Wielder's Prize

by Elle Cardy

  “Where are you from?” she asked to help him take his mind off his sea sickness.

  He smiled before he answered. “A kingdom far away called Gamilion.”

  “I’ve heard of it.”

  “Well, yes, of course. Her capital is a mighty city, rich in trade and culture. Although she suffered a decline a thousand years ago during the Great Illness, her people rebuilt her into the fair kingdom she is today.”

  “The Great Illness?”

  Aurelius gave her an incredulous look.

  She shrugged to explain her ignorance. “I’ve lived on a ship all my life.”

  “But it’s the whole reason why the Guar—” He stopped himself. “It’s the whole reason we are hated as wielders.” He pulled on his fingers until Jasmine thought he might dislodge one.

  “Would you tell me the story?” she asked in a small voice. “I’d like to hear it.”

  Aurelius eyed her as if he needed to check to see if she was jesting. It seemed he decided she wasn’t and relaxed. “About a thousand years ago there was an exotic kind of power that filled Erenna. It behaved differently to the power you and I know today. Wielders were known as magicians or wizards and they passed down the magic in their bloodline.” He shivered then gave her an apologetic smile. “I always shiver at the thought of that kind of power being passed on to children, even though I know it was different then. Just imagine, thousands of abominations wandering around Erenna.”

  Jasmine adjusted the borrowed blanket around her shoulders in an attempt to stop the chill from creeping in.

  “Of course, they weren’t abominations back then,” he continued with a serious tone. “Neither were they feared. They were respected members of the community. Some of them were even kings’ advisors. Imagine that.” Aurelius gazed into the dark night beyond the ship. Jasmine didn’t interrupt his reverie even though she had no imaginings except to return to the Prize. Not an impossible fantasy, she told herself.

  He blinked and seemed to remember he was in the middle of telling a story. “One man changed all that,” he said. “We think his name was Timbron. He came from the line of Xandory. The most powerful bloodline of magicians on Erenna. He was so powerful that he created the Great Illness. Millions died.”

  Jasmine’s eyes widened. She couldn’t comprehend the numbers. She couldn’t even comprehend what would possess someone to conjure such a thing. “So many died because of just one man?”

  “Some say he was mad with power. Others say he was just mad.”

  “How did they defeat such a man?”

  “The stories are vague. So much is lost from those times. So much forgotten. What is known, however, is that the magic was never the same.”

  “How can that be?”

  “I like to speculate.”

  She waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, she gave him a nudge. “Go on.”

  Jasmine caught a glimmer in Aurelius’ eyes. He seemed pleased by her interest in his story, and sat up a little straighter. “I like to think of the power as a living thing. A life force. When the wizard abused that power, it retaliated. And I think it changed itself so no one in future generations would be able to abuse it again.” His shoulders sagged. “You think I’m foolish.”

  “I think it’s a great theory,” she said. “I could think of no better reason.”

  “Really?”

  “Oh, aye,” she said with as much sincerity as she could. In truth she wasn’t sure what she believed.

  Something occurred to her. “There is something you haven’t asked us.”

  “What were you doing in a boat so far out at sea? Why were you stranded? What happened to your ship? Why is my master interested in you? Who are you really?”

  Jasmine stared at Aurelius.

  He smiled. “Would you answer any of these questions if I asked them?” He held up his hand to stop her from answering. “It’s none of my business. My task is simply to find you and bring you to my master.”

  “Who is your master?”

  “A man named Marcelo.”

  “In Sapphire Cove,” she said with surprise. Captain Kahld was headed for Sapphire Cove. This was her answer. This was her way of returning to her ship.

  Chapter 26

  Jasmine crouched by a small fire and tried to warm her hands. They had reached shore sometime during the night. She had lost sight of the sickle moon so she guessed the hour was late. They stood on the exposed beach of a small inlet. The beach was made of large round pebbles that chilled her bare feet.

  “We need to get you some shoes,” Aurelius said when he joined her at the fire.

