by Stina Leicht
“I’ll show you,” Dar said.
Nels and Viktor got up, collected the dishes, and began cleaning the galley. Dylan decided to go up to the deck and give the island another look before he packed. Suvi decided to go with him.
She checked to make sure they were alone before she whispered, “Do you know where the rift is?”
“Not exactly. The only map of the island doesn’t contain any details. And, well … I’ve never been here before,” he said. Both statements were true. He’d checked the charts over and over before they’d arrived. Pointing, he continued. “But we should start at the top of that hill and follow the waterfall to its source. I understand the rift is somewhere along the way.”
Suvi asked, “Do you know if it’s salt water or freshwater?”
Dylan muttered a curse. “I hadn’t thought to ask.” In truth, he hadn’t. He’d merely assumed that since Aegrir had known about Suvi and the others, she’d also taken into account the limitations of their powers. “I’m not sure anyone knows. No one has visited the island and lived in a very long time.”
“I’ll hope for freshwater,” Suvi whispered.
I will too. Although I might not be as powerful, Dylan thought, and I’ve a feeling I’ll need as much power as I can muster. Then he had another unsettling idea. “What about Nels?”
“What about him?” Suvi asked.
“He can’t swim,” Dylan said.
“He’ll be fine,” Suvi said. “He can dog-paddle.”
“Have you told him the rift will be underwater?” Dylan asked.
Suvi asked, “And ruin the fun of watching him squirm? Not on your life.”
“You’re pure evil,” Dylan said.
“Not really,” Suvi said. “I know my brother. He’s at his best under pressure. And this way, he won’t have time to let his fear get the better of him.”
At that moment, Nels emerged from below. “What are you two conspiring about?”
Assuming an innocent expression, Suvi said, “Nothing.”
Nels gave her a look that said he didn’t believe her for one moment.
“You want something,” Suvi said. “What is it?”
Viktor and then Ilta came up the ladder next.
“If there are malorum on the island, I thought we should make use of the water steel blades when we go ashore,” Nels said. “But only if you—”
Viktor threw his hands in the air. “Yes!”
“See to it that everyone is issued one,” Suvi said. “Myself included.”
“There’s only one problem with that,” Ilta said. “I don’t know how to use a sword. And even if I did, using it would mean breaking my Healer’s Oath.”
Nels said, “I’ve already taken that into consideration.” He held up one of two heavy leather pouches. “This, my love, is for you.”
Ilta accepted it with two hands. “What is it?”
“Silver dust.” Nels turned to Suvi. “No insult to your combat skills, but this is … well … just in case.”
“And here I thought you’d spent all that time below being sick,” Suvi said.
Grinning, Nels said, “Not even close.”
Ilta elbowed him.
“Ow!” Nels rubbed his side. “You’d wound me before we leave?”
Suvi said, “What about Katrin?”
“She’ll have silver musket balls—whatever we can’t carry,” Nels said. “She’s an excellent shot.”
Suvi said, “You think of everything.”
“I try,” Nels said.
Suvi got up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.
They were underway by five bells. Rowing the jolly boat to shore with the help of Viktor, Jami, and Dar, Dylan couldn’t avoid a sense of foreboding. He didn’t have premonitions like Ilta. So he tried not to read anything into her expression as they neared the shore. As if that weren’t enough, Nels and Viktor were quiet. That disturbed Dylan more. Over the winter, he had witnessed how the two of them reacted to danger in multiple instances. He’d never seen them be silent before.
Of course, that may be due to Nels being on a ship, Dylan thought.
Nels had one hand clamped so tight onto the gunwale that his knuckles were white.
At least he isn’t sick, Dylan thought. Over the course of the voyage to Acrasia, Ilta had managed to cure Nels’s seasickness. Of course, he still hadn’t developed a taste for sailing, but Dylan supposed some people never did.
The bottom of the boat scraped sand as they reached the shore. Lowering himself into the waist-deep water, he was glad the cove was so clear. He didn’t want to think about beaching the rowboat in murk. Not on this island.
