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Chapter 76: The Harbour

Nathanial sighed as he finished getting his things together. It was now nine o'clock, and everyone was gathering together to head down to Halifax Harbour for this 'big excursion'. He had just planned to sneak out for an hour or so, find the bodies, dump them on the shore somewhere, and leave a tip on the Crime Stoppers hotline so they'd get picked up. Now, his brothers were coming, so Garret was coming, and his friends, so Conor and Dirk were, along with Ella, Jay, and Sgt. Heimdolf. Eleven fricking people! How in the hells were they going to get a boat to carry that many people and how were they going to deal with the corpses? The 'dumping' thing wouldn't work since Liam had gone all 'Timeus' and turned this into some holy quest to send the souls on. Nathanial winced slightly, maybe Liam was right on that one, maybe he had caused a lot of suffering, not just to the families, but to the souls of these people. He was being kind of selfish, helping Ahmed because he knew him, and trying to get Jezebel to stop haunting his thoughts and dreams. Could he really blame the souls of these guys for being upset? He killed them, brutally, and then hid the bodies so their souls couldn't be sent on. Jezebel was going to get married in a few months, to a right ass, sure, but she might have been happy with Joseph Harper. Who was he to judge? But now, she would never be with him, her life was cut short, by his paws.

Nathanial sat on his bed and stared at the grimoire, softly stroking the pelt that made the cover. His entire life now revolved around death. Part of his friend had been killed by his boyfriend's mother because he couldn't control his temper. Now, that piece was a book so he could learn new, nastier, ways of killing. His mother hated her children and sent her friends to kill them; she ended up getting killed by both groups, Nathanial used her as a tool and weapon, and her 'friend' shot her because she was in the way. He stopped himself from going through a whole list by bemoaning one more thing, 'So many fights and I haven't gained a single level.' Liam had shown him three spells to look over: Corpse Candle, Macabre Reveille, and a very complicated Ghost Galleon. He'd never have thought of looking through these three for what he wanted. Corpse Candle illuminated all corpses in an area, usually a few hundred metres, with a phosphorescent glow and the caster could sense the distance and direction of each one. It only worked if the corpse wasn't buried, but water didn't block it. He thought he'd easily be able to cover the whole inner harbour if he amplified it. The second was... disturbing, it temporarily animated all corpses in an area, again a few hundred metres, and made them walk/swim/crawl toward the caster of the spell. Liam said it should allow them to climb onto whatever thing they had to carry the bodies, and it'd have the side effect of keeping them... 'intact' for a while. That was almost as complicated as the Binding Tentacle spell, but a little harder to learn. Still, he was sure it'd be easier to cast than that stupid candle lighting spell he learned when he was a little pup, if anything that entry level spell had become harder since this whole thing started. The Ghost Galleon was a last resort. Nathanial shivered as he thought of it. If Binding Tentacles was between intermediate and advanced, this might be an expert level spell. It conjured a ship out of the darkness and fog, so it was perfect for tonight, and drew all of the remains of sentient creatures in a body of water to it, animating them as a crew. He thought, judging by the 'wording', that it'd take everything from most of the Bedford Basin. A second casting would cover the rest of the basin and the inner harbour, and a third would cover the McNabs Island region toward the mouth of the harbour. Three castings to cover a huge volume of water. That wasn't all, the spell didn't just create vessels and crew them, it also armed them. Sure, it was a magic variant of cannons, using Dark energy, but they were probably even more destructive than real cannons and three of these galleons could probably destroy the entire navy fleet stationed in the harbour if they weren't prepared. Liam said this spell looked to have been a closely held secret by the English Mages, used in defiance of Society law to defend the British Isles for centuries. Supposition on Liam's part but it made a good story. Last resort for sure, and maybe something he wouldn't do even as a last resort. Nathanial stroked the grimoire, he was a little curious to find out if he could cast it. He was bringing his grimoire with him, just in case, but he was fairly confident he had the spell memorized. He thought back to the fight in the kitchen, when he'd made his mother stand and fight using telekinesis; the Hunter had called him a necromancer, and it seemed the Hunter was right. Nathanial saw Lily lying there in his arms, again, her blood pooling on the tile and soaking into his pants. Her lovely white fur had been matted and ruined; she had always taken such good care of her appearance that no one, not even the most speciesist Fur, could deny she was beautiful.

A tear ran down his muzzle and dropped from his chin, 'What happened? They were in love at one time. I remember it, I think, she was never a great mother, but she cared. Or was that the nurse we had? No, I remember her smiling as she gave me a sandwich. Dad and her were happy together, I don't remember details, but I remember seeing them together, smiling and laughing. Why couldn't they stay like that?'

He was startled by a knock on his doorframe, Nicholas walked in, "Nats?" Nathanial wasn't sure what he was surprised by more, that he never noticed Nicholas walking around downstairs or that he knocked before walking through the open door. He never knocked on a closed door. "What's wrong? Everyone is upstairs waiting. Why are you crying?"

He rubbed his eyes, "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine. Just... thinking of the past, what might have been."

Nicholas sat down beside him and pulled him close, "Heh, yeah. Still, she would've killed you, us, given the chance. I'm not sure if you're upset because of that Hunter or Mom, but it applies to both. I, um, I still see that guy burning to a pile of ash, too. Sensei said it's normal, it's right, to grieve over someone you killed, it shows you still have a heart, but you have to remember they chose the course of action that led to the current situation. It was Mom who called those Hunters into our house, it was the Hunters who made us chose between killing or being killed. We were cornered, we couldn't run, we were left with only those two choices. I'd rather someone with a conscience like you be here, than a woman who was willing to kill pups. Her pups. I like what is over what could've been."

