They fell to the fishy floor with a wet, slimy spat, and then the stomach contracted. Cobaaron hastened Ky to the throat as he handed Huntra to her. A moment later, the long bill regurgitated her with Cobaaron holding onto her ankle. She was forced up to the tongue as the bird opened its mouth. Giant white-downed chicks squawked with mouths open wide, and necks extended. She began to fall toward the hungry young. Huntra squirmed and doubled his size in seconds. Cobaaron heaved Ky by an ankle, tossing her free of the ravenous chicks. She rolled over the side of the nest of thick branches and smacked hard on a cliff ledge.
Huntra continued to swell. Cobaaron landed on the edge of the nest, laying flat on his stomach. He watched as the bird regurgitated Ambrosia, Noxis and then Laxis. They all escaped, but then the mother jerked its head to the side, seeing the young were going hungry. The long bill spotted them fleeing the nest.
The giant bird screeched loudly. Its long, thin beak pecked at them, and tried eating them again to feed her young. “Jump!” Cobaaron commanded and rolled off the nest.
“But Tyrus…” Ambrosia whimpered, looking back at the bird. Laxis forced her over the edge of the cliff and she screamed as she fell.
Cobaaron took Ky’s hand and jumped. Huntra squirmed one last time, but then began to minimize in size now that he needed Ky to hold him. Then Noxis and Laxis leaped off the cliff. Without delay, the huge bird dove after them. They all plummeted toward the lake. Cobaaron thrust Ky downward, hurling her even faster through the air. He rolled to confront the long bill, waiting for the monster to close in on him, but then the bird let out an ear-piercing shriek and the belly split open. Fish and blood gushed. Then Tyrus along with the young girl escaped from its crop, as he continued to slash. Tyrus sheathed his sword as he tumbled. The long bill lost momentum as it fell, and no longer flapped its powerful wings. Tyrus kicked the bird away from everyone. He spun wildly until Cobaaron caught him, and they gripped each other’s wrists until they steadied.
They were plummeting to the water. “We’re going to die!” Ky screamed. They were high, gaining incredible speed from the long fall. They must have dropped over a hundred yards, and then they dropped another fifty feet.
“There,” Cobaaron shouted over the wind, as he pointed to enormous leaves clinging to the crag. “The cliffhangers now grow in the south.”
The men pulled their arms to the sides, and aimed their bodies toward the rock wall. As they soared, closing in on the cliff, they captured the women, hugging them to their chest. Ky squeezed tighter onto Huntra when Cobaaron collided into her.
“It hurts, Ky,” Cobaaron warned. “But you won’t die.”
They closed in on the giant leaves in several quick heartbeats. Then Cobaaron hurled Ky to a large leaf. She hit with a stinging slap, but the stem easily bent, dropping her to another, and again she felt like the plant whipped her. Cobaaron fell behind her, and their combined weight made the petiole bow. They slid down rapidly, zigzagging as they navigated the plants. They slipped along the crease in the middle, as a water drop would roll to the tip before falling.
Cobaaron didn’t lie; it was painful every time they smacked into the foliage in awkward belly flops, but it was slowing them down. Everyone else above them was skimming down the slide, and before long they caught up with Cobaaron and Ky. Soon they were all on a single leaf, and tumbling into each other.
“All of us are too heavy. The plant gives under our weight,” Laxis asserted. “The men should jump and let the women continue down.”
“It’s too high,” Cobaaron replied. “Warriors, hold on and wait.” At his words, Tyrus grasped firmly onto the side of the blade, and hung on so he would no longer slide. At the next chance, Noxis seized a stem, and Laxis dangled from a pointed tip.
Cobaaron once again caught Ky, and then he clung to the edge at the last second. The two girls continued down the slide. As Ky suspended, she watched the many diving warriors and women. They were making their way to the rocky height, but seeing so many bodies fall from the sky was unnerving. The birds were chasing after them. Not everyone successfully escaped. Ky saw a woman caught, pierced with long, hooked talons, before being tossed in the air and eaten.
Ky looked down, and then held onto Huntra and Cobaaron even tighter. They were a long way from the water and she didn’t want Cobaaron to lose his grip. Thankfully, he swung Ky back onto the leaf again. Together they slid down the cluster until they landed in the sea with a gentle splash.
