Chapter Thirty-two

Judson's Cabin

The only thing Dawson wanted to do was to make love to Faith, and she had asked him to do just that. Despite both his heart's and body's protests, he knew that now was not that time. "No," he told both her and himself, "we can't. We have to get to safety and help the others. He's coming," he reminded her, "and he's worse than Judson ever dared be. Should he catch us, none of us will survive."

Faith didn't tell Dawson that he was wrong, that Judson had been more powerful than Frostbite and anything else that had ever lived. He might not have been able to kill them as easily, but he could make them live in a world much worse than whatever world death would bring them.

She also did not let her mind dwell on the others. They hadn't truly cared. Sure, Clark had finally come, but it had damn sure taken him long enough. Dawson was the only one who truly had. Finally letting Dawson help her to her feet, Faith thought aloud, "We need to find a rowboat."

Dawson shook his head. "We have to help the others. They would have helped us if they had been able to. They're your family, Faith. Can you truly leave them to die here?"

Faith bit back a sigh. She didn't want to fight with Dawson, but she knew his innocent, do-gooder ways would require that they do something she had no intention of doing. "Dawson, what I just went through opened me up to some facts. Can I leave them? Hell yeah. Are they my family? No," she stated with a shake of her head. She looked into his eyes. "You're my family, and I can damn sure get us the Hell out of here before he comes."

Dawson did not know what had kept the others from coming to their rescue unless they were so far gone that they themselves needed to be rescued. He had not known what had become of most of them. In fact, the only one he had seen since leaving the sleeping quarters was Clark. "You're wrong, Faith. They do care about you. Could be they're all dead. That's why they didn't come."

Faith released his hand to walk over and pick up her sword. "You came, Dawson," she reminded him. "You came when you had the least chance of actually surviving this fight than any of them did. The others never showed. Maybe they brought you here, but if they did, they bailed ass as soon as they could. Clark's another do-gooder. He had to stop back by to make sure we were alive, but even that was just to satisfy his conscience."

"Faith, I know that you were unconscious for the first part. You don't know what happened to our family. I only know some of it. We were tortured, both sexually and physically. Tom's eyes were even taken away."

He didn't know if he should go into more detail about their tortures, so he moved away from that to tell her instead, "Every one was taken when we were except for a few. The ones that were left behind came to rescue us as soon as they could. Lex saved me. He told me there were very few of the rescuers but that they had been joined by two ships."

"Clark was so far gone that he almost died. I was surprised to see him at the door, able to get around as though nothing had happened, but I swear to you he almost died! The Piratess had some kind of rock laid on his chest, and it was eating him alive!" He paused to give her a chance to say something.

Faith stood still. She had heard the truth in Dawson's voice and saw it in his emotional eyes. She was now looking at him with such shock as though he had just told her that the world was round. Her skin had paled so much that she actually looked like a ghost, but fury blazed in her face and eyes. Her dark gaze quickly flitted over him. He didn't seem to be that injured, but was he hiding something? "What," she demanded in a rough voice, "did they do to you?"

"They made me watch as they tortured the others. I was next in line when the door burst open and Lex and Katrina entered as though they were the Gods of War. They killed the Piratesses and took care of us each in turn. I was the only one they had not had a chance to start . . . working on."

"Ares gave me your sword, and He told me to go for you. I don't know if He knew what was about to happen. Being a God, He probably did, but none of the others were able to come for you at that time."

"That was just the group I was with. If the others were tortured half as much as the ones I was with, they might not even be alive now. That's why I had to tell you; I couldn't have you thinking that your family didn't love you. It's true that we might be able to get away safely, but do you really want to go without them?"

He looked into the eyes of the woman he loved more than life itself and awaited her answer. He knew she was torn, but he also knew that the heart she denied so strongly would not allow her to abandon their family.


The Harlot's Deck

From where he was laying on the deck, Donkey looked up at Autolycus. "I'll take Elizabeth to safety while you take care of the bitch."

"Thanks, Donkey," Autolycus told him. "I'll do that."

