Hi all!! I hope this chapter finds you all well and enjoying the New Year wherever you are in the world! As I said on Facebook, I'm sorry for not being able to post sooner, I found a summer job but didn't quite expect the amount of hours I would be working! Certainly hasn't left much time for anything other than sleep and eat haha :) 

Anyway! I got there eventually and hope to continue posting chapters as soon as I can, 
Lots of Love,
Daisy xx

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COBALT

"Land-ho!"

A huge cheer rose up from the two boats as we heard the call. We had been at the sea for a long time now and although our supplies were depleted, they weren't low enough to make me seriously worry. We would be able to top up once we arrived. Nathaniel's home town had been further away than I had remembered and even with Hobbson and Nathaniel's guidance, it had still taken longer than expected to finally have the small town in sight.

I took a moment to take in the sight of it, Circe's manor, standing up on the hill behind tall walls of stone, was a familiar sight, although I had only seen it at night-time I remembered the day I had come to collect her like it was only yesterday. I knew that it would only be Nathaniel and his crew going ashore so there would be no chance of me or Hobbson being spotted. I looked up at the flag, the Pirate colours had been replaced with the Water Kingdom ones, a good disguise as the flag was foreign to both raiders and friendly parties.

"Prepare to dock boys!" I called out cheerfully. "And may we feast tonight!"

Spirits aboard the ship were high and I left Samson in charge of the crew as I went to find Amaryllis. She wasn't in any of the usual places so on a whim I check Obsidian's room. The door creaked open slowly and I slipped inside, coughing a little. The air was musty and a thin layer of dust covered everything. I sighed, noticing that the mermaid door was open, the pretty glass in need of polishing.

I opened it fully and stepped into the hallway. A breath of sea air breezed through the open door at the end and I followed it. Sure enough, there she was, standing outside on the little balcony that Obsidian had built for Circe.

My voice was a little rough as I spoke. "What are you doing out here, you know that I don't like anyone coming in here."

She turned around, her black hair flying out and looked startled. Upon seeing me, her face softened into an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry," She said softly, turning back to the ocean. "I was just thinking about Circe and I wound up here. I didn't touch anything in your brother's room, I promise."

"Mmph," I grumbled, moving to wrap my arms around her. She was easy to forgive. "And what was on your mind?"

She waved a hand. "Oh nothing really,"

I laughed at the lack of conviction in her voice. "You're a terrible liar."

She turned suddenly and I was startled to see that her eyes were wide and a little watery. I gripped her arms, instantly concerned.

"Liss, whatever is the matter?"

She wiped her eyes a let out a laugh that was mixed with a sob. "You'll think I'm being silly."

"Never." I kissed her forehead gently. "Just tell me."

"Well it's just ... the further we get away from my home, the more I miss it. And I was just thinking about how Circe left hers and hasn't really found one since. Now she is all alone and it's just ... she must feel so lonely." She shuddered and I pulled her close to me, burying my face in her hair.

"Are you saying that you feel alone?"

"A little,"

I tipped her chin up. "But you have me, you aren't alone."

"Cobalt, you are Captain of a ship, it makes you busy and I don't mind it, it's just that there isn't really anything for me to do. I wasn't brought up on a shp, I was brought up in the ocean. Back there I had friends, but out here ... well now that Circe is gone-"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you felt that way." I murmured.

"It's not your fault. Your home has always been at sea hasn't it?"

I smiled at her. "Yes, and yours can be too you know."

She looked a little sad. "Cobalt, I really thought that it could, I was ready for an adventure but now ..."

"Now?"

"Now, I don't know anymore. I feel like something is pulling me back, I can't describe it, but it gets more urgent with each passing day."

I took her hands in mine. "Liss, what are you trying to say?"

She couldn't look at me and a single tear rolled down her cheek. "I think I need to go back home, just for a little while and then I will come back."

Her fingers slid out of my grasp and my mouth opened slightly as I tried to process what she was saying, where this had come from. We had been so happy, just this morning she had been happy, had she been thinking about this for a while?

"How long have you been thinking about this?" I asked, voicing my thoughts.

She looked heartbroken. "Only over the last few days, listen Cobalt, this has nothing to do with you and everything to do with my loyalty to my Kingdom. Every-time I am near or in the water I can hear something calling to me, telling me to go back. I can't just ignore it."

"I understand." I said, but my voice was vacant and had no feeling. She was leaving me, leaving me with nothing. "Then you had better get going."

"Cobalt-"

"Go!" I waved a hand at her, my anger obvious on my face even though I tried to hide it. "If you need to go, then go! I'm not holding you here obviously; you are free to do as you wish." I heard the words as they escaped my mouth and knew that I would regret saying such hurtful things later but right now I just didn't care.

I turned away from her and my eyes clenched shut as I felt her fingertips touch my back. Her voice was incredibly sad.

