Storms of Magic Boxed Set: Books 1-4

by Hylton, PT

  Tomas ignored the question and turned to Abbey. “And you wear the black sash. That means you have all the rights and responsibilities of a Stone Shaper. We saw what you did when you walked the Path. Consider yourself drafted into our army.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Abbey’s expression grew hard.

  Sika stood. “We’re done here. The guards will show you to your quarters. You’re free to move about the city, but don’t try to leave.”

  Abbey kept her hand on her sword, but she knew it was pointless to fight. How many Stone Shapers were in Horg? Thousands? No, better to bide her time.

  A group of five guards led them to a stone home near the center of town. It was sparsely decorated, but it had enough beds for all of them.

  When the guards left, Hekla turned to the others. “I’m beginning to think coming here was a mistake.”

  “No shit,” Abbey said. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not sticking around. We’ve got to act fast. That’s our advantage. These Stone Shapers probably take two hours to put on their pants in the morning.”

  Elliot nodded. “Agreed. What’s our first move?”

  There was a knock at the door.

  Clemens sighed. “How much you want to bet that’s the guards again?”

  He opened the door, and Elliot and Hekla both gasped.

  The man standing in the doorway was not a guard. He was a bit shorter and a lot more muscular than any of the Stone Shapers they’d seen.

  He spoke in a gruff voice, but it carried a more urgent cadence than the Stone Shapers used. “I’m not sure why you idiots came here, but I can help you find your way out.”

  Elliot stepped forward. “What are you doing here? We heard you were in the mines!”

  The man scoffed. “There aren’t any mines. That’s a story they tell to keep this place secret. Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?”

  Elliot turned to Abbey and Clemens. “Abbey, Clemens, this is Ragnar.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  The only thing keeping Benjamin from hurling fireballs at the Stone Shapers on the docks was the knowledge that they could sink this ship in mere minutes. Those people controlled stone, which they could use to pierce the hull. Then they’d be quite literally sunk.

  The guards had been standing near the ship for almost an entire day now. Ever since Benjamin had killed Edvard.

  Now the sun was setting, which made Benjamin nervous. The first group of Stone Shapers had attacked the previous night. Would they do so again tonight?

  “What do you think they’re waiting for?” Melwin asked him, not for the first time.

  Benjamin stared down at the men and women. They wore stone armor, just like Edvard’s. After seeing what one man could do with that armor, he wasn’t anxious to face off against three dozen people wearing it.

  One thing was clear: these guys were not here simply to intimidate them. Benjamin could practically feel the tension coming off them.

  These were soldiers ready for battle, but to touch on Melwin’s point, why weren’t they attacking?

  “Best guess? Maybe they want to give Syd and Abbey a little more time to find the Tall Grass Raiders before they tear us to shreds. The fact that they’re here tells me they aren’t willing to wait much longer.” He turned toward Melwin. “How about you? Any theories?”

  Melwin thought a moment before answering. “Could be they want to get their precious Queen of Storms off the ship safely. Maybe they’re waiting for something that will help them do that.”

  Benjamin chuckled. “It’s as good a theory as any, but if they’re waiting for Dahlia to make a move, they’ll be waiting a long time. I just checked on her, and she’s out like a candle dropped in the sea.”

  A sailor named Klaus walked past, ignoring Benjamin’s greeting. He wasn’t the first person that day to fail to acknowledge the blacksmith.

  “Be straight with me, Melwin. What’s going on with the crew? I understand them being nervous about the battle, but this feels personal.”

  Melwin smiled weakly. “Promise you won’t throw me over the side?”

  Benjamin crossed his arms. “I never make promises I can’t keep, though I promise not to throw you over the side for what you’re about to say.”

  “Fair enough.” He paused, considering how to begin.

  “Tell me, damn it.”

  “Okay, look. The first few days, they accepted you as leader because Syd put you in charge. But with everything that’s gone wrong since then… We’ve got an Arcadian serving as de facto captain, and three Barskall serving as Storm Callers. Some people are saying, maybe the sea isn’t happy. They’re thinking that maybe the sea would be more apt to protect us if we put a Holdgatesman in charge.”

