Vashnas gritted her teeth. “I knew there was a Tinkarian on this ship, but I never would have imagined it was you, Bifor. I should have seen this coming.”
“I still don't understand,” said Malock. “How can Bifor be a Tinkarian? What is Vashnas's conflict with Tinkar? And how do I fit into all of this? What's going on?”
“At last you show a semblance of intellectual prowess by asking the right questions,” said Bifor. “I am not much in the mood to tell stories, however. I am here to kill, here to defend my god's life with my own. Perhaps Vashnas will be ready to tell you, even though I could relate her history at least well as my own.”
“So you aren't going to kill us right away?” said Malock with a gulp.
“Under ordinary circumstances, I would,” said Bifor. He glanced over his shoulder, however, and added, “But you know, I would like to buy myself enough time to come up with an escape plan. Admittedly, I did not plan to kill you tonight; I would have done it earlier, had I not been busy trying to survive.”
Malock looked around Bifor and noticed that several sailors had gathered outside the barrier, Banika among them, pounding against the barrier with their fists and weapons. None of them had succeeded in making even one crack in the barrier's face, however, and Malock doubted they would, considering the magical nature of the barrier.
“Besides,” said Bifor, “Vashnas's story ties into why I am here to kill her. And you, too, I suppose.”
Malock looked at Vashnas. “So, Vash, what's your story?”
Vashnas never lowered her arm from in front of him. She kept her gaze on Bifor's wand, like it was a gun, as she said, “Malock, this may come as a surprise to you, but I am actually thousands of years old.”
“What?” said Malock. “Okay, now that has to be a joke.”
“It's no joke,” said Bifor. “She is the oldest living mortal on Martir, almost as old as the gods themselves.”
“Your interruption is not appreciated,” said Vashnas. “But you do speak the truth. I lived even before the Godly War, before the Treaty was signed. That was before the gods became distant, before there was any difference between the northern and southern gods. It was a simpler time, but it did not last.”
Malock had a hard time wrapping his mind around someone being thousands of years old. “But that's impossible. Thousands of years old ... no mortal can live that long. I know that aquarians have a longer lifespan than humans, of course, and some geromancers have succeeded in extending the natural lifespan of humans by a couple hundred years, but only the gods can live to be thousands of years old.”
More sailors had gathered outside the barrier, perhaps half the crew now, but still none of them had any success in breaking open the barrier. One sailor, who looked drunk, was smacking his head against the barrier futilely.
“As true as that may be in general, it is not true specifically,” said Vashnas. “You see, all those years ago, when the world was young and the gods were one, I was Tinkar's lover.”
Now that caused Malock to do a double take. “You what? You were a lover of a god?”
“Indeed she was,” said Bifor, the hatred in his voice surprising Malock. “She was Tinkar's one and only, the apple of his eye. He loved her above all other mortals, even had plans to ascend her into godhood so she may be his wife, but then she betrayed him, an event even he did not foresee.”
“I did not betray him,” Vashnas responded. In the torchlight, she really did look thousands of years old now. “His Cloak of Fate was stolen by someone else. I had nothing to do with it.”
“That is what you said all those years ago, but you never offered any proof of your innocence,” said Bifor with a chuckle. “Asserting your innocence is not a good way to clear your name, thief.”
“What happened, exactly?” said Malock. “And how do you know all of this, Bifor?”
“Tinkar told me his side of the story,” said Bifor. “When he first chose me all those months ago, he told me everything I needed to know about this voyage. Enough to know that I would be right in taking the life of this fish woman right here, right now.”
Vashnas sighed. “What happened, Malock, was this: I used to live on World's End with Tinkar, before the southern seas became inhospitable to mortals. World's End is also known as the Throne of the Gods and was—and still is—where most of the gods live. At least, it is where they come to meet when they have to.”
“But I thought the northern gods didn't live in the south,” said Malock.
