She managed a weak smile and a slight nod.
"This was our path all along," Alara said, then she looked at me. "Your path."
I knew what she meant. I turned again to gaze into the darkness of the endless sea view. I wondered what exactly awaited us on the other side, but I knew the land beyond the water held one thing for me. "My destiny."
I felt Tara's head move against the side of my chest as she looked up at me. "Ours," she said. Her face showed strong resolve, which evidently let her cast aside the distress she'd been feeling at being the cause—inculpable though she was—of our hurried departure.
"You four outta get off the dock," a man said from the now open doorway of the cabin on the boat. He had messy brown hair and a face full of stubble, except for the middle of his left jaw, which bore a large scar. He held the half-sized door open with one arm as he leaned his head and torso out of the cabin.
"You must be-"
"Gurney," the man interrupted. "Mettin told me you four were in a hurry to leave town." He glanced past me, looking down the dock, back toward the last building.
I turned around to see if anyone was coming. Three figures were running toward the dock, but still a good distance from us.
Shit. Mettin did what he could, but looks like time's up.
I quickly turned to Gurney and said, "We need to cross the sea. Is this boat capable-"
"She'll make it," he interrupted again. Just then, much stronger waves slapped the side of the boat, causing it, and Gurney, to rock from side to side for a moment before settling back to the gentle sway as before. He apparently stepped higher on whatever ladder or stairs were inside the cabin, raising his head enough to look back over the top of the boat and toward the open sea. "Unless…"
I both wanted him to finish his sentence and not finish it. It was clear he must be considering the distant flashes of lightning I too could see.
"Maybe we could wait out the storm here," Nithia said. "In the boat, here at the dock."
I looked at her and wanted to tell her we could, but a quick glance to Tara and the thought of what would happen to her if Yedia's patrolman got to us before we left the dock stirred me to action. "We'll make the crossing now!"
I glanced to Alara and she nodded reassuringly to me. I noticed her glancing toward the approaching men.
A series of much larger flashes of lightning lit up a good portion of the distant sky, and even half the dock on which we stood. The subsequent rumble sounded faint, distant. I wondered which direction the storm might be moving.
"Gurney's right," I said. "We need to get off the dock. Now!" I put one foot into the boat and, steadying myself as best I could, held out a hand to Tara to help her onto the vessel and over to the opening where Gurney was.
She drew a short breath and exhaled sharply, evidently resigning herself to the idea as she took my hand and boarded and climbed inside the cabin.
Nithia followed her, then I looked at Alara, who must've seen the worry in my eyes. She stepped up to me, leaned close, and kissed my cheek. "We're doing what we have to do," she whispered.
"I know," I whispered back. "I just hope…" I glanced back to the men still running toward us. They were halfway from the building to our dock. Then I looked to the sky out over the sea, seeing only blackness.
"We'll make it," Alara said quietly. "Together, we'll make it. Now, come on. We need to hurry."
I nodded to her and she used her staff to brace herself as she stepped over from the pier to the boat.
"I'll get the rope," I said, stepping to where the heavy rope tethered the boat to a metal post on the dock. I quickly set to untying the knot.
Gurney had come out of the cabin after Tara and Nithia had gone inside. Within a few moments, he'd unfurled a short mast and positioned it to catch the wind just as I'd loosened the rope and tossed it into the boat.
I boarded and, after taking one last look at Yedia, turned to see Alara ducking to get through the small opening to join Tara and Nithia inside the cabin. A well-timed drift of the clouds let a sliver of moonlight shine down across her ass, which was only partly covered by her savage-land bikini, since she'd pulled the bulk of her fur-lined ankle-length cloak up to get it through the doorway without snagging it. She was the only one of us who didn't wear a pair of the pants Mettin had furnished, and I was glad in that moment that she had turned them down.
At least it'll be cozy inside for the voyage.
I took a last glance toward the men running after us. They reached the end of the dock as the cold wind took us out into the open water, and into the darkness. I heard them yelling for us to stop, but a few moments later the sounds of the sea and wind were all I could hear.
