by Bailey Dark
“Ilisa. Take Laro and choose six others from within the Bristola troops. Make a search unit for Ceritha. You have my permission to use all means necessary to find her.”
“Yes, Commander.”
Ilisa sprinted away. I stared out at the ocean for a moment, my heart in my throat. I realized my clenched fist was shaking. Is Ceritha gone? Is she just out for a joy ride and will be back shortly? She is telepathically superior to me. Is it possible she has some sort of a block in her mind and is ignoring me? Can she be that callous?
The angry, panicked ball in the pit of my stomach told me, no, no, something was dreadfully wrong…
But, I had put some of my best on it. Now, I had to go be Prince and Commander. I didn’t have the time or luxury to think about my Virgin Queen.
I took one more moment to look out at the moonscape on the lapping ocean waters in the bay, just as five giant pirate ships loomed into shape in the gap of the seawall, then I spun and sprinted back to the command room. I had a battle to win.
Fourteen
Ceritha
I rolled my head into my hands as I struggled to sit up, moving against the rocking of the sea’s motion of the boat, but also against the rocking of splitting pain in my head. Am I drugged or is it just from the brutal hit I took to my head?
I forced my eyes open and blearily blinked them to look through the dim light around the room. It was a sparse cabin, portholes on one side of the room, looking out into darkness. I was on a ship, that was certain. A large one, it seemed. An older, wooden, pirate ship, perhaps…
What do they want with me? Ransom against Axis?
I have to find a way out of here…
I reached for the wall and made my way to my feet, uneasy on my legs, my head pounding. The only light in the room was a dimly flickering fluorescent strip up along the bulkhead and a bit of light that came in from the gleam of the door at the top of the stairs that led to the deck. There was a restroom with a toilet and sink, but no door, and a canteen of water in the sparse room. My prison was a barred cell separated from a bigger hold that was choked to the brim with all the goods of an armory; swords, knives, laser cannons, refill charges, and grenade launchers.
I immediately tried to call a knife to my hand and a spark burst through my fingertips and I jumped back, shaking my hands, cursing. A reprimand shield coated the weapons. So be it. They were out of my reach.
My barred cell held one blanket and a pillow, folded on the floor in a corner on matted straw. Clearly, they were accustomed to having prisoners. I moved closer to the porthole and looked out. There was no screen on one of them, having been split and punctured from its position by some happenstance. It was only about six inches across and not a means of escape, but I could at least look out it to get my bearings.
It seemed we were in the coves outside the main harbor of Bristola’s main port. I wasn’t that far from where the pirate had attacked me and knocked me out on the StarChaser. Still, if I screamed, no one but those on the ship would hear me. We were too far from shore, the ship swaying up and down with the rolling waves, but clearly at anchor here.
I looked down as well as I could. I was some ten feet above the waterline. If I called telepathically, would one of my ocean friends hear my call?
As if responding to my wish, the crowns and spiny dorsal fins of three dolgons crested the surface of the water just below my prison porthole and I had to resist a squeal of excitement. I had not communicated with any dolgons on Farian yet, and I wasn’t sure word had spread from the firefins to them, yet, so this might not work at all, but… it was worth a shot.
I reached out telepathically to the great animals and pushed my Will toward them, calling them to wait, to ask them to carry a message for me, to tell them I was a prisoner, to tell them I was a friend, that I needed their help. They kept swimming. “Please… Don’t go, yet… Wait for my message…”
The dolgons didn’t stop, didn’t register my words at all, but kept swimming by.
I groaned and watched them disappear into the darkness.
Just as I was pulling back from the porthole, a little ripple appeared below me. A scarlet firefin burst from the water in the moonlight and spun up into the air, water droplets spraying mists of moonbeams. It was Rensi! How did he know?
“Rensi! Please! Help me! I have been captured! You must find a way to tell the Prince of Bristola. Tell him where I am.”
