Kazimir ducked, Gold Grin’s heavy fist soaring uselessly overhead. Then Kazimir drove his own into Gold Grin’s gut, and the pirate bent at the waist. Without missing a beat, Gold Grin drove his shoulder into Kazimir and pushed him back against one of the Glass soldier statues guarding the gates. Kazimir hammered down with two joined fists, and Gold Grin cried out before collapsing and hitting his head against the base of the statue.
Whitney strolled over and kicked Gold Grin lightly. There was no movement.
“I think you knocked him out and broke his back,” Whitney said to Kazimir, then found a bit of rope in their rowboats and hog-tied Gold Grin.
“He’ll live,” Kazimir said.
“This wasn’t him,” Whitney said as he finished the knot. “She has him under some sort of spell. The only thing Gold Grin ever loved was his old ship… which I took. And gold.”
“I don’t care who he is. He got in the way of the mission, and he’s lucky his blood smells foul enough for me to consider leaving him to breathe. The more Nesilia convinces to worship her, the more powerful she becomes.”
Whitney rose and approached the other pirates who now looked far less intimidating with Sigrid sniffing their necks like they were steaks prepared by a Glass Castle chef.
“What happened?” Whitney asked.
Dade looked at Gault, who shrugged.
“It’s like this,” Dade started. “We was minding our business here in Yaolin. We brought yer friend, the witch… we found her in the Boiling Waters after sinking some Black Sand afhem’s ship—called him al’Tariq or something. Then a storm came and stole our loot, so, we brought her and Tum Tum here. Then the Cap’n and that dwarf, they set up shop across the pond. A new fence to work through. Big place. Nice place. Everythin was dandy. The guards cleared us dockin for once, let us drink and eat. Then, next thing we know, Sora comes back like some crazed sex-demon.”
Whitney’s head tilted so far he strained a muscle. “A what?”
“Sides the point I think, ye know?” Dade continued. “Fact is, she wanted to go to Winter’s Thumb and made Gold Grin all sorts of promises, so we took her. Saw her do things no one should be able to do. Flyin, killin with her mind. Then, don’t get me started with the Drav Cra warlock she was with. Freydis I think was her name.”
Silence followed, and Whitney let it all process until the other spoke up.
“Dade’s right, though,” Gault said, softly. “This wasn’t our Cap. He was like a man possessed. I seen him do mad things for his love of Reba back in the day, but this was…”
Love? Whitney thought. Bile rose in his throat.
“Then she sent us back here to kill ye after some mad Drav Cra ritual,” Dade interrupted. “The things we saw…” He shuddered. “She told the Cap’n to kill ye dead for her. She done the same to all the crew but us. They all refused to travel the world for yer head, so she killed them. The lot of them, though… they was right. I shoulda joined them in death. Said ye were a shog-eating son of a zhulong, but ye weren’t worth killin. And that be the truth.”
“Thanks?” Whitney muttered. His mind scrambled to keep up with everything.
“Ye don’t get it,” Dade said. “She’s gonna swallow the known world or some shog.”
“We know that part,” Whitney said. “But we’ve got a plan.”
“Quiet, thief. They don’t need to know our plans,” Kazimir warned.
“There ain’t no stoppin her,” Gault said.
“No, none,” Dade agreed. “It’s like she’s a yiggin goddess. Trees obeyin her. Wind. Water. Like she owns the world itself. Truth is, we knew Gold Grin wasn’t himself. Talked a mutiny the whole way west, but she…” He shuddered visibly. “The thought of her makes me squirm.”
Whitney stole a glance at Kazimir.
“What’s her plan?” Whitney asked, curious if what they knew would corroborate with what he’d heard in the Well of Wisdom.
“Thinkin she’d tell us?” Dade scoffed. “Alls I knows what I heard her tell the Cap’n. Kill Fierstown while she builds her forces.”
“A goddess after me,” Whitney said. Part of him wanted to stick out his chest. “That means she’s afraid of my connection with Sora.”
“Full possession is easier without resistance,” Kazimir said. “A connection to this world will pull like chains. It’s why the elderly and children are more susceptible.”
“She should be afraid,” Whitney said.
