Mermaid Pirate Dispatch

I stood in the doorway of their drinking place. A high, red sun shone through the feathers of my ceremonial shawl, casting a magnificent shadow on their dusty wooden floor.

“It’s him!” a woman’s voice shrieked.

I clutched the divine tomahawk firmly, feeling its trembling energy soak into my palm. The axe head shimmered with a holy blue light, the same light that my ancestors said would anoint the messenger of God.

“Leave,” I said. “Board your great metal vessels and return to the stars. This land belongs to my people.”

The one they called sheriff slowly reached a hand toward the beam weapon strapped to his thigh. My grip on the tomahawk tightened and its tingling heat surged through my arm.

“Listen here partner,” he said. His fingers twitched. “This here planet was terraformed eons ago so we could come settle.”

“My people purified the air and planted the trees. It is our land. You must go, or you will die.”

“Listen chief,” the man said calmly. But he was preparing a deception. His fingers closed around the handle of his own weapon.

A blast of energy exploded from the glowing tomahawk head as I focused its power and instantly moved to a position behind the lying man. I swiftly pulled the blade into his throat, feeling it sink deep into the tough cartilage and flesh of his neck. He made a choking, gurgling sound and I leaned in close to his ear. “This is our land,” I growled.