The sun shone in through the windows high on the walls, and the pirate king’s audience chamber was illuminated in the light of day. The scene was even more grizzly than I first thought, and I immediately instructed some of my people to clean it up. At the very least, the smell of death needed to be eliminated if I was going to be able to spend any time in the room.
Caelia emptied her stomach after just a few minutes of enduring the stench, and Eva looked paler than normal. The crew members and Arajian sailors weren’t faring any better, either, but they didn’t argue as they set about the task of cleaning up after the murdering thieves who formerly occupied the space.
I was lounging in the steel-backed throne with Eva and Caelia standing on either side of me a short while later when a couple of pirates entered, and everyone in the room instantly drew their weapons. The pirates froze, but they kept their eyes locked on my face.
“Why are you here?” I asked in a commanding voice.
“We’ve, uh,” the man in the lead stammered. “We’ve come to surrender.”
“Oh, really?” I laughed and rubbed my hands together. “Come forward and lay your swords at my feet.”
My people watched the men closely as they crossed the room to the throne, but they walked submissively with their hands in plain sight. When they were ten feet away from me, the men slowly removed their swords and daggers from belts strapped to their waists. Then, one by one the pirates laid their weapons at my feet, and they all kneeled on the blood-stained floor.
“Have mercy on us,” the pirate who’d spoken the first time said.
“Introduce yourselves,” I commanded.
“I am Trig,” the speaker said without lifting his eyes from the floor.
“Burk,” the other man muttered while staring at his hands.
“You will apologize to each slave we’ve freed from captivity,” I said. “And you’ll work off your crimes by cleaning up the mess your people left here. Starting with this room.”
A sigh of relief swept through my people listening in, and I resisted the urge to chuckle to myself.
“You want us… to clean?” Trig asked, and he flicked his gaze to my face for the briefest moment.
“Yep.” I bared my teeth in a crude semblance of a smile. “But first you must apologize to every single slave.”
“I didn’t work with the slaves!” Burk burst out. “I was just a dockhand. I have never even been inside the keep before.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I cut him off with a slice of my hand through the air. “You both participated in the culture of abuse your kind were known for. You no doubt committed plenty of crimes while in the service of this supposed pirate king, and I intend to make you atone for them. You’re lucky I don’t just kill you to be done with it.”
“No, no, of course,” Trig said in a hurried voice as his eyes filled with fear. “We’ll do as you say. Burk didn’t mean any offense. He’s a little slow, you see.”
“Aren’t all pirates?” I sneered.
“For sure, for sure,” Trig agreed, and he wrung his hands anxiously. “Can we get started, then?”
I gestured for one of the sailors to come forward, and I flashed the Arajian a warm smile that stood in strong contrast to the expressions I’d given the pirates.
“Show them to where the slaves are being tended to,” I instructed. “Guard them as they make their rounds and perform their apologies. If you don’t feel like their words were sincere, you report back to me instantly, and we’ll put them to death.”
Burk and Trig both gasped at my words and exchanged a terrified glance.
“Once you’re satisfied with their amends,” I continued. “Bring them back here to take over the cleaning project.”
“Yes, King Red Hands,” the silver-haired sailor said as he snapped a quick salute, but then he grasped Trig by the upper arm and pulled.
Burk followed along behind the pair with a submissive air, but I watched them closely until they were out of sight.
“How strange,” Eva said in a low voice. “I would have expected them to turn their blades on themselves before surrendering.”
“They’re smarter than they seem,” I said.
“Or dumber,” Caelia chuckled.
Trig and Burk turned out to be just the beginning of a long procession of pirates who’d survived the night and had been thrown into chains by the Arajian sailors. Black-eye joined one such group personally, and he shoved one of the pirates forward roughly enough to send the man sprawling onto all fours.
“They wish to supplicate to the God of Time,” Black-eye growled. “Told ‘em they’d likely end up dead, but said I’d grant them one last death wish.”
“They’re not the first,” I sighed as I gestured for the pirates to come forward. “You’ve already removed their weapons?”
“Aye,” the captain confirmed.
I repeated the same process of intimidation and granted the newcomers tasks, but after several such processions, I soon began to stretch my cleaning crews out into the city. Each group of apologists were guarded by a mixture of Arajians and crew members from The Quest, and I received regular reports about their progress throughout the fortress town.