Donkey got to his feet. Still keeping an eye toward where the bitch was having trouble getting back to her feet for the snow, Autolycus gently lifted Elizabeth onto Donkey's back. "Take care of her, my friend, and thanks again."

"Elizabeth, honey, I love you. Hang on to Donkey, and he'll keep you safe until I can get to you." He kissed her.

Autolycus' gentle kiss seemed to renew Elizabeth, at least to the point that she was able to speak though she still could not see. She knew he had tasted her blood in their kiss, and she hoped he would not be too distracted in his worry for her to be able to do what had to be done. "Toly . . . " she whispered, one hand reaching blindly out for him while her other remained on Donkey's neck, "come back . . . safely." She prayed he could handle the bitch.

"I will, baby, and you hang on to Donkey, because if you fall off, he won't be able to get you up. Head toward the Ghost, and when you get there, holler. Maybe some one will come over and get you. I owe you, Donkey," Autolycus said as he stepped away from the two of them. His eyes had never left the Piratess.

"I . . . love . . . you, . . . too," Elizabeth added, but her words were lost in Catra's fierce growl as the Piratess launched herself at Autolycus.

Autolycus leaped forward to meet the bitch, his sword flying. He prayed he could beat her. He never had been very good at the fighting part of Pirating, and now he was faced with the most important battle of his life!

Donkey slowly headed toward the Ghost, taking very careful steps. He did not want Elizabeth to fall off. He, too, prayed for Autolycus as he found that he liked the mustached man really well and he wanted to see him and Elizabeth together. He never had disliked Elizabeth; he just didn't want her to be with Will. The snow crunched under his hooves, and he began to hum a little tune to himself.


Captain Kathleen "Kat" O'Hara's Cabin

Chong jumped behind Bishop and grabbed his shoulders from behind. His palms sweated at the feel of the other man's muscles. "I belong to Captain Kitty Pryde!" he exclaimed. "Shadowcat!"

"Figures," Ace said. "What are you doing naked in my lady's cabin?"

"An' how di ye knae Hansel?" Kat demanded. The snake hissed, giving Kat an idea. She winked at Ace but kept her gaze directed at the Chinese man's head, which was peeking out from around Bishop's elbow. "C'mon, China, China. Speak up while ye still have a tongue."

Bishop's cat was not very happy that the Chinese man was hiding behind Bishop. Every hair stuck out as he spit and hissed at him. "Settle down, Cat, and you come around where you can be seen," Bishop said as he reached backwards and snatched the helpless man around to his front. At the same time, he reached down and picked up Chong's discarded sheet. "Put this back on."

Chong gulped and took the sheet but made no movement to actually cover himself with it. "I was had by a Piratess," he answered the questions that were bombarding him, "and I know Hansel because . . . because . . . "

"Aye?" Kat ground out.

Ace looked at the Chinese man. "I suggest you talk, my friend; Kat's never been known for her patience."

"Because we slept together!"

"Not surprising," Ace told Kat. "You know how Hansel is. How in the Hell he ever ended up with Derek, I have no idea!" He scratched his head in confusion. "He does tend to sleep with the strangest things!"

"Hey!" Chong protested sharply.

"Hay's fer horses, an' ye're nae animal. Now get the Hell out o' here 'fore I burn it off."

Bishop looked at the Chinese man. "You never did say what your name was, and put the damn sheet on!" Bishop was wanting him to get the sheet on so that he could stop staring at it. No matter how much he fought against it, his eyes kept wandering back to the aforementioned thing that he hoped Kat was not going to burn, because if she did, he'd never understand his fascination over it!

"Chong . . . Chong Chan." A hiss brought Chong's frantic gaze jumping back to Kat and the tabby cat perched on her shoulder. The redhead's face glowed in the light of her fire, and the cat's claws reached for him! Chong broke and run, leaving the sheet in the cabin.

Bishop picked up the sheet and followed behind him. That was one Chinese man who was not going to get away from him! He planned to find out a whole lot of things about Chong Chan and, most especially, why he so fascinated him.


