Enchantress Sacrifice

by Denice Hughes Lewis

  “I cannot imagine the loss you must feel. I live with the guilt that my birth caused his death. You lived with him hundreds of lifetimes.”

  Tears well in her eyes. “I thought I would be the one to die first.” She collapses in a heap on the floor. “It is all too much to cope with, his death, my transformation. I cannot stop thinking about what kind of life we would have had if I had entered the lagoon again.”

  “You cannot change what has come before. If you insist on thinking about possibilities, what would have happened if you died and were unable to save me? Aru would have destroyed the island and everyone on it. You are the true hero, Bryntar.”

  She wipes her eyes and pats my face. “Let us continue the repairs.”

  Much time passes while we finish the caverns. When we are done, they are close to being the way they used to be, but will never be the same without Taroc. I am thrilled when we restore the warmth, never wanting to be cold again. I long to see Daniel, but worry about leaving Bryntar alone.

  “I need to check on the ship building,” I tell her as I water the new plants in the underground gardens.

  “You need to see Daniel.”

  “I do.”

  She chuckles, the first time I have seen a smile on her face in a long time.

  “Help me pack some food for the trip,” I say. “Come with me.”

  “This is where I belong.”

  “You cannot hide here for the rest of your life. You made me face my destiny. What about yours?”

  She starts shaking. “I do not know how to live any other way.”

  “Is that why you are not coming with me?”

  “I do not know if I can change.”

  “You had to change your whole life when you transformed. All you have to do is want to change.”

  I stuff extra food in a bag. “What kind of life will you have here alone? You do not like the Kepyrs. I doubt the Ice Lords will accept you.”

  “I will take you to the village, she says.”

  We climb the stairs to the outside world once again. I remember the first time I saw the forest after so many years underground. It is more beautiful now that I do not have to worry about losing my life. We enjoy two peaceful days and nights before reaching the Kepyr village.

  Bustling activity covers the filled-in pit. Daniel and my uncle are in the middle of it. I am surprised to see several Ice Lords working next to Kepyr warriors.

  I wave. “Daniel!”

  He looks up and runs toward me.

  I laugh as he grabs me and swings me around.

  “I missed you,” he says. He kisses me and I tingle all the way to my toes. “It’s great to see you, too, Bryntar,” he says when he releases me.

  She smiles, but her eyes are on my uncle as he hurries up and takes her hands. “I am so glad you came, too,” he says to Bryntar.

  She blushes, which brings a beautiful deep purple to the scales that shimmer on her face.

  Daniel pulls me over to the workers. “Come and see. You have perfect timing. We’re ready to move everything to build the ship by the Western Seas. All the different Kepyr villages sent help. We’ve cut and cured enough lumber. I made the basic instruments for navigation. No motor, but sails and oars are being made.”

  “Are they helping you just to get rid of me?” I ask.

  “Naw. I think they are excited to build their own ships someday. I’ve even taught some of them how to swim.”

  “You have been gone a long time, Elandra,” Uncle says. “Your father was reelected King in your absence.”

  Surprise fills Bryntar’s face. “By all the people?”

  “Yes. And seven Keprys sit on the Council.”

  “I hope you are one of the members,” Bryntar says. “They need someone of your intelligence.”

  He beams. “Thank you. I was asked and refused. I am going with Elandra and Daniel to the outer world.”

  Shock shudders through her. “This is your home.”

  “Home is a place in your heart,” he says. “That is why you have to come with us.

  We are building the ship to hold four people.”

  Thrilled, I hug Uncle and seize her hand. “I cannot imagine leaving you behind, dear Bryntar.”

  “I will consider it,” she says.

  “We need to talk.” Daniel leads me out of the village toward the river.

  I stare at the water. It seems like a lifetime ago, when Daniel and I escaped in its frigid depths. “How do the Kepyrs feel about the deaths we caused?”

  “Actually, we each killed only one man. The others survived. They are grateful you saved the island.”

  “I will be glad when we leave,” I say.

  “That’s what I want to talk about.”

