by Andi Van
Tasis held up a hand. “Let me finish, please. You can yell at me when I’m done if you still feel like it.”
Jorget didn’t lose his frown, but he did resume his seat.
“You’re kind of dim, and by that I mean you don’t think before you act or speak,” Tasis repeated, “but you’re clearly intelligent despite that, and your heart’s in the right place. You seem like a good person overall, and you’re curious about the why of things. You’re thankfully not afraid to reevaluate your own opinions, and you’re not afraid to admit when you’re wrong even when you run at the mouth.”
Jorget cleared his throat and felt his face go red. “Speaking of which….”
Tasis waved a hand. “No, it’s okay. It’s not the first time someone’s made that mistake. It annoys me no end, but there’s no helping how I look.”
“Well, and it’s not like it would have actually been a bad thing if you had been a girl,” Jorget said, hoping he wasn’t about to make things worse. “I was surprised, because Denekk’s story made it clear you weren’t. Is it an elf thing?”
Tasis snorted. “You’ve seen Kelwin. He’s full elf, and he doesn’t look like a girl. No, it’s just me. I have a theory that it ties in with what Triv did when the guild was destroyed originally….” He paused, eyeing Jorget. “Do you know the story?”
“Mad king kills almost everyone, including the guild leader’s husband, and she retaliates by wiping them both off the face of the planet,” Jorget said immediately.
“It’s a little more complicated than that. Triv was certain that the only way to stop the killing was to evacuate the remaining guild members and make sure the king couldn’t hurt anyone ever again. There were a lot of complicated spells cast that day, and the one that ensured the guild would rise by my hand a thousand years later is the one that I think ties in to me looking like a slightly more masculine version of Triv. On one hand, if that spell had never been cast I might have ended up looking a little less….” He gestured to himself, then shrugged. “Or I may not have existed at all. Only the Maker knows. I am as I am, and there’s no point in wishing I wasn’t. Because this Tasis,” he said, thumping the palm of his hand against his chest, “is the one who’s going to find a way to stop this cycle of violence and insanity. And I have a feeling I’ll need your help to do it. What do you say?”
“You’re different from how I thought you’d be.”
Tasis cocked his head. “Oh? Is that good or bad?”
“Good, I think,” Jorget said, pursing his lips as he thought about it. “I had you built up in my head as someone to put on a pedestal. But you’re just a kid. I mean, sure, you’re a kid who can do scarily complex magic spells and bring an entire mythical guild back from the dead, but still.”
Tasis shook his head. “The spell Triv cast is what raised it,” he said. “I was merely the vehicle used to deliver it. I still have a lot to learn.”
Jorget nodded slowly. “I think we could be friends.”
Tasis flashed that huge grin of his again, and Jorget could kind of understand why another guy might find him attractive. Still not his thing, but Tasis was rather appealing when he smiled like that. It gave Jorget a pleasant feeling, as if he’d finally done something right. That feeling would take some getting used to. “I agree,” Tasis told him. “Arin will tell you how to find the giants. There’s a village about halfway to Inafain, and I promise you they’re all friendly. You won’t come to harm. In fact, their chief was around during the original conflict, so you might want to ask him his views on the whole thing.”
Jorget’s eyes went wide. “That’s impossible.”
“Giants live a long time, same as elves,” Tasis pointed out, his voice gentle as if he was aware he was about to make Jorget question a lot of things he thought he knew. “My great-aunt, who you will meet, was one of those evacuated from the isle. She raised Triv’s child after Triv’s… well, her death, I suppose.”
“You suppose? I mean, she did die, right?”
“Well, yes,” Tasis agreed. “It’s just hard for me to call it that when she’s probably swimming alongside the boat we’re in right at this very moment. Unless we’ve gone out of her range, at any rate. Her kind can’t survive too far from the isle.” He shrugged. “Anyway, I grew up thinking death was permanent. To find out otherwise is a little unnerving.” There was a murmur from Tasis’s side of the conversation, and the elf looked over at the source of the noise, a smile so tender crossing his face that it was almost painful to look at. “I’ll be there in a moment. Jorget made it to Arin’s late.” There was another murmur, and Tasis laughed. “I’ll tell him.”
