Great, so I could be some kind of weirdo freak. Or just power hungry like the rest of my family. I swallowed hard.
Deryt went to the stairs and looked back. “I’ll find some paper we can use to sketch out designs,” he called. “Figure out some details before we change the ship again.”
I nodded. “Um, okay, whatever you think is best.” I was done arguing.
Janera rubbed her hands together. “Right, I think I’ll bring the cooking supplies out here so I can make stay out of your way. A late breakfast might cheer everyone up.”
My stomach rumbled in agreement. I couldn’t believe that in all the excitement, I’d totally forgotten to eat. I smiled at her, grateful for the distraction.
“I’ll start a fire,” Amena volunteered, walking off without another look at me. Kyra followed. I could breathe easier without those two.
Uqra flew from Amena’s shoulder to mine. “I’ll keep an eye on Deryt while you work together,” she whispered in my ear.
“Thanks,” I whispered back. I felt better knowing that someone else would be there to keep me from going too far.
I glanced over at Vilqa, who was still deep in conversation with Tika. I hoped they were starting to understand how important our mission was and they didn’t regret joining us. I still owed them my explanation, but it looked like I would be busy for a while.
Deryt and I spent several hours going over every detail of the airship on paper. We ate while we worked. The design sketch was way more complicated than I’d ever imagined, and I didn’t understand everything he told me about lift and aerodynamics. But when he was satisfied that the new version would fly, he offered his magic to my guidance.
The others sat and watched while we worked, but I tried to ignore them. Sano’s magic, flowing through Deryt, felt totally different from Sawycha or Quilla. The sky god’s power was so light at first that I could barely feel it, and it seemed to slip away every time I tried to grab hold of it. I realized I had to shape it indirectly, like raising my finger and feeling the wind flow around it. But it worked well for crafting a vessel that floated on the air.
By the time we were finished, the airship was unrecognizable from the one we’d stolen in Lyndamon. Since there was no disguising that it was an armed battleship, we added the colors of the imperial fleet. Hopefully we’d be able to fly in the open without making people suspicious, at least from a distance. It would take strain off of Deryt and Janera if they could sleep instead of flying all night.
Deryt had suggested replacing my magical guns for regular ones, since we were pretty sure our magic helped Rennu track us. But stealing ammunition sounded much more risky. I pointed out that if we needed the guns again, we’d already be under attack from the enemy, so we might as well use our full strength. So the weapons stayed the same.
We were both exhausted at the end, but all the magic we used meant we had to move again. Janera took over flying so Deryt could get some rest. I also wanted to sleep, but I’d already put off Vilqa for too long.
Once we were in the air, I left the others in the cockpit with Janera and asked Vilqa to join me in the galley where we could talk alone. Other than adjusting the controls in the front, we’d left the interior mostly unchanged. The galley still had the warm, homey feeling I appreciated. I heated some honey milk, poured a mug for each of us, and we sat at the table.
“So,” I said, smiling at Vilqa. “How much did Tika explain?”
Vilqa let out a long breath. “Wow. For a little sand piper, she sure does talk a lot.”
I laughed. “Yeah. Once she gets going, she doesn’t seem to stop.” I cupped the mug in my left hand and blew on it. “I know it’s overwhelming, but did you get the basics?”
“I think so. Everyone here has been chosen as a champion of the gods, and we’re on a mission to release Quilla?” They raised an eyebrow at me. “I don’t know what she’ll do when she’s free, though.”
I nodded. “I’m not sure about that, either. I know there are people who are doing bad things with Chysa’s power, and Quilla is the only goddess with enough strength to challenge her sister. But how we can stop them with just a handful of warriors against the whole empire…” I shrugged. “Tika, Uqra, and the gods have only given us one piece at a time. I’d really like to know more, but I think they’re waiting to see what Quilla says.”
Vilqa sipped their milk. “I have no idea if I’m up for this. I mean, I wasn’t happy in my old job, but I never thought about joining the rebellion.”
