“I was only...”
“Back away before I thump your skull!”
Dr. Griffin timidly shuffled away from Margaret.
“Now,” Athel continued. “I know this looks bad, but believe me, this is all part of the plan.”
Ryin raised an eyebrow. “Getting buried beneath a mountain was part of the plan?”
“Well, no, not exactly,” Athel admitted. “But...”
“But it just so happens that you were lucky enough to purchase the services of a Gatemaster,” Setsuna boasted as she thrust the final silver-tipped spear into place. “I suggest you all stand back, you don’t want to lose any hair or teeth when this thing opens.”
Ryin leaned in towards Athel. “She’s kidding right?”
“No way to tell.”
Everyone backed up as Setsuna stood within the triangle she had created and began to pray in her native tongue. It was a harsh-sounding language, with deep k’s and a lot of hard t’s. The kind of language that sounded to Athel like it was made up of nothing but curse words.
The stakes reacted to her voice and began resonating with each other. Blue and orange streaks of energy played back and forth between them and around her.
“You guys are fortunate, you're about to see some real magic,” Setsuna gloated as she brought her hands together.
“Hey!” Hanner protested, pointing to the sphere of fire hanging in the air he had created.
“Pffft, a chimpanzee with a piece of flint can make fire,” Setsuna teased. “I’m about to tear a hole through realms.” Setsuna’s large green pigtails floated up around her, and her eyes glowed a bright green. The very air became energized, causing Mina’s fur to stand on end. The vault before them rippled as if they were looking at it through warped glass.
“Can she really make a gate through the whole mountain?” Dr. Griffin wondered aloud as he flipped down a colored lens on his glasses.
“My brothers and sisters are opening the far end as we speak,” Setsuna explained between labored breaths. Her whole frame seemed to be trembling. “If I can just get a pinhole open, they'll force it the rest of the way.”
Setsuna screamed, green light emanating from her mouth and nose, and pulled her hands apart. With a terrible, high-pitched whine the air was rammed as if by an invisible sharp spike, and Setsuna’s magic punched through. A keyhole of light was created in the air, and magical energies rushed through from the far side, tearing it open larger and larger. There was a gust of fresh sea-air, and sunlight flowed into the vault. A wave of green energy shot across the room, knocking everyone but Setsuna off their feet. When they stood up again, they were looking out into open skies as if they were standing on the deck of an airship. The edges of the gate resolved themselves into a circle of enveloping mist.
Setsuna sat down and wiped the sweat from her brow. “You can keep your tinderbox magic, Iberian,” she taunted. “We Senndaisians wield the real thing.”
* * *
There arose a great cheer among the pirate fleet as they saw what they had been anticipating for hours. All of the ships from the Egress Guild had gathered together, the energies from their crews streaming from each ship into a single point in the sky. Harder and harder, the magic pushed until finally it punched through. There was now a ship-sized hole in the air that led directly into the Federal vault.
On the deck of the Tiondir, Captain Elymbor congratulated his crew. “Run out the colors,” he barked, sliding a few stray strands of green hair away from his face. “I want the Egress Guild flag waving proud when we enter the vault.”
The Tiondir dropped canvas and was moving forward towards the gate when they realized there was a problem.
“Sir, one of the seed-lickers from the Glarion Guild means to cut us off,” Fadriendra called down from the crow’s nest.
Captain Elymbor gave the wheel to Mr. Ciwen and grabbed a hold of ashroud, allowing him to lean out over the side and get a better look. Sure enough, the Claw was making a run for the gate, trying to cut them off.
* * *
Onboard the Claw, Anak kicked Mr. Pior aside and turned the wheel himself, steering them directly towards the approaching gate.
A tear opened up in the air next to him and Captain Elymbor stepped through, looking surprisingly aloof. “So, I’m guessing that instead of filling our holds with gold, you'd rather we all just tear ourselves apart fighting over who goes first?”
“You may guess whatever you want, moss-licker,” Anak responded, tightening his grip on the wheel. “But my ship is going through that gate first.”
