Demon Singer II (18 page)

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        OOOOWWWW!!!

        
Lyric jerked awake.  Acheron's pained thought echoed in his mind.  Leaping out of the huge water bed he'd fallen asleep in, the Singer tore across the room to the  door that adjoined Acheron's room.  Bursting through he looked around for the demoness.  She wasn't in there.

        
Acheron, where are you?
Lyric demanded.

        A sound came from his room and he hurried back in time to see Acheron slamming the door leading to Cadence's room.  

        "What's going on?"  Lyric asked warily as the demoness hobbled past him to her own room.  She turned in the doorway and glared at him venomously.

        "Ho Bag can't make up her mind.  She practically begged me to jump her bones earlier.  You heard her!"  Lyric stared, mystified.  "She said she'd rather have sex with me than Glas!  Obviously she wanted me!  So I grabbed an egg beater from the galley and headed to her room, thinking I would relieve her stress and scratch my itch. Then she completely wigged out. Not only did she use it wrong," she brandished a fist at Lyric furiously and he took a step back in spite of himself, "she didn't even kiss me!"  Acheron's voice had become a shout by the time she finished.  "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to figure out how I'm going to remove the damn thing without my magic and without damaging my plumbing!"  Spinning back around on a stiletto boot heel she stalked into her room, slamming her door behind her.

        Lyric turned cautiously at the sound of Cadence's door opening. His Verger stood there leaning against her doorframe, arms crossed, looking smug. Her terror at being on the ocean was pushed well into the background, at least temporarily.

        "Egg beater?" Lyric asked confusedly.

        Cadence shrugged.

        "I gave her fair warning. She won't be sitting down for a while I think." The Verger spoke mildly but there was an unmistakable air of satisfaction about her.

        Just then a slew of vulgarities came floating from behind Acheron's door.

        Lyric laughed in spite of himself.

        "Since I'm up, I think I'll watch the sunrise." The Singer headed up the stairs that led from his room. Upon reaching the main deck he stopped short, struck by absolute stillness.

        "It's her I tell you, now stow the chat and run quiet."  Glas' voice was unmistakable, and perhaps a bit drunk.

        Dawn was just threatening the horizon and the ship was quiet, but awake. The Blue Men all stood still, eyes closed and brows furrowed as though listening intently. The Singer took another step then stopped short as every pair of eyes snapped open to suddenly glare at him.

        Captain Glas, at the starboard rail, lifted a hand to indicate Lyric should be still. The Singer was struck with wonder as silence settled. His trained ear was immediately tuned to the song of the wind and the rhythm of the water.  That was the only sound.  He'd been on all manner of ships and never encountered a vessel that could sit so still.  Not a creak, not a groan, not a shudder troubled the solid ice ship.

        "Listen to the sea, lad." The Blue Man nearest him growled.  "We run quiet to hear her speak each mornin'.  This morning the captain heard her whisper of his betrayer."

        Lyric turned his attention back to the score and picked up a cold melody that teased at the fringes of his hearing.  Could the Blue Men hear the score?  That was common enough, but to encounter someone besides another Soul Singer who could discern it as more than just the sounds of nature, that was unheard of.

        He wondered if the melody he heard was what caught the captain's attention.

        "The dark fathoms hold many secrets."  The Blue Man had dropped his voice to barely a whisper. "And the sea speaks of them all.  She talks and sings and laughs and dances and shares her treasures with the world. But the world doesn't want to hear her.  That's why she loves us, why she will tell Glas where his heartbreak lies, because we listen. Can you hear her whisper?"

        "No," Lyric murmured, "but I can hear her sing."  

        The Singer closed his eyes and began to hum with the Score. The cold melody was clearer now and he assumed it was the mermaid Glas was seeking and hating. It was beautiful, but he sensed an underlying danger. There was a wildness to it that sang of a capricious and brutal heart.

        He sang a sweet counter melody, carefully crafting a motif that wrapped around and pulled the other. This was a more subtle form of singing than he was accustomed to, but Lomong had taught him well. He could sense the change in the other melody. It became inquisitive, then sharply demanding. He heard a change in the score. He quickly realized he wasn't drawing in one mermaid.  He opened his eyes to see the Blue Men at the rails on either side of the ship, staring into the water.

