by Ben Hale
“Sorry about your ship, captain,” Sirani said, her voice suddenly small.
Erix surprised Jack by laughing. “A price well paid for our lives.”
Jack stepped to the rail and watched Aranis gradually fall behind. She splashed in the water and her cloak kept her afloat, but they were far enough out to sea to suggest she wouldn’t survive. He sighed and turned to the captain, raising an eyebrow.
“I know,” the captain said with a sigh.
He barked orders for them to come about, and shortly after they pulled alongside the struggling dark elf. Jack looked down at her furious expression and smiled. Aranis didn’t smile back.
“If we let you aboard, will you behave?”
“You’re my pet,” she snarled.
“Don’t be a fool,” Inna said. “It’s ten miles to shore. You won’t make it.”
“I’d rather die.”
“As you order,” Jack said, signaling the captain. “Let her swim home.”
The sail was unfurled again and the ship gradually picked up speed. As they began to pull away Jack held the dark elf’s gaze. “Am I really worth your life?”
“Yes,” she spat the word at him.
Inna blew out her breath in disgust and muttered to Jack. “Don’t look so smug, Jack.”
He laughed and called out to Aranis. “A life without a pet is still a life worth living.”
Aranis scowled at the statement and finally relented. “I won’t pursue you.”
“And us?” Inna asked.
Aranis ground her teeth together. “I won’t kill them.”
“How can I be certain?” Captain Erix asked, stepping to the rail to look down at her.
“You have my oath as an assassin,” Aranis said.
Erix held her gaze for a moment before nodding to Rezko, who tossed a rope to her. She caught the end and the momentum from the ship dragged her until the sailors hauled her from the water. She rolled over the rail and collapsed onto the deck. The shadow cloak had absorbed the water and hung limp, making the dark elf resemble a drowned cat.
The sailor hastily retreated but she made no move to strike. She sat up and leaned against the rail, wringing out her shadow cloak like it was made of cloth. The sodden material dripped onto the deck. Rezko appeared with a pair of shackles and tossed them to her, causing her to scowl.
“I gave you my oath.”
“I trust steel over your oath,” Rezko said.
She grumbled and placed the shackles on her wrists, her eyes on Sirani looming behind Jack and Inna. When she was done she rose to her feet, but Captain Erix raised a hand and motioned to her cloak.
“That as well.”
She reached up and undid an unseen clasp. Then she passed the cloak to Jack. “Don’t lose it,” she said. “It’s unique.”
“As are you,” Jack said.
“Don’t tease me.”
He stepped forward and began to remove ring daggers from her body. Metal fell to the deck, piling high as Jack found more blades. She smiled at the intimate search and made no move to stop him. Several sailors began to chuckle at the sheer volume of weaponry. When Jack was certain she had been disarmed, he stepped back.
Bereft of weapon or cloak, Aranis seemed small. She wore a tunic that left her arms bare, and pants that matched the darkness of her cloak. Empty sheaths littered her body where the abundance of ring daggers had been. She smirked at the scrutiny.
“I feel almost naked, pet. Care to finish the job?”
“Tempting,” Jack said with a smile.
“Take her below,” Captain Erix said. “And shackle her feet.”
Sailors led the dark elf below and the captain turned to Jack. “I want an explanation. Why did she attack you?”
Jack briefly considered lying but suspected that could backfire. Captain Erix was intelligent and forceful, and if he suspected Jack had withheld the truth, he could refuse to take them to the City of Dawn. But telling him the truth might cause the captain or his crew to attempt to collect the bounty on their own.
“I’m Jack Myst,” he said, on impulse speaking the truth. “Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild.”
The captain sucked in his breath. “The one with the bounty.”
“The same,” Jack said.
Rezko whistled in appreciation. “Your head is worth ten ships.”
“And many have died in the attempt to take it,” Inna said.
Sirani began to laugh, the eager sound causing the surrounding soldiers to retreat from her. “They may want his head—but they’ll get my hand.” She clenched it into a fist and wind swirled around her fingers.
Captain Erix glanced her way and then his eyes returned to Jack. Then he shrugged. “I admit I am tempted, but I prefer honest coin. Rez?”
The first mate folded his arms. “I have no desire to sail a ship bought by blood.”
The other men on the boat nodded their agreement, but Jack swept his gaze among them. None betrayed a hint of deception, leading Jack to raise his opinion of the captain. He’d chosen his crew well, and they reflected his innate sense of honor.
“You have my gratitude,” Jack said.
The captain grunted. “I’m beginning to suspect I will not like our destination.”
“It’s a city from which the ancient race departed,” Jack said. “Then it was called the City of Dawn. I don’t know what it’s called now.”
“I do,” Erix said, his expression darkening. “We call it the Shattered Isle.”
Chapter 28: The Shattered Isle
“You can’t seriously be considering this,” Rezko said. “Thousands of ships have journeyed to the shattered isle and none return.”
“You know where it is?” Jack asked.
“All sailors do,” Erix said. “We are taught early to avoid its shores.”
“What makes it so dangerous?” Inna asked.
“No one knows,” Erix replied. “But I suspect it was something left by the ancients.”