Nathanial smiled, "I was thinking farther back, to when Micah was born, what might have been if Lily and Dad let themselves love him and continued to love each other."

Nicholas snorted, "Not much love there to 'continue', Nats, Micah was made with a Fey that Dad had an affair with. Dad didn't know which woman it could've been, meaning there was lots. I don't think the love was there for a long time." He stood up, "Anyway, let's get this thing going." He brushed Nathanial's check, "I'm here, Nats, don't try to be strong all the time. I'm your brother, I'll help you whatever way I can, if you let me."

Nathanial smiled and stood up, "Yeah, thanks, Nick." He gave him a one armed hug and rubbed his muzzle along Nick's before licking his cheek, "Love ya."

Nick's tail started wagging, "Yeah, whatever. You, too." Nicholas pulled away and trotted toward the stairs, Nathanial grabbed a sweatshirt and followed him.

They stepped out of the portal on a pier in the Eastern Passage, just up the coast from the 12 Wing Shearwater, Air Force base. Nathanial calculated this was the closest spot to the most likely place for the bodies. The thick fog that formed after the rain was debating whether it wanted to become drizzle or stay as a thick, soaking, blanket. Nathanial judged he had fifty feet, or fifteen metres, of visibility. Ella had teleported there and phoned Nathanial, allowing him to open a portal beside her. Jay turned to Micah, "Hey, Sprite, you're up. You said you could make boats? This should be righteous, I never got to see Fey magic like this, before."

Ella frowned at her co-worker and adjusted her glasses, "Agent Jay, may I remind you we're on duty?" She glanced at Sgt. Heimdolf, "Please conduct yourself appropriately."

Nathanial could see him roll his eyes behind his dark glasses, but Jay gave a curt nod, "Yes, Agent Ella, my apologies. Young master Marks, if you're capable of creating the boats, as indicated, please do so, now."

Sgt. Heomdolf grunted as he sidled over to Nathanial, "These Agents always such sticks in the mud? Not only do they have to interfere in police work, but they have to suck the fun and adventure out of everything?"

Nathanial felt like rolling his own eyes, 'Fun? Adventure? From the sergeant?' He didn't say that, but only said, "The Society insists on projecting a certain image. They're following procedure, however unnecessary it is."

Micah was walking to the edge of the pier, holding four acorns. The rotund rabbit frowned at him, "Why the fuck did you bring the pup, pup? He's supposed to be making the boats? Why isn't one of the adults doing it?"

Micah began singing, Nathanial could see the fur on the rabbit's neck stand up. Nathanial smiled, "Because he wanted to come, that's why he's here. He wants a chance to show he's learned a lot and can control his magic. This is a good place to show what he can do with minimal danger, and I'm keeping him off the boats that'll have the bodies. Only Agent Ella and Liam will be on that one." He noticed Liam was standing far away from the sergeant, his expression was way too blank for Nathanial's comfort, but at least he didn't bring his sword. Then again, considering how Liam had killed the carjacking Hunters with a single punch, perhaps it wasn't something to be relieved about. Actually, Nathanial was the only one any where near the rabbit, even Geoff and Faelen were standing a couple paces away.

Sgt. Heimdolf noticed, too, "I feel like I'm a corpse here, one that's rotted and rank, from the way people are reacting."

"You're a Knight, you're people aren't very popular with the residents of the Hidden World. We've talked about this. You can't be surprised that people aren't comfortable meeting the bogeymen of their childhood horror stories." He glared at everyone, "Even if it's extremely rude."

Micah stopped singing and threw the acorns out into the water, two on each side of the pier. Two nearly identical galleys grew out of them, each acorn making half of the galley, or maybe Viking longboats might be a more apt description. They were as long as a school bus, maybe a little shorter, with a light cover over top that rustled like dead leaves or dried skin. The cover left a large gap between it and the rail so people could still easily look out, but if the weather decided to turn to rain, they'd have shelter. They appeared to be made out of bone and leather, the ribbing of the boats looked like actual ribs, and the figurehead on the bow was shaped like a giant canine skeleton rising out of the water. Chains ran along the sides and rattled as the boats rocked in the nearly calm water. The twelve sets of oars didn't reach into the boat, it looked like they were self rowing. One of them had chairs running down each side, the second had a regular series of coffin shaped 'benches' set in it, with space for about twenty bodies, and four chairs at either end of the boat. It also had several ladders that hung on the outside of the boat, Liam's suggestion when they planned this out at home. Liam glanced at the panting pup, "Well done, Micah-kun, but a little macabre, yes? I was expecting more of a forest motif, not ships of the damned."

The corpse vessel moaned, "Damned... Souls of the Lost..."

The second responded, "All aboard for the Underworld..."

Micah was practically hopping in excitement, "Cool, eh? This is going to be so fun! They're actual bone, too. Partly, anyway. That's why it was so hard, I'm better with wood."

Only Jay seemed to think it'd be fun, he was looking stern and official, but his nose was twitching rapidly and his tail kept wagging before he'd catch it again. Dirk just looked horribly amused, he glanced at his fur then at Conor, like he wanted to ask if he could become manifest. Liam smothered a smile and shook his head. He opened his duffle bag and pulled out the torches, "Nathanial, if you would, one in the prow, one in the stern of each vessel."

