Dark Rising Trilogy

by DeAnna Browne

  More than anything, Becca wanted him, just him, to herself for more than five minutes. But stolen kisses and brief moments of intimacy were all they had. Unless…

  She bit his lower lip playfully and pulled back with a devious smile. “We are two magicians on a boat full of mostly Mundanes. You’d think we could do something.” Despite her tired bones, she craved Darion.

  He reached for her hand, entwining his fingers with hers, just as Elizabeth struck.

  Becca! Her sister screamed in her head.

  She dropped to a crouch, hand on her forehead. “Ouch, ouch, ouch.” Elizabeth what is it?

  Her end was silent for a moment. Becca lifted her gaze to tell Darion it was Liz. He nodded understanding and went for the thick blanket on Becca’s cot.

  Liz? Becca tried again as Darion draped the blanket over her shoulders.

  Bad dream, her sister replied in her mind.

  Bad dream or bad vision? There was a big difference.

  Not sure. You were swimming. No, not swimming, but floating in the water. There was fire nearby, so Darion must have been there. Becca, are you going to drown?

  Head pounding, Becca stood and went over the spare bunk to sit down. She tried to piece together what her sister was saying as images flashed through her mind. That was new. Naked and wrapped in a blanket on Darion’s bed threw her concentration as well.

  Slow down, Liz. Your timing isn’t that great.

  I get it. You were with Darion. It is probably what pulled me out of my dream or vision or whatever. But you need to get off that boat. You’re in trouble. It’s going to sink.

  Or I’ll be thrown overboard, Becca told her sister. Bastian had already threatened that, so it wasn’t a big surprise. Calm down. It will be okay. You let me know, and I’ll figure something out. Okay? Just relax.

  Jumbled thoughts scattered through Becca’s mind, but soon Becca could sense Elizabeth calming down.

  Before I let you go, is Navina’s mom okay?

  No. She’s frantic. But Andre has her convinced you’re on a fact collecting mission and that Navina will be safe. A much easier sale, before I had this vision.

  Don’t tell her. Becca could only imagine the worry she must be feeling. Let me figure things out on my end. I’ll keep Navina safe. I promise.

  Keep yourself safe as well, Elizabeth told her.

  Of course. Love you.

  Love you, her sister said, then was silent.

  Breathing hard, she looked up at Darion.

  His loving gaze rested on her. “I’m guessing her message was more than ‘Stop making out so loud’?”

  She laughed, “We weren’t even making out, but yes, my emotions woke her from a dream.”

  He asked the same question she did. “A dream or a vision?”

  “Let’s hope it was a dream. Otherwise I may be swimming with the fish.”

  The next morning, the sway of the ship woke her up. Becca was grateful they had spells for sea sickness, because, if not, she was certain she’d be hugging the toilet on a morning like this. Rolling over, she found her bunk mates, Darion and Navina, still asleep.

  Becca slept restlessly throughout the night. Dreams of water, of floating weightlessly through an ocean, haunted her. She woke before the others, anxious to get her bearings. If Liz’s dream was in fact a vision, Becca needed to be prepared.

  The sun hinted at its presence beyond the horizon when she stepped out on the deck. The wind whipped around her, pulling at her hair. She wrapped it in a tight bun and zipped up her jacket as she strolled alongside the huge containers.

  The sounds of the sea were a pleasant soundtrack on deck. The cry of a distant bird and lap of the waves accompanied the water hitting the side of the ship. Very different to the images her sister sent her. Things can change quickly though. Becca knew that.

  After making it the length of the ship, she began to turn around the back. She noticed some rigging on the sides with large inflatable orange rafts. Those must be the escape boats. She tucked that information away for the possible future.

  Maybe she could slip Navina out on one when they get closer. As Becca continued around to the other side of the boat, voices approached. Not that she was banned from the deck, but with the troubles she encountered just by being a witch, she didn’t want to be found here alone.

