Brisethi jerked upright, clutching the thin blanket as the cold water hit her face. She wiped her eyes to see Etyne squatting down next to her holding an empty cup.
“Oh, you’re awake,” he said, giving her a strained smile. No matter how happy he was to have her back, he found it difficult to show it knowing what had happened to her.
Brisethi kicked him playfully to knock him over out of habit and quickly winced from the stab wound in her foot. “I was just dreaming about drowning in water, you jerk,” she mumbled, pushing her wet hair behind her ears.
He forced a chuckle and sat on his knees next to her. “Probably from the sprinkles of water I initially started with. How do you feel?” His tone was light, but the concern was evident in his face.
She turned away from his sympathetic gaze, wishing he’d stop looking at her. “I feel disgusting,” she said, “but rested for the first time in weeks,” she continued gratefully. Though she wasn’t home, she felt safe with her friends.
Brisethi wondered if the foul taste in her mouth was similar to what feces and death tasted like. She kept her head down when speaking. “What time of day is it?”
Etyne reached for his pocket watch. “It’s half past hour seventeen. You’ve been asleep since six.”
Brisethi’s eyes fell on the pile of provisions in the corner opposite her. After the need to itch her scabbed arms and legs, mostly healed from the night before she felt a sudden pang in her heart for Ibrienne, further dampening her mood. She glanced back up at Etyne, but he shifted uncomfortably, avoiding looking at her. She wished he would leave, fearing she still smelled of the wretched cell of the laboratory.
“I’ll have Korteni take you to the stream to wash up,” he said, standing up, as though he'd read her mind.
Korteni walked into the shack at her name. She grinned and waved excitedly to Brisethi, grabbing the pack that contained her friend’s uniform and a set of military issued hygiene supplies. Etyne and Korteni both leaned down to help Brisethi stand. She waved them off, rolling to her knees, but she found herself unable to move any further. Humiliated, she allowed her friends to help her wordlessly to her feet.
Brisethi reached over to grab a pouch of rations to munch on while she and Korteni walked to the stream, grateful for the bland taste. She doubted her stomach could handle anything richer. Still using Korteni to support a good portion of her weight, she asked, “Was there any word on my father?”
Korteni nodded. “The official memorandum from Dominion Command stated that Sergeant First Class Kile found him and took him to your division, actually. They made sure that he was taken back to Res’Baveth.”
Brisethi thanked the spirits for the good news, nearly forgetting she had cursed them the night before. They spent the rest of the walk in silence. Brisethi focused all her energy on putting one foot in front of the other. She was thankful that her foot was mostly healed from Ibrienne’s mystic touch, leaving only pressure pain left to heal on its own.
Livian had just finished putting her recruit uniform on when the two superiors arrived at the stream. She walked past them but not before asking Korteni, “Chief, do you think we’ll have time to hunt for real food?”
“I think Captain was readying his bow when we left. See if you can catch him,” Korteni replied.
“Aye, Chief,” Livian replied, avoiding any and all eye contact with the monstrous Captain Sen Asel.
“How has she been since that night?” Brisethi asked when Livian ran off.
“She’s been well, actually. She wasn’t too thrilled at the idea of leaving the expedition to come here, but she didn’t want to get set back by half a year or so either. Besides, she won’t admit it, but I know she enjoys the face time with Etyne,” Korteni rambled, sitting upon the log-bridge Livian had abandoned.
“That’s more than I needed to know,” Brisethi replied with a small smile. She carefully removed her boots and waded into the cold stream. She used her mystic to warm her skin against the rushing waters, feeling the familiar warmth come over her like a long-lost friend. She removed the horrid white gown and threw it high into the air, igniting it with mystics to watch as it incinerated into ash. Never again will I take my mystic for granted, she swore to herself.
Korteni gasped at the sight of Brisethi’s bare, skeletal back scabbed in diagonal, symmetrical lines on either side of her spine where flesh had been sliced. She couldn’t dare wonder what it looked like before Ibrienne closed the open wounds. “Oh, ‘Sethi,” she sadly whispered.
Brisethi heard her and quickly submerged her whole body in the shallow water, using the soap to scrub away weeks of crusted blood and Lantheun filth. “It doesn’t hurt as much anymore,” she said in answer to Korteni’s unspoken question. “It’s more of a stinging nuisance, really. Would you mind scrubbing off my back?” Korteni jumped off her post, stripped off her own boots and rolled up her pants before taking Brisethi’s soap from her outstretched hand. She carefully scrubbed the dried blood and filth off of her back, avoiding re-opening any of the cuts and not saying a word.
Brisethi rinsed the soap and oils from her body and hair, feeling instantly refreshed. Although the lower half of her head was shaven, she was thankful the rest of her hair was still thick and long, easily able to hide her horrid sides. When she was done, she waded back to the shore and dried off using her mystic to evaporate the water droplets before pulling each article of clothing from the leather bag Korteni had packed for her. “I’m surprised the Lantheuns didn’t destroy my uniform.”
“Just be glad Etyne reminded me to grab it. I nearly forgot over the excitement of finding you,” Korteni grinned. It was slightly easier to look at her friend once she appeared slightly more like her normal self.
After dressing, Brisethi took the toothbrush from the hygiene pack along with the cleaning solution. “Do you know how disgusting your mouth gets after a month of not brushing your teeth?” she asked, thankful for Ibrienne’s healing of her canker sores.
