Stathis ducked underneath the trident strike before countering with her sword, cutting through scales and driving the creature back towards the edge of the boat. Semari jumped forward, spinning around and kicking them in their fish-shaped head, their scales squashing under the impact of the attack, before they fell backwards, splashing back into the water. Were they dead? Hopefully they were out of the fight, at least. Several bolts of darkness shot through the air, cleaning picking off more targets, sending each of them flying backwards, even as more climbed up out of the sea.

Vrintar had thrown herself into the brawl, axes slicing through the air, hacking and cleaving through the attackers, cold blue blood splattering across the deck. A few of the sailors had joined in as well, trying to pick off individual fishmen, but most had retreated belowdecks, hopefully better able to protect themselves in the narrow hallways. A thick cloud of darkness was behind them, conjured by Janaxia but having been outpaced by the movement of the ship.

Another attacker died, arrows sinking into them from above before Parth appeared, stepping through a portal, blade swinging out and slashing through another before she vanished, appearing next to another one.

There was the crack of a mace against flesh and bone as Stathis spun to see Pajaran, wreathed in a protective aura, slamming her mace into the head of one of the creatures. ‘Stop fighting like you’ve got armour!’ She reached out and touched Stathis, the protective aura transferring itself over just in time to deflect a thrown dart, a bone spike embedding itself into the deck. A beam of frost shot towards the thrower, freezing their arm behind a thick layer of frost.

As they tried to move, Stathis attacked, blocking another attack with her shield and stabbing out, shattering the ice before cutting into their arm. They made a strange hissing sound, probably one of pain, as they tried to defend themselves, her next strike cutting through a dart and into their chest. They sank down to the deck, blue fluid bubbling from their wounds.

She blocked another dart, the bone ricocheting off her shield, the attacker retreating and diving overboard. Semari shouted something at them, in a strange, bubbling tongue, as she slammed a fist into another and sent them flying backwards, disappearing from view as they fell overboard.

Stathis moved towards a cluster that had formed into a defensive formation, long tridents keeping Semari at bay. Pajaran charged ahead, using her armour to take the strikes before swinging her mace through the air. This created an opening that Stathis took advantage of, stepping into melee range and laying about her with her sword, bashing with her shield. Pajaran struck low, mace cracking a leg before she followed up with a skull-smashing blow, leaving Stathis to deal with the rest. She channelled a touch of holy energy through her blade, the weapon shining with solar light for a moment as it cleaved through a scaled chest.

The attack had been blunted, the momentum shifting as the attackers broke and fled, at least those that hadn’t been killed. Stathis moved to be back-to-back with Pajaran, moving to cover each other’s movements without leaving openings. From somewhere off the ship, a horn sounded, those that could retreat making for the side of the boat and diving overboard, Semari shouting more hissing, bubbling phrases at them.

As the last of them retreated, Stathis lifted one of the bodies and threw them over the sound, the smell of salt and iron strong around it. Pajaran was doing the same, trying to keep the deck clean and clear of obstructions.

‘Semari, Vrintar, go check below decks. Make sure Hakara’s OK down there. What the hell were you shouting at them, Semari? And where did you learn to speak their language?’

‘Dunno. Never spoken to anyone that fishy before! Rude stuff about their tadpoles though. Or spawn or whatever. Seemed to piss them off!’ She pulled open a hatch and jumped down, as Vrintar took the more mundane approach of using the steps.

Stathis slumped against the mast, a sudden tiredness overwhelming her as Pajaran bustled over, healing energy already glowing around her hands. Although she wasn’t too badly wounded, the energy made her feel a little more awake and alert. ‘Thanks. It’s nice to have someone covering me in the scrum! Semari’s too damn unpredictable and I’ve never had the time to arrange tactics with Vrintar. Good shieldwork!’

‘Amount of drill we did together, not a surprise! We really need to get you some armour though, it’s pretty obvious that you’re used to being able to take hits without getting badly hurt.’ She pressed a hand against Stathis’ shoulder, where she had been stabbed by a trident-prong. It hadn’t been a deep wound, but it had dragged at her shield arm continually. Cool, soothing energy bathed the wound, her skin closing up, leaving just a trail of blood down her shirt. ‘Or take some pointers from Semari, she knows how to dodge.’

‘She’s smaller than I am! And a lot faster.’

‘Yeah, I guess there’s a lot more of you to move than there is of her! Should’ve spent less time in that armour, but you’ve always been pretty beefy.’

