Chapter 45: Chapter 18

I was exhausted from dealing with one issue after another. I would love a week without something making my life harder. This wasn’t whining. It was a valid complaint.

Boredom was now missed.

Wrecky stepped between Alexander and me. “Who is Cain?”

The rain began pouring down heavily, and the wind swirled with considerable strength. It was already cold out, and this weather addition even had me feeling uncomfortable with its harshness. The men on the deck must have been freezing.

Alexander nodded toward me as I peeked around Wrecky. “He’s a spawn of Cain, who is a Fallen.”

If the men on this boat weren’t convinced before I was a monster, they certainly were now. So how did Alexander know I was a demon? I looked pretty normal except for the nails that were already growing back, but that was hardly enough to make accusations.

“Fallen like Poseidon?”—Wrecky tossed his thumb back—“Kade? This kid looks like he could get beaten up by a squirrel. He’s no demon.”

I am glad Wrecky was trying to keep my secret… But what’s with people saying a squirrel could take me? Why a squirrel? I am confident I would win against a squirrel.

Abble spat on Alexander’s cracked leather boot.

That didn’t help…

Alexander glanced at his boot for a moment before looking over at Abble.

“How about you get the fuck off my boat?”—Abble folded her arms, raising her eyebrow—“Red tide or not, don’t step on this ship making demands.”

Alexander slowly cocked his head to the side. “Who are you?”

Wrecky looked over at Abble. “Don’t”

Abble grabbed the hilt of her sword. “I’m Harper’s daughter.”

“Convenient. I’ll take them both, and Nicholas and Cain will come for their children.”

Wrecky first tightened. “You’re taking neither. We have a deal.”

Oh man, this got nasty fast.

“Nicholas has played above the water for long enough. It’s time to join the Tide. You know the deal,” Alexander said as lightning snapped at the ocean in the background.

Wrecky nodded. “I do. After we finish what we’re doing, I will relay the message to him.”

Alexander paused. “No.”

Wrecky glared at him. “My answer is still the same.”

Alexander sighed. “I’ll just kill you all and take them. Poseidon isn’t asking anymore.”

Just as he finished his words, the corpse-looking men ran across the bridge with their rusted cutlasses drawn.

So his men were like revenants. More behaved, but then again, I have never seen a vampire in control of their lesser servants.

We had about thirty men, but there were way more of Tide than us by a large margin… This wasn’t good.

Wrecky men yelled as they all ran towards the bridge to stop the undead from boarding the ship. They were unsuccessful at halting the initial charge of corpses who just ran into the crew’s weapons, like getting stabbed meant nothing to them.

The Undead started leaping onto the ship’s side from the crossing board before climbing and jumping over the railing. Alexander’s men had an advantage. They were not worried about dying. Their aggression overwhelmed any skill Wrecky’s men might’ve had, forcing them to retreat and allowing the corpses to board our ship.

The fight had spread to the boat in a matter of seconds as swords clattered in the air.

Abble pulled her short sword from its scabbard incredibly fast and swung at Alexander, all in one swift motion.

Alexander, however, drew his sword just as quickly, and their blades brushed off each other, tossing a few sparks before he backpedalled away from Abble.

Abble didn’t follow through and instead held up her sword, facing the full part of the blade toward him with her forearm on the other side. Her curly hair lay flat on her head as the rain pelted down. Abble eyes focused forward with determination. Everything from the positioning of her feet to how she held the weapon showed confidence.

Wrecky glanced over at his men, who were getting their asses handed to them. “Abble, you got this?” he asked, returning his worried gaze to her.

All of Wrecky’s crew were battling with everything they had, trying to fight the undead back across the bridge. However, six had already been cut down, and it hadn’t even been over twenty seconds.

Shit.

“I got it”—Abble eyes remained fixed, looking at Alexander—“Go help your crew.”

Wrecky nodded before sprinting towards the conflict.

I unbuckled the holster clip and pulled my silver dagger out, holding it upright at Alexander.

If I ever planned to return home, I had to fight. Even if he was dangerous, I couldn’t just roll over.

Abble shuffled her feet into an angled but parallel stance—both feet pointed straight ahead, lined with her knees. Her right boot led in front of the left.

I found myself mesmerised by her movements. They were small but meaningful. Everything she did seemed like it had a purpose. Abble was an incredible woman.

Alexander was not approaching Abble, and she waited for him as they got caught in a standoff.

“Kade, try to get behind him and take some careful, and I mean careful, cheap shots. I’ll make sure he doesn’t hit you,” Abble said before moving towards Alexander.

My grip around the hilt of my blade tightened.

Abble was strong, but I had to show her I could be helpful. I couldn’t let her do everything.

You got this, Kade.

I circled Alexander, but something was off. He allowed me to get behind him, and there was no focus on me.

