by BJ Hanlon
“Then do not think on it anymore.” She said interrupting his thoughts. “You’re a warrior, my warrior, and we will save the world from these monsters.”
Edin held her gaze and could see the certainty in her. But it was her declaration that made him search. “Save it?”
“I’ve been thinking… for a while now. We have to reclaim our place… now we’re not alone, when we get to the isle…”
“You want to fight Bestoria?” Edin said almost uncomprehending. “A war between magi and mundane…”
“For our people to be safe… it is for the good of all of us.” She reached her good hand up and rested it on his cheek and rubbed his short stubble. “Do you wish us to always be hunted? Do you wish to never return to your homeland?”
Edin was quiet for a bit. Then he said, “my home is gone… I’ve killed people… seen friends killed, family killed. I think what I want is peace…” he looked up at her. “With someone I care about.”
She moved her fingers to his lips. “I want that too, peace, hope… a future. But what future is there in this world? It just takes or destroys everything that is good and kind. My father was a gentle ruler, he didn’t hunt people down like beasts.”
“But war, it’ll be…”
“There’s already a war Edin,” Arianne said, her words still soft. “Don’t you see, they are already preparing. The draft, the ships. When I was searching the undercity, I heard about an increase in arms manufacturing outside Frestils. I know a war is coming Edin, and know, we won’t be on our own.”
“A war with Resholt maybe…”
“Maybe but still
it is not safe for our kind and there can be no future… for either of us.” She pulled his face to hers and gently kissed his lips.
He knew what she was really saying and it hurt. For all that they’d been through together, their escape meant nothing in the grand scheme of things.
“Good, come lay next to me, you bring me warmth like the whiskey brings to you.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she said and he laid before her. Arianne dug her head into his chest and wrapped her arms around his back.
His nightmare was normal. Or what he assumed was normal for a man who’d done the terrible things he had. He saw faces, dark and gory. Blood pouring from their mouths as they crawled up to the living world with blood dripping from their fangs.
They had fangs? Men didn’t have fangs… but he saw the faces just as clearly as when they were alive. Some he remembered, the men from Mathurn, the leader of the sellswords, the justicar… Foristol.
The old man leapt at him again and Edin could do nothing as his body moved to cut him down. Blood poured from the slash and from the man’s teeth. The white fangs dripping with blood like some sort of demon. Edin cried out as the light left the man’s eyes. Was it fear or sadness?
Who am I? The thought crossed through his dreaming brain. Looking down he found blood covering his hands. His gaze turned outward, to the burning buildings, the screams and the piles of bodies. Limbs were separated, insides bulging out like overstuffed sacks of meat. The blood-covered armor and horribly stained blades littered the dusty ground. All around, dead eyes stared into the firelit sky.
Where was Arianne? The thought hit him like a hammer blow to the head. Edin dropped to his knees and started pulling up the corpses. He flipped a body over, then another. Sweat poured down, partially blinding him. He continued feeling the heat from the fire on his arms and back.
Then he spied a soft ivory hand. It was beneath a large body, a man he didn’t know. Edin gritted his teeth trying to lift the man but it was as if the earth was holding him down. He pulled harder, using his legs that burned.
“Arianne!”
She didn’t respond. He lifted more, he had to do it.
A burst of energy flowed through, running up his torso and through his arms. Edin pulled, screaming as he did and it flew up like a door being kicked open. A moment later, he tumbled back with the body sliding free from whatever held it.
Edin was back on his feet and scrambled forward. Below was Arianne’s crushed body. Her chest was caved in, tears of blood ran from her thin lips. Her eyes stared blankly at the sky, at the wicked gods.
Edin screamed, howling like a woeful dire wolf. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the dead rising.
He woke, feeling sweat and fear. His eyes shot open and he saw her blond hair inches in front of him. Her chest rose and fell with the swaying ship and he heard the soft exhalations of a peaceful sleep.
A thin layer of cold sweat was coating his forehead. His chest pounded and he felt as if the walls were close. Far too close.
Edin shut his eyes and took in a deep gasp of air. He pictured the dream and the way her body had looked. Crushed and destroyed.
“No,” he whispered trying to picture something else, the forest, the sea, this place…a small and dank cabin where it was just them. The pungent odor, the creaking wood, and lapping waves. It took but a moment, the pace of his heart subsided and returned to normal. The pungent odor, the creaking wood, and lapping waves.
The ship was rocking much softer now. Edin heard murmuring voices outside. He slipped out of her grasp, stood and slipped on his tunic and boots and crept toward the door.
Beyond it, the ship was quiet and through a port hole, he saw it was night. He moved down the hall trying to tiptoe on the loud floor. The planks had other ideas, screaming at every other step in a coordinated plan to give away his movements. Odd, he’d never heard Le Fie coming to the door. The man just appeared.
He reached the mess and found hammocks hanging from the ceilings and support beams. Snoring men stuttered the room like drunkards.
Edin climbed the wide-step ladder and opened the hatch.
Fresh air and a cool breeze met him and attacked his sweat ridden skin. Edin shivered.
A lantern hung from a mast high above him like a tiny sun. Another sat at the helm with a third at the bow. He strode to the railing and peered at the black water.
