Eye of the Goddess Page 5

  Tara screamed and started kicking. She pushed him off and examined her breast. The skin wasn’t broken, but it still throbbed.

  "Stupid bastard!" She glared at him with hate.

  "Sorry, I lost control," he shrugged with a smile. "I’ll make it up to you."

  "No, you won't," she snarled and stood up.

  She pulled her shirt back on and tucked it under the belt, the buttons were all gone now. She slanted a murderous look Fritz’s way as she adjusted her shirt so she wouldn’t expose herself.

  At Tara’s scream Ciara had squirmed out from under her would-be lover. She had quickly drawn her sword and taken a defensive position. When she realized what the problem was she sheathed her blade.

  "Come on, we’re leaving," Tara said. Then shoving Fritz back a step, "I’m not your bloody chew toy, and I’m not some slave whore who has to take your abuse."

  "You’re overreacting. Don't go. I'll be good," he said, pleading. "I promise."

  Tara just glared at him while Ciara got dressed. When she was ready, they left. The two pirates watched them leave in disbelief.

  Chapter 7

  Tara stormed out of the Lazy Ox. She was incensed that he would bite her there and be so callus about it. She didn’t have to take that kind of treatment from anyone, especially some second rate pirate bastard that had never heard of soap and water.

  Ciara followed Tara out and watched her stomping around back and forth in front of the tavern. Soon she began to smile and chuckle. She didn't appreciate the elfmaid's amusement.

  "What are you giggling about?" snapped Tara.

  "Nothing," she replied, unsuccessfully suppressing a snicker.

  Tara glowered at her.

  "You think it’s funny that the bastard almost bit off my nipple?"

  "Aw, poor baby. Does it hurt?" Ciara asked in a baby voice.

  "Yes."

  "Want me to kiss it and make it better?"

  "Right, you’d enjoy that."

  "So would you. I don’t bite, I promise," she said moving up close.

  Tara stiffened. Her friend would jump into bed with a woman as quickly as a man. Ciara didn't care. Most Rynarans were the same way, and despite being an elf, Ciara was born and raised in the Rynaran Empire.

  "Too bad. I’d like to send you back in to teach Fritz a painful lesson," Tara said and smiled. "But you’re not my type, so you’re out of luck."

  "How do you know? Try me once and you’ll never go back to men," Ciara purred, then broke up giggling.

  Tara’s eyebrows went up and then she started to laugh, "There’s your answer. I’d hate to give up men."

  "True, that would be a terrible loss," Ciara admitted, biting her lip at the thought.

  The auburn-maned beauty's eyes began to droop. She swayed and stumbled.

  "You're drunk," Tara taunted, and giggled. She grinned roguishly. "Rynaran's can't hold their alcohol like Takarans."

  "Torians get drunk on milk," Ciara sneered. "I'm not drunk…um…but I am feeling really, really good."

  "Takaran, not Torian," she laughed. "See how drunk you are?"

  "Huh?"

  Tara threw an arm around Ciara and hugged her fiercely, "Come on, my sexually confused friend, let’s go back to the ship."

  She wasn't going to admit it, but now that she'd calmed down she wasn't feeling as steady as normal. By Tara's standards, though, she was just about right. Not for fighting, but she was feeling good.

  "Hey, let’s have a gaze at the Padraig’s stronghold on the way back."

  Tara looked around, once again confused about her exact location. Was Padraig's house on the way back to her ship? Knowing Ciara, it was the opposite direction. The elfmaid had no sense of direction. Still, a good recon of the site was in order.

  "Sounds good to me."

  Just from conversations, and some of the stories crewmen told, Tara had a pretty good idea of the layout. She had passed up and down the canal it sat upon, so knew the area around it well enough. An idea of attacking Padraig as he and his crew moved down the canal was beginning to form. She’d have to wait for Rolf’s return. Maybe block the canal with barges, too. The more she thought on it, the more insidious ways to attack and confuse Padraig she could imagine.

  They headed north, toward the center of Amana Island. Padraig’s stronghold was at the southwest corner of the King's Canal and the Dragon Canal, almost the exact center of the island. It was an enviable location for a merchant, but Tara didn’t think it would be so convenient for a pirate.

