Page 31

31

F ive figures emerged from the trees. Brutes, thick with muscle and cruelty, their eyes gleaming with bad intentions. Vivienne didn’t recognize any of them from the ruins. They must have been part of the group that raided our camp. The ones responsible for so much bloodshed.

“Well, looky here, Simon,” a man with a shaggy goatee drawled, chewing on the stem of a pipe. “Looks like they left us a few stragglers.”

Simon, a scarred brute with an oily grin, eyed them like prey. “Sure did, Billy Goat, and they found the tree for us.”

A barrel-chested sailor grinned, his belly hanging over his belt. “What d’ya say we fertilize this patch of weeds with the boys and take the girl as a souvenir?”

Vivienne stiffened. Cirrus clutched the grip of his cutlass and Owen’s hand flew to the hilt of his sword.

“Later, Joe.” A man with a greasy black ponytail stepped forward, eyes flicking toward the tree’s hollow. “Looks like we’ve got treasure.”

“Don’t you dare!” Vivienne lashed, stepping forward before she could stop herself.

The tallest of the group, a lanky man with a split lip and a belt of weapons, tilted his head, licking the wound on his mouth. “Looks like this bitch can bark.”

“I wonder if she can learn new tricks,” Simon added, his eyes raking over Vivienne in a way that made her stomach curdle.

“Take it easy, fellas,” the goateed one, Billy Goat, muttered, adjusting his pipe. “Enyo said bring back anything valuable from the tree before any side quests, Little Pete.”

Little Pete, the one with the ponytail, smirked. “Well, there must be something valuable if she’s so desperate to keep us out.” His eyes flicked to Billy Goat. “What do you think?”

Billy Goat stroked his scruff. “I reckon you’re right, Little Pete. Let’s see what’s worth guarding.”

“You can’t,” Lewis blurted.

Joe’s beady eyes narrowed. “And why the everdark not?”

“It’s not treasure,” Cirrus growled. “It’s a tomb.”

Little Pete’s fingers traced one of the many daggers on his belt. “Check it out while I make sure our new friends don’t move any body part they plan to keep.”

Owen’s grip on his sword tightened, his usually bronze knuckles now bone-white from the force of his grasp. “Have you no respect for the dead?”

Little Pete scoffed. “You wanna join ‘em, navy boy?”

The conversation was muffled in Vivienne’s ears. Her attention was fixed on the hollow beneath the tree, where the rest of Enyo’s men had disappeared. The longer they were inside, the worse the sickness in her stomach grew. Cirrus stood rigid, blade raised but unmoving. Lewis’ eyes darted between the entrance and the thick trees, searching for an escape route.

The sailors reemerged.

Simon held a small skull in his palm.

The rainforest rumbled.

Lewis whispered in panic, “Did this ape just remove remains from their resting place? Xanira is going to skin them alive.”

Xanira, the goddess of life, and death. Forgiveness wasn’t an option to those who disturbed her realm.

“Put. It. Back.” Owen snarled, half-drawing his sword.

Billy Goat chuckled. “Or what? You two gonna take on the five of us?”

“Yeah, asshole, we will.” Cirrus squared his shoulders. “Return the skull. This doesn’t have to turn ugly.”

“I mean,” Lewis muttered, “have you seen these guys? The ugly already arrived.”

Billy Goat lifted his hands in mock surrender. “Fine, fine. Simon, you heard them. Make sure it finds its place.”

Vivienne barely registered the movement before Simon dropped the skull and stomped.

A sickening crack echoed through the clearing.

For a heartbeat, even Enyo’s men froze, eyes wide in stunned silence.

The next sound was Vivienne’s scream. “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?”

Simon didn’t have time to turn before she lunged, only to be yanked back by Lewis, his grip firm around her arms.

“How dare you desecrate this hallowed ground and the remains of a murdered child. Do you have a fraction of a brain behind that butchered slab of meat you call a face?” she spat, her voice burning with pure fury. “It’s a godsdamned miracle you haven’t sunk Enyo’s ship with the sheer weight of your stupidity! You worthless, spineless, soulless coward!”

Cirrus exhaled hard, shaking out his limbs, preparing for the inevitable fight. The look on his face landed somewhere between annoyance and affection. It wouldn’t be the first time he had to brawl their way out of trouble because of Vivienne’s temper and ruthless tongue.

The impending brawl was halted as the ground began to tremble. A low rumble grew into a guttural bellow as the shaking intensified. The ancient tree groaned in response. Vivienne staggered, grasping one of the tree's gnarled roots for balance. Owen knelt near the trunk, and Lewis and Cirrus braced themselves against rocks along the perimeter. Enyo's men shifted from smug predators to fearful prey. The quake lasted only a few tense moments.

Vivienne released a shaky breath, "Well, that's... new."

Lewis dusted off his trousers. "Let's stop finding and experiencing new things, shall we? I don't know about you all, but I've had my fill of 'new' these past few days."

Enyo's sailors returned to their threatening stances, taking a few steps forward before a sound reached their ears. A strange, high-pitched hum filled the air, getting louder. Vivienne had never heard anything like the droning tone as it seemed to move closer to the clearing behind where Billy Goat and his knaves stood.

Lewis’ spine went rigid, staring toward the noise, "What the everdark are those?"

