Three loud knocks sound on the wall, and I am jolted from my sleep. I reach for my weapons, but my nails only scratch the wooden boards. I blink, my eyes adjusting to the darkness.

I wheeze out a dry breath, my throat heavily parched. It’s been about two days now, and I am no closer to coming up with a decent plan.

The pirates refuse to give me water. I get the feeling that they really don’t care how many of their “stock” die while in transit.

A hushed whisper comes from the cell next to us, “I heard you talkin’ to the asper. D’ you think it’s possible?”

It takes me a second to realize what he is talking about. Me and Kamar had been throwing ideas back and forth on how to escape, and we kept coming back to crashing the ship. The only major problem with this is that there is no guarantee we would survive the crash.

I roll over, and crawl to the edge of the cell. Grabbing the metal bars, I angle my voice towards the cell to our right. “Escape? We don’t have much choice.”

The voice grunts and I can’t help but feel it sounds familiar.

Then it clicks in my head, “Adre, is that you?”

“Yes, lad. I think I got a solution to yer problem of surviving th’ crash.” He says this quietly, in a hushed whisper.

I put on a tentative smile, Maybe there is hope.

“What do you mean?” I ask inquisitively, excitement and hope bubbling up from within me. My grip on the cold metal bars tightens, the black bandages on my right hand rustling slightly.

Blinking, I look at my arm again, but don’t see anything. I could have sworn they moved.

“‘hat’s right, lad. If we can somehow get these chains off, and you got me the ship’s heart, I should be able to form a platform of Cloud Katra. Big enough to hold all of us,” He says this excitedly, but also with doubt.

I try to get a better look at Adre, but can’t. “Why do you need the Sky Gem?”

Adre reaches out a hand from between the bars of the next cell, pointing at me with a hairy finger, a iron shackle rattling on his wrist. “It’ll ‘elp with my Katra capacity. It’s chock-full of Cloud Katra I could manipulate. If I had my hands on it, we’d be as good as safe fer sure.”

I think about this, it would make sense if he was one of Corazon’s Sky Pathers that he would be able to manipulate Cloud Katra. From what I could gather, a Sky Gem turned the katra it was supplied with into its own generic brand that could be manipulated by just about anyone.

So it may be possible to survive the crash… but wouldn’t Felton be able to easily pursue after us if he knew we were still alive?

I reach through the bars, twisting my arm and clack my fingers around his wrist. His arm goes rigid, but he doesn’t say anything. “We can’t be seen, we need them to think we’re dead.”

I can hear the grin in his accented voice, his calloused hand clasps me on the forearm, “What do you have in mind?”

I crack a smile, my dry lips stretching uncomfortably. I lick them with my sandpaper tongue, opening my mouth, I start telling him about the plan that has started to take form in my mind.

***

I look at the bars of the cell, straining my ears.

The creek of wood and thump of boots sounds the slaver that is walking down the hall. A bright glow proceeds him, and then he comes into my sight, the oil lantern held up in his hand.

I squint at the brightness of the light.

He glances over at my cell. His face is pinched and rat like, covered in a scraggly beard and a nose that looks like it has been broken twice. He squints at me and his face becomes enraged as he sees my defiant expression.

“Watch’a lookin’ at?” He clops towards me, his slouching frame pulled up as high as it can go. “‘Hink you’re invinsiabel, don’tcha?”

He smashes a baton on the metal bars, but I don’t flinch, glaring at him. I roll my dry tongue around my mouth, getting my salivary glands going. Then I spit, right in his rat like face.

The pirate flinches a little, confusion on his face. He reaches up a dirty hand, feeling the glob of spit on his cheek. His face goes beet red, his already ugly features twisting into something grotesque and malevolent.

The pirate growls out through clenched teeth, “Yer gonna pay fer that!”

He reaches for the keys at his belt, plucking them from a loop. The pirate places the lamp on the ground inserting the key into the lock.

I scramble back, deeper into a cell and hiding in the corner.

The pirate comes into the cell, pushing the door open with a squeal of protest from the hinges. He has his baton ready, a malicious glint in his eyes.

The rat of a man takes a few quick steps forward, bringing the wooden baton up above his head. The stick glows with a opaque light. Air katra, he’s using it to boost the velocity of his hit.

Then he brings the baton down, and it lands with a crack.

I wince at the sound, looking up at the large, hairy hand that is holding the baton. Kamar clenches his fist, the wood creaking and then splintering.

He had stayed hidden in the right corner of the cell, cloaked in the deep shadows. Even with his bulky frame, he couldn’t have been spotted by the pirate, who’s night vision had been ruined by the lamp.

