“You are insane!” Eric said. This time, though, he made sure to project his voice. “You would dare to kill the only men in the empire who might stop Artemia? Do you understand what would happen if Artemia gets what she wants? We all die! And because you’re about to kill me!”
“Kill you?” Arthur said before laughing. “Heavens, no. I’m not going to kill you. Calm yourself down, child. You haven’t committed a crime yet, not one that we can prove. Unlike the magi, we operate on fair justice.”
Zelda. Yeva. Tetra. Romarus. Where are you? We could really use your help here.
“But you are in suspicion of committing a crime, and we are certainly within our rights to hold you until we recognize your innocence,” Arthur said. “Guards, take him!”
Eric unsheathed his sword just as Abe did. Arthur just laughed.
“I admire your tenacity. Perhaps that is how you managed to help bring down two legendary dragons. But surely even you must realize ten of us against two of you will result in your death. We hadn’t planned on killing you or Abe, but we have no qualms about doing so if we have to.”
Eric bit his lip, having come just milliseconds away from saying “It’s not just two of us.”
“We can do this easily or we can do this fatally. Put your sword down and come with us. Or die. The choice is yours.”
Eric looked at Abe, who gave no indication on an answer. It was as if Abe said, “You are the leader now.” He looked at the guards behind him. They did not move, perfectly still, prepared to do battle. He turned back to Arthur and noticed, behind him, one of the girls approaching with her head bowed slightly and a brown hood over her head. Eric could not tell if it was Zelda or Yeva, but he smiled all the same.
“You think after having come this far I would surrender?” Eric said. “I fought Indica. I fought Ragnor. I fought Artemia. But more than that, I fought my demons. I fought my weakness. I fought my misguided motivations. And you think that a human general of the fallen empire will make me surrender?”
He couldn’t resist getting a jab in.
“Especially one as gullible and slow as you?”
“Enough!” Arthur said. “I gave you your chance, hunter. Prep—”
But then a massive boom sounded through the area, and the general dropped face-first. His robes smoked as electricity passed through his body before dying out. In his place, the girl removed her robes. Zelda smiled.
“He’ll make it through, but he’s not going to forget this.”
“Yeah, well, let’s make sure we make it through too,” Eric said, moving quickly to grab her. “There’s still nine… more…”
But when he turned, he saw that the soldiers had remained too still. Someone had frozen them solid, though the layer of ice seemed too thin to notice. Yeva came around the corner, smiling broadly at Eric.
“We figured you might need our help,” she said. “Tetra and Romarus got on the boat with ease. They told the soldiers someone had requested they go there. The soldiers, not surprisingly, treated them poorly, but I think they just felt happy to get rid of them. We stayed behind just in case.”
“Thank you for saving us,” Eric said. “I have a feeling we’ll be saying that a lot more in the coming days with your power.”
“You will be saving us too, I am sure,” Zelda said.
The four of them hurried onto the boat. Abe worked to pull the anchor up, while Eric made sure no one had laid any traps. As best as he could tell, the soldiers had not done such a thing. Perhaps the general never imagined them getting out of Caia, or the general never thought to rig the boat in such a fashion.
“How come you didn’t kill him?” Eric asked Zelda once he felt sure the boat was secure and safe.
Zelda merely shrugged.
“I’m trying not to kill if I can help it,” she said. “I believe everyone can become good… eventually. With enough time and persuasion. And maybe I’m trying to make up for past mistakes.”
She didn’t sound like she believed her own words, but she also sounded like she wanted to believe them. Eric, too, wanted to believe them. It would make for a much more peaceful world. It might even convince the citizens that the magi weren’t so violent and dangerous. Perhaps what Zelda had done would benefit all magi down the road.
But it could also make for a much more difficult task to try and convert those who hated the magi still. Sadly, those who hated the magi would never change their minds based on logic. As Arthur demonstrated, the death of the emperor hadn’t tempered hatred of magi. It had only enhanced it.
“Well, you’re a better person than I am,” Eric said. “I probably would have done him in.”
Unlike Zelda’s words, though, Eric didn’t know if he could live up to that. He’d never killed any human before. Dragons sure. But to cause the death of a fellow man with his blade? That seemed… he knew he’d have to do it soon. But he didn’t know how he would handle it.
Unless that human was Artemia. Then he’d do it with satisfaction.
***
Two days passed. That first day, Eric felt giddy at their escape. The empire could not stop them, and now he had the most powerful group he’d ever had around him.
He had Abe, his mentor. Abe would steady him in a way no one else could.
He had Romarus, an elder mage who knew the ways of the world and could help with his magic.
He had Tetra, a powerful woman whom he had a complicated relationship with, but also someone he knew would provide some serious aggression and magic in the fight.
He had Zelda, a girl so powerful she, not he, was responsible for the death of Indica.
And Yeva. She… well, Eric didn’t feel like defining her relationship with him just yet. He wanted some time to see where things went with her. He had noticed her looking at him in the library, and though he hadn’t done anything particularly romantic in his private conversation with her after, not even his old self would’ve failed to notice her attraction to him.