“It's basically neutral territory, even though it's located at the end of the world,” said Vashnas. “Besides, the whole northern/southern divide is only really done for our sake. We mortals, humans and aquarians alike, are supposed to live in the north, which is why some of the gods live up there too. May I get on with my story?”
“Oh, sure,” said Bifor in his most sarcastic voice. “You have all the time in the world.”
“Shut up,” said Vashnas. “Anyway, I used to live on World's End with Tinkar until one day his most precious material possession, the Cloak of Fate, went missing. No one knew where it was until it was discovered in my room, which led the rest of the gods into believing that I was the thief, even though I was not, even though I wasn't even there on the day it was stolen. They demanded retribution for my crimes, even though Tinkar tried to argue that I was innocent.”
“Okay, I don't always understand the ways of the gods, but that seems a bit strange to me,” said Malock. “If Tinkar was the one stolen from, then why wasn't he the one demanding justice? Shouldn't his opinion matter, considering that it was his Cloak that was stolen in the first place?”
“The other gods were worried that if I got away with my 'crime,' then other mortals might try to steal things from them,” Vashnas explained. “They wanted to use me as an example of what happens to mortals who think they can steal from the gods without suffering the consequences. Most of them wanted me dead, but Tinkar managed to make a deal with them: I was banished from World's End forever and given the Curse of Senva, which is to say, I was granted immortality by the Goddess of Aging.”
“How is immortality a curse?” Malock asked. “Never dying seems like a pretty good deal to me.”
For the first time since Bifor had thrown up his barrier, Vashnas shot Malock an angry look. It was a deadly look, like she was daring Malock to say one more thing, just one more thing, if he felt confident in his abilities to defend himself.
“Consider what that means, Mal,” said Vashnas, her chest heaving up and down like she had run a mile. “I can never die, true, but I can also never be with Tinkar again. Unless someone kills me, I will live forever apart from him. And he made that deal, knowing that he would never see me again. Would you do that to someone you loved, Mal? Grant them immortality, then banish them from your sight?”
“Is that why you want to kill him?” said Malock. “Because of Senva's Curse?”
“Yes,” said Vashnas. “When he did that, it became clear to me that Tinkar did not actually care about me. He only cared about appeasing his siblings. I have been stewing in my rage for years, waiting for the right opportunity to return to World's End, trying to find a loophole in the banishment. And I believe that I have, assuming all goes well.”
“It won't,” said Bifor. “Though you have gotten farther than I would have believed possible, much farther than I should have allowed, this is where you will end. You won't even get to see World's End on the horizon as a small speck of nothing.”
“What did you do?” said Malock. “What is your plan, Vashnas? What loophole did you find?”
“The Mechanical Goddess,” said Vashnas. “She has a long history with Tinkar, just as I do, and hates him as much as I do, if not more so. They were once lovers themselves, but they took different sides during the Godly War and as a result broke their relationship. I came to her servant, Hana, who was visiting in the north once, and through her made a deal with the Mechanical Goddess; that she, a southern goddess, would grant me,
a mortal, her protection just long enough for me to slay Tinkar. Needless to say, she agreed immediately.”
Bifor growled. “What this amounts to, of course, is two bitter, petty women trying to kill a man they both once loved. Sounds like a poor imitation of a Zarskian play, if you ask me.”
“No one did,” said Malock. He looked at Vashnas again and said, “But how can a mortal kill a god? I was told that only gods can kill other gods.”
Vashnas reached into her coat with her free hand and withdrew a sharp disk from within. It reflected the light of the torches, causing it to shine like the moon. Malock had never seen anything quite like it before.
“It's another loophole,” said Vashnas. “This disk was designed by the Mechanical Goddess. If I can lodge it in Tinkar's neck, it will cut his head off. She infused it with some of her godly energy; therefore, if I can hit Tinkar with it, it should kill him as easily as if he were a mortal.”
Malock shook his head. “This is insane. Won't Tinkar see this coming? I mean, he is the God of Fate, after all. How do you know he hasn't already come up with a plan to stop you?”
