Sea of the Dead

by Matthew Holmes

  Chapter 14: The Other Side

  The morning after the fight, most of Michael’s injuries were healed, aside from his broken nose. As far as pain, the worst was his nose and a few pulled muscles and bruises.

  “Well I’m glad that’s over with,” Tristan said as they prepared for the day.

  “Me too; I mean, the guy’s a chick, and a good looking one, too,” Ryan added. “That’s just way too much excitement for one day.”

  “Well I was the only person that was actually fighting him…I mean her,” Michael was still dazed from the previous day. The thought of there being more magic users other than Malumous and himself bothered him.

  “Come on, we should go back,” Reno tried to convince them.

  “Why? I don’t want to risk something else being stolen. Besides, she said never to go back,” Michael stated.

  “She was just upset.”

  “Well that’s her fault! She should know not to rush into fights like that.”

  “So should you! You’re the one that accepted the challenge; she just offered.”

  “I wanted my sword back! She stole it from me when I was unconscious!”

  “But if you hadn’t chased her she wouldn’t have knocked you out!”

  “She shouldn’t have run if she had nothing to hide!”

  “But she did—we thought she was a he!” Ryan interjected.

  “That’s her fault, too! She was wearing a disguise!”

  “So were we!”

  The other group members looked at each other, aside from Sphergol. She was off toasting a patch of odd red flowers near a tree, laughing as they shriveled and exploded.

  Michael said, “She threatened to kill me!”

  This time Tristan spoke, “Only after you hurt the wolf. Couldn’t you tell that that was her only companion in the world? Or were you only worried about your poor little royal pride to see that you almost killed her?”

  Michael was shocked. Nobody had ever spoken to him like that before; they hadn’t dared to speak to a prince with such a tone.

  He lowered his head. “Even if I wanted to go back, she said to never return,” Michael said gloomily.

  “Did you ever care to think that if she has been alone all this time, she may not know how to properly say goodbye?” Reno paused for a moment to let the tension in Michael settle and to let the words sink in. “Michael, she’s only a young girl, not much older than you.”

  Michael stood there as the words seemed to cool his angry heart. He thought for a moment and decided to listen to Reno and find the girl.

  “Okay, fine we’ll go,” Michael sighed.

  “Yes!” Ryan exclaimed throwing both fists in the air. Then he looked around awkwardly and slowly dropped them to his sides. “I mean…that’s good that uh…we’re going to help her. We should help her.” His cheeks went red as the others stared at him.

  Michael nudged Tristan with his elbow and whispered, “I think somebody is in ¬l-o-v-e.”

  Tristan snickered. “You think? Well I know.”

  “I am not!” Ryan declared, turning even redder.

  “Sure you’re not,” Tristan teased.

  “I’m not!”

  “Fine, we believe you,” Michael said with a grin.

  “Why don’t we all just toast these flowers instead?” Sphergol asked.

  “Wait!” Tristan said before she lit another one.

  “What for? It’s fun!”

  “We can use the seeds as explosives. These are very rare; they’re called Calinof flowers. If you look close, you can see that the red petals have a black stem running through the center. This vein contains a strong antidote for the poison inside of the red petals,” Tristan knelt and plucked the first of the beautiful red flowers from the ground.

  “So, they’re an extremely useful plant?” Michael asked.

  “Yes. But we must prepare the different parts within an hour of picking the flowers or else all the properties are neutralized.”

  “How do you know so much about flowers? Did you own a garden?” Ryan asked with a chuckle.

  “No, but my mother did. I spent many hours helping her before she died when I was ten. Since then, my father has been running my house like a jail.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Ryan replied quietly.

  “Don’t be. I didn’t tell any of you before now. As for my father, he only let me come so he could take the rewards from me when I get home,” A tear clung to the corner of Tristan’s eye, but he casually held it back.

  After he finished picking the flowers, Tristan pulled the petals off very carefully. He prepared the poison first. The first thing he had to do was boil the petals until they fell apart, leaving the black veins of antidote whole. Then he took the veins out of the pot and set them aside. Next, he placed some rough stones in the pot and stirred it until it was a viscous red liquid. He then poured it into a bottle and sealed the lid with a cork.

  The antidote was easier. All he had to do was cut the tips of the veins off and pour the liquid into a separate container. He threw the empty veins on the ground.

  The miniature explosives were already prepared naturally, but they needed to be placed in a dry pouch. For this, he used a fur bag that he had made from a squirrel during their travels. The work was done and the small group got up and headed toward the area where Michael fought the bounty hunter.

  They soon entered the small clearing. The prince looked around until he noticed something; the tree that he had kicked down was sitting in a different position. The peak of the tree was propped up against a small clump of bushes; the roots formed a shelter.

  Michael crept over to the tree and peered under the root shelter, and what he saw shocked him. The girl was in a bed of soft moss, the white wolf beside her. The wolf let out a yelp that woke the sleeping girl.

  “What are you doing here? Get out!” she shouted, trying to sit up. She winced and fell back down to the moss.

  “I Just—”

  She cut him off, “No! I don’t care what you wanted to say, just go!” The girl looked away, waiting for Michael to leave. When he didn’t move, she said “Fine, what do you want?”

  “Reno convinced me to come back and help you, although I have no idea what with,” Michael said as he swallowed down his anger towards her.

  “Well, since you’re here, you can grab me that stick over there by Bastian,” she said, almost demanding.

  “You mean that wolf?”

  “No! I mean Bastian! My companion and my friend! Is that too hard to comprehend for your little brain? I can try to say it step by step if you need me to. Go to the stick, pick up the stick, walk over to me, and give the stick to me.”

