VIOLENT TIDES (gxg - editing)

38

Ainsley scrabbled at the dragon's talons, feet swinging wildly out over the frothing waves. Was this her father's penultimate plan? To drop her and let her be claimed by the sea?

Grunting, Ainsley pulled herself upwards, sucking in sharp breaths every time the claws dug into her shoulders. She knocked the side of her fist against the dragon's scaled foot, prompting it to release its grasp. Suddenly, she was the only thing keeping herself from falling and smashing against the waves below.

Cold wind bit into her face and tugged her hair and clothes in a tangled whirlwind as she heaved herself higher, digging her fingers into gaps between the hard scales and pulling herself upwards, climbing the dragon's front leg as though it were a ladder. The wind screamed in her ears, every wingbeat nearly throwing her clear off of the beast.

Finally, she hauled herself up onto its back, heart pounding in her throat.

Ackerley sat nestled on the dragon's neck, crouched forward over its monstrous head. The dragon banked in a steep curve, sweeping back towards the ships. From here, Ainsley could see the full extent of the damage. The city burned. The grey sky was acrid and bitter to the taste.

Ainsley pushed her wet hair off of her face, got up on wobbly feet, and searched for her dagger on her belt. She should've asked to use Gael's pistol. This would be easy then.

Walking the dragon's length was like being aboard the Finch in a storm. The dragon pitched and rolled, wet with rain. Ainsley hurried as much as she could, slipping and scrabbling at scales. The wings reached for the sky around her, blocking her view of everything, and then came crashing down again in a burst of wind.

The warship bobbed below them, coming closer as the dragon swept down towards it.

Ackerley turned around and saw her. He lunged to his feet and pulled a shining sword from a scabbard at his waist.

Ainsley fell to the dragon's back to avoid the first slash, rolling and leaping up again and stabbing at him uselessly. This would get her nowhere.

Her father stabbed at her again, narrowly missing as she jumped back. She glanced over the side of the dragon, hesitated for a split second, and then leapt.

The ship's masts rushed up to meet her. Ainsley grabbed at the rigging as she fell, snatching desperately at the coarse, wet ropes. They burned into her palms as she slid, finally coming to a halt, hopelessly tangled in hundreds of feet of rope. The deck swayed and lurched, far below her.

Gael was already rushing toward her, grabbing at the rigging with her cutlass in hand, ready to cut her free. Ainsley wriggled, feeling the ropes rub her skin away.

The dragon slithered so close that the ship rocked violently on the waves. Ackerley leapt, rolling when he hit the deck. An icy hand gripped at Ainsley's chest and she froze for a split second, watching him advance in a mad dash.

Towards Gael.

"Gael!" She screamed, voice tossed by the wind. Gael turned, raising her cutlass in time to ward off Ackerley's cruel blow. Ainsley began to struggle again, kicking at the rigging that entangled her. Gael backed off several steps to regain her balance, pistol useless in its holster. It would never work in this rain.

Some of the rope gave way and Ainsley fell several feet, caught by tangles around her waist and ankle. Through the sheets of rain, Ainsley could only struggle and watch, fingertips scraped and reddened with her frantic tugging at the ropes, as Gael parried another blow with her smaller blade, pushing back and slashing at him. Wet hair dripped into Ainsley's eyes.

Gael was skilled, but Ackerley was older and stronger and more experienced. She jumped out of the way of a deadly slash, then returned it with her own. Metal clashed raucously as he slung her cutlass out of the way, then slid his blade forward—directly into her stomach.

The strangled scream that left Ainsley's lips was inhuman. Everything went red and when she gasped for air, her lungs were empty. Ropes strained at her skin.

Through the veil of rain, Ainsley watched, feeling oddly as though she was no longer in her body, as her father pulled his sword, slick and red, back towards himself. Gael's blank, unseeing gaze didn't waver when she hit the deck with a hollow thud.

Then he looked up at her. His eyes widened.

She barely noticed the pain at first. Then it flared across her body, hot and burning. She writhed in the rigging, and this time, it began to tear where she pulled at it with new strength. Through vision blurred by cold rain and hot tears, she saw dark, hard growths spreading over her knuckles. Her mouth screamed in agony as her teeth grew and sharpened, wicked and too long for her to close her jaw. The skin on her cheek and neck and shoulders burned where it erupted in scales, blood flowing out where the skin wore away.

The horns came in with the sensation of her skull splitting and growing, the skin breaking to allow them access. Warm blood dribbled down her temples, mingling with the rain. Her bones creaked under her skin, muscles coiled, flexed, and hardened.

The wings were the most painful part. They grew under her skin, lumps that swelled and stretched on her shoulder blades until they finally broke through with a splatter of burst veins and capillaries. Ainsley cried out, writhing as they slithered wetly from the shredded ribbons of skin and pushed free of her tunic. The bones inside clicked into place, stretching outwards and upwards, tangling in the rigging as Ainsley blindly clawed her way free. Finally, she hung from the ropes, transformation complete, wings stretching out behind her like the massive, broken wings of a bird.

Rage pulsed behind her eyelids. Gael's pained cry resounded in her ears in a broken loop. The blood that ran in her veins felt hotter than before, like pure, molten metal running in her arteries.

Ackerley had never once taken his eyes off of her, jaw slack, swordtip brushing the wooden deck limply. Something that hung in the atmosphere had cracked.

Ainsley's heart thudded against her ribcage so painfully she thought it would burst free, raw and bloody. In the city beyond, a dragon clawed its way to the top of the many-spired castle, crouching low and roaring at the heavy blanket of clouds. The aggression in its large, scaled face was disappearing, fading as it cocked its head towards the sea, towards where Ainsley perched on the rigging.

She barely noticed. From up here, Gael was a small, fragile girl, broken and limp against the deck, haloed by rain. A dark red spot bloomed on her abdonmen.

Ackerley looked at her face and took a single step backwards, sword clattering to the ground. It was far too late for running.

Ainsley threw herself from the rigging, a feral scream tearing free from her throat. Her wings caught the wind, billowing and flapping as she fell, reaching for Ackerley as he finally turned to flee, stumbling over his feet.

He never made it more than a step before she hit him full force. The deck splintered, giving way as the two plunged into the hollow innards of the warship, their descent barely slowed. Darkness engulfed them as he finally hit the hull with the sound of bones snapping, crushed by the impact and Ainsley's weight. His head snapped backwards against the wood, eyes rolling and glazed over. Dead from the moment she had torn through the deck.

She jerked back as though his body burned her. Copper sat heavy on her tongue, and every breath rattled in her chest. Weak rain filtered through the gaping, jagged hole she had left behind, and she couldn't find an inch of skin on her hands that wasn't dyed crimson. Blood warmed her face and neck.

She was dying. She couldn't lose this much blood and live.

Ainsley pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, where blood mingled with her tears, and looked up at the grey patch of sky above her. Then she swallowed, licked blood off of one of her sharp teeth, and began the arduous ascent back up to the deck.

we're so close to the end! and because i love all of my sweet readers and i don't want to leave you waiting in agony, i've decided to publish the final three parts in one go. have fun! let me know what you think!