Plague Arcanist (Frith Chronicles Book 4)

by Shami Stovall

  After a minute of silence, Karna placed a palm on my shoulder and guided me back down on the bed. I complied with her unspoken command, and she once again curled next to my side.

  “I like your night sky analogy, Volke,” she said. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

  I closed my eyes, the sleep too much to fight.

  “I intend to help you in whatever way I can,” Karna continued, her voice distant. “I won’t stop until we find a way to rid you of this plague.”

  Two days until we would reach our destination.

  Thunderstorms flashed in the clouds that blocked the majority of the sun. A light misting of rain followed us from the straits, never letting up. Although surrounded by chill and gloom, I steadied myself for the eventual confrontation with Theasin once we reached the Excavation Site.

  What would he say when we mention the khepera? How would he justify his actions? Would I even ask? If he had a cure, but I upset him, he might not share it. Was that a concern I should even consider?

  And then there was the question of the Second Ascension. Perhaps his actions with the khepera could be explained, but if he had helped the Second Ascension attack Thronehold, there was nothing he could say to exonerate himself.

  In a moment of meditation, I decided that I was calm enough to risk gathering information from the one person I hated most on this vessel—Calisto.

  He stood on the quarterdeck, overlooking the gray waves, his manticore at his side. When I started toward him, my shadow shifted with agitated movements.

  “My arcanist,” Luthair said. “You should stay far away from that man. Nothing good will come of this.”

  “I’m just going to ask some questions. It’ll be okay.” I walked over the shadow and took the stairs to the quarterdeck, my hands in my pockets.

  As I approached, Hellion got to all four “feet.” His front hands disturbed me since they looked so much like a human’s, and I couldn’t help but stare as I walked across the deck. With my eyes low, I took note of Calisto’s boots. They were, in fact, the trinkets I had made for Jozé right before leaving the Sun Chaser. Had Karna asked my father to make them as part of Calisto’s payment? That was the only explanation—and Jozé hadn’t told me because I would’ve said no had I known.

  Calisto turned around. He must’ve caught me staring because he half-smiled and said, “I should thank you for these. They worked perfectly.” Then he returned his gaze to the distant waters, as though unconcerned with my proximity. Although he had been struck by Redbeard’s reaper scythe, it seemed as though he had mostly recovered at this point—much faster than a normal arcanist.

  Hellion kept his neutral mask-face on me.

  With hesitant steps, I moved within ten feet of Calisto, my anger clawing its way up my chest. I had to remind myself to take even breaths. I only had a few questions. This would be over quickly.

  “Do you have a moment?” I asked, though I didn’t know why I was bothering to be polite.

  “As part of the agreement to transport you, we were told not to engage you in conversation,” Hellion said, his creepy voice partly muffled by the mask. He “smiled” as the edges of his mouth-hole curled upward. “You should stay locked away in your cabin before something happens.”

  “I’m the one engaging you in conversation,” I said. “Not the other way around. You’re not breaking your agreement.”

  Calisto tore his gaze from the sea and gave me his full attention. His copper hair, wet from the sprinkle of rain, clung in clumps over his glowing arcanist mark. “What do you want?” he asked, the words slow and deliberate.

  “You work for the Second Ascension, right?”

  “What of it?”

  “Do you know if Theasin Venrover is also helping them?”

  Calisto narrowed his eyes. His manticore swished his scorpion tail, his expression still set to “happy.”

  “You don’t know much about them, do you?” Calisto finally asked.

  “Will you answer my questions or not?” I growled.

  “Oh, I’ll tell you.” Calisto shrugged and forced a laugh. “I’ll tell you everything you want to know. Their leader, their organizational structure, their plans, the next step in their plans, the arcanists who make up their ranks—anything you want.”

  “You… you will?” I rubbed at the back of my neck, shocked by the sudden turn in the conversation. “You’d betray them?”

