by PT Hylton
“You have to understand—”
“I really don’t. We will get out of this. All of us. I’d strongly suggest you drop this line of thought and not revisit it. Please pass my feelings on to the crew. If I have to do it myself, things might get bloody.”
He glared at Melwin until the man looked down.
“Benjamin!” The voice came from the man guarding the gangplank. “It’s Edvard.”
The blacksmith gave Melwin one more hard look and let go of his arm. He marched to the gangplank, cursing under his breath the whole time.
This was the last thing he needed. He was already angry from Melwin’s suggestion that they make a run for it, and now he had to put up with that arrogant Stone Shaper Edvard? It was going to be a struggle to keep his temper under control.
Edvard was climbing the gangplank by the time Benjamin reached it. He wore the easy smile of a man who thinks he’s in complete control of the situation.
“Good morning, Benjamin. How’s Dahlia this morning?”
Benjamin took a deep breath and forced a conversational tone. “I was about to go check on her myself. Care to accompany me?”
Edvard always boarded the ship alone. Magnus could have sent men to accompany him, but to Benjamin it came off as a power play. By only sending one man, he was subtly showing that even a single lowly guard had nothing to fear from The Foggy Day.
Benjamin led Edvard belowdecks to where Dahlia laid snoring softly on the mat that had been her home for nearly a week now. They watched her for a few moments, and when Edvard indicated he was satisfied they went topside again.
Benjamin showed him back to the gangplank, hoping to get him off the ship as quickly as possible, but Edvard paused before descending.
“I wonder about the long-term effects of the potion you’re giving her. Do you think such prolonged usage could damage her somehow?”
Benjamin hoped it damaged her. He hoped it wrecked her mind to the point where she couldn’t speak let alone stormcall, but he wasn’t about to say that.
“I’m no apothecary, but I’m told it’s safe.”
“Let’s hope so. If the Queen of Storms isn’t presented to Chief Magnus safe and sound of mind at the end of this, he’ll kill you all no matter how your friends do with the rebels.”
Benjamin felt his anger rising again, and he didn’t care enough to stop it “You make a lot of demands.”
Edvard shrugged. “Chief Magnus is used to having his demands met. His enemies know what happens if they are not.” He gave Benjamin a sly smile. “Most of them do, anyway. The others soon learn.”
“Yeah? Why don’t you tell me?”
“So many things. You have no idea what we can do.” He opened his hand, revealing the round stone. His eyes turned black, and the stone shifted, transforming into a rough approximation of a ship. He slammed his hand shut, flattening the stone ship.
Benjamin opened his own hand, showing the empty palm. “Perhaps you aren’t the only ones who can do things.”
Suddenly the smith’s eyes glowed black and a fireball appeared in his hand.
Edvard took instinctive step away from the fire, surprise clear on his face.
“You’ll find The Foggy Day is full of surprises,” Benjamin said. “Let’s hope you don’t have to see the rest of them. Now get the hell off my ship.”
Edvard recovered his composure, but he kept his eyes fixed on the fireball. “Fine. Until tomorrow, then.”
With that, he turned and hurried down the gangplank.
When Edvard was gone, Benjamin turned and saw that the sailors on the deck were all staring at him with wide smiles on their faces.
“That was badass, blacksmith!” Melwin called from the quarterdeck.
“No it wasn’t,” Benjamin muttered quietly. “It was damn stupid.”
Now that the Stone Shapers knew at least one man on The Foggy Day could do magic, they’d want to take the measure of him.
****
“Are we absolutely certain we haven’t checked this valley before?” Olaf asked. “Because to me it looks a lot like the last eight.”
Gideon, Abbey, and Syd were hunched around a log, carefully studying a hand-drawn map.
“I’m absolutely certain,” the Stone Shaper said. “Last time I set foot in this valley was years ago when I was mapping this area. At that time, the rebels weren’t even raiding yet.”
