Daughter of Hell Read online

  Zerae slid down the roof to peek inside through a hole. The place was a total mess of bandages, ointments, flowers, and sweets. Two girls were in the middle of sneaking into the room to drop inside a jar with balm. Zerae waited for the women to leave and stepped to bar the door from the inside, seeing Elizabeth sleeping in her bed on the other side of the room. When the air was clear, she used the rope she kept tied on the roof to slide down into the chamber.

  Astril slept on her belly in the disaster of feathers and pillows she called her bed with Leena resting by her side. Bandages soaked with ointments covered her swollen back, which was still dripping blood. Zerae smiled and turned to leave. A hand caught her by the coat. She turned around.

  Astril was gazing at her with a vicious grin. “We will keep the secret.”

  Zerae sat down by the side of the bed, her heart barely beating. “How is it?” Please tell me it’s all right… I need to hear something positive.

  Astril clicked her tongue. “It hurts like hell. That wasn’t a light whip at all! And it will hurt a lot more if I have to wrestle you down into the bed.”

  Thanks… you always know how to twist the dagger in the wound. But the wounds aren’t too deep, so Niria succeeded in changing the whip for a lighter one. Zerae raised an eyebrow. “You dare blackmail me?”

  “Always.”

  Zerae shook her head and started pulling off her shoes. Her heel and instep were bloodied and hurting. Stupid tiny feet… wrapping them with bandages only gets me so far.

  “You know… nobody will make fun of you if you start wearing lower heels.”

  Without them, I would look like a kid next to you and Leena. “Oh, really? Not even you two?”

  “We don’t count.”

  They counted the most. Plus, she couldn’t deny that the taller she appeared, the easier it was to negotiate with anyone. And with her being a sorry excuse of a fighter herself, it’s not like lack of comfort mattered. As much as Zerae hated to admit it, the collar that blocked her cursed flame also prevented most of her ability to use aether, making her have zero stamina. She had no illusion of how hard she would have gotten demolished were she to fight even against someone like Elizabeth. Zerae proceeded with undressing. “Shut up.”

  “Leena, does she have paddings again?”

  Leena sprung up and caught Zerae from behind. “She does.”

  “Come on, now.”

  “Yeeeeepppp…. all stuffed up…” Leena giggled and crashed down to bed.

  Astril chuckled. “Your breasts are pretty, so there’s no need to hide them under the stuffing.”

  I have glorified goosebumps, and I have met men with more tits than I’ve got. “Fuck off!”

  “Come here.” Astril turned to her side, grabbed Zerae and pulled her in. Astril shouted out in pain, tears shining in her eyes.

  This bad? I am so, so sorry. Zerae sighed. “Your wounds won’t ever close if you keep doing this.”

  “The girls will put me back together.” Astril smiled. Leena slid behind Zerae and pressed her to Astril.

  The heat of their bodies seeped into Zerae, filling the emptiness inside, soothing her soul. “I wish they didn’t have to.”

  Astril gazed straight into Zerae’s eyes. “Stop beating yourself up. The plan was good, worked out well, and we saved Ellie, so you succeeded.”

  “You being whipped to the point of being unable to walk is not a success. Basing the plan on me challenging the Matron to make a scene to bait Elaine was awfully risky, so this was a five out of ten plan, at best.”

  Leena pushed her lips to Zerae’s ear, making her shudder. “Elaine loves children. She would kill the other two matrons before watching a kid die. There was no risk in counting on her, so revving things up to make it appear natural rather than manipulative was smart. You planned it well, and we know it.” As she finished the sentence, her eyes rolled over as whatever toxin she took earlier kicked in. Her body went slack and collapsed onto the bed.

  Astril’s face turned serious. “So, what’s wrong?”

  Zerae’s muscles unclenched as she relaxed into Astril’s arms. “Nothing’s wrong, aside from you getting whipped, of course. Why would there be anything wrong?”

  Astril didn’t buy the lie, not letting her slip away. “You look like you will break down crying any second. It’s Mathilde, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, we… disagree on most issues as of late.”

