Daughters of Fire & Sea

by Holly Karlsson

  Elaina swore inside her head. How could she reach Eleden if they couldn’t get to Yanessa? They couldn’t wait for the Sireni to leave. What if they started up the beach? She could fight two, but not an entire squad.

  “We have to go back north,” Runa said, staring up the beach.

  Kell paled.

  “Thenda?” Lyric asked.

  Elaina swore again, this time out loud. “Yes,” she said. “We don’t have a choice. We can’t stay here and wait for them to leave. I won’t risk fighting them. We’ll go back to where we camped, get as much food as we can, and go north.”

  “Is it safe? Walking up the Shore?” Lyric asked. She looked at Kell, who blinked and looked down at her.

  “It will be dangerous,” he said. “The Taint has poisoned the water. There are no cities or places to get supplies. We might find shelter and food, some people stayed, but I don’t know.”

  “Are there other dangers?” Runa asked. “Besides the Taint itself?”

  “I’ve never seen one, but I’ve heard of creatures in the dark,” Kell said, eyes catching on Elaina.

  Her face paled. She’d forgotten.

  “I don’t know what they are,” Kell continued. “Maybe animals twisted by the Taint? They are dangerous.”

  Elaina nodded. They’d have to chance running into one. Better odds than the visible threat south. “We need to be vigilant.” She glanced back at the dune. “We should go before they come this way. We need to get as far north as we can, camp before we reach the Taint. I don’t want to come across it in the dark.” Or the creatures, she thought.

  She’d have to think about Kell and Lyric another time. Right now, Elaina had to focus her full attention on keeping them all alive.

  11

  Kell

  Dread filled Kell’s stomach like rot, growing stronger with every step north, every step home. It was odd how he still thought of Thenda as home after all these years, after leaving it all behind. Despite what’d been taken, what he’d lost, walking the Shore’s black sand filled his mind with sentimental memories.

  As a child, he’d worked hard alongside his mother and father, fishing the Sea of Screams that thundered harshly against their eastern border, but even with their struggles, he remembered light and laughter. He couldn’t recall a single day when he’d wished he was somewhere else. He hadn’t learned to sing in the Radiant Hall as his professors claimed, but around evening bonfires on the beach as he made up stories with his mother, Triska.

  Raised by Triska and Jiri, Kell hadn’t dwelled on his origin or worried about the parents who’d marked him and gave him up. His new family loved him, and with the foolishness of a child, he’d assumed they’d be together forever.

  Storm clouds gathered overhead, shifting across the graying sky as though drawn by Kell’s mood, by his fear. The waves, whipped into a frenzy by a ferocious wind, crashed against the beach as though seeking to destroy it.

  Walking beside him, Lyric bumped against his body as the wind shoved her sideways. Kell shifted her to his other side, away from the sea, trying to offer her some protection from it.

  Lyric smiled, squinting as hair lashed across her face, and held her hood close. Pulled from his dark thoughts by the look in her eyes, Kell smiled back and put an arm around her shoulders. Together they struggled against the wind.

  Go back, he wanted to say. Go south. Slip past the Sireni. You can return home. The people needed her there, in Elae’s Hollow; she could have a good life, a safe life. He looked away, feeling selfish as he kept his plea to himself.

  As the day passed, Kell watched for the Taint to appear, his eyes straining as they walked, but the Shore continued barren and unblemished. The western dunes were slowly replaced by craggy, sandstone cliffs, creeping higher and higher as they followed alongside them, the tops dotted with scraggly bushes and twisted trees. The cliffs were steep, and the soft dirt easily gave way, preventing attempts to climb them.

  “Where is the Taint?” Lyric asked.

  Yes, Kell thought. Where —

  His thought evaporated as he stared at the ocean, tripping over his own feet. Lungs tight, refusing to draw breath, Kell gave a strangled cry. They’d found it. Floating atop the rolling, dark blue waves were scummy patches of green algae, poisoned by the Taint.

  “It’s there,” Kell said. His voice sounded unfamiliar. “Don’t touch anything.”

  “What happens if you do?” Runa asked.