        He stopped his song, but the summoning was complete. The mermaids were coming as asked.  

*   *   *   *   *

        The container ship's crew stare slack jawed at the mammoth ice ship off their port bow. Of those familiar with 15th century ships, not one of them had ever seen a carrack that big, let alone one made of ice.

        The swordsman with the easy smile and questionable morals was the only one who didn't look awestruck. He simply looked excited.

        "What the hell is that?" The young sailor standing beside him asked.  

        "That, my friend, is an opportunity. If you'll excuse me."  Fugue tightened his sword strap, climbed over the railing and dove into the icy Atlantic.

        Strong strokes drew him away from shouts of man overboard and closer to the gargantuan ice ship. He'd seen a similar ship years ago and had a hunch he knew what to expect on board.

        He'd almost reached the ship, and grinned up at an incredibly beautiful woman who was staring at him from the stern. He'd recognize Acheron anywhere, which meant Lyric and Cadence must be on board as well.

        Sure enough, Lyric's face joined Acheron's and a surprised expression accompanied what was likely an earthy remark that was lost in the wind and waves.

        A blue face appeared beside Lyric, then a matching arm.  

        Calder Glas.

        This was gonna suck.

        The Blue Man smacked the side of the ship and a column of rungs sprang from the hull. Fugue almost reached the first rung when strong hands grabbed his ankles and dragged him beneath the water.

Chapter 12

        "That was Fugue!" Lyric shouted in surprise.

        "I saw," Acheron shouted back.  "I think it helps that you're already referring to him in the past tense, it will speed up the healing process."  Lyric looked at her in confusion.  Acheron shrugged. "He won't live long down there."

        "That was Fugue? The swordsman?" Captain Glas stood beside the Singer.  Lyric turned to him in surprise.

        "You know him?"  The Singer asked

        Glas turned a deeper shade of blue. He growled something unintelligible and dove off the ship into the black, churning water.  

        Churning water?  Lyric looked closer.  

        Cadence leaned over the rail next to him, barely registering her disdain for the ocean.

        "How many mermaids did you call?" She asked curiously.

        Acheron looked into the water herself.

        "Looks like all of them."

        Within seconds Glas came hurtling out of the water carrying an unconscious and bleeding Fugue in a lifeguard hold.  The tall Blue Man dropped the swordsman to the deck.  Stabbing a finger at the unconscious man he snarled at a crew member.

        "This bastard stays alive or you die!"  Turning to Lyric the captain gestured to the rail.  "You'll want to step away from the side, lad, and get ready to battle.  The she-beasts are on their way."

*   *   *   *   *

        Ruby watched from the top of the gate as the Milleytes Lux marched out to meet their undead counterparts. She was peripherally aware of the guards near her laughing and wagering on how long it would take the Lux to crush the zombies.

        "Foolish words," Anaya murmured to her right while Joss watched silently on her left.  "They forget these were their comrades. This is not likely to be quick or easy."

        The Lux came to a stop thirty yards away from the zombies who stood waiting silently. Tagshout stepped forward.  Ruby could just make out the general's words from this distance.

        "If the being responsible for this affront to our city is within the sound of my voice, I offer you one chance to withdraw and return our honored dead to their rest."

        One of the kings stepped forward and an angry murmur swept through the guards at the gate.  Ruby recognized the man. Even as a zombie he had a regal bearing and wore the mantle of command well. He spoke, and his voice was low and hollow and rolled across the gates like a wave of terror.

        "You are recognized, General Tagshout. You are ignored. I offer
you
an opportunity.  Surrender this city and withdraw yourselves or watch your army be slaughtered, your women defiled and your children-"

        The voice was cut off abruptly as Tagshout whipped his sword from its scabbard in a violent, upward motion.  King Westfall's head rolled away in the dust and his body slumped to the ground.

        Ruby threw up.

        With that the battle was joined.  

        The Milleytes Lux surged into the waiting lines of the undead.  The guards near Ruby cheered enthusiastically, considering the battle already over.

        It was not.

