"MAN YOUR STATIONS!" someone bellowed. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

The boat tilted sideways, throwing us against the railing. I half fell against Erashi as he clung to me with one hand and to the ship with the other, and seconds later another explosion rocked the Minerva. My ears rang and my head throbbed with the noise, and a nearby flash of heat told me they were hitting us not only with regular cannons, meant to destabilize our flight, but also with fizz charges. Whoever they were, they had an airship, and they were trying to set us on fire. If they hit us in just the right place...

There was no time to ask who or why. I screwed my eyes shut and thought of Typhon, channeling my fear and my pain into an emotional "thought" that hopefully would hit him and bring him running. We were unable to use actual words or coherent thoughts to talk with each other, like in all the old myths, but it didn't matter. If a bad dream was enough to make him worry about me, then surely being on an exploding, flaming ship facing an unknown enemy would do the trick.

I felt the connection with him fall into place like a bone snapping back into alignment. I got ready to unload my message into his mind but was caught off guard by one coming the other way. A wave of fear and anger so strong I could taste it washed over me, and before I knew it I was falling to my knees again, relying on Erashi to support me for the third time that night. Something was wrong.

"Vera! What is it? Are you hit?" cried Erashi, crouching beside me and shielding me as best he could from the chaos that was unfolding around us.

"Typhon," I whispered. "Something's happening to him." I winced as a second wave of his emotional turmoil hit me, translating into a physical pain in my gut. "Gods, it hurts!"

"Just relax, Vera. Take a deep breath and let it pass."

Relax? Relax? Clearly, Erashi wasn't paying that much attention, otherwise he would have noticed there was more to the bond between dragon and rider than just the ability to fight well. A biting retort floated into my mind and right back out again. Something about trying to contact Typhon had opened some kind of door in my head, and his raw emotions were pushing through it. I couldn't even think straight. And damn, did it hurt.

Erashi looked around nervously. "Vera, we have to get moving. If we just keep standing here, then we're going to get hit. Can you walk?"

"I...I think so." I shook my head, replacing my fear with determination and releasing it, just like I'd been taught. "No, I know I can. We have to find my father."

"We can protect the Chief later! Right now we've got to get you out of harm's way until you're feeling better."

"Like hell!" I snarled. "You think I'm just going to sit around and mop my brow while there are people dying? If you're not going to help me fight, then get the fuck out of my way." I got to my feet, glaring at him all the way, a look which he returned.

"One of these days, you're going to realize what a pain in the ass you are, and you're going to feel enormous amounts of guilt. I look forward to seeing the expression on your face when that day comes." said Erashi, handing me my backpack.

I grabbed the knife out of it and flashed him a sarcastic grin. "Guilt is for wusses and crybabies, honey. Now are you going to help me look for the Chief, or should I lend you my spare handkerchief?"

He muttered something indistinct and grumpy which I took to be an offer of help, and I patted him on the shoulder, mostly to annoy him. I felt like shit and I was trying very hard not to imagine finding my father's burnt corpse somewhere on the ship, but I couldn't let any of that stop me. I took off towards the quarterdeck and my father's cabin, silently praying I wasn't too late to help him.

BANG! Something hit the Minerva, and hard. She tilted again, but not as badly. Erashi and I stumbled but kept moving, joining the flow of crew members running back and forth in the chaos. I grabbed one of the men going past me by the shirt collar, dragging him in front of me. "You! What's your name?"

"Delroth, Lady Vera!" He glanced down at my limited clothing, then nervously back up at my face, looking as though he half expected me to gut him. I narrowed my eyes at him. "All right, crew man Delroth. Where is my father?"

"I don't know!" He shivered as a fizz charge exploded above us, barely far enough away for the embers to burn out before they reached us. It wouldn't take the other airship long to adjust their aim and fire at us truly. Their cannons were already hitting us. I shook Delroth a little while Erashi hovered anxiously behind me. "Where was he before the attack started? Think!"

"He came out for awhile to inspect the quarterdeck and then...he went back to his cabin! Yes, there's where he should be. Please, lady Vera, I must go! They need me below deck."

"Fine. Go!" I released him with a quick slap on the head and he scrambled away as quickly as he could. Two more fizz charges exploded in the air as he passed.

I reached behind me and grabbed Erashi, dragging him up onto the quarterdeck with me. Things were no less chaotic up here, as what few crew members were present tried desperately to decide between attacking the incoming airship or mounting a defense. They were so busy that none of them noticed me, and scanning the crowd, I didn't see my father here either. Damn. Meanwhile, the crew were too busy making fools of themselves to notice he was absent. I felt Typhon's rage boiling inside of me, burning away my pity and my compassion, leaving a growing fire in me that yearned to be released.

"RETURN TO YOUR POSTS!" I bellowed. Instantly, everyone around me froze, staring at me with a mixture of shock and horror. "What the fuck do you think you're doing, running around like children? Idiots! If my father were here he would be weep at the sight of such cowardice! Get to the sails! Bring us around! You want to give these bastards something nice and wide to shoot at, or do you want to show them why the Seraphim clan is feared throughout the Territories?!" I raised my knife and pointed at each of them in turn. "This is the Minerva and we do not fear death! Are your hearts truly so fragile?!"

