by Davis Ashura
Her words elicited a shocked silence.
A few minutes after Serena’s shocking revelation, she and Fiona departed. There wasn’t much more to discuss because by then everyone knew what they had to do. Also, with twilight rapidly approaching and the ongoing threat of the unformed, the women needed to leave for their respective homes.
Afterward, William, Jake, and Travail built a fire and had a supper of cod, roasted potatoes, and a half-loaf of bread with butter. Night had fallen, and the stars shone as the clouds remained parted. The fire burned cheery and bright amidst the darkness, and leaves rustled in a gentle breeze.
During the meal, Jake addressed Travail. “Why’s it so important if someone is an unformed? Does it make them evil because they’re a type of woven or something?”
“Am I evil?” Travail asked with an arched brow.
“Err.” Jake wanted to crawl under a rock. He should have thought out his question more carefully.
Travail harrumphed. “Remember what I told you about the woven, what I really said. I never told you they were evil. The woven were created through the art of an asrasin, and as a result mahavans believe the woven to be lesser beings. This includes powerful, deadly creatures such as the unformed, and according to Shet’s Counsel, it is a sin for asrasins to be ruled by their lessers.”
“Then why do they listen to you?” William asked. “Aren’t you a justice? You tell them what to do.”
“I am a justice,” Travail agreed, “but the word means something less than what you believe. I see the truth. It is my purpose. When confronted with two conflicting views on an issue, I can see the heart of the matter, something few truly wish to know. Only occasionally am I asked to render such a decision because once I see the truth, I make it known so it can never be unknown. It’s a power a mahavan respects and even fears, but it doesn’t set me on the same footing as them. My status will always be lesser than theirs. I belong to them.”
“You’re also a slave,” William guessed.
Travail nodded, regret etching his features. “To own another, especially a powerful woven, is how the mahavans measure their status, even the Servitors. It is why I was tricked and enslaved in the first place.”
“We were all tricked and enslaved into coming here,” William muttered.
“But, the Lord of the Sword willing, maybe not forever,” Travail said, his voice a whisper barely heard above the murmuring leaves rustling in the breeze.
“Who’s the Lord of the Sword?” Jake asked.
“Shet’s enemy. The mahavans name him Shokan the Befouler. I can say no more.”
Quiet fell amongst them, and crickets chirped while Travail stepped away from the fire. He repositioned himself with his back to a rock and closed his eyes.
Jake stared into the fire, not wanting to have the conversation he knew was long overdue. He mentally grimaced as he readied his words and arguments. William wouldn’t like what he had to say.
“I think we should trust Serena,” Jake said.
William eyed him askance, but with no anger or upset on his face. “Even after you told her she could fall into a volcano, and you wouldn't care if she did?”
Jake shrugged and relaxed a bit. “Just because I don’t like her doesn’t mean we can’t work with her. You know. Keep your friends close . . .”
“. . . and your enemies closer,” William finished. “I still don’t understand why you think we should trust her, though.”
“Because since we’ve started working with Travail, she seems trustworthy.”
“When Jason and I were running from Kohl Obsidian, I thought the same thing,” William responded. “As long as our purposes were the same as hers, she helped us. But the moment they diverged, she betrayed us.”
“She’ll probably do the same thing again if we’re dumb enough to give her a chance,” Jake said.
“Not probably. She will do the same thing if we give her another chance,” William corrected.
“I’m not saying we blindly follow her, but I think we should tell her about, you know . . .”
William picked up his unspoken reference to Mr. Zeus and shook his head. “Not a chance.”
“But what about the girl? You really want to leave—”
“Be cautious,” Travail warned.
Jake took the mild rebuke in stride. “I know you hate Serena, but remember she helped them kidnap me also,” he said, “and I’m the one who got lashed. If I think we can trust her, then you should, too.”
William might have given him a considering gaze, but it was hard to tell in the dark. “You really believe this?” he asked, and again Jake found himself relieved by William’s lack of anger and upset.
