by Ashley Nixon
“I have heard he is handsome,” another woman cut it. She was younger, and Larkin could not recall her name, though her face was familiar. “Would you say the rumors are true?”
The woman beside her was older, perhaps her mother. She had severe features, the lines in her face were deep. “I am sure she was attracted to him. She was the fiancé of William Reed.”
“Oh yes,” the young woman seemed excited at the thought, but also as if she’d had this conversation before without Larkin. “Ambassador Reed! What a shame. Did you see him die?”
Larkin regarded her in silence for a moment. They were trying to shock her, but she could surely shock them.
“Yes,” she answered. The daughter and mother glared at her. “You will excuse me,” she said and retreated.
As she turned from that crowd, another one suddenly surrounded her. They were a party of young women.
“Lady Larkin, you must tell us how you escaped the dreaded Barren Reed!” one pleaded.
Larkin hesitated. Why had she not expected this question?
“Well...I...we came to port,” she said. “At Aryndel.”
“Aryndel?” A man she knew as Sir Williamson stepped forward. “What was the pirate doing there?”
“I-I do not know,” she said. “I was hardly told anything.”
“The black market is in full swing there,” he said. “You know the pirates of Silver Crest once worked heavily with the Underground to move weapons across the Orient.”
“I do not know what they wanted in Aryndel,” she said. “I escaped through a cannon window before I could discover anything.”
“Surely you must have overheard something about their plans,” said another man coming forward. “If they are in the Octent, they may be working with the Corsairs of Avalon.”
Larkin opened her mouth to protest, but she hesitated. “Barren would never work with the Corsairs of Avalon.”
“Oh? And you know this how?” he asked.
Larkin felt the trap closing in on her. She’d backed herself into a corner. “The Corsairs and the pirates are enemies,” she said. “It would not happen.”
“Do you not think, Lady Larkin, that Barren Reed would make an alliance with those who wished to attack Maris?” It was Datherious who posed that question.
She turned toward him. “That would be an assumption,” she said. “Would you risk war with the Octent over an assumption?”
“You are mistaken, Lady, this is war with the pirates, not war with the Octent,” he said. “Do you not agree that piracy should be dissolved?”
“Carefully, yes,” she said. “Not all of them are guilty of piracy.”
“It is a culture,” he said. “That must be eradicated.”
“That is unjust,” she said. “You would deem death appropriate for those who had no control over their circumstances?”
“Everyone has control over their circumstances, Lady.”
“Not if they aren’t given choices,” she argued, and suddenly she realized the weight of the silence in the room. She stepped away from Datherious, who had come to stand too close. “You will forgive me,” she said and cut through the crowd. They parted for her as if she were the plague.
At the hall entrance, her father caught her by the arm.
“I know,” she said. “I failed.”
“Not completely,” he said, he nodded to the crowd as if he wanted her to watch what was about to take place. She saw the man who had interrogated her speak with Datherious.
“When you are king you may see to it that pirates and Elves are eradicated,” the nobleman Sir Williamson said.
“What did you say?” Tetherion's voice rose. Only those closest to him heard the question. Some turned their heads, but most continued to speak. “What did you say?” He demanded, louder this time.
Now the whole room went silent and Tetherion strode forward, his boots clicking against the floor.
The man who had spoken turned to face Tetherion. With a shaky laugh he said, “Your majesty, it was nothing...I...I...”
“What. Did. You. Say?”
No one moved and they scarcely dared to breathe. Larkin watched in horror.
“It is only natural that your son will one day be king. It is tradition.”
Tetherion reached forward and wrapped his jeweled hand around Sir Williamson’s neck, lifting his feet off the floor.
“I am king!” he seethed. “And I will be king forever. Any who challenge me will die!”
He released the man, who fell to the floor. The people stared in astonishment. Tetherion turned in a circle lashing out at them so that they backed away to the walls. “I am king!” He roared. “I. Am. King!”
