Something Extra - Hungry Heart - Ch. 29 (Patreon)

Chapter One  / Chapter Two  / Chapter Three  / Chapter Four  / Chapter Five  / Chapter Six / Chapter Seven / Chapter Eight / Chapter Nine / Chapter Ten  / Chapter Eleven / Chapter Twelve / Chapter Thirteen / Chapter Fourteen / Chapter Fifteen / Chapter Sixteen / Chapter Seventeen / Chapter Eighteen / Chapter Nineteen / Chapter Twenty / Chapter Twenty-One / Chapter Twenty-Two / Chapter Twenty-Three / Chapter Twenty-Four / Chapter Twenty-Five / Chapter Twenty-Six / Chapter Twenty-Seven / Chapter Twenty-Eight 

Chapter Twenty-Nine – Only Dead Men Tell No Tales

Duril put a hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the blinding sun. The golden rays reflected off the sand and water, making his vision blurry. Somewhere, in the distance, he could make out the shape of someone, and when he recognized who that was, he broke into a sprint.

Narissa followed him with hurried steps. “Wait!”

“What is it?” he asked and slowed down to allow her to catch up with him.

“You have to promise me.”

“What?”

“That you’ll make him drink the water.”

Those words alone had the power to awaken something in Duril’s mind. He wiped his sweat with the back of his hand, the sun above blazed down too mercilessly. Never before had he given it any thought, but he had been born and raised in the far north, which meant that he didn’t stand the heat as well as his companion. What was that place in the north called, though? It felt like such a distant memory.

Narissa took his hand. “You shouldn’t think of sad things. They have deserve no place in your heart.”

“I do not mind them,” Duril argued. “And... What was that you wanted me to promise?”

“Make him,” Narissa said in a low gentle voice while holding his hand and looking into his eyes, “drink the water.”

“Make him? He’ll drink if he wants to.” He was about to explain Narissa that Toru never did things he didn’t want to do. “I don’t know if he’ll listen to me,” he said instead.

“He will. You’re in his heart, and he keeps asking for you.”

She made a move to drag him along.

“Wait.” Duril stopped her, the nagging sensation at the back of his mind stronger now. “He’s not supposed to drink the water.” He didn’t know why, but that was something his confused mind was telling him to be right.

“Yes, he is,” she insisted, as if he was a hard headed child. “Only a little, so he can start forgetting.”

“What should he forget?”

“His pain,” Narissa explained and rolled her eyes. “Can’t you tell this is a blessed land? He can live here forever only if he forgets. And he will always be happy here. Don’t you want him to be happy?”

“Of course I do. But --”

“I knew you’d agree with me,” she interrupted him. “Now let’s tell him that it’s safe to have some water. And you should have a little, too.”

“But I’m not --” He wanted to say he wasn’t thirsty, but just that moment his throat squeezed painfully as if he hadn’t had anything to drink in ages. “But where should we go for water? Is there a stream nearby?”

“Silly,” Narissa chided him in an affectionate voice, “don’t you see? It’s all around us.”

Duril frowned and stopped walking completely. “No,” he said with a stubbornness that wasn’t him. “This water is cursed.”

For the briefest of moments, Narissa’s face twisted in sudden anger. But soon the frown was gone. “Don’t say such silly things. Everything here is blessed.”

“I don’t believe you,” he insisted.

Suddenly, she grabbed his arm. Her nails felt like talons burying themselves into his skin.

“Hey.” He tried to shake their grip off his arm, but to no avail. Her nails only dug deeper.

“If you want to see him again, ever, you’ll come with me and tell him what I want,” she said while staring into his eyes.

Duril stared back. The brown irises were tainted by small speckles of radiant green. Her breath was foul, stinking of rotten fish. “Who are you?” he asked while digging his heels into the sand to stop her from moving him.

“I told you,” she said, trying to make her voice sound sweet and pleasant like before. “I’m Narissa, your friend.”

“I don’t know you.”

