Hiya friends. I know it's the third week in a row I've updated late, so I apologize, and thank you for being patient. Life is crazy.
Thank you again to my reviewers, I really don't know what I would do without you.
Colinou
The Lightning Phoenix
Harkonnen28
QuiteARandomFan (Cake! Just to be clear: Aeri and Shade do not know where Berk is, which is one of the reasons they haven't left Heimme yet.)
nightfury6598
canadasam101
Vvarden
Spartan10007
This chapter isn't my favorite, it might surprise you to learn that I don't actually enjoy writing violence, despite everything that happened (mostly to Lightning) in Of the Night. It's not too bad, though. At least, I don't think so.
The distant sound of shouting filtered through her consciousness, and Aeri gradually came to. She was lying on the ground, sprawled out on her stomach, and with a groan, realized that she was uncomfortably cold and wet. Opening her eyes slowly, she found herself in a dim, dank, dingy place that stunk of salt and the vague essence of fish. Then she noticed the bars.
She was in a cell. And from the motion of the floor beneath her, she could safely assume she was on a ship of sorts. Immediately she attempted to leap to her feet, but her head seemed to explode with pain, and a wave of dizziness passed through her. With a painful thump she landed back on the wet floor. Gasping for air and fighting off the nausea that had overtaken her, she almost didn't hear the footsteps approaching. Almost.
"Who are you? Where am I?" She tried to sound angry and demanding, but her trembling voice betrayed her.
"You're onboard the Otta," a male voice replied, and Aeri peered into the murky light, trying to make out the person. "They captured you and threw you in here a little while ago."
"Where…" She desperately wanted to know where Shade was, but didn't want to endanger him, so she changed the subject. "What… what are you doing down here?"
A soft chuckle soothed her frazzled nerves. "I'm also a guest here, you could say." She figured that his voice was coming from the cell next to hers.
"So far I'm not impressed by the accommodations of this fine establishment."
He actually laughed. "Most people fail to find humor in this situation."
"Well, I suppose I'm not most people."
"That, I imagine is true. Otherwise, what would they want from you?"
"I don't even know who "they" are," Aeri mumbled miserably.
"Well, "they" are pirates, long story short."
Gods damn it. The blasted pirates again. "With the… female captain?"
"How did you know?"
"I've… run into her before. She tried to have me…" and my dragon "…killed."
"Hmm. Well," the voice sounded thoughtful. "I don't think she wants you dead, now. Not yet, at least. Otherwise, you'd be dead already."
"I don't like your otherwises."
"Is that a word?"
"I don't care."
Another laugh. In the lull, Aeri took the opportunity to bring her hands beneath her, and slowly raised her torso off the ground, once again fighting off the dizziness that threatened to overwhelm her.
"Hey, don't strain yourself…" the voice sounded mildly concerned.
"I'm. Not," she choked out, her entire body trembling from the effort. Finally, she turned her hip to the side and rolled over, feeling her arm bump against a metal bar. She grabbed it, using it to haul herself into an upright position, her back against the bars that separated their cells. Gasping, she let her head fall back, cringing at the pain that emanated from her skull. Hesitantly, she brought up a hand and felt around her hair, noting the dried blood around where she had been hit. Head injury. Great.
"Don't stab me," she warned him, and heard his laugh again.
"Wouldn't dream of it."
Despite the throbbing in her head, Aeri found herself wondering who she was talking to, and how he had ended up down here. But before she could ask, a door slammed open, filling the brig with blinding sunlight. Heavy footsteps preceded two enormous men, who approached her cell, sneering.
"You're to come with us," one said unpleasantly.
"And if I refuse?"
"You don' get the choice," the other spat. "Get 'er out o' there," he ordered the first man.
"No need to get pushy," the first man sniffed. He yanked on her cell door, but it wouldn't budge. "What the—" He yanked again, causing the entire cell to groan. Growling, he placed his other hand on the door, then pulled with all his might. With a screech of metal the door came off completely.
"You idiot!" the second man came up next to him and slapped the door out of his hands. "Where are we s'posed to put 'er now?"
"Ah, don' get yer panties in a twist. We'll worry abou' that if there's anything left of 'er once Currel's through." A chill went through Aeri. She remembered Currel, and she imagined he hadn't forgiven her breaking his nose.
"Well, come on, girl!" The first burly man wedged into the cell, grabbing her arm with a vice-like grip. He hauled her to her feet, shoving her in front of him. She stumbled, nearly falling, but the next man caught her easily, like a rag doll. As she passed the next cell, she finally caught a glimpse of her companion. His dark eyes met hers, and she nearly shivered from the intensity of his gaze. That was all she noticed before she was roughly pushed forward, up the stairs, and into the daylight.