  This time, Calisto responded with a genuine laugh. “What’s it matter to you who I betray? It’s your lucky day.”

  “Then tell me about Theasin.”

  “Hold on. I didn’t say the information was free.” Calisto took a single step forward. “But I will make an exchange.”

  My anger twisted into rage. I managed to quell it just as fast as it emerged. With gritted teeth, I asked, “What do you want?”

  “You’re one of Everett Zelfree’s apprentices, right? You were here on my ship more than a year ago.”

  I held my breath as I replied with a nod.

  “Then you know the rizzel arcanist—the girl missing an eye. Tell me about her, and I’ll tell you everything you want to know about the Second Ascension.”

  His cold tone and twisted proposal sent me right back to the edge of self-control.

  “What is your sick perversion with Illia?” I asked, my volume increasing with each word. “Why won’t you just leave her alone? You took her family and her eye, and now you have to search for her at every port?”

  “So her name is Illia?” Calisto wiped some of the rain from his face, half-concealing a smile. “I didn’t know that.”

  “You’re a disgusting bastard.”

  Calisto shrugged. “You’re gonna have to use more creative insults than that, kid. I’ve heard that one plenty of times.”

  “Tell me. Tell me why you hurt her.”

  “Heh. It wasn’t personal, at first. I needed the eyes of children for Hellion’s true form, and her parents hadn’t been willing to part with one.”

  I placed my hand on the hilt of Retribution. Before I could draw the blade, the shadows lifted up around me. Luthair merged with my being, and I allowed the process to happen—happy for his added strength—but the moment his cold power soaked into my veins, so did a stronger sense of self-control.

  Please, calm yourself, Luthair said telepathically. This isn’t like you, my arcanist. Starting a fight here will help no one.

  Hellion’s mask contorted into an angry face, complete with narrowed, V-shaped eyebrows and a drastic frown. It wasn’t until that moment that I took note of Hellion’s stature—seven feet at the shoulder, his crimson mane pouring over his muscular neck and shoulders. The claws of the beast put most daggers to shame.

  Calisto drew his cutlass, though he didn’t seem concerned—the opposite, in fact. He chuckled as he took a wide stance.

  With Luthair’s extra bit of sanity, I managed to take a deep breath.

  “Go on,” Calisto said. “This is the part where you get mad and try to avenge your friend. Tell me I’ll never hurt Illia again and strike. It’s what you want to do.”

  He was taunting me. Why? He wanted a fight? Here on the deck of his nightmare ship?

  Instead, I turned on my heel. Luthair’s cape swished around me as I headed for the stairs, my gait stiff.

  Calisto didn’t attack me, but he did call out, “Whenever you’re ready to talk, I’ll be here, waiting to exchange information.”

  “Land ho!” a pirate shouted from the crow’s nest.

  I hadn’t expected to see so much smoke on the horizon, but the black pillars rising in the distance were all I could focus on.

  The crew of the Third Abyss hustled to get everything prepared for landing. I stayed on the deck of the ship while we sailed closer and closer to a rickety port not far from our location. When we neared land, I took note of the broken buildings, devastated landscape, and shadows in the bay—sunken ships. Dozens of them.

  Although the trees still stood, most of the
area had become a wasteland. The drizzle of rain continued its gentle downpour, preventing the flocks of birds from taking flight. The ravens rested on the debris of the ruined city, their shiny eyes visible, even from the port.

  The Lightning Straits was the easiest route into this bay, and it had been filled with thunder and plague-ridden creatures. It didn’t surprise me that the port here would be abandoned, but what else had happened to it?

  As the crew tied the Third Abyss to the dock, I figured out the answer to my own question. The arcane plague infested this area. In all directions, I could feel its hold. The ravens weren’t normal birds, but plague-ridden mystical creatures. Mermaids filled the sunken ships beneath us, the shimmer of their vibrant tails visible whenever they chanced a swim out—plague-ridden, all of them.