“Tell me what?” Jorget asked.
“Kelwin says he would be forever in your debt if you’d bring some of Arin’s sweet rolls with you. He’s a bit addicted to them.”
Jorget glanced over at the baker, who didn’t appear to be paying any attention to them, and leaned closer to the mirror to whisper. “Is Arin a magic user?”
Tasis grinned. “If he hasn’t told you, it’s not my place to say.”
“That’s not fair.”
“There’s a lot about life that isn’t fair,” the elf pointed out. “If Arin wants you to know, he’ll tell you.”
Tasis turned a little and smiled at something Jorget couldn’t see, but it was easy to guess what from the way Kelwin, who looked more than half-asleep, was suddenly draped over Tasis’s shoulders. “His sweet rolls are magic,” the dark-haired elf mumbled groggily.
“I’ll bring you some,” Jorget promised, trying not to laugh.
“Thanks,” Kelwin yawned. “Can I steal Tasis back from you now?”
Jorget grinned. “Sure. Good night.”
“We’ll see you in a couple days,” Tasis said. “Thanks, Jorget.”
The mirror went black, and Jorget let out a deep breath.
“He’s a little overwhelming for one so young, isn’t he?” Arin said, a smile on his face.
“Yes and no,” Jorget said, his face screwing up in thought. “I mean, he’s about the same age as me, isn’t he? He’s a kid. With enough power in his little finger to level mountains if he wanted to.”
“At least that,” Arin agreed. “None of us know how strong he actually is. Not even that obnoxious purple cat of his.”
“And you?” Jorget asked. “Just how strong are you?”
Arin smiled at him, walked over, and gently took the mirror from Jorget. “Don’t worry,” he said as he brandished the smooth glass. “I’m guessing that Tasis has one for you.”
And that, Jorget realized, was the only answer he was going to get from the man. And maybe that was answer enough.
Chapter 4
KELWIN WAS always happy to have an excuse to be at sea. If someone had told him a few years ago that it was one of the places he would be most comfortable, he would have questioned their sanity. But there he was, in an out-of-the-way spot on deck, staring out into the vast blue expanse. There were no merfolk to be found, which told him that they left the Western Sea behind sometime during the night. That meant they’d be arriving at the Gyrn village sooner than expected.
“You know, this trip is supposed to take three days. In fact it’s always taken three days. So what’s changed, Sireti?” Tasis asked from a few feet away, growling at the man who was Zaree’s brother by blood, though not by heart.
“You tell me,” Sireti snarled back. “I pride myself on getting these things right, you know. It’s kind of my job. Are you sure you aren’t the one pulling some kind of prank by…?” The man held out one hand and wiggled his fingers, as if mimicking performing some sort of spell. Kelwin snorted to himself. You’d think the man would’ve learned by now.
“You’re an idiot,” Tasis snapped. “First of all, you’d know if I cast a spell. I think you would’ve learned that after what happened on the isle. Besides, any magic I could have done to move the boat this fast would have left me passed out.”
“Oh, right,” Sireti muttered, rubbing his ch
in in thought. “Well, if it wasn’t you, I don’t know. Sure, the winds have been favorable, but even that wouldn’t have moved us this fast.”
Kelwin looked in the direction from which they had come, toward the isle. He could guess what might have moved the ship so fast, and wouldn’t have been surprised to see Vashk waving a fin in farewell at them. On one hand, it was amusing to think of the dragon pushing the ship along. On the other hand, it made Kelwin a little nervous. The dragon always seemed to know more than he let on, which meant he probably had a reason for rushing them. He respected Vashk immensely, but he wished the dragon would make it a habit to tell them the whole truth instead of the partial truths he seemed to give.
“So you’re saying your men, who never take their eyes off where they’re headed, never thought to look behind the boat and see what was going on?” Tasis asked, resting one fist on his hip.
