[Phantom Islanders 02.0] Storm Revealed

by Ednah Walters

  “What’s going on, Ryun?” I asked, joining them.

  “The incoming ship is badly damaged. Murchadh is guiding it home.”

  “Is it Deck’s?”

  “No. Go back inside the hall, Lexi. Kai, we’ll need help controlling the crowd and lots of healing gel.”

  The instructor took off toward the hall.

  Damaged ship, but clear sky. Did that mean Storm was too hurt to link with the island? It was the only explanation for the lack of lightning. I didn’t know how the bond we shared worked, but Ryun did. He was linked to Storm, too. I ran after him.

  “Is Storm hurt?” I searched Ryun’s face. “There’s no lightning, yet you said the ship is damaged.”

  “It’s not his ship.” Ryun gripped my arms. “I’d know if he was hurt. Go find Delia.”

  But I couldn’t move. A broken mast appeared first, its sails missing. My stomach started to hurt, my heart pounding with dread. What if Ryun was just placating me? The deck and the hull emerged, and I saw the name, Danu.

  Whose ship was it? I tried to remember the names of the ships, but the islanders used gods and goddesses I’d never heard of. The crew threw the ropes to the islanders, who pulled the ship to the pier. The horn went off, and a cheer rose among the islanders as the crew left the ship. Some looked beat and had bruises on their faces. The islanders helped the limping ones while others hugged them, welcoming them home.

  Kheelan was the last to leave his ship. He carried one of his crew, but the person was covered up. Another death? Storm was going to go ballistic. I studied the sky. Still no lightning. Weird. Now that Kheelan was on land, Storm should know an islander was dead.

  Ryun issued instructions, and the islanders stepped aside to let Kheelan pass before falling in step behind him. Despite their curiosity, no one rushed forward to check the identity of the dead person.

  When another ship didn’t surface, I swallowed my disappointment and followed the crowd to the hall. Delia stood in the doorway with a basket of healing ointments, which she passed out to those helping the injured.

  Ryun appeared beside me. “Why the long face, lass? They made it.”

  “What happened to his ship?”

  “Tullius happened. Storm had sent Kheelan on an errand, and he arrived at his destination at the same time as Tullius’s men.”

  “You’re sure Storm is fine?” I asked.

  “You claimed him, lass. You should know when he’s hurt or needs you.”

  I couldn’t feel a damn thing. “How does the link work?”

  “I don’t know how it is between mates, but for us, it’s a flow of emotions. Your bond is stronger, so you should feel much more. Come on.”

  Ryun stopped beside Delia and studied the men already seated in the hall and being served drinks and food. The women were cleaning their wounds and covering them with the healing gel.

  “I’ll be with Kheelan if you need me, muh’Delia. They should be here any minute now.”

  Delia nodded. “Let me know when we can see him.”

  He nodded and walked away. My eyes volleyed between Ryun’s retreating back and Delia. “Who will be here soon?”

  “Storm and the others, lass.”

  “They’re still coming?”

  She chuckled. “Of course. Gráinne wants to see you in the kitchen. Tell her I’m needed in here for now.”

  She went to check on the injured, moving from table to table. I headed to the kitchen. I didn’t even care why Gráinne wanted to see me. Storm was okay, and he would be home soon.

  The kitchen bustled with activities, pots steaming with stew, pigs roasting in three hearths, and bread cooling in racks. Meris saw me first and waved. Like the other islanders, she’d changed. She was stirring a pot. Probably Gráinne’s infamous nasty sauce.

  “My, oh my. Don’t you look lovely, lass,” Gráinne said, and I relaxed. She was in a good mood.

  “Thank you.”

  “No, thank you for bringing laughter back into Meda’s life and claiming the lad. We can now have some peace around here.”

  She got chuckles from around the kitchen. I wasn’t surprised she knew about the claim, so I focused on Meda.

  “She’s a sweet child,” I said.

  “She’s a lonely child who misses her mama. I do hope Storm finds her before it’s too late. We’ve lost enough of our lasses to the Tuh’rens, but when children are left behind, the loss is much more painful.” She took the spoon from Meris’s hand, scooped some of the sauce, and tasted it. Yep, it was her special nasty sauce. “Hmmm, almost done. Continue stirring.”