  Michael swallowed hard and walked over to the white coated wolf named Bastian. He had always had a fear of dogs, since he was a little boy. He bent down and grabbed the stick, looking at the wolf the whole time.

  Out of nowhere, the beast turned his head and showed his teeth to Michael, growling loudly. Michael jumped and hit his head on the ceiling. With his heart still racing, he shot a glare at the wolf, who looked away and laughed.

  “Huh?” A wolf can’t laugh. He realized that he just imagined it and that it was only another growl.

  “Don’t worry, he won’t bite…hard,” The girl grinned. “So where’s that stick?”

  Michael hurried over to the bed and passed it down to her. “Why couldn’t you get it?”

  “You hurt Bastian quite badly.”

  “And how does that affect you?”

  “In more ways than one,” The girl stood up with the aid of the stick. “You broke his left hind leg and a few ribs are cracked. He was very sore.”

  “How do you know, though? I don’t get it,” Michael was really confused with this one.

  “Because I took on the pain and injury so he wouldn’t have to suffer. I heal faster, though,” She stroked Bastian’s white fur.

  “But why would you? I don’t mean to be rude, but he is just a wolf. And how?”
>
  “You have a very simple mind if you cannot understand sacrificing your own comfort for that of one you care deeply for, especially since you are doing the exact same thing right now,” She sat down in a chair made of sticks tied together with ropes.

  “What do you mean by that?” Michael could hardly believe that he was having a conversation with this girl.

  “Five months ago you never would have thought that there was such thing as your magic, but here you are now. You are sacrificing your own comfort to save the land. If I had told you then that you would someday lead our world into peace, would you have believed me?”

  Not wanting to reveal his identity he answered, “No. How could I, being a poor ex-slave on the street who just so happened to stumble onto an amazing power, ever lead anyone?”

  The girl turned to a wall and grabbed a root. “You’re lying to me.” She pulled the root from the wall, revealing that it was actually a dagger with the hilt designed to resemble a root. In a quick motion she cut the cloth at the bottom of his shirt and looked at the belt. She smiled. “Hello, Prince Michael.”

  Michael stammered and looked down at the glittering belt. He had just been tricked!

  “You didn’t think that you could hide for ever did you?” She jabbed the knife back into the wall, hiding it once again. “Don’t worry, though; I’m on the other side, the good one.”

  Michael was confused. “What do you mean? You’re the bounty hunter; you work for whoever sits on the throne.”

  “Not anymore. You see, when I killed that morphantom, I became one of the hunted. He has no use for me now that he has his new weapon anyway.”

  “New weapon?”

  “Oh, you’ll find out soon enough. When I was the ‘bounty hunter,’ I was actually getting information that would help you once you were located. I only turned in the criminals that went against the laws of the real king, your father. That is what I meant by the other side. I was working for Malumous, but I was also working against him.”

  Michael leaned against the wall, dumbfounded. “So you actually think that I can lead all of Magentara to peace when I can’t even win a fight against a girl.”

  “Well you really weren’t that bad; I was just having some fun. If you only realized that anger isn’t the most powerful fuel for magic, you would be almost unstoppable.

  “Happiness, peace, joy, love, faith—those are the five most powerful forces in magic; anger has only a fraction of their power. The monster that we know as Malumous focuses on anger, hatred and lies because he has forgotten everything he has ever known of love and truth. He has a heart, but it has been through so much torture that it doesn’t remember how to shine.”

  “But he’s a murderer, and a thief! How can you believe that he has a heart?”

  “Because as rude and angry as you were towards me, you came back. And trust me, I’ve seen another part of Malumous that you don’t believe exists.”

  “If it is there, it can hide extremely well,” he shrugged.

  “What I’m trying to say is that this king of darkness is a person, no matter how good or bad. I want to help his heart shine again.”

  “I guess this means that we have one more person in our little group of… whatever you want to call us.”

  “How about,” the girl paused to think, and then continued, “the Warriors of Peace?”

  “That’s awful,” Michael said with a small smile. “By the way, I never did hear a name.”

  “Kaitala, but you can call me Kai.”

  “That is a unique name. Mind if I ask where it came from?”

  “I just thought it up,” She looked at him for a moment, then sighed. “Let me fix your nose, please!” Then she reached up suddenly, and with a gentle touch, Michael’s nose gently snapped back into place without pain or bleeding.

  “How—” Michael began, but was cut off.

  “Shh. That isn’t important. My magic isn’t the same as yours, that’s all you need to know for now.”

  After she put on her black outfit, Kaitala and Michael, along with Bastian, left the root house to greet the others. They shook hands and told her their names, and in return she shared her own. The only person that never shook her hand was Sphergol, who of course didn’t have a hand to shake.

  Everybody could tell that Ryan was enamored with the girl. He tried to hide it so hard that it was obvious. “It’s a pleasure to meet you! You are an amazing fighter. I don’t idolize you, but that was incredible! Just so you know, I think that it would be insane if I liked you more than just a friend.”

  Kaitala smiled and covered her mouth. She realized that she could have some fun with this lovesick boy who called himself Ryan. All she had to do is go with the flow and seize every available opportunity. “I’m glad you feel that way.”

  “Well, it’s settled; Kaitala has joined us,” Michael said raising his head in a symbol of leadership.

  “That means that you have to listen to my opinion on things. I say the next place we should go is to my hideout, in the center of the forest.”

  “Why?” Ryan asked.

  “I need to get some herbs, food, and exploding knives. You know, just the usual necessities of a retired assassin,” She paused for a moment, and then, in her male voice, “Are you coming?”

  The other side, Michael thought with a smile, the good side.