The Tuskite pirate looks at his baton in confusion, then follows the arm that grips what remains of the stick. He looks up into the face of a very angry asper.

The pirate’s face loses its beat red color, turning a shade paler and morphing with fear.

Kamar pulls back his large, left fist.

The pirate sputters, squeaking out in a pitiful voice, “M-mercy?”

The asper unleashes his fist, the giant hammer of a fist flying into the pirate’s chest. There is a double crunch, and the explosive expulsion of air from the tuskite pirate's lungs. He goes flying back, crashing into the wooden wall with a loud thunk, his head whipping back and cracking against the planks.

He falls limply to the ground, out cold.

I stand up, ogling at the power in that one strike. I can’t help but remember my fight with Kamar, and how I was forced to dodge and twist around his blows. If even one of them had hit me, I would probably have died instantly.

The asper bends down over the pirate, grabbing his key loop and starts fixing the key into the lock on his right manacle.

I had figured out pretty quickly how to fry the manacle’s power source and stop it’s neutralizing powers.

The small little compartment where the crystal was kept only needed to be flooded with my Gray katra. Similarly to what happened to the rock I had experimented on in the Ivory Valley, it was destroyed. When I had destroyed mine, the thing had sparked, hissed and popped, then the strange damping katra was gone, the scripting on the iron becoming inert.

My attention is drawn from my thoughts as Kamar’s manacle drop to the floor, the chain he had broken to free up his hands, with a clank.

“It’s this key,” He holds out the respective key with his meaty fingers. I take it from his hand and twist my manacles around so the keyhole is facing me. Inserting the key, I can hear a click, then I slowly turn it, the manacle popping open.

I move onto the next manacle, saying, “The Sky Gem should be a level below us, if this ship follows the same design as The Sky Fisher.”

Kamar nods, picking up the unconscious man by his arms and roughly depositing him in the center of the cell. I hand him the keys, “I’ll go let out the other prisoners. I trust you have everything under control here?”

I take a deep breath, my feelings of apprehension bubbling to the surface. But I nod my head, not looking Kamar in the yes.

A weight settles on my right shoulder, Kamar squeezes lightly, “You don’t have to do it. I can do it.”

I hesitate, but shake my head. “No, it’s either us or him. Now, go.” I shrug off his shoulder.

Kamar sighs, but nods and lumbers out of the cell.

I take in a shaky breath, seriously considering calling out to Kamar and telling him I changed my mind.

I don’t. No, I have to be strong. This is a necessary step on this path that I chose. Inik warned me, and this was my decision.

I am slow to move, but I take a step forward, then another. I crouch down at the rat faced pirate’s side.

Searching his belt, I find the long, slender object I’m looking for. Pulling the dagger from the sheath, I hold it up in the light of the oil lamp. The edge of the blade glints maliciously, begging for blood.

I reverse my grip on the dagger, bending over the pirate. I pull up his tunic and woolen shirt, exposing his boney and hairy chest.

I had had a extensive conversation with Vengeance on his powers over blood. He needed approximately a gallon and a half of blood to properly materialize. Even then, it wouldn’t be enough to keep him in the real world more than a handful of minutes.

That’s roughly the amount of blood in a human.

I take a shaky breath, holding the dagger in both my hands. My black bandaged hand grips the dagger’s handle tightly, creaking slightly.

My thoughts are a whirlwind, a voice screaming in the back of my mind to put the dagger down and stop. But I don’t.

The dagger’s tip shakes with my unsteady hands, bobbing slightly.

I take a deep breath. I need to hurry. I can’t be weak, I need to be strong. I need to survive.

The shaking of the dagger stops, my hands steadying. In that split second, my muscles empowered with Gray katra, the dagger moves down, slicing through the air with a quiet swish.

I close my eyes tight, mumbling a prayer for the gods to forgive me.

Then the dagger hit’s the pirate’s chest. There is a split second of resistance, then the short blade sinks through his flesh with a sickeningly quiet squelch. It slide under his rib cage, slicing through muscle and plunging into the pirate’s heart.

I can feel his pulse through the blade.

The Tuskite pirate gasps, clawing at the air. He arches his back, a silent scream escaping through his lips.

I twist the blade in a quick motion, pulling it out with another squelch.

The pirate falls back down, his body falling still. He looks up at the ceiling, the spark of life draining from his eyes.

My thoughts are strangely calm, the turmoil having frozen and died down. The only thought that remains echos in the void of my mind. I just killed a man. I’m now a killer.