It was their second day exploring the remote valleys in the region north of the Tall Grass Raiders’ most recent attack. Working under the assumption that Baer Gigur was a description of their home base, they’d been able to narrow their search considerably.
Still, according to Gideon’s map, they still had a lot of territory to cover, and not a lot of time to cover it.
The Stone Shaper seemed positively giddy. In his long years of searching, this was the best lead he’d managed to dig up.
Abbey stood up and stretched. They’d been walking for six hours already, ever since sunrise. They’d left their wagon and horses at the nearest road and hiked into the valley on foot.
“We should keep moving,” she said. But even saying the words, she felt the pointlessness of them. How long would they keep wandering around in the woods? She had no answer, but she also didn’t have any better ideas.
From the top of the valley it had looked like this place was pristine, but they had to check it anyway. The rebels may have built their homes down among the trees.
Gideon led the way as he always did. Abbey hung back a little, letting Viktor and Dustin pass. The two Storm Callers had been inseparable for the past two days, spending most of their time in quiet but intense discussion.
They walked along a thin trail that looked like an animal path. The undergrowth was sparse enough that they were able to comfortably walk two-by-two.
Abbey waited until Syd reached her and fell into step beside her friend. “What do you think about all this?”
Syd shook her head. “Seems like a damn waste of time. I don’t care about these rebels or Chief Magnus. The two can fight each other until the sun burns out for all I care.”
“I get that. But these guys are raiding villages. We can’t let that go on.”
Syd gazed up into the trees. “This is going to sound cold, but I honestly can’t bring myself to care much right now. Being so close to my brother and not being able to see him…it’s killing me.”
Abbey didn’t know how to respond to that. On the one hand, she understood. If Abbey’s father had been taken, finding him would have been her top priority too. But even when Benjamin had been falsely imprisoned, they’d taken the time to help a village fight off Barskall warriors.
Fannar’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Syd, Abbey, over here.”
He was standing a little way ahead of them, a few feet off the trail, staring at something on the ground.
Abbey glanced ahead and saw that the rest of the party had disappeared around a bend in the trail.
She and Syd hurried over to Fannar. Syd saw it first. “Holy shit.”
Then Abbey saw spotted what they were looking at.
It was an arrow, and it was lying on top of the grass—meaning it hadn’t been there long enough for the grass to grow around it.
An archer was either in the area, or had been very recently.
Fannar stared off into the woods ahead of them.
Abbey started to call out, but the Barskall put a hand on her shoulder.
“They are close,” he whispered.
A sound like the twang of a bow string split the air. Gideon and Clemens cried out in what sounded like pain.
Abbey, Syd, and Fannar dashed forward to help their friends.
They went around a bend and almost crashed into the rest of their party.
“Get us the hell out of here,” Clemens said in a quiet but urgent voice.
Clemens and Gideon were tangled in a large net made of hemp. Viktor, Dustin, and Olaf were cutting at the netting, trying to free them.
F
annar drew his seax and hurried over to help.
In a few short minutes, they’d freed their friends.
“Gideon, I’m starting to think this valley might be Baer Gigur,” Abbey said with a smile.
Gideon scanned the ground with his eyes. He’d dropped the round stone when the net snared him. “I think that’s likely, though it’s possible they’ve moved to a new location and the booby traps are old. Or this could be a hunter’s snare. Ah, here it is.” He bent down and picked up his rock.
“What could a hunter be trying to snag with a net that big?” Fannar asked. “Other than a human, of course. Besides, we know someone was here recently.” His eyes scanned the trees around them.
“If they’re here, they have us at a distinct disadvantage,” Syd said.
Just then, Abbey saw something. It was nothing more than a blur of motion, but the figure was large. Man-sized, in fact.
Then she saw another fifteen yards heading in the opposite direction west of the first one.
If these were the rebels, they were spreading out.
As if they were trying to flank Abbey and her friends. They had to act fast if they were going to have a chance in this fight.