After they had hauled the boat far enough from the tide, Dylan straightened as a small, brightly colored bird fluttered past. It landed on Dar’s shoulder.
Dar turned his head. “Why, hello, little one. Aren’t you friendly?” He encouraged the blue, green, and black bird to perch on his finger.
Dylan said, “That’s a scallop parrot.”
Gently petting it, Dar said, “It is. And you’re a long way from home. What are you doing here?”
The bird rubbed its head on Dar’s finger a few times and then resumed its place on his shoulder.
“You seem to have made a friend,” Suvi said.
Dar shrugged. “If she’s willing to stay, I don’t mind. She could prove useful.”
Dylan blinked. He looked closer at the bird. It was difficult to know the gender of a scallop parrot, but if Dar said the bird was a female, then she was—
The bird tilted her head and winked. Then she made impatient rocking movements as if to say Hurry up.
Dar laughed. “I guess that means we’ve another member of the party.”
“Fair enough,” Dylan said. That was when he noticed that everyone, including Nels, appeared to be waiting for orders—his orders. “Oh, no. Don’t look at me.” He pointed to Nels. “You’ve more experience at this sort of thing than I do. It’s why I brought you here.”
“And this is a Waterborne island,” Nels said. “Your ship. Your venture. Your decision.”
“And my decision is for the experienced soldier to take the lead,” Dylan said. “You’re familiar with tactics involving small bands fighting against larger numbers of enemies. I make it a point to know when to leave matters in expert hands. This is one of those times.”
Nels frowned and looked away. He hefted the ryggsack on his back. “You do remember I lost the war, right?”
“And you forget that I’ve seen you fight malorum,” Dylan said. “My decision stands. If at any point I disagree with you, I reserve the right to override your authority. This is a Waterborne island, after all.”
“I’ll accept,” Nels said. “But I have one condition.”
“And it is?” Dylan asked.
Nels glanced at Ilta, and Ilta nodded as if agreeing. “If the question concerns my sister’s safety,” he said, “I can’t let you take responsibility.”
Dylan shrugged. “We agreed to as much before Suvi set foot on board Clár Oibre Rúnda. Done.”
Then Nels spoke to the others. “Viktor, you’re at the front with me. Dylan, you’re next. Annikki, you take the rear. Dar is in front of you. Suvi and Ilta are in the middle with Jami. Load your pistols now. With silver shot. We’re not taking any chances. Are you all right with that, Dylan?”
Dylan nodded.
Pointing at the cliff, Nels traced a path through the trees and up the hillside. “The woods don’t look too thick on either side of the hill. We’ll try going up the west side first. The light will last longer. Viktor, did you bring the rope?”
“I did,” Viktor said.
“Just in case, we’ll run this rope from the front to the rear,” Nels said. “I don’t trust that incline, and I don’t know the terrain. I’m tying it to my waist. Natalia will do the same. The rest of you, keep one hand on it if the ground becomes too rough. We don’t want anyone falling, but we may be attacked. You may need more mobility. We’re
going in quiet. Natalia, Viktor, you know what that means. The rest of you, if you notice something, tug the rope. No shouting. Got that?”
Dylan nodded.
“Guns loaded? All right, Hasta help us,” Nels said. “Let’s go.”
They picked their way up the incline. Under the trees, the ground was soft beneath the soles of Dylan’s boots but for the occasional stone. The forest smelled of damp earth, moss, and moldering leaves. Sunlight filtered through the branches. Birds chirped, and small animals crawled in the underbrush. It was warm, and it wasn’t long before he’d grown tired of the stinging gnats. The breeze died under the trees, and the angle made walking a chore. The push uphill grew tiring. He stumbled and caught himself with the rope.
Stopping, Nels looked back as if to check on him. Dylan got his footing again, and when Dylan nodded, Nels continued.
At long last, they reached the summit of the cliff. Nels indicated that they’d take a quick rest. Dylan wiped sweat from his face and sat. The others did the same. The trees bunched on either side of the river. The air was thick with mist. Water roared all around them as it rushed past in its race to the ledge. The wind was strong, shoving the trees. The gnats dissipated. Dylan felt sweat cool on his skin as he gazed back toward the ship. It seemed so small and far away. Seabirds called out to one another as they flew overhead, not that he could make out the sound over the water.
