by Mark Albany
“Who is your leader?” the man asked in a heavy, flowery accent.
Nobody stepped forward, and I turned, nudging Olin. The man coughed and nodded, holding himself up as tall as he could stand.
“I am Pr—King Olin, second of my name, ruler and defender of Radon.” His voice boomed, surprisingly so. I wondered if he’d been practicing in front of the mirror. It wouldn’t have surprised me. Honestly, I was thankful he was starting to put on the appearance of the man in charge. I knew from our talks that he was struggling to actually feel it.
“Who the hell are you?” Olin continued.
How diplomatic, the voice in my head said.
“I am called Kalem,” the man replied. It was difficult to place his age, but I could see a few streaks of grey well hidden in the dark brown, indicating that he wasn’t a young man. I still eyed the club he was gripping.
“My people flee from a war that was not of our making or choosing,” Kalem continued, placing a hand on the railing of his ship. “We were set upon and attacked by monsters while we were at sea, and are now forced to put in here for repairs. I can only ask that hospitality be shown.”
I didn’t know much about Kalem’s people, but I was fairly certain that “hospitality” translated to something like “mercy” as well in their language. Peering behind the man, I could see more than a handful of women and children huddling together. A few fighters were mixed in too, but they were either years younger than their prime, or years older.
Refugees, I realized. All the best warriors would have been left behind to fight off the invasion, while those that could be spared would help with the escorting of the women and children.
Oh, stuff that bleeding heart away.
I growled a curse softly under my breath, but nobody looked my way. Olin gritted his teeth, and I knew what was going through his head. He had a good heart, but he also knew that we were barely subsisting on the supplies we had thanks to the Trelan invasion. Adding to our number might have some serious implications later on.
“We have few resources here,” Olin spoke slowly to give himself time to think. “But you are welcome to share what we have. Never let it be said that the people of Radon lack the hospitality to help those in need.”
Kalem bowed deeply. “We shall repay your kindness, great king.” He put his weapon aside.
Olin blushed at being called great king, and turned back to the rest of the men. “Help those that need it, as they need it,” and beckoned to me as he walked away.
Kalem indicated for the rest of his people to come forward and disembark.
“What do you think?” Olin whispered once we had a bit of distance. I knew that Leena, Kalna, and Eira could hear too, but there was no need to worry Olin about that. He was still struggling with the concept of magical powers.
“I think it’s a good decision,” I said honestly. “It sounds like these people have enemies of their own, but allies are never a bad thing to have. I only hope we can support the added numbers.”
Olin nodded, eyeing me. “And then? You have all the answers, it seems.”
I paused to give myself a moment to think, but also to ensure he really wanted a response. He waited, looking at me with trust and friendship in his eyes. “Well, first things first. We need to have a talk with Kalem, ask him who it is they’re running from and how come, despite being attacked by massive sea monsters, their ship is still almost intact.”
“That sounds like a good place to start. Thank you, Braks.”
“Of course, great king,” I replied with a wry smile and a mocking bow.
“Fuck you,” Olin laughed.
I jogged away to help the newcomers unload their ship of its passengers and what cargo they had.
“My people are of the Behran Isle Kingdom,” Kalem told us. Olin had brought him back to the castle to talk about his situation while Kalem’s people were making themselves comfortable in the empty abodes back in the village. Unfortunately, after all that had happened here, there were more than a few of these. Kalna, Leena, Eira, and I had joined Olin back at the castle. The young king was sitting on his father’s old throne—now his, I supposed—but he’d removed his crown, leaving it hanging lightly off the throne’s ivory arm. “We are peaceful,” Kalem continued, “relying on trade for growth. We do have some great warriors, but our armies are not huge in numbers.”
I nodded. This was more or less what I’d learned from those few traders we’d run into before the recent invasion.
Kalem looked over at us, his eyes heavy with the memory. “Less than a year ago, men in black armor came to our shores. They had food and goods that we needed and seemed more than eager to trade. We welcomed them.” He looked down and gritted his teeth, like he’d been against that decision from the beginning. “They brought speakers to our shores. They were wise, but poisonous, spreading lies about our leaders and our king to the people.”
“These men in black armor,” I said. “They wouldn’t happen to call themselves Trelans, would they?”
“Yes.” Kalem raised an eyebrow. “Do you know them?”
“You must have noticed the destruction in the village and the castle when you came in,” I replied. “We managed to push the Trelans who invaded us back out, but at a heavy cost.”
The large man’s eyes got bigger. “How?”
It was a simple question and an understandable one. The man had likely seen the kind of power his foes had harnessed, and probably thought they were impossible to beat. I didn’t feel like going into the evil power that was inhabiting me just now, though.
“It’s complicated,” I responded, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
Kalem nodded, looking away, although I didn’t miss the look of hope in the large man’s eyes. He must have been thinking that if the Trelans had been beaten back here, maybe his people stood a chance.
