Aloft

by J F Rogers

  The main sail puffed with air with a loud whoosh.

  He mercifully averted his gaze to the horizon. “Why are you wearing a selkie dress?”

  “It’s easier to carry when I’m in bird form. And it’s waterproof.”

  He frowned at the reminder of what I was about to do. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”

  My brothers appeared over our shoulders donning the dresslike tunics the selkie wore. I snickered. More practical, yes, but oh so hilarious.

  Declan glared at me.

  Alastar snarled. “Shut your gob.”

  I gave them my most innocent look. “I didn’t say anything.”

  Declan smacked Kai’s back. “Don’t worry. We’ll take care of her. I’ve a good many months perfecting sneaking around. These two just need to follow my lead.”

  Spoken like a real older brother… even if it had only been by minutes. But it was true. Somehow, as a golden eagle—a giant bird—he’d followed me from the megalith, snuck on board two ships, stole food, flew into my room, and never got caught… well, other than by Valter. But no one believed him.

  Valter. So sad. He could’ve had a better life. At least he believed at his heroic end. He was in paradise now.

  “Not to worry.” Alastar pushed his way in. “The selkie and the ships will provide ample distraction. They’ll never see us coming.” He must’ve misread my mourning of Valter’s wasted life.

  But I wasn’t concerned about us. Not really. I feared for the selkie. But, even if they weren’t believers, they joined us in God’s mission. He would protect them. Right?

  Declan raised his hand. “Ji Ah!”

  Great. Just what I needed.

  The boys waved her over. A smile overtook her face, and she waved like a little girl as she hopped. The crowd parted for her, and she bounded to us, reminding me of Stacy.

  No. I could not allow myself to like her.

  Alastar and Declan gushed as Kai advanced with a scowl. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m a nurse, remember? They’ll need me if anyone is injured. Don’t worry.” She punched his shoulder. “I’ll stay on the ship until it’s safe.” She shook her head and held up a hand beside her mouth, as if speaking only to me, but loud enough for everyone to hear. “He’s so protective.” She rolled her eyes at him.

  I glared at the nymph.

  We left the harbor. The sun set, the sky darkened, and the air grew chilly. What day was it? I’d lost track. It must be September by now. The days were growing cooler. Though the selkie dress felt like nothing, the miraculous material kept my core warm. The wind swirled my hair, chilling my neck. I shivered.

  “Are you cold?” Kai stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around me. “This better?”

  Something within me wanted to resist, but Ji Ah was watching. “Yes.” I pulled his arms tighter. “Much.”

  He rested his chin on my head.

  Why did it take the threat of another girl to make me stop pushing Kai away? What was I doing? How many times had we almost kissed? We spent so much time together—it was as if we were dating already. What was this push-and-pull thing I was doing? Why did I resist?

  Because we were headed into war. I might lose him.

  I shivered again and fought the urge to push him away.

  Pinpricks of lights emerged along the horizon. The stronghold.

  “Positions!” General Seung yelled.

  The selkie men wearing nothing but tunics and swords lined up along both sides of the two ships.

  “Go!” the general ordered.

  They jumped from the ship, transformed into seals midair, and dove into the sea. They shot ahead and disappeared. Apparently, seals could swim faster than this ship could sail.

  The rest of the fighters, those who didn’t transform into seals, flooded the deck from below.

  “Are you ready?” Declan looked to Alastar and me.

  If only it were so easy for us to transform, then reappear clothed. We’d have to carry our clothes and hope we didn’t get skewered midflight.

  “We need to go now if we’re to stay out of sight.” Declan tucked his arms into his tunic and transformed into a golden eagle. Alastar freed Declan from the material.

  This was the closest I’d ever been to Declan in his bird form. He was massive. As if he knew I was checking out his impressive size, he spread his wings. His wingspan was wider than my height.

  “Okay, you can stop showing off.” Could he understand me with Drochaid?

  He tucked his wings and hopped on his massive legs from his clothes. Alastar shoved Declan’s tunic inside a bag.

