Awaken (The Mortal Mage Book 1)

by B. T. Narro

  “I will find them.”

  She took his arm again and turned him around. “Good. Now come back in the tavern and have a drink with me.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  It had been years since Desil had been to Gendock, but he used to come here frequently when his mother and father owned their first tavern, in Kyrro City. It was cheaper to come to Gendock and purchase the fish directly from fishermen rather than from the street merchants in the capital, and Desil at twelve years old needed something to do rather than bother his parents all day.

  Either his mother or father accompanied him the first few times, and then they let him go on his own after that, but only after he promised he would take the road between cities and not go through the forest. By his second time, he was traveling through the forest to look for adventure. Eventually he saw a bear in the distance, and that was the last time he ventured through the trees without his parents until he was older.

  Gendock looked just as he’d remembered, with its string of walkways and ramps leading to various ships. It was the smell of fish and sea salt that he recalled the most. There were few people who lived at the docks, and none seemed to care for standing out. Each building looked just like the other, with sloped roofs made from long planks of unpainted wood. The only anomaly was the single windmill standing just outside the entrance. It turned yet stopped several times as Desil approached the sea town, reminding him of his progress with finding the headmaster thus far, but he could feel that his luck was about to change.

  He headed down the main walkway of the dock for a glimpse at every boat as he looked for the old captain. Everyone he passed was at least half of Mmzaza’s age. Desil didn’t know anything about sailing, but it seemed like strength should be needed for everything, even to turn the massive steering wheel. He worried Mmzaza didn’t have it in him to get them all the way to Kanoan. But then again, he had somehow gotten himself back. He had to have at least some talent at navigating the sea to do that.

  Desil almost didn’t recognize Mmzaza when he saw him. The old man stood at the head of a marvelous ship wearing a clean white shirt open at the chest that revealed a mound of gray hair. He was pointing and issuing orders at a crew of ten men, most of them much younger. They were in the process of tying and pulling ropes when Desil arrived. One man was even climbing the main pole of the ship while another looked up from below and shouted instructions. Desil had no idea of the proper terminology, but he could see two men were getting the enormous sail into place.

  The ship itself was large enough for twice as many to fit on the…deck? At least Desil assumed that’s what it was called. The ship was tall; there had to be something beneath the deck. Perhaps a place to sleep?

  There was a brief moment of panic as Desil realized there was no going back once he got on Captain Mmzaza’s ship. He’d felt as if he’d known Leida from their shared memories, but that feeling had begun to fade. Desil still hadn’t had a chance to speak to her about their abilities, a purpose he’d been solely dedicated to before Basen had shown up at the lake that fateful night.

  “Desil.” It was Leida’s voice.

  He turned around. The bright morning sun illuminated the red of her hair and brought out the green of her eyes. Her beauty was overpowering.

  He felt as if he was a single step away from the edge of a cliff. All it would take for him to fall was a certain look from Leida, perhaps a touch, and he would be enamored. He didn’t get the same sense from her, however, so he would have to back away from the edge whenever he realized he was getting too close, like now.

  “I knew you would be here already,” she said with a grateful smile.

  Desil gave her his best smile in return. “Of course.”

  He had noticed Adriya beside Leida, but the allure of Leida’s smile had made him forget his manners until then. He lowered his head toward Adriya in greeting. She did the same back to him, though she looked down farther to take a glance at the sheath on his belt containing his sword.

  She had a long rod strapped to her back, though it appeared more like a melee weapon than a mage’s staff filled with sartious energy to assist in casting. Her bow went across her back the other way, a quiver of arrows resting near her hip. A small pouch hung from her shoulder. Desil noted she might have trouble running if they needed to flee.

  Leida’s only weapon was a small wand in a holster on her belt. She had a large pack on her back like Desil, probably to carry Adriya’s sleeping blanket and other necessities that Adriya couldn’t hold because of her large weapons.

