by Deirdra Eden
“As long as I control the waters, there is nothing to be afraid of.” He tried to assure me. “I will teach you a few tricks to master the water. Think of it not as swimming, but as flying in the water.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of flying. When I was a girl, I had dreamt I had wings. That dream was only enhanced when I met a pixie named Cassi, with shimmering dragonfly-like wings. I dropped my shoulders and let out a surrendering sigh. I let go of the rope, but made sure to keep one hand securely on Alamar’s shoulder. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
“I won’t let go,” he kept his voice as calm and deep as the sea around us. “I’m going to teach you to float on your back, just in case you get tired and think you might sink. I need you to have some faith in me. You won’t sink,” Alamar assured. He turned me around, with my back facing him, but kept a hold of my waist.
I leaned my rigid body into the water, but made sure I could feel Alamar’s hands under me the whole time. The cold ocean water framed my face and I took in several gasps to be sure I was still breathing air.
“Now, kick your feet,” Alamar instructed. His hands rested securely on my back while I brought my feet to the surface. Alamar was right. With the exception of water surrounding me, it felt just the way I imagined flying would feel. He asked, “Do you see how this uses less energy than swimming on your stomach?”
I nodded. If only I had known how to do this earlier, I would have made it to the Celtic Islands instead of sinking. I opened my eyes and looked at Alamar. Maybe it was better I hadn’t made it to the Celtic Islands. During this whole ordeal I had not only been able to teach Alamar, but learn from him as well. I had learned to wield my power in a way I never thought possible. It was ironic that a mortal had taught me to control my immortal powers. I lay on the surface of the deep water, with my hair floating around me. Like a serene dancer, I raised my arms with elegant fingers and pointed my toes as I flew across the ocean surface. If I could have chosen my powers, I would have chosen to fly. I had seen fairies and pixies flutter effortlessly through air with lithe movements, as sparkling dust spun off their glittering bodies.
“Auriella,” Alamar whispered. “You’re swimming.”
I no longer felt his hands under me. Alamar swam beside me and held up both his hands to show I was doing it on my own.
I bolted upright and started pounding at the water while searching for the safety of the boat, but couldn’t see the vessel anywhere. Everything around me seemed black with glints of silver from the stars and moon reflecting off the water in a disorienting illusion. I gasped in a mouthful of sea and sputtered it out.
Just as panic took over, Alamar’s hand gripped mine and pulled me out of the cold waves. My feet hit a hard surface of something firm and solid under my feet. I steadied myself against Alamar. “You let go of me.” I tried not to sound hurt.
“You swam away from me,” he whispered. Alamar brushed back my hair, drying it as he spoke. He cast me a grin, one more sincere this time. “The only way I could keep up with you was to swim as fast as I could beside you.”
A golden lamp from the boat hung like a distant star. “I swam that far?” My immortal strength had made me fast on land and in the sea.
Alamar nodded. “You just took off. This whole time I believed you couldn’t swim.”
Alamar pointed at our feet. We stood on the skin of the water. The black waves around me mirrored the black sky. The water rippled under my feet, making me unsteady. This wasn’t possible. I tried to balance on the surface of the waves that bounced like a heaving drunk. I sunk into the devouring ocean. “Alamar,” I shouted. “Help!”
Alamar gripped my hand. “Auriella, stop struggling and get back on top of the water.”
I couldn’t believe what he asked me to do. “It’s impossible. I don’t have the same power you do.”
“This isn’t part of my power, it’s how the water is made. If people understood the composition of the water element, everyone could walk on it. I haven’t changed the water to be able to walk on it. I only understand how water works. Now get up here.”
“How?” I slapped at the water where he stood.
He lifted his arm to keep his balance on the water I disturbed. “First of all, stop panicking,” he said.
I stopped kicking my arms and legs and sank like a stone. Alamar gripped my hand to keep my head above the waves.
“Now, put your other hand on the surface of the water and push yourself up.”Alamar rolled his eyes and grunted at my failed attempt. “I have another idea. Close your eyes and don’t open them.” I closed my eyes and took deep breaths as he continued, “I want you to pretend the water is ice. Ice is water, in a solid form. Now, without opening your eyes, I want you to put your hand on the sheet of ice in front of you and push yourself out of the sea.”
My hand hit a solid surface. I almost opened my eyes out of curiosity, but pressed them tighter to avoid the temptation. I pushed with one hand as Alamar, still holding my other hand, lifted me from the water. My hand and knees hit the solid surface and then I stood erect. I could hear the sound of waves around me and water dripping from my dress back into the sea.
“Just hold my hand and we’ll walk back together.” Alamar told me. “Only open your eyes when you’re not afraid anymore.”
The tension that had formed a knot in my chest since our disagreement earlier loosened. I held onto his hand and took bold steps blindly in the direction I had last seen Alamar’s ship. “I like this better than swimming.”
Alamar chuckled. I could only imagine the smile on his face.
We walked in silence for a long time and I couldn’t help but think of the task ahead. I had to keep my promise to Alamar and help him find the man who killed his mother.
Alamar’s voice interrupted my thoughts, “I wrote a poem for you. About you,” he corrected.