Up on the deck, Aeri squinted at the brightness. It had to be past midday, and the ship was bustling with activity. Enormous men shot her suspicious and malevolent glances as they passed, and others openly leered at her, eyes raking up and down her body. Aeri found herself cursing her tight bodysuit, wishing she could cover up with her shoulder armor. More than anything, she wished for her helmet, to hide her face. Not that that would do much of anything, it was just the idea of it. So she kept her eyes on the wooden boards beneath her feet, trying not to stumble.
A loud hiss sounded to her left, and startled, she looked up to see a Skrill tied to a post on the railing. It was watching her curiously, if a little grumpily. Aeri had never seen a Skrill so close before, and she took comfort in its fearsome beauty. Dragons were good, even the scarier ones. After all, Night Furies were the best kind of dragon, despite their reputation and destructive power. But what was a Skrill doing here? And speaking of Night Furies…
Aeri looked forward, to see her wonderful, heroic, kindhearted dragon heavily chained and muzzled, surrounded by jeering men poking at him with spears. He was growling, but it seemed weak, pained. Aeri had never felt so terrified or so heartbroken as she did in that moment. "Oh gods… Shade!"
Blue eyes flashed up and caught sight of her, hair matted with blood, being held by two enormous thugs. His pupils became slits, and immediately he began to struggle, snarling the best he could through the thick leather strap holding his jaws together. The pirates immediately backed off, holding out their weapons in front of them.
A loud, sneering voice cut through the sounds of the agitated dragon. "Shut 'im up, or I'll do it myself." Aeri looked up to see none other than the rat-faced Currel striding over.
"Did I not make meself clear? Shut. Him. Up!" With that he slapped Aeri hard enough to send her to her knees. Shade growled, but stopped thrashing, understanding that Aeri's life was on the line.
"That's better." Currel gestured at the two thugs to haul Aeri back to her feet. "Now. You think you're tough, do you?"
Aeri just looked at him through the strands of hair covering her eyes. His eyes flashing, Currel drew back and punched her in the stomach, hard. Her knees buckled and she let out a quiet groan, but other than that made no noise except her gasps for air. If not for the two pirates gripping her arms held her up, supporting most of her weight, she would be on the deck.
"Answer me." He grabbed her hair, yanking her head back, and a whimper escaped her throat at the pain in her skull.
"No," she said quietly, doing her best to stay calm.
"No?" Currel's voice was a simpering imitation of a female. "I'll tell you what. If you get on your knees and beg me for mercy, I'll consider letting you live." He turned around, pacing away, before whirling in place and stalking back to her.
"Well? I'm waiting." He grinned nastily.
Aeri was still having a hard time catching her breath. But a strange calm washed over her as she met Currel's hate-filled stare, and her lips involuntarily twitched into a small smile. For a moment, his eyes narrowed in confusion, and his unpleasant grin faded somewhat. Then, an expression of frightening malice twisted his rat-like features, and his voice was dark as he said, "Very well. I'm goin' to enjoy this."
With that, he pulled his arm back again, but this time his punch landed squarely on her jaw. He wasn't particularly strong, but Aeri's head injury left her powerless to resist. Her head snapped back, and she tasted blood as the thugs behind her let her fall and stepped away. But he wasn't finished. Aeri was on her hands and knees, her matted hair covering her face, when a sharp pain exploded in her side and she was knocked off balance. He kicked her again, and again, until she was relatively certain that he had broken all of her ribs. Still, she tried to drag herself away, some broken instinct telling her that she needed to run. Something heavy crashed down on her ankle and she cried out, feebly trying to yank her leg free. Then a well-placed kick to her diaphragm left her desperately heaving for air, unable to draw a single breath. Her hands scrabbled at her throat, frantically trying to convince her body to take in oxygen, when she felt the pressure lift from her ankle as she was hauled upright once again. Her pulse roared in her ears, and she couldn't see past the strange darkness that had settled over her vision.
Pressure settled on the front of her shoulders, and she felt her arm being stretched out. What were they doing now? Panic rose in her chest as she still failed to inhale, but before she could comprehend that she might actually die, something smashed into her back and the worst pain she had ever experienced coursed down her arm. She couldn't scream, couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't hear…
An interminable amount of time passed before the front of her body crashed against a cold, wet surface. Even as she was rolled onto her back she found she didn't care what they did to her anymore. The pain was everything. Hands pressed against her face, and something warm settled onto her lips. She tried to scream, but she still could only draw the tiniest of gasps. Her struggling only intensified the pain. She bit down, and whatever was on her mouth moved, accompanied by the distant, muffled sound of cursing. Something pinned down her arms, but before she could try anything else, the pressure crashed back onto her lips and her lungs filled with air.
