Post by xxdxjxx on May 7, 2013 20:22:23 GMT -5
Chapter 6
Tortuga
He smiled “I take it you’ve never been toTortuga.” Hesaidas theywalked tothepub passing womenwho gave death stares to kirami because she was with Captian Qumado and men who drooled over her. She looked to him and tilted her head a little "I take it you have been here more than once"lookingat thewomengiveher the death glares. He chuckled a little looking at her "Maybe...but thewomenhere never look good so I don't touch orpay them. Which is whytheydesiremeso, because I keep to myself." When theygot to thepub, theylookedaroundat allthe drunk pirates of theworld and womenhanging on them. Theycould hardly move through the crowded pub. Men were shouting at the top of their lungs and women screaming flashing their boobs every onceand a while.Qumado paid no mind to it as he sat down at a tableand pulledouta sheet ofpaperand a featherwith an ink bottle and smiled standing up. He tried to get there attention and failed. Hepulled out his gun thatrested in his belt and fired it in theair. Everyone shut up and looked at theman thatfired thegun.“ Goodnow thatI haveyourattention,I need me a crew. If ye be brave and man enough and willin to die at sea, if given the circumstances, thenthis where ye be signin."Sittingback down down,a linewas alreadyforming.
She shook her head slightly in response, when thelinestarted toform. Sheleaned on a pillar thatresidednext to thetable,arms crossed, looking themen over oneby one as they signed thepaper. Aftera while,shedecided toget a drink. “Thirsty?” she asked Qumado before going to thebar. “No, I’m fine” hesaidas heheldthelist in his hands oncethelinehad disappeared and everyonestilllookingat him. Hestood and spoke, “Wemeet at thedocks tomorrow morning at 5!” as he looked at her, walking to thedoor he nodded for hertofollow, waiting by thedoor for hertoget her drink.
She nodded back to him thenwent to thebar, pushing her to get to thecounter. A man came outof no where and slapped her ass. She quickly reached aroundher waist retrieving the dagger that rested along her lower back and held it to the drunken pirates neck. The pirate looked shocked and reached for his pistol to where she couldn't notice,but before he could get it from his belt his eyes went wide in pain and he fell after the crack of a gun going off with Qumado standing at the door and his pistol raised.Shegrinned as theothermen moved outofherway affraidof Qumado and she now had thebartendersfullattention. “Water” shespoketothe bar tender. He gave her theglassand shedrank itdown in a coupleofgulps,stands, places a gold coin then heads for thedoor.
He smiled placing his pistol back in his belt and held outhis arm and when she took it they walked out. Passing thescenery ofdrunken pirates and whores againas they got to the docks. He hopped in therow boatand shehopped in rightafterhimas they rowed back to theship. Thenextmorning theygotup and tied a few long boats to the main oneand rowed to shore and arrived aroundsixthirtyand themen met at five just as planned. They stood thereon thedocks and he hollered for themto hop in the row boats as the headed back for theship. Once theyarrived theyput all of the boats back where theybelongedand helined allofthemen up in onesolid line stretching along themaindeck oftheshipas hewalked back and forth in front of them speaking,"Avast ye pirates and black-hearted sea dogs. Manya man has been summoned by theloreofthedeep,and manya man has met his death beneath the dark waters of theendless Abyss. For the sea is a cruel Mistress, and what she claims sheholds on tofor ever. Mariners tell tales ofphantomships, whose ghostly captain and crew havebeen cursed to wonderthemistshrouded waves for ever. Others tell tales of sirens and sea-monsters, sunken cities and ancient maps thatlead touncharted islands; wheremounds oftreasurebeyond most men’s belief lay buried,but mostof thesearejuststories fromothermen’s mouths who said theyheard it from some othersea dog. So thetruth may never be told. For moststories areonly known thePhantoms oftheHigh Sea's," Hepaused for a minutelookingat themen as someofthemlookedscared, "And dead men tell no tales." he finished of in a low and dark husky voice. Some men shivered and some looked aroundas iftheywere lookingfor thesephantoms hespokeof. He cametoa stop in themiddleofthelineofmen and puthis handsbehind his back and faced themsaying,“Therearea few rules men!” Heyelled, “at night theshipis under my command and during theday itis underhercommand." Pointing to Kirami "I am Captain to you and thatis it, and this is my first mateKirami and you will be divided up into two groups.” He started to separate thecrew into twogroups like he said he would and looking up at her while she sat on themast, watching him divide the two groups, as he told themwho’s groupwas whoseand helookedat his crew. “Now, you will sleep today and wake at sunset. So, let’s move and get to bed.” When all the of his group went into thebarricks, she jumped down from her spot on the mast and he walked to her. “Youknow where to find me if you need me" he kissed her cheek again, when he did thatsheblushed,touching hercheek with her hand and spaced out.
As they started to sail off, he was theonly oneat thehelm. He started off humming and then aftera while he began to sing
an old song passed through generations and generations ofpirates,
"Twas manya mistymorning past That the Tempest left Black Raven’s Bay Setting sail for lands unknown, Seeking fortune along theway
All men aboard bid their ladies farewell As the ship left the harbor astern, And the Tempest sailed off, out into themist, Never to return
Out in the midst of theocean’s abyss A furious storm crossed their path And the ship and its crew allperished beneath King Neptune’s merciless wrath
So beware thewhispering wind In the misty dead of night, For the voices ye heararebut ghosts, and I fear, There’sno end to their journey in sight
So beware thewhispering wind In the misty dead of night, For the voices ye heararebut ghosts, and I fear, There’sno end to their journey in sight
So hearken ye pirates and black-hearted dogs, Lest your fate be the same, or far worse For the men who set sail beneath theskulland bones Are destined to suffer this curse"
After they were outof port thesun started toriseand hedisappeared into his Quarters. The door shutting tohis quarters snapped herback and shestarted to take over at thehelm. Qumado was in his quarters lookingover themaps.He started to get mad as he threw thecompass against thedoor.Heneeded
to feed. Putting his cloak on,he made sure his healing scars as well as himself were well covered as he walked outand
called to one of thecrewmen, “Aye! Ye! Jones! Meet with me in my cabin…Now!” as he walked back in, Jones fastbehind.The
door locked behind themautomatically.“Yes capin’.Yewanted toseeme, si-” he said. Before he could move, Qumado was on
him, his teeth bared as he bit into theman’s neck.Jones triedtoscreambutcouldn’t as his screams were muffled by crimson
liquid filling his lungs. Once drained of life Qumado left him lying on the floor until sunset arrived. When he felt dawn
approach he threw thelimp carcass outthewindowand wentonto thedeck and joined her at thehelm.
“Have a good meal?” sheasked as hecameup onto thehelm. “I could smellhis blood all the way up here.” She said with a
grin, stepping aside for him to takeover.
He raised a brow and chuckled. “Get some sleep.” He said as he took over,turning South-South Westand smiled lookingat her.
“We’re getting close. Now, my quarters areavailabletoyou and you know I do not sleep so that bed in therehas been
untouched.”
“Aye” she said softly as she went down to thedeck thensheworkedherway to the mast,maneuvering through the
busy crewmen. Once on theplatform at thetop of it, sitting on theedge,swinging her legs off theside, she dozedoff.
Chapter 7:
Epic Battle
He looked off to theside and sighed,and thenhelookedup at her. Heheard a loud bang and turned aroundtoseea cannon ballflyingat themand hitthetop ofthe mast where she was laying as thewind hitherface,theballhitthemast.Heturned to his crew and started yelling orders, “All crew on deck! Load theguns!Getready to be boarded!” he jumped down to help themthenjumped up tothehelmand veered left. “broadside! Ready! Take aim!” as theywere still being fired upon.
