Ianite, Goddess of Vengeance

Book 3

A trail of blood led to the ruined scales of justice, the line left behind almost like a border between the warring gods. At one end lay the recently deceased pirates, at the other a lone figure clad in black with a purple rapier at his side.

A figure shimmered into existence beside him.

"Thinking of something Jordan?" The second figure asked, a tone of worry apparent in her voice.

Jordan nodded, "Indeed my lady, about the task at hand."

Ianite chuckled. "Call me Ianite, Jordan. Surely we have gone past the point of a purely goddess-to-follower relationship."

Jordan looked at her questioningly. "Then how would you describe our relationship?"

"Friends at least, perhaps more," Ianite said, before laughing at Jordan's expression at "something more", "Anyway, what troubles your soul?"

Jordan sighed, his shoulders slumping, "This journey, if you could call it that, has only brought Tucker and Sonja closer together. I feel that I should not be the one to break them apart."

"I see where you find yourself caught. You do not wish to end them, but you do not wish to go against me. I understand," Ianite said, "If it makes you feel any better, I ship them too."

Jordan practically fell off the scales from laughing, "You ship things?" He managed out in between laughs.

Ianite crossed her arms, "I have an Internet life as well you know. But back to the point. If you don't wish to kill them, ask them to join you on your mission. If they are willing, then you guys can be best buds 4ever."

The Next Day

Early the next morning, when the mobs were still burning, Jordan set off toward Tucker and Sonja's fortress of a house. Within minutes, he stood at the front gate, the large wood doors slightly ajar, as if expecting someone.

From the inside, quiet voices could be heard whispering to each other in hushed tones, as if scared. These voices belonged to Tucker and Sonja, who had come back from seeing the Pirates just last night.

*Knock Knock*

"Who's there?" Tucker called out.

"It's me, Jordan."

"Jordan who?" Tucker said jokingly, "I'm just kidding, come on in!"

"By the way, your gate was open, you should probably lock it. Otherwise all of your defenses are useless," Jordan advised.

"Whoops. Well nothing happened so it's all good," Tucker said with a smile.

"Anyway, how've you guys been?" Jordan asked, successfully changing the topic.

"Pretty good. Sonj is a little shaken up. Have you seen the Pirates recently?"

Jordan shook his head, feigning innocence, "Nope, I've been looking for Capsize but I haven't seen her around. I figured she went to hash out a deal with you or Tom."

"Well she's dead. Her and Skipper," Tucker said in a rare moment of seriousness, "and based on the wounds, not by your regular sword. The wounds are far too thin, and the fatal strikes are as if they were shot by a bow."

"Huh. That's weird."

"So any idea who or what did it? You are generally the one to figure this stuff out." Tucker asked.

"Actually, yes. But you'd better get Sonja down here. I don't want to have to say it twice," Jordan said, before Tucker nodded and ran up the stairs to fetch a Fox. (Yes, intentional alliteration.)

Jordan was deep in thought when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Hey Jordan," Sonja said.

"Hello Sonja. Anyway I know who killed Capsize and Redbeard as well as how."

Tucker and Sonja's eyes widened.

"My lady entrusted me with a task, a mission of sorts. I am supposed to kill everyone who betrayed my trust and/or  broke oaths and ideals," Jordan said, "As part of my mission, I killed Redbeard and Capsize the other night."

"Okay hold up," Tucker very nearly screamed, "One, thy doesn't explain the method of death, and two, the message on the wall, is that meant to be for us? Cuz if so, we're not going down without a fight," he said, enchanted diamond armor materializing around them as well as a sword for Tucker and a bow and a quiver of arrows for Sonja.

"Jeez, relax dude," Jordan said with a chuckle, "My lady gave me a new weapon in order to kill them. And yes, re message was meant for you, but after conversing with my lady, we decided to give you a choice rather than death by my hand. Renounce Mianite as your god, and join my in my crusade to punish those deserving."

Tucker was the first to respond, "Oh hell naw. I'm loyal to Mianite. If a fight is what you want, a fight you shall get," he snarled.

Sonja hesitated. "While I do not agree with Mianite all of the time, my loyalties are with Tucker, I have no wish to fight against him. Therefore I must decline your offer."

Jordan sighed sadly, before drawing his rapier, recently cleaned of the Pirates' blood. Purple tinted armor shimmered into existence around Jordan, before he settled into a defensive stance.

Tucker and Sonja attacked as one, forcing Jordan backwards from Tucker's unrelenting swings and the storm of arrows from Sonja. Both followers of Mianite attacked continuously, but couldn't find a hole in Jordan's defense.

But attacking is tiring. Eventually Tucker's swings became slower, leaving gaps where Jordan would experimentally attack, not aiming to harm, but to test defenses.

In a desperate attempt to finish the fight, Tucker brought his sword down in a vertical strike that would easily cleave a man in two, only for Jordan to sidestep the attack, leaving Tucker to bury his sword several inches into the wooden floor. Jordan wasted no time in this advantage. Lunging forward, the rapier pierced through Tucker's shoulder, almost taking his arm off, before he fell to the ground unconscious from blood loss. He would be dead within a minute.

Sonja's eyes narrowed at the sight off her unconscious boyfriend and let out a feral scream that echoed through the building, before letting loose a barrage of arrows, several of which found chinks in Jordan's armor, causing him to grunt in pain. Drawing her sword, she charged at the injured warrior, swinging her sword with reckless abandon, fueled by raw emotion.

A moment of panic ran through Jordan's head before he grabbed it and stuffed it into the back of his mind. Nimbly dodging Sonja's attacks, he deftly countered her strikes, making small cuts all over her body, but she never slowed. As she went in for a lunge, Jordan trapped her blade with his own, before twisting with a flick of his wrist and sending her sword flying across the room.

"Please Sonja, don't make me do this," Jordan said, almost pleadingly.

She shook her head, "I cannot. I may not be loyal to Mianite, but I am loyal to Tucker."

Jordan smiled sadly, "Then join him in death," he said before burying his sword in body.

Sonja smiled, the last words going through her mind being, "At least I will be with Tucker."

Jordan crouched down next to the two corpses, setting them down next to each other. Ianite walked up behind him, having teleported in mere moments ago.

"A pity. They would have made a good addition to our ranks," Ianite said.

Jordan nodded, "And this realm will never be the same. Plus I managed to kill two ships in two days."

Ianite wove her hand into Jordan's before turning him to face her.
"You are doing what I cannot in this world, bringing justice and retribution to those deserving. I expected nothing more from my champion," she said, before kissing him on the cheek and teleporting away.

A/n: K. I did it. Over 1200 words later, making this twice as long as the last chapter.