  This wasn’t a safe location. It wasn’t even really a location. No one had lived here for years, perhaps decades, given the plants growing over the destruction. It was a graveyard of a town and port, worn down by monsters.

  Theasin had come here?

  Here?

  The smoke in the distance was our only indicator of civilization. It had to be the Excavation Site. What were they digging up there?

  Spider sauntered over to the port side of the ship and ordered the pirates to lower the gangplank. Then she had them start fetching supplies and unloading. I watched with idle curiosity, surprised to see them preparing for a long stay.

  Spider turned to me and fixed her half-open shirt. “You got a problem?”

  “You’re going to shore?” I asked.

  “That’s right.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s really none of your concern,” she said with an edge to her words. “But you weren’t the only reason we came out this way. We’ll be picking someone up.”

  Odd. Then again, if pirates were the only ones capable of sailing the Lightning Straits, it made sense. They could make honest coin acting as a passenger vessel.

  “You heading off, then?” Spider asked, motioning to the gangplank.

  I pulled my coat tight. For the last few days, I had rarely been dry.

  “We’ll be leaving,” I said. “Thank you for the ride.”

  Spider crossed her arms. “Just hurry and get off our ship, try-hard. I’m tired of seeing you and your whore friend around these parts.”

  That was what I got for being polite. I should’ve known.

  I headed for the officer’s quarters, intent on gathering Fain, Adelgis, and Karna for our short trek across land. We had to be careful—not because we were in grave danger, but because I couldn’t allow Adelgis or Karna to also get infected with the plague during our journey to the Excavation Site.

  42

  The Excavation Site

  Karna, Fain, Adelgis, and I disembarked from the Third Abyss, what little belongings we had packed away into satchels. At first, I thought we needed to stay on high alert for the entire trip, but the plague-ridden beasts didn’t approach us. We traveled through the desolate remains of a town, following a worn path made of cobblestone. The monsters watched from afar, some laughing or chuckling, some watching with bulging dead-fish eyes. It was as if they couldn’t get near us—and I didn’t understand why.

  We arrived at the southern edge of the village and discovered a new path had been carved through the woods. The dirt road led straight to the dark smoke in the distance. I stopped once the cobblestone ended, my attention on the trees. They had white trunks and gray leaves—as though drained of color. I remembered them. They had been in the first dream-memory Adelgis had given me.

  Were we close to Zelfree’s hometown? Or was the rubble behind us what remained of it?

  A gentle breeze rushed by. Karna grabbed at her long, blonde hair and then tied it back into a ponytail. She had worn her loose trousers and cloth wrap over her chest—the same revealing outfit she had worn into the Grotto Labyrinth. Did she plan on changing her shape often?

  Fain glanced over his shoulder and then flinched. He whirled on his heel and pulled out his dagger, his whole body tense. “Who’re you?”

  I looked around Fain, ready for a fight, if needed.

  Standing behind us, holding a heavy satchel over one shoulder, was an eccentric man. He wore a top hat, and his thick belt could barely contain his gut. His purple shirt and black trousers reminded me of a circus troupe.

  Wraith dropped his invisibility and snarled at the strange man, his long wolf fangs glistening with saliva.

  The man forced a smile and held up both hands. “Hey, there. No need to get upset.”

  “Why’re you following us?” Fain demanded.

  Karna placed both hands on her hips. “That’s the rudest thing I’ve heard you say.” She leapt to the man’s side and straightened his shirt. “This is my eldrin.”

  The odd man tipped his top hat. It calmed Wraith enough that the wendigo stopped growling and returned to his invisible state.

  “Your eldrin?” Fain sheathed his dagger. “Why haven’t we seen him before?”

  Karna shook her head. “He’s always been around. You just haven’t been observant enough to spot him. But now that we’re not surrounded by crowds of people, there’s nowhere he can hide.”

  “Okay… What’s his name?”

