by Hylton, PT
Abbey realized what this was—it was Dustin’s Testing.
They were standing in the shadows under a dock, so there was a chance the men hadn’t spotted her yet. She glanced back to Dustin. He was already on his feet, running toward them.
Abbey’s eyes turned black again, and she reached out with one more bit of magic.
Dustin stumbled and fell forward, landing on his face in the sand in full sight of the Storm Callers.
“Serves you right, asshole.” Abbey stifled a chuckle as she went back to her cart.
Chapter Four
Dustin stood alone outside the Magistrate’s office. He gazed out the window at the sea. They were on the fourth level, and he had an excellent view of the breaks. Testing Rock was under water now, but he fixed his eyes on the spot where he knew it was submerged.
Damn that girl.
If Abbey hadn’t interfered, he would have made it back to shore. He knew he would have. Granted, he’d been struggling a little. And, yes, he’d swallowed a bit of seawater, but what Storm Caller hadn’t at some point? He was chosen by the sea. His storm magic was proof of that. There was no way the sea would have let him drown.
Thankfully, no one had seen Abbey help him. Although the Storm Callers had been watching from their place up on the wall, their view had been obscured by the docks. For all they knew, Dustin had made it through on his own, if just barely.
Now, the Storm Callers and the stormship captains—the ones who were in port, anyway—were gathered in the Magistrate’s office discussing his placement. Having passed the Testing, he knew he’d get a spot, but not all stormships were created equal. The highest among them spent their time fighting Barskall Warriors along Kaldfell’s western coast. Some of them even performed raids in Barskall territories from time to time. The lowliest ships, on the other hand, patrolled the fishing and trading routes, calming the seas and dispelling any storms that endangered the fishermen and traders.
In Dustin’s mind, those two types of ships shouldn’t even share the same name. The ones who fought Barskall were warriors. The others were little more than babysitters. Dustin had spent the last twelve years on ships that protected trade routes, and he was ready to see the other kind. War-bound stormships didn’t take apprentices.
The door to the Magistrate’s office opened, and Harald, Dustin’s mentor, stuck his head out. He had a thick beard that hung to his chest, and his brownish-blond hair was a mess of uncombed tangles. He was a man accustomed to life at sea.
“We’re ready for you, boy.” As always, Harald’s eyes were unreadable. The vibrant, blue-green tint didn’t help, but there was coldness in those eyes that hid whatever emotion lived behind them. Harald had spent many years hunting the Barskall before he’d agreed to take on an apprentice. Perhaps all the fighting had hardened him.
The older man turned and walked back into the office. Dustin quickly followed.
Six stormship captains sat on one side of the table, four male and two female. The Storm Callers sat on the other side. Dustin recognized most of them, but not all. With so many ships coming and going from Holdgate all the time, it was impossible to know everyone.
Dustin did his best not to glare at the old Storm Caller who’d rowed him out to Testing Rock, but he wasn’t entirely successful. The man had almost drowned him, after all.
The Magistrate sat at the head of the table. He was the only man present without a beard, and he wore his long, white hair pulled back in a thick braid.
His was a strange position. Storm captains and Storm Callers held the highest status in Holdgate, and they appointed a Magistrate to oversee the day-to-day operations of Holdgate and to mediate any conflicts between them. He was both the leader of the city and an employee of the people who controlled the stormships.
Technically, any citizen of Holdgate could bring a grievance to the Magistrate, but most knew better than to do so. He was a busy man, and he didn’t appreciate his time being wasted. A citizen who asked for a ruling from the Magistrate was just as likely to end up in a cell themselves as they were to have their problem solved.
The Magistrate nodded at Dustin as he entered. The man’s bushy eyebrows seemed to wiggle of their own accord when he moved his head.
He didn’t offer Dustin the open chair at the foot of the table, so Dustin stood, silently waiting.
On the table in front of him lay a long, twisted staff, and a blue cloak. The symbols of a Storm Caller.
