Using all her strength, Van focused on the monster’s giant eye.
The laocoon leaned forward, extending its beak-like mouth, and opened its jaw, ready to strike the ship again.
Van raised her arms and clapped her hands, but this time, she held them together. A bolt of light shot from her clasped hands and harpooned the sea creature in the main eye.
The laocoon let out several ear-piercing screeches. Its tentacles flailed, even the stubs with missing heads.
Then, it grew silent. The tentacles stopped moving and dropped into the water. Its burnt eye, nothing but a black hole. The sea monster slipped beneath the surface of the sea.
“You think we killed it?” Pernilla appeared next to Van, her wet hair matted to her head and neck. She breathed heavily from physical exertion and wiped blood-soaked sweat from her forehead.
“Bah. We weren’t worth the hassle to eat.” Kopius’s clothes were torn and stained with sweat and splotches of red and blue blood.
Brux twisted toward Van with a clenched jaw. “You shouldn’t have done that,” he said, fuming.
“You’re welcome,” Van said.
Brux glanced at Ferox, who worked nearby helping the injured crew, and lowered his voice. “Ferox knows we lied about being marketeer’s scouts.” His eyes bored into Van. “That we’re Lodians out of bounds and that—”
“You’re the Anchoress,” Ferox said.
He apparently saw them whispering and came to put a stop to their private conversation.
The look on his face made Van uneasy.
Oh, I really screwed up this time. Van wondered if the Lodians might be better off if she died, laid to rest at the bottom of the sea along with her powers and the Coin.
Ferox remained silent; his stare unwavering, even as one his men handed him a sword. He seemed to be soaking in the reality of standing before the Lodian’s fabled Anchoress. No longer a myth and undeniably the most wanted criminal in the Living World, according to Balish law.
“Touch her and you’re done.” Brux protectively stepped in front of Van, ready to continue the fight, although his time, against a different kind of monster—Ferox.
Several more of his soldiers had been paying attention and rushed over. They flanked their prince, ready to strike at his command.
“It’s not against the law for underage Lodians to be out-of-bounds.” Pernilla stood firm, also looking ready for battle.
“The Elementals would never agree to that,” Kopius said. “Or to the rumors about kill orders on Lodian children.”
“You harm us and the Elementals will never allow your people access to Salus Valde,” Brux said.
“No, but I can detain you.” Ferox continued to stare at Van as he gripped his blood-soaked sword, though not raised. “This gives my family the evidence it needs to void Manik’s law. We do this by the book. Then,” he turned to Brux, “we will be allowed to take over Salus Valde.”
“All that talk about the Sanctus Novus—making the right choices, it was all…lies?” Van grasped her wounded abdomen, the bleeding hadn’t stopped. Perhaps it was worse than she thought. Van felt weaker by the minute, but that could be from using her powers. Her soul was partially damaged, and she was still cursed, after all.
Brux noticed the blood soaking her flank and his expression showed concern. But he didn’t make a move, obviously trying to avoid giving Ferox a reason to sic his men on them.
“You lied to me!” Ferox glowered at Van.
“No—you lied!” She could tell her eyes were on the verge of becoming phosphorescent violet, although the energy she exerted being angry made her even weaker. “Here I was, thinking there might be hope for you.”
“Van, it’s okay.” Brux’s eyes darted to Van’s injury. “He’s only going to detain us.”
“Van?” Ferox had an angry-smug look. “What happened to ‘Nessie’?”
“Vanessa Cross.” Van introduced herself. “Nessie is my nickname.” Thankfully none of her teammates said, “Since when?”
Van glanced at her flank and noticed blood streaming through her fingers.
“You’re seriously hurt.” Brux threw caution to the wind and grasped Van’s side to help stop the bleeding.
“So detain us,” Kopius said, raising himself to his full height. “And tell your motley crew here to step down.”
“Van needs medical attention,” Brux said. “Now!”
“You killed my sister!” Ferox ignored Brux. He kept his focus on Van and gripped his sword tighter.
“Oh, that.” Kopius shrugged. “Yeah. That might get us executed,” he muttered.
