by C B Samet
Although I did envy Baird’s tangibility, I didn’t envy the man. His impeccable honor to Abigail’s former husband, and to Abigail, meant that he’d never once attempted anything intimate with her. He’d tried over the years to create a lasting romance with Coco DeFay, but Coco seemed to wonder as I did when Baird and Abigail would end up together.
After her husband’s death, I’d assumed Abigail would allow herself the pleasure of a relationship with Baird in a year or two. I was surprised when it hadn’t happened.
“Malakai succeeded in healing you,” Baird said.
I stopped, not yet in Abigail’s view.
“Yes. Thank the Unideit for that.”
“You promised to marry him if it worked.” He pulled the blanket tighter around her.
I eased into the shadows, watching. He was trying to keep her warm and only she was cocooned in the blanket. They weren’t sharing the warmth as an intimate couple might.
“I was trying to lighten the situation.”
“I realize that.” He scratched at his ever-lengthening salt-and-pepper beard. “But I noticed before this trip, you removed Joshua’s ring. You’d been wearing it since his death. I wonder at the timing of its removal, and your expression of feelings for Malakai.”
She sat up and looked at Baird. “I’m not ready. I’m not going to be ready. Not for anyone.”
“But you have feelings for Malakai,” Baird pressed.
If it were possible, my heart felt like it stopped entirely.
23
ABIGAIL
“I know it doesn’t make any sense. It’s crazy. I’m crazy. I drive myself mad thinking of the insanity of it. He left for a year and half to drive a wedge between our friendship, and what happens the first time I see him again? I instantly realize I have feelings for him.” I stood up and paced the cage. “He’s arrogant, and pompous, and twists my words and twists my emotions.” He saved my life—and saved my sanity on occasion—only to drive me crazy with a quirk of his lips. For the longest time, I’d thought Mal behaved the way he did because he only had me for interaction. Did he mean what he said when he’d healed me? Did he love me?
“You’re in love with him?”
I rubbed my hands across my face. “I’m out of my mind.”
Baird stood and hugged me. “You’re not crazy. You’ve understandably formed a bond with Malakai. The heart doesn’t follow patterns of rationality.”
I sniffed. “I form a one-sided relationship with an apparition, and you don’t think I’ve lost my mind?”
Corky let out a laborious breath. “You’re all bonkers. Off your rockers! Completely crazy!”
Baird ignored him. “It may be unusual, but it’s not one-sided.”
I blinked at him.
“Mal has always acted in your best interest. A man does that for someone he cares about.”
“But he left.”
Baird shook his head. “You told me he left you to see if evil would be properly absorbed when the connection you two shared was interrupted. That’s still acting in your interest. Then, he returned to help you in another time of crisis. Now, he healed you—and at what risk to himself? There’s love in his actions, even if some of them have brought you pain.”
“This mysterious man of yours—can he be of any help in rescuing us?” Corky interrupted. “Or is he nothing more than fluff and feelings?”
Mal materialized beside the cage. “Of course I can be of assistance. While the lot of you have been snuggled in your cages, I have been dutifully performing reconnaissance.”
I straightened. How much of my talking with Baird had Mal overheard? “Okay. What reconnaissance?”
“I encountered Emerald on the King’s ship. He can see and hear me. Don’t look so alarmed. He’s expressed that he wants King Artemis ruling another country as much as a Dubik gypsy wants the next Muglik raid. He said there’s a storm in six days, during which this ship will sink and you’ll have an opportunity to escape.”
“How do we escape a sinking ship when we’re locked inside?” I asked.
“The ship’ll sink?” Corky’s eyes went wide with concern.
“He said to tell you to remember that the Traveler’s Star is damaged, not destroyed,” Mal continued. “And to reinforce that Corky is the thief he claims to be.”
I turned my hand over, palm facing up. “So, somehow I use my star?” I’d tried it so many times since my laceration, and it continually failed to work.
“Meditation is required,” Mal added.
“The star is damaged, not destroyed,” I repeated.
Baird cocked his head to one side. “Mal said that?”
“Yes.”
“And you’ve been trying to use the star to travel?”
“Unsuccessfully, yes.”
“See if you can access the magic, but only to connect with it and not force a transport.”
I sat cross-legged and shrugged off the blanket. Closing my eyes, I began deep breathing the way I’d practiced when meditating. A sliver of something, a blue thread illuminated with a silver glow, brushed my senses. I tried to latch onto the thread with my mind, but it was such a small thing. I felt like I was trying to thread the smallest needle in the world.
“Look at that!” Corky cried.
I opened my eyes. Nothing appeared different. “What happened.”
“You were flickering like a candle.”
I turned to Baird.
“Corky’s right. You were of varying transparency.”
“I didn’t feel different. Maybe if I can focus long enough, I can walk through the bars.”
“That’ll be handy,” Corky remarked, “but what about the rest of us.”
“If I’m on the other side of these bars, what do you need, Master Thief, to escape?”
Corky gave a devious smile.
I walked the hall of dreams, headed to visit Goran Foal. The ambassador of Kovia needed to know about the events unfolding across the globe. As I passed room after room, I kept my gaze locked forward. I didn't need distraction by glimpsing other's dreams.
