Macha's Journey

He ran into his cabin and reached into the safe that was hidden behind a painting of his family. Taking out a black box, he opened it up and lifted the familiar orange stone from the container. Tyr fumbled into a bag that hung on his belt. He pulled out Macha"s dark strands of hair and wrapped them around the stone. He fortified his heart, hoping that she was all right before infusing the stone with energy. The stone became warm, which meant she had to be nearby.

Tyr ran out of the office and onto the deck. The stone grew colder, so he moved to the back of the deck and looked down. A ship rested on the water below him. Tyr was about to jump over the railing when he realized the ship was leaving the dock.

The crew all observed Lord Valois run around the ship with a stone in his hand. No one knew why he came in his armor, but they stood ready to listen to any order he gave.

"Pull up next to that ship," he barked. He needed to make sure the ship was the one that had Macha on it before he boarded it.

The crew did not hesitate. They immediately unhooked the ship and left port to catch up to the water vessel. As the airship drew nearer, the stone grew warmer in Tyr"s hand. His ship flew above the seacraft and Tyr jumped onto the deck below.

Conor"s crew drew their swords. They worked for a pirate ship and the man who boarded did not appear friendly.

Tyr glared at them and air wrapped around his hand. With a flick of his wrist, the crew was pushed overboard. He then pointed a finger at Conor, who stood at the wheel. His voice sounded as cold as ice, "Where is she?"

Nes saw an opening. Connor distracted the man, so she turned into a shadowy figure. Her shadow melded with his as she got behind Tyr. Her shadowy form lifted up from their melded shadows with her dagger aimed for his throat.

Tyr did not bother looking behind him. He grabbed the dagger"s handle and changed the course of the attack into Nes"s thigh. He then pivoted around and kicked her to the ground. His cold green eyes spared a moment for her and he threatened, "Stay down." If the woman made one more move against him, he would kill her.

Nes moved to dislodge the blade from her thigh, but Tyr stepped on her leg. The bones snapped, and she screamed out in pain. She realized that kidnapping his woman was a mistake and looked at Conor with apologetic eyes.

Conor put his hands up. ""Old on. We don" wan" no trou-bow. Ya girl is daun belo." He hoped Tyr would leave as soon as he got his woman back. Conor"s eyes narrowed as he looked at Nes. She had been too greedy and should have left the woman.

The sound of fighting above worried Macha and she tried to focus on getting free. The waves. .h.i.tting the ship made her queasy, and she did not know how much longer she would be able to keep her lunch down.

Heavy footsteps echoed across the ship and the door opened. Macha was unable to make out who stood in the doorway because the sun shined behind the person. "Tyr?" she called. Her eyes squinted to make out the person"s face. The silhouette looked like him, but she did not understand how he would have found her so quickly.

Tyr ran to her and pulled her up. He inspected her and found that the ropes dug into her skin, causing the delicate skin around her wrists and ankles to chafe. He untied the ropes and hugged her. "Macha, I"m sorry. Are you all right?" Guilt coursed through his body and he wondered how he would make it up to her. His selfish desire to be with her endangered her life.

The seasickness Macha was feeling earlier became worse. She tried to push away from Tyr, but he held her tighter. She exclaimed desperately, "Tyr, let go." She did not know how much longer she could hold back her lunch. With each sway of the ship her stomach lurched.

Hearing Macha cry out for him to let go of her froze Tyr in place. "Macha, forgive me. I..." As Macha threw up on him he remembered she suffered from motion sickness. He closed his eyes and grimaced. After a while, he patted her back, "All done?" The bile worked its way between his armor and the warm liquid pressed against his skin.

Macha turned her head in shame. Not even in her youth when she drank and partied had she ever vomited on a man. In a soft voice, she muttered, "Mmm. Sorry. I tried to warn you." She did not want to look Tyr in the eye.

He took her ear-cuffs and held them in his hand. Kissing her lightly on the lips, he apologized, "Sorry, I"m going to use your enchantment for the day."

He was not angry at Macha. It almost felt like her throwing up on him had been part of his punishment for putting her in danger. Tyr secretly praised himself for getting her the enchantment because he would have hated to reboard his ship with vomit on him. He was sure the crew would have mentioned it to his mother.

After using the ear-cuffs to clean himself, He led Macha outside. He went ahead of her to ensure the deck was safe. Since his descent below, everyone remained unmoved.

In the distance, he saw Kochi"s naval police were on their way. Seeing a n.o.ble"s ship in an altercation with a seacraft was a priority for them. Tyr knew he had to file a report with the authorities, but for now, he wanted Macha to go back to the hotel to treat her wounds. Without waiting for the authorities he picked her up and jumped onto his airship.

As his ship pa.s.sed the authorities, he stopped and gave them his hotel and room number so they could meet him there. Tyr wanted to follow up on the investigation because he noticed the crates that had Ma.r.s.eille"s symbols on them.

****

A thin silver wand tapped against the table near Conor"s head. Rana was not pleased that he tried to steal the weapons she ordered from Ma.r.s.eille. A lopsided smile spread on Rana"s face and she bent down to whisper into Conor"s ear, "You best speak only truth. It will hurt less."

Conor"s chest moved up and down from his rapid breathing. The police already questioned him, but because the small chest he stole were weapons, the military got involved. The military already beat him during questioning, he did not know what more Rana wanted. Conor gritted his teeth, "Ay already told yer wot ay kno."

Rana laughed a deep throaty laugh that sent shivers down the man"s spine. "We shall see." She traced the wand down Conor"s arm and tapped it on his pinky finger. A deep tingle started in his finger that grew hotter and hotter until it felt like his bones would melt. His screams echoed throughout the room as he thrashed about on the table.

The cries of pain caused Rana to smile. She did not trust Conor"s story. The man tried to spin a tale about how he thought Tyr was a rich n.o.ble who could be robbed easily. Only the idiot police would believe something so simplistic as that. No average thief would come with invisibility potions and smoke bombs.

She wanted to uncover who was behind this all. She also wanted to find out why they had so many crates of Ma.r.s.eille"s cargo on their ship. It also made little sense why they would steal Macha. There were so many questions Rana wanted to be answered. Now she wondered if Conor had an idea who Macha really was.

Rana stopped the magic that tortured Conor. He had peed his pants and gasped for air. Tears ran down the corners of his eyes. She wiped the tears away as if she were a loving mother. In a sympathetic voice, she consoled him, "Now, now. Crying, it"s not needed. You will speak the truth now. No?"

Conor spat in Rana"s face, "f.u.c.k off, slag." He knew he was going to die, he just hoped he would die before giving them the information they wanted. Before he could add another insult, he felt red hot pain flow through him again.

As Conor"s screams filled the air, Rana sat down on a chair. In a light voice, she called out to him, "You wish you could die. I decide when you die. Don"t worry." Rana broke harder men than him, she gave him two days at most.