Wielder's Prize

by Elle Cardy

  “I’ve been around a lot of ornery men in my time.” Brusan spat into Aurelius’ face. “I’ve seen all types. The greedy, the lecherous, the vengeful, the proud. You? You’re the worst kind. You’re the man who would betray his own master.”

  Jasmine’s eyebrows rose.

  “What?” Aurelius squealed. “I’d never betray Marcelo. Where’s your proof?”

  Brusan shook the young wielder. “The proof is in your eyes. Seen it before and I’ll never mistake it again.”

  Marcelo rose and touched Brusan gently on the shoulder. “Let him go.”

  Brusan growled and shoved Aurelius back. The young wielder’s foot tripped on a corner of a rug and he fell into a wooden chair. Jasmine expected him to leap up and either run away or start to wield. He did neither. He remained in the chair and rubbed his neck.

  Marcelo stood over him. “Why, son?”

  When Aurelius couldn’t look at Marcelo, Jasmine realized the accusation was true.

  “Because you loved Finn more than me,” he muttered.

  A look of bewilderment came over Marcelo. “You know that’s not true.” In the firelight his blue eyes were the same color as the water that washed against the beach in the cove. Vibrant. Deep. Bright. Jasmine guessed Aurelius had sought a look of approval in those eyes and now saw only disappointment.

  “It is true,” Aurelius said, his voice filled with bitterness. “You were always too busy to pay me any attention. You only had time for your scrolls and your inks and your notes.” He swept up a scroll lying on the floor and threw it into the fire.

  “No!” Marcelo reached into the fire and rescued the scroll. He waved it about in a frantic movement to extinguish the flames. Fragments of ash and embers flew into the air. When the parchment seemed safe, he turned his annoyed attention back to his assistant.

  “How then did you do it?” He seemed unable to use the word, “betray.”

  “It was that warm summer day a year and a half ago,” Aurelius said as he pulled at a thread on the corner of his shirt. “We were stationed in Auslam. I brought you a cold drink. In the drink was ice. I had spent all morning wielding water into three ice cubes for you. It is the most complex wielding I could do, yet you didn’t even notice. You sat with your head in your scrolls writing. Always writing. The ice melted. You used the drink to water your precious plant.”

  Marcelo glanced guiltily toward his bromeliad. The moonlight touched its long leaves. It looked like it was about to sprout a flower spike. “I love my plant.”

  “Exactly! I was so angry that day. I needed to get away so I went to the local tavern on the river. My plan was to drink myself to oblivion. Anything to take the pain away.”

  “A wielder should never lose control through the evils of drink.”

  “Do you want to recite rules or hear my story, old man?”

  Marcelo waved the charred scroll at him. Jasmine supposed it was Marcelo’s attempt at both an apology and permission to continue.

  “There was a gentleman at a table, drinking ale. He noticed me when I came in. He must have noticed my moody countenance because he asked me what was wrong. He seemed genuinely interested. He even paid for my drink and offered me a seat. I don’t know what made me tell him my woes. He seemed trustworthy.”

  “You told him about the Guar...us?”

  “Not immediately. After that, we met almost every night he was in port. We had a great time together. Even though he was the captain of the Wielder’s Prize and had many tales to tell, he always seemed more interested in me. I liked that. I craved that. I missed him when he went on long voyages. He always came back when he said he would. And he always paid for my ale.”

  “No doubt,” Marcelo said under his breath.

  Aurelius cast a dark look at his master.

  “Continue.” Marcelo still hadn’t put down his scroll, as if he was afraid Aurelius might throw it into the fire again.

  “One night the captain grew bored. He was less attentive. Less interested. So I let slip about the Guardians. He already knew I could wield. It was the whole story of the ice cubes that got him interested in the first place. When I spoke of the Guardians his interest flared. He bought me many drinks that night. I told him everything. I told him about you. He was particularly interested in your powers. He laughed when I told him you could read the future.

  “‘What could a man like that ever desire?’ he declared.

