Margit turned and motioned for them to follow behind. “Zoe will be so happy to see you. Goddess help me when you’re together.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
It had been a few days since Brann had arrived at the southern village on the Farriage Coast. His Daoine cousins had been excited to see him, but that excitement quickly faded when they heard the fate of his home.
His parents were dead, but he had managed to save his sister; it was the best he could do in the situation he had been given, and he was proud of himself for that.
Finn and his pod had stayed close to Brann, never wandering too far. Brann imagined it was worry keeping them there.
While it had been days since Brann had seen the storm ship, his gut told him they weren’t far away.
The day he arrived, everyone had stayed inside the cave as he told them about the horrors he had seen. He and the Elders then spoke at great length about what happened and formulated a plan, should the Raiders return.
“Is that Finn?” one of his younger cousins, Zhaun, asked.
Brann looked out and saw a smaller dolphin breaching, its tail scarred but strong. He nodded. “Sure is. He’s my best friend in the water.”
The little boy almost sparkled. He had only recently been cleared by the Elders to swim alone. His magic was finally strong enough to propel him quickly through any crashing waves that may come on.
“And is it true you can talk to him?” he asked.
Brann smiled. His gift was rare. He was only one of a very few who could communicate with marine mammals, and even then, it was spotty. “Kind of. We can’t talk to one another in complete sentences or anything, but I can feel when he feels scared, and he can do the same for me. We communicate through emotions mostly, but I can somehow understand some of the sounds he makes, and he can understand some of my words.”
“I wanna be able to do that, too!” young Zhaun said.
“I wish I could teach you, but I honestly wouldn’t have a clue how. It just kind of happened. I think it was because I healed him when he was just a baby.”
Thunder cracked in the distance, and a cold chill ran down Brann’s spine. He looked up to see the beautiful blue sky beginning to darken. He heard splashing off to the left and turned to see the pod of dolphins quickly heading in another direction.
Finn swam up from under Brann, catching him off guard and startling him. The dolphin then grabbed Brann’s arm in his mouth and began pulling.
“What is it? What’s happening?” Zhaun asked.
Another roll of thunder boomed out, and the shadows of clouds began to fall over them. Brann turned to Zhaun, worry clearly written on his face. “Swim. Fast. Get back to the cave and tell everyone on your way to do the same.”
Zhaun didn’t stick around to ask more questions. He simply turned and swam northwest, back to their underwater cave.
Brann frantically looked around, searching for the Elders. Most were in charge of watching over the younger children inside the cave and on land, but the most capable of them were always in the water, watching over the family and teaching the children.
He rushed over to the first group he saw. They were treading water and looking at the sky in confusion.
“Get to the cave! It’s the storm ship!” he told them.
Panic spread across their faces as they turned, ducked under the surface of the water, and swam for the cave. Looking northeast, he saw the first outline of the ship come into view. It was miles away, but he knew all too well just how fast it was able to move.
Movement caught his attention, and he turned to see Finn once again staring at him, his mother not far away. Brann pushed all the emotion he could toward the mammal as he pointedly looked to his scattered family and back to Finn. “Help me.”
There seemed to be a moment of confusion, but when Brann dove under the water, his eyes glowing aqua as he powered through, Finn darted off in another direction.
“Lorelei!” Brann called out, just after bringing his head above water.
The Elder turned to him, her smile fading as she registered his worry. He pointed off in the distance, and Lorelei turned to see the ship.
“Storm ship!” Lorelei shouted, her voice carrying farther than Brann’s would have been capable of.
Elders all over began to call out, warning everyone to swim for the cave. The plan was for all the young children to go first, accompanied by the older children. The Elders would then hold back and make sure no stragglers were left behind before going inside.
No one was to swim on the surface, though almost no one did that anyway, when swimming for speed. To travel under the water was much faster than fighting the currents on the surface.
In only the short few minutes that Brann had taken to warn everyone, and watch as they fled to safety, the ship had closed the distance enough to almost double in size. While they were certainly large enough for him to see, he doubted they could see him or anyone else. They were moving fast, but because of his quick response, the risk of them being found was slim.
“Brann!” Lorelei shouted. “Inside!”
Thunder cracked again, lightning webbing across the sky as Brann once again dove under the surface. As he swam toward the large, mountainous cliff that housed the entrance to their hideaway, he passed Finn and his mother. They were leaving the mouth of the cave and heading south, in the direction of their fleeing pod.
A feeling of relief washed over him, and he knew it was coming from Finn. His family was safe, and so was his friend. Brann took a moment to send back his thanks through the sliver of their bond before swimming deeper.
The land of Farriage Beach was only a half mile or so away, but the land dropped off next to the tall, flat side of the rocky mountain. The mouth of their cave was nearly fifty feet down, unreachable to anyone who couldn’t swim as fast as the Daoine people, or hold their breath as long.
When Brann swam through the entrance, he was met with darkness. His eyes quickly adjusted as he made his way through the wide tunnel that had been carved out by the first of the Daoine settlers over forty years before.
He followed the sharp upturn that brought him to the large, calm pool inside. It spanned more than an acre, and there were many nooks carved into the rocks along the edges where people could climb up to sleep.