  Uneasy, I stop walking and turn to him.

  “Are you sure you want to go?” he asks.

  I swallow hard as my heart sinks like a stone. “You do not want me to come?”

  “I want nothing else. My world is not like this one.” He takes me in his arms. “I can’t promise a safe voyage, either. People die at sea.”

  “Wherever we are or however long we have, I want to be with you.”

  Jyrr swaggers through bushes with a spear in his hand. “That time is shorter than you know, Enchantress.”

  Several of his friends stand behind him with spears and knives.

  “Not you again,” Daniel says.

  I tighten and move in front of him.

  Jyrr jeers. “Are you afraid and need protection from your little Enchantress?”

  Daniel clenches his jaw and moves me aside. “Don’t interfere. This is my fight.”

  I do not understand the aggressiveness, pride, even joy they share.

  “If you lose,” Jyrr says, “what is to stop her from killing me?”

  Daniel looks at me. “Promise not to hurt him.”

  Have you lost your mind? “You expect me to watch you get killed and do nothing?”

  “Have a little faith in me,” Daniel says.

  His confidence shoots through me. I glare at Jyrr. “Agreed. What if Daniel wins? Can he kill you?”

  The Ice Lords laugh.

  Jyrr smiles. “Do not expect me to lose.”

  “That does not answer my question.”

  “Agreed,” Jyrr says. “I never lose.” He raises his spear.

  “We don’t need weapons,” Daniel says.

  Jyrr sneers and drops his spear. As he does, he leans forward and hits Daniel in the chest with his head, wraps his arms around him and throws him to the dusty ground.

  I hold back a scream.

  The Ice Lords cheer.

  Daniel wipes the dirt from his eyes and scrambles up in a crouch. “Good move. Didn’t see that one coming.”

  Jyrr tries the same move again. This time Daniel pushes Jyrr’s head away and steps to the side. Jyrr sprawls to the ground.

  “Mix it up, Ice Lord,” Daniel says. “Can’t expect your opponent to be stupid.”

  Jyrr yells and leaps up, spitting dirt. Wary, he circles.

  Daniel grins. “That your fighting technique? Getting me dizzy?”

  Furious, Jyrr charges.

  Daniel bends down, comes up under Jyrr and throws him over his head.

  Jyrr slams to the ground on his back.

  The Ice Lords murmur in surprise.

  The noise of the fight attracts the villagers. They leave their work and surround the fighters. Uncle and Bryntar stand aside.

  I move to Uncle’s side. “Why is Daniel having fun?”

  Uncle smiles in satisfaction. “He is a warrior.”

  “And worthy of my Elandra,” Bryntar says.

  My muscles knot.

  Daniel starts bouncing around, just out of Jyrr’s reach.

  Islanders cheer.

  “Stand still,” Jyrr growls. He runs toward Daniel, swinging his long arms. One connects with Daniel’s jaw with a thud. He staggers backward.

  Ice Lords chant. “Jyrr, Jyrr, Jyrr.”

  “Q
uite a punch,” Daniel says wiping blood from his mouth. “A little more strength and you might have knocked me out.”

  “You dare to insult me?”

  “Let’s finish this.” Daniel leaps and twists into the air like a jaguarat, kicking out a leg. His foot smashes Jyrr in the head.

  Jyrr yells and crashes to the ground.

  “I have never seen fighting like this,” Uncle says.

  Jyrr stumbles up and snatches his spear off the ground.

  Daniel smiles. “I always knew you were a coward.”

  The Ice Lords shift uneasily.

  The crowd jeers.

  Daniel leaps for the spear before Jyrr can throw it and grasps the shaft. Each fighter strains for control, muscles bulging. Both are equal in strength.

  My heart tries to crawl out of my chest.

  Jyrr screams and wrenches the spear from Daniel’s hands.

  Daniel leaps up and kicks Jyrr in the stomach with both legs. Jyrr flies backward and hits hard, gasping for breath.

  “Excellent,” Uncle says.

