by CM Raymond
“Shit. Me neither. We better get over there.”
Without waiting for Hadley’s response, Parker rose and crept through the shadows, toward Sef’s house. Compared to the way Adrien had lived in Arcadia, Sef’s place was humble, although it was a little bigger than the rest of the simple huts. They got within a block before Parker pulled up short, Hadley slamming into his back.
“What is it?”
“Look.” Parker pointed toward the men, ten strong, surrounding the hut. “And that’s just what we can see. They must be on high alert. I’m guessing because of Samet.”
“Or they know something we don’t. If Vatan is part of some coup, we don’t really know who to trust.”
Parker shrugged. “Either way, it’s unlikely we will be able to walk right in, unless you can zap us inside.”
Hadley smirked and shook his head. “You’re really clueless about how all this works still, aren’t you? I can project my mind and image. Can’t teleport. That’s your people.”
“So, that time you were perving out and looking at Hannah naked, you were actually doing it from another room. I think that might just be creepier.”
Shaking his head, Hadley said, “I’ve made it clear, I didn’t see a thing… But I’ve got a great imagination.”
“All right, Captain Perv, I’ve got a plan, but we’re going to need some help. I’ll tell you on the way.”
****
Parker slammed through the door, fists up and ready for a fight, but his offensive posture was uncalled for. His jaw dropped as he saw Karl sitting on his cot, surrounded by a half-dozen unconscious guardsmen. The two strapped to the beds were squirming.
He took a sip of his drink and shrugged. “What can I say? I’m not a very good prisoner, and them bastards just kept coming!”
Hadley crossed the room and grabbed Karl’s hammer off the top shelf, he threw it to the rearick who fastened it to his hip. “So, what’s the plan? If it involves me using this, I’m in.”
Parker smiled. “You may come to regret that. Come on. I’ll tell you on the way.”
They raced out of the main building and toward the alleyway leading to Sef’s house. As they walked in the shadows, Parker filled him in on the events of the evening, including the visual Hadley had of Vatan and the chief.
Karl snorted as they got close to their target. “Damn! Well, guess we’re gonna be damned heroes after all. I’m glad ya got me before breakin’ the news to Chief Longarms. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when we tell ‘em the shadow shit was against ‘em all the time.”
“Yeah… about that,” Hadley said, trailing off in hopes that Parker would break the news.
Parker grinned, glad to be the bearer of their plan. “We need you to make a distraction so we can get inside.”
Karl looked back and forth at the two men. “What the hell are ye talkin’ about? And why me?”
“Cause you’re good at being a spectacle,” Parker said. “And, anyway, if they catch you, you’ll be able to kick their asses. I’d hardly stand a chance, and Hadley here would only try to amuse them with pictures of dancing girls or something. Come on. We need you on this one.”
“Scheisse, ya bloody bastards.”
“Just need you to distract them, Karl. Let us slip in,” Hadley urged him. “We might need my powers of persuasion once we’re through the doors.”
“Aye, I know you two are a couple a weak twats… Guess I can. But I don’t like yer plans. Always have me hangin’ my ass out.”
Parker cocked his head to the side. “We didn’t think of the ass thing, but that would probably do the trick.”
“Bite me, Arcadian.”
Parker’s face grew serious. “Thanks, Karl. And be safe.”
Karl grunted. “Aye, ya don’t get to my age fightin’ safe. But I should be able to lead those bastards on a merry chase. Don’t waste my sacrifice!”
Without waiting for another word, the rearick grabbed the hammer from his belt and walked straight for the chief’s front door, whistling a rearick wedding song. All eyes were on him. The guards slapped each other’s arms, murmuring and wondering what the hell they should do.
“Aye, Baseeki bastards, I came to offer me apology. Not sure what happened, but I think I broke yer jail… and a few skulls while I was at it.”
The guard standing directly in front of Sef’s front door shouted back, “Drop the hammer, rearick. There are too many of us. The chief commanded us to play it nice, but if you don’t comply, we’ll take you by force.”
