Macha's Journey

"Abrir," shouted a man who had a crimson eyepatch covering one of his eyes.

The stones grated as they parted, creating a narrow hallway. The scoundrels shoved the frightened women through the secret pa.s.sage and followed.

Tyr stayed in the shadows, crouched low with his weapons drawn. He wanted to make sure there was not another group that was going to follow.

A few minutes later, the rocks sc.r.a.ped against one another and returned to normal.

Tyr glanced back at Macha. She still lay sleeping under the furs. He moved and finished packing their belongings. The situation obviously reeked of trouble, but it looked like the women needed help.

"Darling," he called affectionately, trying to rouse her.

He realized he wanted ask a favor and needed to wake her gently so she would be in a good mood.

Macha woke up. Tyr sounded so sweet and he kissed her fingertips.

"Sorry, I fell asleep," she said sheepishly.

Her body felt relaxed and the small nap left her refreshed. It was already dark, but moonlight streamed through the waterfall, giving enough light for her to see the outline of Tyr"s figure. His broad shoulders had his pauldrons on and he knelt down beside her. He was already fully dressed and gathering her things.

After a.s.sisting her, he asked, "I saw some men drag a group of women behind the waterfall. There"s a secret entrance."

He paused, rethinking if he should help or not. When he helped investigate the gang in Jimbaran, something had attacked Macha.

His long bangs fell over his eyes as he looked at the ground, "I want us to go and rescue them."

This time he would keep her with him. It would be safer for her to be near so he could help her. If he left her here, there was a chance that another group might find her.

Without hesitation she nodded her head, "Of course. Do you know how to get into the secret entrance?"

Tyr led her to the place where the group had stood. With the same inflection, he shouted, "Abrir." The stones parted creating a portal for them to walk through.

Not knowing what was on the other side, he put his arm in front of her and entered first. He wanted to make sure it was safe before he had her follow.

When he stepped through, he found that the short hallway led to a huge clearing. There were a few trees and bushes, but past that was a village. There were no guards, and it sounded like something was happening further in the village square.

He hurried back. "Macha, come, it"s clear."

When Macha came to the other side of the stone wall, the sight of a village surprised her. She did not expect to find people living behind the waterfall. From the looks of it, the island seemed as if it were uninhabited.

They made the homes out of wooden planks and salvaged ship parts. Loud music played further in and they could hear the sound of cheering and merriment.

He left the bags in the bushes by the entrance and motioned for her to follow him. He kept to the shadows, moving silently through the dirt walkways.

As Tyr led her through the homes, he said in a low voice, "Stay close."

When they got closer to the village square, they found a few drunken pirates pa.s.sed out on the ground. A few of them had their urine pooled up around them, soaking into the earth.

Tyr took their weapons and threw them under the post and pier buildings.

A raucous female voice shouted over the loud music, it reminded Macha of an aunt she had that smoked a pack of cigarettes a day. The woman"s shouting caused the music to stop. The people quieted down and everyone faced the speaker.

A tall woman hopped onto a crate. "Ahoy, ye all best be quietin" daun," her voice projected, and the audience obeyed.

The woman wore a long black dress that had a leather belt. Over it she wore a brown cropped collared jacket. A cutla.s.s hung on her hip and she wore a large tri-cornered leather hat. She exuded confidence and swagger.

She snapped her finger and yelled, "Brin" out the offerin"s."

Her men had their fun with the offerings before the ritual started and the women trembled with fear. As they dragged the women out, s.e.m.e.n ran down their torn skirts and their b.r.e.a.s.t.s were exposed. A few of them had swollen faces from being beaten and they could barely stand.

The pirates pushed the women into a pentagram that had been painted on a wooden stage. The symbol appeared to be made out of fresh blood and dark splatters of black decorated the middle.

Loud sobbing could be heard as the women begged for their lives. Macha did not understand the language that the people spoke, but realized the situation was not good. She looked desperately at Tyr and pulled on his arm to go and help.

Tyr brought her to the side, "I need you to stay hidden. Go back to the entrance, I think that woman is..." The loud hollering from the crowd stopped him mid-sentence. His head whipped around to watch the stage.

Captain Jacquotte Killigrew gave her men a gold coin to shove into the women"s mouths. The men stood behind, clamping the mouths shut so they would not spit the coin out. While they exposed the women"s delicate throats, Killigrew ran her dagger along their soft skin. This was the part her crew loved most.

Black blood oozed from the slit she created as the women tried to gasp for breath. Tears streamed down their faces as they drowned in their own blood. Her men kept their jaws shut, making sure the coin did not fall out.

One by one, the offerings disintegrated into black ash.

When all the women disappeared, Captain Killigrew was surrounded with a green aura. "We pleased the Demon Lord! Toni"ht I be raisin" our breatheren!"

Killigrew"s speech confirmed all of Tyr"s suspicions. Stories of a pirate queen who terrorized the skies had been circulating for hundreds of years. She would raid ships and take the women as an offering to a demon. This exchange gave her crew life beyond death.

Tyr"s eyes scanned Macha beautiful face. The last thing he wanted was to lose her to the depths of h.e.l.l.

"Stay hidden," he ordered.

When she did not move to hide, he grabbed her arm and dragged her to the back of the village, by the entrance. "Stay here. If I don"t return or if someone else comes, leave."

Macha"s lips parted. She had been terrified by what she saw, but would never leave him. She did not understand what was going on, but it looked like some sort of ritual.

The idea of leaving him behind sounded absolutely ridiculous. She shook her head, "Let me help. I"ve been training and the people have been drinking. I know I can be useful."

His lack of faith in her abilities frustrated her. She went into a war to save him, yet he treated her as if she were a child.

His harsh tone halted any ideas of fighting that she had. "No. You WILL stay here. These people have a demon backing them," he barked.