  Alastar changed next. I’d never seen him in his owl form. The markings around his eyes made them appear huge though they were tiny. And his face was flat. Declan and I looked like real birds with eyes on both sides of our heads. Alastar’s were close together on the front making him look grumpy. I laughed, and he looked grumpier still.

  I stuffed Alastar’s shirt into his bag. Then I slid my own pack to the deck. “Guess I’m next.”

  “Wait.” Kai snatched my arm, tugged me close, and kissed my forehead. He released me. His intense gaze bore into my soul. “Come back to me.”

  A moment passed as I regained my senses. I nodded, then turned to my brothers, grateful they couldn’t speak and birds didn’t have facial expressions. Ji Ah stood frozen, her hands covering half her face. Her shock was clear in the way her eyes formed perfect Os. But I couldn’t read her beyond that. Shocked and disappointed? Shocked and happy? Or just shocked?

  I couldn’t concern myself with any of that now. It was just a kiss on the forehead. Did that mean something more in their culture? Didn’t matter. I needed to focus on the mission. Lives were at stake. I transformed into a falcon. He stuffed my clothes into my pack along with Drochaid.

  “Chan fhaca mi a shamhail anns na thig is na thàinig.” He smiled.

  I ruffled my feathers and attempted to throw him an unimpressed look.

  “Tha mi duilich.”

  “Kak!”

  Kai laughed and pressed a finger to his lips. Then he patted my head, and I ducked.

  Declan squawked. Alastar and I hopped over to him. I’d never stood beside another bird. As a great gray owl, Alastar was bigger than me, but Declan towered over both of us as a golden eagle. More than double my size. How in the world did he sneak anywhere?

  He spread his imposing wings and cinched his bag with his talons. Kai backed up to give him room. Declan fanned us with gusts of wind as he lifted, his colossal legs dangling as he climbed. Alastar and I snagged our packs and took to the sky with ease. We overtook Declan in seconds.

  Declan flew to the left of the island, circumnavigating it and staying low, close to the water’s surface. Alastar and I flanked him. I swooped too low, and my pack dipped into the water. I climbed, hoping I hadn’t soaked everything. Not that it mattered. Everything would be drenched soon enough, but not the selkie dress. It was impenetrable. Liquids slid right off, like water off a duck’s back.

  We kept the island to our right. Declan’s wings occasionally skimmed the ocean. He seemed to be giving it all he had but staying behind him was challenging. Even gliding I had more speed. And I couldn’t drift too much unless I felt like swimming.

  I kept losing sight of Alastar. He struggled to follow Declan too. Times like these it must be nice to be an owl. His night vision must be incredible. But, with his eyes in front, he couldn’t have the peripheral Declan and I had.

  When we passed the island, we banked a sharp right to approach its backside. I couldn’t hear anything. The seals must not have arrived yet. When we weren’t far from shore, Declan plummeted into the water with a big splash. Alastar and I dove underwater after him. I transformed, removed Drochaid, placed it around my neck, and threw on the selkie dress. Whatever this wonder material was, it made changing underwater a less painful task. Jeans would’ve been a nightmare.

  I followed Decla
n and Alastar to shore. My feet slipped on algae-covered rocks, and barnacles pricked my toes. I picked my feet up and swam instead. An image of the fasgadair ships I’d burned came to mind. What if a fasgadair lingered under here, drowning and regenerating over and over again? My heart beat quickening, I paddled faster.

  Wait. They’d be on the other side of the island. And if I could stand, so could they. They shouldn’t drown at this depth.

  I slowed my pace and laughed at myself.

  But what if there’s a shark? Two notes rang through my mind… Da da.

  I chanced touching the nastiness below and used my legs to propel me faster through the water as the Jaws theme song chased me. Once the water only came up to my thighs, I relaxed.

  They headed toward shore, and I followed. When we were knee-deep, a shadow crossed the beach.

  “Get ready.” Declan edged closer.

  “What—”

  A fasgadair materialized before us.