  “I see. And is this one of those situations where ‘some people’ actually means you?”

  Melwin held his hands up. “Let me remind you that you promised this conversation would not result in my being thrown over the side. But for the record, no. For some strange reason I’m starting to like you, Arcadian.”

  Benjamin glared at him. “Wish I could say the same about you.” But he couldn’t keep up the glare. He broke into laughter.

  Melwin nodded toward the Stone Shapers. “I was honest with you. Do me the same courtesy. Do we stand a chance?”

  “You sure you want the truth?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “The amount of stone they’re wearing, they’ll probably take us out without losing a single soul.”

  Melwin thought for a moment. “I changed my mind. Lie to me.”

  “Benjamin!” The shout came from the crow’s nest. Even though they weren’t at sea, Benjamin had thought it wise to keep a sailor stationed there for the bird’s eye view of the situation. The topside man was pointing at something behind the guards.

  Benjamin squinted at the spot for ten seconds before he saw it.

  It was a torch being covered and uncovered, creating a strange pattern of flashes.

  “Holy shit,” Melwin whispered. “It’s a signal.”

  It took Benjamin a moment to understand, but then he got it. The flashes of light the stormships used to communicate with each other on the open sea—this was the same code.

  Stone Shapers wouldn’t know that code, which meant the message was coming from a friendly.

  “What are they saying, Melwin?”

  The stormship sailor watched the flashing lights for a long time. Then he turned to Benjamin. “It doesn’t make sense.”

  “What doesn’t?”

  “The lights. The signals were designed to communicate simple messages. It’s not a perfect language. What they’re saying can’t possibly apply to our situation. I must be reading it wrong.”

  Benjamin stared at the lights, wishing he had learned even a little of the signal protocol. “Give me the literal version. Don’t try to interpret it.”

  “Okay. They say to lower our sails due to heavy winds, but that doesn’t make sense. Our sails are already down.”

  Benjamin cursed under his breath. He was starting to understand. “Anything else?”

  “Yes, they’re asking if we are prepared for battle. Then they say the thing about the wind again.”

  “What were the chances a blacksmith would end up dying on a stormship?” Benjamin muttered. He grabbed Melwin by the shoulders. “Okay, we need to do this quickly and without alerting the Stone Shapers. I want every bow we have in the hands of someone who knows how to use it. And I want everyone else to prepare to fight off anyone attempting to board. Most importantly, I want everyone to hold on to something. It’s about to get windy. Tell me when it’s done.”

  Benjamin watched as Melwin spread the word. To the crew’s credit, they remained nonchalant enough that the Stone Shapers on the docks didn’t notice anything. They also responded quickly.

  In less than five minutes Melwin was back at his side with a lantern in his hand. “We’re as ready as we’re going to be, sir.”

  Benjamin sp
read his feet a little and braced himself against the rail. “Give the signal, Melwin.”

  The stormship sailor hoisted the lantern, blocking the light with a shield, then moving it away repeatedly in a complicated pattern.

  The Stone Shapers on the docks stared at the lantern. They knew something was happening, but that was fine with Benjamin. The more they focused on The Foggy Day, the less ready they’d be for what was coming at them from the other direction.

  “Hold onto your ass, Melwin,” Benjamin said. “It’s time for battle.”

  Melwin extinguished the lantern, gripped the rail with both hands, and waited.

  For nearly a minute, nothing happened. Then everything did.

  A sudden gust of wind slammed against them. Even though Benjamin had prepared for the blast and was gripping the rail, he almost lost his footing. The wind felt like a hammer. His hair blew back with such force it felt like someone was pulling it. The wind stung his eyes and made breathing difficult. He thought he might drown on wind.

  The Stone Shapers fared much worse. At least half of them tumbled off the dock into the chilly water below. The rest of them stumbled around in chaos, trying to figure out what was happening.

  Benjamin glanced over his shoulder and saw that the two men on the pillars at the edge of the harbor had been knocked from their perches by the wind.