“Why do you want to go there?” Rezko asked.
“We seek an item called the Mind Vault,” Jack said. “And we’ve learned it lies there.”
“Who told you that?” a sailor asked, snorting in disbelief.
“I did,” Sirani said, looming over him. “Do you doubt my knowledge?”
“Of course not,” he said hastily.
Sirani smiled and patted the man on the back, knocking him to the deck. “The artifact lies on the island,” she said.
“Will you take us?” Jack asked the captain.
Erix regarded him for several moments while the crew seemed to hold their breath. Then he shrugged and gestured to them.
“I won’t risk their lives on a whim. But if they decide to go, I’ll lead them.”
Rezko grinned and swept a hand at Sirani, Inna, and Jack. “The first ones to return from the Shattered Isle will be audacious, skilled, and powerful. Perhaps our passengers have such attributes.”
Rezko’s smile spread to the others, and one by one the other sailors gave their assent.
“Aye.”
“It will be a tale for the ages.”
“If we survive.”
The last statement came from a wiry young sailor, but he bore a smile on his face. Then he inclined his head to the captain.
“I trust the captain. I’m with him.”
Captain Erix didn’t seem pleased with his crew’s faith, but he nodded. “So be it. Rezko, turn us northwest. The rest of you, get this ship repaired and underway. If we must flee, I want us in top condition.”
The sailors obeyed his orders with a sense of excitement and a trace of fear. As the ship accelerated northwest Sirani added her magic, powering the ship through the waves with frightening force, the momentum adding to the tension among the sailors. Captain Erix kept rigid control of his crew, keeping their fear in check with a casual smile.
In the following days Jack kept to his room. To ensure privacy he used one of his new tools on the door, casting a mild curse that wou
ld prevent entry. The next day Inna commented on the shock she received when she attempted to open the door, and he laughed it off. Her expression remained suspicious, but Jack changed the subject. Five days after the battle with Aranis they reached the Shattered Isle.
The moment it was spotted Jack sprinted to the prow of the ship. The sun hung low on the horizon, illuminating a volcano rising from the sea. As they approached, the sleek boat curved into a wide circle around the island, keeping its distance. Jack ascended to the crow’s nest and found Inna already present.
“What do you see?” he asked.
“Are you certain about this course?” she asked.
He picked up the spyglass and put it to his eye. “Afraid of getting killed?”
“Afraid of killing them,” Inna said.
He turned to her and raised an eyebrow. “An assassin worried about lives?”
“My father taught me that every life is precious,” she said, a smile crossing her face as she spoke of Jaron. “That we take life to better the world, not harm it. These are good men that do not deserve to die.”
“I know they are,” Jack said. “Which is why I think we need an ally.”
It took her a moment to realize what he meant. Then her eyes widened. “You mean Aranis?”
“Why not?” Jack asked. “She’s a formidable assassin.”
“She tried to take you into her own private dungeon and have her way with you.”
“Everyone has their flaws.”
She laughed wryly. “You really think we can trust her?”
“No,” Jack said. “But I think she’ll listen to you.”
“Why me?”
“You share the same occupation,” Jack said.
“But not the same methods,” Inna said. “She kills without cause. She’s just like Gallow.”
Jack gestured to the boat. “She’s a ship without a compass.”
She grunted in disagreement but did not argue. As she fell silent Jack returned the spyglass to his eye, examining the city in the light of the setting sun. Crystalline spires reflected the light, casting rays of red and yellow upon the city.
Set against the base of the volcano, the city was not large, yet the glow from the white material made it appear larger. Smaller buildings were equally as bright, while the streets were a deep shade of blue. Everything was devoid of life, the emptiness disturbing in such a pristine setting. Then he lowered the glass to the coastline.
Docks extended into the water, the material as white as the city. One of the jetties contained a shimmering boat, the hull pure silver and narrow. The ship lacked a sail or mast, and the deck was as empty as the streets. Then Jack spotted a dark smudge in the water and lowered the spyglass. Other ships lined the waterfront, but they were not above the water.
They were below it.
Masts and hulls extended from the water, protruding like bodies on a battlefield. One ship was twice the size of the Sea Dancer, yet the mast was snapped in two, its hull shattered into several pieces. Jack then spotted the rest of the vessel, the prow inside the city, the wood snapped, the beams crushed.
A slow smile spread on his face as he examined the carnage. Thousands had sought the island’s secrets and their curiosity had cost their lives. He couldn’t deny the trickle of fear, but the excitement burned it from his veins. Great warriors had failed to conquer the truth of the island, so perhaps it required a thief to steal it. Besides, he had two lethal assassins and a crazy rock troll as allies. What could go wrong? The sun dipped beneath the water so Jack removed the spyglass and looked to Inna.
“The captain is going to keep his distance throughout the night.”
“A sound plan,” Inna replied. “I don’t think we want to face the island in the dark.”
“Let’s go talk to Aranis,” Jack said.
“If you insist,” she said reluctantly.
They descended the ropes to the deck and made their way into the small cargo hold. Although the Sea Dancer usually booked passengers, it would occasionally take cargo upon request. The sailor guard nodded to them when they appeared and Jack ducked under the beam to enter the room.