“About me?” I could only imagine the humourous story Alamar would tell with me as the main character in his poem. Our relationship had been so ridiculous, with too many ups and downs to count. He inhaled deeply and started,
“A dance in her every step and song in her every breath.
A smile that can light the darkest of nights.
Courage to face the toughest fight.
Laughter that can seize despair.
A voice that can melt a barricade.
Her amber eyes filled with firelight.
For she never walked she always danced.
And there, she brought him into a trance.
A woman who can steal a pirate’s heart.”
I kept my eyes close and held my breath as the last line of his psalm reverberated in my mind. Alamar seemed to hold his breath too as he waited for me to respond.
“It’s lovely,” was all I could think of to say in my shock. I started walking faster toward the ship. My mouth had gone dry as a desert.
This was uncomfortable and I needed to get safety of the ship. I didn’t open my eyes again until a wave lifted us to the deck of the ship. I immediately started in full retreat from Alamar, but he stopped me. “Auriella, I’m in love with you.” He wasn’t joking or trying to aggravate me with this declaration. He was serious. He reached for me again. He tried to pull me closer, but I stood my ground. He stepped near and put his hand over mine, to hold it to his chest. I stared at him, my body frozen with astonishment.
“I … no …” Words escaped me until I said, “You better stop.” I stumbled back, away from him, anything to put space between us. This was the worst thing that could happen. I held my hands to my heart, despairing at the disappointment in his expression. “I’ve learned so much from you, Alamar. I don’t think I even regret ending up on this ship that much anymore…” I took another step back. “But you know my heart belongs elsewhere. I’m sorry.” I went to my room before he could say anything else and shoved the wardrobe across the opening. I slid down the wall and sat on the floor, putting my head in my hands.
We needed to hurry and find
the man with the snake tattoo quickly, and I needed to get away from Alamar and return to the sanctuary.
Chapter Nineteen
Drakeland
The ship sailed into Drakeland’s murky green waters the following day after the sun had dipped below the horizon. Orange-red fire blazed from wooden towers and lit the windows of a town whose pirate and thief infested residents came out after daylight disappeared.
Alamar’s crew gathered on the deck. Their anticipation to dock at the land of never ending parties, alcohol, and prostitutes was evident in their whooping and drunken laughter. Alamar’s stony expression made me uncomfortable as he led the ship through the shallows to a water warped dock with missing planks. He had lost so much in his life, and now he had fallen in love with me and would lose yet one more thing. Slung over the backs of fourteen pirates without jobs were bags containing all their belongings, along with their last payment from Alamar. For a pirate, Alamar had been generous to his crew over the years. After he had received news of his mother’s death, he no longer sought for gold outside the cost of supporting his quest to find her murderer. Despite his generosity, by the looks of their raggedy clothing and the sparse belongings, the crew had little to show for it. Most of their earnings must have been smoked in pipes or drunken and vomited into the ocean.
The ship slid next to the dock and the crew didn’t bother helping to secure the anchor. They had already been paid and their work was over. Alamar and I watched them scamper onto the dock and race toward the village.
Alamar stood in silence. I wasn’t sure what to say to him. His solemn expression eased until it became a contented smile. “I’m no longer a pirate.” His voice was surprisingly calm. “I feel like I’ve been freed from a prison,” he said. “After living this life so long and depending on it day to day to carry out my vengeance, I thought I would be angrier.”
I moved to lay a hand on his arm in a gesture of comfort, but thought better of it considering our conversation the night before. “We will find justice for your mother,” I said. “Without pirating. We just need to start somewhere. It reminds me of a Neviahan song Eva sang to me once,” I said, eyeing him hopefully.
“Will you sing it for me?” he asked.
“I don’t know if I can remember all the Neviahan words, but the translation is:
The light to have is small at start, only but a flickering spark.
Then as quickly as it came it will burn into a flame.
With effort and desire it will grow into a fire,
That will light the coldest night and will warm the darkest sights.”
Alamar mulled over my words and asked, “Do you think I have a dark soul?”
“Of course not.” I pulled my eyebrows tight together. Despite our rocky friendship, I believed in the good that was growing in him.
“You answered too quickly.” He forced a teasing smile.
I thought about everything I knew of his past. Even though he had been a pirate, he’d found success without murdering. His heart was in the right place when he had wanted to rescue his mother from the violence that surrounded her.
I repeated. “I know you have a good soul.”
His smile turned genuine. “Shall we get some rest?” he asked. “We will start our quest together in the morning.”
I nodded my agreement and with a quiet goodnight, left him for my cabin.
In the morning, the sun woke me and warmed me through the window of the captain’s cabin, nourishing my exhausted body. I slipped my dress over my head and pushed the wardrobe aside. I scanned the deck, searching for Alamar. Drakeland’s shore was within sight, but he had moved the boat away from the island during the night. I wondered if the noise of the parties drove him further out to sea or if there was something else on the island he worried about.
I found him below deck next to a pile of weapons. He held a sharpening stone tightly between his knees and slid a blade across the surface. “Good morning,” I greeted and leaned against a beam. Our conversation the night before had been somewhat awkward, and I hoped to move past that quickly and return to our partnership, in spite of Alamar’s declaration of love for me.
