The blue fairy shivered in the pink fairy’s arms. I saw the water sprite strangle another sob, lean into Petalbell’s arms…
And push.
She underwent a Rise. Even though she hadn’t done anything beyond letting Petal carry her. That had been a Challenge in and of itself for her, and I saw the universe bear witness to her courage.
Something inside my chest stirred in response, reminding me of my part in all of this. It whispered that if I could do it once, rescue someone and watch them grow into a hero of their own, then I could do it again. I crouched next to the nearest sobbing Seaborn and gathered him up.
“It’s okay,” I told him. “You can be carried for a day. This is not weakness.”
I passed Via, who was still clutching a little girl that she had believed she would be forced to kill out of mercy not five minutes ago, and dragged her by the hand.
This way, Via, I whispered to her. We can share your burden. Follow us.
This is real, ya? She asked me anxiously. I get these back? I get these people back? They don’t have to suffer? They don’t have to die?
Not today, I told her. I’m here to help you. Like I promised. We’ll work out whether or not we can save the planet, or if we should just evacuate everyone to Avalon—
You can’t, she said. It’s forbidden.
Not anymore, I told her. I already have people from this world living there. We rescued them when we drove the Malus Men off. There’s a shelter there now. For people who have nowhere else to go. I’m in charge of it.
That was all I said of it. Because I didn’t want to start the whole ‘Lord of Avalon, and your world, too’ business yet.
But that’s still a last resort. Let’s just see who else we can save, alright? We can discuss that in more detail once everyone else gets to the ship.
More, she said numbly, disbelief warring with refreshed hope. You can help me save more. Someone is here to help again.
I winced. She’d had it very bad here.
Others followed my example and began carrying people who couldn’t bring themselves to walk yet. I worried that we might need to make more than one trip, and that this vessel may not be seaworthy for much longer, but then the islanders began helping each other. A small handful had fully embraced the fact that they were saved, and began helping friends and family members walk. I felt them heave and push, both the people helping and the people receiving help. My own insides stirred again at the sight.
It was not meaningless, the quiet voice said in my mind.
I didn’t know what it was talking about, but I felt something tug my attention back to Petalbell, the very first fairy I had ever pulled from a Horde Pit, who had just helped me rescue another fairy, and other people in addition.
You crowned her, the voice said to me, and wrote love on her arms. And behold, it was not meaningless. Nor is her crowning another, the voice continued, as I looked at the small blue fairy that had just undergone a Rise of her own by accepting the help she had needed.
Nor is your crowning the least of these, the voice continued, as I felt the young man in my arms shudder and undergo a Rise of his own. It will not be meaningless. And it will not stop here.
That thought struck me. I asked myself just how many people Petalbell had saved, now that she had grown up to be a warrior. Then I asked myself what could happen if even one of these people made a similar choice.
I looked at Via again, saw her shake and tremble with fatigue, but refuse to let go of the little girl she carried off the nightmare boat. Her body was churning as well, even though it was difficult for Starsown Satellites to Rise on their own.
Crown her, the voice demanded. And write love on her arms.
Captain Gabin, I messaged. Is your ship ready to receive the hungry and wounded?
Yes, my Lord Challenger, the Atlantean replied. We’ve laid down bedding, activated the healing room, and opened the cold storage for food. The heat glyphs are just now finishing with preparing the meals.
This ship has a healing room and a magic kitchen? I asked, pleasantly surprised. We had been too focused on navigating dangerous waters and Pathways for me to take a tour of the ship earlier. I was beginning to regret that fact.
Yes, my Lord Challenger, Gabin answered dutifully as we walked. Disease and malnutrition are two of the greatest dangers for long voyages, even if your crew has strong vital guards. It wouldn’t make sense to overlook those needs when we were already spending glyphs on fighting off sea monsters.
Good point, I replied sheepishly.
We finished carrying everyone back on deck, and the Oceanfolk that Via had rescued earlier wept in relief to find that their family had been saved from the Horde Pit after all. Thankfully, the Atlanteans were able to take over by determining who should sleep, and where. They had been expecting to conduct rescue missions like this, and the hold had already been designed for feeding and housing fifty extra bodies. That was close to the limit of what we could carry, though, so we would have to find a safe landing place for these people to recover.
Haven, Via messaged me suddenly. I have a secret place where I’ve been harboring people. To hide them from the slavers and the Icon-killer. We need to go there.
Send directions to Gabin, and he can plot a course, I advised. We can make that our next port.
Our captain had no qualms regarding the destination, and when I inquired whether his crew would need any further assistance, he firmly rejected my offer.
We have shifts already divided for the night, my Lord Challenger, the Atlantean informed me. And though we were ghosts for a long time, we still have a lot of experience working together. You should get some sleep, my lord. This is the second group of people you’ve rescued in such a short time. And thank you.
You’re welcome, my confusion filtering through the mindlink. Gabin noted it and explained his gratitude.
You haven’t just returned my people from the grave, my lord. You gave us a chance to return to our home world, and to do so with pride. Our first actions here have been to drive off invaders and rescue the oppressed inhabitants of our native world. Thank you. For letting us return with honor. We’ll follow you wherever we go.
