(12) The Storm
This Chapter is Dedicated to Kawaiisoul - She is a fan who sent me the most beautiful message and I think she is just the sweetest. ALSO CHECK OUT HER STORY GUYS! If you are looking for something to read, he story has just started out and it is brilliant. Wonderfully mature writing style and a MUST READ!!
Thanks guys!!
(Circe's P.O.V)
Time passed quicker than I expected to aboard the ship, although I should have known that from last time. My days were never boring, now that I had begun taking 'classes' again. As Queen Airocei had said, I did not partake in learning to use weapons again, instead I had other lessons.
As Zalas had promised, his classes started at dawn and required both Anthemin and I to be present. Anthemin and I would take turns with our two teachers, sometimes we would be taught one on one, other times we would be together. Even Aranel and Nelonimi helped every now and then, much to my surprise. Aranel still nursed a boiling hatred towards me, some days she was just downright evil. However, she was a good teacher and I knew that there would be a day when I would sit her down on her arse, for now though, mine was taking a good beating.
We practiced mostly Air Weaving, although on the days that I went with Unabonan, which was not often, I would learn of the Dragon History and of the first Dragons, which was extremely fascinating. Anthemin and I mind-linked with each other every night to share what we had learnt throughout the day.
After my lessons with Zalas and Unabonan I would have a break until mid afternoon when Hobbson would take over. I would learn more about my heritage and how to battle underwater. Hobbs knew a little about Water Weaving, and he taught me what he could, but he told me that the real lessons would come from the Masters when we finally arrived at my Mothers Kingdom.
For now, he merely showed me maneuvers under water, things I could do to escape my enemies. He showed me how to use my tail as a weapon and a weapon it certainly became. The little Water Weaving that Hobbs did know was actually quite a bit when put into comparison to what I knew. He was taught mostly attacking manoeuvres, having been in the Queens guard after all, they were trained to be vicious fighters. There was more than one time that our fangs came out as we hissed at each other, swirling about under the water with clouds of bubbles rising up around us.
Our battling session would last the afternoon and then I would break for dinner before learning etiquette from Aranel and Hobbson. Aranel was needed because she was a Princess and knew how Princesses should act and behave. Hobbson was there to teach me Water Kingdom customs, greetings and other things that were specific to the culture I was going to become a part of.
As he had mentioned a long time ago, Women were the dominant gender in the Underwater World. Men were not seen as lower of course, but Women were the rulers, the ones that dictated. Men were respected for the protection and services that they provided, the children that they helped to bear. Hobbson said that if I was a young man, there would be a lot more customs for me to learn, but because I was some-one of such high class, I would not be expected to curtsey or look up to anyone but my Mother.
However, I did have to know how to receive someone and the appropriate way to eat, dress, walk and talk to other people. I had to learn now, so that I did not offend anyone by unintentionally speaking down to them. As a Dukes daughter, it was really quite simple. It was nothing that I hadn’t done before, granted it had seemed like a long time ago that I had had to act that way, but I was sure that with more practice, I would be flawless.
With all of my classes keeping me busy, the moments that I had to myself were scarce and the moments with Obsidian even more so. I would feel him watching me of course, as I went about my day, but Zalas was always close by, his suspicious eyes narrowing whenever Obsidian came into view. By the time the night rolled around I would head straight for bed with nothing but sleep on my mind. Obsidian was very rarely ever in his room when I came in, he seemed to be disappearing mysteriously a lot more than usual and when I questioned Cobalt, without trying to sound to desperate, he simply shrugged his shoulders and said that Obsidian was just being Obsidian. Evasive.
I tried not to feel too hurt by this, I tried to convince myself that I was just being paranoid, but as the days turned into weeks I began to wonder if we even had anything to hide any more.
And then came the night of the storm.
I had just slumped into bed, exhausted from the day, the wind had picked up earlier in the afternoon, the sea becoming more and more choppy, tossing the boat from side to side. Now, with the sun sinking low on the horizon the full power of the weather was unleashed.