Confusion filtered back through Rensi’s thoughts, about how he could possibly communicate with someone who lived on land, who did not easily telepath with animals, and who he didn’t know how to find.
“He will be looking for me, Rensi, I know it. Just stay close to the gazebo where you and I first met. He will be looking for me.” I sent him the image of Gorgin capturing me. “Tell him this is what happened to me.”
Rensi jumped into the air again and then fluttered away, ripping through the water back toward the harbor. I leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. Hopefully Axis would be looking for me and he would think to ask the ocean animals.
It was probably stupid. Axis had enough on his plate right now… He clearly had a pirate attack to deal with, but maybe he would have other people looking for me, too, and they could come rescue me. Come rescue me before anything worse happened than this headache that was starting to make me feel the need to hurl.
I began to scour my little prison for any type of weapon left behind haphazardly by a guard or fortuitously by a former occupant, but did not find anything of use. I would just have to hope the pirate’s plans for me were not too expedient, and that Axis would have time to plan a rescue attempt. I certainly couldn’t let the fear that had been bouncing off the sides of my head and making my insides tense into turmoil take over. I just had to be aware, on guard, and take advantage of any possible mistake to free myself.
I had bragged about my combat skills, but breaking that pirate’s arm was the first time I had really been forced to use them to defend myself. My heart beat heavily as I thought of the way I had reacted. That had been smart, tough. I had done well.
Not well enough, though, I admitted, tapping at the bar with my foot just across from me in the dim light. I was still caught, since I was stupid enough to disobey the only real command Axis had given me: to stay safe and under guard while his kingdom was at war. Why did I have to be so ornery and arrogant, sometimes?
I soothed my turquoise dress against my legs, realizing it was torn in a few places from the scuffle with the pirate and still damp from the ocean. I must not have been knocked out for long. I wondered if I should try to reach out to Axis telepathically… If I could reach the firefin, it meant I could reach Axis, right? There wasn’t a block on the room? The salt of the water wasn’t interfering?
I just don’t think it’s a good idea… It would have to be an open call, and the pirates will hear it right away. Not only will they come in and beat the shit out of me, probably, they will move me right away. My best bet is relying on Resni.
I sat back against the wall and took a deep breath. He would find Axis. I could trust this to work. I could trust the firefin and the Commander of Bristola to speak telepathically to save me.
I have to trust them.
Fifteen
Axis
The pirates had entered Trimsin, our southern port city, but Kajo's troops and my Navy were fighting them off. Gorgin's ships had just started to fire on our laser cannons at the mouth of the harbor. Two of twelve launchers had been taken down, but three of his ten closest ships were in flames. He had grounded most of our air forces with amazing telekinetic hold. He must have some significant telekinetic warriors and they were focusing all their strength on keeping our planes grounded. I had one of my pilots bringing my personal speeder in from the royal airfield. Otherwise, we were just trying to deflect their missiles as much as they were deflecting ours.
The bay was a chorus of fireworks, missiles and bombs shattering in the air, telekinetic warriors on the shores defending e
ach other from personal attacks while others warded off the incoming weaponry.
It was a vision of oranges, blues, reds, and yellows, sparking through the darkness.
While I was strategically maneuvering my soldiers and boats around the area, more than half of my mind was on Ceritha.
I need to find her.
“Commander Axis?” I spun on my heel, away from the brightly lit monitor to look at the soldier where he was standing at attention. He was one of those Ilisa had chosen for the search party.
“Report, soldier.”
“Bravo Ilisa is returning and wishes to meet with you to give you her report. She requests your presence at the gazebo in five minutes.”
“Thank you, soldier. I will be right there.”
Cartari was listening in, and he nodded across the broad table to me as I moved closer to his side. "You cannot go alone, Commander. You must at least take a guard with you." He waved a couple of soldiers closer. "Has it occurred to you that she is your Destin, Axis?" I grabbed his arm before he could move to the next sentence of command to give the soldiers.
“What do you mean?”