"Cobalt I am so sorry, I will return but I need to do this. Please," She was begging now," please try and understand. I love you. Truly I do."

I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying anything that would hurt her more and I felt her hands leave me. There was a pause and then a quiet splash and suddenly I was turning around, leaning over the railing and calling out her name, determined to make her stay.

But she was already gone.

I slumped against the railing and slid down to my knees on the wooden planks. It hurt more than I thought it would, having your heart broken. I missed her already. I leaned back, looking up at the storm clouds that had been gathering all day. Didn't she know how much I needed her? How much I needed the love a reassurance she gave me? How I had come to rely on her being there when images of my brother burning and of Circe burning with him woke me up in the night?

My brother.

What would he think of me now? I thought bitterly to myself. I laughed. He would tell me I was asking for it, that I shouldn't rely on anyone but myself or him.

"But you aren't here anymore," I found myself whispering aloud. "And not being able to count on anyone but myself is so lonely."

I looked back out to the ocean. Liss was the only girl after Circe that I truly loved. At the time it seemed that I could never find someone else that caught my attention the way Circe did, but where Circe was ferocious and wild, Liss was quiet and peaceful. She had her spark, but it was not so quick to rise to the surface. She was gentle, level-headed, trustworthy and genuinely caring, traits which Circe shared too, but it was just different with Liss and it was these differences that had made me fall in love again.

I climbed to my feet, picked up the pieces of my broken heart and tried not to feel so wounded. If she said she would be back, she would be. And if she had said that it was urgent, then it was. When she returned I would make sure that she was properly integrated into the crew, that she had a purpose. It had been selfish of me to expect her to just sit around when I was busy.

I walked back out to the main deck, making sure to shut Obsidian's door firmly behind me. Almost immediately I ran straight into Samson.

"Sir, I think you had better come and see this."

I nodded and pushed Amaryllis's departure to the back of my mind for now. I needed to stay present; I was Captain of a ship after all.

"What is the problem?" I asked as I followed him up to the top deck.

"Look."

I stared out to where he was pointing, unsure at first at exactly what I was supposed to be looking at, but quickly spotting what he had to be talking about. My face turned grim.

We were close enough to the town now that I could see that the harbour was completely devoid of all life. No ships were moored at the pier, even little fishing dinghy's were glaringly absent and there were no bustling townsfolk hurrying up and down the sea side store fronts, no welcoming town noises echoing out towards us from across the water. Amaryllis said that she had had a bad feeling about something back at her home? Well I had a bad feeling about our situation right now. Something definitely wasn't right.

I waved for the shipmates to halt our advance and the call came out for Nathaniel and his crew to do the same. A plank was laid down between the two and I crossed over to him quickly, my words directed to Hobbson, looking for the older sailors more experienced opinion.

"What do you think is going on? Is this some kind of trap?"

The old man frowned. "And what would the trap before exactly? There is no possible way that they could have known we were coming. No, there is something else going on here."

"Nathaniel, does your town have any conflict with any other? Anything you can think of that could have caused something like this?"

His brow was furrowed, golden eyebrows drawn together in a look of complete confusion. "No ... I don't understand what could have happened in my absence. It looks as though the whole township has just been abandoned. If there are any survivors though, they will be at the Manor, the whole grand house is surrounded by walls, the place is a fortress. Nothing could have gotten through, or climbed over." He added the last part almost as an afterthought and the lines in his face deepened.

"We will take one ship in." I decided then. "Just in case something happens and then we have the other for an escape. Agreed?"

The two men nodded and Nathaniel spoke. "We'll take mine. Yours is too important to lose."

I felt slightly relived. "I'm grateful."

An unspoken understanding passed between us then and I was grateful suddenly that his situation with Circe helped him to slightly comprehend mine. My thoughts were with Amaryllis briefly and I hoped that she was safe.

Hobbson seemed to suddenly notice her absence and I wasn't surprised. This is definitely something she would have found a way to be involved in, whether it was demanding to come with the boarding ship or suggesting that she swim ahead and scout, both which I would have said no to. I internally smacked myself as I realised yet another difference between her and Circe – Circe would have come anyway, but Liss had always taken my wishes into account. Damnit I had been so stupid, she was right, I never let her do anything.

Hobbs was still waiting for me to answer his question and I snapped out of my daze and shuffled a little. "She's gone," I grunted, realising then that some more information was probably needed. "Gone home for a bit, said that she needed to or something."

His face flickered with understanding and the look caught my interest. Of course, whatever she had been talking about he would feel it too, he was a part of the Water Kingdom after all.

"Do you know something?"

"I was wondering if she had felt it. She should have talked to me before leaving and I would have told her that she wasn't needed, but I guess that she forgot that I was here."

My anger flared. "What do you mean she wasn't needed?"

Hobbson held up his hands. "There are things happening right now in the magical world Cobalt, things tied to the impending war in the Earth Kingdom. Humans are becoming involved and it's not a good time for magic folk to be out and about. You forget that humans out number us with impossible ratios. The Queen needs to make sure that everyone is safe, that is why she is holding a census."

