by B. T. Narro
The three of them fell silent. One by one, they left the cabin to stand on the deck. Desil came out last and was greeted by the roar of waves and the scrape of ropes against wood as Captain Mmzaza’s crew all seemed to be hard at work around the ship.
The small seaside village of Gendock shrank behind them as they picked up speed. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The ocean waves splashed up against the side of the boat, droplets reaching Desil’s face. It was refreshing against the hot sun as a spear of light reflected on the waves.
For the briefest moment, Desil forgot all of his worries as the sense of adventure overwhelmed him. He could almost feel the same from Leida’s glimmering eyes as she looked out at the horizon.
All his dread returned as Kirnich and Beatrix headed toward them. A gust of wind caught the princess’ crow black hair. She was the shortest of the five of them, beautiful but terrifying. He could feel her looking deep into his mind with her dark eyes.
“It’s you I don’t understand,” she said, stopping close enough that he felt her breath on his neck. “And what I don’t understand I can’t trust. So tell me why you are helping them.”
He saw no reason to say anything to her, no matter the question.
Kirnich stepped close. “Answer her.”
There was no way to forget how much larger and stronger Kirnich was because of the warrior’s near constant posing and posturing. To go against him felt like standing in the way of a rolling boulder. Still, Desil said nothing.
There was a flash of movement. Desil flinched, getting his hands up to keep Kirnich from grabbing him. But he was overpowered and then tripped as Kirnich threw him down.
The massive swordsman knelt over Desil while keeping hold of his arms.
“There’s two ways to make you talk,” Kirnich said with a mean smile. “I can threaten you with prison or I can hurt you. Guess which one I want to do.”
Desil noticed Adriya reaching for her staff while Leida drew her wand, but before he could tell them not to worsen the situation, Beatrix lifted her hand.
“You would regret doing that,” the psychic warned calmly.
Adriya and Leida went still. They glanced at one another.
“It’s all right,” Desil told them, then mustered up his courage as he shifted his gaze to Kirnich. “Do what you want. I’m not telling Beatrix anything.”
“You’re not needed by us, don’t you see!” Kirnich gave him an angry shake. “I could break you in half and Leida would still bring us to her father.”
Much of the crew was watching, no one daring to interfere. Adriya and Leida glanced toward Desil apologetically as they kept one eye on Beatrix.
“Just answer her,” Leida said with a pleading expression.
Kirnich’s face had gone red with rage. He pulled out his sword and pushed the tip slightly into Desil’s shoulder. “Why are you helping them?”
Desil refused to yelp in pain, though he could feel his skin tearing. He focused bastial energy into his right leg and kicked Kirnich in the arm. The swordsman lost his weapon and turned into a feral beast, coming down on top of Desil and swinging with both fists.
Desil managed to bring his knees up and shove Kirnich off with his legs, but not before catching a knuckle with his lip. He tasted blood as Kirnich grabbed one of his legs.
Adriya’s staff cracked against Kirnich’s chest. He stumbled backward, letting go of Desil’s leg but managing to grab the staff with catlike reflexes before Adriya could pull it back.
As they started to tug, Desil got to his feet. Kirnich ripped the staff out of Adriya’s hands and smacked her in the hip with it. She stumbled against the side of the ship and nearly fell over.
“Stop this, Kirnich,” Desil implored.
He jumped aside to dodge Kirnich’s boot aimed at his stomach. Leida shifted around to point her wand at Kirnich’s face. “Stop—”
She interrupted herself with a sharp scream of agony as she collapsed and dropped her wand. Desil jumped toward her as if to help, but he was unsure what to do. He hadn’t even seen Kirnich attack.
Then he noticed Beatrix with her hand aimed at Leida. She lowered it, and Leida’s screams faded.
Leida gasped for breath as she gingerly got to her feet. Kirnich tossed Adriya’s staff on the ground and turned on Desil. He seemed to be reaching for Desil’s neck, so Desil swiped the warrior’s arms out of the way and stepped back.