  “I’m fine,” she said as she shivered. “Is everything as you planned?” She was eager to get moving. The sooner she could reach his master, Marcelo, the greater her chances of returning to the Prize. Once there, she would somehow stowaway on the ship even if it meant she had to remain hidden for the rest of her life. The sea was everything to her. This dry land was too hard, unmoving, and cold.

  “Everything is in order,” Aurelius said. “Gavriil is talking with his cousin Petya now. Petya brought the cart as I had requested.”

  She shuddered at the thought of traveling over land by horse and cart. A cold wind whistled through the flames, making it burn hot. Aurelius threw another piece of driftwood onto the fire. It hissed and crackled, sparked and flared.

  Brusan approached and rubbed his hands in the fire’s warmth. He smiled at Jasmine. “I spoke to Gavriil. There’s a village close. When the sun comes up, we can follow the coast to the south. We should reach it by midday.”

  Jasmine opened her mouth to speak, but Aurelius cut her off. “You are free to go, of course, but Midge will be coming with me.”

  Brusan’s expression darkened. He looked from Aurelius to Jasmine and back again. Jasmine knew that look and she didn’t like Aurelius’ chances of escaping some form of injury. As much as she was curious to see what might happen, she decided to intervene.

  “I do wish to go with Aurelius,” she said.

  “Why? Where are you going?”

  “We’re going to his master, Marcelo.”

  Brusan frowned in confusion. “Why do I know that name?”

  “Because Kahld may have spoken of him.” When he still looked confused she added, “Marcelo was Finn’s trainer.”

  Aurelius gasped. “You know Finn?”

  Brusan grunted. “Trouble-making wielder we met on the Seahawk.”

  The corner of Aurelius’ mouth twitched at Brusan’s description.

  “He wasn’t that bad,” Jasmine said quietly.

  Aurelius frowned at her but said nothing.

  “Still don’t get why you want to go to this Marcelo fellow,” Brusan said.

  Jasmine shrugged. “I’m curious.”

  The skin around Brusan’s eyes tightened. Something brewed under the surface. She could tell he wanted to say more but he still had difficulty accepting she was a wielder. It was a world he didn’t belong to, a world he could never be a part of. She hoped he had had his fill of wielders with his captain. If he knew her real reason for going to Marcelo, he would do everything in his power to stop her. He would never let her return to the Prize. He himself could never return. Kahld would kill him for his betrayal. She wondered if he knew that.

  Slowly Brusan shook his head. “That’s not good enough.” He turned to Aurelius who stared into the fire as if he pretended he wasn’t there. “Why do you want Midge to meet Marcelo?”

  Aurelius sighed and ran a hand through his golden hair. “I was instructed by my master to rescue two people stranded in a boat in the middle of the ocean. He said I was to bring the one who was the wielder to him. And he told me there wasn’t much time left so I had to hurry.”

  “And you expect us to follow you on that alone?”

  “I expect Midge to follow me on that alone. You’re welcome to come with us. Or not.”

  Brusan’s hands curled into fists at h
is sides. Jasmine stood, ready to get in Brusan’s way if he decided to use those fists on Aurelius.

  “I want answers.” His fists didn’t unclench.

  A soft wisp of wielded power brushed past Jasmine and curled around Brusan. “This is important,” Aurelius said, his voice echoing the calm his power wrapped around the large man. “Midge will be safe.”

  Although he remained glaring at the wielder, maintaining a fighter’s stance, Brusan’s fists loosened.

  “Everything’s ready,” Gavriil said, approaching the fire.

  Brusan stepped back as if Gavriil’s presence woke him from a dream.

  “Petya’s waiting on the hill.” The fisherman pointed behind him. It was too dark to see anything but a small pin-prick of light in that direction. “Anyways, it’s been mighty fine doing business with you.”

  “You aren’t coming with us?” Aurelius asked.

  “Nay.” He held up a full bottle of rum. “Good ole Petya brought me a gift. Besides, I don’t like going far from the Sea Nymph.” He turned to Brusan and they clasped arms, hand to elbow. “If you’re ever in these parts again, look me up and we’ll share a bottle together.”