There was a demon-like possession in his eyes, but as he looked about at his people, who stared in horror, the light seemed to die, and he became lethargic and his chest heaved. A guttural cry escaped from Tetherion’s mouth, and he fled the room.
Larkin looked to her father for an explanation.
“It is magic,” he said. His features remained passive, cold.
Larkin swore her heart skipped a beat. “Magic?” she whispered the word, glancing around to see if anyone heard.
“Yes,” he whispered back. “The amulet around his neck, it was given to him by Lord Alder. It is called a Relic, one piece of five that make up the King’s Gold. It is said to give the bearer the power to use magic, but Alder failed to inform Tetherion that it will poison a mortal man, preying on his greatest fear.”
“You know this? And yet you have kept it to yourself?”
“Once the sickness has rooted, there is no reasoning,” her father replied.
“Is anyone else aware of this?”
“It is likely it has not escaped Aethea Moore’s notice,” her father replied.
Larkin gaped at her father. So he’d known Aethea was a Lyric, which meant he’d recognized her from his past. It meant he knew why she’d returned. Lee had not met her gaze since he’d begun speaking about the King’s Gold, yet suddenly he did, and she knew whatever secrets he kept, they were dangerous but vital to her success.
***
Larkin’s boots thudded against the wooden floor. She knew her father heard her move into the room, but when she entered, he did not look up. He sat behind his desk reading. This had been their life prior to her adventures at sea, her in plain sight and him, oblivious.
What she’d come to tell him wasn’t going to be easy, but if she was going to learn any more about the Relics, she was going to have to be honest.
“Father,” she said, but he did not look up. “I have magic.”
He put his book down slowly. “What?”
“I have magic,” she repeated. He was very still. He seemed to be listening. Or perhaps comprehending? She wondered if he would bolt from his chair and cast her out of his home. After a moment, he asked, “How long have you known?”
She shook her head. “Not long.”
“You knew this was a possibility, didn’t you?” she asked.
“I did,” he did not deny it. “Lyrics have only ever been female, and one of Lord Alder’s greatest fears was that magic would travel to half-elves and then humans.”
“Why did you not tell me?”
“There was no point,” he said. “Magic was not in your future until you met Barren Reed.”
“You can’t blame him for my blood!”
“If you had stayed, you would have never been put into the situation to have your magic unleashed,” he said.
She looked away from him. She didn’t want to argue.
“I do not understand,” he said standing. “You have come back, yet you still defend that worthless pirate, and now you have magic. Why are you here? If Tetherion or the twins find out, they will use you as a weapon.”
“They will not find out,” she said.
He scoffed. “You can’t control your magic. It will try to defend you when you cannot defend yourself. Right now you believe you have returned in triumph, but I can
guarantee that after today, the council will move to rule Tetherion unfit to rule. You will be under the control of Datherious then, and he wishes to make your life hell.”
“Father, right now, I do not care what Datherious has planned for me. I need to know about mother’s Relic.”
Lord Lee was silent for a long moment. “So you’ve come to help your pirate-friends rather than betray them?”
She scowled. “This isn’t about enemies, father! Out there, a war is brewing. There are weapons like your hemlock needle rising in abundance. It’s only a matter of time before they come to shore. They aren’t something that can be stopped by mortals. You know this, so why can’t we fight with magic?”
“Because I don’t want you involved!” he cried. Standing, he slammed his hand against the desk. “I lost your mother to magic! Do you think I want to lose you, too?”
She didn’t know what to say, and Lee turned, taking a deep breath.
“You don’t have a choice, father,” she said evenly. “I have made sacrifices for this power so I could help.”
“Sacrifices?” he scoffed. “You don’t know what sacrifices are. Leaving Barren Reed is hardly a sacrifice.”
Larkin ignored him and continued.
“You know Aethea Moore is here to find the Relics. She wants the King’s Gold. It is only a matter of time before she sets her sights on you. Do you want to lose another piece of mother?”