The pain in his arm was becoming unbearable.

“Don’t you like your arm whole?” she barked and the sweet inflections of her speech soured with fury. “I could snap it and make you a cripple again.”

“So do it. I’ve been without it for a long time,” he replied, ignoring the harsh pain that now bit to the bone. “It won’t matter.”

“No,” she refused, “no, you don’t have a say. You want to keep your new arm. It’s everything you ever wanted.”

“You don’t know anything about what I want now or ever wanted,” he contradicted her. “It’s not the arm I lost.”

“Then maybe,” she hissed while increasing her hold on his arm, “Toru should see you for the beast you are.”

A small rumble coursed through him, making him feel that something was happening to his body. “What are you doing to me?”

He couldn’t recognize his voice in the low harsh growls that came out of his mouth.

Narissa laughed. She was transforming, too, her sun kissed skin acquiring a greenish tint that reminded him of sickness and decay. Her eyes were large and light was escaping from them, but that luminosity told stories of curses and old frightening tales.

She finally let go of his arm. “Are you going to hurry to Toru looking like this?” She came closer and through some trick he could see himself whole in her eyes, now shiny like mirrors.

He was no longer himself. His skin was green and long tusks rose above his bottom lip. His nose was flat, and his chest was broad.

“You’re so ugly,” she hissed at him and laughed. “He’ll be so disgusted by such a foul beast.”

Duril staggered back. Toru would be frightened to see him like this; or worse, he might think that he was an enemy and attack him. He brought his hands to his tusks and felt them. Narissa was right. He was ugly now.

“Why don’t you run and hide now? You’re no use to him. He doesn’t want you.”

For a moment, he wavered. He didn’t want Toru to see him like this, but he couldn’t leave him alone with the dangerous monster that Narissa truly was. Clenching his fists, he started walking in Toru’s direction.

“What are you doing?” Narissa slithered after him, and then he noticed that the lower half of her body had turned fish-like and was covered in scales. She kept close to the water so that she could use it to move fast.

“I’m going to save him from you,” Duril said.

“He won’t listen to you,” she retorted. “Why don’t you beg me to give you back your human shape? It’s who you really are,” she attempted to entice him.

“I don’t believe you. I don’t know what this place is, but it’s cursed, and I will save Toru from the spell you must have thrown over him.”

“Don’t go to him.” She tried to reach him with her outstretched arms when, all of a sudden, she screamed in pain and her body began thrashing about in the water.

He ignored her. Maybe it was just another trick to make him take pity on her, and he didn’t have any more time to waste. He began running toward Toru who was waiting for him in the distance. Yes, indeed, his friend had been calling for him, and now he would rush to his rescue.

***

Toru saw someone coming toward him. Fast. He tensed as he realized that it was some kind of monster trying to approach him. He braced himself for battle. If that thing tried to attack him, he would have a nasty surprise.

“Toru, it’s me,” the monster shouted to him, “Duril!”

Toru snarled, showing his teeth. His tiger had demanded to come out, so he arched his back and let out a roar to prevent the monster from approaching him any further. It was an orc, and a big ugly one at that; while he had never taken one head on before, the orc would just be another enemy for him to defeat.

“Stop lying, ugly monster,” he shouted back. “Duril is handsome, not like you!”

The orc didn’t seem deterred by his distrust and continued to hurry to him. Toru prepared to lunge at him, as soon as he got close enough.

“It’s me, it’s just that Narissa changed me into this,” the monster said.

Where was the young woman? Toru let his muzzle down and eyed his enemy cautiously. “What did you do to her? Did you eat her, you foul beast?”

“No! I wouldn’t eat anyone! Toru, I know it’s hard to believe --”

Now the orc had closed the distance between them and was seconds away from experiencing Toru’s claws and fangs. “How do you know my name?”

“How couldn’t I know it?” The orc stopped at a safe distance. He was large, even for his kind, and his tusks looked scary.

That didn’t mean that Toru was scared. Orcs didn’t scare him even if they were to come at him with their entire horde.