  “What else is wrong?”

  Zerae turned her gaze downward. “Nothing.”

  “If you don’t tell me, then whom? You can’t bottle these things inside you, because they eat you up.”

  “There is nothing more.”

  Astril sneered. “You’ve been working so much in the past years you barely had any time to visit me in the forest. Stop acting tough and spill it out! And you owe me the explanation for bringing me back without warning.”

  Zerae sighed. “Mathilde’s obsession with searching for our Goddess has led her to making a deal with Kayleanne. The next thing she will do, behind my back, of course, is strike an alliance with Ur’Thul’Gar, the pirate lord of the south. Once that happens, we will be drawn into their war against the Palai Order, which is a war that can easily lead to the complete annihilation of our civilization.”

  “We are stronger than you give us credit for, so we can handle our share of fighting.”

  Zerae shook her head, not feeling any better. “We’ve never fought in a war. All we fight in are skirmishes and monster hunts. Wars are different. We have neither the experience nor the equipment while the fortifications around our city are an absolute joke. Plus, our entire civilization counts what, fourteen thousand? Every single demon prince has an army larger than that, an army of professional soldiers, demons, war machines, wagons for supply lines, a well-organized chain of command and experience in large operations. We have none of that. And that’s talking about Kayleanne and Ur’Thul’Gar while the Order is sailing around the entire continent to attack them, so it must be bringing an army far greater than theirs.”

  Astril smiled. “It will be all right, so stop worrying about it.”

  “I don’t know… I have devoted my life to protecting the clans, but now it’s slipping away.”

  Astril caught Zerae’s nape to pull her into a long kiss. Zerae’s mind went black, her muscles relaxed and all her worries washed away. Astril contorted and grunted with pain as the move stretched her wounds, snapping Zerae out of the moment.

  She threw her a sour look. “You need to care more for yourself.”

  Astril relaxed back onto her stomach, more exhausted than Zerae ever remembered her seeing. Zerae softly stroked Astril’s hair until she fell asleep, after which Zerae dressed and returned to her chambers to catch some sleep as well.

  6

  Luna

  Luna’s days turned into a routine. Since the meals had a fixed time on the daily schedule, everything spun around them. Aside from practicing with Zakuma, she was assigned the duties of a sailor. As she lacked any useful skills, like carpentry or working with ropes, she always got the cleaning duty. She didn’t mind it the tiniest bit though, for while washing the dirt off the deck wasn’t the most entertaining activity, it was not meaningless.

  The routine left her exhausted, but calm. Upon an evening of one of those days, Chief Bull approached her. Luna greeted him with a precise salute, earning herself a sigh.

  “Since you are a petty officer, you get to hold night watches and, tonight’s midnight slot needs someone.”

  Luna nodded. “I will take it, Chief.”

  He smiled. “I will wake you up as you are switching with me.”

  The electrifying anticipation of the unknown barely allowed her to close her eyes. Since Nancy and Daniel never held a night watch, she had no idea who to ask for details. When she finally managed to sleep, Chief Bull came to switch with her mere minutes later. She got up, arranged her uniform to perfection and let him lead her to her post.

  The crow’s nest atop
the foremast was smaller than she had hoped. And much windier. The sharp sea wind froze her bones before she scaled the ropes to reach it. Within the wooden roundhouse sat a young man, his teeth rattling despite being covered in the blanket. He greeted her with a nod. Neither of them was in the particular mood to talk, so they each watched the horizon and the ship below.

  From what she gathered from the little conversation they had, he was from Sonenheim, a fishing city south of Xona, the most southern settlement there was. Which didn’t mean much because it still had over a month of a snow-filled winter. Luna understood him though. Despite her being raised in the cold plains of the north, her teeth were rattling within minutes.

  The night passed uneventfully, but over the passing hours, something caught Luna’s ear. It was but a mere clang that echoed through the air from time to time, but she noticed a pattern. The sound rung once, then twice in a minute, then once a minute apart and then became silent for five minutes before clanging once more and vanishing for about half an hour.