Kazimir exhaled and stepped in front of Whitney, staring straight at the pirates. They each looked like shog was dripping down their legs. “What forces did she mention exactly. Spit it out, pirate, or I’ll peel open your mind myself.” Dade turned away, sputtering and unable to talk.
“Like he said,” Gault chimed in, “we don’t know. She set off east on land from Winter’s Thumb, after gathering a whole bunch of Drav Cra… into the Dragon’s Tail, maybe beyond…”
Kazimir cursed loudly in Breklian and punched the wall above Dade’s shoulder. The poor man nearly fainted at the sound of crunching stone.
“Sh-sh-she has the warlocks already thanks to this lot of fools, and who knows what b-b-beasts of deep,” he stammered.
“Grimaurs?” Whitney offered. He was still busy fighting back the contents of his stomach over hearing the things Nesilia had done with Sora’s body. His gaze kept flicking back to Gold Grin on the floor and his hairy… everything.
“Them. Maybe worse,” Kazimir said. “She’s too many steps ahead. How could we miss this? If she’s heading east, she’s already on her way to my home. The Citadel, the wianu, she even has her eyes in the Well. If she takes the history of men, she’ll take us all.”
“Then forget these fools,” Whitney said. “She’s not that smart. Thanks to her, Gold Grin brought us the fastest ship I know of. Let’s go get the others and sail north.”
“What about us!” Dade demanded.
Whitney rolled his shoulders. He knew these men were just following their captain, but still, they’d watched as Gold Grin violated Sora, knowing something was wrong with her. He felt no pity as he said, “This a nice beach out here. Or you can take your chances with the ghost.”
“G-ghost?” Dade and Gault both stammered.
Whitney knew the pirates were terrified of anything supernatural. He backed up and looked toward the tower’s entry. The doors were cracked, and the wraith of Aihara Na waited just inside, glaring at them but daring not go another step, as if she too couldn’t touch the light. Whitney froze and stared.
“At her age, her power is bound to the Well and to the Tower,” Kazimir explained, without him needing to ask. “She cannot leave, just as I cannot die.”
Whitney cleared his throat. “Well then, it’s about time Gold Grin got marooned on an island with a woman that suits him.”
XXII
The Rebel
Muskigo carved a chunk out of a bellot fruit, looking out over the Boiling Waters as he ate. It was the first bit of fresh food he’d had in longer than he cared to remember. It was his first time on the rough sea in longer than he cared to remember, as well. Their ship rocked side to side, and his stomach rolled with it.
Some Shesaitju I am, he thought. Sand and sea, that was where his people thrived. But he’d found himself only on land lately, losing battles. Losing allies.
Muskigo had seen the wake of his daughter’s battle as they sailed out through Trader’s Strait, careful to avoid the blockade of debris and battered warships. Smoke still dithered on the horizon there; bodies floated everywhere. He’d never been so proud, and yet, as he sat upon one of her few remaining ships, shame again overwhelmed him.
Only Babrak had a stronger fleet, and she’d sacrificed hers to save him and the pitiful remnant of his army. It was never a father’s place to be protected by his child, let alone a daughter. Yet, there she was. A handful of Muskigo’s men sat around him, skinny and exhausted, barely cognizant of what was happening, while her warriors proudly guarded her, all of them strong, and well-res
ted.
They never took their eyes off her, especially the young one named Bit’rudam, who seemed to have earned her trust above all others. Even Afhem Tingur didn’t agree to remain behind in Nahanab with the bulk of their forces and their valuable prisoner, Nikserof Pasic until Mahraveh agreed it was the best move.
Muskigo was no fool. Hers was a victory that would ring through the ages: a sandstorm, driving the Glassmen away, the Caleef washing up on their shores as if delivered by the Current. The tides were shifting, and it was at his daughter’s back.
“Impressive, isn’t she?” Yuri Darkings asked, crossing the deck toward Muskigo. He brushed off the surface of a barrel, then straightened his robes before sitting. Somehow, the pink-skinned lord had found a new set of them, pristine as the day they were made.
“I barely recognize her,” Muskigo said. She smirked as Bit’rudam whispered something in her ear on his way to the upper deck. Mahi watched as the young man grabbed a rope and leaned out over the water, sights set on a distant island. And Muskigo watched her watching.