Kirnich rushed him, sending Desil stumbling backward until he slammed into the cabin. Their limbs tangled as Kirnich again went for his neck. Desil poured energy into his arms for strength. It was barely enough to allow him to shove Kirnich away. This time the larger man came at him swinging. Desil tried to block, but a blow came through to his shoulder. He was vaguely aware of Beatrix telling Kirnich to stop, but it didn’t seem as if the warrior heard.
Desil saw no alternative but to defend himself by attacking back. He swung hard and drove his fist into Kirnich’s unprotected chin. It felt like punching wood. The man ten years Desil’s elder stepped back and formed a crooked grin. Kirnich grabbed his own chin and shifted it around, staring at Desil with the eyes of a madman.
“Kirnich, enough.”
He still didn’t seem to hear Beatrix. “So you do know how to fight,” he told Desil. His grin never faded as he went to retrieve his sword. Adriya had her bow out, an arrow nocked and ready though not aimed yet.
Kirnich glanced over at her and chuckled. “You’ll be on the ground before you can shoot that.” He picked up his sword and pointed it at Desil. “Do you want more?”
Adriya gritted her teeth while Leida came over and took the arrow off her friend’s bow. “No,” Leida told her.
Aggression radiated off Adriya but she made no other move. “Only because we don’t want to kill you,” she told Kirnich through gritted teeth.
He laughed so hard he grabbed his taut belly. Even Beatrix chuckled.
When they were done, Kirnich stomped toward Desil again as if he would attack. Desil held his ground as much as he wanted to flee.
“Now answer her,” Kirnich demanded. “Why are you here with them?”
“I got my answer.” Beatrix gave Desil a knowing look.
She saw the way I reacted when she pained Leida, he realized. The princess was wrong, though. He wasn’t here because of some infatuation. But then again, she was a psychic. Could she have sensed something? No, it was much more than that.
No matter, he would let her believe it. The rest of them seemed confused, looking between Beatrix and Desil for an answer.
“Come on, Kirnich,” Beatrix said as she headed toward the cabin. “There’s plenty of time to question them later. Let’s give them time to consider how they would like to be returning to Kyrro when this is over, free or headed to prison.”
Finally, the three of them were alone again, except for all of the crew shooting them looks between tasks. Captain Mmzaza was the only one who seemed focused on the sea ahead as he kept his hands on the enormous wheel at the front of the ship.
“What answer did she think she got?” Leida asked Desil.
“I don’t know,” he lied. “I’m just glad to be left alone.”
“Why didn’t you tell them?” Adriya strapped her staff on her back.
“I agree it would’ve been easier,” Desil said. “But doing so would’ve set a precedent that they could get any information they wanted from us. I refuse to let that happen.”
Adriya shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”
He was more shocked than frustrated. “It’s the truth, so I don’t know what else to tell you.”
She rolled her eyes.
“What do you think I’m lying about?” A hint of anger slipped through in his tone, adrenaline still coursing through his veins.
“At first I thought you were doing all of this to join the Wind Knights, but it didn’t seem worth it when they were interested in recruiting you anyway, not that I understand why. Now I know the truth. You’re doing this for Leida. It must’ve been
what Beatrix figured out. There’s no point in hiding it. You’re already on the ship and we’re not turning back. So let’s get it out already. Even your mother made a comment about how there’s no young women in Kayvol, so when you thought you had a connection with Leida because of those lake memories, you…I don’t know, maybe you think you love her. But you don’t even know her.”
“And you clearly don’t know me. I would be here no matter who was Basen’s daughter or son.”
Adriya laughed snidely. “You might believe that now, but you could betray us later when your feelings change, just like Eckard did.”
“Dree, let’s not turn against each other,” Leida said with a soft voice.
“It’s all right,” Desil assured her. “She’s right that we should get this cleared. Adriya, let me ask you something.”
“What?”
