Chapter One

It had been an especially stormy evening that day.

The rain relentlessly pounded on the windows and the whole house seemed to creak with the weight of the water and the wind. And what a wind! Howling and screeching as it beat the coldness into the very walls, no amount of fire seemed to ease its chill. Thunder would shake the house before the lightning washed it with shadows whose masters seemed crude and evil.

The storm, however, was only a prelude to what was to come.

“Gina!” Abraham bellowed. His face was red, standing beneath the doorway to his bedroom. The ancient carved wood, so fabulously detailed with the fairy tales he used to love as a child, seemed almost oppressive tonight as he looked up at it mindlessly, waiting for a reply. “Gina!”

A short, round woman came hobbling his way, her face even redder than Abraham’s. It was scrunched, as if in great pain or concentration, and she looked ready to pop out a dozen eggs. In her short arms, she carried as many towels as she could without toppling over.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” She breathed out, panting.

“Please, she needs more hot water,” Abraham said, lightening Gina’s load of towels.

“She needs more than hot water, Master Askari! She needs a proper doctor!” she scolded, her face glowing red hot. Abraham suddenly wondered if it was more from anger than labor. He blinked, dumbfounded.

“But surely, the midwife-”

“The midwife is not enough! For the sake of your wife, Master, call a doctor!”

“But Heller said the midwife is the best!”

Gina seemed too exasperated to continue and shoved him aside. The room was a flurry of servants, all rushing around with towels both bloodied and cleaned. Tubs of boiling, steaming water filled the room, fogging the towering windows that stood on either side of the great bed. And in the bed lay Abraham’s precious pregnant wife Eunice, screaming her lungs out.

By her bed crouched an old woman, bent over Eunice. Her thin, wrinkled lips were moving rapidly in soundless words as she wrapped her leather hands around Eunice’s face. Eunice screamed.

Abraham shook his head and staggered out of the bedroom, the heavy doors closing loudly. He swallowed hard and leaned against the wall, loosening his cravat. He let out a sigh as the loosened silk let in some air around his neck. He knew he should be the one bent over his wife and not that ancient woman. He knew he should be by her side, holding her hands.

But he couldn’t take all that blood. The heat, the steam, mingled with the scent of his wife’s blood and the sound of her screams, it was too much for him. Just thinking about being in the room nauseated him and he clutched his chest, willing the sick notion away. He shut his eyes tightly in effort.

It wasn’t so much the blood.

But the fear, oh gods, the fear! It was making him sick, churning in the bottom of his gut and burning in the back of his throat. He was so frightened, so terrified that this was going to be the night of the violent death of his beloved wife.

A choked sob escaped his throat.

It was all the more reason he should be by her side. What a coward he was!

“Abraham,” came a deep, rumbling voice.

Abraham whirled around to see his most trusted companion, Valefor. He almost sighed in relief to see him.

Valefor saw the toll of Eunice’s labor on Abraham. He seemed to have aged a couple years in that room. His handsome angular face seemed even sharper and harsher, his cheeks more hollow. His eyes, so light in green it looked almost yellow, were sunken in almost to the back of his skull, shadowed by his troubled dark brows. His mouth, set in a grim hard line, was hidden by his great mustache, now seemingly dominating his pale face.

“Abraham,” Valefor repeated, “I agree with Gina. Call a doctor.”

“But Heller,” Abraham wearily began.

Valefor grabbed Abraham’s thin shoulders. “Abraham! This isn’t the time to stick to rules. This is your wife! This is Eunice! You can deal with the intimates of the treaty later. Right now, Eunice is the only thing that matters.”

Abraham looked miserable, torn.

Furrowing his brows, Valefor saw that his words did not sway the poor man. Although his heart cried out for his friend, he couldn’t hide the frustration he was feeling with him. He turned on his feet.

Abraham reached out. “Alright!” he shouted, as if in defeat. “I will call for a doctor.”

“Stay here with your wife.” Valefor ordered, already running down the stairs.

He hurried past the other household members, not paying attention to their anxious faces. He skid to a halt.

“Where are you going, Valefor?”

He grit his teeth, turning slowly. “To bring home a real doctor.”

Heller stepped away from the wall, frowning. “No, I’ve brought a great midwife. She’ll do just fine.”