I smacked my hand to my forehead. "Are you telling me that Amaryllis went all the way back for a census? She was worried that it was something important Hobbson!"

He laughed. "Well it was foolish of her not to check in with me first. Unless she has a hidden agenda that you and I don't know about I am fairly sure that is the reason behind the pull that she felt. I've been feeling it for days now, but my Queen knows where I am."

I groaned out loud, fucking brilliant. "Fine, well there is nothing that can be done about it now. She will be long gone and this situation requires us to focus on the task at hand." I pushed Amaryllis from my thoughts, as frustrated as the situation made me, and got down to business. "I think that a smaller number going ashore would be better as it will be less noticeable. In my opinion, Nathaniel and I should be the ones to go as Nathaniel has the most knowledge of the place and I can watch his back."

Hobbson frowned. "I don't like it, sending the two Captains out? What if you both get killed?"

I glared at him. "Where is your faith?"

He was serious. "It has nothing to do with faith boy, and everything to do with circumstance. We have no idea or context for why this town is empty or at least appears to be."

"Which is why we will need the majority of people here to guard the ships," I interrupted. "No ships in the harbour and no sign of wreckage points pretty strongly to everyone having up and left. If there are remaining people who were left behind, they could very well try and hijack the ships."

"I think that if it is just the two of us, we should take a rowboat," Nathaniel piped up.

"What about supplies, how are we going to get those back in a rowboat?"

"No offence Cobalt, but if everyone is gone, I doubt that there will be anything left. They probably would have taken it all."

Hobbson chuckled. "He makes a point there."

I grimaced. "I didn't count on what we have left lasting us to Savannah. It'll be tight."

"Better we be hungry than dead," Came the reply.

"Plus, if we find anything, we can take some, just not as much as we'd like."

I sighed. "Very well, we had better get to it then, no point in lounging around."

Two heads nodded in agreement and I strode towards the door. "I'll notify the crew."

*

There were protests, but they were quickly silenced by my words. "This is our final decision, there will be no discussion."

"You should at least let me accompany you Captain," Samson called out, worry etched into the big man's face. "I am only one man and it would be the crew more at ease."

I looked out at the sea of faces, spotting Lacy with Leonardo ever present at her side. She looked worried too and as her eyes met mine I knew that she feared that she would lose me too. I ran a hand over my face.

"Very well, you may come. But we leave now. You will give us one hour, if we are not back in that time-"

"Then we will come to look for you." Hobbson interrupted firmly.

I glared at him. "No you will not, I won't risk it."

"And we won't risk losing you two," The old man growled. "We will bring in one ship, and leave the other out here for a back-up, you're having it your way now boy, but as soon as you both leave, you leave me in charge, and unfortunately leaving you two behind is not an option for me." He folded his arms across his chest and stared me down.

"Fine," I snapped, "Have it your way."

With no further delay, we climbed into the row boat, settling down as we were lowered over the side of the ship. We hit the water with a jolt and shifted a little to steady ourselves. Samson took a hold of the oars before I could reach them and began to row without a word.

"Remember, one hour!" I called back up to the crew, the faces looking down at us taunt with tension. I tried to look confident as I smiled up at them. "Don't worry boys! We'll be fine."

Samson steered us away from the big ships and struck out for the shore. The sea was calm and we made quick progress, the deserted wharf fast approaching. I stood up, shielding my eyes with a hand as I tried to make out anything on the shore that could give us a clue as to what had happened here.

Suddenly a small gust of wind picked up, blowing to us from the town and with it, a putrid smell. Weak and lingering at first, but growing stronger the closer we came. It curled around my nostrils and my stomach curled with fear.

"That smell," Nathaniel's voice was wavering. "It... it smells like-"

"Death," I said grimly. "You had better prepare yourself Nate, I don't think this is going to be good."

Samson was quiet but I knew that he was thinking the same thoughts as me. I was glad now that he had come, not because I didn't think I would be able to handle myself, but because in this case, one extra person to serve as a look out could be valuable.

We stopped at the wharf, the small boat rocking back and forth in the water as Samson tied us securely to a post. We all climbed up on the wooden planks, eyes alert, hand's resting on the hilt of our swords. I pulled out a pistol, holding it down by my side. We had thought the town was eerie from afar, but it was nothing compared to the chills I was getting now.

I spoke and my voice came out as a whisper. "We need to move quickly lads, I don't like the look of this one bit."

"The smell is stronger here," Samson rumbled. "Although I can't see its source."

"I have a feeling that it won't take us long to find out." I said grimly, turning back to the ship and giving a wave. I knew without a doubt that at least one person would have a telescope trained on us. "Right, enough dilly-dally, this town isn't going to search itself." My eyes jumped back and forth across the main street, I felt as though I was seeing movement from the corner of my eye, but every time my gaze jumped to the place where it was, there was nothing there.

