by E. L. Todd
No, I only do that to you—because you deserve it.
Yeah, you’re right. I’ve had a lot of rocks thrown at my head in my life.
Lilac waved her hand in front of his face. “Yo, Rush? You there?”
The connection faded, and Lilac came into his view.
We lost her.
A surge of anger electrocuted him and turned him livid.
“Okay, now you’re mad again—”
“Leave me alone. Now.” He stepped away and looked in a different direction. Get her back.
Trying. This is why I don’t like her.
“Alright, then. Have a good fucking night.” She walked off.
Cora’s voice came back. Whoa, that was weird.
Sorry, someone was trying to talk to me. Once he heard her voice again, he released the rails. How are things with General Callon?
They’re okay. He’s a great teacher, but I’m a shitty student.
Because you never listen or…?
She released a chuckle that she couldn’t suppress. No. I’m just much better with the bow than the sword. We don’t even practice with blades because I’m so incompetent, apparently.
I would have done the same thing with you, if that makes you feel better.
A little. I might progress quicker if we spent more time practicing, but he insists on focusing on other subjects like meditation.
I can’t picture you sitting still for more than two seconds.
She sighed. Yeah, it’s not my thing. But it’s the gateway to magic, so I’m doing the best I can.
I’ve never understood elven magic. Have never really seen it.
Not in battle?
He winced at the mention of his past. No.
Interesting. She paused for a while, absorbing his answer. How are you guys?
Just left the hideaway. On the open sea.
Be careful.
I’ve got a dragon. I don’t need to be careful.
She didn’t laugh. I’m serious.
His eyes dropped slightly, looking at the water directly beneath. The farther we travel, the more the connection between us will sever. So, we may not speak again until we return to Anastille.
A slow, sad sigh escaped her lips. How long will you be gone?
No idea. A couple months.
Silence.
By the time I return, you’ll be this powerful warrior, so the timing will be perfect.
If you saw me practice, you wouldn’t say that…
If you saw yourself the way I see you, I would.
Fourteen
Captain Hurricane
The galleon sailed into open waters.
Anastille disappeared farther behind them, a distinct landmass that eventually turned into a faint line on the horizon. Sea gulls disappeared. The ocean was so deep that the water looked black instead of blue when the sun was obscured by clouds.
“Winds changed.” Lilac turned to Zane, who stood near the mast. “Crank her northwest.”
Zane turned and fumbled with the gears before beginning the rotation of the sail.
“No. Northwest,” she called. “You’re going east—just forget it.” She marched over and grabbed the ropes. “The compass is right here.” She tapped her fingers on the large circle that was visible to the sailor behind the wheel. “Just look at it.” She pulled the rope in the opposite direction. Instantly, the sails deepened their pockets as the wind filled them just right.
Zane stepped aside and shrugged. “Come on, I’m not a sailor.”
“But you’re a human who understands what I’m saying, right?”
Bridge stood with Rush at the front of the ship, in a patch of shade from the sails. “She’s lovely, isn’t she?”
Rush grinned. “We’d be lost without her, and you know it.”
“I know a couple things,” he said in offense.
“As do I. But a couple things aren’t going to get us to the lost island.” He glanced at her down at the rear, seeing her continue to reprimand Zane as she tried to show him how to work the other sails for the third time. “I’m glad you brought her. We need her.”
“Well, it wasn’t my intention to bring her along. I told her about all this, and she refused to let me go without her.”
Rush leaned against the rail, his arms crossed over his chest. “Didn’t realize you two were so close. You didn’t even tell me you had a sister.”
“Yes, I did.” He shook his head and looked past Rush’s shoulder to the ocean below. “You just never listen to anything I say.”
“I listen—”
“Okay, how many sisters do I have?”
His eyebrows furrowed. “You have more than one?”
You walked right into that one.
Bridge’s eyes showed his gloat.
“Okay, sorry. Maybe I’m not the best listener.”
“Nope.” He continued to look past Rush, his eyes narrowing.
“So, what should we do to entertain ourselves? Other than drink?”
As if Bridge hadn’t even heard him, he continued to stare.
“You see something or what?” Rush turned around and followed his stare.
Bridge stepped closer to the rail and raised his arm to point. “Is it just me, or do you see that?”
“See what?”
I don’t see anything.
“It’s like a black shadow. You see that cloud? Follow it down.”
Rush followed the instructions with narrowed eyes. “Yeah…I guess I can. But barely.”
“What do you think it is?”
Let me fly. I’ll check.
No. Too risky.
Growl.
“Whether the object is coming toward us or away, our destination is perpendicular to its path. It doesn’t matter.”
“True. And it is really far away.”
Open waters led to excitement.
But that was temporary.
As the weeks passed and the scenery didn’t change, the high faded into a low. The ocean was always blue. The sun was always high in the sky. Sometimes, there were clouds, but everything else was a never-ending constant.
Rush sat at the wooden table below deck, a pint beside him. The map was open on the surface, and he gazed at it under the light of the lantern even though there was nothing new to discover.