Chapter 6
It was clear no boats or ships were coming after us. The clouds in the sky thickened and I could barely make out the faint glow of light coming from Yedia. I knew it would be impossible for anyone to find us now.
I turned to Gurney who was standing at the helm of the boat, bracing himself against an unused mast beam. His gaze skyward, I wondered if he could tell if we were on course.
I looked around to see how I might be able to make myself useful. I'd never sailed. In fact, aside from the kayak in Austin I'd capsized, the only other boat I'd captained was one of those kind you pedal alongside someone else.
I was much younger then. I'd been partnered with a girl close to my age, eleven. Luck of the draw I thought at the time, as the place required two per boat and my parents had gotten one together, leaving me to go on a first date with a stranger. She was cute, but I felt awkward being paired with her. No matter how hard I tried to stay in sync with her legs—which I couldn't keep from eyeing almost the whole time—I continuously out peddled her. We went in circles until the attendant blew a whistle signaling everyone to dock their boat and exit.
Thankfully, our Yedia escape boat didn't have peddles, and Gurney seemed to have everything under control.
"You good?" I called out to him loudly, making sure he could hear me over the wind and increasingly tumultuous sea.
He looked at me and nodded, then turned back to the sea. He began telling me of where we were headed, where he hoped to bring the ship to land, and what I should expect there. He talked for a few minutes, answered my questions, and then went back to staring at the sea in silence.
Relieved at how calm he seemed despite the choppy water and occasional gust of wind, I made for the relative comfort of the cabin. Though electric heating wasn't an option in Galderia, I knew being inside with Alara, Tara, and Nithia would be much warmer. As I stepped to the small portal to lift the hatch and climb inside, I could already picture laying back with the three of them—to stay warm, of course.
I wonder how long Gurney will be on deck.
As my feet came off the bottom step of the ladder extending from just inside the small portal down to the floor of the boat's cabin and my head cleared the opening, I turned around to see my beauties and the room we'd call home for however long it took to cross the Sea of Ronak.
The three of them weren't alone.
"His name is Ray," Alara said before looking at the boy next to her and smiling at him. "Like from the sun."
"Ray?" I stared at the boy, wondering why he was here. I recognized him. I remembered the magic trick he'd done, making the smoke from his fingers.
He nodded, staring back at me. He appeared upset and uncomfortable, which made sense.
Why is he here? Did he see what happened to her?
I hoped he hadn't seen the murder Tara witnessed, but I knew it was at least likely he knew what happened to the woman.
Was she his mom?
"Hello, Ray," I said, doing my best to sound happy to meet him again, despite how problematic I knew having him aboard might prove. I reached up behind me and pulled the small portal door shut to keep the cold wind out.
Taking a seat beside Alara on a large cushion, I looked across her to the boy. "You know Gurney?" I figured it was a good idea to start with
an innocent question. Clearly the boy had been through a lot. Having him with us on the boat was the last thing I wanted to deal with, but I knew I couldn't tell him that.
He shook his head, which surprised me.
He doesn't know him? So, he's a stowaway? Maybe he ran like Tara had. But he can't go with us.
Nithia, who was sitting beside Tara on another large floor cushion opposite Alara and Ray, tapped the toe of her boot against the boy's shoe. "He's the only one of us who's been across the sea. It's good that he decided to join us." She smiled at Ray, and, though he dipped his head down a little, he smiled back at her.
I noticed Tara had set her bow and quiver against the back wall, next to Alara's staff.
Alara said Ray didn't have family in Yedia, or anyone else. I could tell by the look she gave me that there were more details, but she wanted me not to press the point. Evidently they'd covered that ground and she must've thought it was prudent not to go into it again, for the boy's sake.
I guess Gurney can take him back later, or drop him off somewhere safe with someone down the coast after running the rest of us across the sea.