“Something is in the water.” Ambrosia trembled with fear. She was alone.
“Where is the other girl?” Cobaaron asked.
“Gone,” Ambrosia cried. “She never came back up out of the water.”
“Mermaids,” Cobaaron whispered, and held onto Ky as he started swimming. “Get to the cliff.”
“Why would they take her?” Ambrosia asked even more alarmed, as she followed.
“She was either with child or they thought her beautiful. Come, we must hurry. No one is safe in this water.” Cobaaron swiftly dragged Ambrosia and Ky to the cliff as they swam.
“What will they do with her?” Ambrosia asked.
“Bite her, and make her a mermaid, much like a vampire transforms their kind. Now be quiet, woman.” Cobaaron continued to the wall, as waves washed them closer to the jagged stone. He reached the rock wall and climbed out before pulling Ambrosia and Ky out while keeping a watchful eye. “Get out of the water, Noxis—mermaids,” Cobaaron hissed his command the moment he saw his brother and Laxis.
The three scaled the steep rock until they were ten feet up, and then they clung to the rock. Ky saw Laxis dip below the water without a sound. “No,” Ambrosia gasped and pointed. Noxis cranked his neck and was startled when Tyrus splashed into the sea.
“Get out, brother,” Cobaaron snapped again, and Noxis rushed to swim to safety. “Hurry, Tyrus, there are mermaids.”
Other warriors and women dunked into the waves in the far distance. Their splashing was making a lot of noise, and Ky was sure it would attract the mermaids. Tyrus treaded cautiously, looking into the water. Ambrosia pleaded that he make his way faster. “Tyrus,” Ambrosia chided because he wasn’t obeying. “Get out!” She held out her hand, afraid for him, and even offered to perform magic if he’d come to her. He continued to slowly swim, and look into the water. Without warning he whipped around, and was lifted as a mermaid flapped her tail with such strength they skimmed the water, propelling them to the cliff. Tyrus’s sword was deep in her gut. Ambrosia and Ky screamed at the sudden presence of the woman.
She was beautiful: pearls were embedded into her skin near her sea-blue eyes. She was pale white and shimmery. She had blond hair, but most of the long length was somehow dyed aquamarine. She screamed a horrific wail that made the hair on Ky’s arms stand upright. The mermaid’s tail slapped against the water. The driving force pinned Tyrus to the cliff.
“She calls for help with her tail, Tyrus. You must let her go, or thousands will surround you. If you’re striving for safe passage for everyone else, you surely have it but at the cost of your life if you don’t release her.” Cobaaron offered him a hand to help pry him from the rock if he would simply take his sword from her belly, but he didn’t.
The mermaid continued to call her kind. Tyrus waited, but for what Ky didn’t know. Then the mermaid asked him a question as she gasped for breath: “What do you want?”
“Wisdom,” Tyrus promptly replied. He shoved the mermaid away, and the beautiful creature dropped into the water, as Cobaaron seized Tyrus.
Cobaaron smiled at Tyrus and cursed under his breath before saying, “You better climb high for that gutsy maneuver, young Tyrus. Run across the dividing. Sprint or they will soar over the embankment and knock you in the sea.”
Ky watched the mermaid sink. Tyrus ascended the cliff and didn’t dare stop until he was fifty feet above the tallest waves. He then began to side step, making his way to the west.
“Tyrus reminds me a lot of…you.” Noxis beamed at Cobaaron as he wa
tched Tyrus leave. Cobaaron grinned at Noxis.
“Call him young Tyrus. He has much to learn, and I don’t want him overconfident, or he will be of little use. Pride is unpredictable. I see great skill and courage in him, but never let him know that.”
“Yes, brother.”
Hundreds of mermaids swam to the surface and screamed as they watched and followed Tyrus with murder in their eyes; some tried climbing, but with little upper body strength they fell into the waves.
“Oh, no.” Ambrosia pointed. Ky saw the small girl taken, floating in the water with marbled skin. The mermaid dragged her deep and then let go; she ascended too rapidly and died.
“Be thankful she’s the only woman to die. Tyrus saved many, including you,” Cobaaron conveyed to Ambrosia, and then met Noxis’s eye and said, “Take this girl. We can scale the wall faster if we carry the women.”