“And yet the entire world will soon know her name,” Yuri said. “She reminds me of my late wife. Oh, how strong she was.” He shook his head. “What a formidable team we made, bending Winde Port to our will. I told her I didn’t want children, that we could shape the kingdom together, but she insisted. Then he was born, Bartholomew Darkings, and my wife slowly lost her mind. He was three when she threw herself into the bay.”
“Mahi was around the same age when a snake bit her mother. Not a day goes by when I don’t miss her guidance. It would have helped here.”
“And not a day goes by when I don’t wish she'd have just tossed him in instead. Ungrateful little pis’truda—I'm using that right, yes?” Yuri chuckled, but Muskigo didn’t. “So much for us old men getting what we want.”
Instead, Muskigo turned to the pink-skin, his glare cold as the ice of Drav Cra. “You allowed Mahi to fight in the arena.”
“Allowed?” Yuri replied, incredulous. “Have you met that girl? I assure you, there is nothing she does that isn’t what she wants.”
“Regardless. I sent you to protect her, yet now, I see her eyes. They bear the look of one who has not only lost the lives of those close to her but taken life as well.”
“And I betrayed my people to join what I hope to be the side to claim victory. Now look where we are.”
Muskigo sighed. “I suppose we underestimated our children for the last time. Mahraveh did what I couldn’t, and above all, the Caleef is with us again right after.”
“And yet my son is nowhere to be found.”
“The Caleef didn’t tell you what happened?”
“Your god-king has spoken as much to me as he has you, which is to say: not at all. All I know is that he washed ashore, covered in sand and surrounded by your glowing jellies. The things dried up beyond the water like they didn’t even care about dying, and there he was, hacking up water like a mere man.”
“The nigh’jels flow only with the Current,” Muskigo said.
“Better than swimming upstream like us.”
“I am sure your son is fine.”
“My son?” Yuri laughed again. “I may not know many things, but if my useless slob of a son had anything to do with the Caleef’s relatively safe return, I will eat my coin purse. No, no… everything changed when your daughter took to the sands. My whole life in Winde Port, I imagined the Shesaitju Sirens were a thing of legend, like so many gods. Then one came to her… in front of everyone.”
Muskigo sat up. “A Siren revealed herself?”
“Revealed herself? It sucked the life out of the boy whose place she took in the fighting. Juvat, or something.”
“Jumaat…” the name trailed off as he spoke it. Now Muskigo understood that look in his daughter’s eyes. Jumaat had been her closest friend. Muskigo never understood why—the boy was weak, meant to be a trader and nothing more.
“Yes, him,” Yuri said. “I’ve seen magic, Muskigo, but I’ve never seen anything like that. And if the Sirens are real, I fear what that means about all the other nightmares our parents scared us with.” Yuri regarded the swirling, dark clouds of an impending storm. “I fear what it means for a traitor like me if Iam truly is vengeful.”
“Fear not, Darkings. Your people have lost their way, following a mad child and a distraught queen. Your god must see that, as well as mine. The Sirens rarely reveal themselves except when a new Caleef rises from the sea. They are scions of the Current.”
“It protected her when Babrak and all others would have cast her down for lying. I saw it then, too. For the first time in my overlong life, I believed in something beyond the power of gold.”
“No afhem is to be favored,” Muskigo said, unsure even of his own words.
“And yet, some are. You sent me to protect her. In the end, I advised her to let you go, Muskigo. I told her you weren’t worth her life, just as that boy wasn’t.”
“You need not apologize. It is why I accepted your help to begin with. You see the bigger picture. Sacrificing my position to get behind the Glass was the sound strategic move.”
“You want to win this war?” Yuri asked, looking off to sea.
“What is there left to win?”
“I promised to help you overthrow the pitiful lineage of our great King Liam, and now I see so clearly. The very same Caleef who surrendered to him sits in that cabin.” Yuri pointed to the captain’s quarters, within which the Caleef had been locked away since they’d set sail, not speaking a word to anybody. Two gold-clad Serpent Guards who'd thrown in with Muskigo stood guard outside. Many more had once stood beside Muskigo, forsaking their sacred duty for his rebellion. They, too, were now dead.
