The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes, Part 4: The Pendant of Light

Chapter 25: The Merry Malaclaw

Chapter 25

     The sails on the Troll’s Hammer were worn and dirty from being used so often, but they reminded Rain Fox that the ship was older and had character. She noticed that a lot of the woodwork seemed new, while other parts of the ship had damage beyond the conventional wear. Rain Fox had stood at the starboard rail for a time, looking at the ocean and the waves, but her hand caught something unusual. Her fingers felt along a large gash in the wood railing. She recognized the ship from nearly a year previous. It was the same ship that had pulled into Blackpool near Admiral Heights. She hadn’t met Captain Scylla then. Captain Scylla had been carried off of her boat with wounds given to her by Violet Cobra. The Troll’s Hammer was the same boat that had attempted to transport Antipater from Black Rock to Azkaban, but they were beset upon by Violet Cobra and a swarm of Selkies. Their location had been betrayed by Argent Tenebras, who planned the attack on the boat. Since then, the boat had been repaired, but still bore some of the scars of the battle. Rain Fox recognized the gouges in the woodwork: the work of a sword. She felt the groove left behind and pondered for a while.

     Rain Fox had filled Captain Scylla in on the happenings since last the fire-haired captain had last seen Shade in Tituba’s Pub across the Pond. Captain Scylla was genuinely sad to hear of Shade’s passing and offered up her condolences. She offered her own cabin and the best seat at the dinner table to Rain Fox aboard the ship. Captain Scylla was going to venture out into the seas for fishing and was preparing to make a pick-up and delivery in the Bahamas.

     “That place gets crazy around the Equinox,” Captain Scylla had told Rain Fox. “A bunch of loonies used to go out there at the Bimini Wall but now there’s more sharks in the area. No one really goes out there anymore.”

     “What’s the Bimini Wall?” Rain Fox asked.

     “Just some old rocks that belonged to some civilization somewhere in history,” Captain Scylla said dismissively. “Nothing special.”

     Rain Fox had shrugged and paid no heed to the Bimini Wall far away. Her thoughts focused on the Isles of Scilly and what Archelaus Bronze had told her. She knew that she had to find someone who followed Easter and get them to talk. She looked forward to getting her hands on one of the Embers, the followers of Easter. She was anxious to flex her blades once more.

     Rain Fox stood, staring out to the sea. A day and a half had passed since she had left the rest of the team. She felt bad about leaving Echo with the others, but she felt a knot in her stomach every time she thought about leaving her sister behind. She felt horrible about not telling her sister about her intentions. She could not risk Sky Heart’s life, however. She felt like there was no one else who could complete the task set before her. She loved her sister, but she couldn’t fathom putting her in harm’s way again. “Besides,” she thought to herself, “Teller is with her. He’ll watch over her.”

     Teller. He was the one person that could cross her mind and bring a smile to her face. He was gruff, rugged, tall, and not remarkable to look at, but he somehow had become an object of her affections. He was always so professional, though, she thought. He always kept his honor above all other things. She had never been drawn to any person of the opposite gender before, and even though he was older by close to a decade, she found herself drawn to his stoic nature and loyalty. She felt bad for not saying goodbye to him. She figured she would never see him again.

     She did not plan on going back. She planned to take Easter and his followers on by herself and was either going to destroy them or die trying. She had her blades, Shade’s sword, the Pendant of Death, and her wand. She spent some of her time meditating on the foredeck; meditating as Aldous Nimblegrim had taught her to do.