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<blockquote data-quote="barsoomcore" data-source="post: 4508878" data-attributes="member: 812"><p><strong>What A Woman's Got To Do: 11</strong></p><p></p><p>"He's got her! He's got her!"</p><p></p><p>Arrafin burst from her cabin and, shrieking, charged across the deck to where the others sat enjoying the sunshine.</p><p></p><p>The <em>Wavereaver</em> plowed through gentle swells, heading north between the mountain-topped islands of Shaer. Other sails dotted the grey seas, and smoke rising from the shore off to the west revealed a settlement of some kind.</p><p></p><p>Moments previously, Isaac had been defending his decision to not pursue the clues about his mother.</p><p></p><p>"What about the monster? Or the beast, or whatever? Just what WAS caged up down there? And where is it now?"</p><p></p><p>"Who knows? This is all coming from Collette, you guys. When has that bitch ever been straight with us?"</p><p></p><p>"But, Isaac, your mother..."</p><p></p><p>"Is almost certainly dead. And Collette is more likely trying to tie up a loose end -- that's me -- than suddenly suffering a change of heart and turning all noble."</p><p></p><p>"Nah. She's into you."</p><p></p><p>"That's not funny, Elena."</p><p></p><p>Elena was chuckling and preparing a retort when Arrafin's cabin door banged open and their Naridic friend, looking even more disheveled than usual, her owl flapping about her head agitatedly, came lurching across the deck at them, gesticulating madly.</p><p></p><p>"He's got her! He's f**king her up! We have to help, Elena, get Farouk, we have to help!"</p><p></p><p>Isaac stood up and tried to calm the young girl down.</p><p></p><p>"What are you talking about, Arrafin? Who's got... Oh, no."</p><p></p><p>"No. No way are we <em>saving</em> the Demon Goddess. Arrafin, you have got to be kidding."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin whirled on Elena, and the Saijadan woman drew back from her friend's ire.</p><p></p><p>"She saved us! All of us! She is the only person who's never lied to us about anything, who's been at all straight with us. We owe her."</p><p></p><p>"A terrible monster has been chained up, Arrafin, by the guy who created it. She's his problem, now, and I say all the better. Yay less dead innocent people."</p><p></p><p>"I believe Arrafin is right. If Madame Yuek is in trouble, we should help if we can."</p><p></p><p>Nevid weathered Elena's glare without apparent concern. She snorted.</p><p></p><p>"Oh, sure. Anything to loose a heart-eating monster on the world. Are you people unclear on what she is?"</p><p></p><p>"What she is, I believe, is the only power capable of protecting us from Matai Shang. Who, if you recall, wants my brain."</p><p></p><p>"Whereas <em>she</em> wants Arrafin's--"</p><p></p><p>"Thank you, Nevid, yes. Exactly. Elena, it's in our interest to help her. He's. He's doing terrible things to her. He wants to control her and use her. Elena. Please."</p><p></p><p>Etienne and Isaac watched in silence as Arrafin pleaded with the surly Saijadani woman. At last Elena sighed.</p><p></p><p>"I don't care about her. Understand? I think she should be destroyed. But I guess Nevid's right."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin sagged in relief, nearly bursting into tears. Her frenzied explanations only redoubled, however.</p><p></p><p>"Oh thank you, thank you. She's in so much pain. He's hurting her. We have to go. We have to go now. He's hurting her."</p><p></p><p>Isaac stepped in and put a hand on Arrafin's thin shoulder.</p><p></p><p>"It'll be alright, Arrafin. She claims to be impossible to kill so I'm sure she'll be there. We need to make sure we have a plan before we head in."</p><p></p><p>"Farouk."</p><p></p><p>Elena flopped backward on the deck.</p><p></p><p>"Of course. Of course you want him."</p><p></p><p>"Elena. He's the only way. He can take us to her, no matter where she is. And he can get us out again."</p><p></p><p>"So the all-powerful Demon Goddess needs my help. Isn't that just grand?"</p><p></p><p>Isaac, sensing that perhaps the decision had been made, stepped in.</p><p></p><p>"So, Arrafin, I assume you have a plan?"</p><p></p><p>"Huh?"</p><p></p><p>"Ah, excellent."</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Dangling amidst rusted and gore-streaked chains high above Matai Shang and his horribly misshapen servants, Isaac dared a whisper.</p><p></p><p>"I still think we should have had a plan."