"Of the damned..." Both boats called out in chorus. Jay tried to smother a snicker.

Sgt. Heimdolf looked at Jay, Micah, and Liam, "You magic types are nuts. This isn't some haunted house, and it really isn't funny."

Liam frowned, "No, Knight, it is not. I find nothing humorous about our business, we are here to retrieve the bodies of the deceased and seek to send their souls on to the afterlife. I have no control over the actions of Micah-kun."

"Calling all souls..." The corpse barge intoned, mournfully.

Liam rubbed his forehead, "Silence. Now." The ships remained silent. Nathanial set the torches in the holders, "Agent Ella, place a stick of incense at the four corners surrounding the set of... sarcophagi." He shot a dirty look at Micah, who just smiled broadly. His smile grew as he glanced at Jay, before spinning around. His clothes turned into an... Anubis costume. He had black fur, except around the eyes and under his muzzle, so all he needed was a small black mask to cover his natural white one, then the clothes and the jewellery. The only problem was the white fur under his muzzle. Liam closed his eyes and appeared to utter a short prayer, his voice was very tired as he said, "Micah Marks, you are crossing religions in a horrendous fashion. These boats are a cross between a Mexican 'Day of the Dead' and Viking design, we are going to be conducting the rituals for Hades, and you are wearing Egyptian attire as if you were Anubis. That is four religions; wear a bone costume if you must, but please, limit the religious crossovers. The gods may take offence, and Poseidon is hard to deny when you sit upon his waters."

Sgt. Heimdolf scowled, "Why all the mumbo-jumbo anyway? We're just here to pick up the bodies to bring them in for identification." Micah was now wearing bone armour much like Dirk normally wore, the Bone Spirit looked like he was really having trouble keeping a straight face. So were the other Spirits, for that matter. Dirk was wearing his half armour under his suit.

Ella nodded as she jumped back onto the pier, "Yes and no. We're retrieving the bodies and giving them last rights."

"What?! These are Christians you're picking up! They don't need your pagan rituals! Don't you dare insult their memories like that!" Sgt. Heimdolf looked livid. He must've missed the part where Liam said they were going to be conducting rituals for Hades.

Ella's fur instantly bristled and a fierce growl rose out of her throat, but Liam put a paw on her arm as he spoke to the rabbit, "It is our duty to offer prayers and guidance to the afterlife. You may join us and offer your own, should you wish, it will not insult Hades or Hermes. Nor should your god be insulted when sincere prayers are offered for the deceased to find their way to whatever afterlife awaits them. Do Christians not offer their own version of last rights to the bodies of the deceased, no matter to whom it belonged in life? Do you not think I might be tremendously insulted to have one such as you praying over me on my death, considering how poorly I think of your leader and your religion? Yet I actually would not, some things go beyond religion, politics, and other divisions. Respect for the dead is one. Say your prayers with us or do not, just do not tell me that I am not to offer my respect for the dead."

Sgt. Heimdolf looked at the small rottweiler with narrowed eyes and his long ears rotated and twitched to track each clank of the chains or rustle of the coverings. He looked at Nathanial, then back to Liam, "Fine. I'll go with you. I just don't know what you guys have against the Inquisitor, you magic types have been killing us off for ages before the Knights Templar came around to protect us."

Liam's eyes narrowed, Nathanial could see his paws twitching as his muscles quivered all over his body, "What I have against the Inquisitor is his self-righteous arrogance, his utter disregard for the sanctity of life, his thirst for blood and suffering, the manner in which he so blithely treats all those around him as mere pawns in his schemes, and his blind hatred for all things magical. Even 'magic types' have feelings, emotions, hopes, dreams, fears, whatever bloody measurement you wish to use to determine who is 'worth' moral conduct and basic respect! Your Inquisitor does not care, he did not care to even treat those sharing the same 'type' as his followers with basic decency when he invaded South America, nor those who disagreed with his religious views in Spain. He murdered..." Liam cut himself off with a deep growl, "It matters not. He is vile and reprehensible; should you see who he truly is, you would find yourself in agreement with me. Also, magic types have been killing magic types, non-magic killing non-magic, and any other combination of murder you can think of since there were creatures to kill and be killed. Do not use that as an excuse to perpetuate the killing, there are other options. As you should sincerely hope, considering whose company you are now in."

Sgt. Heimdolf seemed startled at first, but he recovered and met Liam's venomous gaze with his own glower, "So you think we should try to live in peace and harmony, like some hippy Lennon fan? Some creatures can't, or do you think vampires can be tamed?"

Liam arched an eyebrow, "Lennon? As in the musician from the fifties and sixties? Their music was tolerable, not to my taste. I am not a fan, but yes, the sentiment was laudable. Drugs are not the manner in which to reach an enlightened state, however. Yes, vampires can live in peace with others, and do. They merely require regular access to blood to remain sane, it need not always be from a sentient, nor does it ever have to be taken directly from the body. A blood bank would suit the requirement just fine. This does not mean that all vampires wish to live in peace, and those must be treated in whatever manner is necessary."

"Those murdering, blood sucking, demons?"

He was cut off by Conor, "Enough! It's a school night and the pups need to get home! We have a huge harbour to cover, and very little time. You three get on board your boat, and the rest of us follow me." He stormed off to the passenger boat and climbed aboard before muttering, "I pity the Agent." Nathanial could hear Sgt. Heimdolf and Liam bickering as they climbed into their boat.