“Guys, form up,” Abbey ordered in an urgent voice. “Dustin, you and Viktor start stormcalling. They have archers, so we want wind and fog. Gideon, time to show us what you can do with that dumb rock.”
She paused. Syd was still the captain here. She was the one in charge, but this was about to be a battle; there was no time to question herself.
“Where do you want me, boss?” Clemens asked.
“You and Fannar stay back and protect the magic users. Syd, Olaf, and I are going to wait until they show themselves, then we’re going to get all up in their faces.”
Clemens grinned. “Sounds like a plan.”
Dustin’s eyes were already glowing, and a stiff wind was kicking up. Fog settled all around them.
Abbey smiled. That would make the archers’ job a bit more challenging.
“Wait,” Olaf said. “You said you want the magic users back here, so do I charge with you or stay back?”
Abbey rolled her eyes. “Seriously, man, you’ve had one magic lesson!”
“Now!” The voice came from somewhere to the west.
Suddenly a dozen voices filled the air.
An arrow slammed into the ground five feet to Abbey’s left.
Through the fog, she could see dark shapes moving toward her. “There! Let’s go!”
She took off running toward the shapes, drawing her sword as she went. She heard Olaf and Syd’s feet pounding the dirt on either side of her.
They broke through the fog and saw six fighters racing toward them.
Abbey spotted the biggest one, a tall man with brown hair, a bow slung across his back and a sword in each hand. She sprinted toward him.
The man grinned with determination when he saw her charging. She recognized it as a warrior’s smile, and it sent a jolt through her. This would be a true battle.
“Wait!” Syd shouted.
Abbey turned toward her friend and was shocked to see her swords at her sides rather than held aloft and ready for battle.
Syd’s eyes were wide as she staggered toward the brown-haired man.
He was looking at her too, the shock just as clear in his eyes. “Is it really you?”
Syd blinked hard as a tear rolled down her face. “Elliot?”
The sounds of battle raged around them, but Syd and the brown-haired man didn’t seem to notice.
After a moment, Elliot dropped both swords and ran to his sister.
CHAPTER NINE
For once in her life, Abbey was speechless.
“Seas and stars,” Syd said, her voice catching in her throat. “Is this real? Have I finally found you?”
Elliot opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, thunder crashed overhead. He looked up slowly, as if waking from the surprised daze of seeing his sister for the first time in more than a decade.
He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Stop! Ekkja, to me!”
Syd and Abbey joined him in calling for their people to lay down arms.
Thunder crashed again, and Elliot grinned at Syd. “Sister, did you bring a Storm Caller? He hauled seawater all this way?”
Syd marched toward him, her eyes still wet with tears. “That’s your question? You see me for the first time in how many years and a sea away from home, and you want to know if I brought a Storm Caller?”
Elliot laughed. “I suppose it’s as good a place to start as any.” He looked her up and down. “Seas! You were a little girl last time I saw you. Now you have no hair. Did it fall out?” Before she could answer, he continued. “And you fight with twin swords.”
Syd grinned. “I suppose I wanted to be like my big brother.”
A shout split the air near the magic users’ position.
“Damn it,” Elliot said. “Let’s stop our people from killing each other, then we’ll go back to Baer Gigur. We have much to discuss. I have so many questions.”
“You have questions?” Abbey asked. “We thought you were a slave in a mine.”
He cocked his thumb at Abbey and turned to Syd. “Who’s this? I was looking forward to fighting her.”
“It’s like you said,” Syd replied. “We have much to discuss.”
Twenty minutes later, the two groups made their way through the woods to Baer Gigur. Both Syd’s crew and Elliot’s seemed uneasy as they walked. For Syd and Elliot it was a strange and surreal reunion, but their friends appeared more worried about whether the other group was going to try to kill them.
A big woman with reddish hair sidled up next to Elliot. “You sure we want to take these people to our home? We don’t even know them.”
Elliot shot her a look. “This is my sister. I haven’t seen her in a while, but I know her.”