He took a deep breath and concentrated real hard. Theshadows among the ship started to move as his creatures of theshadow realm cameinto view.Rising from the shadows of the men and mast casted upon theships deck fromthemoon. The men alllookedscaredand smiled at themyelling,“It’s alrightmen,they’reon our side!” The stench rising in thewind as theyraised theirpureblackblades in the air,and the men with their blades yelling, as thecreatures growled.
She sat up, yawned and stretched before dropping down on the deck. She looked at thefiringshipand watched itas itapproached.Shewentup tothehelm calmly as everyone scurried to defend theship,“Whoseshipmight thatbe?”
He looked at her and sighed a bitas themen triedtoprovetheir worthiness to be on the crew. “Yourememberthatlittlepackage?” heasked “Well...he's afterit.” He looked at theon coming ship. “Fire!”
Her eyes widened as she jumped off thehelm and darted to thebarracks where she left the package, cloaked under the pillow.
When she got to thebarracks,therewas a man sitting on her bed with the package in his hands as he tossed itback and forth.Theman lookedat her. Wearing shin-high boots,blackpants,whiteshirtwhich hungloosely aroundhimand long black hair tied up. His eyes had a dark green glow. “Do ye know whatyehavebeen carrying?” he said in a low voice, looking up at her.
She staired at him blankly, "Whom might you be."
“I be oneof the5 caretakers of thepackageyebecarryin. You still never answered my question, Do ye know whatyebecarryin?” he asked.
“If I do or don’t,itwon’tmatter, you’lltakeiteitherway.” Shesaidleaningtotheleft against the pillar, crossing her arms and yawning again. “Sorry, you interrupted my nap.”
The man smiled and stood up as he opened thewrapping revealing thevile.In the vile was sand.When hefinished unwrapping ithesaid“Awe,yepour poppet.Ye’ll fuckin live. These sands theycanreverse, slow down and speed up time given the right…well artifact. And Qumado…” shakinghis head “Qumado thinks this littlebit will bring her back…dumbass.” He said looking at her.
She looked at theopened package. “Inform me.”Shesaidcuriously,pushing off the pillar in interest.
He laughed, “Ye thinkI’m going to tell ye?’’ shakinghis head and putting the vile in his pocket starting to walkpasther. “Yea right.”
“How’d you sensemy cloak?!” shecalled outtohim. “Noonehas everseen past it.”
He stopped, turned and smiled. “Thesand, it calls to me as it does to you. Can you not hearit?” heasked,shakingitsoftlyfollowed by a soft ringingsound thatran through her ears.
She looked at him with a serious expressionnow,“first time I’ve heard the ring. Actually, I’ve been havingdreams I haven’t had sinceI was a child,mind you that was a good hundredyears or so.”
“What’s itmatter? I haveitback now.And now I’m leaving. Good-byepoppet.” He said as he stepped past her to leave.
She darted to thedoor beforehecould reachit, “You’renotgoing anywhere with that vile.” She growled.
He smiled thenitturnedinto a blank stareas hehelda knifetoherthroat. “And whose gonna stop me. Ye? Yea, okay.” Then sheheard a sleeksound as his face went white and his eyes wide. When he fell, Qumado was standing behind him, dagger in hand. “Get thevile.” He said as he took themalescoat off and left itthere for her to retrieve. He carried the dead body up to the deck and threw iton the wood as his blood filled the cracks beneath it. “Your captain is dead!” he yelled in anger. “Ye can either work for me or die! Yer fuckin choice!” he said unsheathing his sword.
She dug thevileoutand slippedItin thepocket ofhercoat.Going on deck, she glared at the intruding men,“Wherewilltheysleep if theychoosetolive?” she said to Qumado.
“Out here” he said as he glared at her then at the other men. They kept fighting “Kill themall!” he yelled as he threw thedead captian over theside. Men slashing their swords and theenemyfallingover board as theywere killed.Qumado killing a few as well. Blood was everywhere, and at last man Qumado smiled and cut his head clean off, throwing thehead and thebody overboard.“Birds aregoing to have a nice meal”he said to himself. When he snapped his fingers the shadow creatures crawled back from which they came. He disappeared into thecabbin.She followed him step by step. Shuttingthedoor behind her and pulling the vile out,looking at him “Mind telling me what’s going on with this sand?” she said holding the vile up for show.
He looked at her and shook his head.“Whydoes it matter?” he said looking at the ceiling as he laid on thecouch.
“Because,” she slipped thevileback in hercoat pocket,“withoutme, you can’t use the sand.’
“Yealreadyknow too much!” he looked at her as a tearof blood went down his cheek. He wiped it as soon as he felt the warmth of the tear. “Not like I want someone back. It doesn’t matter anymore.” He said with a soft sigh.
“Who back?” she asked gently.
“Did ye not hearme, I saidno one!” as hestood up and walked over tothewindow looking out to thesea.
She turned and opened thedoor,“ThenI am of no use to you anymore…” she said, leaving him and went to theplatform on themast and stared at themoon.
Chapter 8:
The sands of time.
He looked at thewaterand laid his hand on thewindowsill.Openingthe window a little and letting thebreezecomein and thecoolsea watermist.The sound of the waves echoing through his ears as he closed his eyes smelling thesea. He sighed clenching his fist and closingthewindowas memories flooded his head and he just stared outto sea with a death glare look to his eye as crimson tears ran down each cheek. He raised his fist and brought it down fast and hard onto thesill and looked at his reflection in thewindow, seeingthecrimson streakson his cheeks he wiped themaway with his palms and thenwiped iton his jacket.heslowlyturned around and walked outto join her on themast platform.“Mydaughter…”hesaid with a sigh. “Yes. I need ye.” Hesaidsoftlylookingat thedeck below them, watching the men.
She smiles and pulled thevileout,holding itup,“You’regoing toneed a lot moresand thanthis to do that.” She said before slipping it back in her coat pocket.
“No, that’s allI need. That’s allI have left. One grain is enough. I just… I want her back.” He said looking at her. “Have ye any kids, or had?”
“The so called "care taker" said differently.” She said in a whisper before leaning back on themast and watchingthecrescent moon and theclouds passing by in front of it, ignoring his question.
“Well, he lied to ye.” He said in a mournful voice.
It was silent for a long time before she finally said something.“Wherearewe going?”
He looked at her and sighed lookingat thedeck again. “I’vealreadytold ye.”
She closed her eyes and sighed,“Sorry, a lot has been on my mind lately, must’veforgotten.Oh well.”Shesaidwith a soft smile.
“Oaksiamis wherewebegoing.” Hesaidfollowed by a chuckle.
She nodded slightly before standing up. “I’m going to sleep." She said followed by a yawn. “Night,or morning. Whichever…” she said with a laugh before she dropped down to thedeck.
Following her down,he walked with herand said, “Yedon’thavelong.”
She headed to helm, “I know,I’ll nap outhere till you go in, thenI’ll wake up and take over for theday.” Shesaidbeforesitting down and leaningagainst the railing of the ship.
He nodded and took thehelmtillmorning and wenttowakeherup,shaking her lightly.
She blinked a few times thenstretched, followed by a yawn, “What’s going on for today?” She asked sleepily, standing up and looking around.
“Just keep straight and make sure the men do as told. We will arrive around four to our destination. Don’t leave theshipor do anything till dawn. Till I come out. I’ll see ye at night fall.” He said softly to her.
She nodded as shewalked tothewheel, lookingoutat thedeck.“I’ll set anchor a mile out then wait. I’ll have the crew prepare supplies for docking. That good?” she asked, looking at him over her shoulder.
He nodded,“Fine” hesaid, leaving togo into his quarters.
