Doomsday Hunter 4, page 20
My heart fluttered lightly in my chest as I wondered whether Maurya’s gifts had begun to manifest this soon because she might be pregnant already.
“My gifts?” the Fishfolk woman asked in confusion.
“I’ll explain later,” I said.
“I thought the kraken was just a myth, a fairytale told to children to scare them off exploring the trench… But it’s been lying down there, dormant, right beneath our city--” Maurya whimpered and gripped on to my hand even tighter. “I’m so glad you’re all okay.”
I suddenly heard hurried footsteps approach us, and I pulled myself up to a sitting position with a groan, with my lungs still working overtime to catch my breath. Then I pushed my soaking wet hair out of my face as a group of guards appeared at the observation deck, all clad in the same green togas with the Anadonis ‘A’ symbol stamped into the gold clasps on their shoulders.
Percival Wick led the troop toward us with a slimy smile on his face, and I felt my jaw clench just at the sight of his stupid frizzy hair and bulging eyes.
“You!” I snarled, and I scrambled to my feet as I reached for my sword. “You treacherous, conniving, nasty piece of --”
“Guards, arrest these disgusting Sunfolk at once,” Percival commanded loudly, and Tracey and Daphne had to instinctively grip onto each one of my wrists to keep me from launching myself at the fishy bastard.
“Uncle, you cannot be serious!” Maurya gasped in horror.
“I told the lot of you idiots not to step foot in those pods!” Percival sneered at his niece. “You’re lucky to be alive, my dear.”
“Yeah, no thanks to you!” I yelled back at him. “You should be the one getting arrested! If not for nearly killing us, but nearly killing your damn niece!”
“Maurya is Fishfolk,” Percival reminded me smugly. “She should have left you for dead.”
“I would never do that, uncle,” Maurya insisted with her hands balled into angry fists. “How could you?”
“I did nothing,” the sneering Fishfolk man said. “I told you not to just walk blindly wherever you please, but as per your Sunfolk stupidity, you went and did it anyway.”
“You lying fuck,” I spat at him. “You’re psychotic--”
“Enough!” one of the guards bellowed and interrupted our argument.
I could tell he was the head honcho, because not only did he have a golden clasp on his toga, he had several lines of embroidered gold silk on his chest representing some kind of rank.
He was tall and had a massive chest that stuck out of him like a barrel. His skin was a deep, dark green and mottled around his eyes and neck, and his head was completely clean-shaven so the seawater color of his skull gleamed in the bright light of the council building.
“My Lady,” the chief guard addressed Maurya bluntly. “Please step aside, these Sunfolk are to be arrested immediately.”
“On what charges?” Natalie demanded as she quickly side-stepped a guard who tried to grab at her. She didn’t break eye contact with the chief and glared at him angrily.
“Treason, domestic terrorism, theft… the list goes on,” The chief Fishfolk guard stated in the same expressionless voice. “It is known to the capital that you willfully and illegally sold and distributed explosives and firearms, cargo stolen from the capital.”
“We have it on good authority from another Sunfolk,” the guard who had tried to make a grab for Natalie said through gritted teeth, and I could tell it was taking all his self-restraint not to spit in our faces.
“The merchant…” Daphne muttered beside me, but there was no time for regret now.
We could easily take the group of Fishfolk guards on, and my sheer rage at the sight of Percival’s smug face made it almost tempting, but my Wayfarers and I were exhausted after battling a literal sea monster, and I’d only just managed to catch my breath again after being submerged underwater for half an hour.
Maurya’s uncle was up to something huge if he had been willing to not only put his entire city at risk by releasing the kraken, but happily killing off his niece in the process, and I wanted to find out exactly what it was.
So, I begrudgingly allowed the guards to lock our wrists into rusted, barnacle-covered handcuffs since our best course of action right now was actually none at all. We needed to regroup and come up with a plan to dispose of Maurya’s uncle so we could save both her and Lady Everfinn, as well as this entire dimension.