Alamar gave me a broad smile before continuing to sharpen the weapon. Around him lay at least two dozen worn daggers, swords, and axes that needed sharpening or basic repairs.
“It looks like you can use some help,” I said. Alamar picked up another sharpening stone and tossed it to me. My immortal hand flashed like lightning and grabbed the stone from the air. I sat on the floor beside him and slid a blade across the wet stone. Alamar chuckled. “What?” I asked. “Did I do something wrong?”
He wagged his head. “I am not used to women acting as you do. You are…” He hesitated, squinting in concentration as he searched for the word.
“Is it because I know how to sharpen a weapon?” I asked to spare him the awkwardness. “And sword fight? I know that doesn’t sit well with a lot of men.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s that you…” he broke off and shrugged, irritation at himself showing in his wrinkled brow. “I don’t know how to explain it.”
I bit my lower lip. Maybe he suspected my immortal secret after all. “Is there something wrong,” I cleared my throat, “with me?”
Alamar eyes flashed to mine. “There is nothing wrong with you. You are almost too perfect.”
“Is that the problem?” I asked and tried to sound nonchalant.
He chuckled to himself and shrugged. “I suppose. I have not met many decent women. You respect yourself. The women on Drakeland … well, they leave nothing to the imagination. Painted faces, bulging bosoms, and stacked hair full of feathers. It seems silly when compared to the beauty a lady has when she respects herself.”
I looked away from his intense, admiring gaze. “Thank you,” I whispered just loud enough for him to hear.
He reached for my hand and stopped me from sharpening the sword. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.” His voice was low and sincere.
I dropped my eyes, pulling away and focusing on sharpening the sword. The metal whistled, intruding on the strained silence. The only reason Alamar thought I was beautiful was because of my immortality. The scars and blemishes on my skin had disappeared. Besides, Neviahan men were attracted to the Lifelight the women of our kind carried while in our childbearing years. Everything about me was a lure, even when I didn’t want to be.
He continued his flattering. “If you live to be a hundred years old, I am sure you will still be beautiful.” I sucked in a startled breath, sure he had guessed my secret, but he went on. “It’s how you carry yourself.”
I didn’t dare meet his eyes again. “So it has nothing to do with how I look?” I asked in a disbelieving tone.
“This world is full of beautiful women, but you are a rare gem—a woman who is confident and comfortable with herself.” The keen of the sword on the stone resumed as he went back to sharpening his weapon. “That is probably why you shine, bella, even when it’s dark and the sun isn’t sparkling off your skin.”
So his noble admiration had nothing to do with my outward appearance. Would Azrael feel the same? Would Azrael be attracted to me when my Lifelight faded? I focused on sharpening the sword in my hand and changed the subject away from myself. “What are all these weapons for?” I asked.
“Just preparing.” He smirked. “For our search to find the man with the snake and skull tattoo.”
“But we aren’t going to kill him,” I reminded, but Alamar did not respond. “I was thinking we should start our search here on Drakeland,” I suggested. “You’ve said fugitives, pirates, and thieves make Drakeland their haven, right?”
“You’re right.” Alamar said thoughtfully. “We should go into town tonight and talk with someone who knows the people of the island.”
“Do we have to wait until nightfall?” I cringed as I pictured what such a rowdy place would be like at night.
“Yes,” Alamar answered. “Nothing is open during t
he day. We should get some sleep so we can be rested for tonight.”
I sighed, thinking I would spend my time resting beneath the rays of the sun so I could be ready for anything once the sun went down.
As we prepared to leave that evening, I swung a dark cloak around my shoulders and laced my boots. Alamar clicked his belt buckle in place and slid his sword into the scabbard at his side.
He handed me a couple of daggers and instructed, “When we get on the island, keep your hood up. They’re always leery of strangers. If anyone asks, we’ll tell them you’re my sister.”
“Sister?” I narrowed my eyes at his suggestion.
“Yes, it’s a close enough relationship they won’t try and handle you.”
“Handle me?” My whole body tightened.
“Don’t start any fights,” he warned. “When one person starts fighting, everyone joins in and it … well, it gets bloody.”
“Then why all the weapons?” We each carried enough sharpened metal to make a full suit of armour.
“If a fight does break out, we have a chance of surviving.”
Any blade that struck me would shatter, but Alamar was as vulnerable as any other mortal. Part of me wanted to go alone, but I needed him in order to get information about the man with a snake and skull tattoo. Guarding a mortal would be hard, especially in this place.
Alamar wasn’t comfortable with sailing the ship into the dock and leaving it unattended. He climbed down a rope ladder toward the water, motioning me to follow.
“What are we doing?” I called down, fear already collecting in my stomach.
“We are walking to the dock.” He grinned up at me. “You will have to trust me, Auriella.”
“Walk?” I shouted, incredulously.
As a demonstration, he hopped down on top of the water. With each step he took around the boat, the water beneath his feet harden like a sheet of thick glass. “Come now.” He motioned again with his hand. “We haven’t got all night.”