  Chapter Nineteen

  ◊◊◊

  DECLAN AND ALASTAR GRASPED my hands, but no flames appeared. The fasgadair clutched Declan’s neck and sunk his teeth into his flesh. Alastar punched the thing’s side. It released Declan and roared, its eyes glowing in the moonlight, then leapt for Alastar. The demon stopped short and clutched its throat. A gurgling rose as he fell into the water and writhed like a sea serpent.

  “Grab him!” I yelled. “Pull him out or he’ll drown.”

  Alastar and Declan eyed each other as if thinking it might be a good idea to let him die before grabbing an armpit and dragging the demon to the beach. Once all but the beast’s feet were on dry land, they dropped it. The monster stilled and turned to dust.

  We must be downwind. I never even smelled the thing. Could they smell us? Nothing else moved on the beach. “I hope we didn’t show up on this island with no weapons and no triplet fire.” I pulled my sopping hair, wrung it out, and flipped it behind me. Maybe the water would cover our scent.

  Declan pressed his bloodstained collar against his wound. We needed his hands free… assuming we could create the fire. He needed to keep applying pressure. I stopped in front of him and snatched his hand away, leaning in in the darkness. “Let me see.”

  When he released the pressure, blood flowed from the twin piercings.

  “Rub dirt in it.” Alastar scooped a handful of mud.

  “What? You’re actual—”

  Alastar dipped his fingers in the mud and scrubbed it on Declan’s wound.

  “Okay…?”

  “Good idea. Thanks.” Declan winced. He eyed me. “You’ve never put dirt in a wound? It helps. And it will act like a bandage.”

  Yeah. That was a new one on me. But whatever. It should help mask the smell too.

  “Let’s try again.” Declan ushered us up the beach where the fire was less likely to be spotted. “I’m hoping it just doesn’t work when we’re standing in water.”

  Please let this work. I clutched Alastar’s damp hand then Declan’s. We connected, and the fire ignited.

  Thank You, God.

  I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until I let it out.

  We broke contact, and the flames disappeared.

  “We shouldn’t meet another fasgadair on this side of the island,” Alastar said. “But stay close, just in case.”

  Declan led us across the rocky surface to crouch behind the shrubbery. Clashing metal sounded. We ducked behind shrubs, peeking over them, but we were still too far to see.

  He motioned us to follow as he dashed over the dunes to the next thicket. We caught up and paused as he spied the situation. He crouched back down. “The selkie are here. Follow my lead. When I say now, we’ll link hands.” His eyes widened. “Ready?”

  Not really. But Alastar and I both nodded.

  We ran toward the fight.

  “Grab hold!” Declan reached behind as he jogged in front, facing forward. Alastar reached for me as well. I grasped both their hands. The moment Alastar connected with Declan, the triplet fire shot up, and we rushed into the skirmish, sneaking up behind a Fasgadair swinging his sword at a selkie and melting the beast. The selkie tipped his head and moved to the next fasgadair. We came up on two more unawares before the remaining fasgadair kept their distance.

  Arrows skewered fasgadair from archers arriving in longboats. Felled fasgadair cut with swords without redeemed blood began to regenerate. Our men from the dinghies took advantage of their weakened state and pierced them with blood-tipped swords. We were winning.

  Still, many selkie lay dead or dying on the rocky coast, just as I feared.

  When no fasgadair remained on the shore, we approached the wooden gate and set it aflame. Kai and others stormed across the beach with a battering ram they brought on a dinghy. They rammed the door three times. The weakened wood splintered. The fourth stab left a gash wide enough to push through. Fortunately, everything surrounding the flaming gate was stone or sand.

  Cahal knocked more of the splintered wood with his battle-axe. Wolf peered through.

  “No!” I called. Was the fool about to enter on his own? And he lectured me for running into danger?

  He winked at me, then disappeared through the hole. What a hypocrite. The flame flared again.

  Moments later, the remains of the door lifted. We passed underneath, watching out for falling, flaming debris.

  “It’s empty.” I pointed out the obvious.

