The Witch's Pirate! (Book 1)

Bayou

It had been two days, two damn days since we had been stuck in this place. The guardsman had stopped searching for us, and now we were walking down a small hill, away from our shelter. Crystal kept my wound clean as possible, wrapping it with a strip of her shirt, almost leaving her with nothing. Thank God, my jacket kept her covered, if not, I doubt I could survive it.

It’s been so long since anyone has worried about me. Since my mother died there’s been no woman who would care if I died or lived. The overwhelming sensation is overpowering me. She is so soft, and warm, I have forgotten the touch of a woman. It’s not like my mother’s touch, the feeling itself is more powerful. And she comforts me. What in the word is she doing to me? That night, why did I just let my feelings burst out like that?

I shook myself, remembering the warmth of her body, even though she smelled like blood, a tiny hint of some sort of flowery aroma would tangle with it from time to time. The scent felt familiar to me, but I couldn’t pinpoint it, since the blood scent was overpowering her original scent. Either way, I could just lose myself in her all day, if I allowed myself to. Especially, when I almost kiss her. I think, she was begging me with her eyes. I was so close to claiming her lips. the deep, strange sensation was filling me once again, and all I wanted was to devour her to show her, how much I wanted her, only to be interrupted, by the smell of our burning dinner.

One thing pissed me off, was the fact that in her village, the boys called her fat little pig, if they are, they are superficial bastards. If they can’t see a good woman in front of them, they might as well rot in hell.

“My powers are down, I’m dying to eat something that is not a snake, and I want a bath, I’m stinking up bad,” Crystal complained.

“Aye, you are smelling bad, so am I, there’s no stream around, and we are in our last drop of water, pray hard, so we can find a way out of here,” I told her. She sighed.

“I am, and have your powers ever failed you?” she asked me. I shook my head.

“Ne, never. Strange really,” I told her. We had tried the last two days to get her do any magic, but nothing happened. While we kept on walking, something caught me off guard, something that I have never seen before.

“Is that volcano?” Crystal pointed out. I nodded, watching the huge volcano throwing out smoke from its peak, a sudden bad feeling pulsed in me.

“Err, again, where’s the logic in this? That volcano wasn’t there before. We ’ve walked through this forest the last few days, and that volcano has never appeared before. Bayou, I have a bad feeling,” she told me. I nodded, and took a step back.

A sudden movement caught my attention. A shadow moved behind a tree. I moved forward and placed Crystal behind me.

“What?”

“We have a guest,” I told her, drawing my sword out.

“No use hiding, show yourself.”

There was a subtle movement and a shadow appeared, but it wasn’t the shadow king, but that of a woman. Her feminine curves were accentuated by her long curling hair. She looked familiar.

“It’s a woman,” Crystal gasped out, moving to the side. The shadow woman moved rapidly up to Crystal who yelped, jumping back.

“Err, please don’t hurt me,” she begged.

The shadow tilted her head to the side, and reached out her hand, placing her shadowy finger inside of Crystal’s eyes, which widened in panic, as she cried out in pain.

“Damn it,” I moved to slash her, but it was no use, my blade cut clean through. Crystal dropped onto her knees, tears running down her cheeks.

“No!” My heart clenched, unable to do anything. Then she let go, and pointed at her right where the volcano is at. Crystal gasped out loudly, and glanced up at the shadow.

“Bayou?”

I moved to her side, and helped her get up. She rubbed her eyes and pointed.

“I think I know where we are,” she said glancing up at me.

I noticed that her eyes had become red and irritated.

“Where love? What the hell did that shadow do?” Crystal shook her head.

“We aren’t on Shadow Island. We are in Under the Death.”

“Exactly what do you mean?” I asked her. She leaned her forehead against my forearm.

“We don’t have much time, time is running out,” she told me. I frowned, not understanding anything.

“Love, please explain to me in words I can understand.”

“We are in the valley of the dead, and this place will erupt at any moment, and the worse part,” she went silent and as if on cue the ground started to shake violently under our feet, causing us to stumble. I grasped a tree, to brace myself on and held Crystal in place.

“What the hell? There’s a worse part?” I asked, not believing it could get any worse. Crystal nodded, looking to her right.

“Half of the map is inside of that active volcano.”