Despite what one might think, it was not Aegin’s sudden appearance that alerted Devina to her mistake. To Issa and Kel, that was certainly the moment that they realised they were not a match for him, but Devina? She had realised it the moment she’d seen him sitting still on the roof of the bridge.

No human sat that still.

And the way he’d moved as the icicles Issa shot landed one after another with rapid thuds where he’d been sitting. She could sense his utter disappointment before he even laid eyes on her.

“Stupid Girl”.

Those words, she knew in an instant that Issa and Kel would not survive.

Kel was the first to react upon Aegin’s disappearance, on the water, he was not as strong as he was on land, but the ship was made from items that all originated from the earth, it only took a powerful enough Magician to draw upon such things. Kel was, luckily, a Saint Class Magician.

The wooden slats of the upper most deck rattled before they rose from their fixed position, torn away as Kel splintered them and built a guard around himself.

Using their knowledge of the Mist, they were able to tell which direction Aegin was, but his speed meant they had to react quickly. Issa drew on the ocean below and a stream of water rose up in a gush towards the space beside Kel’s growing guard.

Aegin appeared there for a split second before he side-stepped then drew a dagger, his violet eyes bleeding to red as he dove forward towards Issa.

Kel reacted by splitting the deck just in front of Issa. Aegin appeared again for the briefest instant as he pulled up short, and Issa solidified the water now on the deck to two points of ice that narrowly missed Aegin before he moved once more.

Devina stiffened as she felt Aegin appear behind her.

“They are both skilled and powerful Magicians,” Aegin admitted, “I’ll admit you know how to find your allies. But this? You really should have been more level-headed about this. If I can take care of seven Light Magicians, two is barely a challenge”.

“Three,” Issa growled as he looked at Devina.

But Devina did not move.

Aegin chuckled, “No, just two, she can’t attack me whilst she is bound to me. After all, she made a contract to provide for me what I desire. Though I admit she has fought the bond well to be able to spill her story to the two of you. Perhaps it is the Order in her beginning to win out, we are just a little over half-way through our contract”.

“A monster of Chaos shall not be allowed to taint this world,” stated Kel.

Aegin chuckled, “It already has, and will continue for years to come, even if I die”.

Issa looked ready to protest.

“Not that it matters,” Aegin continued with a bored sigh, “You won’t be around to see it”.

Devina gasped as she felt an arm wrap around her waist, then she was pulled of her feet for a split second before she suddenly found herself before Issa who looked fiercer than she’d ever seen him as he thrust an arm towards her, and icicle following suit. A look of horror dawned upon him before He stopped short, the icicle just barely nicking the skin of Devina’s abdomen before the two snapped their heads to the side where Aegin appeared before Kel, then dragged a blade across his throat.

Kel’s eyes widened in shock as the wooden boards around him instantly clattered to the ground and his hands rose to cup his neck, blood flowing through the gaps between his fingers.

Issa shouted, “NO!”

Kel gave a gurgling gasp as he began to drop, but Aegin held him by the back of his shirt as he picked him up then disappeared. He reappeared near the deck railing before Devina even had time to register he was gone, then he through Kel’s body over the side of the ship.

“NO!” screamed Issa.

Devina slapped a hand over her mouth. Even if she’d known…she’d hoped it wouldn’t happen.

Then, just as she and Issa were recovering from the shock of Aegin tossing Kel overboard, he appeared behind Issa, drew back his collar, and plunged his fangs into Issa’s throat. Issa froze almost instantly. He went to scream on impulse, but Aegin clamped a hand over his mouth.

Devina watched as Aegin drank, slowly but surely as Issa was slowly lowered to the ground. She wanted to move forward, the help him, to do something. But the bond between her and Aegin held her back.

She was utterly incompetent. Completely reckless and naïve to believe she’d ever have a chance. These Magicians. They really had died from her stupidity.

Devina felt tears rise to her eyes and she clamped a hand over her mouth as she sobbed, dropping to her knees on the broken and ruined deck. It became clear that Aegin had no intention of stopping, and Devina watched helplessly as Issa grew paler and paler, and his eyes grew duller and duller.

Finally, when it was clear that Issa’s heart no longer beat, Aegin pulled away, not even bothering to lick the wound closed before he stood and dragged the body over to the side of the deck, tossing him over like he had Kel.

Devina caught herself, her eyes stinging and red, her throat filled with her sobs, and her nose dripping from her sorrow. Aegin walked over casually, taking his thumb and swiping it across his bottom lip as Devina watched before sucking the excess blood off it.

He was silent for a moment as he watched her.

“For the record, if you’d been listening earlier in the trip, perhaps you would have realised that I can go several days without feeding. Luckily, with that meal, I won’t need to feed from you for a week. Should give you plenty of time to not only recover, but rethink your naïve and selfish actions,” stated Aegin.

Devina sniffed, trying to wipe her tears and nose with her sleeve in order to appear strong, but she did not feel it, so she doubted she seemed it.

“This is not the Crystal Towers you grew up in. Here, you are not a Spark of the Holy Order, not a Priestess, you’re barely even a Magician,” stated Aegin, “What you are, is food. But you are food with a choice. You can keep your mouth shut, which will result in you alone being the food, or you can blab to every other ally you can find on board and have them take your place without the option of surviving it. You’ve had one too many warnings, I think. Perhaps this will be a good lesson for you”.

Then Aegin stood and kicked one of the wooden boards aside then stepped over another, “Urgh, I’ll probably be the one asked to clean up this crap. Should have taken care of them sooner”.