Ch. 10 Blast from the Past
Erickson took us all back to his estate and locked us in different rooms. Aster was drug away, as was Sandy, while Koz and I were shackled and blindfolded in a room together. I could hear Aster shouting, he was screaming and furious and I worried for him. I hated not knowing what was happening to him. I knew his temper, knew how hot it ran and what he could say and what buttons he liked to push. I feared he would say something to trigger one of our captors into torturing him.
"What if he does-" I whispered, turning my head this way and that, trying to pinpoint the Captain's location in the room.
"Jackson, I assure you that if Aster felt the need to speak his mind to these buffoons he could handle what they throw at him." Kozmotis sighed.
A harsh scream tore through the walls making us both start and stare at the doors. Koz looked on with anger and worry while my own gaze was pure fear. I'd never heard such a sound in all my life; like a bear, or lion from traveling fairs, but deeper, more dangerous. Almost feral… it was a terrifying sound that reverberated through our very bones. Koz jerked, as if startled, but quickly settled; I heard the chains rattle and scrape against the wood before a presence settled next to me just before a door slammed open, slamming harshly against a wall.
"Hello, my lovely!" Erickson sneered, his heavy footfalls echoing in the once quiet room.
He jerked the chain, making me fall forward and I heard Koz hiss and snarl behind me. "Unhand him, you bastard!"
"Oh no, Pitchiner. You will not be spoiling my fun this time!" Erickson screamed. He harshly yanked my arms about, getting to my wrists to unlock the chains. I was unlucky in the fact that the shackles stayed. "Beautiful Emily was all set to be my bride! She worshipped me! And then you took her away; filled her head with nonsense and doubt! But not this time. I won't let you- or that vermin- to take him from me."
"He'll kill you." Koz said, so deathly calm that it unnerved me. It shouldn't have, in hindsight. I'd seen Aster near beat to death men that hurt me. But his tone did not fail to chill.
"I'd like to see him try. I'm more than prepared this time around. He won't be making anymore surprise escapes this time." Erickson laughed darkly.
He steered me away, Koz's voice getting fainter as I was led away and down a series of steps before being roughly shoved to my knees, the damp earth barely cushioning my fall. The cloth over my eyes was pulled away and I was finally able to blink away the confusion of the temporary blindness.
The room was lit by torches, and the walls shown with moisture and dampness seeped into the worn knees of my breeches. Erickson's heavy hands made me jump as I tried to shuffle away from his lips at my ear.
"Don't be afraid, beautiful. It can smell fear." He whispered, and pressed a wet kiss to the skin behind my ear.
I eyed the darkness in front of me, it encompassed nearly half of the room; the fear of the unknown crept into my mind, supplying a montage of different monsters and beasts that come out in the night and instill terror into the minds of their prey. The shuffling coming from the darkness didn't help my imagination- and in that moment I traitorously wished Erickson would stay next to me. Unfortunately- he did.
My blouse was ripped down the back and I gasped, arching away from the cold- and then immediately back from the harsh growling that erupted from the shadows. Erickson grasped my shoulders, planting his lips to the side of my neck. I jerked away, only to yelp as one of his hands threaded through my hair and yanked my head back, baring my neck to the snarling and shuffling animal shrouded by the darkness in front of me.
"You see, my dear, I can give you everything! The best of the best! The finest clothes, and jewels; I can give you anything you wish, all you have to do is submit to me. Be the perfectly behaved young man for me at balls, and galas- and my filthy whore at night- and I'll give you anything you wish." Erickson whispered harshly against my skin. And fear rose in my chest.
This crazy man wanted me to be his pet, in the most animalistic sense of the word. He wanted to prance me around and show everyone how well behaved I was and how devoted to him I could be, only to punish me when I misbehaved and-… and it was the same as Aster had said to me, the same reasons that Koz had given me when he took me. But Aster was nothing like Erickson, and neither was Kozmotis. My pirates were good men, albeit with strange ways of showing it. I knew Aster cared about me, and I also knew that Erickson never would.
But he knew where my lover was.
"Anything I want?" I whispered and felt him smile against my neck and nod. I swallowed thickly and continued, steeling my nerves for his anger. "I want my pirate, you spoiled bastard!" I snarled at him.
Erickson screamed, loud and incoherent and shoved me forward with the hand on my neck. The ground scraped and bit into the skin of my cheek and exposed collarbone, and the breath was knocked from my lungs as Erickson's heft settled on my back. His hand came back to my hair, pinning my head to the cold ground, and to my horror- ground his hips against me. The rigid flesh of his arousal dug into the small of my back as I tried, fruitlessly, to scramble away.
"Men! Let's shed a little light, if you please." He grunted, and torch light flooded the room. Well, dungeon cell. Erickson yanked my head back, and my eyes widened at what I saw.
Chained in the far corner of the cell, by all four legs, was a large, furry beast. Its grey fur was matted and dingy, stained red in places, as if it had fought its imprisonment. There was a metal mask-like contraption locked around its muzzle and bolted to the floor, no doubt to keep it restrained and unable to maneuver enough to put up too much of a fight. The stone of its corner was marked by the long, clean slashes of its claws; when the creature snarled once more, I saw the clean white of teeth behind the metal. It was straining against the chains, trying to get closer to us.