“Narissa lied to you, whatever she must have told you,” the orc insisted. “She kept on trying to convince me that I should tell you to drink the water.”

“I’m thirsty,” Toru admitted. “She went to find a stream with good water, but you must have killed her.”

“No, nothing like that happened! Look.” The orc raised his left arm. “She tried to snap my arm!”

Toru laughed. “You stupid beast. Duril doesn’t even have that arm. How can you lie that you are him, when you have it whole?”

The thirst made his tongue dry like sandpaper. If he wanted to confront that beast in front of him, maybe he should have a little. He would go through this orc and find that stream by himself. If Narissa was still alive, he would try to save her, too. He made a move to dip his tongue into the sea water, but the orc moved fast and slammed into him hard.

“Damn it!” he exclaimed, as the orc grabbed him in his arms and pulled him out of the water.

He struggled to break free, but the orc held him tightly, his tree-trunk-like arms wrapped around his torso just under Toru’s front legs. He was being carried like some unruly house pet, and he had no idea how the orc could have moved so fast and grabbed him like that. “Let me go,” he roared, while using all his strength in his attempts to get out of that hold while trying to bite at the same time.

“You won’t have any water, at least not that kind!”

They were already on the shore, but the orc kept carrying him along. Toru was furious. How come these foul creatures were so strong? He should have been able to shake off the beast by now! It had to be because he felt weakened by thirst. If only he could have just a sip.

Hmm, he’d have to be cunning to get rid of the orc and rush to the water to have some. So he stopped fighting, hoping that the other would loosen his hold.

“Are you going to behave, Toru?” the orc asked. “I’m all against disciplining you because you’re such a big cat, but you make me want to stuff your mouth with cabbage until you say you’re sorry!”

“Cabbage? Ewww, only a stupid beast like you could think of such a disgusting torture. Wait, how do you know I hate cabbage?”

The orc finally slowed down. He planted Toru on the sand, but he still kept him close. He must have been tired because he sat down, as well. “I know a lot of things about you. I know you have a good heart and you’re always ready to fight evil. And I think we’re doing it right now, although I think we must both be caught in a dream and --”

“Stay away from him, you ugly orc!” Narissa was running toward them, her feet barely touching the ground. She was bleeding, and there was crimson blood on her chest, as well as on her legs.

Toru renewed his fight, struggling to get away. “You hurt her!” he exclaimed. “You’re a liar!”

“No! Toru, stop! Can’t you see her for what she truly is?”

“She’s my friend, and you’re not! How could you hurt someone so much weaker than you? Duril would never do such a thing!”

All this time, Narissa moved closer to them, and she grabbed handfuls of sand that she began to throw into the orc’s face. The monster finally released his hold, taken by surprise and temporarily blinded by the sand, and Toru escaped him. Happy with being free, he jumped on the orc’s chest and stared into his eyes.

“Quick, Toru, you must have some water,” Narissa said.

He was thirsty indeed, but first he would deal with this monster. He opened his mouth, having decided to take a bite out of his throat, but then he noticed that the orc wasn’t fighting him at all. He had gotten the sand out of his eyes and was now keeping his gaze locked onto his own. Toru blinked as he started to recognize those eyes.

Narissa pulled at his fur. “Now, Toru, before it’s too late!”

Too late for what? He didn’t ask the question, as his eyes were locked with the orc’s. “You have his eyes,” he said quietly.

“I am him,” the orc said.

Toru shifted back into his human and began to sniff the other. “You even smell like him!”

“I know you find me ugly now, and I won’t ask a thing of you again, but don’t drink the water she keeps on offering. It’s poison. I won’t let you drink it if it costs me my life.”

Toru wavered.

“But you’re so thirsty,” Narissa whined, still pulling at his shirt with her feeble hands. Time and time again, her body jolted in unusual ways.

“I’m so thirsty,” he repeated.

