by Lisa Daniels
“You will pay for this foreigner! Do you have any idea who I am!” Stinton’s face was red with anger, but pain soon covered his face as he tumbled over, his leg apparently injured from being thrown across the room.
“You are an insignificant human who is puffed up like a boil that is ready to burst. It is always best to fix these things before they reach this point, but I will take great pleasure in fixing this now.”
Stinton pressed his back against the wall, indignation covering his face, “Of course I'm a human! I’m from one of the longest lines of nobility in all of Volsci! I will have you-” suddenly the man stopped and the color drained from his face. “Wait! You aren’t human?” The tone of his voice was entirely different as the meaning began to sink in. “Are you a wizard then? One of those horrid-”
Kerensa could not see the look on Heath’s face, but from the way he spoke, she could imagine that he was smiling. His movements were fluid and calm, but she could see his muscles tensed up. It reminded her of the descriptions she had read of some of the larger beasts as they stalked their prey. “No, no, I am not the type to rely on magic to do what needs to be done. You see, I am from the place that you call Vetitum. One word from me, and your entire pathetic nation will be nothing more than a lesson on the dangers of improper breeding and education. But don’t worry, I am not vengeful, just protective.” His posture suggested Heath was relaxed, but from her angle, Kerensa could see his muscles bunching up as if he were preparing to strike.
Stinton was either dumber than she realized or there was nothing obvious in Heath’s stance to let the man know that he was in trouble. Instead of feeling afraid, Stinton’s shoulders sagged a little in relief, “Thank the gods. I am sorry for messing with one of your things. If I would have realized who you were, I-”
Heath stepped closer to the man and lifted him easily by the front of his shirt, “You did not mess with anything that is mine. Velius is his own man, and the fact that you cannot understand that proves my point.” As if he were holding a pillow, Heath pulled the man back and slammed him against the wall. Even from across the room, Kerensa could hear the wind leave Stinton’s lungs. The words about how he taught came back to her.
If a student does not learn to my satisfaction, I tend to lose faith in instructing using the more traditional methods. You could say that I can be downright scary when I get bored or bothered.
Watching the shifter, she began to understand what he meant. Though he was doing it for her, Kerensa felt a hint of fear as Heath continued his lesson.
The shifter’s voice was low and threatening when he spoke again, his hand never leaving the man’s shirt, “Right now he is simply under my care as I have every desire to see his research end in success. You see, where I am from, intelligence is something to be revered, not blood and brute strength. Since you are clearly an obstacle to what my friend here is trying to do, I think that we need to remove you from being a potential problem in the future.”
The man closed his eyes tight, believing that the foreigner was about to kill him. Suddenly, the entire ship shook, and even Heath staggered. Still, he did not loosen his grip on the man.
“Aeolians!” Kerensa watched as the shifter turned and looked out the window. Without another word, Heath dropped the man and rushed over to Kerensa. As Heath began to try to dress her wound, Stinton took the opportunity to run out of the door.
Heath tried to steady himself as the ship lurched again.
Kerensa’s mind shifted just as rapidly as Heath’s, “You said that before. What are Aeolians?”
Heath looked over at her, “I said something about Aeolian?’
Kerensa nodded.
“That was what I forgot. Oh gods, Velius, I am so sorry. We have to get you out of here as quickly as possible. This ship is not prepared for an attack, and I will be very surprised if it’s still afloat in 10 minutes.”
“What are Aeolians?” Her mind was racing as she looked at Heath’s worried face. “Are they some kind of pirate?”
“Good gods, this is bad,” he muttered moving quickly over to Kerensa. His hands were remarkably fast as he took care of her newest wound. He finished just as the ship lurched again. Unlike the first attack on us as they left Berenice, these movements were more violent and frequent. What had felt like very unsteady waves before now felt like someone was hitting the ship with a battering ram.
Heath took a coat from a hook and wrapped Kerensa in it before picking her up. “I want to ask if you’re alright, but one look at you and that is the answer. What I have done will have to be enough for the time being.” His eyes were full of concern as he looked down at her in his arms.
Suddenly Chadwick appeared in the door, “My lady! We have to get to the rafts! There is a hole in the ship!”
Chapter 7
A Dangerous Decoy
There was a look of relieve on Heath’s face once Chadwick appeared. “Just the man I want to see. Come Chadwick.”
A strange look crossed Chadwick’s face as Heath strode past him with Kerensa in his arms. More than a decade of listening to such a commanding voice caused the servant’s feet to react before he knew what he was doing. Heath’s face turned to the side as he strode forward, “Do you know where the captain is?”
“Yes, he is just this way.” Hurrying past Heath, Chadwick took the lead and guided them to where the captain was issuing commands to the men. Kerensa watched a scene that could easily have been from one of her nightmares. Though the men were working hard, the water was pooling on the ground.
Heath shouted over the noise, “Captain! A minute if you will.”