I try to muster up any emotion, but I can’t.

Looking down at the dagger in my hand, bright red blood drips from the tip, covering its length. I drop it to the floor with a clatter, looking at my strangely steady hands. It had been so… quick. A life snuffed out just like that.

I curl my fingers into fists, taking a deep breath.

He was a slaver, a pirate and probably a murderer. Somehow that doesn’t make me feel any better. Focus, there’s no time for this.

I move over to the newly minted corpse, looking at it. The pirate’s flesh has already started to loose color, blood welling up from the small incision mark I hand left. I close his glassy eyes, averting my gaze from his face that is twisted into pain and terror.

Closing my eyes, I feel for the connections in the back of my mind. There are several now, but all of them are distinct and different from each other. Vengeance’s feels cold, and yet burns. The thin strand connecting me to him glowing a dim red.

Vengeance, I call you to serve me.

There is a strange numbness that spreads from my chest, where my heart and core would be. It feels like the cold flame of vengeance I so often picture, but far more intense.

It grows stronger, intenser. Bubbling up from deep within me. The feeling spread down into my right arm, a running river of ice cold water.

My eyes snap open, and I bend over the corpse. My black bandaged fingers gently press down around the wound, feeling along the edges.

Then the cold sensation of vengeance explodes from my hand, a stream of crimson mist roiling out from in between the bandages. It eagerly flows into the wound, mixing in with the blood and invading the corpse’s nervous system.

Then it cuts out, the freezing cold vanishing down my limb and into the body.

I bring my hand away from the body, taking a few steps back.

Did that work? I don’t see him.

Unlike what I expected, blood did not flow from the body. Instead, it’s fingers started twitching, then it went rigid. A strange gurgling sound comes from deep within it’s throat.

Then it relaxes, sitting up slowly and as if being pulled by strings. It’s head turns to look at me with glazed eyes. A voice speaks, but it sounds layered, as if there are two talking. One is quieter, but far more meaning, the other is the voice of the pirate.

“You summoned me to serve, father. I shall now fulfill your command,” the corpse says, slowly, stiffly and jerkingly getting to its feet. Vengeance holds up one of the pirate’s hand, inspecting it. He clenches it into a fist, then releases. “Strange, I did not expect to be able to possess a body. Thank you, father.” He bows deeply towards me, then straightens.

All of his movements look off, as if the corpse is being pulled around on strings.

He stintly walks towards the cell door, and I move out of his way.

This is… just wrong. I have now defiled a corpse, and I can’t say that I don’t feel anything from it. But I guess it makes this a bit easier.

Vengeance, wearing the body like a suit, walks down the wall towards the stairs. He picks up the oil lantern, holding it up next to his head as he shuffles away.

The other crew members look at me with a mixture of horror and respect. Kamar looks at me with a worried expression, and something that looks a little like worry.

Can’t really blame them. I might as well have just bought a corpse back from death. I am reminded of how Karla died, her body devoured. No, I am nothing like that vile demon.

Adre pushes to the front of the crowd, “Well, lad. What’s next?”

I look him in the eyes, “We wait.”

Sitting down, I close my eyes and feel my connection with Vengeance. I follow it, and then I fall into a trance like state. I can see through his eyes, much like with what happened with the chimeras.

Vengeance piloted the pirate’s corpse down the stairs, the lantern lighting up the walls.

He stops for a moment, and thinks. Then he moves the pirate’s arm up, controlling the blood in it, and closes the shutter on the flame. The dark staircase is no longer bathed in light, darkness reclaiming it.

Vengeance continues stiffly walking down the stairs. The flesh of the pirate seems to wither as he commands the blood within it to do what he wants. There is a low painful burning as the blood is used up to keep Vengeance in this world, it is slow, but he only has about 10 minutes before there is no longer enough.

He soon reaches the bottom of the stairs, coming face to face with an iron door. Vengeance brings up the pirate’s dead arm, rapping his knuckles on the door.

A slit in the door slides open, and eyes peer out.

“Whatcha want?” A gruff voices says.

Vengeance works the blood into the vocal cords, pulling and vibrating them. “The Captain sent me to inspect the Gem.”

The eyes narrow, looking at the puppet corpse suspiciously. “You’re talkin’ leik one of ‘em Traezarians. Was the password?”

Vengeance stops for a second, thinking. He pumps blood into the dead pirate’s brain, scanning through the quickly dying neurons. “There is no password.”

The man on the other side of the door grunts, and the slit slams shut. There is the sound of locks being turned, and then the metal plated door opens.

