SoulQuest (3 page)

“Very well,” said Gax. “Please.”

Zarim out a sheet of paper from the pocket of his vest. “We sustained some propeller damage and the rudder needs straightening. Plus our usual refueling costs and some additional supplies.”

Gax waved a dismissive hand. “Yes, yes.”

Zarim slid the sheet over. “Just sign the work order.”

Gax’s lower hands reached to the table, one held a pen and he scribbled his signature at the bottom of the sheet. “There, take that to the workshop and he’ll give you what you need.”

Zarim folded the sheet and placed it back in his pocket. “Good, now I can go.” Zarim gestured to Kef. “If you ever wanna work for someone decent, the offer still stands, brother.”

“Either way, he’d still be working for me,” said Gax with a giggle.

Ekala clutched the tip of the blade with her thumb and index finger. She raised it to her eye level and lined up the target, which had been painted on the wooden wall. With a swift motion, her arm flung forward and the knife left her grip. It struck the target dead-center, right beside two other knives.

She turned with her hands on her hips and a grin on her face. “Well?”

A pair of identical twins seated at the bar exchanged glances. One of them held up his hand with his fingers outstretched. “Five outta seven.”

Ekala rolled her eyes. “First it was two out of three, then three out of five, now five out of seven? I’m startin’ to think you’re stalling, boys.”

“This is a scam, gotta be,” said the other man. “How do we know that faerie over there ain’t usin’ any funny faerie tricks?”

Swul looked up from the table nearby. He held a foaming mug in his hand which was the size of his head. Taking a quick swig, he stared at the two men. “Just pay the lady.”

“Nah, Vance’s got a point, how do we know you’re not usin’ magic or something?”
 

“You tell ‘im, Lance.”
 

Ekala chuckled. “Vance and Lance? Was your momma afraid she’d forget your names?”

Vance jumped to his feet, knocking over his stool and pointing an accusatory finger at Ekala. “Don’t you talk about our mom, you bitch!”

Ekala’s hand went to the boomerang holstered on her hip. “You wanna repeat that, slick?”

“I said—”

In the blink of an eye, Ekala hurled the boomerang and it slammed into Vance’s forehead. After striking him, it reversed course, flying right back into Ekala’s waiting palm.
 

“Never mind, think I got the gist of it.”

“Oooh, a brawl startin’ up?” asked Swul with a large smile.

The bartender looked nervous. He pointed at Swul and Ekala. “Hey, I warned you two last time! Don’t be startin’ any trouble in here!”

“He started it, Walsh,” said Ekala.

“An’ I’m gonna finish it!” said Lance, charging towards Ekala with his knife drawn.
 

She jumped back and twisted from side to side to avoid his clumsy thrusts. He tried to go for her face next, but Ekala brought up her arms in a cross and trapped his arm between them. She twisted his arm down, causing his body to bend towards the ground and drove her knee into his chest.
 

A meaty paw gripped Ekala’s shoulder. She glanced over and saw a large man towering over her. “You leave my friends alone!”

“Or what, Chubs?” asked Ekala. “You wanna take their place?”

Chubs raised his fist, reeling back for a strike. Ekala heard a whistle and dropped to her knees. Just as she hit the ground, Swul launched across the room, wrapping his small arms around Chubs’ head. Swul’s strength was far greater than his diminutive size indicated and he was able to bring Chubs to the ground.
 

An ugly lump already forming on his head, Vance recovered from Ekala’s initial boomerang strike and came charging at her. Ekala braced herself as he ran at her. She held out her arms and grabbed him as he came within range, then fell on her back. Using his own force against him, she threw him out the bar’s large window and into the street, in a spray of glass shards.

Walsh struck his fist on the counter in irritation. “Aww come on! I just had that damn thing fixed!”
 

A shot echoed in the bar and caused the brawlers to pause. All eyes went to the door where Zarim stood, holding his pistol in the air. Zarim stepped forward, holstering his weapon and glaring at Ekala and Swul.

“I thought we were clear on the subject of fighting.”

“They—”

“Ekala, I swear to the heavens, if the next two words out of your mouth aren’t ‘I’m sorry,’ then I’ll leave the pair of you here to rot,” said Zarim.

Neither Ekala nor Swul said another word. Zarim kept his eyes fixed on the pair of them as he addressed the bartender. “Walsh, how much do you think it’ll cost you to repair the damage?”

“Few hundred credits, maybe,” said Walsh.