  “Although it was a rhetorical question, I answered him. I told him that the only things you valued in this life were your notes, your plant, and Finn.” Aurelius became sullen. “That’s when he turned all his interest on Finn. I didn’t like that. He wanted to know everything he could about him. I complied. He nodded his approval and I liked that, even if I did speak of Finn.

  “Then one night you had a vision. You didn’t tell me what that vision was. You never do, no matter how perplexed you get. I saw you write a note. It was addressed to Finn. You asked me to organize a messenger to get the letter to Finn as soon as possible. I did, but not before I read the note. You said you wanted to meet Finn at Sapphire Cove. Here. You didn’t explain to him why, but I knew you would explain it when he got here. I hated you for that note. You never tell me anything. You risked your career for that man. What did you ever risk for me?”

  Marcelo opened his mouth to speak. Aurelius held up a hand to stop him. He didn’t want to hear it.

  “And so I told Captain Kahld that Finn would book passage to Sapphire Cove.”

  “You knew the captain was a pirate.”

  “Of course I knew! I’m not stupid. He never said as much, but I knew.”

  Brusan growled. “Let me have the honor of punishing him for you.” He slammed a fist into the palm of his hand. In his intensity Jasmine thought he looked comical.

  “No, no,” Marcelo said. “He is my responsibility. I will deal with him in my own way.”

  Jasmine remembered the things Finn had told her about the Guardians. She remembered his warning about what happened to those who betrayed the order. Their idea of punishment was death. “You aren’t going to…” she couldn’t say the word.

  Marcelo laughed. “Kill him? My goodness, no. There are too few of us in this world as it is.”

  Aurelius’ eyes widened. Relief drained from him like water from a broken bucket. It seemed he too had expected finality to his punishment. Guilt replaced the relief and weighed heavily on his shoulders. Hope mixed with fear swirled around him as if they were made of the very power he wielded.

  A wave of power washed over Jasmine. It tingled at her fingertips and blew through her a fresh breath of strength. She shuddered as she took it all in.

  “Jasmine?” Brusan asked warily.

  “The Prize is here,” she said.

  Chapter 30

  Jasmine stood on the beach with her face against the wind. While the clouds obscured the sunrise and turned everything cold and gray, the chill didn’t touch her. She supposed it was either from the adrenaline racing through her or the fact the Prize, her prize, was close and she unknowingly wielded herself warm. If that was possible.

  She couldn’t see her precious ship. She suspected Kahld anchored her around the southern bend of the cliffs. She didn’t need to see it to know she was close. The strength of its power infused her whole being.

  She turned at a gentle touch on the shoulder. “Tone it down,” Marcelo said. “You truly are a beacon when your talisman is close.”

  “I thought I was hidden.” She growled like Brusan in her frustration. She’d be no good to anyone if she couldn’t control her power. “How do you do it?”

  “Do what, dear?”

  “How do you control your power with so much ease?”

  “When I was trained, I knew what was happening. I understood what it meant to be a wielder. That gave me the added advantage of control. You weren’t so lucky. I would very much like to see what might happen if I trained you in our ways.”
<
br />   “You’d train me as a Guardian? No thanks.”

  “Maybe, in time—”

  “They’re coming.” Out to sea a small speck marred the blue waves to the southeast.

  Marcelo peered in the direction she pointed. “You have good eyes.”

  “The benefit of youth?”

  “Now, now. No reason to get cheeky.”

  Before she could give him a mock protest, Marcelo murmured, “Fascinating,” then galloped off as if his age were but an illusion. Jasmine shook her head at his retreating back and turned again to watch a rowboat approach.

  Power surrounded that boat. She recognized the power before she recognized the man. Captain Kahld. Her father. He had changed since she’d last seen him. He looked like a storm had caught him, tossed him around and spat him out. Nothing about him was the immaculate man she once knew. Even his power swirled around him in an erratic jig that slapped and swiped and whipped.