Nels untied the rope, gave it to Viktor, and motioned upstream. Dylan nodded as if in answer. With that, they continued inland, following the edge of the river as they went. Dar reached out and, grabbing his hand, held it for a few miles as they walked. Dylan could see he was spooked. The farther inland they ventured, the less lush the undergrowth appeared. Even the animals grew quieter.
They stopped to rest for a while after hiking for a couple of hours. It occurred to Dylan that he hadn’t seen one seabird land since they’d left sight of the beach. They seemed to know to keep their distance. There were no animal footprints along the riverbank. He couldn’t see any fish. No snake burrows. Nothing. That was very unusual. Worse, the air had acquired a flatness that he remembered experiencing only once before.
On Sunset, he thought. When we found the soulbane.
“We must be getting close,” Nels whispered. He drank from a water canteen.
“You feel it too?” Dylan asked, keeping his voice low.
Nels nodded. “I don’t like this place. It’s too … dead.”
“You liked it before?” Dylan asked.
“I didn’t say that,” Nels said. “The thing I don’t understand is, the trees, the plants—”
“No new growth,” Dylan said, and pointed. “See?”
He’d noticed it as they were walking up the hill. The undergrowth was lifeless. The whole island was slowly dying. The idea that such a thing was happening to such a beautiful place made him sad. He wondered what it must have been like before the soulbane had blighted it. What will it be like closer to the rift?
When Nels called an end to the rest, everyone got back to their feet. Dylan gave Dar a quick kiss.
“What’s that for?” Dar asked.
“Luck,” Dylan said.
“If that’s the case,” Dar said, “then I think a more enthusiastic kiss is in order.”
Once again Dylan kissed his lover and attempted not to think of it as the last. That’s getting to be a habit, he thought.
When Dar released him, Dylan stepped back. The little blue bird on Dar’s shoulder made a happy noise.
They moved on for another couple of miles, and as they did, the progression of dying vegetation grew more and more pronounced until only the oldest of trees remained, and even they appeared to be sickly. Gradually, the ground began another incline, and ahead they could see another hill. It was at this point that Dylan began to notice the dank smell, and that the water, once clear and sparkling, had grown murky. Even the wind had died.
“We’re almost there,” Dylan whispered. He’d kept his voice low, but even so, his words carried farther than he’d expected.
Nels nodded.
They soon reached a place where the vegetation had died back to form a clearing. All around them was bare black earth. Ahead, a large pool of water stretched out. It measured about a half mile at its widest point. What looked like steam drifted up from its surface. Swirls of utter blackness curled within the water. On the other side of the pond, the hill rose up another four hundred feet, and at its base was the entrance to a cavern.
Dar knelt and opened the ryggsack he’d been carrying, releasing the lizards. They scattered into the edges of the clearing.
Nels frowned at the water. “No.”
Viktor said, “It’s not as bad as—”
“I am not getting into that,” Nels said. “Not happening.”
“Come on,” Suvi said, “you’re going to tell me you’re afraid of a little bit of water?”
“I’m not afraid,” Nels said.
“Then what’s the problem?” Suvi asked.
“You swiving well know the problem,” Nels said.
Suvi said, “You can—”
Something moved within the shadows of the cave. In the dying woods all around them, half-formed creatures emerged. The one commonality between them was an abundance of long, thin, spiny legs, flat, round, black eyes, and jagged mandibles oozing poison. Dylan tried not to look too closely as he counted. He stopped at fifteen.
“Fortunately, that will not be necessary,” a woman’s voice said. “This is where you end as the other did before you.”
The figure in the mouth of the cave was a thin, older woman with pale grey skin. Her dark brown hair was close to her scalp. It crowned her head in uneven tufts as if she’d once had spirit knots and every one had been burned off. Dylan recognized the face and felt his heart sink into his stomach.