The faerie clenched his fists. “Why you lyin’—!”

“Swul, shut up and pay the man,” said Zarim.

“Zee, that’s pretty much our share from the last job!” said Ekala.

“Should’ve thought of that first,” said Zarim. “Now pay up.”

Ekala and Swul grumbled as they dug through their pockets and pouches for the money. They left the coins on the counter and Walsh gathered them up with a smile on his face. “Thanks a lot, Zarim.”

“No problem, Walsh. They’ll behave themselves next time,” said Zarim. “You two, back to the ship.”

Ekala and Swul walked out the front door with Zarim following. No one spoke at all during the short walk from the bar to the dock where the Excalibur waited their return. Once onboard, they proceeded to the bridge and Zarim sat in the captain’s chair. “Once we get these repairs done, we can push off.”

“So where are we off to?” asked Ekala, leaning against the wheel. “Don’t tell me Gax was actually useful for once.”

Zarim groaned slightly. “Actually...I stopped by the ship before I found you two causing trouble. Turns out Master Quand left us a message. So I got in touch with him, and—”

“What did he want?” Ekala’s tone was marked by a total lack of enthusiasm.

“He sends his regards. And a mission.”

“Here we go...” muttered Ekala.

“He sensed the emergence of something called a Soulstone. But what’s more, he sensed something else ,” said Zarim. “A great evil.”

Ekala rolled her eyes. “Oh please.”

Swul, on the other hand, had a curious eyebrow raised while he puffed on the end of a cigar. “Tell me more.”

Zarim shook his head. “There’s nothing more to tell. Master Quand only said we have to find the Soulstone before it falls into the wrong hands.”
 

“I suppose we’re supposed to throw a dart at the map to find it?” asked Ekala.

“No, he knows where it is,” said Zarim. “Or at least, the general area—Rolyeh.”
 

“You nuts?” asked Swul. “They don’t call it Monster Island for nothin’!”

“I don’t suppose he mentioned anything about payment,” said Ekala.

“We don’t need payment, we’ll do the job,” said Zarim.

“Right, of course he didn’t,” said Ekala.

“It’s serious, Ekala. Master Quand needs my help and he’s gonna get it,” said Zarim.

“Gax, Quand, you just jump whenever these freaks tell you to,” said Ekala.
 

Zarim rubbed his forehead. “Don’t tell me we’re gonna get into
this
again...”

“Well...might not be a total loss,” said Swul, trying to derail the potential argument.

“What are you on about?” asked Ekala.

“Rolyeh’s got plenty of creatures that aren’t found anywhere else. Those hides can fetch quite a price on the black market,” said Swul. “Might be worth checkin’ out.”

Ekala paused for a moment and considered this. A smile slowly spread over her face. “Zee, set a course for Rolyeh! After all, when Master Quand needs a favor...”

“You’re the soul of generosity,” said Zarim.
 

“And a monster-huntin’ we’ll go,” said Swul.

Any attempts to colonize Rolyeh were abandoned decades ago. Large, vicious creatures existed in all parts of the world, this was true. But nowhere did they congregate in such large numbers as they did in Rolyeh. Beasts of myth and legend, of all different species. Massive reptilian and mammalian beasts battled for control over the land, while sea monsters ruled the oceans and blood-thirsty birds of prey took to the skies. Numerous caves existed as well, rumored to be guarded by dragons. Now it was simply a place where the most skilled hunters would try their luck, and many never returned from their quests.
 

However, that meant items which could be collected from the monster carcasses were extremely valuable. The risk was great, but so was the reward and this was how Zarim knew Swul and Ekala would follow him on what he feared might be a suicide mission. Although he wouldn’t let the rest of the crew see it, he was concerned about Master Quand’s request this time around. Normally, Zarim would go wherever the wise man sent him, regardless of danger. But this, on so little information? It definitely was not Master Quand’s style. And that worried Zarim.

He remained silent as he stood on the bridge, his hands kept firm on the large spokes that extended from the rim of the steering wheel, his eyes continually glancing at the navigation gyroscope which gave a fairly accurate estimate of the Excalibur’s present location.
 

Ekala and Swul were in the common area, seated at a table and engaged in a game of cards. A pile of coins sat in the middle of the table and each player held a set of playing cards in their hands.
 