  Ciara kept saying she knew the way. She knew the way.

  "We're lost," Tara said.

  "Not my fault," she said, scowling at the night-shrouded street. "I think they changed things."

  Tara rolled her eyes. It was hard to be mad with the elfmaid when she didn't have a clue, either. Finally, they stumbled onto the docks that encircled the island.

  "Hey," Ciara said, her mood brightening. "We can just go left and follow the docks around to King's Canal, and then follow it up to Padraig's place."

  It was a cloudy night, so the city was darker than normal. On top of that, the fog had rolled in. She couldn't see any landmarks, so didn't know how close she was to the canal, or to her own ships.

  "Sailor! You, on the merchantman," Tara called to a man pulling watch. The sailor turned drooping eyes to them. "Do you know how far King's Canal is from here?"

  He pointed to their left, calling back, "Right around the bend. Couple of minutes away."

  "My thanks!"

  That meant Reaper and Swiftwater were on the other side of the island. So, they could pass by Padraig's stronghold on their way. Following King's Canal would be the swiftest way home.

  Ship traffic was not permitted in the canals at night, so all the small drawbridges were down. Most of the drawbridges were only for foot traffic, both man and horse. The bridges were raised and lowered by a winch and pulley system attached to tall poles and counter weights. They were long wooden structures wide enough for two large men to cross abreast.

  "There it is," Ciara said.

  Captain Padraig’s stronghold was a large three-story structure of granite. The canal came right up to the walls with no walkways. On the King's Canal side, they could barely make out a recessed area where a longship was moored. Tara saw a pair of guards beside a shielded lamp on the ship’s foredeck. The top two floors of the stronghold were ringed by shuttered windows, but there were only two doors to be seen, a large ornate front door and a small side door, piercing the ground floor. They were unable to see any light coming from the second and third story windows.

  "We shouldn’t have any trouble," Tara said, studying the canal. Padraig would have no room to maneuver. A death trap. "Orcsbane will be trapped against the building, unable to go any direction except straight at us. No problem. We’ll pounce on them like cats on rats."

  "I agree. Then we can loot his treasure room."

  "My thoughts exactly," she said. She looked at her friend and smiled, "Lujak and Caruso will have to admit we did pretty good finding out about this Eye of the Goddess…um…Varissa without them."

  "Maybe." Ciara stopped and scowled at Padraig's house. "But we will be going to them for their help."

  "Just like they expect from two women."

  Tara didn’t like the idea. But then attacking a pirate stronghold with just two warriors was suicidal, no matter how good the warriors.

  "Shit, we don’t need them to take a stupid diamond from some over-the-hill half-elf," Ciara said.

  Tara's eyes glided over every square inch of that structure, working out ways in and out. Several scenarios filled her mind, where they could break-in and rob Padraig blind. Oh, how furious he'd be!

  "You’re right. We can fight Padraig later, after we loot his treasure room. Let’s go for it," Tara said, putting her hand against the wall to steady herself. Her heart was pounding in her ears. It was difficult to breathe for a dozen or so heartbeats. The thrill of what she was about to do was overwhelming
. How her legend would grow! Then looking around, she said, "There’s a stable. We can get a rope."

  The two warriors could barely suppress their giggles as they stole the needed ropes right from under the nose of the sleeping stable boy. In their minds it just proved their keen cunning and talent. But then it took them an hour to rope one of the merlons atop the building.

  They pulled themselves up to the roof with some difficulty and crawled through the crenels. There they found two goblin guards sound asleep, one blasting the cool night with snores. Ciara pulled the rope up as Tara looked for the trapdoor. She found it under the sleeping guards. They had apparently decided that they couldn’t be caught sleeping on duty if anyone trying to open the trapdoor woke them. But now they presented another problem.

  They each took one and brought the pommels of their swords down on the sleeping goblin’s heads. Dragging them off the trapdoor, they bound and gagged them. That done, they opened the door and peeked in.