“Eunice is dying!”

“The midwife will do everything in her power to keep otherwise, I assure you.”

Valefor grabbed Heller’s collar, on the verge of shaking him until his head tumbled off. “To the jaws with your midwife, Heller! I’m beginning to think you’ve brought nothing but a witch. I don’t care what you say. I’m bringing back a doctor!”

Heller’s bemused look disappeared. “You’ll break the treaty.”

Valefor’s knuckles whitened. “We’ll deal with that later.”

“No. The moment you step into that town, Valefor, our treaty is terminated. There’s nothing left to deal with.”

Valefor threw him aside. “Fine.”

Heller staggered for balance. “You’re going to destroy decades of negotiations for the life of a single woman?”

Valefor was already at the door.

“You are all weak!” Heller shouted. “This is why you are what you are!”

Valefor opened the door and jogged out, immediately drenched by the rain. He could hardly see anything in the dark and if that wasn’t enough to hinder him, the rain was like needles in his eyes. Squinting, he made for the stables.

He slid in the thick mud, his eyes unbelieving.

The stable was on fire.

“No!” he roared, drowned by the thundering rain. He kicked his legs up, sloshing through the mud towards the stables. People were trying to put out the fire, but it was useless. The fire still raged even as gallons of rain poured over it. They tried to save the horses, but from the smell of it, they weren’t succeeding. “Curses!” Valefor shouted, kicking up a spray of black mud.

“Valefor!”

He turned and saw Theodore, their stable master. “Any horses saved?”

“There’s still a couple trapped in the west end of the stable. The mud’s doing a good job keeping the fire at bay, but I’m afraid it won’t last.” He shouted over the roaring rain.

“Tell me what to do.”

They ran to the other end of the stable house, where men were working on clearing the fallen beams to get to the horses. Valefor heard the horses screaming and kicking. They added to the urgency of the situation and he quickly set to work. Built larger than most of the men there and the tallest, Valefor helped speed up the process. They grunted in the mud, lifting the beams that seemed to weigh tons in the rain, the heat of the fire on their backs and faces as intense as the cold of the rain.

Valefor wiped the mud from his face, grimacing against the ice cold rain. He bent to take hold of the end of a beam when he saw another figure dashing through the rain towards them, stumbling through the treacherous mud. He felt dread harden his heart at the look on the servant’s pale face. Without having to say anything, Valefor only nodded at the messenger.

“Theodore, I want those horses!” he shouted before running back to the house.

Each step seemed harder and harder, his feet growing heavier with mud, with water, with dread. He couldn’t feel his face anymore and his hands and feet were numb. Staggering through the mud so thick, he got to a point where he was sure he was crawling through it now.

He burst through the great front doors, dripping with mud and water. He spotted Seth, Abraham’s adopted son, sobbing, surrounded by the other house members. Seth looked up, his eyes red and running shamelessly with tears. Valefor dragged a hand down his face, wiping off the mud, the look of shock. Clenching his teeth, he ran up the stairs. Seth broke out into a new fit of sobs.

Everything was a blur as Valefor made for Abraham’s bedroom. He urged his limbs to move faster.

He saw the servants gathered at the closed doors, murmuring and whispering.

“He won’t let us in,” one informed anxiously as Valefor arrived, heaving for breath and shaking.

“We must attend to the mistress,”

“He’s bolted the doors with something,”

Valefor pushed them away and tested the doors, giving a good nudge. “Abraham?” he called out.

He was met with silence.

Setting his jaw, Valefor braced his weight and kicked at the door. “You open this door, Abraham!” Breathing in hard, he let loose another mighty kick. He heard the wood crack. “Abraham!” Valefor roared.

The great doors burst open after three more kicks. Valefor shoved his way through, his knee aching with pain. If he had kicked one more time, he probably would’ve done irreparable damage to it. Willing the pain away, he looked around the room, almost choked with the steam.

Abraham was bent over on the bed by Eunice’s side, heaving with dry sobs.

Eunice was no longer screaming.

Valefor surveyed the room. There was blood everywhere. Abraham had thrown the tubs of water and turned over the furniture in distress. Glass littered the carpet, stained with blood. Everything was a mess, and Valefor was willing to bet most of it was Abraham’s doing.