"You see that? He's a Pooka. The very last of his kind. Too stupid to leave well enough alone, to keep his distance. As if he didn't learn from the last time. He should know by now that I always get what I want."
"What does he have to do with anything?" I snarled at him, twisting my shoulders and kicking out my legs.
Erickson just laughed before turning his, and my attention back to the last Pooka. "He has everything to do with this, with you. Isn't that right, Aster?"
The creature lunged forward again, a muffled roar echoing through the chamber and its green eyes seemed to glow violently in anger. Those eyes seemed so familiar, but no. They couldn't belong to Aster. Erickson was just trying scare me, I told myself as I choked on my breath.
Sandy's words suddenly forged to the front of my mind- *What if Aster isn't as human as he seems?*
And I remembered my own words… His shape isn't what I loved, it was his heart, his soul.
"Bunny?" I whispered.
The Pooka's ears swung back, and he ducked his head- almost in guilt, giving me a growling whine.
"Not so confident now, are you beauty." Erickson sneered, clearly confident that I'd run to him for comfort in the face of, what he viewed, as a horrid monster. I simply smiled gently at the new form of my pirate as I remembered the lore I'd heard and read of the mysterious Pooka race.
~*~*Line~*~*~
There were so few books about the mysterious race that most of what was learned was held in the churches, and thankfully the priests weren't opposed to sharing. They would always indulge me when I'd had a rough go at life. They would sit me down and bring out simple, but hot food, and answer any questions I had- or weave stories to keep me calm and still until my eyes would droop with sleep.
One of their many tales was about an elusive empire of giant human-like creatures that were ferocious in battle, and delicate with life. They were a close knit culture- the clan came first, always, and their magic was in a league humans had never seen before. They were distrustful, hardly ever letting anyone onto their island, and it was almost unheard of for one of their own to venture out into the world. The priests explained that their view of the world was based on the unknown; the ever-changing and evolving life of everything, so it seemed strange that none of them ever left…
~*~*~Line~*~*~
Thinking back… it all made sense.
"Bunny, I'm so happy you're alright. I want to go home." I croaked, emotion making throat thick and tears pricked my eyes. This was so much to take in, but it explained to so much. And I would deal with it all after we were safe. Aster and I would talk about everything as soon as we were safe.
Those so familiar green eyes softened, filling with hope and gentleness, before hardening and blazing with determination. His grey fur rippled as he pulled against his bonds, making the chains creak and groan before shattering. Aster stood proud and tall as he shook off the remainders of his imprisonment before yanking the iron off of his head.
"Ya've made yer last mistake." He growled; his voice was like gravel and scraped over me.
Erickson tensed, arms and hands becoming tight around me as he shifted. He shuffled backwards, taking me with him; his men rallied in front of him, swords drawn and faces fierce.
"You might be strong, rodent, but I doubt you'd make it through my most trusted. They would die protecting me, and would gladly kill you on my order." The Commodore sneered, chuckling in his confidence.
Aster thrust his head back and laughed, the sound sent shivers down my spine at its carelessness. "You forget, human," He growled and stepping forward and crouching down to all fours, eyes flashing with a predatory hunger. "My brotherhood didn't take kindly to those who threatened us or our loved ones."
My heart jumped at his statement, but I forced my rising hope down. He was surely including Koz and Sandy… that must be what he meant.
"Now, you're gonna take yer hands of my boy- or I'll kill every one of yer men and make ya watch as I take what's mine in front of you. That way there'll be no more misunderstandings on who he belongs to."
Erickson frowned and set his brow in defiance. He was clearly not used to being told what to do or given ultimatums. "You have some nerve-YAH!"
Aster snarled again, smirking, as Erickson yelped and screamed. The cocky Commodore was hung upside down by the ankles, thick tendrils of woody vines engulfing the lower portion of his calves as he swung. The man clawed at his bindings, fruitless in his attempt to escape. Erickson watched with wide brown eyes as Aster silently stepped forward and placed a rough paw pad against the back of my neck.
"Don't touch him, you animal! He deserves better than the lone survivor of a failed race!"
I saw the anger grow in Aster's eyes and quickly grabbed a furry forearm and braced a hand against his chest, "Aster, no!"
The Pooka growled, deep and menacing, and I could feel it vibrating through my fingers. He stopped, just barely, and glared at our kidnapper before yanking me close and thumping his foot upon the earth. My eyes widened as I gasped, a hole just appeared! It was as if the earth just opened up! Aster tightened his arm around my waist and with a whispered 'Hang on, pet' he dropped us down into the darkness.
I clung to him in my fear, fingers carding through thick, and silky fur to keep from falling as he ran. The only sounds were the soft thud-thud-thud of his hind paws against the ground and the panting breaths he took as he seemed to fly. The tunnel twisted and turned, climbed up and then down as we hurried away, each sharp turn only encouraged me to clutch tighter to him, and even to wrap my legs around his waist. I yelped as he skid to a stop only to muster the strength to jump vertical and shoot out another hole in the earth. The cool air hit my skin the same time the even cooler grass brushed against my back as Aster laid me down, and just like that- his warmth was gone from me.
