“Man, is she ever.” Alexis snickered.
“Don’t make me drop you again.” I snapped. With Alexis’ handle firmly grasped, I flipped her to the side to the flat end of the blade, facing my ankles. “How does a pirate captain of a demon ship get captured by some cultists? I figured your entourage of orcs would have kept you safe.”
She let out a snort and shook her head. “I got into a tiff with my first mate. He wanted to keep me locked up tighter than a damn prisoner in my own damn ship once we heard lasses were going missing. My temper got the better of me and I stormed off in a huff. Didn’t make it halfway across the beach before those freaks snatched me.” Her eyes widened excitedly when I worked the sword higher up my body. “That’s it,” Usha cheered. “If you can swing her handle up to my mouth, I should be able to cut you down.”
I imagined the task would have been a lot easier if I believed in things like exercise and crunches. My stomach screamed with the effort of trying to work the sword up my body. Panting heavily, I held onto the bottom of the blade and rested her hilt on my shoulder. “Are you ready?” I asked Usha.
“Bring it on, lass.” With that, I swung my legs up and shifted so Alexis would fall towards Usha. The pommel bonked against her cheek, but the woman recovered and bit down on the handle. She took several deep breaths, then bit down harder and swung her head.
Fear raced down my arms as I felt the blade land just above my fingers. I gulped and looked up to see that the woman had met her mark. “It’s only halfway cut. Can you try sawing back and forth?” I asked.
Usha grunted and tried sawing the sword against the magic vine. After a few quick moments, my restraints snapped, and I fell to the floor. Quickly, I took the sword from Usha and cut her down as well. She sighed in relief and clutched her neck. “I’m gonna need one hell of a tonic after this. My neck is on fire.”
“Hey, don’t forget about the rest of us,” a woman whispered.
We cut the rest of the women down and tried to rouse the ones still sleeping. A few were too weak to stand, but most of the women felt better once they were released from the magic leaching vines. Kitty, Serena, and Willow were all accounted for. The remaining sixteen claimed to be from the surrounding villages and all had a similar story of being taken in the night by a ghoul or the men in red.
A young petite girl with long black hair tried to stand on wobbly knees, then fell flat on her face. Like Kitty, her face was sunken in and her body wracked with a terrible cough. I knelt down and helped her stand, then was immediately alarmed at how light she was. “What’s your name?” I asked.
“Bonnie.” She coughed.
“How long have you been here, Bonnie?”
She furrowed her brow and leaned more of her weight against me. “I think at least a week? I’m not sure.” Bonnie’s eyes became unfocused, and she slumped to the floor. Hot tears spilled down her face. “I don’t think I can walk.”
I looked at the group of girls, now huddled together like scared ducklings. “You’re not the only one.” I said.
“Don’t leave me here,” a blond woman cried.
“Now don’t fret. No one’s getting left behind.” Usha announced. “We’ll just have to figure something out, that’s all.”
“She’s right.” I began, “Usha, before I was taken, Fallon and Cin were going to send word to your ship about this location. They should be on their way here as we speak. From what Fallon said, they didn’t know the extent of the magic user’s power and planned to land in the woods just outside of Doncaster and sneak in.”
Instead of relief, Usha’s face took a serious turn, and she paced back and forth. “Did Cinnamon say she was coming, too?”
“Yes.”
“Damn it, of course she is.” The red head bit her thumb and glared at the stone floor.
Serena brushed her brown locks out of her face. “Isn’t that a good thing? We just have to wait and be rescued.”
Usha’s tone was grave. “Not if their goal is to get to Cin. If their new god is anything like Myva, then we need to put a stop to whatever spell they’re trying to conjure.” She stopped her pacing and pounded a fist in her hand. “Alright, new plan. Anyone who can stand is coming with me. Those who can’t rest here and tear up these vines worse than a rich man’s prenup.”
“Are you crazy?” Serena asked. “Those cult freaks could kill us.”
Usha lifted her chin. “They WILL kill us if we sit still and do nothing. Look at Bonnie.” She snapped her fingers at the dark-haired girl. “She looks half dead already. No offense Bonnie.”
“No, you’re right. I feel like shit.”
“Exactly. We can either fight now, or wait until we’re weakened and half dead.” Usha’s voice was commanding. Every bit the pirate captain she mentioned she was. Even though she wasn’t the tallest woman in the room, her fierce demeanor made her tower over the rest of us.
“But your friends-”
“Don’t know what they’re up against.” She barked out. “Neither do we. But we stand a better chance of success if we strike from the inside while they attack from the out. Our captors don’t know we’re free yet and we need to strike before they find out. So I’m going to ask y’all this once. Who can stand?”
Slowly, ten women staggered to their feet. I was already standing, so I just raised my hand. Serena bit her bottom lip and her brow formed a worried crease. “Fuck.” She muttered and dragged herself to her feet.
“Lucky thirteen.” I whispered. Kitty remained unconscious on the floor, and her friend Willow rested her head on her lap. She gazed up at the woman standing, then let her head fall back against the wall.Guess that’s a no from Willow.