The Harlot's Hold

Raziel was growing weary of the complications that the night had held. Every time he thought all was going right, something else had to intervene. He had been holding his own against the Vampiress called Helvira when the Werewolf had had to intervene. He growled at her and slashed out at both Vamp and Wolf.

The Werewolf growled, revealing her glistening teeth and returning his smack. Raziel grew more ticked as he realized that he seemed to be only a side-thought to the Werewolf as she turned back to Helvira and raked her once more with her claws. The ship shook, but he kept his footing and continued to glare at both females.

It was then that a screeching of an owl whistled through the room, and Raziel's glowing eyes turned upward as the bird raked its talons across the eyes of the Vampire's prey. "I can handle her!" Raziel spoke only to have his words drowned out by screams from behind him. He wished that the other two would leave him to his prey and wanted to demand that they do just that but knew saying so would risk blowing the cover that he'd worked so hard to build.

The Vampire sniffed disdainfully to himself as he thought of all the other Vampires that joining one Pirate ship had given him access to. That was precisely the reason why he'd signed up to Destiny's Ghost in the first place. Its Captain had once been a great killer of Vampires, but the foolish woman had then fallen in heat with one. Spike and Kyna thought he was a friend, an alley to be trusted, and Raziel wanted to keep them thinking just that. In order to do so, he must not give in to his instincts or the need for revenge that screamed through him, demanding him to take advantage of the situation that he had been given and kill not only Helvira but Delvira and Elvira, as well.

Reminding himself repeatedly of the need to maintain his cover, Raziel flew back into battle. His sword sliced into Helvira's breasts, and he paid no attention to the way the heat of its blade burned the Werewolf's slashing claws or caused the owl to screech and fly backwards. He continued to hack into her, gaining new ground now that the others had helped to weaken her.

If Helvira's heart could have beaten, it would have thundered inside her throat for she'd never been more scared in her life or afterlife. She'd never been this close to losing a battle before nor had blood from her own eyes blinded her. She could still smell, however, and her nose led her attack as she did all that she could do to defend herself from the three attacking her.

The owl that she knew to be Jareth continued pecking and scratching her wildly from behind as the unknown Vampire's sword flayed away inch after inch of her flesh. She didn't know where the Werewolf had come from. It smelled like her sister, Elvira, but she knew that that couldn't be. Regardless, as the Vampire kept the beast from being able to reach her front, the savage animal attacked her legs. Helvira was not even aware of her screams, though they shook the walls of the hold.

All she knew was the pain that blocked out all her other thoughts. Jareth's beak had already pecked through her black hair and was now working madly to peel away the very skin of her skull. Her breasts were going quickly as they were being sliced off by the Vampire, and now the Werewolf's teeth and claws seemed to be all over her legs at once.


Judson's Cabin

Faith swallowed, thinking quickly. She wanted Dawson to be safe, but she knew he wouldn't leave without her no more than she would have left without him. Now that she knew what had happened, she couldn't leave the others. How badly were they hurt? Clark was okay, and Lex had to be, as well, otherwise Clark wouldn't have been there. But what about Jack, Salem, Angel, Katrina, Tom? "Let's go," she stated and headed for the door, hoping that some one was out there who she could leave Dawson with and know would keep him safe while she headed after any of those who might still be prisoners.

"Wait, Faith," Dawson said as he slipped off his shirt. "Put this on." He handed it to her.

Faith paused when he asked her to but nearly barked at him when she found out why he wanted to delay them. She stopped herself just in time, however. "We really don't have time for this," she told him but took the shirt nonetheless and began snatching it on.

"Wouldn't want one of those Piratesses to grab you by the boob. I i-imagine that w-would h-hurt qu-quite a l-lot," Dawson managed to stammer out. "M-Might even throw you off in a f-fight."

Faith looked at him with a quirked brow but a grin she just couldn't help at his naivety. "Kid, you really don't know how bitches fight, do ya? Trust me. If a bitch wants to grab another's bitch's tit, they're getting it despite the clothes."

Dawson blushed. "B-But i-if th-they c-can't s-see it, m-maybe th-they w-won't th-think about it," he told her.