Soon, the streets wouldn’t reek of shit, and before long, it would be a fortress fit for a god.
I just had one last thing to take care of, and then I could return my focus to growing my power and abilities.
The day was going slower than I wanted it to, and the ascent of the full moon felt like an eternity away. I paced the audience chamber every thirty minutes or so to relieve the stress on my lower back, and I made a mental note to replace the throne with something more comfortable in the future. As the sun sank closer and closer to the horizon, my nerves began to fray, and questions began to fill my mind.
What if we’d gotten bad information from the tavern?
What if the pirate king wasn’t anywhere close to Esther Island yet?
How long was I willing to wait for him to return?
Should I send out search parties?
I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and I caught Eva giving me a worried look, so I flashed her a comforting smile. Then I took a deep, steadying breath, raked my fingers through my hair, and resumed my position on the pirate throne.
I was the motherfucking God of Time, so I would sit here until the pirate king showed his face, and then I’d kill the fucker in front of everyone.
Even if it took me a hundred lifetimes.
Close to sunset, one of my Arajian sailors approached the throne with a gaggle of tittering former slaves behind him. My crew mate had steel-colored hair that reminded me of Idinavisth’s eyes, but his gaze twinkled when I looked at his face.
“Speak,” I said with a wave of my hand.
I was catching on to this king thing.
“These people have requested the honor of preparing your evening meal,” the sailor explained. “We’ve gathered all the resources on the island together, and we had enough to prepare quite a feast.”
My stomach growled at the thought of food, and the Arajian sailor’s lips quirked in amusement.
“That sounds awesome,” I said, and I rubbed my hands together. “You said you already started cooking?”
“The kitchens no longer reek of stale beer,” the sailor said. “Now, the aroma of roasting meat permeates every corner.”
“I can’t wait.” I grinned.
The sailor inclined his head, and he herded the former slaves toward the door. It wasn’t too much longer when they returned pushing carts covered in silver dishes, and the aromas struck my nostrils as soon as the food entered the room.
It was a welcome change from the stench of death and smoke.
Eva and Caelia eagerly joined me at one of the carts, and the Arajians brought in chairs for us to sit around the makeshift tables with. Soon, everyone had a drink in hand and smiles on their faces.
“This is awesome,” I complimented an Arajian woman as she refilled my wine chalice. “Thank you.”
“You honor me, sire,” she murmured as her face turned bright red, and she turned to flee.
“It’s nice to have this space filled with laughter,” Eva observed. “I hope that never changes from here on out.”
“Hear, hear,” Caelia chanted.
“Great One!” one of the sailors shouted from across the room. “Give us a speech!”
“Speech! Speech!” everyone in the room chanted in unison as they stomped their feet and banged their fists on the table. The floor shook from the force of it, and I quickly rose to my feet and patted the air to quiet them.
“I had a dream,” I began in a loud, clear voice, and I sent a silent thank you to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for all his inspiration. “I dreamed of a land free of slaves, free of baseless murder, free of economic strife. This may seem far-fetched, but I believe this dream is possible. I have worked tirelessly to help people free themselves from tyranny whenever I find it, and I vow to continue doing this good work all across the Eastern Ocean and the entire world.”
A loud, resounding cheer echoed through the air, and my ears thrummed with the intensity of the frequency. I’d acquired some avid followers during my naval adventures, and I would miss them all when I finally returned to Bastianville.
I cleared my throat and patted the air again to signal for silence, and a reverent hush fell upon my people.
“I went first to the Zaborial Isles and eliminated the God of the Purge,” I said, and I noticed the eyes of the former slaves bulge. “Then I went to Arajah to free them from their own king, and now…”
I paused for dramatic effect until all eyes were locked onto my face.
“Now, I claim Esther Island for myself!” I announced. “It’s past shall be erased, and a new future written. I give you… Bastian Island!”
Another loud round of applause and chanting followed my announcement, and my two women were cheering the loudest of all. Both of their eyes were full of adoration as they gazed up at me, and I smiled lovingly back down at them.
I let the crowd calm itself down before I spoke again, and this time my voice was quieter and more personal.