“He hasn't,” said Bifor, sounding disgruntled. “You see, whenever a mortal is under the protection of a specific god or goddess, that mortal is invisible to Tinkar's eye. Tinkar knows the fate of all of mortals, but he cannot know the fates of his fellow gods or his own fate. In essence, we chosen mortals are treated like gods. That is why he sent me.”
“And you,” said Malock, pointing at Bifor. “What's your story? I thought you were a follower of Xocion.”
Bifor chuckled. “Oh, I never followed that god. Learning how to conjure ice cubes or make snowmen always seemed like a frivolous pastime to me. Why do that when you can learn what the future itself holds in store for you? When you can learn what your destiny is?”
“Why did you wait so long to strike?” said Malock. “You could have killed me at any point in this voyage. In fact, you could have sunk the entire ship without any of us ever knowing it was you, I'm sure.”
“But I did try to kill you,” said Bifor. “Several times, in fact. Did you ever wonder why you lost nearly all of the fleet on the first leg of this voyage?”
Malock took a step back in horror. “So you sunk those ships? All four of them?”
“I didn't sink them all personally,” said Bifor. “The only one I really sunk was the ship I was originally on, Our Beloved Lady. I blew up the gunpowder in the hold. I miscalculated, however, and almost ended up drowning myself, but luckily I was rescued by the crew of this ship. I decided to wait after that, however, for a sign from Tinkar that would let me know when the time to strike was right.”
“So you didn't sink the other ships, then?” said Malock.
“No,” said Bifor. “But I imagine Tinkar must have manipulated fate in order to make sure that only your ship made it this far south. This way, it would be far easier for me to kill you and Vashnas. For that, I praise Tinkar. He is truly a glorious god.”
Malock wished he had a weapon on hand to defend himself with, but he had not been expecting a fight tonight. He could only hope that he could keep Bifor talking long enough for him or Vashnas or someone outside the barrier to come up with a plan to save them, as unlikely as that was.
“I didn't want anyone to suspect that I was up to no good,” said Bifor. “So I continued to pretend that I was a good, loyal sailor, one who would never think of betraying you. I worked hard every day to prove my loyalty and usefulness and I believe it must have worked because not even Vashnas suspected me of being anything other than what I pretended to be. Isn't that right, Vashnas?”
“Correct,” said Vashnas. “If I had been smarter—“
“If you had been any smarter, Vashnas, you would have never tried to seek a vendetta against Tinkar at all,” Bifor replied. “There were many close calls for a while there, but I knew in my heart of hearts that someday Tinkar would call me and tell me when to strike. And just earlier this evening, while I rested, I received a vision from him, telling me that the time to strike was now because of the party that the crew was going to throw, the party that would distract everyone from what I am about to do.”
Malock couldn't believe his ears. “Even if you do kill us, you'll have to deal with the rest of the crew. They'll rip you limb from limb for your crimes. Just look behind you. They've already figured out what is going on.”
Bifor glanced over his shoulder. By now, it looked like the entire crew had gathered. The low glow of the torches revealed that the crew was hitting the barrier with anything they could get their hands on, even though none of them were making even the slightest bit of progress whatsoever.
“You mean those uneducated bunch of sea rats?” said Bifor, returning his attention to Vashnas and Malock. “Yes, like the beasts they are, they would certainly rend me limb from limb if they got the chance. But I already have a contingency plan in place for just this occasion.”
“What are you going to do, jump into the sea and swim away?” said Vashnas with a snort. “In your condition, I'm sure that would be loads of fun.”
“Hardly,” said Bifor. “You see, I've thought long and hard about this and have concluded that my time is at its end. I cannot teleport away, nor swim, and I certainly couldn't fight all of these sailors and hope to win even with magic. Death awaits me no matter what I do; therefore, I intend to go out in the way I want.”
“And how may that be?” Malock asked.