One wall curved with the hull, the beams stained to prevent rot. The other walls were equally as bare, with just the slats and the beams showing. Ropes were in abundance, as well as anchors to fasten them to, and both had been used to secure the dangerous dark elf. She rose at their appearance, the chains clinking at her ankles.
“Hello, pet,” Aranis said. “You’ve been suspiciously absent. Come to see me in shackles?” She smirked and lifted her hands.
“We want your help,” Jack said.
“I’m not the helping type.”
Jack took a step toward her. “Our goal is the—”
“City of Dawn,” Aranis said, and gestured to her pointed elven ears. “Sailors gossip as much as dark elf men. They are afraid of what comes.”
“They are brave men,” Inna said.
“Men are usually brave . . . before the battle.”
“You have such a low opinion of the race of man,” Jack said and then raised an eyebrow. “Who betrayed you?”
Aranis stared at him. “I will not help you.”
“Is that why you became an assassin?” Inna asked.
She lunged to the extent of her chains. “You know nothing about me.
Inna didn’t flinch before Aranis’s sudden savagery. “My father taught me to be an assassin, before he was betrayed by someone he trusted.”
Jack leaned against the wall. “Gallow killed her father.”
Aranis raised an eyebrow at Inna. “I underestimated you, but I shouldn’t have. You show promise. But why didn’t you go after Gallow directly?”
“I tried,” she said. “I donned a persona named Tronis and tried to get an invitation to the Assassin’s Guild. He discovered my ruse and brought another assassin. That’s where I got this.” She lifted her sleeve to reveal an ugly scar running up her arm. “I realized I needed an ally and sought Jack.”
Jack wanted to comment but held his tongue, unwilling to dispel the sudden curiosity in the dark elf’s gaze. Aranis stared at Inna with a spark of interest in her black eyes. Jack folded his arms and waited, but the women did not notice him.
“My cloak is my ally,” Aranis said. “And it never fails me.”
“Why are you an assassin?” Inna repeated.
Aranis regarded her for several moments. Then she said, “My sister was killed by someone I trusted, and I responded in kind. I was very young but my people sentenced me to thirty years in the Pit, where another assassin took me in. He saw my potential and taught me the craft.”
“He protected you,” Inna said.
Jack recalled the Pit at the base of the dark elf city. He’d spent only six days in the dark elf prison, but it was enough. A youth spent there would have been horrific, and would have left scars well into adulthood.
“He taught me that the first kill for an assassin is their own heart,” Aranis said. “So they don’t feel the loss when they kill the second.”
“A bleak life to live,” Inna said.
“I didn’t choose it.”
“Then choose another,” Inna said.
Aranis laughed bitterly. “I cannot be what I am not.”
“You can if you help us,” Inna said. “Use your talents to serve, rather than harm.”
“I won’t discard my life on the Shattered Isle,” Aranis said. “Not for anyone.”
The harshness to her gaze left no room for argument, and Jack sighed, realizing she would not be persuaded. Inna recognized the same thing and turned away. As Jack stepped to the door he looked over his shoulder.
“If we fail the ship will likely sink, with you in it.”
Aranis regarded him with a cold gaze. Then abruptly she smiled. “Perhaps I will join you—for a price.”
“What do you desire?” Jack asked.
“A favor,” she said. “One I will ask in the future and it cannot be refused.”
> “I won’t be your pet,” Jack said.
“The favor I ask will not be from you,” Aranis said, and turned to Inna. “It will be from her.”
“Me?” Inna asked. “What do you want from me?”
“A favor in the future for a favor of now,” Aranis said. “That’s the offer.”
Inna glanced at Jack but he shrugged. “It’s your choice,” he said.
“I won’t betray someone I care about—and I don’t kill the innocent.”
Aranis dismissed her concerns with a wave of her hand. “I don’t need you to kill innocents for me,” she said. “And I care little for intrigue.”
Inna hesitated, and then relented with a nod. “One favor,” she said.
Aranis smiled and slipped her hands free of the shackles. “Then let’s go.”
Jack laughed at her easy escape and stepped to the door—but the ship heaved to the side, sending all three of them into the hull. He caught a beam and righted himself as the ship straightened—but the ship heaved again. This time he held his grip and kept from falling. Jack exchanged a look with the two assassins and they darted to the door. They reached the deck as the ship tilted again, and this time Jack realized the ship was turning.
“What’s happening?” Jack asked, grasping the door as the ship banked toward the island.
Erix and Rezko stood at the helm, straining to keep it from turning. “There’s something in the water,” he growled. “And it’s turning us toward the island.” Erix’s eyes flicked to Aranis. “Why is she out of her cell?”
“She agreed to join our assignment,” Jack said.
Jack stumbled to the prow as the front of the ship was struck again, veering the boat toward the island. He scanned the water but the light from the moon was not enough to pierce the surface. Then the unseen struck again, turning the ship a final time to place the island directly in their path.
Jack’s gaze lifted to the mountain visible in the moonlight, and a smile spread on his features. “It appears we’ve been invited.”