by Hylton, PT
Just then, Abbey saw something. It was nothing more than a blur of motion, but the figure was large. Man-sized, in fact.
Then she saw another fifteen yards heading in the opposite direction west of the first one.
If these were the rebels, they were spreading out.
As if they were trying to flank Abbey and her friends. They had to act fast if they were going to have a chance in this fight.
“Guys, form up,” Abbey ordered in an urgent voice. “Dustin, you and Viktor start stormcalling. They have archers, so we want wind and fog. Gideon, time to show us what you can do with that dumb rock.”
She paused. Syd was still the captain here. She was the one in charge, but this was about to be a battle; there was no time to question herself.
“Where do you want me, boss?” Clemens asked.
“You and Fannar stay back and protect the magic users. Syd, Olaf, and I are going to wait until they show themselves, then we’re going to get all up in their faces.”
Clemens grinned. “Sounds like a plan.”
Dustin’s eyes were already glowing, and a stiff wind was kicking up. Fog settled all around them.
Abbey smiled. That would make the archers’ job a bit more challenging.
“Wait,” Olaf said. “You said you want the magic users back here, so do I charge with you or stay back?”
Abbey rolled her eyes. “Seriously, man, you’ve had one magic lesson!”
“Now!” The voice came from somewhere to the west.
Suddenly a dozen voices filled the air.
An arrow slammed into the ground five feet to Abbey’s left.
Through the fog, she could see dark shapes moving toward her. “There! Let’s go!”
She took off running toward the shapes, drawing her sword as she went. She heard Olaf and Syd’s feet pounding the dirt on either side of her.
They broke through the fog and saw six fighters racing toward them.
Abbey spotted the biggest one, a tall man with brown hair, a bow slung across his back and a sword in each hand. She sprinted toward him.
The man grinned with determination when he saw her charging. She recognized it as a warrior’s smile, and it sent a jolt through her. This would be a true battle.
“Wait!” Syd shouted.
Abbey turned toward her friend and was shocked to see her swords at her sides rather than held aloft and ready for battle.
Syd’s eyes were wide as she staggered toward the brown-haired man.
He was looking at her too, the shock just as clear in his eyes. “Is it really you?”
Syd blinked hard as a tear rolled down her face. “Elliot?”
The sounds of battle raged around them, but Syd and the brown-haired man didn’t seem to notice.
After a moment, Elliot dropped both swords and ran to his sister.
Chapter Nine
For once in her life, Abbey was speechless.
“Seas and stars,” Syd said, her voice catching in her throat. “Is this real? Have I finally found you?”
Elliot opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, thunder crashed overhead. He looked up slowly, as if waking from the surprised daze of seeing his sister for the first time in more than a decade.
He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Stop! Ekkja, to me!”
Syd and Abbey joined him in calling for their people to lay down arms.
Thunder crashed again, and Elliot grinned at Syd. “Sister, did you bring a Storm Caller? He hauled seawater all this way?”
Syd marched toward him, her eyes still wet with tears. “That’s your question? You see me for the first time in how many years and a sea away from home, and you want to know if I brought a Storm Caller?”
Elliot laughed. “I suppose it’s as good a place to start as any.” He looked her up and down. “Seas! You were a little girl last time I saw you. Now you have no hair. Did it fall out?” Before she could answer, he continued. “And you fight with twin swords.”
Syd grinned. “I suppose I wanted to be like my big brother.”
A shout split the air near the magic users’ position.
“Damn it,” Elliot said. “Let’s stop our people from killing each other, then we’ll go back to Baer Gigur. We have much to discuss. I have so many questions.”
“You have questions?” Abbey asked. “We thought you were a slave in a mine.”
He cocked his thumb at Abbey and turned to Syd. “Who’s this? I was looking forward to fighting her.”
“It’s like you said,” Syd replied. “We have much to discuss.”