  Captain Mmzaza came off his boat. “We’re almost ready. Give your captain the payment.” Instead of holding out his hand, he leaned between the two women. “Who’s it going to be?” He puckered his lips.

  “Not until we get there,” Leida said. “That was the agreement.”

  “No, that’s…” A thought seemed to strike him as he glanced down. “Ah, I can’t recall.” He held out his hand. “The kymarks, then, and the kiss will come later.”

  Leida took out a small money pouch and carefully withdrew the silver coins, counting for Mmzaza to show she was giving him twenty.

  Desil asked him, “How did you get a crew together so quickly?”

  “A hundred men are ready to work at any given time! A captain like me knows which doors to knock on here in Gendock.”

  At least it sounded like Mmzaza knew them well enough.

  Leida’s pouch was empty by the time she handed over the twenty kymarks. Desil and Adriya gave five each. Mmzaza drew an empty money pouch and filled it.

  “Haaaaa!” He shook his fist in triumph. Then he didn’t move or say another word.

  “Aren’t you going to give your crew their share?” Leida asked.

  “I’m trying to enjoy me moment of richness before I must share.”

  One of the sailors leaned over the side of the ship. “You get the coins yet?” A few others stopped their work and came over.

  Mmzaza’s shoulders sank. “Yes, I got the payment for each of you. Now get back to it!” He started walking toward the ship, Desil and the others following. “We’ll be ready to leave soon,” Mmzaza said over his shoulder.

  “How long is the voyage?” Desil asked. He knew the island wasn’t as far as the largest known continent called Greenedge, but he still expected a few days of sailing.

  “Most ships take three or four days, but Captain Mmzaza will get you there in two. It took me five to get back in me dinkier boat, and I nearly died of thirst! This will be easy. Enjoy the ocean breeze with an open chest!” He reached out and undid the first two buttons of Desil’s shirt with a flick of his wrist. “And the ladies as well!”

  Desil grabbed the captain’s arm as Leida and Adriya lurched out of the way.

  A woman’s voice behind Desil made shivers run down his back. “You will be taking us as well.”

  He looked over his shoulder at Beatrix wearing a smug little grin, her black hair fluttering. Kirnich stood beside her giving Desil the same look of disapproval Desil was used to from his mother. Kirnich had a bow across his back and a quiver on one hip, just like Adriya, except he had a sheath for his short sword on the other hip.

  Leida stumbled back as if expecting an attack while Adriya took out her staff and stepped toward them.

  “What do you mean to do with us?” she asked.

  Kirnich stepped in front of Beatrix with his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Put that away before you get hurt,” he warned Adriya.

  A better question is how did they find us?

  It could’ve been a number of things. Captain Mmzaza or anyone on his crew could’ve told the wrong person. Effie could’ve been questioned by the psychic. But neither of those scenarios gave Beatrix and Kirnich enough time to appear here now.

  Desil still hadn’t figured out who’d been following them when they’d gone west of the Academy and searched underground all night, but he was beginning to realize that it was this person who must’ve told. He or she might’ve been f
ollowing them for days.

  “Don’t move,” Beatrix warned them as she turned to address Mmzaza. “Do you know who I am?”

  “No, but you can pay in coin or kisses, me beauty. Which do you prefer?”

  Beatrix shot him a look of disgust. “Neither. I am the king’s daughter, and you will take me and my escort with you to Kanoan.”

  Mmzaza froze with his mouth open.

  “Go back and ready your ship,” she demanded.

  “I will, yes indeed, but I must know, is any punishment to come to Captain Mmzaza?”

  “We know you escaped from the island, but we’re not forcing you back into exile so long as you bring us to Kanoan.”

  Desil wondered if Beatrix already had her own crew ready to retrieve her from the island after a set duration, or if she truly believed she would manage to stay with Desil’s group until they found the headmaster. Basen could make a portal back for all of them, but Desil was certain he could find some way to separate from Beatrix and Kirnich before meeting Basen. Desil glanced at his comrades, hoping their stamina and agility were greater than Beatrix’s. There was no doubt about Adriya, but of Leida he wasn’t so sure. When he went to the Academy, he only witnessed mages training their minds by casting fire, not training their bodies in any way.

