by Todd Herzman
The captain held the ship’s wheel steady with one hand, the magicked compass in the other.
Aralia had been afraid of going where they were going. Reena hadn’t shown a hint of fear. Ella couldn’t help but wonder how she’d convinced the witch to make the journey, especially if Malarin might not even be on the island by the time they got there.
‘I thought you didn’t need the compass,’ Ella said.
Aralia offered a momentary glance before returning to work.
Reena looked at Ella. ‘I don’t.’ She turned back to the wheel. Her shoulders slumped and she sighed. She nodded to Ephraim to take over and gave him the compass.
She crossed her arms and stared down at Ella. Ella suddenly remembered how much older the woman was, how much stronger.
‘I don’t need the compass to find Albion, but it certainly makes things easier.’ Reena locked eyes with Ella. ‘So, talking to us again?’ She glanced away. ‘I am sorry for lying to you.’
‘I don’t need your apologies,’ Ella said, a hint of fire in her voice. Her hands shook. She looked at them. No flames yet. She blinked. Sighed. ‘But… I do need your help.’ Ella looked over Reena’s shoulder. ‘Yours too, Aralia.’
The wind slowed. Aralia’s dress stopped billowing. Her palms turned in, hands becoming fists. A long moment passed before she turned around. ‘I know you were angry. But there’s something you need to know, if I’m to help you.’ She stepped forward. The wind was still—stiller than it should have been on a ship moving this fast. ‘Never accuse me of being a blood mage again. Understand?’
Ella had almost forgotten the accusation she’d levelled at Aralia back in the captain’s dining room, before her own magic had manifested. A shiver trickled up her spine as she stared at the witch. No clouds formed in the expanse of blue. No thunder boomed from the heavens. Lightning never flashed over the water, nor did sparks come from the woman’s hands. Still, Ella had never seen Aralia look so fearsome as she did now.
‘I understand,’ Ella said, voice steadier than she felt. ‘If you understand never to lie to me again.’ She swallowed.
Aralia stared at her. The air remained eerily still. Then she nodded. The wind returned. The silence Ella hadn’t noticed was there sunk away as the sails were filled again. Ropes slapped poles, wood creaked, and the ocean’s constant drone filled the world.
Reena looked between them. ‘Alright, then.’ She smiled. It was the old, familiar smile. She put a hand on Ella’s shoulder. ‘Looks like you’re going to learn how to be a witch. And, considering what happened the other day, it’s probably best you learn control sooner rather than later.’
~
When the sun fell, Ephraim was left in charge of the deck.
At the Serpentine’s current speed, with Aralia’s weather magic helping it along, and the compass pointing a straight line to Albion, they only had a few days until they reached their destination.
They retired to the captain’s dining room. Parts of the wall were scorched from Ella’s fire. She peered at the marks and took a seat at the end of the table, closest to the exit.
‘So,’ Ella said, suddenly interested in the empty plate in front of her. ‘Do we have a plan?’
A silence followed her question. The silence stretched on as she glanced at the two women.
Reena spoke first. ‘The plan is to save your brother and capture my husband.’
‘There is no plan,’ Aralia said. ‘None at all. I’ll teach you what I can about wielding magic, but I don’t know how proficient you’re going to become in a few measly days. And I don’t know what good it’ll do when we walk into Albion, get captured and taken to the God King.’
The God King, Ella thought, remembering what his presence had felt like.
Someone knocked on the door, and silence filled the room again as Kelhi brought their meals in from the kitchen. When she left, no one seemed eager to take a bite of their salted beef.
Ella pushed her peas around with her fork. ‘I’ve not come this far to fail. I don’t care if you think it’s suicide. I don’t care if you think we’ll be captured before we make it to shore. I’m doing this. I’m going to save my brother. The people back in my village? They didn’t think I’d make it past Devien. They probably think I’m dead, I’ve been gone so long. Marius…’ She shook her head, then looked Aralia in the eye. ‘I haven’t come this far to give up.’