Kalem continued, “Our king was killed in his bed as he slept. This seems to have been the signal the Trelans were waiting for. The same morning his body was found, they took our outer trading posts and pushed toward our island cities. We fought and held them back long enough for the women and children to be sent away on ships.”
“Ships?” Kalna asked. “I can’t help but notice that there’s only one in our harbor.”
“We started with fifteen.” Kalem gritted his teeth again. “But the monsters… they found us somehow. Not two days’ sail away from here, they came upon us. There were many of them, but they seemed to be moving away and paid us little heed. Even so…”
“You lost fourteen ships,” I finished for him.
“Holy fuck,” Leena swore under her breath. “How many were on the ships?”
“Too many.” Kalem’s bare shoulders hunched up from the effort of controlling himself.
I shook my head. There were some three dozen or so on the ship limped into our little dock. Doing the math, almost five hundred people had been on the lost ships; most of them women and children, from my understanding.
“You survived,” Olin said. “While we mourn the dead, you can never lose hope while you draw breath.”
Kalem nodded. “You are right, oh King, but it may be difficult to forgive their deaths.”
“Never forgive,” Olin replied, although I thought the word “forgive” might lean more toward “forget” in Kalem’s tongue. “Just keep pushing forward. Living well is the best revenge.”
“Well.” I spoke up after a few moments of silence had passed. “I guess that means the Trelans didn’t have just the one army. It took almost everything we had to push them back once. Now we’ve learned they have more armies running around, wreaking havoc.”
Olin nodded. “What do you suggest, Captain?”
I smirked. It had been a while since anyone called me that. I supposed I was still a captain in a way. Captaining an army of the dead was still being a captain, right?
“I suggest we send out some troops. I do recall the Trelans sending men out to various other towns in the area, trying to
do what they did in Kalem’s towns. Spreading lies, readying the people for an occupation that’s to come. They might still have some troops spread out. They might even be landing another army somewhere else along the coast.”
Olin looked pensive. “It’s not like we have that many troops to spare. But yes, it can’t hurt to make sure our enemies aren’t still an immediate threat.”
I nodded. “For myself, I think I’d rather take a ship and a small crew to go out and see what the situation is on the isles. See if I can help the people there. If not, I can slow down the Trelans’ advance enough for us to be able to put up some defenses. So we can be ready for them this time.”
Kalem tilted his head. “No offense, Captain…”
“Braks,” I completed.
“Captain Braks,” Kalem said with a small bow. “But what can one man and a small team do against the forces of evil that assailed my people?”
I shrugged as a small grin touched my lips. “I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve.”
Chapter 3
Tricks or no, I needed a weapon now that my sword had been destroyed. Probably more for my peace of mind than out of actual need. While I still wasn’t sure what I was capable of, I had demonstrated that I certainly had some power. Not just summoning an army and making ice spring from my thoughts—I still remembered the sensation of crushing a helmet with my bare hands.
Though I think crushing the skull of the man wearing the helmet is probably why you remember it.
I shrugged as I made my way up to the royal apartments where I was still sleeping. “I think crushing a helmet with my hands is fairly memorable.”
Really? I’ve done it so many times, I’ve rather lost track.
A shiver ran up my spine at that thought. I made my way past the rooms and headed toward the vault. Most of the weapons and pieces of armor had been looted. While some had been recovered after the battle, the place was still mostly empty.
I could see Olin’s golden bow in the torchlight, held in a place of honor at the center of the room. There were a few suits of armor, although they were too heavy for my taste. A solitary axe made of black wood and steel rested on one of the bare tables. It wasn’t something Olin wanted displayed too prominently, I assumed, since it was the weapon that beheaded his father. But it was still a magical weapon, and until someone could destroy it, it was best to keep it here and out of the hands of anyone who could do damage using it.
“Someone like us.” I reached out for the axe.
I’d really rather not.
“What?” I moved my hand away. “You were perfectly happy to use it to kill the Grand Marshall, remember?”
Well, we were fighting for our lives at the time. And I really wanted to kill that fucker.
“Oh, believe me, I remember. So why don’t you want it now?”
It’s a weapon of fire. I lean more toward ice, or haven’t you noticed?
I shrugged my shoulders. “So, what do you suggest?”
Turn around.
I did as I was told, turning to the opposite table. I smiled, running my fingers over the sword displayed there. I hadn’t had it for very long, but it had been a useful weapon. It would be legendary to the kingdom of Radon one day, provided we survived that long.
My fingers curled around the hilt, and my eyes ran over the blade. It was short, cut off at an angle about a foot away from the cross guard, leaving a sharp edge. The rest of the blade, a full foot and a half of steel, was laid a bit to the left.
“Well, it’s good for stabbing,” I commented with a small smile, putting the blade back down. “But it’s too heavy to be a good short sword, and it’s not even a little bit magical.”
Oh Braks. Have a little faith, yes? I need a bit of room to do this.