There was a general murmur of dissent and shame. I tossed my short hair and gave them all my haughtiest glare.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Get moving!"

I couldn't help but smile a little as they fell over themselves to follow my orders, occasionally saluting me on the way past. I must have been quite a sight, barely clothed and waving a knife around, half feverish with a dragon's primal rage leaking into my head, but if my appearance worried them, they didn't show it. No matter what I looked like, I was still my father's daughter, and they were honor bounded to follow my every whim. True to my words, the pilot at the wheel began shouting commands to the men controlling the sails, bringing us around as fast as he could, albeit belatedly so. I nodded to Erashi and we got moving again, cutting through the crowd and heading for my father's cabin. I pounded on the door with the hilt of my knife.

"Shit! Why isn't he answering?" I could see lights on behind the windows, but the curtains were drawn, and with all the commotion I couldn't tell if there was anyone inside by listening.

I saw Erashi grin at me from the corner of my eye. "Maybe he's asleep?" He said.

I shot him a hateful look and watched his smile fade. "Now is not the time, Erashi." I snapped, turning my attention back to the door. "Damn it! The door's locked, too. I do not have time for this..." my growing fear joined the ceaseless undercurrent of Typhon's anxiety and anger in my mind, making me feel like my head was about to explode. I grit my teeth, using every shred of willpower to push my feelings away, trying to keep hold of my sanity. I could tell Erashi knew something was wrong from the way he was looking at me, but he said nothing, knowing there was little he could do for me. This was a battle I had to fight on my own. If only I knew what was happening to poor Typhon...

No. No time for that. I had to focus on the task at hand: rescuing my father. I felt sure he was inside, though what horrible fate had befallen him I was trying not to guess. My mind's eye was too ready to flicker through a grotesque parade of possibilities, each one worse than the last. I took a deep, albeit shaky breath, and reached into my pack, fumbling around for the key to the cabin my father had given me when I had been promoted to first mate aboard the Minerva. Erashi and I both quietly ignored the fact that my hands were starting to shake again.

Finally, after what felt like an age, I found the key at the bottom of my pack. With trembling fingers I reached up and pushed the key into the lock. Before I turned it, I nodded to Erashi, who nocked an arrow on his bow while I drew out my dagger. Slinging my pack over my shoulder again, I slowly turned the key with my free hand, crouching slightly so Erashi would have a better shot over my head should it come to that. With a final breath, I readied myself for battle and pushed my way through the door.

What I found waiting for me inside was not my father's charred remains, though it was easily the next worst thing. Chief Grath, aged warrior and leader of the Blackthorn clan, captain of the airship Deathstreak, stood before me in my father's tiny cabin, holding him captive with the end of his sword resting gently against his neck.

Erashi and I both froze, mid-step, as Chief Grath looked up in surprise. I met my father's gaze and saw his horror. Clearly, he had been hoping I would be smart enough not to come looking for him once the attack started. So much for that idea.

"Stay back! Stay back or I'll kill him right now!" shouted Grath, his hands starting to tremble with fear. Apparently he hadn't been expecting company.

Slowly, I placed my knife on a nearby table while Erashi followed suit behind me with his bow and dagger. Grath did not appear to notice Erashi keeping his quiver on. We held our hands up and out to show him we were unarmed. Grath nodded his head at the door. "Come inside, close the door, and lock it. No more interruptions. Does anyone else on this ship have a key?"

"No," I lied. Irena would.

"Good. Hurry up, I don't have all night!"

"Why are you attacking us?" demanded Erashi as he closed and locked the door behind us. I silently thanked him for distracting Grath and giving me the chance to scan the room for some way out of this mess.

Grath sneered at my father and twisted the sword point a little, making him wince. "Because you and your clan are finished sacrificing valuable human lives for some pathetic personal vendetta! We've all lost loved ones to the old masters, but that doesn't give you the right to continue showering their cities with our blood! Or aren't two wars enough for you maniacs?"

"We must move now before they move against us," rasped my father. "To sit still and hope is to sign the death warrant of every free human alive today."

"Spare me your self-righteous bullshit, Noah," snapped Grath. "I've heard the speeches before. They're all the same. Don't you think the masters would have come for us by now if they could? It's been almost a hundred years since the first Wars and yet you insist that they're going to figure out a way through the Shield! Are you really so delusional? Is she?" He nodded at me.

"Leave her out of this," replied my father.

"Why? She's as much a part of this as you are. She's the next generation. Whatever lies you fill her head with now are going to become her beliefs eventually. What happens when she takes your place as Chief, hm? That is of course supposing she survives the attack against Haven. But I'm sure you'll make sure to keep her at the back. No sense in losing anymore family members."