‘Things have changed, Ella,’ Reena said. ‘I know I talk the talk, but… heading to Albion? I’m not sure how far we’re going to get.’
‘But, you just said—’
‘I know what I said. But we have to face the possibility that this might end up being just a reconnaissance mission.’
‘If people know about this Renial and his dominion, and what his blood mages do, why hasn’t the Kharleon empire stopped him yet?’
Aralia scoffed. ‘The empire? They’re so backward the only people they let practice magic within their borders are monks. How do you expect them to fight a centuries old dominion of blood magic, led by the most powerful mage that’s ever lived? The Albion Dominion is too far away from any of the other countries for them to worry too much. And, frankly, the empire—and everyone else for that matter—is too terrified to go head to head with someone they’re afraid might actually be a god. As long as the blood mages keep their raids to small towns, they’ll be ignored.’
‘You knew this, didn’t you?’ Ella said to Reena. ‘When I tried to talk to the navy, you said it wouldn’t work—you said they wouldn’t do anything.’
‘Of course I knew.’
‘What about… what about the schools of magic? Arin mentioned there was one in Guhrat and Ulden.’ Ella looked to Aralia. ‘They must have practitioners there, people like you.’
Aralia smirked. ‘There are no people like me. Schools of magic…’ She shook her head, her smirk falling away. ‘There are powerful people out there, but you must understand, as powerful as they are—as powerful as I am—we can only grow so strong drawing from nature. The God King has an entire nation under his thrall. Thousands upon thousands of people. He can draw on the blood of every person he’s bloodlocked. The magic that comes from blood is… potent.’
Ella took a moment to think about that. They weren’t up against one blood mage and his gang of raiders anymore, they wanted to infiltrate an island run by perhaps the most powerful magic user in the world, where everyone wasn’t just loyal to him, but locked to his command. And how many regular blood mages would stand in the way between them?
‘It sounds like you’re both giving up before we even get there,’ Ella said. ‘Just because this hasn’t been done before, just because the odds are against us, doesn’t mean we can’t make this work.’
Ella didn’t know if she believed her words. Frankly, she’d been having a hard time believing she’d be able to help Ruben ever since she’d had the vision of him. Ever since she’d seen the man with the red eyes. But, as she’d said, she’d come too far to give up.
‘We just… we just need to come up with a plan. A real plan.’ Ella pushed the peas around on her plate again. Something clicked in her brain. An empire of blood mages, she thought, then said, ‘We need to turn back.’
‘What?’ Reena blurted. ‘You just said—’
‘What is the one thing we know about where we’re going? It’s where the blood mages take their victims.’ Ella drew in a long breath, feeling in control for the first time since her magical outburst. ‘If we’re going to do this, we can’t just come up with any plan, we need a good one. We need to go back to Aralia’s island and talk to anyone who’s been taken to Albion before.’ She looked at Reena. ‘Starting with Arin. And Aralia’—Ella turned to the witch—‘I’m going to need more than a few days to train.’
‘Go back to the island?’ Reena said, with a hint of anger. ‘We’re not only going to Albion to save your brother. Malarin might already have left the dominion—but if he’s still there, eve
ry day we dally gives him another chance not to be by the time my ship reaches the shore.’
‘Reena,’ Aralia said. ‘Saving Ruben is the best way to find your brother. Blood… creates a connection.’ She glanced at Ella. ‘As you both know. The connection a bloodlock forms, whether it’s been broken or not, will linger. I won’t be able to charm a compass, but I think the link will be strong enough for me to find Malarin through one of his victims.’
Reena stared at Aralia. ‘Why haven’t you spoken of this before?’
‘When has it mattered? You’ve never been in a position like this before.’
‘True enough.’ Reena tilted her head in a slight nod. ‘In that case, I think you’re right, Ella. Regrouping on the island, forming our plan… it seems like the best option. But you know, the best way to gain knowledge of Ruben is through the link you already share.’
‘We can speak on that another time,’ Aralia said sharply. She sighed. ‘I don’t like the idea of having the whole ship’s crew stinking up my island, but it’s the best first step I can see.’
