Excalibur's Seven - Chapter 13: Chapter 13

THE CREW TOOK FAR longer to be done with them than Eurion would've liked. When they were all finally allowed to go to bed, she let out a breath of relief. She hoped the others could provide a proper cover despite the crew wearing them to exhaustion, but Selene's red eyes and Kit dozing off the moment he hit the bunk bed made her nervous.
The faeries didn't seem to have an issue, though, and Chalice was holding up. Eurion hoped they would be enough, but without the real fighters, she just had to rely on the others' ability to outsmart one of the trickiest sailors on the sea.
Eurion had already gotten a good look at the ship earlier when she was sent to fetch a broom. She took the opportunity to find where the stash was likely to be, and she was certain she found it.
She stepped out of the room they were staying in, looking around the ship for any sign that someone was there. The coast was clear, so she carried onward, opening a latch on the floor. The door squealed as it opened, but nothing happened. No one heard it, thank the Gods.
She slid down into the cellar, holding up her dim lantern. She didn't know where to start. There was a large chest at the back of the room, it would have to do.
She tried to pull it open, only to realize she didn't have a key. Right. She did, however, have two pins from Selene. She fussed with the lock, struggling to get it open, until finally she heard it click. But she didn't get the chance to lift the lid.
"What do you think you're doing in here?"
Eurion stiffened, turning to find Conrad standing in the entrance of the cellar, blocking her only exit. She had no way to escape.
"It's not how it seems, Conrad. See, there's this faery—"
"I don't care what it is, no one is allowed in here but me." He got closer, pulling out a blade. Eurion had no way to escape him, no way to get out of this without a miracle.
As if on cue, a rope wrapped around Conrad's neck, yanking him up from the cellar and causing him to drop his dagger. Eurion took the opportunity to grab it, jumping up to see Selene wrestling with the captain.
"Eurion, hurry and find it. I can't keep him like this for long."
The captain stopped struggling, then started to laugh. "Are you looking for this?"
He lifted up his shirt, revealing something sharp and metallic strapped across his chest. Somehow Eurion knew with certainty that this was the shard.
She lunged for the sailor, but her arms were yanked forcefully behind her back. Neither her nor Selene saw the crewmen sneak below to help their captain, but she knew she should've expected as much.
Men attempted to apprehend Selene, but she fought them off swiftly, leaving them a bloody mess as soon as they got close to her. There were more men, though, enough to overtake her eventually. Soon she and Eurion were bound in rope, taken up to the deck, where the pale moon shone bright against the sea, faintly illuminating a now livid Conrad.
It only took a moment for the rest of them to be tied up and brought to the deck as well. Morgana's lip was split and bleeding and he looked like he was an inch way from fainting, and Kit had a dozen cuts on his arms and face. Giselle was the only one relatively unharmed, Eurion assumed she didn't resist.
Chalice was nowhere to be found, but no one seemed to notice.
That was the only thing Eurion was banking on now, tied up and overpowered by the man who had the shard.
"How the hell do you know what that is?" Eurion spat.
The dagger was back in his hands now, and he spun the tip of it against his forefinger. "Oh, Eurion, you of all people should know that men of the sea know about anything worth a damn."
"You don't know what you're dealing with," Selene warned. "That shard is worth far more than money but it's worthless here on your ship doing nothing."
"Oh, it's doing something," he laughed. "I'm so much stronger than I've ever been with it. I'm so much more powerful, Fiona, so much smarter and stronger and faster. You're right, this is much more than money."
Eurion's stomach dropped, and she could see the others felt the same. If just a shard of the sword had enough to give this man power, she couldn't even imagine how dangerous the full Excalibur would be in the wrong hands.
They needed that shard, but she had no idea how to get it.
She looked to the others, searching for an answer, but nothing came. She was about to lose hope, when she heard a cry leave Conrad's lips.
When Eurion looked up, his lip was bleeding in the same spot at Morgana's. The Unseelie had a wicked look in his flickering eyes, like he was trying to kill him with a look. And if looks could kill, there would be nothing left of the captain, she was sure.
"Who's doing that?" he asked. His arm twisted and he let out a cry, the sound of bones cracking.
She could only guess that Morgana was returning the favor. Faeries worked in fair trade and tricks, but the Unseelie were far more literal about it. A split lip for a split lip, a twisted arm for a twisted arm.
"Hurt me again and see what happens," Morgana gritted.
Conrad didn't hesitate to smack him across the face, but was launched to the side was an invisible force right after, cheek blooming red.
"How the hell..."
"Giselle, let it down," Morgana told her. And suddenly she was herself again, and his ripped wings and cracked skin were visible.
"You're faeries," he whispered. "Fine. You look half dead anyways."
He walked over to Selene next, drawing his blade.
"Give me your name," Giselle called out.
Conrad froze. "What are you-"
"Selene."
"I wouldn't hurt her if I were you. She belongs to me now. You hurt her and you owe me."