Twenty minutes later, the two groups made their way through the woods to Baer Gigur. Both Syd’s crew and Elliot’s seemed uneasy as they walked. For Syd and Elliot it was a strange and surreal reunion, but their friends appeared more worried about whether the other group was going to try to kill them.
A big woman with reddish hair sidled up next to Elliot. “You sure we want to take these people to our home? We don’t even know them.”
Elliot shot her a look. “This is my sister. I haven’t seen her in a while, but I know her.”
A few moments later, Elliot gestured up the trail. “Welcome to Baer Gigur.”
Even though they were almost on top of it, it took Abbey a moment to spot the houses. They were small, squat huts that had been expertly camouflaged into their surroundings. The roofs were covered in leaves, and the walls were covered in what appeared to be moss.
“This is incredible,” Abbey said.
“It’s taken a lot of work,” Elliot replied. “Trial and error, too. We’ve had to move around constantly, and we have almost gotten caught many times.”
“That you did,” Gideon said softly.
Abbey looked at him with a start. Somehow she had almost forgotten about the Stone Shaper. Looking at him now, she felt a foreboding chill.
This man had been hunting the rebels for a year, and now he was in their camp. Syd and her crew had gotten along well enough with Gideon, but what would happen to him now? No way would Syd take his side over that of her own brother.
And yet, these were raiders, no different from Tor and Dahlia’s crew on Thunderclap back in the day. Hell, that had been where Elliot had learned his craft. Could they really overlook the actions of these people just because one of them was Syd’s brother?
Syd looked at Elliot, nervousness clear on her face. She was still the badass stormship captain Abbey had come to know and love, but in that moment Abbey could see the girl she’d once been. The girl who worshiped her big brother.
The reunion was touching, but a deeper, more logical part of Abbey knew there was danger here as well. Syd wouldn’t be in her right mind when it came to Elliot.
Abbey owed it to her friend to protect her—even from her brother.
The two groups took a few moments to introduce themselves. There were far more in Elliot’s group, over thirty in all, and Abbey knew there was no way she’d be able to remember their names.
A man named Sigmund approached Fannar. “Is that a seax on your back?”
Fannar drew the blade and flashed it at the man. “Indeed it is.”
Sigmund slapped him on the back. “With a brutal weapon like that, you must be a Barskall.”
Fannar grinned. “How do you think we found you? Baer Gigur, indeed.”
Sigmund laughed. “Elliot, I told you those cute names were going to get us into trouble.”
Elliot looked hurt. “Me? You named the place.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t shout it during a raid.” He turned back to Fannar. “I have always admired the seax. My elder pa was a master seaxman. I never could get the hang of the short blade, myself.”
“Ha!” Fannar turned toward Syd. “Hey, Captain, I may have to ditch you and join up with this crew.”
Elliot took a step back. “Whoa! Captain? Syd, there’s no way you’re a stormship captain, right?”
“I am. Followed in my brother’s footsteps and then walked right past him.
I’m Captain of The Foggy Day.”
“That’s amazing!” He scratched at his chin. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard of The Foggy Day. Is it new?”
Abbey jumped into the conversation. “It’s the best damn ship in the fleet. We left Thunderclap to run it.”
Elliot looked even more surprised at that news. “You sailed on Thunderclap with Dahlia?”
“Er, not exactly.” Abbey didn’t want to get too deep into that conversation now.
“Elliot!” It was the big woman who spoke. She pointed at Gideon’s right hand, where he was clearly holding a stone. “They brought a damn Stone Shaper!”
Elliot looked at his sister, the hurt clear in his eyes. “Syd, what’s going on?”
Syd frowned. “It’s like you said before. We have a lot to discuss, and we’ve put it off long enough. Is there somewhere we can talk? I want to hear your story, and I want you to hear mine.”
* * *
“Are you sure you want me here for this?” Abbey asked.
Syd paused only a moment before nodding. “You need to be, you and Dustin both. Not only because you’re my friends, but because you’re my First Mate and my Storm Caller.”