‘Thanks for the protection spell. Not as good as armour, but better than getting stabbed.’ She shifted her arm, checking it didn’t hurt – she still felt bone-tired, but couldn’t feel any pain from a wound. ‘It’s nice to have a proper healer, Parth’s berries taste nice but don’t really do much. You’ve improved a lot as well. From being fragged around by Carissia?’

‘Yup. Learn fast or get burned. Or frozen, or eaten or otherwise messed up by whatever she was dragging us to fight at that point. Still nowhere near as bad as some of the training exercises though. At least the fights were winnable, not exercises in “what’s the least bad outcome possible”, where the commander has to try and get a win at all, even if it means sacrificing everyone. Or pulling out some cheaty bullshit, like flying around the back.’

‘Hey, it worked! And I managed to carry you as well. That wasn’t easy! Good thing that everyone assumed that we’d climbed up, otherwise it would have been awkward to explain.’ She pushed herself off the mast, feeling the soreness in her back and legs. ‘You OK, Janaxia? You’ve been quiet for a while.’

She was hovering around at a distance, blasting a body with her bolts until it was knocked overboard, keeping her dress fastidiously clear of the trail of blood. Her clothing was relatively sensible, still quite clinging but without too much lace, and the only cutout was between her breasts. Her tattoo was definitely larger and darker than it had been, slowly spinning around on her chest.

‘I wouldn’t want to interrupt.’

‘It’s just me being healed, not like it’s anything secret. Good job with the fighting, although I guess we learned that your darkness thing is a bit limited when we’re on a boat. Shame, would have been useful to narrow down the areas they could attack from. Just be careful not to wreck the ship or anything, I don’t think it’s reinforced against acid and frost.’

‘Hmmm. Yes, I’ve never fought upon a ship before. It was less arduous than I imagined, although I would prefer mermaids or sirens to these rather unsightly beings.’ She blasted another body, knocking it overboard.

‘You sure? You have a pretty bad track record with anything remotely seductive. Even those sirens, and they only sounded nice, but looked ugly. Those vampires in the Sacred City as well – you might be into getting bitten, but you could probably find someone safer than a group of vampires to do it with. You’re really bad against anything that uses enchantments and stuff like that.’

‘When in contact with such beings, I simply deign to relax my will somewhat, in order to allow myself some measure of relaxation. And it was most discourteous of you to interrupt! Especially as it was before we could properly enjoy ourselves. Although it was rather impressive, the way that you burst through the door, despite your rather unusual choice of weapon.’

Stathis coughed and tried to change the subject. ‘Well, you did a good job leading us to the vampires, so I guess it worked out. And we technically rescued Aimodia, I suppose? Not that she particularly needed it. Are you feeling OK? You’ve been very quiet. Please don’t summon up something from beneath the sea, we’re a long way from the shore.’

Semari flipped back onto the deck, somersaulting out of a hatch. ‘Looks all clear downstairs. Captain says thanks for the help.’

‘Well, not like we had much choice. Not sure what they were after though – they could just have sunk us. You know anything about them, Janaxia?’

‘The ways of the fish-people are very much outside my expertise. They do, on occasion, produce rather nice jewellery for trade, but are scarcely powerful or influential. And, of course, have ties to some rather unsavoury spirits and the like. Now, if you will excuse, I have business to be about.’

In a flurry of skirts, she spun, her scent wafting out, detectable even above the salty air, retreating belowdecks herself.

Pajaran waited until she was gone before speaking. ‘Um, is she OK? I was expecting, I don’t know, rather more… grandeur? More plotting and scheming, that sort of thing. I’m pretty sure she spends all her time in her cabin sulking. I thought she might at least try and summon up demons or something, but she doesn’t really seem to do much of anything.’

‘Yeah, she’s been super grumpy. Dunno why. Heard her mumbling to herself a lot. Don’t think it was a spell or anything, or at least there’s no swirly spell-thingies around her. You should go and cheer her up, Stathis. Cheer her up good and hard!’ Semari thrust her hips against air.

‘Oh, so she did seduce you? Didn’t think that was your type.’ Pajaran had found a scrap of cloth and was wiping her mace clean. ‘You’ve always had a thing against other aristocrats. Remember that time with the Baron of wherever-it-was? The one with the fancy horse? That ended badly.’

‘She’s not that aristocratic!’ Both Semari and Pajaran looked at her in disbelief. ‘OK, she is, but no-one seduced anyone.’ Semari snorted in disbelief. ‘It’s not like that! I’ll go and talk to her. Hopefully she won’t have another weird meltdown, as we’re a long way from any holy ground. Don’t say anything Semari, I can see you smirking. Although it’s not just me is it, her clothing’s getting darker? Looks good, but, well… Probably best to keep an eye on her.’

