Salt and Blood

Chapter Two

I roll my knuckles out at my side and snatch my clothes off the rock. “Stay down river, lay low and don’t make a sound,” I snap. “If anyone shows up that can’t be coerced, I want all of you to take off into the ocean and wait until nightfall for my signal.”

“And if you don’t signal?” Xena asks.

“Then get back on this island, fight with everything you’ve got and stick to the plan. Do whatever you can to make sure they don’t find out what we’re keeping on that mountain,” I answer while pointing to the lush, flowered cliff off in the distance. Even Xena doesn’t know what’s up on that ledge, no one besides myself and one other person does. Thankfully, she doesn’t need to know, she’s only got to follow direction.

She reluctantly nods her head, rounding up the rest of the women and ushering them down the river. She doesn’t want to leave me to fend for myself, but it’s no longer a choice. They can’t walk on land at high noon and even if they could, over half our targets are women who can’t be seduced anyways. Less than a handful of my Sirens have legitimate combat experience. The rest would be subpar at best without the use of their current abilities.

 I quickly pull on a pair of tight black jeans and a tank top riddled with arrow holes. They still smell exactly as they did when I put them into that box in the first place; they carry the aroma of electric musk and death. I strap the war torn leather holster onto my upper thigh and work my hair into a braided knot. My fingers lace up a pair of black combat boots that’ve walked over more dead bodies and caused more broken bones than I care to admit. Once the pistol is shoved snugly into its holster and the blade is secured through my belt loop, I begin my trek towards the southeast side of the island. I silently weave through the tropical jungle as birds call to one another and wind whispers through the canopy above my head. I stay off the dirt paths, only treading on areas padded with dead leaves so I don’t leave a trail of footprints. My fingertips hover close to the handles of each weapon, ready to whip them out for use in an instant. My breaths stay calm, quiet and deep like they always do when I’m dealing with a threat. I’ve never been one to break form and I’m not about to start now.

It has been a while since I’ve been involved in a legitimate skirmish, but this situation is still customary to me. I’ve been here so many times before that I lost track of my body count somewhere in the hundreds. The moment my fingers found the handle of my blade, I switched into combat mode. I’m designed to become so homed in on a mission that I’ll kill the second I get the chance. I’ll wait until nightfall and pick everyone off one by one if I have to.

The relative peace of impending warfare is eventually interrupted when unfamiliar voices pollute the air. I stalk close to the ground, crawling on my forearms and knees so I remain unseen. I stay a healthy distance from the shoreline, positioning myself behind a large rock for observation. Four wooden transport boats lie beached on the sand. The majority of the crew are female, just as Xena said. They’re unloading chains, ropes, and empty wooden chests. Most of them are armed with bows and bundles of arrows tied to their backs, some carry a variety of swords and blades ranging in size and shape. The men and women alike are dressed in similar clothing; chestnut fabric pants, tan leather boots, charcoal colored belts and weapon holsters, and short sleeved, steel blue shirts that’ve seen many weeks at sea.

The only anomaly to this equation is one woman in particular.

She stands closer to the tree line and apart from everyone else, intently studying a map. An elongated plastic black case sits at her feet, locked and resting in the sand at an angle. The top half of her long, strawberry blonde dreadlocks are tied back away from her sun kissed face. Her attire is different from the others; tight black pants cling to her long legs and matching knee high boots cover her calves. A loose fitting white tank top hangs on her torso and her right forearm is stamped with an intricate black and grey tattoo of an Aura whale. Two ebony studded holster belts rest on her hips, one holding a long Dao style sabre, and the other, a brass revolver.

Besides my own, her revolver is the first gun I’ve seen in about one hundred and fifty years, and it speaks volumes. It lets me know she’s got resources that countless others before her have not. She brought it because she means business, and she’s here with the intent of using it. Most importantly, that weapon lets me know she’s the captain of that ship, and the captain is the one I’ve got to kill in order to seize control.

***

I’ve been trailing these methodical humans for hours now, always managing to keep a safe distance from their probing eyes. No one has even come close to the base of the mountain, which is reassuring. They’ve stayed in the flatter, outer rim of the island, cautiously combing every blade of grass and rotten log in search of a prize they’ll never get. This is ideal for me, though. They’ve burned all of their daylight hours rummaging around a part of Freyja that’s nothing more than plants, dirt and decaying leaves.

