The Child Prince (The Artifactor)

by Honor Raconteur

  For some reason, that made her laugh even harder. Bellomi looked away in irritation. Why did he think, for even one second, that discussing this with Sevana would be a good idea? “To change the subject, where exactly is this Vash Village that we’re heading for?”

  Sevana enjoyed her laugh and resumed navigating the skimmer before she leisurely responded, “It’s on the Kesly Islands, right before you properly enter the Dragon Sea.”

  She’d said before that it was on the very southern tip of Sa Kao, and she’d apparently meant just that. Technically, the chain of small islands that ventured off the Kesly Islands belonged to Sa Kao. But no man alive would dare to truly claim a territory that had been occupied by dragons for centuries. Everyone understood that anything that was in the Dragon Sea belonged to the dragons. Period. “They’re brave people for living that close to dragons.”

  “As I understand it, they’ve got a Deal worked out.” Sevana raised her wand and shot off a stream of clouds, giving the skimmer something to feed off of. “They can live and fish in peace without being disturbed as long as they stay out of the waters of the Dragon Sea. In return for staying in their territory, they will sometimes specially order and carry in goods that the dragons want.”

  Bellomi blinked, more than astonished. Those were extremely generous terms, for a dragon. “How in the world did they manage to negotiate that?”

  “I have no idea,” Sevana admitted with a shrug. “It’s been in place for generations, I know that much. Whoever brokered the deal must have been quite the negotiator.”

  Understatement. Vast understatement. “Which is why you’re heading there? Because it’s a safe place for humans to stay?”

  “Partially. Partially because I’ve been to the village several times before and I’m known there.”

  Known there. Why would she be known in such a remote village…wait a minute… “By any chance, did you help the villagers procure some of those items the dragons wanted?”

  “One of them was quite heavy. It was an absolute bear to transport.”

  For a woman that had only been in business, really, for the past three years she certainly got around. “Do we have enough food on board to get us there?”

  “We should.” Sevana indicated the compass and the windometer on the console in front of her. “We’re actually making excellent time and I don’t really have any plans to set down at night. Sa Kao…can be dangerous in parts.”

  So said an Artifactor that could turn people to frogs. In her sleep. “Should we take turns navigating, then?”

  Sevana quirked an eyebrow at him. “Do you know how to navigate?”

  “No,” he admitted with a charming smile. “But as we’ve previously discovered, you’re an amazing teacher.”

  She rolled her eyes at that before waving him in closer. “I’ll set the wand to automatically produce a stream of clouds, I suppose. You’re certainly not going to be able to do that part of it. But sit here, good, and I’ll give you a crash course.”

  In theory, navigation didn’t seem that complex. Sevana taught the basics within minutes. But it became more complex after he actually put that knowledge to practical use. He had to keep track of about three different navigational devices at the same time, all coordinated with the map in his hands. How Sevana could do this and still hold a conversation, he couldn’t imagine. Years of experience?

  She kept tabs on him through the afternoon, offering corrections and advice here and there, but by nightfall, he’d gotten the hang of it. Sevana decided to take a quick nap and let him do a short solo flight. With the understanding (actually, it was more like dire threats) that he would wake her up instantly if he wasn’t sure of the direction, she curled up in a pile of blankets and went to sleep.

  Bellomi guided the skimmer until midnight without mishap. Having earned conditional trust from the captain of the vessel, they continued a rotational schedule so that one would navigate and the other sleep, thereby cutting down their travel time by half. Instead of taking almost six days to reach Vash Village, it took a little over three. They arrived late in the afternoon, with the sun just starting to set on the horizon, turning the sky a multihued splash of pinks and blues and violets.