Ky wrapped her legs around Cobaaron’s wide body, and held onto his neck. “Drop Huntra. There is nothing in the water that will eat a furry cat if he’s big. Let go of him.”
Ky released him, and watched him increase his mass before he plunged into the sea. Huntra paddled after Tyrus who bound along the cliff, speedily making headway. “Lucky he caught that mermaid,” Ky said to Cobaaron as he climbed.
“Not luck. It was gutsy and impressive; I’m not impressed often. I could see Octavos pulling that, but not a stud.” Cobaaron then quieted as he maneuvered along the wall of jagged stone.
The road, which divided the two lakes, was a great distance away. There was no sign of Tyrus or the mermaids when they reached the embankment. Huntra was waiting, blocking the dirt road. A tunneled path carved in the mountain leading to woodland on the other side; their destination was the forest across the lake.
“Ky,” Ambrosia called. When she spun around, Ambrosia touched her dress. It felt like Ambrosia punched her. The material quaked; her garment was cleansed of dirt and grime, and even the scent of stink fish. Ambrosia smiled, though Ky had a hard time returning it. She had enough warnings of accepting gifts from witches, and Ky wasn’t convinced healers’ daughters weren’t witches or healers weren’t warlocks. “There, now you’re truly washed. Let me into Huntra’s room and I’ll clean your clothes.”
“I…” Ky, paused thinking of what she could give Ambrosia. “I will, if in return you allow Huntra to carry you as we cross to the other side. We will help each other.”
“It’s not necessary,” Ambrosia assured her.
“I insist,” Ky said.
Ambrosia gratefully accepted with a large grin. Ky asked Huntra to allow Ambrosia into his room. She watched the silver box bubble around Ambrosia. Ky wasn’t sure if she trusted Ambrosia, but she quickly cleaned her clothing and the room dissolved into a saddle for two with Ambrosia comfortably sitting in the back.
When Ky found Cobaaron to tell him she gave away his seat, he was talking to a warrior named Beldor informing him that he took Laxis place in command. Beldor gave a low bow in gratitude before he was dismissed.
“I promised Ambrosia she could ride Huntra.”
“I noticed, and it’s fine.” He stared at the moon as he said, “Let’s go. I want to reach our destination by early morning. We need to hurry.”
Ky wanted to ask him again if she should trust Ambrosia, but she didn’t want to ask within hearing distance. Before she had a chance to say anything else, Huntra flung Ky up to his back. Ky tensely smiled at Ambrosia as she took her seat.
“This was really nice of you to offer.”
“It’s nothing. I’m not carrying you.” Ky leaned over and petted Huntra as he followed Cobaaron around like a shadow.
“Well, I could sleep while we travel. It’s extremely nice of you to offer, my Lady!”
“You’re more than welcome to sleep.”
“I will, thank you again, my Lady.” Ambrosia was quiet for so long Ky thought she’d dozed off, but she sighed and glumly said, “That poor girl might have been with child. I’ll bet she dreamed of conceiving, like all the other women here, and the moment she was, her child was the death of her. The poor helpless baby, too!”
“It’s sad,” Ky agreed.
“It’s unfortunate I’m not with child,” Ambrosia said, depressed. “I know that now or I would have been taken. But I only recently started trying, so…” Ambrosia fell silent, apparently unable to continue the painful subject.
“In my previous life, it’s common knowledge that the more positive you are about getting pregnant the more likely you’ll be successful. You should minimize any stress. It’s best not to focus on conceiving, Ambrosia.”
“Really? Here it’s common knowledge that a woman has a better chance of having a child if you have more than five partners each night. That seems more realistic.”
“That is,” she wanted to say gross, but chose instead, “untrue. Finding one partner and trying every other day is ideal.”
“I’ve never heard that.” Ambrosia sounded skeptical and unconvinced. “Hmm, I’d rather try more often for kids. I’m young and may not be barren. Though I’m not a descendant of Lu Lush, I could be one of the lucky few that have three or four. My mother was blessed with two children. But I don’t think it’s possible for one man to have that many kids with the same woman. I’ve never heard of it.”
“It’s possible,” Ky asserted.