  She rolled into the rafts, laying flat on her back. The steps continued, and she recognized one of the voices as Bastian.

  “The pyro is the only one worth his passage. He works wonders on reinforcing the metal.” Bastian’s accent was heavy.

  “Not all magicians’ worth is easily visible.” An unrecognizable voice replied, sounding like an old male smoker.

  “Watcha mean? You plan on sleeping with the girls? I couldn’t. I’ve heard terrible things about sleeping with a witch.”

  Even though the information may be a little off, Becca was grateful for Bastian’s opinion. Hopefully all the crew thought so. It’d keep Navina safer.

  “I have no plans to sleep with the woman, and everyone else better steer clear of the girl. But both would fetch a decent price on the mainland. Even without much power, they would pull a good price for breeders.”

  Anger pulsed through Becca. She gripped the edges of the raft, willing herself not to throw these men overboard. Maybe she should dispose of the trouble early on.

  “How would you get past the pyro? He isn’t going to give them up easy. He sticks pretty close to the woman.”

  “Don’t worry about it. There are ways around magicians.”

  “What was that?” Bastian asked.

  Becca realized she was gripping the raft too much, and Bastian must be hearing her grip on the rubber. Stilling her hands, she focused her magic instead. She resisted the temptation to force them to jump over, thinking it would cause more trouble. Instead, she pushed her magic towards them as she whispered the spell.

  “Is that smoke I smell?” The unfamiliar voice asked.

  “I smell it too. Better not be one of the shipments.” With a few choice swear words, Bastian and the other man rushed off.

  Big magic was hard without a pet demon, like forcing someone with a strong mind to do something against their will or out of character. But sometimes, the unexpected small magic did quite well. She crawled out of the raft and headed back to her room with no trouble.

  Unless she counted a cranky Darion.

  “Where have you been?” His frustration exuded from him, even without their connection.

  “Scouting out the deck. We haven’t been up top much, and I wanted to check it out.”

  “Next time can you tell me?” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I was worried, especially after what your sister told us last night.”

  Pushing down her initial instinct to bite back, she realized she was now in a relationship and had to try a bit more. She pulled him into a hug. “Sorry, babes. I should have left a note. I wanted to let you sleep in.”

  He buried his face in her neck.

  “What did Elizabeth tell you last night?” Navina emerged from the bathroom.

  Becca pulled back. “That your mom is furious and beyond angry.”

  Navina cocked her head, not even willing to look ashamed. “That wouldn’t make you worried. What else did she say?”

  Damn, this kid was too smart.

  Darion must have agreed. “Did anyone ever tell you curiosity killed a cat?”

  “I’m not a cat. I’m a witch.” Navina jutted out her chin in a defiant pose.

  Feeling for the young girl, Becca looked to Darion. “It would be good for her to know.”

  He nodded. “Probably.”

  Becca turned back to Navina. “Elizabeth had a dream I was no longer on the boat, that I was in the sea. And there was fire.”

  “Was it this boat? Or after when we land? What was burning?” Her questions were fast and would have kept going if Becca didn’t lift a hand.

  “We don’t know exactly, but I think it was this boat.” Becca re
membered the flashing images. “And like her previous visions, we have to assume it will be within the next three days.”

  “It means we need to be careful,” Darion said.

  Thinking back to her trip that morning, she relayed her experience. “Maybe those escape rafts are our ticket off this ship.”

  “Are we getting off?” Navina asked, nonplused.

  “Not yet. We’d be stranded in the middle of the ocean,” Darion pointed out.

  Becca hadn’t thought through her plan yet, but how could she when she didn’t know where the threat would come from? “We have two more days at sea. Maybe as we get closer to shore, we can escape. But if anything goes wrong, I need you,” she turned her gaze to Navina, “to promise us that you’ll take the raft and make it to the mainland.”