“You think I won’t sacrifice a menial piece of metal and gems to ensure my position and my daughter’s safety?”
“Don’t you mean imprisonment?” she asked. “I told you, I don’t need protecting!”
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”
“Then tell me what I’m dealing with!” she demanded. “If you wish to frighten me away, then tell me the reality you lived!”
“Wasn’t your mother’s death enough?” he asked, and his voice barely rose above a whisper. Larkin looked away. When faced with her mother’s death, and the evil she’d witnessed from Aethea, she knew what she had to do. She heard her father sigh. “I do not have your mother’s Relic. When Jess Reed demanded that Alder hand over the King’s Gold, I was no longer his friend. Jess has hidden the piece somewhere in Mariana. You’d die before you found it.”
“That’s no reason to stop looking!”
“Lord Alder and Aethea are both searching for the King’s Gold. Do you think you can overpower an Elfin Lord and a Lyric?”
“I’m Lyric!”
Lee flinched. “You are an amateur. You can’t play Aethea’s game, so stop trying.”
“You are a coward.”
“I never claimed to be a hero,” he said.
She stormed away, running to her room. She was stupid to assume her father might help her in this. All he cared about was maintaining his position. It had never been about revenge, and it had never been about her mother, but if he would not rise to the occasion then she would. Aethea Moore would pay for Em’s death, and she would never come into possession of the King’s Gold.
Barren stood on deck, staring out at the night. The rest of his crew was here, except Cove who was resting below deck. More and more, Cove was becoming unable to hide his haggard appearance and his heavy breathing. Barren suspected it was from the pain of his injury. But why was Cove growing so weak when he remained so strong? As if unaffected by the weapon that had torn through his chest. Truly, he should be dead. He suspected that’s what would happen once this magic ran its course and used him for whatever purpose it intended.
Cool air rushed around them. It was an indication that they were getting close to Avalon which was notorious for its frosty air and icy water. It could prove dangerous, especially in the darkness around them. Barren knew it was a storm. He’d seen the clouds roll in before sunset. Now and then, he felt cold drops of water hit his face, the wind making their impact harsh.
Leaf couldn’t quite keep his gaze in one place. It made Barren uneasy because while it could be that these were unfamiliar waters, he might also sense something approaching.
“Do you sense something?” asked Barren. “Other than the storm?”
“I can’t tell,” the Elf replied honestly. “I feel as though we are being watched.”
“But you can see nothing?” Barren’s eyes weren’t nearly as good as Leaf’s, but he began to look around too. The feeling of unease spread.
“No.” The Elf walked to the edge of the ship. The water was dark like the night. He placed his hand on the ship’s rail. “It’s vibrating,” he said. “Something’s…beneath us.”
The ship rippled, as if it had been struck from beneath the surface. Barren struggled to stay on his feet.
There was dead silence.
Suddenly, a shape burst forth from the water beside the ship. As it made its way over the masts, water fell from its body, dropping upon the pirates like rain. A snapping sound broke the night, and a terrible scream filled the air. Whatever had attempted to jump over their ship hadn’t cleared the masts. The shadow fell with a loud crash, and the largest mast came with it, tearing part of the ship to pieces.
“Is everyone okay?” Barren called into the night.
“What the hell was that?” Cove demanded. He came up from the hatch.
“Get Sara out of the hatch. Get everyone on deck!” Barren raced to a box near the helm in which he kept supplies. He withdrew a torch and flint. “I don’t think it’s finished with us.”
“Why would you say that? It impaled itself upon our ship!” said Leaf.
And then the ship began to rock again. “I think it believes it’s found an enemy.”
Barren drew his sword, holding up the torch. He lit it and waited.
“I don’t think that’s going to help you much against a sea monster!” said Leaf.
“Do you have a better idea?” Barren cried.
“Got any of those powder flasks?”
