A Dark Inheritance

by Todd Herzman

  Taya glanced at them. Whatever she’d felt when she’d called out to Ruben disappeared. She turned from him, from the men dragging away the body, and went back to the dishes at the basin.

  ‘Clean this mess,’ the demon shouted. More men entered from behind him—one of them was Reeves, a prisoner taken from Ruben’s village.

  The demon knelt in front of Ruben, staring into his eyes. ‘Get up.’

  Ruben did as he was told. He felt the man’s will, his influence, inside him. It was all he felt. He stood in front of the demon—his master. His master smiled, brushing ash off Ruben’s shoulder.

  ‘The best catches are always the hardest to break.’ The man held out his hand and furrowed his brow. A moment passed, then flames burst from his palm. His eyes widened in delight as he looked at Ruben. He extinguished the flames, then walked up the stairs leading out of the mess. ‘Come, boy. There’s something I wish to show you.’

  Ruben followed.

  Chapter 17

  Ella

  Ella shivered in the cold rain as the witch approached.

  Reena stepped forward to stand in front of the group. She glanced at Joel, her eyes disapproving. Jacob and Ephraim stood behind the captain.

  The witch was close enough to see without the aid of lightning. The rain cleared around her. Her blonde hair was still dry, her clothes untouched. As she stepped closer, Ella couldn’t help thinking the woman looked nothing like she’d expected.

  Ella had never seen a witch before, but she’d heard stories back in the village. Mostly told by old Joslin by the fire, about old crones tricking travellers on the road. Ella had always wondered why a witch would need to trick someone. Couldn’t they just use their powers?

  The witch looked close to Reena’s age, not too far past her thirtieth year. Unlike Reena, she wore a simple dress that flowed to her knee. If it weren’t for the storm she’d caused, Ella wouldn’t have thought the woman a threat at all.

  ‘Reena.’ The witch looked at Reena with a slight smile. The rain stopped as abruptly as it came. The sky cleared of clouds.

  ‘Aralia.’ Reena nodded in greeting. ‘You always make such a good entrance.’

  Aralia scanned the group, looking at each in turn. ‘Never can be too careful when someone wanders onto the island without invitation.’ Her eyes rested on Ella a moment longer than the others.

  Ella couldn’t help but shiver under the woman’s gaze. Reena had said she was a good witch, but Ella couldn’t get the old stories out of her head.

  ‘What brings you here?’ Aralia’s gaze shifted back to Reena.

  ‘I have a proposition.’ The captain leant in with a smile. ‘I’d like to hire you.’

  Aralia sighed. ‘Very well.’ She turned, gesturing toward the houses farther down in the valley. Aralia walked to the small village, the group following behind. The witch picked a cherry from one of the trees and began throwing it up and catching it as they walked. ‘You should know, of course, that the same rules apply on this island as they always have.’

  ‘Of course. None of us shall draw our blades.’ Reena glanced at her crew, staring in particular at Joel. The young man nodded sharply at his captain and seemed to force his fingers from his hilt.

  ‘Good.’ Aralia threw the cherry ever higher. Ella followed its arc. ‘It’s for your own safety, I assure you. See, metal attracts lightning, and there’s a lot of lightning on this little island. And if someone were to be waving around a sword…’ Aralia threw the cherry high into the air.

  The sky cracked. Lightning struck the cherry. Ella shut her eyes, momentarily blinded.

  ‘They might get struck,’ Aralia finished.

  Ella blinked away her blindness. She kept walking forward, and a strong hand grasped her shoulder, leading her the right way.

  ‘She does that every time,’ Jacob whispered in Ella’s ear. ‘Trick is to shield your eyes.’

  ‘Thanks for the warning.’ Still blinking, but sight mostly back, Ella noticed Reena and Ephraim’s eyes were as unaffected as Jacob’s. She wondered how many times the crew had visited this place.

  The houses of the village came into closer view. Ella didn’t know what she’d expected, but she was almost surprised to see people chopping wood, tending gardens, and pulling carts about the place. She was in a whole different world, but the people here seemed no different to those she’d left behind. A few were tall and slender like Aralia, with hair just as fair, while others had dark skin, their hair curly.

  None of them paid much attention to the crew. That seemed odd, coming from a small town herself, Ella knew how rare new people walking through the village were.

