Stolen Sight

The rolling crash of waves against the hull of a wooden ship had Isaac opening his eyes. Instinctively, his hand jerked upwards to the seal that covered his eye, and after feeling a smooth mask over his face instead of that accursed eye patch, Isaac let out a sigh of relief. Still, it didn't stop him from feeling confused.

Calloused fingertips lazily smoothed out against cotton sheets, and when Isaac's seeing eye looked up to the ceiling, he noted the way the wooden beams stretched the expanse of his suite. The longer he stared up at the wooden beams, the quicker he remembered just how he got into this situation. Katja, Sven, and Hollis.

Of course, and if Isaac wasn't a complete idiot, he would make sure to add Felix and Colin in that group of mages as well. Felix probably got this ship from the naval shipyard then Colin snuck them out from one of Lancet's hidden ports. If anything, Isaac's ship probably escaped via the Magic Railroad that Normans still didn't know how to find.

Growling deep in his chest, Isaac threw his legs over the side of his king sized bed. All around him, luxurious furnishings lined the king's suite. A wardrobe shipped in from the Pergrande Kingdom sat proudly in the corner of the space. There was a set of living chairs that had been a gift from Fiore standing directly in front of him.

This ship was one that had gotten nearly destroyed in one of the early wars in Lancet, but somehow the King of the Sea had made it out alive enough to float its way back to the capital. The ship was a heirloom, older than Isaac's deceased human mother and possibly older than the civil war. Of course, Exile would ship him out in something nice and comfy for the beginnings of his so called vacation. A vacation Isaac would be returning from as soon as he found the captain of this vessel.

After donning his trademark dark grey trench coat, Isaac set his wide collar to rights in the mirror. There were two things that Isaac hated leaving the house without. One was his ivory and ebony masquerade mask that covered the bottom left of his jaw before flaring out high above his left eye. Two was his black trench coat. As long as those two articles of clothing were on his body, Isaac knew that he could keep his ruined body safely hidden from prying eyes.

He ruffled his dark hair in the mirror for a moment before deciding that he didn't look like he'd gotten into a fight with a mattress and lost. As soon as his one purple eye judged that he looked kingly and authoritative, Isaac set his march to the bedroom door.

His combat booted feet took one single step. Then, all hell broke loose.

What sounded like a cannon blast rocked the entire ship. Isaac's fingernails blackened when they distended into wickedly sharp talons, and as the ship was thrust starboard, he braced himself by digging his talons inside of the wooden walls.

Deep ruts dug against the interior of the ship, but Isaac didn't waste time worrying about his family's heirloom. Instead, he used the talons dug inside the walls to give himself leverage against the rocking ship.

His wings rustled underneath the surface of his skin. He could feel their desire to be set free from their fleshy cage, and he was thankful Katja had given him the trench coat with the pleated cut outs for his wings. As soon as he entered the hallway, Isaac loosed his ebony raven wings.

The black members spanned wider than he was tall. All seven and a half feet of feathered, fallen angel wings stole away any extra space in the corridor. With a single, powerful thrust Isaac's body was thrown from one end of the hall then straight through the door to the deck. His dark talons burst through the wooden hatch first, and using his demonic senses, Isaac tackled a man to the floor.

Instantly, a sharp cry filled his ears. "D-Demon!" the man squealed.

Giving the man a grin worthy of a demon's face, Isaac explained, "Not quite yet, Norman." His talons rose. With the mere mention of "Light Catcher" Isaac stole the man's sight from his very eyes.

"The hell is going on here?" Isaac roared. All around him cannonballs berated the sides of the ship. Men loosed their battle cries. Blades kissed metal against metal. Despite it all, with one roared question, the battle came to a stop.

All eyes turned to the fallen angel standing in the middle of the majestic battleship. His proud wings stretched out on either side of him, and his jaw was tilted in an arrogant display. Isaac was the perfect image of heaven as he waited patiently for his answer.

With his seeing eye Isaac scanned the men around him. Around him stood his navy, a small battalion of mages and Normans who'd been released from slavery. Next to them were their attackers, a group of rough hewn pirate marauders that had no damned business on his ship.

Isaac's talons lengthened, and he could feel his doubled canines dripping down in his mouth. Was there no one to explain this intrusion on his privacy? Could no one explain why the hell mages were on his ship trying to steal what he owned after he risked his neck to rescue them from suppression?

The fear in their eyes was obvious as Isaac approached. His wings spanned out to their full length, and he stepped closer to one of the marauders nearest to him. In the silence of the battle, Isaac's combat boots played an ominous melody against the wooden deck. At his side, summoned darkness played.

Shadows appeared where there should have been none, and when Isaac was within arm's length of an enemy mage, the male tumbled straight back on his ass. "You," Isaac commanded, "Explain to me why I shouldn't kill you all here and now for intruding on my property." When the man merely whimpered, Isaac leaned in closely. He mentioned, "Speak now before I snatch your tongue from between your lips forever."

Apparently weighing his options, the man gave a hard swallow. He appeared to be trying to determine whether he still had a tongue for Isaac to snatch or not before he parted his lips. As soon as a whisper of sound escaped from his opened mouth, the male was cut off.

A new angel appeared. She fluttered down with majestic ivory wings and long, flowing hair as pale as snow. If the men had looked stunned by fear of Isaac's winged presence, they appeared petrified at the sight of this new, white angel.

Isaac on the other hand just looked disgusted. He spat, "Umbrianna."

