by Dawn Chapman
When I saw Taffie, Macie, and Anlea, their shoulders drooped, and they didn’t look like they’d had much sleep at all.
Macie took hold of my hands, instantly tugging me into a hug. “It’s not your fault,” she said. “It’s really not.”
Tears streamed down my face, and I felt Taffie sit beside me while Macie knelt. “We’re not blaming you or anyone of your team. Cris knew what he was doing, and he did so with the best of intentions.”
“Let me see if I can find him,” I said. I unfolded the book, and I passed it to Macie. “I know I’m not to give it to anyone, but I know you both need to see the things in here now more than ever. There’s a way that I can speak with your ancestors, but you already knew that. You were the one who said it was those who helped to protect us because they were all seafaring folk.”
Macie nodded, but her eyes were matted with tears, just as they ran down my cheeks.
“I’ll help you,” she said. “We’ll need the pendant between us, though.”
Together, we held onto it. Taffie and Anlea stayed by our sides, hand to each shoulder in the hopes it helped.
Macie was the one who did the chanting, a beautiful rendition of a song. I, too, knew the words somewhere deep within. I wanted to hope, to be able to see them one day, to understand them all.
Maybe I never would. The pendant started to glow, and then I heard a voice on the breeze. It was not Cris.
“Macie, Taffie, you shouldn’t have called us like this, but we understand your pain and want you to know that Cris is not with us.”
I felt the sigh escape Taffie’s body, and even Macie sat upright.
“Where is he?” she asked
“That I cannot say, only that he is safe and well. You don’t need to worry.”
With another huge breeze and crackle, the magic was gone.
There was such sadness when they sat down, and now there was a great hope. This worked, and I was the one who let out the sobs.
This time, Taffie wrapped his furry arms around me, and I was hugged by the two of them. I loved the way they smelled.
Yes, that made me weird, but they reminded me of my cat when I was at home all those years ago, and it now felt like I was home.
Yes, the pain and the sorrow were all horrid, but I’d also never lived like this ever before. I was happy on a totally different level. I felt exhilarated and like what I was doing mattered.
“How far are we off land?”
Taffie nudged back and rubbing his eyes answered. “Another day, we’ll be able to see the coastline of Maicreol. Then we can head in past the reefs. That’s where we’ll need all eyes on deck but for different reasons. The reefs move and shift with the weather. There’s never a clear path. It will take us the last day to get inland and safely dock at a port off to the west coast. Then I need to get up, get fed, get moving and back to some kind of normal training and routine.”
Abel stuck his head back around then with a steaming plate of something. I smelled the rich aroma. “Myleen and Anlea made this earlier today for you. It’s a sweet fruit pie. We gathered the fruit off the island as we left. It’s been stewing in sugars ever since. And there’s also some cream just for you from one of the small goat stores.”
I took the bowl from him and started to dig in, not caring that I had company. I needed food and sugar, and oh, my... this was the best thing I’d ever tasted. Rich, crunchy pastry and the cream gave it the flavour of intense richness.
Abel laughed at Macie and me as they moved to walk away. “We’ll see you on the bridge in an hour or so. We’ll let you wake up, shower, and get refreshed,” Taffie said.
I was then left alone with Abel.
I took in one more spoon of the dessert and noticed how intently he watched me. I put the spoon down, swallowed, and asked, “Are you okay?”
Abel looked different, haggard. Something didn’t seem to sit right with him.
“I’m telling you this now because I think you need to know. Remember I said I was an alpha tester?”
I nodded and spooned more food in. I couldn’t help myself.
“Well, I’m not just that. I’m best friends with the game designer. I’ve been testing the game for the last few months—that much is true.”
“Go on,” I said.
“There’s been several glitches in the system.” I’m blocking anyone from listening to this as well, by the way. Jane won’t know this conversation ever happened.”
I swallowed and put the bowl down, suddenly feeling very strange. “What are you trying to tell me?”
“Well, the short version is that there’s something else going on here that we’re not sure about. The game has decided to throw in a few unknown errors that it’s also working to correct.”
“And how do you think this affects me, or us?”
“You’ve been dragged into it already. Before I was in Meridian, I was across in Maicreol with a few others. We were watching an event unfold in a small town called Alstead. There was an NPC there who had become self-aware.”
I couldn’t do anymore swallowing, but I could try to get out of bed. The covers suddenly seemed too heavy, and I wanted nothing but air, though I was outside.
“Well, the NPC got a mission and then a quest, and then she was the one who started the main event that’s going on over there right now. There’s a war developing, and I think you’re going to land over there and be slap bang in the middle of it trying to get the Hismaw that you need to save Trofoth.”
“There’s nothing here that makes any sense. NPC’s that are aware, events and things happening that the game’s not in control of. What about me and all of this? And the ocean swim in the depths of the frozen waters?”
