Song of the Forever Rains

by Mellow, E. J.

  “Is that a compliment, my fire dancer?”

  “If it seemed like one, then I can assure you it won’t happen again.”

  “Do not go out of your way on my account.”

  “Will you do it?” Arabessa steered the conversation back on course.

  “Perhaps if you tell me what brings such desperation to the Mousai?”

  “We need to fetch something only found in Esrom.”

  “That leaves a great many things. You’ll need to give me more than that if you wish for my aid.”

  “We need to obtain orenda.” Larkyra inched forward. She could sense her older sister’s annoyance, but she didn’t care. She was tired of the verbal sparring that was always needed with this man.

  “Orenda.” Alōs mulled over the word. “What are you four up to?”

  “Nothing you need know,” said Niya.

  “Perhaps not, but does this voyage truly require all of you? I’m sure one, particularly a redheaded one, would suffice.” A curl to his full lips as he stared at Niya.

  Larkyra could feel her sister’s powers gathering as more known information spilled from the pirate.

  “We go as one, or we do not go at all.” Arabessa straightened. “Make your decision quickly, Lord Ezra, or we shall ask the next in line.”

  “How are you enjoying being surrounded by this demanding trio?” he asked Darius. “Or have they cut out your tongue to keep you from complaining?”

  “Thank you for your time.” Arabessa turned to leave, signaling with a nod for them all to exit, despite their roped hands.

  “Very well.” Alōs stopped their retreat. “But this will come at a price. I am not in the business of charity, nor do I sail a passenger vessel. This will take my crew and me away from our planned route.”

  “The Thief King will pay your price.”

  “Will he now? How interesting. And what exactly is he willing to give up?” The pirate lord’s gaze roamed Niya once more.

  “Oh, please,” scoffed Niya. “You wouldn’t know the first thing about what to do with someone like me.”

  “On the contrary.” Alōs’s glowing stare grew dark. “I could think of too many things to do with you, my fire dancer. Especially regarding my crew.”

  The room grew incredibly hot incredibly fast.

  “Not if there is no longer a ship to keep them.” Orange sparks jumped between Niya’s bound fingers, and the pirate chuckled a dark laugh of delight.

  Do your worst, he seemed to say.

  But before all could, literally, go up in flames, a heavy bag fell onto Alōs’s desk, a variety of shining coins spilling out.

  Somehow Darius had wiggled free of his binds to throw down the payment hidden under his cloak. All turned to him in surprise, Larkyra’s gaze staying the longest.

  Darius merely shrugged.

  Alōs fingered through the bounty, stopping when he grazed over four portal tokens. With a flourish of his hand, they disappeared. “Prepare yourselves,” he said as the rest of their binds fell away. “We leave in a sand fall.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  They sat blindfolded below deck, and the rocking of the boat against the waves was beginning to wear on Darius’s stomach. Whatever trickery the pirate lord used to enter his home that was concealed deep beneath the waves, they would not see it tonight. Which was no loss to Darius, considering the number of new things he’d had to keep up with in the past two days. The mysteries of Aadilor were much greater than he could have imagined, and his head felt as if it might spin right off.

  Ugh. Now he was sure to be sick.

  “Cap’n wishes to tells ya we are nearly there.” A scratchy voice from one of Alōs’s crew came through a hatch from above.

  Darius sighed in relief before stiffening as he felt a hand reassuringly tighten on his leg. Larkyra sat beside him, and while her nearness was calming, it also made him tenser than ever.

  It was becoming harder to ignore the feelings that had grown for her in his once-shuttered heart. Despite the list of reasons why he should keep his distance and even be angry, he could not disregard the help she offered, nor the fears Larkyra had overcome to bring him closer to saving Lachlan than he’d ever thought possible. Though her original reason for coming to his lands had been a lie, Larkyra was the first person to ever be utterly truthful with him in every other regard. She allowed Darius to loosen his own tightly spun existence, share thoughts he otherwise had suffered alone. She had seen his scars, and while her actions might have been misguided, she had not reduced him to what they represented but saw how much larger he was because of them.

