by Lisa Shearin
There was one thing everything living in The Ruins had in common—a need for and an addiction to all things magic. And it didn’t get more magical than the stone I carried clenched in my white-knuckled hands. If I could feel it through the casket, I knew that creatures, whose sole purpose in existing was the hunt for, capture of, and consumption of magic, were hot on our trail.
“Can we move faster?” I whispered to Mychael. The sound of my own voice was absurdly loud.
“What is it?”
“Company’s coming.”
The Guardian turned to where Chigaru was now walking unassisted. “Your Highness?”
“Yes?”
“Are you able to run, or do you require assistance?”
The goblin prince stiffened at the implication of help from anyone. “I can manage on my own.”
“Glad to hear it.” Mychael addressed everyone else. “Stay together, stay alert, but let’s pick up the pace.”
We did. And so did the things following us.
It was a race to the canal surrounding the island. And after what I’d been through over the past three days, it was a race I was not going to lose. Our exit point would still put us in the Goblin District, but if the Khrynsani guards’ reaction was any indicator, there wouldn’t be a welcoming committee. Or if there was, flashing the Saghred in their general direction should clear us a wide path. Unless someone had stepped in to fill Sarad Nukpana’s boots in the past few minutes, the former grand shaman seemed to be the only one of his order chomping at the bit to get his hands on the Saghred. Nukpana’s underlings were more enamored with the idea of having the Saghred than with actually having it in their collective face.
At least that’s what I was counting on.
It had occurred to me that I was carrying the most dangerous thing in The Ruins, which by association made me the most dangerous thing in The Ruins. It had occurred to me, but I was doing my best not to think about it. It wasn’t a distinction I wanted.
We actually got out of The Ruins without incident. I was nothing short of stunned. I kept expecting battle-armored Khrynsani or Mal’Salin guards to jump us at every turn, but it never happened. A pleasant surprise. I wondered if Sathrik Mal’Salin had any notion of what I had just done to his right-hand shaman. Would he care? I think he would. I was just lucky that way.
I made my decision before we even reached our borrowed gondolas.
Chapter 25
Sleep was easy. Getting there was hard. Try going to sleep with eleven pirates shouting overhead—and Sarad Nukpana whispering your name.
I was in Phaelan’s bunk on the Fortune attempting to catch a few hours of sleep. Phaelan’s crew was preparing to get underway. It wouldn’t take much—either work or time. My cousin arrived in a port quickly, and was always prepared to leave the same way. An hour ago, a little wind manipulation by a weather wizard friend of Garadin’s had nudged the Fortune out of her harbor moorings to just beyond the barrier islands where a pair of Guardian ships waited. The wizard had collapsed from near exhaustion from the effort. I could hear him snoring it off in the next cabin. Something else to keep me awake.
Mychael and I had talked before I’d turned in. Some of that talk I had liked; some of it I didn’t. But we both agreed on one thing—my staying in Mermeia was out of the question.
While I didn’t want to go there, the Isle of Mid was the only place where I could possibly get rid of my new soulmate. It was also an island full of power-grubbing mages, and I had a bond with a legendary stone of power no one had been able to wield and live—until me, until now. I’d be the most popular girl in town.
In an attempt at consolation, Phaelan told me that leaving Mermeia would make me part of a long-standing Benares family tradition: leave town until things cool down.
King Sathrik Mal’Salin knew about me. So did Prince Chigaru, who along with Primari Nuru had parted ways with us once we were out of The Ruins. One minute their gondola was there, then it wasn’t. Mychael hadn’t seemed concerned by it. I couldn’t say the same. If they weren’t making their own getaway plans, they were in deep hiding. As to Sarad Nukpana no longer being in control of the Khrynsani, I knew that wouldn’t last for long. Nukpana might not be there to lead them, but one of his minions would claw his way to the top. And I was sure his replacement would be just as psychotic—and just as obsessive about me. It was the kind of attention a girl could do without.
Then there was the attention I was going to miss.
Tam had delivered Tarsilia safely to the Fortune. While Tarsilia and Piaras had an emotional reunion, Tam and I tried to have a nonemotional parting. I said we tried; we didn’t succeed. I knew I had to leave; Tam knew I had to leave, but knowing it didn’t make it any easier. Tam had a business to run. I had a stone of power to rid myself of.
In the end, words just weren’t getting the job done for Tam, so he went for action instead. I’ve been on the receiving end of some heated kisses in my time, but none of the top contenders had ever involved me being slammed against a mainmast. I have to admit I liked it. A lot. The hoots and whistles of Phaelan’s crew did nothing to discourage Tam’s ardor. Quite the opposite. I think he wanted to make sure I wouldn’t forget him. After that kiss, there was no chance of that. I thought there was a much better chance of Tam turning up on the Isle of Mid. Let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised.
Garadin, Tarsilia, and Piaras were sailing to Mid with me. So was my cat, Boris. Once Garadin had drafted his weather wizard friend to help get us to Mid, he ran by my rooms to get Boris. Garadin was in a hurry. Boris did nothing in a hurry except eat. Garadin had to drag Boris out from under my bed. Boris had to claw the crap out of Garadin’s arms. I’d only seen my cat once after we’d set sail, chasing a fat rat. Boris was on his ideal vacation. I couldn’t say the same for myself.
Mychael had told me I was safe, but safe was relative. An armada wasn’t enough to make me feel safe right now. Our trio of ships bristled with cannons and shielding spells. But what I feared most I had brought onboard myself. Not on the Fortune, but on one of the Conclave’s ships. The Saghred was in Mychael’s cabin, in its casket, under the strongest containment spells he and his Guardians could bind it with. Though it didn’t matter where the Saghred was, because I heard it the whole time, whispering without words, a constant stream running under my thoughts. I tried thinking other thoughts to drown out the whispers, but all that did was make it harder to go to sleep. I could see this was going to be a problem.