“Aye,” Elliot said. “Sigmund and Hekla, too.” The black-haired man and the woman with red hair sat on either side of him.
“Let’s just hope our friends don’t kill each other while we’re talking,” Dustin added.
Abbey couldn’t help but worry about that very thing. Tensions had been high between the two groups ever since Elliot’s people discovered there was a Stone Shaper among Syd’s crew.
She couldn’t imagine what must be going through Gideon’s mind. He’d finally found the Tall Grass Raiders he’d spent most of his adult life searching for, and now the leaders of his crew were privately meeting with them?
They were gathered in Elliot’s home. As strange and wonderful as this reunion was, it was time to learn the facts.
“Who goes first?” Elliot asked.
Syd answered immediately. “You. No offense, but we’ve heard some very troubling stories. We need to know what you and your friends are up to.”
Elliot nodded slowly. “I understand. It’s just... I’m not sure where to start.”
“How about ekkja?” Abbey suggested. “You shouted the word when you were trying to stop your friends from fighting. What’s it mean?”
He smiled. “It’s an old Barskall word. It means ‘widow.’ It started as a joke. Ragnar brought us here, and now that he’s gone, we’re ekkja. Over the years, it’s what we’ve called ourselves. The others have recently taken to calling us Tall Grass Raiders, but among ourselves, we’re always ekkja.”
“That’s a strange joke,” Dustin said.
“Aye, Storm Caller, that it is. But we’re a strange people. We’ve had to be, in order to survive.”
Syd touched her brother’s hand. “Start at the beginning. Tell us about Ragnar and how you came to Gren. Dahlia said Ragnar demanded you as part of his surrender to Elias. Is that true?”
Elliot nodded. A dark expression appeared on his face. “I hadn’t been with Thunderclap long, but I suppose I’d proven myself. I’m not proud of the things I did aboard that ship. I was a Storm Raider. Looking back on it now, I suppose I was so obsessed with proving myself to Captain Tor and Dahlia that I justified my actions to myself.
“I fought with all my strength whether we were raiding on the Lost Isles or fighting Ragnar’s warriors on Barskall. When Ragnar surrendered, Captain Tor told us we were going to transport Ragnar and some of his people to Gren. As far as I knew we were going to drop them off and then I’d sail back to Holdgate with Thunderclap. Imagine my surprise when we reached Gren and Captain Tor ordered me thrown off the ship. He told me I belonged to Ragnar now.”
“Damn!” Abbey exclaimed. “That’s cold.”
Syd looked at Sigmund and Hekla. “What about you two? You fought on Ragnar’s side in Barskall, I take it?”
“Proudly.” Sigmund held his head high. “And I’d do it again. The man was a true leader. He turned down Thunderclap’s offer of help because he knew too many civilians would suffer at the Storm Raiders’ hands if they became involved in the conflict. He never expected they’d offer help to his enemies.”
Dustin frowned. “And yet he demanded Thunderclap provide him with slaves, including Elliot.”
“And his first move when he got to Gren was to attempt to conquer it,” Abbey added. “Let’s not pretend he’s a hero.”
“The truth is a bit more complicated than that,” Elliot argued. “He knew he was coming to a foreign land where the Barskall were reputed to be savage warriors. If we were going to survive, he knew he was going to have to carve out a place for us. In truth, we were blindsided by the existence of Stone Shapers. All the legends we’d heard about Gren involved giants. We’d never heard anything about stone magic.”
Abbey glanced at Syd and saw that her friend was hanging on her brother’s every word. It was going to fall to her to play the skeptic. “So you’d have us believe all Ragnar’s actions were noble? That his war against the Stone Shapers was self-defense?”
Elliot held up a hand. “No, I wouldn’t go that far. Look, the man was a warlord. I’m not saying he was a hero. He did many terrible things. What I am saying is that he won me over. I was a captive with every reason to hate him, but he had an undeniable genius on the battlefield I came to respect. And he was willing to do anything to keep his people safe. After a time, I willingly fought by his side.”