Cartari motioned the soldiers move back and moved his head closer to mine.
“Your Destin. It’s the same as it was with Jase and Vania, with Kajo and Daphne. That electricity you speak of, the intense and bizarre circumstances. The fact that you’re from different planets. I bet she is your Destin. Somehow, you’re going to save each other.”
I looked seriously into Cartari’s green eyes before slowly letting go of his arm. There was no customary joking there. Was he right? Was Ceritha my Destin? The Curan fairytale myth lover who saved a warrior from himself and for his lifetime, to be tied to his very soul in the most intimate of ways?
Maybe… Maybe she was…
“Thank you for taking control here. I will be right back. I just have to try to connect with her one more time. Ilisa is meeting with me at the gazebo for a report. I will be right back.”
“I understand. I will hold everything down here until you return. However, you must take these two with you.”
“Agreed.” I nodded to the two soldiers and signaled them to follow me. “Keep trading the telekinetic warriors out. Prepare our Spec Ops teams for their upcoming trip.”
“They are ready and waiting for your word.”
“When I get back, we will send them to the ships.”
“I will send a messenger to have them at the ready.”
We had agreed that the Special Operations teams would take underwater craft to the underside of Gorgin’s ships and board them to take the crew and dismantle their missiles. It was to be a programmed attack, timed with a ceasefire of our own cannons, so to avoid loss of life of our own men and women.
Hopefully Ilisa would have word of where Ceritha was being kept so a rescue attempt could be made for her life, as well. I had no doubt she was abroad one of those vessels.
I nodded to Cartari and left the command room, the two soldiers following me. I made it to the gazebo quickly, the shattering sound of missiles and projectiles exploding in the air a stark reminder that my city, my throne, the livelihood of my people, was not to be taken for granted. Gorgin was attacking us, regardless of our strength. He had no chance of victory, surely, he had to know this. His only goal had to be to wear us down, ready for a repeat attack. This was his first battle in a much larger strategy. That, and capturing the Princess, had to be his goals for tonight.
Ilisa was waiting for me at the gazebo with one of the scientists from Serpul, a woman named Cowrie. She was a small, mousy woman, just a few years younger than Ceritha, with large glasses and a sharply pointed chin and intelligent eyes.
The closer we got to the gazebo, the more the sounds of war firing over my harbor in the distance sounded like the war of uncertainty and fear in my heart that throbbed in my ears. Anxiety, close to panic, at not knowing what Ilisa was going to tell me. Was Ceritha ok…?
“Commander, Scientist Cowrie has something to tell you,” Ilisa said, then pointed out to the bay. I followed her look and watched as a scarlet firefin jumped up in the air, just off the deck of the gazebo, a few feet away. He was only ten-feet long, a scarlet firefin, and he spun up, radiating his strength and beauty, four wing-like fins fondling the air, then back flipped, before slipping back into the water.
“Yes, Cowrie, what is it?” I asked, looking from her to the firefin, not comprehending.
“That firefin brought you a message. His name is Rensi. He says he has spoken to you before. He will not tell me the message. He said it is for the Prince of Bristola from the Princess, who is a captive, but he won’t tell me where, because he isn’t sure which of the Curans he can trust.”
My heart leapt into my throat. Of course! Of course, Ceritha would try to send a message through the ocean animals she loved! Why hadn’t I thought of that?
I practically leapt to the side of the gazebo. I slipped through the side planks and down the side of the cliff until I was at the closest edge of grass and mud, on my knees, nearest the water I could get.
“Please, firefin Rensi…” I called into the water, opening myself up telepathically to the ocean currents. I can do it… I told myself. I can do it… I was doing it earlier. I can communicate with these animals… “Please tell me your message. I am Axis of Bristola. I am the lover of Princess Ceritha that you met earlier. I am her Commander and Prince. You can trust me. I am your friend. Please trust me and tell me your message. Where is Ceritha?”