  Captain Mmzaza hurried back to his ship. “She’ll be ready soon!”

  Beatrix stepped around Kirnich, looking each person up and down. The moist air was tense as no one spoke.

  “Who did you pay to follow us?” Desil asked.

  Kirnich seemed as if he was about to answer as he opened his mouth, but he looked over at Beatrix first. “Do you see a reason to keep it from them any longer?”

  “No,” Beatrix said. “You tell them. I’ll ensure there are no surprises awaiting us on the ship and figure out when the captain plans to return for them.” Both she and Kirnich had some bruising around their red eyes, but a sense of triumph pushed through the signs of their exhaustion. Desil could see it in the slight twist of their mouths.

  Beatrix walked between Desil and Leida, forcing them to move aside.

  “You would be fools to try anything,” Beatrix muttered. “Cooperate and everyone will live through this.”

  Desil half expected more of the king’s men to arrive any moment in support of his daughter and her henchman, but these two truly seemed to be it. How were they so confident they could keep track of Desil’s party the entire time? There had to be something they were hiding.

  “We didn’t have to pay anyone to follow you,” Kirnich corrected Desil. “He came to us and volunteered.”

  “Eckard,” Adriya muttered in anger.

  “That’s right,” Kirnich confirmed.

  Who is that?

  “When did he come to you?” Adriya asked.

  “Some time ago.” Kirnich no longer seemed to be amused by this conversation as he looked over Adriya’s head at the ship. “That’s enough questions. It’s time to go.”

  No one in Desil’s party moved. Desil had already thought through their options. They had none. He was the first to turn. Leida and Adriya soon followed.

  “Who is Eckard?” he asked them.

  “A warrior at the Academy,” Adriya answered.

  “And a chemist,” Leida added. “Do you still believe it wasn’t the right decision to ask him to come?”

  “I didn’t think he knew as much as he did.” Adriya balled a fist. “He must’ve been following us for a while.”

  “So he was the one spying on us in the small forest near the grandfather tree,” Desil said. “Why would he go through so much trouble?”

  “Because he hates me for ending our relationship, and he’s a petty, arrogant—”

  “I knew we should’ve told him,” Leida interrupted. “We could use a chemist.”

  “Your mother’s a chemist.” Adriya glanced behind her at Kirnich standing a few steps back, then lowered her voice. “We will find her and your father the first day we get there, so we won’t need another chemist anyway. What we should’ve done about Eckard was assume he was capable of wrecking everything and would choose to do so given the chance.”

  Desil didn’t know this man, but it seemed strange for one person to be this malicious. It would make more sense for Eckard to have another reason for his betrayal besides hurting Adriya. It seemed instead that he was concerned about their involvement with the headmaster’s disappearance and might’ve spoken to Beatrix and Kirnich to keep Adriya and Leida from getting too involved. Chasing after Basen was dangerous, and stopping the women before they got too close would keep them from severe punishment.

  Desil turned around and asked Kirnich, “Did you and Beatrix promise Eckard that you would keep Adriya safe?”

  “Desil!” Adriya complained. “Of course that’s not the reason—”

  “Yes,” Kirnich interrupted. “And we intend to. You do know this doesn’t have to be difficult?” The question seemed rhetorical, but he paused as if hoping someone would reply. “Answer me!” A burst of anger came out through his tone and expression, surprising Desil and making Leida jump.

  “What do you mean?” she blurted.

  “We will find Basen and Alabell together. We will keep each other safe, and everyone will return.” Kirnich sounded as if he was issuing orders to his troops.

  When no one replied, he raised his voice again. “Say it!”

  Both Leida and Adriya seemed as if they were trying to hide their alarm as they stared nervously at Kirnich. Desil gave them intense looks until they noticed him. We have to say it, he told them with his eyes.