  Her breath caught when she recognized a second power. She almost didn’t see it because Kahld’s power drowned it out. It was a soft glow. A hum. Odd. Finn’s power sang to her just as her ship sang to her. Her heart responded to that song and she suddenly wanted to go to him. An ache constricted her chest. She couldn’t let Finn die today. She didn’t care as much about herself, as long as Finn lived.

  Jasmine took a deep breath and glanced up the beach to where Marcelo and Aurelius stood like men waiting to greet long expected family. Aurelius fidgeted. His eyes darted from Marcelo to the sea and back again. A veil of stillness seemed to contain Marcelo. Jasmine couldn’t detect his power. It remained hidden somewhere deep within him. She wondered how he did that. It would be a handy trick to have. Although she could hide her power, she could only do it if she herself were hidden.

  The old man scratched his chin, breaking the picture of apparent calm. He looked up at the sky. He looked down and smoothed the sand in front of him with a sandaled foot. He crossed his arms. He let his arms fall at his sides. He crossed his arms again. He huffed into the wind.

  Jasmine couldn’t help but wonder if Brusan was dealing with the wait better than the wielders. She hoped he remained hidden at the hut. If the captain saw him, not only would his life be in danger, but Kahld would know Jasmine was close. Her only chance was surprise. In the vision, she’d been visible so Kahld had been prepared for her. She couldn’t show herself no matter what happened.

  Jasmine strengthened the power she used to stay hidden. Marcelo looked her way and muttered something to Aurelius. The young wielder looked up and down the beach then shook his head. Marcelo visibly relaxed. He didn’t look at her again. It seemed he could see her but Aurelius could not. She could at least hold on to that small encouragement. Maybe Marcelo was right — those people who could see her were those she trusted. She found herself thinking the word, “fascinating,” and mentally slapped herself.

  The longboat sliced through the waves. Arassi and Hensley rowed. First Mate Durne sat at the bow of the boat with Finn. Captain Kahld sat alone at the stern. Finn’s back was to her. She wondered how he fared on the journey to the Cove. Did the captain continue to beat him? Did he break and give the captain more powers? She would find out soon enough.

  Darkness gathered out to sea and drew her eye. In her vision she hadn’t looked out to sea. She had known a storm was coming but her sole focus had been on the people gathered on the beach. Her time on the ship had taught her a lot about storms. The one gathering in the east was a bad one. She could hear the rumble of it, see the steely danger. She hoped the captain in his haste to satisfy his obsession had secured his ship in a safe harbor. Jasmine had no idea what the coast was like, if even there was a safe harbor available. She laughed at herself for being as afraid for the ship as she was for Finn.

  The boat carrying the Prize’s men landed on shore, riding up and wedging itself in the sand. Shallow waves licked its sides. Arassi and Hensley leapt out. Arassi shielded his eyes against the wind and pointed out the gathering storm. The captain made no response. He sat like a statue in the boat and waited for his men to pull the boat high enough up the beach so he could get out without wetting his boots.

  Durne and Finn jumped out to help haul the heavy boat up. Shackles bound Finn’s wrists. Durne carried the end of a chain attached to the shackles. The anger Jasmine felt surprised her. Finn didn’t need to be chained like a dog. She could at last see his face and her anger melted to relief. His old bruises were almost healed and he sported no new ones. Maybe the captain had forgotten about Finn until they reached their destination.

  A strange intensity darkened the captain’s emerald eyes. Once he spotted Marcelo standing on the dry sand, he did not look away. He climbed out of the boat, strode up the beach, and didn’t seem to care if his men followed him or not. At last his trophy, his prize, stood before him. Jasmine wanted to hear their exchange. Needing to get closer, she gathered her power and forced herself hidden from everyone — even those she trusted. She couldn’t risk someone giving herself away. The power that flowed through her felt fresh and invigorating. She had never felt more alive.

  With a sense of security and strength, Jasmine crept forward.

  “You know what I’m here for,” Kahld said.

  “I do.” Marcelo pointedly looked down at the sand he’d smoothed around him. Kahld followed his eye.

