Gemini- The Beginning Of The End

by Nathan Dickeson

Looking up at Rick, she wiped away the last of her tears. Her face glowing in the candlelight, they sat there in silence staring at each other.

  Man was she beautiful. Snap out of it. You’d be nothing but trouble for her.

  “Sorry about that,” she said wiping her cheek. “They get to me sometimes.”

  “You should be!” he said straight-faced, “Emotions are absolutely unacceptable.”

  Stella blinked.

  Winking he added, “if you have to apologize for something like this then you must spend all day saying sorry.”

  Stella glared at him. His heart felt like it would skip a beat... again. No, no, nope, no, ain't happening, you’ll never see her again after this voyage, nope. Stop it!

  “Why do the sailors have to hate me? All I do is try to help others.”

  “People fear power and things they don’t understand. You’re pretty powerful, and I’ve never understood women.”

  Stella slapped his arm. Seeming to cheer up a bit, she snuggled in closer. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Hunting a pirate.”

  “No, I mean here, right now. Why’d you come to my room?”

  “Well, it’s quite obvious. I’m here cheering you up.”

  “You know what I meant,” Stella said trying to hide a smile.

  “I enjoy this cabin,” he said. “Smells much nicer than mine.”

  Stella laughed. “Are you ever serious?”

  “Often,” he said with a grin. “But now is not the time for serious.”

  Stella closed her eyes and let out a peaceful sigh, “You make a comfy pillow.”

  “Oh, do I now?” he said letting a hint of mischief into his voice.

  Stella opened her eyes slightly and glared at him. Rick poked her side. With glee he watched her jerk to the side squeaking.

  “No!” She said grabbing his hand, “Behave.” Stella rested her head on him again.

  Rick grinned. “So, I overheard something interesting.”

  “What’d you hear?” she asked.

  “Something serious enough,” he said pausing, “that Nep pulled out a knife to silence the subject.”

  Stella smirked not opening her eyes. “Going for the dramatic?”

  “I think it’s a mutiny!” Rick said with a grin.

  Stella laughed. “I doubt that.”

  “They’re having a secret meeting tonight.”

  Stella sat up and the lack of her warm body leaning against him made Rick wish she hadn’t moved. No! Shut up! You’re on your way to the gate! Rick leaned back, laying on the bed. She didn’t need to know he was actually worried that whatever those men were going to do would involve her, and not in a good way.

  “Are you any good at sneaking?” Stella asked laying back as well.

  If she only knew, he thought chuckling to himself. “Why?” he asked playing with his ring.

  “So we can sneak our way into earshot of that meeting.” she said sitting back up and looking at him.

  Rick propped himself up. “We will be doing nothing of the sort!”

  “Maybe I should go alone,” Stella said almost to herself. But with a knowing smirk she added, “we wouldn’t want you to get lost.”

  Rick’s jaw went slack. “How’d you know?”

  “It’s kinda obvious Rick, even after weeks on this ship, you were in the hull today without a clue of where to go to get out.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rick said feigning a confused look.

  “So, you weren't lost earlier?” Stella asked smirking.

  Rick couldn’t help it, he leaned in. “Nope. I get lost in your eyes all the time.”

  Stella’s face instantly turned red, and she quickly turned to face away from him.

  He didn’t even notice, he was busy yelling at himself. Stupid! Quit flirting! You aren’t the guy that gets the girl anymore, she’d never be interested if she knew. Any day now, we should catch up to the Angel’s Demon, and after that, you won’t ever see her again! Standing up, Rick walked to the door. “I’ll be fine,” he said. “I don’t always get lost.”

  Closing the door, he sighed. Shaking his head, Rick went into his cabin and sniffed the air. It really did smell better in Stella’s room. Grabbing the needle out of his boot, he pricked his thumb, making scarlet blood bead on the tip of his finger. He pressed it against the symbol on the lockbox and broke the seal. Opening the safe he checked his bag. All eight rods were still there glowing a soft blue.