“First, I’d like to offer you congratulations on behalf of Holdgate,” the Magistrate said. “You’ve passed the Testing. You are now a Storm Caller.”
Dustin couldn’t keep the smile from leaping onto his face. His chest swelled with pride. He’d done it.
The Magistrate raised a finger. “However, the Testing was not without its challenges. You didn’t calm the waters completely. Swimming in those waters was a risky move. The fact that you made it to shore is a testament to your strength, but not necessarily your Storm Calling abilities.”
The smile melted off Dustin’s face, and his cheeks grew hot with embarrassment.
Harald pointed at the Magistrate. “Or it shows his strong connection with the sea. She didn’t drown him, after all.”
The Magistrate waved the statement away. “You’ve made yourself clear, Harald, and your dedication to your apprentice is admirable. But we’ve made our decision.” He turned back to Dustin. “We know you want to be placed on a ship headed northwest to fight Barskall.”
Dustin nodded fiercely. “Yes, sir. Very much so.”
“We believe that your skill makes you a candidate for such a placement. However, your performance in the Testing shows you’re not ready.”
Dustin’s knees suddenly felt weak. This couldn’t be happening. Just this morning he’d been so sure he was going to get a placement on one of the best ships.
He started to object, but the Magistrate silenced him with a raised hand.
“We’ve come up with a rather elegant solution. The Storm Caller from The Foggy Day is being moved to another stormship. You’ll replace him.”
Dustin blinked hard. The Foggy Day? He’d never even heard of that ship.
“The Foggy Day has a flexible placement, meaning they spend most of their time protecting fishing vessels, but they head northwest when more help is needed there. You’ll be able to hone your skills while still getting the occasional taste of war. Roy will be your captain.”
He gestured down the table toward a short, balding man in his late thirties. “Hiya.”
Dustin fought hard to keep the grimace off his face. This man was to be his captain? He looked like he ought to be running a tavern rather than a stormship.
“I hope you’re ready for action,” Roy continued. “We’re heading out in the morning. A fishing ship’s been missing off the southern coast for a few weeks, and we’ve been assigned to track her down.”
The southern coast. Exactly the opposite of where he wanted to be. Great.
He swallowed hard, making sure his anger was in check before he spoke. “Thank you for the opportunity. I look forward to working with you, Roy.”
“That’s the spirit!” The Magistrate clapped his hands together. “Now, the good part. We have a staff and cloak to present to you.”
Dustin stepped forward, his chin thrust out. He’d make this work. He had to. If they wanted him to babysit fishermen, he’d be the best damn fisherman babysitter they’d ever seen. He’d earn his place in the war yet.
A clap of thunder roared through the air. It was so powerful it made the table shake. All eyes went toward the window. The sky was blue and nearly clear of clouds. That could only mean one thing.
The Magistrate slapped his hand on the table in excitement. “They’re back!”
An excited murmur ran through the room. Thunderclap always announced itself when it returned to Holdgate.
The rest of the ceremony went quickly. Most of the captains and Storm Callers seemed distracted. Dustin didn’t take it personall
y. He wanted to get down to the docks as much as the rest of them did.
The most powerful ship in the Holdgate fleet had returned.
* * *
The group made its way down to the docks after the ceremony. Dustin walked among them, truly a peer with the other Storm Callers for the first time. The blue cloak felt heavier than he’d expected, and the tall staff was anything but natural as a walking stick. It was going to take some time to get comfortable with his new adornments.
They reached the docks just as Thunderclap was lowering its gangplank. A small crowd was already gathering to meet the disembarking sailors. The massive ship was the biggest in the fleet, and the deeds of both its crew and its captain were legendary. Dustin had come down to the docks to watch the arrival of Thunderclap dozens of times as a child. It was part of the reason he wanted to be a Storm Caller in the first place. Someday winning the spot as Storm Caller on Thunderclap was a dream he desired just as strongly now as he had as a boy.