She watched the day go by. About noon she went onto thedockand gathered five men. “I need you five to fix the platform up on the main mast. If you need help let me know.” She said to them.
The five men nodded to her and went to grab supplies. Once all the supplies was grabbed, theyclimbed up themast and started todo repairs.
Kirami leaned on the railing of the ship, on her arms, watching the five men repair the platform. The airhad a slight scent of blood from the sea. She turned to see where it was coming from and spotted a patch of blood tainted waternottoo far from the boat. “Someonehad a filling meal.” Shesaidtoherselfas a great white shark jumped up out of the water, getting a mouth-fullofwhatevermorselitkilled.
The men had justfinished thetop of themast when four o’clock rolled around, and just like he said the island came into view. One of the five men in the crow’s nest yelling “Land ho!” while themen savaged around.
She looked to thebow of theshipand sighed,“Theskarksfeastwas interesting.” She said followed with a sigh, “Oh,well…”shestood up and wenttothe helm. Waiting till theywere about a mileout,“Weigh anchor!” sheyelledouttothe crewmen. After theanchor was set,shewentdown on deck and toa few men, “Gather supplies for docking.” She said as she went to thehelm and waited for night to come.
While she waited sheclimbedthemast topracticeherbalance. Hoppingback down she went into thebarricks and grabbed her wooden staffand smiled a little carrying it back on deck and up to themast and practiced balance and her fighting at the same time. A few hours went by and thesun had justset as shelookeddown she saw him come outand smiled softlyat him as she climbed down and walked up to him, he headed towards her as well and spoke, “Is everythingready for docking, milady?” he asked, wearing his best clothes as such heworewhen theywere in Tortuga.
She nodded,“Supplies are prepared and thecrow’s nest has been repaired as well.” She said while looking at theisland.“Whenshall wedock?”
“It will be ye and I only. We takethelong boat,and as scheduled,willarrive by midnight. We thendock and walkto where I be leaden.” He looked at her, “Understood?”
She nodded in understandingthenwalked totherowboat,beginning tolower it into the water.
Once it reached thewaterhehopped down into theboat,lookingup at her, waiting for her to jump down so he could row to shore.
She dropped into therow boatas suggested and sat down,watchingthe water as it ripped off theside of theboat, as he started to row away.
He rowed to the island and theygot therebout twentyminutes later.Hegot out in the water and pulled theboatashoreon thebeach and stood therelookingat the scenery and thetemple. The structure itself was huge. About one thousand feet long ways and who knows how farback itgoes.Thefront of it had pillarswith circular designs in themmadeoutofgold thatyou could seefor miles.Thepillars holding up theroofwith thegodsoftimeembedded in thetop ofit. Allthreeof them were hooded figures with no facetobeseen. Theoneon thefarrightholding a lightning bolt, theonein themiddleholding a crystal ball,and finallytheoneon the far left holding a glass timer with sand in it. Abovethemallwas a circle,halfsun and the other halfthemoon.
Leaving thesupplies in theboat, she got outof theboatonto shore.“How is the sand used?” she asked, looking thetemple over thenbreathedin theair, checking the airfor anyoneelseon theisland,thenexhaled deeply,for no tracewas found.
He smiled and headed for thetemple.“Allin good time. Allin good time.”He said walking.
She followed behind a good ten to fifteen feet, thoughts ofherpastlife flashing through her mind, her nails becomingclaws slowly along with herears becoming white wolf ears and a tail to match slowly coming outas theygot closer to the temple.
He smiled and stopped, looking at her. “Keep thesands with you” he said smiling as he continued to walkon.Once at themassivedoors, he stood therein awe. The doors were about seventy feet high with thesamecircular designs as thepillarshad on them, alltheway up and down them. Theywere puregold and quiteheavy looking. Looking over at her he smiled. “This is it.”
Her ears were now fulloutwolf ears,fulllength tail tomatchand claws once they were at thedoor.Theflashbacks stoppedrightbeforeQumado spoke,“Right.” She said, notnoticing thechangeyet. “Do weknock?” sheasked lookingup at the door.
He grinned as he looked at her. “It’s begun” he said as he pushed thegiant door open and slowly walked in.
Chapter 9:
Templeof time
Her face scrunched up some in confusion, “What has begun?” she asked, canines replacing her humanteeth as shepassed through thedoor.Shelooked around the temple as she followed him down thelong corridor.
He chuckled and his figure blurry to her. His shape with no edges and body as if it were shaking. “Time.”
“What’s going on?!” shesaid, panicslight in her toneas shewatched him.
He laughed and looked at her. “Have you seen yourself?” He said as theygot to a golden wallrevealing their reflection.
She went to thedull wall. Her deep-sea blue eyes widened when she saw her reflection. She reached a hand up to touch hernewly foundears thennoticedher claws, then canines, and lastlyhertail.Shegawkedat thegolden wallmoments morebefore she turned to look at him, “What happened to me?” she said as though out of breath.
“The temple, It is thetemple of time. It has theability to alter oneto what they were truly meant for. I am blurry and shaky and haveno shape because I am supposed to be dead. Or at least thatis whatI think.”
She watched him, not sure what to make of all that just happened. She pulled the vile out, “What do I do with thesand? I wanttoknow,now.” Shesaida little frustrated thatsheis justnow learning thedetails now,ratherthanwhen shefirst stepped foot on Qumado’s ship.
He smiled at her sweetly and kindly for theveryfirst and lasttime. Helooked down the hall.“Down thathallwayis themainroom and wehavetofind theartifact which I want to say is a dagger and we will use the sands with that. Now first, we have to get through this hallway.” He said as he started walking down thehallway. He stepped on a stone and it sunk in as arrows shot at him, he ducked as oneflew past his head and hesmiles at heras hestood up and continued towalk. “I wouldn’t advise stepping on thatstone.”Hestepped toanotherand fireshotat himfrom aboveand he stepped to theside as if he knew it was coming. “Or thatone.”
She stepped aroundthetrap stones and through thehall,noticing thatthe trapped set stones had sand fallingaroundtheircracks so sheavoided themwith ease. “The stones are easy to depicted from the others or are you going to step on everyone just for thehell of it?” she asked her head cockedtothesideand a slight grin.
He laughed and looked back. “Maybe.”
While she waited for himtoget totheend ofthehall,sheswooshed hertail to the side of her so she could get a betterlookat it, thenshegrabbeditand started to stroke the soft, fluffy tail of hers.
He got to theend and opened theheavy doorsto themain room of the temple.
She turned to face him when he passed her, still holding her tail. “What now?” she asked a little above whisper.
They walked into a tall and wideroom.Iftheywere togivean estimate, itwas a circular room about 100feetin diameterand about 200feettall.Therewere decorations in gold hanging aroundtheroom,designs embedded into thegold.Red curtains hanging aroundtheroom on thewalls in between thelittlewindows, as well. Each havingtheCelticCross on it. Helookedat herand smiled thenlookedat the dagger. “Now ye have to do as I say in order for this to work.” He looked at the dagger and slowly walked to thepedestal itwas on in thecenteroftheroom.“Now when ye pick up thedaggera trap will set. The room will slowly but surely start to collapse on itself and thedoorswillshutlocking themselves.Now, wehaveabout 15 minutes to replace thedagger. Pick it up and all ye haveto do is hold thedaggerand the sands will float into it. There is a slit in thefloor over there.When allofthesand is in the dagger, and I mean every last grain, put it into thatslit.” He said pointing to a slit in the floor surrounded by a circular design. “Whenyeinsertthedaggeritwill glow. Once thathappens turn itand jump outoftheway and I willtakeover from there ok?” He said looking at her a little worried. They stepped up to thedaggerand he observed this object of time for thefirst time. It was blue, its handle woven in blue silk and silver lining. The shield was pure silver and had swerving designs and the blade had a shiny bluetinttoit. “Ready?”
