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Chapter thirty: THE FIRST WAVE

Alice's POV*

It was a three days journey before we came across it.

The wind suddenly picked up and dragged our ships to the thick cloud that rested over the horizon. I stared into the heavy fog that laid ahead, one hand sitting on my belt.

Isaac lowered his glasses and then raised them, and then lowered them again. "Are you sure we should be heading into that?"

"Don't question me," I told him.

We ventured forward in silence, breathing only audible. A dead coldness filled our perimeter; not a single wave of body heat laid ahead.

However that wasn't the only thing dead.

The wind disappeared as did any sound.

The silence captured everything but the creak of the ship. I heard one person attempt a step and lifted my hand. They paused. Silence again.

Alice, Isaac spoke through our thought connection. We can't see a thing. How are we supposed to steer?

I responded, Just keep moving forward. Soon I can—

Suddenly, this radiant heat spiked up to the left but before I could warn them, our ship was hammered hard to the side.

Some soldiers flew across the deck, others falling over as the ground shook our feet. I tightened my grip on the rope as the boat swept sideways, putting us out of control.

I jerked my head up and realized the attacking boat was hidden in the fog. I felt their energy level thriving now. They were in position to hit again.

"We have to move!" I shouted towards the wheel.

"There isn't much wind!" one called back.

My frustration boiled and I glanced back to the attacker. "We have to move now!"

"We can't!"

My boots stalked heavily along the deck. "Top crew, prepare the weapons. Bottom crew, don't lose your feet."

Isaac shot me a confused look and I closed my eyes, palms facing up. The water bubbled under us and I felt it stir faster, circling the boat. I felt the smoothness snake through my fingers and I raised my hands, the water pulling us forward. There was tension in the ropes, everyone tightly gripping on. Tension in their bodies—tension in the air.

As the water took a life of its own, we were out of attacking range and I opened my eyes. "Stay focused!" I ordered the soldiers, heading to the side of the boat. I gazed over the railing. Body heat was now everywhere, all hiding in the fog. And then the enemy emerged.

Black flags full of holes with burnt ends whipped in the wind. I heard the shadows whisper on their ships, saw shapes of horns and tails whipping around their decks. A captain stood at the front.

I knew whose head I wanted.

Their ship was full speed ahead, and I sensed the shadows pushing their boats faster. "Here they come!" I said but our soldiers were not prepared.

Shadows captured men, fog wrapping around necks, snaking into the mouths, human eyes rolling back and—snap. Their bodies hit the floor. What was shaped to be birds flew over our heads. The fog enveloped anything in its pass, giving the demons camouflage. I heard cries from the boats behind us, and endless splashes into water. The enemy fired their demons through the cannons, bombing our deck with slithering fiends. Wood splintered in all directions, demons collapsing into floors and puncturing holes.

Our first lineup up boats rocked and I ran to the edge, seeing Hell's sirens and aquatic devils using fangs to climb the ship. Isaac had his hands held back with two tusks of a demon. He yelled over his shoulder, "There's too much fog! We can't see who we're fighting!" I could sense our men dropping already.

Suddenly, the rumbling of cages shook the seas and I grabbed onto the railing. Then a soft click followed over hundreds of our boats. A thundering roar sent an earthquake to the sky and the wooden boards trembled below us.

Forty feet long feathers darted through the clouds, eyes from the ground only catching the blurs of festival colours. All lined up in rows, the wingspan of phoenixes and other flight creatures blocked the sun, the day darkening to night. Taking up the whole sky, one particular phoenix in the centre made a crying squawk and instantly, all their wings beat at the same time. A wave of wind pushed us around and we held the railing tighter.

The waves of wind heightened and even the shadows clung to each other, some lost in the violent gusts. Unlucky demons and men were tossed off the boat.

Squinting through the sharp wind, I saw clumps of fog sticking together, twirling to form one big cloud of darkness. Although the seas were now visible, the fog transformed into this growing, monstrous tornado. As the beat of wings grew—so did the tornado. It began to swallow an enemy boat, demons thrown around the tearing ship.

The creatures of flight made a throaty call and their wings shifted in a different direction. Downwards. The fog tornado dove into the water, the seas intensely bubbling. It became a large pot, the water stirring and boiling.

With the building pressure, an abrupt water geyser shot up. Then another. And another. The birds swooped down in a line, curving around the geysers as the sun returned—night back to day. The enemy fired but their shots kept hitting the geysers. A phoenix sunk its talons into the side of the enemy boat and rocked it. Demons fled, others tossed across the deck. The boat flipped as did other ships who shared the same fate.

Our soldiers roared in triumph, the strength of their voices sparking the fire in my chest. Some geysers transformed into water tornadoes, twisting around the water and sucking Hell's aquatic devils that tried to scale our ships.

"Forward!" I cried out.

Weapons were thrust upwards and gleamed in the light. Men charged towards the incoming enemy ship, tension within their shoulders released.

The demons swung on ropes and onto our deck, some sweeping in with wings and claws. One snatched our man, digging its talons into their shoulder and threw them off the ship. There was a splash.

I removed my two swords, my feet swift as fox tails, cuts clean and smooth. Limbs fell to my boots, blades taking throats with them. My legs entrapped necks and snapped them in a heartbeat.

The water wildly thrashed, eating up any poor creature that fell into its arms. Heads ended up in hands, throats ripped and thrown across the deck. Black blood splashed across the flag, painting this day of hungry murder.

Painful cries were swallowed in the gust of beating wings. I caught glimpses of talons sinking into spilling flesh, beaks stabbing through one part and out the other.

Every heartbeat meant another body hitting the water, anyone could've been fooled to think it was raining.

The rain of the dead.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, blood smearing across my lips. The wind battled against my back, hair whipping to the side. I felt someone watching me. I turned around and piercing blue eyes met mine.

Hello old friend, I thought with a grin.

I circled around the blond haired man, a blue vest and trousers covering his pale skin. Romane; Lord Death's main soldier—captain. Jessie's ex.

"Apparently we were lovers," I said.

Out slipped from his back were a pair of duo swords. The white glass blades were already dipped in blood, dripping on the wooden deck.

"Apparently," he said, his body facing me as I continued circling him.

I sensed cold blood running through his veins and where there was supposed to be a heartbeat was the humming of his body. His shoulders were relaxed and a casual look rested on his face.

He said, "What a pity. Our race will be down one Cold Blood." No pity was laced in his voice.

"I'm not like you," I said.

"Ah, right." His pink lips curled up. "You're a dirty traitor and absolute coward." I may have been a traitor but I was no coward. "But we have the same blood so I guess I could go a little easy on you," he said with a smirk.

I remained quiet. This wasn't the time for talking. "May the best Cold Blood win," he said, knees bent, one arm back.

Or perhaps I could say one more thing. "I may be my father's daughter but I am not identified as your kind," I darkly spoke.

"Really? Oh, how is your old man doing?" He was grinning. He knew.

That was when I noticed the golden watch hanging by his belt.

Suddenly there were no more cries. No beating of wings. No Levi. No Isaac. No Grim. Not even Alice or Romane. Just the ticking of the watch.

Someone's time was up today.

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