“I’m sure,” Jake said.
“What about you?” William addressed Travail. “What do you think?”
Travail appeared to take a moment to gather his thoughts. “She isn’t trustworthy, but she isn’t lying to you, either.”
Jake smiled at William in triumph.
“Then we trust her,” William agreed with a shrug. “But we only trust her as far as we can throw Travail.”
“When you complete your training with me, you’ll likely be able to throw me quite far,” Travail said. “You’ll have mastery of Air, after all.” He hesitated a moment. “I should also mention my fear of deep water. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.”
Jake wanted to know what Travail meant right now, but the troll had already closed his eyes and appeared to be asleep.
Jake and William shared a shrug. Both of them knew that at this point, other than a natural disaster, nothing would cause the troll to stir.
“Is it supposed to tilt like that?” William asked, eyeing Serena’s boat with a critical eye.
Serena scowled. “No,” she said, trying to understand what had gone wrong with the dhow.
Blue Sky Dreams—the name she’d settled on for the boat—had been fine yesterday. Serena had even launched her a few days back to make sure the dhow had no hidden leaks, and everything had gone well. But now . . . What the hell?
Blue Sky Dreams floated and bobbed in her berth, in Village Bliss’ shallow harbor, indigo-hulled like the surrounding waters with everything serene and perfect. Everything except the boat’s pronounced list to starboard.
Serena continued to scowl as she crossed the dock to where she’d tied off the dhow. “If someone’s messed with my boat, I’m going to—”
She didn’t get to finish the thought. Blue Sky Dreams lurched, swaying as if caught in a series of waves. The dhow shifted, first listing to port and then to starboard before settling upright. A shaggy head thrust through the hatch and lumbered out from belowdeck.
Serena gasped.
An unformed bear of Amethyst, a huge male, old and scarred from many battles.
Serena sourced her Spirit, immersing herself in its silvery sustenance. Fear remained. Any unformed creature was dangerous, but especially those who’d survived to the age this one had.
She took quick stock of her surroundings. No one else lingered around the docks. The other boats had pushed off earlier in the morning. The streets of Village Bliss were similarly deserted. The drones were likely laboring in the fields on this sunny, spring day.
William remained behind her. He had no weapons, but there he stood, unarmed and unafraid.
His bravery would get him killed.
“Run,” she shouted to him. “I’ll hold him off.”
“He’ll kill you.”
“He’ll kill us both if you stick around.”
William wisely retreated. She sensed him source his lorethasra when she smelled the fragrance of pine, the scent of his Spirit.
She involuntarily shot him a look of amazement. Serena had known he had great potential, but until now she hadn’t realized how strong he’d grown.
“What?” William asked, noticing her shock.
Serena didn’t bother answering. If Isha, the most powerful mahavan she knew, other than the Servitor, was a lantern, then Will
iam was an inferno.
She gritted her teeth a moment later when she realized he’d only withdrawn a few feet. She wanted to scream at him, tell him to get going, move, but she couldn’t risk turning her back on the bear again. The unformed creature would break free of the dhow any second.
Serena drew Air, wrapping the thread around itself into a compressed knot before linking it to Sinskrill’s lorasra. Her braid expanded.
The bear lumbered down the dock toward her.
With a gesture, Serena hurled the fist of Air at the creature. The bear grunted and easily shook it off, not slowing in the slightest. Fine. Serena had another braid ready. From her hands spurted a gout of fire.
The bear twisted aside but caught a glancing blow on the chest. The unformed roared in anger.
Serena hurled another blast of fire, but this time the creature seemed to eat it. The bear glowed brightly for an instant, and Serena’s flames snuffed out. Her mouth dropped open in shock. The beast slammed down on all fours and rumbled forward.
Serena snarled. She brought up ropes of water from the bay. They twisted, long, sinuous, and serpentine. The ropes whipped at the bear, too many for him to avoid.