She pulled thevileoutand opened it, ready totransferthesand fromthevile to the dagger. She looked at Qumado and nodded.Picking up thedaggerthesand began to flow from the vile into thedagger.Once thedaggerwas outof its place the room started to collapse on itself. When the last grain of sand left the vile, without hesitation, she hurried to theslit and pushed thebladeofthedaggerinto it, when the dagger was in, it glowed blue like he said and she turned the dagger jumping out of the way.
When she jumped outof theway,he jumped in and held thedaggeras wind cameoutof nowhereand started topickup aroundhimand lightstarted topierce through the floor, theswerving circular designs snakingaroundhim, shining brightly with a baby blue light. Sand picked up aroundhimfromthefloor and in a split second he was gone.
Chapter 10:
Going Back for Her
While she was waiting back in thecollapsingroom,hewas surrounded by sand as if in a sandstorm.Threefigures of black shadow appeared in front of him; Past, Present, and Future. “What is ityou wish…waityou arenotoneofthefourcare takers watching over the sand we assigned in your maggot world. Who are you?!?” Future spoke in an angered creepy whisper. As he spoke, sand filled his lungs, for he spoke with hasteknowing he had no time to play around. “I am Qumado, captain of the Savadruk.Thesands were passed onto mefrommy father! Whowas the originalcaretaker. I seek theonewho is of thepast!” Hespokein a loud toneso they could hearhim. The oneon thefarleft floated towards him. “What do you wish with me!” She said in an angered whisper as well. He looked at her with hurt in his eyes for he was dyingfromthesand.“I seek sunsetofJune17,1377” hesaidtoher and just like that,theywere gone.Theyappeared back onto thedeck ofthe Savadruk on thedatehespoke. A littlegirlof age 7 came outof thecaptains’ quarters and ran as oneof themates played with her. Itwas Sunset. Qumado of the past, walked outnext looking happierand morecolorto his pale flesh but had the sameshapeand lookas hedoes now.ThepastQumado lookedat thefuture Qumado hunched over on his knees gasping for air as Past floated behind him. He ran over to him. “Ye have to be a ghost mate”thefutureQumado spokewith a whisper and dried voice, “Aye, in two hours you need tobeprepared for a huge battle. You will win but you will lose Vorel,ourdaughter,with thefirst cannon fire. I need to take her with me! I…I need for…her..to live.” The past Qumado called Vorel over to them and hugged theman shecalled father. “Yes Daddy?” Shespokewith a soft and angelic voice. “I need you to go with this man. He is your father.” A little hurt came outin his eyes.“Hewilltakecareof you as well as I did.” The girl looked at the man and smiled hugging him. Qumado lookedup at thecaptains quarters’ door as Kirami came outwith wolf ears and a wolf tail tomatchand ofcoursea vile of sand hung aroundherneck."Vor-" lookingat themin shockand gasping as the future Qumado spoke softly to the past Qumado, "And she will get hit as well, she will live...but you will leave and she will not remember such a thing...as you or Vorel...or theship...and you...you will die...but do not fret...for you shall be brought back by Poseidon himself." thenhe looked to thepast. “Let’s leave now.” And with that they were goneand back in thesand storm. HekeptVorel's facein his jacket. “Don’t look up whatever you do sweety.” He said looking at thePast, Present, and Future, dagger still in his hand. “Send us back now! She can’tdie!”
Kirami was still in the collapsing room, theceiling collapsing. “What exactly did he expect me to do while he was goneand theroof…”and justas shesaidthat they were zapped back in a bolt of lightning. “Your back!” shesaidas sheranover to him taking thedaggerand placingitback in theholder. Then sheranback tohim and knelt down as theroom slowlyroseto its full height again and theclick of the doors unlocking.
He was on his side coughing up sand fromhis lungs. Trying to gasp for air. He couldn’t breath. His figure getting more blurry as the temple started to take him. She looked at his body franticly, tears falling down her cheeks. “Wh-whats wrong…” she said through thelump in herthroat.“Wh-whyam I crying? I…don’tunderstand.” She said more-so to herself this time thanto Qumado as he rolled back over to face her reaching up and wiping away her tears. His body fadingin and out,blurryand not.
He leaned up, pulling her slightly to him as he was a few mere inches away from her lips. He whispered, “Watch afterourdaughter. I…I…I loveyo-you.”And with that he kissed her deeply as his body faded into black smoke disappearing fully. Her eyes froze in shock while memories fromover a century ago started flowing into her mind, pausing momentarilyat a memory when she was getting married, pausing at anotherwith a new born child,and thenpausing againas she watched her husband die.Shepassed outoverwhelmed by thesudden memories filling her mind.
The child looked at her with a funny look as she too had her mothers’tail and ears. She kneeled down next to her motherand smiled waiting for hertowakeup. Four hours pass sinceKirami passed out. Themen back at theshipstarted toworry, for their captian and Kirami had been gone for over four hours.They’ve decided that ten men would go ashoreand seewhatwas taking so long.Theten men reached shore and saw thepaththatwas madeby theircaptain and thegirl. They followed it to thetemple and entered into thegreat building. Once theywere at the hall that led to themainroom,theystarted topass through.Theleadingman stepped on a trap stone and died by thepiercing arrows. Theremainingmen looked at each other thencautiouslycontinued through.Thetrap stonethatreleased a blast of blazing fire was triggered by the man in therearand caughthimand his friend on fire and died. The remaining seven men watched in horrorthenhurried to the mainroom.Theyalllookedaroundat thegold engraved walls.Theman closest to Kirami and Vorel called the rest of them and rushed to the girls, all but two. While the five men were tending to Kirami, the other two men went to a column and they looked at each otherthenpulledouttheirdaggers and attempted topluck thegold of the walls before theywere turned into their own greed and dissolved into sand. The remaining five men carried the girls outand totheship,carefulnottotrigger the traps.Once on theship,theyput Kirami and vorel in thecaptains quarters and left them be. Some of thecrew taking turnson standing watchover herand Vorel, taking care of thelittlegirl. A day orso passed beforeKirami finallywoke. Thecrew man that was watching over her at the time smiled and left before she even noticed. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes then noticed Vorel beside her, sleeping peacefully. She smiled softly, covering her with theblanketthatwas at her feet, laying back down beside her, stroking her hair softly as a silent tear fell down her cheek for the loss of her husband and Vorels father.
Vorel awoke next to her mother. Shelookedup at herand smiled wiping the tear away. “Mommy, daddy loved you and did all of this for you because he wanted you to have your old life back. Do not fret for him mommy…yeswewillmissdaddy but you never know when he might be aroundthenextcorner. He founda way to come back oncedidn’t he? I mean wewillbealive for a really long time. So he could be back couldn’t he? So don’tfretmommy I loveyou and so does he. Hewillbe back…I can feel it.” She said with an innocent smile on her face.
Kirami sat up with a gentle smile, pulling her daughter onto her lap, “I know love…I know.” She said softly, holding her in her arms a moment before standing up, Vorelbeside her. “Lets go introduce you to the crew, shall we?” she said, smiling down at her, holding her hand as she went to thedoor and opened it, leadingher out and introducing her to each crewmen. She asked oneof thecrewmen to get a stool and bring ittothehelmand putitin front of thewheel. After introducing Vorel to the rest of thecrew,shewenttothehelmand took thewheel, Vorelsitting on the stool between Kirami’s arms, the sun setting, casting a variety of colors amongst the clouds. She looked down at her hand and saw thescar starttoslowlyfadeinto nothing "No....he can't be..."