“What would you do if you had spent the last three years in Kayvol, helping your parents with their tavern when they don’t need your help, and then you get an opportunity to do something more with your life? You realize this opportunity is dangerous, but taking advantage of it could save thousands of lives. Would you ignore it?”
She curled her mouth as she pondered. “No.”
“Neither would I, and that’s why I’m here. So why don’t we focus on what the three of us can do together to get Leida’s parents back home safely.”
Adriya had taken on a strange expression while Desil was speaking, growing pale as if her stomach had soured.
“Bastial hell.” She darted off to the side of the ship, leaned over, and hurled.
Desil and Leida walked over. Leida put her hand on Adriya’s back. “Are you all right?”
“It’s the ship, not his words.”
“Does this usually happen?” Desil asked.
“I don’t know. It’s my first time on one.”
Captain Mmzaza headed toward them, his lips pursed as if biting into a lemon. “Make sure that mouth be washed before Kanoan. I want me a clean kiss.”
“Shouldn’t you be steering the ship?” Adriya asked in an obvious attempt to shoo him away.
“I came to warn you something, me pretty. You need to know about the attacks before we reach Kanoan. At least one of you women must survive for me second kiss when I return for you. I will tell you how.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“I haven’t been to Kanoan in years,” Mmzaza said, “but I don’t imagine much has changed. It’s not like Kyrro.” He looked east at the disappearing land and heaved a sigh. “You must be careful there, me pretties. The Marros attack anyone who goes north of the Dead River, and north of the Dead River is where you’re to embark. It’s the only way to avoid them from seeing me ship approach.”
“Marros?” Adriya asked.
He nodded grimly. “That’s what the criminals call them in Kanoan. There was a man exiled with the rest of us twenty-five years ago. Most of us are not murderers or rapists, like he was. Many are thieves, drunks, and rebels against the king, most avoiding a fight whenever possible. As soon as we got to Kanoan, we had to learn to defend ourselves. People were dying during the night. Yet the creature was human, one of us.”
His eyes took on a faraway look as he continued. “The victims were left for display, women with their clothes removed, men positioned in embarrassing ways. It was a game to him, and we went weeks without finding out it was Garvy Marro, a good worker people relied upon, but he was a monster inside. He was the last of us to be killed by men in Kanoan. The rest who died were killed by Marros, flying claws and teeth. Monsters in the sky. We gave them Marro’s name. You must be careful. The smallest of their kind is still bigger than any human. And the large ones…” The captain let out his breath as he shook his head. “They can grab a man as big as Kirnich and carry him off, never to be heard from again.”
“So people only live south of this Dead River,” Desil figured.
“Aye. But still the Marros come for them to carry someone off. Then one day later…” Mmzaza made the sound of a crash as he threw his hands up.
“What?” Adriya asked.
“Explosion. Bomb. It’s what the headmaster’s going there to see and the power he craves. I hope it doesn’t get him killed. Some beautiful people, him and his wife. Ah, your father and mother. I warned them there’s no way to the center without the Marros attacking them, but your father thinks they will be safe.”
“Because of his portals,” Leida said with a sigh. “But he needs a day of gathering bastial energy in one spot before he can open a portal there. I hope they aren’t seen. They might teleport back before we get there if they’re in danger. How will we avoid the Marros?”
The captain unraveled a map that looked similar to the one Leida had drawn of Kanoan, then pointed at the eastern edge. “There’s a canal into the island. Mountains on both sides. After describing it to your father, we agreed it’s the only place to arrive where neither Marros nor humans will see us coming. You don’t want the people there—the Kanoans—finding you, me pretty. They won’t let you leave unless they’re coming with you, and this ship—as big as she is—cannot and will not take them. There are hundreds, most good but some very bad. Many who would rather kill your father than let him teleport back without them.”
Mmzaza pointed to the southeastern edge of the map, at the land near the ocean just west of a forest.
