Brann’s eyes were bright with the glow of the fire and the excitement of what Arryn had to say. “So how did you become who you are now?”
Arryn closed her fist, and the fire disappeared, her eyes returning to their normal brown. “Practice. I practiced what my mother taught me every single day in the Dark Forest. I wasn’t able to do a whole lot because I was surrounded by nature magic users, but I still perfected the things that she taught me.”
“It wasn’t until she met Samuel that she became serious about learning magic,” Cathillian interjected.
Arryn laughed. “I would like to say he’s wrong, but he’s really not. It’s not that I didn’t want to learn—I was just a scatterbrain, as the Chieftain called me. I couldn’t focus. I always had a million thoughts in my head at once, and it limited my ability to practice. But I still got up every day and trained in hand-to-hand combat with Cathillian, and in magic with the Chieftain and Elysia.”
“What changed?” Lorelei asked.
“Samuel fought in the battle against Adrien to save Arcadia. He told us what happened, and it reminded me that I had purpose. It reminded me that I had made promises—not only to myself, but to my parents. I think I had just become afraid I would never be good enough, and I let it stunt my progress.
“After that, I trained my ass off, completed the trials that would allow me to leave the Dark Forest, and then I went back to Arcadia. Cathillian even took the trials with me so he could make sure nothing happened to me,” she said with a smile.
“Well… you wouldn’t have let me, if you’d had any say. But the Chieftain wouldn’t allow you to go otherwise,” Cathillian said.
Arryn laughed. “Yeah. He kind of forced you on me.”
“What about her?” Lorelei asked, pointing at Corrine. “She seems very young to be traveling with a group such as yourselves.”
There was a pause as Arryn looked over at Corrine snuggling Sir Fuzzypants and winked. “She’s eight and she has a very long, troubled story. She wasn’t always part of our tribe; we adopted her, and there isn’t a day that goes by I’m not grateful for it. She might be young, but she has saved our lives many times. Mine especially.”
Arryn looked to Brann. “You feel like there is something out there calling your name; I get that. Maybe you and Corrine should talk. She came from nothing: her parents wanted nothing to do with her, and she was forced to live high in the trees to avoid her own people, because they would hurt her whenever they saw her. Throw things. Kick her. Insult her.”
“But then I met Arryn,” Corrine chirped in a voice that warmed the druid’s heart. It seemed her past no longer affected her as it once did; even the mention of it could not break her smile. “After getting to the Dark Forest, I learned how to grow things and even how to heal people.”
Brann’s eyes lit up as he sat up on his knees. “You can heal people?”
Corrine nodded. “We all can. It’s nature magic.”
Brann smiled. “I can heal, but it’s not really on purpose. I don’t understand how it works. I healed a newborn dolphin once after it was attacked by a shark, and we’ve been best friends ever since.”
Arryn’s eyes widened. “You’re bonded to a dolphin?”
“Bonded?” he asked.
She laughed. “Yeah, we have a lot to talk about. Why don’t you and Corrine go play? She’s an excellent teacher—maybe she can teach you how to heal on command. You already know how to do it, so doing it on command won’t be much of a stretch. She can also tell you all about bonds, physical training, and anything else you want to know.”
Brann looked to the Elders. “Can I? Please?”
Lorelei hesitated, then smiled. “Maybe you can show her Finn. I’m sure she’d enjoy meeting him. But… I think you know where you’re not allowed to go.”
Arryn looked down at her hands and fidgeted with them to hide the cloudiness in her eyes. She had accidentally looked into the boy’s brain earlier, just before the scuffle. He had a wide-open mind, and it almost screamed at her.
Risking a look again, she saw that he understood exactly what Lorelei meant: she didn’t want him to talk to Corrine about where they hid, and they certainly weren’t allowed to go there.
Thoughts of the cave were right on the surface of his mind, so she backed out before she saw something they didn’t want her to see. She had only looked out of worry for Corrine; she didn’t want to completely violate their privacy.
As she pulled back, her eyes returned to normal, but there was a dull headache pounding away in her forehead. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly as she focused it away.
The kids jumped up and ran toward the water, laughing and talking about the dolphin as they went.
“Now that they’re gone,” Lorelei began, “I think we should come up with a plan to deal with the bastards on the ship.”
Arryn smiled. “I couldn’t agree more.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Mariana had just finished bringing the scout boat back to their ship, using only enough power to move it through the water. They had decided to sail wide, steering clear of the coast to avoid being seen by Selena and her crew. Any true storm magic would be sensed by the rival master Storm Caller, and Mariana would risk losing the Raider ship all over again.
She couldn’t allow that to happen.
Instead of risking discovery, upon leaving the destroyed Daoine village on the Farriage Coast, they had sailed several miles out to sea using only gentle winds. It had taken much longer, but when they headed southwest, she could still sense Selena’s magic, lingering in the air.
Every time, Mariana and Captain Veren had opted to rush in, and every time, the other ship fled before they could get too close. So far, subtlety wasn’t working in their favor.