  “Aye, that I promise.”

  Gavriil nodded toward Jasmine. “Ma’am.” She nodded back, her gaze flicking to Brusan. It seemed she’d failed at hiding her femininity again. Thankfully Busan didn’t react. She might’ve escaped a beating this time.

  “We’d best be going, Midge,” Aurelius said. He glanced nervously at Brusan, expecting a fight.

  “Can’t change your mind?” Brusan asked Jasmine.

  She felt almost as nervous as Aurelius appeared. She shook her head, then added, “No,” to emphasize her meaning.

  Brusan growled, clearly not liking the situation. “Lead the way,” he said to Aurelius.

  The wielder led them up the beach toward the hill with the faint light. Jasmine hobbled across the cold stones, unused to the rough ground. Behind her, Gavriil’s baritone voice started up an indecent sea shanty. She suspected the fisherman intended to drink the entire bottle of rum that night. She smiled to herself. The man would probably wake in the morning with a stone lodged in his back, a terrible ache in his head, and a hole in his memory, and he would still call it a good night.

  The hill was steeper than she’d expected. The loose stones shifted under her weight and made it difficult to clamber up. By the time the three of them reached the top, she was flushed with warmth from the exertion. She stopped to catch her breath.

  Waiting for them at the top was a lean man with a beard as wild as the woods around them. A small oil lantern hung from a pole on a wooden cart filled with hay. While the light framed the man, it also cast him into deeper shadow. Jasmine held her breath until he moved and the shadows fled.

  “Evenin’,” the stranger said.

  “Petya, was it?” Aurelius said with his arm thrust out to shake the other man’s hand.

  “Aye.” Petya didn’t offer his hand in greeting.

  Aurelius dropped his arm. “I’m Aurelius. This is Midge and Brusan. Do you know where we’re headed?”

  “Aye.” It seemed he was a surly fellow of few words. Jasmine liked him already. On his thin frame he hung simple brown overalls and on his scruffy head he wore a moth-eaten hat.

  Aurelius walked toward the cart and stopped. “They’re not horses.” He pointed at the two yaks tied into the cart’s harnesses. They were large black beasts with long horns and woolly coats. They occasionally mewled and grunted and they smelled of mud, manure, and straw.

  “Aye.”

  “How fast will they go?”

  “Fast enough.”

  “I was promised horses,” Aurelius insisted.

  “You want this ride or not?”

  Aurelius sighed. “Yes, yes of course.” With sharp movements, he ushered Jasmine into the back of the cart with him and directed Brusan to sit up front with the driver. Brusan refused to leave Jasmine’s side.

  “Sit where you want,” Aurelius huffed. “We don’t have time to argue.”

  Brusan chuckled to himself when he settled beside her in the hay. Jasmine suspected he would make a sport of flustering the poor wielder during their journey. She hoped it was going to be a short trip.

  Petya released an ear-piercing whistle and snapped the reins to get his yaks moving. The large animals ambled forward with a drowsy gait. She could feel Aurelius’ frustration mount. Without having to look, she knew Brusan’s smile widened. Yep, it was going to be a long journey after all. She decided to lie down in the old straw under her blanket and try to get some rest.

  The wagon creaked and jostled and thudded along the rocky road. She tried to find the rhythm of the cart so she could sleep to its song but it seemed wagons were nothing like ships. Each movement jarred her bones and rattled her teeth. If it had a song, she couldn’t appreciate it.

  “Can’t you make this thing go faster?” Aurelius finally asked their driver.

  “Nay.”

  The edge of a dark forest loomed over them. The light from their little lantern shifted through the trees and coated the forest with an inky blackness on its passing. Somewhere in the shadows a strange bird squawked. Waves washed against a distant shore, the sound bringing comfort to Jasmine. The cart carried them deeper into the mountains, and too soon the towering pine trees muffled the sounds she loved. The eeriness of the night closed in and she hunkered deeper into the straw.

