We set up camp, nervously eyeing the swell of forces of witches and Lunes outside Rahasia's Lioness Gate.
"Much good that army of undead did us. We beat them here handily, especially with these horses." Ali gripes, unrolling her pack.
I glance back from where we came. Dammit, Ode. What use is an army of undead pirate crew if they walk slower than a dizzy infant? "Rest, we'll figure out a way to break through."
"Our rations are gone. We either figure it out soon, captain." Ali begins nervously, grimacing. "Or we're done for in this heat."
"I know." I look to them all. Xander, shivering as the desert's heat is replaced by the aching cold of night. Kura's in the fetal position, clutching her amulet protectively. "Will you pray for us, Kura?"
Kura shakes her head. "This Kane's eye amulet isn't because I'm religious. On Jiwa, my parents worshipped a different god entirely. Just one." She smiles, a sad smile, eyes welling with loss. "The amulet was Sol's. She gave it to me... and it just fit best when I was attuning to items, searching for my Diviner's Weapon."
She trails off, dreaming of Sol. The girl who stole her heart away, whisking it to the land of the dead.
"Kali, could you—?" Ali looks hopefully at the little goddess, then to the swarm of forces blocking the gate.
Kali shakes her head. "Not yet. Not fun."
I curl up beneath my fish-scale coat, pillowing my head on my arms.
When I lose myself to sleep, the first thing I see is my goddess's face.
Lucky...
Ode Ngayoh, young again. In her late teens, movements prowling. Predatory. A coil to her hips, a spring to her legs. A warrior to her core.
"Do not worry, my Champion. I will provide a distraction when you ride toward Lioness Gate." She places her hand on my shoulder. "I only ask one thing tomorrow."
"What?" I blink up at her, dwarfed as she's grown thrice her regular size.
"Run hard." She informs me, a tilt to her smile, a warning in her eyes. "Run so quickly that the sunrise doesn't catch up to your horse's hooves."
When I wake up, I see the barest sun peeking through the clouds. I spring upwards, bundling my pack together. Shrugging on my coat and gathering my borrowed horse.
"Come on!" I call. The others tense. Nobody looks to have slept well, not with a dangerous army of witches and technological monsters not far from us. "We have to outrun the rising sun!"
***
Hey Pirates,
Happy holidays if any of you are celebrating this weekend for any occasion. I know there are quite a few cultural ones going on right now. Enjoy!
-Sophia