In that case, I affirmed, You’re welcome. And expect us to take more risks in trying to save this planet and the lives within it.
Gladly, my lord. You have a good night.
I nodded in acknowledgement and headed down to the hold.
It was surprisingly spacious, despite the modest size of our ship. There was a bunk room with healing glyphs scribed all along the walls, and Karim was currently studying them while helping the Atlantean doctor attend to the worst of the Pit victims, who were already sleeping peacefully. Beyond sending a reminder to Karim to go to bed himself eventually, I left him to his work.
I made my way into the mess area, and found Via staring at a plate of food without eating.
Not hungry? I asked Stell’s local Satellite. She looked up at me blankly, quietly mouthing words before realizing she hadn’t said anything, and hadn’t used the mindlink either.
“What?” she finally asked, then looked down and discovered the filled dish she was holding.
Now that we had more time, it was harder not to notice the woman. Even with her thousand-yard stare and her hair hanging limply all over her face, she was beautiful.
She’s exhausted, though, Teeth observed. We should fix it. How do we fix it?
Got a plan, I told him. Breena, I need your help taking care of Via. She’s about to drop.
Huh? The little fairy yawned. Oh. Right. Be right there, Wes.
The pink-haired fairy buzzed her way over to us.
Oh wow, she’s beat. You need to get her to bed, Wes, she told me. I mean, we. We need to get her to bed.
Breena grew until she was big enough to carry Via’s plate and walk with us. I looped an arm around the weary woman and gently escorted her to one of the private cabins.
“I’m fine,” Via protested, becoming a bit mo
re alert, but still looking in the wrong direction. “I just need to check on—”
“The doctors are already looking at your people, Via,” I soothed the caramel-skinned woman. “And aside from the three of us, everyone has been fed. I figured we could have a meal and little planning session right before bed.”
That was mostly a lie. I was intending to get some food in her while keeping her from passing out somewhere dangerous. But she bought my explanation anyway.
“That’s,” the beautiful Water mage paused as a yawn emerged. “That’s a really good idea. I have a lot of questions I need to ask you.”
“Sure,” I answered her. “But I’m really hungry, so we’ll have to talk while we eat. Is that okay?”
“Sure…” she said absently. “I’m starving.”
Is this what it looks like when Breena takes care of me? I wondered privately, as we steered the tired Satellite into a cabin designed for distinguished guests. It was a surprisingly comfortable space, for a ship, with two beds built into opposing walls using a mixture of metal and wood. We guided Via to one of the beds and set the food out in front of her.
“I had… questions.” she said, recalling the word after a moment. “About… what was the word… I hate English… supplies! How are your supplies?” She became a little more aware, which wasn’t the plan at all. “Stell brought some really useful grains the last time she was here. Do you have more grains? More rice, or oats?”
“I personally brought over a thousand pounds of food,” I assured the drained, beautiful woman. “And we made sure to pack a couple extra tons in the cargo hold as well. Rice and other foodstuffs. Speaking of food, you need to eat yours.” I encouraged. Then, when I saw how shakily Via’s hand held the spoon, I privately messaged Breena.
Can you help her?
Already on it, she replied. And good call on not trying to do it yourself.
She was still the size of a short human, so my fairy companion gently took the spoon from her other self and guided it to Via’s mouth. The sun-darkened, Latina-featured woman sighed but accepted Breena’s help.
“Thank you,” she told the fairy after swallowing. “And I’m sorry we fought.”
“Me, too,” Breena nodded. “It’s been hard on everyone.”
“Speaking of which,” I said as I watched the rice and meat disappear from the plate. “Is that going to be enough food for you two?”
The look on Breena’s face told me she had completely forgotten about her own plate. Which I had anticipated, to be honest.
“I can share,” Via said distractedly.
“So can I,” I replied, pulling the food from Breaker’s storage. “You two okay with pizza and scones?”
The answer I had honestly expected was, ‘Together? Hell no.’ But instead, I became the most popular guy in the room. The two ladies just chose to look at it as pizza plus dessert, or scones and dessert, in Breena’s case. After demolishing the food, Via’s mood shifted to a more serious tone.
“I’m taking a short nap, ya? But don’t get anywhere. I have questions for you.”
She leaned back, and her mindlink went silent, showing that she was already fast asleep. I didn’t blame her. Ignoring the fact that she had been dodging fireballs in open water as a one-woman ship crew for countless hours, she probably hadn’t slept in weeks, and judging by how hungry she seemed, it was likely that she also hadn’t had a decent meal in all that time.
“Alright, Wes,” Breena yawned, and then I realized she probably hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep either, due to spending so many nights checking on me. “Now that she’s knocked out, we need to check on you next. Do your insides still feel like they’re burning?”
“No,” I shook my head. “Actually, I feel pretty good right now, all things considered. That tattoo Merada gave me kicked in, so I just feel sore instead of scalded. You’re welcome to check, but I feel like I’ll be fine with a bit of rest.”
