God's Forsaken

Chapter Three

"Ignore the captain." The reptile stepped in front of the stunned vampire. "He isn't thinking straight."

"And the captain is...?"

"Mr. Ozresbet to you," proclaimed Ozresbet. Thrusting a finger at the assassin, the vampire known as Ozresbet gave a haughty grin. "And while you're on my ship you obey me."

"Okay," droned Michel. He expanded a wing and picked at a few stray dust bunnies caught in them. "Does that mean I get paid?"

"Pardon?" The vampire's grin slipped into a perplexed frown.

Michel found Ozresbet obnoxious, but he should be able to manipulate him with ease. "I'm being dragged along and while I'm bonded to Vipa due to the damn moon"- both sailors flinched - "that does not mean I'm duty bound to protect you or this ship. So how much should I expect?" Stunned silence answered the assassin. Shaking his head, Michel grabbed his suitcase and fluttered down to the deck.

"I should also ask what I will be doing." Drawing a revolver from his jacket, the assassin pointed it in the direction of the sea. "I worked a fishing boat for a short span, but that was a hundred or so years ago."

Ozresbet opened his mouth with an accusing finger ready, yet the words failed to whip off his tongue. Swirling around, the captain marched over to an entrance that lead to his quarters. He grumbled something inaudible and slammed the door behind him. A banging noise soon followed, but Michel filed that fact away as unimportant.

"So, where are we going?" Michel asked the reptile.

Reclining onto the railing, Sainh shook her head in, what looked like, amusement. Michel tended to find reptile faces hard to read. The lack of facial muscles limited the number of expressions available to them. Her blinking eyes and flicking tongue seemed to convey some meaning.

"Didn't Vipa tell you?" countered Sainh.

"She did." Feathers ruffled as the angel flapped his wings. They needed to stretch after being closed for so long. "But I think she misunderstood me. Why would she want to go to Tragun? She does realize that it is a Nērānni vāṭini, right?"

"True." Sainh dropped one of her pebbles into her free hand. Her fingers pinched it and she studied its scarred surface. "So what did she tell you?"

"She's fishing for a rare fish that can only be found around Tragun." Michel clicked his tongue in disbelief. "Any fish that idiotic deserve to die."

The reptile chuckled as she flicked a finger. One of her stones shot forward and bounced off the ship's railing. Catching it with her magic, she threw it back to continue the game.

"Her lying hasn't gotten much better," stated Sainh. "Catch a fish and risk being killed by a Guilty One. Then again, knowing her..."

"The Guilty Ones." Michel closed his eyes. "Let's see now... that is a direct translation of Nērānni vāṭini into our tongue. If I remember my stories correctly, they are the five beings that crossed the gods."

Sainh blinked her agreement. "According to legend, they created a monster to substitute for the gods themselves, yet the monster wreaked havoc on the land. Druad himself, the leader of the Freudian set, came down and defeated the monster. To punish the Guilty Ones, he transformed the five into great beasts, each destined to terrify the world for all eternity."

The reptile dropped the rocks into her hand. "Of course, it is only legend. What I do know is that going near one of them is dangerous."

Images of a young woman and man drinking root beer flashed before Michel's mind's eye. They were expecting him to come home any day now. Suppressing a growl, he buried his fingernails into his palm enough for pain to respond, but to keep blood from wetting his hand.