“But I didn’t accomplish this alone,” I reminded them. “Each and every one of you contributed to our victory over the pirates, and it will be up to you to keep up the hard work in my absence.”
“Absence?” someone gasped.
I scanned over the faces of my followers until I located the speaker, and then I nodded solemnly.
“I have a town of my own,” I explained. “And children on the way. I need to return to my family.”
The man nodded in sad understanding, and he didn’t argue further.
“Not only could I not have accomplished so much on my own,” I continued, “but my women really stepped up and helped out people wherever they could.”
I gestured for Eva and Caelia to stand up, and the two women blushed as they curtsied to our followers. A round of applause echoed my words, and then the two women quickly returned to their seats.
“In conclusion!” I clapped my hands together, and silence fell once more. “Thank you to everyone in this room. Keep up the good work, and let’s chow down!”
Everyone laughed, but then normal conversation resumed, and the buzz in the air built up once more. I removed the lid from the dishes on the cart, and my mouth instantly watered at the sight of the feast put before me. There was pineapple and honey-glazed ham dripping with gravy, tropical fruits baked into sugar-dusted pastries, and tons of roasted vegetables I didn’t recognize at all.
“Mmm,” Eva moaned as her eyes bulged. “That looks delicious!”
Both women immediately began to dig in, and they were both munching on their first bites by the time I’d gotten my slice of ham.
“Oooh, it’s so good!” Caelia breathed as her eyes closed, and she lost herself in the flavors.
“I can’t wait,” I said as I hurriedly lifted my food to my mouth.
A loud bang suddenly sounded from outside the keep walls, and then a ball of flame illuminated the windows. Everyone in the room gasped and jumped up from their chairs, and several people attempted to jump up to look out the windows, but I knew what was happening without having to look outside.
The pirate king had horrible timing.
The Quest and my unnamed vessel were keeping watch in the harbor, so I knew I had a little bit of time before I would be needed. I decided to finish my meal before getting excited about the upcoming fight with the pirate king, and everyone looked at me with incredulous expressions as I calmly nibbled on my dinner.
The majority of the people in the room abandoned their dinners to leap into action, but I was glad they did. The more pirates eliminated before the would-be king got to me, the better. The former slaves even grabbed some weapons from the pile surrendered by the pirates during the day, and they filed out of the throne room with determined looks on their faces.
They were out for vengeance, and I couldn’t blame them. There was no telling how long some of them had been trapped in this fortress and forced to perform all manner of horrendous tasks.
I resisted the urge to follow them to ensure their safety and instead remained where I was. I made a new save point before they got very far, though, and I loosened my panabas in their straps for easier access when needed.
“What is your command, Red Hands?” one of the crew members of The Quest asked.
“Man the inner and outer walls,” I instructed. “Kill any pirates who come at you, but let the so-called king through. I want to deal with him personally.”
“Aye, aye,” the sailor answered with a crisp salute.
More cannon fire boomed in the background, and I itched to see what was going on. Eva and Caelia jumped, and their hands hovered over their weapons with the same air of unease that filled my gut.
How could kings stand being so far away from the action?
I trusted Black-eye and his men to come out victorious, but I worried about the inexperienced Arajians who were fighting for the first time in their lives. They knew what their choices meant, so I just had to accept the help from where it came.
Seconds inched by without any updates, and I grew more antsy by the instant. Several minutes of tense silence passed, but then some of the former slaves who’d remained in the audience chamber began to clear away the dinner carts.
One of them caught me looking and flashed me an understanding smile.
“Wouldn’t want to make a mess of your newly cleaned keep when the fighting reaches this point,” the man explained before he pushed my cart toward the entrance.
A runner suddenly dashed into the room and skidded to a halt in front of me, but he gasped for breath and leaned forward onto his knees. I waited patiently for as long as I could stand, and then I cleared my throat to get his attention.
“What news?” I asked.
“The pirates have begun to reach the docks,” the man gasped out. “They’ve put dozens of rowboats into the water.”
“Good.” I nodded. “That’s exactly what we wanted them to do. We need to pare down their numbers before they reach the inner walls. Turn the streets into a death maze and make sure only the king reaches the keep.”
“Yes, sir,” the man said, and he took off at full speed.