        With surprising strength and discipline the zombies met the rush and beat it back. Ruby's heart sank as she watched the Lux stagger. Several fell beneath the savage counterattack.  The zombies were strong and skilled.  The Lux gave ground and the zombies advanced.

        Tagshout bawled orders at his men and swung his sword with deadly efficiency. Zombies fell around him.

        "I've never understood the insistence of the Milleytes Lux putting their leaders on the front line, but I think I see it now." Joss remarked. "You know I once heard Tagshout got in a fist fight with an ogre and won."

        The Lux quickly rallied and held the line, stopping the undead's forward motion. Tagshout, front and center, never ceased moving and shouting. He was a relentless killing machine and his men seemed to draw from his strength. With remarkable force of will the Lux regained their lost ground.  Because the zombies would not retreat they had to fight over to their headless corpses.

        On either side of her, Joss and Anaya banged their walking sticks on the stone and echoes of the knock traveled through the ranks of the guards.

        "What's going on?" Ruby asked, looking around with the guards for whatever that the Knockers sensed.

        Joss turned around and faced inside the city, Anaya was already running down the steps. Joss grabbed Ruby's hand and led her swiftly after his brother.

        Knockers have a function given to them by Michael himself. If there is a threat to humans, they must intervene. Mankind is generally ignorant of the number of times Tommyknockers protect them on a daily basis.

        The Tommyknockers were sent deep inside the earth to provide a major line of defense from below. The struggles they engage in are usually violent and cataclysmic, which is why they are so often associated with mines. The places most often impacted in humanity's world are the places that reach the furthest into the earth.  

        When Tommyknockers sound their warning, it is to get as many innocents as far away from battle as possible. Then the time comes to stop warning and start fighting.

        Joss and Anaya had reached that time.

        They rushed toward the city and Joss produced a shotgun from his coat and tossed it to Ruby.

        "Aim for their necks, it should do the trick." He Shouted. "Just watch the kickback." Then he unsheathed his own blade as Anaya led them deeper into the city.  It wasn't long before Ruby heard the screams.

*   *   *   *   *

        Noale Sabre stood inside the cemetery where his mother slept. The ground was so broken it looked like it had been plowed by a drunk toddler.

        He had no idea how, but the Lich had gotten into his city. Just then he heard loud knocks echoing through the city. That couldn't be good.

        “Get to your homes!” He shouted at the passersby. They responded quickly and quietly.

        Sabre experienced an odd mix of pride and sadness. He was glad the people took the city's crisis drills seriously enough to know how to respond when under attack. He was sad that they had to.

        Sabre had lost good men in the battle against Melody's armies. A complacency had crept into his army that left their city open to the false goddess' surprise two fronted attack. He could not allow it to remain.

        So it was that he stationed fifty Milleytes Lux in squads of five throughout the city. When the alarm was raised at the gates, his men did not answer the call. They remained at their posts, watchful of what may come.

        When the zombies began pouring out of public service buildings and flooding the streets, these men were prepared and engaged immediately.

        Regardless, even the best trained fighting men in the world can only do so much against a horde of zombies that outnumbers them ten to one.

        General Sabre himself, in the tradition of all generals of the Milleytes Lux, found his way to the thickest part of the chaos. The logical part of his brain that screamed at the hopelessness of it all was ruthlessly smothered by the determination that made him the leader he was.

        He hacked and sliced his way through the undead, leading his squad from house to house, ensuring the innocent were secured. The majority of the population had responded well to the alarm according to the emergency plans he and General Tagshout had been drilling into them since the war.

        "Noale!"

        Sabre whirled at the sound of his wife's voice, ruthlessly forcing back his panic at what he saw.  She stood atop a centaur taxi holding a crying child no more than six years old. The centaur that owned it lay dead in her harness, swarmed by the attacking zombies.  Her name was Amanda and she had been a friend of his.

        Signaling his nearest officer, he left him in charge and began carving his way through the undead mass to get to his wife. He saw two of his men break away from the squad and flank him, protecting his exposed back.

