Abel's Tale

IX. A Rebel's Tale

Abel didn't have to reach too deep to know Elise was terrified of what she'd witnessed. Had she ever seen this before? His powers. And it was used to brutally murder. Yes, to kill somebody who'd meant terrible things for her. But brutal all the same.

With her face bathed in forlorn she looked him dead in the eye, and through a shaky breath asked: "What happened to you?"

Abel couldn't find the strength to look at her any longer, and so filled with shame his eyes remained glued to the floor. "I lost control. I thought he was going to hurt you!"

"I know! I heard, I saw his slimy face and hungry eyes," Elise let out a deep sigh, hands on her hips and shook her head in disbelief. "But the way you killed him..."

"I understand if you're scared. I am too." Abel found himself saying, almost without even thinking about it. He was scared. He knew he wanted to hurt him badly, and so he did. It was like something entirely else took over. Like his thoughts and commands weren't his own.

But deep down inside he knew it was. He wanted this.

"What happened to that boy I knew? To the boy who stole apples for me in the market? We aren't killers," Elise let out another sigh. With a step forward she tilted Abel's chin up to look at her. "This isn't the man you're meant to be."

She looked so sad. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes. Abel tried to avoid her gaze but she wouldn't let him. He settled his gaze to meet hers. And then something unexpected happened. Something he didn't think would happen again after what he'd done. Her lips had met his own.

A kiss.

When she pulled away it was like something had changed inside her. Now she just looked relieved. Abel smiled and pulled her in by the waist and returned her kiss.

Elise smiled back.

When they pulled away from each other Abel was the first to speak. "What do we do about the crew outside?"

The Invicta's crew didn't bother themselves with the sudden change of command. Many even expressed their gratitude for ridding them of Lord Duumas as their captain. Many talked about how cruel and merciless he was. He would not be missed by anyone. A few even assisted in dumping the mangled corpse into the water.

"This is your crew, you know that, right?" Elise asked.

Abel was still pondering the implications of that. His own crew, his own men and women at his command. His own ship. With Elise as his Chief Mate, and the twenty at their command.

The twenty who served under one of Malachi's knights. They'd know how he operates, how to get to him. They know how to get into the city walls. They could sneak into Thanatos' kingdom, find Isaiah.

From the otherside somebody knocked on the door to the captain's quarters, and at Elise's approval the door opened. A girl stood in the doorway, messy brown hair over a skinny frame. Her tunic was stained in a mixture of blood and grime.

"Come in," Abel said to the girl. "Who are you?"

She gently shut the door behind her. "I'm Nina."

"What brings you here, Nina?" Abel asked.

Elise stood up and offered Nina her chair.

"No, thank you," Nina said, darting her eyes to the floor. "I won't be long."

Abel could sense her discomfort. She looked like she'd rather be anywhere else but here, speaking to the captain. "I'm not going to hurt you, Nina. It's okay. What do you need? What brings you here?"

Nina relaxed her arms a little bit. Only a little bit. "We're all prisoners."

"Well," Elise said with a crooked smile. "We would be if we hadn't managed to evade their efforts to capture us all this time."