The wooden boards of the ship creaked and groaned and my stomach was momentarily suspended in the air as we dipped over what must have been a particularly ferocious wave. Rain battered against the door that lead to the balcony, drumming a insistent rhythm into the wood.
Snuggling under all of my blankets and reassured with the certainty that the ocean would not harm me, I let the rocking of the ship put me to sleep.
Only a few hours later I was woken by a deafening boom.
I shot straight up in my bed, drawing the covers up around me. The rain still pounded down, louder now and sounding more like hail. A flash of lightening illuminated my balcony door, casting crazy shadows across the floor boards. The ship was rocking violently and I could hear shouts from out on the deck.
I felt strangely calm as I swung my legs over the side of the bed and onto the floorboards. We hadn't had run into any bad weather so far on our journey, we were bound to at some point, and there was a strange feeling in my gut that told me that this wasn't an ordinary storm.
Almost dream like, I teetered across the room, my arms held out slightly to my sides to keep my balanced as the floor tipped from side to side. Managing to wrap my hand around the door knob, I yanked it open, the yells magnifying as I made my way to Obsidians room.
His room had been fixed since his tantrum, but a few things had fallen over with the pitching of his ship. Papers were scattered across his desk and as the violent wind found its way under the door they were lifted off the desk slightly, ruffling together like big white feathers before floating back down in even more disarray.
His bed sheets were tossed back haphazardly, confirming that yes, he had slept in his own bed tonight. A pang of want and need shot through me, followed by a small amount of hurt that he hadn't come to see me in my room. Discarding the thought from my mind, I staggered across the room, at one point having to grab onto the wall as the ship pitched from side to side.
Panting with effort and with the sound of the storm increasing I finally reached the door. Upon turning the handle, it was ripped from my grasp as the door flung open of it's own accord, almost ripping off it's hinges as the full force of the storm hit me.
The sails had been fully lowered and tucked away, the masts standing straight and tall like a bare bone, stripped of its skin and flesh. They did not waver as the ship rocked violently in the churning ocean. Crewmen were running about although I could not imagine what they were even attempting to do in a storm such as this.
I gripped the sides of the door frame as we were picked up by a particularly large wave and dumped back down, stinging droplets of spray mixing with the rain that was lashing at my cheeks.
The wind howled horribly around me, sticking my already drenched nightgown to my skin and whipping my wet hair around my face. I gasped as I wiped it from my eyes, the coldness making me gape in surprise.
Above me the sky was a dangerous purple black color, clouds swirling and crashing together with resounding booms before they would momentarily light up with a flash of lightening, so bright that I had to blink rapidly for a couple of seconds afterwards before I was able to see again.
And the waves, oh god the waves were huge. Even though I loved the ocean and all of it's power, I would have to be stupid not to feel fear in that moment. The waves were like ruthless moving mountains of water, with cold harsh peaks that quickly came tumbling down in an avalanche of destruction before rapidly building themselves up again. The sea churned as the wind howled out a pain filled sound and I couldn't help that feeling again. As though this was no ordinary storm.
As I stumbled forwards across the deck with absolutly no idea as to where I was headed, I crashed into a very firm body.
"Jacob?"
He wiped a large hand across his face, spitting sea water from his mouth as he clutched my shoulders.
"Circe!" He yelled over the howling of the storm. "What are you doing out on deck? You should be inside where it's safe!"
A particularly nasty wave suddenly dumped a load of water onto the deck, sweeping us sideways and into the mast. Spluttering, I was able to keep my hold on Jacob, and he on the mast. As the water subsided he yelled at me again.
"Circe you need to go back inside. Bones would kill me if he saw you out here! We have everything under control!"
"It doesn't look like you do!" I yelled back, waving my arms around at the chaos around us. "What's even happening?"
Suddenly there was another person beside us and gruff hands were taking hold of my arms, pulling me back towards my quarters.
"Yer Mother 'as received news o' the Dragon egg being stolen."
"Hobbs?" I wiped more water from my eyes, trying to get a clear picture of the old man and at the same time trying to make sense of his words. "I don't understand!"
