The Hanged Man Chapter One Cont'd

The Hanged Man

Chapter One Cont'd

Marcus joined Richard in trying to prise my hands away from the rail.

'Come, Juliet. Danger approaches. We must see you safe or Nathan will never forgive me,' he fiercely urged.

'There is danger for us all,' I told them, gripping the rail tighter. 'A great evil approaches us. I must stop it. I can stop the ship colliding with us. I know I can,' I insisted with firmness.

'No, Juliet. You must come away. I will not be dissuaded,' Marcus declared with fervour, succeeding in pulling one of my hands from the rail. 'No one can stop this collision. The ship comes too fast . . . The Adeline won't be able to manoeuvre in time to escape it. We must find somewhere safe and pray we survive the collision unscathed.'

'What is the use of being Queen of Talus with immense power if I cannot use it to save the people around me,' I declared in an angry tone.

'Juliet, we do not have time for your stubbornness . . .' Richard snapped.

Still they pulled at my hands and body to remove me from the rail. My words were falling upon deaf ears but I had to make them listen. This was my chance to prove my worthiness as Queen of Talus and I would not be stopped by anyone when the lives of so many were at risk and I could save them.

I felt the change in my eyes from green to black as the hardness of my anger pierced my soul. I gave vent to it. My mind sent a strong blast of energy at both Lycans, propelling them backwards. They fell down onto the deck and slid along it towards the wall. Shocked they both rushed to recover and stand. But as they did I took aim with another burst of energy and pinned them against the wall. I ignored their shouts for me to stop. They would not cause me any further trouble as I turned back to the rail to tackle the problem at hand. I turned the remainder of concentration and energy upon the approaching ship and fancied I saw it begin to slow it's pace.

The Adeline's bells were ringing in alarm and two of the officers were racing down the promenade deck to lean over the rail and view the other ship on its collision course. At the same time I felt the boat begin to take evasive manoeuvres to move away from the ship's path. The movement was slow and cumbersome as the ship ploughed the rough sea and wind in a vain attempt to turn away in time.

Laughter entered my mind. An intruder from the ship heading for The Adeline. It's Captain, no less.

'Bravo, my beautiful Queen. You are everything they said,' a soft deep male voice informed me. 'Your beauty is Angelic, your power is so potent and your bravery stronger than any of my men who serve me. I must possess you. Your knight will not have you. Now let me come to you. You will not be allowed to stop the collision. It is your destiny to be with me.'

'I belong to no one but my Knight. Do not make the mistake of daring to question my loyalty to him,' I hissed.

I increased the strength of my power and summoned it to obey my will as the on the ship began to fight my hold. His power was equally strong and for a moment the ship's speed increased. But I had strong hopes that I could outwit his arrogance - a common failing, particular to the male sex. Once more the approaching ship slowed its speed and I felt hope dwell inside me once again. I was determined to stop the ship dead in the water but the Devil that commanded it's metallic soul would not give up.
I attacked his mind directly with pain and I became encouraged when I heard him growl with anger.

'I admire you, Queen of Talus but you must be tamed.'

For a brief moment I appeared to gain ground. It seemed I could not stop the ship but I began to force it to turn and sabotage the Devil's plan to collide with the Adeline head on and take as many lives as possible. Another growl of anger startled my mind. Then a sharp piercing pain gripped my mind, my body forcing me to cry out with anguish. I struggled to maintain my concentration on forcing the ship to turn. It was so close. The great hulk of dark grey steel loomed ominously like a giant. it was an effort to look at it without terrible crippling fear.

Marcus and Richard called out to me, desperate for me to let them go. So many people had spilled out onto the deck to ascertain the commotion. There were many cries of fear as people began to scatter in a panic. An officer began shouting at me to move away as he made every attempt to prise my hands from the rail. The rail was my anchor, my grounding. I could not let go. One of the officers made to pick me up and carry me to safety as I fought to turn the ship away from us.

'Let me come to you,' the voice persisted. 'Then the pain will stop, little one.'

'I can endure pain better than anyone. You will not break my ship in two and sink it.'

The officers would not stop their annoying pulling and attempts to lift me in the air. I could not afford to redirect anymore of my energy away from the ship. I let go of my hold on Marcus and Richard and pleaded with them to help me.

By now Marcus was more amenable to my wishes. I had briefly felt him in my mind attempting to ascertain my plan and he was now eager to assist despite his previous concerns that I was a danger to myself in this situation. Why was it that the men around me refused to acknowledge or accept that I held power as a female? Why did I continually have to seek to prove myself to them before they would lower themselves to accept it? It was a most wretched state of affairs for a woman to find herself in. Both men succeeded in making short work of removing the officers' hold on my person and I was left to tackle the problem with my full attention.

'You bear pain well but can you bear the pain of mourning the death of those you seek to protect,' the male voice was amused again.

'No, please . . .'

I turned my head quickly towards the passengers running around me. One, two, three fell to the ground dead. The body count continued amidst terrified screaming and my angry sobbing protest within my mind.

'Stop it, please don't hurt them.'

'Then let me come to you. They mean nothing to me but I will spare them if you will but take your place by my side.'

'You lie. You mean to sink my ship. Leave them alone.'

Several more of the passengers died on their feet. There was no precision, no pattern, no gender nor any other apparent influence as to who was chosen to meet death. The Adeline was filled with blind panic as the passengers ran trampling over the fallen bodies and the weak and frail caught underfoot. The bodies kept falling.

I stared suddenly at Marcus and Richard who had placed themselves either side of me. My fear that either one of them or Marcus's two children would be chosen was acute. I turned to face the oncoming ship once more and screamed out loud at the Devil in a rage.

'Very well. Come to me.'

There was humour in his voice.

'As you command, my Queen.'

With a hiss I threw my energy into turning the ship as much as I could so that the impact might not prove as devastating as the demon intended. I would not allow the demon to sink my ship. Another angry snarl echoed in my mind but it was too late for him to take further action. The ship made heavy contact with The Adeline.

Richard and Marcus moved me backwards as the ship rolled heavily to one side with the impact. We fell back against the promenade deck floor and landed hard against the wall of the ship. Richard and Marcus fought to keep hold of me as our ears were assaulted by a terrible grating sound of metal on metal. A high array of sparks flew across the deck towards us as the ship made to capsize. I diverted the fullness of my power to The Adeline and mentally fought the physical forces that were determined to see the stricken ship fall onto its side in the water.

Eventually the terrible grating noise stopped and the ship ceased to loll violently to one side. I cast my mind out across the ship and viewed the large rip in the hull.

'The ship is taking on water,' I told Marcus and Richard. 'I will keep the water at bay and keep it afloat. We must get everyone off the ship. This Devil and his men mean to board it. No one will be spared. We must hurry. Marcus, you need to find your children. I will stay here and face this man who calls himself Galen and gives himself the title of Devil.'

However, I was quickly informed that I would not be allowed to take any such action. A stern promise had been made to my Knight of Swords that I would be kept safe at all costs and it was a promise Marcus's intended to keep both as a gentleman and as a Lycan. He would also not seek to cause a war between the Lycans and Taleian's, Hybrid or pure. We were to retrieve Marcus's children and gather the other Lycans in the hopes of finding a way off the ship. We began to move hurriedly when a mass of black winged creatures began to rise into the air from the phantom ship to land upon The Adeline and scoop up the terrified passengers like prey.