Heir of Dragmoore- The Veiled Haven

by Jennifer Ann Schlag

  Talen races back and forth on the deck. “Someone save him.”

  Maria watches as Remy is being led around the ship. She takes out a coiled up rope and starts swinging it. She throws it over the side. “Remy, grab the damn rope.”

  Kip runs around frantically. Until his eyes give off that fixed solution. He runs and dive bombs into the water.

  “Kip!” Rover holds Talen back from jumping in.

  “We stay in this water and the Grecians will know we are up to something,” Rover yells over to Buckman.

  Buckman and Maria both pull on the rope hard. Between the two they are able to bring Remy up. The sea witch is still clinging to the prince as he is raised up. The moment he falls onto the deck of the Seraphina, the sea witch lets out a shriek and falls back into the water.

  Talen is relieved to see that Remy is okay. He is in the arms of Maria. Kip struggles to climb up the side of the ship. He jumps out of the water and spreads his wings. He flaps his wings as hard as he can. They are drenched but he manages to get up onto the Aster.

  I think I flew.

  “Kip, go below. You’re safer there.”

  The Aster pushes forward like someone pushed it from behind. Rover takes over the wheel. “It’s her. It’s the sea witch queen.”

  Buckman goes to his wheel. “Don’t give her a chance to capsize us.”

  Maria sets Remy down on the deck and goes to helping the crew prepare for the assault.

  On Rover’s ship the same is happening. Talen knows she should go downstairs but she doesn’t want to miss any of the action.

  The Seraphina gets pushed violently, almost tipping it forward into the water. Then it is knocked to the right, turning it to where the water comes over the ship. Luckily it turns to the left and Buckman gets it under his control.

  The Aster is pushed again, almost into the Seraphina.

  “Do you see anything up there?” Rover yells to the crewman in the crow’s nest.

  “No. Captain, where is she?”

  “Do you see anything over there, Buckman?”

  Buckman yells up to Gerald who is in the crow’s nest. Gerald yells back down that all is clear.

  Both ships are taking on water. Talen is beginning to think she is a bad omen.

  Buckman, like many captains, has seen rough seas for nearly half of his time on the ship. But the times he’s encountered the sea witch queen, it’s been because she wanted to have sex with him. And he gave in every time. It was hard not to considering how beautiful she is. How she can transform her body to look like a human that you will kill to taste. Every time they had sex, she’d remind him that one day she’d take his life, but that by taking it she would make his life anew. She’d take him to her watery palace and make him king of the ocean.

  Buckman waits for that day and wonders if today is that day. He hopes not. He isn’t ready to accept that fate. Also he doesn’t understand why she wants him. Is it because he is the only human to survive having sex with her? Every other human she has slept with has died from an incurable disease. Sea witches are known for carrying incurable diseases. Being exposed to the ocean for so long, coming into contact with diseased fish, eating that diseased fish, feeding off pollution and waste, it changes the molecular structure of a living being. But Buckman, he never gets sick. Not once.

  Every once in a while sea witches will plague Buckman’s ship but they know better than to ever hurt him. The queen will kill every single one of them if a hair is touched on Buckman’s head.

  For Captain Rover, he has had his fair share of encounters with sea witches. Never the Gracken. Not directly. He saw the Gracken tear apart a boat but never got attacked by it. The Gracken doesn’t answer to the sea witch queen but they work alongside each other. There was one time when Rover caught a sea witch in his net. Bringing her on board, she snapped and swiped and spit. She was a real nasty piece of work. But she provided information that spared her life. She was the one to spill the details on how to kill sea witches without a weapon. Also how to avoid the Gracken.

  Normally, to kill a sea witch you must first drench her in fresh water from a river, lake, or stream. It’s the first step of the cleansing process. Then she must be tied down to land for twenty-four hours. During that time, the sun will bake her body, initiating the second round of cleansing. The next day she must be kept in the moonlight. The final stage to the cleansing which ultimately kills her, is the draining of her blood. The reason why chopping off a sea witch’s head like Remy did is not ideal, is because the blood of a sea witch is so tainted, so bruised with toxins, that if the blood seeps into the ground it will create a monstrous beast that can slip through the shadows, making it hard to kill. If the blood should find a host, that person will become a ravenous monster that will crave flesh. If the blood should find its way into the water, a darkness will rise from the sea that will overtake the world. Once the blood is drained and contained properly, it must be given to a Grecian. Only they know how to dispose of it.

  Since most people are in a hurry when killing a foul creature, they go for the head right away.

  Over the years, many terrible things have happened because of people killing a sea witch improperly, and Rover knows that all too well. One of them has tainted his heart. The fight hasn’t come yet. He is still in control over his body and actions. But he knows one day, the darkness will consume him.

  “I’ve had enough of this shit,” Buckman say. He goes up to the poop deck. “Morga? Come and collect me and leave these people alone.”

  The bombarding waves stop. A giant whirlpool forms in between the two ships. A long, slender arm reaches out.