  He found it interesting that the ethereal crystal had that same glow even though it was made out of a very different material. Grabbing a small wooden box, he placed it on top of the safe. He opened it and pulled out two small vials. Just in case. He placed the box back into the safe and closed it. Pricking his finger again, Rick recreated the blood seal. “Now,” he said standing up. “Time to find out what you’re planning.”

  Devlin crouched examining the rotting corpse of a man. Flies buzzed around creating a constant hum. Fortunately, the stench of decay was mostly gone by now. What was this man? He was huge! He never saw a man that big. The corpse had to of been at least nine feet tall and what was left of its muscles showed massive strength. What made it even stranger was that its skin wasn’t just dark, it was as black as night.

  “What killed you in this desolate land?” Devlin muttered.

  And desolate it was. He stood at the edge of The Deadlands, a part of Syar no one ventured into. The Deadlands were like a massive scar in the terrain. Nothing lived in the valley. Rock and dust were the only things there, and he was only there by happenstance. A storm chased his horse away in the night, and its tracks had led him to that spot. Like all sane travelers, he planned to avoid the area by traveling along the southern edge. Unfortunately for him, that was forty miles away, and his horse had all his water.

  Stupid horse.

  Myth said a great battle took place here. A battle between The Serpent and The Great Heshelon and which ended with The Serpent's defeat, and this land being cursed. Of course, there was no way to prove it was anything more than a story, since supposedly it happened thousands of years ago. Besides who was he to argue with tradition?

  Straightening back up, Devlin gave the corpse one last look. He had a horse to find. A large boulder obstructed most of his view of the Deadlands. Walking toward it, he kept an eye out for any sign of his horse. A land of rock made tracking very hard. Walking around the formation he looked down into the valley and froze.

  Thousands of those midnight men filled the Deadlands. Standing stone still in straight lines. Could he even call them men? They stood like statues, no shifting or scratching, no movement of any kind. And their eyes... scavenger had eaten the corpse’s eyes. But these things standing there, they had their eyes. And they were blood red. No man had red eyes. They stood in squads of ten by ten, but he had no idea how many squads filled the valley. They seemed to cover it as far as he could see. Granted rock formations and cliffs blocked a lot of his view.

  I have to warn the Syarins! he thought turning away.

  A loud crackling broke the silence. Turning back Devlin saw what was creating the sound. A massive stone arch was now glowing. “A Portal,” Devlin gasped.

  With a bright flash, it opened. Looking through the giant arch, instead of the Deadlands, he saw grass on the other side, that and a group of those things. They came scrambling through at a run. The portal closed and howls of pain echoed through the valley. It closed before some of them were all the way through. Devlin watched in horror as the ones who had made it through unscathed drew massive swords and silenced the injured.

  If they see me, I’m dead.

  Chapter 3

  R ick peered around the corner. A man leaned against the wall next to the stairs which lead down into the hull. The first set of steps hadn’t been guarded. He was now on the crew deck and the sound of snoring sailors echoed all around. Soldiers and sailors always went to sleep whenever possible. You never knew when you'd get another g
ood night’s sleep.

  “Here goes nothing,” Rick muttered.

  Stepping around the corner, he walked down the hall. The man jumped and started walking pretending not to be keeping watch. Rick nodded to him and walked past. Watching him out of the corner of his Rick kept his stride. The man looked down the hall.

  Now!

  Rick slipped through a door into one of the storerooms. The room was pitch black. Perfect. Using Celestial Shadow Magic, Rick’s body melted becoming the shadows themselves.

  Ships and shadows, this is too easy.

  Slipping through the crack under the door Rick moved along the wall. Reaching the lookout, he slipped past.

  They never look up, he thought gliding down the stairs.

  Without a lantern, the hull was pitch black. Rick could only see because of the ambient light and his enhanced sight from his shadow form. Gliding along the wall he felt the cost of the magic. Little as it was, memories were fading.

  Torchlight?

