“Don’t remind me.” She burped and grimaced, and a blue cape suddenly appeared, draping over her shoulders and back. “Ugh, I can’t concentrate.”
“You know, if this was my dream,” Angst said in his gravelly voice, “I could probably will you to be completely naked.”
“Sure, go ahead.” She was mostly ignoring him now and looking around.
“You’re fun,” Angst said dryly.
“I was fun last night,” she pointed out.
“Too fun. You really got me drunk,” he said. “You got everyone drunk. I’m not sure a single pirate made it up to their rooms. Did I?”
“Yup,” she said. “Right between Tamara and me.”
“What?” His stomach wrenched and his eyes widened as he grappled a wave of panic. “Are you...are we wearing clothes...?”
“You’ll have to wait and see,” she said with a little tease in her voice.
“Wait, why are we sleeping together again? I thought you needed time to yourself?” Angst pressed his palms against his temples to relieve the building pressure. “And why get me so drunk? I’m pretty sure a little drunk would’ve been great.”
“You needed the break,” she said. “I was trying to help.”
Even through the thick haze of booze, he wasn’t convinced. “And?”
“Well...” She stopped looking around and made eye contact. “I still want to see Unsel, and my mom.”
Angst raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak.
“I know, I know...but I’m having a hard time letting go,” she said. “I was hoping if you were relaxed, not completely in control, we wouldn’t come back here.”
“Here?” he asked in surprise.
The ground shook once more and was suddenly covered in shadow. Angst tore his eyes away from his beautiful friend and looked up. Boulders flew toward them, wrapped in fire or ice. Monstrous elements hurled missles from their mountain perches. The elements were giants, far larger than the avatars he’d met and fiercer than Angst could fathom. Suddenly, they stopped their attacks, and the field was clear.
“We need to go,” Victoria prodded, jerking on his arm. “Can’t you concentrate? Focus on Unsel?”
“I’m focusing on not throwing up.” He swallowed hard. “Does that count?”
“Angst, look over there,” said a child’s voice. “See? Coming at us!”
He swayed as he focused intently on the girl, wishing desperately that he could fall over and hug the ground. A girl, no older than twelve, floated toward them. She seemed familiar, a little. Cute pug nose with a tiny mole, long blue dress, mane of light brown hair...
“Aerella!” He smiled in spite of himself. “You were soooo cute when you were young!”
“Did you have to get him this drunk, Your Majesty?” Aerella asked, crossing her arms and peering down her nose like an angry parent. She turned to Angst. “I’m surprised you were even able to make it here.”
Aerella placed a glowing hand on Angst’s forehead, wiping away his confusion and dehydration like cleaning a chalkboard.
“Hey!” Angst said with a broad grin as the hands squeezing his stomach let go. He stretched as her touch released the pain in his forehead and tension in his shoulders. It felt as if he’d eaten a full, greasy breakfast, drunk a gallon of water, and slept away the rest of the morning.
“Angst!” Victoria tried catching his attention. “Take me to Unsel! I need to know!”
“You need to finish this first,” Aerella said firmly. “It’s the most important thing you can do. Now look around!”
There was a loud crash, a noisy embrace of steel and death that rang throughout the valley. Armies in leather and chain armor had poured in like water released from a dam. It was a chaotic mess of Berfemmian, Nordruaut, Fulk’han, and wielders.
“Why are they even here?” Angst asked, watching hundreds of soldiers from various nations collide as they met. “They’re no match for the elements!”
“Angst!” Victoria stomped her foot.
“They’re not here to fight the elements.” Aerella pointed at an approaching dark cloud.
Victoria struck his arm, and he grabbed her hand before she could do it again. She struggled against his grip, yelling, but he couldn’t hear her. Behind Fire, a flock of birds darkened the sky...except they were much too large to be birds.
“Dragons,” Angst whispered.
From the corner of his eye, he could see Aerella point to where Air had stood. Giant cavastil covered the eastern horizon, their metal beaks glistening in the sunlight. Their screams filled the air like a thousand fingernails on chalkboard.
“No!” Tori yelled. “You’ve got to take me home, please!”
