Relics and Runes Anthology

by Heather Marie Adkins

  She unburdened herself of most of her weapons and her boots, placing them on the counter as close to the shower as possible. The trench spike would go into the shower with her, though. The Lost and Found had indeed contained some clothes Chloe’s size. She picked out a pair of jeans and a form-fitting, cropped leather jacket because they both had nice deep pockets for weapons. The jacket looked warm, and she could also easily wear it under her trench coat. She placed the fresh clothes next to her weapons. After stepping into the shower, she found a hook to hang the trench spike within reach. First, she washed away all the blood and scab-dust the rain had missed from her trench coat before hanging it over the door to dry. Then, she turned the water as hot as it would go and stood under it. She tried to wash the nightmare away in an attempt to recharge and make life a little more bearable. Chloe stayed under the water’s calming heat well until after it had run cold.

  “Chloe?” Laszlo asked as she stepped onto the bridge.

  “Oh, right, sorry. Yeah, this is the real me,” she said, helping herself to another cup of Laszlo’s delicious lavender coffee.

  “Well, it’s nice to officially meet the real you, then.” He beamed. “Feel better?”

  “So much better. Thank you.” She took a seat next to him at the helm. “Where’s Bram?”

  Laszlo sat up and pointed down, out the window. “Bow. He left right after you did, saying he wanted to keep watch.” The old bartender shrugged. “Figured he needed to be alone for a while.”

  “It really is hell out there, Laszlo, but I’m glad you were safe here on the ship, and I hope your wife is okay on Bremerton.”

  “As do I, love. As do I.” Laszlo was quiet for a moment, seeming like a man with something heavy sitting on his chest. “Hope you don’t mind me saying, but it seems to me that that boy is barely holding onto his humanity by a thread. Shouldn’t call him boy, though; that’s not quite right. He seems older than his years.”

  Chloe looked down at Bram again. The royal fae was leaning on the rail looking out over the water.

  “You’re his anchor.”

  “Huh?” Chloe asked. “What do you mean?”

  “We all need something to hold onto in this life. Something worth fighting for. For him,” Laszlo said, gesturing with his chin down at Bram, “it’s you.”

  Chloe was quiet for a while. “I think you’re giving me too much credit.”

  “Nah. You’re good people, Chloe. I can tell. You keep him grounded and whole. That’s important, for all of us, to have something like that, but especially for him. Somethin’ is telling me that the fate of our world just might be resting on that man’s shoulders down there.”

  Chloe walked down to the bow with a towel under her arm. Bram still seemed drenched from the earlier downpour. She wondered if it was by choice. Chloe walked up behind him and put the towel around him anyway. She let her hand linger on his shoulder. Without turning around, he put his hand over hers. As their fingers intertwined, he lowered his head and stared down at the water. She slipped her body between him and the rail and faced out towards the water as well. Bram put his chin on her shoulder.

  “Is there some spell or magical power that would let us just stay here, just like this?” Chloe asked, knowing it was an unattainable fantasy.

  “Now, that would be something,” Bram whispered in her ear, “I would give up everything for.” He wrapped his arms around her waist.

  She leaned back against him and closed her eyes. “Me too.”

  They were both silent for a while, just enjoying each other’s company.

  “Lux-Dorcha Echelon,” Bram admitted.

  “What?” Chloe asked.

  “The reigning fae. Royals are called Lux-Dorcha Echelon,” Bram stated.

  “Well, there’s no way I’m calling you Your Majesty, now,” she teased.

  “Ha! Nevah,” he teased back. “It’d be Your Highness, actually anyway.”

  “Ha! Not going to happen,” she proclaimed.

  Bram’s chest started to heave with laughter from behind Chloe.

  “It wasn’t that funny. What’s got you so giggly?” she asked.

  “A bit of iron-y, maybe?” He chuckled again.

  “Huh?” Chloe squeezed her eyebrows together, trying to decipher his humor.

  “A big old faerie...” he started, prompting her to finish his sentence.