“Maurya, my dear, you are but a victim of circumstance,” Percival Wick simpered and put his arm around his niece as the guards started to lead the rest of us away. “You are in no trouble at all, but I think we should have you escorted back to your chambers. You’ve obviously had a fright, after being manipulated so.”
“I won’t hear it, uncle.” Maurya shoved his arm away and scowled. “I’ll be telling my mother about this.”
“Maurya, you sweet girl,” her uncle chided her with fake softness in his voice. “I’ve been telling you for years, and this is only further proof.”
“Of what?” Maurya demanded, and she locked eyes with me as I let the guards surround me.
“That stinking Sunfolk are to never, ever, be trusted,” Percival Wick stated with a triumphant smirk.
I would let him think he’d won for now.
But I’d get my payback sooner rather than later.
Chapter Fifteen
“Hospitality, my ass…” Natalie grumbled, and she stared reproachfully at the head guard as he heaved the heavy metal bars across and locked the cell door behind us.
Maurya had been led off by her slimy uncle Percival to god knows where, and the four of us were now trapped in a gross underwater cell with no idea what lay in store for us.
Did Anadonis have the death penalty? Would we even get a trial?
Either way, I didn’t intend to let them get that far.
“Now what?” Tracey’s long sigh brought me out of my pessimistic thoughts, and I rounded on her with a grim smile.
“First on the agenda is getting out of this place,” I said.
“Please,” Daphne muttered as she surveyed the cramped cell we were locked in. “I’d quite like to see the sky again.”
“We will,” I promised. “Right after we find Maurya and then figure out how to take her asshole uncle down.”
The guards had led us down a winding stone staircase, away from the warmly-lit luxury of The High Council building and deep into the stone hill that it was built upon. There were no soft golden lamps or silk cushions down here. The walls were all slick with water so it looked like the stone was covered in black oil, and clumps of algae and clusters of barnacles were stuck everywhere. The only light came from natural bunches of shimmering blue bioluminescence and the odd wax candle, though they were all already half-melted and pretty dim anyway.
It was dark, cold, and damp, and it did nothing to help my bad mood.
The dingy cell was definitely meant for only one person, too, because the four of us were also cramped as hell. It was a standard six-by-four, with no window and no lighting, just a small leather cot on one side and a hard bench made of rusty-red colored coral lining the other side.
Natalie stood by the metal bars and ran her hands across the wet steel, and Tracey and Daphne were perched on the bench behind me.
I stayed standing, mainly because I was too antsy to sit.
“How do we get out, then?” the blonde Scavenger asked as she inspected the heavy lock.
“They grabbed our weapons when we were arrested,” I sighed. “I’ve got no idea where they’d have put them, besides I’m not sure they would’ve been any help down here anyway.”
“Nearly drowning while fighting a mythical sea monster really does put you in a bad mood, huh?” Tracey chuckled and wound her arms around my neck so she could plant a firm kiss on my lips, and I melted slightly at her tenderness. “Come on, we gotta think of some kind of escape plan.”
“Well, those guards sadly aren’t dumb enough to keep the key in the door,” Natalie sighed as she pulled her slim arm back from where she’d wormed it through the bars. “And I doubt there’s gonna be some cute little sea lion pup with a ring of keys in its mouth.”
“There’s no windows or another way in or out, either,” Daphne said and wrapped her arms around herself against the damp chill. “It’s three walls made of solid stone and then locked metal bars.”
“And it’s freakin’ cold.” Tracey shivered. “They could’ve given us dry clothes, at least.”
We had fallen back onto solid ground after flying through the water portal, injured, running on adrenaline and fear, and completely out of breath, and then we’d been immediately arrested by the Fishfolk. We were all still dripping wet and exhausted, and we definitely needed eight hours of sleep in a warm bed.
I missed the private cabin on our ship.
“I don’t think they care too much,” Daphne said quietly from where she sat cross-legged on the rickety wooden bench, and Tracey put a gentle hand on her knee in a small gesture of comfort.
“Well, there’s no way we’re staying here for a night,” I told the three of them with an air of finality. “Can we break the lock?”