Samson stepped forward. "Let me go first."

I nodded; his intimidating size would make any attacker pause to think twice before attacking. "Nate, you follow after him and give directions, I'll bring up the rear. We move quickly and quietly to the Castle. No stopping, not for anything, unless I give the okay, agreed?"

"Yes," Came the reply.

"Very well, on we go then,"

We set out, swiftly making our way down the wharf and onto the main shore line. It was only moments after we had left the shoreline behind that the smell hit us with full force and seconds after that that we located the source of it.

Between the store fronts and the cluster of houses leading up to the Castle, thin alleys made space for people to move through and it was from the shadows of one of these entrances that Nathaniel spotted it.

At first I couldn't quite make it out, but as we moved closer I recognised the familiar shape as a human hand, white and pale in the dim sunlight, stretching out of the shadows as though reaching for help. My stomach twisted and I tried not to breathe as the body attached to the hand gradually appeared from the shadows. Long hair covered the face, a detail I was grateful for, for it was obvious the woman hand died painfully.

I signalled that we should go closer to investigate and Samson checked the alley before stepping back to allow me to advance. "It doesn't look good boss."

I warned Nathaniel back and crouched down beside the woman. The smell was unbearable and it was apparent that she had been killed quite a few days ago, but the carcass was only newly decomposing so I estimated that she had been murdered within the last week. Horrible gashes laced her body staining the dirt around her dark brown and I studied the ones on the arm that was outstretched. It looked as though her wrist had been worried by animal teeth and the slits on her arm came in sets of four, long and curving, wide in the middle and pointed at the top and ends.

"Look behind her."

I stood up, brushing the dirt off my knees and as I cast my gaze wider my face grew solemn. There were more, far more, a pile of bodies littered the alley behind the women and from what I could see they had all met a similar fate.

"You know what this means," Samson said grimly, "deaths in these numbers? I'd be surprised if anyone had managed to survive the attack."

"Do I even want to know?" Nathaniel was faced out to sea as he scanned the area for trouble. His voice was strong, but the hand that held his gun was shaking.

"You probably don't, but you need to know. It looks as though shifters have been through this town. Rouge shifters."

"Shifters?"

"You humans would lump them in with what you call Werewolves, but Shifters are different in that they don't require the full moon to change. There are Lycans as well, but they are different again, stronger, older, and more traditional. The Lycan King, King Darius, is the ruler of both the Shifter and the Lycan population. However, recently the Lycan numbers have diminished greatly; it is thought by Shifter hand. Due to the Earth Kingdoms banishment, help from outside was unavailable and now a rebel group of Shifters have broken away from Darius's rule.

"This is where the threat of war that Hobbson was talking about is coming from. The Elven Kingdom is even rumoured to currently be under attack from the rebels, but I don't know if it is true. What we can tell however, is that a large group of them have definitely been through here. Part of the reason they chose to follow a new leader is to do with the differences between themselves and the human population, you see they believe themselves to be superior and hiding the magical world from humans does not sit well with them. Unfortunately, I doubt that this town is the only one hit, there are probably many more. "

His hand was still shaking. "Has our mission changed?"

I looked at the back of his head quietly for a moment before answering. "No. We just need to be careful, there could still be shifters around, they have been known to linger. "

He nodded once. "Then I think we should continue."

Samson and I exchanged a glance. "Alright, let's go."

He gestured with his gun to a road further down that was wider. "If we follow that road, it will take us straight to the Castle, it won't be far."

His voice didn't waver but I knew he was hiding the emotion that he felt. We had come here with the intention of recruiting him a crew so I knew that he had to be reasonably close to at least a handful of these poor people. This was his home after all. Did he have family? I looked at the back of his head again as we made our way up what I assumed to be the main street before sweeping a glance down the side alleys. Something itched at the back of my neck and I shrugged my shoulders, my gaze flickering. There was someone watching us, I could tell. I knew Samson felt it too, the eyes that were following us. Still, there was no movement or attempt at an attack and I was not about to go rushing down after an enemy that I couldn't see.

The stench followed us as we moved and the dark, shadowy piles that loomed down the side streets promised only more death, so we didn't bother to investigate. The ground sloped upwards slowly and I finally saw what we were heading for. A large stone wall rose up from behind the small thatched houses and beyond that, the castle towers, grey stone against the gathering grey clouds in the sky.

"It looks like rain."

I remembered the night that my brother had returned after scaling those walls. He had been distracted, musing as he had given the order for us to leave without our treasure and without a reason for our departure. And then our return only a few years later, but this time with different intentions behind the same purpose and I had been the one to enter the castle in his place, to capture Circe, to whisk her away to a land of fantasy and dreams.