I wondered if my father had lain awake at night listening to the voices, and later the temptations. Though at this point, I’d settle for a good night’s sleep—and count on my own special brand of stubbornness as a defense. Garadin always told me I was stubborn as a rock. I never thought I’d actually have to put it to the test.
So far I hadn’t experienced anything approaching the Saghred’s full power. I didn’t know what it would feel like, and I would really prefer to go the rest of my life without finding out. I just hoped I wouldn’t wake up in a few hours craving coffee, sugar knots, and world domination. The last one sounded like entirely too much work, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t be tempted by the Saghred’s other offers. I’d only heard a few, and I was sure there would be more.
I awoke to sunlight and sea air. Waking up meant I’d been asleep. Good for me. Nice morning, blue sky. The Fortune was under full sail and moving fast. I was alive. So were my friends. And most importantly, I didn’t feel the urge to take over anything. Life was good.
I still heard voices, but this time they weren’t coming from inside the Saghred. They were warm, living, breathing voices and sounds. Tarsilia speaking, Piaras laughing. Garadin knocking. Somehow I knew it was him.
I rolled over. “Come.”
The door opened. Yep, it was Garadin. Nothing like getting a brand-new power from a soul-sucking rock to start your day.
“How did you sleep?” he asked.
I sat up, pulled the blanket around me and pushed what must have been some very scary lo
oking hair out of my face. I hadn’t bothered braiding it before I turned in. I was only wearing a silk shirt. A big one. It wasn’t mine; it was Mychael’s. It was also nice and comfy. With the Khrynsani probably on my tail, there was no time for civilized niceties like packing. I had some clothes onboard, but nothing for sleeping. Phaelan said he could find me some girl clothes, but I knew where those clothes had come from, and I’d rather not wear anything one of his nighttime visitors hadn’t had time to put back on.
“I slept well enough,” I said. “All things considered.”
“All things?”
“The Saghred thinks I’m its new roommate.”
My godfather didn’t respond immediately. “You’re the only one who can hear it. The shields are holding for the rest of us.” There were the beginnings of dark circles under his blue eyes. It looked like he’d been helping with those shields.
“Apparently I’m not the rest of us,” I said.
“I know. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“I figured as much.”
He pushed off the door frame with his shoulder and crossed the cabin to the bunk. He sat on the edge near the foot.
“You might not want to do that,” I told him. “Rumor has it I’m dangerous right now.”
He halfway smiled. “I’ve always known that.”
He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped loosely in front of him. He sat that way in silence. I had a feeling he was gathering words he knew I didn’t want to hear.
“Heard anything else from your father?”
I shook my head and sat up straighter against the pillows. “Just Nukpana.”
That thought troubled him. It troubled me more.
“Anything now?”
“Not a peep from the grand shaman.” I managed a weak smile, though there was no humor behind it. “Maybe he got tired.”
“Maybe.” Garadin bowed his head and looked at the deck. “I had no idea Eamaliel Anguis was your father. Maranda never mentioned him. I asked her. Once. She said she didn’t want to talk about it, and I knew she didn’t want me to bring it up again. So I didn’t.”
“Sounds like she was stubborn.”
My godfather smiled. “Like someone else I know.”
He lifted his head and looked at me then, and I found myself not wanting to meet his eyes. I knew he saw me—but he was remembering my mother.
“She loved you.” His voice was soft and husky. “And I don’t have that secondhand. I saw it myself.”
If he kept this up, my long-promised screaming fit was going to turn into a crying jag. I could only manage a ragged whisper in response. “Thank you.”
He was fighting his own case of the misties. He patted my knee under the blanket. “Mychael’s a good man, and so is Justinius Valerian. We’ll get this taken care of, girl.”
I tried a shaky grin on for size. It didn’t quite fit. “One way or another.”
“No, just one way.” He pushed himself to his feet and straightened his robes. “There’s breakfast in the galley if you’re interested. Piaras might have left something for you.”
He stopped at the door. “Mychael isn’t sending word ahead to Justinius that he has the stone,” he said quietly. “But I’m sure the goblins already have.”
“Well, that’ll just make the bad guys easier to spot,” I said. “Anyone on Mid who knows we have the rock got their information through the back door.”
Garadin met my comment with calm silence. The kind you had when you were right and you knew it—and so did the person who wanted you to be wrong. I chose to ignore it. I could think about it when we got to Mid. That gave me about four days to ignore my future.
I swung my legs over the side of the bunk. My muscles had other ideas. I winced. “I’ll get dressed and be out in a few minutes.”
My godfather nodded and left.
I took my time dressing, and then strapped on my blades. What threatened me most right now couldn’t be hurt by steel, but I wasn’t going to let a few days at sea get me out of a healthy habit. Once on Mid, I was sure I’d get ample opportunity to use both spells and steel. There were plenty of people there who wanted what I had, what I could do. That meant they wanted me.
I’m a seeker. I find things. Fate sure does have a warped sense of humor. Now I’m what the bad guys are trying to find. Most times people are glad when they find what they’re looking for. Sometimes they’re sorry they asked. If you ask me, folks should be more careful what they ask for. I cinched the buckle on my brace of throwing knives. Some things are better left unfound. Like me.
I’d had some sleep, I’d get some breakfast, talk to my friends, then I’d find my favorite place near the bow. Wind in my hair, spray on my face. A little sun and fresh air. A little happiness. I take my happiness when and where I can find it.