“We are about five miles west of them,” Smiley reported. “There is a small cove just out of sight of our ship. I wanted to check it out, so I rowed the rest of the way there. It looked like it could be the one that old woman described to us. From where I landed, they were about three miles up the coast.”
“What did you see?” Veren asked.
“There was a large encampment built against an easily scalable mountain, with a large barrier around everything else; there were over a hundred tents. I saw Selena walking with another woman. The captain was with his men and seemed to be training with others in the camp,” Smiley said.
“Hmm… I wonder what they are training for?” Mariana mused. “Did it look like they had any magitech weapons?”
Smiley shook his head. “No. And I recognized all the faces of the crew; I think they were training the people in the camp. They seemed to be on the offensive.”
Mariana looked at him. “That’s even worse. Maybe they came to some kind of an arrangement—training in exchange for a better cost on weapons.”
Captain Veren shook his head. “Think about that for a second. If the captain’s crew could easily overtake the others, if the others were that weak, the crew would have no reason to pay for the weapons. They only pay for what they can’t take. There’s something more going on there, but I don’t have a clue what it could be.”
Mariana sighed. He was right. They were Raiders; if they were stronger than the men and women in that camp, they would simply take what they wanted. They sure as hell wouldn’t be training them to make them stronger.
“I need to get on land and see this for myself,” Mariana said.
“You think that’s wise?” the captain asked.
“Selena might be able to sense you,” Smiley warned her.
Mariana shook her head. “No, she won’t. I’m not going to use any of my magic. We’re going to row the whole way. Besides, we need to make sure that kid arrived safely. I gave that woman at the destroyed village my word.”
***
Arryn, Bast, and Cathillian moved quietly up the coast with Lorelei. Samuel and Cleo were left behind, just in case anything went wrong, and Corrine and Brann needed protection.
“We saw the sh
ip coming down the coast. They would’ve reached us within an hour if they had continued in that direction; that makes me think they docked somewhere in between,” Lorelei said.
“Well, I sense a nosy little rabbit trailing behind us, so we’re going to put him to work,” Arryn said as she turned her head.
Trailing close behind was Not-Rodney the bunny, his little brown feet slowly trudging through the sand. Echo was ordered to stay behind and guard the others. It would also have been very difficult for her to remain unseen high in the sky.
“Wait a second…” Arryn said, making her way back to the rabbit. She knelt down and lifted his front paw. “These were white on the mountain. Now they’re brown. Cathillian, have you seen this?”
Cathillian knelt next to Arryn and picked up the rabbit. “I think Whiskers has gotten a little chunkier. And yeah, his feet are definitely a different color. There isn’t even a hint of the green stain left.” He paused. “You haven’t bonded with a third animal, have you?”
Arryn shook her head. “No. Besides, he’s always shoved up Corrine’s ass. And did you call him just Whiskers? Nothing else with it? Is that really all you got? That’s almost worse than ‘Rodney’. Almost, but not quite. Still… That’s just offensive.”
Cathillian’s eyes narrowed. “He’s definitely bigger—not much, but enough. His fur is changing colors, and he’s been attached to Corrine. What do you think that means?”
Shock registered on Arryn’s face, and she shook her head. “But why would he come with me, if he’s bonded to her? Do you really think it’s true?”
Cathillian shrugged. “She probably has no idea and told him to go with you. I know she had hoped to make the wolf her familiar, but it seems Fluffy here beat that bond to the punch. I can’t know for sure until we talk to Corrine, but it certainly seems that way.”
Arryn shook her head. “Somehow, all I got out of that was that you can’t come up with a good nickname to save your life.” She reached over and scratched the rabbit between the ears. “I’m sorry, Fuzzy Lumpkins von Poofbottom You’ll have to forgive him. He doesn’t have many brain cells left.”
The rabbit’s ears perked up a second before the tigers’ did, and Arryn immediately went on alert. She reached out with her nature magic first out of instinct, searching for life.
On the water, she sensed several presences.
“There are people approaching in the water,” she reported.
Lorelei turned toward the water, her eyes glowing aqua. “I’ll check it out.”
“You shouldn’t go alone,” Arryn cautioned.
Lorelei smiled. “In the water, no one can touch me. Had our cousins stayed in the water instead of heading to land, they would’ve survived.”
Cathillian nodded. “We can understand. The forest is where we are most deadly.”
The Daoine woman wasted no more time before running and jumping into the water. Arryn could feel the swell of power around Lorelei just before she dove under the surface, propelling herself out to sea.
“Damn,” she said. “They really are fast in the water.”
Cathillian nodded. “We’re not even that fast in the forest. We’d have to learn how to fly.”
Bast laughed. “Or just learn how to properly use your legs. But I know how much you forest people love physical magic.” She rolled her eyes.
“Hey, I would love to learn how to use physical magic to kick and punch harder, run faster, and build walls that will keep assholes off our land. Unfortunately, I have a mother who is very scary, and I don’t think she would like it,” Cathillian said.
Arryn nodded. “Yeah. What he said. His mommy wouldn’t like it.” She laughed, then promptly hissed when Cathillian lightly punched her in the shoulder. “Ouch, you dick.”
