Chapter 5
I must have spent days on end in that clammy hell hole, the only sounds that of the monotone and rhythmic beating of the waves against the hull and the occasional clanking of keys down in the hold. Once a day the jailer would show up to give me my food. It was the worst kind of slop possible; something that once resembled porridge and some off color meat strips. I felt like gagging when I first saw it but I forced myself to swallow the vile contents of the metal bowl, knowing that I would need every bit of energy possible to survive my current situation. I gave some of the meat scraps to Adelmar, which he gratefully accepted. The small cub amazed me every moment he was with me. By all rights, he should have succumbed of hunger and our long lonely journey but somehow he hung in there and never left my side; not even for a moment.
“How are you still here?” I asked stroking his soft grey fur. He said nothing and attacked the stale piece of meat again with gusto. He had spirit, even though he was nothing more than a small ball of fur at the moment. If one so tiny could brave the challenges ahead, then why couldn’t I?
“Chin up, carry on Helena.” My thoughts were interrupted with the rattling of keys in the cell door. Immediately it struck me that the jailer was earlier than usual. Something was up.
“Quickly Adelmar, hide.” I whispered in an urgent tone as the pup scampered for a dark corner of the cell, well out of the sight of the jailer.
But it wasn’t him. One the ship’s sailors stood in the doorway, looking down at me with a grin on his face.
“Yes, you will do lovely my dear.” He said in a leering tone, licking his cracked lips.
“What do you want, you drooling pervert?” I asked, already suspicious of his intentions.
“The men are tired of having to fetch their own food and pour their own drink. We need a bar wench so get your arse up and come with me.” He fumbled semi drunkenly with the ankle chains before finally unlocking them. Painfully I got to my feet and stretched out the kinks in my tired body. Suddenly, I lashed out and caught the sailor flush on the shin. Hearing his screaming, I tried to make a break for it but he grabbed my long blond hair and flung me to the floor.
“Bitch!” He screamed, connecting with a straight punch to my face. My world was bathed in shades of red and I could feel my eye rapidly swelling and closing. Roughly, he grabbed and pulled me to my feet again. As I was bundled out of the cell, I looked back and shook my head at Adelmar. There was nothing he could do now and he couldn’t afford to be noticed by the ship’s crew. He whimpered softly and slunk back into his dark hiding hole, very upset that his mistress left him behind. The sailor dragged me down the corridor, kicking and screaming as I went. He turned and slapped me hard across the face again.
“You best behave yourself inside or you will get more of this. And don’t even think of complaining to the captain. The poor drunken sod must have already passed out in his cabin as usual.” He smirked and pushed me through the door. A group of thirty sailors and soldiers looked up in unison, their drunken celebrations instantly halted, barely believing what they saw before them. A round wooden tray was shoved in my hands and soon the sailors started screaming for more beer and rum. There was nothing I could but play along with their little game for the time being. Going as fast as my legs could carry me, I tried to serve everybody as quickly as I could but still the shouting got louder and louder. As I was passing one particularly mangy looking sailor, I felt his hand on me, reaching for my bottom. I stopped, blinked a few times then swung the plate around. It slammed into the side of his head; exactly as he was leaning down to get a better look at me. The leech fell backwards shattering a nearby wooden table as the rest of soldiers roared with laughter. Humiliated, he jumped to his feet and grabbed a splintered piece of wood; waving it angrily about.
“Oh lay off it Stevenson you old fool. We all know you are too much a coward to do anything. I’ll bet you couldn’t even beat the little lady here in arm wrestling.” A nearby sailor mocked him loudly and I could see his face becoming a furious shade of red.
“Is that so? I’ll show you all!” He staggered to a nearby table, flinging half empty mugs of beer to the floor. He planted his elbow on the table and looked at me with the madness dancing in his eyes. I turned away and started cleaning up behind me but the sailors voices got louder as they cheered me mockingly on. Rolling my eyes, I handed the serving tray to a soldier and grabbed the man’s hand in mine. It was a completely ridiculous sight to see the ten year old girl trying to arm wrestling the fully grown man. His breath stank like a cesspool and he swayed drunkenly before me. The sailors jeered and laughed as he went to slam my hand through the table.
My arm never moved an inch.
The blood of the wolf pumped through my veins and I could feel myself getting stronger. It couldn’t explain it even if I tried, but it felt like there was this impossible force wrapped around me, protecting and giving me untold power. The inebriated sailor looked up me with the surprised etched in his eyes. He tried to force my arm down a second time but again I did not budge.
“Come on Stevenson, stop mucking about!” The calls of derision grew louder by the second as he grabbed my arm with both hands and pushed with all his might. Sweat and foul curse words poured out of his loathsome body. I sat back and smiled grimly at him, my face was still aching from the earlier beating and my left eye was now completely swollen shut. Suddenly, I let go and he fell backwards on the floor with an audible grunt of pain. You could hear a pin drop in the barracks as the sailors and soldiers starred at the sight before them. For once they were at a loss in explaining what just took place before their eyes.
“What…what are you?” Stevenson shouted and staggered out of the room in a drunken and shocked stupor. And just like that, the power of the wolf left me again as quickly as it came to me. I felt myself becoming normal again and the great hand watching over me faded away. Calmly, I gathered myself and stood up; motioning for the first soldier to take me back to my cell. Silently, he led me away but I caught him a few times glancing at me and I could see the confusion and worry in his eyes. Shoving me inside the cell, he hurriedly fumbled with the keys and locked the door again. He was in no mood of sticking around this strange child any longer than was needed. I sat down on the cold floor and gently lifted Adelmar onto my lap. The poor thing had fallen asleep but was still shaking with worry. It wasn’t long after before I too drifted away but the thoughts kept flashing through my mind and it would not leave me.
“What happened back there? Am I…human?”
It was just after midnight when I heard the cell door creak open. Instantly, I was awake and looking up. Stevenson was standing in the doorway, a murderous and vicious look on his face. He had a half empty bottle of whiskey in one hand and a thick piece of metal in the other.
“Nobody humiliates me like that and now I’m going to put a little girl in her place again. Teach her some manners and how to respect her elders. But don’t worry; I’ll take the pain away later on.” He licked his lips and shut the door behind him with a menacing clang.
The next moment played out as if in slow motion. I saw him charging at me, weapon raised high in the air, ready to strike and mutilate me. The gauntlet on my arm came to life and the blue steel lit up brilliantly. A flintlock materialized in my hands and stopped the sailor dead in his tracks. The thin red veins in his eyes strained as I calmly held the pistol to his cheek, driving the metal deep into his flesh. The metal bar clattered to the floor and his head shook as he turned to look at me.
“What are…you?” He whispered softly.
“I am Helena Stromgard, the last daughter of the great Germanic chief Adelgar and I fear no man. You’ll know me as death.” A gun shot rang out through the decks of the war ship and soldiers and the captain came running. They found a blood covered girl sitting by a still writhing corpse on the cell floor with a wolf cub in her lap. And the strangest thing of all, there was no weapon to be seen anywhere.
“God help us…God help us…” The captain mumbled and crossed himself. “God help us…what are you?”