Oddly enough, the captain hasn’t seemed angry or offset by their lack of success. She’s done nothing more than silently survey her crew as they do all the work, keeping that black case next to her at all times. It seems like she’s waiting for nightfall, but so am I.

As darkness finally seeps into this labyrinth of a jungle, I back away through the growing cover of shade and head towards the river. I snake my way through the bushes and let out a low pitched whistle, signaling the girls to head back to our rendezvous point. I’m about five minutes from the riverbank when a branch snaps about twenty feet behind me.

“Hey! I think I found - ” I whip around quick and launch my blade into the chest of a random man, cutting him off in the middle of shouting over his shoulder. He drops his bow to the ground, doubling over as he gasps for air. I sprint towards him and slide on my knees in the dirt. I jump up and take the back of his head in my hands, twisting it with a sickening pop. His gasping ceases and I drag his limp body into the underbrush before he even fully hits the ground. I rip the blade out of his chest and glance back towards the intruders, hoping that no one heard him even though I know they did. The thrum of voices somewhere in the distance confirms my theory and I take off running towards the river at a strained rate. When I arrive, Xena and the two other women with combat experience stand next to the water, fully dressed and armed with random weapons we’ve pillaged over the years. The remainder of the group waits in the river for further instruction in a flurry of colorful scales and tailfins.

“Xena, Adria and Elani, we’re going to work from land. We need to get this process going on foot.” I look down into Thalia’s hazel eyes, ready to give her instruction. “Thalia, I want you to spread everyone else out along the overgrown portions of the beach. Stay hidden as much as you can. Sing quietly and lure any men possible down to the beach. When they come, seal the deal, and then instruct them to turn on their own. Understood?”

“Got it,” she answers. Twenty eight battle ready Sirens make their way back down the river and towards the ocean for their mission. I turn to face my three girls, nodding once before we all split in opposite directions. They know the drill in this situation. We’ve discussed every possible turn of events on this island, and this instance isn’t the exception to the rule. They know exactly what to do.

I creep back towards impending danger in the center of the island, staying as low to the ground as I can. I end up pressing myself flat against the rough, thick trunk of a Keni tree and hunkering down to await my second victim. The growing trill of locusts barely conceals heavy footsteps headed in my direction a few minutes later. The silhouette of another man scrapes by my tree as he holds a sword out in front of him. I draw in a deep breath and hum the Siren’s song without words. He stops in his tracks, the sword beginning to tremble in his palm. I continue humming as I glance in the direction he came from, ensuring no one else is hot on his trail. Once I’m sure the coast is clear, I walk in front of him with a smirk. His scruffy face is strained as he tries to battle against my will, but he can’t. I don’t even think it’s possible.

My fingers creep up his chest, finally dead ending at his cheeks. I stand on my toes and nuzzle my face against his neck. I drag my tongue along the spot beneath his earlobe and his blade drops to the ground. My voice only puts them into a sensual trance for a few minutes, but any form of my saliva on his body will bind him to me for hours until it works its way out of his system. Only then will he do my bidding unconditionally.

“Shhh, hush now...all is well,” I susurrate into his ear. I stroke his arms with my fingernails, gently breathing against his skin. “I need you to do something for me...something important.”

“I…I’ll do anything,” he answers with a drugged out sigh. I smile and pull back, planting a longing kiss on his lips to truly seal the deal. 

“Gather with your brothers, then kill your crew,” I whisper into his mouth. 

He slowly nods and smiles down at me. “As you say.”

He reaches to the ground, picks up his sword and heads back to begin slaughtering his own people per my command. I’ve instructed every other girl in my harem to do the same, so it’s only a matter of time before death floods the island. The men probably won’t kill anywhere close to everyone, but they’ll thin out the herd dramatically and create a great distraction.

It’ll make my job easier, and I only need to work smarter, not harder.

I lean back against the trunk of the tree, patiently waiting for my forecast to come true. I unwearyingly bide my time until the opportune moment rises for me to inject myself into the equation. Soon enough, the clanking of metal on metal, screams of terror and grunts of battle charge the air with vigor. I step onto a dirt path from behind the tree, slowly making my way towards the sounds of people fighting their own compatriots. The compressed jungle carves up scarlet firelight into tiny slivers all around me as the shrieks of bloodshed grow louder. The lifeless bodies of two unfamiliar women materialize in my path and I sigh. It’s such a waste of perfectly good potential to do things this way, but I can’t risk the safety of my existing group or the assets on this island.

