Shadow Trapped

by D. K. Holmberg

  Leave it to Alayna to touch on the one thing that had troubled Carth the most. She wasn’t able to reach these others, and that bothered her. She had wanted to get through to them, to save them if possible, but as Alayna said, maybe that wasn’t possible. Maybe Linsay had managed to get them thoroughly on her side.

  “I don’t know what Linsay knows of Ras, if anything, but she mentioned another name, one that she shouldn’t have known unless it was true. She won’t tell me why she mentioned them, which leads me to question whether they are in danger or not. If they are, I don’t even know if I need to try to help them. It’s not as if they are powerless.”

  “Then don’t.”

  When Carth glanced at her, Alayna shrugged. “Don’t play her game. That is what she wants, after all. Find a way to avoid her game, and if you have to stick with this idea that everything is a game, do it on your terms, not hers.”

  “How would you propose that I do that?”

  “Are you asking me seriously?”

  Carth nodded. “I feel… frozen. Every decision I think to make, I feel as if she has already planned for. And you’re right. I need to somehow get beyond playing her game, and I need to find some way to play my own game.”

  “Remove her power,” Alayna said.

  “I’ve been trying to do that, but everything that I try only leads to her having another advantage.”

  “That’s not what I mean. Think about it. She was helpless in Keyall, if only for a time. Peter and the constables held her, and they would do it again, especially with how she has attempted to escape. I doubt that she would be able to get free again, not if they watched her more closely.”

  “I’m not sure what that would accomplish.”

  “Maybe nothing, but you’d be avoiding playing her game, and you’d be choosing the stakes. I think that’s as valuable as anything.”

  As much as anything, that seemed a reasonable idea. She needed to stop doing what Linsay wanted, and if there was anyone who understood how dangerous the Collector could be, it was the constable in Keyall.

  Carth allowed herself to smile. “You will guide us?”

  “As much as I can, but if those ships are still following us…”

  “I’ll make sure that we get past them,” Carth said.

  Alayna watched her for a long moment before smiling. “Go get some rest. You’ve been up for a long time. I know that you don’t need nearly as much sleep as the rest of us, but you still need sleep.”

  “In a little while,” Carth said.

  She climbed up to the masthead and hung there. There was something quiet and peaceful about being high in the air above the sea, letting the wind flow around her and feeling the gentle swell of the waves. Carth noticed the way that Alayna gently brought them around, doing it carefully, slowly, and she began pushing off with the shadows, propelling them forward with increasing speed. They would be a few days out from Keyall, but she could lessen that considerably using her power. If she was quick enough, she thought that she could do it before Linsay even awoke and was aware of what Carth was doing.

  In a dark night like this, pulling on the shadows took less energy from her. The shadows were easier for her to use than the flame, but even her connection to them could weaken her over time, especially if she attempted to use them too often in the wrong conditions. It was something she was only aware of at times like this, when she thought to use great amounts of the shadows, using that to help propel her along. Otherwise, she wasn’t as aware of how much strength drawing on the shadows took from her.

  She clung there in the masthead, staring out at the water, letting the sense of it flow around her, the waves parting around the bow of the ship, and breathed deeply of the salty air.

  Carth lost track of time.

  It could have been moments, or it could have been hours; the cloudy sky made it difficult for her to track the movement of the moon in the sky. After a while, Carth became aware of something else. It was something she hadn’t expected, not at first.

  She attempted to part the shadows but couldn’t see clearly through them. Even with whatever enhancements her time in Keyall had granted, she still wasn’t able to see clearly. What she needed was someone who could.

  Carth jumped down to the deck and hurried below. She heard Alayna call after her, but she ignored her. She hurried to one of the cabins and knocked quickly, waiting a moment and then throwing the door open. Talia stirred as the door opened, and looked up through sleepy eyes at Carth.

  “What is it?”

  They hadn’t spoken much since Linsay had come on board, though that was more because of Talia than because of Carth. Carth suspected Talia still remained embarrassed, possibly fearful that Carth might retaliate in some way for the fact that she had betrayed them.

  “I need your eyesight.”

  Talia blinked and rubbed her eyes. She glanced to her right, and Carth looked over, only then realizing that Margo shared a cabin with her. Had Linsay placed Margo here to keep an eye on Talia, or was it a way to protect Talia from the belief that Carth might take some action against her?

  “Please,” Carth said.

  Talia nodded and followed Carth back up to the deck. They were moving swiftly, the force that Carth had used through the shadows sending them racing across the water. Even without her pushing on the shadows, that sense was still there, enough that Carth knew that it would feel strange to Talia.

  “Where?” she asked.

  Carth directed her to the masthead, and once there, she looked out, noticing what she felt in the distance. “There’s something out there, but it’s pushing against my connection to both the shadows and the flame. Whatever it is doesn’t want me to know what’s out there.”

  That troubled her. It was different than the resistance to her magic that the people of Keyall had. This was simply a failure, as if she had reached a barrier and could go no farther. She had experienced things like that before but had not expected to encounter something quite so powerful out on the sea.