Along the higher parts of the walls were air vents, hidden in such a way that allowed for light and air to flow, but kept their secret from outsiders. In all their time there, no one had ever found them—human or remnant.
They had less fear of the sharks that occasionally found their way in than the possibility of man finding them. Especially the people on that storm ship.
“Is everyone inside?” Brann asked as he stepped out of the water.
A friend of his from when he was even younger than his little sister stepped forward. Her name was Caylee, and she was a few years older than him. “Everyone’s inside. Finn helped to round everyone up. He’s pretty incredible.”
Brann smiled and nodded. “He sure is. I’m not sure his mom was too happy about it, though.”
Caylee smiled. “Well, she helped, too. She probably knew Finn wouldn’t leave until you were safe, and that she was going to have to help, if she wanted to get him out of here.”
Brann laughed. “Probably.”
There was a pause as she studied him. “How do you do it?”
“You’re the second person to ask me that today,” he said. With a shrug, he said, “I honestly don’t know.”
“Ever heard of the druids?” Lorelei said as she wandered over.
Brann shook his head, his face crinkling in confusion. “What’s a durid?”
Lorelei laughed. “A druid. Grandfather told us about them after Ezekiel told him. I don’t remember much. They are kind of like us, but totally different.”
Brann’s confusion only deepened. “Yeah. I get it. The same but totally different. That explains everything.”
Putting her weight on one leg, and her hands on her hips, Lo
relei said, “You know, for one so young, you’re quite the smartass.”
He shrugged. “We lived out in the open. We met a lot of people traveling to the beach, and they were usually pretty nice.”
Her expression changed from stern to regretful as she realized what he meant by that. “Right. Well, anyway… Druids. Same but different. Instead of living in the water like we do, they live in trees, or something like that.”
His eyes widened. “In trees? Why? They could fall out!”
Caylee laughed. “And I’m sure they’d look at us the same and ask how we don’t drown.”
“Excellent point,” Lorelei said. “Like I said, I don’t remember much. All I know is they are forest dwellers. But like you, they can talk to animals. Grandfather said that when a druid speaks, the animals listen, and when the animal speaks, the druid can somehow translate what those sounds mean.”
His eyes widened. “Am I a durid?”
Lorelei shook her head as her eyes closed. “Druid. And I don’t know. Maybe? I’ve never met one. And from what Grandfather said, we don’t want to, either.”
Brann’s brows furrowed. “Why not? It sounds like they’d have answers for me. There are only a couple of other people in our tribes who can do what I do, and they understand it even less than I do.”
“Druids are scary. Once, when your family was visiting, they mentioned meeting people from the Valley. Like you said, there aren’t many of you. So when someone came, they couldn’t wait to ask about the druids they had once heard about. Only the valley people told them how terrifying they are.”
His mixed surprise and confusion only grew. “We are peaceful. How can forest people be so scary? Why?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. All I know is that the valley people said the druids were ruthless monsters. They killed any who ventured onto their land. They were fearless warriors and could kill a man with the flick of a wrist. They are proficient in weapons, and they could turn the forest animals on people. Hell, they could even turn a loyal dog to tear the throat from its master. I wouldn’t be too excited to go looking for them, if I were you.”
Brann sighed as he looked down, nodding. “I see. I thought… Well, I thought they might be able to teach me something. Tell me why I am the way I am. I want to know why my magic is different than most everyone else’s. Maybe…”
“Maybe you could have saved your family if you’d been stronger?” Caylee asked.
He looked over, tears brimming in his eyes. It hadn’t quite hit him until that moment just how scared he’d been after seeing that ship.
Brann nodded. “Yes.”
“You saved us,” Lorelei reminded him. “You saved all of us. Just now. You knew what that thunder was before any of us did. You knew what those clouds meant. If you hadn’t been here, or if you would have hesitated, they might have seen us and killed all of us, too. You don’t need some bastard druid to tell you how to use your gifts.”
“But what if they aren’t bastards?” he asked, and the Elder’s eyes widened briefly at hearing him repeat her curse word. “What if that was just the word of one man? I’m sure to the people who live around the Farriage Coast, all of us are scary. But you can’t tell me you wouldn’t like to know how to actually defend yourself—to defend your family, if a fight came to you.”
Lorelei stepped forward, wrapping the young boy in her arms. “You’ve been through far too much. You should sleep. Perhaps you’ll feel better when you wake. The way you’re talking… You worry me, Brann. We aren’t fighters. We just aren’t built for it. We are peaceful people, and we need to stick together.”
Brann knew her words came from a place of fear, of worry. They came from a place of love and a desire to keep him safe. As an Elder, it was her job.
But that didn’t change the way he felt.
His mind raced with the what ifs. What if I hadn’t acted so fast? What if I hadn’t recognized the feel in the air? Would they have died, too? Not one of them can fight.
Oh, they would try—just as his tribe had tried.
And they would fail.
The idea that there was another type of people out there with similar magic intrigued him. Knowing they were warriors intrigued him even more. It would take time… a long time… but one day, he would travel to the Valley and risk venturing into druid territory. Even if he ended up failing, Brann needed to take the chance.