The angel let out a pleased bout of laughter. "You don't seem too happy to see your mother after all these years, Isaac. Remember, I am the one who found you as a lost babe in the middle of a house fire then nursed you to back to life. The least you could do is give your mother a smile." The angel's lips curved upwards. She was stunning when the smiled. Her perfect, even white teeth were distraction enough from the doubled canines on either side of her mouth. The sight of that kind grin seemed like it should have been enough to chase away the shadows. If anything, her light just made them grow.

Instead of grinning, Isaac sneered. His upper lip curled into seething disgust, and he snarled, "What do you want with me? You made it damned clear that I was nothing but a pawn in your hands, a tool to be used for Zeref."

Umbrianna cradled her face in one fragile seeming palm. Those hands may have look slender and feminine, but Isaac knew himself just how unforgiving they could be when locked around your throat.

She appeared to be in deep thought before she finally exclaimed, "Oh! Yes, of course. I couldn't remember if that was before or after you escaped me. Must have been before. Anyway, I have a new pawn now. The pathetic fool believes me to be an angel sent from the Heavens to rid the world of demons like you." Her slim finger pointed his way as she kept up that endearing grin.

"And may I ask just who would be stupid enough to believe that a witch like you is anything other than a demon?" he growled back.

"Oh, come now, Isaac. You know how these contracts work. People these days are so concerned with privacy. I had to add a whole new page to the terms and conditions on my contract. Also, I'm very disappointed in you. Witch? You could have used something much more intricate. I thought I raised you to be a better demon."

"I am no demon no matter how many times you call me by such a name!" Shadows wrapped around his entire arm. He would have launched the darkness straight at her, if it wouldn't just get eaten by her befanged mouth.

"Call it what you like, love, but that eye says otherwise." She rolled her fingertip in the air before directing it at Isaac's left eye. Just by being in Umbrianna's presence, the demonic side of him grew. The eye he kept hidden from the world glowed feverishly behind the mask, and the curse of Umbrianna's charming voice toyed around in his mind. "It's not like your loving mother would give you just any old eyeball. Besides, doesn't yours just look fabulous on me?" She flipped her hair out of her left eye and revealed a purple iris.

He could have cursed. Instead, Isaac chose to hold his lips in a firm, flat line. Umbrianna was beating around the bush. She said that she'd come here on a contract. If her contract was to rid the world of demons like him then why was she still chit-chatting with him? She had something up her sleeve. Isaac needed to find out what.

Like a predator, he stalked closer to the white angel. Yes, Isaac could see how someone could confuse the shadow demoness for an angel based upon appearances. Isaac had once made that foolish mistake himself, but the white purity was just a mask. Underneath it all, Umbrianna was darker than all the feathers that lined his raven wings.

And the men around her? No. They weren't demons. They were idiots. Idiots that had been charmed by a white angel with a pretty façade.

The shadows that he had been given danced around him. Isaac could likely fight against his demon mother, but the likelihood that he could defeat her was slim. Umbrianna worked under contracts. Depending on the magical power of her contractor, she could potentially double in strength. By the looks of things now, Umbrianna was at her peak. The woman's false light stretched so far that it extended his shadows across the main deck of the ship.

"As much as I hate to do this, my darling son, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to turn your vacation into a permanent one. Don't worry, though. Once I'm done with your friends in the castle, I'll come after your darling Adamine and Urian. There won't be anyone to avenge your death when I get done with your country. Such a shame that you don't have the same aspirations as my current client. I raised such a lazy demon boy." Her blue and purple eyes cut his way at the term demon then she snapped her fingers.

Immediately, the men that had been frozen in fear moved. Shadows connected from Umbrianna's feet to their bodies, and like puppets they moved to her command.

Bodies launched themselves at him, and Isaac roared when cannonballs were loaded to be shot at his ship. His massive wings cradled men, throwing them backwards. His black nails shred skin, but never did he aim for vitals. Isaac's talons dug into flesh, but they never hit a main artery. It was a mistake.

Men recovered quickly due to their possessed state. They piled up on top of him, holding him in place. Shadows stole their vision. Talons sunk into their bodies. Wings threw them into the ocean. It was all in vain.

Isaac's men were taken down one by one, and Isaac was forced to fall against the weight of blades against his skin. Metal slashed his arms. Blood spewed forth. A cacophony of rioting filled Isaac's ears, and before he knew it, the very wooden planks he stood atop were blown to bits.

The screams in his ears turned to ringing. Wood shoved itself inside of his legs and arms. Like hundreds of stakes the planks pinned him through his wings. His battleship became his enemy as he tumbled through the destroyed hull of the ship.

Beams snapped. Catching one of them with his face, Isaac spat blood. His claws reached out, and they dug deeply into the tumbling beams. Somewhere in the distance he could hear his mother's laughter. It was dark. It was haunting. It was her true self.

One more cannon fired away into his battleship. The whizzing ball slammed into the wall directly in front of him. Wood spewed out from the blow. Isaac could see the water nearing below. Before Isaac could retract his wings back inside of him, he was already in the ocean.

Bombs continued to go off around him. In the salty water, Isaac watched men splash up against the currents. He kept his vision right until the end. He kept his vision right until the moment where he took a wooden beam to the gut.

The beam speared him like a skewered fish. Blood erupted, filling the water and calling the sharks. Isaac could do nothing but howl in pain until the ocean stole his sight.

Well, didn't I just end that on a happy note? Okay, y'all, I'm going to be putting up chapter three, so don't leave this story quite yet. I have to introduce my lovely female warrior.

Please, leave me a review. I love those. No reviews = no more chapters put up. Don't discourage me, y'all!