  Chloe rolled her eyes and laughed. “On a big old iron ferry. Oh, ha! Now that, is funny. Does that make this a Royal Caribbean Cruise Liner, then?” she teased.

  “Ha, ha, if only,” he responded. “I hear the Caribbean is lovely this time of year. How ‘bout it? How does hiding out on a beach sipping on coladas sound?”

  Chloe was quiet, looking out at Mt. Rainier. She shook her head.

  “What?” Bram asked. “Oh, come on; you know I was just kidding. What is it?”

  “I just can’t believe it’s still there.” Chloe gestured towards the sleeping, snowcapped giant. “I thought for sure they would have caused it to erupt like they did so many of the others.”

  Bram let out a heavy sigh but didn’t say anything.

  “Oh, no you don’t. Spill it, Tice,” she demanded.

  “That’s probably on me.”

  Chloe looked at him intently.

  “Avery and the others were onto Hadley. They must have known I was somewhere close.” Bram paused. “When Hadley’s building crashed down around us, and I protected you, it would have only confirmed their suspicions.”

  Chloe furrowed her brow in confusion.

  “Using that much power, that type of power, calls to them.” He scoffed. “Mt. Rainier is still standing only because Avery wanted it that way. She rarely does her own dirty work and wouldn’t dare be seen hunting for me in a storm of filthy soot.”

  “Wow. I never thought I’d be so glad that the evil princess is so vain.”

  “That she is.”

  Chloe looked longingly at the mountain. The unknown fate of her parents lingered in the silence between them.

  “No one would blame you for forgetting all of this. Just dropping this crusade and finding your folks.”

  Chloe turned completely around and faced him, searching his eyes.

  “I go where you go,” Bram stated, gripping the ship’s railing on either side of her. His breath warmed her skin against the brisk sea air. “Wherever that may lead, it’s you I follow.”

  “Not them?” She questioned his loyalty, worried he might realign with the royals he’d known, possibly, for centuries. Who was she to Bram, but a fleeting memory in so long a lifetime?

  “Never them.” Bram twirled some of her damp blonde hair between his fingers. “Never,” he stated without the slightest hesitation.

  Chloe nodded but turned back around. She wanted to trust him, to have no doubts, and for the moment, that had to be enough. Looking out over the water, she confessed, “I can’t help but think about it, getting my parents. But acting on it?” Chloe picked at some of the paint chipping off the iron rail. “No. I can’t worry about dragging them into all of this. And if there’s a battle coming, they’re safer right where they are. Besides, school is outrageously expensive,” she added jokingly. “If they knew I had the chance to fix any of this, they would be super pissed if I didn’t.”

  “You’ll see your parents again, Chloe. Whatever it takes, we will get to them.”

  “I know we will.” Chloe tried to convince herself. She peeled a flake of paint from the rail and twisted it in her hand. The size and jagged shape of it reminded her of the scabs as they combusted and turned to smoldering cinders. She crumpled the piece of dried paint between her fingers and threw into the water. “But first, we have a world to save. So, let’s go get that royal Echelon bitch.”

  Chloe woke as the ship started moving faster. Finally out of the main channel, the ship had been able to pick up speed with minimal chance of detection. No longer protected by her glamour, the cold breeze swirling around the deck chilled her skin. Bram had insist
ed she get some sleep, reassuring her that he didn’t need rest since regenerating for so long. Chloe had relented but didn’t go far, which had brought a warm smile to Bram’s face. She had snuggled into a bench on the deck and fallen fast asleep. Besides the time she had collapsed in his lap from exhaustion, Chloe couldn’t remember the last time she had actually slept. It appeared Bram didn’t want to be too far from her side either. He still stood at the bow of the ship, within view.

  Aqua-colored light radiated up out of the water at the tip of the bow. Chloe walked over and rejoined Bram, who still stood watch. She looked down into the water and gasped. Tiny bright-blue bioluminescent creatures were bow riding the waves, inches in front of the ship’s hull, just like a pod of dolphins were known to do. Water sprites! Chloe thought. They were magnificent. Jumping and spinning up out of the water, they were as graceful as tiny jellyfish with the speed of hummingbirds. It was such a fanciful and whimsical sight after the horrors observed on Seattle’s streets.