  I see someone brave.

  The words she’d spoken when they had walked to the gazebo echoed in his mind, and Darius’s chest warmed, just as it had then.

  Watching Larkyra walk into the Fade earlier had nearly been his undoing, for what if she had never returned? A panic had shot through him, another person he had cared for, gone.

  A rough hand on Darius’s shoulder had him standing, shuffling with the rest of his party as they were led above deck.

  “I’d keep your hand from going any lower.” Niya’s steely voice sounded behind him. “Or you’ll find it no longer attached.”

  A deep rumble of laughter. “I’d listen to her, Kintra, for I have seen the threat more than once carried out.”

  Their blindfolds were removed, and Darius blinked to find Lord Ezra standing before them, a sinner’s grin in place.

  The pirate was a formidable creature, even to Darius, who had lived with his own monster for so long. After being around those with the lost gods’ gifts, even for a short time, he knew this man had plenty of magic tucked within his hulking form. His brown skin seemed to radiate with it, which only convinced him further of the Mousai’s own collective power, if they could stand before him so confidently. Especially Niya, who seemed addicted to provoking the pirate. And vice versa.

  Darius was more than curious about what history they shared.

  “Welcome to Esrom,” said Alōs, motioning to their new surroundings before stepping away to instruct his crew.

  Darius’s eyes grew wide as he absorbed what was before them.

  The water was spun of stars, a shining expanse of deep blues and greens as it reflected the night sky. Fish jumped from the waves to easily swim through midnight air, mixing with languid pink jellyfish. Three massive islands jutted proudly in the distance, sparkling waterfalls cresting their sides as smaller isles floated above in misty clouds detached from land or sea. Glistening woven bridges connected the islands, making Esrom appear a linked web of magic. A proud palace made of silver and mirrored starlight pushed through the dense jungle on the center island, thin turrets and blue ivy decorating its expanse.

  “It’s gorgeous,” whispered Larkyra beside Darius.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “Nor have many,” said Arabessa, gazing out.

  “It’s okay.” Niya folded her arms, turning away.

  The boat soared through the waters, banking around the smaller island to the left. Darius closed his eyes a moment, savoring the salt in the air, the splash of waves hitting his face. For a grain’s fall, it was as if he were back home in Lachlan, but here the energy was peaceful, at rest, and, most importantly, safe.

  Though Darius had learned that Esrom was keeper of many dangerous things, it was apparent that no one here was at war. It acted as a sanctuary to those seeking peace, allowing them to be unbothered and perhaps even forgotten as they lived out the rest of their lives.

  He understood the desire for such a place.

  Their ship sailed under one of the floating islands, and Darius gazed up at the seaweed-woven bottom.

  “They say these lower and rise from morning to night,” explained Larkyra as she, too, looked up, the shadow of the hovering land painting her mask in darkness before they sailed on.

  As they crested a peninsula on the southern island, they were greeted with a view of a dozen smaller isles, sit
ting low in the distance.

  Unlike the rest of Esrom, they were more rock and moss than trees and jungle, but as they drew nearer, Darius could see they were just as dense with untamed nature.

  Giant boulders cut into the water at sharp angles, preventing larger ships from approaching without the threat of wreckage.

  “This is as far as I go,” said Alōs at their backs, making them turn. “Take your boat into the inlet there.” He pointed to a small opening that cut between two of the rocky isles. “You will find your cherished bloom in the cave at the end. You’ll also find the things that will likely kill you. I’ll only wait two sand falls before setting sail again. It is not only you who wish not to be seen here.” With that the pirate captain retreated to his cabin.

  Darius watched Niya stare at the large man until he was out of view.

  “Well.” Arabessa gazed at the inlet before them. “At least we can say we saw Esrom before we entered the Fade.”

  “Yes.” Larkyra tightened the clasp on her cloak. “And let us hope we can tell the tale of what happened here before we do.”