  “Gilderoy, don’t let her curse you,” Rover says.

  “Allistar, get the hell out of here.”

  The arm goes back down into the whirlpool.

  Buckman grips his temples.

  “You are the only one who will hear this, Gilderoy. The Grecians will come for you and your ship. You sailed too close to their island. I have told my sea witches to leave you alone but they are hungry. Offer up a few of your crewmen to them and I will sink Grecia.”

  “How can you sink that city?”

  “They summon me, Gilderoy. They are using my magic to fuel their experiments. How did you think the Gracken came to be?”

  “They are invested in science and chemistry.”

  “No. They use my blood. Do you know what they do to their prisoners? Why they are never seen again?”

  “They are fed to the Gracken.”

  “No. The Gracken is merely a watchdog. They feed my blood to their prisoners and create beasts from it. Then they keep those beasts locked away until they want to use them. It’s why everything has turned upside down in the Wilderness.”

  All around Buckman everyone is going about their business like nothing happened. On board the Aster, everyone is fine and laughing. Except Talen. She is staring right at him.

  “My crew?”

  “Only a few of them. Please, Gilderoy.”

  “Morga, when are you coming for me?”

  “Soon, my beloved.”

  The headache leaves. He looks at Talen. He waves. She waves. He has to tell her. But first he must sacrifice some of his crew. He calls out to the Aster that they must drop anchor for he’s coming aboard.

  The ships move to more shallow water and the anchors are dropped. The gangplank is run across and Buckman walks over.

  “It’s been a while since you’ve been on my ship,” Rover says, greeting his friend with a hug.

  “We need to talk privately.”

  “Right.” Rover takes Buckman into his cabin.

  Talen is tempted to walk across and see Remy. Maria waves her over. Talen declines. She feels like she’s betrayed Remy with Logan. She needs to talk to someone who understands suppressing powers. Remy is a sea druid whether he wants to accept it or not. Desmond is too. Desmond isn’t here. Talking to Remy calms her. Even when they argue. She walks across.

  Down in Rover’s cabin, Buck
man paces.

  “Goodness, Gilderoy, either sit down or jump ship.”

  “Who can you spare?”

  “Let them feast on fish.”

  “She can and she will destroy these ships. Do you want that?”

  “Why do I feel like having the human and the dragon around is causing this?”

  “She’s not.”

  “She could have lied to you.”

  Buckman paces harder.

  “I know that she means something to you and you to her.”

  “No. There was no lying in her voice. She is afraid.”

  “Gildy, you aren’t suggesting that the Waking Ripple is coming?”

  Buckman stops pacing, grips the side of Rover’s desk. “Oh, let the gods be merciful. We are all doomed if that is coming.”

  Rover gets up from his chair and stares out the large window behind it. “I always knew it’d come. From the first time I heard the tale. I thought it’d be some prophecy that foretold it’s coming, but no, it’s a certain kind of darkness that brings it. It’s like a sleeping beast that wakes when it’s hungry. What happened out there?”

  “She is so powerful.”

  Rover sits back down on his chair. Leans his elbows on the desk. He’s tired of trying to fight the inevitable.

  “I know what lives inside you.”

  “I don’t want it coming out.”

  “If the Waking Ripple is coming, it’s going to forever change the sea. The water will turn blood red. The skies will forever be in a storm. And the land will be thrown into a perpetual nightmare. I’ll lose you, old friend.”

  “I’ll be around.”

  “We must distance ourselves from Talen and this dragon. We can’t help them anymore.”

  Rover lays his head down on the desk. The curse upon him is eating away at him.

  Talen stands before Maria holding onto Remy.

  “You hate me?” Maria asks.

  “Do you desire him?”

  “Yes. He is a handsome man. Did you think only you are allowed to?”

  “I know that many women have desired him and will continue to do so.”

  Remy looks like he is in between consciousness and unconsciousness.

  “You want him all to yourself. What about the other man that you desire? Desmond.”

  Maria lets go of Remy and he lies down on the deck. She looks out at the sea. Buckman knows about her past and she wanted to keep it that way. But now, seeing what Talen is, she wants to share it with her. “I was in love with an elf, years ago.”

  Talen isn’t surprised. Maria is a gorgeous woman and elves are attracted to gorgeous things.

  “My parents were against our union. The elves, shockingly enough, were for it. When he proposed to me, I said no. At first he thought I was scared to say yes. After my mother explained why it was a bad idea, I knew I had to keep with my answer of no. When he came to me and asked me again, I said no and told him why. I’m an experiment. I was created with sea witch blood and raised by my Grecian parents.”

  “You’re a Grecian?”

  “They couldn’t conceive. Felp took my parent’s blood and mixed it with Morga’s blood. She was caring then. But Felp deceived her. He said that her blood was only being used to enhance my parents, to erase their infertility.”

  “Who is this Felp? What kind of monster is he?”

  “He’s become a powerful adversary because of how he can manipulate anything around him.”

  “How can he do that?”

