She heard him muttering darkly to himself through the med bay door. Of course, it was locked. Calponia quietly drummed her fingers on the metal, listening for something. His footsteps were silent, but she knew, he hovered on the other side.

"Are you going to let me in?"

"That might not be wise." A long pause. "What are you doing here?"

She swallowed hard, pressing her forehead against the door. "I made a promise didn't, I?" She could hear the gush of his breath through the barrier and wondered if he shared her pose. Her heart pinched as she placed a hand flat on the lukewarm metal. "And now I need a new one from you."

"Cal--"

"Next time he comes, you let him take me," she breathed, the words leaving her mouth bone dry.

In the weighted pause that followed her words, she could almost picture his confusion and anger. "I can't make that promise."

"You have to keep Mack alive."

"He can bloody well keep himself alive," Eugene snapped. "Much better than I can, might I add."

She smiled. "I don't know about that," she said, closing her eyes. She wished she had time for other words, other promises, wished that she could shake the sensation of time running out and the dwindling possibilities between them. "Whatever he did to himself to be this way, Henderson was holding back."

There was a long pause. "I know."

"And Mack, he's not..." Her words faltered. Whole.

"I know," Eugene repeated, the words softer and edged with emotion she couldn't define. "We've forgotten something important, someone important."

The hair rose on the back of her neck. "We?"

"The ship is slowing down."

Calponia shuddered at the sensation of pressure along her spine. As if someone trod over her grave. She never thought that was a real thing. "Never a dull moment." Her fingers curled in. "The Krakens are here."

"Calponia, wait."

"We should be up there," she said, stumbling slightly as the door suddenly slid open. Her eyes widened. "Nevermind, I should be up there."

Eugene winced. "I assure you, I'm fine."

She bit back her retort as she stared at him. He was terribly pale, more so than normal, a gauntness to his features that worried her. Not to mention his 'outfit.' Her lips twitched at what was clearly one of Ravelock's crushed velvet surcoats, a deep violet with a spill of lace at the throat. "You look like the lead singer of a metal opera group."

He frowned at her. "I'm not sure that's an insult or not." He pulled the coated at his shoulders, ripping the lace from his throat with a snarl. "It itched."

She hesitated. "Did you feed?"

He stiffened at her question. "I managed." She didn't miss the lines of strain bracketing his mouth. "I'm fine."

"Five minutes ago you wouldn't open the door," she pointed out.

He inhaled through his nose. "That was five minutes ago."

She pursed her lips. "Are you sure--"

"Calponia," he said, glaring at her. His irises were a brilliant red. His control hung by a thread, but it was there.

She slipped her hand in his. He stopped fidgeting. "I trust you," she said. "Please, be careful."

He didn't let her go as they moved, a contact she didn't think about until they reached the top deck and Calponia was grateful for the anchor of his grip.

"Oh my," she whispered, her gaze irrevocably drawn to the skies. Infra, Ravelock's home, lay obscured in curling pillars of fiery smoke .

The city was firmly under siege, surrounded by a writhing mass of Krakens.

"So many of them," Eleni whispered, her tiger gold eyes stark in her face. The crew shared her sentiments, frozen in place as the Fear rooting deeper with each second. Mack felt the tug of it himself, like hooks dragging through his veins, sapping at his will. Ravelock leaned hard on the rail of the ship, a taut line to his shoulders as he stared at his pummeled city.

"Jacob, you bastard, what have you done." There were many worlds populated by dark hungering creatures, but the Krakens were among the worst, an arrogant evil so vile it left a foul taste in his mouth occupying the same space. An ancient race, full of greed and gluttony, convinced of their superiority as god like beings who could consume what they pleased. To unleash them on Oceanus was a cunning and cruel distraction, one he couldn't reconcile with the man he once knew, but driving them back would drain Mack, possibly kill him.

Leaving the Edgewise wide open.

He felt her step alongside him, the vampire a barrier between them, the hum of the bête noire humming close the surface. Mack grimaced, pieces clicking into place. The Krakens were more than a distraction for him. His gaze slid towards his apprentice.

As if they sensed the shift in his attentions, the Krakens turned as one.

Mack's fists clenched. The wolven, the inquisitors, the Krakens, pieces and players that seemed random, without pattern, until he looked at it through another lens. It was entirely, uncomfortably, possible they were not distractions or encounters meant for him.

