Chapter 8

Prince Gaius was overjoyed to see that the Chenodia was only minimally damaged after the battle. Many of the other ships were stolen or set ablaze by the retreating pirates but it seemed that the Chenodia was among some of the ships that survived the attack. It had seen its share of battle, for sure, and also took wounds of her own but she at least seemed still seaworthy.

“Hurry up!” he called out to his staff who followed him at his heels. “Let’s get back to the Chenodia!”

And with that he ran towards his ship with Zane the cobra, Josef the centipede, Zobel the rat, McGrath the scorpion and many others.

He was immediately recognized by the four sailors on the main deck: Tyrone the viper, Miguel the rat, Jean the tiger and Angelito the monitor lizard. Gaius signaled for them to lower the boarding ramp which they did so quickly. When the prince boarded the ship however, he noticed that the sailors seemed very sad, even if their greetings seemed friendly enough.

“How many did we lose?” Gaius asked, fearing the worst.

“Too many, Your Highness,” Tyrone said. “We lost Captain Jack, Sienna’s apprentice and more.”

“We lost more than half the crew, Your Highness,” Angelito added. “We’re down to barely three hundred men.”

Gaius’ heart sank at that and entered the lower decks with a heavy sense of grief.

The smell of blood and gore that welcomed him nearly knocked him over. Josef hurried past, respectfully of course, but knew how urgent the situation was. There were moans and groans of the dying all around them and it was clear that if no action was taken immediately, they would be down to even less than three hundred men.

As Gaius descended further, he met Sienna, the Chenodia’s onboard wizard, weeping quietly to herself.

“We lost Vera too, didn’t we?” Gaius asked.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Sienna answered. “We did.”

And Gauis saw her apprentice and assistant Vera the fox laid out beside her. She was covered in a sheet of white cloth but there was no mistaking her features. Around her torso, the red stain of blood marked the white cloth that covered her.

“She fought alongside the others to fight off the pirates,” Sienna said as tears rolled down her cheeks. “But she went anyway. I told her to take the rod as a weapon but she said she was confident in her abilities. In the end she fell to crossbow bolts from some pirate on the upper decks. I should’ve been there Your Highness. I should’ve been there to protect her.”

Gaius put an arm around the owl’s slumped shoulders.

“There wasn’t much you could’ve done in that situation,” Gaius said. “Everyone took losses in the attack, Sienna. Cormalen’s nearly been burned to the ground by those wretches. A lot of people were also killed or taken away by the pirates.”

A grim determination filled the lion prince’s voice.

“We will find a way to help get those people back and we will see to it that justice is served,” Gaius said, then remembered something. “Where is Captain Jack?”

Sienna pointed to a distant corner were a dozen or so bodies covered in a white cloth were neatly arranged by Gustaf the tortoise along with Karl the rabbit.

Gaius gave Sienna a final pat on the shoulder before moving on to the tortoise and the rabbit.

“We’ve lost Captain Jack,” Karl said, holding the bandana he usually wore in his hands. “He is dead Your Highness.”

Gustaf only nodded, fresh tears flowing from his eyes and his mouth quivered.

Gaius knelt beside the captain of the Chenodia who had also been a good friend since he had come to Pyril five years ago.

“I’m sorry, my friend, I should’ve been there with you,” the lion said. “I’ll see to it that your belongings are sent back to your family in Carrowell.”

Then, Gaius lost control and began to weep. He quickly made his way to his quarters which was undamaged during the fight with the pirates. He slammed the door shut behind him and mourned the loss of his crew who had also become his friends.

+++

“What?” Gabriel Sanchez the dog, Beryl’s first mate on the Golden Bride, said. “You can’t be serious!”

“I’m afraid I am, Mr. Sanchez,” Councilor Sage said. “With Sebastian gone, your reward has been cancelled.”

They were in a private office within the headquarters of the Confederal Navy. Most of the building was badly damaged and ransacked by the pirates but this office remained largely intact. Also, it was very large, accommodating more than a few officers of the navy as well as most of Beryl’s crew.

