Carrion Crow

by Talis Jones

  At first he felt afraid and very sad. Footsteps raced up the stairs, called by some unknown force and soon a distinguished looking man crumpled over his daughter’s empty form crying desperately into her blankets. The girl’s brother wanted to cry too, and a few shiny tears splashed by his toes. But when he crept closer a puzzled expression distracted his sorrow. Naya’s face looked…happy. And suddenly the man’s fantastical tale came back into his thoughts. Verina Nayaraq Alvarez, an adventuress, just like they’d always played. And at this thought he smiled and never forgot.

  * * *

  The journey back to Oneiroi was bittersweet. When he’d looked into Naya’s eyes he’d felt her potential and with every moment he spent with her aboard his ship he knew his choice had been made. She would be no Whisper but if she agreed to his apprenticeship she could be so much more.

  He was not ready to say goodbye that final time but she was perfect. Dancing across the ship bursting with life, she befriended the crew easily. Verdandi watched as she leapt up onto the ship’s rail with only one hand clutching some rope and rigging to keep her from pitching into the sea.

  Naya reminded him of Adri before their family fell on hard times and before Cassandra swept her away, and it was this that finally convinced him to let go. Years had passed by but as this moment arrived he suddenly felt as if the time he was given was not close to enough.

  One year to mentor the girl…

  One year before he left Oneiroi forever…

  One year before his final goodbye.

  EPILOGUE

  A kindly nurse whistled happily as she strolled down the hall with breakfast. Knocking on the polished oak door she entered, same as every morning, one tray balanced in her left hand while the other turned the brass knob. “Good morning, sir,” she greeted sweetly showing dimples in her cheeks. This nurse was surprisingly young but unlike many of her peers she enjoyed spending time with older generations and loved her job dearly. This particular patient was a favorite of hers as he always shared the most wonderful stories.

  “I’ve brought you bacon, but don’t tell—” her words were cut off at the empty bed before her. In flurried panic she set down the tray carefully upon the bed’s edge and checked the bathroom, the closets, and even stuck her head out the window to give a glance both ways down the street. Her smooth hands shook slightly worried about him and where he might be.

  Taking three deep breaths she calmed herself. Another sweep of her eyes around the room drew her attention to his bedside table. Padding softly towards it she picked up a sealed letter. On its front her name was written in his hand, Emilia Thomas. With hesitant fingers she pried open the wax seal and unfolded the thick paper, her eyes hardly dared to blink as she read.

  Dear Emilia,

  You’ve been so wonderful to me and I write to you now in hopes that you will not worry. I have no one else to confess these thoughts and feelings to nor do I know of anyone else who might care to hear them.

  I am held captive in my uncertainties. I am a blinded prisoner from my doubts and lack of faith. I know nothing, not even the desires of my own heart. The deeper I search the more foolish I feel. I am woefully a slave to this world of black and white whilst my soul drifts lost on a foggy sea of gray. God save me for I cannot survive like this much longer. I must find salvation before my head and heart sever ties and I lie mad in waiting for a boat that will never arrive.

  You have always indulged my whimsical stories, Emilia, and I am so grateful. You were an unexpected light in the darkness where I mourned when you first came to my home. If I had a granddaughter I’d hope she’d be like you. I leave all my worldly possessions in your name to do with as you wish, although I hope you will use what little I have to treat yourself to a much-deserved vacation.

  I will not tell you where I have gone, but it is a place you know quite well. Perhaps if you look just a bit harder, lean a bit further, then you might even find yourself falling there within your dreams. I dearly hope you manage to visit and I regret that I will not be there to hear all about it if you do. My final wish is to see my sister but in doing so I give a final farewell.

  Goodbye, Emilia, and take care of my stories.

  Please, do not let them die.

  Cheers,

  Geoffrey Martinez Verdandi

  Quiet tears glided smoothly down her face and with a sorrowful smile she pressed the letter to her heart. “I will try,” she promised.

  * * *

  Saltwater lapped against the broad ship like loyal terriers welcoming its master home. Geoffrey rubbed his wrinkled hands along the rail against which he stood and as his eyes smiled at the familiar bob of the horizon a part of his heart ached for the ship he once sailed so very long ago. Voices much brighter than his called out from bodies far more youthful than his own but a part of him still smiled.

  It had taken him a great deal of effort to find this ship. Time was not on his side as each day he grew older and more tired. Even now he held a cane tightly to his side. The captain of this particular vessel was a roguish man in the most harmless of ways. Jumping in his wake clung his nephew whom he cared for with all the deep affection of a father. Geoffrey had chased down many a fruitless hope and on this one day specifically he had been making his way home after yet another disappointing inquiry.