“Here is where they’d be,” he continued. Then he pointed at the center of the island where none of the map had been filled in. “And here is where the Marros take the captured the day before each explosion. A good forty miles away, and we can still hear and see every time it happens. Rock bursts darken the sky. Specks of bastial steel make their way into the Dead River sometimes. Kanoans collect it in hopes of making weapons for defense, but methinks the creatures want it even worse than we do. Captain Mmzaza has seen them flying down and fighting each other for something on the ground after explosions. Bastial steel, most likely.”
He cleared his throat, then produced a flask and had a swig. “The Marros’ wings are huge. They stay away from dense trees, so you’re safer in any forest. And they don’t hunt at night, me pretties.” He pointed at the map again, tracing a river that divided the southern edge of the island from the rest. “Here is the Dead River.” He visibly shivered. “Me memories are not fond.”
Leida got out her own map and started to ready a quill. “I’m going to change mine to match yours.”
“Take it.”
“Thank you.” She reached out, and he gently took her by the wrist and lowered his head as if to kiss her hand.
“May I?” he asked to Desil’s surprise.
“Yes.”
He put his lips upon her hand and closed his eyes. Then his head began to sway. He let out a sound of delight as if tasting something delicious. His tongue swept out around the edges of his mouth to give her a wet lick before she drew back.
Leida groaned as she wiped her hand on her pants.
“Keep yourselves safe,” Mmzaza said, ignoring his disgusting act. “And stay away from Kirnich. The man is mad with anger. Captain Mmzaza is only mad with love.” He blew a kiss to Leida and Adriya, then walked back to the head of the ship while whistling to himself.
Desil’s sense of adventure was replaced with worry. He could see the effects of Mmzaza’s words on his comrades as each woman looked out across the water as if hoping for a glimpse of their destination. No one spoke for quite some time. He was certain Beatrix and Kirnich were busy laying out their options in the cabin, which could mean privacy for a while longer.
Desil considered their own options once more but came up with nothing new.
“At least the weather is good,” Leida commented.
Adriya leaned over the side and vomited again.
*****
Desil left the two friends alone after a while. Adriya had remained green in the face, muttering replies to Leida as the mage shared her worries about her parents and her disappointment at how no one else she’d as
ked had agreed to come with them. Adriya had equal concern about her parents, but not for their safety. They were furious about her leaving.
Desil spent the rest of the day eager for it to end and the next to begin. It felt that the longer they were on this boat indulging in their worries, the worse off they would all be.
Eventually Beatrix and Kirnich came out of the cabin. They glanced at Desil, as if checking to make sure he was behaving, then at his comrades. They shared a few words and took to their own corner of the boat close to Mmzaza.
Desil imagined that, if he’d never gotten involved, Leida probably would’ve met with her father in that small forest. She could’ve been on the Elves’ boat with him and her mother right this moment.
Eventually he decided he’d tortured himself enough with these thoughts and forced himself to think about something else. It wasn’t easy, as there was little to distract him. It was even worse when he looked at Leida and saw the worry plain on her beautiful face.
She came over to his side of the ship sometime during the evening. “How are you?” she asked.
Her care caught him off guard. “Me? I’m fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”
“I’m all right; it’s just hard to wait.” She leaned over and set her elbows on the side.
“How is Adriya?” The woman had taken to standing at the center of the ship in between bouts of sickness, no doubt to avoid swaying as much as possible.
“I think it’s getting easier for her, but I feel guilty for dragging her here. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to her.”
He thought for a while, wanting to tell Leida not to worry but realizing at the same time that it would be poor advice.
“To worry is healthy so long as you don’t let your fears set you on an irrational course. It’s how we prepare for every possible outcome.”
She looked up at him and eventually gave a nod.
It was a surprise when Captain Mmzaza came over with a basket of bread and cheese and handed them each a portion. The three of them had brought their own food for the voyage, but saving it for later was prudent. They thanked the captain and started their dinner. Leida waved for Adriya to come over and eat with them.