  “It’s so beautiful,” she said in breathless awe, drying the tear running down her cheek, partly called forth by the salt and wind. She was overcome with the simple joy of the experience. “They’re so beautiful; I mean.”

  Bram smiled at her. “Water sprites, as you might have guessed. And over there…” He pointed at a rock jutting out of the water closer to shore. “That’s a selkie. Best not get too close to the edge near that one, though.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful not to shed any tears into the water and call to him.”

  “You do know your fae lore.” Bram seemed impressed. “He’s probably been drawn closer to the surface, along with the water sprites and mermaids, curious about the scorch.”

  In the sky’s dim amber glow, Chloe could barely make out the details of the elusive creature, but she still had to try. She’d undoubtedly never see one again. The selkie’s long brown hair was braided, adorned by tiny shells and pearls. She wondered if he had decorated his hair himself and just how many selkies there were in the world. The seal-like fae must have been startled by the magically-propelled ferry. He dove underneath the water without even a splash, his slick brown fin disappearing into the depths.

  “Mmm,” Chloe agreed. “He was quite handsome, though,” she teased.

  “Was he now?”

  “Are they all Dark?” she wondered out loud. “Sorry, that was stupid.”

  “Still on that, are you? Light and Dark have coexisted in peace in the faerie realm for millennia. It’s the Seelie and Unseelie royals that cause most of the conflict and chaos.”

  “I think all the faerie tales and folklore from my childhood still have me thinking that the fae are either one or the other, good or evil, light-versus-dark kind of thing. I need to stop doing that, huh?”

  Bram chuckled. “A little bit, yeah. Sometimes, evil lurks in the light, like Avery blinding victims with her brilliance.”

  Chloe shuddered suddenly and sucked in her breath. The water sprites vanished as the ship rounded the last bend and the sky turned into a bright-orange inferno of smoke and flames low on the horizon. “Bram?”

  “I see it.” Bram sounded both angry and worried. He waved up to Laszlo, who was already slowing the engines.

  “What is it?”

  “The military base.” He looked at Chloe, then. “How far is Hadley’s from the Naval Base Kitsap and the dock?”

  “Pretty far. Hadley’s is northeast of them.”

  “Good. That’s good” Bram looked like he was doing mental calculations. “The base was strategically targeted. Probably, one of the first things they hit and are more than likely going to keep hitting. They’ll make sure everything from the Base all the way to the shipyard is destroyed.”

  “Why?” Chloe asked.

  “It’s one of the largest naval bases in the US, the navy’s largest fuel depot, one of two strategic nuclear weapons facilities, and an operational base for nuclear subs and surface ships. Cripple your opponent’s strongholds and weapon caches while you hold the element of surprise.”

  “How do you know all of this?”

  “It’s what I would’ve done.”

  Chloe felt sick to her stomach, disgusted by it all. The destruction of the naval base was proof of the magnitude and just how far-reaching the royals’ devastating blow had been. Several bodies in military fatigues floated past, along with debris and wreckage from the ships in the fleet. She pictured the scene as it might have happened during the initial attack; dozens of ships sinking, floating bodies everywhere, and scabs dragging said bodies ashore to feast.

  “Why are they doing this?”

  “Because they can.” His answer was chilling.

  “What did humans do to them to deserve all of this? To deserve extinction?!” She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping the scene playing in her mind would stop.

  “Nothing, Chloe. You didn’t do anything. They’ve always believed humans are beneath them, something to step on.” Bram looked at her “And, there’s never been anyone to stop them.”

  Chloe looked up at him, the flames from the fire reflected in her defiant eyes demanding to be acknowledged. “Well, they haven’t met me yet.”

  Laszlo docked the Kaleetan and watched as Bram tied off the moor lines down below. With a little tap for luck, he lifted the coin off the helm, and the ferry died instantly. He headed down to the vehicle platform to say goodbye.