Karl laughed as loud as he could. “Take me? It’s gonna take longer arms then yers to catch me!” Karl spun his hammer in arcs in front of him. “Hey, I talked with one of them ladies of yers. She said the Matriarch gave ya those long strong arms ‘cause ya spent most yer time jerking off. Is that right?”
“We warned you!” the head guard shouted. “Let’s get him.”
The others screamed their assent, and the men rushed Karl.
Swinging the hammer left and right, he dropped the first three that approached with ease. Kicking the next back into the group, he turned and ran for the shadows, yelling, “Come on, ya bastards, unless ya need to stop and churn the butter!”
Hadley nudged Parker. “He’s good at bugging the hell out of people.”
Laughing, Parker said, “Yeah, a little too good. We’d better hurry.”
****
Hannah watched the Baseeki men descend the rocky trail carrying Samet on a stretcher. They made it from materials scavenged from the building overlooking Kofken. Even with the weight and the rocks, they were more agile than Hannah. She felt like a drunk from Sully’s on his way home after an all-night bender.
“How the hell do you guys do that?” she asked Dardanus, who was nearly floating over the stones in front of her.
“What? Walk?” He laughed. “We’ve been doing it all of our lives.” Slapping his long legs, he added, “And, you could say we were made for this.”
“Guess you’re the opposite of the rearick.”
“Yeah,” he said. “We wouldn’t be much use underground in their mines, that’s for sure. Nature makes us the way she needs us.”
“And the nanocytes don’t hurt either,” she mumbled, knowing more of the story of their evolution than they themselves knew.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing,” she said, not feeling like giving a science lesson. They walked in silence a little longer, and she could tell his heart was heavy. “You feeling alright? We’re bringing Samet home. My friend can help him, I know it. He’s going to be OK.”
He glanced over his shoulder, forcing a smile. “No. I mean, yes, that is very good. It was our mission after all, but Baris and Rufus... The guard, we’re all like brothers. I just don’t understand how they could do that. And why? What were they after?”
“I don’t know. But I bet Samet can tell us more once he comes to.”
He continued down the path for several strides before continuing. “Maybe. But I’ve gotta talk to the chief. We still don’t know what’s up with Kofken, why they’ve done this and what they want. I thought we were a team, a family. Working together to hold on to what little peace we’ve found. Now, it looks like that’s all going up in smoke.”
They reached the top of a small rise. Off to the right, the sea spread out beneath them. Baseek sat on its edge, looking peaceful from their vantage point as if no one knew anything about what was happening above them.
“That’s where we’re going,” Hannah said, pointing to their left. Their ship was on the patch of green where Gregory had left them, only a few hundred yards off. “That’s where help is.”
Dardanus didn’t say a word, he just stared at the massive arc. Hannah didn’t need to be able to read minds to know what the big man was thinking.
War is hell. Even more so when your enemy is family.
Hannah squeezed his shoulder, trying to give comfort, if only a little. “The man inside that ship, Ezekiel, he is probably the
most powerful wizard that has ever lived.”
“You told me he will heal Samet.”
Hannah’s smile cracked through her sadness for him. “Yes. He will heal Samet, but that’s not all. We are on a journey that will take us far from here. A pilgrimage. And when we get to our destination, the man inside that ship is going to make everything right. With the help of a friend, he’s going to heal all of Irth.”
He nodded. “Just like in the stories.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What stories?”
“The ones we heard when we were young, about a world reborn from the fire.”
“Yeah,” Hannah said. “Something like that. We might be walking through the coals now, but it’s only making us stronger. Who knows? Maybe one day your strength will win you the peace you’re looking for.”
****
Standing in the shadow of the ship, Hannah counted bodies of fallen remnant. She got to twenty-five before Aysa pulled on her sleeve.
“What the hell happened here?”
Hannah whistled. “Looks like Ezekiel happened here.”
Laurel dramatically cleared her throat loudly enough for all to hear.
