A Daughter of Nyx

by Alexie Aaron

  Mia went limp, and she was lifted out of the camera’s view. It took seconds.

  Mike answered the SOS call from Ted. “Yes?”

  “Can you feel Mia?”

  “Yes, and now no. Is she in Hell again?” Mike asked, concerned.

  “We’re not sure. Something took her. I have to call Baxter.”

  Mike stared at the phone. “What’s going on?”

  Mia hit the deck hard as the elemental dropped her. The rider of the dragon slipped off. She was a brutal looking demon, but dragon riders usually were a bit tough-hided. “Waite!” she bellowed.

  Waite walked out and looked at the scruffy demon with disgust, but then he looked at what was at her feet and smiled.

  “Is this ‘er?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then I’ll be taking my reward,” the dragon rider said, holding out her hand.

  Waite took a pouch from his pocket and tossed it to the demon.

  She poured the coin out and counted it before climbing back on her dragon. “Nice doing business with you.”

  Mia coughed as she tried to clear her lungs. She moaned as she moved. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Stephen!” Captain Waite called. “Your slut is here.”

  Mia looked around her in horror. “I’m not supposed to be here. I’m pregnant!”

  “So?”

  “But the GSD will hurt my babies.”

  “No, it won’t. The GSD only affects the dead.”

  Mia sat up. She was about to call for her weapons when Murphy was brought out with a knife to his throat.

  “I’ll be taking your Romeo and Juliet and your Handsome sword too,” Waite said with his hand out.

  Mia looked over at Murph, and he shook his head. But Mia couldn’t take the chance. She stood and gave up her arms. Waite brought out two belts which he crossed behind Mia’s back to make it impossible for her to bring her wings out. Her hands were bound behind her.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “Compensation. Put her in my cabin. Be gentle with the little mommy. She may be carrying Lucifer’s children. He’ll pay a pretty penny to have them back.”

  Mia was about to set him straight but thought the better of it.

  Murphy watched her go. He had played his part. He smiled. Captain Waite tossed him a sack of gold. “I’ll be wanting my axe back now,” Murphy said.

  “Not until we have the yellow diamond.”

  “They’re going to be waiting for you,” Murphy warned.

  “No, they’re going to be looking for her.”

  “Everybody is a fucking liar,” Mia said. “If I would have been able to just come here, I could have bought his freedom. But no, Baxter, you had to lie to me.”

  “I beg your pardon, miss?” Old Glass Eye asked.

  “Everybody lies.”

  “Sure, but they may have had their reasons.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “Pirating has been in my blood since I was a little shaver.”

  “Such a noble profession.”

  “Is being a whore a better one?”

  “I am not a whore! I’ll cop to assassin, but I’m not a whore. I know you guys came for what you thought was Norse treasure. Why didn’t you leave when the Peacock did?”

  “The treasure in that museum interests the cap’n.”

  “But it’s all dead man’s treasure. Every piece has an attachment. You’ll never get it out of the building.”

  “Mr. Murphy knows his way around.”

  “I bet he does.”

  “Why did you give up yer weapons?”

  “They had a knife to my friend’s throat.”

  “He ain’t no friend of yers. Not anymore.”

  “Thanks for the warning. Any suggestions?”

  “Make the cap’n happy.”

  “But that would make me a whore, and I am not a whore.”

  “Then, miss, be an assassin,” Old Glass Eye said and left the cabin.

  Mia smiled.

  “She’s on the pirate ship!” Mike yelled into the phone as he drove to the farmhouse. “That’s the only explanation why I could feel her and then not. If she was in Hell, he would have taken her right away, and I wouldn’t have felt her leave.”

  “But how did she get there? Pirates don’t fly.”

  “Bounty hunters do,” Nicholai said. “I think Mike is right. Question is, how do we get her off that ship in one piece?”

  “Roumain,” Dieter said.

  “Call him,” Ted said.

  “He’s already here,” Dieter said.