I waited, looking into the dark waters, fingers clenching at the dark mud, star and moonlight gleaming on the tides lapping into the cliff. Then, the many horned, feathered head broke the surface and rose up to meet my face. I had a sharp intake of breath, but gently put my hand out to his snout and he guided his head into my palm.
An impression from Rensi filled my mind with the power of a storm surge. I marveled at the connection and smiled, then took a deep breath, asking Rensi for the message, my heart beating hard. He showed me one of the ships back in the cove off from the harbor, one of Gorgin’s fleet, but not one actively attacking the harbor. Then he showed me an image that was a bit fuzzier, as if it had been passed to him. It was a memory from Ceritha’s viewpoint, and it was of Gorgin, rising up within the StarChaser, grabbing her, pulling at her, restraining her. My blood boiled, my stomach tensed, jaw clenched, free hand balled to a fist in the grass and mud, as I watched her thrown around by him. I nearly cheered when I watched her break his arm, then I winced and gritted my teeth as I felt her fury as he punched her. I felt her sorrow and regret at disobeying my orders and taking the StarChaser and I wondered if she had meant to put that into the impression she sent to Rensi, or if that was just an earnest part of the memory. Through Rensi, she showed me her little jail cell in the armory of the ship and asked me to rescue her. Rensi showed me her beautiful little face leaning out the porthole to talk to him. She is okay. She is bruised, but she is okay…
“I will come for you…” I said. “Tell her that, please, Rensi. Tell her I will come for her. Thank you, so much, for bringing me this message of hope. You are my true friend.”
Rensi purred a chitter and nuzzled into my hand, then slunk back into the water and slithered away, his tail flicking up water droplets as he disappeared.
I stood up, wiping the mud I had balled into my fist on my also muddy pants. I took a deep breath, trying to extinguish the fury and fear in my chest to a manageable size, before slipping back up to the gazebo. I looked at Cowrie and Ilisa.
“Thank you for getting me. Ceritha is on the pirate ship Endeavor’s Desire in the Darken Coves, part of that pack of twelve ships that are waiting, anchored still, while this first set of ten attacks our harbor. The Endeavor is third from the back of the pack, with a dark wooden lionlark as the figurehead at the bow. We are going to go get her. Bravo Ilisa, where are the other seven of the crew who you picked? Please gather them quickly at the courtyard of the castle.”
“The courty
ard?”
“Yes.”
“Are we not taking a ship?”
“No, Bravo. We will be taking my speeder. It should have arrived by now.”
“Confirmed. We will be there in five minutes, sir.”
“Great. I will meet you then.” I turned to Cowrie. “Thank you, Cowrie. I will always owe you.”
As I was turning away, Cowrie grabbed my arm.
“I need to tell you one more thing, Commander. Scientist Murex has been missing for two days. We just thought he was sulking, but maybe he was also captured? I just want you to know.”
“Thank you. I will keep that in mind.”
I spun away and sprinted back to the command room, the two assigned soldiers trying hard not to get left behind. If Gorgin had somehow gotten Murex that far ahead of time, would he have had time to make any progress with telepathy with animals? Likely not. But, that might have been how he would have found out about Ceritha’s sailboat.
I came to a speeding halt in the command room and everyone stared at me. Cartari guessed what had happened before I even needed to tell him and he knew there was no stopping me. I was going to go get Ceritha. I was going to go get the woman who I knew in my heart had to be my Destin.
I was going to pilot my speeder over that pirate ship and strafe the shit out of anything that moved. Then rescue my Princess.
“Send the Spec Ops teams,” I told Cartari. “Give the order. Give them thirty minutes to get abroad, then call a ceasefire to our laser cannons. Tell the telekinetic warriors to keep up their defense but tell everyone to stop our attack. We shall wait to receive word or wait to see if we have succeeded. Also, keep trying to lift the hold their telekinetics have on our other aircraft.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“I will be right back. Then we can use my speeder, too.”
Cartari nodded. “We could make good use of it.”