“And I’m sure our friend Gregory probably took one out, too. Probably that small one over there.” Hannah pointed. “The one missing an eye.”
Laurel grinned as Devin climbed out of her cloak and sat on her shoulder. “You should know that Gregory basically runs the entire ship. He’s the one who got us here. So, if we end up saving the world, it’s because of him.”
“And,” Hannah jumped in, “Laurel has a big ass crush on him, so you’d better steer clear.”
Aysa smiled, and her eyes cut over to Samet, still flat on the stretcher. “No problem,” she said with a blush.
Nodding toward the rope ladder hanging from the ship, Hannah informed the group, “That’s your way up. Samet and I will take the express route.”
She bent down next to him, slid her arms carefully beneath his body, and lifted. The boy weighed less than she expected. Her eyes flashed red, and they disappeared, only a moment later to materialize on the deck of the mighty ship.
“Here you are, buddy,” she said, bending down to set Samet on the floor boards. She pulled off her light jacket and slid it under his head.
Before she could stand all the way up, a green blur of scales, spikes, and wings rushed in from the stern of the ship, tackling her into a rolling ball of human and dragon.
Hannah laughed as Sal’s little forked tongue licked her face over and over. “Gross!” she shouted, before pulling him into a bear hug. “Good to see you, too, you codependent little bastard. Looks like you had your way with plenty of remnant down there.”
“He did,” Gregory’s voice said, interrupting their reunion.
Hannah leaped to her feet and ran at him, nearly taking him down with her embrace. “I missed you,” she whispered into his ear. The she stepped back and grinned. “But not in some weird sexual way that would require me whispering into your ear.”
He blushed. “I know. Where’s—”
“Gregory!” Laurel squealed as she threw herself over the rail of the deck. She ran to him, jumping into his arms, nearly knocking him over.
He squeezed her tightly. “I was so worried about you. I’m glad you’re back. I didn’t know what—”
Whatever he was going to say, it got smothered by Laurel’s mouth.
She leaned in and kissed him full on the lips. Hannah watched his body tighten and then relax as he kissed her back. She couldn’t help smiling to herself as she watched them finally connect. Giving them their privacy, she walked toward the edge of the boat and helped Dardanus over. As soon as he stepped aboard, his eyes widened when he saw Gregory and Laurel.
“Yeah. That’s been a long time coming. Give them a minute.” She glanced over her shoulder and saw the two wrestling each other’s faces. “Or ten.”
Dardanus laughed. “Best part of coming home from battle.”
“Is that right? Someone waiting for you at home right now?” Hannah asked.
He laughed harder. “Not this time. But, once I am hoisted on everybody’s shoulders as a hero, I imagine I’ll get some face time, too. Where’s your kisser?”
“He’s… I mean, um, I don’t have one.” Her eyes narrowed. “We women don’t need a man, you know that, right?”
He raised his hands, worried the fireballs were coming. “Yeah, yeah. More power to you. I was just asking.”
The other guards came up over the edge, landing their feet on the wooden deck, they looked around in awe. They’d seen ships on the water before, but this one looked so much more massive, sitting on the hill.
“Welcome, guys. Go ahead and hang out. Don’t let those two make you sea sick,” she nodded toward Gregory and Laurel, who were still at it. “Why don’t you hang out with Sal here? I need to go awaken the Founder so he can come and lay his healing on Samet here.”
They all stared in awe at the dragon as she walked toward the door leading down into the belly of the ship. As she moved down the thin hallway, she felt a little claustrophobic being back inside. But it also felt like home.
She stood outside of Zeke’s room, listening for any movement on the other side of the door. Hadley’s admonition not to disturb Ezekiel while he was trying to connect with the Oracle hung with her, and she debated knocking. If the disruption scrambled his brains, she’d never forgive herself, and she wasn’t sure if she could save the world without him.
Raising her knuckles to the door, she paused one more time. The door swung open before she could knock.
“Hannah!” Ezekiel shouted. “Come on. Get the hell in here!”