Minutes crawled by like hours, but after a while, the near constant boom of cannon fire ceased to shake the walls. The resulting silence was eerie, but comforting at the same time.
I couldn’t stand staying in the throne room like a useless noble, so I jerked my chin at my two women before I made my way to the entrance. Caelia and Eva trotted to catch up with me, and they shot me quizzical sideways glances.
“I’m not Idinavisth,” I said. “I’m not going to cower away while my people are fighting in the streets.”
“The pirate king will come for you,” Eva said in a comforting tone. “And everyone will make sure no one gets between the two of you until you emerge victorious.”
The sound of fighting reached my ears as soon as I approached the doors of the keep, and I yanked them open to see a battle raging just beyond the doors. The pirates had pushed back my people to the inner walls already, and there was no way to tell how many had fallen yet.
“God of Time!” a voice shouted, and everyone ceased their struggles.
The horde of conflicting fighters parted to let a man with a large hat decorated with a single peacock feather walk through. His waistcoat was clean but blood red, and the sides flared out to reveal a holster and a scabbard both strapped to the man’s waist. The fires raging all around illuminated a face lined by age, but intelligence mixed with cruelty glimmered in his gaze. His aura was dangerous, and I knew instantly that my rival had arrived at last.
The pirate king stood before me.
I made a new save point while the man crossed the distance to me, but then a cruel smile twisted his lips. His eyes scanned me over, and I wondered briefly what I looked like through his eyes. I looked like a knight of death clad in my fire-resistant armor with my panabas in my fists, and the thought pleased me, so I smirked back at the would-be king.
“We haven’t had the pleasure of meeting before,” the man said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. “Allow me to introduce myself. Raiz Stormbane, the King of Pirates, at your service.”
He flourished down into a deep bow that revealed the nape of his neck beneath his feather-adorned hat, and his men applauded in a rehearsed manner. He’d obviously performed the same move before, and it was clear he was used to it being an intimidating introduction.
Raiz Stormbane hadn’t met me before, though.
“Yep,” I laughed, “you are at my service.”
“It’s more of a saying than me actually—” he started to growl, but I cut him off with a casual wave of my hand.
“How about we end this once and for all? Just me and you.”
“Weapons?” Raiz Stormbane, the pirate king, arched one eyebrow as he returned to his full height.
His expression was casual and friendly, but his body language was tensed up like a compressed spring, so I had no doubt he would attack me if given the opportunity. His smile never left his face, so I kept mine plastered on as well.
I bet Raiz Stormbane would almost be charming if he wasn’t such a dick.
“Whatever we have on us,” I said, and I twirled my panabas pointedly. “Whatcha got?”
Raiz thrust back the sides of his coat, and my gaze immediately leapt to the guns in the holsters at his sides. The grips looked like they were made of some kind of opal, and there were decorative swirls carved into the stone. They reminded me of old six-shooter revolvers I’d seen in movies and video games, and my fingers itched to play with them.
I also had daggers inside each of my boots, but I doubted I would need them. Despite his air of confidence, Raiz was older than me, and he’d likely grown accustomed to fighting from behind the front lines.
The crowd of pirates, sailors, and Arajians scooted back into a circle, and the two of us began to circle around each other like lions in a pit. I watched as Raiz’s gaze flicked to my wrists in an effort to predict my movements, so I began to twirl my panabas around in a lazy figure eight while we played chicken.
In a lesser fight, I would have taunted my opponent into making the first move, but I knew very little about the man I’d challenged. What I did know was based on rumors and hearsay, so there was no way of knowing how much of it was accurate and how much was exaggerated.
Raiz suddenly charged at me, and he scuttled across the circle sideways as he reached for one of his archaic guns.
I dodged out of the path of the small iron projectile just in time, but a second followed immediately after the first. I felt the bullet ding off my armor, and I cursed under my breath.
Already my first run through was off to a lackluster start, but this was my first experience fighting anyone with guns in this world, so there was bound to be a learning curve.
Fuck, I wanted to get my hands on those guns.
The thought motivated me to retaliate, so I stomped my foot to activate the fleetness ability of my griffon feather boots, and I charged toward Raiz at blinding speed. I was nearly upon him when he flicked his wrist, and a miniature gun extended from a harness strapped to his forearm.
