The Wrath Of the Forgotten (29 page)

The girls traded anxious glances with one another. Apisa gave a slight nod, but Rayko shook her head. Flara looked at Nori, and he showed his approval. Flara dropped her eyes to the deck for a moment, but then told Luxi everything.

Through the entire recounting, Luxi just leaned there. She paid attention, and asked a couple of questions. When Flara finally stopped talking, Luxi swallowed hard and tightened her jaw. She closed her eyes and remained very still.

“Um… a-are you okay?” Flara asked. “I know it’s a lot to take in.”

“Yeah,” Luxi replied. “It is. So let me see if I understand things properly. Onista is destroyed. You found ancient lore foretelling of a terrible enemy that will return this year. This crazy Yaoguai somehow found you and tried to steal the lore back. The only thing that stands between these… Celestial Ones and utter destruction of Korrine itself is the Empire. Have I about covered it?”

Apisa said, “Don’t forget these Celestial Ones probably have the same kinds of magic as we do.”

“Oh yeah!” Luxi tapped herself on the head. “How could I have forgotten that? Wow… things look bleak. With all that opposition, you’re still going to stand up against them?”

Rayko placed her hands on her hips and arched an eyebrow toward the captain. “What choice do we have? We simply cannot let so many innocent people die by the hands of these despicable foes. I will give my last breath so that the people may thrive.”

Apisa clapped a hand on Rayko’s shoulder. “What she said.”

Flara fumbled with her fingers slightly. She started to speak, but then stopped. Her eyes darted around, as if trying to find the right words. Luxi stepped up toward her and cupped Flara’s chin in her fingers. With minimal effort, Luxi angled Flara’s face so they could make eye contact.

Luxi beamed with a warm smile. “You don’t have to be nervous around me. I can be your friend if you let me.”

Flara sighed, but she didn’t step away from Luxi, nor did she make any attempt to remove the captain’s hand. “Okay. I agree with Rayko and Apisa. I may not be comfortable around people in general, but I want them to be able to have happy lives. I recognize the responsibilities placed on my shoulders. In that spirit of duty and honor, I will gladly sacrifice my life so others may find that sense of passion.”

Nori chuckled a little. His hands gently veered to the right to run with the natural path of the river. While the vast chasm of loss still throbbed within him, tendrils of energy seemed to touch him from multiple places. Just being around these girls softened the burden of grief.

He said, “Where they’re going, I’m going.”

Luxi’s brows scrunched together for a moment. “Maybe there’s something I can do. I won’t like it, but it’s probably necessary.”

“You’re already doing enough by ferrying us to Xian Ba,” Rayko said. “Even if it is at a ridiculous price.”

Luxi bawled her fist, but she closed her lips together.

Violent expressions from both Apisa and Flara made Rayko shrink a little.

“Okay, I apologize for being improper… again,” Rayko said. “Please, tell us what you have in mind.”

Luxi avoided meeting anyone’s eye contact. She chewed on the bottom of her lip, and she even tugged a little at her pony tail. “We should probably land in …Gohoda. There may be a way for us to get some help.”

Apisa said, “I thought you said we weren’t going to Gohoda.”

“Well, we weren’t.” Luxi peered into Nori’s eyes. “That was before a crazy winged guy landed on my ship and made everything completely chaotic.” A soft giggle trickled past her lips. “Maybe I shouldn’t have accepted your job. Would I have been better off being ignorant about what’s to come?”

“Knowing about it gives you the freedom to help change it,” Nori said. “Or perhaps get the hell out of the way… if you’re so inclined.”

“There’s no way I can do that now.” Luxi scratched the back of her head. “I couldn’t face my father if I didn’t stand in front of this thing. That only leaves one nearly impossible task.”

“Which is?” Flara asked.

“You’ll see. Would you mind steering for a while? I have to tell the men where we’re going,” Luxi said.

Nori nodded.