  Kell looked at her, catching her eyes. “It seeps beneath your skin, melting, and burning. Your blood turns black. There’s no coming back once the Taint has touched you. I don’t know how the night creatures survive it.”

  Lyric grabbed Kell’s hand. Her fingers were tight around his, her skin clammy.

  Go back, Kell thought. He looked at her, eyes imploring, but he couldn’t bring himself to voice the words. Despite the risk to her, to her family, he wanted her with him. I’m selfish and horrible. I’ll never deserve you.

  “Walk carefully,” Elaina cautioned, unaware of Kell’s inner conflict.

  Kell squeezed Lyric’s hand, and they moved closer behind Elaina and Runa. He watched the water as they walked. Carried onto the beach by the waves, numerous clumps of green algae stained the sand, smelly and clotted like day-old porridge. It became impossible to walk in a straight line as they carefully stepped around algae, dead fish and crabs, their bodies covered in wet black sludge.

  When they came across the bloated corpse of a seal, Lyric pressed a hand over her mouth and turned away. The smell of rot filled the air, making it uncomfortable to breathe.

  “It hasn’t gotten better,” Kell said. His voice was hollow and bleaker than he’d intended.

  “Has it spread? Gotten worse?” Lyric asked.

  “I don’t know,” Kell said. “I’d thought it might die out or sink beneath the waves.”

  “It’s drifted farther into the sea,” Elaina said, looking out at the ocean. “I saw it on Eleden’s ship.”

  “Why hasn’t it spread to Raendashar or south where we camped?” Runa asked. “Why does it stay here?”

  “I don’t know,” Elaina said, her face grim. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  Dread returned to Kell’s stomach, and he tugged Lyric closer, drawing strength from her presence. He glanced left, over the top of her head and saw that the cliffs had changed, the sandstone shifting to a darker, harder stone. The rock towered over them, casting shadows on the beach that seemed to worsen the stench of decay. Kell could see green veining running through it, oozing as if the rock had melted like sun-warmed butter.

  Memories of pain, confusion, and horror tickled his mind, and Kell shoved it down, trying not to think of anything; trying not to open the door inside his head.

  “What do we do when night falls?” Runa asked. Her red hair glinted as she glanced back at them, tracking Lyric’s progress with her hawk-like eyes.

  “Maybe there’s an abandoned building ahead,” Kell said. “A fisherman’s shed that hasn’t yet been destroyed by the Taint.”

  “I pray we find something soon,” Lyric murmured beside him.

  It was early evening when Kell saw the first abandoned city. Cut into the cliffs the houses were stacked atop each other, rising towers into the darkening sky. Jagged and broken as they were, the buildings reminded him of the points of a damaged crown.

  Staircases that’d once led up from the sand into the bottom balconies had crumbled away. Whole terraces had melted into each other, the rock dripping from one house to the next like candle wax. Windows, set into the green-veined stone, gaped empty and black. The green rot was everywhere, winding through the chiseled stone like a network of vines.

  “Kratho,” Kell breathed. “This was Kratho.” Though hours south of Salta, where the devastating event that’d released the Taint had occurred, Kratho hadn’t escaped the horror. Kell had heard stories of stone cracking, erupting, people screaming and dying. “It was like the wind carried it down the length of the Shore. It was
in the sand —”

  Pain lanced across his throat, and Kell reached for it, instantly clearing his mind. The tattoo squeezed like a fist around his neck.

  Lyric, sensing his distress, helped steer him around chunks of melted stone in the sand. "Are you all right?” she asked quietly. Her hand was warm on his arm.

  Kell saw the face of his mother. She was screaming, reaching — “No,” Kell said.

  Lyric slipped her arm around his waist and pressed her head against his arm.

  “There!” Runa yelled ahead of them. “A light!”

  Kell looked up, relief flooding through him. He could see a fishing cottage lit by a single orb lantern. Encircled by a balcony, the house was raised high above the waves on reinforced stilts of metal and wood.

  “Someone’s there,” Kell said as he stared at the light. He was surprised someone was still living here, especially after what they’d seen. How were they surviving?

  The door opened as they drew close, and a woman stepped out onto the platform. She leaned against the railing, watching them.