But all of that comfort and the allies he had surrounding him paled in comparison to a memory that he had mostly put to the wayside until that very moment. The last time he’d traveled to sea, he’d witnessed a man eaten by the beasts of the ocean.
And now they had just as long a journey to try and stop Artemia, for what once took three days would now take five with the disrupted seas.
Eric felt it almost a given that he’d encounter the hydra once more. If he did, he’d have to rely on the forces of the magi to bring it down. Sure, with his sword and the blue crystal he’d taken from Artemia, he could do something, but he couldn’t do the most important part of the battle. He’d have to rely on them.
And he hated that. He could only hope that his leadership developed over the past week or so would bear out in a positive, productive manner, because his sword skills would not.
That second night, he sat against a mast, nervous. He almost wanted the hydra or some other monster to appear. At least then he could spring into action. But waiting for the beasts to appear just made him more uncomfortable, more anxious. His heartbeat never settled, sweat dripped from his forehead, and his arms moved uneasily whenever he repositioned himself.
Around him, though, the others did not seem to mind, or at least they did not show it. Yeva and Zelda sat near the stairs, chatting about something inaudible to Eric. Tetra rested downstairs. Eric did not know how she kept going, for she looked like she would perish any day, but he had long given up the idea of understanding magic. Romarus and Abe also chatted on the other side of the boat, laughing more than the two girls, but Eric didn’t bother going over.
He knew he wouldn’t focus on the conversation, not as long as the idea of having his sea legs under control seemed laughable.
Perhaps, though, by moving around, he would shake off some of the nerves and anxiety that plagued him. It seemed like a flawed idea, but sitting here definitely wouldn’t work. Maybe a flawed idea would have some benefit to it.
He rose and stretched. His muscles f
elt like they had no strength, as if his nerves had sapped his ability to function properly. His legs felt light and without sensation, and his hands felt shaky. He walked over to the edge of the ship and tried to peer over.
Morbid curiosity had him searching for any signs of monsters of the deep, but nothing more than the occasional fish flopping or whale breaching the surface caught his eye. It remained so, and Eric wondered why he had bothered to let himself falter.
“What are you looking for?” Abe said, having left Romarus.
Eric figured he might as well speak the truth.
“Monsters that could kill us,” he said.
Having spoken so plainly, he laughed to dissuade his fears. It worked for about two seconds.
“Where is Romarus?”
“He went to sleep,” Abe said. “Something that I think you should do soon, too. Perhaps by going beneath the deck, you’ll feel like you’re back in the palace. It is a calm night. The seas have mercy on us and will not rock us or tilt our ship.”
Eric had no plans on it, though.
And that got reinforced when he saw something unusual.
“See that orange thing?” Eric said, pointing down toward the water.
Abe murmured in agreement. Moments later, more colors appeared. Red. Green. Yellow. He thought he saw blue, but against the ocean he couldn’t say for sure.
“What are those?” Abe said, but Eric knew the answer before he’d finished asking the question. Feathers. One of the monsters Artemia had must have perished out here.
To what?
“Well, now I’m going to pray to every god that man has ever believed in that we don’t run into whatever caused this,” Eric said wearily. “I’m not going to bed. It would do me no good. At least out here, I can watch what happens and notify you all if need be.”
Abe strummed his fingers against the railing a few times, trying to figure out how best to reply.
“Strange that a man who would go and hunt Ragnor so willingly would fear the ocean so greatly,” he said, but he did so with a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “We all have our fears that make no sense against the rest of our personality. Do what you must. Just don’t let it carry over once we get to land.”
“You know I’ll be fine,” Eric said.
“Good. Then I will take some sleep if you’re going to stay awake. Might as well.”
Abe patted him on the shoulder once more before descending the stairs. Eric glanced back up at the sea. By now, the feathers of the multi-colored bird—he remembered now, for it had flown over the pit where he had fallen—had drifted out of sight. If that monster appeared, well, he had to hope the magi had more power than Artemia’s forces did.
He heard footsteps once more, but kept his eyes on the endless sea in front of him.
“Changed your mind about falling asleep, huh?” he said, presuming it was Abe.
“No, I came here to see you.”
Eric swiveled his head at the sight of Yeva. The stars provided greater illumination of her radiant blonde hair, her lithe but defined body, and her beautiful but reserved smile.
“There’s not much to see up here,” Eric said. He felt the butterflies in his stomach beating their wings faster, though he swore not to make the mistakes that he had made with Kara. Tetra. However he should call her when that all happened. “If you came to see me, I’m afraid you’ll be bored within minutes. It’s just a gentle wave here, a fish there, and the stars above.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Yeva said.
She leaned on the railing next to Eric. Whenever the waves got a bit too bumpy, the two of them collided. Though Eric did not want to act on anything with what was to come, he couldn’t help but enjoy those small touches, the ones that meant nothing in the grand scheme but signaled something more might come.
“What’s your story, Eric?” Yeva said. “I’ve never met someone who wasn’t a mage that also wasn’t for the emperor. You’re different.”