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin hadn't spoken since she, Isaac and Etienne had arrived along with Farouk. All four of them clung to the chains in which were suspended the torn remains of Madame Yuek.</p><p></p><p>The statuesque beauty had been dismembered and hung in bloody gobbets, each moving with a terrible animation that turned Isaac's stomach.</p><p></p><p>This immortality he did not envy the vampire. He watched in disbelief as Arrafin began gathering the stumps and pieces, plucking them from the chains and cradling them in her slim arms. Blood stained the front of her robes.</p><p></p><p>Etienne watched below them as Shang bellowed at his servants in some incomprehensible tongue. He hissed at the others as the foul sorcerer reached for a lever surrounded by heavy gears.</p><p></p><p>"We have to go."</p><p></p><p>"Not yet."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin plucked a length of long midnight hair from a chain. Her breath came in short sobs as she wept. She whispered to the trembling remains in her arms.</p><p></p><p>Shang grasped the lever and pulled. The gears began turning. The chains shook, and began to descend with a deafening clatter.</p><p></p><p>"We have to go now."</p><p></p><p>"Wait, wait."</p><p></p><p>A portion of Madame Yuek's skull lay just out of Arrafin's reach.</p><p></p><p>"Wait."</p><p></p><p>"Arrafin. Now."</p><p></p><p>They continued to descend. Shang was going to look up at any second.</p><p></p><p>"Arrafin."</p><p></p><p>"Just a second."</p><p></p><p>Etienne saw the girl still reaching and swore. He reached into Isaac's ammunition pouch and flipped out a lead bullet. With a quick motion, he hurled the projectile straight into the gears turning alongside the lever. They halted and terrible grinding sounds attracted Shang's attention. He and his minions turned to investigate the mechanism.</p><p></p><p>The sudden stop of the chains set them all swinging, and Arrafin was able to snatch free the last strip of Madame Yuek's undead flesh. A crushed face looked up at her from the crook of her elbow, and Arrafin smiled down at it.</p><p></p><p>"It's okay."</p><p></p><p>Isaac saw further motion in Arrafin's gory bundle, and realised the vampire's body was knitting itself back together.</p><p></p><p>"Farouk, we're going."</p><p></p><p>"As my master commands. Where?"</p><p></p><p>Arrafin grabbed the spirit's shoulder.</p><p></p><p>"Remember those Kishak sorcerers? The Nevakada? With the demons?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes, mistress."</p><p></p><p>"Take us where they came from."</p><p></p><p>Isaac frowned.</p><p></p><p>"Arrafin, what are you--"</p><p></p><p>"She's going to have to feed. Let's take her somewhere we don't care who she kills."</p><p></p><p>The minions had wrenched free the jammed gear and the chains rattled again. Etienne turned to his friends.</p><p></p><p>"Now. Go."</p><p></p><p>"Go."</p><p></p><p>"As my mistress commands."</p><p></p><p>The riot of the Dream Worlds swallowed them up and Etienne saw Matai Shang just turning his face upwards as the room dissolved around them.</p><p></p><p>Colours, deafening shrieks, laughter, music, dazzling brilliance and inky blackness. Buffeting winds and sweet perfumes and the burning sear of acid. Chaos.</p><p></p><p>Receding.</p><p></p><p>Well-polished wood. Small windows and an open-beamed ceiling. Dust in the air, dancing in the shafts of angled light.</p><p></p><p>Arrafin collapsed, dropping a ghastly mess on the floor. Distantly, a bell began ringing.</p><p></p><p>"You guys should go."</p><p></p><p>"Us guys?"</p><p></p><p>Arrafin turned, her expression serene and certain.</p><p></p><p>"Yes. She'll kill you before she knows who you are. And besides -- "</p><p></p><p>The bell continued. Now voices could be heard, shouting in alarm. Getting closer.</p><p></p><p>" -- the Nevakada are coming."</p><p></p><p>Isaac spluttered.</p><p></p><p>"But what about you?"</p><p></p><p>"She won't hurt me."</p><p></p><p>Both men watched in disbelief as the Naridic girl traced a hand along a shattered jaw. The stark white body was pulling itself together, and one eye rolled drunkenly over to where Arrafin knelt. Legs twitched. Wounds began to close, and a dark radiance began to spill from the alabaster body.</p><p></p><p>"Uh..."</p><p></p><p>"Go. We'll be alright."</p><p></p><p>"Uh..."</p><p></p><p>"We'll be alright."</p><p></p><p>Etienne tugged at Isaac. The voices were getting louder. It sounded like dozens of people approaching.