"Always head for the most vulnerable spots first," Faith returned even while buttoning one last button. She'd only buttoned a few, but she hoped that would appease him and they could continue. Reaching out with her free hand, Faith gently caught Dawson's chin. She lifted his chin and quickly kissed him. "You're just too damn cute when you're being wet behind the ears. Now let's go."

Dawson pulled away for one second as he retrieved his blade from the floor. "I'm ready now," he told Faith. "I only hope we're not too late."

Though she hoped the same, Faith did not speak. Instead, she gripped her sword tighter and headed out the door. Dawson followed on her heels.


Destiny's Ghost's Deck

Crystal's fingers ran over Lorne's face. She knew it would not be long now, only another few seconds . . . The knowledge of what she was doing, and how Lorne would feel, ripped her heart asunder, but she knew she had no other choice. From beside them, Elvira and Cindy yawned simultaneously. "Lorne?" Crys breathed his name.

It was all Lorne could do not to yawn in Crys' face. "Gods, baby, I don't know why I'm so sleepy! I can't afford to go to sleep right now!" He glanced downward toward her babies and realized that they, too, were yawning. The sight made him realize what was happening to them, and anger flushed his exhausted face. "Damn it, Crystal!" he muttered even as his eyes fluttered closed. "You tricked me!" he moaned.

"I'm sorry, my love," Crystal said truthfully, "but I had to. Forgive me." She pressed a quick kiss to his lips and let him go.

Lorne fell onto the deck beside Elvira and Cindy. Crystal whirled around even as Blue crashed down onto Lorne's chest. Ice was already forming underneath her feet . . .


Captain Kathleen "Kat" O'Hara's Cabin

Kat looked at Ace. "Ye said the Devil was comin', luv?"

"Yes. An Ice Elemental. We've been fighting against Piratesses, Devils, and now Ice Elementals! This has been one Hell of a long night, Kat! The only thing I want to do is to snuggle up against you and get some z's, but it's never going to happen, not tonight!"

There were tears breaking to the surface in Ace's sparkling eyes, and Kat knew that the misery in his voice and face had nothing to do with the fighting they'd been doing that night. It was something else entirely, and she waited patiently for him to tell her what it was. "They turned from me!" he cried. "I can't blame them!" His voice was tearful, and he sounded as though he was choking. "That's never happened before!" he told the woman he loved.

Kat's fire had already vanished, and Captain leapt from her shoulder on to the deck as she closed the space in between Ace and herself. She took her man in her arms, her arms sliding around his skinny waist in a reassuring hug. "It'll be all right," she told him. She wished she could give him some time to cry, but from the sound of things, there was no time that they could afford to waste. "Di ye knae where Kyna is?"

"Dead," Ace told her. "I saw her die. He cut her head off!" Tears began to fall down his face, and he swiped them angrily away.

"Dead?" Kat repeated, forcing her words out past her heart that had suddenly jumped into her throat. "Kyna Chan is . . . is dead!"

"She's dead," he repeated again. "I saw the whole thing. The Demon broke her head off. It made a popping sound like a cork coming out of a bottle," his trembling voice told her. "I can still hear Spike's screams when he found her."

Chills swept through Kat, and her eyes burned as she cradled Ace. If Kyna Chan had been unable to live through something that was not even as bad as what was now coming, they didn't stand a chance in Hell. Her grandfather had always told her that Kyna was unbeatable, but clearly that wasn't so. With Kyna dead, the thought circled again in her mind, they didn't stand a chance in Hell.

"Capt'n," Kat's voice was dull, and the tomcat knew instantly why, "make sure the others get the ship ready fer sailin'. Give the cry soon as she's ready tae gi." She knew Ace planned to wait on the others, but she could not allow that to happen. As soon as the Frolicking Monkey was ready to sail, they were pulling out.


The Harlot's Hold

Prue trembled. She knew it was Brendan holding her, but she didn't know what had happened to make him come for her except that the floor had started cracking and she had been falling. She had heard Jack's startled yell as he had fallen. She prayed Brendan had not killed his brother, because she knew he'd never forgive himself. She wished her hands were free, so that she could put them around him.

