“FURL THE SAILS, WE’RE APPROACHING THE ABYSS!” Hamdeni’s arm cut downward as he gave the order.

  Sailcloth snapped as the crew moved. Lines ran through calloused hands. Canvas folded under controlled force. The wind thinned and the Sangre Grande drifted across water that lay flat and dark.

  “EVERYBODY—MIDDLE OF THE DECK!” He stepped forward, driving the command through the noise.

  Crew members forced the slaves inward with shoves and sharp gestures. Arvey felt bodies press against him.. heat, breath, sweat. Bordo shifted beside him and placed himself between Lysa and the rail, his shoulders squared.

  A vibration rolled through the hull. The planks trembled beneath Arvey’s boots. Wood groaned deep below deck, stretched under pressure from something unseen.

  The sea leveled.

  Water stretched outward without ripple. No reflection broke its surface. Mist thickened along the horizon and closed in.

  Silence settled over the ship.

  The usual slap of waves faded as the wind lost its pull. Arvey drew a breath and felt resistance in his chest, as if the air carried weight. He swallowed and felt it drag slowly down his throat.

  The captain’s cabin door opened.

  The hinge rasped across the deck and every head turned.

  The Bloody Baron stepped out.

  Lantern light bent around him and stretched his shadow long across the planks. His hat hid most of his face. His sharp eyes remained visible beneath the brim.

  Blood dripped from his left hand.

  Each drop curved back toward his palm before reaching the deck. In his other hand, he held a bottle filled halfway with thick red liquid that moved slowly inside the glass.

  Rings caught the lantern glow across his gloved fingers.

  The deck held its breath.

  Arvey felt it, the weight of his presence. Pressure. Like an iron hand closing around his chest, squeezing just enough to remind him it could crush him completely.

  “The Bloody Baron…” Arvey said quietly. His gaze remained fixed on the man.

  Bordo exhaled through his nose. “I really don’t like this guy.” His jaw flexed as he shifted his weight.

  Arvey drove his elbow into Bordo’s ribs. “Shut up.” His eyes never left the Baron.

  Bordo grunted and straightened.

  The Baron’s attention remained on the mist ahead.

  “Apis, Kassandra, Auron, port side.” He lifted his chin slightly.

  “Hekalé, Kikon, starboard.” His fingers tapped once against the bottle.

  “Arure, Torres, bow.” He turned his head just enough to ensure they heard.

  The crew spread into position, forming a perimeter around the slaves.

  His gaze shifted to Hamdeni.

  “You. Stay close.” His eyes narrowed a fraction.

  Hamdeni stepped forward without reply.

  The ship drifted.

  The silence deepened.

  Euploia tightened her grip on the wheel. “Captain…” Her knuckles blanched as she leaned into it.

  “We’re not moving.” Her shoulders trembled as she spoke.

  Murmurs spread.

  “You said this was safe!” the old dwarf shouted. His voice cracked as he pointed toward the Baron.

  “We paid for this!” His chest heaved in panic.

  Bordo’s shoulders tightened. “This is bad.” He shifted one foot back, bracing himself.

  The Bloody Baron raised his hand, and the dwarf’s skull ruptured under unseen force, blood spraying outward before curving through the air and streaming into the Baron’s palm as the body collapsed heavily against the deck.

  Shock tore through the crowd.

  Arvey’s fists clenched until his nails bit into his skin. "Damn.."

  “Scum has no right to live,” the Baron said. His voice carried evenly across the deck. “If I had not given my word, each of you would lie beside him.” He closed his hand slowly.

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  Torres stepped closer to the rail. “Captain… Hal’Grags.” His eyes fixed on the water.

  “The Abyss demands tribute.” The Baron spoke.

  “Throw the body overboard.” He flicked his fingers toward the rail.

  Kassandra seized the corpse and hurled it into the black water. Others followed, dragging small caged creatures and casting them after it. Their cries ended beneath the surface.

  Wet tearing sounds rose from below.

  The deck trembled again.

  “Lamieles,” the Baron muttered. “Curse your bloodline.” He lifted the bottle and took a measured sip.

  A shape rose from the water and lifted into the air in front of the ship, black mass breaking the surface and hanging suspended above the bow as a voice spread across the deck. “How dare you break the treaty?”

  As the crew understood what they were seeing, the Baron’s hand lifted sharply. “No one moves.” His gaze swept across the deck, holding each of them in place.

  The Hal’Grags pulled themselves aboard, limbs bending with unnatural articulation. They moved immediately with slow steps that brought them within arm’s reach of slaves and crew alike. Their breath washed over faces. Claws hovered inches from throats.

  A crewman snarled and swung his blade at the nearest creature.

  The Bloody Baron lifted two fingers.

  The crewman froze mid-strike. His arm locked in the air. Veins stood out along his neck as he strained against an invisible hold. The blade trembled and slipped from his fingers, clattering uselessly to the deck.

  The Baron’s gaze shifted to the black shape. “We have paid, Nyx.” He lowered the bottle slightly. “I know the treaty. We honor it. Let us pass.”

  Nyx tilted his head. "Honor?" he asked. A long, twisted finger rose slowly and pointed toward the slaves. "Ridiculous." His finger lowered in a sharp motion, and the Hal’Grags moved at once.

  The Baron’s mouth curved faintly in reaction. “You forget yourself, Nyx.” He rolled the bottle once between his fingers.