  The chaos only lasted a few moments. Before long, the guard had shaped a waist-high stone wall between them and the wind. They crouched behind it, and slowly the wall began to move forward as did the men and women behind it.

  The wind ceased as quickly as it had begun.

  Benjamin quickly realized his opportunity. The Stone Shapers had their backs to The Foggy Day.

  “Archers!” he cried. “Aim at any body part not covered in stone. Draw!”

  A dozen bow strings were pulled back simultaneously.

  “Loose!”

  The arrows flew, and ten Stone Shapers fell.

  In the last moments of daylight before the sun disappeared, Benjamin saw Syd, Olaf, Fannar, and a man he didn’t know charging the remaining Stone Shapers.

  He drew his sword and dropped a rope ladder over the side. He was done waiting on the ship; it was time to fight.

  * * *

  Dustin stopped calling the wind. It was difficult, like tearing himself out of a dream.

  Stormcalling wasn’t usually like that. Normally it was a conversation with the elements, one where he was always in control. He could break away and halt the conversation at any time.

  But this wasn’t normal stormcalling. Viktor’s hand was touching his shoulder, and their powers had combined. This storm magic felt less like a conversation and more like being carried by a powerful wave. One of his own making, but it carried him nonetheless.

  He forced his eyes open and lifted the end of his staff off the stone road. The world seemed to tilt, and he staggered backwards.

  Viktor grabbed his shoulders, steadying him. “I have you, my friend. That magic was powerful. It practically knocked me on my—what’s the word?—ass.”

  Dustin let out a laugh. “Damn, Viktor, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you curse.”

  Viktor grinned. “I suppose there is a first time for everything. And by everything, I specifically mean cursing.”

  “Go!” Syd yelled. “Charge those Stone Shaper bastards!”

  The group had gathered behind Dustin, and now they surged forward. Tall Grass Raider and stormship sailors charged together, all focused on taking down the enemy.

  Syd led the charge, one sword in each hand. When she reached the stone wall she planted one foot on top of it and vaulted over, swinging a sword as she landed. Her blade struck the nearest Stone Shaper in the neck, and he fell with a grunt.

  Dustin trotted forward, hanging back behind the other warriors. It wasn’t that he was afraid. Part of him was jealous of the others. He wanted to be in there mixing it up alongside them, but he was smart enough to know his real value was his storm magic. He needed to hang back and use it where it was needed.

  To his surprise, it didn’t appear to be needed at all.

  His initial blast of wind had taken out about half of the three dozen Stone Shapers. Another ten had fallen to The Foggy Day’s archers. The remaining seven were no match for the combined might of Syd’s crew and her brother’s ekkja.

  Fannar leapt over the wall and dropped to his knees, slicing the closest Stone Shaper’s hamstring with his seax even as stone blades narrowly missed his body. When his target fell, Fannar drove the seax into his neck.

  Olaf let out a loud combination of whoops and curses as he threw himself over the wall at his target. The woman saw him approach and shaped her stone chest plate into a series of spiky protrusions. Olaf just managed to dodge one of the spikes, and he quickly took her down with his sword.

  A few Stone Shapers who’d succumbed to Dustin’s initial blast of wind were trying to climb back onto the docks, but the Tall Grass Raiders made short work of them.

  Sigmund almost fell to a Stone Shaper who transformed his chest plate, shifting the stone into an axe which he swung at the Barskall’s head. A ball of fire hit the Stone Shaper in his now-unprotected chest, and he fell to the ground, screaming as he burned.

  Benjamin surveyed his handiwork for only a moment before he called to Syd. “Captain! I suggest we get aboard your ship and get the hell out of here.”

  Syd wiped the blood from her blade and smiled. “I concur with that assessment.” Then she turned to the others and shouted, “Ekkja! Sailors! Climb the ladders!”

  Everyone quickly obeyed, scurrying up the rope ladders hanging from The Foggy Day.

  Dustin scanned the area behind the stone wall. The Stone Shapers were all down.