  “We can still turn back,” said Darius. The weight of what he was asking sat heavy on his shoulders. This was his burden, his people he was resigned to risk his life for. Despite his desperation to get rid of his stepfather before the mines opened, it did not sit well that he might be pulling others into his fated downfall if this did not go well.

  “Nonsense.” Larkyra’s gold mask peered at him from beneath her hood. “This is merely another night for us.”

  Her confidence radiated, and it lit something within Darius, something proud and at the same time protective if anything were to happen to her.

  “Plus,” Niya chimed in, handing Arabessa a leather violin case that had been stowed in one of their bags, “don’t you want to see how mad a tahopka can get?”

  “Not really,” admitted Darius.

  “Me neither,” she said. “So we better hope they are in want of entertainment.”

  Rowing their small boat, the group maneuvered past jagged rocks rising from the waves to enter the calmer gap between the islands.

  Giant cliffs stretched up on either side as they floated toward a cave’s dark opening, the only light coming from the bright stars above and a dimly glowing rock in Larkyra’s hand. The buzzing of insects and hooting calls of various animals echoed from the tangled nature dripping around them, and Darius couldn’t help but feel as if it were a warning for them to turn back.

  “Before we start our performance”—Arabessa handed him two wax balls—“put these in your ears. You must make sure you cannot hear a thing. We cannot be responsible for what happens if you do.”

  Darius took the earplugs with a nod, a buzz of nerves sliding up his spine.

  “It will all go well,” assured Larkyra beside him.

  “And if it doesn’t?”

  “Then it doesn’t,” said Niya.

  “But it will.” Larkyra gave her sister a sidelong glance through her mask’s eyeholes.

  Darius couldn’t help himself—he reached out and took Larkyra’s gloved hand.

  Their gazes held a moment before she gave him a small squeeze.

  If her sisters noticed their exchange, they kept quiet as they entered the cave, carved feathers and snake tails decorating its opening.

  The air cooled, while the sounds of the crashing waves were replaced with an echoing drip, drip, drip and howling wind that whistled through small holes in the tall ceiling. Hazy starlight shone through the cracks, illuminating a large, damp cavern. Moss spread along the walls, where crabs skittered about with their approach, sending bits of dirt to fall into the water, the sound reverberating. A tangle of roots dangled from above, as if reaching out to them, while bats darted in and out of their pocketed resting places. Darius had to duck more than once to keep them from snagging his cloak.

  Turning a bend in the cave’s river, they pulled in their oars, coming upon a stretch of beach where a stone stairwell led up to a large and ornately carved doorway. Four fluted columns rested in half relief on either side of its entrance, giant blazing torches on each, while a symbol of a bursting sun with a curled snake was chiseled above in its center.

  The group remained quiet as they banked their boat and climbed out, all on alert for the legendary creatures who were said to live here.

  Ascending the stairs, they were dwarfed by the giant carved opening, the black within impenetrable. With a soft hum from Larkyra, her rock’s light grew brighter, and they pushed forward into the tunnel.

  Darius’s heart raced as the air became more fragrant with each step. Flowers blanketing the walls awoke, blossoms glowing. The petals seemed to sway in the direction they moved, their light bathing them in a green-and-blue haze.

  Larkyra doused her stone.

  “Midnight orchids,” explained Arabessa in a whisper. “They will light our way but also announce our approach.”

  “And we’re almost there.” Larkyra shifted at the front, revealing a slice of light at the far end.

  They stopped in unison; the sound of slithering bodies and flapping wings funneled toward them.

  Tahopka.

  Darius’s pulse fluttered wildly as Larkyra glanced at each of them.

  Prepare yourselves, she seemed to say.

  After the sisters had tucked away their masks, Arabessa quietly unlatched her violin, while Niya stretched her neck from side to side. Larkyra gave Darius a small smile as he pushed the earplugs in.

  Everything went dead except for the sounds of his quick breaths and pumping heart.

  The Mousai waited for him.