“Incredible, isn’t it?” Dustin hadn’t addressed the question to anyone in particular, but it was his new captain that answered.
“She’s a fine, fine ship for sure. But don’t be too caught up in the glamor. It’s the men and women aboard and the work they do that makes a ship great.”
Dustin glanced at Roy, not sure what to make of that comment. Before he could respond, someone else spoke.
“There’s another ship coming.” It was Thomas, the old Storm Caller who’d rowed Dustin to Testing Rock.
Dustin turned his eyes seaward. Thomas was right. A smaller fishing vessel was pulling into harbor behind Thunderclap.
Roy squinted at the ship. “Why, I do believe that’s Bass Mouth.”
“Bass Mouth?” Dustin asked.
“It’s the missing ship. The one we were meant to go after.”
A cheer went up through the crowd as two figures appeared on the gangplank. The first was a tall, broadly built man with slicked-back blond hair and a sword at his hip. The most famous Storm Captain in Holdgate. Tor.
The woman behind him was almost as tall. She, too, had blond hair, but she wore hers long, and it blew freely in the breeze. Her delicate features belied her legendary power. Dahlia, Thunderclap’s Storm Caller.
Tor waved at the crowd, a wide smile on his face. Dahlia acknowledged them with just a nod.
The pair made their way down the gangplank and over to the Magistrate and the group of captains and Storm Callers.
“Magistrate!” Tor spoke in a loud, friendly voice that carried across the dock. “I found your missing ship.”
“So I see! Welcome back.” The Magistrate greeted Tor and Dahlia with a pair of hearty handshakes.
“We swung south on a rumor of a Barskall ship that had snuck past us. The rumor turned out to be false, but we found that Bass Mouth had been damaged by a storm. We helped repair it, and Dahlia gave it the wind to send it on its way.”
“Wonderful!” the Magistrate said.
Tor’s gaze settled on Dustin. “What’s this? A new member in the brotherhood of Storm Callers?”
Dustin held out his hand and did his best to sound confident. “I’m Dustin, sir. Storm Caller of The Foggy Day.”
“Ah, excellent. You’ll be sailing with Roy, then. Perhaps you can bring that ship some much-needed glory.”
Dahlia greeted him next, and Dustin’s heart clenched in his chest as he shook her cold, delicate hand. “Welcome to the family of Storm Callers.”
Dustin grinned dumbly, the day’s troubles suddenly forgotten.
Chapter Five
Abbey and Benjamin walked through the festival in the dim light of the torches. All around them they heard angry shouts, hearty laughter, and cries of pain that accompanied all Holdgate gatherings of significance.
Tonight, the crowd was especially raucous. The festival was held annually, a celebration of the men and woman lost at sea over the last year. Despite the dour theme, the festival was anything but sad. On top of the normal festival celebrations, the people were celebrating the safe return of Thunderclap, the pride of Holdgate and the best stormship in the fleet. Its Captain Tor and its Storm Caller Dahlia were both major celebrities in the city.
On the rare occasion they ventured into the street, they couldn’t make it more than a few feet without a woman wanting to touch their clothes or a child wanting a blessing from them. They were considered blessed by the sea, and the sea was the only god most in Holdgate worshiped. Most of the Holdgate economy came from the sea, whether it was trade, fishing, or spoils of war. The stormships were the primary drivers of income, and they were treated with respect for it.
Abbey didn’t see what all the fuss was about. So they kept the Kaldfell peninsula clear of Barskall Warriors. She’d like to see them work in her father’s shop and produce enough swords to keep the stormships supplied. Then she’d be impressed.
Benjamin nudged her and pointed toward a gathering off to the left. “Care to join in the fun?”
A group of three men, each fatter than the last, was participating in a competition where they would down a giant mug of mead, then throw an ax at a target. From the way the men were staggering, this was not the first round of play. Amazingly, they were still hitting the targets dead center. Abbey recognized one of the men; it was Bronson, the Magistrate’s son.