Was he not even a tad concerned about me? I wasn’t that insignificant.

Abble’s sword jabbed at Alexander, and he fended off her quick attacks with ease but stepped back towards me slowly.

Their weapons bounced off each other a dozen times before the two traded blows that nicked their abdomens.

Abble pulled her switchblade from her short jacket with her free hand, slicing him across the face and knocking his tricorn hat off.

Unfortunately, she had overreached with the knife, and Alexander’s swing that was aimed at her head ended up clipping her shoulder badly as she ducked. Abble rolled to the ground and back up to her feet smoothly, with her sword pointed at Alexander.

Keeping her eyes forward, Abble felt her side, which covered her fingers in blood.

My eyes focused on the crimson falling from her fingers to the ground in slow motion. Even with the surrounding rain, I could concentrate on the single red drops as they splashed onto the floor, mixing with the rain.

It was difficult to pry my eyes away from the blood, but I shook my head, returning to the fight.

I needed to get involved, but I was going to get in the way more than help. These two were far from my level.

Alexander hurried towards Abble. Arriving in front of her with incredible speed, he drew his sword up over his head and snapped it down with intention.

Abble lifted her blade with both hands, rotating it sideways, so the hilt was high above and to the left of her face. She angled the blade down, providing a roof of protection.

Alexander’s sword collided with the blade rushing off of it like the rain coming down. As his cutlass slammed into the ground, Abble released one of her hands from her hilt, smashing her knuckles into his face.

As Alexander staggered back into my range, my dagger thrust at his back, but he avoided it like nothing.

I almost didn’t see him move…

There was too much momentum in my stride, and I had overextended. Alexander’s elbow sank into my back, letting off a gruesome crack before I slammed face down on the deck.

A ringing noise sounded off in my ears, and I forgot where I was for a second. Even the slightest movement sent a sharp pain through my whole body that froze me in place.

My nose was smashed, and the impact rattled my vision. It took me a moment to crawl painfully to my knees and for my eyes to focus back on Alexander.

Forty-eight for an elbow! That would’ve killed me if I hadn’t levelled my health.

He was… powerful… Abble might not be okay.

Abble’s face flashed concern for me before she attacked with what appeared to be all her strength, but Alexander successfully deflected every strike. She narrowly avoided his counters and soon was the one reversing course.

The metallic taste of my blood pooled in my mouth, and my jaw felt odd, likely broken.

I Abble needed me, but couldn’t take another elbow to the back.

A cutlass came at me with a downward motion, and I narrowly rolled to the side before it lodged into the deck.

Stumbling back up to my feet, I watched the undead try to pull the sword from the wood, but they were struggling.

These revenants, or whatever, were slow.

Seeing the opportunity for an easy kill, I sprinted to him, slicing him in the neck.

The undead fell to his knees, grabbing at its throat, and without hesitation, my dagger plunged into its back multiple times with frantic speed.

He collapsed to the ground, motionless after my seventh stab.

I sat down on its back, pulled its head back by its long wet hair, and sawed into its throat until I made it straight through.

This dagger was so sharp.

Dammit. So close to levelling.

Standing up, I held the severed head by its hair as dark blue blood dripped from it like syrup.

Wrecky took an undead face-off with a single punch the second I looked up. He was now fighting three of Alexander’s men, dodging their swords swiftly. Wrecky’s arm was bleeding profusely above his forearm, but it didn’t slow him down.

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Impressive.

For being a large man, he was pretty quick.

While Wrecky thinned their numbers with relative ease, his men struggled with the sheer number of undead. Alexander’s ship must’ve had them stacked into the hull like cargo because more were still coming across the bridge.

The weapons of Abble and Alexander collided as they spun around like they were dancing. Abble’s breathing was elevated, and Alexander’s shrivelled lips smirked at her exhaustion. He did not appear to be trying now, as Abble was slowing down.

I lobbed the undead’s head over the side of the boat and into the sea before sprinting over with everything I had.

The minute I arrived, I leapt at Alexander.

He attempted to evade my lunge, but I was able to snag his neck with my teeth from behind.

My dagger quickly found its way into the left side of his chest, giving me something to hold on to as he tried to shake me off his back.

My teeth sank into his tough purple skin, clamping down with every ounce of strength I could muster.

After the third tearing bite, I took some flesh with me, spitting it out before going for another.

Alexander grabbed the back of my shirt and tossed me over the front of him.

I lost my grip on the dagger, which remained in his chest, as I soared over the top of him.

Crashing into the ground didn’t feel pleasant, but the throw caused him to fall off balance as the boat rocked, giving Abble an opening, which she took.

Abble yanked the pearl-white stake from her jacket and plunged it into his chest.

She did…

“Pathetic,” Abble smirked.