He walked slowly towards Abraham, reaching out. When his muddy hand held Abraham’s shoulder, Abraham lifted his head and let out a wail. It tore at Valefor’s heart. “Abraham,” he whispered, wanting desperately to console his friend. But he knew it wouldn’t come. Not for a long time. Abraham loved Eunice with an immeasurable intensity, and they had been so excited for the baby’s arrival. They were so happy. They were so in love. Valefor had loved Eunice too, for she was a constant and precious companion to him. Her soft words and laughter always found their way through his hard heart. She knew how to loosen him up and free him. When he had lost everything, Eunice made sure she was there for him, in his greatest need. She had helped heal him. Now, she was gone. He couldn’t help but feel her death could’ve been prevented. He clenched his hands into tight fists.

He froze.

“Abraham,”

Abraham only wept, not acknowledging anybody or anything.

Valefor grabbed Abraham and pulled him up, easily. He was like a rag doll. He turned Abraham so that they were facing each other.

“Abraham,”

“She’s gone,” he rasped out.

“Where is the baby?”

“My precious Eunice,”

“Abraham! Where’s the baby?!”

Abraham scowled, making a horrible face. “Dead,” he choked out.

“Did she give birth?”

Abraham stared at him blankly.

“Abraham! Did Eunice give birth before she died? Where is the baby?” Valefor shook him. If his words sounded hard and cold, he didn’t care. This was almost as important, if not more.

“The midwife took the b-baby’s body,”

The two men suddenly stood up straighter. Abraham’s eyes grew wide.

“The baby!” he breathed out. And suddenly, his grieving was gone. Back was the Abraham that Valefor knew. Abraham’s eyes, though weary, shone with a hard and terrible brilliance that sent a chill down Valefor’s spine. He grit his teeth, his jaw flexing visibly. Valefor was awed and yet terrified at the sudden change in Abraham. He’d always admired Abraham for such control to call up the captain in him so readily. When necessary, Abraham was willing to set aside everything for the job that needed doing. Everything.

Although their loss was great, and even greater for Abraham, they both realized the magnification of their problems. “You went into town?” Abraham asked, storming out of the room. The servants all jumped back, eyes wide with fear at the sudden change of their master.

“No, the stable was on fire and then I-”

“But you made it clear,”

“Yes. Heller knows.”

Abraham paused momentarily at the head of the stairs, staring intently at his shoes. Then he raced down the stairs, calling for people. “Noah, get the heads together and meet in the drawing room. Someone call Gina for tea. William, I need documenting. And Otis, I will need my travel papers. Seth,” Abraham hugged his son briskly, kissing his head hard with furrowed brows. “We will talk after this is over. Make sure Tom is okay. Can you do that for me?”

Seth shook his head. “I don’t know where he is,” he breathed out in between sobs.

Abraham bent a knee, looking his son in the face. He wiped the massive tears, attempting a smile. “You know him best, Seth, so only you can find him. Now, go comfort your brother and as I promised, we will talk.”

Seth nodded heavily and walked away reluctantly, peering a tearful glance over his shoulder before disappearing into a dark doorway.

Noah, a thick burly man, almost as big as Valefor, stepped up and nodded. “They’re all gathered.”

“Good. I want you there as well. Valefor,” Abraham said, motioning for his friend.

They stepped into the drawing room, its black velvet walls seeming darker than ever. At the center of it stood a great mahogany table, lit with candles that bled wax all over the polished wood. Surrounding it sat six anxious faces: Mariabella, the notorious captain from the Bell Grounds, and her second, Uriel, Matthias from Haeling Islands with his vice captain Shylock, and Titus from Waterman’s Grave with his vice captain Gallagher. William came in holding a giant book, bound with blood-red leather, shortly followed by Otis.

Abraham didn’t sit down.

“Our treaty may be compromised,” he started, frowning. The three captains exchanged glances. Abraham sighed heavily.

“Abraham, we understand the loss of your wife, but I don’t see how it affects our treaty,” Titus spoke.

Abraham nodded. “We haven’t breached our treaty yet,”

“Well, I should hope not. The wax bearing our seals isn’t even dry yet!” Mariabella exclaimed haughtily. Valefor threw a nasty glance her way but she ignored him altogether.