  “By Ethethera’s Name, safety and food to you on this dark night,” she called. Her voice rasped unpleasantly like a knife against stone. “It’s not safe to be out in the dark. Please, come share my firelight.” She shifted back and lowered a ladder, gesturing at them to join her.

  “Can we trust her?” Lyric asked hesitantly; her voice pitched low. “She’s not a … a creature is she, in disguise? Like the Flesh Eater?”

  “No,” Kell said, with more confidence than he felt. That’d be impossible, wouldn’t it? Flesh Eaters didn’t exist outside the Veil, and the creatures that terrorized the Shore were incapable of changing themselves. “No, the creatures here don’t pretend to be human,” Kell said. “I’m sure we’re safer with her than out on the beach. Thendians are always kind to travelers, at least that was our way.”

  “I sense no danger,” Elaina said cryptically. She stepped onto the ladder first, climbing gracefully to the platform above.

  Kell, following behind Lyric, tried to let Runa go ahead of him, but she waved him away with a snort. He stepped up to the ladder and put his foot on the bottom rung, steadying it as Lyric climbed. He could see poisoned algae floating in the water nearby and scattered across the sand, but there was nothing directly beneath the woman’s house. The water and sand were clear, as though it’d been swept clean.

  Kell studied the pillars, holding up the woman’s home, and was relieved to see they were undamaged by the Taint. How did she do it? How did she prevent it from crumbling like Kratho?

  Lyric called down to him, and Kell climbed up the ladder, his eyes moving across the beach. He looked for movement in the darkness but saw nothing. At the top of the ladder, Kell stepped onto the wide balcony and moved to the side where Lyric was waiting. He smiled at her, brushing a strand of hair off her cheek, and then turned to look at the woman.

  Tall and thin, she wore worn, gray trousers and a simple blouse with long sleeves. She was old, maybe eighty cycles, but her spine was straight, and her pale blue eyes clear as she studied each of them in turn.

  Once Runa joined them on the platform, the old woman quickly pulled up the ladder with surprising speed and strength. She waved away Kell’s offer of help and folding it up, tied the ladder to the railing.

  “I’m Meara,” the woman said, straightening. Crossing to the door, she wrenched it open and gestured for them to enter. “A storm’s on its way. Please, come inside.”

  The fishing cottage was warm, heated by an old, black stove in one corner and lit by two lanterns hanging on the wall. Besides the door they entered through, there was another closed door facing the cliffs, that presumably lead to a bedroom.

  A rocking chair sat next to the stove with a shabby gray blanket draped across one arm. Bracketed by two plank benches, a battered wood table sat in the center of the room. A handful of bird bones lay scattered across its surface and Kell drifted closer to look.

  Was Meara casting bones? Kell wondered, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. He watched her clear the bones from the table and walk past a tall cabinet. Kell's eyes dropped to an old chest sitting beside it on the floor. Scratched glass orbs, a familiar dark green, balanced atop the closed lid. A coiled fishing net rested on the plank floor beside it. The items were familiar and reminded him of his life before, of his father.

  Swallowing, Kell spun away, nearly hitting Lyric with his arm as he looked for something else to focus on. His eyes found the windows, and he stared at the waxed gray paper tacked across the openings. The shutters were closed, but he could still hear the wind howling outside and the rush of water rolling beneath his feet, far below.

  “Sit,” Meara said, somewhere behind him.

  Kell felt Lyric gently touch his back, and he turned around. She’d set her pack on the floor against the wall, along with Elaina and Runa, so Kell did the same before sitting down beside her at the table.

  Elaina introduced them, first names only, as Meara pulled cups from a shelf near the stove. She took the cups when the old woman handed them to her, along with a plate of freshly-baked hand pies, and set both on the table.

  Meara grabbed a kettle from the stove and raised it with a questioning look. “Tea?” she asked, her eyes moving between them.

  Kell nodded, and Lyric, Runa, and Elaina murmured their grateful assent.

  Once she’d served them, Meara seated herself in the rocking chair with a long sigh. “My bones are old,” she said, smiling. She reached for a cup of tea she’d poured for herself and left on the edge of the stove. “I feel the storms more strongly now than in years past,” Meara said. She caught a glance between Lyric and Runa, who were considering the hand pies, and laughed, her eyes crinkling.