“Stop it!” Aerella argued. “He has to see it through to the end.”
“I need to see Unsel!” Victoria demanded, grabbing at Aerella’s arm. “I’m the princess! I may be the queen! It’s important!”
“It isn’t. You don’t even—”
“Shut up!” Victoria turned to Angst. Her hands were shaking and tears streamed down her cheeks. “Wake up,” she begged “I can’t hear anymore.”
He looked from Aerella’s shocked expression to Victoria’s panic-ridden face. “But—” Before he could say anything, she pulled him into a kiss and the dream was gone.
21
“Angst.” Tarness’s deep voice boomed in his head. His friend was gently tapping his temple.
His eyes jerked open, and he took in a deep, surprised breath. The sudden shock of leaving the dream was almost as unexpected as finding he wasn’t alone. He was spooning Victoria closely, tightly, as if holding on for dear life. His chin dug into her bare shoulder, and waves of blond curls covered his face. He lifted his head to see that not only was she topless, so was he. He sighed inwardly and tried pulling away, only to find he was Tamara’s little spoon. She rolled onto her back, giving Angst and Tarness an eyeful of her thin, dark torso. Angst frowned when he saw scars under her breast and along her arm.
“Give me a couple minutes,” Angst said. How on Ehrde could he unsandwich himself without passing out from embarrassment? “Five tops.”
“It’s dusk,” Tarness said, his voice thick melancholy. “We need to get outside and do this thing before they can get themselves together.”
Angst knew Tarness was upset, or jealous. He wanted to say something, but the door shut behind his friend before the words came out. His chest tightened as he thought about explaining this newest predicament to Hector. Now more than ever, Angst didn’t need to be judged. At least, not without being able to explain how he’d ended up being the middle of the sandwich. He didn’t even remember being drunk. He did recall a dream... Had Aerella been there again? How had he woken so suddenly? It was drifting away. At least he wasn’t hungover. That was nice.
As he carefully pushed himself up with one arm and spider-crawled over his friend, Victoria rolled to her front. Tori seemed deep in sleep, and peacefully at rest, the smell of alcohol permeating the air. He leaned in to kiss her forehead and noticed that her eyes were puffy and damp. Had she been crying?
A gentle rap at the door hastened his departure. Angst inched it open and whispered, “Let me get into armor, if I can find it.”
Dallow and Tarness led Angst out of the geode as dawn’s sunbeams fought their way through angry clouds. Only the edge of the town was visible behind him, with the rest deep in geode shadows. He stumbled and returned his focus to their destination.
“You okay?” Tarness grumbled. “Have a little bit of a headache this morning?”
“Nope,” Angst replied smugly. “I feel pretty good.”
“How is that possible?” Dallow placed long fingers on Angst’s forehead. “I’m surprised you could even get up.”
“I’m surprised he’s not dead,” Tarness quipped.
“He’s not clammy and he is walking in a straight line.” Dallow pulled his hand away. “Were you drinking water?”
“Nope,” Angst said. “Something about the
dream.”
“What I saw was one of my dreams,” Tarness said, “not yours.”
“No, not that. Can we talk about that later?” Angst said, shaking his head. “It was a foci-dream. Aerella was there. Did she heal me?”
“Wait, what?” Dallow came to a full stop.
“I agree. That’s huge news, Angst,” Tarness said sincerely. “A cure for hangovers?”
“I know, right?” Angst said excitedly. “I was hoping Dallow could help me figure it out.”
“Sure,” Dallow said, shaking his head. “But that’s not the important part. She healed you in the dream? What else happened?”
“Oh, right,” Angst said, frowning in concentration. “I can’t remember, I think we saw more of the battle—”
“I don’t think we’ve got time for this, Angst,” Tarness interrupted. “We need to finish this before the town wakes up.”
“Agreed.” Angst peered over his shoulder to see Dulgirgraut glowing. “Looks like we’re ready.”
“Doesn’t that mean we are in danger?” Dallow’s brow furrowed behind his blue kerchief.