“Solana was evil, and you know it,” Van said, using most of her remaining strength. “She had a dark thread twisting through her soul. There was no redemption for her. She would’ve killed you too if you got in her way.”
“So if you look at it, Van saved your life.” Kopius tried lightening the mood, but his eyes remained sharp.
“She was my sister!” Spittle flew from Ferox’s lips. “The heir to the Balish throne!” He raised his sword.
“Only because she murdered your brother!” Van shouted. “And your mother!”
“Wait a minute.” Ferox lowered his sword. “Did you say she killed my brother? My mother?”
The air hung heavy with silence, other than the lapping waves against the ship.
Van nodded.
“It’s the truth,” Brux said, his arms still wrapped around Van.
“Solana’s demons killed your brother Devon. It wasn’t from the Grigori not doing their job.” Van gripped Brux’s arms and rested most of her weight on him. “Your mother died because she cast a protective spell on Devon that bound their two fates together. When he died, she died.”
“It makes sense now.” Ferox looked as though the fight had drained from his body.
“Your sister was rotten,” Van said, in a softer tone now that she had reached Ferox. “Solana…she had to be…stopped.”
“No one deserves to die,” Ferox said, gaining back some of his fight.
“Including us?” Kopius raised his eyebrows.
“The law is the law,” Ferox said. “I recognize Daisy, now. I know she’s an escaped prisoner.”
Kopius tensed; he looked as though he struggled to hold himself back from attacking the prince.
“Your law. Balish law.” Van threw Ferox a mutinous glare.
Ferox infuriated her, as did Brux. And people claimed that Van acted stubbornly. Pfft. “A law you and your Council created to control us.” Van felt the tingle of magic activating in her blood that came about when she felt threatened. “Daisy broke no law other than being Lodian.”
The more Van thought about the unfairness of her and her team’s situation, the more furious she became. She was exhausted, injured, trying to do the right thing and Ferox made everything worse by not listening to reason. He needed to let them go so they could save the worlds.
The heat of her anger spurred her blood magic, already activated from the laocoon’s attack. She could feel her powers rising and knew using the Coin’s power against another human was an incorrect use. It was only to be used against true evil. But she couldn’t control her spiraling feelings.
Ferox could be true evil, like his sister. Her thoughts became frenzied, detached. Van searched for reasoning to justify using the Coin against him.
She acknowledged being out of control. The warnings she had received last year from the book written by the ancient Balish king, Manik, and from the memory engrams of her ancestor Amaryl came rushing back. Warnings not to misuse the powers of the Coin.
Ferox seemed to be pondering the situation.
Everyone held quiet and still.
Van used the reprieve to satisfy whether or not Ferox counted as true evil before taking extreme action against him. She connected with her intuitive power and peered into his soul, sure she would get confirmation by seeing a dark thread like she had with Solana.
She focused, staring at Ferox as her teamma
tes resumed their attempt to bargain with the prince.
Van saw no dark thread inside Ferox’s soul. Only white light.
“You’re right,” Ferox said to the others. “There is no kill order on Lodian children out-of-bounds. But Daisy is an escaped prisoner.” His eyes darted back to Van. “And there is a kill order on the Anchoress out-of-bounds.” He raised his sword.
Van felt the shift in her eyes, the tingling sensation, and knew that they flashed phosphorescent violet, just before her energy dissipated.
She collapsed onto the deck.
In her semi-unconscious state, Van felt her teammates lift her and carry her into a cabin. She heard both Brux and Ferox shouting and bossing the others around, but in her haze, their voices were muted and distant.
Van knew she needed to come to terms with why Ferox caused her such emotional turmoil. Her attraction to him provoked intense feelings—of both love and hate. Getting rid of all her emotions was the only way for her to gain control over her powers. She needed Jacynthia’s help to figure this out and called on her spirit guide.
My feelings for Ferox are…confusing, Van said in her mind’s eye.
“Every idea or truth bears within itself the opposite idea or truth. When you display an outward dislike of Ferox, this is a denial of your true feelings which are those of romance.”