He made a move to leave. It would only be for a moment, he promised himself. He’d have a bit of water, and then he’d see why this orc had Duril’s eyes.

Strong arms grabbed him. “No, Toru, don’t listen to her.”

“I’ll just have a bit, and I’ll be back,” he promised.

“No,” the orc said with determination. And held him close.

***

Varg shifted as he fell. His companions weren’t as lucky as him to have such a backup plan, and their cries of despair pierced his heart. “Claw!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.

He landed on all paws, only to witness the bearshifter catching the three young men by putting his large body between them and the hard deck. It must have been a rough landing for everyone, but nothing like what could have happened if they had crashed into the wood. Claw was holding both arms stretched out and, in his bear shape, he must have been a lot softer than the deck. The young pirates growled in pain and relief at the same time, and their mates hurried to their aid.

“Good catch, flea bag,” he threw at Claw, along with a lopsided grin, as he shifted back.

Claw turned back into his human, too, and smirked. “Caught her good?”

Varg nodded. “But she’s pissed now.”

They turned at the same time, as the fish tail slammed against the masts, making the ship sway left and right and get dangerously close to swamping in the turbulent waters.

“We got her, lads!” Margrave laughed triumphantly. “One more time!” he ordered, and the crew was back at their harpoon stations, ready to launch another salvo.

Coated with the strange tar, the harpoons now found their target more often than not. The demon was bleeding from a thousand wounds, and the green slime pouring out sometimes hit the deck. The crew that didn’t stand behind the harpoon cannons was busy with getting rid of it as soon as it landed there. Once in a while, one got caught by a splash, and the only mercy was that he died on the spot. His mates had no other choice but to throw the stiff body overboard. After the shock of that first death, they seemed no longer frightened. That had to be the life of a pirate, Varg thought grimly.

“Think we can win this one yet?” Claw shouted at him, as the demon’s screams filled the air.

Varg nodded. “We can,” he said.

Just as he said the words, the demon soared into the air and came crushing down with her entire body against the middle of the ship. Varg immediately felt a sinking sensation in his gut, as the ship went down. Soon, his feet no longer touched the deck and he was floating, along with all the crew, in the sea.

The strangest thing about it all was the calmness below. He used both arms and legs to break away from the pull of the ship sinking under him and swim to the surface, but he only managed to maintain the same position, his nose and mouth separated from the air he needed to breathe by a few good feet. He moved his limbs helplessly and watched as everyone around him tried to do the same.

They were winning, so how could this happen? As water filled his lungs, he sent his last thought to Toru and Duril, trapped in the captain’s cabin, the least aware of the fight they had fought so far. If there was any solace in that, he didn’t know.

Is this the end of our journey, my friends?

***

Toru was struggling against the orc’s hold when his ears suddenly caught something. Varg’s voice spoke right into his mind. “The end?” he wondered aloud at the meaning of those words.

“Not if I can help it,” the orc said.

Toru stared into the soft hazel eyes and remembered. “You are,” he barely managed.

The orc pulled him close and gave him a kiss. Narissa’s crying faded and his thirst diminished the more the orc kissed him. He recognized that, too, so he kissed back. His strength was returning to him now, and when he parted with the other, he knew who he was.

“What did you do to him?” He stood tall and stared at Narissa.

There was blood coming from more wounds on her body than Toru could count.

“Nothing! He’s a foul beast!”

“He’s not.” He walked toward her, making her take hurried steps back toward the water. “You changed him, hoping to turn him into something that I would despise! I would love him if he had horns growing out of his head!”

Narissa staggered, as if his words were daggers impaling her body. “No, no,” she shook her head, “it cannot be! You must drink --”

“I’ll do no such thing. You’re the monster!” he accused in a booming voice.

Narissa turned under his eyes and slithered across the beach, intent on reaching the water.

“Don’t let her!” Duril shouted from behind. “She must tell us how to return to our world!”

Toru was fast as he grabbed the young woman by her fish tail. She was quick and slippery, but the many wounds on her body were making her weak. He carried her by the tail back to where Duril sat.