Liam knelt on the gently rolling deck, and began chanting in a strange language. The fog around him began glowing a pale blue-green before spreading out to cover the boat. The incense sticks sparkled for a moment, then began releasing small trailers of smoke. The torches suddenly flared to life on both boats, glowing brightly with the same ethereal colour as the fog. The fog slowly began fading to its normal colour, but the boats still had faint flickers of light appear on them from the torches. They seemed to provide very little light, but it covered a much larger area. Liam's voice carried across the fog, "Let us begin."

"Souls of the damned now departing..." The corpse boat called.

"Departing for the Underworld..." Responded the passenger boat. The chains rattled ominously as the oars of the boats pushed them away from the pier, then cut into the water and pulled them forward. Micah squeaked in excitement and scampered forward to climb onto the prow of the boat. Nicholas swayed as the boats began moving out past the protective breakwater and out into the open water of the Eastern Passage. While the water wasn't as rough as it would be outside of the harbour, or even on the west side of the island, it still had metre high (three foot) waves. The passenger boat took the lead, "Set course..."

"For your doom..."

Nathanial stared at Micah and shook his head, what was he thinking when he chose the dialogue for these things, or did he choose? "Turn right, head around the island. We'll circle it before heading to Point Pleasant Park." The fog was too thick to see much, but they could see the flickers of light from the lighthouse and the mournful calls of the foghorn. Nathanial could get glimpses of the wind stunted trees on the island, and see the waves curl and crash on the rocky shores. Little noise penetrated the fog, otherwise. The two boats may as well be thousands of miles from civilization, if it wasn't for the reassuring glimpses of light from the lighthouse. "You guys can manifest if you want. Sgt. Heimdolf can't see you or hear you."

The four of them smiled and manifest; Faelen and Geoff vanished from his natural sight, Dirk looked like he belonged on the 'vessel of the damned', and Conor... was scary. The power radiating off him from this much water was incredible. Only a fool would cause trouble with two Agents and four super charged Spirits around. Dirk took off his jacket and shirt, revealing his breastplate and armguards, Nicholas looked like he started to drool. Conor drew up a large globe of water and began spinning it around the boat, "It's your show, Nathanial, you should get started."

Nathanial nodded and focused his magic, he carefully cast Corpse Candle and released it, not letting it 'assemble' itself like his magic did when he cast the Binding Tentacles. A faint blue-green light, similar to the torches Liam lit, spread across the boats and flickered in the eye sockets of the figureheads, before fading as it spread even farther out. It seemed to work perfectly but it didn't pick up anything. He looked at Conor, "Why did you want to come, Conor?"

The Spirit looked a little surprised, "Well, first off, Geoff and Faelen wouldn't let you go alone, and the open harbour like this seems a little dangerous, especially once you said a Knight knew of your plans. Second, I'd have to be insane to miss a chance to come out on a boat ride like this. I just wish we were going farther out." The globe of water stretched itself out into a Chinese dragon shape and began dancing around. Jay seemed impressed by the display and the power radiating off the Spirit.

Fifteen minutes later, Snow appeared on the boat, huddled right in the middle. He looked a little annoyed. Nathanial looked around, Garret was sitting close to the bow, keeping an eye on Micah who was perched on the skull of the 'skeleton'. Micah squealed and laughed each time the boat hit a larger wave. Nicholas was sitting near the centre, watching Dirk, who was pacing up and down the centre of the boat as he kept as much of an eye as he could on the surroundings. Conor was standing at the stern, playing with the water. Jay sat opposite Nicholas, watching everyone. Geoff and Faelen were hidden from sight, but Geoff was just out of arm's reach from him, on the left side of the boat, and kept switching between looking toward McNabs Island and Nathanial. Faelen was keeping a close eye on Liam's boat, Geoff, and the surroundings. Nathanial was close to the bow and on the left of the boat. "Dirk, be careful, Snow is in the middle of the boat, try not to trip on him." He cast the spell again, the boat was moving far faster than he expected, they were already starting to head back around the island toward the Atlantic. He got a faint signal from a body farther out in the channel. The water was far deeper here, the space between the island and shore was also greater, making this the primary route into the harbour for commercial vessels. No other ships were detected at the moment. "Vessel of the damned, change course, heading 050. Engage."

"Lost soul has been found..." "Hades have mercy on the lost..." The chains rattled and clanked loudly as the boats turned to the right sharply.

Micah's laughter rang out through the fog as the boat leaned from the sudden course correction, "Doom! Souls wandering through black fog of the hells! Bwahahahaha!" Garret smiled fondly as he rolled his eyes.

*Are you upset, Snow?* Snow raised his head to look at Nathanial, then turned around to face the other direction. Nathanial called out to the boats to stop as they approached the location of the body, then spoke to Snow again as he walked toward the large dog, *Why are you angry at me?*

Snow crawled toward the stern when Nathanial reached out to him, stopping outside of arm's reach, *We were not invited for this trip. Everyone else was.*

Nathanial was stunned, he really didn't know what to think, or how to take Snow's sulky tone, "Oh." He stayed blank for a few more seconds, *I'm sorry. I... didn't think about it, I never needed to invite you before, but I should have asked. I didn't think you'd enjoy it, you didn't like swimming, so I didn't think you'd like going on boats, either. I... also thought you'd know I like your company, I'm kinda part of you, aren't I? Forgive me?*

Snow's tail thumped a few times, *Maybe. The rabbit finds this scary, we are amused. He tries to forget his fear by angering the Ancient One, the Ancient One angers easily, scaring the female. We may visit that boat for a time.* He raised himself halfway up, then dropped as the boat rocked, *We don't like boats.*

Nathanial rubbed his flank then cast the Corpse Candle again. The torches flickered and flared more brightly, Nathanial could sense three bodies nearby, within easy reach of the second spell. He sent his mind over to Liam, *Three bodies nearby. I'm casting the Reveille spell.*

*Very good, but remember that the spell draws them to you, not a location of your choice. If that is the means by which you will retrieve the bodies, you must be over here.* Liam motioned the two law enforcement personnel away from the edge of the ship.