</p><p></p><p>"Farouk, take us out of here."</p><p></p><p>"As my master commands."</p><p></p><p>The spirit and the two men disappeared in an eruption of colour. Arrafin smiled as the body on the floor became whole again. Dark liquid eyes regained their focus.</p><p></p><p>"Darling..."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin gestured as the doors flew open and dozens of Kishak soldiers charged into the room.</p><p></p><p>"Here they are. You'll be better soon."</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>"What happened? Where the hell is Arrafin?"</p><p></p><p>"She's. Uh. She's in Kish."</p><p></p><p>Elena stood perfectly still, mouth hanging open.</p><p></p><p>"Is she okay?"</p><p></p><p>"I think so. Yeah. She's fine. Right, Isaac?"</p><p></p><p>"Huh? Oh, yeah. Etienne's right. She's fine. No problem. I need a drink."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="barsoomcore, post: 4508878, member: 812"] [b]What A Woman's Got To Do: 11[/b] "He's got her! He's got her!" Arrafin burst from her cabin and, shrieking, charged across the deck to where the others sat enjoying the sunshine. The [i]Wavereaver[/i] plowed through gentle swells, heading north between the mountain-topped islands of Shaer. Other sails dotted the grey seas, and smoke rising from the shore off to the west revealed a settlement of some kind. Moments previously, Isaac had been defending his decision to not pursue the clues about his mother. "What about the monster? Or the beast, or whatever? Just what WAS caged up down there? And where is it now?" "Who knows? This is all coming from Collette, you guys. When has that bitch ever been straight with us?" "But, Isaac, your mother..." "Is almost certainly dead. And Collette is more likely trying to tie up a loose end -- that's me -- than suddenly suffering a change of heart and turning all noble." "Nah. She's into you." "That's not funny, Elena." Elena was chuckling and preparing a retort when Arrafin's cabin door banged open and their Naridic friend, looking even more disheveled than usual, her owl flapping about her head agitatedly, came lurching across the deck at them, gesticulating madly. "He's got her! He's f**king her up! We have to help, Elena, get Farouk, we have to help!" Isaac stood up and tried to calm the young girl down. "What are you talking about, Arrafin? Who's got... Oh, no." "No. No way are we [i]saving[/i] the Demon Goddess. Arrafin, you have got to be kidding." Arrafin whirled on Elena, and the Saijadan woman drew back from her friend's ire. "She saved us! All of us! She is the only person who's never lied to us about anything, who's been at all straight with us. We owe her." "A terrible monster has been chained up, Arrafin, by the guy who created it. She's his problem, now, and I say all the better. Yay less dead innocent people." "I believe Arrafin is right. If Madame Yuek is in trouble, we should help if we can." Nevid weathered Elena's glare without apparent concern. She snorted. "Oh, sure. Anything to loose a heart-eating monster on the world. Are you people unclear on what she is?" "What she is, I believe, is the only power capable of protecting us from Matai Shang. Who, if you recall, wants my brain." "Whereas [i]she[/i] wants Arrafin's--" "Thank you, Nevid, yes. Exactly. Elena, it's in our interest to help her. He's. He's doing terrible things to her. He wants to control her and use her. Elena. Please." Etienne and Isaac watched in silence as Arrafin pleaded with the surly Saijadani woman. At last Elena sighed. "I don't care about her. Understand? I think she should be destroyed. But I guess Nevid's right." Arrafin sagged in relief, nearly bursting into tears. Her frenzied explanations only redoubled, however. "Oh thank you, thank you. She's in so much pain. He's hurting her. We have to go. We have to go now. He's hurting her." Isaac stepped in and put a hand on Arrafin's thin shoulder. "It'll be alright, Arrafin. She claims to be impossible to kill so I'm sure she'll be there. We need to make sure we have a plan before we head in." "Farouk." Elena flopped backward on the deck. "Of course. Of course you want him." "Elena. He's the only way. He can take us to her, no matter where she is. And he can get us out again." "So the all-powerful Demon Goddess needs my help. Isn't that just grand?" Isaac, sensing that perhaps the decision had been made, stepped in. "So, Arrafin, I assume you have a plan?" "Huh?" "Ah, excellent." *** Dangling amidst rusted and gore-streaked chains high above Matai Shang and