She was no longer beautiful. Her greenish skin was broken in many places and her wounds stank of death. The merciless sound above seemed to torture her now, as well.

“Tell us,” Toru said to her, “how do we go back?”

“You won’t,” she hissed. “You’re trapped here forever!”

“I don’t think so. I think you want to go back into the water, and I’m not going to let you until you tell me what I want to know.”

Narissa whined and squirmed, but Toru didn’t let go of her.

Duril surprised him by coming to her side and touching her forehead. “You said this is the Island of Forgotten Dreams,” he said in a gentle voice. “What is your dream?”

Narissa seemed to lose strength the longer her body remained out in the sun. “Why do you want to know?” she asked in a pleading, child-like voice.

“Because I think you must have been lonely, with only yourself here, for hundreds of years.”

Toru exchanged glances with Duril. His friend wasn’t only handsome, he was clever, too. So he must have figured out a way to deal with Narissa and get from her what they needed to leave that place.

Clean tears began pouring out of Narissa’s eyes. “Lonely,” she said in a wallowing voice. “So lonely.”

“Why? Who left you?” Duril asked, in the same gentle voice.

“My… my father,” Narissa whispered and closed her eyes. As her tears touched the sand, they turned into small rivulets that rushed toward the water.

“Where did he go?” Duril continued.

“He didn’t go anywhere. They killed him.” Her voice turned harsh, and she began crying loudly. “For riches beyond their wildest dreams.”

That sounded like something he had heard before, Toru realized. “Are you that fisherman’s daughter?” he asked.

Neither of them needed to explain what fisherman they were talking about. Duril’s eyes were filled with compassion, but Toru didn’t feel the same thing. Instead, blind anger gripped him. “And that gave you the right to slay other people?”

“They were all in on it,” the young woman spat. “They wanted nothing else but the pearl and the riches promised by the merchant. They conspired and moved at night to kill my father. They didn’t care about leaving me all alone in the world. Why should I care about them?”

“What happened then?” Duril intervened. “When your father… left.”

Narissa moved her head from side to side. It evidently pained her to remember. “I went to see him in the morning. He was guarding the pearl, as he did every night. But he was dead.” She stopped and cried for a little while. “I wrapped myself in the white cloth around the pearl and cried myself to sleep. And then I woke up at sea, and I could swim deep into the waters.” Her voice grew louder. “The one that saved me promised me that I would have my revenge. Forever!”

Toru caught her by the throat, and a gurgling sound rose from her. “When I entered the shroud room, there was a little boy there. What could he have done to you?”

“What little boy?” She didn’t even try to struggle against his hold.

“They went and grabbed people from their homes.”

“The sick and the dying. Was that too much to ask? I didn’t get to bury my father. At least, that was the pain they should have paid with, too,” she said back at him.

“This little boy was just a bit sick,” Toru continued as his fingers curled around her throat, squeezing tightly.

Duril caught his arm. “We shouldn’t judge what we don’t know completely,” he said.

His voice was rough and low, but his tone was gentle, as usual.

“You hate your kin, too,” Narissa said. “They abandoned you, didn’t they? Would you spare a tear or an ounce of mercy if they suffered? After everything they did to you?”

Toru’s grip loosened as he began letting go of her. How many times had he felt saddened by being left behind like unwanted luggage? As a small cub, he hadn’t believed it, wishing for someone to come and take him home. When he realized that wouldn’t happen, he had become sad. Then, as he had grown up, the sadness had turned into something else. A sense of pride. He didn’t need them, whoever they were, the tigershifters that had abandoned him. And yes, he wouldn’t shed a tear if he ever saw them hurting.

But he wouldn’t enjoy it, either.

“I wouldn’t be the cause of that suffering,” he replied to Narissa’s question honestly. “I don’t wish them pain,” he added. “No matter who they are and what they did.”