  “Don’t worry,” Meara said. “The pies are filled with bird flesh from the gulls that fly the skies. It’s not the softest of meats, but it’s clean, free of the Taint, and it fills your belly.”

  “My mother made gull pie a few times,” Kell said, “when fishing was bad.” He reached for a hand pie and took a bite, chewing slowly, thinking about the taste and not his mother.

  “Ah,” Meara said, “I thought you had the look of a brine-born boy.” Something dark and lost filled her eyes and Kell’s pain surged in response. Meara understood. She’d lost someone here too.

  Lyric picked up a hand pie and took a tentative bite. “It’s spicy!” she declared with surprise.

  “Yes.” Meara’s eyes twinkled. “Helps hide the taste of the gulls. Good for digestion too. So.” She glanced between them, her eyes settling on Elaina. “What brings you to Thenda? Hunting for treasure?”

  Kell thought Meara gave him a quick look of disapproval. Did she think he was helping them loot their dead?

  “If scavenging is your game,” Meara continued, “I should warn you, no one who’s entered our lost cities has come back out again.” She eyed their packs, piled against the wall. “Though, it doesn’t look like you’re prepared for much of an expedition.”

  “No, we’re just passing through,” Elaina said. “We’re on our way to Raendashar.”

  “Ah,” Meara said. “Visiting family? I’d wager you’re not merchants, as you’re traveling quite light.”

  “Yes,” Elaina said. Her face was relaxed, unthreatening. “Family.”

  Meara nodded, eyeing her. “You came from the south? It would have been easier and safer to travel inland along the Northern Road, or buy passage on a Sireni ship … though I suppose they don’t stop in Raendasharan ports anymore.”

  “Did they ever?” Lyric asked, curiously.

  “Occasionally,” Meara said. “Trade agreements have been attempted before despite the war. Did you know, they once ruled together on the Council of Men? I’d speculate that the tension between them is what caused the Council’s dissolution in the first place.” She studied Elaina as if expecting an impassioned rebuttal.

  “We had no choice but to head north on this route,” Elaina said.

&
nbsp; Meara seemed a tad disappointed by Elaina’s response and raised her cup beneath her nose. “Oh?” she said.

  Elaina smiled placidly and sipped her tea. “We were surprised and relieved to come upon your light,” she said. “Are there others who still live along the Shore like you?”

  “A handful,” Meara said, “but we’ve had bad storms lately. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve all moved on by now.”

  “How do you keep the Taint away from your pillars?” Kell asked. “I noticed there’s no trace of algae beneath your house.”

  “Ah,” Meara said, eyes crinkling. “I’ve learned a few spells over the years. I have to regularly clear the sand and strip the algae from the water beneath the house. It’s ceaseless work, but if I were to stop, I’d soon lose my home. If the algae touches the pillars, it will rot through in a matter of days.”

  “And the night creatures?” Lyric asked. “They don’t bother you?”

  Meara pursed her lips. “They sometimes come, scratching and moaning, like ghosts outside my walls, but they’ve yet to tear through the wood.” She glanced at Elaina. “They eat magic, you know.”

  “Spells?” Lyric asked, eyes wide.

  Meara nodded. “They enjoy flesh too. Best to avoid them.”

  Lyric set down her half-eaten pie.

  “Why stay?” Runa asked. Though her brows furrowed in an unnerving way, her eyes gleamed with curiosity.

  “I lost my family here,” Meara said. The wrinkles in her face seemed fathomless as her smile slipped away. “They’re gone, but I can’t leave them.” She shrugged, her eyes finding Kell. “I’m old, and I’ve lived a full life; witnessed many sunrises and sunsets. Slept through some storms here that’d blow you across the continent if you weren’t tied down.” Meara chuckled and looked down at her hands.

  “Do you ever travel to Raendashar?” Elaina asked. “For supplies?”

  Meara nodded. “Yes, once or twice a season to supplement the food I get from the sky. But I only go to Ivernn on the border.” Meara grimaced. “The land is too hot, too sharp. The Sea is different there. The wind screams at the land as though carrying the Sireni’s voices, amplifying their displeasure.