  She indicated I follow her as she moved to another pot and continued tasting.

  “Tonight, I want you to serve with the other lasses. You will be in charge of the captain’s table.”

  “Oh. Why?”

  “Because you’ve claimed their leader. Our leader. He’s your responsibility now. Unless you are swollen with child or nursing, you will welcome him home and take care of his needs.”

  That was plain sexist. “What if I’m on another ship as a shieldmaiden?”

  “I wasn’t done talking,” Gráinne said sharply.

  She studied the bread cooling on racks and nodded at the women standing nearby. They started to place the loaves into baskets while others pulled out fresh ones from the ovens. She ran the kitchen so efficiently it was impressive.

  “Once you serve him”—Gráinne stopped by the women slicing roasting pigs while others carried them to the front hall to feed Kheelan’s crew—“you will take your place by his side for the rest of the evening, and the lasses can take over serving the table. If you are a shieldmaiden, then you simply take your place by his side. Or if he stays behind while you sail, he will see to your needs.”

  “Sign me up for shieldmaiden training.”

  She smiled, a first since I’d met her. “Maybe you should. You handled yourself very well in the tavern this afternoon. You could make a fine shieldmaiden if you learned to control your mouth.”

  I didn’t bother to ask her how she knew what had happened at the port. “Thank you. I plan to.”

  “Plan to be a fine shieldmaiden or control your mouth?”

  “A fine shieldmaiden. I can’t make any promises about my mouth.” Storm liked me the way I was.

  “Then you are doomed to fail. Go now. They’re ready for you.” She nodded at someone behind me, and I turned to find Delia waiting. “They’ll be here soon so hurry up.”

  Delia grabbed my arm when I reached her. Instead of going toward the hallway leading to the front entrance, she led me in the opposite direction. Her eyes twinkled with suppressed excitement.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Storm sent Kheelan on an errand, and they arrived earlier than expected. He’s said not to wait for him if they did.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”

  “You will.” She opened her door and stepped aside to let me enter.

  At first all I saw was Ryun and Kheelan standing facing the sofa. The dark cover Kheelan had used to cover the dead body was draped on the arm of the sofa.

  “Go on, lass,” Delia urged.

  I stepped farther into the room and realized someone was seated on the couch. Ryun was blocking me, so I peered around him, and my breath stalled.

  “Hey, Sis.”

  Chapter 10

  Words failed me. I didn’t remember moving, but I must have because I was hugging Tommy. My brother. In Vaarda. How? I lost the battle with my tear glands.

  “It’s okay,” he said, patting my back and sounding like my senior instead of my kid brother. “I’m here. You can let go now.” I didn’t. “You’re embarrassing me, Lexi.”

  I leaned back and wiped my cheeks, not caring about the others watching us. I knelt by his feet, tears racing down my face. I couldn’t look away from him.

  “If you don’t stop crying, I’m going to remind you of this moment for the rest of your life,” Tommy threatened and gave the others a sheepish
look. I knew that look. I was really embarrassing him. He’d better get used to it.

  I glanced up at Kheelan with gratitude. He’d changed his shirt, but he needed to clean up. He had dried blood in his pale hair. I jumped up and hugged him.

  “Thank you for bringing him. Thank you.” I planted a kiss on his cheek. “Why didn’t anyone tell me you went to get him?”

  “Storm wanted to surprise you,” Kheelan said.

  Best surprise ever. “When did you leave?”

  “Storm gave me my orders the morning you tried to escape on Nerissa’s ship.”

  That was before I talked to him about Tommy. Storm was priceless. I hugged Kheelan again. I didn’t even care he knew I’d tried to escape.

  “She can be such a girl sometimes,” I heard Tommy apologize for me, and I grinned. He was really here. I wanted details. I let Kheelan go and sat beside my brother.

  “Tell me everything,” I ordered.

  “She is also bossy.”

  The two men chuckled.

  “We’ll leave you two alone,” Ryun said and followed Kheelan outside.