  The man with the top hat exchanged a questioning look with Karna. After a long bout of silence, Karna shrugged.

  “You may call him Karr.”

  The name struck me as amusing. Was it the male version of Karna? Did the doppelgänger take a new name for every form and that was why they had hesitated to answer? I glanced over at Adelgis, wondering if he had heard my thoughts and hoping he would have some sort of explanation for the name.

  He didn’t say anything, though. He kept his eyes down, practically drilling a hole into his boots with his gaze.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Adelgis replied. “But ever since we left the ship, I haven’t been able to hear anyone’s thoughts.”

  “Really?” I asked.

  Karna, Fain, and Karr—if that was really his name?—turned their attention to us.

  Adelgis continued, “Once we stepped off the gangplank, I couldn’t hear any thoughts. I tried, but it failed. I suspect whatever is preventing me from hearing thoughts is also keeping the plague-ridden mystical creatures out of the nearby vicinity.” He lifted his gaze and met my eyes with a serious expression. “I think this is a powerful aura. A master arcanist must be nearby.”

  “What kind of arcanist could create an aura like this?” I asked.

  “I’m not sure…” Adelgis pointed to the road. “But we shouldn’t stop here. Let’s be on our way.”

  Although it bothered me that Adelgis hadn’t said anything about his limited magical powers until now, I did agree that we needed to continue. I had too many questions and not enough answers. Now wasn’t the time to dither.

  We headed into the woods as a group, everyone walking within a few inches of each other. I suspected if I stopped, someone would collide into me, so I kept my pace brisk.

  The color-drained trees of white and gray protected us from the light misting of rain. Fat water droplets occasionally rolled off the leaves, but it was better than before and the more clement weather allowed most of my clothes to dry.

  The road itself was made of packed dirt. Grooves from heavy carriages and wagons cut deep into the ground, and I suspected this was a straight trek with few deviations. No one turned off into the trees; no one took a different route.

  The deeper into the woods we went, the more anxious I became.

  “So, Moonbeam, you really can’t hear anyone’s thoughts right now?” Karna asked. Her playful tone helped ease my tension, and I suspected that might have been her goal.

  “I cannot,” Adelgis said. “It’s quiet, but pleasant.”

  “Good. Because there’s something I’ve wanted to ask you, but I’ve avoided you whenever I’ve thought about it because of… reasons.”

  Adelgis knitted his eyeb
rows. “Should I be worried?”

  “No,” Karna said as she brushed her hand over his shoulder. “I was just curious about your personal life. You keep to yourself, you never seem to seek out companionship, and unlike most men I know, your eyes never wander… Why is that?”

  Fain walked between them, his expression set into an annoyed glower. “Leave him alone. He’s had it rough.”

  “It’s fine,” Adelgis said. “I don’t mind answering—it’s quite simple. It’s not that I don’t want companionship. I do. However, for many years, I had a parasite in my body, and for the last several months, I haven’t felt myself. At a certain point, I grew accustomed to avoiding people, and I think I’ll maintain that until I’m whole again, if that makes any sense.”

  “I see,” Karna replied. She held her hands behind her back as she asked, “And if you had to describe your perfect companion, what would they look like?”

  “Probably like my sister,” Adelgis said.

  Everyone snapped their attention to him, myself included.

  Adelgis’s eyebrows shot to his hairline, and for the first time in a long time, the color of his face shifted from honeyed to rosy pink. He flailed with his hands as he tried to speak. “Er, well, I didn’t mean it like that. What I’m trying to say is someone who is opposite to me, but who’s also understanding.” He looked away, tapping the tips of his fingers together. “Cinna has always been socially astute and charismatic, and she’s never had a problem with the way I… conduct myself. I didn’t mean her exactly. Of course not. I meant someone like her.”

  The silence that followed only furthered Adelgis’s embarrassment. He fidgeted with his long hair.

  “Now I miss my ability to read minds,” he muttered.