Narissa seemed surprised by his admission. “You wouldn’t? But I --” Her voice faded. New tears came unbound, and her wailing cry was different now.

It was one of shame.

“You can redeem yourself,” Duril said softly. “Return the lives lost at sea right now. You don’t want them. They only make your pain grow, isn’t that right?”

Duril caressed her hair, as disgusting as it looked, tangled with weeds and rotten algae. Toru moved his hands away from her throat.

“You’ll be free if you let go,” Duril promised in the same soothing voice.

Her crying turned softer now, and she nodded. Under his eyes, Duril regained his usual appearance. Toru let out a small cry of relief and hugged him quickly.

“Who was the one that promised you revenge?” Duril asked the young woman after their short moment of affection.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “The voice came from below. It frightened me at first, but then… it was the only solace I had in that place.”

“What place?” Duril insisted.

Tears poured from her eyes. “It’s down all the way,” she said in a nostalgic whisper. “All my pain went away, but only for a little while. Then the voice taught me what to do, how to steal souls and throw back at the people the only thing they cared about, their useless precious stones.”

Toru exchanged another look with Duril. The source of the evil they fought appeared to be the same, wherever they traveled. It counted on the soul’s weakness, drew its power from it and reshaped it to spread more evil in the world. And three hundred years ago, on the shores of a fishing village, it had lied to this young woman who had lost her father, turning her into an instrument of its murky designs.

“I’m dying,” Narissa said quietly. “Will you hold my hand?”

They both hurried to do that. Her hands were cold and slimy, but if Duril could do it, so could he.

“We’ll raise a tomb for your father,” Duril promised. “And one for you, too. Even if there is no one else to help, we will still do it. It will be a remembrance of what happened three hundred years ago, for all the people who live in Shroudharbor now and in the future to see. Your father will be remembered. What was his name?”

“Neel,” Narissa whispered. “Promise?” she asked, her voice sounding younger now.

Toru’s eyes grew wide as the woman-fish transformed again. Her body shrank, and her features softened. Her water-soaked strands turned into silky hair, the color of ripe grain. And then she stilled, her eyes wide open.

“She was only a child,” Toru said, staggered by the transformation taking place as they watched.

Narissa’s body looked like it belonged to a seven-year-old at best. Duril covered her eyes and closed them and then took her hands and brought them together on her chest. “Indeed she is,” he said quietly, his voice filled with infinite sadness.

Toru remained silent, too stunned by what was happening to say anything. He saw a single tear descend down Duril’s cheek and fall on the little girl’s hand.

And then, as if a magic wand was waved above them, the beach disappeared and they were floating in the water.

***

Varg’s body slammed into the deck of the ship, as the thing accelerated upward from the abyss it had appeared to be condemned to have as its grave. It emerged from the calm waters and broke the surface before he had time for a single thought and wonder what was going on now.

The sky above them was azure blue, with no clouds in sight, and the sea was calm. He coughed out salty water and turned on one side wheezing, puking and struggling to regain his bearings. Everyone around him - the crew of the ship, the captain, and Claw - were doing the same. The good news was that they all sounded like they were alive and kicking.

“How aren’t we dead?” he asked of no one in particular as soon as he could speak.

Margrave rose to his feet and offered him his hand. “We must have defeated her.” He shrugged. “I’ll take a win any day, and I’m not one for asking too many questions as long as my ship still floats and my crew still breathes.”

“I’m pretty certain we weren’t the ones to defeat her,” Claw said. “At least, not the ones to deliver the final blow to her.”

The pirate captain was about to argue with that when they were interrupted.

“Man overboard!” one sailor called.

They all hurried to the gunwale and leaned over it. Two men, not one, were floating in the water at a fair distance from the ship.

“It’s Duril!” Varg shouted. “And Toru!”

“How did they get out of my cabin?” Margrave wondered.

Varg stiffened with concern. “Weren’t you the kind of person who said just moments ago that we should not ask too many questions, captain?”