“But we haven’t shown much promise of holding up our end.” Abraham continued.

“We? You mean you!” Mariabella shouted back, standing up. “Our ancestors have never gone this far with such a treaty, Abraham, and your dog here almost ruined it within seconds!” Valefor, the alleged dog of Abraham, clenched his giant hands into fists, glaring at Mariabella. This time, she met his stare with quite a glare of her own. Her dark eyes seemed ablaze with a promise of consequences.

“Yes, I acted selfishly for a second and I am sure I am to pay for it later. But now, we have more pressing matters. Yes, Heller may report of our unsteady relationship and our treaty may become void, but that is not why I called you into this room.” Abraham’s face fell slightly, his hard eyes softening slightly. He gave another sigh. “He has my child.”

Mariabella pursed her lips, discarding all previous protests that had been waiting on the tip of her tongue.

Matthias raised his eyes. “Is your child alive?”

Mariabella seemed appalled at the question. “Is that an issue of importance? We must get back the child at once, whether dead or alive!” she exclaimed, holding her chest. For once, Valefor agreed with her statements. She understood, for she had a young son of her own.

“Abraham, this isn’t a game.” Matthias continued, unaffected by Mariabella’s protests. “This treaty is a landmark in our history. If the child is dead, we are better off not pursuing further damage.”

Abraham dropped his head. He knew Matthias was right. But Valefor didn’t care.

“Why are we still arguing this, Abraham? We should be out there, hunting that bastard down!” Valefor growled.

“Heller has no grounds taking a dead babe. The babe is alive, if he has it, and his escape will be much hindered with a babe in his arms.” Titus said quietly, rubbing his chin, darkened with stubble.

“So we bring the baby back! Of course!” Mariabella proclaimed.

“There is the issue of Heller,” Matthias added.

“What about him?” she asked, annoyed.

“He will not leave this without paying.” Titus started cautiously, eyeing Abraham. “It is a great insult, to take a babe captive to use as leverage. And it is quite possible that Heller has killed Eunice. But if Heller is eliminated, the treaty goes with him.”

The room fell quiet. The treaty forbid any Askari member to enter town grounds. This prevented any of them from contacting a doctor when Eunice fell into labor and only Heller, their mediator and negotiator, could find someone to help. And he’d brought back a witch doctor. Valefor growled. He doubted she was even that.

“So what are you asking us for, then, Abraham?” Mariabella asked, tilting her lovely chin into the air. “Are you asking us for help or for our permission?”

“I am asking for your help by giving me permission,” Abraham replied.

“And if we do not give it?” Titus asked, his brows raised.

Abraham grinned. “I’d do it anyway.”

Matthias stood up, Shylock behind him in an instant. “Then what are we waiting for?”

-----

Heller’s tracks were almost impossible to find. If he’d chosen to hide them, they probably would’ve never found them. But Heller had placed too much confidence in the weather to cover up his tracks. He was short on time.

Shylock was the first to find any traces of Heller in the blinding rain and darkness. They weren’t even sure if they were Heller’s tracks. But they went with it. They had to.

Hours down the woods, through the cracked twigs, the bent branches, the trampled rotting leaves, they saw that they were indeed Heller’s tracks. But this neither comforted them or made things easier. Why was he being so careless? Valefor frowned, staring at the broken branch that lay before him. Sure, Heller wanted to get away as fast as possible, but to leave a trail of cookie crumbs like this? It was just stupid. Unless Heller was sure he’d be able to get away…

But how? Valefor tried to solve it in his head while trying to keep up with Shylock and Matthias. He saw that Abraham, as intent as he was on getting his child back, was also struggling to keep up. The pair moved with inhuman speed and Valefor was now thoroughly convinced they could see in the dark. He let out a loud curse as he tripped over a root.

Shylock came up behind him, placing an ice cold hand firmly over his mouth. “Shhh. We are here.”

“Where?” Abraham panted, wiping the rain from his eyes.