  Ted ran into the farmhouse and confronted Roumain. “Do you know why Mia would have been taken to the pirate ship.”

  “Pirates like women?” Roumain guessed, hunching his shoulders.

  “I thought you’d know.”

  “Contrary to popular belief, I don’t watch Mia constantly. I do have other duties,” Roumain said, bored.

  Dieter got in Roumain’s face and said, “My mother is missing. We think a bounty hunter got her.” Dieter held up his iPad. “Jake, play the tape.”

  Roumain watched. He nodded. “Which pirate?”

  “We think it’s Captain Waite because Murphy is being held on his ship.”

  “How long has he been gone?”

  “Since just after the battle.”

  “He may have already succumbed to the influence of the GSD. Why didn’t she go get him when she first knew he was gone?”

  “Baxter told her it would harm her babies.”

  “He lied to her,” Roumain said. “Congratulations by the way.” Roumain patted Ted on the back. “Give me a moment to think.”

  “Can we buy her back?” Nicholai asked.

  Roumain answered, “He knows her worth. I imagine he’s sending word to Hell. He’s been under the misunderstanding that Mia is having Lucifer’s children. Lucy has sullied her reputation very publicly. Don’t worry, Ted, it was an illusion. He didn’t plant a child in her. To give Mia a child would mean he would have to form an attachment to her. He has abandonment issues. He couldn’t bear it if she died, which she will in a couple of hundred years. He’s only interested in her as a way of hurting Michael. Abigor used to keep him in line, but Gabriel stopped that.”

  “I feel completely useless,” Ted said.

  Roumain looked at him compassionately. “I assure you, had this happened and she was my wife, I would feel the same. This was planned by a very clever mind. You have a very clever mind, Ted; tell me, if you were him, what would you be doing next?”

  “Leaving the area.”

  “But what about the museum?” Mike asked, still on speaker phone.

  “It was never about the museum. That was something to keep us busy so his bounty hunters could find Mia.”

  “Murphy is still on board,” Mike reminded them.

  “Murphy is mad about Mia performing the doomsday spiral with Angelo,” Dieter said.

  “No, he knows Mia,” Ted argued. “Gentlemen, my wife may love all of you, and in some cases have been in love with you, but she’s maintained that she is my wife and takes pride in being true to me. Those are our children she is carrying, and she’s going to protect them. Mia will wait and make her move. She’s going to kill Waite and take over the ship.”

  “That is a bold move. But is it the right move?” Roumain asked, worried.

  ~

  Mia looked at her one unshod foot. She concentrated and brought out the talon. She bent backwards and used a claw of the talon to cut the bonds that held her hands. She now could use them to release the wing restrictor. She moved quickly through the office and found Waite’s safe. She sliced through the metal with her claw. Inside she saw Murphy’s axe, and she took it along with a healthy number of jewels, including her earrings and Abigor’s chain. She left the gold bars only because of the weight. Mia sensed her weapons in the armory but worried if she called for them right now, their loss would be noticed. She wasn’t quite ready.

  �
��I could wait for Lucifer to spring me, but I’m sure I would have to have sex with Waite in the meantime.” She opened the window and crawled out and dropped, letting her wings catch a low current of air. She took flight. She shot upwards and circled the boat. Below, she saw the sailors preparing the ship to leave. She waited until she saw Murphy on deck and was puzzled by his freedom. What kind of game was he playing? She dropped into the crow’s nest and hit the back of the head of the pirate there. She gagged the man before robbing him of his weapons.

  She waited until Waite left the deck. Mia took a large ruby and dropped it on the deck. It landed with a loud plink. The night watch walked over.

  “Blimey, it’s a ruby!” he exclaimed.

  A few pirates abandoned their posts and walked over to see it. Mia waited until Murphy wasn’t being watched. She landed silently behind him and placed his axe in his hand. “Thought you may want to have this before I leave.”

  “Took you long enough.”

  “Do you want to change into something less smelly before you spend an eternity in them?”

  “I would like a shave.”

