A Tale That Dawned [Book 4 of Selvina's Tale series]

Chapter 9: Life Stories

Artemian was speaking now, asking if—

The Writer's eyes widened and he stepped closer to the book, intently watching the words appear on its pages.

"You think that's where he took Selvina?" I asked.

Cookie nodded, putting the final touches on his map. "Aye, the captain checked all the other islands often but Skull Island is surrounded by a never-ending hurricane and is the one island we never sailed to. If Pan took Selvina somewhere he didn't want Hook following, it would be there."

"How do you know all of this?" The simple cook seemed to know much.

"It pays to listen to folk in inns and taverns, lad. Some people's stories are full of gull shit but there are a few bearing some interesting truths. The Captain, good a man as he was, never did enough of that. He was always spending his time with that pretty barmaid of his. If he'd have listened a little more he might have gone to Skull Island straight away."

"Do you think Pan is still there?"

Cookie shrugged his round shoulders. "No one's seen the damned pirate in over a month; it's like he just disappeared." The large man then slid the map across the table to me. "There you go, huntsman, a map of all the islands Peter Pan liked to frequent, as well as I remember them. If he kidnapped Selvina he'd have stashed her somewhere on one of them. Though, personally, I'd bet my gold coins on Skull Island."

I examined the map and nodded. To my surprise, the man could draw rather well and the map was easy to read and understand. "Thank you, Cookie."

"Aye, now can I get out of here and get my leg healed?"

I waved him aside. His job was done and I had no more need of him. I also didn't know how much longer I could bear his stench. "Of course, go ahead."

"Good," Cookie said, lifting his bulk out of the chair and slowly limping his way to the room's door. "Hope to never see you again..."

"Likewise," I said, sincerely.

The Writer stepped back, his eyes wide and his heart racing. There it was. A location! Selvina's possible location! He had to tell the Black Knight of this immediately. After glancing once more at Artemian's book, remembering where it was for future reference, he hurried away, excitement building through him.

At last, he would have the one threat to all of his plans extinguished.

At last, Selvina would die.

****

Hundreds of miles away, deep beneath the sea, a dark figure slowly walked along the ocean bottom, kicking up dust with every step. Fish and various aquatic creatures swamp or scurried away, desperate to not obstruct his path.

After waiting for instructions, he had eventually heard his master's voice in his head, telling him where to go.

Southwest, to Skull Island, he had said. Selvina is there.

The Black Knight watched as scallops burst forth from the sandy bottom and jetted away erratically like hard-winged butterflies. Even the coral appeared to move aside, cracking apart and crumbling off to the side without ever being touched.

In his right hand, his scarlet sword began to pulse with heat, its length surrounded by a mass of bubbles. He gripped it tighter and stopped walking.

Enemies were near.

Like launched arrows, the mermen warriors streaked out of the darkness, long spears and blades leading the way. They zipped by, slashing and stabbing without slowing in the slightest. Underwater, the Black Knight's movements were slowed slightly and the mermen held the upper hand. Their attacks were weak but numerous and constant. They knew they could not face the Black Knight in single combat thus they resulted to multiple hit and run attacks.

Their weapons failed to pierce his armour, however, and despite their best efforts it did not take long before the bubbling, scarlet blade sliced the scaled tail off one merman swimming past. The merman, drifting away from sheer momentum, flailed his arms about in panic as clouds of red blood gushed out of his severed tail.

With a single leap, the Black Knight closed the gap and ended the merman's life with a hard stomp on his skull, huge clouds of sand bursting up from the ground. The other warriors continued the attack but they kept their distance, many of their passes only becoming harmless feints.

It was not close to the first time the Black Knight had been attacked by the merfolk. He had slain scores of them during his walk from Kenmard to Frenis. Now that he was venturing from Frenis to a lone island in the southwest, their attacks were more numerous and even more annoying. If they did not relent it would take years before he reached the island.

Summon another mount, the master's voice whispered in his head. Cease this and find Selvina!

The Black Knight paused and stood still, gathering power. It would take a substantial amount of dark energies to summon a mount but the voice was right. It was taking far too long. Selvina needed to be found and soon.

Clenching his free hand, the Black Knight surrounded himself with black tentacles of energy that burst forth from cracks in his ridged and spiked armour. They writhed and coiled around him, striking any merman warriors that swam too near. Protected from the bothersome and futile attacks, the Black Knight closed his burning red eyes and focused. He would need a mount capable of traversing water at great speed. What creature could do this? A shark was possible. A dolphin was faster, however. No. None of those would do. A demon could not lower itself to ride creatures of this world. It needed one from its own, like the knight's first hellish steed had been.

Snapping his eyes open, the Black Knight opened his hand and shoved it forward. Exploding from his fingertips, violet bolts of magic crackled outward and gathered together a short distance away. The tentacles of dark energy leapt into the focusing point of the jagged bolts, bulging it in size. Though the mermen were now free to attack the Black Knight, they floated in place and watched instead, curious, captivated and afraid.

When the Black Knight lowered his free hand, the pulsating mass of magical force lengthened in size, sharpened in shape, and began to move. When the dark shroud of energy abated, a long, serpentine creature covered in spikes, plate-like scales, and a wide fin along the length of its back revealed itself. It opened its gigantic mouth of menacingly long teeth and snapped its head with the speed of lightning.

One merman lost his life without ever knowing how.

The demonic sea serpent then burst into motion, slicing through the water like a blade and snapping its huge maw in movements too quick to follow and impossible to avoid. Within mere moments the group of attacking mermen was no more, replaced by severed body parts and dozens of drifting clouds of blood. The sea serpent then lowered itself to the ocean bottom and floated in place, obediently waiting for its master.

The Black Knight walked over, climbed behind its head, and didn't have to say anything for it to shoot away, faster than the speediest natural, aquatic animal.

Instead of months or years, that lone island was now mere weeks, if not days away.

Behind his full-faced helm, the Black Knight grinned, and the world became just a little colder.