“Sidar Rakun was barely older than King Pi when he rose from the sea to be named Caleef,” Muskigo said. “The God of Sand and Sea wisely saw that we couldn’t resist then. We were weak. Perhaps, we can get through to him now. Show him not to be afraid.”
“And how many Glassmen will die?” Yuri asked.
“As many as it takes.”
“I didn’t join you to destroy my people, only to free us from Liam’s pitiful, dwindling lineage. We needed a new perspective. What if there were a way to end it all without another drop of blood; to earn the respect of the Glass Kingdom for generations.”
“We need more than their respect,” Muskigo snapped.
“I see a young woman more capable than any I’ve ever met—my wife included—who won the adoration of her people as you once did, and, apparently, the attention of your god. And I know of a young king in Yarrington. One they call a miracle. One who rose from the dead.”
“A boy you said yourself was mad, and who displayed it when he imprisoned our Caleef!”
Yuri stood and paced. The way he strode on the deck, he looked even more comfortable on the water than Muskigo felt. “A boy all the same. And boys are nothing if not impressionable. Liam’s cock led him all around Pantego. I can’t imagine how many bastards are out there with no idea of what they are. King Pi comes from that same stock.”
Muskigo grit his teeth. “Be very careful what you say next, Glassman.”
“A marriage between Mahraveh al’Tariq and King Pi Nothhelm ends all of this. It gives the Black Sands as much stake in power as the west. No more tribute. No more bowing. Only a king and a queen, and peace across the greatest empire in the world.”
“She would stand in his shadow.”
“Not if she, too, were chosen by god.” Yuri wound his way around Muskigo and stared at the Caleef’s cabin. “I see a broken man locked in a room; a god-king who bleeds. Sidar Rakun never needs to reach Latiapur. There could be a new Caleef, one who has seen her might, or perhaps, Mahraveh herself.”
Muskigo clutched Yuri by the collar and pulled him close. “What you speak is blasphemy.”
“Muskigo, friend, his time has come, just as ours has. I’ve seen enough signs to know that.”
“Then you’re a fool,” Muskigo said, shovi
ng Yuri away. He sat again on a spool of rope. “The sea delivered him. I have disagreed with him much in my life, but the tides change. Now that he has seen the wickedness of greedy Glassmen, he will see reason also.”
“Or perhaps he returned only so we could see how frail he is. How mortal he is.”
Muskigo punched the wood beneath him. “To even speak such things invites the waves to crush us. A Caleef is not chosen by mortals. That is not our way.”
“Our ways doom us, Muskigo. The Sirens came to your daughter. You said it yourself: sandstorms follow her. In the battle, I, myself, pulled her from the sea. A lesser woman might have drowned, but she didn’t. The Nothhelm line has been corrupted by a heartless witch with no place in our castle; by a man who saw Iam only between the legs of a woman. But your daughter…”
“Will not be married off like some common whore!”
Muskigo didn’t realize he'd sprung to his feet and had Yuri in both hands again until Mahraveh approached.
“Is everything all right, Father?” She gripped her spear tight, ready to strike. Bit’rudam waited in her shadow, no doubt prepared to do the same.
Muskigo swallowed. “Everything is fine. I was just telling our friend here that his service to me is complete. The Caleef has been returned. Yuri Darkings has earned the thanks of the greater afhemdom, and now, he can go home.”
“Good,” Mahraveh said. “We’ll be at Latiapur shortly. From there, he can find passage to anywhere in Pantego.”
Yuri’s gaze darted between them, then he bowed his head. “As you all command.” On his way by, he whispered in Muskigo’s ear, “She made me believe in something greater than humanity. Don’t hold her back like all the other men.”
Muskigo held his tongue and tried not to stare. Instead, he gestured to the seat beside him and waved for Mahi to join him. All these warriors, guarding and respecting her, but the moment he gestured, she sat. She turned to him with doe eyes, expecting answers as any child would.
“No longer my little sand mouse, are you?” he said.
The Nesilia's War Trilogy: (Buried Goddess Saga Box Set: Books 4-6) Page 87