Colorful light danced behind one of the sheer curtains overlying a doorway, catching the corner of my eye. I paused, well aware that I was allowing myself to be distracted. Without pulling the curtain aside, I glanced into the room.
Hans Stallman wore a blue Gunthi Monk cloak as he fought, sword in hand, with a larger, bulkier man. Hans’ hair was still dark, but longer than the last time I’d seen him. He fought his adversary on grassy, uneven ground surrounded by remnants of an ancient castle I didn’t recognize.
I’d known Hans since he had been a student at the university when I taught chemistry. He’d accompanied Baird, Coco, and I on the quest for the Omega plague cure. He’d tried to become a monk, but I’d never heard the circumstances of why the monks had turned him down.
No distractions.
I continued walking. When I came upon Goran’s room, I tiptoed my way inside his dream. Fortunately, he was sleeping, which meant I found him in his dream room.
He was walking through his house stomping his feet playfully. “Where are you?”
I stepped further inside the dream and interrupted his hide-and-seek game. “Goran.”
He straightened and turned toward me. His face lit up with delight. “Abigail!” He rushed and embraced me.
I wished I could share his enthusiasm. As we hugged, it occurred to me that without a functioning star, I might never see Goran again.
When he started to pull away, I clung tighter to the hug, needing to be held just a little longer in the arms of a friend.
“Are you okay?”
The concern and his voice cracked my control. I sobbed once before clamping down on my emotions. Neither of us would benefit from me spending the night bawling my eyes out.
Composing myself, I stepped back and shook my head. “The Queen is dead. Belloian forces are in route to Crithos. I'm captive with Baird on one of their ships.” I stared at the ground, clenching my fist.<
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How many times must I have to deliver this news of the Queen’s death? Each time I recited the news, the weight of my failure bore down on me. The Queen had been under my care at the time. She was murdered on my watch.
“Oh, Mother Moon.” Goran sat heavily in one of his chairs in his den.
I sat across from him and explained events—from encountering Porter Stout, to sailing to Bellos, to the night of the betrayal and my captivity. I omitted the gladiator battles and near-death whiplashing.
“Now you’re captive,” he said.
“Temporarily. We’re working on a plan.”
“Can I do anything?”
Oh, friend, can you indeed.
What danger would I subject him to? And yet, what choice did I have?
“Do you have people who would ally with us?”
Goran was not only the current ambassador of Kovia to Crithos and known by both countries, he had once been part of an elite border patrol defense team in Kovia.
“I will fight, but even the Warrior Stone has its limits—and without a functioning Traveler’s Star, I’m less effective. Coco will rally the Queen’s forces, and I hope to enlist the giants.”
Goran’s eyes widened.
During one of our many group family meals over the years, he and his wife Lorraine had heard the story of my role in The Hunju civil war. I didn’t know if my history with the giants would motivate them to help, but I needed to ask.
“I’ll join you.”
My eyes snapped up to his. “You can’t fight! You have your children to raise. You have to stay with them.” I wasn’t going to take his children’s last parent from them. He must have agreed to my request without thinking it through.
“I’m obligated to protect them from invading foreigners. That is what I intend to do.”
“Think about it first. Do what you think Lorraine would want you to do.” I stood and backed away toward the curtain. “I’m sorry you lost her.”
He got to his feet and walked toward me, taking my hand. “While I don’t claim to have recovered from losing her, the bereavement and grief will heal. I have mourned her death with unbearable sadness. One day…” His voice trailed as his eyes turned soft, staring at our hands.
I recalled the time we’d danced at Marrington castle. I swallowed, thinking of how nice it would feel to dance with a man again—to kiss a man again. But as I looked in Goran’s rugged face, with the jagged scar and edges of graying hair, I knew this wasn’t the man I wanted to dance with. I couldn’t redirect my desire for intimacy with a man I couldn’t have onto Goran.
He must have sensed my reluctance, for he released my hand. “Is that all we’ll ever have? One dance and one night together?”
“I told you that night I didn’t have more to give.” I looked away. The night we’d spent had been a cathartic release, but our intimate actions weren’t rooted in deep-seated love.
“Perhaps one day, Abbey.”
I pursed my lips together. I couldn’t make any promises, and now that I had Mal and his declaration, I wouldn’t betray my own feelings for Mal.
He bowed. “I will join you for battle, Champion. I will bring fighters.”
I woke with a jolt.
“You’re okay, Abigail.” Baird’s deep voice sounded far away as I tried to regain my senses.
I glanced around our tiny cage. Baird leaned back against one wall. The boat rocked gently on the ocean surface. Outside my cage, the milking cow chewed hay and the chickens pruned feathers in cages they could barely run around in. In the cage beside us, Corky slept.
I missed my family. I thought about the many trips my parents embarked on when Paul and I were children. They’d traveled the world—and without a magical star. The longest they’d been gone—before the time they’d never returned—had been about two months. I’d been gone probably a little over two weeks. I struggled to keep track of time from cell, to arena, to cell, to boat. Nevertheless, it felt like months since I’d held my children.