  “We will find Basen and Alabell together,” the three of them repeated.

  “Good, because that’s the only way the three of you will return alive.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Desil boarded the boat and went straight for the cabin at the back. Leida and Adriya followed, no doubt aware they needed some privacy from Beatrix and Kirnich, who seemed to be questioning Captain Mmzaza at the other end of the ship.

  Desil closed the door after Leida and Adriya. “Even though the psychic can tell when we lie,” he said, “she can’t force us to talk. Don’t tell her anything.”

  “You speak as if you know everything,” Adriya told him. “You don’t, so you shouldn’t order us like you’re smarter.”

  “We don’t have time for bickering,” he snapped back at her. “They could come in here at any moment, then we won’t have a chance to plan.” Desil suddenly heard his stern voice and realized he was being too controlling again. There was no point in strategizing if they weren’t going to listen to him. He took a breath and softened his tone. “I have an idea on what to do. We need to separate from them before we find the headmaster. The best time would be at night while they are sleeping. I’m sure they realize this, so they’ll try to keep watch, but they can’t stay awake the entire night. We just have to stay awake longer than they do and sneak off.”

  “What if my parents are waiting for our ship to dock?” Leida looked up at Desil through the tops of her bright eyes. “They aren’t going to expect Beatrix and Kirnich. There might be a fight.”

  “There shouldn’t be,” Desil told her. “The two of them can’t overpower all five of us.”

  Adriya and Leida shifted their gaze to each other.

  “Desil hasn’t fought a psychic before,” Adriya said.

  “I’m realizing that now,” Leida replied. “My father knows how to resist, but the rest of us will be useless. I don’t know if he could stop Kirnich without our help.”

  It was true that Desil had not fought a psychic, but it seemed unlikely that the pain she could induce would debilitate all of them.

  Leida told him, “Kirnich was a Redfield Champion during his time at the Academy, and I’m sure he’s only gotten better since then. Even with five of us, we could easily lose.”

  Desil didn’t know what a Redfield Champion was exactly, but he assumed it meant superior skill over the other trained warriors.

&
nbsp; “It doesn’t have to come to a fight,” he assured them. “We will warn your parents, and then we’ll find a way to reunite with them through your father’s memories. Remember that Beatrix and Kirnich still don’t know of your method of communicating with your father. It’s the only reason they’re bringing us with them instead of keeping us here. They know there’s something we’re using to find him, but they don’t know what. Let’s keep it that way.”

  “We got it.” Adriya let out a huff. “You scrape together a plan so quickly you don’t give me time to think of something better. Haven’t you realized that’s why we missed Leida’s parents in the forest? You were so intent on showing us you could get to the Krepps and back in a day that we arrived too early and then we left before they came.”

  Desil wanted to argue back, to raise his voice until Adriya stopped pestering him and started listening, but Leida had missed meeting her parents because of him.

  “I’m well aware of what I did. It’s why I’m going to work that much harder to find them.”

  “Perhaps you shouldn’t. We might be better off without you.”

  Bastial hell, Adriya was cold. Desil had met a few mean drunks over the years, some not only insulting him but his mother as well, but none used their words to make such clean cuts. They usually spat out obscenities that had no more connection to Desil or his mother than they did to anyone else. But Adriya insulted with piercing attacks that left little room for retaliation. He hoped she fought just as well.

  Leida, on the other hand, gave Desil a look of apology. Leida told her friend, “Desil has only been trying to help, and we need all the help we can get.” Hidden beneath her words was her reference to Eckard.

  Adriya scrunched her face as if stung. “Are you going to hold Eckard’s betrayal over me forever?”

  “No.” Leida sighed. “I’m sorry.”

  “Do you really think it’s my fault?”

  “It’s not.”

  “We’re moving.” Desil pointed out one of the side windows, the horizon bobbing as the sea undulated by.