Luxi walked down the stairs. Once she got to the bottom of the stairs, she screamed at one of the sailors who had just come up from below deck. “Go tell everyone to get their asses up here; we’re having an emergency meeting in five minutes. Anyone who’s late has to cut off their own balls and toss them overboard. ”

NORI’S SKIN FELT
so vulnerable under clothes that Luxi had allowed him to borrow. The outfit she had lent him provided more protection than any of the other clothes that Nori had brought with him. During the last fight with the Yaoguai, his armor had been rendered useless. At least he still had his tetsubo.

The Grinning Panda sat in the middle of the river, right before the entrance to the port of a great city. Luxi stood on the front of the ship, and Nori and the girls stood right behind her. The ship’s crew went about their normal duties, but they kept glancing in the same direction that Luxi did.

Tall city walls wrapped around Gohoda like the arms of a protective mother. Several tall mountain peaks stretched up behind the city landscape, although these mountains didn’t match what Nori had grown up with. They still cast a majestic aura on the buildings below them. The shore rose at a somewhat steep incline, so much of Gohoda could be seen from the ship. One building stood out more so than the other smaller square structures. It was a taller, more rectangular building with a large dome resting on the top of the roof. Red clay tiles covered the roof, but the dome had been made from white stone. Small openings appeared in the sides of the dome.

Bright red banners with golden symbols hung from the city walls. The symbols depicted a fearsome sea dragon rising from a river. Much like Jadai, a great dock stretched out from the city. Dozens of smaller, longer ships filled the harbor. Each of the ships had bright red sails and flags flapping on the top of the crow’s nests. The same sea dragon symbol covered the flags. One thing distinguished the individual ships though, many of the vessels had different animals painted on their bows. This fleet could almost rival the Imperial Navy.

Luxi drummed her fingers on the surface of the ship rails. Her eyes scanned the harbor, and she shifted in her stance like a twitching child who had consumed too many festival sweets.

One of the many ships moved through the harbor and made its way toward the Grinning Panda.

Luxi tensed up briefly, but then she whirled out. Her attention locked on the crow’s nest.

“What animal do you see painted on that ship’s bow?” Luxi asked.

A brief moment passed before the crew man yelled back. “It’s a fox, captain. A red fox.”

Luxi winced and then softly slammed her fist against the ship’s rail.

Rayko asked “I take it that’s a bad thing, then?”

“It’s not the worst thing that could have happened,” Luxi replied. “It’s the second worst. I anticipated this, but damn my luck.”

“What’s so significant about that ship?” Nori asked.

Luxi guffawed for a moment. “It belongs to the biggest ass wipe in the city. This is going to get annoying.” She turned to face the crew. “Prepare to receive guests. Do not attack under any circumstance. Even if he tries to take me by force.” She pointed a finger in Nori’s face. “This goes double for you, mister.” Luxi winked at him.

“He?” Rayko fluttered her eyes and held her hands by her face. “Is this a previous lover or something? Are we about to encounter a romantic long overdue rendezvous?”

Luxi rolled her eyes. “You shut your filthy mouth.”

The other ship got closer to the Grinning Panda. A taller man, though still shorter than Nori, stood on the bow of the vessel. He had brown hair and had elegant clothing that labeled him as a noble. Luxi grimaced as soon as she saw the man.

“Is it who you thought it would be?” Nori asked her.

“Of course it is. The Gallant Fox is his personal ship, after all.” Luxi moved to the middle of her vessel. “Saito help me.”

The Gallant Fox pulled up alongside the Grinning Panda. Gruff men and women stood aboard their ship, and everyone had weapons drawn. Some of the sailors made motion to pull out their own blades and axes, but Luxi shouted at them. “Don’t draw anything! They’re not going to attack us!”

The pirates placed a gang plank between the ships, and several armed individuals moved onto the Grinning Panda. As Luxi had predicted, they didn’t attack anyone, but cleared out a spot before their gang plank.

Nori still moved in front of Flara. In so doing, the pirates locked gazes on him. They said nothing, but they watched him with bitter determination.