Gasping, she took several deep, shuddering breaths, and slowly the world returned to her. The pain still radiated from her back but she could think. Sort of. Yet nothing prepared her for when she opened her eyes.
Above her, face lit by a flickering lamp, was her prison companion. His dark gaze was raking over her face, and she realized two things. The first being, she was not going to die, or be further assaulted. And the second, that his bottom lip was bleeding. He had saved her life.
He seemed to realize that she was not longer staring blindly, but that she could see him, and was taking him in. Immediately he released her arms, not that she was planning on moving. She couldn't tell if her back was broken.
"Sorry…" she wheezed, and a ghost of a smile played across his lips. For a moment she was distracted by his face. There were those dark eyes, glittering with relief and a hint of amusement, above a straight nose, and his little smile, framed by short black hair. For lack of a better word, he was attractive. There was something compelling about the way he was looking at her, and at any other time, in any other place, it might have given her goosebumps.
"Are you going to be alright?" he asked, his voice low.
"I…" she tried to sit up, but the pain was literally breathtaking. "My back," she hissed through clenched teeth.
Concern replaced his relief. "I'm going to roll you over…" At her nod he did, and she hissed again. She felt careful hands gently poking at her back, and nearly sobbed when he touched her shoulder. "Ah…" he said, as though this explained everything.
"They dislocated your shoulder."
"Fan…tastic."
"I'm going to have to put it back in place. It's going to hurt, but it will feel much better afterwards."
"Okay…"
Slowly, he adjusted her arm, and she shivered at the sheer pain. He gripped her tightly, and she had only a moment to register it before—
"AGH!" She felt something slide back into place with a sickening pop. Just as he'd said, the pain subsided immediately, and she took a deep breath to steady herself, pressing her forehead against the wet floor.
"Thank you," she mumbled.
"My pleasure." For a moment they just sat there. "Can I roll you onto your back? You'll be more comfortable."
"Go for it." So he did, gently turning her over. Her ankle caught and she whimpered, having completely forgotten about it.
"What is it?"
"Ankle. I think one of those assholes stepped on it to keep me from getting away." Not like I was going anywhere fast.
"Let me look at it." He stood, stretching, before moving away from the small lamp down to her feet, crouching once more. "This one?" He pointed at her right foot, and she nodded. "May I?"
Aeri nodded again, and he softly tugged at her boot until her bare foot came free. She watched as he carefully rolled it, glancing up at her face when she flinched.
"I'm relatively certain it's not broken. Just a sprain," he said finally. "It could take at least a few weeks for it to start feeling normal again. I'd tell you to take it easy, but…" he trailed off, and she laughed.
"But I'm surrounded by lunatics who are out for my blood. Got it." He flashed her a grin in the dim light, and she returned his smile. "No permanent damage, then?"
"Hopefully not." He straightened from his crouch, and returned to his position at her side, his back against the wall. Aeri closed her eyes, her thoughts filled with questions.
"I'm just so confused," she murmured.
"What could possibly be confusing about this situation?" his voice was laced with sarcasm, and the corners of her mouth twitched.
"Well, since you asked, I don't know where I am, how I got here, who you are, why you're helping me, why they're only hurting me and not killing me, or how these bastards even found me." He didn't respond, and she opened one eye to see him gazing at her intensely. But there was something odd in his eyes, that vanished almost as soon as she noticed it. He knows something. She wanted to question him further, but suddenly a wave of exhaustion passed through her.
"You should rest. The gods only know how long of a reprieve they'll grant you." Her eyes drifted shut, and she felt gentle pressure under her arms as she was pulled more upright and laid against something firm, though not nearly as hard as the floor. Something wrapped around her shoulders, and she opened her eyes, barely registering that this stranger was holding her in his arms.
Stranger. "What… what's your name?" she mumbled.
"Most people call me Winter," he said softly. "Now, sleep."
The last thing she remembered was resting her head on Winter's chest, before sleep took her.
How in the world are they going to get out of this mess? How did James end up on the pirate ship, and is he really a prisoner, or is something else going on? Will Currel get what's coming to him? Stay tuned until next time to find out!
Questions? Comments? Just want to see your name on that list at the top? Review! :)