  Talia stared out into the darkness, and Carth watched her rather than watching the water. She began to frown. It started slowly, with a tilt of her lips and a slight furrowing of her brow, and quickly became a deeper frown. She began biting her bottom lip.

  “You don’t see this?”

  “I don’t. Whatever is out there…”

  “It’s a fleet.”

  “A fleet?”

  Talia glanced over at Carth before turning her attention back out over the water. “At least a dozen ships. Maybe more. That’s all that I can see, but in the darkness, it’s not always quite what it seems.”

  “I thought you saw as if it were daylight.”

  “It’s sort of like it’s daylight, but not entirely. What I see is grays and whites, not quite the same vibrancy of colors as there would be otherwise.”

  Carth took a deep breath. A fleet chasing them. She could think of only one reason that a fleet would be after them, and it had to do with the captain and his pursuit of Linsay.

  Had she said anything that would reveal their position to him?

  Unless he had somehow managed to follow her as she’d returned to the ship. They would have been moving fast enough that he couldn’t have kept up, but she still didn’t know what abilities he had, if any.

  “Go wake your sister,” she said to Talia.

  “Carth?”

  “That’s what he’s after. They hope to capture her, and when—and if—they do, I’m not sure what they’ll do to her.”

  Talia climbed down, and Carth directed her attention back to the water, pushing off with the shadows, sending explosions of flame through it, but it seemed as if they were not propelled forward nearly as quickly as it had been. Was there something that the captain did that limited her? Was there some way that he managed to delay her magic? If so, they might be in more trouble than she realized.

  Movement down on the deck drew Carth’s attention, and she looked down to see Linsay and her crew of women stan
ding alongside Talia, who motioned into the darkness, pointing toward the fleet. Carth couldn’t see them, but she could feel the strange presence out in the darkness and was aware that there was something there, though she couldn’t make it out. Somehow, she would have to find a way to get them outside the range of the fleet.

  Carth jumped down to the deck, and Linsay intercepted her. “You’ve changed directions,” Linsay said.

  Carth said nothing.

  “Were you aware they were coming?”

  “I can detect them, but only a little. I can’t see them, not the way your sister can, and it seems that they are now limiting my ability to move us more rapidly through the water.”

  “As I said, they have something of power.”

  What if they had acquired an Elder Stone from Ras? If so, it was possible that was the reason that she was struggling. The Elder Stone on Keyall had countered her, which left her wondering whether there was one on Odian, and if there had been, whether Ras used it.

  “We’re trying to outrun them, but…”

  “There has to be something more that you can do,” Linsay said. There was tension in her voice that Carth hadn’t noticed before. She feared the fleet and these men getting to her.

  “I’m trying to do it.” She regarded Linsay for a moment. “What is it that they are after? What is it that you have taken from them?”

  “I’ve taken nothing,” Linsay said.

  “They’re coming after you for some reason.”

  “You don’t understand them.”

  “Maybe it’s you who don’t understand them. We have a fleet after us, Linsay. When they reach us,” Carth began, making a point of saying when and not if, “there is nothing that I can do to stop all of them. If they attack, we are sunk. If I attack, it’s likely that several of us will die. Our choices are running, or allowing them to reach us and take what they want.”

  “What if what they want is you?” Linsay said.

  “If they have a way of countering my ability, I doubt they are interested in me. But if they take me, then I’ll do whatever I can to escape.”

  “You won’t escape, not from them.” Linsay looked out over the darkness, a bitter expression on her face. “Once they capture you, there is nothing you can do to get free of them.”

  “I think the constables in Keyall would have once felt the same way.”

  “Keyall is nothing compared to this.”

  “It sounds as if you have some experience.”

  “Not there. All I know is rumor.”

  “Rumor? You’re scared of little more than a rumor?”

  “When it’s rumors like this, yes. There is not much that I can do to get free if they somehow manage to capture me.”

  Carth felt the pressure against her and pushed off with her connection to the shadows and the flame, trying to explode them forward, but the ship didn’t move any faster. The sails flapped in the wind, but beyond that, she couldn’t influence the speed of the ship. If only she had some way of influencing the wind, but she did not.

  “They near us,” Carth said.

  Linsay glanced to her sister. “Keep her safe,” she said.

  Carth frowned. Could it be that Linsay actually cared about Talia?

  “Why would you worry about her now?”

  “I’ve always worried about her. My way of protecting those around me might be different than yours, but it doesn’t mean I don’t care.”

  “Linsay!” Talia shouted, and Linsay joined her sister at the railing, looking out over the water.

  Carth approached, and she stared until she noticed seven ships surging toward them out of the darkness. Five more joined, and then another five, and then Carth stopped counting. There were too many for them. They all converged on them, moving quickly, racing toward her small ship and far outmanned crew.

  Jenna stormed up to the deck, and knives appeared in her hands, but Carth rested a hand on her arm. “Easy,” she said. “This isn’t a fight that we can win.”