It seemed so different from their last sea voyage. They were surrounded by sailors… and whatever Le Fie was, and they knew how to get to the promised Isle of Mists.
If Arianne was healthy, which she should be soon, it could’ve been a pleasure cruise.
Edin splayed his hands on the railing and ran his fingers over the damp wood. A splash of sea spray leapt up and caught him in his open mouth. Edin spat out the salty water.
“Nice night.” A deep accented voice came from behind him.
Edin looked over at a dark-skinned man, Ashica, he assumed. The captain rested a huge pair of forearms on the railing next to him.
“Peaceful,” Edin said.
“I like it at night,” the man said. A pair of light scars ran perfectly parallel down his left forearm. He offered a pleasant smile and looked back over the ocean.
For some reason, he didn’t strike Edin as a smuggler. The man seemed more like a merchant, which was what Edin assumed he told port authorities.
“It’s open seas, no storms in the near future.”
“How can you tell?”
“It gets to be like another sense.” He sighed, “as honest and trustworthy as seeing or hearing.”
They stayed quiet for a while, listing to the hull chop through the sea and the flapping of the sails in the wind. It felt like they were gliding across the sea at a great speed, though Edin had no way to be sure.
“Are you a magus too?” Edin asked.
“Nope,” he shook his head. “I never did have the talent.”
“But you’re not afraid of us.” Edin paused and looked at him. “Why then…”
“Do I let abominations on my ship? Why do I facilitate trade between the isle and the mainland?” He chuckled slightly. “Money of course and I don’t have to hurt nobody. Business is always best when you have a monopoly or an oligopoly as it were. I’m a businessman. Since I grew up, I always wanted to make more money, have more things.”
“That’s it? It’s all about money?”
“That’s it. Have a grand estate down in the southern isles. One day I’ll retire there with Yassima.”
“Is she your wife?”
He laughed, a low snorting laugh. “Yassima would never marry… she loves her freedom too much… and our boy. But maybe one day…” Ashica paused.
It clicked in his head like a puzzle piece being snapped down. “Yassima is the Raven?”
“You didn’t know?” He said, “thought you did, doesn’t matter, real name or fake name, she’ll never get caught. Except by me…”
He shot a toothy grin at Edin. It was dark but he looked to have an almost full set of them, some though could’ve been rotten.
Edin leaned back, gripping the railing and letting his arms stretch. He felt unsure what to say. They were guests and the captain was nice enough to offer the only other private room to Arianne.
“What’s the place like?” Edin said trying to change the subject. “The Isle of Mists…”
Ashica frowned. “Like any other city, a gentry, merchants and artisans. I don’t go much into the city, stay at the docks mostly.”
“Why?” Edin said sweeping his gaze toward Ashica.
“It’s where my business is.” He paused. “
Le Fie would be better to describe the ins and outs of the place. Was born there, one of the few who leaves and actually returns.”
“People leave?”
“Some, mundanes usually, they have the talent in their blood. Nearly everyone on the isle has the talent in their blood. Just not everyone’s talent manifests.”
Ashica pulled a metal flask out and took a drink then offered it to Edin. A quick sniff told him it was more whiskey, maybe the same stuff the cook had.
“Thank you,” Edin said after a sip. “For everything… I’m not sure how I’ll ever repay you.”
“Not necessary,” Ashica said waiving another dismissive hand over the side of the ship. “It’s what I do.”
“I know but if you weren’t there, we’d be stuck in that city.”
“You did a good job...” He paused as if not wanting to admit to the attack. “From what I saw, the navy will be crippled for a while at least. That’s good for me.”
“Where’s the Ra… Yassima? I haven’t seen her.”
He sighed. “Stayed in Carrow… said she wants to be of use. I told her, you can’t be of any use if you’re dead. The city is gonna be in an upheaval for a long time.”
“Use for what?”
“That I’m not sure of. Le Fie knows.” He shrugged, took the flask back from Edin. “I gotta get back to the deck, Flack can only be trusted for so long at the helm.”
Edin glanced up and saw the young man standing behind the wheel with arm-length handles extending from it.
“The reason I’m out here is I was hoping you could look after him a bit? When you get to the isle… The kid is ambitious and smart… but he’s also trouble. Too much like his mother.”
“If I can…”
“It’s good to see you on deck. You’ve been cooped up with your girl for far too long. We got some time before we get there. Better enjoy the freedom while you can. There ain’t much of it on Delrot.”
Over the next week of so, they sailed. Arianne had begun taking trips to the deck with Edin. At night, when most of the crew was asleep, he practiced the Oret Nakosu teaching Arianne and sometimes Flack.
Occasionally, Edin and Arianne would lie on their backs together and stare up at the stars. She held his hand as she pointed out some of the constellations, Nelput, a great beast of a man riding a boar that was supposedly the size of a village. There was Estoolin, a deep-thinking elder god who was quiet, but always scheming. The mythical hero Gorto, a young man who’d sacrificed his life for that of the world when he slayed a giant dragon whose only goal was its total destruction. Some say Gorto was Yio Volor… before the god of the underworld became the god of the underworld. Most people knew them as separate gods.