The water broke again and the monster rose forth from the Orient Sea. In all his years at sea, Barren had never encountered anything like this. Sea monsters were legends. Sure, there were octopi that could reach thirty feet. But this thing. This thing, it was almost human-like. It had a head, crowned with white coral. His skin appeared white, but it also glistened as if covered with scales.
Lightning flashed in the sky, casting the monster’s silhouette in light and dark. It had hands but also tentacles that seemed to sprout from all over its body.
“What are you?” Barren whispered.
The thing raised its head, and its tentacles rose up, latching onto the ship, and the monster went after the remaining masts. They groaned under the thing’s weight. A terrible scream erupted again. Pieces of wood fell upon the pirates, and then bigger pieces began to fall, hitting the deck hard, splintering and bowing the ship. Barren felt helpless. How was he to fight something so strange? So vicious?
The remaining masts finally broke, and they toppled into the Orient Sea, taking the monster with them.
“What do we do?”
“Kill it with fire! Seamus, Slay! Cannons! Now!” Barren cried.
Barren knew the monster would have nothing else to destroy but their ship when it resurfaced. The storm was worsening, the lightning grew frenzied, and the thunder boomed. Leaf worked to wrap his arrows, Cove and Sara cradled power flasks in their arms, and the others worked to prepare the cannons. As the monster resurfaced, Barren was there to light Leaf’s arrows. The Elf fired and it cut through the air, lodging into the monster’s chest. A scream filled the darkness and then a burst from cannons mixed with the rage of the thunder.
But the cannons that fired were not from Barren’s ship, they were from another. In the chaos around them, Barren made out another vessel. It was smaller in size with a narrow front. There were two large masts at its head, and two smaller at its back. A flag flew high with the image of a red rose. These were Corsair ships.
With the added cannon fire, the monster disappeared beneath the surface. But Barren’s troubles weren’t o
ver.
“Barren!” Leaf warned, just as grappling hooks dug into the side of the deck’s rail. They were being hoisted toward the other ship. Barren raised his blade and his crew followed, hacking at the ropes that pulled their ship toward the enemy, but it seemed the more they cut, the more the enemy threw. It was the shriek of the creature that kept them from fighting. The monster rose again, water beading off it. The Corsairs took up long metal spears and propelled them at the monster. Just as they lodged in the creature, lightning struck from the sky. Electricity pulsed through the thing until it groaned in death, sinking beneath the surface, leaving the lingering scent of charred flesh and smoke.
The waves hardly had time to settle before Barren’s ship crashed into the other and Corsairs flooded onboard. There were three times as many of them as there were of Barren’s crew, and while he kept his sword raised, he knew it would be in vain. He had two options: surrender and follow their orders or fight and risk losing members of his crew.
So he raised his hands and dropped his sword to the ground. His crew followed, and they were taken to the Corsairs’ ship over a boarding plank. The man who held Barren pushed him forward and he stumbled.
“Well now, that seemed too easy,” the man who spoke was tall and his accent thick. It reminded him of the accent Aethea had used to cover her identity. He had string-straight hair that fell above his shoulders, and a patch of triangular beard at the bottom of his lip. His skin was brown, and his shoulders were broad. He wore a blue shirt with no sleeves, but a vibrant red cape covered his left arm completely. Barren wondered if he had an arm at all. “I must say, I’m a little disappointed. I was told Barren Reed puts up quite a fight.”
“I could be less disappointing,” said Barren. “But I don’t usually deal with sea monsters. You can imagine how unsettling that was.”
“I suppose they can be quite dreadful when first encountered, but they rise for only one reason.”
The man did not elaborate. “Search their ship,” he ordered his men and they dispersed to do his bidding. It had been a while since Barren had been in this position. His whole being wanted to fight against it, but he took deep breaths and kept his eyes focused on the captain who had turned to face him again. “You’ll be surprised, maybe impressed, to find that even Corsairs of Avalon have laws.”