She heard Will screaming Jack's name, so she knew he had truly fallen. She closed her eyes against the horribleness of it. Would life never be kind to her! she wondered. And what about her darling Brendan? Could he ever forgive himself for killing Jack!

The Werewolf retightened his hold on his mate and the bars. His gnashing teeth closed upon the bar, and he began to pull himself up even as he wondered what all the screaming was about. What was wrong with everybody? His mate was safe, so what was their problem? His beady eyes peered through the bars of the cell, and he saw his parents inside the hold. His family was okay. Wait . . . Where was his brother?

Will shook and trembled where he knelt beside the doorway to what was now a gaping hole in the floor of the ship. Tears raced down his face, blinding him even more to all that was happening around him, all that he had forgotten about. All that mattered was Jack. All that mattered for so long was Jack. And now Jack was gone.

His whole body shook, and his heart felt as though it were gripped in the claws of the very Werewolf who had pushed his beloved into the hole. Damn Brendan! Damn him to death! Will's lips quivered as he yelled out Jack's name yet again.

The man he loved, the only person he had ever truly loved, was gone. One second, he had been there, okay despite everything that had happened to them, and the next, he'd been pushed to his death by his own damn brother who Jack should have never saved in the first place! The beats of Will's heart grew further apart, and his chest seized with pain. Now, Jack was gone! He was dead or about to be dead, and there was absolutely nothing Will could do to save him! "JACK!" he yelled again between the sobs that racked his voice though his own ears did not even hear them. "JACK!"

"STOP HIM!" Kitty knew what Will was thinking even as he collapsed onto all fours, sobbing even louder, beside the cell. She raced for him, knowing full well what she had wanted to do after she had lost both of her Peters.

Will trembled. Jack was gone. He couldn't be! He couldn't be! Jack had come for him, and he had been okay when he got back to him. That stupid Werewolf brother of his could not be the end of him! Yet, as Willow's yowl ebbed away, Will knew what had happened.

Jack was dead now, and Will had nothing to live for in a world where his beloved Jack was gone. "Jack . . . " he whispered. "I'm coming." It took everything he could do to pull himself to his feet, but as soon as he was on his feet, he jumped straight into the abyss.

Paige was exhausted and too tired, drained, and plain scared to be able to manage even so much as a scream. Her godmother was going insane; the positive proof was there from the way 'Ro was screaming her lungs off to the way her winds blasted against the ceiling of the hold. Prue had been saved by a Werewolf, who might well either eat her or pump her to death, and Gods only knew where Phoebe and Piper were. Carl clung to the bars for all he was worth, and Paige didn't know how long her man would be able to last.

Worst of all, Cole, Jack, and now Will had just fallen, or jumped in Will's case, to their deaths, and though she'd stood next to them, she'd failed to act in time to stop any of them. Her eyes were closed tightly shut as she leaned against the cell's bars, and her body shook as she desperately tried to orb. All she knew was that she had to get to Cole, at least, or he and Piper would both be gone, but as weakness overtook her, she toppled . . .

"NO!" Kitty and Carl yelled simultaneously. Carl let go of the bars with one hand as he tried to grab Paige, and Kitty fell into a slide across the floor. She slid toward the cell, the shaking of the ship setting her off balance. She grabbed for Paige's foot just as it vanished from sight, and her fingers grasped the air instead. As her hand reached for the cell's bar in her attempt to stop herself, she missed them, as well. Lockheed roared as Shadowcat fell into the darkness.

Wolverine was in shock. No sooner had his healing factor kicked in and he was ready to fight than his family had fallen through the damn hole of what had once been the floor! 'Ro was screaming her head off, and the only thing he could think to do was to jump upward and grab her.

He only managed to grab her foot, but that was enough. He pulled her down to him and held onto her. If she was the only one of his family left, he wasn't about to lose her too! He felt the trembling of her body even as he whispered to her. "'Ro, baby, it's me. Calm down. We've got to go after 'em."