“Hmph.” Breena sniffed in disbelief as she approached me, suppressed a yawn, and then cast her divination magic. “Huh,” she remarked in mild surprise. “Well, look at that. You’re getting better on your own. Went through a whole fight without passing out.”
“Yeah,” I replied. “Hey, hold on.”
Are you just asleep, or dead? I asked Teeth.
Go away, my dragon mumbled, then fell silent.
“So yeah,” I turned to Breena. “I totally didn’t pass out back there. Hurray.”
“You’re being weird,” Breena said, tilting her head. “But you should probably,” she stopped to yawn again. “Go to sleep anyway. I can handle watching everyone.”
“Hey, Breena,” I asked, becoming more and more aware of just how tired she was, and just how many nights she had checked on me when I had nightmares. “Why don’t we all just go to sleep right now? There are two beds in here. I can crash on the other berth. You and Via can just sleep over there. If that’s okay, I mean. I can sleep on the floor, if that works better.”
The currently-tall fairy shot me an annoyed look.
“Why would you even offer to—ugh! Chivalry is so stupid on Earth! I’ll just shrink down and sleep next to Via. Good night, Wes. Don’t have any bad dreams, okay?”
“Agreed,” I told Breena. She mumbled something else, shrunk down to about half the size of a pillow, and curled up next to Via.
My tattoo still hummed with power, far more than it needed to repair my body. Through it, I felt a connection to my own bonded tree, the Kingtree of Avalon.
Crown them, the familiar voice said in my mind. And write love on their arms.
My tattoo hummed in agreement as my armband vibrated gently in response.
A surge of green power washed out the lingering taint of the Malus fire. It thrummed through my veins, demanding to be released. To reach and claim something, someone, as worthy of sacrificing for.
The purpose of a king is to crown others, the voice said in my mind. My own father’s voice echoed the sentiment: Service is strength.
I was still learning my own Gaelguard abilities, and the unique nature of my bonded tree made it difficult for others to teach me. But in this moment, the Kingtree knew what to do, all the way from Avalon. I let its power flow through me, then pour from my veins.
I closed my eyes to concentrate on the words inscribed within my tattoo.
Protect. Prevail.
I threw my focus outward, to the two tired women that had both fought so hard, for so many lives, for so many centuries.
Protect. Prevail.
Crown them.
Woadfire began to burn at my fingertips. It made no sound, except for the faintest crackles, and gave off no light, except for the faintest of glows. But it sparked across my digits like embers from a bonfire. As it left my hands, it flickered across the faces of the two women sleeping in the other berth, settling on them, and then washing over their bodies in the blink of an eye. Through the mindlink, I felt them shifting deeper into sleep, finding more rest. There had to be other changes affecting them, but I couldn’t tell yet.
And it was not enough.
I felt my perception expand to the other bodies down in the hold. Those that were in need, as well as those that had already pledged themselves to me.
Crown them. Write love on their arms.
Green fire unfurled from me like roots seeking new soil. It stretched up and down the ship, through the holes in the wood and metal. It found bodies sleeping, bodies working, bodies healing, bodies patrolling the deck above. It crawled into them, reinforcing them in ways I couldn’t decipher. But I thought I could feel that they all had gained either more rest or more energy.
And it was still not enough.
I will protect. I will prevail.
I felt more of my fire seep into the ship itself, resting there instead of travelling further. This vessel was captained by another, but it had been given to me. It was my possession and responsibility. I could not crown it like I could another person, but I must leave my mark on it, so th
at others would know upon sight that its passengers were under my protection. My desire to protect flowed through my Woadfire as it sank deep into the lumber and crawled its way into the glyphs that were bonded with this ship. I felt the vessel hum with power, even sensed some part of it try to connect with me. It failed, for reasons I could not determine, but I still felt a measure of my power merge with the ship.
And it was still not enough.
The power demanded to be used, to bless, to honor, to claim something as protected. It pulled at my perception, forcing me to keep searching for souls and territory to favor. When I told the fire that we had already claimed all the lives and land we could see, it did not believe me. It pulled on my consciousness again, forcing me to direct my attention downwards.
My mind swept outward, to the sea below, the vast darkness that my little boat rode above.
Save them, the Woadfire demanded. They cry for help.
I searched again, and my consciousness expanded. Somewhere, near the bottom of that watery expanse, were lives in need of saving.
And something great and powerful demanded that they not be safe.
My consciousness touched that of the ancient menace, and a single, burning eye reared up and glared at me. Skinless jaws opened below the water and released a piercing scream.
Please don’t step on my hand, a still-broken part of me whimpered. But it was quickly overwhelmed by the noise that followed, the buzzing chant we had heard earlier.
A single bright and burning eye,
A hate that raged and would not die,
It poisoned us, we now depart,
Nuckelavee, Nuckelavee.
To the bottom we must go,
The silent, empty halls below.
Where what is angry meets what’s mad,
Nuckelavee, Nuckelavee.
My consciousness immediately snapped back into me.
The Woadfire did not.
The unbroken places of my heart had a chant of their own, and they threw it back at the hidden monster’s face.
Lighting Distant Shores (Challenger's Call Book 4) Page 39