I’m hungry.
We just ate.
I’m hungry for real food.
Pretty sure they don’t have bears here.
You think a shark would taste good?
No.
A whale?
No. You hate seafood, remember?
I’m tired of stale bread and preserved meat.
You aren’t the only one, so stop complaining.
“You’re doing that thing again.” Lilac appeared down the stairs and approached the table.
Rush had been too deep in conversation to notice. He lifted his chin and acknowledged her. “What?”
“Like you’re having an unpleasant conversation with someone you don’t like.”
Right on the money.
Growl.
“I’ve got a lot on my mind.” He grabbed his pint and took a drink, his eyes returning to the map.
She helped herself to her own drink then took a seat. “Zane is a pretty decent sailor now.”
“Because you drilled it into him.”
She smiled before she took a drink. “That’s what good captains do.”
“You’re the captain, huh?”
“Who else would it be? It’s definitely not Bridge. Every time I see him in his cot, he’s fallen asleep with an open book on his chest. Liam does the same. And you’re too busy looking like this to do much.” She made an impression of his brooding face, squishing his eyebrows dramatically.
Ha-ha! That’s pretty good.
Rush shook his head and took another drink. I thought you didn’t like her.
Except when she’s making fun of you. Then I tolerate her.
“I don’t remember you being this brood
y when you were General Rush.” She rested her arms on the table, her chin propped on her closed knuckles.
“Because I was heartless. Didn’t care about anyone or anything.” When he reflected on his past, his voice always dropped because he could never forget the horrific things he did to innocent people, to the dragons, to his own soul.
Contemplative, she just watched him. “Your dragon changed you?”
“Yes.”
“Are we ever going to meet him?”
“Can’t exactly turn on a boat.”
“Then when we get to the island. I’ve never seen a dragon in real life. If I’d known about him when we were together…” She shrugged. “Could’ve been kinda hot.”
She’s not my type.
That’s not how she meant it.
Lilac looked to him like she expected a response.
He didn’t have a clue what to say to that, so he took a drink.
“Now that you’ve left your service, what do you intend to do with your life?” She continued to drink, having the pacing of most men he drank with.
“Save the dragons in King Lux’s captivity.”
“Which means you’ll have to kill him, right?”
He stared into his beer for a moment before he gave a nod. “Yeah, probably.”
He definitely won’t surrender.
No, he won’t.
“And if this is all successful, what then? Will you be king?”
He almost spat out the ale he’d just drunk. “No way in hell.”
Her soft expression tightened into a subtle look of confusion. “But the throne would be yours by succession, yes?”
“Doesn’t mean I want it.”
“Who the hell wouldn’t want to be king?”
“Anyone who’s lived long enough to see what power does to people.” He lifted his chin and looked at her, his fingers along the rim.
“Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but…if you don’t take the position, who will? It’ll probably be someone else who will abuse power. The cycle will continue. You know what they say… If you want something done right, do it yourself. And since you’re immortal, you can ensure the world is forever peaceful.”
She’s right, Rush.
“I will select the appropriate person. And that reality is so far away, so unlikely, that it’s pointless to discuss it.”
“If someone else is king, what will you do? Take a wife and settle down with some kids?”
This is why I don’t like her.
Because she asks questions?
No. Because she’s playing games with you.
Games? It’s just a conversation.
No, she still wants you. And she’s not going to get you.
Alright, buddy. You need to back up. I don’t butt into your personal life. Don’t butt into mine.
I don’t have a personal life.
Lilac continued to stare, waiting for an answer as she drank her ale.
“No,” Rush answered. “Flare and I will unfuse. The aging process will catch up to me, and I’ll pass away.”
“Wha…what? Is Flare making you?”
“No. It’s my decision.”
Dumb struck, she let her slackened jaw hang there. “You can live forever. Why wouldn’t you want to do that?”
“Because men aren’t supposed to live forever. Dragons are.”
“But if he’s offering to remain fused…I don’t understand.”
“It’s still wrong. I’ve committed atrocious crimes. I don’t deserve to live forever, not when I’ve killed people who deserved to live too.”
Her eyes sank in sadness.
“The odds of our success are so unlikely that this conversation is pointless. But if we are successful, a new king will be installed, the dragons will be free, the races of Anastille will live in harmony, and that will be the end of my story.”
What about Cora?
What about her?
She’s nearly immortal. It could be the three of us—forever.
Rush drank his beer and never answered.
“Pirates!”
Bridge sat across from Rush at the table, and he looked up from the map when he heard Zane’s voice from above deck. “Did he just say pirates?”
Rush paused before he jumped out of his chair. “Shit.”
“There are pirates?” Bridge asked incredulously.
“Let’s go, let’s go.” Rush hurried to the hallway where the bunk beds were. “Lilac, get up now!” He sprinted upstairs and entered the sunshine, immediately squinting because the sun was right in his eyes, showing a reflection across the water. He raised his hand to block the light to get a better view.
