182 The Szépasszony Cumulonimbus

The windows shuttered and hail hit the solid hull of the ship. To Macha, it sounded as if a team of baseball players decided to use their ship as target practice, throwing baseballs at them from outside.

The weather caused the airship to rock from side to side. It was so bad that every so often Macha would be thrown out of her seat. The movements and the loud barrage of noise made it difficult for her to keep her food down. She placed a hand on her chest and closed her eyes, trying to focus on settling her stomach. As she did this, the ship shuddered, and she bounced a hand's width off of her chair.

Upon catching her from hitting the floor, Tyr became worried. Macha's face was pale, and a cold sweat shone on her pitiful face. He laid her down in the bed and rushed out of the room to speak with the Captain.

As he got on deck he ordered, "Take us above the clouds to see if we can get out of the turbulence. She can't handle it."

To the Captain, the weather was normal, but if Lord Valois's woman could not deal with it, then he needed to make the ride more comfortable. His earlier decision to stay lower was because he did not want the two to argue about how cold it was above the clouds.

After he flew higher, the temperature became considerably colder.

A little while later, Macha came out of the cabin. She needed fresh air to help settle her stomach. She dressed in the many layers that Tyr had given her. Even in the bedroom, she felt the severe drop in temperature, so she knew the deck would be much worse.

Tyr was pleased that she looked a little better. Her cheeks were rosier and her face was not pinched with discomfort. As he wrapped his arms around her, the First Mate ran to a large bell that hung behind the Captain's wheel.

She yelled, "Lord Valois, please return to your cabin!" Her voice boomed full of authority when she turned to the other crew members, "Get below! Go, go, go."

All the men abandoned any task they were doing and scurried below as she began to ring the bells. The crew pulled Tyr with them, with an obvious look of terror in their eyes.

It happened so quickly that Macha had been left with the other female members on the deck. In a blink of an eye, Tyr had been ripped away from her and carried below with the other men. As she looked around, she did not understand why everyone seemed so disturbed. There was nothing that would cause her to be alarmed.

CLANG CLANG CLANG

The narrow halls were cramped and a flurry of shouting filled the corridor. All the women below the deck pushed past the men and hurried to assist the First Mate.

The men stayed in the hallway and the ship's Captain shouted orders, "Cover the portholes and draw those curtains! Hurry up with that!"

The men quickly scurried about, fulfilling the man's orders.

"Close the doors and put the barricades on them. I don't want anything possibly coming in."

The doors slammed shut one after another.

While they stood in the darkness, the men lit the light crystals which hung around their neck. The cold blue lights illuminated the cramped corridor. Despite the hallway offering very little room, an obvious ring surrounding the Captain and Tyr. Even though they were in a crisis, the crew did not want to make Lord Valois irritable by invading his personal space.

Tyr's icy green eyes turned to the Captain, "What's going on? Is Macha in danger?" His question dripped heavily with hostility and sounded more like a threat.

He needed to know if he should be with her or not. The only reason he let himself be spirited away was that the men looked terrified. As far as he recognized, it would only be reasonable to assume that they would have taken Macha with them if she was possibly at risk of being hurt.

The Captain was a boyish-looking lad who's position did not match his face. His dull light-brown hair made his teal eyes stand out.

The young man shook his head, "Lady Swat should be fine. I'm not sure if you noticed, but there was a cloud approaching us. At this elevation, there shouldn't be any clouds. That means it could possibly be a Szépasszony Cumulonimbus."

While Tyr fought many monsters throughout his life, he did not remember what a Szépasszony Cumulonimbus was.

His brows furrowed with irritation, "And what is that? Forgive me, but I do not recall what that is."

One crewmate interrupted, his voice shook with fear, "I-i-it's a-a-a cloud that brings devilish women wh-who seduce you off the s-side."

The Captain nodded, "They wear white dresses and appear pure, but that hides their demonic intentions. When you get close, their hair and nails latch onto you and pull you overboard to your death."

Murmurs of agreement sounded throughout the hallway. All the men were terrified of the cloud and had known a comrade or two who did not make it below deck in time. It was one of the biggest reasons female sailors were so highly sought after to work on airships.

Tyr looked up at the ceiling and hoped Macha would be all right. His jaw clenched, debating whether he should risk going up there.

He gave a heavy sigh, "You are certain Macha will be taken care of?"

The Captain nodded furiously. "Lord Valois, please do not fret. Lady Swat can easily go to her cabin and be safe from the danger. The evil seductresses cannot come onto the ship unless invited."

Hearing the Captain's confidence eased the uncertainty in Tyr's heart. His mother employed these people, so they would have been some of the best that Marseille had to offer. Although he wanted to go up to be with her, he would not risk fighting something like that when the Captain assured him that Macha would be fine.

****

Above deck, the First Mate let go of the warning bell. One of the women tossed a firewand to her. She caught it while running up to Macha.

The situation was quickly becoming dangerous, and she needed to get Lord Valois's woman off of the deck, "Lady Swat, please retire to your cabin. Let nothing in. We will take care of the situation and inform you when it is safe to leave the comfort of your room."

All the women were picking up weapons from the chests that lined the deck. Macha's eyes surveyed the scene, "I can assist you if you'd like. I do know how to fight a bit."

The First Mate's eyes grew round with terror, "No, I beseech you. Lord Valois would have all our heads if anything were to ever happen to you. Please go inside and stay safe. This is our job and we do not want our passengers to be in danger."

She bowed deeply, pleading for Lady Swat to leave the deck. There was not much time, and she liked having this job because it paid well.

Macha nodded, "All right. If you need me, please let me know."

The women around them stood, awaiting the First Mate's orders, so Macha did not want to impede their efforts. She hurried to the bedroom and locked the door.

After taking off the many layers of wool and fur, Macha sat near the false fireplace that they had in their cabin. It did not burn wood but created heat and flames just like a real fireplace. It was the same sort of heater that Tyr had installed in their new apartment.

She turned her back to the flames so she could warm her backside. Looking out of the window, she spotted a tall towering cloud approaching. It had a flat base and an anvil-like top.

She closed her eyes to enjoy the pleasant heat that soaked into her chilly bones. Even with the ridiculous amount of layers, she had still been cold on the deck.

While her eyes were closed, she thought she heard the sound of women singing. She opened her lids and looked towards the door. There were many women on the ship and she wondered if they were doing a performance on deck.

Suddenly a scratching sound came from the window that caused Macha to snap her head in that direction.