“The order was determined by lot,” Captain Elymbor said, shaking his head. “Your ship was twenty-eighth, for crying out loud. It’s not like you had that long to wait.”
Anak ground his beak and grabbed Captain Elymbor by the collar. “Do you think any of this matters? Do you? In a few months, all of you will be dead, the whole canvas wiped clean, and no one will even be left behind to remember that there was ever a little man named Elymbor standing here arguing with me about who goes into the vault first.”
Captain Elymbor vanished in his grip and then reappeared behind him. “I can see there is no reasoning with a Maliaoite. Your kind has always been just a savage collection of bird brains.” Captain Elymbor smiled wickedly. “If you wish to go through the gate first, I won’t stop you.”
* * *
On the deck of the Tiondir, Captain Elymbor reappeared next to the binnacle. Already, a dozen other pirate ships looked like they were fixing to follow Anak’s example and force their way to the head of the line. Throughout the fleet, cutlasses were being drawn, rifles were being loaded, and guns were being run out. Elymbor could feel it. Any moment now the first shot would be fired, and then it would be too late. The entire raid was about to fail.
“Are we just going to sit back and do nothing?” Ms. Rilia asked. Captain Elymbor looked at his second-in-command and gave her a wink.
* * *
Back on the Claw, Anak barked out orders as they came up to the gate. Already they could see the piles of gold inside, winking seductively at them with their lustrous beauty.
Just as they reached the gate, the image before them shifted. Now there were storm clouds ahead. Anak spun the wheel, but it was too late. The Claw entered the gate and came out on the other side surrounded by a hurricane. Ignoring the hollering and cursing of his sailors, Anak turned around just in time to see the gate close behind them. For a second, he thought he caught a glimpse of Captain Elymbor smiling at him.
“Find out where we are!” Anak roared, tossing the man nearest him into the mizzenmast.
Near the bow of the ship, a dark figure cursed his luck.
* * *
On the Tiondir, Captain Elymbor gave out the order and his crew shifted the gate so that it led to the vault again. He looked around at the other pirate ships, which were all backing off. “Not even the greedy rats from the Mertrion Guild will try to cut in line after seeing that.”
* * *
Inside the vault, the crew of the Dreadnaught looked on as the first ship from the Egress Guild sailed directly into the vault and slowed to a stop. They knew it was coming, but watching it happen was still awe-inspiring.
Athel had never seen such motivated men and women in her life. Grates were opened, holds revealed, and the loading began with astonishing speed. The crew practically sprinted in and out of the ship, filling its cargo hold like they were possessed. Setsuna hugged and greeted her comrades and they chatted away in their native language while the crew did most of the work.
Athel could tell that they had a different kind of Guild than the others. It was more familial, even warm in its way. She wondered if it was because, unlike the other Guilds, they all came from the same island.
A few smaller gates were created, allowing large piles of gold coins to be simply shoveled into the tears, where they exited through the other end directly inside the cargo waiting holds. It was hard for Athel to think of thieves as being professional at
anything, but watching the speed and efficiency with which they filled their ships, she had to admit that, at least in this one thing, they were true professionals.
Her original calculations had figured it would take about thirty minutes to fill each ship. To everyone’s surprise, the first ship was filled in only twelve minutes. Setsuna said her goodbyes, and Captain Elymbor was met by Alder, who had an armful of signed and sealed parchment papers ready to be handed out. Captain Elymbor shook his head as Alder handed him his receipt. “And what do you expect me to do with this?” he asked. “File my tax returns with it? Declare my source of income as stolen gold from the Federal reserves?”
Alder looked a little unsure of how to answer, and so went with what Athel had come to identify as his favorite response when he was flustered. “Forgive me, I am simply following protocol.”
Captain Elymbor laughed as he tucked the parchment into his coat and vanished. When he reappeared on the deck of the Tiondir, a second gate appeared before the airship, and she sailed out of the vault into open skies, blown by a nice cool breeze, courtesy of Margaret.