Bifor gestured at the deck beneath his feet. “Right now, in this ship's hold, there is a ton of gunpowder ready for use in guns and cannons. Using my limited knowledge of pyromancy, I have set up a spell that will blow up the gunpowder when I command it to do so. Thus, once I finish both of your sorry lives, I will activate the spell and kill everyone on this ship, including me.”
“You monster,” said Malock. “That's what you are. A monster.”
“Monsters do not graduate at the top of their class from North Academy,” Bifor said. “Nor do monsters get chosen by gods to carry out their destiny. The real monster here is Vashnas, for daring to think that she could—that she should—kill the great Tinkar and get away with it.”
Vashnas's arm tensed. “I know why you want to kill me, but what about Malock? What does Tinkar have against him?”
Bifor waved off her question like it was unimportant. “How should I know? All I know is that Tinkar and Kano have not gotten along well in recent years. It is not my place to question the dictates of my god and master. All I am to do is follow orders, no more, no less.”
“That is a foolish way to live and you know it,” said Vashnas. “But what am I saying? You are a Tinkarian. You idiots have always been the puppets of fate.”
“You cannot fight fate,” said Bifor. “Only live in accordance with it. That is the most important lesson that I as a Tinkarian have ever learned. If only the rest of the ignorant world would learn it, then maybe things would be better.”
Then Bifor shook his head. Energy began crackling around the tip of his wand as he said, “In the end, it does not matter. I am done talking and telling stories. It is time for me to do what I came here to do, which is to say, fulfill my destiny. It is sad that neither of you will live long enough to fulfill your own.”
***
Chapter Twenty-One
Kinker was not sure what just happened.
Then again, he wasn't alone in that regard. What had started as a happy party dedicated to celebrating the last leg of the voyage had quickly turned into a confused gathering of sailors around a barrier constructed by Bifor that separated the mage, Malock, and Vashnas from the rest of the crew. It had quickly became apparent that Bifor was trying to harm Malock and Vashnas in some way, but why he was doing it, no one knew, and how they could stop him was also a mystery.
It wasn't like they hadn't tried. Many sailors had hit the barrier with stools, chairs, metal pipes scrounged from the lower decks, swords, guns, and their good old-fashioned fists. Others had taken to charg
ing the barrier in groups, but that had done nothing except give them headaches. Due to his old age, Kinker had done little to help, mostly doubting that the magical barrier could be breached through normal means.
Instead, he stood off near the mainmast, where one of the torches was burning low, watching as nearly the entire crew threw their weight into the barrier. It did nothing except cause the barrier to become visible for a moment, but no cracks appeared in its surface and it was obvious that it would only come down when Bifor wanted it to, not before.
Jenur staggered out of the crowd of sailors toward Kinker, rubbing her forehead with her hand. “Ow.”
“What did you do?” said Kinker.
Jenur continued to rub her forehead as she said, “Hit my head against the barrier.”
“I'm not sure that's what they mean when they say to use your head,” said Kinker.
Jenur shot him an annoyed look. “Ha, ha. Very funny. Are you going to help or just sit there and snark?”
“I'm not sure there is much we can do,” said Kinker. “Bifor's barrier is too strong. Maybe if we had another mage, we could break it, but as it is all we can do is wait it out.”
Banika approached just then. For once, she appeared to have lost her cool entirely. Her short hair was disheveled, her eyes were wide with confusion and anger, and she looked just about ready to sock anyone she didn't like in the face. She actually looked a bit like Jenur, now that Kinker thought about it.
“Kinker,” said Banika, her voice far harsher than it usually was. “Why aren't you helping the rest of the crew save Malock?”
Kinker shrugged. “I was sitting here trying to come up with an alternative way to break the barrier.”
“I don't care what you were doing,” said Banika, pointing at the barrier like a general commanding an army. “You get over there right now and help or the gods help me I will drag you over there myself.”
The Mad Voyage of Prince Malock Page 31