I step over their corpses, reaching down to take one of their short swords. I flip it over in my palm, testing the weight for usage. I peek to my left, observing Xena, Adria and Elani combing through another string of female bodies for additional weaponry. A frantic, panicked girl shoves her way out of the bushes at a full on sprint. She’s so desperate to escape the onslaught I incited that she doesn’t even realize she’s about to run right into me. Before she can react, I stab her through the stomach with the blade of one of her sisters then snap her neck quick. I wrench the knife from her body and wipe her blood off on the leg of my pants, casting Xena a quick side glance.

“Stay back for a bit to catch any stragglers trying to escape,” I instruct. She nods as I roll my neck out and part the thick shrubbery, stepping into the bloodbath.

Dead or dying bodies lie scattered in an earthen donut around a raging bonfire; some are male, but most are female. A small number of men fight clumps of their own crew with everything they’ve got, loosing arrows and slashing their blades into anyone they encounter. More of them trickle in through the woodwork as my girls work to seduce them all across the island. Off on the north edge of the battle, I see the captains’ blood speckled body with a feverish look in her eyes. She wields her crimson stained Dao blade, yelling out as she stabs into one of her crewmen.

A brunette woman far off on my right notices I’m a complete stranger and yells something to her captain. I stalk in her direction as she raises a bow to her cheek, aiming at my shoulder. The arrow fires from the nocking point on a direct path towards me and cut it out of the air with my blade. Two wooden halves spilt and fall to the ground. I grit my teeth and sprint at her as she fumbles with another arrow. She lifts the bow to loose another, but I’m quicker. I drive my blade into her gut as she gasps for air. I whistle loudly, signaling my girls to attack. One by one, Xena, Adria and Elani emerge into the clearing, armed with weapons of the deceased.

Someone jumps on my back, wrapping their arm tightly around my neck in an attempt to choke me out. I let out a primal yell and flip her over my back and onto the ground in front of me. I drive my blade downwards into her chest as another girl barrels in my direction. I snatch the electric yellow knife from my belt loop and fling it at her, nailing her in the eye socket. A loud, ear splitting pop cracks through the atmosphere. I pause for a moment to track the source of the noise that I recognize as gunfire. My eyes dial in on the captain holding a stocky, matte black rifle that’s aimed at one specific person amongst the mass of bloodstained bodies.

Xena clings to her upper thigh, glancing down at a stream of blood leaking from a newly inflicted wound. She looks at me and drops to her knees, her eyes fluttering before she falls to the side without moving. I swallow hard and grit my teeth, leering in the direction of the captain.

I snatch a dagger off the body in front of me and charge at her on a bloodthirsty mission. Every person that steps in front of me, I annihilate in a flurry of stabs, chest kicks and throat slashes. The captain sees me coming, but she doesn’t look panicked. She raises the rifle, aims at me and waits. Once I’m a mere twenty feet away, I launch my dagger at her but she tucks forward and does a summersault, rolling out of its direct path. She props herself up onto her knee, stares down the ocular lens of the scope, and fires.

A searing pain rips through my thigh. I look down at my right quad, staring at a shiny metal dart with a pink fluffy feather at the end. I rip it out of my flesh, rolling the cylinder around in my palm as my vision begins to go in and out. The dart drops to the dirt and I pitch forward, crumbling to my hands and knees. The captain reaches into her ammunition holster and withdraws another dart, loading it into the chamber. Panic clouds my vision and I look to the left, watching Adria and Elani continue to fight without knowing what’s coming.

“Tes bach an te ocën…prant!” I command as I shakily stand myself up. I’m seeing double everywhere I look, but I can’t stop. There’s too much at stake.

One by one, the remaining crewwomen pile onto Adria and Elani to prevent them from leaving like I told them to. It snaps my adrenaline into overdrive and I charge at the first person I can distinguish, tackling her to the ground with no weapon whatsoever. I land a handful of less than adequate blows to her face before another rifle round pops off and my shoulder blade stings. I roll off the object of my attack and reach back, yanking another dart out of my skin. This time, I can barely move and my limbs feel like gelatin. My eyes refuse to stay open no matter how hard I try.

“I’m sorry…” I whisper as I climb into a dark, hopeless coma.

I’ve failed them and this island, just like I failed him.