Athel chuckled and pulled her husband in close to her. “You even stayed up late last night preparing receipts for the pirates. Alder, did I ever tell you how cute you can be sometimes?”
Alder looked at her oddly and thought for a moment. “You could stand to mention it a little more often.”
“Oh, could I?” she teased, tickling his side.
Seconds later, the next ship entered the vault, and the process began all over again.
The next few hours became a blur as ships of greedy pirates flew into the vault, filled their ships, and left even greedier than before. Despite the indefatigable energy that the pirates displayed, the frantic pace kept the Dreadnaught crew constantly busy. Ryin in particular had trouble convincing each ship when they had reached their load limit. Despite the enormous wealth they were walking away with, they seemed obsessed with finding any excuse to take even a little bit more. Some captains were willing to overload their ships past their weight and displacement limits, others tried tossing their food and water supplies and even crew members overboard in order to make extra room.
At least a dozen times, pirate ships were forced to leave under threat of attack, and twice Alder was grabbed by a desperate captain who threatened to kill him if more gold wasn’t loaded immediately. After that, Alder was sent over to the Dreadnaught to keep him from being grabbed yet again and asked to get dinner started.
Through each wrinkle, Captain Evere was there to smooth things over. He seemed to speak their language, and knew how to appeal to them in a persuasive way. He never used commands or threats, only appealed to their greed, pointing out how cooperation would lead to the greatest profit for them.
* * *
Down in the galley of the Dreadnaught, Alder pulled some fresh vegetables from the potted plants in the pantry and began trimming them up on the counter.
“Ah, so here you are,” Setsuna announced, sticking her head around the corner from the corridor. She vanished from sight, then reappeared right in front of him, leaning against the counter. “I have heard tell that there exists a crepe-maker on this ship of exceptional skill. I came to see if the rumors are true.”
Alder minced the vegetables without looking up. “Aren’t you supposed to be setting up the gates to help the ships load?”
“I got lost,” she teased.
Alder held up the cutting board and slid the bits into the soup pot. “I’d be happy to show you the way back up to the...”
“You can’t do that,” Setsuna cut him off.
Alder looked up. “I can’t?”
Setsuna shook her head, causing her green pigtails to flap about. “No, you have an order of crepes to make.”
Alder nodded politely and lit a fire under the skillet. Setsuna pulled a piece of taffy out of the waiting jar and gated over to the nearest table.
Alder took out a bowl and began sifting the flour. “If I may venture an opinion...”
“Oh, please do,” she said, popping the taffy into her mouth. “I just live to hear the opinions of others.”
“You seemed to lose interest in your job after all your Guild ships were loaded.”
“Preposterous!” Setsuna rebuked. “I lost interest long before that.”
Alder measured out the flour. “But, it is your duty.”
“See, that’s the neat part about jobs,” she said, her words a little slurred by the chewy candy. “If your job is important enough, it will get done with or without you being there.”
Alder added in the cream and butter, attempting to hide his distaste as best he could.
Setsuna watched him curiously as he whipped the eggs, then folded them into the batter. “So, tell me, how in the great bog did a moss-head like you manage to land yourself a princess?” she asked, twirling her hair.
“I did not win her,” Alder affirmed. “She is not a prize to be won. I was betrothed to her when I was sold to the Forsythia Family from Madam Bursage.”
“Fascinating,” Setsuna appraised, her green eyes twinkling.
“What is?”
“That you so defiantly defend her status as a person and not a prize, yet you affirm your own existence as something to be bought and sold.”
Alder checked the temperature on the skillet. “I was merely describing the way things are. I was not passing judgement on reality.”
Setsuna appeared right next to him, her green-painted lips nearly touching his ear. “And that is why you are still property,” she whispered.
Her sudden appearance startled him so much he almost dropped the batter.