  After the third repetition, she turned to the sailor. “I have heard something. Have you?”

  He shook his head.

  “Can I go check it out?”

  He shrugged. “This is my first watch, so, I guess?”

  Luna glanced at the other crow’s nests but saw everyone was freezing and junior like she was. Why don’t I see any higher officers?

  She had no answer, so she leapt onto the net and slid down. The hempen ropes burned her palms, but her skin regenerated as she descended upon the forecastle deck. A shift of her height and change of posture allowed her to walk in silence.

  Luna stalked toward the stern, her ears sharp. She could not hear the sound anymore. Either she imagined something, or it came from somewhere from where it wouldn’t be heard on the deck.

  She approached the bow, but her ears caught nothing. As she slid down onto the head gallery, her eyes noticed movement at the net by the side of the forecastle. That net isn’t supposed to be down at night. Luna peeked over the railing, glimpsing a person down at the net before stepping backward, out of sight.

  Nobody should be there. This is likely sabotage. Luna prolonged the tips of her right hand’s fingers into vicious claws, dashed forward and jumped over the railing. She spun midair, caught the net to break mid-fall, swinging at the person claws first.

  She stopped her hand an inch before the throat of the girl. Of Nancy. She was pale as death, staring at the claws like at a specter of death.

  Luna’s heart shot to her throat while she retracted her claws. “What are you doing here?”

  “Catching… plants,” she stuttered, looking as if she was about to faint at any second.

  Luna scanned her with a long glare. Nancy held herself with her feet and one hand while she had a round net on a steel rod in her other hand. Inside its webbing were thick, green plants.

  Nancy kept staring at Luna's fingers. “What was… that?”

  Luna forced out an awkward smile. “Shifting, my aether manifestation.”

  Nancy gulped. “It’s… terrifying.”

  I must make sure she never sees my fangs. Luna shook her head. “I’m sorry. I… can I help you? My watch is about to end, anyway.”

  Nancy nodded.

  Gently, Luna wrapped her arm wound Nancy’s waist and scaled the net, bringing the girl to the forecastle deck. She pulled the net back up while Nancy retreated to their compartment.

  Luna welcomed the sharp wind of the crow’s nest, for the cold calmed down her soul, feeling like the just punishment who what she had almost done. She returned to her hammock upon the end of her shift. Nancy was already asleep, huddled in the fetal position.

  Frozen and filled with emptiness, Luna tried to catch sleep.

  ***

  Luna woke up more tired than when she went to sleep. A single glimpse of Nancy’s face made her heart sink. She couldn’t bear to look at her, for the image of her pale, terrified face, remained etched into Luna's mind.

  With a nightmare of a headache, Luna tended to her duties. Practice with Zakuma was insufferable, for the slowness of her tired body was of little help. She took mere hours to collapse to the deck, exhausted, forcing him to declare a break.

  From the corner of the eye, Luna glimpsed two figures approaching. Daniel, wearing a broad smile, was half-pushing before himself Nancy, who was looking into the ground and clutching something in her hands.

  The memory of last night flashed through her mind. The sheer terror in Nancy’s eyes pierced her soul and stopped her heart. She caught onto the railing and crawled to her feet, greeting them with a downward gaze.

  Nancy froze. Daniel pushed her forward. “Nancy brought you something.”

  Without looking at her, Nancy stepped to Luna and outstretched her hands, revealing a blossom crafted from wood. “I’m sorry… I…”

  Luna hugged her. “I’m sorry.”

  Nancy relaxed into her arms, softly sobbing. They stood motionless for a while, calming each other down. She accepted the flower, feeling so light she was afraid the wind would sweep her from the deck.

  ***

  The next day, Luna ambushed Chief Bull as he was leaping down from his hammock. She threw him a sharp salute, earning herself another tired sigh. “Chief. Is there any night sentry duty I could attend?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Why? Everyone hates those.”

