The Crystal in the Chasm

chapter 26

It was all a blur once the ship neared the shore. Death Bringer strapped several blades across his back and chest, lining his belt with knives. His magic was swirling around him in dark clouds, his eyes glossed over entirely black under his mask. The Kingdom of Faerie crystal hummed in his tattooed hand, black smoke trailing into his palm from within the ball as if it were constantly fueling him. I stared wide-eyed and uncertain of how he wasn't bursting with power, the way I would have been.

Pirates began swinging off of ropes into the shallow waters below as the boat hit the shore. They were shouting and chanting as they charged toward the castle. Storm clouds gathered above, lightning crackling across the swirling grey sky. My parents knew we were here. And they weren't going down without a fight. Swords raised in the air, the pirates breached the castle.

Captain Silver Tongue was picking his teeth with the tip of his knife as he gestured for Hawk to take charge. He flung himself into the water like a blood-hound, all rage and thirst for death as he sprinted for the castle. Sea Legs dove into the water and emerged with a handful of merfolk, armed and ready for battle. Death Bringer cocked his head in my direction as he laced his hand around a rope, leaping toward me with a quick swing and scooping me up against him as we hurled over the side of the boat. I gasped as he let go of the rope, gripping me even tighter as we flung through the windy air. The water engulfed us with a sudden rush of cold. It came up to my lower stomach, soaking through my leathers and forming goosebumps atop my skin. Death Bringer sat me down gently beside him, peeling away from my body with a sudden ease.

"Thanks," I nodded tensely as I unsheathed two daggers in either of my hands.

He nodded in return, his black eyes entirely void of any resemblance of him as he sauntered away into the carnage. Pirates and faeries alike, bodies dropped like flies all around as the pirates fought their way into the castle. I ran through the crowd, slicing and stabbing with all of the rage bottled inside to fuel me. I pictured all of the times my father laid his hands on me, all the times he beat me senseless just to show me who was in charge. I pictured all of the times my mother turned a blind eye to the abuse and all of the times she blamed me for it. Karma was a bitch. Or at least, I sure was.

Death Bringer expertly swaggered into the battle, darkness consuming a large handful of opposing faeries like a light snack, nothing but their empty-eyed corpses emerging from the cloud of death as Death Bringer flawlessly stepped over them without lifting a finger. He was entirely bewitching, his predatory grace and lethal appeal beckoning me to offer my beating heart on a silver platter for him to devour. I returned my attention to the task at hand, charging into the clashing swords and dying pirates and faeries alike. Cries of the dead or dying littered the air.

Bodies of guards and members of the royal army that had stayed behind were sliced by my ever-moving blades. Blood splattered my face as the carnage piled up. I wasn't sure if all of these people deserved it, or if they had simply been manipulated by my parents, but I couldn't stop now. I was in too deep. A faerie plunged his blade into my arm when I least expected it, my magic bursting from my skin in balls of fire and ice, killing everyone within twenty feet. I sucked in a breath as the pain finally registered and the blood began to ooze from the wound. I pushed the throbbing away and trudged forward. Just as I was about to reach the front streps of the castle, my castle, the sound of hooves pattering against the gravel grabbed my attention.

My eyes locked with the king's guard riding atop his white horse; Arthur Mayweather. His warm brown eyes softened as he peered down at me, his chocolate skin a reminder of what I had left behind. Brief snippets of time flashed before my eyes in distant memories of us rolling around in his bed, the curtains drawn as we wasted away in a blur of skin and teeth and tongues. It was never love, what we had, but I knew we had a mutual care for each-other that didn't need to be put into words to be acknowledged. His eyes raked over me as the horror settled in.