A Mirage Of Milk And Honey

Chapter 23 - Poachers From The East

"Poachers?" Honey whispered harshly, shock evident. "Why would there be poachers here?"

The muscle in Aedis' jaw shifted as he clenched it. "From the looks of it, they're hunting oisia." was his reply.

Honey turned back to the boat, eyes wide and heart beating fiercely. Now she knew what the ballista aboard their ship was for. There was a suspenseful silence for a second, and Honey glanced at Aedis from the corner of her eye.

He was considering something. She could tell.

Not soon after, he sat up. "I'm going to stop them." He said, his tone final.

"I'll help," Honey said, beginning to shift position.

"No. If you get captured-"

"I will not get captured!"

"Honey, no!" He said, a shocking sternness to his tone.

Aedis had always been... serious, and over the past few weeks, Honey had forgotten that he was a General. That he commanded armies.

"You can have a go at me later if you like, but right now I need to go sort this out. You stay here." And with that, Inertia dropped the bundle of saddles, and burst out the trees.

Honey slumped, not so much in exasperation or child-like petulance, but in shock.

She watched as Aedis circled the ship from the sky.

Based on the shouting of orders and the sudden movement on deck, the crew had already spotted him.

It didn't matter to him.

He waited for a second, circling the ship from the air, watching one of the poachers aim the ballista at him.

Twisting into an arched dive, slow and controlled. It gave the pirate what he thought was the perfect opportunity, and as Aedis had anticipated, he pressed on the trigger.

Aedis' reaction was immediate. He moved so fast Honey barely had any time to register from where she sat and watched.

In one, complicated manoeuvre, Aedis had moved out of line from the net hurtling towards him. Inertia's talons then hooked into the fabric, and with a powerful twist of the body, she'd launched it back towards the ship.

The heavy stone weights splintered the wood under their impact as the net landed on the ballista.

"There's a rider!" Someone shouted from down below, their voices echoed around in fear, shock, confusion.

But it was too late.

Aedis was brutal in his assault, attacking from all angles, switching direction in the blink of an eye. He tore through their sails—Inertia's sharp talons slicing through the fabric effortlessly—picked people off, throwing them into the river. He pulled the ship apart, bit by bit. The handrails, the mast. Splintering the wood.

Honey could only gape as he wreaked destruction below, before flying back up towards her.

"Let's get back." Aedis said, having Inertia pick up the gear before once again flying off.

Honey stared after him in shock, hesitating a second as she turned back to once again take in the wreckage. The boat was steadily sinking, and the crew... they were now stranded.

Scowling at the poachers, Honey took off behind Aedis.

*

The journey back to Aliothra was filled with a tense silence as Honey mulled over the events.