170 The Inktress's Vengeance*

The Inktress had made it clear that she was sure that Aegin and Ebony knew how to create the charms. Hence, it was no surprise when she reappeared a couple of hours after she'd left to search for Rassa. The fact that she made her entrance by lifting Aegin and Ebony aloft with her ink was a testament to her rage.

"Where is he?" she hissed in anger.

Aegin couldn't help the choked laugh that escaped him. So he'd been right. Between Rassa telling them he was immortal and seeing the state he'd been in when he was starved, Aegin was positive that merely drowning the Vampire wouldn't kill him. Afterall, the only thing that water did to the body was block the airways. Asphyxiation didn't seem grand enough for someone of Rassa's abilities to die of.

"How…would…we…know?" Ebony choked out.

The Inktress seemed to growl as she clenched her teeth, then she threw the two from one side of the brig to the other. It wasn't a large cell so they didn't go far, but it was still painful thanks to the force the Inktress had used. Ebony squealed in pain despite her having Tank to break her fall. Aegin on the other hand smashed straight into the iron bars before crashing hard to the deck. The knock to his head dazed him, and after a moment he raised a hand to the back of his head, drawing it back to see blood. He grinned.

"That was rather rash of you," Aegin said, "If we die, who else do you expect to get information from?"

Aegin turned to face the Inktress, but as he did, he noticed the Tracking Charm had fallen from his pocket as he'd been thrown, and it lay in between him and the Inktress. Of course, both the Tracking Charm and the Protection Charm Rassa had given Aegin and Ebony had been taken by the Pirates upon their imprisonment. However, the unique properties of the Tracking Charm allowed them to appear back with Aegin and Ebony not long after they had been taken.

The Inktress, about to retort, spotted the charm at the same time Aegin did. Despite Aegin's attempt to school his expression, he knew the Inktress saw his alarm right before Aegin lunged forward to take the charm.

The Inktress swept an arm across her body, the ink sweeping out to trap Aegin against the bars of the brig before she knelt down and picked up the charm.

"Interesting," the Inktress said as she looked at the charm, "It's not like the others, the markings are different, more intricate".

Ebony, having realised what it was the Inktress was holding, gritted her teeth through the pain as she spoke, "It'll make no difference to you. You can't use it".

The Inktress's eyes narrowed as she comprehended what Ebony had said, her eyes focusing on the markings.

As she looked, the door to the brig opened, and the Pirate Lord who had captured and imprisoned them descended with a few of his crew members.

"Inktress, you're making an awful racket. I thought you'd already gotten what you came for," the Pirate Captain sneered, "Our agreement was that I got the rest of the spoils".

The Inktress's eyes narrowed as she began to comprehend the Mist that surrounded and penetrated the charm in her hands. The Mist that wove and swirled before her, its movements conveying the meaning behind the runes on the stone. She'd never tried to comprehend the runes on the charms before, but now that she realised how heavily the Mist played a part, she could only grin as she began to see the meaning behind the runes.

"A Tracking Charm?" asked the Inktress, "How useful".

She ignored the Pirate Lord as she turned to Aegin, an inky shadow pierced up from the ground like a spike, stopping right before Ebony's chest, "Tell me how it is activated, and I'll let her live".

Aegin's eyes narrowed as they flicked to Ebony, then back to the Inktress.

From the corner of the next cell, Jeremiah spoke up, "I may have only been around these kids for a few months, but I can guarantee that the threat of death is not as an efficient motivator as it would be to others. Face it Inktress, you made a bad call. I would love to see the look on Ishta's arrogant face when you inform him that you messed up. That you lost him an investment that would have probably allowed him to dominate the world".

The Inktress's eyes turned dark, nobody insulted her master. Certainly not a Token.

Another inky spike formed in an instant, only this one didn't stop before it pierced through skin. A wet sounding 'shik' echoed in the quiet brig, and Jeremiah sucked in a breath of air. There was a moment, a pause where no one could quite believe it had happened, the Midas spoke.

"Captain?"

"Insignificant Dog".

With her insult, the spike retreated back to the damp shadows, leaving a gaping hole in the centre of Jeremiah's chest. The vacant look in the old Captain's eyes was confirmation enough for everyone who watched on.

The Pirate Lord tsked in displeasure, "He would have sold for a good price too. Anything else you want, Inktress?"

The Inktress ignored him as she turned her eyes back to Aegin then held the charm aloft, "How do I activate it".

Aegin's eyes narrowed as they turned from Jeremiah's collapsing form back to the Inktress's dark gaze.

"You can't," Aegin replied, "Or did you not read the blood that the Mist is tied to?"

The Inktress gritted her teeth in annoyance, the spike that had zeroed in on Ebony moving forward. Ebony ignored it, looking at the Inktress, "If you think either of us will cooperate with you, you're insane. Though, considering you work for that ass of a man, I think you've already swallowed a heap of crazy".

The Inktress's gaze cut to Ebony threateningly.

"Inktress!" snapped the Pirate Lord, drawing his Vanguard, "If you think that hurting my merchandise is a good idea, please go on. Good luck getting any future cooperation from us though, no matter if it's a request from your precious master or not".

The Inktress gritted her teeth, then released the shadows binding Ebony and Aegin as she stepped away, taking the charm with her. She flicked a bag of gold coins at the Pirate Lord, "Don't go easy on them. Evidently these two are hard to break".

Then she melded into the shadows. Aegin made his way to Ebony to check she was okay, and Ebony reached up to touch Aegin's bloody wound on his head.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine," said Aegin, "You?"

"I'll live," she replied, "Aegin if she finds-"

"She won't," Aegin replied, "You know she won't".

"How sickly sweet," the Pirate Lord grumbled as he pocketed the coins, "We'll see how sweet you are once you get to Herguard".