“You missed my heart,” Alexander said, punching Abble in the face immediately, which sent her stumbling back to her ass, dropping her sword.

My eyes glanced over at the enormous blue wave about to hit the side of Alexander’s ship.

The sea crashed into the boat, sending both ships slamming into each other.

The cracking of wood was audible as the water flooded over the boat and dragged me towards the edge of the deck.

In a moment of impressive reaction time, I caught the railing at the last second, hanging over the edge with one hand.

My nails dug into the wood for dear life.

I glanced at the dark ocean water below, violently slapping the side of the boat.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

If another big wave hit, I could not hold on.

I tried swinging my other hand up, but it just caused the railing to crack.

My forearm burned with exhaustion, and my jaw clenched at the struggle.

There were a few more futile attempts to pull myself up, but that wasn’t happening and only caused the post to start splintering.

I wish I had done extra push-ups.

The wood pulled apart more, and I wasn’t sure if that or my grip would give out first.

Time seemed to slow as my fingers began to loosen their hold on the post.

There was no way they could save me from the ocean…

I closed my eyes, accepting this was likely the end.

My hand slipped off the railing.

Fuck.

Something grabbed my wrist at the last second.

Suddenly, I opened my eyes to see Wrecky clutching my wrist in relief.

“You don’t give up, do you?” Wrecky said before he yanked me up and over.

After landing hard on the deck, I rolled a few times.

Crashing into the ground for the second time hurt, but it was better than falling into the ocean.

Wrecky picked me up by my armpits, setting me down like a small child.

He was bleeding back from his side, causing my throat to feel a burning sensation.

I was so hungry.

My eyes must have turned orange while staring at Wrecky’s cut, because he sighed when I looked up at him.

He pointed to Alexander, pulling the stake from his chest and throwing it into the ocean. “Go be a demon on him and help Abby,” Wrecky said, collapsing to his knee, which put him at eye level with me.

That wasn’t a cut. He had stabbed him in the stomach, and the blood was not slowing its exit as it soaked even his pants.

“Wrecky, I am weak. I can’t help her. You need to—”

Wrecky grabbed my shoulder, squeezing it as we made eye contact. “Distract him”—Wrecky grabbed his side, and his jaw clenched—“and… I’ll be over in a second.”

I swallowed my nerves before spinning around.

“It was fun, but I am done playing games,” Alexander said, kicking Abble’s sword away and sheathing his weapon as he walked towards her. “I need you alive.”

Abble was on her feet with her hands raised, but she was pummeled with heavy punches to the jaw, causing her to backpedal. She tried throwing strikes back but ended up falling to her knees, exhausted and bloodied.

Alexander gave a devastating kick to her face, and Abble fell motionless to the ground.

The moment her head touched the floor, anger exploded through me as my face snarled, baring my fangs. “I’ll fucking kill you!”

I saw my dagger on the ground and bolted over, snatching it before sliding onto the slippery deck behind Alexander, slicing his right heel.

There was too much momentum, and I missed the other as I glided past him a bit.

He paused for a moment, staring at me before returning to Abble.

Dammit, the cut wasn’t deep enough. He would have lost the function of his foot if I had succeeded.

I slid my dagger into my holster and rushed up, grabbing Abble’s sword from the ground.

This was much heavier than I thought it would be.

I swung at him from behind, but Alexander spun around and caught the blade in his bare hand.

There was no power in that strike. I barely had any stamina left, but I couldn’t just watch Abble get beat like that. All I wanted to do was save her. That was all that mattered right now.

I tried pulling the sword from him, snarling, but it didn’t budge. “Don’t touch her! She's mine!”

“Possessive, are we?” Alexander said with a smirk. “You vampirics get so feisty when someone touches your food.”

Alexander’s skeleton fingers squeezed the blade before his heel smashed into my kneecap, collapsing it inward, and the bone no doubt shot out the back of it.

I let go of Abble’s sword, falling to the ground in agony.

My pain tolerance had been high since becoming a demon, but this was excruciating.

I screamed in pain, hamming at the deck with my fist.

Abble was awake, but struggling to do anything but roll to her side.

The shouts coming out of my mouth were more and more like growls as the veins in my hands turned black.

Alexander grabbed the hilt of Abble’s sword, looking over the blade. “I am going to need you to stay put until this is over,” He said before slamming the blade into my chest that sank into the wood underneath me.

I let out not a growl this time, but a deep, loud, monstrous roar as my hands grabbed at the blade in disbelief.

My hands fell from the sword, and my body fell limp.

Alexander tilted his head. “A Lycan howl? Fascinating.”

Darkness filled the slides of my vision as Alexander turned around, walking to Abble, who was just getting to her knees.

So that was it?

My relevance was to die here.

I was… just scenery all along.

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