“Ragnar could be brutal to his enemies, but he would do anything for his friends,” Hekla said. “Working together, we held out against the Stone Shapers far longer than we had any right to expect.”
“How’d you do that?” Syd asked.
“We struck from the shadows, often at night,” Elliot replied. “We hit our enemies hard, and then we ran away. The bow became an important weapon, since it allowed us to attack from range. Fighting a Stone Shaper up close is suicide, but if you surround him and fire from a distance, he’s as easy to take down as any other man.”
Sigmund nodded his agreement. “Our goal was to claim some territory in the north. A place with access to the sea that was defensible. And, yes, we attempted to drive out some locals to make that happen. In the end, we pushed a bit too far south.”
“How’d they finally take Ragnar down?” Abbey asked.
“With trickery.” The disdain was thick in Sigmund’s voice.
“They asked to meet under a white flag to discuss peace,” Elliot said. “It turned out to be a trap. They ambushed us at the meeting. Most of Ragnar’s men were captured. We three were among the lucky few who escaped.”
“But that’s only half of it,” Hekla said. “While we were away, Thunderclap attacked our settlement, burning it to the ground and killing those who had stayed behind.”
“With our leader taken and most of our allies dead, we had no choice but to flee into the woods,” Elliot told them. “And we’ve been there ever since.”
“Wow,” Syd said. “It’s amazing that you’ve survived this long.”
Abbey leaned forward and looked Elliot in the eyes. “It is. But it doesn’t explain what you’re up to now. Why are you raiding Stone Shaper villages?”
Elliot and Hekla exchanged a glance before he answered.
“That’s a complicated question, which we’ll answer shortly. But first, we want to hear your story. What are you doing in Gren, and why do you have a Stone Shaper with you?”
Syd answered, detailing a brief history of their adventures. She told them how they’d taken down Thunderclap and how Abbey had killed Captain Tor. Sigmund and Hekla practically cheered when they were told about freeing King Elias’ secret Storm Callers and vanquishing his fleet. She told how they’d captured Dahlia and how she’d bargained for her life.
Finally, she spoke about their meeting with Chief Magnus and how he’d given them seven days to find the rebels.
“And we made it with fo
ur days to spare.” Dustin grinned.
Elliot was silent for a long moment when Syd finished. “I never thought I’d see you again. It’s incredible! And I want more than anything for you to understand what I’ve been doing here for so many years.”
“I want to understand,” Syd said.
“Good. Because the next part of the story is going to be harder to believe.”
Chapter Ten
The next time Edvard came to The Foggy Day, he brought two other guards with him.
Most of the crew laughed as the Stone Shapers approached. To them, it was evidence of how badly Benjamin had shaken Edvard. In their current situation—living aboard a ship waiting for a fight they were pretty sure was coming and which they would almost certainly lose—they considered this a small victory.
But not Benjamin.
The blacksmith understood what was at stake. By showing his magical abilities, he’d tipped his hand and thrown away one of the few advantages they had. Now the Stone Shapers would press him, hoping to learn more.
Still, if it lifted the spirits of his crew, it wasn’t all bad. He’d done his best to keep the stormship sailors busy, leading daily combat drills, spending time talking to each of them, and giving them unnecessary tasks.
He was running out of ideas for work to give them, though. Every inch of the ship was spotless, and he wasn’t enough of a sailor to know what else might need to be done.
Benjamin was also spending more and more time with Viktor’s friends, the three Barskall Storm Callers. He wanted to fully understand what they could and couldn’t do just in case it came down to a fight.
When Edvard and his two companions, a man and a woman, approached the gangplank, they were met with laughter.
Melwin called out to them as they climbed aboard. “Had to bring some friends, did you? Guess you didn’t have the stones to face us alone.”
The other sailors roared with laughter at that one, and even Benjamin couldn’t help cracking a smile.
“Enough,” Benjamin called to the crew. “We’ll treat our guests with respect.”