It was this time, Edin felt at peace and almost happy.
The nightmares continued though, waking him almost nightly in a cold sweat and all he wanted was a deep drink of whiskey. Luckily, Ashica and the cook both continued to share their stash.
Edin was feeling stronger in body again from exercising. His mind though was tired from the lack of sleep.
Arianne cuddled up next to him on the forward deck, it was a cool night but their itchy wool blanket kept them warm. Arianne leaned her head against his shoulder. Her wound was now healed completely with the exception of the small bones floating in her shoulder.
Arianne claimed she couldn’t feel anything, but he’d seen her grimace when pulling her arm into her cloak.
“I almost wish we could stay like this forever…” Edin whispered in her ear.
A moment later, a shadow in the form of an elongated man crossed their bodies. He glanced over and saw Le Fie. Over the last weeks he’d seen the man staring from a far. It caused goosebumps and shivers like a freezing rain in the middle of the spring.
“Edin,” he said quietly as he moved toward the bow, “we arrive tomorrow at the isle and I wish to speak with you,” Le Fie said, his tone was calm. “Alone.”
“She can hear whatever it is you have to say.”
“It’s okay Edin,” Arianne said standing. “I’m tired, I’ll see you in the cabin.” She kissed him and disappeared down the stairs.
“I want you to trust me and I hope I can trust you.” Said the spy.
“I barely know you,” Edin said then paused. “You saved our lives but...”
“We are strangers. That is true and I have not been very visible… this however is a necessity of my position. I have many responsibilities, many secrets.”
“I will not betray your secrets.”
“It isn’t my secret you need to worry about. It’s yours.” The man paused and gazed out to the sea.
“I don’t…”
Le Fie cut him off with a hand. “You remember what Flack told you about the Praesidium and the First Among Equals?”
Edin nodded.
“Pharont is powerful and power hungry. If the FAE finds out about you, he will either try and recruit you… or kill you.”
In the slim light of a half moon, he couldn’t see Le Fie’s eyes but his jaw was set. “He doesn’t like strong rivals. Not even the entirety of the Praesidium can save you should he set his sight on you. Be wary.”
“So I’ll be a target?” Edin said moving his eyes back out toward the ocean.
“If he finds out. You’re strong like Rihkar. He hated Rihkar… many did. And, unless I am mistaken you have three talents. How I am unsure, but no one in history has held that many. That is something he cannot allow. Not with the foretelling...”
“Foretelling of what?”
“One who will rise… not all interpretations are good. Some are evil and destructive therefore I will not tell you much. Only that a man raised far away will return to his people to save them… or destroy them. It is based on an old prophecy… supposedly of the Ecta Mastrino.”
“Is that all?”
“Well the prophecy has been lost.” He paused. “And I’m not sure if it pertains to you, probably not… it’s a legend but that and the fact that you are Rihkar’s son makes you dangerous to anyone in power, this side of the ocean or that.”
“I see.” He paused. “Why do people hate Rihkar? I have my reasons but…”
“Some believe he abandoned the isles. I know different…” He gazed up to the sky. Edin followed the look and saw a flash of light somewhere far in the distance.
“Lightning,” Le Fie snorted, “The burning sword of heaven.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing. Remember what I said. You’ll not be safe if someone finds out… nor will your girl.” Le Fie disappeared behind him like a puddle in the dry desert sun.
3
The Isle of Mists
The ship was passing th
rough a fog that seemed to part only a few feet before him like an adoring crowd and then circle back behind in the same way. It was quiet in what he thought was around midday.
The fog seemed wet, as if it had joined with a soft mist to create this barrier. It was deep and thick. The ship didn’t even feel like it was moving, but Edin still steadied himself with the handrails as he climbed the stair to the helm.
At the top he had to take six hesitant steps before he saw Ashica at the wheel, his eyes seemingly glazed over with a milky white film.
Edin was about to open his mouth when Le Fie appeared as if an apparition at Ashica’s side. The spy put a finger to his lips and nodded toward the front of the boat.
Looking in that direction, he began to see shapes forming in the white cloud. Ghostly and eerie and he had a sense of some great monster approaching.
It was the masts first, then men standing at the railings looking ahead into nothingness.
A gull squawked sending shivers up his spine. It came from somewhere outside of his vision. He took a breath and with it, he smelled the first sweet hint of fauna in weeks.
Slowly, he began to see more as sunlight began to push back the world of white. He saw long wooden docks, one that looked so near the port side of the ship he thought they’d ram it.
They didn’t. The docks were bathed in sunlight. The bow, then the foremast passed through as if a great barrier separated the two worlds. The barrier moved forward ominously. Edin watched the line move slowly against the deck toward him. It leapt the stairs, the planks until it was inches from his feet.
He took an instinctive step back and felt a hand on his back. The sunlight met his toes and began to crawl up his body with a warming sensation.
Edin took a sip of whiskey from a flask Ashica had given him.
When they passed through, it was as if a hood had been lifted from his head and he saw everything. A bright sunny day with not a cloud in the sky. A gentle breeze cut across the ship cooling him just enough.