He never wanted to feel so helpless again.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Arryn, Bast, and Cleo followed Zoe down the hall. Samuel and Cathillian had been left behind to sit with Corrine; they had protested, but Arryn argued it was part of their punishment for being late to the fight that morning.
Margit had arranged to have the captive taken to a cell for holding until everyone had been fed and well rested. Bast and Cleo had used far more magic than Arryn had, as they were still learning their limits in battle, and they needed time to recover.
Mostly, the Kemetian women used their power for building, not fighting as the men did. But when the monsters came, the women had taken up fighting as well. Bast and Cleo were already masters of their magic, but learning how to hold back in a fight to preserve energy was something new to them.
Still, though they were exhausted, they wanted to interrogate the woman. Like Arryn, they wanted to find out right away why she and the others had attacked Samuel’s cabin. Waiting around and taking naps wasn’t going to save lives if another attack was on its way.
“How have you been doing with your mental magic?” Zoe asked.
Arryn was glad Zoe’s back was turned to her, because her expression betrayed her guilt. “Uh… great?”
Zoe laughed. “Nice try. I didn’t need to be a mystic to hear the insecurity in that statement. You haven’t been practicing, have you?”
Arryn sighed, feeling like a child being scolded. “No. Too many things have happened, and I had bigger things to focus on.”
“Don’t you think Hannah felt the same way?” Zoe asked. “She was overwhelmed with everything Ezekiel had to teach her, but she knew mental magic was the only way she would ever get things done. She knew it was a necessity. More than that, she was excited to learn.”
“You know, I’m aware she’s some big hero and all that, and I feel a debt of gratitude toward her for doing the job I should have been there to do, but at the same time, I’m getting real tired of people comparing me to her. I’m not Hannah. I don’t know if I’ll ever be Hannah.”
Zoe stopped and turned, a smile on her face as a sense of compassion and warmth flooded through Arryn. The mystic was using her abilities to soothe the magician. “No. You’re not Hannah. But the two of you have a lot in common, like your drive. I feel like we’ve had this conversation before. You worry too much. I’m not saying that you need to be Hannah; I’m not even saying that you need to be like her. I’m just saying that I know a little bit about where you’re going, and if you’re smart, you’ll focus on mental magic.”
Cleo all but pushed Arryn out of the way. “What does that mean? Do you mean south to the bandits? Or are you talking about Kemet?”
Zoe was quiet for a moment, obviously choosing her next words wisely. “Master Julianne returned from her journey, but left soon after. She has been sending mental messages back here, updating us on the situation. From what you, Cleo, and Bast have told me about where you’re from and what’s happening, I would have to say you’re going up against the portal. Creatures from another world. Not monsters.”
Arryn’s eyes were wide, her jaw slack. She looked to her right to see that Cleo’s face matched her own. There were so many questions swirling in Arryn’s head at that moment, she scarcely knew where to begin.
“Another world?” Arryn asked. “You’re serious? The monsters they’ve been talking about this whole time, the demons we are going to fight… This whole time, I thought they were mutated remnant or some shit like that. You’re saying…”
Zoe nodded. “Margit has shown me images of what Jul
ianne has seen, and they aren’t remnant. They’re nowhere near it. They come from the portals.”
“You mean those long, tall cracks? The ones that look like they go nowhere?” Cleo asked.
“You’ve seen them?” Zoe asked.
“Yes,” Bast said. “There is one several miles outside of Kemet. There aren’t very many villages around us, so it seems they are drawn to our city. When we were last there, no one had seen anything directly inside our walls, but those who wandered outside were at great risk. We found pieces of some we’d lost, strewn across the desert as we rode our horses toward the sea. Then we crossed over to the land just south of here called the Farried Coast, or something like that.”
“I believe it’s ‘Farriage’,” Zoe said.
“Wait a minute,” Arryn said. “The last time we spoke, you said Julianne was in the Madlands. Is that where she’s gone now?”
Zoe nodded. “Yes. That’s where the rift is, the portal like the one in Kemet.”
Arryn shook her head, confusion all over her face. “Julianne sends mental messages all the way from the Madlands?” She had heard the words earlier, but had only just processed them.
Zoe smiled. “Like I said. You’re gonna want to brush up on the mystical arts. Especially after you talk to Margit.” She turned and resumed her walk down the hall.
Arryn turned first to Cleo with shock on her face. Then she turned to Bast with the same confusion. “Is she serious right now? She’s just gonna say something like that and then turn around and walk away?”
“Sure am!” Zoe said in a singsong voice without missing a step.
Damn mystics, Arryn thought.
“I heard that,” Zoe said. “And don’t act like you’re mad. You know you love me.”
Arryn smiled. “You’re lucky for that. Of course, I suppose I’m lucky you don’t screw with my head. Wait… How did you get in my head without me knowing?”
Zoe sighed as she stopped and reached for the door handle on her right. “You were far too frazzled to notice. Again, you need a refresher course. You’re letting your emotions control you, and your mind is wide open to anyone who wants to take a look inside—or do worse.”
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