Vengeance moves the blood, stretching and pulling muscles and taking a few steps into the bowels of the ship.

He turns to look at the large, heavily muscled pirate that was manning the door. The pirate closes the door, locking it quickly.

He brushes past Vengeance, walking down a hall, “Follow me’s to the ‘eart.”

Vengeance walks behind the pirate, not saying anything. The blood is now quickly burning up, and he has about 8 minutes left before he is forced to dematerialize.

The pirate leads him past many storage rooms, filled with the spoils of war and supplies.

They enter a circular room, a metal pillar much like the one in the Sky Fisher sitting in the center. Only instead of high quality steel that makes it up, it seems to be made of copper and bronze.

“Here’s you go,” The pirate motions to the locked cylinder.

Vengeance nods his puppet’s head, “Thank you.”

He brings up the puppet’s left hand, forming it into a claw. The blood shifts, a strange withering under the skin as it moves around in the hand.

The bald pirate squints, “Hey, wat’re ya doing?” He reaches for the sword at his hip, but he is too late.

Vengeance moves the corpse’s body with a burst of uncontrolled speed. It crashes into the pirate, sending them sprawling to the floor.

He brings the corpses withering hand up, plunging it down at the bald pirate’s chest. The blood freezes near instantly, a crimson spike of ice erupting from the skin and obliterating the hand in the process.

It pierces right into the bald pirate's chest, freezing his blood and exploding his heart. The man lets out a dying, terrified scream.

Vengeance doesn’t make a sound through all of this, not bothering to waste precious blood on making noises.

He pulls the puppet corpse up, a stream of the blood from the bald pirate flowing up his frozen spike arm.

The frozen spike is connected to the bone of the arm, giving it a strong base. The blood from the bald pirate moves up the puppet’s arm, freezing in a layer of bloody ice crystals, creating a pseudo armor.

Vengeance pulls his puppet over to the container, stopping in front of it. He moves the corpse’s head to look at the lock with the glazed eyes of the dead.

Bringing the spiked arm up, be lances it into the lock. The ice cracks and splinters, but more blood flows out and into the lock’s mechanisms. With a command from the Ruler of Chains, it freezes, expanding in the lock and breaking it.

Vengeance pulls his arm back, opening the hatch to the Sky Gem. He breaks the ice off, the crimson ice reforming into a long, slender spike.

With the cold fingers of his puppet’s left hand, he opens the hatch further, spilling blue light out of it.

The heart of The Ghastly Skull pulses with power, glowing brightly on the three prongs that hold it up in the center of the cylinder. A deep thrum of power fills the air, vibrating through the wood.

Vengeance reaches into it, plucking the Gem from its pedestal. Instantly, the deep thrum that pemates the ship and the thrum that fills the air cuts off.

He pulls it out with a stiff arm, turning mechanically around and quickly running down the hall back to the cells.

Vengeance smashes the oil lantern onto the wooden planks on his way out, sparking the wood alight.

I open my eyes, disoriented from the strange out of body experience. I stand up, leaning onto the wall to stop the vertigo.

I hadn't done it intentionally, looking through Vengeance’s eyes. It was more instinctive.

There is the feeling of a pit dropping in my stomach, as the airship starts it’s crash descent to the ground below. Hurry, Vengeance.

Then I look at the staircase as a shape explodes from it, it’s Vengeance puppeting the pirate’s dead body. His entire right arm is a mass of crimson ice crystals, a long slender blade of ice tipping it.

His speed is uncontrolled, and from my guess, the control he has on the body isn’t fine enough to handle the speed.

He stumbles to halt, falling to the floorboards. In his left hand, which is as pale as snow now, he clutches a pulsing blue gem.

Vengeance holds up the gem to me, saying in the dual voices, “I have carried out your will, father. My time is short now.”

I take the gem from his hand, looking at his strange arm.

Then the corpses collapses, falling to the ground as if all it’s string were untied. A bloody mist flows from out of it’s chest, curling up onto my arm in a matter of seconds and vanishing into the bandages of my arm.

I don’t have enough time to think about this, so I rush over to Adre, shoving the gem into his hand. “It’s your turn now.”

He nods, clasping the gem in both hands, “Grab onto me, lads.”

All of the Sky Fisher's crew men grab onto Adre or someone touching him. I clap my hand onto his shoulder, Kamar grabbing my shoulder with his massive arm.

Now to fall and hit the ground from thousands of feet up, and probably survive.

It is with that thought that The Ghastly Skull starts plummeting into free fall, a scream ripping itself from my throat as we fall to our death.