Tortuga
He smiled “I take it you’ve never been toTortuga.” Hesaidas theywalked tothepub passing womenwho gave death stares to kirami because she was with Captian Qumado and men who drooled over her. She looked to him and tilted her head a little "I take it you have been here more than once"lookingat thewomengiveher the death glares. He chuckled a little looking at her "Maybe...but thewomenhere never look good so I don't touch orpay them. Which is whytheydesiremeso, because I keep to myself." When theygot to thepub, theylookedaroundat allthe drunk pirates of theworld and womenhanging on them. Theycould hardly move through the crowded pub. Men were shouting at the top of their lungs and women screaming flashing their boobs every onceand a while.Qumado paid no mind to it as he sat down at a tableand pulledouta sheet ofpaperand a featherwith an ink bottle and smiled standing up. He tried to get there attention and failed. Hepulled out his gun thatrested in his belt and fired it in theair. Everyone shut up and looked at theman thatfired thegun.“ Goodnow thatI haveyourattention,I need me a crew. If ye be brave and man enough and willin to die at sea, if given the circumstances, thenthis where ye be signin."Sittingback down down,a linewas alreadyforming.
She shook her head slightly in response, when thelinestarted toform. Sheleaned on a pillar thatresidednext to thetable,arms crossed, looking themen over oneby one as they signed thepaper. Aftera while,shedecided toget a drink. “Thirsty?” she asked Qumado before going to thebar. “No, I’m fine” hesaidas heheldthelist in his hands oncethelinehad disappeared and everyonestilllookingat him. Hestood and spoke, “Wemeet at thedocks tomorrow morning at 5!” as he looked at her, walking to thedoor he nodded for hertofollow, waiting by thedoor for hertoget her drink.
She nodded back to him thenwent to thebar, pushing her to get to thecounter. A man came outof no where and slapped her ass. She quickly reached aroundher waist retrieving the dagger that rested along her lower back and held it to the drunken pirates neck. The pirate looked shocked and reached for his pistol to where she couldn't notice,but before he could get it from his belt his eyes went wide in pain and he fell after the crack of a gun going off with Qumado standing at the door and his pistol raised.Shegrinned as theothermen moved outofherway affraidof Qumado and she now had thebartendersfullattention. “Water” shespoketothe bar tender. He gave her theglassand shedrank itdown in a coupleofgulps,stands, places a gold coin then heads for thedoor.
He smiled placing his pistol back in his belt and held outhis arm and when she took it they walked out. Passing thescenery ofdrunken pirates and whores againas they got to the docks. He hopped in therow boatand shehopped in rightafterhimas they rowed back to theship. Thenextmorning theygotup and tied a few long boats to the main oneand rowed to shore and arrived aroundsixthirtyand themen met at five just as planned. They stood thereon thedocks and he hollered for themto hop in the row boats as the headed back for theship. Once theyarrived theyput all of the boats back where theybelongedand helined allofthemen up in onesolid line stretching along themaindeck oftheshipas hewalked back and forth in front of them speaking,"Avast ye pirates and black-hearted sea dogs. Manya man has been summoned by theloreofthedeep,and manya man has met his death beneath the dark waters of theendless Abyss. For the sea is a cruel Mistress, and what she claims sheholds on tofor ever. Mariners tell tales ofphantomships, whose ghostly captain and crew havebeen cursed to wonderthemistshrouded waves for ever. Others tell tales of sirens and sea-monsters, sunken cities and ancient maps thatlead touncharted islands; wheremounds oftreasurebeyond most men’s belief lay buried,but mostof thesearejuststories fromothermen’s mouths who said theyheard it from some othersea dog. So thetruth may never be told. For moststories areonly known thePhantoms oftheHigh Sea's," Hepaused for a minutelookingat themen as someofthemlookedscared, "And dead men tell no tales." he finished of in a low and dark husky voice. Some men shivered and some looked aroundas iftheywere lookingfor thesephantoms hespokeof. He cametoa stop in themiddleofthelineofmen and puthis handsbehind his back and faced themsaying,“Therearea few rules men!” Heyelled, “at night theshipis under my command and during theday itis underhercommand." Pointing to Kirami "I am Captain to you and thatis it, and this is my first mateKirami and you will be divided up into two groups.” He started to separate thecrew into twogroups like he said he would and looking up at her while she sat on themast, watching him divide the two groups, as he told themwho’s groupwas whoseand helookedat his crew. “Now, you will sleep today and wake at sunset. So, let’s move and get to bed.” When all the of his group went into thebarricks, she jumped down from her spot on the mast and he walked to her. “Youknow where to find me if you need me" he kissed her cheek again, when he did thatsheblushed,touching hercheek with her hand and spaced out.
As they started to sail off, he was theonly oneat thehelm. He started off humming and then aftera while he began to sing
an old song passed through generations and generations ofpirates,
"Twas manya mistymorning past That the Tempest left Black Raven’s Bay Setting sail for lands unknown, Seeking fortune along theway
All men aboard bid their ladies farewell As the ship left the harbor astern, And the Tempest sailed off, out into themist, Never to return
Out in the midst of theocean’s abyss A furious storm crossed their path And the ship and its crew allperished beneath King Neptune’s merciless wrath
So beware thewhispering wind In the misty dead of night, For the voices ye heararebut ghosts, and I fear, There’sno end to their journey in sight
So beware thewhispering wind In the misty dead of night, For the voices ye heararebut ghosts, and I fear, There’sno end to their journey in sight
So hearken ye pirates and black-hearted dogs, Lest your fate be the same, or far worse For the men who set sail beneath theskulland bones Are destined to suffer this curse"
After they were outof port thesun started toriseand hedisappeared into his Quarters. The door shutting tohis quarters snapped herback and shestarted to take over at thehelm. Qumado was in his quarters lookingover themaps.He started to get mad as he threw thecompass against thedoor.Heneeded
to feed. Putting his cloak on,he made sure his healing scars as well as himself were well covered as he walked outand
called to one of thecrewmen, “Aye! Ye! Jones! Meet with me in my cabin…Now!” as he walked back in, Jones fastbehind.The
door locked behind themautomatically.“Yes capin’.Yewanted toseeme, si-” he said. Before he could move, Qumado was on
him, his teeth bared as he bit into theman’s neck.Jones triedtoscreambutcouldn’t as his screams were muffled by crimson
liquid filling his lungs. Once drained of life Qumado left him lying on the floor until sunset arrived. When he felt dawn
approach he threw thelimp carcass outthewindowand wentonto thedeck and joined her at thehelm.
“Have a good meal?” sheasked as hecameup onto thehelm. “I could smellhis blood all the way up here.” She said with a
grin, stepping aside for him to takeover.
He raised a brow and chuckled. “Get some sleep.” He said as he took over,turning South-South Westand smiled lookingat her.
“We’re getting close. Now, my quarters areavailabletoyou and you know I do not sleep so that bed in therehas been
untouched.”
“Aye” she said softly as she went down to thedeck thensheworkedherway to the mast,maneuvering through the
busy crewmen. Once on theplatform at thetop of it, sitting on theedge,swinging her legs off theside, she dozedoff.
Chapter 7:
Epic Battle
He looked off to theside and sighed,and thenhelookedup at her. Heheard a loud bang and turned aroundtoseea cannon ballflyingat themand hitthetop ofthe mast where she was laying as thewind hitherface,theballhitthemast.Heturned to his crew and started yelling orders, “All crew on deck! Load theguns!Getready to be boarded!” he jumped down to help themthenjumped up tothehelmand veered left. “broadside! Ready! Take aim!” as theywere still being fired upon.