  Aralia led them to a clearing in the middle where the largest building sat. The rest of the village emanated from this point. It was a round hut, so unlike the buildings back in Billings. They ducked their heads to get inside. There was a fire pit in the middle, and no seats. Without a chimney, Ella wondered how smoky the hut would become. The witch motioned them to sit on the ground. They made a circle around the pit. Ella sat between Jacob and Kelhi. She gazed at the ceiling. The roof was made of large leaves, woven tight.

  Not much had been said since Aralia had made lightning strike that cherry. Ella’s eyes rested on the witch. Her mind went back to Reena’s words before they’d set course to this island.

  The witch could help them find the blood mage, and she would be able to do that because of Ella. Ella shivered, and not because her clothes were still wet.

  Aralia glanced at the firepit, rubbing her thumb and forefinger together. Ella flinched as a spark shot from the witch’s hand and lit the pit’s kindling. The fire burned, slowly drying them from the rain.

  ‘You haven’t found him yet, have you?’ Aralia said.

  Reena shook her head. ‘Not yet.’

  ‘How long has it been now?’ Aralia, sitting cross-legged on the ground, back straight, rested her hands on her knees. She wore a necklace. A crystal that reminded Ella of the one she’d seen Reena wear when they’d met back in Devien.

  ‘Five years.’

  ‘And you still believe you’ll find him?’ Aralia no longer looked at Reena. Instead, her eyes were on the fire. The hut warmed fast, smoke slowly filling the space.

  ‘With your help,’ Reena said.

  ‘I’ve tried helping you before.’

  ‘And you were compensated generously.’

  The witch smiled. ‘I’ve not much use for gold out here. I want more than that. I want to know why this time will different to the last. You know what I do with my time is valuable—I’m not some common weather witch, selling themselves to blow just anyone’s sails.’

  Ella looked at the others in the circle. Everyone but Reena looked away from the witch. Kelhi especially had her eyes down. Ella wondered why Reena had brought so many to the island if they were just going to sit around and listen to them talk.

  ‘No, you’re anything but common, but you know I’m not just anyone. You of all people should care about what I’m trying to do.’ Reena paused. The two women’s eyes met. Ella wondered what was in the gaze they shared. Jacob looked at his captain, his brow furrowed. Perhaps Ella could ask him later, once the man had a drink or two in him.

  The locked gaze broke. Reena turned her head to Ella. ‘This is Ella. Her village was raided. There were casualties, captives.’ The captain cast her eyes down. ‘Her brother was taken.’

  Aralia focused on Ella. She cocked her head, and her eyes looked sad. ‘I’m sorry for what you went through.’ Her expression flickered, eyebrows drawing together a moment. She looked away.

  ‘She wants to find her brother.’ Reena bent forward. ‘You know the boy will still be alive.’

  The witch closed her eyes and sighed before flicking them back open. ‘Very well. I will help. But not for gold, and not for you.’ Aralia turned to Ella. ‘What is your brother’s name?’

  Ella blinked, not expecting to be addressed. ‘Ruben.’


  The witch nodded. ‘A good name.’ She stood, brushed down her dress. ‘We will leave tomorrow. There are things I must tend to today.’ Everyone stood, following Aralia out of the hut, ducking their heads on their way. ‘You may stay on the island, if you wish. I’ve spare bedrolls and room on my floor.’

  Aralia nodded to them, the motion almost a bow, before she walked to where Ella assumed her house must be.

  Jacob stood by Reena. Ella heard him mutter to the captain, ‘At least she said yes.’

  Reena sighed. ‘Not the welcome I hoped for.’

  ‘It never is with family.’ Jacob leant toward Reena, and Ella had to inch closer to hear. ‘Especially in-laws.’ Jacob patted the captain on the back, a slight smile tickling his lips. He stretched his arms over his head and addressed the rest of the group. ‘I’m heading back to the ship if anyone wants to join. It’s a beautiful village, just doesn’t feel right not bein’ able to see the sea.’

  Ella looked around the village, at the trees and the scattering of people. Reena hadn’t moved, looking on in the direction Aralia had gone. Ephraim and Joel followed Jacob. Kelhi stood behind, glancing between the group leaving and the captain.