Our footsteps seemed theatrically loud, echoing around the deathly silent town and it was with much relief that we finally reached the wall. The thick wooden gate stood firmly closed and I saw Nathaniel's shoulders rise with hope. I clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Don't get your hopes up Nate," I nodded towards a section of wall a little further down, where deep gouges were cut into the stone. Similar slashes decorated the wood of the gate.

"But look," He said, his voice laced with optimism. "They don't go all the way up; they might not have been able to get in."

"Still," I said grimly, "You never know with Shifters, from the stories that I have heard they rarely just 'give up' on prey."

"Think we should try and open the gate?" Samson asked.

"No," I said firmly. "We are definitely being watched, if there are survivors in there, we cannot risk potentially putting them in danger. The safest option is to climb over, did you bring a rope?"

Samson flashed me a tight smile. "Of course Captain, I came fully prepared." He lifted up his shirt and in any other situation I would have laughed. He had to straps crossed over his body, each holding various weapons and tools. A thick coil of rope hung in the middle of his back and he reached behind to unhook it. He formed a lasso and skilfully tossed it over one of the stone ridges at the top of the wall. He tugged it tight and waved us forward. "Let's be quick about this boss."

"Nate, you first,"

The blonde haired man climbed the rope swiftly, pausing at the top to look over the other-side.
"I don't see anyone down there," He called out. I climbed up after him and took his hand, allowing him to help me onto the top of the wall. Samson followed close behind, his size not hindering him in the slightest. We pulled the rope up and dropped it over the other-side.

I let the other two go first, peering around the streets. My eyes narrowed as I noticed something unusual. "Wait," I laid a hand on Samson's shoulder and the two of us remained crouched at the top of the wall as I peered down over the other side and then back at the main streets. There was a rumble from above and the first drop of rain splattered down, marking the stone beneath my fingers a darker shade of grey.

"Look here," I said quickly, pointing down at the ground in front of the main gate on the safe side of the wall. "See how the ground is disrupted? Many people moved through here, all at once." The dirt below held the imprints of many boots, as though a large quantity of people had been gathered on one side of the wall.

"Perhaps they were barricading the wall?" Samson offered.

I shook my head. "No, I don't think so, otherwise they would still be here ... but the ground on the other side ... it seems to have been undisturbed." My eyes swept up and down the main street, looking for a clue, for anything that could give us more of an insight as to what had happened here.

There it was again, that flicker of movement, gone by the time I moved my gaze. I studied the alleys, the dirt in front of the ones closest to us. We had seen the piles of bodies heaped up down the dark, shadowy corridors, but if people had tried to escape from here, wouldn't there be more carnage on the streets? More blood or sign of a battle? And then I noticed it, there in the ground, the detail that slotted everything into place.

I exchanged a glance with Samson before looking up at the sky and repeating my earlier observation. "It looks like heavy rain is on its way, we had best move quickly before visibility becomes low." I said as I swung over the side of the wall, landing gently on the ground. The big man followed swiftly, a small puff of dust rising up around his ankles as his feet made impact with the dirt.

"What was that about?" Nathaniel asked curiously. "Did you find something?"

"Yes." I said grimly, "There are still Shifters here, waiting. I don't know why they decided to hang around or why they let us get this far, but they have set a trap and it is important that we don't fall into it. I pretended that I hadn't noticed anything but the weather, but it was only pretence for pretence sake, they will have seen right through it. The most we can hope is that they are still unaware of our true intentions."

"What do you mean, 'set a trap', what kind of trap?"

"There was a battle, see the dirt around the gate, how it is all scuffed up? There must have been a large number of people gathered here; most likely they took refuge behind these walls when the first attack happened. I'm guessing that they rallied what was left of their forces and made a charge down to the ocean; all of those who survived took the boats and escaped out to sea. The losses would have been great, but shifters aren't very smart and quite easy to kill with a bullet or spear through the head or heart. I imagine that after they first attacked, some of the troops left, thinking that the remaining townsfolk would be taken care of easily with a smaller number, however it appears they were sorely mistaken."

"But the trap, I don't understand?"

"They have covered their tracks, the battle down the main street has been wiped clean, all of the bodies dragged off into the alleys and the ground brushed clean."

Samson nodded. "The drag marks, I should have noticed them before; all of those bodies in the alleys must have originally been on the main road."

"But why go into all that trouble?" Nathaniel protested. "It doesn't make sense."

"To lure in passing travellers," I explained patiently. "This used to be a rather popular port didn't it? Sheltered and friendly, perfect for a rest stop and a place to refuel, or at least that's what Hobbson told me. I wouldn't be surprised if the Shifters knew this and aimed to-"

"To ransack any merchant ships that arrived at port." Nathaniel said bitterly, his teeth grinding together in agitation.

I clapped a hand on his shoulder as Samson continued. "Any ship pulling up to port would flee at the first sign of a battle, dead men lying on the streets would be spotted far off with a telescope. But an empty town? Most ships would dock, either to investigate the cause or to take advantage of it."

