Blood of Mages (Rift of Chaos Book 3)

by A. J. Martinez

  She had caught one before with cryomancy, freezing inside an ice sphere as it swam. Lunar fishes were fast and they were as big as her hand. However, the oils inside their bodies were able to heal many illnesses throughout the history of her people in Maer Weeyar. She had seen how it reduced her father’s disease and sought more. Lunar fishes were a challenging prey and had the stamina to swim for miles in order to escape their prey. Last time she caught one she had swam five miles chasing it. When she finally spotted one at the bottom of the coral and kelp forest she paused and slowed down her movements. With her zoomed vision she could see it resting between two red corals, on top of the sand. Its head shaped like a half moon and the rest of its body coiled like a serpent with fins waving like blue curtains on its back. It was blue and changed colors throughout the day but she had seen its many hues. It could not fool her.

  I see you little fish, she thought as she slowly sank trying to make sure it does not see her shadow. Stay right there, I am coming to get you. She moved around the kelp and hid behind the reef of coral from which it slept. She plotted to capture it with an ice spell like last time or enjoy chasing it down the northern sea of Maer Weeyar. Fishes like these are rare. I have one chance.

  She got closed enough to be able to aim and make sure her spell is successful. She moved around the coral towards the right hoping it still snoozed but she saw it shutter and spread the dust. She cursed and lunged casting her ice spell. On that very moment it ran away faster than a roach on her bedroom floor. She shook her fist with anger and growled then swam above it, tracking it down with her zoomed vision. School of fishes cleared the way for her as she swam rapidly trying to catch up with the lunar fish. She saw it swimming at the very bottom amongst the roots of kelp, zigzagging around them. It is trying to confuse me. Smart little shite, she thought.

  The lunar fish move so much and so fast, her eyes could not keep up with it. Just when she thought she had lost sight of it, a harpoon came from above unexpectedly like lightning on a tree and landed at the very bottom of the cape kelp forest. She looked up and saw who had thrown the harpoon. Samird, you scared the scales off me, she wanted to tell him.

  It was her lover Samird. He was a fish from waist to toes just like her, using water magic to mimic sea creatures. His dreadlocks were up to his shoulders, he was tan and muscular with yellow eyes like panthers. He sank to her level and when he was close enough she pushed him playfully.

  She swam down to where the harpoon had struck. It was tangled in the kelp and when she pulled it out of the lunar fish it had pierced through its body. She took the harpoon and swam up quickly to the surface eager to return home with a cure for her father. As she ascended to the surface she released her aquatic magic and paddled with two long legs and her eyes returned to a cold grey color.

  She swam to the nearest boulder by the shore with Samird. The fins on her hands were still vanishing as she got closer to the shore. When she jumped on to the boulder she had taken a full human form. She was slender, tan and her face was sharp with a long pointy nose and small lips painted blue. Her arms and legs were tattoed with fish scales and ocean wave patterns. Most importantly was the family sigil on her forehead. A whirlpool in the shape of a diamond. The most frightening yet beautiful thing about her was her small eyes. Her chest was small covered by a dark blue and black top mix with indigo stripes. Pieces of sapphire were braided and hung from the hems of her short skirt like beads. A silver snake bangle coiled around her wrist and arm. Her feet had silver bangles as well but were sometimes confused by prison shackles. Her blue dreadlocks were passed her shoulders, thick and bound by black strips. Some men had told her that she reminded them of a poison lionfish and some had said that she was the seduction of the ocean. As the princess of Maer Weeyar she wanted to represent the element of water itself. Some called her princess Scorpio but her name was…

  “Serena,” her lover called to her. “I caught another one.”

  “Beautiful,” she responded as Samird swam to her. “How are you better at catching fish than me?”

  Samird jumped out of the water with a pulse using hydromancy. He held another harpoon with its end through a lunar fish. He placed it down on the boulder and sat next to her. Serena rested her head on his broad shoulders and caressed his face. They gazed at the sun together and held hands. Seagulls flew above, waves crashed on the boulder where they sat on, the warm wind brushed against her body gently.

  “I was born in a family of fishermen before I become a Narb Thale for the king,” Samird answered and brought her face in for a kiss. “You made me worry going in ahead without me.”

  “I like to lose myself in the sea,” Serena said and kissed him.

  “Then it is a good thing I am here to prevent you from going too far,” Samird replied.

  “Far enough so no one can see us,” she added and kissed him again.

  Samird remained silence and stared at the horizon. Serena felt guilty bringing him out here with her knowing very well that what they were doing was wrong, especially while her father was ill and unable to lead the country.

  “How long do you think this will last?” Samird asked solemnly.

  Serena brought his arm over her chest and replied, “As long as possible.”

  “We cannot continue to live in this fantasy,” Samird stated and stood up on the boulder, gently removing her arm. He stood six feet tall and topless. A steel guard on his left arm and a fish scale tasset armor. His dark dreadlocks were pass his neck, he was burly and the strongest of all her Narb Thales. “The rules of royalty say that the princess cannot marry or even less, fall in love with someone below royalty. We can have our fun and precious moments but in the end, my princess, you will have to find a wealthy man to fit your standards.”