The bullet landed square in my chest, and the small projectile knocked the wind out of me despite my metal armor. I’d lost my forward momentum, but I wasn’t going to let the energy I’d used be for nothing, so I feinted an overhead swing while simultaneously jabbing at his gut.
Raiz caught the edge of my panabas with the metal contraption that allowed the gun to extend into his hand, but my sharp steel blade easily sliced through the straps holding the mechanism on. He didn’t manage to block the blow from my right hand, and I cut a huge swatch of fabric from his shirt, but I barely grazed the flesh beneath. Then the pirate king’s hidden weapon fell to the ground, and we both looked down with the same exact thought.
Grab it first.
I yanked my right hand upward and slammed the hilt of my panabas into his jaw, and Raiz’s head flew backward so fast that his hat fell off. His hair circled around a large bald patch at the top of his skull, but I saw just the opening I needed. My weapon came up as though of its own volition, and it sliced across the pirate king’s throat like a hot knife through butter. Blood oozed and squirted from the ensuing wound, and Raiz made a gurgling sound as he tried to talk.
I’d killed him on the first run through, but my performance during the fight had been less than one hundred percent awesome, so I wasn’t exactly satisfied with the results. I reset back to my save point with a wave of my willpower, and as the chime echoed in my ears, the pirate king stood before me, alive and well.
I watched the cruel smile twist the pirate king’s lips as he scanned me over, but I merely grinned. I’d killed him once, albeit with a few mistakes, so I knew I could do it again, but this time I would do it perfectly.
One hundred percent completion was always my goal.
“We haven’t had the pleasure of meeting before,” the pirate king said again. “Allow me to introduce myself--”
“Raiz Stormbane, the self-proclaimed King of the Pirates,” I cut him off with a dismissive gesture. “I’m ready to get to the me killing you part.”
“I take it you are the supposed God of Time?” Raiz asked in a taunting voice. “I expected more.”
“Me, too.” I twirled my panabas pointedly, and Raiz Stormbane slipped into a combative pose. “Let’s do this.”
“After you,” he said in a fake sweet voice.
This time, I’d taken his measure, and I decided to make the first move. I wanted the hidden guns strapped to his forearms first, but my enemy didn’t know I was even aware of their existence.
I ran straight at him with my panabas crossed before my chest, and I let out a fierce roar as I sliced through both of the sleeves of his blood-red coat at the same time. Up close, Raiz looked even older than he first appeared, and I could see signs of rouge on his cheeks. I realized he was wearing makeup, and I was reminded instantly of Disney’s version of Captain Hook. The pirate king’s eyes widened as he grappled to keep a hold of his hidden guns, but I was faster, and I snatched them before they fell into his grasp.
Then I stomped my foot to activate the fleetness ability of my griffon feather boots, and I darted back to the other edge of the circle.
“You knew they were there,” Raiz stated the obvious.
“I know a lot of things,” I countered with a shrug. “I’m the God of Time.”
The cruel smile returned to the pirate king’s lips, and he withdrew his sword with an angry yank. It seemed as though my theft of his hidden weapons had struck a nerve.
I tossed my trophies behind me, and in my peripheral vision I saw Eva scoop them up.
Good girl.
Then I turned my focus back to Raiz Stormbane, but it was just barely in time to catch him pulling out one of the revolvers strapped to his waist with his free hand. I felt the urge to dodge, but that would only send the bullet into the crowd of people watching.
I had to get those guns away from him.
Before I even registered giving my body the command, I was in motion, but I was halfway across the circle when I heard the crack of gunfire. The bullet caught me in the shoulder, and I twisted sideways to deflect the force of the impact, but my entire body screamed from the shock to my system.
This motherfucker kept shooting me, and I was already sick of it.
Chime.
The pirate king approached with a twisted smile, and he opened his mouth to speak.
“You’re Raiz Stormbane, the self-proclaimed king of the pirates,” I said as I rolled my eyes. “Once is more than enough to have to endure your theatrics.”
Then, without preamble or hesitation, I activated my griffon feather boots, crossed the distance to him, and sent an uppercut at the underside of his jaw with my panabas still gripped in my fists.
Raiz’s head flew backward, and his feet flew out from underneath him, but before he hit the ground he managed to windmill his hands and regain his balance.