“Me, neither.” I let out a half-hearted laugh. “But Deryt would say that’s because I was lucky enough to live in a city and I was ignorant of what my pampered life cost others.” After seeing where Amena and Deryt had grown up, I knew why they wanted to change things. But Vilqa hadn’t complained about living on the mainland. “What was your apprenticeship?”
“It’s not an apprenticeship. My job was packing sardines on the cannery line, and I learned everything I needed to know about that boring work in my first week.”
I tasted my sweet milk and thought about Janera complaining when she’d been chosen as a temple guard instead of a baking apprenticeship like she’d dreamed about. Choosing Day was supposed to put everyone in the best position for their abilities, but it seemed like the ceremony could be manipulated. My parents had both used the process to fight over me. If the results could be altered, or even make mistakes, maybe some people got the wrong assignment. “What did you want to do instead?”
Vilqa shrugged. “I don’t know. In Damondytti, most people ended up either catching fish or canning them. The cushy jobs all go to people who got trained somewhere else.”
The image of Vilqa protecting Sawycha’s temple flashed into my mind. “I would have expected you to be chosen for a priestess, since you have so much magical potential. Sawycha even called you to her temple.”
Vilqa’s face darkened. “They’d never allow me to go. A teacher asked me, before our last exams at school, if I’d get over this ‘phase’ and commit to being a girl full-time. I said no, and then I ended up in the cannery.” They leaned back and sipped their milk. “Have you ever seen a non-binary priestess before?”
I had to shake my head. Every novice and priestess in I met in Damon Temple had had long hair and used feminine pronouns, so they at least outwardly identified as girls. “But it shouldn’t make a difference. You’re at least part girl.”
“If it didn’t make any difference, then boys like Deryt would be priests. He obviously has magical potential that no one trained. But you even said I shouldn’t serve Sawycha if I wasn’t a lesbian.” Vilqa folded their arms and stared at me. “Did you have to prove your identity to serve a god?”
That stung. I hung my head in shame at my own words. “I’m sorry.” I cleared my throat. “I guess you already know Sawycha chose me first, so I was jealous when she said you were her new champion. I hoped she could take me back, and someone else could be the one responsible for all the big stuff.”
“The big stuff? Like releasing Quilla?”
I nodded.
“Tika made it sound like it was a huge honor to be chosen.” They leaned closer. “And aren’t you the leader? I mean, Tika said you hand-picked everyone in this group because you could see magical potential. And you’ve already helped me a lot with my magic. So you’re responsible for the ‘big stuff.’”
I flinched and shrank away. “No, Amena’s the leader. She’s been doing this longer than me, and we took a vote to put her in charge.”
Vilqa pulled back. “Sorry, I didn’t know.” They looked toward the front of the airship. “Should I be talking to her instead? I mean, if she’s the leader.”
“I guess.” I swallowed. “I mean, talk to whoever you want to. You should get to know everyone in our group. They’re good people, good friends.” Even though we’d fought, they still cared about me.
Vilqa reached into their pocket and pulled out a lumpy object. “But I think you’ll know what to do with this.”
I took the strange object and found it was a stone, a natural oblong shape that had been polished smooth. The surface was cold, and the temperature didn’t warm up as I held it. It was opaque, an opalescent shimmering with white and silver. I’d never seen or heard of anything like it, and yet it felt familiar. I knew what it had to be.
“A moonstone,” I breathed, staring at it. “But how could—I mean, it’s not like a sunstone that just traps light inside a prism.” I turned it over in my hand. This was a magic that I’d never seen before.
“It’s been freezing inside my pocket all day.” Vilqa cupped their warm mug and shivered. “Like carrying around ice.”
I tore my eyes away from the mesmerizing sight. “Where did you get this?”
“I guess I should have given it to you sooner.” Vilqa rubbed the back of their neck, looking sheepish. “See, I was standing in front of that moon shrine when Sawycha broke open the wall. I couldn’t see much, but that thing was glowing. I grabbed it as we were running away.”
I felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. “I thought it had all been destroyed, but you found a clue.” I stared at the moonstone again. “If only I could figure out what it means.”
Tika flew in the open galley door. “What did you do—oh.” She landed on the table in front of me and cocked her head at the stone in my hand. “I felt the power of that when you touched it. But where did you find a moonstone? I haven’t seen one in centuries.”
“Vilqa found it in the shrine before it was destroyed.” I held it out so Tika could get a closer look. “It’s a clue, right? But what does it mean?”
Tika gave me an incredulous look. “Have you learned nothing by now? Pray to Quilla!”
Of course. I closed my eyes and held the moonstone close, reaching out for its power. I whispered the goddess’s name three times.
Coldness pierced my forehead like an ice cream headache. Without my control, my mouth opened and the goddess’s deeper voice echoed out.
“You came so close already. You know where I am.”
Vilqa grabbed my shoulder and shook me. “Riwenne? Are you okay?”
The magic broke and my eyes flew open. “It’s alright,” I said with a smile. “It’s the same as before. She just… takes over, and I let her.”
Tika squawked. “And you shouldn’t interrupt!” She hopped closer, peering up at me. “What did she mean? You already know where Quilla is being held?”
I nodded. An image had flashed into my mind when the goddess took over, one I’d seen before in my dreams, and I felt foolish for not realizing it sooner. “Yes, but I have no idea how we’re getting there. I think the moon goddess is at the bottom of the sea.”
15
Swimming Lessons
Vilqa gasped in surprise, but Tika barely moved a feather. “Well, of course she is,” she snapped. “Such a devious plan of Chysa’s. I was afraid Quilla was on the moon, which would be much harder to reach. But it’s too obvious, so we ruled that idea out years ago.”
I blinked at the sand piper. “How is this better than the moon? Uqra could open a portal there, right? But if we opened a doorway to the bottom of the ocean, we’d drown.”
Tika puffed up her feathers. “There’s no air on the moon, so you would suffocate. However, with the right magic, anyone could learn to breathe underwater like a fish.”
I shivered and dropped the stone. I’d had dreams where I was breathing underwater, but it was dark and endless with pressure bearing down on me, and I feared the creatures lurking in the deep. I didn’t know how to swim. As beautiful as the ocean was, I was terrified of drowning.
Vilqa leaned forward. “Magic to breathe underwater? That sounds awesome! Why don’t they teach that to pearl divers or sailors? It seems like a really useful ability.”
Tika preened under the attention. “Well, most people don’t have me. I told you I would share my gift if the time came where it would be useful. As Sawycha’s servant, I can grant this power to all of you.”
My head was spinning with the possibility. I gulped more of my honeyed milk. It was growing cold and nothing felt warm compared to the chill of the deep ocean. “Just like Uqra’s doorways. So, you’re like the demigoddess of fish or something?”
“I’m a lot of things,” Tika said with a sniff. “But my main job is Sawycha’s messenger. Anyway, the ocean is a big place. Do you know where, exactly, Quilla is trapped?”
I closed my eyes. “Like she said, we were almost there. I think it’s a… canyon, or a trench, in the middle of Jenatta’s Bay.” I couldn’t quite picture it, but I sensed the seafloor dropping away. I opened my eyes again. “Something else is there, which is why Sawycha didn’t know how to find her. We’ll have to be careful.”
Tika nodded. “It will take some time to prepare. I’ll teach all of you how to breathe underwater, and we may want to wait a few days before we head back to the coast, just in case the imperial army is still looking for us.” She tilted her head to one side, then the other. “I’m wondering if it would be better for us to target the new moon in a few days, or wait for another phase?”
“Hm.” I tapped my chin. “Maybe we wait an extra day or two. I think Quilla would be at her weakest when there’s no moon in the sky.”
Tika hopped onto my shoulder. “Well, we can plan with the others. Let’s go tell them.”