  “Looks like they were outside, waiting for us. But let’s spread out in groups and check the entire stronghold, including the underground passages.” Wolf waved us forward. “Keep the redeemed in front in case you come across fasgadair.”

  The redeemed. So, the name for restored fasgadair had stuck. I liked it.

  Declan released us, and the fire vanished. “Stay close.”

  “I’ll go anywhere but the tunnels.” I wasn’t as likely to have a panic attack without the droves of escapees sucking up my air supply like last time. And they were roomier than the pech tunnels. But why not let someone without claustrophobia make sure they’re clear?

  Declan nodded. “We’ll check the upper rooms.”

  Alastar and I followed him up the stairs. We checked the room where God restored King Aleksander’s health after seven years in a coma. Kagan’s potions still littered his room. Was it possible Valter had stolen one and killed Kagan with his own poison?

  Next, we inspected the room I’d shared with Rowan. The bag I used to stow her in peeked out under the bed. I examined the contents. A pair of jeans and a T-shirt covered with raccoon fur and my journal. I pulled it out and kissed it. My words weren’t lost forever. I shoved it back into the pack and hugged it to my chest and practically bounced back to my brothers.

  “Find something good?” Alastar raised an eyebrow, making one purple eye large.

  “Yes. I thought I’d lost it forever.” I squeezed it closer.

  “Put it over your shoulder. We need your hands free.” Declan stuck his head behind a tapestry and knocked on the wall. “This room looks clear.”

  I threw the pack over my shoulder.

  We returned to the hallway and continued checking the rooms. The final chamber had a small door. Declan ushered us toward it. He eased it open to keep it from squeaking. We tiptoed up the stairs to a covered landing that opened to a path. A half wall shadowed the outside edge while a full wall towered over the other. We crept along the path to the backside of the stronghold. It was too dark to see much beyond the trees, but the sea rippled in the moonlight.

  Keeping low, Declan spied around a corner. He waved us forward to an identical path and still no door in the high wall. We rounded the next corner. The carnage on the beach was visible in the firelight below. And in the path’s center, we came to a door.

  Declan motioned for us to huddle on the opposite side behind him, so he could pull the door open and keep us close. He inched the door forward. The door flew open, smacking his forehead. W
e fell like dominoes, Declan into Alastar, then Alastar into me, landing in a pile with a fasgadair looming over us.

  Chapter Twenty

  ◊◊◊

  THE FASGADAIR WRAPPED A meaty claw around Declan’s neck and lifted him off his feet. Alastar grasped Declan’s arm as he stood, then groped for me. I grasped Alastar’s outstretched hand, scrambled to stand, then reached around Alastar and latched onto Declan’s arm too. Declan and I connected, and fire burst forth. The fasgadair’s teeth loomed inches from Declan’s neck. Its arm melted, the rest of its body followed within seconds. Declan dropped to the ground, pulling me and Alastar down, breaking our connection.

  Crouching, Declan raised his hands behind him, ready for us to grab hold should we need as we entered. The room appeared clear. We relaxed as we inspected the space, searching the walls for any signs of a secret passageway.

  “You won’t find anything over there.” Declan tapped the stones along the wall to the right.

  “What makes you think there’s a passageway on your side?” I asked.

  “You can tell.” He returned to the doorway. “The door is in the center of the path surrounding this room. But see how the room is shorter on this side? There’s something here. Probably a stairwell.”

  “If that’s true, let me check the rest of the outside wall before we descend to make sure the top level is secure.” Alastar made his way toward the exit.

  “By yourself?” I asked. “Are you crazy?”

  Alastar pressed a finger to his lips and slipped out the door. Declan held the door as I peeked out to watch Alastar shimmy along the wall. He peered around the next corner and disappeared.

  “Alastar!” I yelled in a hushed voice.

  “Hold this.” Declan released the door.

  I caught it before it slammed against me. “What are you doing?” These guys would get us killed. Or me. I glanced back at the passageway. Had it moved? Or was I being paranoid? I sniffed the air. No electric scent.

  “Fallon!” My blood stopped in its tracks. Alastar.