But it was enough of an opening for me to pluck the revolvers out of his hip holsters and toss them into the crowd where I’d seen Eva.
Before he recovered completely, I aimed for the sleeves covering his forearms, but he noticed where my eyes were going and flicked his wrists. The hidden guns extended into his grip, and then smoke erupted as a bang echoed in my ears.
I’d been hit directly in the chest at close-range, and despite my fire-resistant armor absorbing heat as well as impact, the air expelled forcefully from my lungs.
Motherfucker.
Chime.
“Yeah, yeah, pirate king, blah, blah,” I said with a flippant wave of my hand. “Last one alive can call himself whatever he wants.”
“As you wish,” the bastard said, and his voice almost ruined one of my favorite quotes from the Princess Bride.
I was more determined than ever to get the guns away from the pirate king and kill him once and for all. I wasn’t about to let him shoot me this time, and I didn’t want anyone else to get injured, so I would need more space to work with.
“Everyone get back,” I shouted. “As far as you can. I don’t want anyone to get hit with his bullets.”
My followers complied even though the pirates did not, but that merely gave me an idea. If I could get the pirate king to switch places with me, he would be aiming at the bastards he brought with him whenever he shot at me.
I feinted an attack, and the pirate king slid predictably in the other direction, so I kept up the pattern until he had taken my side of the circle. Then I repeated the dash and uppercut move to remove his hip revolvers, but it was difficult to grip my panabas and the guns at the same time.
“Bash!” Eva shouted. “Here!”
Without a second thought, I tossed the revolvers in the direction of my wife’s voice, and then I didn’t give them another thought. The pirate king regained his balance like a cat landing on its feet, and he had his hidden guns in his hands an instant later.
I back-pedaled to put some distance between us, but I kept my enemy within my sight. His aim was hasty and wide, so it was easy enough for me to dodge it. Then I heard the painful yelp from one of his pirate goons, and I chuckled to myself. I doubted the small guns were powerful enough to make a lethal hit unless they were fired up close and at someplace vital, but they sure hurt like a motherfucker. The watching pirates would either learn to get out of the way or how to treat a bullet wound.
I dodged the second bullet like Neo from The Matrix, and I heard shocked gasps from the people watching as the bullet thudded into the wall of the keep, but I had a feeling there weren’t many rounds remaining in the weapons. Then I dashed back into the pirate king’s circle of reach, grabbed his wrists, and twisted them backward until I felt his bones snap.
No more squeezing triggers for him.
“Fuuuck!” Raiz screamed in agony as his arms jutted at an unnatural angle to either side.
I quickly and efficiently sliced through the straps and fabric keeping the hidden guns attached to his arms, and after a quick scan of the surrounding faces to find my wife, I tossed the small guns to Eva.
Raiz fumbled for his sword as sweat and tears dripped down his face, and he staggered forward as he yanked the weapon free. His fingers slackened on the hilt, and the blade fell to the dirt, so I stepped forward as I twirled my panabas.
Time for him to die.
The whirling sound of my blades spinning through the air drowned out his pained groans, and once he was within the reach of my steel, I spun in a circle and extended my weapons horizontally. Deep gouges opened across his chest, and blood sprayed over me. The pirate king grasped at his chest as his eyes bulged in shock, and he stumbled to his hands and knees before collapsing completely.
I rolled him over with the tip of my boot so I could watch him die, and I smiled as blood began to pool across the stones beneath him.
“The God of Time always wins,” I said to the dying pirate king.
As he took his last, labored breaths, I turned my gaze to the pirates he’d brought with him. Every one of them stared down at the pirate king in shock, and I smirked as I let them absorb their leader’s death, but then I cleared my throat.
“This is your last warning,” I announced. “Surrender to me or face death.”
The sound of swords hitting the stone street echoed in my ears, and I grinned triumphantly as I watched the pirates begin to fall to their knees. A few refused to surrender and took off running, but they didn’t reach the end of the block before they were riddled with arrows from the Arajians.
I watched and waited while the pirates made their decisions, and then I let out the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.
I’d done it.
I’d defeated the pirate king and saved the Eastern Ocean.
Now, there was one more amazing feat in the God of Time’s scoresheet.