  She saw this coming. But she had no proof the sound was anything, and she wanted to investigate it further. She would look like a fool if she told them now and it turned out to be nothing. Or worse, the sound could be a result of an integral part of the ship, which she didn’t notice, because she spent all the guides she received from Daniel chatting with him and Nancy instead of paying attention. Luna smiled to herself but kept her face calm. “It gives me time to think.”

  He shrugged. “Tomorrow night, the midnight watch is still open.”

  Luna scratched the back of her neck. “I suppose the sentry duty at eight and the one at four are both full already.”

  “Yes. The midnight slot is saved for the junior petty officers.”

  Because the other slots don’t break the sleep cycle. Luna nodded as the realization hit her. “Okay. Tomorrow night it is.”

  ***

  This time, she shared the watch with a young woman from the company of Captain Hellwind. She received it as a punishment, and since the wind was as freezing as winds got, neither of them felt chatty. It suited Luna well, for her singular purpose was to investigate the sound.

  The patterned clangs soon caught her ears. She told the sailor next to her she would check something and slid down the ropes. She headed straight for the head gallery. Here, she could hear the clanging. Luna watched, listened, but could not identify the source. Yet as she observed the sea beneath the ship, the specter of wrongness crept up her spine. After tens of minutes of looking, she realized the water flowed differently by the starboard than it did past the port. The difference was so minuscule she had to focus on it despite knowing it was there.

  Ships are supposed to be symmetrical, so there is likely something outside the hull. She searched the deck for an unused rope, tied it around her waist and to the railing of the head gallery. After bracing herself, she leapt over.

  The water smashed into her like a running horse, crushing her against the stem. She grabbed onto it, but the current pushed her beneath the whip. Luna reached for her aether, grabbed onto the keel and clawed her way back to the stem. Every single muscle in her body hurt. Her bones and insides were frozen by the water, but she focused and heard the clanging sound from the port side.

  While clinging onto the hull like a tick, she advanced to the port side. At first, she saw nothing, but then she glimpsed a dark spot straight beneath the waterline. She approached closer and submerged her head.

  While the water blurred her vision, she realized the dark, creature-like thing reached outside the hull. It looked like a coiled snake covered by horns. This isn’t a stain, but som
ething latched onto the ship. She grabbed the rope and climbed up. When she reached the head gallery, she was utterly spent and collapsed on the deck.

  She took over an hour before she gathered enough strength to stand. She returned the rope to its place, climbed back to the crow’s nest and spent there the rest of her watch, her teeth chattering as the cold wind froze her drenched body. The thing on the hull must have been there for a while, so she figured waiting till the morning couldn’t hurt anyone, but waking everyone up in the middle of the night would have.

  ***

  The next morning, Luna fell from the hammock when she tried to jump down. Exhausted to the limit, she needed help to stand up. Daniel and Nancy raised her to her feet, both wearing worried expressions.

  Luna smiled. “I need to fetch Chief Bull.”

  Nancy stopped her with her hand. “I will bring him.” She left while Daniel kept holding her.

  Chief Bull came within moments, eyeing Luna with a curious stare. “Yes?”

  “Something is clinging onto the ship, straight below the waterline by the port side of the stem.”

  He frowned and motioned them to follow him. Lieutenant Redeye met them with a raised eyebrow. After Chief Bull repeated what Luna told him, he acknowledged it with a nod and led them to the forecastle deck.

  Zakuma threw them a curious stare as they approached, but said nothing and stepped aside. Once upon the head gallery, Luna pointed them to where she saw it.

  Lieutenant Redeye’s eyes turned red, shining with an inner light, as he peered down into the deck, gazing through the vessel as if it wasn’t there. “She’s right, there is something caught onto the ship.”

  Chief Bull drew in a sharp breath. “I don’t think we can slow down to fish it out.”

  Zakuma stepped next to them. “I will bring it if you allow me to.”

  Lieutenant Redeye’s gaze returned to normal as he turned to the priest. “Permission granted.”