  There was a faint light coming through the open door at the bottom of the stairs. Tara led the way down slowly with drawn sword. Ciara closed the trapdoor behind them. At the bottom of the stairs they eased through and found themselves in a rather garish hallway. The walls were covered in blue silk and the floor covered by a thick red carpet. The wall fixtures were all done in elaborate brass designs and the high ceilings were painted with scenes of strikingly attractive men and women playing. Everything was filthy.

  Looks like a brothel, Tara thought. "Which way?"

  Ciara pointed to the right toward the main stairs with her sword. There were dimly lit oil lamps in the garish brass fixtures regularly spaced along the wall. They walked past closed doors that Tara was dying to look behind. The treasure room would be below ground and the gods only knew who might be inside those rooms. The last thing they wanted to do was be discovered because of their own curiosity.

  At the top of the staircase, Ciara stopped to stare in awe. "I always loved the time I spent here, though it was never long enough."

  Being a Takaran, Tara preferred a more austere décor. Besides, if Padraig was truly rich all that brass would be gold plate. Gold she could steal. Yet, there was a certain majesty to the building if for no other reason than all of the wasted space.

  The entry foyer was large with a high vaulted ceiling. A huge crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling before them. The stairway was constructed of the purest white marble, with a deep red carpet running down the center. Tasteless paintings of debauchery adorned the walls.

  "Someday I'm going to live this well," Ciara said, looking around in awe.

  "It looks like a cheap brothel," Tara said, studying the nearest painting on the wall. It was of a pair of satyrs double-teaming a young elfmaid. "I’m beginning to think Padraig is a devotee of Tashmar."

  Tashmar was the God of Lewdness, Obscenity, and Debauchery. There were temples to Tashmar all over Amana, for they were very proud of their patron god. Amana had a well-deserved reputation as the first city of debauchery.

  Tara started down the stairs, Ciara following. On the second floor landing ramp, Tara stopped to shoot a glance down the hallway. Not paying attention, Ciara bumped into her and pushed her into a table. Both women scrambled for the toppled vase, tripping over each other. They ended up with Tara on the floor on her back, the large vase resting on her chest, and Ciara atop the vase.

  "Sorry."

  "Great Gods Almighty, woman," Tara whispered. "Get a grip on yourself."

  Both then relaxed. Tara rolled the vase onto the floor beside her and sat up. She shook her head and kept glancing at Ciara every few seconds. Soon both started seeing the humorous side to it, and then barely controlling their giggles. Finally, they placed the vase back on the table.

  "Shhh," Tara said and led the way down to the main entrance foyer.

  The front doors were thick, exquisitely carved oak. The walls were of white marble with panels of a beautiful pink marble. The floor was also of white marble with intricate geometric designs laid out using the pink.

  "Do you think its dwarven in design?" Ciara asked, admiring the floor.

  To their left was the great hall and to the right, a small parlor. Men, and a few women, were scattered about on the floors of both chambers. Empty mugs and pitchers were everywhere. The air reeked of stale ale and wine. Tara silently thanked Varissa for making them all unconscious.

  The throne like chair centered on the high table was empty. Padraig was nowhere to be seen. Though, in the main hall, she spotted two elves to one side, passed out under a table. And an elfmaid naked and asleep atop one of the other tables. Other than three goblins and an orc battle maid, everyone else was human.

  The parlor was worse, in Tara's opinion. A dozen naked women, including two elfmaids, entwined with twice that many unconscious pirates. An orgy had ended there not so long ago when everyone passed out in the act.

  "Which way?" Tara whispered.

  Ciara just pointed.

  They carefully picked their way through the main hall and to the door in its rear. That door opened up into a narrow hallway used by servants taking food and drinks to the main hall from the kitchen. They turned left and headed for the kitchen.

  The kitchen was spacious and clean. There was a door opposite the hallway and another to their right against the far wall. The door in front of them had a heavy oak bar holding it closed.

  "Our escape," Ciara said and walked over.

  "I’d bet my soul that other door is the entrance to the basements," Tara said.

  Ciara nodded and turned to the barred door. She grabbed the heavy bar and tried to lift it, checking to see how easy it was. It didn’t budge, instead it started to glow.

  "Tara!"