  A faint flickering came from further down the corridor. Approaching, he heard the soft murmur of voices. A group of men huddled in a circle with Nep standing in the middle. Rick moved in closer. Sliding down the wall he rematerialized behind a couple barrels. His senses returned to normal, and the smell of rotting wood assaulted his nose.

  “There’s not another port until Madiffel,” a man said.

  “Your point?” Nep asked.

  “Why not wait until after then?” the man asked. “We can gather more men, and there’ll be plenty of gold on board once the captain sells this wine.”

  “Because,” Nep growled, “that wine is how we’re going to take care of the witch.”

  Ricks breath caught. Stella. They were talking about Stella. What had been curiosity turned to patient waiting and information gathering, before Rick killed the lot of them. No. He’d made a promise to refrain from killing… as much.

  A new man with a raspy voice spoke. “What if she doesn’t drink it? If she finds out, she’ll kill all of us.”

  “If it doesn’t work,” Nep said, “the witch thinks a bunch of nice gentlemen gave her a free bottle of wine, and we try again another night.”

  One of the men laughed. “You, a gentleman? I’d like to see that.”

  “You snake,” Nep swore. “I’d like to see you be a gentleman!”

  “I ain't no gentleman.”

  The raspy-voiced man spoke up again. “If we had one of those pistol things the Syarins have, we wouldn’t have to worry about the witch. We could shoot her.”

  “If you had one, I’d happily use it,” Nep said. “But they don’t sell them to outsiders,”

  “I was only offering up ideas.”

  “Think them through before you open your mouth,” Nep said.

  “I heard they’re a bunch of cannibals,” the raspy-voiced man said. “If they capture you, they’ll roast you alive.”

  “Who?” asked a third man.

  “Get on with it,” Rick muttered compressing a yawn. So much for overhearing details.

  “The Syarins. They’ll slit your throat if they get the chance.”

  “I’ll slit your throat if you don’t shut up,” Nep growled. “The savages aren’t the ones with pistols, that’s port Madiffel.”

  “I heard a single savage could take on a dozen skilled swordsmen.”

  “I’ve seen one of them before. He came out of the black forest half dead.”

  “No one ever makes it out of that forest.”

  “He did, and he still took out two men before an arrow killed him.”

  “Shut it, all of you,” Nep said. “It would be nice if we had a gun, but we don’t, which leaves the poisoned wine.”

  “Why not wait until she’s gone?”

  Finally, Rick thought shifting, his leg beginning to stiffen.

  “Because—” Nep started.

  “Because I have a contract to kill the captain, and time is short,” said a new voice.

  The group went silent. Rick peeked through a crack. A tall heavy man walked into view, and they all looked at him.

  “Hello Aaron,” Nep said. “We are at your command.”

  “As an added benefit,” Aaron said. “While she’s here, men who normally would oppose us are angry with the captain for allowing her on board.”

  “What contract?”

  “Shut it you idiot,” Nep hissed.

  “A man who called himself “T” gave it to me before we left,” Aaron said staring down the man who spoke. “And he said if it’s not completed before we catch the pirates, he’ll kill all of us.

  “I guess that’s a good reason,” the man muttered.

  “How many men do we have on our side now?” Aaron asked.

  Nep cleared his throat. “About a third of the crew all swore an oath to serve under you as the new captain.”

  “What’s your guess on the number of men who will aid us because of the witch?”

  “I would guess another third of the crew wouldn’t bat an eye at aiding us after the fighting begins, if we attack under the pretext of getting rid of the witch.”

  “That gives us the numbers, but what about skill? What’s your opinion on the skills of the lad Rick?” Aaron asked striding around the circle of men.

  “He has surprising skill with a sword for someone as young as him, and I believe he’s been holding back, too.”

  “That’s what I thought as well. Now, what to do about him?” Aaron said.

  “A bribe?” One of the men suggested. “If he’s as good as you think he is I would like to have him on our side.”

  Nep shot the man a look but then looked back to Aaron. “I think a bribe might work, he seems to have a fondness of gold. I was going to take advantage of that to make a quick profit from a bit of gambling.

