A Surprise Encounter

The wave of heat burned Laki's eyes, and he turned away from the blazing pillar of flame. Pine needles flew at him, their pointed edges stung his skin. The attack he witnessed could not have been produced by a typical fighter. It had been on par with his Captain's fighting ability.

He shifted his attention back to the woman who lay pinned beneath him. Her eyes were shut, and a grimace formed on her face as the hot wind blew on them.

After the wave of heat passed, his aqua eyes locked with hers. His voice shook with fear as he asked, "Who else did you bring with you?"

Lances filled the dark night sky, which blotted out the moon. One by one they rained down into the village square.

Since Macha was lying on her back, she saw the weapons fill the black velvet sky. Her eyes became round and the sheer magnitude of the spell left her in awe. She became speechless and feared for Tyr's safety. If the man's Captain was as strong as this, then he was in danger.

Annoyed that she remained quiet, not answering any of his inquires, he swiftly moved his hand and captured her small face. He gave her head a shake, "Listen up you little shit, you're gonna answer my questions," he growled.

After getting her attention, he continued, "How did you get in here?"

The sudden change in his demeanor shook Macha. It happened so quickly that she did not expect it. Her mouth was sore from his tight grip that pushed her cheeks against her teeth.

"Through the passageway..."

Her response made him smirk, and he withdrew his hand from her face. "That's a good girl. We don't have to make things difficult. Just keep answering the questions." His voice reverted back to its easygoing nature, and he continued, "Who else came with you?"

A loud screech echoed through the area. Macha's eyes darted to the village where the sound was coming from, but she could not see anything. Not wanting to give away her relationship with Tyr in case it was used against them, she responded, "My boss."

Laki felt as if something was amiss with her answer. He stared her down for a few moments, but her face remained unchanging.

His eyes narrowed, "Who's your boss?"

The question caused her mouth to tighten. She swallowed, fearing that he might recognize Tyr's name.

Hesitantly, she replied in a soft voice, "Tyr Valois."

Hearing the name Valois made his nose wrinkle with distaste. His sister married a Valois years before she moved to Marseille. The marriage was all to further the family, and they butted heads over her decision.

His head tilted to the side. "Where are you from?" he inquired with a suspicious look.

Her breath came out uneven. The more questions he asked, the less confident she became about answering them.

A golden eyebrow raised, and he repeated, "I said, 'Where are you from?'"

The man's face had the same cold expression that Hrod and Tyr both mastered. Dread seeped into her heart and she felt compelled to answer.

"Marseille," she whispered.

"Get up," he commanded as the weight of his body lifted off of her.

Laki dragged Macha along as he grabbed the daggers that were strewn about. They appeared to be of good quality so he shoved them into his boots.

The man's actions confused her, and she became nervous. "What are you going to do with me?"

He looked at the small woman from the corner of his eyes. The fighting stopped and if the Captain was alive, then she would be in a foul mood. This girl would be a good way to ease Killigrew's hot temper since she could be used as a sacrifice.

From the sound of it, this woman's boss was very possibly a relation to him. He knew if Killigrew was dead, then this woman might come in handy. Either way, he needed to play both sides.

His grip loosened slightly, "Sorry for my earlier roughness. I was startled from the dagger you had pointed at me."

After a moment he added, "Don't take this personally, but I need to keep ya hostage to save my own hide."

As he pushed Macha towards the village, Tyr's towering form approached them. The moonlight shone behind him and his dark shadow stretched towards them. The shadows on his face made it difficult to see his expression.

Upon seeing the man, Laki pulled out one of the daggers from his boot. He rested the tip against the small woman's delicate neck.

A cold voice that dripped with danger cut the silence of the night. "Let her go."

Laki pulled Macha in front of him. His hands became sweaty and his grip tightened on her wrist. "You Hrod's boy? What happened to the Captain?"

The answer to his second question was obvious, but he asked anyway. If this man was that good of a fighter, there was no way he would win.

The snow crunched as Tyr took another step towards them. In the distance the wind howled as it passed through a group of trees.

"Let her go," he repeated through gritted teeth.

By the light of the moon, he could tell that Macha appeared to be unharmed. She walked without a limp and she did not seem to be in pain. The thought of another man touching her was sending him into a fit of rage.

Laki brought Macha's hand higher up behind her. It caused her to wince in pain.

He repeated his question, "I believe I asked if you were Hrod's boy."