“It seems pretty simple,” Natalie told me from where she leaned up against the metal bars of our shared cell. “If I had a bobby pin or something, I could probably pick it, but… no bobby pin.”
“Okay, what’s everyone got on them?” I asked and started to pat myself down. “We must have something we can use.”
The four of us started to inspect our clothing and shoes in the hopes that something, anything, might suddenly materialize to help us. But all we had was soaking wet clothing and leather boots, since we’d left all our belongings inside the cabin of our stolen pirate ship on the surface.
Hunter? Karla’s voice suddenly appeared in my mind.
“Hi, Karla,” I sighed in reply, and she huffed.
I take it you successfully thwarted the ‘big beastie’? Karla asked, and I chuckled darkly.
“Not quite, but we made it out alive at least.” I said, and Daphne smiled warmly up at my words.
Congratulations, Miss Nash said. But I’m afraid your work is far from done. The calculations for this world have spiked dramatically. Doomsday is closer.
“This place is on the brink of an all-out war,” I told Karla. “Maurya wants to stop it.”
You’ll need to work fast to figure out how, Karla advised me. I’ll let you know if I see anything else.
“Thanks,” I sighed and raked a hand through my hair.
“I’ve got nothing that could pick this lock,” Natalie groaned as she finished patting herself down, and she shoved both of her hands through her half-dried blonde hair in frustration.
“W-What about the cot?” Tracey asked through gritted teeth, and she kept her arms wrapped around herself as she fought off more shivering. “Maybe we could break that apart?”
I bent down to inspect the mediocre excuse for a bed. It was a thin mattress, maybe only a couple inches thick, and lumpy and uncomfortable-looking. The bedframe itself wasn’t made of metal, but was constructed of the same dirty red-colored coral as the bench, and it looked unstable and on the verge of snapping if anyone put any pressure on it.
Which was exactly what we wanted.
“If we can break up this coral into something thin, maybe you could pick the lock with it?” I turned to Natalie with a shrug. “Would that work?”
“Maybe,” the Scavenger said. “But if it snaps in the lock, we’re done for, and I have no idea how brittle this stuff is.”
“Let’s find out, shall we?” I grinned as I hauled the thin leather-covered mattress off the bedframe.
“Let me help.” Daphne grabbed the mattress from me and slid it behind the bench so it laid flush against the wall and out of our way.
I angled my foot over the coral frame and was just about to slam it down on the joining when we heard a conversation a little further down the corridor of jail cells.
A guard was speaking in hushed tones to a very familiar-sounding male voice, and I’d never been so thankful for my enhanced sense of hearing.
“--tomorrow, sir,” the guard said in a slightly-panicked tone before the other voice talked over him.
“The summit tomorrow is our best chance,” the familiar voice insisted. “We haven’t had Sunfolk representatives down here for years.”
“But Lady Everfinn mentioned talks of peace--”
“Hush!” the familiar voice snapped, and I realized immediately it was Percival Wick, Maurya’s Fishfolk uncle and chief advisor to Lady Everfinn, the leader of the Fishfolk. “That was before those stinking Sunfolk terrorists in the cell were arrested. There can be no peace when our enemies want war.”
His sneering made my hands ball into fists again, and the four of us stood at the door of our jail cell and listened intently in silence. The bastard was lying through his crooked teeth, and it sounded like he was using us to try and justify some kind of retaliation against the Sunfolk.
The fucker.
Daphne placed a calming hand on my shoulder, and I took a deep breath to center myself.
“So, we attack tomorrow?” the guard asked fretfully.
“Yes, tomorrow, during The High Council’s summit with the Sunfolk representatives,” Percival confirmed. “We might not get another chance like this for quite some time, it’s a wonder Lady Everfinn even managed to persuade the Sunfolk to attend.”
“Is everything prepared?” The guard’s voice was full of fear, and I held a finger up to my lips to keep my Wayfarer mates quiet, so we could continue to listen in to a conversation that I was sure ol’ Percival would be none too pleased for us to have heard.