his horribly misshapen servants, Isaac dared a whisper. "I still think we should have had a plan." Arrafin hadn't spoken since she, Isaac and Etienne had arrived along with Farouk. All four of them clung to the chains in which were suspended the torn remains of Madame Yuek. The statuesque beauty had been dismembered and hung in bloody gobbets, each moving with a terrible animation that turned Isaac's stomach. This immortality he did not envy the vampire. He watched in disbelief as Arrafin began gathering the stumps and pieces, plucking them from the chains and cradling them in her slim arms. Blood stained the front of her robes. Etienne watched below them as Shang bellowed at his servants in some incomprehensible tongue. He hissed at the others as the foul sorcerer reached for a lever surrounded by heavy gears. "We have to go." "Not yet." Arrafin plucked a length of long midnight hair from a chain. Her breath came in short sobs as she wept. She whispered to the trembling remains in her arms. Shang grasped the lever and pulled. The gears began turning. The chains shook, and began to descend with a deafening clatter. "We have to go now." "Wait, wait." A portion of Madame Yuek's skull lay just out of Arrafin's reach. "Wait." "Arrafin. Now." They continued to descend. Shang was going to look up at any second. "Arrafin." "Just a second." Etienne saw the girl still reaching and swore. He reached into Isaac's ammunition pouch and flipped out a lead bullet. With a quick motion, he hurled the projectile straight into the gears turning alongside the lever. They halted and terrible grinding sounds attracted Shang's attention. He and his minions turned to investigate the mechanism. The sudden stop of the chains set them all swinging, and Arrafin was able to snatch free the last strip of Madame Yuek's undead flesh. A crushed face looked up at her from the crook of her elbow, and Arrafin smiled down at it. "It's okay." Isaac saw further motion in Arrafin's gory bundle, and realised the vampire's body was knitting itself back together. "Farouk, we're going." "As my master commands. Where?" Arrafin grabbed the spirit's shoulder. "Remember those Kishak sorcerers? The Nevakada? With the demons?" "Yes, mistress." "Take us where they came from." Isaac frowned. "Arrafin, what are you--" "She's going to have to feed. Let's take her somewhere we don't care who she kills." The minions had wrenched free the jammed gear and the chains rattled again. Etienne turned to his friends. "Now. Go." "Go." "As my mistress commands." The riot of the Dream Worlds swallowed them up and Etienne saw Matai Shang just turning his face upwards as the room dissolved around them. Colours, deafening shrieks, laughter, music, dazzling brilliance and inky blackness. Buffeting winds and sweet perfumes and the burning sear of acid. Chaos. Receding. Well-polished wood. Small windows and an open-beamed ceiling. Dust in the air, dancing in the shafts of angled light. Arrafin collapsed, dropping a ghastly mess on the floor. Distantly, a bell began ringing. "You guys should go." "Us guys?" Arrafin turned, her expression serene and certain. "Yes. She'll kill you before she knows who you are. And besides -- " The bell continued. Now voices could be heard, shouting in alarm. Getting closer. " -- the Nevakada are coming." Isaac spluttered. "But what about you?" "She won't hurt me." Both men watched in disbelief as the Naridic girl traced a hand along a shattered jaw. The stark white body was pulling itself together, and one eye rolled drunkenly over to where Arrafin knelt. Legs twitched. Wounds began to close, and a dark radiance began to spill from the alabaster body. "Uh..." "Go. We'll be alright." "Uh..." "We'll be alright." Etienne tugged at Isaac. The voices were getting louder. It sounded like dozens of people approaching. "Farouk, take us out of here." "As my master commands." The spirit and the two men disappeared in an eruption of colour. Arrafin smiled as the body on the floor became whole again. Dark liquid eyes regained their focus. "Darling..." Arrafin gestured as the doors flew open and dozens of Kishak soldiers charged into the room. "Here they are. You'll be better soon." *** "What happened? Where the hell is Arrafin?" "She's. Uh. She's in Kish." Elena stood perfectly still, mouth hanging open. "Is she okay?" "I think so. Yeah. She's fine. Right, Isaac?" "Huh? Oh, yeah. Etienne's right. She's fine. No problem. I need a drink." [/QUOTE]
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