He took a deep breath and concentrated real hard. Theshadows among the ship started to move as his creatures of theshadow realm cameinto view.Rising from the shadows of the men and mast casted upon theships deck fromthemoon. The men alllookedscaredand smiled at themyelling,“It’s alrightmen,they’reon our side!” The stench rising in thewind as theyraised theirpureblackblades in the air,and the men with their blades yelling, as thecreatures growled.
She sat up, yawned and stretched before dropping down on the deck. She looked at thefiringshipand watched itas itapproached.Shewentup tothehelm calmly as everyone scurried to defend theship,“Whoseshipmight thatbe?”
He looked at her and sighed a bitas themen triedtoprovetheir worthiness to be on the crew. “Yourememberthatlittlepackage?” heasked “Well...he's afterit.” He looked at theon coming ship. “Fire!”
Her eyes widened as she jumped off thehelm and darted to thebarracks where she left the package, cloaked under the pillow.
When she got to thebarracks,therewas a man sitting on her bed with the package in his hands as he tossed itback and forth.Theman lookedat her. Wearing shin-high boots,blackpants,whiteshirtwhich hungloosely aroundhimand long black hair tied up. His eyes had a dark green glow. “Do ye know whatyehavebeen carrying?” he said in a low voice, looking up at her.
She staired at him blankly, "Whom might you be."
“I be oneof the5 caretakers of thepackageyebecarryin. You still never answered my question, Do ye know whatyebecarryin?” he asked.
“If I do or don’t,itwon’tmatter, you’lltakeiteitherway.” Shesaidleaningtotheleft against the pillar, crossing her arms and yawning again. “Sorry, you interrupted my nap.”
The man smiled and stood up as he opened thewrapping revealing thevile.In the vile was sand.When hefinished unwrapping ithesaid“Awe,yepour poppet.Ye’ll fuckin live. These sands theycanreverse, slow down and speed up time given the right…well artifact. And Qumado…” shakinghis head “Qumado thinks this littlebit will bring her back…dumbass.” He said looking at her.
She looked at theopened package. “Inform me.”Shesaidcuriously,pushing off the pillar in interest.
He laughed, “Ye thinkI’m going to tell ye?’’ shakinghis head and putting the vile in his pocket starting to walkpasther. “Yea right.”
“How’d you sensemy cloak?!” shecalled outtohim. “Noonehas everseen past it.”
He stopped, turned and smiled. “Thesand, it calls to me as it does to you. Can you not hearit?” heasked,shakingitsoftlyfollowed by a soft ringingsound thatran through her ears.
She looked at him with a serious expressionnow,“first time I’ve heard the ring. Actually, I’ve been havingdreams I haven’t had sinceI was a child,mind you that was a good hundredyears or so.”
“What’s itmatter? I haveitback now.And now I’m leaving. Good-byepoppet.” He said as he stepped past her to leave.
She darted to thedoor beforehecould reachit, “You’renotgoing anywhere with that vile.” She growled.
He smiled thenitturnedinto a blank stareas hehelda knifetoherthroat. “And whose gonna stop me. Ye? Yea, okay.” Then sheheard a sleeksound as his face went white and his eyes wide. When he fell, Qumado was standing behind him, dagger in hand. “Get thevile.” He said as he took themalescoat off and left itthere for her to retrieve. He carried the dead body up to the deck and threw iton the wood as his blood filled the cracks beneath it. “Your captain is dead!” he yelled in anger. “Ye can either work for me or die! Yer fuckin choice!” he said unsheathing his sword.
She dug thevileoutand slippedItin thepocket ofhercoat.Going on deck, she glared at the intruding men,“Wherewilltheysleep if theychoosetolive?” she said to Qumado.
“Out here” he said as he glared at her then at the other men. They kept fighting “Kill themall!” he yelled as he threw thedead captian over theside. Men slashing their swords and theenemyfallingover board as theywere killed.Qumado killing a few as well. Blood was everywhere, and at last man Qumado smiled and cut his head clean off, throwing thehead and thebody overboard.“Birds aregoing to have a nice meal”he said to himself. When he snapped his fingers the shadow creatures crawled back from which they came. He disappeared into thecabbin.She followed him step by step. Shuttingthedoor behind her and pulling the vile out,looking at him “Mind telling me what’s going on with this sand?” she said holding the vile up for show.
He looked at her and shook his head.“Whydoes it matter?” he said looking at the ceiling as he laid on thecouch.
“Because,” she slipped thevileback in hercoat pocket,“withoutme, you can’t use the sand.’
“Yealreadyknow too much!” he looked at her as a tearof blood went down his cheek. He wiped it as soon as he felt the warmth of the tear. “Not like I want someone back. It doesn’t matter anymore.” He said with a soft sigh.
“Who back?” she asked gently.
“Did ye not hearme, I saidno one!” as hestood up and walked over tothewindow looking out to thesea.
She turned and opened thedoor,“ThenI am of no use to you anymore…” she said, leaving him and went to theplatform on themast and stared at themoon.
Chapter 8:
The sands of time.
He looked at thewaterand laid his hand on thewindowsill.Openingthe window a little and letting thebreezecomein and thecoolsea watermist.The sound of the waves echoing through his ears as he closed his eyes smelling thesea. He sighed clenching his fist and closingthewindowas memories flooded his head and he just stared outto sea with a death glare look to his eye as crimson tears ran down each cheek. He raised his fist and brought it down fast and hard onto thesill and looked at his reflection in thewindow, seeingthecrimson streakson his cheeks he wiped themaway with his palms and thenwiped iton his jacket.heslowlyturned around and walked outto join her on themast platform.“Mydaughter…”hesaid with a sigh. “Yes. I need ye.” Hesaidsoftlylookingat thedeck below them, watching the men.
She smiles and pulled thevileout,holding itup,“You’regoing toneed a lot moresand thanthis to do that.” She said before slipping it back in her coat pocket.
“No, that’s allI need. That’s allI have left. One grain is enough. I just… I want her back.” He said looking at her. “Have ye any kids, or had?”
“The so called "care taker" said differently.” She said in a whisper before leaning back on themast and watchingthecrescent moon and theclouds passing by in front of it, ignoring his question.
“Well, he lied to ye.” He said in a mournful voice.
It was silent for a long time before she finally said something.“Wherearewe going?”
He looked at her and sighed lookingat thedeck again. “I’vealreadytold ye.”
She closed her eyes and sighed,“Sorry, a lot has been on my mind lately, must’veforgotten.Oh well.”Shesaidwith a soft smile.
“Oaksiamis wherewebegoing.” Hesaidfollowed by a chuckle.
She nodded slightly before standing up. “I’m going to sleep." She said followed by a yawn. “Night,or morning. Whichever…” she said with a laugh before she dropped down to thedeck.
Following her down,he walked with herand said, “Yedon’thavelong.”
She headed to helm, “I know,I’ll nap outhere till you go in, thenI’ll wake up and take over for theday.” Shesaidbeforesitting down and leaningagainst the railing of the ship.
He nodded and took thehelmtillmorning and wenttowakeherup,shaking her lightly.
She blinked a few times thenstretched, followed by a yawn, “What’s going on for today?” She asked sleepily, standing up and looking around.
“Just keep straight and make sure the men do as told. We will arrive around four to our destination. Don’t leave theshipor do anything till dawn. Till I come out. I’ll see ye at night fall.” He said softly to her.
She nodded as shewalked tothewheel, lookingoutat thedeck.“I’ll set anchor a mile out then wait. I’ll have the crew prepare supplies for docking. That good?” she asked, looking at him over her shoulder.
He nodded,“Fine” hesaid, leaving togo into his quarters.