Kelwin got up and headed toward them, hoping he’d get there before it came to blows. It was no secret Tasis had little patience with Sireti. And considering how the man treated the woman Tasis considered his sister, no one could blame him. Tasis looked up when he neared, and a smile replaced the scowl that had taken residence on his face pretty much from the moment they boarded. Kelwin took his lover’s hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze as Sireti started to rant.
“Of course they looked. But there was nothing to see except some merfolk trailing behind. I doubt it had anything to do with them.”
“No,” Kelwin agreed, doing his best to keep the grin off his face. “But if they were following their master….”
“You think Vashk had something to do with this?” Tasis asked, head slightly tilted to one side as if considering Kelwin’s words. “Well, I wouldn’t put it past him, but why?”
Kelwin reached out a hand and brushed a lock of red hair out of Tasis’s face. “What else could move a ship this large so fast? And for us to sleep through it? I think the old dragon knows more than he’s letting on. Again.”
Sireti’s scowl grew deeper, and he ran a hand through his midnight-black hair. “If it was that important, why wouldn’t he tell you? Maker knows I would have been glad to know my ship was going to be controlled by outside forces.”
“As annoying as it is, I’ve learned that he does these things for a reason. It’s like there are rules we’re unaware of that dictate what we can and cannot know, and Vashk is working to keep us from breaking the rules.” Kelwin let out a sigh and looked toward the back of the ship, once again half expecting the dragon following behind. Vashk, of course, was not there. “If he’s shoving this ship this fast, there’s a reason. It’s our job to find out what that reason is.” He turned his attention away from Sireti then, lifting one of Tasis’s hands to his lips and kissing the back of it. “Let’s go for a walk,” he suggested, more because he wanted to talk to Tasis away from prying ears than for any real need for exercise.
Tasis stared at him for a long moment before finally nodding, having evidently seen the answer to this unspoken question in Kelwin’s face. “Sure,” he said slowly. “Let’s do that.”
Kelwin kept hold of his hand and led him toward the stern of the ship, leaving their annoyed captain behind. When they reached the out-of-the-way spot that Kelwin had claimed as his own, he pulled Tasis into his arms.
“What is it?” Tasis asked, his voice muffled by the fact that he’d immediately pressed his face into the crook of Kelwin’s neck upon being held close.
“I’m just worried,” Kelwin admitted. He ran a soothing hand over Tasis’s hair, pressing his nose against the other elf’s temple to breathe deep of his clean scent. “I’m worried about what Vashk isn’t telling us, I’m worried about what we might find on top of the mountain, and I’m worried about you.”
“About me?” Tasis asked, pulling away enough to look into Kelwin’s face. “Why in the Maker’s name would you be worried about me? I’m fine.”
Kelwin sighed heavily, feeling every bit of stress that had been hounding him hang on his shoulders. “No,” he said. “You aren’t fine. You haven’t been sleeping well, you’ve been more short-tempered than Zaree, and the circles under your eyes are so dark that you look bruised. Worse still, you aren’t talking to me about it. This is beyond your worries about starting a war, isn’t it? What’s going on?”
Tasis stared at him in silence for a long time before finally pulling away to lean against the railing and look out into the sea. “I’ve been dreaming. And not like the dreams I had before. These are disjointed, and dark. They have the same feeling as the dreams that led me to the isle.”
“So you mean they’re real?”
Tasis nodded. “But instead of having a purple cat, a mermaid, or a dragon in my head, it’s something vague and unpleasant.” He lifted up the pendant he always wore around his neck and shook his head. “The protection spell is gone, remember. It’s open season in my brain. K’yerin and Triv have been working with me to keep others out of my head, but clearly something is there.” He looked at Kelwin, the fear in his eyes so immense and oppressive that Kelwin momentarily marveled at Tasis’s ability to keep things from him. That feeling was quickly replaced with a drop of anger churning in his gut.
“And you didn’t think to mention this to me before? Why would you keep this from me?”
“Because….” Tasis sniffled a little and looked away, making Kelwin feel about two inches tall for losing his temper. “What if this is how it starts?”
Kelwin reached over and rested an arm over Tasis’s back. “What if this is how what starts?”