  “Sure.” Navina didn’t seem bothered by the idea she’d have to take a raft alone into the ocean. Maybe she didn’t quite understand what was being asked of her.

  Darion stepped forward. “‘Sure’ isn’t good enough. You may be told to go when you don’t want to, or you don’t agree with us. You need to promise us that no matter what, you’ll do what we ask.”

  She paused this time, looking at them. “Yes. I promise that no matter what, if you tell me to leave, I’ll get on the raft.”

  “Good,” Becca said. “I’ll show you the rafts after breakfast, but now we need to go play nice with the crewmen.”

  Darion chuckled. “You play nice with those men. I’d like to see that.”

  “I know how to behave when necessary.”

  “I don’t think they scare you enough into behaving.” He may have a point.

  “Behaving is over-rated,” Navina added.

  Crap. Maybe I have been rubbing off on her.

  Darion lowered his brow and gave Becca a look.

  “Let’s do the best we can,” Becca said, as they all headed to the cafeteria.

  Breakfast was subdued, most of the thirty or so men, kept to themselves while eating and nursing steaming cups of coffee. Everyone kept their distance from the trio, probably wanting to stay out of trouble.

  Becca walked slowly through the men while going to get her second cup of coffee, hoping she’d catch a glimpse of the voice she heard on deck. No such luck. Bastian wasn’t at breakfast either. Maybe the bosses of this ragged crew ate separately. Not that she’d blame them. Showering seemed to be an optional activity on board.

  “I don’t think we’re going to get any leads with the men.” Darion swirled the last of his coffee. “Everyone keeps their head down. Get the job done and get paid. Most are regulars on board too, from what I gathered.”

  “Yeah, that’s what Kai said.” Navina scooped up another bite of egg.

  “Kai, from yesterday?” Darion asked.

  “The captain’s runner. He’s on his way home right now. Work-away, I think they called it.”

  “When did you have time to meet Kai again?” Becca could only fathom when they lost her. Dang, how could they protect her when they could barely keep an eye on her?

  “When you were talking to Bastian yesterday.”

  Becca remembered how long it took for Bastian to explain a very simple job.

  Becca stared at Navina. “You can’t go wandering here. Okay? We stick together.”

  “Okay.” She raised her hand in surrender. “I think you may be worse than my mom.”

  “I hope so.”

  Speaking of Kai, the young man approached, fidgeting with his hands. “Hey, Pyro?”

  Looking away for a moment, Darion grimaced. Becca knew he didn’t love that name, but he smoothed out his features before turning to answer. “Yes?”

  “Can you make me an amulet?”

  Even Becca was a touch surprised by this, since the group obviously distrusted them.

  “How much you willing to pay?”

  “How do you know he won’t curse it?” someone yelled from the back.

  “You don’t,” Darion replied. “Any more than any amulet you buy from a store. Granted, if it doesn’t work you can just toss me over.”

  Becca coughed. Really? I guess that’s one way to be get thrown off. Darion could make the amulet though; it was a specialty of his since he could control the fire to seal the stone. And they could use the cash.

  “I have a silver coin.”

  “Find me a gem too, and I can do it.” Darion turned back to his table.

  The men went back to their meals.

  “Hard to find a gem in the middle of the ocean,” Becca muttered.

  “You’d be surprised. Most sailors don’t trade in currency since it’s so unstable and varies from port to port.” Darion finished his cup and set it on the table. “Bigger question is does he really want an amulet or to drain me of my power?”

  “Then why do it?” Navina asked.

  “No other way to see. Let’s get to work.” Darion pushed back from the table.

  The three of them walked out, the stares of the crew heavy on their backs.

  Chapter Eighty-One

  After breaking contact with Becca, Elizabeth tried to go back to bed, but the visions kept haunting her. Her sister floating through the water, eyes closed, her dark hair weaving around her. Frustration built up, bubbling over into anxiety which caused her to toss and turn most of the night.