"Let me see your hands, Jackson."
Koz. He leaned over me, cradling my face this way and that, gingerly working two small sticks of metal into the locks of the shackles at my wrists, before flinging them away. He stood me up and turned me round, checking for injuries and bruises and then handed me over to Sandy. The smaller man led me to a soft patch of grass and sat me down, patting my cheek then stroking my hair as I half listened to Koz and the Pooka- Aster- speak quietly. I couldn't understand much, just bits and pieces of worried speech, hushed curses and finally rumbling agreement.
"Come, Jackson. We need to leave this place." Koz motioned for Sandy and I to follow as he walked toward the tree line, away from Erickson Gable's estate.
We walked for what seemed like hours, myself in a daze, though the estate was relatively close to the harbor and docks, where the Onyx was tethered. Koz led the way, with myself and Sandy following close behind. Aster trailed behind, ears pressed against the back of his neck and eyes low-cast, but his nose never stopped twitching. The Captain motioned for us to quickly make our way through the mostly empty streets, which shouldn't have been hard considering the ungodly hour.
Our rag tag group briskly made our way toward the docks, only to encounter a group of drunkards stumbling from an Inn and pub; I tried to keep my head down but the men stumbled and bumbled along, knocking into Sandy and then into me.
From there it was a quick matter of unfolding events.
" 'ey boy, I know ye." One drunkard slurred, grabbing a fistful of his comrade's shirt and hauling him over. "Look a' here! 'S Nick's lad!"
The second man squinted, following us as we tried to walk away. "It is! Oi- NICK!"
At that I stuttered in my steps. I knew in my bones we had to get out of here; that Erickson and his men would be hot on our heels as soon as he was hacked out of the trees that sprouted in his dungeon. But I slowed all the same, my heart longing to hear Nick's booming voice and his heart laugh again. If he was here, then Tiana was surely with him! What I wouldn't give to have a moment to embrace her and tell her everything was alright, that I was fine and the pirates weren't nearly as vicious as they were that fateful night.
"What! I told you there would be no more drinks! You will barely… Jack?"
Tears burned my eyes as I pressed a firm hand against my lips; Sandy's tiny hand gripped mine tight as he pulled and watched me worriedly. It didn't matter, as the heavy thudding of boots echoed through the quiet.
North grabbed me up, crushing me to his chest in a bear hug that made my ribs creak and ache. But I clutched at him just as tightly.
"My boy! You are alive! I knew it, I never stopped believing. I knew you would return to us, my son!" Nick cried, laughing through his own tears.
He set me down and cradled my face, wiping the liquid from my eyes and cheeks. He looked older, more worn and weathered but still kind and warm and welcoming. I watched his pale blue eyes dart from my face to something behind me, hardening as he shoved me behind him and drew his saber.
I watched as Aster lunged forward and roared as he rose from his haunches to his full height- claws and fangs bared at my father-figure.
Nick braced himself for the fight, as did Aster. Koz and Sandy stood by, both fearfully looking between the two. It was a standoff if I'd ever seen one, and the adrenaline that ran through my veins refused to stay still. I surged forward, placing myself between my family and my lover.
"No, stop!" I pleaded. My hands flew up to stay Nick's hand as I felt Aster at my back. He growled but settled behind me. I turned to him, cradling his head in my arms as I looked pleadingly at Nick. "He won't hurt me! Please, Nick, don't hurt him."
"He is- I don't even know what he is! He looks dangerous, my boy."
"I know, I know he does. But I promise you, Aster wouldn't hurt me." I prayed he would listen, and I hoped he wouldn't remember Aster's name. But he did.
"This is the pirate?" Nick exclaimed, shocked and then furious.
I felt Aster tense behind me, a quick glance showed me one of his ears twitching toward the forest and fear rose in me once again. I had to get Nick away from here! "It is, his name is Aster and he's a Pooka. The last- and he's kept me safe. He cares for me, and I care for him. Please, you have to go back inside!"
"Come with me Jack, come home where you belong!"
I broke my heart to hear the pleading in his voice, the pain and hope that I'd accept and leave the pirates behind. But I couldn't, not when they were unsafe.
"I will come back- I swear it. But for now, please… go home. Let me go with them, I beg you."
I watched as Nick's saber faltered and finally lowered as torchlight shone through the trees. He looked from the light back to me, and then to Aster. He set his jaw and pointed the blade at my lover.
"You keep him safe, and bring him home to us." His voice wavered but his hands did not, the saber stayed level and still.
Aster shuffled forward and bowed his head. "Ya have my word. I'll keep him safe even at the cost of my own life."
~*~*~Line~*~*~
Back aboard the Onyx the waves crashed gently over the hull. Everyone was quiet, and mostly kept to themselves. Sandy stayed close to Koz, and the Captain seemed to be comforted by it. Aster kept his distance from me and I was thankful.
I needed time to come to terms with what just happened.
Tbc…