Nathanial nodded, then remembered Liam couldn't see him, *Right. It'll be easier, I think, to do it this way.* He looked at Geoff, "I'm popping over to the other boat for a minute."

Geoff nodded, "Seems like a waste of magic if you're going to be casting a lot of spells tonight, let me make a bridge for you." Geoff closed his eyes and focused, Nathanial could see the darkness between the two boats fold in that weird way of his and a bridge appeared between them. Jay nodded in approval as he fiddled with his glasses.

Nathanial smiled and stepped up to his boyfriend, "Thanks. You're getting a lot better at that, thank you for thinking of me." He gave the wolf a hug and a quick kiss, before whispering, "There are three bodies below us, I'm trying a new spell. Please be alert in case it doesn't work right, watch out for my family."

Faelen frowned, "We will, but if it's risky perhaps you should look at other options." Geoff nodded in agreement.

Nathanial shrugged, "I'll be careful, but, well, I worry about them. It's an unnecessary caution, but don't tell me you would be any less cautious over Geoff's safety."

Faelen chuckled at that, "That's why I was wondering about other options. Go on, I'll keep an eye on everyone and warn Da and Jay, too." The fog horn blared out it's mournful call as Nathanial stepped onto the narrow bridge. He could hear the waves crashing against the rocks in the distance, and he could barely see the water rolling beneath him, almost brushing his ephemeral path. Below the surface, far, far down lay the corpses awaiting his call. He felt the life energy of the fish darting about in the impenetrable gloom of the salt water, dodging around the trailing tendrils of a swarm of jellyfish, yet it was the aura of death that seemed to call to him. His hindpaws nearly slipped on the soaked surface, drawing his attention back to the water's surface, and he hastened along his way to reach the other boat.

*I'm across Geoff, I shouldn't be long. Thank you.* He tried to send over his feelings of affection, and saw Geoff blush and scuff the deck. Nathanial trotted over to Liam, who stood in the centre of the boat. The incense was still burning, it was about an eighth of the way down and it seemed to create a dome over the sarcophagi. The mist was thinner, the air seemed a little cooler and drier, and it smelt like cedar and rose petals along with the sea air. Liam nodded to him, so Nathanial put his paws together as he gathered the energy for the spell. He closed his eyes and carefully chanted the words, focused on weaving the spell precisely. The torches shone a little more brightly as he went, and flared even more brightly as he finished and released the spell. The two ships began to sing, the sound of bagpipes and drums rolled out of the fog and echoed through the water. Nathanial could feel it spreading out into the distance. The reveille passed over the closest corpse, the Corpse Candle spell reacted with it, harmlessly, Nathanial thought. The phosphorescent glow faded over the outside of the body and moved into the eyes and mouth, before the body rose from the seafloor. It began walking up through the water like it was climbing a staircase; it didn't shuffle like a zombie, but moved with precision, like a young soldier heading out for drill. Nathanial tipped his head; okay, maybe a stereotypical soldier, he had to assume some of them dragged their asses in the morning like any other person. The song reached the next two corpses, with the same result, and kept going. On the other boat he saw Micah was no longer perched on the boat's prow, but was curled against Garret with his silver eyes reflecting the torchlight as he stared unblinkingly out into the gloom. Nicholas was also sitting nearby, he looked like he wanted to curl against his dad, but he was trying to look cool in front of Faelen and Dirk. He was still fingering his choker nervously. Geoff was standing a bit behind Faelen in the middle of the boat, away from the edge, both were on guard, as were Dirk and Conor on the other side. Jay took a position in the stern.

Geoff turned to Garret, "Mr. Marks, could you move to the middle of the boat, between Da and me, please." Garret hesitated only for a split second before picking up Micah and moving over toward Conor. He moved tentatively, since he couldn't really see well.

The spell still echoed through the fog and water, it was covering nearly twice the volume the spell indicated. The first body was approaching the surface, so Nathanial pointed towards it. Liam nodded and stepped forward, the other two stepped away, glanced at each other, and held their positions. He could see them gulp nervously. Ella's tail was twitching and her fur was puffed straight out. Nathanial saw a pale glow rising up in one of the waves, then the head of a crocodile appeared, shedding water from it's decomposing surface. Pale green light shone in his empty eye sockets and poked out from between his teeth. He opened his mouth and began singing along with the two vessels of the damned, each beat carrying him a step closer toward them. Nathanial could see an ugly bruise along his neck, just above the Hunter medallion, where he had been strangled by a Wii nunchuk. This was one of his victims. He put a paw to his stomach as it heaved, then closed his eyes. He could 'see' just as well this way, but it seemed to provide a feeling of disconnect, like watching it on TV.

"Our Father, who art in heaven, blessed be thy name..." Sgt. Heimdolf staggered back, paws clasped together in front of him, as he began to chant the Lord's Prayer.

Ella was also terrified, she placed a shield around her, the purple shell sparkled in the glow of the torches. She had the holy symbol of Athena clutched in her paws, "Lady Athena, give me courage."