  Daniel jumps up and wrenches the spear from Jyrr’s hand. He points it at his chest.

  The crowd yells for his death.

  Jyrr’s face pales. He lifts his chin in defiance. “Finish it.”

  Daniel turns to the crowd. “No life should be wasted.” He turns back to Jyrr. “I win.” He breaks the spear in half and throws it away.

  The crowd cheers and many young warriors lift Daniel to their shoulders and carry him to the village.

  Jyrr drags himself off the ground and turns to his friends. “You saw him cheat. His way of fighting is unfair.”

  One young Ice Lord reaches over and removes the bearran tooth and jewel from Jyrr’s ear. “You are dead to us.” He tosses it into the river. The young Ice Lords turn their backs on Jyrr and stalk off.

  I shut out the absolute horror and loss that shudders through Jyrr.

  He stares at me with absolute hatred. “This is your fault.” He races away into the trees.

  Chapter Forty-Seven: The Leaving

  Daniel oversees the building on the coast of the Western Seas. He teaches us the parts of the ship and how to sail it. To his embarrassment, we start calling him Captain. Provisions and clothing are stored.

  I show my father the hidden cavern in case he ever has use for it, although we have little time together before the day arrives when the ship is ready to sail.

  The morning sun breaks over the Ice Mountains in the distance behind us, a golden sphere shining in a sapphire sky. The ice reflects red, violet and pink.

  Our ship rests in a deep hole in the sand, supported by a giant wooden structure that juts into the horizon. The Western Seas churn, held back by a dam of stone and wood. Craftsmen run out of the deep depression when the ship is ready to launch. One disappears around the side to finish the last preparations.

  Daniel’s ship is sleek and beautiful, but looks tiny compared to the vast sea. Colorful sails blow in the breeze with Kepyr and Ice Lord designs sewed on them.

  Hundreds of islanders watch us from the hillside.

  Memories wash through me and I close them away.

  My father strides to my side. “I hoped to spend more time with you.”

  “I wish you were coming with us, Father.”

  “Under any other circumstances I would. The island needs me.”

  Daniel strides up, unable to contain his enthusiasm. “Time to board.”

  My father shakes his hand. “Take care of my Enchantress.”

  “Yes, sir. Take care of your island.”

  Father hugs me and does not want to let go. “Thank you for showing me your underground home. No one will know of its existence except me. Have a safe voyage, Elandra. I hope we do not have to wait another sixteen seasons to see each other. I trust your Daniel to know our location and return someday.”

  I kiss his cheek. “Will I be able to take the ship through the invisible shield?”

  “The shield is made of light. If you stand in front and enclose the ship in your light, I have no doubt you will be able to blend together and pass through safely.”

  I cling to him. “I do not wish to say goodbye, Father.”

  “Until we meet another time.”

  I impress his smile upon my mind.

  “I almost forgot,” he says. “I want you to have these.” He takes the three-star jewel from the ring in his ear and connects it to a ring he slips from his little finger. “Your mother made this for me.”

  My hand shakes as he places it in my palm. The jewel sparkles against the three hearts entwined in the beautifully carved wood. Tears slide down my face. I slip the ring on my finger. “Thank you, Father.”

  “Remember us, my dear.”

  I kiss him quickly and turn away, unable to say more without bursting into tears.

  My uncle shouts. “We are ready to sail!”

  I run to the ship. My hands slide up the cold, metal ladder. I remember when this special metal warmed bare feet in my underground home, the countless hours in the library when life was new and safe.

  I continue my climb and touch the last, bright letter of the ship’s name. Daniel insisted that all ships have girl names, but he gave in to my choice, The Taroc.

  Uncle takes my hand when I reach the deck, a grin on his face. “Welcome aboard, mate!”

  I laugh, recalling the stories Daniel told us about pirates.

  Someone breaks into song on the hillside and the melody drifts through the air as other voices join in.

  Bryntar is still on the ground, her back to the ship. Struggling with the memories and emotions of a thousand years, she turns and climbs up the ladder, her face pale.