The captain frowned, but he did not miss the fact that the man was carrying the young scholar. The pair had been nearly inseparable since they arrived, though the captain had not heard that they had known each other before the boy’s arrival. The frown grew as he worried that the man was going to make some impossible demand about his lover in the midst of everything.
Once he saw that the captain was heading toward him, Heath walked into an adjoining room where it was somewhat quieter.
The captain strode into the room, “We do not have time for-”
Heath did not wait for the man to finish. “Captain, what do you know about the Aeolians?”
The captain closed his mouth and furrowed his brow, “They are a legendary army of some sort of bizarre water creatures.”
Heath was nodding, “Close enough.”
Kerensa looked between the two trying to figure out if they were serious. The captain seemed to answer that question as he laughed. “Is that what you brought me in here to discuss? At a time like this?” Shaking his head, the man turned to leave.
“They are attacking your ship, captain. I hardly think that there is much you are going to be able to do from here.”
The man scowled back at the well-dressed man, “Why don’t you stick to what you know best and let me take care of the things that matter.” His voice was almost as cold as his eyes.
Kerensa felt Heath tense, but there was no reflection of that in his tone or his face as he answered, “What matters is getting everyone off of this ship. Oh, except that weed with the fiance. Simpleton or something like that.”
The captain raised an eyebrow, “Stinton?”
“That’s the one. He tried to rape Velius here. I would not say a word if you left him behind. But I am being quite serious when I say that you need to get everyone else off of this vessel.”
“I am not about to go abandoning my post.”
“If you want to go down with the ship, by all means waste your life. The world has too few good captains, but no one should stop you from making your own mistakes. However, you have a responsibility to the people on this ship to get them to safety before you choose suicide by ocean.”
“Listen here young man-”
“I am neither young nor a man. My origins are in the country you know as Frozen Paradise. A man of your learning knows what that means, and you have an inclination of what
I am.”
The captain swallowed, his eyes now wide as he looked at the man. Kerensa noticed Chadwick stiffen at Heath’s declaration of not being a human, and he began to fidget, as if he wanted to get her away as quickly as possible.
The captain finally spoke, “I’ve heard that your kind can live for centuries. How is that possible?” It was almost as if he had completely forgotten the emergency when confronted with something so rare.
“We aren’t human.”
Kerensa looked up at the man holding her, “Do shifters live that much longer?”
Heath’s eyes looked down at her with a hint of amusement, “It depends on the species of shifter. My people are an exceedingly rare type of shifter. We are nothing like the type who roam your continent.”
Chadwick spoke from the side, “My lady, you knew?” There was a look of shock on the servant’s face as he watched her mouth curve into a frown.
Kerensa reprimanded him, “And that is why I have not wanted you to stay with me most of this trip. Stop treating and addressing me like a woman.”
From his place a few paces away, the captain shook his head as he muttered, “Well, that certainly makes sense. She was one of the prettiest boys I’ve ever seen.” He looked at the pair, “Whatever you two have going on is not my concern, so as much as I would enjoy standing around finding out just how far down this vortex goes, I'm afraid that duty calls.”
Heath looked over at the man, “I have simply been instructing him in how to behave like a boy so that no one would find out otherwise.” His eyes flicked to Chadwick before continuing, “I suppose it doesn’t much matter now though. You need to get everyone off this ship and away as quickly as possible. The Aeolians will watch it sink before they start going after life rafts. I can help keep them away from the life boats longer by attracting their attention, but it won’t do any good if you are not well away by the time they give up.”
The captain nodded, “Any instructions in particular? Or should we focus on speed?”
“You will have your hands full getting everyone off the ship and away. It is up to you how you choose to do that. I do recommend heading south. There is an island not too far away where you are likely to encounter some merchants who could help you return to Berenice.”
The captain nodded, then strode out of the room.
Chadwick was looking at the ground as Heath turned his attention to the attendant. “Chadwick, I have something very important to ask of you.”
The young man’s expression was of clear concern, but the man looked the shifter in the eye as he gave a curt nod.
“I would like for you to get Velius into a raft and make sure he does not get hurt again. He was just attacked by some noble half-wit who didn’t have a clue who he is or what kind of world he is now entering. But once you get Velius home, I want you to give this to his father to contact me.” Heath flicked his wrist and a small piece of paper appeared in his hand. Kerensa still rested in his arms, so the shifter was not able to stretch his arm far.
“How did you-” Chadwick looked down like the man had just used magic. His hand finally reached out to take it, but it was clear the man was apprehensive.
“I have plenty of these. Tell him it is about the deplorable behavior of one Stinton Entrengo Brattle. He will know how to get in touch with me.”
Chadwick looked up at Heath, then back at the paper, “How can you be so sure?”
Heath smiled, “Because Sir Gwavas is a legend among humans.” The shifter moved his arms a little under Kerensa as if he were debating whether to actually let her go. Chadwick looked surprised at the mention of his employer’s name, but one look at Kerensa’s face and the servant knew how the stranger knew the identity of the young woman.
Kerensa frowned, “What if I do not want to go?”
Heath looked down at her, “There is no reason to debate a hypothetical.”