I sighed, relaxing my usually rigid hold on the power inside me, letting it slip down over my arms. I couldn’t see the blackness, but I could feel it descending into my fingers. My hands moved as if of their own accord, one gripping the hilt and the other the broken piece of blade. The blade stung, biting deep into my hand as I gripped too tight. I pressed firmly into where it had been cut from the rest of the sword.
Blood magic. It’ll bind this sword to you.
I nodded at the explanation. Concern radiated from the girls through our connection when they began to feel the power seeping through. Eira wondered if there was danger, while Kalna’s immediate reaction was to push the Darkness back.
I did my best to convey that I was in control of the situation and that this needed to be done. Kalna pulled her influence back, but she didn’t seem too convinced. I gritted my teeth, watching my blood beginning to press into the gap between the pieces of the broken sword. Steam hissed angrily like ice being touched by a piece of white-hot steel. The sword began to shake, and against all logic, the blood began seeping upward, eventually covering the whole surface of the weapon from top to bottom.
Shooting pains ran up and down my arms. I closed my eyes, and a roar of agony rushed from my chest. It kept growing and growing until I couldn’t stand it anymore. I pushed the sword back to the table with a gasp and took a step away. The Darkness receded from my hands and arms until it had disappeared entirely. I was breathing hard, and my heart hammered in my chest as I looked down at my hand. The cut from the sword was already gone, although the skin was still a bit sore. There wasn’t even a scar.
You’re welcome.
I couldn’t quite place how I knew, but the Darkness felt truly exhausted. It was as if reforging the blade had taken up an enormous amount of its power.
I stepped near again, looking closely at the sword. It wasn’t silver anymore. The blade and the hilt were the purest black, steam still rising from the now-whole weapon although I could see the seam where it had been repaired. Aside from a pair of notches on each side of the blade, it looked to be in perfect order. I lifted the weapon up, looking it over.
“What did you do to it?” I asked, almost reverently.
I’ve filled it with our combined essence. Not only is it practically indestructible now, but it also acts as a conduit, a focusing point and magnifier for your power. And mine, of course.
I nodded. “Sounds useful.”
It is. It’s also been a long time since I’ve made a weapon like that. I’d forgotten how painful it is.
I smirked. “So, you felt that too?”
Anything you feel, I feel, Braks. Remember?
“So, when we—”
No, Braks, I already told you. Sex is distasteful to me. Feel free to enjoy it, but know that you enjoy it without me around.
“You do know that’s actually a comfort, right?” I slipped the blade back into the sheath that was lying behind it on the table. It fit perfectly, just like it had before. I smiled. It felt right, slipping it back to its place on my belt. Like it completed me somehow.
It is a part of us now, technically. Like an extra arm that cuts and helps us in battle.
I nodded, still not comfortable with how it said us. It was accurate. For better or worse, I was bound to this Darkness for the foreseeable future, which meant that we were closer and more intimate than most—but I didn’t have to like it.
“Let’s get some food and rest,” I said, feeling the Darkness receding to the back of my mind. I looked out the single window in the room, seeing that the sun had already disappeared behind the mountains and darkness was starting to fall.
Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
I’d never been out to sea. Even though fishing had been a huge part of the economy of Radon, I just never had any interest in it. I’d grown up with my feet firmly set on the ground, and I had been more than happy to leave them there without having to deal with any of the many problems that came with sailing out into the middle of the great blue.
In all honesty, I probably should have stayed in Radon. My efforts could be used to build up fortifications for making my home more defensible and readying it for the inevitable attack from our enemies. Charging out into the gr
eat unknown probably wasn’t my best move ever.
Oh, please. You’re just pathetic, you know that? Get yourself up from the damned rail, and help someone else for a change.
I growled a soft curse as I pulled away from the railing and wiped my mouth. I’d run out of stomach contents to throw out into the sea, but that didn’t stop my stomach from periodically trying anyway.
One of the crew that had volunteered to come with us chuckled and offered me a skin of water.
“Never been to sea before?” He sniggered.
I shook my head. “Honestly, I’m starting to wonder if coming here was a good idea in the first place,” I answered miserably before taking a swig from the skin.
“Spit it out,” the sailor advised. “If you swallow that, you’ll just heave again.”
I nodded, moving back to the railing and spitting the water into the ocean. The foul taste had lessened, and I took another swig to clean my mouth out more before handing it back to the man.
“What’s your name?”
“Cameron.” The man smiled as he moved over beside me. “I was part of one of the merchant crews that were docked when the Trelans attacked. They destroyed our ship and stranded us there.”
I looked around at the ship we’d picked out for this endeavor. Most of the fishing and trading vessels that had been docked were destroyed when the sea monsters beached, leaving very little for the people to support themselves with. The Trelans had brought their own ships, however, and most were still intact even after the battle.
They had to be refitted for anything other than military use, but we weren’t exactly on a peace mission ourselves. There were massive ballistae fitted to the deck. The whole thing looked like it had no soul, like the people who built it knew their work was going to be used for war and didn’t want to leave any vestige of humanity in it.