  “Start talking,” I said, tucking one leg on the sofa and facing him.

  “Are we really on a pirate island?” he asked, and I growled. “Okay, fine. Captain Kheelan came to see me and told me where you were and about some bad guys looking for you. He said they could use me to get to you. I wasn’t sure whether to believe him when these other dudes arrived and they started fighting with swords.” He grinned, his eyes twinkling. “Real swords, Lexi. It was badass. Then the captain did some mind control thing, and they fell. Just like that. He’d told me not to watch, but you know me. I hid behind the dresser and watched them. They were in our backyard.” Tommy grinned. “The mind control thing was cool.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “He said not to worry about them, that they’d wake up and not even remember what happened, but I had to decide whether to leave with him and be with you or stay with them. Luckily, Mr. Sinclair was in town, and Captain Kheelan had already talked to him. That’s how he found me, through Mr. Sinclair. He flew us to Florida in his jet, and we boarded the Danu. A pirate ship.” He laughed again. “The other guys chased us, but Captain Kheelan’s ship was faster. They even lowered their flag and raised the Jolly Roger.”

  To Tommy, it had all been an adventure. I wondered how he would feel once he realized there was no going back and the islanders were legendary mythological beings.

  “Then another ship intercepted him, and he told me to go to sleep. I told him I wasn’t sleepy, but my eyes closed anyway. I think he did the mind control thing.” He frowned. “When I woke up, I was on this sofa and the old lady was prodding my legs.”

  “What old lady?” I glanced around, but the room was empty.

  “They called her Elder Something. She said she’s going to heal me.”

  I blinked, fighting tears again. “She is?”

  Tommy nodded. He was grinning. “I’m going to stay at her place until I can walk again. She said she lives here on the island.” He glanced around, the smile disappearing from his face. “Tell me this is not a dream.”

  “It’s not.”

  His eyes grew bright. “If it is, it’s the best I’ve had since you disappeared.”

  “It’s not a dream, Tommy.” I hugged him. “See? I’m real. How is Mom?”

  “Drinking and blaming you for everything. She makes me so mad. I hate her.”

  “No, you don’t. When I disappeared, her hopes to see you walk again were dashed. Was she okay when you told her you were leaving?”

  His eyes grew brighter. “I think Mr. Sinclair or Captain Kheelan talked to her. She was at work.” He studied my face and frowned. “Pirates, Sis?” He made a derisive sound, blowing out air. “Come on. They don’t exist. And they sure don’t look like Elves or have mind control. And no one can make me walk without surgery.” The smile he gave me was sad. “It’s okay. I know this is not real. I’ll keep searching for you no matter how long it takes.” His eyelids drifted closed. Then he slumped over.

  “Tommy? Tommy!” I reached for him, then stopped. Only one thing could do that. Mind control, yet I didn’t hear anyone speak.

  I looked over my shoulder and saw the old lady in a gray cloak standing by the door. I couldn’t see her face because of the hood covering her head and the candles behind her.

  “Elder Moria,” I whispered.

  “Give him time, lass,” she said in a soft, soothing voice. “He’ll need time for everything to sink in, and a few weeks to regain the use of his legs. I’ll send for you when he is ready.”

  I nodded, too choked up to speak.

  “No need to cry. The others are here.”

  I stepped aside and realized a few things I’d missed earlier. Someone had moved the rug in the middle of Delia’s floor. Moria lifted Tommy as though he weighed nothing and hoisted him over her shoulder. The trap door I’d struggled to open lifted to reveal torches on the wall and narrow stairs leading to a well-lit landing. The flickering lights to the right indicated the presence of a tunnel, but I couldn’t see beyond it.

  Moria headed down the stairs, walking backward with Tommy slumped over her shoulder. My breath hitched when his head narrowly missed hitting the edge of the door.

  “He’ll be fine, lass. Worrying is souring your scent. Go enjoy yourself, for tomorrow, you’ll have other challenges to face.”

  It took a second for the last sentence to register.

  “What challenges?” I called out, but she was gone. The trapdoor lifted itself again and closed.