  “Go on. I’ll play with Waite in the meantime.”

  Mia lifted off.

  Waite strode out onto the deck. “Where is she?” he asked Murphy.

  “In your cabin,” he said before he went below deck.

  “No, she’s not there and neither is most of my treasure.”

  “What treasure?” Old Glass Eye asked. “I thought we were going to rob the museum because we had no treasure.”

  PLINK!

  Another large gemstone hit the deck.

  “It’s raining gems!” exclaimed the night watch.

  PLINK! PLINK! PLINK!

  Three more sizable gems hit the deck. Waite stomped over and picked one up. “Hey, these are mine!”

  “Don’t you mean the ship’s?” Mia asked, landing on the port side of the boat. “Night watch, what are the rules of plunder?”

  “It is divided according to rank with everyone on the ship.”

  “When you took over the captain’s position, did you share his treasure with the rest?” she questioned Waite.

  He was silent.

  “Night watch, what are the rules regarding this?”

  “That all spoils are divided according to rank with everyone on the ship.”

  “Tell me, were they?”

  “No, miss, they were not,” Old Glass Eye answered.

  “Seems to me you were cheated. Here’s more,” Mia said, tossing more gems to the pirates who had come up from the bowels of the ship to see what was going on. “Make sure you share. The gold is in the cabin, but first, I suggest you elect a new captain.”

  “I’m the captain,” Waite growled.

  “You may be Handsome,” Mia said, calling her sword. “But you don’t deserve to be the captain of the Devil’s Pride. You dishonored her name when you didn’t join willingly in battle to save the earth. You dishonored the tradition of the pirates when you cheated your crew of their fair share. As Abigor’s second in command, I’m rather disappointed in your service. But I’m a fair-minded individual. You can either take your complaint to the demon court or claim justice by sword.”

  Waite looked around him, and his crew weren’t exactly drinking his Kool-Aid right now. “Who am I to fight?”

  “Me,” Mia said. “I will dispense the justice here. Unless it’s not allowed in the rules. What say you, night watch?”

  “It’s allowed. However, on the Devil’s Pride, it should be a member of the crew who dispenses the justice.”

  Waite looked around at the crew. “Who’s brave enough to fight me?”

  They were silent. The members of the crew knew that Waite was an expert swordsman.

  “I am,” Murphy said, walking out of the officers’ passageway.

  “I’ll not fight a man with an axe.”

  Mia walked over and handed Handsome to Murphy, leaning in and whispering, “Don’t cut yourself with it and all will be fine.”

  Murphy handed Mia his axe.

  “You’re going to watch your farmer die, Mia,” Waite boasted.

  “He’s an able crewmember of this vessel, is that not right, night watch?”

  “It is, ma’am.”

  “Please refresh us on the rules of justice by sword.”

  “When a crew member is accused of character unbecoming a pirate, he or she is charged and has the option to go to trial or to have justice by sword. Justice by sword is single combat with another crewman. The fight is to the death.”

  “Seems to be a waste of good seamen,” Mia said.

  “May I continue?”

  “My apologies night watch.”

  “If Captain Waite kills Mr. Murphy, he is exonerated and will continue to be captain of the Devil’s Pride. If Mr. Murphy wins, he will be considered for the captaincy, but the crew will still have to vote.”

  “Sounds fair. Mr. Murphy, upon hearing the rules, do you still wish to represent the ship?”

  “Aye.”

  “Captain Waite, I have no wish for your death, but you have cheated your crew. I will, as one of Lucifer’s generals, grant you your freedom to exist on any island within the GSD. You will forfeit your captaincy, your treasure, and your sword. Think about it. A man with your wits, you’ll be able to make quite a living for yourself.”

  “It’s not my death that will be on your hands, slut. I agree to justice by sword.”

  “Night watch, let it be recorded that an alternate justice was offered.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  Mia climbed to the quarterdeck and waited. “Anytime you’re ready, gentlemen.”