  Reena turned around, spotting the unsure girl. ‘Go along then, Kelhi.’ She nodded to the others. The girl looked at her with a question on her face—Ella had barely heard her say a word since boarding the Serpentine. When Reena remained silent, Kelhi gave a slight bow and hurried off. ‘Sticking around?’ Reena asked Ella.

  ‘If that’s okay.’

  The captain nodded, then again looked to where Aralia had gone for a moment before turning to back to Ella. ‘Come, there’s someone I’d like for you to meet.’ Reena walked toward one of the cliff faces where several small houses huddled under a large overhang.

  Ella glanced at the receding figures of the crew before following the captain. She had a lot of questions she wished to ask. Foremost was how the witch was going to help them find the blood mage—not that the captain had answered that question before—but a new question followed close behind since she’d heard Jacob refer to the witch as the captain’s family.

  Reena led her to one of the houses under the cliff.

  They passed a trio of teenagers, a dark-skinned boy with cut-off sleeves who looked strong enough to rival Ruben, and two girls, one with curly red locks, starkly pale beside the boy, and the other with straight dark hair that reminded Ella of Reena, her hair tied in a similar braid. They seemed the furthest thing from family yet chatted with a cool familiarity.

  Ella couldn’t help staring, not because of what was different about them, but because of what was the same. They all had scars on their necks. A line, perhaps the slash of a knife, and the unmistakable indentation of teeth marks.

  The boy nodded shyly at Reena as they passed.

  ‘You know them?’ Ella asked when they were out of earshot.

  Reena nodded, though Ella had hoped for more of an answer, it was another minute of walking before the captain spoke up. ‘The boy, Vuyo, the girls, Nia and Fero…’ Reena trailed off. She stared at the ground. Ella had never seen her lost for words. ‘A couple of years back, I came across another blood mage off the coast of Ulden.’

  ‘There… there are more blood mages?’

  Reena inclined her head. ‘Too many. I’d heard rumours of raids. A dark magician stealing people from their homes in the night. It was a long way to go, but it wasn’t the first time I’d sailed across the sea in search of rumours. I’d thought, hoped, that it was the same man who’d taken my husband.’ Reena clutched her crystal necklace. ‘Blood mages like the sea. They often ride with red sails, not afraid of showing their colours. This mage was more cunning. We hadn’t even dropped anchor in Ulden when we were attacked by pirates—pirates whose leader had light streaming from his hands. He used his power from his own ship to trick us. We were supposed to be a day away from the bay in Ulden when we saw the light—my spotter thought it was a lighthouse. It wasn’t.

  ‘The bastard drew us into his net, taking us by surprise. He had the audacity to be the first to board my ship, using his light to blind my crew before they could strike him down.’ Reena held up the necklace clutched in her palm. ‘This protected me. Kept me from being blinded.’ She smiled. ‘The bastard didn’t expect that. I sliced into him before he knew what he’d walked into, before I even thought to keep him alive for information. His men, seeing their master dead, lost their nerve before the fight even began. They surrendered to me—the mage’s influence gone from their minds. When we searched their ship’—she bobbed her head back in the direction of the teenagers—‘we found them, along with twenty others. I may not have found my husband that day, but I gave those kids back their lives.’

  Ella thought back to the teenagers, the scars they all had on their necks. ‘What happened to them—is that what’s happening to my brother?

  Reena nodded slowly but didn’t say more as they reached their destination. The house was heavily shaded under the cliff face. From where it sat, Ella wondered if it ever got any sun at all. Yet it must, for its small garden looked healthy and full. Ella smiled at the blooming flowers, coloured red, yellow and purple. She’d never seen their like before. Flowers like this didn’t grow in Billings.

  Ella followed Reena down the step-stone path that broke through the garden and led to the door. Reena knocked, tapping a short rhythm. It was only moments before the door swung open. A woman, a good twenty years older than Reena, greeted them with a bright smile. She wore a scarf around her neck, despite the day’s heat.

  ‘Reena! Had I known you were coming, I’d have a pot of tea on the boil.’ At first, from the warmth of her greeting, Ella wondered if this woman could be Reena’s mother, but on a closer look, the resemblance wasn’t there. This woman’s skin looked like it would burn as easily as Ella’s. ‘And who’s this young woman you’ve brought?’