Abbey shook her head and laughed. Holdgatesmen could turn anything into a competition. So far tonight, she’d already witnessed drinking contests, barrel throwing tournaments, and rope climbing showdowns. Even though most in Holdgate considered her an outsider, she loved the spirit in this city. There was a sense of joy in everything they did. They worked hard, and whether it was fishing, hunting, or fighting, and they seemed to take pleasure in the work. And when the work was finished, they definitely played hard.
But just because she respected it, that didn’t mean she was going to make an ass of herself by getting drunk and throwing axes.
A group of children was gathered in a tent up ahead, listening to a storyteller. Abbey slipped in to join them.
The storyteller was a woman with long, braided hair. She wore a brightly colored dress, as was common in her trade. She was crouched low and she spoke in hushed tones that somehow carried through the tent.
“Barskall is a cold, harsh land cursed by the sea with harsh waters all year long. It’s made the people who live there angry and bitter. Many plants grow on Barskall that aren’t found on the Kaldfell peninsula. Perhaps they aren’t found anywhere in the world. The brewmasters use these plants to blend a special drink called seiderdrek that turns the usually timid and fearful Barskall into fierce warriors with the strength of ten ordinary men. Or five Holdgatesmen.”
The children laughed at that, and Abbey laughed along with them. The storyteller held up a finger and looked at them sternly. This was no laughing matter.
“It’s said the Barskall draught bubbles and burns in their stomach, filling them with pain, but also with an unquenchable bloodlust. Killing is the only thing that gives them pleasure. Since their land is so inhospitable, they come to the Kaldfell peninsula and take what the sea has blessed us with. Or they try. But who protects us from these monsters?”
The children all answered in unison. “The stormships!”
“That’s right. Storm Callers work to conjure constant storms between Kaldfell and the island of Barskall. That stops most of them, but a few determined ships still get through. That’s when we send our best after them. Ships like Thunderclap and Summer Wind. The Barskall Warriors are powerful, but they are no match for our ships. Not even when they drink their nasty seiderdrek. Our stormships fall on them with a combination of swords and lightning, attacking without mercy until they are either dead or have fled back to their island in the west.”
She looked the children over, making sure they were watching her. She needn’t have worried. They were all enraptured.
“So it is that the world is kept safe. The Ronelanders on their isle and the rich Arcadians in their lu
xury may not understand what we do for them, but we do it all the same. And that’s why Holdgate is blessed by the sea.”
Abbey felt her father at her shoulder.
“That’s not how they tell it in Arcadia.” He spoke quietly so only she could hear.
Abbey knew that the Arcadians had a less than positive view of the people of the Kaldfell peninsula. They called them Storm Raiders, and they told their children stories about how Storm Raiders would attack innocent villages by night, stealing everything valuable, including women and children, and using storm magic to cover their escape. It was preposterous, and yet, according to her father, people actually believed it.
Abbey often wondered why her father had decided to move here after a lifetime of hearing those tall tales. Or maybe that was why he’d moved here?
He didn’t like to talk about the past. Tears filled his eyes when he spoke about Abbey’s mother, so she never pushed him on the matter. One of these days, she was going to sit him down and get the real story.
A hand touched her arm, and she turned, expecting to see her father. To her surprise, Dustin stood behind her, his windblown hair a mess, and his eyes still bloodshot from the saltwater that morning.
He glared at her. “We need to talk. Now.”
* * *
Dustin led her out behind a tent off the beaten path where they weren’t likely to be seen. He was wearing a blue cloak and carrying the long, twisted staff of a Storm Caller.
“So, I take it the Testing went well?” Abbey asked.
“Not as well as I would have liked. That’s what I want to talk to you about. What the hell did you do out there?”
Abbey raised an eyebrow. “You saw my eyes were black. You really want to pretend you don’t know?”
Dustin grimaced. “I’m honestly not sure. I was swimming for shore, and the waves were really rough, and then… I don’t know. Something pulled me.”