  The nearest ship was one that Carth recognized. It was the captain’s ship, the one she had been on. He appeared on the deck and stared at her across the distance. Dozens upon dozens of bows and crossbows were aimed in their direction. A few ballistas were aimed at them also. Carth could stop some of the ships, but she couldn’t stop all of them. She might even sink a few of the ships, but she doubted that she would sink all of them.

  Carth approached the railing. “Is this how you would entreat with me?” she called over to the captain.

  “This is not about you, Rel.”

  Carth could feel Linsay’s gaze staring at her, as if trying to bore through her. “You brought a fleet to my ship.”

  “A fleet might not be enough, not when it comes to the Collector.”

  “I think you have far more ships than you need to take in a single woman. Unless you intend to take all of us?”

  The captain’s ship neared them, slowing enough as it did that they didn’t ram into Carth’s ship. “Don’t give me a reason to claim all of you.”

  “I don’t intend to give you a reason to claim anyone,” Carth said.

  “All I want is the Collector.”

  Carth kept Linsay behind her as she tried to decide what she would do. She had wanted more information, but had she inadvertently alerted the captain that he needed more ships to capture them? She had revealed Linsay’s presence on her ship, which meant that she had drawn the captain to her. Anything that happened to those on the ship would be Carth’s fault.

  “And what will you do if you claim her?”

  “That is for my people to decide.”

  Carth stared at him for a moment. “Do you have the one known as Ras?” It was a gamble, especially if they didn’t and her mentioning his name only brought him to their attention, but she needed to know. She didn’t think they did, but what if the captain knew of Ras? It was possible that he had taken something from him.

  The captain watched her for a moment. “We do not have anyone by that name.”

  “Do you have someone by a different name?”

  “Enough,” the captain said. “Send her over, or I will be forced to take action.”

  Carth turned to Linsay. “Well?”

  Linsay clenched her jaw.

  “This isn’t a fight that we can win,” Carth said. “Go with them, and I will ensure that you are brought to safety.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “Then your women will ensure that you are brought to safety. If you’ve engendered any sort of loyalty from them, they will act on your behalf.”

  Linsay looked over at Carth, and Carth couldn’t tell what the other woman was thinking. Was it anger in her eyes? Was there something else? “Much will be lost if they hold me.”

  “You haven’t told me nearly enough to convince me of that fact,” Carth said.

  “Because there hasn’t been the need. Because you aren’t ready. And because anything I told you, you would question.”

  “Just because I would question it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a reason to do so. Tell me what I need to know to help you.”

  “There’s nothing that you can do to help me, not now.”

  “There’s always something that can be done,” Carth said.

  “Take care of her,” Linsay said, her eyes watching Talia.

  Linsay approached the railing, and she crawled over to the other ship. As she did, she glared at the captain. “I am the Collector.”

  The captain studied her for a moment, and he grinned. With a sharp blow, he struck her on the back of the head, and she crumpled to the deck. He motioned to one of his men, and they scooped Linsay up, and carried her away.

  “Now, send the one known as Talia over as well.”

  Carth frowned and glared at him. “No.”

  “This is not a negotiation, Rel. Send her over, or your ship—and all on it—will sink.”

  Carth considered the ballistas aimed at her, as well as all the bows with arrows nocked and ready. They
wouldn’t be able to survive. Any attempt to fight would fail.

  “Carth?” Talia asked, her voice a whisper. “How did they know about me? Linsay has kept my existence a secret for this very reason.”

  Carth looked over at her, and she felt anger bubbling up within her. It was her fault, and if anything happened to Talia, that would be Carth’s fault as well. “When we saw those ships, I—”

  Talia’s eyes widened. “This is because of you?”

  “This is because your sister refused to tell me what we needed to know.”

  “You said that you offered your protection, but that was nothing more than a lie, wasn’t it?”

  Carth looked at Talia before turning her attention out to the sea. The captain watched her, waiting. She would have to make a decision, but any decision that she made placed the others with her in danger. Would she do that for Talia? There was no reason for her to, other than the fact that she had promised that she would, and that she would ensure that no harm came to Talia.

  “I will come for you,” Carth said.

  Talia turned away from her, and anger burned in her eyes. “Don’t bother.”

  With that, Talia crossed over to the other ship and was immediately flanked by sailors obscuring Carth’s view of her.

  The captain tipped his head, almost a bow, before motioning to his men, and they sailed off, disappearing from view. Carth watched until they were gone, and only then did she turned away.

  “What now?” Alayna asked.

  Carth stared into the darkness, her mind racing along with the ship. What could they do?

  As much as she wanted to leave Linsay to the Ai’thol, she owed Talia better than that. It was her fault that she had been taken.

  “Now we figure out a way to rescue them.”

  19

  Carth could scarcely believe that she was back in Keyall, and staring up at the rock leading down to the shore. Even from where she stood, she could make out Peter watching her and the ship as it approached the harbor. Was he glaring at her? He likely suspected that she had returned to cause him more trouble, and Carth couldn’t even deny that likelihood. She had returned, and she wasn’t quite certain what it would take to discover what she needed. Why wouldn’t Peter think that she would cause difficulty?