  *

  Jasmine hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep until she woke to the touch of a soft mist of rain on her face. She sat up and looked around. The cold light of dawn filtered through the low clouds, turning the world gray. Granite cliffs, made shiny and black by the rain, reared high on either side of them. The yaks dawdled along a narrow path. Brusan snored beside her. He was half sitting up with his back against the side of the cart. His arms were crossed over his broad chest. He seemed oblivious to the weather.

  “I envy your ability to sleep,” Aurelius said in a low voice when he looked over his shoulder.

  Her stomach growled. “I envy your ability to go without food.”

  “Oh, food. Yes.” Aurelius turned to Petya. “You brought the supplies?”

  “Aye.”

  “Great. We can eat while we travel.”

  Petya made a strange snicking noise with his tongue. His yaks slowed then stopped. He tied the reins on a small hook and jumped down off the cart.

  “Where are you going? Why have you stopped?” Aurelius asked.

  “My animals need rest and food. As do I.”

  Brusan opened his eyes and looked around. After a moment he stirred, jumped out of the cart and brushed the straw from his clothes. He peered up at the cliff faces, turned around, and seemed deep in thought. Jasmine supposed he was trying to guess where they might be or where they were going. Of course, there was no way he could know. The Wielder’s Prize had never sailed so far south. This was new lands to Jasmine. A whole new world.

  Aurelius muttered something under his breath and jumped down off the cart. He walked to the back where Jasmine still huddled under her blanket. He fished through the straw and pulled out a wooden box. Jasmine couldn’t see what was inside the box when he opened the lid, so she leaned to the side. Aurelius tossed her a small loaf of bread and a corner of cheese. She cheered the wielder and wolfed into her meal before she even climbed out of the cart. It was a good thing she hadn’t noticed the box earlier or she might’ve raided it during the night.

  Brusan stopped turning around in a circle and approached Aurelius. He grabbed the wielder’s upper arm and said, “Are we headed for Sapphire Cove?”

  Aurelius’ eyes went round. “I’m surprised you know of the place. It can only be reached by sea or this pass. And not many people know of this pass.”

  “I didn’t know of this pass either,” he said with a growl. He released Aurelius’ arm and caught hold of Jasmine’s foot. With one strong tug he dragged
her closer to him. She yelped in surprise and dropped her bread. He grabbed her under her arms and lifted her out of the cart as if she were a small child. When she was clear of the cart he dropped her on feet and took her by her upper arm as he’d done with Aurelius. He started to drag her away when the wielder protested.

  “What are you doing with her?”

  Brusan turned on Aurelius one of his darkest expressions. “I wish to talk in private with my son — my daughter. If that’s acceptable?”

  Aurelius gave him a hesitant nod and watched Brusan drag Jasmine out of ear shot.

  When they were far enough away, Brusan hissed, “We can’t be going to Sapphire Cove!”

  She blinked to pretend ignorance. “Why is that?”

  “Because that’s where Captain Kahld is headed.” He hesitated and his eyes narrowed. “You knew that already.”

  “No, I swear,” she lied.

  His face was so close to hers that she could feel his breath on her skin. She tried to pull away but he was too strong. She glanced over to the others by the wagon. Petya’s attention was on his animals. He gave them grain to eat from burlap bags while he brushed their coats down with a fine-bristled brush. The world could have ended and he wouldn’t have noticed. Aurelius, however, watched them from afar. He didn’t try to be polite about it either. He just stared.

  “Why do you always lie to me?” Brusan asked.

  “It’s not a lie. What’s so important about Sapphire Cove anyway?”

  Brusan studied her then let her go. She rubbed her arm where he’d left a bruise.

  “Don’t know but it’s where Captain Kahld is headed,” he whispered. “We can’t go there. He’ll kill us.”

  Jasmine didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t think of a lie that would convince him to let her go, or a lie to make him leave.

  “I have to go there,” she said.

  “So you did know.” The look of disappointment in his eyes caught her off guard. Why did she care what he thought? He was just the ship’s cook. He was the man who beat her all her life.

  “You don’t have to come with us,” she said.