  I take her in my arms. “You do not have to come with us.”

  “You are my family. I worry about the outer world with my scales and claws.”

  “When the time comes, we will know what to do,” I say.

  Daniel places his hands on my shoulders and gazes into my eyes. “No second thoughts?”

  “Never.”

  He signals to the men on the stone dam.

  One shouts, “Are all workers off the ship, Captain?”

  “I will check,” Uncle says and disappears below.

  “Are you sure we can sail this ship?” I ask.

  “You’ll get the hang of it,” Daniel says.

  “We may know how, but that is not the same as practical knowledge,” Bryntar warns.

  Uncle returns from below deck and grins. “Shipshape, Captain.”

  My heart thumps fast. Ice Lord and Kepyr muscles strain to pound open the wooden gate in the middle of the dam. Water bursts toward us like a racing jaguarat, smashing away the supports and slowly lifting the ship.

  The crowd gasps.

  I grab Daniel as the ship moves under me, breathing with life.

  He laughs. “You’ll get your sea legs.”

  Bryntar grabs onto Uncle and his face lights up.

  The sea calms and the ship settles. The colorful sails flap in the breeze.

  The island melody floats across the water.

  I look back at the only home I have known. Standing on a lone hill with his mane flowing in the breeze is my khorbock. I send my love to him. He rears and races away. I swallow the lump in my throat, memories filling my mind. I did not think it would be this hard to leave.

  A dazzling spirit of light flashes over the island in farewell. I send it my love and turn to another destiny.

  Continue the Adventure December 2017

  Enchantress Sabotage

  One: The Sailing

  The breeze whips through the sails taking me away from the only home I know. My mysterious island grows smaller and smaller in the morning light. The sudden tightness in my chest is unexpected. I saved the island and its people, but I cannot stay to be feared or revered as an Enchantress.

  Bryntar stands resolute beside me, her legs apart and unyielding to the movement of the ship below our feet. Her long black hair whips across
her purple-tinted face. Azure eyes brim with tears when the island she has lived on for a thousand seasons shimmers like a golden sun and disappears under the horizon.

  “Thank you for coming with me,” I say. “We will find a safe new life. I promise.”

  She swats at her tears. “Be careful of promises you cannot keep. Even if we survive this voyage, what do you think Daniel’s world will think of you? Of us?”

  She turns away. Her one, clawed hand grips the railing. It is difficult to believe that she was once the monster who saved my life and raised me as her own. Her transformation back to Ice Lord also left a shimmering row of scales on one cheek. She is still beautiful.

  I breathe light that flows into my hair. “I want to leave my life as an Enchantress behind.”

  “That is who you are.”

  It is always the same argument with Bryntar. I do not want to be different, even if I breathe light and can control its energy.

  I close out her feelings and watch Daniel. His handsome face is pure rapture as he guides the rudder, leaping back and forth to avoid the boom as he guides the ship into the wind. His blonde hair flies, his body lean and strong. Daniel is the only one I will ever love, even though I know he may never commit to me.

  I am amazed that he and the islanders built such a ship. Oars replace a motor that could not be made. I do not understand how tacking works. It is enough that the ship zigzags into the wind, away from my past.

  A glimmer of fear darkens his green eyes and I stagger toward him. He does not try to hide his feelings as he once did. I have better control over my ability to read emotions and try not to intrude, but cannot help wanting to know how Daniel feels.

  “How long until we reach the barrier that hides the island?” he asks.

  “There is no way of knowing. My father believes the barrier protects the island and has the capacity to expand and contract.”

  “That’s impossible. No one in the world can do that or hide an entire island.”

  Not in his world. I remember the faint glimmerings of strangeness that we encountered on the island in the Sunken City and the silent pillars of The Old Ones. “Something created it.”

  Daniel tries to hide his worry. His grief is still raw from losing his father and older brother when their ship crashed into the barrier, split in half and was engulfed by a giant whirlpool. I do not think he has forgiven himself for surviving and washing ashore on the island.