Three galleon ships were just feet away, the boats made out of dyed wood that gave it a blueish color. A sculpted mermaid without a top was at the front of the bow, her hair like tentacles.
Bridge came up behind him and let out a deep breath. “Uh…”
Rush crossed the boat and approached the sail on the other side.
“A word with your captain.” A man stood on the deck of the ship, in a tricorn hat, wearing a long-sleeved jacket with a white tunic underneath. A sword hung at his side, and all along the stern behind him were cannons that could blow their ship to pieces.
Bridge came up behind him. “Do we have cannonballs?”
“No. We have a dragon.”
“Oh yeah…”
“Uh, yeah.” Zane turned to Rush, unsure what to do, white as a ghost.
Rush covered his eyes with his hand then gave a friendly wave. “Ahoy, Captain Hurricane.”
“You know him?” Bridge whispered. “How…how… Oh, just forget it.”
Captain Hurricane moved toward the rail, getting as close as possible, his eyes searing. His skin was weathered from the constant beating of the sun, but he was a young man with a strong stance, commanding men with greater years on the seas. “General Rush, we meet again.”
This is gonna be bad…really bad.
“It’s actually just Rush now. About time I retired.”
The captain continued to watch him with his cold gaze, the entire energy on their ship changing. He nodded to his first mate. “Ready the cannons.”
Bridge dragged his hands down his face in unease. “What the hell did you do?”
“It’s a long story.” Rush raised his voice. “Captain Hurricane, let’s just be civil here for a moment—”
“Were you civil to my first mate?”
“I was just following orders—”
“Were you civil to Cyclone when you sank her to the bottom of the ocean? The ship that I sailed through a hurricane?”
Bridge sighed. “Yep. We’re gonna die.”
“Again, I was following orders,” Rush said.
“Well, my men are about to follow orders.” He turned to his men. “Come on, lads. Let’s blow her into splinters.”
I will burn them. Burn them all.
Rush whistled loudly to get the captain’s attention again. “Let’s not forget that I can sink every one of your ships again. I’ll set each one on fire, your cannons will miss my speed, and your entire armada will sink to the deep along with ours. No one wins here.”
Bridge nudged him in the side. “Let’s tone down the threats.”
Captain Hurricane kept his eyes locked on Rush, bouncing up and down slightly in the waves. “That’s the difference between us, Rush. We’re pirates. We can survive in open waters. You, however, cannot.”
Bridge shook his head. “Fuck, I don’t know how to swim.”
“You don’t know how to swim?” Rush rounded on him, his eyes wide. “Who the hell sets sail on a ship and doesn’t know how to swim?”
“So typical.” Lilac emerged and approached the rail. “Men would rather preserve their egos than preserve their ships.” Her arms rested on the rail and she leaned forward, her posture casual even though the rest of the guys were about to lose their lunch on the deck.
Captain Hurricane ignored his men and returned to th
e rail, his gloved hands moving to the wood, his eyes focusing on Lilac just a few feet away because the ships had shifted closer together during the conversation. “Hello, beautiful.”
Bridge snorted and moved forward.
Rush grabbed him by the arm and steadied him. “We’re about to sink, and you can’t swim. Let it go.”
Lilac straightened and gave him a wink. “Hello, Vic. Long time, no see.”
His eyes remained fixed on her face, not even blinking. “A very long time.”
Bridge cringed. “I’m gonna be sick…”
“I’m the captain of this fine ship,” Lilac said. “So, you better not touch it.”
He shook his head slightly. “Never.”
You like her now? She’s about to save our asses.
Eh.
“I bet you’re a fine captain,” Captain Hurricane said. “After sailing the seas with me for a year.”
“Good times,” Lilac said, flirting back. “So, how about you let us continue on our journey?”
He adjusted his hat then pressed it farther down his scalp, his posture less hostile now that Lilac had stolen his complete focus. “Where are you going?”
“An island—”
“For the closest landmass,” Rush said. “We’re a bit lost. Can you enlighten us?”
Lilac looked at Rush beside her, not questioning what he’d just said.
Captain Hurricane was quiet, shifting his gaze from Lilac to Rush. The second he did, his features hardened again. A long pause ensued, his contemplation practically audible. “The floating islands are northeast. The Land of Ashes west. Anastille is directly behind you.”
Lilac turned back to him. “Thank you.”
“If you learned anything from me, it’s to never get lost.” He shifted his gaze back to her. “I’m surprised that you have.”
“Well, all my crew members are first-time sardines, so…” She gave a shrug.
“I’ve never seen someone trek a journey this far with no experience,” Captain Hurricane said. “Whatever you’re after must be important.”
Shit.
Yes. Shit.
Rush almost spoke, but Lilac did first. “We’re headed to the Land of Ashes. We’re looking for someone there.”
“It’s uninhabitable, so I doubt you’ll find what you seek.”
“Never give up, right?” she said, keeping the conversation light. “Perhaps the two of us can have a rendezvous in the Polox harbor. Catch up.”