Seeing Macha in pain with the dagger pointed against her, forced Tyr to answer. He stalled for Aži to sneak up behind the man. "Yeah, I'm Hrod's son. Why?"

It was no secret that his family had many people who wanted to see them ruined. Now he wondered why a pirate would even know his mother.

A deep rich laughter came from Laki's wide mouth. He let Macha go and spanked her butt, signaling for her to run to Tyr.

"Go on," he said between breaths.

After calming himself, he stated, "I'm supposing you killed Captain Killigrew or you wouldn't be standing here."

He then dug into his boots and withdrew the other dagger. He tossed both of them into the snow towards Macha's feet. As he did this, he smiled at Tyr, "I'm your uncle. Hrod's younger brother."

To prove himself, he pulled out a silver chain from beneath his shirt. On it hung the Montfort family ring. Right now he was playing with fire. He hoped that he chose the proper course of action.

Aži stood in a position to pounce on the man, but Tyr shook his head. He wanted to inspect the ring.

"Toss it over here," he instructed. In case it was a trick, he did not want to get too close.

The ring did not matter too much to him, so Laki threw it to Tyr. The silver chain shone in the moonlight and reminded Macha of kite tails, dancing in the wind.

The ring was set in adamantine and had an onyx stone in it. The Montfort family crest was fashioned out of white jade, which lay on top of the black onyx.

The Montfort family crest was one Tyr could never forget even if Freyr had not been the King. It had been something he constantly saw when he was forced to learn about his family's history.

The familiar crest made him clench his jaw. This was the last of the pirates and he planned on killing the man. Instead, he gave a nod and tossed the ring back.

In a grim voice, he stated, "You're Laki then."

"Yep, good old Uncle Laki. I'm sure sis enjoyed teaching you about me," he said sarcastically.

He understood his sister would have been livid when he left. She always went on about honor and responsibilities. The stuffy life she held on to felt like a noose around his neck. It choked him every moment of every day.

Tyr began to lead Macha away. "Where's your Captain's airship? I'm taking it." He did not want to leave it here, instead, he planned to give it to the Swat family to help them expand their business.

The situation was becoming complicated for Laki. Without the airship, he would be stuck on this island.

"You know, I am in charge of maintaining the airship. If you want, I could continue to do so," he offered.

"You must think I'm some sort of idiot. No," Tyr replied. Family or not, the man is still a pirate.

As soon as he said this, Macha tapped his arm. In a low voice, she whispered, "He's family and he could pilot it back to Marseille. Hrod would probably be thrilled to find out her brother is alive."

She wanted to bring Laki back with them. It would be good for Tyr and Luna to have more family in their lives. The man had a chance to treat her badly when she was caught, but he did not.

Tyr looked at her as if she grew another head. His voice lowered so only she would hear, "He's a pirate. They cannot be trusted. I would sooner kill him."

Her brows came together, and she put her hands on her hips, "He's family. He could have hurt me but he didn't. I don't think he's that bad of a person. Maybe we should give him a chance."

A deep sigh escaped Tyr's mouth. He opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. She always wanted to give people second chances.

"Fine." He turned back to Laki. "If you show us where the airship is hidden, we will get you off this island."

That was more than Laki was hoping for. In truth, he planned on being a stowaway and sneaking on board. He tossed out that suggestion just in case it would work.

"All right. Sounds good to me. I know that ship inside and out, did most of the improvements on it."

****

The ship had been hidden in plain sight. When they exited the secret passage, there was a wide clearing not far away, which the pirates had parked the airship in.

Laki broke a few seals which lay concealed in the surrounding trees, and the ship appeared in front of them. It was a large warship built for speed and maneuverability. The ship had thirty cannons and three masts which extended high into the night sky.

The figurehead caught Macha's eye. She pointed to it, "What is that a statue of?" Since it was dark, she could not make out what the image was.

Laki crossed his arms, "That's the demon who gave Captain Killigrew all her powers. She said the figurehead helped give the ship more of its fighting strength. We would bring captives on board and kill them in exchange for the protection and power of the demon."

"Oh." She did not really know how to respond to his honest explanation.

Tyr lept up and his lance glowed with a silver light. With one strong jab, the statue shattered into thousands of pieces. The wooden splinters rained down to the snowy ground.

There was no way he wanted such a demonic thing around Macha.

As the splinters fell, Laki winced. He loved the ship, having spent most of his life improving it and maintaining it, it hurt to see his beloved baby being damaged.

Aži's stomach churned. He gave a little groan and burped up a puff of green smoke.