creaky wooden steps two at a time and raced up to the top deck.
The moment my feet hit the last step, I was blasted to the side by a gust of impossibly strong wind. I slammed into the wood wall that lined the stairs, and a jolt of pain shot through my shoulder. As I pushed away from the wall, I fought the strong blasts of wind to turn and face Mira, who stood at the wheel and fought as she tried to keep the boat safe.
“Mira!” I yelled. Wind blasted me backward with every step I took, but I fought it as I focused on the scene before me.
The women were still on the mast, but they now clung to the wood for dear life as they tried not to fall off, or be blown into the ocean by the impossibly strong gusts of wind.
The sails were plumped out and round with the force of the gusts, and the ship sailed wonkily forward, pushed too far, too fast by the strong wind. I couldn’t fully tell, but my gut told me we’d been blown off course.
The sky above us was still clear, but I managed to glance down to the ocean and saw it roiled angrily below us. Waves slapped against the wooden hull, white and foamy at the top, and every once in a while, they threatened to splash over the deck and soak us all.
“Mira!” I yelled again, as loud as I possibly could, so the wind couldn’t carry my words completely away.
The jade-haired warrior heard me, and she snapped her head around to look me right in the eyes.
She tried to yell something, but the sound was carried away on the tempests of the wind. I shook my head and pointed at my ear, Han Solo in the Death Star Style. Mira nodded her head and tried again to yell even louder. Just as she did, the wind picked up, and I heard nothing. I squinted and tried to read her lips, but I was too far away and not the best lip reader.
Finally, Mira gave up and just pointed off the port side of the ship.
I turned around to follow her finger, and what I saw made my heart stop.
The angriest, darkest storm I’d ever seen in my life was brewing up about a half a mile away from us. It even looked meaner than the storm that sent me to this world. Lightning cracked through dark clouds and smacked the dark navy waters of the ocean below, and I assumed the rain and even stronger winds pelted it as well.
My stomach tightened into a ball as I remembered how difficult it had been to deal with the storms on the dragonkin island. And with those, we hadn’t been on a giant wooden ship in the middle of the ocean. We’d been safely tucked away behind the stone walls of a massive castle.
“Fuck,” I hissed as I watched the storm brew and shift. “We have to get away from this.”
The words were barely out of my mouth before I blinked, and the storm shifted even closer.
What had seemed to be a stationary storm half a mile away was now a moving, rollicking hurricane three eights of a mile away.
It was coming for us.
And there was no way to outrun it.
Chapter Five
I sucked in a breath and gave myself two seconds to feel the terror. Then I whirled around and dashed for Mira on the upper deck.
“That storm’s coming for us,” I told her grimly. “And there’s no way in hell we’re going to be able to outrun it with the wind like this.”
“What do we do?” she demanded. The jade haired warrior attempted to keep her tone level and strong, but I could hear the hint of fear in it.
I hated that. Mira was never afraid of anything, but this storm had clearly gotten to her.
It had gotten to me, too, but I wouldn’t let her know it.
I was reminded again, as wind slapped my naked skin and the dark storm clouds let loose a clap of thunder, of the storm that had gotten me to this world. The one that had capsized my boat as I tried to save that family from certain death.
The storm I was supposed to die in, if it hadn’t been for Jonas.
Death by this storm would almost be poetic, but there was no way in hell I’d let that happen. Especially not when my death meant the death of all the women I loved as well.
“Keep calm,” I told Mira. “We need to be the relaxed ones in this, or else everyone is going to lose their heads. And that is the absolute last thing we need for them to do.”
“Right.” She nodded.
“Take the helm,” I instructed her. “Try to keep us as straight as possible. Don’t try to steer or drive us anywhere. Just keep it straight as best you can.”
“What can we do to help?” Jemma asked as she and Theora rushed up to the top deck with Mira and me.
“Is Ainsley still below deck?” I demanded.
“She is unhappy about it, but she is staying.” Theora nodded.
“Good,” I said. “Theora, help Mira keep the ship straight. Jemma, you and I need to help the others get the sails up. Tie them as tightly as you can. We can’t let the wind rip them to bits, and we don’t want it to take us any further without a fight. Got it?”
“Yes.” The auburn haired woman nodded vigorously.
Without a moment to lose, Jemma and I dashed for the ladders on the masts. She took the first, and I took the second.
Quickly, I climbed to where Thornen clung to the left side of the mast. Her arms were wrapped around the wood as the wind whipped her gray hair back and forth. The ends snapped her face and eyes, but she paid it no mind as she held on for dear life.
“Let me help you,” I yelled over the wind.
The older healer looked back, and I could see absolute terror in her slate gray eyes. Thornen glanced down at my hand, then back at where her own arms were wrapped around the mast.
Slowly, she shifted back and started to sit up, and the moment she was upright, I grabbed onto her body. Then the older woman clung to me in abject fear.