The spell found a fourth corpse, it, too, began the journey up from the depths. The crocodile began to climb the ladder, his sword clanked against some of the chains as he went, but fortunately the enchantment on it had long expired. The bloated, waterlogged, corpse squelched as he stepped onto the deck. Nathanial pointed to the closest sarcophagus, "There. Climb in and find your rest."

"Nathanial... Marks..." He burbled as water spilled out of his mouth, his scaled hand twitched toward his sword.

Liam stepped forward, "Wayward soul, your fight is over. Climb into the sarcophagus and rest. Your spirit will be released to find its way to the afterlife, find your place in Hades' realm." The Hunter didn't move immediately, but did eventually climb in, leaving a trail of fetid water on the deck. Ella leaned over the rail as she emptied her stomach. Nathanial felt his own stomach roll over, again. Liam picked up two copper discs and placed them over the corpse's eyes, "Agent, if you would." Ella retched again, "Or not. I shall assist you in a minute, once I have sent the soul onward." Liam began chanting, two barely visible streams of mist began rising from the copper discs, and gathered into a ball over the body. It took less than a minute before the ball of mist shifted and took on the ghostly shape of the body below it, "Spirit of the fallen, your time amongst the living is over. Hermes has arrived to guide you to the Underworld, follow, and find your place in Hades' realm."

The crocodile looked down on its body in shock, "I-I'm dead?" It, he, looked around, the shimmering globe of Ella's shield seemed to draw his eyes first, before they slid to the rabbit beside her. "Lars? Where am I? What happened?"

Sgt. Heimdolf lowered his head, then took off his police hat to rub the base of his ears, "Ali, you died. You went on a fool's errand, believing that murdering pups was a good thing, and paid for it. You don't belong here anymore. Go. May God have mercy on your soul, and may Jesus forgive you of your sins."

Ali hung his head in despair, "I... remember, Pastor Yuke took a bunch of us on a retreat, the newer class of Hunters, and... then we came back. We were supposed to fetch someone, someone important... Nathanial Marks, he was... No, he wasn't, it was." The crocodile flickered and faded, "It is my time, isn't it?" The ghost of Ali faded away with a soft sigh, two copper discs in his hand.

Liam walked over to Ella and gently pressed the pads of his paw on her back. She straightened up, then wiped her mouth with a tissue, before turning around, "Thanks." The next two corpses breached the surface and began walking toward the boat, neither wore Hunters crosses and passed on peacefully. The song had reached it's limit, Nathanial checked his map, with eyes still closed, and saw that only a small area of McNabs was left. Maybe a third of it was left, and almost all of Lawlor Island on the southern end of the Eastern Passage, but he marked that whole area as a very low likelihood of success, most of it was below five percent. The spell had even covered Point Pleasant Park, but he'd cast the Corpse Candle spell again as they got closer and sailed along the Halifax side of the harbour. So, they just needed to wait for the last corpse.

The last corpse was brought on board with no incident. Conor had detected a cruise ship starting into the Harbour, which would have prevented them from easily circling around McNabs, but they simply followed Nathanial's plan and went toward the Bedford Basin staying relatively close to the Halifax side of the harbour. They were passing under the McDonald Bridge, and approaching the Stadacona Naval Base, when he went to cast his Corpse Candle spell again. It was his... umpteenth time this evening and he must've been a little careless, because it went farther than the rest, reaching both shores and passing up into the city on either side. It was also far less discriminatory, leaving sparkles across the surface of the water, gently illuminating the corpses of all the dead, from small organisms like worms, to the dozen corpses of Furs. It also seemed to glow deeply in the eye sockets of the figureheads. The sheer quantity of death surrounding him, all clamouring for his attention at once, brought Nathanial to his knees. Geoff wrapped his arms around him, "Hey, pup, what's wrong? The spell seems to have gone a bit wrong, did it hurt you?"

Nathanial took some deep breaths and tried to fix the spell, so it only showed him the Furs, "It... so much death. It's picking up everything, rats, birds, fish, everything. Trying to tone it down." He managed to eliminate the invertebrates when he noticed that the less the spell detected, the weaker the other sources of death appeared. It was as if the spell was more powerful, more precise, the more corpses it affected. If that was the case, could he super charge Ghost Galleon by altering it to affect all dead things? Not just sentients? He smiled. If he could, it wouldn't matter if CFB Stadacona was on alert or not. Or even if CFB Shearwater scrambled their fighters. He could lay waste to the entire city with a pawful of ships, and the more that died in his attacks, the more ships he could make. The more powerful ships. An entire armada of galleons, each as powerful as a modern frigate, maybe more so. A city of three hundred thousand turned into an undead navy... "The world could be mine!"

He felt Geoff tense up, "What?" Everyone was staring at him. Snow's tail was wagging rapidly as the large mastiff panted happily.

"The dead shall rise..." "The dead shall rule..." The two boats intoned, individually, before calling out together, "All hail the Emperor Marks, Admiral of the Undead Navy!"

Geoff let Nathanial go and backed up a little, "Uh... Nathanial? Wh-what are they talking about?"

There was a soft thump as Liam jumped on board, "Nathanial, you were not considering using that Ghost Galleon spell as a weapon, were you? Even the creators of the spell only used it defensively, and intended its use to remain thus. Furthermore, I have never understood the desire for global domination. What use would it be? You would live your entire life in fear of it being taken away. The more possessions one has, the more one fears their loss. Should you possess all, the only thing you would truly possess is fear."