  As he had passed the docked ship he saw the pair laughing and running round its deck. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it but something made him pause. The boy halted his chase and waved to him. His uncle having spotted what had stolen his nephew’s attention waved him aboard. When Geoffrey ambled up to them he asked, “Does your ship carry passengers?”

  “Depends on where it’s going,” the captain countered.

  “I’ve got a destination in mind but I doubt you’ll believe me,” he warned.

  Intrigue flashed in his eyes. “Go on,” he encouraged.

  “None have listened so far,” Geoffrey insisted. “I’m a very old man with quite little time left. This place has no mark on your maps but I assure you it’s quite real and rather difficult to get to. I’ve been before and it’s where I’m meant to be.”

  The man leaned in and with a conspiratorial whisper he replied, “Sir, I think you’ll find I’m not like most of those whom you’ll find in these docks. I’m a man of adventure and if there’s a place I’ve not yet been then that’s where I’m meant to be, fairy tale or not.”

  Geoffrey looked deep into the man’s eyes, searching for any lie or cruel joke. Finding none he gave a sharp nod. “Whatever price you require I will pay you. We sail to a land of magic; a place where you can go when this world turns you away. And, I believe, it’s a place your boy here knows quite well.” Geoffrey grinned down at the boy who gazed up at him utterly transfixed with eyes full of stories.

  The captain looked between them, his brow furrowed in confusion but it was clear they needed the money. “Well that settles it then,” he laughed in disbelief. “We set sail on your say so. I’ve got a loyal crew mad enough to go wherever I pay them to go.”

  Geoffrey actually beamed. His eyes crinkled with his smile and he shook the man’s hand gratefully. “Thank you, sir.”

  “What’s your name?” he asked happily.

  “Eisen Verdandi.”

  “Good to meet you. I’m Captain Nicholas Kidd and this here is my nephew, John Lincoln.” The man smiled curiously at him. “I’ve a strange feeling that you’re about to take us on an adventure, Mr. Verdandi.”

  “With any luck, I shall,” he promised.

  Days had sailed by and Geoffrey gripped his cane tighter with growing anxiety. His body felt like a favorite leather glove, worn and familiar but beginning to let go. Creaking bones, thick ashen hair, and sagging skin clung to his soul with weary dedication but his bright green eyes held the secrets of youth within their shining depths. Like clockwork he brought his hand out of his pocket removing a worn compass with it. Opening the shining case with a flick of his wrist he checked its arrow against the ship’s course
.

  “Where we headed?” called the captain in his bouncing warm voice.

  Geoffrey kept his gaze affixed upon the horizon, smiling at the growing warmth in his palm. “Toward the horizon and over the edge.”

  The captain regarded the old man curiously before nodding and tipping the wheel to match the direction in which he had gestured. The sea air whipped through the sails gleefully with building anticipation only a vast approaching finale could bring. Dawn’s growing light glinted along the surfaces and the captain’s sharp eyes caught a symbol he hadn’t noticed before etched into the compass the old man held sacredly, a set of initials. Squinting he could just make it out: C.B. He wondered to whom it used to belong…

  Hardly an hour had passed before a sticky fog clung to them like long forgotten cobwebs in an attic. “We’re going to have to slow down,” the captain called out. “I can’t see a blasted thing in this weather.”

  The elderly man gripped his cane harder turning his wizened knuckles white. “This compass will guide us safely,” Geoffrey protested, shaking his head fervently. “We’re nearly there. I can feel it.”

  Captain Kidd frowned but allowed the ship to sail a touch faster than he’d like. “Perhaps you should rest,” he suggested kindly. “You’ve stood guard for quite some time and it’s always best to be well rested before beginning a grand adventure.”

  Geoffrey hesitated but his weary bones begged him to agree. “One last hurrah with Tea and Toast,” he murmured to the whispering wind teasing the sails. He made his way carefully below deck to his small room, cane clunking with each second step.

  Minutes seemed to crawl by slowly as the fog churned around them in an endless illusion of time and place. The ocean churned beneath them in the same mischievous blue that it always did but the weather limited their sight to below a quarter mile or so around them. Trusting the old man’s confident guidance and hoping his faith was not misplaced, the captain kept their course steady but slowed their pace down further with his passenger out of sight.

  Clinging to the wheel with exhaustion he was ready to call his first mate to mind the post when Lincoln’s voice rang out. “Uncle Nick! Look! Do you see it? Look!”

  At first he had no idea what his nephew had spotted but as they pushed forwards the fog gradually lifted and before them rose a sizeable landmass. How they could be so near without giving any clue was a mystery but they sailed close enough to see the bustle of life along its shores. Pulling out the telescope sheathed at his waist he held it to his eye with trembling fingers as excitement buzzed through his veins.