"This storm is yer Mother Circe!" He shouted, still dragging me along. "She is the Queen o' the Ocean! The ruler o' the Seas! She is furious!"
I gaped at him. "You mean my Mother is making the storm? But why!"
Finally we reached a door and Hobbs yanked it open, shoving me inside and following quickly after. It was an effort to shut the door behind him, but between the two of us, we managed it.
"It ain't like she can help it exactly." He said gruffly, his voice strained. "Why do you think the weather has been so great for our journey up until now? She has been controlling the seas, the Air Queen too you know, turning the winds in our favor. That's why we are now so close to the Water Kingdom after such a short amount of time. We are past halfway Circe. It should have taken us a month and a half to get to where we are now."
I swallowed. "What she is doing now, she wouldn't harm us would she?"
Hobbs shook his head. "I would hope not, but you have to remember, she is hearing this terrible news for the first time. Up until now, she thought that the only purpose for our visit was to deliver you to her."
I nodded. "Okay."
"And anyway," he continued. "We have two ships full of qualified air weavers and don't forget about the Dragons." He winked at me. "I'm sure that we will be just fine."
"Circe!" There was a call from further down the hallway and I realized that Hobbs had lead me to the crews quarters instead of my own. To my delight, Nathaniel suddenly came into view and swept me up in his arms.
"Circe, I'm glad you are alright. I was worried for you in that room all by yourself but our orders were to stay inside."
I buried my face in the crook of his neck, enjoying in the feeling that my brother was safe. "I'm fine Naddy. Where are the others?"
"Down in Lacy's room." Hobbs replied for him. "Which is where you should go and try to sleep until all of this is over. The ship isn't going down anytime soon."
He words were contradicted by another stomach swooping lurch and we all stumbled in the hallways slightly.
Hobbson frowned. "If you're going to be alright now Circe, I had better get back outside."
I nodded and thanked him. He received it before turning to hurry back down the hallway and out of sight. Switching my attention to my brother, I smiled up at him, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"Where have you been? I haven't seen you for ages."
He grimaced. "I know. Aranel has been keeping me busy on the other ships. If I didn't know better, I would say that she has been trying to keep me away from you."
I frowned. "Why would she do that?"
He shook his shaggy head. "I'm not sure Circe." He looked uncomfortable and I gently prodded him in the side.
"What is it Naddy? You can tell me."
He shifted from foot to foot, looking more uncomfortable by the second. "I'm not sure Circe, I haven't been trying but I have just overheard some conversations on that ship that I probably shouldn't have. I like Aranel, but I don't trust her." He scowled. "And I definitely don't trust her brother. "
I smiled at his grim expression as he talked of Zalas. He saw my face and rolled his eyes.
"Don't look at me like that, I'm serious Circe."
I laughed. "You are never serious Naddy. You over react far too much. However," I said, my face suddenly turning sombre, "If you do hear anything note worthy, you should tell me. For the moment though, I don't see anything wrong with the two of them, apart from the fact that they could both use an attitude adjustment."
He laughed and the grim mood was suddenly broken. I smiled, suggesting that he lead the way to the others, which he did, a more cheerful expression on his face.
He hurried me down the hallway and into a room that could only be where Leonardo lived. I hadn’t been in his room before and I peered around curiously before my gaze landed on Lacy, curled up on the bed with her hands clamped around her ears. Leo sat beside her, his hands rubbing soothing circles on her back as he whispered reassuringly into her ears.
I rushed to her side, my hands joining his. “Lacy, baby are you okay?”
She whimpered and shuffled closer into me, giving a squeak as the ship rolled and pitched violently. It was unusual to see Lacy so terrified over something; she was a pretty tough little cookie. I noticed her hair was slightly damp and my questioning gaze turned to Leo.
“She was out on the deck and didn’t get out of the way in time. Samson managed to grab her before she was washed overboard, but she is quite shaken.” He explained grimly. “Hopefully this dies down soon.”
“Oh Lacy,” I brushed her hair back from her cheeks and cuddled her closely. “Don’t worry, it will be over soon, nothing would have happened to you.”
“You can’t say that,” She whispered, her voice shaking, “I could have died.”