“Well, yes for Stars because they’re faithful to only one and blessed by the heavens. But even my mother had to bond with another man to have my brother, and hasn’t conceived since. Women know that promising faithfulness means sacrificing the desire for children. It’s a choice few women make. In the City of Sterlings, no woman has had the blessing of two children if they chose a single mate, if she had any (unless she’s relation to Lu Lush). Only descendants of Lu Lush can have the luxury of bonding to a man they love and make promises of loyalty.”
“But all they need is what all men have, and the same man will still have that...seed,” Ky said trying her best to explain it without getting technical.
“I’ve never heard of a man being adequate again and again. But my family never left the City of Sterlings, until me; nonetheless, I’m sure someone would have said something. The only way I’ve heard of successful couples, is if they dipped into a curing pool, an elf healed them; they are descendants of Lu Lush, or the gods blessed them while passing a gift. Once, I heard of a goblin trading a considerable fortune for a queen to conceive. Your world sounds very different than here. Your rules may not apply.”
“Maybe women simply don’t try to be monogamous because of the common knowledge.” Ky shrugged.
“Well, that may be true. Most women choose not to be monogamous, as you call it. They are throwing away their chances if they do. No matter the reason, it’s best to try. I will stick with tradition.” Ambrosia then changed the subject, as if deciding it was best not to dwell on something they disagreed on. “The best number is to have five or more lovers at a given time, but I decided to chose only five men based on the quality of their features. Pity they will not be magical, but it’s better to have a non-magical child than none at all.”
“Why wouldn’t your children be conjurers?” Ky asked.
“If I produce offspring with a human or elf, my child wouldn’t share the trait. Same with an elf, if they paired with a human, their children would be human. It’s no different with you. Your children will take traits of your lover.”
Minutes later, Ky heard a small snore behind her. Ky was relieved to be free from the conversation. She remembered what Tyrus said about not trusting healers’ daughters. She decided she would ask him what he knew; maybe he could explain it better than Cobaaron.
The narrow road was elevated only six feet above the water line, and was completely straight from the cliff to the edge of a forest far ahead. Every once in awhile they would pass a dead mermaid along the road with their bodies mutilated. They were missing limbs, cut in half, or decapitated; their skin and tails had already shriveled and darkened to an ash gra
y and they’d lost any beauty they once had. As if Cobaaron was telepathically speaking to his men, warriors volunteered to guard the corpses, making sure no one touched them. They warned the women the mermaids would seek vengeance if anyone disturbed their dead.
When they reached the end of the road, Tyrus couldn’t be seen. They didn’t stop, but walked on, cutting across the woods while weaving between vastly tall trees with equally large roots that grew over rocks, fallen trees, and abandoned brick homes.
“This is a sufficient camp for the night,” Cobaaron announced, and his men began to scramble into windows or gaps where the roots were not covering entrances. They rid the homes of small creatures, while other warriors carried off their bodies to bury them miles away, under dirt and fire, to draw beasts away from their camp.
Ambrosia woke with a start when Huntra’s seat bubbled away. Ky slid off his back, and a moment later Ambrosia fell to the ground. Huntra continued to shrink, then trotted to a mound of giant rats, and ate a few before the warriors could take them.
“Ouch.” Ambrosia rubbed her hip. “That smarts.”
“I’m sorry for the rude awakening. Huntra isn’t usually like that, but he’s a pig when it comes to food.”
“He’s an animal. I have a lot of compassion for them. I know he didn’t mean to.”
“Yes, that is exactly what I was trying to say. He has a one-track mind when it comes to eating.” Ky held out her hand to help Ambrosia to her feet.
When Ambrosia touched Ky, a vision overwhelmed her senses. She saw Ambrosia in a strange brick tower. Ky, Cobaaron, and Tyrus were there. Ky saw Ambrosia completely still while objects circled the room. Her eyes were light pink instead of violet. Then all the objects crashed to the floor.
Ambrosia stood to her feet, and let go of Ky’s hand. Ky wasn’t sure what happened. She wasn’t even sure exactly what she saw. Ambrosia hadn’t seemed to see anything, because she casually mentioned she would go find a place to sleep for the night, and left without a concern.
The Coming Dawn Trilogy Page 34