I’m attracted to Ferox, and to Brux. I am. But I can’t have a relationship with either one. It’s so frustrating. Brux is my protector. Ferox is Balish and an ass…
“Beware, young one. All relationships have the potential for growth or destruction.”
Ferox plays a vital role in securing the Lodian’s future, I know that. But he and I…we’re both so different…I don’t see how our relationship can grow…
“Why are you going to Cortica?”
Her spirit guide’s voice mixed with a male voice.
“The real reason.” Ferox’s demanding voice penetrated Van’s awareness.
Jacynthia faded away, and Van slowly regained full consciousness but kept her eyes closed.
“To check the second seal.” Brux sounded stressed. “It might be cracked.” Van felt him press his palms against her wound, trying to slow the bleeding.
“The second seal isn’t on Cortica. It’s in the Bottomless Sea.”
Ferox was evidently well versed in Lodian lore from reading the Veridicus Libellus or Manik’s text. The same book Van had read last year. A relic locked in the archives in Balefire Palace for a millennium until Van’s father stole it. It was full of information on the Anchoress, her abilities, the ancient royals, the Dark War, and the Items of Creation. Too bad Ferox’s sister destroyed it before Van killed her.
“Please, unless you plan on letting Van bleed to death, she needs stitches,” Brux said.
“I don’t plan on killing her or letting her die. As long as you tell me what I need to know. Why send the Anchoress?”
Van could tell by his tone that Ferox was angry and frustrated.
“Uxa should’ve contacted the Balish Council,” Ferox said. “We would’ve sent a squadron to check the seal.”
Silence followed.
“The Anchoress is considered a weapon,” Ferox raised his voice. “Only taken out of dormancy to attack the Balish.”
Van opened her eyes to see him raise his sword and point it at Brux’s chest.
Brux stopped tending to Van’s wound and stood to meet his fate, facing Ferox face to face.
“You’re going for the next Item of Creation!” Ferox said with fury.
“No, we’re not,” Pernilla insisted.
“Then why Cortica?” Ferox applied more pressure to his sword, pressing the tip into Brux’s chest.
“Because the Coin is leading us there,” Van said, startling everyone.
She opted to use Jacynthia and Uxa’s advice regarding dialectical thought. Perhaps Ferox could be an ally, not an enemy. She also decided to stop hating Brux because of her romantic feelings for him and turn him into a friend, allow him to do his job and be her assigned protector.
“We all know the Cup of Life is hidden on Cortica.” Ferox’s cheek twitched. He twisted and pointed his sword at Van. “So, Lodians are attempting to overthrow my family and take control of the Living World. You admit it?”
The two soldiers guarding the doorway raised their swords.
“No.” Van waved her hand for Ferox to move his sword so she could sit up.
Her teammates look stunned. As far as Van knew, they had no idea the Cup was located in Cortica.
She struggled, Brux reached around and supported Van’s back, helping her to get upright. Van instinctively wanted to push him away, then embraced her new outlook and accepted his assistance. “Thanks.”
Brux furrowed his brow.
Van suppressed a smile. Apparently, her kindness caused him to look more concerned, perhaps thinking her injuries were worse than he thought.
“The Anchoress’s Items of Creation are my tools,” Van sat with her legs over the side of the bed and gripped the edge of the mattress. “I use them to harness the natural energy of the Universe, so I can restore order when demons reach this world. Using the items against each other is an incorrect use and will cause harm to my soul. I’m not going for the Cup.”
Ferox lowered his sword.
Standing took all of Van’s energy, even with Brux’s support. She breathed deeply and focused on staying conscious long enough to get Ferox onboard as an ally. “The Coin is leading us to Cortica. I’m not sure why yet.”
“I do.” Ferox said, looking grim. “They’re back.”
“Who’s back?” Pernilla asked.
“Demons.”
Chapter 26
“You don’t know?” Ferox asked.
Van shook her head.
The others remained silent, but Van could feel tension thicken the air.
“There’s an illness spreading here,” Ferox said. “Right now it’s only afflicting children.”