“No, no.” I soothed, “Never. Never okay? I asked Hobbson what was going on and he said that my Mother has just received news of the stolen egg and that is why the sea is raging. It will soon pass.”
She didn’t say anything, but the look on Nathaniel’s face was one of great curiosity.
“Our Mother is doing this?” He asked incredulously.
I nodded. “That’s what Hobbs says.”
He nodded, but said no more, his brow furrowed, deep in thought.
I leaned back on the pillows, listening to the storm crash around us. My eyelids drooped; despite our situation I was tired.
“There’s nothing we can do for now,” I reasoned out loud. “We might as well try and get some sleep.”
Noises of agreement echoed around the room, Lacy cuddling closer to me as she too agreed that sleep was a good idea. Nathaniel dropped into the armchair on the other side of the room, his expression still brooding.
The noise of the storm faded in my ears, the crashing and booming of the waves disappearing, the violent pitching of the ship relaxing into a gentle rocking motion as I slipped into the world of dreams.
Vanima.
The word flew into my mind with almost as much violence as the storm and in an instance; I was on my feet, my expression worried.
Anthemin? What is wrong?
I need you, came the wild whisper. The storm is great and I have a feeling in my heart that we should be as one right now. You must come to me.
My feet had started towards the door before he could even finish the sentence. Anthemin needed me. I had to go.
Nathaniel had woken when I had and now he caught my arm, pulling me towards him. “Circe where are you going? You can’t just waltz outside! Hobbson told you to stay here.”
“Anthemin needs me.” I said fiercely. “I’m sorry but I must go, I will be fine, don’t worry about me okay?”
“Circe,” Nathaniel began before he paused for a long time, his blue eyes searching my own. Finally he sighed and let go of my arm to rub his hands over his face in exasperation.
“Fine, go, but for Neptune’s sake, please be careful.”
I nodded quickly, wasting no time in yanking the door handle open and heading back up the passageway towards the deck. It was pitch black outside of Leo's bedroom, the lanterns had blown out and hadn't been relit. I had no idea how long I had been sleeping for, but I did know that the storm had not died down one bit. I fell awkwardly against the wall as the ship rolled sickeningly to the side.
Gasping, I pushed myself upright and carried on through the hallway, my arms out by my sides as I struggled to keep my balance. I knew that I had almost reached the door when the floor below my feet became quite wet suddenly, the small breeze that had been whistling through the halls gathering strength.
Shouts echoed out from outside and over the roar of the wind, just for a moment, the roar of a Dragon ripped through the storm, disappearing in a clap of thunder. Wasting no more time, I yanked open the door and once more stepped out into the storm.
It was definitely worse.
The first thing that I saw was the waves. They had tripled in size, dwarfing the ships with their sheer amount of power and raging destruction.
How on earth have we not capsized yet?! I wondered incredulously, unable to move from my spot, my fear was growing more intense by the second.
My question was answered as a particularly strong wave threatened to break over the deck. I stared in horror as it loomed over the deck when suddenly a gigantic white shape flew in front of my view, his enormous wings just missing the mast of the ship.
Unabonan let out a roar that challenged the thunder, fire pouring forth from his mouth. Zalas was a thin bolt of lightening fury on his back, standing tall and sure, how he was managing to keep his footing I had no idea. His arms were moving furiously, his face a cold stone mask of fierce determination as he seemed to gather the air around him until I could clearly see a spinning ball of air, rapidly increasing in size, hovering in front of him.
He let out an unearthly roar as he released the ball and I stumbled backwards in shock as what looked like fire poured from his mouth and ignited the ball into a flaming globe of destruction. Combined with Unabonan's flame, it punched a hole straight through the wave, effectively ending it's course towards the ship as the water split apart like glass, shattering back into the sea.
It was then that I realized that these were no normal waves, just as this was no normal storm that was a result of my Mother's anger. It had mutated into something more. Waves didn't break apart just because they were set on fire. Air didn't ignite from any normal flame that I could think of.
Vanima!