Giselle called to Eurion next, and she gave her name without hesitation. She asked for Kit's next, but he refused. "I had it taken once. How do I know you'll even give it back?"
"For God's sake, Kit, give me your name before he kills you." It was Morgana this time. Eurion didn't see how that would convince him any better, but to her surprise, he did it.
"Kristofer," he muttered, giving the captain a cold glare.
Conrad laughed. "Alright, that was cute. But I've got the shard. I can take it." With that, he swung at Selene first. She was so quick, Eurion barely saw her move her feet, the blade slamming down to cut the rope which bound them. Her reflexes were almost otherworldly, and she jumped up, swinging her arms around to her front.
Conrad swung, and she used the ropes as a shield until her hands were free. She didn't have a sword, but she dodged his hits, swinging back with her fists. For every cut Conrad left, Selene left two bruises. She was too fast, too light on her feet. Eurion glanced to find Giselle's eyes shimmering, hair glowing brighter than it normally did.
She was helping her.
Eurion tried to come up with a plan while Selene was distracting the sailor, but the men that she hadn't completely incapacitated were still there, ready to stop them if they so much as moved.
She wished she knew where Chalice was.
Conrad was starting to get the best of Selene after several minutes, leaving a shallow cut in her side that had her limping. She was getting closer and closer to the edge, dangerously close, balance swaying. She didn't give up, but it was clear she was depending only on Giselle's help now.
Eurion's chest construction when he finally grabbed her by the front of the shirt, tossing her over the edge of the ship.
"No!" Kit cried, disregarding the men behind him as he brought his hands around to the front of him, trying with everything he had to stand with his feet bound.
Conrad was on his way to the prince now, but stopped in his tracks, face turning red. He tried to breathe, but it didn't work. He was drowning. Selene was drowning, but so was he.
In this moment of weakness, Morgana shot up. He'd managed to untie himself in all this, picking up Conrad's sword from the ground. He didn't hesitate for a second to drive the sword into the man's sternum, clear through his back, pulling it out and letting it drop.
He barely had time to free Kit's hands before the men came to attack. He tossed the sword to the prince, and Eurion watched as he fought them off. Morgana was helping him, that much was clear. His movements were swifter, stronger, quicker. But he was weaker than Giselle and couldn't hold onto him as long.
Eurion was so wrapped up in the others that she hadn't even considered her own safety. She cried out as she was pulled to her feet and hauled towards the water.
"Get the shard, forget me!" she said, letting the men toss her into the icy water. Her instincts kicked in, forcing her to hold her breath, but she knew she could still help, even if it was the last thing she did. She inhaled, letting the water fill the lungs. She sank deeper into the ocean, hoping to God Kit got the hint.
The edges of her vision darkness and her mind felt fuzzy, and she was ready to die at the bottom of the ocean, when a flash of orange caught the corner of her eye.
Everything was blurry for while, but when Eurion opened her eyes again, she was lying on a beach of sand coughing up the entire ocean. Next to her, Selene was alive and heaving.
She looked around her to find the ship, but it was hidden in the fog. All she saw in the distance was a faint orange glow, like something was ablaze behind the mist. Eurion prayed to every god she knew of that the others would get out safe.
"Did you know Chalice could breathe underwater?" Selene said, tearing her away from her thoughts. "Because I had no idea they could breathe under water."
Eurion's voice came out as coarse as the sand they laid upon. "No, I had no idea, either. That crazy son of a bitch is full of surprises."
"Speak of the devil," Selena said, pointing towards the water. Sure enough, Chalice was emerging from the surface, Giselle in their arms. They dropped her on the shore before dipping back under, presumably swimming back to the ship.
"Giselle," Selene said, pulling the Seelie up close to her, patting her back to help her cough up the saltwater. So far she was in better shape than anyone else.
As soon as she was able to breathe again, Selene pulled her into a tight embrace. Giselle hugged back and Eurion looked away, afraid to intrude on a special moment.
Morgana was the next to the shore, but he wasn't coughing. Giselle scrambled towards him, taking on the immediate task of pressing his chest until he jolted upright, leaning over to cough up the water wracking his lungs. If Morgana wasn't already fragile, Eurion thought a misplaced pebble could be the end of him right now.
The only thing that managed to pull her anxious eyes away from him was Chalice returning to the shore with Kit at their side, swimming on his own.
He took an exaggerated breath the moment his head reached the surface, collapsing against the sand without even taking his legs out of the water.
"We're alive," he groaned.
Chalice sat down, massaging their temples, but their breathing was normal. None of that took a toll on their body. How the hell did they do that?
Selene had a more important question, though. "Did we get the shard?"
Kit finally moved out of the water, taking his sweet time while the rest of them waited in suspense. He took a second to unbutton his shirt, but once it was undone, it fell open to reveal a strap across his chest. And tucked within the pocket laid the first gleaming shard of Excalibur.