“Still figuring this one out,” Angst said hopefully, pointing over his shoulder with a thumb. “But I think that means it’s ready. I hope.”
Tarness looked at Dallow as if their friend still had eyes, and Dallow shrugged. He was getting better at seeing with the memndus stone, which made Angst smile.
“Are you sure this won’t make it too heavy?” Angst asked.
“Positive.” Dallow’s eyes glowed white. “Floatation isn’t about weight, it’s about density and how much fluid is displaced by the boat.”
They stopped at the edge of the docks behind the geode, fifty yards from Jarblech’s docked schooner. The ship was large enough that Angst wondered if their plan was truly necessary. He gauged the vessel, trying to better understand the shape. It was thinner than the other ships but just as long. Even unmoving, it looked fast, with three masts reaching high up to the sky, and black sails ready to drop.
“Use air to hold it in place so you can see what needs to be done.” Dallow lifted both hands as if holding up a model of the ship.
“Are you powerful enough to do that?” Tarness questioned.
Angst turned around to face his friend. Behind him, the ship moaned and creaked with the strain of being hefted out of the water, like giant’s feet crossing an old wooden floor. Water fell from the hull in sheets, showering the harbor noisily. Angst smiled at his friends’ open mouths, his eyebrows raising cockily over his burgundy glowing eyes.
“Show off,” Dallow chided.
“That was loud,” Tarness warned. “They’ll be coming soon.”
“Keep everyone clear until I’m done.” Angst turned and brought his hands together, and a light blue hue surrounded them.
The ship hovered twenty feet over the water. Angst moved one hand around, as though inspecting an apple, and the ship followed, spinning slowly so he could view all sides. This was as sneaky as a herd of whales doing back flips, and he could already hear distant yells from the pirates in the geode.
“The tricky part will be pulling enough from the ground,” he said, frowning. “It’s down there, but it’s way down there.”
Hector ran toward them with a pirate scimitar in both hands. He wore his leather riding breeches and a loose night shirt that was open wide, showing a chest full of curly gray hair. He shuffled to a stop and knelt to tie his boots. “They won’t be far behind,” he said through gasping breaths. In spite of his worried tone, his eyes smiled and his lips curled into a mischievous grin. “She’s a light sleeper and—”
“Hector?” Jarblech shrieked from town. She stopped at the edge of the geode, staring at her ship as it hovered over the docks, spinning about slowly as if hanging by a string. “Sound the bells!”
A loud, tinny clanging echoed from the hollow stone. Jarblech marched toward them, and Angst could feel her anger, even at this distance. Pirates in various stages of dress converged behind her, sunshine glinting off the steel of their swords and daggers. A dozen became two and then a horde as the entire town came toward them.
“Can you hold them all off?” Angst asked.
“We’ll do our best,” Hector promised, “but hurry.”
“Not sure this is a job to hurry,” Angst said, letting his mind wander deep into the earth.
“What in the Dark Vivek are you doing to my felking boat?” Jarblech shouted, cursing loudly from the portyard. The pirates looked hungover, still drunk, or just angry.
“He said hurry, right?” Tarness said.
“She reminds me of Rose,” Dallow said. “Such pretty words.”
“What does felk mean?” Tarness asked.
“I think it means sex?” Dallow answered.
“How is that a curse?”
Dallow merely shrugged.
“If you two are done.” Angst said. “I need to concentrate.” He reached far into the ground below with his mind. Minutes passed slowly as he sought veins of metal.
Jarblech and her not-so-merry band of pirates arrived, hot and ready to fight. She raised a thick cudgel and advanced on Angst. Tarness stepped between them, shaking his head.
“I wouldn’t hit Angst right now,” Hector warned as he stood next to Tarness. He let go of a cutlass and raised a hand in surrender. “He’ll drop your ship.”
Angst grunted. The metal he found was like cobwebs—small veins of steel strung together. A larger piece would’ve been so much easier to coax to the surface. Even with the power of Dulgirgraut, this took a lot of concentration.
“This is why I hate magics,” Jarblech snapped. “I’ll gut the lot of you if my ship isn’t, well, just... Put it down. Now!”