Nathanial shook his head, embarrassed, "No, the only thing I want is my family, my love, my friends, and peace. Money is nice, I'd really miss it if it was gone, but those four are what I want. I was thinking about the spells, and how it looks possible to alter the Ghost Galleon spell," Jay's jaw dropped and he seemed to pale under his black fur, "to make it more powerful. I think I could make it so a single ship would rival a modern naval vessel, but it was idle speculation."

"B-bro... Ghost Galleon? I heard about that spell, it's expert level. If you royally screwed up Binding Tentacles and trashed the warded testing room, don't cast that spell. It's super picky and can really put a downer on your day."

Nathanial nodded, "Yeah, I memorized it; I think I can cast it without my grimoire, but I brought it anyway." He frowned, "I didn't screw up Binding Tentacles, really, I made them stronger. Uh, just too strong and lost control of them. They worked fine and were quickly destroying everything in sight, including the Mage Shield spell the testers made." He ducked his head, "I, um, guess that kinda counts as screwing up, eh?" He stood up, "Well, I found twelve corpses, we better get over there and send them to the Underworld."

Garret looked at Micah, "It's getting late, Nathanial, we should wrap up after this one. Micah needs to get to bed."

Micah put his paws on his hips as he balanced on the head of the skeleton shaped figurehead and scowled at Garret. Nathanial shook his head with a grin, "Nah, Micah needs less sleep than just about anyone here. I'm the one that needs to get to bed soon; I think only Faelen and I, maybe not even Faelen, need a regular full night's sleep. I'm sure I'll be able to sleep better knowing that Ahmed will be able to have his funeral. Maybe sleep without dreams."

Liam put his paw on Nathanial's arm, "Indeed, you will dream regardless, but may it be ordinary, restful, dreams. Let us go and see if Ms. Gomeche lies below." He was about to hop over the railing to the black water below, when he stopped, "You are making a bridge, again, Geoff? If so, I shall conserve my chi."

Jay tipped his head, "How'd you get over here, bro? I didn't notice when you hopped aboard."

Liam shrugged, while Geoff worked on the bridge, "I walked."

"Like how? On the water?" Liam nodded. Jay smiled, "Righteous, bro!" He laughed at his own wording, "Too right, like some modern day messiah! Didn't mean it like that when I said it, but, hey. Gotta see you do that some time. When you have more chi." The bridge formed and Liam hopped up and ran across, completely at ease. Nathanial followed a little slower. The ships were much closer this time, only a dozen paces apart.

Sgt. Heimdolf was looking at Liam and Nathanial with a leery expression, "You... walked on water, Smith? You said you weren't a magic type. What are you?"

Liam arched an eyebrow, "I never said I was, or was not, a magical entity. I am a Monk, as you are a Knight. Some of your more skilled members use techniques stolen from us, via a traitor, that is merely one technique that has not been compromised and remains solely in the paws of those worthy of using it."

Sgt. Heimdolf seemed to swell in anger before he bit his tongue, turning to Nathanial, "What was that 'Emperor Marks' thing, pup? You going all Napoleon on us?"

Nathanial shook his head, "No. I think I could, though. I figured out a way of altering an expert level spell to make it more powerful. I probably could make a fleet of ships in a few minutes capable of destroying the military stationed here. No point in it, though. Like Liam said, why would I want to conquer the world?" Ella and Sgt. Heimdolf looked at each other as they stepped back from the dogs, then looked back at Nathanial.

Ella spoke hesitantly, "You... know an expert level spell, and modified it? It works?"

Nathanial shrugged, affecting indifference, "I don't know. I never cast the normal version of it, but it feels right in my head. If it works, it works, if not, what could go wrong?" The smell of their fear was exquisite, but Nathanial shook his head, trying to keep it clear, "It's late and there are twelve bodies in the area, so let's get this started."

"Calling the dead..." "The emperor summons..."

Nathanial snorted, "I'm not an emperor and I don't want to become one. Shut up and sing." He began casting Macabre Reveille as he stepped to the middle of the boat. It may have been fatigue or the effects of the wayward Corpse Candle spell, but he had to strain to keep the spell contained. It seemed to fight him as he cast, wanting to draw on more and more power to go farther and affect more creatures.

"Call them all..." "Let them wake..." "The dead are restless..." "The..."

Liam cut them off, "Silence! You will speak no more!" The torches flared and the lights lingering in the figureheads was drawn out and consumed by the fire. Nathanial relaxed as his spell stopped fighting him. He released it and it spread out, covering the precise area described in the spell. He fell to his knees, panting. Liam placed his paw on Nathanial's shoulder, "What happened?"

Nathanial shook his head, "The spells and the ships, maybe even your torches and whatnot, were interfering with each other. They seemed to be amplifying the power of the other and just spiralling up and out of control. You'd have to ask Agent Jay or Agent Ella, if her glasses were picking this up."

The panther shook her head, "No, I had to turn them off. The ritual Smith-sensei used to call on Hades' blessing... well, I didn't think it appropriate to look at the Lord of the Underworld's spell work."