‘So, same as always, then? I reckon you should just pump her full of light. Although you’ve been kinda pale recently. Not as glowy as you used to be.’

Stathis held up her sword and focused her will – the blade shone with a faint glimmer, but it looked barely distinct from simply reflecting the sunlight. ‘It it less bright, isn’t it? Has Hakara bothered sleeping yet? I don’t think I’ll get a coherent answer from her until she’s crashed out for a few days.’

‘She said she needed to keep casting her spell. Or at least I think that’s what she meant, it was quite hard to tell. Reckon it’s worth just doping her up?’

‘If she thinks it’s important, then leave her be, at least unless she looks like she’s going to cause herself harm or blow us up. I really don’t want Carissia dropping in suddenly! I guess she’s going to be pretty exhausted once she finishes. Semari, you look fine? I guess Vrintar’s OK as well?’

‘Yeah, we’re pretty tough. Parth’s fine too. Running low on arrows though. Never fought fish-dudes before though. Guess they were like bandits of the sea or something? Dunno what they even steal. Do they have, like, fish-people-babies that they have to feed or something?’

‘Weren’t you talking their language? Don’t you know anything about them?’

‘Nah, never seen them before. But it kept them distracted, right? Although now I’ve got, like, fish-gunk all over my hands. Ewww! Hey, I’ll have a heal if you’re dishing them out? They feel nice and tingly.’

Pajaran reached out with a hand before Stathis shook her head. ‘If she’s not injured, don’t bother. Keep your spells in case we need them later. Semari, don’t whine! You don’t need healing. If you want to do something, go up and keep an eye out, go keep Parth company.’

‘Eh, she’s not betting anymore! Says that’s I win too often.’

‘As long as you don’t squabble or piss Janaxia off, just go chill. Go see if you can fall asleep in the rigging or something.’

Semari scampered up onto the ropes, jumping between them with ease, leaving Stathis alone with Pajaran again.

‘She’s right though. You are less bright than before. What about your wings?’

Stathis focused, feeling energy flare out of her back. She jumped and flexed, watching as a wind stirred across the deck, before thrusting upwards. All she could see around them was the blue ocean, glinting in the sunlight, ship cutting through the waves. From up here, she could see Parth and Semari in the crow’s nest, as Semari made rude gestures at her.

As she flew upwards, a wave of tiredness overcame her, darkness blurring her vision. She spun around, tucking her wings in and diving, flapping them widely before she landed to break her fall. As she touched down onto the deck again, she let them fade, ignoring Semari’s over-loud sigh.

‘You OK showing off like that?’

‘I think everyone already knows? Although I’d rather it still be at least a little covert.’

‘For someone sworn to knightly ideals and stuff, you seem pretty keen on covering that up.’

‘Hey, the knightly code doesn’t say I have to tell others follow the knightly code!’

‘Or that you grow wings and have holy powers?’ Pajaran grinned and shook her head. ‘Hey, it’s your sacred code! Although having met Master Yeros, that explains a lot. Definitely good, but not exactly the most rigorous of people when it comes to following the rules. So how did you tell Janaxia?’

‘Um, well… I kinda didn’t. I saved her a few times and she started to think there was an angel that showed up sometimes to save her. It was, uh, sort of easier to not tell her anything. So I don’t think she knew, up until… well, this.’

Pajaran winced. ‘Think that might be why she’s pissed off at you? You were keeping that secret for quite a while. You might want to apologise to her? It does seem a little dickish. Even if she did kind of kill you a bit.’

‘Yeah, but…’ Stathis trailed off. It was always annoying when Pajaran was right! ‘She was grumpy enough when she found out about who I actually was, and there’s not enough wine to get her drunk first. Dammit!’

‘Hey, this is entirely your own fault! You could have gone with the old “vague and mysterious powers”, but you let her think she had a guardian angel. Which I guess she kind of does, but you’re probably not quite as divine as she might have been thinking! Although how did she reconcile that fact that she’s evil with having an angel?’

‘I don’t think she thinks she’s evil? She’s not that bad, just strange. Really strange. Shit. You’re right – I should go apologise. Um, can you make sure Semari doesn’t interfere? This is going to be awkward enough without a running commentary!’

‘I’ll do what I can.’ They bumped fists, as Stathis moved towards the hatch.