The tenuous connections of the Edgewise shivered through his mind. Mack had to do something, anything, to steer the turn of events off track--

"Well, bugger, we're dead," said Ravelock. "All bets are off then, mate." The tension went out of the Captain as he turned, an odd look in his eyes as he took a step to Eugene. He placed his hands on the vampire's shoulders. "I've wanted to do this for ages."

Ravelock seized the vampire by his velvet lapels and yanked him forward for a full hard on kiss. Possibly too shocked for a moment, the vampire froze, hands twitching at the air.

Calponia swallowed a giggle.

Ravelock released the shell shocked vampire, and turned to Mack who didn't quite catch on until calloused hands framed his face.

Ravelock pressed forward, locking his mouth over Mack's. There was a lot of pent up anger, lust, and more in that kiss. It fizzed against his senses. Ravelock pulled back, his gaze open and raw. Mack grasp his wrists, keeping him close.

"You're not dying," said Mack, "without settling your tab."

Ravelock offered him a sardonic smirk. "Of course, sir."

Mack raised a brow. "I mean it, Marcus."

A flash of surprise lit the Captain's face as he turned to his grinning crew.

He froze as they broke into a chorus of hoots and cheers.

"Finally."

"Told you lads it'd take a freaking apocalypse."

"You owe me ten pence, Hutton."

"Excellent technique, Captain."

"I can't believe that vampire didn't bite his face off."

"Kiss me n' I pump ya full of teeth," muttered the Munch.

"That was kinda awesome," said Calponia, laughing as she met Mack's gaze. The Edgewise's shiver of apprehension turned to something warm and sweet, like drops of butterscotch rum in his veins. He blinked, amazed at his own stupidity. Here he was, ignoring his best weapon.

The stolen moment of levity broke the stranglehold of fear on the crew. Mack glanced at the Captain with quiet respect as orders rolled out of the man's mouth.

"Aye, you can collect your winnings to pay the Ferryman, Rogers, get on the riggings. Hutton, Argyle, take your lads and get the cannons positioned. We'll drag these bastards down to hell with us!" Ravelock turned to them. "We can keep one or two distracted, but this many will overwhelm us quick, unless..."

"We'll do what we can," said Mack. Calponia shot him a wide eyed look. He could tell what she was thinking, but waited until the Captain nodded and strode off to command his men, Eleni and her crew scrambling alongside the others to brace for the assault. He jerked his head to the corner, the two of them dragging the vampire with them.

"Mack, I-I'm not sure it's a good idea for me to even be up here," Calponia's gaze slid to the approaching Krakens as she spoke, fine tremors wracking her body. She clutched Eugene's arm like a life raft in a storm. "I can't control it," she whispered.

"Whoever said anything about control," said Mack. Her gaze snapped back to him, her expression incredulous. "I wondered why Jacob would choose such volatile creatures. They are here for you as much as they are for me. Maybe you need to lose a little control."

Calponia swallowed hard. "Isn't this giving him what he wants?"

Mack squeezed her shoulder. "Depends. Do you still trust me?"

She frowned, thrown by his words. "Of course I do."

"Do you trust the Edgewise?"

"Yes." There wasn't a breath of hesitation.

"Close your eyes."

Mack gently pressed the pads of his thumbs over her eyelids.

"I do not agree with this plan," grumbled Eugene. "Not to mention, time is not our ally."

"You're just grumpy the pirate stole a kiss," said Mack. Her lips twitched. Warmth seeped into her from the contact point against her eyelids. "Quit whining and don't let anything get through."

The vampire replied with an soft snarl.

"Cal, release all the breath in your lungs."

She obeyed, air gushing from her mouth in a cool rush. She frowned. How was her breath so cold?

"Concentrate on my voice," said Mack, "Just the sound of my voice. Listen to my voice until you can hear the other."

She frowned at the command, uncertain what she was listening for until she heard it. There, beneath Mack's soothing baritone, was another voice, an echo that spoke without words, a rich golden tone, almost feminine, vibrating beneath each syllable.

"I can hear it," she said, "What is that?"

"The Edgewise," said Mack. The warmth from his fingertips flared, like facing an open flame, somewhat uncomfortable. Against the darkness inside her eyelids, a shimmering stream slipped into her mind, like gossamer golden thread except not thread at all. She could see each particle, each twinkling light. Not a thread, but a spool of stardust that filtered into her, meshing with the bête noire as it went, darkness shot with streaks of glittering light. Calponia drew an involuntary breath. The bête noire didn't reject the light, but welcomed it, embracing it like a long lost friend.