  “No one knows. But after I told my elf, my love, what I am, he became enraged. He left me in the Glistenberry Forest to die. Captain Buckman docked one day and I asked to join his crew. I was always good with sailing my little boat. I knew I could handle the big ships. I just wanted to forget about that elf. We were out at sea a lot. When we came to dock, we only stayed hours or sometimes a few days. I liked knowing that my life would be spent mostly on a ship.”

  Maria’s face turns pale.

  “Until he found me.”

  Talen can feel the shivers running up Maria’s arms.

  “He had discovered that I was involved with one of the sailors in the fleet. Apparently he still loved me and wanted me. He begged me to end my relationship with the sailor and come away with him. I almost gave in. Oh, Talen, you have no idea how much I loved him—how much I love him still.”

  “But you can’t leave the ship. You have sea witch blood in you and that means you cannot come onto land.”

  “I could, with the help of an elixir, but I wanted to stay safe. I told him no. I couldn’t deny the complications and the consequences if I joined with him. In his rage, like most elves get, he placed one of the five deadliest curses upon me.”

  “What is that?”

  “The elves have five deadly curses that are rarely used. Because whoever cast one of those curses, will have it fall back onto them tenfold. It’s why they are only used in the most dire of circumstances.”

  “What is the one he used on you?”

  “Aside from having sea witch blood in me and being unable to leave this ship, if I ever should try to by any means, whether it be magic or not, my body will be eaten by the maggots that lay dormant inside me.”

  Talen shudders. She hates bugs.

  “The only way this curse can be lifted is if the elf who cast it speaks the counter for it. But I haven’t see him in a long time.”

  “What happens to him? You said casting one of these curses affects the caster.”

  “He will suffer through painful deaths until the day I die. He will keep dying until I am no more.”

  “Goodness.”

  “It’s one of the reasons I don’t like you. You’re only half elf but you still have the magic inside you. And you’re a Master. You realize that makes you near invincible?”

  “Never thought about it.”

  “Remy is in love with you. He isn’t going to care about you being half elf. He is a sea druid. You realize that if you were to join your powers, you’d be unstoppable. Unfortunately, Remy isn’t the one you’re going to marry.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because in order to conquer this darkness that Buckman and Captain Rover know is coming, you will need Desmond Dragmoore at your side, ruling with you. His sea druid powers far exceed Remy’s. Desmond’s father is the most powerful sea druid ever. Sure, he’s crazy, but all those who have power beyond limit are crazy. Fused with your powers, you will stop this darkness.”

  Talen feels like the choice is already made for her. “You said that Remy and I would be unstoppable.”

  “Yes, if you chose him. But you’re not going to. You love Remy, but you are meant to be with Desmond. Don’t you know the tale about the shell necklace you have?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You and Remy are the descendants of those two lovers. You know how their story ended. They didn’t end up together. She went on to marry the love of her life and he fell into despair. That’s what will happen to you and Remy if you marry.”

  Talen clutches her shirt. “You’re saying that Desmond is the love of my life?”

  Maria nods. “I’ve told you enough.”

  “Your elf. He told you about this, didn’t he?”

  “I’ve told you enough, Talen. Whatever you decide, understand that neither choice brings you happiness. You will break both of their hearts, because deep down they’ll know you want the other.”

  Talen won’t admit to Maria but she has wondered if she’d be happier with Desmond. Her bond with Remy has grown. She wants to make sure that the world doesn’t plunge into darkness. Whoever is the better choice is the one she’ll be with. Now, more than ever, she needs to get to the Veiled Haven.

  Bessy comes before Desmond, who is sitting on the throne with his leg twitching. Jexxer is on his right while Gavin is on his left.

  “Talen is in a lot of trouble. Queen Galaria was talking with her at the South Port.”

  “What happened?” Gavin asks.

  “I
flew Talen away. But the elf queen will not stop her pursuit.”

  “You should have let me go.”

  “You never would have made it to her in time,” Desmond says.

  “Then it’s time you go. If Talen faces the elf queen again, she’ll manipulate and twist her mind into believing whatever she says,” Gavin says.

  “And who will look after Dragmoore if I go?”

  Jexxer steps up. “The Hunters have not been replenished yet, my king. It is your responsibility to save a citizen of this city, if you can.”

  “I am not going to start a war over one silly girl.”

  Gavin grabs Desmond by his collar. “That’s my daughter.”

  Desmond shoves Gavin off him. His love for Talen is ripping him apart. “Maybe some time away will help. Ready my stallion.”

  “Wouldn’t it be faster if you shifted?”

  “Bessy, I will not shift again.” Desmond walks past her.

  “You are hiding something, mage,” Bessy says.

  “I am hiding nothing,” Jexxer says. Jexxer walks into the room behind the throne room.

  “Jexxer has gone through enough. Don’t start pointing fingers because you’re angry.”

  Desmond reaches the sign that says No Name. It was here that he said his final goodbye to Talen. He never should have left her. He continues on down the road.