She watched the day go by. About noon she went onto thedockand gathered five men. “I need you five to fix the platform up on the main mast. If you need help let me know.” She said to them.
The five men nodded to her and went to grab supplies. Once all the supplies was grabbed, theyclimbed up themast and started todo repairs.
Kirami leaned on the railing of the ship, on her arms, watching the five men repair the platform. The airhad a slight scent of blood from the sea. She turned to see where it was coming from and spotted a patch of blood tainted waternottoo far from the boat. “Someonehad a filling meal.” Shesaidtoherselfas a great white shark jumped up out of the water, getting a mouth-fullofwhatevermorselitkilled.
The men had justfinished thetop of themast when four o’clock rolled around, and just like he said the island came into view. One of the five men in the crow’s nest yelling “Land ho!” while themen savaged around.
She looked to thebow of theshipand sighed,“Theskarksfeastwas interesting.” She said followed with a sigh, “Oh,well…”shestood up and wenttothe helm. Waiting till theywere about a mileout,“Weigh anchor!” sheyelledouttothe crewmen. After theanchor was set,shewentdown on deck and toa few men, “Gather supplies for docking.” She said as she went to thehelm and waited for night to come.
While she waited sheclimbedthemast topracticeherbalance. Hoppingback down she went into thebarricks and grabbed her wooden staffand smiled a little carrying it back on deck and up to themast and practiced balance and her fighting at the same time. A few hours went by and thesun had justset as shelookeddown she saw him come outand smiled softlyat him as she climbed down and walked up to him, he headed towards her as well and spoke, “Is everythingready for docking, milady?” he asked, wearing his best clothes as such heworewhen theywere in Tortuga.
She nodded,“Supplies are prepared and thecrow’s nest has been repaired as well.” She said while looking at theisland.“Whenshall wedock?”
“It will be ye and I only. We takethelong boat,and as scheduled,willarrive by midnight. We thendock and walkto where I be leaden.” He looked at her, “Understood?”
She nodded in understandingthenwalked totherowboat,beginning tolower it into the water.
Once it reached thewaterhehopped down into theboat,lookingup at her, waiting for her to jump down so he could row to shore.
She dropped into therow boatas suggested and sat down,watchingthe water as it ripped off theside of theboat, as he started to row away.
He rowed to the island and theygot therebout twentyminutes later.Hegot out in the water and pulled theboatashoreon thebeach and stood therelookingat the scenery and thetemple. The structure itself was huge. About one thousand feet long ways and who knows how farback itgoes.Thefront of it had pillarswith circular designs in themmadeoutofgold thatyou could seefor miles.Thepillars holding up theroofwith thegodsoftimeembedded in thetop ofit. Allthreeof them were hooded figures with no facetobeseen. Theoneon thefarrightholding a lightning bolt, theonein themiddleholding a crystal ball,and finallytheoneon the far left holding a glass timer with sand in it. Abovethemallwas a circle,halfsun and the other halfthemoon.
Leaving thesupplies in theboat, she got outof theboatonto shore.“How is the sand used?” she asked, looking thetemple over thenbreathedin theair, checking the airfor anyoneelseon theisland,thenexhaled deeply,for no tracewas found.
He smiled and headed for thetemple.“Allin good time. Allin good time.”He said walking.
She followed behind a good ten to fifteen feet, thoughts ofherpastlife flashing through her mind, her nails becomingclaws slowly along with herears becoming white wolf ears and a tail to match slowly coming outas theygot closer to the temple.
He smiled and stopped, looking at her. “Keep thesands with you” he said smiling as he continued to walkon.Once at themassivedoors, he stood therein awe. The doors were about seventy feet high with thesamecircular designs as thepillarshad on them, alltheway up and down them. Theywere puregold and quiteheavy looking. Looking over at her he smiled. “This is it.”
Her ears were now fulloutwolf ears,fulllength tail tomatchand claws once they were at thedoor.Theflashbacks stoppedrightbeforeQumado spoke,“Right.” She said, notnoticing thechangeyet. “Do weknock?” sheasked lookingup at the door.
He grinned as he looked at her. “It’s begun” he said as he pushed thegiant door open and slowly walked in.
Chapter 9:
Templeof time
Her face scrunched up some in confusion, “What has begun?” she asked, canines replacing her humanteeth as shepassed through thedoor.Shelooked around the temple as she followed him down thelong corridor.
He chuckled and his figure blurry to her. His shape with no edges and body as if it were shaking. “Time.”
“What’s going on?!” shesaid, panicslight in her toneas shewatched him.
He laughed and looked at her. “Have you seen yourself?” He said as theygot to a golden wallrevealing their reflection.
She went to thedull wall. Her deep-sea blue eyes widened when she saw her reflection. She reached a hand up to touch hernewly foundears thennoticedher claws, then canines, and lastlyhertail.Shegawkedat thegolden wallmoments morebefore she turned to look at him, “What happened to me?” she said as though out of breath.
“The temple, It is thetemple of time. It has theability to alter oneto what they were truly meant for. I am blurry and shaky and haveno shape because I am supposed to be dead. Or at least thatis whatI think.”
She watched him, not sure what to make of all that just happened. She pulled the vile out, “What do I do with thesand? I wanttoknow,now.” Shesaida little frustrated thatsheis justnow learning thedetails now,ratherthanwhen shefirst stepped foot on Qumado’s ship.
He smiled at her sweetly and kindly for theveryfirst and lasttime. Helooked down the hall.“Down thathallwayis themainroom and wehavetofind theartifact which I want to say is a dagger and we will use the sands with that. Now first, we have to get through this hallway.” He said as he started walking down thehallway. He stepped on a stone and it sunk in as arrows shot at him, he ducked as oneflew past his head and hesmiles at heras hestood up and continued towalk. “I wouldn’t advise stepping on thatstone.”Hestepped toanotherand fireshotat himfrom aboveand he stepped to theside as if he knew it was coming. “Or thatone.”
She stepped aroundthetrap stones and through thehall,noticing thatthe trapped set stones had sand fallingaroundtheircracks so sheavoided themwith ease. “The stones are easy to depicted from the others or are you going to step on everyone just for thehell of it?” she asked her head cockedtothesideand a slight grin.
He laughed and looked back. “Maybe.”
While she waited for himtoget totheend ofthehall,sheswooshed hertail to the side of her so she could get a betterlookat it, thenshegrabbeditand started to stroke the soft, fluffy tail of hers.
He got to theend and opened theheavy doorsto themain room of the temple.
She turned to face him when he passed her, still holding her tail. “What now?” she asked a little above whisper.
They walked into a tall and wideroom.Iftheywere togivean estimate, itwas a circular room about 100feetin diameterand about 200feettall.Therewere decorations in gold hanging aroundtheroom,designs embedded into thegold.Red curtains hanging aroundtheroom on thewalls in between thelittlewindows, as well. Each havingtheCelticCross on it. Helookedat herand smiled thenlookedat the dagger. “Now ye have to do as I say in order for this to work.” He looked at the dagger and slowly walked to thepedestal itwas on in thecenteroftheroom.“Now when ye pick up thedaggera trap will set. The room will slowly but surely start to collapse on itself and thedoorswillshutlocking themselves.Now, wehaveabout 15 minutes to replace thedagger. Pick it up and all ye haveto do is hold thedaggerand the sands will float into it. There is a slit in thefloor over there.When allofthesand is in the dagger, and I mean every last grain, put it into thatslit.” He said pointing to a slit in the floor surrounded by a circular design. “Whenyeinsertthedaggeritwill glow. Once thathappens turn itand jump outoftheway and I willtakeover from there ok?” He said looking at her a little worried. They stepped up to thedaggerand he observed this object of time for thefirst time. It was blue, its handle woven in blue silk and silver lining. The shield was pure silver and had swerving designs and the blade had a shiny bluetinttoit. “Ready?”