  Sevana, not trusting him to land, took over navigating the skimmer into the village. Bellomi (just as thankful he didn’t have to worry about not crashing) instead watched over the railing as they approached. Vash Village didn’t quite look like the image he’d harbored in his head. It didn’t look like a tiny fishing village, but a thriving one that would rival Milby. In fact, it didn’t even set on the edge of the island’s coast as the other villages did, but resided a good mile inland. The whole of the village was constructed from very solid grey stone with brightly tiled roofs of every imaginable color, the streets paved with a mosaic of tile work that depicted different scenes, everything from fairytales to simple landscapes.

  “This place is amazing. It’s like a piece of art.”

  “Ah, that?” Sevana leaned forward in her chair, keeping a careful eye out as she maneuvered toward the outskirts of the village. “There’s a lot of artistic talent in the Vashs’. When they’re off-season, and not fishing or doing errands for the dragons, this is how they put their time to use. If you think the outside is impressive, wait until you see the inside.”

  “If the village is this beautiful, why isn’t it more famous?” he objected.

  “Simple. Lack of visitors.”

  Ah. True. Very few people would venture this close to dragon territory without a life and death reason. He himself stood as a prime example to that.

  People, of course, noticed the skimmer approaching and quite a few of them waved before heading over. Sevana must have a designated place to park as she didn’t hesitate or ask for directions before coming in to land on a flat area at the back of one of the larger buildings in the village. The meeting hall, perhaps? Regardless, she barely had the skimmer secured before the gate opened and people started climbing inside.

  “Sevana!” a tall man with a thick white beard and skin as dark as obsidian boomed out. His mouth formed a slightly crooked smile with both his arms out in welcome. “You are welcome.”

  “Vashti,” Sevana greeted and honestly seemed glad to see him, as she also extended both arms and clasped them with the other man’s. “I come without warning and thank you for the welcome.” The words sounded oddly formal as she said them.

  “There is no warning between friends,” Vashti responded, also formally. Then he dropped his hands and swooped her up in a bear hug that made her squeak. “Now, little Sev, how are you doing?”

  “Vashti, you lug, put me down!” she demanded breathlessly. Literally, as the hug had apparently squeezed the air out of her lungs.

  Laughing, the big man dropped her. “You seem well.”

  “I was until you tried to strangle me,” she complained. “And you, Vashbaen, don’t you dare do the same thing!”

  Another man, shorter and rounder than Vashti, had been sneaking up from behind to apparently do just that. He looked a good two decades younger, putting him somewhere around forty or so. His eyes nearly disappeared from the force of his smile. “Sevana, we have not seen you all year! We missed you!”

  “Pah!” with a snort, she turned and waved at Bellomi. “Vashti, Vashbaen, this is Bel. He is the reason we have come.”

  Bel gave them a proper bow, not at all sure how to greet them in this culture. “Masters, I am glad to meet you.”

  Vashbaen gave a nod back, but his eyes were scanning Bellomi from head to toe, obviously weighing him. To Vashti, he muttered, “He’s too young to be her lover, surely.”

  “Sche,” Vashti hushed him. “At this point, young or old, we shouldn’t complain. Any man that would take her is a good man.”

  “He’s my client,” Sevana informed them, arms crossed over her chest, toe tapping in an irritated rhythm. “He’s under a curse and we’re here to make a Deal with a dragon.”

  That knocked the jocularity
right out of the air. Both men straightened up and regarded Sevana with open alarm. “This close to migration season?” Vashti objected.

  “We can’t wait for them to get back from the north. Besides, they’re always in a testy mood, as far as I can tell.” Sevana tossed a hand, indicating it didn’t worry her either way. “But we’d like to stay here tonight and borrow a boat in the morning.”

  Vashbaen nodded uncertainly. “You are welcome at my house, as always. I will take you there myself tomorrow. You, ah, did bring gold?”

  “Enough to sink me to the bottom of an ocean,” Bellomi assured the man, touched by the open concern both were displaying on Sevana’s behalf. So, these were true friends and not just old clients. It warmed his heart to see it. “Do not worry so. We are taking every precaution.”

  “That is wise,” Vashbaen returned with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Then come, Bel, and be welcome at my house.”