A mischievous smile spread across Bast’s lips. “Want me to punch him back for you?”
The same devious smile spread on Arryn’s face. “I think that would be a wonderful idea.”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Cathillian said, backing away with his hands in the air. “Now, now, ladies. No need to be feisty.”
“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Bast said. “Otherwise, I have a feeling she’d have killed you by now.”
Arryn nodded. “You know, I’m starting to think that really is the only thing that has saved him over the years. And not just from me.”
Cathillian laughed. “I’m pretty sure you’re not wrong.”
Arryn, Cathillian, and Bast each picked a direction and watched closely for anyone approaching. Bast monitored any vibrations in the ground, while Cathillian used nature magic to search for life. Arryn, on the other hand, decided to practice her mental magic.
She opened her mind, wincing at the almost immediate headache that accompanied it. Mystical magic certainly didn’t come easy for her. One-on-one telepathy didn’t cause any major issues, and meditation was a breeze—but attempting to stay connected to more than one mind at a time, or using telepathy across significant distances, or opening her mind to sense the consciousness of others seemed to bring on headaches.
But that couldn’t stop her. She had to find a way to get past it.
Only ten minutes had passed before Lorelei returned with a small boat following behind her. She had used her magic to propel the craft through the water.
“I’m assuming that’s a sign that they’re not terrible people?” Bast said.
Lorelei stood, walking out of the water toward them. “This is an interesting development.”
“What is it? Who are they?” Arryn asked.
Lorelei turned her head to look over her shoulder as a small group of people were already pulling a boat into the sand and turning to walk toward Arryn and the others. “They’re Storm Callers.”
Arryn looked at her curiously. “Aren’t they the ones causing all the problems?”
Lorelei shook her head. “They are different. In fact, they stopped at Brann’s village; they saw the smoke and knew what happened, because they’re hunting the Raider ship. When I saw them rowing this way, I went out to question them. They brought all the village’s survivors onboard to care for them. I went to the ship and verified it myself; they were all safe, below deck.”
“That’s great news!” Arryn said.
“As soon as we finish here, I’m going to escort the Caller and her crew back to their ship, and then get my cousins into the water. I’ll take them back to our home, where they will be safe. Brann will be so happy. This is wonderful news; now we have help.”
“Hello. My name is Mariana. This is Captain Veren. I hear we might be after the same people. We would like to help.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Mariana’s information turned out to be quite helpful. The idea was to find out all they could before attacking; Arryn’s plan had been to sneak up on the encampment and spy inside. But she had no idea what it looked like, how many guards there were—if any—or how strong their forces might be. Though she’d learned that the Raiders were training others in their camp.
Because of the exploration of Mariana’s crewmate, Smiley, Arryn narrowly avoided walking into what could have been a disastrous situation. Smiley led them to the part of the mountain he had easily climbed. It was rocky, but there was a clear-cut path leading up to a small ledge.
They walked carefully along the ledge, which was no more than five feet wide, until they saw the outline of the encampment. They dropped down and began to crawl.
“This kinda fucking sucks, Smiley,” Captain Veren grumbled quietly.
“Do you have a better plan to keep from being seen?” Smiley retorted.
“Everyone shut up. We’re getting close enough that someone might hear,” Arryn said as quietly but as authoritatively as she could manage.
They crawled fifty more feet, and Arryn felt a tug at her ankle. She looked back to see Bast staring at her, eyes blue. Bast pointed up toward the top of the mountain and moved her finger in a circle, signaling there were several people around.
Risking the
headache, Arryn quickly went through her group’s roster and sent a silent ‘Stop’ to each. She felt Smiley, Veren, Mariana, Bast, and Lorelei all quickly follow her order.
Moving from one person to the next hadn’t been any less painful than communicating to everyone at once. That was something to file away for later.
Arryn reached out with her nature magic, feeling for whoever or whatever might be approaching. She was met with seven life forms only twenty feet above them, every one of them human.
Shit, she thought to herself. Then she took a deep breath and told everyone at once, There are several people on the ledge above us. Stay quiet.
They weren’t far from the encampment, and Arryn wondered if they were part of it, or just some random wanderers. Judging how close they were, her gut told her it was the former—the worst-case scenario.
Arryn heard arguing above, but couldn’t understand anything until one of the participants got close.
“You almost made me drop this damn thing right off the edge! Quit fucking around. That bitch could be anywhere.”
Arryn smiled, wondering if the bitch they spoke of was her. That’s quite a compliment, thank you. I’ll take it, she smiled to herself.
“Hey! Who the fuck are you?” the same voice demanded from above.
“Uh oh,” she said, peering up. “Well, subtlety’s no longer an option.”
“Move! Now!” the man above her shouted to the other people in attendance.
Arryn felt three distinct explosions of magic—the very same type of magic used when teleporting—and five of the seven people disappeared.
Everyone in her group scrambled to their feet, the tigers roaring as they began scaling the wall. Alarms began to sound in the distance, and Arryn turned to see the gates opening, releasing dozens of armed men.
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