  The thing about Kahld that Jasmine hadn’t realized was that he was an observant man. His obsession hadn’t deadened that trait, but heightened it. The other thing Jasmine forgot was that while she was hidden, she was still physically there. She could splash into a tidal pool just as well as she could leave footprints in the sand.

  Realization came to her all too quickly and all too late. Marcelo had betrayed her.

  Kahld’s hand clamped around her throat. The shock of his touch broke her concentration. She became visible. Finn cried out behind the captain. The crewmen jumped back and hollered. They’d never seen someone appear out of nowhere.

  Jasmine relived the vision, this time not as the observer. She felt the pain of the captain’s fingers as he threatened to crush her throat. She tasted the horror as it welled up inside her at the knowledge she’d failed. Triumph registered in the captain’s eyes. It was the very same triumph she’d seen from afar in her vision. Only it was worse. Now it stung as surely as if the captain had struck her. She knew what came next.

  The captain wielded. She didn’t have to rely on the vision to know what he was about to do to her. The pattern of the wield caught her in its trap.

  She couldn’t pull away.

  She couldn’t hide.

  She couldn’t defend herself.

  A remote part of her thought, no wonder silencing was the weapon of choice. There was no defense against it. She wanted to apologize to Finn for failing him.

  The world shifted and she felt herself falling. Darkness filled her vision. Emptiness surrounded her. A distant scream wrenched from someone’s agonized soul. The beast of her nightmares woke. It smelled her blood. The scream had come from her. Clenching her mouth shut, she swam. She knew this place, knew the emptiness, and she knew how to hide.

  The beast sniffed the void. It recognized her and it hunted her. She felt its hunger, its yearning. It wanted freedom from this place. It needed strength and she could give it that strength. It fed on power — wielders’ power. She shrank in on herself. She couldn’t be found. She had to hide.

  The beast’s attention shifted. It howled.

  Finn.

  Jasmine risked discovery and swam through the void that threatened to swallow her. Finn appeared in front of her. His eyes spun in wild circles. His arms flailed about. He heard the beast and he opened his mouth to cry out. Jasmine covered his mouth with her hand and caught the scream before he let it go. Finn shook his head and struggled against her.

  Be still, Finn. She couldn’t speak in the void — she could only scream — so she thought the words.

  Finn couldn’t hear her in
his panic.

  Be still. She reached up and wrapped her arms around him to stop him from flailing.

  It’s me. Jasmine.

  Still he fought.

  The beast drew near. Its presence was a pall of thick smoke. She thought she might choke on her fear. It turned in their direction. It sniffed. It smelled them. The beast howled.

  Finn’s panic rose. He tried to scream through her hand.

  Jasmine didn’t know what else to do. She removed her hand from his mouth and she kissed him. She gave him everything she had. She gave him her longing. She gave him her soul. She gave him her trust.

  His lips responded. He opened his mouth and gave her his breath. He gave her everything of his. She could feel his love wash over her and through her. She felt her heart beat as if for the first time.

  “Jas—”

  Shh. Be still. It tracks our fear and our movements.

  Finn wrapped his arms around her. She wanted to indulge in the feeling. She wanted to nestle into him and never let him go. But they had to escape. She’d once survived in the void for two days. She wasn’t sure she could do it again.

  What happened?

  She heard Finn’s thoughts as if he’d spoken to her through a distant chime. His voice conveyed more than the words alone. She caught images in her head. She saw herself caught in the captain’s grasp. Finn wanted to know how he had caught her.

  Marcelo betrayed me. She showed him the image of the old man smoothing out the sand and then the image of him drawing the captain’s attention to her footprints.

  Never. Images flooded her of a boyhood in a warmer land where the sunlight shone in Finn’s honey-brown hair. Marcelo looked the same then as he did now. In the old wielder’s blue eyes she saw compassion as he explained to Finn about his visions. She watched him teach Finn. She watched him mend a scraped knee and fix a broken toy.

  Finn felt her distrust. She radiated it. She repeated the images of her betrayal. No, he said.

  The beast moved. Finn tightened his arms around her in a protective embrace. She held her breath and felt them both fall a little deeper into the void.