“We know about the illness.” Brux hovered close to Van. He continued to rest his hand on her back. “We heard about it at the Fisherman’s Rest.”
And from Uxa and the Brotherhood. “What does the illness have to do with demons being in the Living World?” Van’s laceration throbbed, but the bleeding seemed to subside.
“Hey,” Paley said.
She and Daisy peeked into the cabin, the soldiers standing by the door blocked their way.
“Let them pass,” Ferox said.
“What’s going on?” Paley asked as she and Daisy entered the cabin. They both looked shaken and wet, yet unblemished from the battle with the laocoon, not a blood splatter on them.
Daisy saw Kopius and dashed over to him. “You’re all right!” She wrapped her arms around him.
“Just a bit banged up.” Kopius grinned. “I’m glad to see you’re still in one piece.”
“I stayed in the crew’s quarters with Paley.” Daisy craned her neck to look up at him, her arms stayed wrapped around his waist. “I prayed to the light for your—and the team’s—survival.”
Brux frowned at Daisy. “I’m okay, too. Thanks for noticing.”
Daisy released Kopius and smiled at her brother. “I’m happy you are—Van!”
“Oh my gosh, Van.” Paley zipped over to her side. “You’re all bloody. Are you badly hurt?”
“Enough,” Ferox commanded.
His soldiers tensed at his outburst. Their knuckles whitened as they clutched the hilt of their swords.
“I’m fine.” Van swatted Paley away. “Tell us,” she said to Ferox, “earlier when we were talking on deck, before the attack, you mentioned that you needed our help. Does this have something to do with the illness?”
“This sickness,” Ferox said, looking dour. “It extinguishes a child’s inner light. It causes an infection, a fever, that forces the sick to attach to the dark part of their Self. The kids struggle to resist it…fight to cling to the light as the darkness seeks to destroy it. The illness, a
s it progresses, it eventually consumes the child’s soul.” Ferox paused as if to collect himself. “After the kids die, their bodies to turn to dust. Then they rise, undead, as creatures from the earth.”
“What do mean?” Daisy looked stricken by the news.
“The illness,” Ferox said. “It’s turning children into demons.”
Daisy gasped.
Van gaped at him eyed wide-eyed.
The others shifted, looking frightened.
“That’s why Semjaza called it the demon illness,” Pernilla said.
“Demons on Living World soil.” Van knew what this meant.
“Dishora,” Daisy muttered, looking terrified. “There’s no doubt. The Escalation has begun.”
“That’s why you need us,” Brux said. “You need the Anchoress.”
“And that’s why you were on the Skeleton Coast,” Van said, with greater understanding. “You knew the Cup was in this area, you were looking for me.”
“When I thought you were thieving marketeer’s scouts, I wanted you to help me find the Anchoress—you,” Ferox said to Van. “Scouts are scavengers. They’re known to be good at finding things.”
Daisy’s eyes darted to Ferox. “You’re after the Cup of Life.”
Ferox nodded. “We can work together, as a team, on one condition.” Ferox reached his hand toward Van. “Give me the Coin.”
The hair on Van’s arms stood on end. Give him the Coin?
Everything seemed to stand still. The Coin was her responsibility. How could she give it away? She glanced at her teammates. Brux, Kopius, and Pernilla were injured, exhausted, and probably hungry. Daisy and Paley, despite avoiding the battle, didn’t look fit either. None of them had any fight left in them.
“Help me retrieve the Cup. Otherwise, I will take the Coin and send you back to the Skeleton Coast as prisoners,” Ferox said. “Lodian teens arrested for dealing in the fairy trade, along with their Anchoress, out-of-bounds with the Coin of Creation—and, well, we all know what happens next.”
“You know we aren’t fairy traders.” Pernilla looked insulted.
“I know no such thing,” Ferox said, being obtuse. “Unless you help me. Start by giving me the Coin. It’s obviously leading you—the Anchoress—to Cortica and the Cup.” He extended his hand closer to Van. “Make the right choice.”
Plague of Death Page 21