"Not good, we need to move," Thorne declared, fear creeping into his voice.

Through the trees, shadows wound around branches and vines, moving together like a school of fish. As they neared the clearing, the cold rush of adrenaline poured into Vivienne’s body. Hundreds of creatures burst from the trees, a grotesque mix of wasps and dragonflies with dark, chitinous scales changing color in the light. Four transparent, membranous wings flapped in a blur of buzzing vibration. They dwarfed any insect she had ever seen, each five or six inches long, with abdomens tapering into sharp stingers dripping with venom.

"Apocrita!" Cirrus yelled. "Run!"

The swarm descended on Enyo's sailors as they sprinted in the opposite direction. The agony-filled screaming permeated the rainforest. Vivienne glanced back once and her terror intensified. Three bodies of Enyo's sailors were unrecognizable, covered in melon-sized stings oozing bright yellow venom. The Apocrita darted through the trees like arrows, with their stingers poised to strike. One of the insects swooped by Vivienne's head, brushing her hair as she ducked, avoiding its attack.

"They're gaining on us!" The commander shouted.

Cirrus cursed. "Keep running! We need to find cover!"

They dodged branches and twisted vines, the heat of the swarm pulsing behind them. Another chorus of screams rang out, the Apocrita overcoming what sounded like the remaining pair of Enyo's men. Another wave of the beasts swept in from the left, and a stinger connected with Vivienne's shoulder.

The initial pain of the needle-like barb was nothing compared to the intense burning sensation spreading down her arm and across the left side of her chest. She had the sensation of flames being injected into her veins, burning from the inside out. Her left arm went limp as the fire of the venom raged. Panic swept through her. They immobilize you and then kill you. It took everything in her burning body to keep running, to push forward when everything was screaming at her to stop.

"They're too fast!" Lewis gasped.

Cirrus pointed ahead, his voice booming over the droning of the Apocrita. "The river! Head for the water!"

Vivienne's thundering heart leaped as she spotted the gleaming, silver surface of the river ahead. The ground sloped downward toward the dangerous, fast-moving water, but it was their only chance at survival. From how Lewis limped, she assumed he had been stung at least once. Owen held his wrist, and Cirrus had a massive swelling wound on his neck. We need to get to the water.

"We'll have to jump!" Cirrus called out.

Owen led the charge, dashing to the river's edge and leaping over the embankment. Cirrus and Lewis followed as Vivienne pushed herself harder, digging for any ounce of strength and speed she had left. Another Apocrita grazed her arm, its stinger leaving a burning welt across her skin. She cried out in pain as she plummeted into the water.

The shock of the cold water stole her breath as she was pulled under by the current. Vivienne kicked and struggled, trying to swim with one immobilized arm. Finally, she broke the water's surface with a desperate gasp before resubmerging herself. The droning of the Apocrita was muffled, but she still heard their buzzing as their stingers skimmed the river's surface. Cirrus and Owen swam a few feet in front of her, cutting through the water with strong, sure strokes toward the river's far bank. Vivienne's strength was waning, the venom and exertion claiming her muscles as she fought to avoid being pulled further downstream.

"Lewis!" she panicked, realizing she couldn't see him.

A few moments later, Lewis surfaced, sputtering and gasping. They fought the current as they made their way to the bank's shore, each stroke and kick taking monumental effort.

Cirrus was already climbing out, his clothes soaked as he called out to her. "Vivienne!"

Several yards from the river's edge, Vivienne was fading fast. The venom frayed the edges of her consciousness, threatening to break her resolve and pull her into the river's depths. I can’t do this. I’m not going to make it. A strong arm wrapped around her waist.

"I'm here, Vivienne," Thorne said, tightening his grip.

She wasn't sure how the commander was swimming with his injury, let alone keeping her above water.

"Take my hand!" Cirrus shouted, his arm outstretched toward her and Owen. Vivienne grabbed hold with her functioning right arm, and Cirrus hauled her out of the river with a firm pull. She crumpled onto the rocky bank, her chest heaving with every breath. Lewis and Thorne stumbled out of the water behind her, collapsing, their breath as labored as hers. The Apocrita circled upriver, their transparent wings buzzing in an angry drone as they retreated.

Cirrus knelt next to her, concern in every part of his expression. "You're hurt."

Vivienne eyed the venom's yellow tint in the veins around the sting while it oozed out of the puncture site.

"So are you," she said. "I don't think any of us made it out unscathed."

Aside from the agonizing Apocrita stings, they all had been scraped up by rocks and branches in their path as they stayed a step ahead of the murderous insects.

"None of Enyo's five sailors made it out," Owen scanned the other side of the river for signs of life.

"What are those things?" Lewis asked, his chest still heaving. "You called them something..."

"Apocrita," Cirrus confirmed. "We've run into them a time or two on previous voyages, but I've never seen so many or seen them so agitated."

Vivienne squeezed the water out of her sopping-wet hair before rifling through the contents of her canvas bag. Oh, thank the gods . She was grateful its waterproof waxing had held up and prevented the destruction of her mother's journal.

"Remember when I said I was done with 'new'?" Lewis panted. "Let's not do this again, ever ."

She couldn't help but laugh, trying to suppress her churning anxiety. They’d been fortunate to survive several dangerous situations. How long can we stay alive once our luck runs out?