“Just wait,” Angst said through gritted teeth.
“I don’t need to just wait!” Jarblech gripped Hector’s shield and eyed him threateningly. “I said now, or I’m going to— What in the felk?”
A silvery geyser shot from the water like a volcano. All pirates took a step back, gasping loudly, watching in awe as a mass of metal latched onto the exterior of her ship, splattering against the hull like paint thrown on a wall. Angst moved his hands as if molding clay into pottery, spinning the ship as it was encompassed in a metal cocoon.
“That’s my ship!” Jarblech shouted. “Bring the girl.”
Two pirates dragged a kicking Victoria through the crowd. She wore an oversized shirt, and her bare legs flailed about. Both men bore bruises and seemed upset.
Angst stopped and turned, watching them cower from the glow of his angry gaze. He wielded Dulgirgraut and pointed the giant blade at Jarblech.
“Look at what he’s doing!” Hector warned. “Hurt her, and he will destroy all of you!”
Jarblech looked from Angst to Victoria, obviously torn.
“Please,” Angst said. “Trust me.”
With a nod, Victoria was released. She ran to Angst. “Finish it,” she grumbled.
Angst faced the schooner once again. His anger made it easier to draw more metal from the ground to completely wrap the ship. Smoothing the steel against the exterior, he forced metal into every crevice and splinter of wood. Once the ship was wrapped, Angst willed the metal to bore and twist into the sides, anchoring the new steel casing to the wooden hull. The pirates gasped in awe, looking from the ship to Jarblech. She lowered her cudgel, her mouth agape. Hector held up the shield but looked at Tarness and Dallow. Tarness shook his head and Dallow’s eyes glowed white behind the kerchief as he cataloged everything. Within minutes, the ship had been transformed from pirate freighter to a warship unlike any in Ehrde.
The last of the steel spluttered from the geyser and froze into place as he stopped pulling. Sweat dripped from his brow as Angst lowered the boat slowly, worried that it might sink. He was relieved that it floated just as before. Taking a deep breath, he turned around, pleased with himself, only to find fury in Jarblech’s eyes. Her cheeks were red and her fists shook.
“What have you done?”
she asked. “She was so beautiful!”
Angst studied her, looking at the angry spikes decorating her leather wristbands and collar. He snapped his fingers. Enormous metal spikes popped into place along the bow of the ship and below the deck railing. Angst smiled widely, showing all his teeth.
Jarblech’s leaned her head to one side as she studied her boat and a small grin crept up her cheek. “That’s a little better.”
“Would this make you feel safe enough to bring us to Angoria?” Hector asked, placing a calming hand on her shoulder.
Her eyes assessed them, calculating everything. “I’m not even going to tell you what this will cost.”
“Please?” Angst asked.
“Full inspection, make sure that thing can still float!” Jarblech commanded. “Someone get me some rum! A lot of rum!”
Angst smiled to himself as he stared at the ship. He felt a little hope that things might be coming together. Beside the docked ship, a steel sculpture rose from the water, flat blades of curved metal that twisted ten feet into the air. The remnants of his geyser. It was sort of, accidentally, art—and he was as proud of his oops as he was of the refinished ship. From the corner of his eye, he could see the burgundy glow of Dulgirgraut and shook his head.
“What?” he asked the sword. “We worked together, we did a great job. What do you guys think?”
There was no answer. Actually, there was no noise at all. When Angst turned, nobody was moving. As if frozen in ice, his friends and the town of pirates were all eerily still.
He frowned and cocked his head to one side. “Guys?” he asked. “Tori?”
Wind gushed from all directions. His hair flapped from side to side as he spun about, holding Dulgirgraut high to shield from attack. Angst continued turning, looking for the source, stopping when a dark, angry tornado appeared between the pirates and the geode. Information—he needed to know what this was and how to stop it. Dulgirgraut shared nothing as several smaller tornados reached out from the larger one, making the shape of an enormous figure. It was tall, three times the size of any man. The wind slowed to a breeze and the creature solidified enough to form a face that smiled broadly. It looked over the pirates as if they didn’t exist and stared straight at him.
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