The sea rocked the boat gently as the five of us sat and talked. The conversation helped keep my mind off the nausea building in me from the boat's motion, but it was already clear that I wasn't made for the sea.
With Alara recounting some of what the boy evidently had already told her of his travels to the other side of the waters, he then picked up the story. He appeared proud that out of the five of us only he had stepped foot on the land across the sea. It wasn't long before he'd relaxed and was telling what must've been a tall tale about how he'd once saved the leader of the Fektals from certain death at the hands of Dark Riders sent by Kurg himself, but none of us called him on it.
"Perhaps we could visit the Fektals once we cross the sea," Nithia said.
The boy nodded to her.
Tara's eye's widened. "The Dark Riders are formidable. That's impressive."
They would've run him through with a sword.
I remembered the different encounters I had with Kurg's Dark Riders—fighting alongside Alara and Cormac in Darguna, then on the fields after riding out of Pertlass. But I played along.
"How did you manage to stop them?" I could feel a slight strain in my cheeks as I kept a grin from appearing.
The boy stopped and stared at me.
Did I grin despite my efforts, I wondered.
After another uncomfortable moment, the boy said matter-of-factly, "Magic."
I waited for him to laugh at the jest or let slip a tell that he was fibbing, but he did neither. Finally, I nodded, accepting his answer, if only because I still wanted to give him room to indulge his imagination. I knew if he had seen the woman's murder, as Tara had, he might need such an escape to cope with the trauma.
"That's amazing," Nithia said.
I glanced at her and she winked at me after Ray turned from her and began tracing his finger on the wooden floor of the boat in front of the pillow he shared with Alara.
We watched as he traced an intricate pattern on one of the boards. When he'd finished, he looked up at us. "That's the fae elura. That's how I did it."
Is he for real?
I couldn't tell exactly what pattern he'd made with his finger, but it did nothing, left no mark. I didn't see a magical glow or here any dramatic music.
Wow. At least he has a good imagination.
But Alara leaned forward to examine the spot on the floor where he'd drawn and her expression gave me pause. As she looked closely, I wondered if she saw something there which I couldn't.
A moment later, she held her hand just above the spot on the floor. "I can't see it, but...yes. I feel...something." She pulled her hand back and smiled at Ray. "So, you are a magician."
Ray grinned, clearly pleased at the recognition.
I wondered if Alara really had felt something, or if she was just playing along to keep the boy's spirits up. Then I came to my senses and accepted that she'd been playing along just as I had.
The wind howled outside the cabin for a few seconds. I looked at the closed portal at the top of the ladder and thought about going up top to see if Gurney needed any help.
But I know absolutely nothing about sailing, or boats period. And there'll be plenty of tiring travel and who knows what once we reach the other side. Better take advantage of some down time.
Gurney seemed to have everything under control when I'd talked to him earlier, I thought. If he needed my help, I reasoned, he would've said as much.
I settled in more, hoping to relax as much as possible, ignoring the sway of the boat on the water. At some point, I allowed myself to ease toward sleep, slightly disappointed that boat cabin life with my three women wasn't going to be quite what I'd hoped, since the boy was with us.
At least they didn't get Tara...and we're all together. All safe.
~
"Is he going to sleep all day?" Nithia's voice pulled me the rest of the way out of my slumber.
"Apparently," Alara said. "To be fair, he didn't sleep much last night."
"None of us did," Tara said.
"Yes," Alara said. "Sorry. Of course. You especially."
"Huh?" I blinked my eyes open while noting how well rested I felt. I had no idea how long I'd been out, but from the way I felt, I knew it might've been hours.
I sat up and saw my women and the boy, and Gurney still absent. No doubt manning the boat, I thought.
"What are you doing?" Alara asked Tara.
Tara was digging through a large wooden chest beside her. She turned around holding a loaf of bread and several strips of beef jerky.
"Anyone hungry?" She handed the fat baguette to Nithia and offered me one of the strips of dried meat.