“Hold onto my back,” I ordered her.
Thornen did as I asked and managed to slip around and grab me the way a child grabs her father for a fun ride, and then I shimmied back down the wood until my feet found the first rung of the ladder.
Slowly and carefully, I climbed down with Thornen on my back. I made sure not to go too fast and knock my balance off, because I knew if I did, the wind would topple me, and both Thornen and I would crash down onto the deck.
As soon as the healer was safely on the flat wood of the upper deck, I ordered her to start tying down any loose ropes she could find.
“Tell the others to make sure everything is secure,” I instructed. “If we lose anything in this storm, it’ll be a big problem.”
Thornen nodded and grabbed onto the rail of the ship as she started to make her way back down the deck.
I looked up to check on Jemma and make sure she was alright. The auburn-haired woman had followed my lead, and one of the women who had manned the mast clung to her back as she carefully climbed down the ladder.
Comforted that Jemma was fine, I turned back to check on the progress of the storm.
It was even closer. Now, I guessed it was about a quarter
of a mile away from us, and every second, the distance grew smaller and smaller.
“Shit,” I murmured.
I quickly spun around, dashed back to the mast as fast as I could, and crawled up to where Brenna sat. The brunette had wrapped herself around the main pole, with her arms and legs crossed over each other as tightly as they would go, and her eyes were squeezed shut against the sting of the wind.
“Brenna, let me help you,” I yelled out.
She opened her soft blue eyes and looked at me fearfully.
“I cannot,” she cried. “I need to stay here.”
“No, you need to get to the deck,” I told her. “If you stay up here, you’ll get blown away into the ocean. I’ll help you. You’ll be safe with me.”
“I cannot move,” she replied again and shook her head vigorously. “I am too afraid.”
“It’s okay,” I reassured her. “It’s alright to be scared, but you can’t let the fear stop you. Not doing something because you’re afraid is worse than anything else.”
I wanted to tell her how dangerous it could be, too, but I had a feeling those wouldn’t be quite the right words to say in this situation.
My words sank in as the wind pounded us even harder and the first few droplets of icy rain stung my skin.
Brenna glanced behind me, to where the dark storm brewed and threatened to sweep her up into its windy grip, and finally, she nodded.
“Okay,” she said. It was so quiet, I didn’t hear it, but I could tell what she’d said from the trusting expression in her eyes.
So, I carefully peeled her lithe, taut body away from the pole and swung her around to my back with my right arm. She clung to me, just as Thornen had, and buried her face into my neck, and I could feel how icy cold her skin was as she pressed her cheek into my nape.
I climbed down the ladder again, and I was overly aware of Brenna’s every breath as the fearful deer woman hid her face from the storm.
The moment I made it to the deck, her hands seemed to release me of their own accord, and she fell to the safety of the flat wood.
“Go below deck,” I told her. “You’ll be safe there.”
The brunette nodded and scampered off.
Again, I lifted my head to check on Jemma, who had picked up the second deer woman and made her way down the ladder as the rain picked up.
The storm was nearly upon us. I knew we only had a few minutes, and I was just about to turn back to the sails and go raise them when I caught Jemma out of the corner of my eye.
The auburn-haired woman went to put her foot on the next rung, but the wood had become slick with rain. She lost her hold just as she shifted her weight downward, and her entire body started to fall backward. The deer woman on her back, Lanae, screamed as they started to fall from fifteen feet up, but she still clung to Jemma’s back for dear life.
With a fierce cry, I sprinted to try and get below them. The slippery deck actually worked in my favor, and I slid into position just before Jemma and the other woman would actually hit the deck. Instead, their bodies crashed down into mine and took us all down.
But I broke their fall, and I heard nothing worse than the thump of three bodies as we hit the wood.
Quickly, Jemma scrambled to a standing position.
“I am so sorry!” she gasped, and her chartreuse eyes were terrified. “Ben, are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I assured her as I helped Lanae up.
“Are you alright?” Jemma asked Lanae.
“Yes, thank you.” The silver-haired woman nodded. “What else can I help with?”
I glanced up at Mira and Theora, who struggled to keep the wheel straight on their own.
“Go help Mira and Theora keep the wheel still,” I told her. “Jemma, we have to get those sails up before the storm hits.”
“I think it may be too late for that,” the deer woman replied ominously as she looked behind me.
I turned to follow her eye line, but barely got the chance to see anything.
The storm was upon us. Dark clouds rolled over us, and the rain became so icy and hard, it was almost like hail. Lightning cracked just off the side of the boat, and an enormous, white capped wave crashed over the side and soaked the deck.
“Fuck, we need to move,” I yelled.
Jemma and I dashed for our respective sails as fast as we could while deer women surged onto the deck to help. Nima and Sarayah climbed the mast after me while the deer women below secured ropes and tied everything down so the wind didn’t take away any vital pieces of equipment.
