Siav’s perch on the rocky outcrop overlooking the bay gave him a clear view of the bait ship the Aushurians had granted him. Stripped down to the bare bones the ketch slid across the waters ponderously weaving towards the shorelines of each recess. This was where the other ships had disappeared and the evidence was as the Aushurian Prince had described.
The wreckage of the unfortunate littered the rugged beach which in turn suffered deep gouges formed into long ruts that were not the work of weathering and time. There were no footprints, some large serpent made these marks. Undoubtedly some monstrosity from the depths unknown wandered up and found a viable hunting ground for easy food. There was no reason to believe it was an abhorrent. Prince Temes had deceived him, but for the sake of their alliance he intended to follow through. Aushur was the last of the holdouts of the southern principalities, and even if it paled in comparison to the others, the trade routes to the eastern kingdoms were paramount.
Dark clouds overhead heralded a brewing storm and the winds were picking up causing his fur mantle to billow about him. A reprieve from the heat that had been plaguing him. As the sovereign, he was socially bound to uphold spectacle and remain fully attired. Unlike his subjects that dotted the cliff face and beach with spears and javelins at the ready. Standing bare-chested in the light of day wearing only trousers, the black horns sprouting from their heads made them seem more savage than ever. True warriors of the demon king.
He felt her approach before he heard her soft footsteps behind him. A painful struggle within his mind wished she was not present given her predilection for jumping into the fray, but he couldn’t deny his need to have her by his side at all times.
“Catch anything?” she asked with mild amusement.
“Nothing stirs the waters. I want to at least see what lurks before the storm arrives so I can devise a proper plan,” Siav replied.
“Of all the things the ruler of demons is capable of, to be outdone by fishing,” Laura giggled.
“It is the ravages of the sea I fear and the tight-fisted merchants only gave us one boat as sacrifice, if we...,” He turned to face her, “What in the name of the abyss are you wearing, woman.”
Laura noticing the attention she was suddenly garnering twirled about using the long spear she held to assist. The ruddy cloth that bound her breasts and hips fluttered in the breeze. The difference between the two of them was never more apparent, his skin like milk and hair like starlight contrasted sharply against her auburn hair draped over sun kissed skin. Until now he had been the only one privileged to witness this amount of her bare skin on display, and though he appreciated it to no end he did not like it being availed to the eyes of others.
“I am not running around in this heat and this close to the sea in full armor,” she argued. “I share the vocation of the others, and I will die smashed on the rocks. Drowning is beneath me,” she said noticing his disapproval.
Jealousy was not a kingly virtue but possessiveness was, “And what will the priests say about their saint, galivanting about like a festival dancer in naught but handkerchiefs?”
She smiled at him, “You head back to the city, find a church, if one exists in this land of coin, and you find one of the old moles to opine on it, while I shall remain here and slay the monster that threatens the coast.”
Siav turned back to the bay watching the ship slowly draw closer until it drifted near the recess right below them. Laura stepped in to stand by his side. They had spent too much time talking, too much time knowing each other, and Siav was not pleased she had grown so proficient in teasing him or besting him in pragmatic debate.
“You will remain by my side,” he added, “Until we know what we’re dealing with.”
She smiled, childishly enjoying his sulking. “As you wish,” she said grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers.
A shadow in the water directly below them stirred in the water. Laura pointed with her spear but it was unnecessary as Siav had already noticed and bobbed his head to keep track. Whatever it was, it was massive and fast. He called out to the others and it echoed back in relay amongst his warriors.
It was too late to give any warning to the crew. The seas churned and frothed as the creature breached the surface breaking the ketch in twain. Bodies and wood were tossed into the air and crashed into the foaming waters. Siav saw the floundering men hauled from the waves but couldn’t tell if everyone survived. The roiling of waters and the emerging coils was prioritizing his attention.
The creature, though bestial in nature, had been granted a modicum of intelligence to understand it had been fooled. A heavily scaled serpentine head slowly waved in the salty air observing the food that surrounded it. Normally those that managed to crawl ashore would collapse there or try to scuttle away. Not these ones, they stood tall with spines raised. In its world it only knew to feed, it would not be fed upon and roared its defiance at those who would upset the order.
More coils emerged from the foam and with them came more heads. All present stood in horror as the number of enemies increased dramatically, not one monster but many. It was Siav who noticed the true terror. Not many, but one, a single entity hinged at a single point far below the wake. One of the snaking heads turned to face him with a snarl and a hiss as it loomed ever closer.
The coil tensed and the mouth opened baring its fangs and foul breath, ready to strike. A moment later and all of Siav’s burdens would have disappeared, but Laura deigned he suffer longer. Her spear whistled through the air finding home in the eye socket of the beast as it curled back, sparks of golden light emitting from its eye as divine magic seared its skull. The sound of its shrieks of pain drowned the roar of the sea.
“Not yours to eat, worm,” Laura declared coldly.
Laura ran forward and Siav reached out to stop her but only the fluttering of the trailing ends of the infinitesimally small rags covering her body tickled the tips of his fingers. She leapt from the cliff face with inhuman speed on an arc that landed her on the neck of the very serpent she had speared. Like a flea on a dog, she wriggled her way up to the head while it thrashed in pain ever threatened to be thrown off until she reached her spear and gouged it from the creatures socket in a burst of blood and fleshy ribbons.