The elegantly-dressed man walked onto the ship, and held his hands behind his back. He took note of Nori, but only for a moment. A sword hung at his side.

Rayko whispered behind him. “My, my. Isn’t he a delicious looking individual?”

To his surprise, Flara responded with “Oh dear… he is rather gorgeous.”

The elegant man stopped in the center of the cleared out space and beheld Luxi with a hard, unreadable expression. She stepped out past her men, and then crossed her arms over her chest. Her return gaze looked every bit as steely as the man’s.

The man narrowed his eyes a little. “I never thought I would see you dropping anchor at our doorstep. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to see you, but why are you here after all this time?”

Luxi said, “I’m here to have an audience with Pirate Queen Tadaga Amori. If this wasn’t a grave circumstance, then I wouldn’t be gracing you with my presence.”

For a moment, the man’s eyes widened at the mention of the person’s name. He glanced around the ship and stared right at the group of women right behind Nori. In response, Nori eased himself to block his view.

The man shifted back a step and placed his hand on his sword handle. “Your Onistan crewman is quite offensive. You should really teach your people manners lest they seek to goad my ire.” He returned his attention to Luxi. “So you wish to see Pirate Queen Tadaga Amori, do you?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” Luxi replied. “I don’t have a lot of time, so we need to make this fast.”

The man chuckled. His grip on his sword hilt relaxed. “What a coincidence, Mother wishes to see you as well.”

Apisa whispered to one of the girls behind Nori. “Mother? He’s a pirate prince?”

The man answered them. This time, he stared through Nori. “Yes, I am. My name is Tadaga Vihori. And who might you be? Judging from the stature of the man in front of you, you must be important.”

Luxi stepped in between him and Nori. “If you want to know so badly, then you’ll have to wait. I’ll be glad to stand before the pirate queen, but they’re coming with me.”

Vihori inched a little closer, but he stayed on his side of the pirates. “You really want to play it out like this? Are you truly so ashamed of us that you would portray yourself like this?”

“This is the way I want to play it out,” Luxi said. “Are my terms acceptable or not?”

Vihori locked gazes with Nori. “So when you say ‘they’re,’ are you referring to the three women
and
the Onistan?”

Luxi replied, “I am.”

Vihori shook his head, but bestowed Luxi with a smug smirk. “If you want that ogre coming along too, he’s going to have to leave that massive weapon behind. After all, we can’t risk him trying to kill the Pirate Queen, can we?”

Luxi peeked over her shoulder. “Those are the terms. Are you coming with me?”

Nori handed one of the sailors his tetsubo. The man nearly dropped it, but managed to use considerable strength to keep it upright.

“You bet your ass I’m still coming,” Nori said.

Vihori scoffed. “He’s a feisty one, isn’t he?”

“That’s one of the many things I like about him,” Luxi said, “Should I leave my sword behind too?”

Vihori arched an eyebrow at her. “Are you planning on assassinating the Pirate Queen?”

Luxi’s shoulders slumped a little, and her chin dropped ever so slightly. “What would be the point of assassinating her? It wouldn’t change anything.”

Vihori inched a little closer to her. His voice sounded softer and more comforting. “I understand more than anyone what you’re feeling. You seem to forget that often. And as for there being a change caused by her death, I’m sure you’ll find out there would be a significant one. Gohoda is not the same haven of scum and villainy that you once left years ago. I’m glad I get to show you that first hand. Keep your sword. You’re of no danger to us.” He glanced up at Nori. “You there, giant man. Bring whoever else is going and board my ship. I promise no harm with come to any of you.”

“A-and what about L-luxi? Will any harm come to her?” a mousy voice behind Nori asked.

Vihori’s facial features softened even more. “Well isn’t that the most delicate voice I’ve ever heard. Who may I ask is talking? I would very much like to put a face to a voice.”

Flara eased beyond Nori, her hands were clutched tightly in front of her. She kept breaking eye contact with Vihori, and her hair fell in front of her face.

“I promise,” Vihori said. “No harm will come to Luxi either.”