  “No!” she grabbed his arm and pulled him. “You don’t understand.” She stood up and clutched his arm. Waves crashed below and soaked her legs; she only wished her wetness was caused by Samird himself. “You don’t know what is like to be forced to marry someone you don’t like. At least you have a choice. I don’t know. I have to maintain a reputation but I hate it. My father has brought me many suitors even from other lands but I don’t care. I want the power to choose my lover and husband. I am going to change all of that, despite what people say about me.”

  “You would sacrifice yourself for me?” Samird asked and frowned.

  “I would do anything to be with the man I choose,” she replied.

  Samird pulled her in and grabbed her tight. They lay on the boulder and he removed her clothes. I will not be prohibited from the divinity of love and will express myself as a woman, she thought as Samird took her. She had chosen this part of the beach wisely. It was an area miles away from the castle, a restricted beach reserved for her royal family just at the north end of the Theemas River.

  When they had finished they went back to shore and walked back to the campsite. The beach glinted with shards and pillars aquamarine and turquoise. Arched structures rose from within the water and on to the sands. Crabs that scurried away had blue shells and four claws. They kept a distance from each other so that no one would suspect what they were doing. Serena walked in front of Samird so that he was able to see her back and front. The campsite was past the forest of palm trees. It was a long walk that Serena had purposely chosen.

  “By the way, where did you send the other Narb Thales?” Samird asked. He had not seen his fellow knights for hours.

  “I sent them to search for lunar fish along with my water mages,” she answered and giggled.

  “My princess, you will be the end of me one day,” Samird said and laughed. “What will you tell your maidens and Narb Thales when we get back?”

  “Don’t worry about it, I will make something up,” she said.

  “Indeed, women are good liars,” Samird responded.

  Serena turned around and jabbed him playfully. Along the way they hugged, kissed, held hands and pressed against each other’s bodies under the trees. Serena could no
t get enough of Samird. He was the man she imagine, the man she wished her father would present to her, unlike all those other suitors that tried to get her approval. When she was around Samird she felt safe and sought his approval. There was something about the way he ignored her that pulled her like a fish swimming towards bait on a hook. He was taller than her, strong, confident, handsome and did not try to please her too much like other men have.

  When Serena looked up at the position of the sun she had realized that an hour had passed when they reached the campsite. Large pavilions and tents were set by the Theemas river. There were men bringing game from the wild to cook for dinner. She saw her maidens by her hammock and some beared water over their heads from the river. When her maidens saw her arriving to camp they sprinted towards her.

  “Lady Sarbock, where have you been?” A maiden clad in green asked.

  “The Narb Thale have been looking all over for you,” said another clad in blue.

  “My ladies, I am fine,” Serena told them. “I had Samird to protect me.”

  “My lady, we received a message from the castle while you were away,” said the maiden in green.

  “A messenger came all the way here?” Serena asked and stride to her pavilion. “Where is it and what does it say?”

  “To make the long message short, my lady, it said that your father is getting worst,” the green maiden answered following Serena into the pavilion.

  Serena entered her pavilion with Samird and her maiden. On top of a table she saw a scroll and her spear. With haste she unrolled the scroll and read the dreadful message describing her father’s condition. She gasped and covered her mouth. Her hands shook and her eyes moistened almost shedding tears. She looked back at Samird and said, “We leave immediately. Get everyone ready.”

  *****

  On the Theemas River they traveled back to Sar Thale, the capital of Maer Weeyar, on the king’s boat called the Piranha. They arrived in one day but to Serena it felt like a week. She stood on the front deck of the boat feeling uneasy and apprehensive. If I lose my father then…it hurt too much to think about it. Then I will be alone. I will have to run the country on my own. Maybe my cousins from the south will come and assist me. I hate being an only child. I am scared to do this all on my own and I can’t just run away from this responsibility. No. I trust no one else on the throne besides father. Whatever his current condition may be, with the lunar fish he should get better. There has to be a cure. I won’t let father die.

  Many people thought that she was happy living as a princess. Living in a castle with every luxury and all the best servants in Maer Weeyar. However, Serena was lonely. She had no siblings, only her father and her maidens. As for her mother…well…she never knew her.

  She looked up ahead and saw the river splitting the horizon into two hills. The hills of Sar Thale. She could see the castle from afar and the waterfall behind it. On top of the two hills there was a bridge in the shape of a koi fish. As the boat got closer she could see the pyramid shape of the castle reigning above all else. The castle was on a moat and the tower in the middle had a grand statue of the head of a sea serpent releasing water from its mouth creating a cascade that split in two. From afar it looked like the water fell from a stair case. The castle was massive, up to five stories high and the snake tower added five more floors. The tower looked much like a pagoda temple yet larger and colored in jade and blue. Beyond its port Serena could see its columns before the entrance. As the boat moved into the city area, slopes surrounded the waters with blue and white houses. It resembled an amphitheater. The houses on the hills were the seats and the castle with the moat was the stage, and the waterfall was the curtain. The water surrounding the castle was the gap that separated royalty and its people. At the bottom of those slopes there were many docks with boats and ships tethered to them. The city was in the shape of a bowl with hundreds of thousands of people living in it. The hills were verdant and everyone could the see the castle from outside their window.