The Leaudancer Aegrir had sent before, he thought. I think I’m going to be sick. “Angelique?”
The thing wearing Angelique’s corpse tilted its head. The movement lacked the grace of a living person. “I think that is what I was called. Angelique Lachance. Yes. That’s it.”
In that moment, the scallop parrot burst into the air from Dar’s shoulder and shot high into the sky. The thing that was Angelique watched it fly off and frowned. The barrel of Nels’s musket lowered. The explosion echoed off the hills like a thunderclap. A cloud of spent gunpowder erupted from the gun, and the thing wearing Angelique was struck in the chest.
Now, a familiar voice said inside Dylan’s head, the water.
He looked down at the pool and knew at once what to do. He knelt down in the river mold and put his hand into the brackish pond. All at once, the water leapt away from his touch, exposing the soft muddy bottom. He was nearly overcome with the stench of moldering mud and rotting fish. The feeling of heavy, deadened atmosphere became nearly unbearable. A strange buzzing sound, once muffled by the weight of the rotten water, filled the air. It came from a horrible black gash in the center of the pond. The blackness oozing from it had the consistency of insubstantial mist. As he watched, it formed into tentacles and reached out for him.
Standing nearby, Ilta stuck a hand inside the leather bag she was holding and threw a handful of silver dust at it.
The earth shook with the force of the thing’s howl.
At the edge of his vision, Dylan saw Nels swing the butt of his musket into an encroaching malorum. Viktor shot it with his pistol, and the creature dropped half-seen through an added layer of small-arms smoke.
“Viktor, this is where I leave you,” Nels said, dropping his musket and grabbing his sister’s hand. “You know what to do.”
Viktor whirled to face the next creature. “Annikki! Jami! To me!”
Dylan glanced over at Dar. “I love you.”
“And I love you, but I’m staying here,” Dar said, concentrating upon the darkening sky. “Don’t argue.”
“I won’t,” Dylan said past a painful lump in his throat.
“Keep fightin
g, drown you,” Dar said. “Remember, I’ve got your back.”
“Don’t you die either,” Dylan said.
“I’ve no intention of doing so,” Dar said, looking him in the eye at last. “Now go.”
With that, a huge mass of squalling seabirds descended upon the clearing. Dylan hesitated long enough to see them strike several of the soulbane at once, knocking them down with the force of their trajectory. Then he stepped onto the exposed pond muck. The awful mud sucked at the soles of his boots for two paces before Ilta joined him.
She tossed another handful of glittering dust on the wet ooze. “That works better than I’d hoped.”
Sword drawn, Nels moved into position behind them with his back to Ilta. “You doubted one of my plans?”
Dylan sensed Suvi’s presence behind him. It was reassuring to have her there. With that, he concentrated with all his will on widening the gap in the rising wall of horrible water. Shadows swarmed inside, curling around the barrier of air and not gaining any purchase. It was now high enough that he lost sight of Dar and the battle on the other side of the water. The sunlight flickered as wave after wave of birds attacked. Easing with the group toward the crevice, Dylan could feel his energy being sapped. The nearer they came to their destination, the more power was required to keep the malorum at bay. Finally, they were in position. Ilta got down on her knees and began to recite the words of an Eledorean ritual. Her words were lost in the rush of water and vengeful birds as she threw silver dust into the crack. Then she drew a white-handled knife and plunged it into the muck at the base of the mud-slimed crevice.
No longer able to divide his attention, Dylan began his own ritual in an attempt to rally his resources. He closed his eyes. Just as he did, he felt someone touch his shoulder. A flood of extra energy flowed through the touch, bolstering his flagging power. He turned to look. Suvi gripped his shoulder with one hand and her brother’s arm with the other.
“We’re stronger together,” Suvi said.
Dylan nodded. So it would seem. Glancing down, he noticed that either Suvi or Ilta had sketched out a wobbly protective circle around them with the silver dust.
Ilta got to her feet and took Nels’s hand before placing the other on Dylan’s left arm. He suddenly felt comforted and strong—a part of the more powerful whole.