"Filthy, dirty trick," Nate spat out.

"With any luck they think we are here to take advantage of the tragedy by ransacking the castle. I don't know why they let us come this far and I certainly don't know if they are going to let us go as easily as they let us in, although I highly doubt it. So let's get moving and as we go we can come up with a plan."

All agreed, we moved swiftly towards the Castle doors. I knew that there was a high possibility that they would be locked, so I was not deterred when they refused to budge.

"We will just have to find another way in."

Nathaniel waved for us to follow. "Circe's room is around this side and it has a balcony. I know how to pick the lock."

I raised an eyebrow. "Didn't take you for a pervert Nate, isn't she your sister?"

His face turned beetroot red. "It's nothing like that you idiot!! I just used to visit her; it wasn't allowed really, her being of high social standing and me being a solider and all that garbage." His blush still hadn't faded though as he lead us around the side of the castle.

"It's up there," He pointed upwards and I saw the sturdy balcony that jutted out from the side of the stone tower in the shape of a half circle. I took a moment to imagine Circe standing up there, dressed in a flowing dress, over-looking the little Kingdom that she used to call home. My heart panged and I reached a hand up to rub my chest.

Nathaniel was already halfway up the wall, climbing the strong ivy that grew up the side. Samson and I looked at each other for a brief moment before I shrugged and began following the blonde haired man. I could tell that he was trying to act as unaffected as possible, but there was no doubt in my mind that what we had discovered in his home town had shook him to the core. To go away and come back expecting everything to be as it was, only to find the worst possible situation ... It was almost too cruel.

We clambered over the side of the balcony to see Nathaniel crouched down, already picking at the lock to the door. I gave him silence to concentrate and looked out at the view. The small town appeared unharmed from up here, all that was missing was people moving about their business, along with the noise that was created by such activities. I looked further down the wharf to the pulsing ocean, white peaks showing as the grey sky reflected it's sudden change on waves below and then further still, to our ships, still safely bobbing side by side. I lifted a hand, unsure if they could see us from here and waved anyway.

"Got it,"

My head flicked around as the door sprung open eagerly, almost as though it had been waiting in anticipation for our arrival. I stepped inside after Nathaniel, unsure of what to expect upon entering. Circe's room. What would it be like I wondered?

As it turned out, it was exactly what I thought her room would look like. Delicate and pretty furnishings decorated the four poster bed, the vanity and the chest of drawers. A beautifully woven carpet covered the varnished wooden floorboards and a dress was tossed carelessly over the changing screen, as though the owner had only just recently left the room. I breathed in deeply as though perhaps I could catch a lingering whiff of her perfume.

"Should we ... should we take some of these things for her? Now that there is no one here?" I glanced away from the ornate comb that lay on the vanity, a few golden strands still intertwined between its teeth, to see Nathaniel standing beside a piano that stood beside the window that overlooked the harbour. He opened its hood slowly, as though expecting something to be laying beneath the dark stained wood. A gentle hand ran lightly across the keys and soft, whispering notes filled the room.

Abruptly he looked at me. "Yes, we should. I know where she kept most of her things, see if you can find a bag."

Samson and I rummaged around the room while Nathaniel open and shut drawers purposefully, extracting items from inside. By the time we had managed to find a cloth sack that was stowed away under the bed, he had gathered a small pile of items in the middle of the bed. We carefully packed them away into the sack and although I knew that we were meant to be rushing, I couldn't help but notice each item and wonder what kind of value they had to her. There was jewellery of course, tucked away in a little wooden box with gold decoration, amongst which there lay a beautiful crescent moon necklace and a finely woven rose gold tiara, studded with tiny, glistening diamonds. The tiara looked a little too small however, and I wondered if it was really hers or perhaps a keepsake ...?

"This is the last of it," I looked up to see Nathaniel standing over us with his arms full of clothes and the wardrobe door hanging open behind him. "Hurry and pack these things Cobalt, you don't have time to look at everything now."

I nodded. "Right,"

Hastily, but with the utmost care, we finished packing Circe's belongings.

"The little lady will be happy to have her possessions returned to her," Samson said gently, casting me a half smile of encouragement.

I felt a slight swelling of hope in my heart and I agreed wholeheartedly, returning his smile. As Nathaniel showed us the way out of the room I cast a look over my shoulder. I could still see the ships out there on the ocean and for the fleeting moment that I blinked and looked away, behind my closed eyelids I could see her face as clearly as though she was standing in front of me. Her flawless blue eyes creased as she smiled and then I opened my eyes and she was gone.

*

As it turned out, Nathaniel had been right. The whole castle had been stripped of anything essential to survival. The food stores were bare and we were unable to find a single weapon that had been left behind. What we did find however was gold. Lots of gold.

"You two, this way!" Nathaniel had called to us from around a corner and we hastened to follow after him. He had come into sight at the end of a grand corridor, standing just inside a massively decorated ornate door. He leaned his head back out, his face gleaming with excitement.