Shylock pointed ahead of him, where Matthias was parting the brush slightly. They stalked up, ducking to stay out of sight. They came around to the back of a warehouse that stretched for what seemed like miles. At the end, Valefor saw the dark and endless horizon of water. They were at the docks. He hadn’t heard the ocean over the sound of the rain and it all but threw off his sense of direction. He muttered a curse. He hadn’t realized they’d tracked Heller all the way to the docks and suddenly felt stupid.

Of course Heller was confident he couldn’t be tracked if he reached the docks in time. With a ship, Heller could go anywhere and it would take ages for the Askari to figure out what ship he boarded. And even if they found out, it would be too late to take any course of action.

“There are hundreds of ships anchored here!” Noah hissed.

“Then we split up.” Abraham decided.

“I do not think that is wise,” Titus replied, clenching his teeth to stop them from chattering. He was used to warmer weather, hailing from desert lands.

“Neither do I, but we can’t spare the time.” Abraham said, stepping out onto the dock. Matthias reached out to stop Abraham but Valefor shoved him aside. He bolted out after Abraham. They walked briskly in silence, trying to mingle with the crowds. But it was late into the night, or early in the morning; Valefor couldn’t tell anymore. There were scarcely any people about and Valefor didn’t find that surprising. He’d question anyone’s mentality if they were about in this weather.

“Valefor, I have no idea what I’m doing,” Abraham whispered in admitted defeat, his pace slowing. The rain was becoming too much. There were too many ships. Too much time was lost.

Valefor grabbed Abraham’s arm, hauling him. “You chose him, Abraham. You take responsibility. I’m not letting you off easy.”

Abraham’s show of leadership and confidence diminished and he let out a sob. Valefor didn’t let the sudden change of character disarm him. He scanned the docks and saw the faint smoke rising from the columns of a ship four anchors down. “I’ve lost everything,”

“Quit your crying, Abe. Look ahead.”

Abraham scowled. “I can’t see anything in this wretched rain,”

Valefor dragged Abraham towards the ship. He saw the ship was preparing to leave. The ropes were untied and the anchor was being drawn up. As they got closer, he heard the massive pumping of the machines inside. Could Heller be on this one? Was he making it this easy? It was the first ship to leave the docks since they’d arrived. Surely, he couldn’t be waiting…

Then, like a ghost from some horrible forgotten nightmare unintentionally recalled, Heller’s pale face peered over the side of the ship.

Valefor felt the blood drain his face and race to the tips of his toes.

“Heller!” Valefor roared.

And the bastard smiled.

Everything forgotten, Valefor raced towards the ship. It was inching its way off the docks, but he could still make it. He had to. Abraham started after him, reaching out. “Valefor, wait!” But Valefor didn’t listen. He heard nothing. All his senses were concentrated on grabbing that swinging rope, a trail to that dead man Heller. Valefor would dig his grave himself.

With a mighty roar, he braced his weight and leapt off the dock for the rope. It seemed an eternity before his numb fingers clutched the rope and even then he almost slid off. Having steadied himself, he began his climb up furiously fast. He leapt over the side of the ship, ignoring all pain, ignoring all the complaints of his body. The only thing he wanted was to feel Heller’s neck wringing in his hands.

Heller jumped back, almost surprised to see Valefor. For an instant he seemed sincerely frightened. He’d forgotten how big Valefor was. Then, reminded of what he had to use against him, Heller’s confidence was regained and he smiled that grin of his again. Valefor leapt at him.

“Valefor!” came Abraham’s faint cry.

Valefor froze, Heller’s neck in his hands. Heller was laughing. Valefor squeezed harder; a choking man shouldn’t be laughing by any line of logic.

“Valefor!” Abraham shouted again, fainter.

“Bastard, what have you done?” Valefor hissed, his grip tightening.

“Let me go and see for yourself!” Heller rasped out, still grinning.

“I’ll kill you first!”

“Then…it’ll b-be…too late!”

“Vale-”

Valefor let out a bellow of frustration and threw Heller aside, hard. He ran to the edge of the ship and saw Abraham being held up by the collar by a man big enough to be a bear. Surrounding him were at least three dozen other people, dressed dark against the rain Valefor had trouble seeing them. But it wasn’t the ghastly, inhuman malice in their faces that stopped him. It wasn’t their glowing red eyes, or their claws, or their tails. No, it was the massive amounts of blood that poured from the gaping hole in Abraham’s chest that turned Valefor cold. It was Abraham’s strained and pale face, so weak, now, and fragile. Valefor couldn’t even find the voice to cry out when Abraham’s body turned limp and the bear man tossed him aside. Like trash.