He roared and leapt into the water, disappearing from view.
Serena backed up. Her heart pounded. The unformed hadn’t retreated. Of this, she was certain. Then where was he? Her eyes darted about.
He surged out of the bay as a dolphin and transformed in mid-air. He landed with an earthshaking thud, a bear once more. His leap had carried him to within feet of her.
Serena fell on her butt. Fear held her paralyzed. The unformed was going to kill her.
At the last instant, a sputtering pulse of fire knocked the bear back.
William!
Serena scrambled to her feet and got precious distance between herself and the creature. She faced the bear again, mind racing. What would it take to stop the thing?
The unformed came at her. The dock rattled beneath his weight.
Serena shouted and clenched a fist. Sand from the beach behind her slammed into the bear from both sides, pinning him in place. Still he struggled against her braid. He clawed the sand, disrupting her weave. Serena pulled in more sand, straining to keep the beast back. He pushed forward. His jaws slavered, and he lunged forward, breaking through her prison of Earth.
Serena curled into a ball. Instinctively, she encased herself in Air and Water. The bear beat at her armor, slamming her to the ground. Through the Elements surrounding her, she saw him rear overhead, ready to smash her flat.
She rolled as his heavy paws struck the dock’s wooden planks and smashed them into kindling. He reared again. She tried to spin out from beneath the creature’s paws.
She couldn’t.
The unformed creature hammered her into the dock, and her breath went out with a whoosh. Pain bloomed in her chest. The bear had broken at least one of her ribs. The planks splintered beneath her, snapped apart. She screamed.
Her head slammed into a spar of wood, and she fought to retain consciousness as she plunged through the dock. Her flight halted when the bear snagged her shirt with his six-inch claws and threw her on to the dock.
Serena rolled over and over. Her ears rang. She tasted blood. Breathing came hard. The pain and disorientation—
She was going to die.
A core of resolve that wouldn’t allow her to quit reared up. Serena gritted her teeth. Hell no! She snarled at the bear as he stood over her.
Eat this!
Serena hit the bear with a blazing line of fire. It caught the creature flush in the face, and the unformed roared. Serena didn’t let up. She poured out more flames. The heat blistered her skin. The bear reared up, roaring in anger and pain. Her hands throbbed, and she gritted her teeth.
The bear continued to roar.
Fire hot enough to melt metal blazed over Serena’ head. It hit the bear in the chest and punched through him. The unformed screamed in mortal pain, high-pitched and disturbingly human. A second later, the bear fell over, and from his muzzle and ruined chest, smoked curled.
Either the world held quiet or her ears didn’t work. Serena didn’t care. She’d survived. That’s all that mattered. She lay on her back and tried to stifle the sobs. Her broken ribs couldn’t take much more than shallow breaths.
William stood over her. “You hurt?”
Still in shock, Serena sat up, grimacing when her broken ribs sent a stab of pain through her. “Who shot the fire?”
“I did.”
“You?” Surprise forced her to claw her way upright. “Who taught you to do that?”
“I taught myself,” William said, kneeling at her side.
Serena viewed him in disbelief. He taught himself? “William. If you hadn’t been absolutely precise in your braids, the fire would have burned you instead.”
He shrugged. “Then it’s a good thing I was absolutely precise.” He sounded entirely too nonchalant about the matter.
Serena shook her head. “You hardly have any training. How did you know the fire wouldn’t hurt you when you aimed it at the bear?”
“How do you know I was aiming at the bear?”
Serena stared at him, wondering if he was serious. She couldn’t tell. His time on Sinskrill had served him well. Back in Cincinnati, she could read his every thought and intention without any difficulty. Now he was a cipher.
Serena continued to stare at him, wondering about his intentions. “You aren’t serious,” she declared, hoping she was right. Did he really hate her so much that he’d murder her?