  He caught sight of homes, small ships, and— He did a double take but there it was again! He swore he just saw a boy turn invisible, popping in and out of sight to the delight of a group of youngsters gathered around him and a young girl with shining auburn hair. Magic, he realized. The old man had spoken straight, he realized and he laughed. He laughed and laughed and laughed. He laughed with excitement. He laughed with disbelief. And he laughed with sweet pure relief.

  Hurrying below he roused the old man and at his news Mr. Verdandi showed unusual spryness as he rushed atop the ship to see for himself. Gripping the rail fiercely the old man wavered slightly as emotions overwhelmed him. The ship sailed faster as if pulled by some unseen awaiting force and his eyes searched the island anxiously.

  “Are you alright?” Captain Kidd asked gently.

  A sad reminiscent smile unfurled upon Geoffrey’s withered face. “I see her,” he shared hoarsely.

  The captain was about to inquire whom he saw when a sudden fit of coughs seized the elderly man. Taking his arm, and with Lincoln’s bouncy step following behind, he guided Mr. Verdandi back to his cot. “Take it easy, Mr. Verdandi,” he soothed. “Just rest a bit and you’ll be fit and ready to go when we land.”

  Evening claimed the clock when the ship dropped its anchor. Captain Kidd went to fetch their passenger but for whatever reason Lincoln refused to accompany him. Making him swear to wait for his return before even thinking to set foot off this ship he bound down the short steps and knocked on the old man’s door. “Mr. Verdandi, we’re here—” Swinging the door open quietly he paused.

  A peaceful smile rested upon the traveler’s face but no breath stirred his chest. His feet shuffled unsure of what to do next. Finally, head bowed, he promised to find the girl who drew him to this place. And then because it seemed rather fitting that some words be said he sat by the man’s side and recited a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that he’d learned back in school, well, what bit he could remember anyway.

  Then the forms of the departed

  Enter at the open door;

  The beloved, the true-hearted,

  Come to visit me once more;

  With a slow and noiseless footstep

  Comes that messenger divine,

  Takes the vacant chair beside me,

  Lays her gentle hand in mine.

  “Thank you.”

  The captain’s head snapped up and his eyes flew open surprised at the unfamiliar voice. Seeing no woman belonging to the whispered words he shook his head sharply and dashed back up the steps to find Lincoln. Hand in hand they skipped down the plank and took their first steps upon the ancient ground of Oneiroi.

  GLOSSARY

  Ahktun – Attention

  Alvidar – Goodbye

  Belísama – Beautiful

  Bihana – Morning

  Bon – Good

  Figo/Figotu – Oneiroian swearword used as a vague exclamation of frustration

  Indit – Go

  Intermezzi - Intermission

  Irrumabotu – A highly offensive insult. Similar to “Go to Hell” but far more derogatory and rude.

  Ja - Yes

  Noche – Night

  Nothus – Rude word for “bastard”

  Nyet – No

  Porfabór - Please

  Queentia – An Oneiroian card game involving a pair of dice and a set of beaded wooden counters used to keep score as well as manipulate each hand’s outcome

  Slahncha – Cheers

  Spaseeba – Thank You

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Although published third this is actually the second book I've ever written. I was so captivated by the need to see this tale through to the end that I was jumping to dive into the sequel and at last here it is ready for viewing. I've been on an absolute crash course learning how to publish my work but I'm immensely grateful for the support I've had each step of the way.

  As always and with everything I first thank God for guiding me down this path. An unexpected twist in my future and yet it's been a wild journey I'm glad to be taking.

  Thank you to my parents for supporting me in so many ways even if my stories only ever reach a handful of readers.

  Thank you to Andy for sticking with me and designing the amazing cover for this book.

  Thank you to my beta readers: Sarah, Claire, and Kaelan. You have been instrumental in helping this story become its best. I know it is time consuming to beta read for an author but it's worth so much and I am forever grateful for your input.

  Thank you reader for choosing to pick up this book and choosing to continue the Otherworld series and scratch that itch of curiosity. I hope you enjoyed the adventure. It takes a massive amount of work to write a book and your appreciation makes it all worth it.

  Talis Jones

  Talis has always been an avid reader and any good story filled with fantasy and adventure is bound to be on her shelf. Graduated Suma Cum Laude with a degree in Theatre she has explored both stage and film, now finding herself drawn towards the literary world. Inspired by her mixed heritage as a Mexican- Englishwoman raised in the wilds of the USA, she rallies for diverse characters and seeks to contribute with her own writing.

  She gives a huge thanks to everyone who has supported her journey including every one of you who picks up this book.

  https://talisjonesofficial.com/

  Talis Jones, Carrion Crow