  Murphy moved slowly. He studied the pirate before him. Waite was taller and outweighed Murphy by forty pounds. The pirate didn’t take off his black brocade coat, which meant he had a knife or a dagger inside. His vanity was his boots. His boots would make him slow.

  Waite looked at the man before him. He was an able axeman, but he was not used to the longsword he had been given. He wore a saber on his side and had a knife tucked in the back of his waistband. Murphy was weakened by his prior imprisonment and a severe bout of seasickness. His weakness was Mia.

  Mia stood with confidence. She knew that Murphy had suffered under the hands of Waite. There was more than justice at stake here. When Murphy volunteered, for a moment she regretted playing pirate, then she remembered the quality of her friend.

  “Gentlemen,” the night watch began. “Pirate rules of combat, which we know means there are no rules. No man can fight for you. This is a fight to the death. Death in the GSD means no moving on. You cease to exist. Are you ready?” The night watch waited and received nods from both men. “Begin.”

  Waite walked off as if to make room. He spun around and tossed a dagger.

  Murphy blocked the dagger with the flat of the sword. He advanced, causing Waite to protect himself with his sword.

  As Waite blocked, he was wary at how easy the farmer wielded the large sword. The force of his blows was as if a man double the weight had struck them. The height advantage Waite had was precarious, as the farmer could maneuver easily under his blows.

  Murphy traded blows, looking for an opening. There was no question he had been foolhardy to volunteer, but when Mia looked upon him with such pride and showed such confidence in his abilities, it filled him with courage. He had taken down twenty frost giants. Waite was quicker but not stronger than the beasts. His training in Hell had served him well. Waite wouldn’t have known about his newfound ability with a broadsword. Murphy pushed him back.

  Waite reached behind him and pulled himself over the railing of the quarterdeck and advanced upon Mia.

  Murphy anticipated this and tossed a knife with such force, it sunk into Waite’s shoulder beyond the blade.

  Waite screamed in pain.

  Mia sidestepped away from the man and sought higher ground on the next deck so Murphy would not have to worry about her safety.

  Murphy c
harged up the stairs. Waite managed to block his blows, but his left arm was useless. He swept Murphy’s legs out from under him and brought his sword down, but Murphy had already rolled away.

  Murphy got to his feet in time to block an overhead blow. He kicked out, and Waite stumbled backwards, just barely maintaining his balance. He ran to the steps and turned, assuming he had higher ground. He was surprised that Murphy was not there.

  Murphy had pulled himself up and over the railing and was standing between Mia and Waite. Murphy raised his sword and traded a few blows with Waite. He spun around and tripped the man.

  Waite fell to the quarterdeck. To give him credit, he still had his sword. Murphy jumped down, swinging the sword, and knocked Waite’s sword from the weakened man’s grasp. Murphy put a foot on Waite’s chest and the tip of his sword under the man’s chin.

  Waite tried to push the farmer off, but he had no more energy.

  “Do you yield?” Murphy asked.

  “May I remind you the fight is to the death?” Waite said.

  “May I point out I’m not a full member of the crew,” Murphy said.

  “Ah, a loophole, put there for gentlefolks who quake at taking a life,” Waite jeered. “Is this show of compassion to impress your slut?”

  Murphy stared at the man.

  “I don’t feel like dying today. Give me a hand up,” Waite said.

  Murphy reached forward. Waite produced a dagger and lunged. Murphy pushed Handsome cleanly through Waite’s heart. The only sound was the dagger falling unimpeded to the quarterdeck. The pirate fell to ash. Nothing was left but his shiny black boots.

  A roar of approval rose from the crew.

  Mia walked down the stairs and accepted Handsome back.

  “Is there anything else?” he asked.

  “I think the crew has to elect a new captain. The hero kisses the girl, and the movie ends.”

  Murphy took Mia in his arms, bent her over, and kissed her. He set her upright and turned to the crew who greeted him with pats on the back.

  “Mr. Murphy, will you stand in the election of Captain?” the night watch asked.