A few moments later, Elliot gestured up the trail. “Welcome to Baer Gigur.”
Even though they were almost on top of it, it took Abbey a moment to spot the houses. They were small, squat huts that had been expertly camouflaged into their surroundings. The roofs were covered in leaves, and the walls were covered in what appeared to be moss.
“This is incredible,” Abbey said.
“It’s taken a lot of work,” Elliot replied. “Trial and error, too. We’ve had to move around constantly, and we have almost gotten caught many times.”
“That you did,” Gideon said softly.
Abbey looked at him with a start. Somehow she had almost forgotten about the Stone Shaper. Looking at him now, she felt a foreboding chill.
This man had been hunting the rebels for a year, and now he was in their camp. Syd and her crew had gotten along well enough with Gideon, but what would happen to him now? No way would Syd take his side over that of her own brother.
And yet, these were raiders, no different from Tor and Dahlia’s crew on Thunderclap back in the day. Hell, that had been where Elliot had learned his craft. Could they really overlook the actions of these people just because one of them was Syd’s brother?
Syd looked at Elliot, nervousness clear on her face. She was still the badass stormship captain Abbey had come to know and love, but in that moment Abbey could see the girl she’d once been. The girl who worshiped her big brother.
The reunion was touching, but a deeper, more logical part of Abbey knew there was danger here as well. Syd wouldn’t be in her right mind when it came to Elliot.
Abbey owed it to her friend to protect her—even from her brother.
The two groups took a few moments to introduce themselves. There were far more in Elliot’s group, over thirty in all, and Abbey knew there was no way she’d be able to remember their names.
A man named Sigmund approached Fannar. “Is that a seax on your back?”
Fannar drew the blade and flashed it at the man. “Indeed it is.”
Sigmund slapped him on the back. “With a brutal weapon like that, you
must be a Barskall.”
Fannar grinned. “How do you think we found you? Baer Gigur, indeed.”
Sigmund laughed. “Elliot, I told you those cute names were going to get us into trouble.”
Elliot looked hurt. “Me? You named the place.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t shout it during a raid.” He turned back to Fannar. “I have always admired the seax. My elder pa was a master seaxman. I never could get the hang of the short blade, myself.”
“Ha!” Fannar turned toward Syd. “Hey, Captain, I may have to ditch you and join up with this crew.”
Elliot took a step back. “Whoa! Captain? Syd, there’s no way you’re a stormship captain, right?”
“I am. Followed in my brother’s footsteps and then walked right past him. I’m Captain of The Foggy Day.”
“That’s amazing!” He scratched at his chin. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard of The Foggy Day. Is it new?”
Abbey jumped into the conversation. “It’s the best damn ship in the fleet. We left Thunderclap to run it.”
Elliot looked even more surprised at that news. “You sailed on Thunderclap with Dahlia?”
“Er, not exactly.” Abbey didn’t want to get too deep into that conversation now.
“Elliot!” It was the big woman who spoke. She pointed at Gideon’s right hand, where he was clearly holding a stone. “They brought a damn Stone Shaper!”
Elliot looked at his sister, the hurt clear in his eyes. “Syd, what’s going on?”
Syd frowned. “It’s like you said before. We have a lot to discuss, and we’ve put it off long enough. Is there somewhere we can talk? I want to hear your story, and I want you to hear mine.”
****
“Are you sure you want me here for this?” Abbey asked.
Syd paused only a moment before nodding. “You need to be, you and Dustin both. Not only because you’re my friends, but because you’re my First Mate and my Storm Caller.”
“Aye,” Elliot said. “Sigmund and Hekla, too.” The black-haired man and the woman with red hair sat on either side of him.
“Let’s just hope our friends don’t kill each other while we’re talking,” Dustin added.
Abbey couldn’t help but worry about that very thing. Tensions had been high between the two groups ever since Elliot’s people discovered there was a Stone Shaper among Syd’s crew.