Anthemin's cry came from no where and the next thing I knew I was tossed through the air, somehow ending up on the young Dragon's back. The rain hit me fully as we soared into the air, sometimes it was mixed with sea spray, the salty tang making me spit and splutter.
"Anthemin!" I yelled, but the words were whipped from mouth by the vicious wind and no sound came out.
Anthemin, what are we doing? What's going on? I tried again, this time internally and to my relief, a reply came as quickly as the sharp wind on my skin.
Helping Vanima, the storm has changed into something more. Something dangerous to all of our lives.
I struggled to see through the rain, my hair whipping widely around my face and I screamed as we dived sharply in order to miss a giant wave of water that had seemed to rear out of no-where, reaching for us with it's cold grasp.
You must concentrate Vanima! Anthemin's voice was urgent.
"How can I concentrate when I don't even know what is happening!!" I screamed out, my voice coming out desperate, unnatural and again lost on the wind. But this time my cry had been internal as well as out loud and I was greeted with another touching my mind, washing his way in and clearing it completely.
Focus.
Unabonan and Zalas's voice was intertwined giving it an eire double tone that sent shivers down my spine.
But on what? I thought frantically, my fear spiking as I saw that we were heading towards a wave that was building itself up, seemingly vertically out of the water.
He is Nuuruhuine, a water daemon built from fear and anger. There is plenty of that in the seas tonight. He is death's shadow.
In front of us, the wave was growing to record heights, dwarfing us and the three ships entirely. It was as though this wave was built from the entire of the ocean. Surely it would run out of water soon.
What can we do? I thought incredulously. We are so small.
We must wait until he shows his true form and then, we must strike him through the heart.
True form ...?
Look Vanima. Find the monster in amongst the waves. Use your gift's.
So close we were to the wave now, that I could see nothing else. Nothing else existed. There was only the water, above and below and stretching endlessly to either side. I could sense that Zalas and Unabonan were slightly behind us, Aranel, Nelonimi and the other Dragon's behind them but I did not turn my head to look. I was focused solely on the shape that was emerging from the water.
It looked similar to a Dragon's claw but more like a human hand at the same time. It reached straight out of the wave, easily the most horrifying thing that I had ever seen. It snatched at us, it's clawed fingers easily the length of one of our ships. We dodged, just in time, Anthemin furiously blasting out a lash of fire as the tip of the claw nicked his tail, leaving a long bloody cut in it's path.
I hissed as his pain registered with me, igniting an anger that I didn't know I had. I flung my arms back furiously, air whipping around me to swipe the hair from my face and the rain from my eyes, clearing my vision.
"How dare you!!" I screamed, my blood running hot through my veins. "Show your face!! Show your beastly, cowardly face you monster!!"
Anthemin's anger flowed through me also and I was no longer scared of the giant wave looming in front of me. It was nothing to me. I was the ocean. I was the entire ocean and who was this thing to take that control from me and use it against me and my Dragon?
He was stupid. That's what he was.
I felt my eyes begin to glow as I tapped into my pendant, calling upon it to support and sustain me. I reached for Anthemin's mind and we merged as one, curving steeply upwards as we reached the face of the wave. We were climbing, on an almost vertical angle, climbing and soaring, fearless and strong. We reached for the air together to give us extra power as we flew and it lifted Anthemin's wings eagerly. My hair streamed out, white glowing gold behind me and in that moment I knew how Zalas had done it.
I breathed in one deep breath and closed my eyes.
Anthemin's sight still ran through my mind, but it was our sight now, and I could do what ever he did.
I stood up on his back.
Our position was so steep that I was forced to balance on one of his long back spines in order to stay in the air, but what would have been impossible yesterday was now possible today. It was as though the spine was as wide as a plank, it was ridiculous how easy it was to balance. I held onto another, that was higher up and let the air support me. I would not fall.
I was still seeing through Anethmin's roller-coaster vision but everything was moving in slow motion. It was simple for me to place the other foot on his back when he leveled out slightly. It was easy for me to change my position according to him, so that I became an assistance rather than a hinderance.
It was easy for me to see what was wave in front of us and what was monster.