  Rick huffed. They think they can just bribe me? It was true a lot of the time, but still. He shifted to ease the ache in his legs. A board creaked. Rick froze, the sound echoing in the now silent hull.

  A knife flew through the gap between barrels and stabbed his sleeve.

  “Who’s there?” Aaron demanded.

  Before he had time to melt into shadow, they shoved barrel out of the way revealing him.

  “Speak of the serpent,” Aaron spat.

  “What are you doing here?” Nep hissed.

  “Curiosity got the better of me,” Rick said pulling the knife free. “I overheard about this little meeting when you were trying to steal my gold.” Making a show of it, he set the knife on a nearby barrel.

  “What do we do with him now?”

  Examining the hole in his sleeve Rick glanced up at them. “I’ll take that bribe now. A mercenary takes any chance to get paid.”

  “You think me an idiot?” Aaron asked. “You’re unarmed, we could kill you and not worry about your trustworthiness.”

  Rick scowled pinching the sides of the hole in his sleeve together. “But then you would have one less sword and a skilled one at that,” he said. “And with only a guarantee of one third it sounds like you could use all the help you can get.”

  “What’s your price?”

  “Easy, my life, four silver coins, and Nep’s Celestials Deck.”

  Aaron laughed. “Why would you want a thing like that?”

  “Because he thought I’d be an easy mark for a bit of gambling,” Rick said smirking.

  “Deal!” Aaron said. “Nep, hand it over, I’ll reimburse you if this lad proves worthwhile.”

  “By the serpent's tail! You can’t sell my property like that!”

  Aaron turned to glare at Nep. “Next time don’t open your mouth and let someone eavesdrop. Now hand it over.”

  Muttering under his breath Nep shot Rick an evil eye and handed it over. Aaron tossed the pouch to Rick. “One last thing, you’re included in the contract.” And then he drew his sword.

  Rick caught the deck with one hand and the knife from the barrel flew from his other. Aaron cried out, the knife stabbing his leg. Rick leapt forward slappin
g Aaron’s sword to the side.

  It’d be so easy to kill the lot of them, he thought and then ran.

  “Get him!” Aaron shouted.

  Shooting down the hull in a bolt of lightning Rick reached the steps. The lookout came rushing down the steps sword in hand.

  “I don’t want to kill you,” Rick said. Using binding magic, Rick bound himself to a point on the wall. It pulled him forward and he landed on the wall as if it were the floor. There was no real value in the maneuver in this cramped space. But it did what Rick hoped. The lookout froze staring at him. Rick created a new binding and was pulled forward smashing into the man. The lookout staggered then fell. Sailing past, Rick canceled the binding.

  What’s my plan here? he thought running up the steps.

  A rusty knife flew past and lodged itself into a step. Ignoring it, Rick sprinted up the last of the stairs. A second lookout waited there. Rick dove to the side, the man’s sword cutting through the air. He was fast! Rick tried to regain his feet but had to roll to the side to avoid a downward stroke. He tried to get to his feet. Again. The man was too fast. Rick slid back just far enough that the tip of the blade passed by at a hair’s distance. Recovering his feet, he grinned.

  “Haven’t seen a man with your skill in a long time,” Rick said.

  The lookout from below reached the top of the stairs.

  “Stop him!” he yelled. “He plans on killing the witch.”

  Something’s not right. Rick didn’t pause to think. Spinning, lightning flew from his hand striking the original lookout in the leg making the man collapse to the ground and cry out in pain. Rick kicked him in the face, knocking him out.

  “You’re not with Aaron are you?” Rick asked turning back to the other man.

  “Who?” the swordsman asked. Genuine confusion etched on his face.

  “Good,” Rick said. “Tell Stella we have mutineers. I’ll warn the captain.”

  The swordsman opened his mouth. Rick created a portal below him. The other end opened as far down the hall as Rick could see. The man fell through landing on his feet.

  “No time,” Rick said through the portal. “They don’t know you’re here.”

  The last piece needed, he thought figuring out his plan.