“Thank you, Captain.” He turned back to land, to home.
“Thanking me is the last thing you should be doing. This is all my fault.”
“I beg to differ. If you knew your choices would lead to this, you would’ve done different.”
I appreciated his loyalty and liked his logic but I wasn’t going to argue right now. I left him be and took over for Rammus in the wheelhouse, but I couldn’t keep still in my chair. I checked a drawer for my nautical charts, which were all present and accounted for, then stood at the tiller, drumming my fingers and tapping a foot. I didn’t see any smoke rising in the distance, which I hoped was a good thing. And once we were less than a mile from Newport’s southern tip, it was clear that nothing was on fire, much less harmed. I sailed into the harbor, around Goat Island, and docked at Wyndham Wharf, which had changed so much over the decades. The harbor had been teeming with private boats before the Purge. Now just a lucky few were proud owners of steam or bio-fueled vessels no more powerful than my kernels. The rest were bigger deep sea fishing boats for either commercial or recreational use. And now the port was a minor trade checkpoint since the Big Apple was now the Big Core.
I flipped on the sound system. “Everyone get on deck and throw the lines. We’re here. Everything looks intact so far.” Newport splayed out behind my stern in all its patched-up lack of glory. People meandered up and down the dirt streets, going stall-to-stall shopping, or whatever they were doing. “We need to evacuate the town. I need a few of you to head to the naval base north of here and convince them to help us evacuate Newport. Tell them whatever you think’ll convince them to believe you. I want as little collat—” I had a sudden urge to stop talking look out over my bow. There was only calm water but I felt like I was being watched by unfriendly eyes. “Hurry up and arm yourselves with everything you can and get ashore. Stay together. Protect yourselves and the landies, but don’t throw your lives away. If at any point running seems like the best idea, do it. Don’t hesitate; just run. The bottom line is to stay alive.” As much as I wanted to save innocent lives, my crew was the most important to me. They weren’t replaceable or reconstructable, like a house or a town. I switched off the sound system, unbuttoned my trench coat, and downed the rest of my coffee. Once I had the Pertinacious lined up with the pier and we were tied down, I cut the engine and headed to the stern. I didn’t bother arming myself with anything. I already had my demon form, which I had a feeling I was going to need real soon.
My crew joined me at the stern, armed with belts of grenades, sharpened swords, and a few crossbows and stuffed quivers. Jessie wore her studded gloves. Eleven people to protect one town from a supernatural invasion… it wasn’t enough. Too bad O’Toole wasn’t secretly able to scare off sea monsters like he could quasi-children. He was still hiding in the cargo hold. I took a quick head count, just to double check, then waved for everyone to follow me down the ladder.
Part of me didn’t want to leave my ship. It was like a security blanket. However, my feet touched the wooden dock and carried me down the pier. I kept glancing at the water as the rest of my crew followed, one by one. They formed a loose semi-circle on the dock and I faced them with my back to the water. The landies eyed us curiously, and with some trepidation. A couple loudly complained about my return before going on about their business. I mentally winced. These people hated me because trouble followed me every time I visited. After today, they were going to despise me for the rest of my unnaturally long life.
“Everyone work in at least pairs to get the landies to evacuate.” Mido’s and Jessie’s hands found each other, as did Ed’s and Ted’s. Scully and Sam nodded to each other. “When the attack starts, expect to see things bigger than my demon form to make their way ashore. Don’t pick a fight you can’t win. Just—” There was that haunting feeling of being watched again, watched by something that intended harm. Cold fear gripped my chest. I turned around. Again, there was nothing there, but I kept my eyes on the water. “Just tell people I’m back. Trouble’s followed me again. They all better run inland if they want to see another day.”
“Sounds a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” Ed said.
“Word it however you—” Something made a “v” in the water, something big enough to be spotted from over one hundred feet away, beyond the end of the pier running parallel to my ship. The water swelled and something burst through the surface and landed on the deck. On two feet. It… looked like a man, a tall, burly man. He purposefully strode over, heading right for me.
It was Tethys.
“No way,” Mido said. A ripple of shock ran through my crew as my stomach dropped to my feet.
Tethys halted before me, his massive frame towering over me. He wore a big grin and dripped water everywhere. “Well look who’s returned from the grave as well,” he said nonchalantly.
“How?” I breathed. I could barely speak. He’d fired my gun. The quasis had killed him, no doubt about it. And now I’d just watched him use a power similar to my own to leap onto the pier.
“I’m a certain sea goddess’s latest plaything. I’ve been sent to break you.” His skin turned a dark grey. He seized my my shirt and coat with both hands.
I reflexively grabbed his wrists and tried to break free, but he had me in an iron grip. His wrists swelled in my hands and my feet lost contact with the ground. Oh, shit. “Run!” Human me soared into the air as claws punctured my shirt and coat, grazing my chest. Tethys’s clothes ripped away, and his body swelled into a demon form with a broad, flat head, a bulging throat like a bullfrog’s, and fangs that stuck out like a croc’s. Wind whooshed in my ears as he soared to full height. He held me level with his beady eyes crowned by horned brows. His entire form looked like a mix of toad and bearded dragon on two massive legs, complete with an armored tail. Good god, I was very high off the ground. My crew stared up at us, swords drawn and mouths ajar. “Run, you morons!”
Tethys took me in one clawed hand as big as my body and cocked his fist back. I was held upside down over my ship’s deck. “Time to break,” he said in a booming voice. He threw me like a baseball out over Newport. My neck and limbs jerked from whiplash from the force of the throw, snapping me out of concentrating on going ketos. I caught snippets of land and fog as I somersaulted through the air, and by the time I started my downward arc, I collected enough mental faculties to concentrate. I triggered the transformation and willed myself to grow to full size as fast as possible. I squinted my eyes shut as my body tingled and burst out of my clothes. I braced for impact and hoped I’d survive the landing.
My armored back hit the ground first. I bounced and skidded and grew until I rolled into a two-story house. Glass shattered and the house let out a wooden moan. I lay still a moment, then gingerly rolled away, crushing a bike in the process, and pushed to my demon feet. I hadn’t finished transforming until after the first bounce, but at least my scales had formed. That was an adrenaline rush I wouldn’t recommend to anyone. I arched my back and rolled my shoulders, then looked at the house I’d almost steamrolled. It was this box-shaped thing with a squat roof, and still standing. Just needed new windows now.