“It was and should have been the end of you. The game rules say so. I confirmed it with Dresel the designer last night. But you didn’t die. Something saved you, something very special and unique, and it wants you over there. It wants you and Maddie, the NPC, together. I’m here for the ride, like seriously, but it’s something I’ve never experienced before. Macie said those critters she put in your leg were only found on her side of the country. Shiroth is a big place, a huge place, and they grow them specifically on her side of the world.
“So, what are you saying?”
“I’m saying the game world is doing more than look after you. It’s helping you in so many other ways that I’m confused.”
He was confused? Heck, I had no idea. But I said carefully, “This is a game, right?”
Abel didn’t answer. He stared at me, and the only thing I could do was reach for him. I held his hand and knew that he’d been worried for me in the real world. That worry transcended anything that I’d ever felt before for anyone else.
Chapter 25
Taffie was watching out on the bridge when we made it up there. Dovol looked pained but he was working, and Myleen was helping. I guess someone had to help take the reins. They were essentially a man down.
I hoped Cris really was okay out there. Reassurances from his family weren’t helping much. Even if the others believed it a hundred percent, I wasn’t.
I had so many thoughts about the next stages of this game, the game that Abel had opened up about. It seemed we were heading into something, but I had no clue as to what. And even he had shied away from talking more. The game designers had many secret things going on, and it seemed, so did this world.
Who was this Maddie, and why did the game want us together? Abel was talking, but he didn’t seem to understand it all himself.
There was no time for more questions, though. I knew I had a ton. Ahead of us was the most dangerous part of the journey as we tried to get in between the moving bed of reefs. I had no idea what or how hard it would be, but as I beheld the island, I saw it. There were large almost metallic spikes sticking out of the water. From this distance, they looked like razor blades shooting into the sky, and I did not like the looks of them.
What I wanted to ask was a question about the actual island. From
the sea, it seemed like a sheer rock that protruded high into the sky.
“Where are we going that all the land is so high, a cove or something?”
Taffie pointed to the right side of the map. There was indeed a little space. “If we’re lucky, there’s just enough room for us to squeeze through Razor’s Edge and into two sections of the wharf. The largest one is set right into the lands, but there’s a second offshoot that is accessible to the smaller ships like ours. The ports themselves won’t have anyone there. Usually, through the winters, the crews are just fixing the ships and making everything ready for the next season.”
I could understand that. After all, we stopped their winter prep and were lucky the damage to their ship was minimal and easy to prep for this one journey.
Dovol called out numbers to Myleen on the other side of the room, and I listened, not really understanding their meaning.
Taffie ran a finger through the lines of razors on screen for me. “They’re working out a safe path, putting it into the computer system, and trying it before we do. There are a few glitches so far, and it’s not been working. The route we want to take is tight, and I don’t think it’s worth the risk.”
Now, crunching numbers was my thing. I moved away from Taffie and started to listen carefully to the calculations they were doing. It didn’t take me long before I understood how the systems were working.
“May I?” I pointed to the screen that Myleen had just put in numbers.
I ran through each set, running my finger over the calculations and then started to re-adjust some of them. There was a correct way that this should have been worked out, maybe even by a computer, but they’d missed something, and I was getting to the ‘what’ just as Taffie placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Here you need to eat and drink you know.” Looking up, I suddenly realised he was the only one on the bridge, and it was dark.
“What happened?” I asked, confused as I reached for a glass of water from him, gulping it down.
“You got in the zone,” he said. “I’ve never seen anyone attack numbers like that before. Dovol is good, but you’ve totally thrown him. He stood for hours watching you, trying to figure out why you made slight adjustments here and there. You blew his mind.”
I stepped back and took a sandwich from the plate, slowly chewing the freshly baked goods. It tasted nice, but I did miss the flavours of food from home all of a sudden.
I glanced down on the deck and noticed that Zurath had even settled to roost right outside the main doors of the bridge, his bright glowing tail showing he was upset, but he was okay enough to sleep.
I pushed the doors open slightly and made my way slowly out to the small deck. Zurath stirred and glanced at me, his eyes glowing slightly red in the dark.
I reached out to him, and he lowered his head, making a strange keening noise. I think he missed me, and a lot. When I touched his feathers, there was a pop-up appear.
ZURATH SHOWS CONCERN FOR YOUR HEALTH.
“I know, buddy,” I said. “We’ve a big day ahead of us. I think you will be able to help, though. Are you up for that task?”
It almost seemed like he nodded his head. his eyes also flashed out, and I smiled. “Good, because I think you’re the perfect addition to our team. You have an advantage we don’t. You can see above us.”
The darkened skies started to glow, and I could only presume morning was heading our way.
“Wake the others,” I said, looking back to Taffie. “We’re doing this as soon as they’re up and have eaten. Ask Macie for some extra rich meat products for Zurath. He’ll need the energy for today too.”
Taffie’s eyes were confused, and I pointed to the skies. “We have an advantage that no sea dwelling ship or creature has. I know you’re not happy with him on board, but he will prove his worth today.”
Taffie’s face softened, and he moved to the comms to order everyone up and about.