  "Not so loud," she whispered. Then her eyes went wide upon seeing the glowing oak beam. "What’s happening?"

  "All I did was touch it and it started glowing."

  "Damn, it’s got some kind of ward spell on it. I knew this was too easy." Then they started to hear it humming. "I don’t like this, not at all."

  Ciara backed away from the door, shaking her head. "Let’s get out of here before – "

  The bar flashed brightly and temporarily blinded them. When their eyes readjusted to the dimly lit kitchen, they found an incredibly ugly creature staring at them. It was about Tara’s height, bi-pedal, and a light gray in color. Slime oozed from its thick hide. The creature’s arms were thick and powerful looking. Its large hands were tipped with long sharp talons. With a long tooth-lined snout, its head resembled that of a dragon’s. And cold black eyes glinted evilly as it began stalking them, gnashing its teeth.

  They backed away from the creature wide-eyed. It knocked away the tables and chairs they kept trying to keep between themselves and it.

  "What is it?" Ciara asked.

  "The gods only know. Why didn't you know about that ward?"

  "I never tried to sneak out."

  They maneuvered around until they had a straight shot at the hallway door again. Unfortunately, the door was closed. The otherworld monster looked to be slow and they were much closer to the door, so Tara figured they could easily make it into the hallway ahead of it.

  "Listen up," Tara said. "On the count of three we run to the hallway and close the door behind us. One..."

  The creature darted with astounding speed to the entrance of the hallway and dropped into a crouch. Then with its back to the door, it waited. Tara moaned miserably.

  "Shit, shit, shit," Ciara exclaimed. "It understands us. What’ll we do now?"

  "I’m thinking. I’m thinking."

  Tara tried to calculate their chances against it in a fight, but otherworld creatures could be deceptively strong and cunning. She had misjudged its speed, but it seemed as if their weapons should give them the advantage.

  "We attack it," she said.

  "What? Are you crazy?"

  "We’re two against one, plus we have swords. You know, that heavy steel thing in your fist."

  "Thanks for
the lesson," Ciara sneered. "I’ll go right."

  "Now!"

  The creature leapt for them as they started to attack. Terrified, they both ran away in opposite directions. It followed Ciara, who ran as fast as she could. She ran around tables and tried to throw chairs in its path. Nothing seemed to slow it. Fortunately, it wasn’t any faster than her and she could at least stay out of it reach. But soon she was cornered. And when she struck it with her sword, blue sparks flew and it was left unscathed.

  "Oh gods, it’s protected by magic," Ciara cried miserably. Even so she continued to hack at it with her sword in desperation. "Tara, help me!"

  Tara paused. She looked at the sparks her friend's sword strikes created, and then at her own sword. Her enchanted sword. A sword created to fight demons by nullifying their magic.

  "Keep the monster occupied," Tara called. "I have an idea."

  "Ideas are great. Action is better!"

  As she expected, the otherworld creature let up on his attack, his attention now divided between the two of them. Tara grinned roguishly as she kept moving closer, and out of its range of vision. That forced the monster to let up on its attack even more.

  "Ha!" Ciara cried, thrusting her blade into an eye.

  Though Tara didn't see any damage, the creature wailed. And then it really threw itself at the elfmaid.

  Tara charged in as it swung one razor-taloned claw at Ciara. The elven warrior parried with her blade and pressed her back up against the wall. Then feigning low, she thrust at its face. It ducked and backhanded her viciously. Ciara struck the wall with a loud grunt and lost her grip on the sword. She reached for it, but the creature stepped on the blade and reached down for her. It picked her up and held her to its chest in a crushing hug. Ciara screamed her breath away.

  "Let her go!" Tara demanded.

  Tara thrust her sword into his back. She was surprised how easily her blade penetrated. The creature screamed its pain and rage as it dropped Ciara, so Tara pulled her sword out and prepared to thrust again. But before Tara could stab it again, it turned and charged straight at her. She was taken completely by surprise.

  It threw its crushing arms around her, pinning Tara's arms to her side, and roared again. Then as it tried to crush the life out of her, the slimy creature lowered its jaws toward her throat. Ciara saw what was happening and grabbed her sword.