Abraham didn’t move.

He didn’t get up.

He just kept bleeding from that awful hole.

Heller’s nervous laughter awoke Valefor from his trance. He turned slowly, his eyes wide with…well, Valefor didn’t know what this feeling was. It was different, different from when he’d found his wife’s butchered body. Different from any other death he’d experienced, and he’d had his share. Abraham, so precious to him, a friend, a companion, like a teacher, like a brother, Abraham who meant so much to everyone, to him, Abraham the head captain of the mighty Askari, the bravest and strongest warrior in this never-ending war, this Abraham was lost to this nervous skinny bookworm who couldn’t stand up straight in the face of Valefor’s fury.

“Don’t be rash, now, Valefor,” Heller called out tentatively. “Let us be reasonable.”

“Yes, let us see reason in this sticky situation of yours, Heller,” Valefor replied, his voice ice cold.

“No, wait, stop!” Heller shouted as Valefor made for him again. Heller darted away, clutching at a bag not far from him. He held it to his chest for a moment and he swallowed hard. Then, with some effort, he held the bag over the side of the ship.

Valefor scowled.

Then he saw the bag move.

“You want them so bad? Fine. But you’re going to have to chose, Valefor.”

“You have the baby in that bag?!” Valefor demanded, abhorred.

Heller grinned, but the confidence was gone. “You’re good at making decisions, Valefor. You get me, I drop these babies. If you’re fast enough, you might be able to fetch the bodies.”

“Wha- babies?”

“Oops,”

Valefor didn’t even have time to blink.

The bag went down faster than a bag of bricks. Without giving Heller another glance, Valefor threw himself down the side of the ship and dove down towards the black waters. He saw the bag hit the water before he himself was immersed in it. The breath was knocked out from his lungs from the water so cold. For a moment, he forgot himself and what he was doing here and all he wanted was to get out of the frigid waters. But then his fury washed over and he snapped out his arm almost instinctively, grabbing the floating bag. He broke the waters, gasping for breath only to get a mouthful of rain. Coughing and sputtering, he was blinded. He had to get the baby…or babies…out of the water. He wasn’t sure what Heller had meant. But he couldn’t see and he had a hell of a time trying to swim and deciphering that bastard’s words was the last thing on his mind. He had to get out of the water, for the baby’s sake.

“Valefor!” Shylock was by his side, supporting him with an iron strength Valefor thought was impossible from a human. “We’re not far. Just a little longer,”

Valefor could feel his muscles stiffening. His limbs no longer moved, no matter how he commanded them to. “Valefor, come on, kick!” Valefor cried out angrily and let out one last mighty kick before his legs went limp. He felt himself sinking. Shylock, for all his secret wonders, couldn’t swim for the both of them.

There were other people, now. They grabbed Valefor’s arms and pulled him up onto the dock. Valefor felt he was almost certain he wanted to go back into the water once the wind hit him. He coughed up water, wiping the water from his eyes with shaking blue hands. He couldn’t talk, his jaw locked.

“Valefor, we need the bag,” Titus said, pulling at Valefor’s arm.

Valefor was shivering violently. He thought of his wife, her smile so warm and beautiful.

“Valefor, let go!”

He thought of Abraham, the way he smiled on Valefor’s wedding.

“Valefor, the baby!”

“Shit.”

Valefor’s arms unlocked and Titus pried the bag away from his stiff fingers. Hurriedly he opened the bag and let out a sigh. He pulled a naked baby out, pale and almost blue, but still alive. A girl. It cried like no other. Valefor’s ears were ringing as the baby screamed in protest. Titus quickly covered the baby from the rain and handed her to Noah. Noah opened his coat and wrapped her with it, warming her with his mass. She still screamed, but the blood was now rushing to her cheeks and her face glowed with healthy blood. “This one will live,” Noah muttered, but with a grin.

Then, Titus pulled out a second baby, to everyone’s surprise. “Twins,” Titus breathed out.