  I am ready. He nodded.

  Go slowly, mouthed Arabessa.

  Lifting her instrument, she ran the bow in a calming motion over the strings, but whatever spellbinding notes flew out, Darius thankfully could not hear. The air around them, however, seemed to lift, the midnight orchids burning brighter; as one, they walked toward the light at the end of the passage.

  Darius walked behind the sisters, Niya leading the way. Her body moved as if she, too, had a snake’s form, her cloak slithering around her, and Darius forced himself to look away. Even with no music, her sway and swing held immense power.

  Larkyra walked a step behind Arabessa, her mouth open, as if mimicking whatever her eldest sister played, and Darius became suddenly desperate to hear what she sang, her voice a drug to his soul.

  No.

  He shook his head, clearing it of the temptation seeping in.

  By the Obasi Sea, these sisters were truly things to fear.

  Stopping at the lip of the tunnel’s opening, the Mousai continued their performance as they each took in the massive chamber.

  It was a treasure trove of magic and riches.

  The entire cavern was lit with a blue-green pulsing light from giant glowing crystals clustered along the floor and walls. Silver-spun rugs ran into mossy paths that led to shallow, glowing pools, while small lavender and turquoise flowers bloomed in various nooks, their pollen floating freely in the air. Silken hammocks were placed all around, as if the space were meant for lounging and gathering, a bathhouse. But in the center of it all was the item that sent a chill and thrill through Darius’s heart.

  A tall, thick tree grew atop a small slope, its trunk winding, winding, winding all the way up to its treetop, where a mass of swaying blooms gave off a brilliant blue-white glow. This was the main light source in the cave and what they were here to take.

  What Darius was meant to take.

  Orenda.

  Just one stalk, Achak had said.

  Though the scene was peaceful and quiet, their threat was everywhere.

  As if frozen, a dozen or more tahopka remained half-lounging in pools, midflight, midslither, or midturn, staring directly at them.

  Darius stood stock still, his skin prickling in a cold shiver as blood drained from his face at the sight.

  It was utterly terrifying.

  He had never seen such creatures. Fr
om their bellies up they were woman, their pale-green skin appearing soft, even supple, with everything on display. Below they were all snake, each with a giant scaled tail of various green hues. Their wings were webbed, bat-like, but with thick feathers along the edges, while their dark hair was pulled back and braided.

  Darius would have remained staring forever if it weren’t for the Mousai moving farther into the cavern, lining up near the stairs that led down into the creatures’ den.

  Larkyra gave a quick glance his way, her mouth singing something different from what her eyes spoke.

  Go.

  Swallowing down every fear and horrible outcome his mind had spun, Darius descended into the snake pit.

  They did not notice the man walking among them, stepping as softly as he could over a large tail toward the goal that sat in the center. The entire crystal cave remained entranced with the three women, Niya slithering in her steps as she wove between her two sisters, who were singing and playing. Everything in the room seemed to pull in their direction, all the unseen energy hungry for their performance.

  As he crested the small moss hill, he chanced a deep breath, peering over his shoulder.

  Larkyra’s gaze was pinned to his, and with a small nod, he turned back to his task.

  Darius slowly climbed the winding trunk of the tree to the canopy of swinging orenda. Hooking his legs around a branch, he shifted his way out toward the flowers, their brightness almost blinding.

  Opening the satchel across his chest, he reached out toward a long stalk, its petals appearing puffy and soft, magical embers in a fire.

  He plucked it with a silent snap and paused.

  When nothing changed, he breathed a sigh of relief, before every bloom on the tree gave a shudder, as if scared they were next for the taking, and as one, they sucked into their pods.

  The cavern was doused in darkness save for the dim glow of the pools and surrounding crystals.

  A hissing shriek shook the walls and invaded Darius’s brain.

  The spell the tahopka were under was severed; they each swiveled to face whatever intruder had cut off their light.

  Darius.

  What greedy beast has disturbed our sanctuary? screeched a voice inside his head.