        His beloved wife struggled to kick zombies away from the taxi while holding the hysterical child out of their reach. She was too far away, he'd never get to her before she was overcome. Noale Sabre watched in horror as two zombies scaled the front and two more climbed up the back of the taxi. His wife was about to die and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

        Suddenly a huge figure surged around a corner, swinging a deadly blade, zombies fell like wheat as he ran. He barreled toward the taxi with two figures in his wake. Fiery red hair caught Sabre's eye and his heart pounded in his chest as Ruby Rain of the Composer leapt onto the taxi and stuck a shotgun under the chin of the zombie nearest his wife. Thunder tore the air as the creature's head was blown into the horde.

        The other man that accompanied Ruby climbed atop the taxi opposite her,  dispatching the two on that side while Ruby rammed the stock of her shotgun against the forehead of the next zombie, using the action to cock it. Spinning it around she gave the nasty chomper the same treatment as the first one. She said something to Madelyn that Sabre couldn't hear, and his wife handed the screaming child off to the smaller Knocker. The three of them jumped down from the taxi in a small area cleared by the big Knocker.  The four of them, with the child, continued up the road toward the palace.  

        Sabre released a breath he didn't realize he was holding in relief. His wife was safer with the Knockers than she would have been with him. Turning back toward his squad he turned grim. He and his men started toward them. One thing was certain. As soon as he found out who let Gar Lich and his zombies into Markhato they were going to die... horribly.

*   *   *   *   *

        Lyric had been assessing the rolling movement of Creation's Score since the mermaids grabbed Fugue.  Slipping his voice quietly among the waves slapping at the sides of the ship he hummed along and prepared to deal with an army of mermaids.  That was an odd thought.

        Soon enough, the commotion beneath the waves breached the surface and long graceful forms shot into the air all around the ship.  The mermaids boarded the vessel the same way the Blue Men did, by rocketing out of the water.  The moment they left the ocean their tails split and formed into shapely, strong legs.  Each mermaid stood close to six feet tall and wore what appeared to be snug, scaled armor.  Lyric knew from experience the armor was actually the mermaids' scales, reformed to protect them while on land.  

        Without fanfare the mermaids began attacking and the Blue Men fought back. The battle was fast and fierce. The huge deck of the ice ship soon seemed cramped with all the large bodies locked in hand to hand combat.

        "It's her!" Glas roared in fury.  "Kill the filthy sea skank!"

        A gorgeous Amazon easily tall enough to look Glas in the eye shot the captain a fierce grin and snapped the neck of a blue man who had his back to her.  

        Glas surged through the fray, knocking aside Blue Men and mermaids alike to get at her.  He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that his men were losing badly.  The Amazons almost matched the blue men in strength, and greatly surpassed them in numbers.

        The amazon Glas was headed for looked excited amidst the carnage. She cut down another crewmember with a wicked looking curved short sword as she struggled to get to the captain.

        “Give me my sword and let me help.”

        Lyric turned at the voice to see Fugue awake and arguing with the Blue Man that captain Glas had entrusted him too.

        “Not a chance, pirate, you'll stay here until Glas gets this under control.”

        “Under control?!” Fugue scoffed. “That's a fathom of mermaids at least, notice the ship is already moving?” The swordsman pointed to the spinning horizon. “You should be helping and so should I. Especially if that's Tovi Rafe down there.”

        Lyric couldn't afford to listen further. He was glad Fugue wasn’t dead, but decided the mercenary really wasn't his responsibility. He sang a quick phrase as he leapt into the fray, trying to ignore the woozy sensations coming from Cadence. In response to his song,  everyone fighting on deck slowed down.

        
What the hell is that?
Acheron thought at him.

        
Remember when we were attacked in the diner and you were spelled to slow down?
Lyric responded mentally as he joined the fighting.

        
Hard to forget,
Acheron managed to convey the sourness of her expression so clearly it almost puckered Lyric's brain.

        
It made me wonder if I could do something similar.
Lyric was picking up mermaids bodily and hurling them back into the sea.
Looks like yes. Cadence, stay with Acheron, I don't want her unprotected until the mermaids are taken care of.

        Listen, infant,
Acheron answered angrily.
Even without my magic I'm more than a match for these bitches. I don't need you or sugar tits "protecting" me. Besides, she’s as likely to puke on a threat as she is to stab it with her pointy knives.