She pulled thevileoutand opened it, ready totransferthesand fromthevile to the dagger. She looked at Qumado and nodded.Picking up thedaggerthesand began to flow from the vile into thedagger.Once thedaggerwas outof its place the room started to collapse on itself. When the last grain of sand left the vile, without hesitation, she hurried to theslit and pushed thebladeofthedaggerinto it, when the dagger was in, it glowed blue like he said and she turned the dagger jumping out of the way.
When she jumped outof theway,he jumped in and held thedaggeras wind cameoutof nowhereand started topickup aroundhimand lightstarted topierce through the floor, theswerving circular designs snakingaroundhim, shining brightly with a baby blue light. Sand picked up aroundhimfromthefloor and in a split second he was gone.
Chapter 10:
Going Back for Her
While she was waiting back in thecollapsingroom,hewas surrounded by sand as if in a sandstorm.Threefigures of black shadow appeared in front of him; Past, Present, and Future. “What is ityou wish…waityou arenotoneofthefourcare takers watching over the sand we assigned in your maggot world. Who are you?!?” Future spoke in an angered creepy whisper. As he spoke, sand filled his lungs, for he spoke with hasteknowing he had no time to play around. “I am Qumado, captain of the Savadruk.Thesands were passed onto mefrommy father! Whowas the originalcaretaker. I seek theonewho is of thepast!” Hespokein a loud toneso they could hearhim. The oneon thefarleft floated towards him. “What do you wish with me!” She said in an angered whisper as well. He looked at her with hurt in his eyes for he was dyingfromthesand.“I seek sunsetofJune17,1377” hesaidtoher and just like that,theywere gone.Theyappeared back onto thedeck ofthe Savadruk on thedatehespoke. A littlegirlof age 7 came outof thecaptains’ quarters and ran as oneof themates played with her. Itwas Sunset. Qumado of the past, walked outnext looking happierand morecolorto his pale flesh but had the sameshapeand lookas hedoes now.ThepastQumado lookedat thefuture Qumado hunched over on his knees gasping for air as Past floated behind him. He ran over to him. “Ye have to be a ghost mate”thefutureQumado spokewith a whisper and dried voice, “Aye, in two hours you need tobeprepared for a huge battle. You will win but you will lose Vorel,ourdaughter,with thefirst cannon fire. I need to take her with me! I…I need for…her..to live.” The past Qumado called Vorel over to them and hugged theman shecalled father. “Yes Daddy?” Shespokewith a soft and angelic voice. “I need you to go with this man. He is your father.” A little hurt came outin his eyes.“Hewilltakecareof you as well as I did.” The girl looked at the man and smiled hugging him. Qumado lookedup at thecaptains quarters’ door as Kirami came outwith wolf ears and a wolf tail tomatchand ofcoursea vile of sand hung aroundherneck."Vor-" lookingat themin shockand gasping as the future Qumado spoke softly to the past Qumado, "And she will get hit as well, she will live...but you will leave and she will not remember such a thing...as you or Vorel...or theship...and you...you will die...but do not fret...for you shall be brought back by Poseidon himself." thenhe looked to thepast. “Let’s leave now.” And with that they were goneand back in thesand storm. HekeptVorel's facein his jacket. “Don’t look up whatever you do sweety.” He said looking at thePast, Present, and Future, dagger still in his hand. “Send us back now! She can’tdie!”
Kirami was still in the collapsing room, theceiling collapsing. “What exactly did he expect me to do while he was goneand theroof…”and justas shesaidthat they were zapped back in a bolt of lightning. “Your back!” shesaidas sheranover to him taking thedaggerand placingitback in theholder. Then sheranback tohim and knelt down as theroom slowlyroseto its full height again and theclick of the doors unlocking.
He was on his side coughing up sand fromhis lungs. Trying to gasp for air. He couldn’t breath. His figure getting more blurry as the temple started to take him. She looked at his body franticly, tears falling down her cheeks. “Wh-whats wrong…” she said through thelump in herthroat.“Wh-whyam I crying? I…don’tunderstand.” She said more-so to herself this time thanto Qumado as he rolled back over to face her reaching up and wiping away her tears. His body fadingin and out,blurryand not.
He leaned up, pulling her slightly to him as he was a few mere inches away from her lips. He whispered, “Watch afterourdaughter. I…I…I loveyo-you.”And with that he kissed her deeply as his body faded into black smoke disappearing fully. Her eyes froze in shock while memories fromover a century ago started flowing into her mind, pausing momentarilyat a memory when she was getting married, pausing at anotherwith a new born child,and thenpausing againas she watched her husband die.Shepassed outoverwhelmed by thesudden memories filling her mind.
The child looked at her with a funny look as she too had her mothers’tail and ears. She kneeled down next to her motherand smiled waiting for hertowakeup. Four hours pass sinceKirami passed out. Themen back at theshipstarted toworry, for their captian and Kirami had been gone for over four hours.They’ve decided that ten men would go ashoreand seewhatwas taking so long.Theten men reached shore and saw thepaththatwas madeby theircaptain and thegirl. They followed it to thetemple and entered into thegreat building. Once theywere at the hall that led to themainroom,theystarted topass through.Theleadingman stepped on a trap stone and died by thepiercing arrows. Theremainingmen looked at each other thencautiouslycontinued through.Thetrap stonethatreleased a blast of blazing fire was triggered by the man in therearand caughthimand his friend on fire and died. The remaining seven men watched in horrorthenhurried to the mainroom.Theyalllookedaroundat thegold engraved walls.Theman closest to Kirami and Vorel called the rest of them and rushed to the girls, all but two. While the five men were tending to Kirami, the other two men went to a column and they looked at each otherthenpulledouttheirdaggers and attempted topluck thegold of the walls before theywere turned into their own greed and dissolved into sand. The remaining five men carried the girls outand totheship,carefulnottotrigger the traps.Once on theship,theyput Kirami and vorel in thecaptains quarters and left them be. Some of thecrew taking turnson standing watchover herand Vorel, taking care of thelittlegirl. A day orso passed beforeKirami finallywoke. Thecrew man that was watching over her at the time smiled and left before she even noticed. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes then noticed Vorel beside her, sleeping peacefully. She smiled softly, covering her with theblanketthatwas at her feet, laying back down beside her, stroking her hair softly as a silent tear fell down her cheek for the loss of her husband and Vorels father.
Vorel awoke next to her mother. Shelookedup at herand smiled wiping the tear away. “Mommy, daddy loved you and did all of this for you because he wanted you to have your old life back. Do not fret for him mommy…yeswewillmissdaddy but you never know when he might be aroundthenextcorner. He founda way to come back oncedidn’t he? I mean wewillbealive for a really long time. So he could be back couldn’t he? So don’tfretmommy I loveyou and so does he. Hewillbe back…I can feel it.” She said with an innocent smile on her face.
Kirami sat up with a gentle smile, pulling her daughter onto her lap, “I know love…I know.” She said softly, holding her in her arms a moment before standing up, Vorelbeside her. “Lets go introduce you to the crew, shall we?” she said, smiling down at her, holding her hand as she went to thedoor and opened it, leadingher out and introducing her to each crewmen. She asked oneof thecrewmen to get a stool and bring ittothehelmand putitin front of thewheel. After introducing Vorel to the rest of thecrew,shewenttothehelmand took thewheel, Vorelsitting on the stool between Kirami’s arms, the sun setting, casting a variety of colors amongst the clouds. She looked down at her hand and saw thescar starttoslowlyfadeinto nothing "No....he can't be..."