Setsuna reappeared on her chair, giggling to herself. “You think freedom is natural? You think it springs up from the mud, like cattails or something? No, freedom is a privilege only for those willing to stand up and take it for themselves. That’s what I did.”
This caught Alder’s attention. He watched her closely as he cooked the crepes. She had such an unusual way of sitting, perching herself atop the back of the chair with her feet on the stool. Her eyes were closed, her head thrown back, pigtails bobbing back and forth, as if she were oblivious to everything.
Alder flipped the crepe over. “May I ask how you obtained your freedom?”
“Oh, you don’t want to hear a boring old story like that, do you?” she asked coyly.
Alder reached over and unwrapped some special, high-quality cocoa he had been saving. “I'll add chocolate to the cream,” he offered.
“Ooh, you are good at this,” she squirmed in delight. “You be surprised how many people don’t know how to haggle these days.”
Setsuna kicked the chair and it spun around beneath her. She came to a rest in it backwards, placing her elbows on the back of the chair. “Okay, so most of eastern half of Senndai isn’t nice like the cities. It’s just a series of festering swamps, and the people who live there are Kkor...”
“What does that mean?”
“That means they don’t have any protection under the law.”
“I see.”
“So, what happens is the big city people like to ride out through the little swamp villages and grab a few people to fight for Kkattri— it’s this sporting event you've probably heard about. It’s all over the place, very popular.”
“I can’t say that I have, ma'am.”
“So my sister Sawyn and I wake up one night with filthy hands over our mouths and cords around our wrists. They throw us in the back of a wagon and take us up to the big city. Now, we had never seen the city before, so you can imagine we were so awestruck we nearly forgot what was about to happen to us.”
“What did happen to you?”
“Arena fighting, to the death of course, it’s always much more profitable that way. Draws all the freaks out. Sure enough, poor Sawyn draws her first match against this bruiser named Unyndir. Real slug of a guy. A little guy like you would fit in his breast pocket...if he ever wore a shirt, that is.”
&n
bsp; Setsuna stood up and balanced on the back of her chair and hung her arms out wide like a gorilla to enhance the effect. “So, anyway, he catches her with the flat of his axe and knocks her to the ground. Well, that’s when I did the craziest thing I've ever done. Breaking every rule, I jumped into the arena and grabbed onto his big old nasty boot. Well, the brute was so surprised, wouldn’t you know it? He stumbled back and fell on top of me. His armpit was right in my face. I thought I was going to die from the smell, and I grew up in a swamp. Well, the big guy picks me up with one hand, and holds his bog old axe up with the other, ready to chop me in half like a raccoon.”
Setsuna held up her hands, imitating the pose. “So, I think I've had it, and I scream bloody murder, and then it happened.”
“What happened?” Alder asked, fixated.
“I brought my hands up, and did something I never could before. I rolled up all of reality like a scroll, then punched my finger through it, like it was nothing more than a sheet of paper. You can’t imagine the rush of what that felt like. I created a gate right in front of me. Big Unyndir, he just chopped right into the gate and struck himself square in the back.”
“And you became a Gatemaster.”
“I became a Gatemaster!” Setsuna said triumphantly, balancing on top of her chair with one toe. “That very night, I emptied the ringmasters vault and ran off with half of his best fighters. Captain Elymbor, Uril, Karar, we all formed the Egress Guild together. Almost every crewmember on our ships are Kkor we freed from the arenas.”
“And your sister? Sawyn?”
Setsuna became quiet and sat down. “Sawyn was a real delicate kid, you know. Like a flower. We did everything we could for her, but she didn’t make it, her wounds were too great.”
Alder set his ladle down. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Setsuna shrugged. “It’s...quite all right. With any luck, in her next life she'll be born into a higher caste, am I right?”
Alder looked away. “Yes, I suppose.”
The hatch to the lower decks sprung open and Odger climbed up, looking completely out of breath.
“Is there something wrong?” Alder asked, unaccustomed to seeing Odger outside of mealtimes.
Isle of Wysteria: The Reluctant Queen Page 27