Chapter 30
Marius
Lilah wouldn’t let them stay in towns. She worried that whoever was after Peiter would have a much easier time finding him if he were where they expected him to be, and Peiter agreed.
So did Marius, but that didn’t stop him from missing the comforts an inn provided. He’d been looking forward to the next town down the road.
Lilah made them travel through a forest. She hiked ahead of them, making a trail through thick brush. Marius hung back with Peiter. ‘Why is she in charge again?’ he asked, not for the first time.
The monk sighed. ‘Despite her abrupt nature, and the fact that I cannot penetrate her mind, I am inclined to trust her on account of her having saved your life.’
‘But you said you would’ve stopped that man.’
He nodded. ‘I believe I would have, but had I been wrong…’ He peered at Marius. ‘You are in my charge. It is my responsibility to keep you safe until I see you to the mountains. If that means partnering up with’—he waved a hand in Lilah’s direction—‘her, then so be it. I can move things with my mind, heal the sick and injured, meditate for hours at a time. I can hunt when needed, make camp, start a fire. However, I am not a warrior, nor a ranger. I do not know how to cover my tracks or make my secret way across the empire.’
Marius stared down the makeshift path. Lilah, in want of a machete, had gone back for one of their attackers’ swords not long after they’d left the clearing.
‘Why was she tracking those men?’
‘I have a few guesses.’
Marius waited for the monk to elaborate, but he never did. They followed Lilah, Peiter’s bright orb lighting the way, until Marius thought the sun must be near rising. Marius’s legs became stiff and sore. They’d strengthened much since he’d left Billings, but he wasn’t used to walking all day then well into the night.
A root caught his leg. Marius went tumbling to the ground. Before the ground hit him hard in the face, an invisible force caught him and floated him into the air, then dropped him back on his feet.
Peiter put a hand on his shoulder. ‘Time for rest, I think.’ The monk whistled something like a birdcall. Lilah swung about, and Peiter waved her over. ‘Marius and I need rest.’
Lilah glanced from one to the other, then looked over her shoulder at the path she’d been making. She sighed and offered a curt nod. ‘You rest. I’ll keep watch.’
‘You need rest, too.’
‘Later.’
There wasn’t enough clear ground to lay a bedroll. Marius and Peiter ended up resting against a large tree, using their packs as pillows and their bedrolls as blankets.
Marius’s eyes were heavy, but when he closed them, he found sleep hard to find. He kept seeing the man spring out of the forest at a sprint.
‘Do you know why those men were after you?’ Marius spoke in a low enough voice that Lilah couldn’t hear them from where she stood, arms crossed, back to a tree.
‘Blood mages seek power.’
Marius thought that’s what he would say, but it seemed an odd coincidence. A blood mage attacked his town, now one pursued them on the road?
‘What if the blood mage wasn’t after you? What if… what if my brother was taken for a reason, and now they’re after me?’
The monk was quiet. Marius thought he might have fallen asleep, so he let his own eyes get heavy. Just for a moment.
‘All the more reason to get you safely to the mountains.’
Marius’s eyes sprung open. He’d been hoping for a denial, but the monk seemed to seriously consider his words. The blood mage could be after me, Marius thought. Blood mages seek power. Marius had never thought of himself as powerful.
‘Get some rest,’ Peiter said. ‘All will be well.’
~
It was day again when Marius woke after a fitful sleep.
He stood and didn’t feel like he’d slept at all. If anything, his legs seemed more sore, his head leaden with tiredness. Lilah hadn’t slept, as far as Marius could tell, but other than the bags forming under her eyes she didn’t show any signs of fatigue. She pushed on through the woods, rarely looking back to see if they followed.
There was an itch on Marius’s back. The woods grew thicker the farther they trekked. Marius wondered how long it had been since any human had taken the path they walked, or were they the first to walk it? Peiter stepped ahead of him and caught up to Lilah. Marius trailed along behind, keeping close enough to hear the monk’s words.