His face was more filled with life than since before the battle at the tower. He looked ten years younger than when they had left from Arcadia. While she expected him to look like he had been drug through hell and back, he looked better than ever.
She dropped down into a chair by his desk. “Zeke, you’re looking… damn good!” she spouted.
Laughing, he replied, “Yes, it has been sometime since I have been able to attend to myself. Ever since our early days together, I have been tapping into my energy on a consistent basis without much rest.”
“But what about the Oracle?”
He sat on the edge of the bed, smoothing his robe. “That was a failure. I was unable to make a connection. It’s odd, since I think we should be close enough to be in connection. But as I reach out to her, there’s no response.”
“Do you think she’s…” Hannah left her question hanging in the air, mostly because she had no idea how to ask it. The oracle certainly wasn’t human, so she was unsure if she was able to really die in a human sort of way.
“Expired?” Ezekiel asked, a sparkle in his eye. “I doubt that. Her time is limited, but she’s usually pretty good on her math. She assured me she had more time, although, time is of the essence more now than ever. The clock is ticking, as they used to say. Anyway, once I realized my attempts to communicate were futile, I just took some me time.”
Hannah laughed. “Me time? The hell are you, some sort of noble’s mommy now?”
“Glad to see your little adventure here didn’t sap all the smartass out of you!”
“It’s my real magic,” Hannah said.
“Well, besides a little run in with a few remnant below, I’ve just been resting, building my power. We’re going to need it. You should take it as a piece of advice. Make sure you’re continuing to meditate, rest. It will make all the difference.”
Hannah nodded, but she knew that being still was the hardest part about being a magician, and she didn’t really have much of a desire to navel gaze like Hadley and the mystics. She looked back up at Ezekiel. “Sure thing, boss. Now, if you’re all amped up, we have a little job for you.”
“Oh?”
Hannah settled into the chair to tell the story of all that had happened in Baseek and beyond during her time away from the ship. Listening well, Ezekiel would ask a quest
ion or smile and nod as if he knew all the story by heart. As far as she knew, he might have.
Getting to the present, she finally said, “Samet is up on the deck now. He’s stable; Laurel and I made sure of that, but we didn’t have the juice to bring him back to life—back fully, I mean.”
“Yes, I see.” Ezekiel stroked his beard. “Well, we wouldn’t want to be bad hosts. Let’s attend to the young prince.”
Rising from the bed, Ezekiel led her from his little cabin up into the sunlight. The guards all milled around in a circle with Dardanus in the center near Samet. Aysa sat, rubbing Sal on the side of his head with Devin in her lap. And, Laurel and Gregory didn’t quite have their faces locked together still, but they weren’t far from it.
Ezekiel scanned the scene. Hannah assumed he was sweeping the minds of the newcomers. They walked to the guards, and after a brief introduction, he knelt by the boy. Placing his hands-on Samet’s chest, Ezekiel eyes flashed red, and immediately, the kid gasped. He sat up, his eyes wild with confusion. “No!” he screamed.
Dardanus dropped to his side. “Samet, you’re OK. Everything is going to be—”
“Get away from me!” he shouted at Dardanus. “You’re one of them.”
“Sam!” Aysa shouted as she sprinted across the deck, with Devin spinning at her feet. She sat and drew him into an embrace. “It’s OK. It’s me. We found you—”
But Samet wouldn’t settle. Pushing her away, his eyes turned back to Dardanus and his men. “The guards, they did this. They’ve turned.”
Dardanus’s mouth dropped open. He wanted to speak, but he knew it wouldn’t do any good. Instead, Aysa continued. “It’s OK. Not all of them. Not all of the guard. We found you, Sam.” She nodded toward the head guard. “Dardanus saved you!”
“Like we were just along for the ride,” Hannah said with a smirk before introducing herself and her crew to him.
The kid’s eyes cut suspiciously back to the guard and then to his friend Aysa. Stepping in close to her, he whispered, “Don’t believe them. They’re all in it together. Our guard has been compromised, they’ve become traitors working for—”