I hesitated to take it. "I'm not sure Gurney is going to-"
"It's fine," Tara interrupted. "He told us to help ourselves." She glanced back into the still-open chest. "There's plenty."
I took the jerky and sniffed it before biting a piece off. It was salty with a strong flavor. I figured it was some sort of game, maybe deer meat. It tasted good. The only time I'd had exotic meat was at the small cafeteria-style deli on the second floor of Cabela's outdoor sports superstore.
Tara passed jerky around to everyone else and Alara tore off a chunk of bread and gave it to Ray, then took some for herself before handing the rest to me. I took some and gave the loaf to Nithia.
The boat rocked more heavily for a couple of seconds, but then settled back to the easy motion I had almost gotten used to feeling.
After chewing up the jerky in my mouth, I asked Ray how he came to learn magic. I realized I'd dozed off without hearing more from the boy about the supposed magic symbol he'd made on the floor. I figured we had plenty of time to kill and maybe he could come up with a good story for us. I'd decided Alara probably hadn't felt anything magical, but the ruse was a good distraction for all of us. "Sorry, I dozed off. So, I'm not sure what I missed about your magic, but I am curious. Where'd you learn it?"
Ray stopped chewing and looked at me, but said nothing.
Oh, crap. Did the woman teach it to him? Was that his mother?
Ray looked at the floor where he'd traced the pattern, then back at me. "I really am not supposed to talk about it."
"No?" He looked more guarded, but not upset.
Could he be telling the truth? Is it real magic?
A bright flash coming through the narrow gap around the bottom half of the portal leading out of the cabin caught my eye. A second later a booming thunder jolted us all. I felt the deep cracking sound drive through my body. Nithia and Tara cried out at the same time. Ray immediately leaned into Alara's side and she put her arm around him.
The boat began to rock strongly and the wind howled again, but without stopping this time.
"Crap." I stood and staggered to the ladder beneath the portal, struggling to stay on my feet as the boat tipped deeply to one side and then the other.
&
nbsp; "Den, be careful!" Nithia grabbed a vertical beam beside her that ran up the wall from the floor to the cabin's roof, bracing herself as the boat continued to rock.
"I'm going to see if Gurney needs help!" The noise from the storm outside was such that both of us had to yell just to be heard.
Tara leaned over the food chest. The lid had fallen shut. She held onto the top with both arms to steady herself.
As I started up the ladder, I noticed Alara's staff fall away from the wall. It landed in front of her and Ray, then she grabbed it and lodged each end of it against a vertical beam on either side of her and Ray. She'd set it in front of the two of them to act as a brace—like it was a safety rail on an amusement park ride—to keep them from being tossed about.
Smart girl.
I opened the hatch and the cold wind hit me, followed almost immediately by a heavy spray of icy water which shot over the edge of the boat as it dipped down toward the sea. I was soaked and I slipped on the top rung of the ladder as I climbed out of the cabin.
Holding the top edge of the portal to keep from falling, I yelled down into the cabin. "Stay inside!"
I heard Nithia call my name as I shut the hatch to the portal.
Turning toward where I'd earlier seen Gurney looking out at the sea, I couldn't see him. He might've been there still, but a heavy rain churned with wind and crashing waves, blinding me to everything beyond a few feet in front of me.
I held the wood railing that ran around the top edge of the cabin's roof to keep from flying off the boat into a dark watery grave. Equally from fear of losing my hold and from the great cold penetrating me from being drenched, my every muscle tensed. With a death grip tethering me to the boat, I made my way closer to the mast pole where I hoped Gurney would still be standing.
"Gurney!" I wiped the water from my brow and eyes to see, only for it to be replaced instantly by another sheet thrown onto me by wind, wave, and rain.
Damn, I'd rather die on dry land.
The dark sky only gave way to fleeting blurred glimmers as some un-locatable moon or stars squeezed light through the heavy clouds leaving it to splinter across a million pelting raindrops.
Deep Into Destiny Page 6