Time froze around us and I saw everything in that one moment. I saw Zalas and Unabonan behind and below us, Zalas in the same impossible position as I, standing on his Dragon's back spines as Unabonan flew almost vertically up the wave. Zalas's hands were gathering a giant ball of air, his white eyes glowing red like burning coals, a smile of death plastered on his face.
I saw the ships far below, like little toys in God's bathtub, helpless to anything that happened now.
I saw the power that we needed and in one motion, Anthemin's wings curled in front of him, the tips touching together for just a moment, but what felt like an eternity. My motions copied his perfectly, my arms were his wings as we waited for the wave to reach it's peak.
Now.
Our wings snapped back, the power emitting from the gesture catapulting us back through the air as the giant wave split open with a crack of thunder that sounded loud enough to split the heavens.
The excess water fell thunderously to each side, a whole waterfall dropping at once, leaving something stooping in the middle, huge and horrific.
Something that looked as though it was made from moving water, and perhaps it was. I could see different streams of it pumping through it's hideous naked body like veins. As it turned to face us it was clear where all of the vein's led, although I didn't think it would be possible for something like that to have a heart, what looked like giant whirlpool pulsed what must have been it's chest.
It's like it's sucking up the ocean. I shuddered, fear creeping it's way back into my veins. Sucking it all up and never giving anything back.
The Nuuruhuine focused in on us with two more whirlpools for eyes, but these ones had depthless black circles in the middle of them and I thought of nothing but death when I looked into them. Of endless, torturous death.
Death's Shadow.
And then it lunged for us, carnivorous jaws open wide.
(Obsidian's P.O.V)
The storm had intensified suddenly and unexpectedly. For the past five or six hours my crew had been battling the waves alongside the Air Kingdom soldiers and we had been holding out fine. There were a few close calls but nothing to really worry about. And then,
Boom.
The wave had struck the side of the ship with far more solidity than any wave should have. The deck violently pitched tot he side, sending people scrabbling for a secure hold on what ever was closest.
I clung to the wheel, my eyes narrowing, my cloak drenched and heavy.
"Everyone inside now!" The grizzled voice was panicked as Hobbs appeared, waving is arms and gesturing that everyone get down below. "All crew below deck! Hurry you fools or-
Boom.
The colossal noise echoed from the rear of the ship this time and I stumbled forward over the wheel, winding myself slightly. There were only a few who had not secured themselves tightly enough to the ship, but were caught in the billowing nets, that had swung free in the wind, before they could be lost to the sea. I breathed a quite sigh of relief, for crew were short and I could not afford to lose any.
My brother was suddenly beside me, pulling me up and yelling out at the same time.
"You heard the man, everyone below decks now expect for Elrohir's men!" He shouted out, his voice full of command.
No-one was protesting this time. In under a minute the deck was cleared, save for the few Air Soldiers that had stayed, hovering slightly off the deck of the ship so as not to be hindered by the unsteady deck. The ships on either side of us showed the same picture, the Air Soldiers hovering slightly off the ground. Elrohir stood behind the wheel of the ship on my right, his pale face and hair glowing in the dim light.
Boom.
The crash came again but this time I was prepared and I steadied myself against my brother as Hobbson came to join us, clinging against the railing.
"What is happening!" I yelled, struggling to be heard over the wind.
"Nuuruhuine!" He yelled back and before I had a chance to ask what the hell that was supposed to be a great white shape flew in front of us, his jaws opening wide to gush white fire into the night sky.
The Dragon and his Rider turned to face us for a split second, their voices entering our minds as one.
You must go below deck. There is nothing you can do here.
I opened my mouth, furious at being told what to do by the rat Prince of all people but at that moment, a giant wave rose straight from the ocean and reached out for the ship.
Zalas and Unabonan moved as one, smiting the wave with fire that seemed to come from everywhere, and it split apart with a sound of thunder and cracking glass. Unabonan shrieked out a deathly sound as they spiraled through the air before bombing the place where the wave came from once more.
Cobalt was tugging desperately at my arm, a look of fear on his face that I had not seen before. "Brother we must listen to Hobbs, there is nothing we can do, we have to go."