The soldiers of the Darklands, seeing their king’s lady gallant display roared their battle cries and stepped into the fray jabbing spear and pike and glaive at the monstrosity. Siav observed the ordeal feeling quite helpless. Not a stranger to combat nor magic he nonetheless was limited in his options. His soldiers evaded the lashings of the abhorrent’s tendril like tails, only to dash in afterwards jabbing their weapons into its scaled body. It bled from many wounds but its movements never wavered. The tears in its flesh were superficial and it seemed only Laura’s spear had made any significant damage.
Laura planted her spear further down into the beast’s neck, clinging on for dear life while it thrashed in an attempt to shake her loose, synchronizing its movements with its other heads that gnashed at her. The storm barreling in, Laura’s spear glinting in the fragmented light against the salt spray, Siav formulated an idea.
Spying his closest soldier he called out, “Tempus, keep the men armed and skewer the beast with every weapon we have.”
“But sire,” Tempus hollered back, “The Mistress...”
“Do as your told or I will skewer you myself.”
Siav didn’t bother to watch him affirm his order before he began chanting the mantras. With the claw of his index finger, he gouged out runes in the rocky ground that would burst with black flame on completion until he had encircled himself with them. He had only one chance, he would have to make it count and wait for his opening.
Tempus recruited others to his mission and a relay was set up between them and the best throwers amongst them that hurled spears and javelins at the beast. When all the long weapons ran out they tossed swords and even daggers until the altered sea serpent looked like centipede.
For all the superhuman capabilities the gods had granted her Laura was still human and her bid to be the great hero she had trained so hard to be was falling short of expectation. The weapons of the soldiers whizzed about her digging into the creature’s flesh but doing little else. Amidst the tossing and swirling as she rode the massive horror, she was granted the passing glimpse of her lover on the cliff face engulfed in black flame. Her body ached and her muscles tired, and the feeling in her hands had been washed away by the chilled waters and salt, though she couldn’t feel it she knew grip was waning.
One way or another she was going to fall, the best she could accomplish and hope for was to make it to land. She saw her chance and silently apologized to the soldiers who would bear the brunt, she let go of the spear. Through the air she flew, over the water her body crossed to the rocky beach and into the bodies of two soldiers who had barely a moment to grasp their mistress’ small frame and be sent sprawling for all their efforts.
The scraping and grinding of tremors through the ground caught their attention and the three of them looked up in terror to see the bulk of the abhorrent looming over them. The thickest neck sporting the biggest head drew close to them while the others twisted and shook trying to dislodge the crest of weapon shafts that decorated them.
With a rumble and a hiss that boomed in their ears the monster spoke, “Mortal... Hubris... Tides change... I future, your end. Arrogant, little things.”
Laura wasn’t looking at the beast. Her thoughts turned to times spent with Siav in front of that old gilded fireplace while she lay against his chest and they talked for hours about DuHaat’s comedies. She wondered if she would ever enjoy evenings like that again under a violet moon veiled by dark clouds. Dark clouds like the storm overhead casting the land in shadow, clouds split by veins of black lightning.
“Between you and I,” Laura said sitting up, “My love’s arrogance outstrips us both,” she laughed.
A loud hiss as the creature reared back to strike was the last sound it made before a bolt of black lightning fell from the heavens striking its body and bathing the landscape in a photonegative. In a fraction of a second the electricity powered by dark magic seared through and across the serpent’s body arcing along the metal weapons and bursting the creature’s multiple hearts.
The colors of the world returned and the stink of burnt fish filled the air. Ever the showman the pale demon king in his black leathers surfed along the back of the felled monstrosity, his ebon fur mantle billowing behind him until he stood upon the main head that had fallen at Laura’s feet.
“Come now,” he said, “I know the appeal to rest on the beaches of the south runs strong but there is much work to be done.” He hopped from the smoldering head landing on the rocky beach with a crunch. He strolled in the manner a man does enjoying holiday and offered his hand to Laura. Laura turned to the soldiers who had caught her, they in turn looked at each other with silent understanding and in unison pushed her forward towards their king.
Laura accepted his hand and he hauled her to her feet. She wanted a moment to steady herself but it was not allowed as he drew her into his embrace wrapping his cloak around her. Embarrassment flowed from her chest into her face, to be coddled in front of the soldiers was mortifying and she made to push away only to discover that his grasp tightened further.
His fur cloak fell around her and she was engulfed in the dark warmth. Pressed against his chest she could hear the rapid beating of his heart and understood that he was not coddling her. The stark contrast from when she was a tool of politics and a weapon of the church never ceased to amaze her.
“You lot,” Siav called out. The soldiers immediately stood at attention, “Quit your gawking and haul this thing inland.”
“Something amiss, sire?” Tempus asked, awkwardly trying to avoid staring at his king’s impropriety.
“This thing is an abhorrent but it didn’t come from our lands,” Siav replied, “Someone’s got their foot on the scales of fate and I want to know who and why., and where it’s coming from.”
Tempus coughed, “Ahem, Sire, the who and why is obvious. Let us not pretend like children that your courtship has been met with any kind of approval from mortals or otherwise.”
Laura ignored their banter, nestling deep into Siav’s chest letting the beating of his heart lull her mind into dreams of quieter times as his prisoner.