  When she woke, she told Nikki and Doc about her vision. They both tried to convince her it was her nerves of moving to a new place again. Elizabeth didn’t believe it because Nikki soon left to see her father, which meant she was going to tell Andre about the vision.

  Trying to block the images, she moved to clean the next box of supplies. She preferred easy tasks since her so-called accident. Everyone called it an accident, but the truth was her uncle used her as a demon host, and she was possessed for months while her sister fought to find a way to free her. In the end, Becca almost died to bring Elizabeth back.

  She didn’t remember much from those months. Darkness and confusion reigned, making it even hard to think let alone see what was happening around her. And, being the only person she knew that had survived such an ordeal, made answers hard to come by. Even now, she was confused easily.

  Becca told her about her parents’ deaths and her uncle’s betrayal, but Elizabeth still struggled to accept it. So many times she’d wake up calling out for her parents. Then she’d remember what Becca told her and her heart would rip in two all over again.

  The visions were just as hard to swallow. Images or pictures of things she may have never seen would flash in her mind and somehow, she was supposed to make sense of them. She couldn’t control if or when the visions came. So many unimportant flashes, like Doc giving birth to a little girl. Elizabeth had no clue whose little girl it was or when she would be born.

  Doc said to write them down, but even that was a struggle. How could she write them down when she didn’t always know what she was seeing? She dropped the rag in her hand, her chest tightening.

  “Are you okay?” Doc stood by himself. “Do you need to take a seat?”

  Take a seat. What grown person needed to take a seat after wiping down the top of boxes. She kept her eyes closed, biting back the tears of frustration. She hated being weak and stupid, and just wanted Becca to come back and be safe.

  “Elizabeth?” Doc place a hand on her arm.

  Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes. “I just feel so helpless.”

  “You do more than you know,” Doc reassured her. His freckles and hair the color of carrots made him appear young even though he was in his forties.

  She appreciated his care, even if she didn’t always believe him. “I think I’m going to talk to Andre. Nikki may have missed something, or maybe I’ll remember something.”

  “Just try to take it easy. I’m sure Nikki will be able to convey your vision. There is only so much we can do.”

  Elizabeth pushed back, not willing to be satisfied with ‘only so much we can do’. “We can tell her to come back. Sorry, I have to talk to him.�
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  She stormed out of the tent, Doc still beside her, trying to talk her down. The more and more he argued with her, the more she became determined to talk to Andre. There had to be something she could tell Becca. Andre was a water mage, for crying out loud. Couldn’t he send a current or something to speed up their trip? Okay, that may be a bit much, even if he could cause a tidal wave. Elizabeth didn’t know what she could say or do, but she knew if she cleaned one more stupid box while her sister was in trouble she’d scream.

  Every camp had been set up in the same layout making it easier to put up and take down with every move. She followed the dirt path around the corner and soon found Andre’s tent in the distance, bigger than most because it held council meetings.

  Hurrying towards the tent, her heart raced as her anxiety threatened to take her down. She needed him to understand. Her eyes blurred unexpectedly, and her feet tripped over a branch. Falling to the ground, she caught herself on her hands and knees as another vision took her over.

  The forest morphed, and dark trees filled her vision. She turned to find a large brown dog staring at her. The intelligent large black eyes told her this wasn’t just a dog.

  “Come.” The man on the porch called to the dog, who quickly obeyed. The man’s white hair spoke of his age. He didn’t acknowledge Elizabeth crouching in his yard but gazed out over the horizon. “I hope that girl sees a chance at humanity redeeming itself.”

  An eerie feeling ran over her body, and she knew that he was talking about her. Somehow, somewhere, she would meet this man and his curly-haired dog. The pet barked one time looking at her, then both man and dog entered the house.

  Leaving the vision, she returned to find Doc’s arm around her shoulders, both sitting on the ground. “Hey, Doc,” she mumbled, to let him know she was back.

  “How are you feeling?” He searched her eyes.