  Sevana hadn’t been kidding about the inside of the house being more artistic and splendid than the outside. Most people hung art on their walls to decorate—the people of Vash apparently believed that walls were the canvas. The ceilings didn’t escape their attention, either. Bel took a whole step inside of Vashti’s house and stopped in awestruck wonder. No matter which way he looked at it, he had not stepped into a house but clearly into a forest. The floors were grass and ferns, the walls trees and soft afternoon light, the chairs and long settee either covered in fabric made to look like logs or rocks. He’d seen forests that seemed less real to him!

  “Vashera, wife!” Vashti boomed out as he strode through the main room.

  “Here!” a feminine voice called down the stairs. Shoes quickly appeared from the second story, thumping down the wooden stairs faster than Bellomi thought wise. In short order, a woman appeared, puffing slightly for breath. She had white hair like her husband, dark skin, and a plump figure that made her seem grandmotherly. Actually, at her age, she probably did have grandchildren. Her dark eyes sparkled as she hustled over to Sevana and threw her arms around the shorter woman. “Sevana! We have missed you.”

  Sevana rolled her eyes, for all the world looking put upon, but Bellomi noticed she readily hugged back. “Vashera, it is good to see you well.”

  Still with that beaming smile, she pulled back and patted Sevana’s shoulders. “You’re still too thin. Don’t you eat, child?”

  “She does,” Bellomi assured her, amused at this motherly scene. “She even cooks. I can attest to that.”

  As if noticing him for the first time, Vashera turned and regarded him. “Oh my! A handsome young man.”

  “Not my lover,” Sevana inputted firmly, brows furrowing in a scowl.

  From the disappointed look on Vashera’s face, she really had jumped to that conclusion.

  Bellomi, fighting back a smile (what was it with this village wanting to marry Sevana off?), gave his hostess a polite bow. “My name is Bel. I come without warning, Mistress Vashera.”

  “Oh, you are more than welcome,” Vashera assured him, bouncing quickly back to her original smile. “Come, come, I have rooms upstairs for you.”

  Bellomi followed her up the stairs, slowing here and there as a particularly detailed plant or tree on the wall caught his attention. The stairs under his feet creaked like regular wood did, but stained in such a way that it looked like he climbed up the branch of a tree. It felt…odd. In an enchanted way. “You have a beautiful home, Mistress Vashera,” he said in complete honesty. “I’ve never seen the like of it.”

  “You give beautiful compliments,” Vashera responded, flashing him a smile over her shoulder. “Why is such a nice man with you, Sevana?”

  “A client,” she responded with the air of shortly evaporating patience. “He’s under a curse and we came here to borrow the power we need to break it.” To Bellomi, she grumbled, “I never should have made you that bed. No one would be giving me grief over this if you still looked eight years old.”

  “Eight years old?” Vashera stopped dead on the stairs and whirled about to regard them both in confusion. “What is this?”

  Shooing the matron back in motion, Sevana started to explain the situation in more detail. Bellomi lent half an ear to it, but most of his attention was taken up by the second story. Far from continuing the theme from the first story of a woodland, the second level resembled a rocky mountaintop. The level of detail in depicting the stones and natural ferns that a mountain clearing boggled his mind. Just how much time had these people spent on this home?

  Sevana took a room at the very end of the hallway, entering it with the air of someone who had stayed there many times before. So she had a regular room here? Vashera brought him into a different room right next door, ushering him in. “Bel, this is your room as long as you wish to have it.”

  “Thank you very much.” He stepped in, eyes darting frantically about to see everything. Again, the theme changed and this time he stepped onto a rocky ledge with a starlit night surrounding him. He actually recognized some of the constellations depicted. His attention was so taken up by the walls and the ceiling that it almost escaped his attention that a bed and dresser were right in front of him.

  “Settle in and come down when you’re ready,” Vashera invited, already retreating back into the hallway. “Dinner will be on the table soon.”