“The madness,” Tasis said softly.
“Wait,” Kelwin said, turning Tasis to look at him. “The king is already mad, and we’ve confirmed that this particular madness only affects the reigning monarch. Why would whatever it is affect you?”
“Because in my dreams, I’ve seen the end of the world,” Tasis said, his voice still quiet and strung thin. “Or the end of a world at any rate. It was… it was horrific. Enough to drive someone mad. And so I started to wonder, what if I’m next? What if this is how it happened to the king? The more I thought about it, the more it made sense, until it’s all I can think about. Maybe this is why Vashk thought it was dangerous for me to go up the mountain. Maybe I’m what brings the world to an end.”
Someone could have forced their hand into Kelwin’s chest right then and it would have hurt less than seeing Tasis in such anguish. “I prefer to believe that nothing is set in stone,” he said, though he was certain the words held little comfort. “It hasn’t happened yet. We have time to make sure it won’t happen. And it won’t. I refuse to be separated from you so soon after finding you. You can call me stubborn or even crazy, but I. Will. Not. Lose. You.”
“I’ve been dreaming too,” said a nearby voice, making them both nearly jump out of their own skins. They looked up to see Zaree standing there, looking at Tasis as if she were trying to decide whether to hug him or beat him. “Why didn’t you say anything? Of anyone, you know we’re the ones who would take it seriously. Have you talked to anyone about it? I’m going to guess no, because Maker knows you’ve been a stubborn ass lately.”
Tasis immediately collected himself, approaching his sister with concern written all over his face. “You’ve been dreaming? What kind of dreams?”
“My dreams have been the opposite of yours,” she said, meeting her brother’s gaze. “I’ve been dreaming about the beginning of the world. And Triv, I think. Those are a little hazy. I dream of her washing up on shore, murmuring her name. Only it’s somehow not her name. I don’t know if I can explain, since I don’t understand it either. I never brought it up because there’s so little to go on, and it might not be her. As for the other…. Where there are endings, there are also beginnings. Just because you’ve seen things end around us doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve seen our end. Stranger things have happened, and you can’t allow yourself to be distracted right now. I know it’s easier said than done, but you need to not dwell on uncertaintie
s right now. You’ll have time for that when this is all over.”
When it was all over. Kelwin sighed internally at that, because who knew how long that would take. There was something important to him that he wanted to take care of that would have to wait until it was all over. He only had to broach the subject with Tasis and get his agreement. He’d been set to do that before Denekk had contacted them, but now the ring waited in its small velvet pouch for the right time. It would happen eventually; he was sure of that. But that didn’t make him any less impatient.
“Too bad none of us knows when that will be,” Tasis sighed, echoing Kelwin’s thoughts. “But I suppose you’re right. We can deal with everything else later, but right now we need to handle the threats we can see.”
“Oh, look,” Zaree cried out, her melancholy suddenly lifted. “Dolphins. A good omen for our journey, then.”
Kelwin shaded his eyes to look out where the girl focused her gaze, and was immediately treated to the sight of one of the animals jumping joyously out of the water before cutting back in. Three other members of the pod followed suit, displaying acrobatics that left both elves and the human smiling broadly. “Definitely a good omen,” Kelwin agreed. And even if he hadn’t felt that Zaree was right, he would have taken what he could get in the way of good luck. He had a bad feeling they were going to need it.
“I wonder what it would be like,” Tasis mused. “To swim all the seas without a care in the world.” He chuckled a little, although the amusement seemed a little forced. “Who knows, maybe I’ll find out someday. When I’m old and gray and about to meet the Maker, maybe someone can throw me out to sea so I can get turned into a merman too.”
Zaree let out a snort and rolled her eyes. “Just do us a favor and wait a while, will you? Maybe another millennium or so.”
“Or longer,” Kelwin agreed. “Because then I’d have to be turned into a merman along with you, since I refuse to let us be parted.”
Tasis laughed, though his face turned a lovely deep red at Kelwin’s words. “You don’t fancy swimming with the fish? I don’t understand.”