"They obviously took as much as they could carry, but look!" He heaved the door the rest of the way open and it was safe to say that my mouth dropped open with shock.

A room full of gold, it seemed to shimmer in my vision and I couldn't help but rub my eyes to check that it wasn't an illusion. There were shelves that lined the walls, obviously to keep an order to everything, but it appeared that the room had indeed been visited in a hurry, for shelves lay askew on the floor with their possessions splayed around them carelessly.

"B-but," I stammered, "I thought that rooms like this only existed in fairy tales?"

Nathaniel frowned. "Are you stupid? Every castle has a treasury."

"But how did you get in?" I protested. "Should it even be out in the open like this? Isn't it kind of obvious?"

He laughed. "Well it used to be heavily guarded, and only the King knew where the key was kept, but it appears that they left it open, after taking what they could carry of course, normally there is much more in here."

"Do you not have concerns Nathaniel? About stealing from your former Ruler?" Samson voiced an opinion that I had not thought of and I couldn't help but agree with him.

But Nathaniel simply waved his hand. "They left it open, I doubt that they were planning on returning. And it certainly looks as though they took most of it with them. Anyway," He continued brightly. "I am a citizen of this town too am I not? And if what Circe and I figured out about our origins is true, then technically I'm actually the Son of the Duke, which means that I have a right to this gold too!"

I looked at Samson and we both shrugged. The boy had a point there.

"Very well men!" I said cheerfully, "Let's find some sacks and bag up as much as we can carry without hindering our return. If we can't steal food, then at least we can steal money to buy food! I'm sure the crew will be ecstatic, it's been a long while since they have laid their eyes on treasure such as this, it will be a boost of moral!"

"Aye- aye Captain!"

It didn't take us long before we were piled up with as much as we could carry while still allowing our limbs the freedom that it would take to defend ourselves, should the need arise. I wiped a hand across my forehead and, leaving the others to finish, exited the treasury, walking over to one of the massive windows that lined the hallway. The splatter of rain struck against the glass with a steady rhythm, the first proper rain that I had seen in a while. The sound of the storm thundered down on the rooftops, accentuating the emptiness of the sprawling castle. A thick fog had settled over the town and I could no longer see the harbour, if there was ever a time to run for it, it was now. That and we were running short on time. There was no doubt in my mind that the old man would stick to his promise and come looking for us once our hour was up and now knowing what I did about what had happened to the people of this town, I was extremely unwilling to put any of my crew in the same situation.

"You two! Are you finished?"

Their replies came quickly and they appeared out of the treasury, each with a cluster of small sacks attached around their waists. Nathaniel held out the one he had fashioned for me, saying that the even distribution of weight would mean that we could take more without it slowing us down. And then there were the jewels that we had stuffed into our clothing ...

"Right. It seems that we have gathered all that we can carry, now the time comes for our escape. I think that we might be able to use this rain and fog to our advantage, however when it comes down to it, I don't see any other way of getting back that is more direct than the main road."

"I would have to agree there Captain. If we choose to take another route, who knows what kind of traps they could have set."

Nathaniel nodded. "Better to go with the trap that we know about than try to be tricky."

I grimaced. "Even if we were to go another way and make a run for it, it would not take them long to find us. They are faster than we, and with a keen sense of smell at that."

"It's decided then," Nathaniel said firmly. "We leave the way we came."

*

"I will lead, Nathaniel, you follow after, Samson, bring up the rear. It is important that we move quickly and quietly and down one side of the street, rather than in the middle. That way we will be able to check each alley before we move through and will have warning of someone attacking from the other side. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Yes Captain."

"Remember, we are not ordinary, helpless townsfolk, we are trained, experienced pirates. Keep your weapons drawn and aim for the heart or the centre of the forehead. A Shifter must be and can only be killed by direct and unhealable damage to the brain or the heart. Any less and they will continue to attack. If the plan diverts at any point, do not forget that we are weakest when we are apart, so at all costs, we must stick together. I wouldn't put it past them to try and separate us so let's not make it easier for them. Our goal is our boat at the end of the wharf; shifters do not like to swim so it is there that we will be our safest."

With these final words I ascended quickly to the top of the wall. The rain beat down relentlessly, we were already soaked and I pushed my hair from my eyes, shrewdly assessing the surroundings as the others climbed to join me. The ships were not visible as they had been earlier; the thick and sudden rain had left us with little visibility. Which mean that they enemy would be hindered as well, although their hearing and sense of smell was far superior to ours.

"Alright," I said, taking a deep breath as anticipation arose in my gut. "Let's go."

It was nerve racking, every step that I took I felt more and more as though I was walking straight to my death. The situation we were in sudden seemed so much more dire than it had when we were safely sheltered behind the castle walls.