“And the governor plans to give that money to Emperor Pu,” Captain Torelli the falcon added. “So that Xenji can ‘help’ capture Admiral Sebastian!”

“Torelli!” Admiral Condo the gorilla shouted. “How many times do I have to tell you to control that temper?”

“Sorry admiral,” Torelli looked down, embarrassed. “Sorry councilor but this isn’t right. What the governor is doing isn’t fair, not in the least bit. Especially not to Captain Meralco here. She should at least get some compensation for her troubles. I mean c’mon, she did manage to capture the admiral and she even lost her ship in the line of duty!”

“I’m wondering the same thing, admiral,” Commander O’Keefe the cat said. “Doesn’t the local Golden Church have its own priests? Why couldn’t they have enacted the ritual to destroy Admiral Sebastian? Couldn’t Cardinal Aquinas perform the ritual himself? Why did we have to wait for the priests from Ephelron? It just doesn’t make any sense!”

“Because, Soren,” Torelli scowled. “Cardinal Aquinas was too busy having ‘diplomatic relations’ with Biomage Hilaria of the Zorali Magocracy. He’s even too ‘busy’ to even come here now, apparently. All things considered; he might as well stay gone now since he’s of little use to anyone. He might be an opponent of Governor Duarte but he isn’t a man I’m willing to trust either.”

“Are we asking for your opinion here, Captain Torelli?” Condo, slammed a fist and stared hard at the falcon who simply turned away. “Seriously, enough! We are here to find a way to help Captain Meralco! Not argue over politics!”

“No, it’s alright,” Captain Meralco said, holding back her tears of frustration. “I... I understand...”

“Nonetheless,” Councilor Sage said. “I will speak to the other councilors and ambassadors of the Confederate Islands, but I can make no promises.”

+++

“No,” Vic said as both Edgar and Kathleen tried to calm him down. “I have to do something! I have to get her back somehow! I have to get my sister back!”

“Yes, but not like this,” Edgar said, binding his broken arm. “You’ve broken your arm.”

Vic continued to protest as Zenaida looked out of the Intoxicated Whaler’s broken window. She remembered her life in Valmoren and the family she had lost all those years ago. She looked back over her shoulder to regard Edgar and Kathleen and thought to herself that they were at least safe.

“You really are Dolores’ boy,” Kathleen said to the young lemming. “I see that same fire in your eyes.”

It was then that Brianna the mouse stepped into the dining hall, clearly dizzy but determined.

“Jules?” she asked, while holding her head in one hand. “Where’s Jules?”

“Oh, dear lord!” Kathleen said and waddled over to the mouse and sat her down in a nearby chair. “When did you wake up?”

“I don’t know,” she answered. “But I couldn’t find Jules so...”

The girl nearly fell over the chair but the big hippopotamus woman got her to lean back on the chair.

“Jules!” Brianna called out. “Jules, where are you?”

Edgar had to go to the mouse girl and calm her down.

“Where is he?” Brianna asked, starting to cry. “Where’s my Jules?”

“I...” Edgar struggled for words. “He’s...”

“He’s...” tears streamed down Kathleen’s eyes. “He’s gone, my dear.”

“What?” Brianna finally burst into tears. “What do you mean ‘gone’?”

But, deep down, Brianna knew exactly what Kathleen meant.

“No,” Brianna shook her head. “No, he can’t be dead!”

“He was shot by cultists,” Edgar said, his own voice trembling. “He bled out.”

“No, that’s impossible!” Brianna wept. “Jules, he... He proposed to me! He said he would marry me! So he can’t be dead! He can’t be dead!”

Brianna broke into sobs.

Vic looked at the mouse girl and was on the verge of tears himself. He didn’t let them fall, however. He simply clenched his jaws and looked on.

At least my sister is alive, he thought. And I can still get her back.

He remembered the green pinpricks of light that were Admiral Sebastian’s eyes. He remembered them well. He promised himself that he would find a way to take his sister back from the owner of those terrible eyes.