It was going to be close.
“Everybody hold on!” I yelled, even though I knew no one could hear me from so high up.
Nima, Sarayah, and I worked to yank the sails up. The two of them took the jib, while I grabbed the rope attached to the main sail and pulled. It came up about an inch before an impressive gust smacked it straight on, and the sail snapped taut once more.
“Shit,” I gasped.
I crouched down and shifted my plan of attack. As wind and rain pelted me, I grabbed a fistful of the sail and started to haul it up manually.
Below, ocean water sprayed across the deck, and the women slipped on the slick surface as they rushed back and forth. Ropes were tied one minute, and free the next, and the women moved as fast as they could as they tied and retied the same ropes over and over again.
I growled and groaned while I yanked the thick fabric of the sail up, and little by little, it rose. The wind and rain were strong, but I knew in my gut that my crew and I were stronger. Lightning lit up the sky, and thunder cracked as we all worked to keep our ship steady and secure the best we could.
Finally, the entire mainsail was up, and the middle chunk of it was in my hands. I had absolutely not rolled it up properly at all, but I didn’t care right now. It was far more important to tie it to the mast as tightly as I possibly could, so it didn’t snap free and send us farther off course.
As soon as that was done, I glanced over to make sure Theora and Sarayah had done theirs as well.
When I saw the jib was up tight, I motioned for them to climb down the ladder before me. Only when they were on it, and I wasn’t afraid the wind would try to carry them from the mast, did I start to climb down.
As we climbed, a bolt of lightning struck the sea just feet away from our ship, and a few screams rose up as electricity rocketed through us. The hairs on my neck stood on end, and as hot steam blew across the ship, I realized with a start that the gunpowder kegs were still out on the deck and were prime targets for the lightning. One bolt was all it would take to send half this ship up in flames.
“We need to get the gunpowder below deck!” I shouted.
Jemma and Theora appeared at my sides, and the ship rocked side to side and rain roared down around us.
We rolled the barrels of gunpowder, one at a time, across the deck and managed to get them down into the ship’s hold before another bolt could strike.
When we got topside again, it was almost impossible to walk on the deck now that we were in the middle of the storm. The ship tilted and rolled with the ocean, which would have been hard enough if the rain didn’t add in the slippery factor. All of that combined meant we all fell to our knees every few seconds, and then had to work to get back up again.
The storm raged over our ship for an hour, but we tied every rope that came loose and kept a close eye on the sails as the wind beat against them. Thankfully, the sails never came loose from where we’d tied them.
I slammed into more things than I could possibly count, though. My human body would have been battered and bruised, and I would have woken up the next morning in total pain. But my dragon body could handle the beating, even if it wasn’t fun, and I knew I wouldn’t have bruises, which I was grateful for.
When the wind finally let up just a little bit, and the rain started to dissipate, the entire ship breathed a collective sigh of relief. Fifteen minutes later, we’d escaped the storm as it moved beyond us and continued
to beat down on another section of the ocean.
“Is everyone okay?” I called out as I scanned the women.
Mira hung off the steering wheel, exhausted from all the work she’d done.
I was met with weak nods and a few “yes”es, but nothing more.
Everyone looked perfectly fine, if extremely exhausted. No one had been injured in the storm. Once I was sure the crew was alright, I walked around the entire deck to check on the ship. It seemed mostly undamaged, apart from a few loose boards and some holes where the wind had been particularly strong. Other than that, the storm had done nothing more than exhaust the hell out of us and cause our stress levels to rise way past a dad’s on his daughter’s first date night.
Another obstacle had been thrown in our path, and we’d dealt with it.
“That was some storm,” Mira sighed as she came down to join me on my inspection. “It was far worse than the one we encountered on our way here.”
“It was.” I nodded. “Thankfully, no one was hurt.”
“This is good,” she replied. “But I am afraid it may have blown us a ways off course.”
“Damn,” I breathed as I turned around and stared out over the crystal blue ocean. The storm had moved far away from us now, but Mira was right. The dragonkin island, which had been visible in the distance before the storm, was nowhere to be seen. In fact, I couldn’t see any islands from where we were at that moment. It seemed the storm had managed to take us away from the scattered islands I knew from the orc map and out into the ocean.
“I am not sure which way we need to go now,” the warrior murmured next to me.
I thought about the direction we’d headed before. The dragonkin island was northwest of the deer women’s island. I didn’t have the best inner compass, but I glanced up toward the sun, high in the afternoon sky. From its angle, I could figure out which way was west, and from there, where we needed to go.
“That direction,” I told her as I pointed off the starboard side. “Let’s get the sails unfurled, and I’ll try and point the ship that way.”
Now that the storm had passed, with its impossibly strong winds, there was, of course, only a slight breeze to help us along. It was definitely preferable to the immense danger the strong storm winds posed, but it wasn’t all that helpful in actually getting us to where we needed to be.