I chewed on my lip. I hadn’t finished talking to Vilqa, and I wanted to take a nap. Did it matter if we figured out all the details right now? I guess everyone would feel better if they heard we knew where Quilla was trapped and we could start working on a plan. It was nice to have some good news for them. I squared my shoulders and stood up.
“Right, let’s talk.” I scooped up the empty mugs from the table with my left hand and then realized, too late, that I’d left the moonstone still sitting there.
I looked down at my right hand, tucked inside the sling. I’d been avoiding using my injured arm at all, but the bruised shoulder ached even when I didn’t move it. The moonstone held magic. I wouldn’t ask to borrow anyone else’s magic for myself, but if I could use this stone, perhaps I could heal again.
I slipped my arm out of the sling and picked up the moonstone, then closed my eyes to pray.
The icy sensation crept up my arm and soothed my muscles. But the magic didn’t stop there. I could feel it flowing through me, filling up the emptiness lingering ever since I’d lost contact with Quilla on that fateful night. I was complete in a way I hadn’t when I borrowed the others’ magic. This power was mine, and I was a warrior again.
I opened my eyes and tested the arm, turning it one way and the other. It felt fine, better than fine, and the bruises had all disappeared. I grinned.
“I think things are finally starting to go our way.”
Before we learned Tika’s magic for breathing underwater, Amena decided we should all learn the basics of swimming. This seemed a little backward to me—wouldn’t it be easier to learn to swim if we didn’t risk drowning at the same time?—but the others followed her lead.
We were inland, but there were several rivers which fed down to the bay. To avoid the imperial fleet still on the coast, we found a secluded pool along one river for our swimming lessons. The pool was the opposite of the ocean—dark and sludgy with rotting leaves, with trees hanging close overhead. Tika promised she would keep an eye out for snakes and crocodiles, but I didn’t find that reassuring.
We also had to decide how to dress for our mission. The ocean was warm on its surface, but Vilqa explained the water would be colder the deeper we swam away from the sun, so we’d need clothing that allowed us to move while still keeping us warm. Amena stole a set of woolen bathing costumes. Trousers and shirts for Vilqa and Deryt, while us girls got blouses, bloomers, and skirts. The wool fabric was heavy, even heavier when it got wet, but Vilqa said it would hold in warmth better than a lighter material.
The outfits would’ve been fine if the weather was cooler, but we were in the fifth sea
son, the hottest time of year. The days were long and the extra hours of sunlight baked everything even under the rainforest canopy. As soon as I’d changed into the bathing costume for our first morning of swimming lessons, wool sticking to my sweaty skin, I wanted to tear it off.
“I hate it,” I told Amena as soon as I stepped out of the tent set up for changing clothes. “Can’t we learn to swim in our underclothes or something? We won’t need all this until we’re in the ocean.”
Amena shook her head. “It’s better if you get used to it while you have the chance.”
I stepped gingerly into the water and grimaced at the bulky skirt floating up around my waist. “What about ditching this extra layer? I doubt it adds that much warmth. Seems like it’ll just get tangled around my legs.”
Kyra smoothed her skirt down. Somehow, she wore the ridiculous bathing costume as if it were as elegant as a gown. “It’s proper for a lady to wear a skirt that hides her figure.”
I shot a look at Vilqa and Deryt. Their long shirts hung down over their hips, which did just as much to hide their figures. It seemed like the skirt and blouse combination did more to highlight my pudgy waist than hide anything else. I tugged off the skirt and left it in a pile on the shore.
Amena paired us off so each of the experienced swimmers could help us beginners. She would teach Kyra, of course. Deryt and Janera made a logical team since they were getting along well as copilots. That left Vilqa to teach me.
Vilqa had grown up by the ocean and moved just as easily in the water as they did on land. They jumped into the deepest part of the pool and disappeared, popping up just a few feet in front of me. “Come on, it’s fun,” they said with a grin.
I waded a little further out, but the water got much deeper. My feet refused to leave the safety of the bottom. I didn’t know the first thing about swimming.
Riwenne & the Bionic Witches Page 12