  Laszlo tossed the golden coin to Bram, and Chloe gave the old bosun a worried look. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” she asked.

  Laszlo pointed to a row of condos along the coastline they had passed. Those buildings, farther from the naval shipyard and ferry terminal, remained unscathed. There was even faint candlelight coming from dozens of the windows in the buildings. “My wife,” he said with tears in his eyes.

  “Concrete and iron and built along the coast. That’s good.” Bram got on the motorcycle and placed the coin on the gas tank. He started the engine, and Chloe got on the back.

  “We’ll come find you if things get any worse,” she promised.

  “Thank you, Chloe, but you don’t need an old man slowing you down. I feel like I’ve been given a second chance to be with my wife. And if things get worse, come to an end, I’m likely to soon follow.” Laszlo nodded towards his home. “She’s my world, and if it’s about to end, I’d rather spend my last moments with her.”

  “Stay on the shore until you get there. And away from the base.” Bram nodded his reassurance. “You’ll make it.”

  Chloe looked worried sick, poking Bram in the ribs in response to his nonchalant attitude concerning the treacherous hike Laszlo was about to set out on.

  Laszlo nodded back as Bram revved the motorcycle’s engine.

  “Take care of yourself, Laszlo,” Chloe said. She and Laszlo waved goodbye to each other, each wondering what the future held for the other.

  As Bram drove off the ship’s ramp, the fragile little thing Chloe looked back one last time.

  “You too, love,” Laszlo whispered. “You too.” He watched for a long time until their silhouettes disappeared into the darkness.

  Once he could no longer see them and the gruff exhaust roar faded, Laszlo swirled his fingers near his ear. Tiny wisps of luminous green smoke appeared. With a flick of his wrist, they traveled back towards Seattle. He looked at his home before buckling over in a coughing fit. Blood-red light and smoke radiated up and out of his back. The eerie glow surrounded him, suffocating him even more. A translucent human form pulled itself out of him and staggered backwards, almost as if his soul had just separated from his body. But the form was female with long red hair, and she was starting to become solid.

  Mary Bradbury straightened and caught her breath. Human possession always made her feel like she was being stuffed into a child’s coffin. Leaving their bodies was even worse. She lost a little piece of her life every time she did so. Chloe had seen the side effects caused by her years of misuse when the girl had looked back at her through the silv
er veil at the Spree.

  “Was that it?” Laszlo coughed.

  Mary nodded, still weak and winded from the possession. “Go; be with your wife, and do as Bram said.”

  “Stay to the shoreline. I remember.”

  Mary looked up in the sky and managed to raise her hands above her head. She conjured a small rain cloud and let it grow before willing it towards Laszlo’s building. “The rain will give you cover.”

  “I would have died out there.” He pointed out towards the middle of Puget Sound where Mary had found him and the ferry adrift. “How can I ever repay you?”

  She waved off his praise and promise of a debt he felt he owed. “You’ve done your part.” He had been a convenient means to an end.

  As Laszlo sprinted away from the marina hugging the shoreline, a vortex of wind and white light began to appear in the air next to Mary. She prepared herself for a battle of wills.

  Hilgrid stepped through the vortex of wind and light, followed by Mary’s raven, whose long wingspan cut through the portal’s edges just as it began to close. Mary’s familiar flew over and perched on the railing of the ship. They both seemed displeased by her actions.

  Hilgrid sniffed the air. “A human possession? Are you mad, using dark magic so recklessly? You’re going to end up killing yourself. And for what? Him?” The witch paced back and forth across the platform as Mary struggled to remain standing. “And you were a fool to hand over the sword. If the Witch’s Council finds out that we...”

  “There wouldn’t even be a Witch’s Council if it wasn’t for that man, Hilgrid!” Mary interrupted her coven sister’s rant.

  “Man?” Hilgrid harrumphed. “That is too soft a word for what he truly is!”

  “Oh, Hilgrid, when will you learn? You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Besides, there was no way for them to cross without my help. I owed him at least that much. We owe him!”