"What is it?" I yelled at Hobbs, still furious that I had been told to run and hide and slightly angry at my brother for suggesting we do just that. I was Captain of this ship, it was my responsibility to make sure nothing happened to it.
"Nuuruhuine." He said grimly. "Translated into English, it means 'Deaths Shadow'. They are water daemons born from anger, pain and sorrow. There is nothing we can do from here."
I growled in anger, my eyes searching the water around the ship for the next attack. "Well I'm not going anywhere." I said stubbornly. "I'm not afraid of some stupid water monster."
Hobbs opened his mouth to reply but at that moment we were both distracted by the figure in white that had suddenly appeared on deck. She stood out amongst the rest of the Air Soldiers that were hurrying about on deck, preforming the duties that my crew would normally take care of, even though they were dressed similarly I would know her anywhere.
"Circe!" I roared, desperate for her to hear me. Fear suddenly struck into my heart as I noticed a growing wave to starboard. "Circe!' I tried again but she did not turn, she too was focused on the wave, her head turned to face it but I could not see her facial expression.
The wave was gigantic now and I seemed to be frozen to the spot, i could not move, all I could picture was her delicate form being thrown over the side of the ship again and again and again.
From nowhere Unabonan appeared again, Zalas a thin bolt of lightening balanced perfectly on the Dragons broad back. He was gathering something that looked like a ball of air in his hands and as I watched, he threw it over his head, straight at the wave.
With a roar, the Dragon set the ball on fire and it punched a huge hole straight through the wall of water. The wave shattered, once again reminding me of broken glass as it sank back into the ocean.
Circe had started forwards as this had happened and I had just found my feet again, I had just begun to make for the steps that would take me to her, I would gather her up and shroud her in kisses and thank whatever God was watching over us, that she was safe.
But my foot had barely touched the first step when she was gone, swooped up into the air by the smaller Dragon that followed her everywhere, although I could not think of his name.
"NO!' Cobalt yelled from beside me, reaching over the railings as though he could still reach out and grab her. "Don't take her, it's too dangerous!"
My mind was stunned momentarily. She was gone, disappeared into the storm. Surely she would not survive ...
Suddenly my brain was working again and I was searching the air frantically, spotting them high above us in the sky heading for a gigantic wave that was building up to an immeasurable height in front of us. For once I was completely helpless, there was nothing that I could do at all. I didn't have power of the Air or control over water. There was nothing I could do.
I punched the railing, bits of it splintering off and falling down to be eaten by the wild seas. This was the worst experience of my entire life.
"We have to do something!" I yelled out. "We can't just stand here!"
"Calm down brother." Cobalt's hand rested down on my shoulder, but his fingers were shaking and his eyes did not move away from the white shape that was Circe and her Dragon, high up in the sky.
Hobbson stood beside him, trying to look calm, but his hands clenched at the railing his knuckles white. It must be worse for him, I thought to myself. The fate of Circe rests on his shoulders, she is his responsibility after all.
" Oh screw this!" The old man suddenly growled. "I ain't jest gunna stand 'ere." In one movement, he had dove from the side of the ship and into the churning waves.
The rain picked up again as Cobalt leant over to look for him, lashing at my face and making it hard to see what was going on.
"Shit! He's gone!" He exclaimed, walking back over and flicking his wet hair from his eyes. "Shit!"
"He will be fine," I growled. "Merman remember?"
"Oh yeah." Cobalt said, his voice growing slightly lighter. "Forgot about that."
"Fuck this." I said angrily, squinting out into the storm. "I can't see shit!"
I eyed the crows nest that was wobbling around on top off the mast, the vicious winds were giving it a battering. In one colossal jump I was soaring for the rigging, flicking myself up into the nets with the skills of an acrobat. I paused for a moment to discard my heavy clothing, leaving me in just trousers although they were heavy with water also, hanging low around my hips.
The cold rain pelted furiously at my skin as I climbed and it took me but a second to realize that my brother had followed me. I couldn't wait until we reached land. Then we would finally be on the same level as all of these other supernatural creatures. I had never felt the desire to tap into my Elven heritage more than I did now when I was completely helpless.