I felt Erashi nudge my hand and realized that I'd started shaking again. Chief Grath was going way past too far, and my anger was mixing with the endless stream of Typhon's growing battlelust inside my head. It hurt, and I was more than ready to share some of that pain with Grath.
"You two-faced, lying, hypocritical idiot," I hissed, ignoring Erashi's subtle warning. "You say we're spilling innocent human blood? What the fuck do you think you're doing? Or are those charges exploding over head filled with daisies and sunshine?"

"Call it a preemptive strike, my dear," replied Grath, favoring me with a saccharine smile. "If I stop the Minerva now, then she won't have a chance to attack the Cities in a few days. Whatever casualties we sustain now will pale in comparison to the massacre your father is setting up. Don't worry, I'm not out for Clan Seraphim's destruction. I just want to lame you up long enough to disperse your little army. You know as well as I do that without the Minerva, your mission is a failure. And good luck trying to get another airship to do your bidding! I've got the other clan Chiefs in my back pocket, and they're going to stay there until you're so old and decrepit a stiff wind could break your limbs. Maybe by then your father's taint will have washed out."

"BASTARD!" I leapt for Grath without thinking, my rage getting the better of me. Typhon's bond surged with renewed vigor, tying us together and feeding our emotions back into us. I could feel his pain just as strongly as he felt mine, and it was like being stabbed with tiny knives all over my skin. I had a real knife in my hands before I realized what I was doing, before Erashi could stop me, and most of all, before Grath could stop himself from reacting as any warrior would: He forgot about holding my father captive long enough to turn his sword towards me, ready to defend himself.

My father was on his feet in an instant, grabbing a nearby chair and swinging it between me and Grath. The Chief's incoming sword got tangled up in the legs while I was forced to pull up short, giving Erashi time to grab me from behind and pull me away. I screamed, feeling my heartbeat pounding inside my head, a war drum inside my ears, urging me forward, pushing me to rip Grath into tiny pieces and bathe in his blood like the masters of old. My father twisted the chair, and Grath's limbs along with it. The elderly man shrieked and fell to his knees, his weapon clattering on the floor. My eyes widened, spying my chance, and desperately I swung my dagger at Erashi's arms, trying to get him to release me, but he held fast, dragging me back towards the door as I struggled and spat.

Meanwhile, father threw the chair aside and picked up Grath's weapon, holding it at the man's throat. Grath's weak, watery gray eyes looked up at him as he trembled. "Please! Don't kill me," he begged, halfway to tears already. I heard a roaring inside of me, like a massive waterfall, and for a moment thought I could actually smell his weakness. It made me want to kill him all the more.

"I won't hurt you for now," replied my father, in his deepest commanding tone. "But only because I need you alive to influence the other clans. Don't ever think that I'll forget this, Grath. You're a dead man walking as far as I'm concerned. Your day will come, and I will be the one who—"

CRASH! My father's words were lost as something exploded overhead and the Minerva pitched forward, creaking and groaning. Everything, including everyone inside the cabin, was thrown forward. The light globes flickered and died, leaving us in almost total darkness. I felt Erashi's hands on me, trying to hold me upright to no avail as we stumbled and staggered inside the cabin. I held my knife away, desperately trying to sheath it and failing, praying that the next sensation I felt wouldn't be blood on my hands. Every speck of rage I had been feeling abruptly vanished, replaced by fear, made stronger and more intense by my out of control bond with Typhon. I could feel its cold grip seeping into my very bones, and I whimpered, clinging to Erashi as we fell against something hard. Glass shattered beneath us. Somewhere in the corner I heard grunting, and a curse, and then the metallic clang of a sword being dropped. "Father!" I cried. A new wave of fear hit me, and I started wriggling out of Erashi's grasp again. "Vera!" he hissed. "Hold still, damn it!"

Something heavy hit the deck above us, and I heard panicked shouting, followed by footsteps. There was a crackling sound, followed by a couple of loud pops and another explosion, more distant this time. The Minerva shuddered, her old wood groaning in protest. Some of the walls of the captain's cabin had spaces between them, and in the tiny gaps I could see a distant orange flicker. Fire. The Deathstreak had set the Minerva on fire.

Suddenly, the light globes sputtered back into life, and across the room I saw my father struggling with Chief Grath. The short sword Grath had had earlier was lying on the floor, and the two men were trying to strangle each other with their bare hands. The Minerva shuddered all around us, and I could feel her swaying wildly as the pilot tried to turn us around, though in what direction I couldn't tell. Explosion after explosion rocked overhead, making the walls shake. I strained against Erashi, desperate to lunge at Grath again, Typhon's emotions pounding in my brain. I screamed, half mad, as I saw images of Senua in my mind's eye, unbidden. She had been hurt. Someone was attacking her, and Typhon was reacting. Pain unlike anything I had ever experienced before lit every nerve in my body on fire, and the room began to disappear behind a bright white light that blossomed behind my eyes. I heard someone calling my name from far away, vaguely felt a rug underneath my fingers as I slumped, half conscious, onto the floor...