‘Someone is following us,’ Peiter said.
Marius shivered. He looked behind him and only saw trees. He quickened his pace to be closer to the others.
‘You’re only noticing that now, are you?’
‘I feel their presence. They are keeping their distance, but they are there.’
Lilah grunted. ‘It’s probably the one you left alive.’
‘Killing is not something a Tahali monk should be a part of. It is not right, and it goes against all we believe.’
‘Not right? Even when the choice is them or you? Self-defence? Self-preservation?’
‘They were no longer a threat. Besides, he was not under his own influence, his actions were not his fault.’
‘He’s following us. He’s a threat. Leaving him alive is why he’s following us now; it means he can kill someone else. Whether he’s in control of his actions or not, he’s doing harm. Killing him would have stopped him from ever being able to do harm again—explain to me how that’s not right.’
The monk went quiet. He was good at that, Marius realised. He always left the hardest questions unanswered.
Marius wanted to agree with the monk—Marius would become a monk himself, after all—but Lilah made a lot of sense. If someone had killed the blood mage who’d raided Billings, many lives would have been spared. Ruben wouldn’t have been taken; Ella wouldn’t have left.
Peiter did good things in the world. Marius had observed that firsthand. But, with how powerful he was, couldn’t he do more? Shouldn’t he do more?
‘I am not going to argue my beliefs with a seeker. You have your way, I have mine,’ Peiter said.
Seeker? Marius thought, staring intently at the back of Lilah’s head. What in the world is a seeker?
Lilah looked him over as they walked. ‘Thought you might have figured out what I was by now. But, just so you know, standing atop your moral mountain isn’t going to make the problem go away.’
‘Neither is debating what should have been done.’
‘Fine. How about what should be done now?’ She stopped and faced Peiter, the sword she’d been using as a machete in her hand. ‘You’re the one who took an oath to do no harm, not me.’ She stepped close enough that Marius imagined they felt each other’s breath. ‘If I am to protect you, monk, then you have to let me use the tools that I have.’ She jutted out her chin, then went back to walking.
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‘Why are you protecting me?’ Peiter asked. ‘I have seen what your kind do to those with magic.’
Lilah stopped, but kept her back to the monk.
Peiter’s voice boomed, resonating around the forest. ‘I have seen peaceful people struck down by the emperor’s seekers, women killed for being witches, men dragged by horses for being suspected of sorcery. You may scoff at my ideas of morality, but at least I have morality. The only reason you do not strike me down is because you are not allowed to.’
‘I am tasked by the emperor to seek out evil wherever it lies, and destroy it,’ Lilah said, still not turning around. ‘Some with the title of seeker do not see evil as I do. But I cannot be faulted for the crimes of others.’
Lilah moved forward, swinging her sword at grass and weeds she could have walked through with ease until the slashing sounds were well down the path, away from the monk and the boy. Neither of them hastened to follow her.
‘Peiter,’ Marius said, ‘what’s a seeker?’
‘They are an old order, stretching back to the time of the first emperor.’ Peiter sighed. ‘Kharleon has never been known for its tolerance of magic, there was a time when even Tahali monks were hunted.’ He looked at Marius. ‘One of the reasons I did not think it safe for you to stay in Billings.’ He took a breath. ‘As the story goes, before Kharleon was Kharleon, the first emperor, Ronin, forged a blade from a fallen star. He had others join him, and together, they purged a great evil from this land. That is why she wears protective crystals that prevent me from reading her mind, that is why she carries two swords at her belt—one for people like us, another for everyone else.’ Peiter began walking again, his steps careful and slow. Marius trailed behind. ‘They are supposed to seek out evil, as she said, but if your definition of what is evil encompasses all magic…’
‘If… if she knew what I was—’
‘I do not believe she would harm you. She is not like other seekers I have encountered, and you, my dear Marius, are my apprentice. Seekers have full authority to dispatch justice as they see fit, but that authority does not extend to Tahali monks. That oath she wants me to break? That is the reason her kind cannot touch mine.’