  ‘This is Ella. I met her back in Devien.’

  ‘Devien! Oh, a thousand moons must have passed since I’ve been to Devien!’

  Reena smiled, the same warmth of the older woman spreading across her face. ‘Ella, this is Arin.’

  Arin stood to the side, beckoning them into her home. Ella stepped in after Reena and gazed around. The garden didn’t stop in the front yard. Potted plants lined the hallway, hung from the ceiling, and were placed on shelves along the wall. The outside garden must have received some sun, but how did these plants survive in the relative darkness of Arin’s home?

  The hallway opened onto the main living space where even more plants could be found. Ella heard Arin shut the door and the shuffle of her steps behind them.

  ‘It’s amazing.’ Ella’s eyes darted from one plant to the next, trying to identify unfamiliar herbs. She bent down at one pot, admiring a little tomato tree—the first of the plants she recognised. ‘How do these plants survive without the—’ Ella stopped midsentence. She’d turned around to ask the question of Arin.

  Arin stepped in from the hallway, a glowing light emanating from her hands. Ella stood back up, gaping at the woman.

  A warm smile still curved the woman’s lips. She saw Ella’s expression then looked at her hands. ‘Oh, please don’t be afraid, dear.’ She spread her hands, palms up she beckoned Ella close. ‘Come, look, it’s just light.’

  Ella looked to Reena, who nodded. Ella had seen a lot of magic today. A storm coming from nowhere and disappearing just as fast, a bolt of lightning striking a cherry, sparks flying from someone’s fingers. She swallowed, taking tentative steps forward. The fear seemed to disappear with each step, the longer she looked at the woman’s smile.

  Arin held out her hands, welcoming Ella to examine them. Ella, cautiously, moved to touch them, looking at the woman for reassurance. Warmth radiated from Arin’s hands. The light wasn’t hot like a candle or lantern, it felt more like the glow of the sun in spring. Ella inched closer until she brushed a finger along Arin’s hand—the warmth filled her. It flowed up
her arm and made her feel—happy. Ella withdrew her finger.

  ‘The light’s always been there. Ever since I was a child.’ Arin stepped away from Ella toward a plant by the wall, its leaves slightly wilted. She squatted, putting her hands over the plant like someone looking for warmth from a fire. She rubbed her palms together. The brightness bloomed, filling the room. Ella squinted. When the light from Arin’s hands dimmed back to a glow, the plant’s leaves looked lively and green.

  Arin stood, gripping her lower back as she straightened. ‘Please, sit.’ She motioned to the table. Ella and Reena took a seat while Arin ambled over to the kitchen, picking leaves from plants on the shelves as she went. She placed the leaves in a small teapot before pouring water into a larger one, then turned to a cookfire in the wall and lit the tinder with a spark—using flint, not magic. When the flames burned true she lowered the larger pot to sit on a metal grate over the fire.

  All the while, her hands never lost their glow.

  Arin sat opposite Ella and Reena at the table, pot coming to a boil behind her. She turned to Reena. ‘It’s lovely to see you, but I’m sure you haven’t come all this way just for me?’

  ‘Not just for you, no. I came for Aralia.’

  Arin sighed. ‘You usually do. Have you news then, of his whereabouts?’

  ‘I know where he’s been.’

  Arin looked at Ella. ‘Is that where you come into this? I can’t imagine a blood mage attacking somewhere as large as Devien, unless this one has grown bolder…’

  Ella, who’d been staring at the woman’s hands as they glimmered and waned, flicked her eyes to Arin. ‘My village, Billings, is a couple days walk from Devien. Raiders—’ Ella paused. ‘The blood mage attacked.’

  Arin leant over the table. She grasped Ella’s hands in her own. ‘I’m so very sorry to hear that, my dear.’ The glow from the woman’s hands seeped into Ella, lending weight to the words—Ella felt that the woman cared.

  Ella looked at their hands holding over the table. Reena had taken her aboard, even started to train her to fight, and for that, she was grateful. Jacob listened to her worries and fears. But Arin was the first person Ella had found to hold her hand—to look into her eyes and seem to know what she felt. Ella’s vision blurred as her eyes watered. She’d tried hard to keep her emotions inside.