“Then let me be plain. I do not want to go.”
Heath raised his brow, his eyes searching hers, “Are you saying you want to go down with the ship?”
Kerensa sighed, “No, I want to stay with you.”
“My lady!” Chadwick said, his voice unable to hide his anxiety at her words.
Heath simply shook his head, “That would be unwise.”
“I feel safer with you.”
Whatever Heath had thought she might say, that was not among them. His head leaned to the side, “Why? Were you not frightened of me in your cabin?”
“Not nearly as much as I was of being alone with Brattle. I admit there was something terrifying about you, but it was not directed at me.”
“But it could just as easily have been.”
Kerensa smiled up at him, “Not so easily.”
Heath couldn’t help but give her a small smile in return. “Do you think you know me so well.” Suddenly the smile fell and he shook his head, “I cannot take you with me. That would be irresponsible and dangerous.”
“I don’t think you would call me either of those either, yet you have worked with me to improve me.”
“That is not the same thing. Not by a long shot. If you are thinking that you will learn something you can document about the Aeolians, you are very much mistaken.”
Kerensa frowned at him, “I hadn’t even thought of that. However, this could be an opportunity-”
Suddenly she was shifted in his arms. Looking up into his sparkling eyes, Kerensa saw that he was not pleased with her words, “I just told you that you would not be able to do that, and you ignore me? Will you not at least pretend to be interested in self-preservation over acquiring knowledge. For the love of the gods, what good will it do if you learn something while your brains are being dashed out.”
Kerensa frowned at him, “I am not staying out of scholarly interest. I am staying because I don’t think that you should do this alone.”
Heath looked at her for a moment, his mouth open. He looked away from her as he tried to process her words, “And just what do you think a tiny human can do to fight one of the cruelest warriors on the planet?”
“As someone who has spent nearly two decades immersed in the study of wars, I think I may be of some help. Do you honestly think that you can face them alone?” Out of the corner of her eye, Kerensa thought she saw a familiar haze. Her head moved a little so that she could look at the area with part of her glasses. Her peripheral vision was horrible.
“I will not put you in unnecessary danger. Especially as you seem to have quite the penchant for harm all on your own.”
Most of her attention was still on Heath as she took in his reply, “You still did not answer my question.”
“I don’ see that it is necessary. You are like a child pitching a fit for something, and I will not give in to whatever your infantile understandings of the world are.” He was frowning at her when he spoke, his increasingly clouded features becoming scarier as he did.
It reminded Kerensa of her mother after a long day of trying unsuccessfully to train Kerensa, “Well, it is a damn good thing that my infantile understanding was around earlier tonight when you and Cyprian were missing one of the most obvious diversions in the history of war.”
“You shouldn’t have been there.”
“You shouldn’t be trying to take on a whole army of demonic warriors on your own.”
“Who said anything about demonic warriors!” Chadwick finally entered the conversation, his grasp of their argument only paper thin. This was the one thing that he did know.
Heath held Kerensa away from his body, “No one did until your master opened his big mouth. Take him and leave.”
Chadwick paused as Kerensa glared at him, “If you take me out of his arms, I will never speak to you again Chadwick.”
The poor man looked between them unsure what his best course of action was.
Suddenly Kerensa turned an angry look to the corner of the room, “And just what is that hanging out in the corner of the room? Someone please tell me that my eyes are going bad, becaus
e it looks to me like we have some kind of distortion in this room.”
Both of the men turned their heads to follow where her eyes were directed. Chadwick began to rub his eyes, but Heath pulled Kerensa back to his body and bowed.
A clear voice from the distortion spoke, “The human is right, Heath. You need to take her with you.”
Heath stood up and looked at the moving air as it approached them, “Why would you say that? The Aeolians are attacking. It will take everything I have to-”
The air murmured, “You know as well as we that you will not survive the encounter. Take her with you.”
Still not ready to concede, the shifter tried to argue his point, “What makes you think that I will survive if I have him along with me?” He lifted Kerensa up for emphasis.
“If you take her with you to your destination, we will take care of the Aeolians.”
“Why would you do that?” The surprise was evident on his face, “Demons never get involved in the affairs of other species.”
“We are repaying a favor.”
“You intentionally involved a non-demon in your own affairs?” The look of shock on Heath’s face was impossible to understand, but Kerensa was trying to take in everything that was being said and the shifter’s reactions. In all of their time together, she had seldom seen him surprised.
“She had a very clever way of finding out what our fiery brethren were up to.”
“Do you mean this boy?” He shifted Kerensa in his attempt to find out who had helped the demons.
Kerensa wondered if she should speak up, but the light breeze in the room suggested that the wisps were laughing. “No, the sorceress.”
Kerensa did not need to look at Heath to know that this was a potentially dangerous bit of news. She shivered and it had nothing to do with the breeze or the cool feel of Heath.
“There is a sorceress? Alive? What are the risks?”
“The last time we saw, she was under the care of Calixto, so I dare say that her existence is no longer a risk to anyone.”