I glanced at Baird, wondering if he missed them, too. He was like an uncle to them. I’d taken him away from them. Before he met me, Baird had a peaceful existence as a hermit in the mountains with plans to return to the monk sanctuary. I’d uprooted him. I’d taken him into battle against Malos. I’d taken him into battle against the Dantajist giants. I’d taken him to the ravished country of Kovia during the plague—and I’d brought him on this quest. Abigail the Champion? Perhaps my title should be Abigail the Destroyer.
“I’m so sorry for bringing you into this. You lost your star. Have you tried seeing if you can meditate and make it work?”
He opened his palm to reveal the very deep scar that had cut the star in half. “I’m afraid mine is quite fully severed. I think yours is functional because it was just a nick.”
“And you were tortured because of this mission. Ever since you’ve met me, I’ve put you in danger.”
“You can stop berating yourself, Abigail. I chose to participate in all of these events of my own free will. You brought none of this on me. I’ve joined you on each of the adventures we’ve had because it was the right thing to do. It was what I wanted to do, and what I believed in. Don’t flatter yourself into thinking I blindly followed you during any of this.”
“Fair point.”
“And you aren’t seeing the wonderful things you’ve given me. Before you and Joshua found me, my life consisted of emptiness and loneliness. I still mourned Mary after all those years. Joshua’s friendship filled that void. Then, our friendship and the wonderful children you have filled me with love these last few years. I wouldn’t trade all of the experiences we’ve had for the things you and Joshua have given me.”
I nodded.
“Now, I may have answered differently amidst being tortured, but that still wasn’t your fault.” He dropped his head to his knees and his voice became anguished. “I told my tormentors so many things, Abigail. I broke. They know our forces, our weapons, our castle, our wealth.”
“They have us outnumbered ten-to-one. They’ll conquer Crithos with or without your help. I’m glad you survived.”
“They wanted to know about the scepter. They had so many questions about it when they tortured me, but I didn’t know those answers. It’s been locked away in the vault, and I’ve never even touched the thing.” His blue eyes stared into mine.
“I don’t understand their interest. Only Malos can wield it.” Or I’d assumed so. Had I ever directly asked him? “I’ll ask Mal more about that when he comes back.”
24
ABIGAIL
Thunder and rocking waves preceded the storm. The animals stomped and snorted in disconcerted worry.
I gripped the bars of our cage as I concentrated my efforts. I focused on the star and dissolving into it.
“It’s working,” Corky said.
“Silence,” Baird scolded.
When I opened my eyes, I no longer saw my hands and arms in front of me. Straining to keep my focus, I pulled deeper into myself. The bars slipped through my grasp. After I stepped through the bars, I released a breath I had been holding.
“I’m through.” Eerily, I could see through my own body.
“Pin.” Corky pointed toward the animals.
I concentrated on maintaining invisibility of my body while making my hand more solid. Over the last several days, I’d considered slipping out of my cell, and attacking Prince Porter. If I eliminated him and had my stone, I could control the ship—unless someone shot me with a pistol. Also, my hold on this magic was so tenuous, I couldn’t trust that I could succeed in a surprise attack on the Prince.
Gripping the pin, I pulled it out of the chain around the cow’s leg. Turning, I reached through Corky’s cage and handed it to him. With my body invisible, the pin looked like it floated through the air.
Moment of truth if a thief will be good for his word.
He picked the lock to his cage, grinned in my direction, and then picked the lock on Baird’s cage.
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Relief washed over me as a chink of trust forged between Corky and I. Now, I needed to recover my stone, and Baird needed to secure us a dingy.
“Good luck.” After patting Baird’s shoulder, I went up the steps first and shoved open the hatch. Since I was invisible, I hoped it would look like it flung open in the storm.
Cold rainwater instantly doused me. When lightning struck, the deck of the ship illuminated. Men scurried about the deck, cinching ropes and securing items. They were too preoccupied with the flurry of the storm to notice the open hatch. When the ship pitched in a wave, a spray of ocean water poured over the rail.
As I made my way to Porter’s cabin, I gripped the railing. Rain water soaked my clothes, making them cling to my chilled body. My bare feet felt numb from the cold water. In the next flash of lightning, I realized all the water on my skin reflected light, and my outline was visible. Fortunately, the crew seemed too busy with staying alive to notice me. I wasn’t sure I had enough concentration power to simultaneously keep my body and clothes invisible, keep from going over the side of the ship, and make the beads of water on my skin vanish.
Slowly and laboriously, I made my way to Porter’s closed cabin door. After wiping water out of my eyes, I focused on turning my invisibility into porous transparency. Then, I stepped through the door.
The roaring ocean waves became a dull and distant sound within his chambers. Around the room, candle flames flickered as wax sloshed with the rocking boat. The holders were secured to the walls so the candles remained fixed.
Porter Stout stood on one side of the room looking at the rain pounding his window. He wore a cotton shirt with frills about the collar and stiff brown pants.
I crept silently toward his desk while keeping my eyes fixed on his backside. My heart thudded so loud I feared he would hear it.