“Well, that’s one way to put it,” Eric said, clearing his throat. “I come from Mathos. I’m a dragon hunter. I…”
He didn’t think talking about the deaths in his family made for a great conversation. But they’d already had private moments together before, and she could relate to him. It wasn’t exactly their first conversation ever. And the night setting, the mood Yeva gave, and the coming storm compelled him to reveal his most personal truths.
“I lost my father before I ever knew him. I lost my mother and sister at the same time at ten years old. Six years ago. Artemia murdered all three of them. At the time, Artemia told me a dragon had murdered my family, and so I joined the Dragon Hunter’s Guild. After Indica, she told me it was Ragnor. But I never realized until after we defeated Ragnor that Artemia was the dragon in this story.”
“I know you defeated Indica,” Yeva said. “I…”
Her voice trailed off. Eric knew why. Norius. She’s still not past that. Nor do I blame her. I can’t say I’m past my mother and sister, and it’s been six years. He thought of embracing her, pulling her close, letting her head rest against his shoulder… but that seemed inappropriate. Not yet.
“I saw what you did there. It was very brave.”
“Well, you all finished the dragon off.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
Eric let the conversation topic die, fearful that keeping it going might induce some tough emotions for Yeva.
“But then you killed Ragnor? How did that happen?”
Eric laughed, looking down at the water. He still found it hard to believe he’d killed Ragnor.
“Just… I claimed the essence of Indica from Artemia when he knocked her out. It was strange, though. Ragnor didn’t live up to the legend at all. Then again, neither did Indica, but Ragnor even less so. When we killed it, I thought I heard voices in my head. Then Artemia nearly killed me. I fell down a pit rather than give her back Indica’s essence. When that happened, I…”
She’s a mage. If anyone is going to understand what happened, it’s her.
“I had a vision of sorts. You have a god in your faith, Chrystos. I swear I saw him.”
Eric waited for doubt to cross Yeva’s face. He waited for the bemused doubt to show up, for her to laugh at him. But her eyes had locked on his, an intensity of attraction that almost got him to stumble over his words once more. He maintained his poise, but barely.
“He appeared to me as my sister, Rey. He showed me my mother, Reah. He showed me my father, Auron. He showed me how my parents perished, but mercifully spared me of the sight of my little sister’s death. And then… as crazy as it sounds, he showed me a truth. He showed me that Auron was Artemia’s brother.”
A pause came.
“She’s your aunt,” Yeva said, as if she had to speak the words to believe them.
“Yes,” Eric said. “Crazy, isn’t it? I have to kill my aunt to avenge my family. But this whole revenge thing… I don’t know. Chrystos told me I had to find a higher purpose than just revenge, but sometimes it just feels so right to fight for vengeance. To take down Artemia. You know? It serves two purposes at once. Protecting the world and avenging my family’s death. Why can’t I have two purposes?”
“I don’t see why not,” Yeva said as she brushed her hair back behind her. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about too. Especially now that the empire has fallen.”
Eric took a second to debate whether to speak to that. At first, he thought it’d be better not to. He wasn’t a mage and he couldn’t relate to what Yeva, Zelda, and the rest of the magi experienced.
But he had grown tired of holding his tongue on particular topics. Better, he thought, to just speak about them and let the conversation flow from there.
“I can only imagine,” Eric said. “Obviously I’m not a mage. But when I saw what they did to you… I admire how you still stand tall.”
“Well, it’s not exactly the sturdiest standing, but thank you,” Yeva said, brushing her hair once more. “It’s been… it’s b
een tough for sure. Some days I feel like I can do it, and some days I just want to break down and cry. To be honest with you, this whole purpose in fighting thing, I don’t know how I feel about it. I just wanted to see the empire fall. Now that it has—or at least now that we’ve killed the emperor—I’m just going to take it one day at a time and see what happens.”
Eric smiled. He leaned over, finally, to put his hand on her back and give her a gentle rub. But she leaned into him in turn, resting her head on his shoulder. He expected her to cry, or at least sniffle, but she just breathed heavy.
“Your heart is beating so fast,” Yeva said, making Eric self-conscious of that fact and likely making the heart beat even faster. “I’m surprised. I wouldn’t have expected that.”
“Well, it’s because…”
Just say it.
“I think you’re cute.”
For someone who had fought against dragons, Artemia, and witnessed death in personal and impersonal forms, he was surprised that this moment left him nervous. It wasn’t like he hadn’t kissed a girl before.
But this was the first time that he’d acted upon his wishes. Kara had more or less forced herself upon him. Here, he had taken the initiative.
And it felt good. I should do this more often.
Yeva looked up into his eyes and smiled. She was so close to his face. So close… all he had to do was lean forward just a bit…
“You’re cute too,” she said.
But she took one small step back, just enough to make it impossible for Eric to move in on her.
“I don’t think… I’m not ready for anything yet,” she said. “Norius is still fresh in my mind. I need time. But I like you, Eric. And I admire you. That won’t change.”
A tinge of disappointment hit Eric, but not nearly as much as he had thought. He actually found himself understanding the situation rather well, and her words gave him hope there would someday be a future.
“Thanks,” he said.
Legends of the War (War of the Magi Book 3) Page 19