  Just as the crew reached for their weapons, ready to fight off the surging Hal'Grags, the Baron lifted his arm. "Stand down." His order was absolute. "This is not your fight."

  The crew froze in place, watching as the Hal’Grags tore into the slaves.

  Chains swung. Wood splintered. A broad-shouldered man smashed a chain into a creature’s face and staggered back as claws raked his chest. A slave ducked low and drove a crude blade into black flesh before being thrown aside. Several slaves fought in desperate bursts, landing blows that slowed a few beasts before teeth and claws found them. Another group of slaves, realizing their fate, grabbed what they could, broken planks, rusted tools, anything that might wound these nightmare creatures. They fought for their lives, and some even managed to bring a few of the monsters down.

  Hamdeni stepped forward once, boots scraping against wood. His hand went to the hilt at his side. The muscles in his jaw tightened. He saw a boy fall beneath black claws and his weight shifted again, ready to move.

  His fist closed slowly instead. Tendons stood out along his wrist as he forced his hand away from the weapon. “Damn the treaty… I can’t intervene,” he muttered under his breath, eyes fixed on the Baron.

  As if feeling the gaze on him, the Bloody Baron turned to Hamdeni and gave him a nod before addressing Nyx. “How dare you damage my cargo?” He lifted his hand and the blood scattered across the deck peeled upward in thin streams, sliding through the air and spiraling into the bottle. The glass darkened as it filled. "This will have consequences, Nyx.." A low laugh escaped him. He tipped the bottle to his lips and drank again. “Great consequences.”

  Hamdeni looked toward the slaves as a Hal’Grag lunged, its black claws gleaming, jagged teeth snapping as it came for the nearest slave. The man barely had time to react before the creature tore into him, his scream cutting off with a sickening crunch. The scent of blood thickened in the air.

  Another beast lunged at Arvey. His body reacted before his mind could. He seized a broken wooden beam from a shattered crate, swinging it upward with all his might. The splintered wood struck the beast’s throat, forcing it to stagger back, choking on its own snarl.

  A second Hal’Grag rushed him from the side. He twisted, barely ducking the swipe of its claws. His heart pounded. He forced himself to move, rolling beneath the beast’s massive frame before springing up.

  Bordo fought beside him, an iron hook gripped in his massive fists. The weapon whistled through the air, slamming into another creature’s skull with a meaty thud.

  “MOVE, DAMN IT!” he roared as he drew the hook back.

  Arvey swung again, gritting his teeth as the wood cracked against a Hal’Grag’s ribs. The creature barely flinched. Its glowing eyes fixed on him as it advanced. “Fall back!” Arvey shouted over his shoulder, shifting his stance to block its path. Another lunged at him, but it was too fast. He turned a fraction too late. Claws raked across his side. Pain cut deep and forced the air from his lungs. He staggered, vision blurring. “Shit,” he breathed through clenched teeth.

  His hand brushed the splintered railing as his balance broke. “Bordo…” he whispered, the name leaving him in a low breath. Another beast slammed into him. The force ripped the breath from his lungs. His feet skidded against the blood-slick deck. The railing splintered behind him.

  Then... he fell.

  “ARVEEEYYY!” Bordo's voice rang out with desperation, before the Abyss swallowed all sound.

  Cold crushed him.

  Darkness swallowed everything.

  The pressure intensified, wrapping around him, crushing his ribs, pressing against his skull. Strange, luminous tendrils of pale blue light flickered in the abyss, swirling and shifting, forming eerie, shifting patterns that seemed to watch him. Shadows moved at the edge of his vision, massive forms gliding through the depths, their movements slow, deliberate and ancient.

  And then... Something moved.

  Through the wavering dark, Arvey glimpsed it.. a shape too vast to comprehend. A monstrous silhouette loomed in the distance, its sheer enormity making the Hal’Grags seem like insects by comparison. It did not lunge or attack. It simply watched. An awareness slithered through the crushing depths, ancient and unreadable, sinking into his bones, filling his mind with an unspeakable presence. He was not alone.

  A tentacle coiled around his ankle, its rough, slimy surface squeezing with crushing force. A sharp tug yanked him downward, dragging him deeper into the suffocating blackness.

  He thrashed, muscles burning, lungs screaming for air. His arms flailed, searching for anything to grasp, but the Abyss offered no mercy. His frantic heartbeat pounded in his skull.

  Another tentacle lashed out, wrapping around his wrist, pulling tighter. His strength was slipping. His limbs felt sluggish, as if the darkness itself was seeping into his flesh.

  Suddenly, instinct roared to life. His fingers twitched, energy crackling along his skin. Arvey's fingers clenched around the slimy tentacle, his grip tightening until the flesh beneath his palm began to buckle. He crushed the tentacle with all his remaining strength. The creature writhed, its body convulsing violently. Then— a strange warmth surged into him, overwhelming, flooding his limbs with an unnatural energy. It poured into his body, setting his nerves alight as if something had been awakened within him. Its body convulsed violently, its form withering, shrinking, as if drained of all life.

  The tentacle loosened, then fell limp, lifeless. The beast was still.

  Arvey barely had the strength to process it. His vision blurred, the crushing pressure of the depths threatening to take him. His chest burned. His thoughts faded into a fog of exhaustion. One final thought surfaced before the dark closed in: Bordo.. survive.