Ryder reacts first. Shadows gather in his hands, condensing into a sphere so dark it swallows even the night around us. He hurls it with a force I’ve never seen him use, his powers clearlymagnified by the sword. The orb slams into the creature’s head, sizzling on impact. It shrieks, body snapping backwards a metre or two, but it shakes it off like an annoyed beast swatting a fly.
Ryder throws another. This time, the thing doesn’t even flinch.
He conjures a swarm of shadow hawks, sending them at the eel to distract it. Its jaws snap hungrily, trying to swallow them, but more hawks keep appearing, relentless and unyielding.
River thrusts his palm forward, wrenching random objects into motion, an old chalice here, a rusted ship’s wheel there, flinging them at the creature. They bounce off it uselessly, failing to do anything but piss it off more.
A shattered flagpole catches my eye. My fingertips tingle as I pull on my Influence, gripping the wood from across the deck. I torque it upward, then fire it forward like a torpedo. It whistles through the air and spears straight through the creature’s cheek, punching out the other side of its gaping jaws.
It howls an ear-splitting, wounded screech that rattles my bones, but still it surges forward, more enraged than deterred.
Shit!
The slits in its eyes lock onto mine.
A sickness creeps up on me again, and saliva pools in my mouth. With a speed my mind can barely calibrate, the creature pounces with a vengeance meant for me, but Nala jumps in front of me, armed with only the teeth of a broken broom.
“Nala no!” I scream, but before it can make contact with her, Ryder leaps and slices his blade through the creature’s neck just before its teeth can latch onto her. Its eyes widen as its head argues with its neck and finally decides to let go, dropping onto the boat whilst its body sinks into the sea below. Thick blue blood seeps from its beheaded neck and seeps back into the water through the holes in the floor, lifeless, sending a final surge of sparks through the waves.
Scarlett embers brandish the sword as Ryder grips the hilt. Its power becomes evident as a red energy consumes the length of the blade and a crimson effervescence coats it like armour. The sword gleams bright like it’s showing its appreciation for the blood it has spilt, a shrine to Salem, and Ryder’s eyes share the same admiration as he toys with the blade in his hand. One last screech rips through the sea, the water stills and Nala and River catch their breath. My lungs also fight for air as my heart beats in relief; it thumps so hard, I fear it may abandon ship. I launch at Nala, holding her so tight, my arms ache.
“That was so stupid!” I breathe into her jacket, her body relaxing into mine. She peels away, her eyes catching mine.
“It’s okay, I’m fine!” She says, her hands cupping my cheeks.
“You sure!” I ask, and she nods her head as I unhand her.
“She’s right, Nala, don’t do anything like that again? Not unless you have a proper weapon.” Ryder says sternly, gesturing to the broom splayed out on the floor.
“Go easy on her; she was just trying to help,” River says, smoothing out his dishevelled hair.
“And I’m just trying to protect you all. She does that again, and she’s dead; there’s no way she survives twice, not on this mission.” Ryder furrows his brows and walks to the hull, glancing overboard. The Nightboat returns to its motion, gliding closer to our destination.
“It’s fine, River, he’s right.” Nala mutters whilst claiming her arrows from the eel’s head with a look of disgust on her face, “I was just trying to repay the favour.” The corners of her mouth turn up briefly as she shrugs her shoulders, and memories of my sacrifice for her in front of Craize resurface.
“Well, consider the favour paid, no more stupid acts of bravery please,” I say, holding my hand out.
“Deal.” She shakes it with a smile, and then her focus turns to Ryder.
“What did you mean immune to the Gifts?” Nala finally asks again, turning her nose up at the blood dripping down her shirt.
“An organism lives in its venom; it feeds on healing energy and grows stronger when magic is used.” The blade still gleams in his palm. “The only cure is an antidote to kill the organism.”
“What happens once you’re infected?” I ask, wading over the blue liquid and shaking it off my shoes.
“Uh, the venom affects the brain first, they say you’ll become delirious, start seeing shit that isn’t there, and in a week it will reach your heart and well…” Ryder finishes his sentence here, not seeing the need to elaborate. We all know what he means. Death.
“And the antidote?” I hide the bile creeping up my throat, the baby eels taunting me through the cracks in the boat’s surface. They definitely do not have the same appeal to me as they did moments ago.
“Let’s just say I’m glad nobody got hurt.” His eyebrows furrow as the boat steadies onto the shore.
“I’m still confused where the ferryman went,” River states, scratching his head.
“It’s possible that his soul is tied to this vessel. I’ve heard about it before, but it can only be done by someone who possesses true power—”
“Like a God?” I ask, my mind slowly connecting the dots.
“Exactly, it was said that the Nightboat was conjured by a Moon God, what if that God was Lunaris?” He replies, taking a seat next to me.