“Everything is in place to rid our city of those disgusting beings,” Percival sneered with a slight chuckle. “It should be easy enough to place blame on the Sunfolk for the attack since they’ve already tried to attack us once.”
“But… sir,” the guard started tentatively. “Fishfolk will be in the line of fire, too, so to speak. Killing our own, sir?”
“Collateral damage,” Percival sniffed. “War is not without its sacrifices.”
“But how can we justify--”
“By blaming the Sunfolk, you idiot!” Percival snapped again, and I could hear in his tone that his teeth were gritted, and his eyes bulged with annoyance. “We must make the attack look authentic!”
“If you say, sir,” the guard murmured.
“Once we stage our attack and make it look as though the Sunfolk are to blame, I will seize control in the absence of my late brother’s ridiculous wife,” Percival explained in an excited tone. “Under my command, we shall enter a war like none the world has ever seen, and Fishfolk will come out victorious, to rule both the land and the ocean.”
“How do we know, sir?” the guard asked.
Percival was silent for a second until his voice sounded again, coated in sugar and smarmy as anything.
“You’d do well to remember whose payroll you are currently on, Runch,” Maurya’s uncle chided the guard. “I’m sure your family would be none too thankful if you ended up unemployed.”
“Yes, sir,” Runch the guard hurriedly agreed in a desperate voice. “I know, sir. You have the greater good of the Fishfolk in mind, as you always have.”
“Precisely,” Percival stated with a satisfied huff. “Do keep a close eye on those Sunfolk we have in the cells though, Runch, there’s a good chap. They’ve thwarted me twice already, I will not have them best me for a third time. Is that clear?”
“Crystal, sir,” Runch replied quickly. “I even shoved ‘em all into the same cell, to weaken morale, sir.”
“Good thinking, Runch,” Percival chuckled as their voices began to fade away. “You know, maybe we can have a look at a raise for you in the coming months…”
I turned to my three Wayfarer mates with a grim expression, and the women looked up at me with their jaws set, and their eyes hardened at the news we’d just overheard.
“Guess he’s lucky we survived his kraken,” Tracey said through clenched teeth. “He’s going to use us.”
“Seems like it,” I sighed, and I shook my head as I repositioned my foot over the coral bedframe. “We need to get outta here, and sooner rather than later.”
I slammed my foot down on the weak red coral, and the bedframe instantly snapped apart into several pieces like a poorly put together Lego set. Then my Wayfarers and I each took as thin of a piece as we could find and got to work grinding our sticks down to long points against the wet stone walls of our cell.
“What did he mean by ‘we’ve thwarted him twice already’?” Daphne suddenly asked and looked up from her piece of coral with big black eyes.
“The kraken being the main one,” Natalie reminded us with a shiver. “Like I’ll ever be able to forget that thing.”
“The ship we commandeered on the surface,” Tracey suddenly sighed. “The explosives. Why would a ship, manned by frankly quite idiotic pirates, be carrying high-end capital explosives? Branded and everything?”
“They were Percival’s explosives,” I said and nodded to Tracey in agreement. “You’re right. We stopped his original plan. He’s the catalyst to this war.”
“No wonder that fishy fucker hates us so much,” Natalie huffed as she continued to file down her coral stick, and she held it up to the small amount of light offered by a singular glob of bioluminescence clustered on the ceiling of our cell.
“Yeah I mean, it would explain why he was so intent on killing us in The Great Trench with that beastie of his,” I said as I shaved my stick of red coral down against the stonework. “And why he was so happily willing to put Maurya at risk, too.”
“Yeah, he was really pissed,” Natalie laughed. “Shame we’re too good for him.”
“More than he realizes.” I grinned at my Wayfarer mates.
“Natalie, would this work?” Daphne interrupted our flirting with a grin and handed my Scavenger mate a slim stick of red coral about a couple inches long.
“This should work.” Natalie smiled widely as she held it up to the blue light. “Got an eye for perfection, Daphne has.”