  The door opened behind me, and Delia rushed in, the sounds of the horn following her. She looked around and smiled. “She took him?”

  “You knew?”

  “Storm told me before he left for Hy’Brasil. Moria will take good care of your brother. Next time you see him, he’ll be walking.” She straightened her rug, disappeared inside her bedroom, and returned with a cloth. She dipped it in a pitcher of water and handed it to me. “We don’t want Storm to see you’ve been crying.”

  Storm. Crap!

  I wiped my cheeks and raced out of the room ahead of her. I darted past women carrying baskets of bread and trays of meat. Even though Kheelan’s men were eating, their wounds healed, the rest of the islanders were back outside.

  I cleared the front entrance just as the horn went off in a continuous cadence. The Danu was no longer at the pier. The broken mast of the first ship rose out of the water. It looked banged up. Cracks made by boarding axes littered its side, but the name Poseidon was still visible. Captain Decabel waved from the helm and threw kisses.

  The islanders went wild. They’d either been worried about him or he was popular. Even Delia clapped and thanked the gods he was safe. I should have told her we’d seen him. He dropped the anchor and threw the ropes to the islanders along the canal, who pulled the ship closer to the pier and tied it. He docked closer to the bridge.

  The crowd cheered, whistled, and caterwauled as Zale and his female quartermaster waved from the deck of the Marduk. The crew rushed to greet their families. Zale was the last to leave the ship. His ship docked at the other side of the pier.

  Nerissa’s quartermaster was male. Nice. They received a boisterous welcome, too. The Salacia docked beside the Marduk. The Yemaya with Levi and his quartermaster at the helm was next. More cheering and bellows from the horn. The crew used planks to connect the ship to Nerissa’s. Instead of leaving his ship, Levi stayed on the deck as though waiting for something.

  Where was the Mac Lir?

  Minutes crawled by, and a sinking pit opened in my stomach. The crowd didn’t leave either. Even the crew from the other ships waited with the rest of the islanders for the Mac Lir. Delia appeared beside me and patted my arm, but her eyes were on the canal.

  “He’s coming, lass. The hull of Deck’s ship has cracks and took in water, but Deck refused to leave it behind. The Mac Lir is carrying most of his crew, so Storm has extra weight.”r />
  I moved toward the steps leading to the pier, my chest hurting with dread despite Delia’s reassurance.

  Come on, Storm. Come home to me.

  Silence spread among the islanders. Levi stripped and jumped into the canal. He shifted the second he hit the water, the displaced water causing the ships to rock. Minutes later, the mast of the Mac Lir appeared and the crowd went wild. I laughed with relief.

  “You should be down there, ready to jump into his arms,” a familiar voice said behind me, but I didn’t turn to look at Ryun. My eyes stayed on the ship.

  “Leave the lass alone, Ryun,” Delia said. “You should be welcoming Deck home.”

  “I don’t want to see his ugly mug.” Despite his words, Ryun walked down the steps to join the captains.

  “That boy will be the death of me,” Delia muttered.

  I heard her, but my eyes still stayed on the Mac Lir. The crew hurried off the ship to lighten the load. Levi was still holding it up. Then Storm appeared. I was halfway down the stairs before I knew it, barely aware of the islanders heading up the same stairs.

  “The lass claimed him?” someone said.

  “When?”

  “I don’t know.”

  That conversation was repeated as the islanders walked past me, but my eyes stayed on Storm. He started toward me, and the people stepped aside to let him pass, a path forming all the way to where I stood. I couldn’t tell which one of us moved first. He opened his arms, and I ran and jumped into them.

  “Now that’s what I call a welcome home,” he whispered just before our mouths meshed.

  I cradled his face and poured all my growing feelings into the kiss. His arms tightened around me, a growl rumbling through his chest. He kissed me like he hadn’t seen me several nights ago. His hand moved from my waist, up my back to my nape to anchor me in place.

  Laughter penetrated the sensual haze, and I opened my eyes. The last few people walking by grinned at us. I glanced over his shoulder and found the docks deserted. We were the last ones left. I gripped Storm’s head, hating that I had to stop him.