The Arcoiris Effect

Chapter 8: Questionable Intentions

I stared at the little brownie in disbelief.

"Your kidding me." I shouted.

"Of course not! Brownies can't lie!" She shouted back. The thunderous sound of water slapping the boat drowned out my string of curses. My mind was reeling.

What have I gotten myself into...

I needed to see what was going on, and hopefully try and stop it. It was a ridiculous notion, but I had to try. My gut was wrenching at the thought that I was part of something cruel and bloody.

I have to stop this.

My body felt like it was cackling with electricity. I glanced at the little flower and made a lunge for the door.

"Don't!" She shrieked.

Yanking the handle I stumbled into the hallway. My wings spread and helped keep me balanced as I ran to the stairs. Bursting onto the deck I heart sank as I saw the giant ship looming over us. The blood red hull was decorated by the emblem of a golden dragon.

Our ship looks like a duck in comparison.
I grimaced. Friendly reminder to never bite off more than you can chew...

The Vigilante was a mess.

Strong lengths of rope with gnarly hooks lined the deck railing as they tore into the wood and dragged our smaller vessel into the shadow of the larger ship. Chaos was everywhere as large bear like creatures swarmed the deck.

"Joshua!" Someone shouted. I spun around in time to face an angry muzzle.

Definitely not a friendly face. I screamed and ducked as the beast swung a sword at my head. It's scarred face glowered with rage as it roared in triumph, bringing the large blade up for a final stroke. With a crunching thump another body slammed into the beast.

Oh God I am going to die!

The clash of metal ensued as Santino forced the ugly caith away with his scythe. The boat rocked violently as a spray of water covered the deck. I lost sight of Santino and Scarface as I stumbled back. The Vigilante was pulled taunt against the larger ship. A hand yanked me to my feet and I was met by two oily eyes and the cold steel of a blade against my throat.

Oh god. I'm going to die

The girl rolled her eyes as she let go of my shirt. She looked pissed. I raised my hands and took a step back.

"Easy there." I muttered. My heart almost stopped as she spun around and threw the dagger with deadly accuracy. It buried itself into the thigh of the Caith attacking Santino, bringing him to his knees. A strong blow to the temple from the hilt of Santino's scythe was enough to knock him out. Leaping over the crumbled body on all fours, Santino barrelled into another Caith. The girl had disappeared into the fray.

My mind was reeling from where I had seen her before. Those eyes were eerily familiar. I did a rapid scan of the deck. There were still four unfamiliar figures on deck. Three of them were rampaging balls fury known as Caith. Their spikey fur rippled over pounds of muscle. However, they were falling quickly under the onslaught of attacks by Isla and Santino. The little fae clearly had a bigger bite than bark when it came to fighting. The blond haired elf from earlier was engaged in some sort of magic duel on the upper deck. His opponent, a tall dark skinned mage never ceased his endless onslaught, sending unforgiving waves of fire at the smaller figure.

I caught a glimpse of the girl as she hopped over the railing on the larger ship. I raced over to the huge lines securing the ships together. Giving an experimental tug I started climbing the knotted rope. I pulled myself up while my wings batted against the wind. I grabbed the railing with both hands and hauled myself over.