Margrave scratched his head. “Yeah, but I still want to hear those two fellows’ story. It has to be pretty interesting.” The words were lost in the air as he shifted and dove over the side.

“Man overboard!”

***

Duril held onto Toru and tried to keep afloat.

“Is this a good time to tell you that I don’t like water much?” Toru deadpanned.

“Not really, no,” he replied. “It’s either you or me who has to do the swimming, and I can only hold onto you with the one hand I have. If I’m the one who has to do the swimming for both of us, get ready to sink.”

It was a lame attempt to make a joke, but Toru laughed, nonetheless. He held his head above the water and did his best to swim toward the ship with the healer hanging on with an arm around his waist.

“I hope they see us,” Duril said.

There was a commotion aboard the Greed of the Sea, and a dark shape dove over the side and into the water. As its bobbing head made its way rapidly in their direction, a boat was being prepared to be lowered from the ship to the water.

“Hold on tightly,” Toru said. “We won’t drown today, it seems. Wolves are great swimmers. I think we’re going to have company very shortly.” His heart felt full as he watched the dark head with the silver stripe cutting through the water toward them. Varg would make sure they made it to the ship safely.

***

“Are you two all right?” he shouted as soon as he was within earshot. “Are you hurt?”

“We’re fine, mutt,” Toru said, “but we’re happy to see you.”

“Kitty! Are you sure you’re feeling well? Did you get hit on the head? You sound glad to see me! Something must be wrong…” He shifted back to his human right there and threw his big arms around them, holding them tight while he treaded water. His throat closed as a powerful wave of emotion crashed through him. He couldn’t stop himself. He pressed his lips to Toru’s cheek and then turned to kiss Duril similarly. The tigershifter and the healer threw their arms around his waist and held onto him as he leaned back in the water with one of them on each side and kicked with his powerful legs to propel them toward the ship.

“Are you really all right, Toru?” Varg said with concern, “the last time I saw you, you were dead to this world and there was salt water oozing out of a wound on your leg.”

Toru reached down with his other hand and felt his leg. “I think that wound is all gone.”

“And you, Duril?” he questioned the healer, who had been silent throughout this exchange, his head pillowed on the left side of Varg’s broad chest. He liked the way that felt, sandwiched between two people he cared for deeply.

“I’m tired but unhurt. And very happy to see you. Neither Toru nor I are really at home in the water. I was afraid that we were in for a long awkward swim.”

“Lucky for you that you are my pack,” Varg said smugly. “Wolves are strong swimmers.”

“I can see that,” Duril said admiringly. “Thank you for rescuing us.”

A strong hand was wandering across his stomach muscles from the right side. He liked that, too, until…

“Stop tickling me, you pest!” he roared, sputtering as his happiness and relief combined with the probing fingers to send a spasm of laughter through him. “Or I’m going to send you down to the bottom of the sea!”

“Oh, no, great swimming wolf! Lord of the sea! Spare me!” Toru pleaded in a sugary voice. But he relented and stopped the tickling. But he left his hand on Varg’s stomach, stroking it affectionately from time to time.

Varg sighed. He was content that they were together again, and they all seemed fine.

***

Margrave and Claw welcomed them aboard.

“By goodness, lads, how did you get out of the locked cabin?” the captain asked, as soon as they were on deck.

“It’s a pretty long story,” Duril replied.

Margrave laughed. “So? We all have ears to hear you out. Only dead men tell no tales.”

Toru nodded with a grave expression on his face. “Then be ready for a tale like no other, fat Margrave.”

“Be careful with that nickname. It might stick.” The captain wagged a finger at him. “Now, tell us. Was it you who saved us all from certain death?”

Toru looked up at the cloudless sky. The answer wasn’t an easy one.

TBC

Next chapter 

Author's note: We're close to the finish of Book One of this saga! Dave is actually hard at work helping me with the last edits, so a nicely wrapped up volume will be ready in the not so distant future! Therefore, next time, there will be the last chapter of this book, and the next time Book Two with new adventures will begin!