Ororo struggled in Logan's arms, her screams blasting his ears. Lightning shot through the room, narrowly missing Raziel, Elvira, and Jareth as they tore into Helvira. A thud sounded from beside Wolverine and Storm, but neither took any notice of Wesley.

Kurt had been beside himself since the moment Brendan's Werewolf had thrown Jack and Cole to the sharks. He had fallen to his knees and had been praying fervently and quickly ever since. "Holy Jesus!" he repeated over and over again, "save mein family!" Hercules couldn't have meant that this was supposed to happen!

"Außer meiner Familie! Außer meiner Familie! Halten Sie Katzchen sicher! Halten Sie Katzchen sicher! Außer meiner Familie! HEILIGER JESUS, AUSSER MEINER FAMILIE!" His prayer increased in his birth tongue even as he saw Kitty racing for the cell.

Then, when Kitty fell through, Kurt ceased praying immediately and resigned himself. He raced forward and plunged, as well. Right beside him, Lockheed soared, flying faster than he'd ever flown before and circling in the darkness in a desperate attempt to find Kitty and somehow save her.


Destiny's Ghost's Deck

It happened so quickly that, if Angel had not been a Vampire, he would have never reached Crystal. He snatched the board and flew through the air, making it collide with her head in the same motion. A soft Thud! came from Crys even as she, too, hit the deck. "Cordy, quick!" Angel called. "Check her for breathing!" He was afraid to touch her lest he had killed her and stood frozen with the board held tightly in his pale hands and his dark eyes desperately pleading with Cordelia to tell him that Crystal was okay.

The very second Angel had headed out, Cordelia had began to run toward the scene, but it took her a couple of minutes to reach them even after Angel had called for her. She knelt onto the snow-covered deck and, with gentle hands, set Meesy to the side. Then, she reached out for Crystal. She held her wrist in one hand while checking the back of her head with the other. It was bloody, as she had suspected, but did not feel to be deep. Crystal breathed shallowly in her unconscious state as Cordelia concentrated on her pulse.

At last, Cordy looked back up at Angel. "She'll be okay, love," she assured him gently. "You did fine. I know it wasn't easy, but it was the only thing that could be done to stop her." She shrugged. "Or, at least, it was the only thing I knew to do."

"We need something to tie her up," Angel told Cordy, "and we need to get them out of the snow." He indicated Lorne and the others. He glanced around the deck and saw a rope, but before he could head for it, Cordelia's nervous voice stalled his step.

Cordelia appeared to have frozen to the spot where she knelt on the deck. She was barely breathing, but her hands did move as they swiftly reached for the Himalayan kitten who'd began to play with Crystal's hair. "A-A-A-A-An-An-An-Angel . . . "

Angel felt the hand of doom reaching for them. His dead heart raced to his throat as he turned to look at Cordelia. Her terrified face froze him in his tracks. "What is it?" he whispered, but he already knew the answer.


Destiny's Ghost's Deck

The first thing he was aware of as he came slowly to was a searing pain in his left shoulder. He grunted as he tried to clear his mind and remember what had happened. There had been something he'd seen -- a beautiful woman -- a . . . a mermaid! He grunted again and pressed his right hand to his throbbing head. His fingers splayed through his blonde hair as he thought, All right, Trent. You're hallucinating. Carlos warned you about that, and you know plumb well that there's no such thing as a mermaid!

Now think! What happened? The next thought that passed through his mind explained his pain, but it was the thought after that that got him to moving. I was shot . . . Andrew went crazy . . . Trina! His sister needed him, and that realization sent his blue eyes flying open and his forefront jumping up.

Trent's world spun, and he doubled over, bending over the body next to him -- a bleeding body that he recognized instantaneously. "CARLOS!" His hands flew to his best friend and began frantically checking him out. He was breathing shallowly, and his heart was still beating. His arms and legs were riddled by bullets, however, and he had lost so much blood that the sight made Trent nauseous and even dizzier while simultaneously coming close to stopping his fear-clogged heart. His next thought paled Trent and made his hands shake. If Carlos was like this, how was Trina!