Nathanial tilted his head, "I don't see anything, I don't even sense anything like I do with Fey or Demon magic. I can even tell when someone is using chi, but I get nothing from this." The first corpse rose out of the water, it had barely any flesh on it, but there was still a few scraps of cloth. He could tell Ella was getting a bit nauseated again, and he felt a little queasy, too. He closed his eyes, and just looked with his ESP. His stomach settled down, quickly, and he directed the near-skeleton to a sarcophagus. Two more bodies were already boarding, so he spent the next few minutes directing them and the following corpses to their places. Ella recovered enough to help give the last rights. Nathanial was pretty happy, he found all of the Hunters, now, except two. Jezebel was one of them, but three more corpses were still on their way. He waited, patiently. It was another three minutes for the last cluster to reach the boat, but when he sensed who two of them were, he felt like cheering. It was Jezebel and the other Hunter, the third person seemed a bit familiar, too. "It's Jezebel and the other Hunter. Plus one more. I feel like I should know the last one, but I can't place it."

Sgt. Heimdolf shrugged, "With the body we can run tests to see if it matches the missing person's reports. It was probably a suicide. And she preferred to be called Jocelyn, she hated the name Jezebel."

Nathanial snapped his fingers, "Yes, that's where I saw it. Him. Donny Markham, went missing last month, male, fourteen, last seen downtown Dartmouth." He glanced back at the other boat, "Man, his poor family. I don't know if I could take it if Nick vanished like that, and to have him turn up like this..."

Liam tipped his head, "Her name was Jezebel, that is how Mr. Gomeche referred to her. That is how we think of her." The two Hunters began climbing on board, "Here and here." He directed the two bodies to their places. Liam placed the coins and began chanting, with Ella following along. Jezebel's ghost formed over her body, as did her companion's, so Liam repeated his dismissal, "Spirit of the fallen, your time amongst the living is over. Hermes has arrived to guide you to the Underworld, follow, and find your place in Hades' realm."

Like the crocodile, the Hunters looked around, Jezebel noticed Nathanial immediately, "You! You did this to me!"

Nathanial cringed and nodded, "Yes, I killed you, but you left me no choice. You tried to kill my family!" Snow appeared beside him and growled at the apparitions.

"What does your family matter? Demons, the lot of you! Your brother isn't even a proper one, he's a Changeling. Hellspawn! And you, you aren't even that."

She lunged at him, but Liam stepped between them and grabbed her arm with his flame-wrapped paw. The blue fire burned through her wrist and she dropped with a scream. Liam's eyes were full of pitiless loathing, "Do not think you are invincible, dead Hunter. You can still be killed, your soul reduced to ectoplasmic ash. Seek to harm the living again, and you shall meet that fate."

Jezebel knelt on the deck, holding the stump of her arm, her large eyes mirrored Liam's, "He's not alive, Demon spawn. He's fit only to be a sacrifice to kill all of you monsters. It's his sole reason for existing, placed here on Earth by God to give us the means of destroying all of you. He was given the form of a Fur to test our resolve, nothing more." She looked at Ella, "Agents. Pah."

Nathanial stepped forward tentatively, "Why are you so sure I'm this 'key'? Why would you even consider something so... wrong? How could your god, whom you claim is loving and good, make you do something so evil as a 'test'? What if you were given false information by Demons to do their dirty work? That'd make more sense, wouldn't it, more than a good god telling you to do evil?"

The Hunter behind her started to look doubtful, but Jezebel just laughed, "You speak with the tongue of the tempter, the Devil, monster. You betray your infernal origins by trying to fill the faithful with doubt, but it won't work! My faith is strong and unshakable. Why did you bring me here? Torture me for information? I won't talk!"

Liam smiled, a thin, evil smile, "No? I have many ways of extracting information, damned soul, and your incorporeal state just makes it easier. No less painful for you, but easier for me."

Nathanial's eyes widened, "No, Liam, don't! We, you can't do that! We're just here to get her body back and send her soul on, nothing more! Please, just let her go on."

Jezebel smirked, "Lost your stomach, if you even have one? But what use is my body to you?"

Nathanial stood and stepped forward, paws held out in a peaceful, pleading gesture, "Ahmed. He's been worried sick, wondering where you were. I wanted to let him have a funeral for you, to know for certain where you were. He'll grieve and hurt for... ever, but it's better than not knowing."

Behind the anger and hatred, a spark of pain appeared, "Ahmed. He could be such an ass. I... I wish I could've convinced him to convert, the thought of him spending eternity in Hell is so hard." She grimaced, "I bet you were too much of a coward to tell him you shot me in the back of the head while I was unarmed and lying on the floor."

Nathanial hung his head, "Yes, I was also too much of a coward to tell him you died still wanting to cut my heart out, or whatever sick things you people do. I told him you couldn't murder pups and spared my life, but that you were probably killed for failing your mission. I let him believe you died a good person. A lie, but one to spare him some grief. He's a good person, J-Jocelyn, he doesn't need to be involved in the fights of the Hidden World. Now, please, there's nothing more for you to do here. Pass on to the other side."

"Not without you!" She suddenly turned and tried to fly toward the city, "I'll tell him th..." She broke off as she hit the edge of the area covered by the incense, stopped in her tracks.

Liam snorted, "Did you think I would not anticipate such a response? This is not the first time I had to coax souls to accept their fate. Do not force me to make you enter the Underworld, it is highly unpleasant, for you, and is counted against you when you face judgement.

The other Hunter lowered his head, "He's right, Josie, the dead shouldn't interfere with the living. Or do you want to become the very monsters we hunted in life? Let's go. We can wait for our loved ones over there." He held out a paw, then looked up at something Nathanial couldn't see and faded away.

Jezebel snorted, but stood up in resignation, "I look forward to your eventual sacrifice, monster, and the death of all the Demons and their spawn. I hope you can feel pain, and suffer through the whole ritual." She faded away with her hate-filled eyes locked on Nathanial's.