“No, sir. It’s big.”
“It is that.” The fellow laughed, then pointed to the skyline with the stem of his pipe. “It’s a far piece for your first trip.”
“It doesn’t matter.” The ocean murmured, gurgling and deep-voiced.
“Does if you’re seasick.”
“Wouldn’t matter if I heaved all the way from here to there.” He held his hand out. “Kai.” Best to keep it simple.
“Hoyu,” he offered, returning the greeting. “You any good with those?” He nodded in the direction the swords hung at Sherakai’s waist.
One shoulder lifted in a shrug. “Some.”
“You aren’t runnin’ from the law, are you, son?”
Telling most of the truth but leaving out facts to protect himself was a lie. Still a sin in the eyes of the gods that had deserted him. Funny that he should think of them now. “Off to see the world.”
“Mmhm.” He had probably seen scores of young men leave home and family chasing wealth and renown. He didn’t say anything more, but waved Sherakai out of the way while he shouted orders to cast off and get underway.
The captain, then.
After a few moments, Sherakai chose a spot where he could watch the great ship make sail. The enormity of the ocean frightened him. The wood shifted and creaked, groaning its fragility in the face of the waves. Yet the salt-heavy breeze, the roar of those waves, and the thunder as wind filled the sails made his heart lift. It was beautiful, and it was powerful in a way he had never experienced.
He marveled at the precision with which the sailors answered the calls sung out, and how their intuition spurred them to action before the orders even arrived. The White Raven danced around two incoming ships, each completely opposite the other in grace and girth. Gulls wheeling overhead drew his gaze upward, and he followed them to the shore. The space between himself and the Westlands—between himself and Bairith Mindar—grew ever wider. He wanted to shout for joy. Instead, as the buildings dwindled in size, he whispered the third meditation to himself. When they were too small to make out, he returned his attention to the horizon.
He was free.
Free as a demon-cursed man could be.
~THE END~
I hope you’re enjoying Sherakai’s tale. If you are, please consider taking a few minutes to leave a review on Amazon! Reviews help other readers discover my books (and keep me writing).
About the Author
Reading and writing have always been a part of Robin Lythgoe’s life, and she is particularly drawn to fantasy. When she was growing up, her mother often led expeditions to the library, from which the entire party returned laden with stacks of books. Robin read everything voraciously, and when she finished her stack, she’d start on those from the other members of the trip. Today she writes tales about wizards and magic, fantastical places and extraordinary journeys.
If you’d like to receive special offers, bonus content, and information about new releases, please join her mailing list.
Join the journey at:
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https://robinlythgoe.com
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to:
Kristie Kiessling for continuing enthusiasm, dedication, apparent imperviousness to my ranting and raving.
My husband Boyd, Mickey Champagne,
M. Alan Mills, and Dorkas Michaelis-Iske, and Janet Tippens
for bravely daring to accept missions as first readers.
Pronunciation Guide
The Alshani and Suminian names and words may be strange to your eyes. I don’t really care how you say them—they are, after all, fictional characters and are unlikely to be insulted by mispronunciation. Feel free to skip this page and dive into the story. But for those of you who care about such things, I hope this will help.
For Alshani words, the main thing is the sound of the vowels:
a — as in ‘father’
e — as in ‘bet’ at the beginning or middle of a word, ‘ay’ at the end
i — as in ‘meet’
o — as in ‘boat’
u — as in ‘tool’
diphthongs, as in “ai,” utilize the sound of both vowels
ai — ah-ee
ei — eh-ee
For example:
Sherakai: share-ah-KIE
Tameko: tah-MEH-ko
Mimeru: meem-air-OO
besh me: baysh may
Deishi: day-SHE
You will encounter only a few important characters from another land (with another pronunciation), and they are:
Bairith Mindar: BEAR-ith MIN-dahr
Daerowyn: day-row-in
Tylond Corlyr: TILL-owned CORE-lir
Also by Robin Lythgoe
Novels
As the Crow Flies
The Mage’s Gift
Part 1: Blood and Shadow
Part 2: Flesh and Bone
Short Stories
Dragonlace
In the Mirror
The High Roads
Obscurely Obvious
Flesh and Bone Page 48