"They'll be fine."

The voice nearly made Trent jump out of his hide. He whirled around, and his blue eyes were met with a pair of knowing, brown eyes. "How can you say they'll be okay!" Trent demanded, his anger tightening his face. "Where's Trina?" He then noticed the creature that lay beside the man, and his eyes grew as large as dinner plates as he stared at the oddest thing he'd ever seen. "And who are you, and what is that?"

"One question at a time," Morph failed to get the age-old quip out right. "I'm a friend; my name's Morph. Your sister's right there." He pointed to where the redheaded woman had dropped the blonde lady who looked so much like the man who now glared at him. His next words fell on deaf ears as Trent stared at his bleeding sister, his facial expression much akin to that of a lost, little boy. "And that is my wife."

When Trent didn't speak but only got up, moved across the deck on wobbly legs, and knelt beside his sister, Morph knew that the man hadn't heard him -- nor was he in any shape to realize how his words had come across. Morph cleared his throat and spoke more gently. "I'm sorry," he told him.

"Look at her," Trent breathed. "I've never seen her so pale. How can you say," he questioned again, turning seeking, tear-filled eyes on Morph, "that they're going to be okay?" A tear slipped from Trent's eyes, and he didn't bother to wipe it away. "If you have something," he demanded through gritted teeth, "that can possibly help them, then you'd better bring it forth now!"

The man's eyes flashed, and Morph's heart ached for him despite the blonde's threats. He could understand Trent's plight for he knew how he himself would feel if that were Tom and Katrina laying there instead of the man's family. He gathered Celina closer to him. "My wife," he told him, "is a healer."

"THEN WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!" Trent yelled. "WAKE HER UP!" As he barked the words, he advanced toward Morph.

Morph looked quickly to Celina to make sure Trent's voice had not disturbed her sleep, then set in to trying to explain. "She's a healer," he repeated, "but she can not heal on full moons. She must stay unconscious for now."

"Why!" Trent demanded. "And if she's no help, then what is!" His tears were evident in his voice.

"There are other healers here," Morph told him, "but we don't have time to get them, not now. Something is coming, and will be here soon, that is more than powerful enough to kill your loved ones and yourself and . . . " His wife's vocabulary slipped onto the shapeshifter's tongue. " . . . presents far more of a threat than anything we can begin to cope with now."

"What is it?"

"It's a creature of pure evil that can turn anything, living or not, to ice with a single thought. He can also shatter anything of ice with only a thought."

Trent stared at Morph as snow fell on them and the icy winds tore at their bodies and clothes. Morph knew the stranger didn't believe him, so he tried a different approach. "If you're a member of Destiny's Ghost, you already know that there's a lot that can't be explained by the normal man's way of thinking."

Trent nodded slowly. "But I am a normal man," he admitted.

"I'm not," Morph replied, "and if you stay with the crews here tonight, you'll learn that none of us are even close to normal. Spike knows what's going on, but he doesn't have time to come out here and I don't have time to go get him. I'll tell you what I can do, though. If you'll take your two and my wife into the water and watch them, I'll handle the two I need to handle and come back to you with a healer."

"Bring the healer first," Trent told him, "and we have a deal." He didn't believe a word the man was saying, but he was desperate enough to try anything. "But why the water?"

Morph looked toward the lightning-streaked, snow-filled sky. "Because, in a few minutes, that's going to be the only place left that's . . . "

His words stopped abruptly, and Trent looked from the sky back to Morph to find the other man's face paled and filled with terror. "Wha . . . What . . . " he started to ask but never had a chance to finish his sentence as he felt something slam into him.

Morph took one look at the thing that now seemed to fill the entire night sky and shot his arms outwards. His hands were now six feet in length, and they pushed Trent, Celina, Trina, and Carlos all easily off of the deck of the Ghost. As they plunged downward, Morph called to Trent but could only hope the man heard him as he dared not yell. "Take care of them!"