We stuck close to one side of the road, as per the plan and so far there was nothing. Each alley way we passed was checked before we rushed past it, dark shadows in the rain. I tried not to look at the dead, but every now and then there would be a pale face that was uncovered and left open to the sky. The expressions on these faces were always ones of horrific fear or agony, one poor man with his face half ripped away stared at me as I passed with his singular remaining eye, and even in death it seemed as though his gaze followed my movements.

Although we checked around us constantly, our mouths quiet and our ears straining to hear any noise of a hostile party, and saw nothing, I couldn't shake the feeling that they were right there, surrounding us, a mere curtain of rain away and lingering just outside of our vision.

We continued forwards and my gaze began to flicker again, following that movement that I had noticed before – the one that always seemed to be lingering on the very edge of my vision. My grip tightened on my sword and my dagger and I pushed my hand out from my side a little, signalling for the others to stop.

I could feel my heard beating in my chest as my eyes darted around. They were definitely here and I could tell that-

There!

Swift as a shot from a gun, my wrist flicked, sending my dagger whizzing through the air with deadly precision to where I knew the flicker would appear. There was a wet sound of metal meeting flesh and a surprised yelp. Beyond our vision I heard the distinct sound of a heavy body hitting the ground.

There was a pause and then-

"Run!" I yelled.

We kicked into gear faster than I ever thought possible and it seemed that we had taken them by surprise for a moment there was no reaction. The end of the main street came into sight and the dim outline of the wharf appeared. I could hear the slosh of the ocean against wooden slats, we were almost there-

A scream echoed out from behind me and I spun around to see Samson, weighed down by a wolf, larger than normal size, its fangs sunk into his shoulder. The big man was wrestling with the beast but he couldn't seem to get a grip on it and it worried at the hunk of flesh it had seized, tearing the wound further.

I doubled back, another dagger at the ready, but the bang of a gunshot echoed out through the air and suddenly the wolf had fallen away, leaving Samson to stumble forward, clutching his wound as he tried to stem the blood that poured out from between his fingers.

There was another shot and I turned in time to see another of the beasts fall behind me. Nathaniel grabbed Samson's arm and pulled the big man forward, meeting my eyes with fierce determination.

"What are you waiting for, let's go."

I nodded in thanks, I had no idea that the boy was such a good shot, but there was nothing to do right now but be grateful that his skill and courage did not fade under pressure. There was growling coming from all around us now, but we could not seem to see them and they moved so quickly – there was more than I realised.

There were no more random attacks and it was then that I became worried that they were herding us towards something. The wooden boards of the wharf made contact with my feet and a furry body appeared out of nowhere. Unable to get a clean shot, I sliced at its side with my sword and it yelped in pain, stumbling over its own feet as it slipped on the wet wood and disappeared out of sight.

"Down this way!"

We rushed down to where we had moored our boat, our chests heaving and our thoughts frantic. It was there however that we struck out fateful problem. Growling suddenly sounded out through the air in front of us and it was menacing enough that we stopped dead in our tracks. The row boat bobbed only meters away and suddenly glowing eyes appeared out from the sheeting rain, followed by viscous snapping jaws filled with deadly sharp teeth.

I was panting; the seed of desperation had been planted and was beginning to take root. I had not thought that they would think this far ahead, I had underestimated them, and now we were trapped.

A gun shot sounded and another furry body hit the wooden planks. The growling and snapping increased, but they knew that they had us outnumbered. They were closing in for the kill.

"Sorry boys." I said grimly. "I fucked up."

"No worries Boss," Samson panted, "We aren't dead yet."

Nathaniel laughed a sound that was a mixture between disbelief and a strained attempt at finding humour. "Just as he said, we aren't dead yet."

Suddenly the growling stopped. It was abrupt, and for a moment I didn't know what was different about our situation. The rain continued to fall, soaking deep into my bones, the wolves did not retreat, we did not lower our weapons ... but the growling, it had stopped.

Suddenly a sound entered my ears, clear over the pouring rain and the lapping waves of the ocean.

"Is that-"

The world around us exploded into flames.

I cried out in shock, drawing closer to my comrades as my mind tried to keep up with what my eyes were seeing. Fire ... fire was exploding down from above in great orange and red blasts, incinerating our enemy where they stood. The smell of burning flesh rose into the sky, but there were no screams. No, they had died far too fast for that.

My eyes were wide with shock and my hand trembled around the blade that I held. Our rescue had been so sudden, so brutal; I hadn't even had time to realise. The rain was already dousing the flames that encircled us and suddenly the wharf creaked with the burden of a new weight.

A reptilian cry sounded through the air and through the remaining fire came the white face of a dragon. The beast stared at me head on, it's intelligent eyes flickering in the wavering light of its own flame.

My sword fell to the ground and my hand reached out automatically. Nathaniel and Samson's breaths were heavy behind me, but Nathaniel was the first to find his voice.

"Is that ... is that Anthemin?"

*