  “We are home,” Serena stated, gripping the hand rails of the boat. “Samird, can you make this vessel move faster.”

  “Patience is a virtue, my princess,” Samird said as he approached from behind her. “Relax, we will be there soon. With the rest of the Narb Thale we managed to catch three lunar fish. That will be enough fish oil to treat your father.”

  “I hope so,” she replied.

  Soon the boat arrived at the dock of the castle. Narb Thales tried to assist Serena but she jumped off the boat with the lunar fishes and sprinted inside the castle. She went passed the columns, through the grand doors and ran up to the second floor to her father’s chamber. Within the walls of the castle, the floors were made of cement tiles and illustrated with swirls, spirals, paisley and ocean waves. There were fish tanks in the walls and koi fish ponds in the center of almost every room. From the second floor hung glowing tentacles like chandeliers, resembling jellyfishes.

  “Princess! Where are you going?” The Narb Thale would ask as she ran through the halls of the aquarium castle.

  The Narb Thales in the castle were tattooed warriors wearing scaled chest plates, arm guards and tassets. They wielded spears and half-moon curved swords. All Narb Thales and servants of the castle must wear the diamond spiral of the Sarbock dynasty on their bodies. Serena had it on her forehead and her servants and warriors on their arms.

  “Sheimeh, come with me,” Serena told one of her servants clad in a green dress, grabbing the woman by the hand. “Take these fishes and extract the oil from them quickly. Make sure to mix the oil with bamboo palm leaves and aloe vera. Bring it to my father’s room.”

  “Yes my princess,” the servant replied.

  Serena ran down a long hall and till she reached the last door at the end bedecked with the diamond spiral. Standing in front of the door she could hear her father moaning from the pain. She pushed opened the doors and saw her father laying in a large bed. Serena slowly stepped in as tears trickled down her cheeks and her lips quivered. Two female servants were by his side. One held a lamp releasing a lavender scent to calm him and the other held his hand.

  “Papa,” Serena said and tiptoed towards her father.

  “My dear, I am so glad you are here,” he said.

  She sat next to him and looked at his scrawny body. This is a disease from the underworld, she thought. His veins were thick like wild vines embossing on his brown skin. He was really skinny, almost a skeleton of a body. King Sarbock coughed and his servants served him tea to ease his chest pain. The poison made him weak and drained the nutrition from his body. It was a poison that he had struck with during a battle just six months ago.

  “I cannot live like this anymore,” King Sarbock said. “I told you many times that you should end my life and focus on reclaiming the Sapphire Cosmo Jewel.”

  “Severus, I told you. I refuse to let you die,” Serena said. “You are all I have left. Don’t give up on life Papa. You are making me sad.”

  “It is over for me and you know it,” her father replied. “All I can do is eat and speak. I cannot withstand the pain anymore. This is torture. I would rather die than live another day with this poison in my body.”

  “No father. Don’t be ridiculous. I will speak with the Laguans. I will beg them for the cure,” Serena persisted. “They are the ones who poisoned you. They must know how to heal you, Papa.”

  “You have your mother’s dedication,” Severus said and coughed.

  “Papa, I will speak to the Laguans, I will make peace with them and…”

  “No! Don’t trust them!” the king shouted. “Do not trust those shape shifting bottom feeders.” The king coughed hard. His servants gave him more tea while the other changed the scent in the lamp from lavender to menthol and made him inhale it. His coughing stopped and then began to shiver.

  “Sheimeh will be here soon with the lunar fish oil,” she whispered to her father. “You will feel much better, I promised.” She gently grabbed her father’s bony hand and ki
ssed it with a salty tear on her lips.

  “I will get more tea,” said one of the servants and left the room.

  Serena stood by her father. Right now he was the only family she had. Everyone else in the Sarbock dynasty had either died in recent wars or left the country as traitors. The last few years had been difficult for Serena but she remained strong…or at least she tried. What she thought of the most was her mother. Her mother whom she had never seen. Severus had told her that she had died during the great war with the Laguans a few months after Serena was born. However, she knew that he was lying. She knew that there was something else behind the story that her father told her. Her mother was still alive out there somewhere, but every time she asked, Severus would dodge the question or say it was too painful to talk about.

  “Having you by my side reminds me of your mother,” Severus said, his voice cold. “You are the spirit image of her, especially now, thirty years of age. You have her strong will and strength. I only wish you would choose a husband. A woman your age needs a man by her side. Once I am gone you will need someone to look after you.”

  “Father, I don’t need a husband. We have servants, guards, Narb Thales to protect me,” she replied. “Let’s not forget I am also a warrior. Master of the spear and master water mage. I can protect myself.”

  “Foolish girl,” the king responded and chuckled. “You say that now but wait till the time comes. No woman can live without a man. Don’t fool yourself girl. Take the throne after my death but marry a wise man. Promise me.”