“I’m tellin’ you, I don’t like this,” said Ekala. She placed one of her cards in the discard pile and drew a fresh one. Swul watched her movements, then glanced back down to his hand. He murmured something, muffled by the cigar clamped between his teeth, and discarded two cards to draw one.
 

“I mean, this whole thing is crazy, right? Just jumping any time Quand says it’s time to?”

The faerie held the cigar over a tray and tapped it against the tip a few times to shake the loose ash. He shrugged in response to Ekala’s question before puffing on the rolled tobacco leaves once more.

“Y’know, you could offer some sort of input,” said Ekala.

“What’s the point? Y’ just want someone to agree with you.”

“And you’re saying you don’t?”

“Nah, didn’t say that at all,” said Swul. “All I know is we can get big money for some of those rare breeds. Besides, weren’t you just all gung-ho about goin’ to Rolyeh?”

Ekala couldn’t help the redness in her cheeks. “I’m not talking about that. I mean the principle of it. I thought we were free agents.”

“We work for whoever pays.”

“And when was the last time Quand paid us?”

“Yeah but this time, we can get paid. Maybe not directly—but hey, money’s money.”

“But we’re still basically doin’ a job for him for free.”

Swul groaned. “Quit quibblin’ over details, girl. We got a job, we’re gonna get paid, so why are you complaining?”

Ekala shrugged. “Just don’t like it is all.”

“Yeah well, yer gonna like this even less.” Swul placed his cards on the table, face up. “I win.” He reached for the coins, but Ekala threw her cards over the money pot. Swul’s eyes bulged when he saw the hand she held.

“Is that so?” she asked with a grin.

Swul pulled away, still puffing on his cigar. “Yer a lousy cheat!”

“You say that every time and you still haven’t found a shred of proof, little man.”

Zarim’s voice broadcast over the ship’s intercom system, putting a halt to their discussion. “We’ve reached Rolyeh. We’re about ready to touch down. Hope that goes for the crew as well.”

Ekala stood and walked towards a large cabinet with Swul hovering after her. She released the latch and slid the door to the side, revealing a small arsenal of weapons. Swords, daggers, axes, staves, a few pistols and some incendiary weapons were all lined on the shelves. A pair of boomerangs were Ekala’s weapons of choice, which she holstered at her hips. In addition, she took a small bandolier of throwing knives, and hung a few explosives from her belt. She finished equipping herself by holstering a handheld grappling gun at the small of her back.

“Outta the way,” said Swul as he pushed her to the side. He rubbed his chin in thought, examining the arsenal. With a smile, he reached for a twin-bladed battle axe and hefted it. Ekala snickered.

“What?” he asked.

“Thing’s bigger than you,” she said. “Overcompensating for something?”

“Smart ass.”

Zarim appeared on the catwalk above and descended the metal staircase to the arsenal. He went simple, taking his pistol and his sword, with its ornate pommel. He threw his cloak back so he could sheath both at his belt. His hood was down, green eyes focused on her. “You ready for this?”

“Ready to do another job that doesn’t pay jack?” Ekala herself, following it up with a nod of her head. “Oh yeah, I’m ready.”

She slammed the cabinet shut and ran up the staircase to the bridge. Zarim watched her go as he addressed Swul. “What’s wrong with her? I thought she was all gung-ho to get her hands on some monster carcasses?”

“Women,” said Swul. “Don’t matter what species they are, tryin’ to make sense of ‘em is like tryin’ to punch the wind.”

“You’re a lot of help.”

“Not tryin’ to help. Just tellin’ you the way it is.” Swul’s wings began vibrating, moving as a bluish blur, carrying him up to the catwalk. He held the axe by its leather thong, allowing it to dangle beneath him. Zarim sighed and followed.

“How exactly are we supposed to find this Soulstone?” asked Ekala.

“Master Quand said when I’m in its presence, I should feel the energy it gives off,” said Zarim.

“Great, more hocus-pocus,” said Ekala. “Please don’t tell me it’s sitting in some cave, guarded by a dragon.”

Zarim checked the rounds in his gun. “You’ve got no appreciation for the classics.”

“Classics nothin’, I just don’t wanna get cooked by dragon breath.”

He grinned. “Might just be your lucky day, babe. Let’s move.”

The three proceeded from the bridge to the main hatch of the cargo hold. Swul went to a control panel on the wall and pushed a large, red button below, activating the hydraulic mechanisms. The top portion of the hatch detached from the ship, lowering to become a ramp leading to the grassy fields of Rolyeh.