My pendant was glowing hotly around my neck and I felt my eyes burn brighter in response, my eye sight improving with the energy. I too had made the most of the lilies, I just hadn't been loud about it. A few early mornings where I had crept through to check that Circe was still in her room, I had spent some time on her balcony, taking energy from the lilies and reassuring myself with the sound of her steady breathing.
The thought of her fueled me to climb all the more faster and when I reached the top the most horrible scene met my eyes, Cobalt, not far behind me, cried out in horror, rushing to the edge of the crows nest as though by being a meter closer he could somehow be of assistance.
The wave had grown to unnatural heights, towering far over our three ships and blocking out the sky. I saw far below, the Air Kingdoms Soldiers moving as one on the deck, their arm gestures smooth and calm as they manipulated the air to push the wave back and stop it from breaking over our heads.
But that wasn't what had struck a bolt of terror through my heart. Chest heaving from my climb, I watched as I giant claw hand reached out from the wave and swiped at Circe and her Dragon.The dodged just in time, but a claw nicked the end of the dragons tail and he let out a roar of pain.
Zalas and Unabonan were not far behind them and Zalas let go another of his fiery air balls that struck the claw, shattering it into pieces. The other Dragons flew out in a V formation, like giant birds, the rat Princess Aranel leading them on the beast that had scarred me and my brother. I sneered, my hate not waning in the slightest. I hoped that they would die.
I spotted the Dragon that had come to me, Zarska, in the formation, her black body blending in with the storm clouds and the giant black wave. All Dragons were flying almost vertically through the air and I watched with fear as Circe, who had steadily been glowing brighter now stood up on the Dragon. There was no way that she would have been able to stand on his back with the angle that he was one, so it looked as though she was balancing on one of the spines that protruded out from his back.
"No." I whispered in horror, my hands dragging down my face. What was she doing? Was she trying to get killed?! Her hair was glowing brightly now as they flew higher, she looked like an angel of death. Or an angel about to fall to her death. I didn't want to watch but I couldn't look away. I had never felt so weak in my entire life. I couldn't save her if she fell. I couldn't pull her out of harms way and take the blow for her. I couldn't do anything.
Everything seemed to go in slow motion as I watched her and the Dragon, silhouetted against the monster wave by a flash of blinding lightening, their wings/arms spread wide as though welcoming the storm. Zalas was only slightly below them, a colossal ball of air gathering in his hands. He was the one I would have to trust now. The one I would have to trust to keep her safe. I hated it.
I watched as the Dragon brought his wings forward, the tips touching together for a slipt second before they snapped back open at an impossible speed, releasing a wave of power as they did, the force of it sending them flying backwards through the air.
The wave split open with a giant crack that shook the skies, the excess water falling to the sides and rocking our ships violently. I was forced to reach out and grab the top of the mast that protruded through the crows nest platform, in order to steady myself.
Gasping I watched as a shape appeared from the middle of the wave. It looked like a wave itself, but it was more solid and the water was twisted into almost human like shapes. As it turned I saw with horror that a whirlpool in the center of it's chest was sucking up water and that our ships were slowly drifting towards it, still being battered by the rough seas.
"Drop the anchor!" I roared over the noise of the storm, the Air crew looking up to where I was and what was happening before they complied.
My attention turned back to the creature. It was still massive, even without it's wave shield. It took up most of the sky in my view, its horrible face, turning so that we could see it, although when I could I wished instantly that I could erase the image from my mind.
It had a snout , similar to a Dragon snout, but it's eyes were forwards facing like a humans and they weren't eyes, they were black whirlpool, soulless and dead. As Circe and the Dragon recovered in the air, I watched in horror and helplessness as the thing focused in on them, jerking forward in the water to lunge at them, deadly jaws open wide.
* * * *
Hey Guys!!
This Chapter took a while but now it's up and I put Obsidian's P.O.V on the end to make it a bit longer for you guys as an apology for taking so long xx
Love you all!
Daisy xxx
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