"Listen to me, Cal," said Mack. His voice sounded distant, while the feminine echo breathed through her skull. "No matter what happens, the Edgewise will anchor you. Do you understand?"

"Mostly?"

"They're coming," said Eugene.

Mack pulled away as her eyes shot open. She choked on a scream as nightmarish tentacles, twice as wide as she was tall, slithered over the deck, wrapping up from underneath the ship. Her skin crawled, the bête noire pulsed angrily inside her, causing sparks of shadow to flare in the corner of her vision. Massive eyes upon eyes stared down at her, the weight of all that ancient evil settling like a stone around her neck. She made a small sound of distress.

Eugene's snarl cracked through the tension. He crouched beside her, all fury, baring his teeth at the Kraken pressing down on them. Calponia realized what he intended a second before he launched himself into the air.

"No!" The difference in their size was laughable, but apparently even a Kraken took notice of an angry vampire clawing at its gargantuan face. It reared back, tentacles catching and tipping the ship as its screech vibrated through her bones.

She gritted her teeth, desperate to cover her ears to block out the horrible sound but she was too busy holding on for dear life, her gaze locked on Eugene for a long perilous moment. Mack maneuvered across the tipped deck toward the other Krakens closing ranks on the prow of the ship, one hand out, and a murderous expression on his face. There were too many to protect all sides.

She didn't even notice the other Kraken until it wrapped a slick appendage around her waist, one that possessed too many joints, each one tipped with claws that pressed into her flesh like thorns. A cold wave of evil slammed against her senses, swamping her.

That smooth chill evil sliding against her mind made her shriek, drowning in the Kraken's vile influence.

Eugene's head snapped up, a roar rolling up from his throat abruptly cut off as another tentacle snaked around one leg and ripped him free. The tentacle whipped him violently, a terrier with a rat, before a second wrapped around his torso, squeezing until a snap of bone crackled in Calponia's ears.

Calponia went still inside. That same cold, razor sharp rage she felt when Henderson attacked them rose up inside her. A piece of her hesitated, afraid of the pain she'd caused Eugene before, afraid the bête noire would swallow him up. She caught a glimpse of his furious crimson eyes as his head thrashed a second before he jerked forward and bit down on the tentacle crushing his ribs.

Despite the horrid situation she found herself in, a tiny part of her smiled. The bête noire whispered dark encouragement inside her head.

Razor sharp talons the length of her legs caressed her face, drawing a burning line of blood. Calponia released her breath, cool air blowing through her lips as she let go. The golden haze of stars inside her head coiled tight around her, a gilded translucent shield around the core of herself as the bête noire surged outward. Awe filled her. She was aware, centered, even as she the bête noire spilled over. Blood, her blood, dripped down her face, onto the Kraken holding her. The creature recoiled as if she'd splashed it with acid. Flesh warped as she watched, burning away in strips of foul smelling ash that blew apart on a nonexistent wind. 

Time seemed to spiral inward dripping seconds, feeding her snapshots of the battle through the blur of disintegrating Kraken. She saw many of Ravelock and Eleni's crew, grim faced and bloody, firing at one monster as another picked them off like the heads of Scylla, snatching them up in misshapen serrated jaws that gobbled them down. Ravelock, himself, tangled by his legs in the rigging, a cutlass in one hand and a laser pistol in the other, as he provided cover for the Munch sniping from the crow's nest. Eleni had her own sword, swiping at any seeking Kraken appendages that approached Mack's back. The tavern master stood with his arms raised, opening a doorway in midair. An outline darker than night appeared, shot through with sparks of blood red light. The realm of the Krakens. The beasts closest to the door already appeared to be fighting an invisible draw, pulling them in. A massive needle sharp claw punched up through Eleni's blind spot, piercing her through.

Calponia couldn't save them. She couldn't save any of them, not like this. The claw slid from Eleni, drawing up to plunge into Mack's exposed back. Calponia screamed; the bête noire poured from her in a torrent of desperate rage. A golden fizz rose in her mind, like sinking into a tub of bubbling champagne. Over the foul stink of spilled blood and monstrous Kraken rose the rich smoky scent of perfectly aged whiskey, entwined with a crisp bitter scent, similar to dark chocolate.

The mass of attacking Krakens turned to ash and blew apart.