The bridge was busy in less than five minutes. It seemed that everyone had a decent sleep, bar Abel. He was worried too. But he tried not to let anyone but me see it.
I sat with Zurath while he ate and hand fed him the extras I’d asked for. It was a nice time to bond with him.
“Here,” I handed Abel a piece of meat. “Offer it to him. He won’t bite you.”
Abel took the meat and held it out for the Fire Eagle. Zurath stared at the meat, and then glanced to and from us both, before he finally edged closer to take the offering gently from Abel’s fingers.
“I had no idea creatures around here were so intelligent.”
“They just need a little extra care,” I said. “This boy will outshine us all today.”
Abel’s head cocked to one side, and I grinned at him. “What do you have planned, Akillia?”
I laughed and said, “I’m not telling. I’m not spoiling any surprises.”
After all, the food was gone, and we stood, now looking at the first set of razor-edged pillars, I motioned to Dovol. “I’m sorry to take over the computer station like that, but you’ll find the course we’re taking is not what you’d thought about and planned. We’re going in a different way, and it will be much tighter than yours—but we’ll do it. I believe in the ship, you guys, and our special friend.” I glanced to Zurath, who, at this moment in time, decided to spread his wings.
I was shocked because I knew I’d been out for a few days, but man he’d grown. And I mean a lot. The wingspan was almost double what I remember him having at first. There were still two missing feathers, but they were growing back, I could just see the tips sticking through.
What shocked me were the colours. His undersides had altered. Of course, all were still fiery red and browns, but there were moving flames. He was amazing, and he had everyone’s attention.
Macie also said it all. “I wish he was bonded to me. I can only imagine what you’re planning, but I hope for all of us that whatever it is, you’re right.”
Taffie broke the meeting. “Stations, everyone. This ship is heading inland.”
A shiver ran down my spine, and I watched as the others started to rush around, manning all sides of the large ship. I knew the computers would take us in quite far without any need for intervention. It was the latter sides. As the day wore on, I knew they’d need the extra help.
Moving around the first blades, we made an easy entrance to the lanes. It was a path we could see ourselves, and though the computer helped guide us, Dovol had his hands firmly on the wheel just in case.
It was nice and steady. Nice and slow. And we all breathed and reacted normally. There were no signs of anyone panicking.
I settled back and let them do their job. I needed to prepare for mine when the time was right. I’d asked Macie to make a leather wrap for me. She’d surprised me by actually making a special attachment to my gloves and shoulder.
So, I moved to Zurath. “Ready for this, boy?” I asked holding my arm out for him. He observed the leather and then stepped onto me. He had indeed grown. His weight and height had increased tremendously.
“Not so much a boy,” I whispered and stared into his eyes. I wished I could communicate directly with him. Maybe asking these things of him would have been easier.
I concentrated and thought about the things I needed from him, what I wanted to happen if the path I’d chosen moved and shifted.
There was a groan from the ship, and I felt something tugging at us. It was subtle, but I knew it was time.
Walking to the bow, I held Zurath high into the air and up as much I could, and with one quick leap, he was airborne. His wingspan blew my hair and clothes everywhere, the sheer power in those wings thrilling.
This was when I needed to settle. I placed my hands on the railing and concentrated. I needed now to see what he could see. I needed the bond we shared to become more than that, to be extra special.
I felt Macie move by my side, but she didn’t interfere. She just whispered, “Whatever information you need to relay, I’ll pass it to the cre
w. Concentrate, you’ve both got this.”
I knew I did.
My hands started to glow redder and redder. I didn’t know if there was fire there or something more. I hoped not for fire. Macie placed a hand on my shoulder, and I let her. I could hear her gentle humming, and then I saw something else—a shield enveloped around my fiery hands. It gave me the boost to be able to do more.
The deeper I went, I started to see things—things from above.
It was as if I was with Zurath, inside his mind.
“There you are, Akillia.”
I coughed. “Is this real? This is you, Zurath?”
“It is, indeed.”
“I didn’t know this was possible, but I’m glad that it is.”
“It had to be something I wanted,” he said. “And I do. The mission and your ship are important. We must get it through Razor’s Edge safely.”
When my eyes moved with his, I could see what he meant. There was the view of the ship and its crew tiny as dots on the deck. I could also see the bottleneck of Razor’s Edge getting closer and closer.
There’s been some shift. Even I started to observe it. If the ship moved any slower, the gap would close. They needed to keep speed.
I spoke calm and clear and had to concentrate to move my actual real vocal cords for this.
“It’s more than tight ahead of us, but you must trust me—when I ask you to move, do it.”
I had no idea as to what Macie was doing, nor could I hear her repeating my words to the others, or in fact, anything from my own body. All I felt and saw was the sea, the ship, and those razor-edged blades.
The first major hurdle was their speed. “One knot faster,” I said.
Zurath dipped his wings, and I felt the air whooshing past us, we matched the ships speed with great accuracy, and it thrilled me. We drew in a little closer so that we had a better view, and I reiterated my findings to Macie.
My path was the best one, but the bottleneck before us started to draw in.