  “Thank you.” He flashed her a quick smile before she closed the door. Not wasting time, he put his bag down and took a minute to wash up in the stand near the door. Feeling slightly refreshed, he headed back down the stairs, pausing now and again as something on the walls or ceiling caught his eye.

  “Bel!” Sevana called from the main floor. “Before the end of the year, if you please!”

  Bossy creature…he let out a sigh and quickly descended the rest of the stairs, heading straight for the room on his right. The smell of richly baked food and spices came from that direction, so he assumed the food could be found over here somewhere.

  He stepped into an open room that looked like the clearing next to a lush waterfall paradise. In fact, the spiraling water that poured down the wall looked so real that he could almost swear he smelled running water. But of course, he couldn’t from just a picture of mosaic tiles. The table looked like a boulder that rose up and mushroomed out on top, with smaller boulders around it for people to sit. Bel sat next to Vashera at her urging, telling his hostess as he sat, “It smells wonderful.” Not that he recognized a single dish on the table.

  She beamed at the compliment and started heaping food onto his plate. Sevana refused to let Vashera do the same for her and for good reason. Only a growing boy (such as himself) could manage to eat the huge portions.

  The food proved to be just as hot and spicy as it smelled, but equally delicious. He happily plowed through the plate and even snitched a little bit more, which delighted the cook.

  As he ate, Vashera and Vashti asked detailed questions about Bellomi’s condition and reason for being here, all of which Sevana answered. When this topic was more or less exhausted (and Bellomi had sufficiently stuffed himself) he asked, “How did you meet Sevana?”

  “Ah, that.” Vashti’s eyes crinkled up in laughter. “We sent word out, asking for help about three years ago. An epidemic had hit the village, something nasty that regular medicine couldn’t do anything to cure. We needed either an expert physician or someone with the same level of medical knowledge, but the only person that dared to come this close to dragon territory was Sevana.” He shook his head in fond remembrance. “We weren’t sure what to think of her, at first. She was so young, barely fifteen, and sassy. But she came without complaint and stayed until every one of us were on our feet again. Worked out a fair payment, too. Ever since, when we need help, we just send a message to her.”

  “Works well in my favor too,” Sevana put in, polishing off the last bit of bread. “I get an unending supply of dragon scales this way.”

  Yes, but wouldn’t she have to take a special trip down here just to colle
ct any kind of payment? Bellomi studied her from the corner of his eye. She sounded detached, as if she weren’t doing these people any favors, but he could see that wasn’t the case at all. These two absolutely adored her. They wouldn’t be so welcoming of someone who they only did business with. Really. He carefully hid a smile. Why can’t she just be honest with herself and say she likes these people?

  “Well.” Vashti pushed back from the table. “You’ll need an early start in the morning, if you mean to catch the dragons during broad daylight. That’s the best time to approach ‘em. Best turn in now.”

  Bellomi tried to help cleaning up the kitchen, only to be shooed out by Vashera, so he gave up and retired to his room. He’d only ever slept in four beds in his entire life, including the two different beds in Big. So sleeping in this foreign country, in a room that looked like an open sky, on a bed he wasn’t familiar with felt…more than odd. It set him strangely on edge so that he found it hard to settle. No, to be fair, what really prevented him from sleeping was the thought of what he would face the next morning.

  That night, lying in bed and staring at the painted stars, he sent a prayer toward the heavens that the gods would watch over him on the morrow.

  ~ ~ ~

  Vashti, good to his word, rose with them at dawn’s first light and guided them to his boat. Sevana half prodded, half led a sleepy Bel toward the dock. Judging from the bleary look on the kid’s face, he did not get a good rest the night before. She hadn’t either.

  At least they sat in a good sized boat. More than a dinghy, smaller than a regular fishing boat, it could easily be sailed by just one person. Vashti steered them into the water with the ease of vast experience, apparently immune to the damp fog gliding on top of the water and the slight chill in the air. Sevana huddled down into her jacket and stared straight ahead, looking sightlessly at the swirling grey in front of her.