“Maybe not, but the thought did cross my mind,” he said with a sardonic smile. “Do you want me to get help?” He gestured to her chest. Her ribs ached, and blood leaked from a long runnel on her forearm where the bear had cut her.
“Fiona,” Serena said. “She’s supposed to be in Bliss’ fields today.”
“You trust her?”
“About as much as I trust anyone,” Serena replied.
William snorted. “Fiona. She’s an odd one. I wonder if she would have liked Mr. Zeus. They would have made an interesting couple.”
Serena stared at him in surprise. His voice had held a puzzling tone. Her eyes narrowed in thought. William meant for her to know something. A secret lingered in his mien, something about Mr. Zeus, Jason’s grandfather. “Only if they ever met,” she said.
“What a meeting that would be,” he said with a laugh.
Insight bloomed. Mr. Zeus. He was near, and he was coming. A well of gratitude filled her. Maybe William wouldn’t hate her forever. “Thank you,” she said softly.
“Make sure you don’t betray me again. I don’t think you’d do as well next time.” William rose to his feet. “I’ll get Fiona.”
Serena watched him depart before she rested her head on the dock and stared at the blue sky. She breathed out her gratitude at being alive, and for the first time in weeks she hummed “Gloria.”
SEMINAL
July 1987
* * *
Selene worriedly chewed her bottom lip as she stood outside Serena’s quarters. She fisted her hand and raised it, ready to rap upon the door.
Courage, she told herself.
But it’s wrong, another part of her argued.
She needs to know.
You’ll betray the Servitor, the other part of her insisted.
Selene might have stood there for hours, held still by indecision, but approaching footsteps made the choice for her. She couldn’t afford to be caught standing around in the Servitor’s family quarters for no good reason. A mahavan might punish her if she was discovered here doing nothing.
Selene quickly knocked on Madam’s door.
The footsteps drew closer, and Selene flicked a fearful glance at whoever approached.
Secondus Adam, the Servitor’s brother and her uncle, turned the corner, and Selene dropped a curtsy. Secondus Adam never noticed. He passed by, not bothering to acknowledge her presence, before he entered his own quarters.
Her sister’s door opened, and Serena stood there with her hair haloed about her head and shoulders in an untidy mess. She rubbed her side. The broken ribs from the attack by the unformed bear must have still bothered her.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Madam,” Selene said.
“What is it?” Serena asked.
“The Servitor wants to see you.”
Something in her tone or her posture must have given away her nervousness because Serena stared at her so intently that Selene began fidgeting. “The Servitor wants to see me?” Serena repeated with an arch of her eyebrows.
“Yes,” Selene said, trying to make her voice sound certain rather than filled with fearful uncertainty. “In his study.”
Serena stared at her a moment more before shrugging. “Lead the way.”
Selene nodded and darted back the way she’d come, glancing to make sure Serena followed.
“What’s the hurry?” Serena asked. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were nervous.”
“I’m not nervous,” Selene said.
“I’m glad to hear it,” Serena said. “By the way, is the Servitor actually in his study?”
“No, Madam. The water in Village White Sun’s well went muddy this morning. He went to purify and bless it.”
“Then he’ll be gone for a few hours,” Serena mused, “and he wants me to wait for him in his study the entire time he’s gone?”
Selene winced. Her lie sounded so obvious when put like that, but she made herself nod in assent. “That’s what he said.”
“I see.”
Selene changed the subject. “Are your ribs getting better?”
“Slowly but surely,” Serena answered. “It’s only been a few days, but maybe in a couple more I’ll be back to normal.”
Selene barely paid attention. She rushed them through the Palace, and exhaled in relief when they reached the door to the Servitor’s study. “We’re here,” she announced, rapping once to make sure the Servitor hadn’t unexpectedly come back. No sound came from within, so Selene opened the door and ushered her sister inside. “He said for you to wait here,” Selene reminded Serena before darting out of the room.