  No, that wasn’t right, he realized. They were all down but one.

  The surviving Stone Shaper was a squat man with a mustache. He reached out a hand and touched the stone wall.

  Dustin started sprinting toward him even though he knew he’d never make it in time. If he could just get within ten feet of the man, he could use the amphorald Benjamin had embedded in his staff to blast him.

  Even that was a longshot, he knew, but still he ran.

  The stone wall transformed at the man’s touch, shifting like water under a ship’s hull. It formed into a giant spike, and Dustin realized with horror that the man wasn’t going for one of his attackers. He was going for The Foggy Day herself.

  He was trying to destroy the ship, and he had plenty of stone to drive through her hull.

  Dustin cried out, but he couldn’t seem to find any words—not that they would have helped. The stone spike grew from the stone wall, shooting toward the hull of the ship with uncanny speed.

  Then, suddenly, it stopped growing. The spike quivered in the air, neither growing nor shrinking. It just hung there, the impossible weapon mere inches from The Foggy Day’s boards.

  Dustin scanned the length of the wall, trying to understand what was happening. Then he saw it. There was another man touching the stone wall, and Dustin immediately recognized him.

  “Gideon!”

  Gideon answered through clenched teeth. “Somebody kick his ass. I can’t hold him off forever.”

  Dustin dashed toward the enemy Stone Shaper. When he got within ten feet of him, he lowered his staff and fired.

  The Stone Shaper was knocked back. Fannar sprinted to him and finished the job.

  “Let’s get it in gear!” Syd called. “Up the ladder, people.”

  Dustin trotted over to her. Gideon was already approaching.

  “I’ve been doing some thinking,” Gideon began.

  Syd held up a hand. “Can we review your dramatic change of heart later? We need to get out of here before reinforcements show up.”

  Gideon nodded. “I’m coming with you, by the way.”

  “What, you don’t think your brother is going to be a fan of your new lifestyle?” Dustin asked with a smile.

  Syd gestured toward t
he nearest rope ladder. “You’re welcome to join us as long as you get up there in the next thirty seconds.”

  Once the Tall Grass Raiders and the stormship sailors were all up the ladder, it was Dustin’s turn. He found Benjamin waiting at the top for him.

  “How was your trip?” the blacksmith asked.

  “Pretty uneventful. We joined a group of rebels, launched a failed raid on a Stone Shaper city, and saved your ass. Nothing out of the ordinary. How were things here?”

  Benjamin shrugged. “About the same. We fought off a few assassination attempts, killed a bunch of Stone Shapers, and got saved by you.” He paused a moment. “I can’t help but notice my daughter’s not with you.”

  “She went with Syd’s brother to find a secret city of Stone Shapers and convince them to help us defeat Magnus.”

  Benjamin nodded nonchalantly. “Got it.”

  Syd pulled herself over the rail.

  Benjamin helped her to her feet. “Captain, the ship is yours.” A grin broke out on his face. “Damn, it felt good to say that.”

  Syd wasted no time barking orders at the crew. In less than five minutes, they were ready for departure. “Dustin, if you don’t mind?”

  The Storm Caller hefted his staff and trotted to the prow. With a contented sigh, Dustin took his place and called the wind. It filled the sails and the ship cut through the water, quickly picking up speed.

  Reinforcement Stone Shapers arrived on the dock, but it was too late for them to do much other than watch the stormship sail away.

  The Foggy Day was almost out of the harbor when a splash came from the water on the starboard side of the ship.

  “What the hell was that?” Syd called to no one in particular.

  Benjamin suddenly went pale. He dashed to the main deck and disappeared through a hatch.

  He reappeared a moment later, a look of horror on his face. “It’s Dahlia. She’s gone.”

  Chapter Twenty

  “I don’t understand,” Elliot said. “What are you doing here?”

  Ragnar was leading them through a tunnel he said led to an exit only ten miles outside Ammaas. If they travelled straight through—and Ragnar wasn’t lying—they’d reach the city and The Foggy Day a few hours later.