Beneath Destiny's Ghost's Deck

Spike, Sam, Connor, and Rachel had been quickly making their way back toward the deck when Ray suddenly doubled over in pain. Her side slammed against the wall as she nearly crumpled. She wasn't even aware of the whimper that escaped her as she pressed one hand to her head and the other to her stomach. "Something's wrong!" she cried out. She wasn't sure whose terrified eyes she saw the Demon through, but she knew what she was looking at. "He's here!"

Her green eyes that shone with pain and fear reopened just as the ship shook. "He's here!" she repeated. But that wasn't all that was wrong. Something had happened to Kitty! "Sam," she asked fearfully, "can you get me to Kitty?" Before the White Lighter could answer, however, the walls around them began to turn to ice!


The Harlot's Hold

Raziel paused to sheathe his sword. Once his hands were free, he grabbed the Vampiress before him. His hands gripped her pale neck as he snatched her to him. He bent her head backwards and buried his face next to her neck. He began to suck deeply, but his fangs did not meet her flesh. It wasn't her body he was after.

Pain shot through Helvira and into Elvira, whose mouth still clamped her thigh. The Werewolf howled and fell back against the deck. Her body shook with pain that she didn't understand. From what seemed far away, she heard the owl cry out, but Elvira's human mind was too far gone to know that it was Jareth. All she knew was that the bird was frightened, too.

She shook herself, and her yellow eyes turned back to look puzzedly at the two Vampires. The male seemed to be sucking the female but neither had any blood, so what was he after? The wolf's eyes widened as she watched a black cloud being pulled from Helvira's open, screaming mouth . . .

Raziel trembled, but he determinedly continued sucking Helvira. He'd never felt such power before, nor such evil. It filled him completely and tasted stronger than any soul he'd ever had before . . .

The Werewolf howled in anger. What was this damn Vampire doing! This was her prey! HERS! She released another howl as she ran at the Vampires, but then suddenly, the male cried out. His cry was more telepathic than verbal, but she heard it nonetheless. She paused just in time to keep from being caught in the explosion as Raziel shattered.

The black cloud seeped back into Helvira. The Vampiress tried to smile, but her mouth was twisted at an odd angle. "I was . . . " she panted, " . . . too much for . . . for him. Let me . . . . Let me go before I do the same to you!"

The Werewolf paid no attention to her words. Her howl echoed out of the hold, through the corridors, and up past the deck as she sprang. Her claws were everywhere at once, but her mouth went straight for its target. Elvira's fangs tore the heart straight out of her sister's chest. The Werewolf swallowed the muscle quickly, then moved back in for the screaming Vampiress' throat . . .


Destiny's Ghost's Deck

Trent had no idea what had hit him, and the next events had happened so swiftly that he had no time to respond before he found himself falling through the air, his arms flailing about and the pain in his shoulder raging its own war. Around him, he saw others falling, and from behind him, he could barely make out Morph's voice. As he hit the water, he realized that the strange man must have thrown him overboard with Trina, Carlos, and the creature that looked like both a cat and a woman.

Trent plunged into the icy water and began kicking immediately, trying desperately to gain control against the pushing current. He saw the others floating by in the water that was now black with blood as they continued falling, and Trent cursed the strange man in silence even as he turned in the water and grasped Trina's arm. His muscles strained as he swam after Carlos, completely ignoring the alien creature.

His eyes throbbed worse than his headache, and his lungs burned for air. It was taking everything he had just to keep himself and Trina from being sucked under, but still Trent continued to swim, desperately trying to grab hold of Carlos as his best friend sank deeper still . . .

Above deck, Morph was already praying and running. He murmured a prayer to Bast over and over again for Celina's safety as he raced after Tom and Katrina. He'd had no choice but to throw her off of the ship with Trent. If he'd left her, she'd have been a sitting duck, just waiting to be iced, but if he'd stayed, he could have never reached Tom and Katrina.

Now, as he jumped over something in the dark, he could barely make the two out up ahead. They were still screwing, completely oblivious to the danger that had now reached them, just as Morph had known they would be. He prayed faster and sprouted a pair of wings as he doubled his speed. He had to reach them before they were seen!

To Be Continued . . .