“I hope to never know,” Korteni sadly replied.
Ignoring Korteni, she continued, “I’m convinced I was trying to remove a cavity or two before Ibrienne healed them.” When she finished thoroughly cleaning her teeth and mouth, she climbed onto the log to sit next to Korteni and watch the sun set through the trees. Her bottom was still slightly sore from what the guards did to her. The sky turned from light blue to hues of pink and orange as night slowly approached. “All the baths and showers in the world will never make me feel clean,” she muttered. “I’m worried I may never desire intimacy ever again.” She then decided to confide in Korteni with some of the more atrocious acts the Lantheun guards performed on her.
Korteni moaned in pity for her friend, wishing there was something she could do for her. Despite her hatred of Sulica and Kanilas, nobody deserved the treatment the women went through, not even their adversaries. She held back the tears, sick of crying at every terrible event that others were suffering. Korteni had always hated that specific trait about herself, how empathic she became at anyone’s expense. She wished she could harden her heart to feel nothing for no one. Finally, she found her voice to speak to Brisethi. “I’m certain that in time, that feeling will return. Our minds have a way of letting horrible memories fade away to allow the good ones to remain. When a good enough person comes along, you will slowly crave affection once more,” she reassured her, leaving out Etyne’s name now that she knew what he once felt for Brisethi.
Livian remained quiet as she trailed Captain Vorsen while he hunted. He favored his silent, accurate bow and arrow over the rifle for hunting. They soon came upon a flock of pheasants, and the captain easily took one out for their small group.
“Something on your mind, Reej?” he asked his quiet subordinate as they began retracing their steps to the shack, bird in tow.
“Not really, Sir,” she mumbled.
Even if he wasn’t in the mood to talk, he felt obligated to include the young Sergeant in their discussions. “Thanks again for helping
us out last night. I know you didn’t have the best options to choose from, but I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your help. I’m sure Sen Asel will express her gratitude as well, when she’s feeling better.”
Livian forced herself to remain respectful to her commanding officer by not expressing her feelings about the situation. “You’re welcome, Sir,” she said with the little sincerity she could muster.
He gave her the task of gathering firewood and kindling while he prepared the pheasant. He raised his eyes from the task after a little while to see the other two women return from the stream.
“What’s with the darkness?” Korteni asked as she watched Etyne and Livian struggling to see in the smallest amount of daylight left.
“I may or may not have misplaced our fire-starters,” Etyne admitted in a quiet mumble.
“Good thing I am a fire-starter,” Brisethi said, igniting both the nearby lantern and the campfire with dramatic flare like the sorceresses of her favored fantasy books. “I’ll keep it at a red flame so that it’s not attracting unwanted far-off attention.”
He forced a smile up at her, thankful she was back in her uniform. It did a poor job of disguising her thin form, appearing like the clothes were secondhand from a male compared to her malnourished frame, but it was much better than the hideous, stained gown he’d found her in.
“I’ll speed this up.” Casually she flicked her hand again and heated the pheasant from the inside out until it reached the desired temperature within seconds. “Alright, let’s eat!”
“You finally got your heating temperature under control?” Etyne asked.
Brisethi nodded without a word and ripped off an entire pheasant leg for herself.
-:- -:- -:-
“How much longer until the Reliant gets here?” Brisethi asked later that evening, staring into the calm sea under the light of one of the moons.
“Commander Fevan told us if he doesn’t return by tomorrow night, then chances are they were captured or destroyed,” Korteni explained.
Etyne walked up to the three women standing along the shore line of the Dralenian Ocean. He’d finally had his turn to bathe and wash his clothes in the stream and carried his drenched outer layer of his uniform coat and pants, walking toward Brisethi. He was wearing only the issued black undershirt and black knee-length underpants that were also wet. “Hey, would you mind applying your mystics to my clothes?”
Brisethi smiled widely at him, waiting until the other two turned to see the half-drowned man, enjoying the show. “Do what now?” she asked light-heartedly.
Livian blushed while Korteni giggled.
“Can you help me out?” Etyne asked, shivering. He then muttered thanks to her when he felt his clothes become warm and dry, quickly putting them on. Ordinarily, he would have played along with her antics, but he had lost his cheerful mood the past few weeks.
“If the ship doesn’t come back for us, what do we do?” Livian asked, after brushing her teeth and rinsing with treated, minty cleaning water, courtesy of Korteni.
“The neutral Aspion Empire will be our destination. Beccilia has a major port where our transport ships stop. It’s about a seven day travel, including rests,” Etyne explained. “But I have faith that Commander Fevan hid the Reliant well enough and will be here as promised.”
-:- -:- -:-
“Incoming!” Shouted Chief Crommik.
Commander Fevan summoned his mystic barrier once again around the entire ship to absorb the projectiles from the Lantheun airship fleet. The fleet had chased the DSV Reliant since the same night they had dropped off Captain Vorsen’s team. Fevan knew that his ship didn’t stand a chance against seven speedy, well-armed airships and pushed the Reliant’s crew to increase the ship’s speed back toward Sariadne.
They had long ago left Lantheun waters, even international waters, finally reaching Dominion territory, but the Lantheuns still pressed on.
“They’re firing another round, Sir,” Crommik told him while looking through the scope.
Commander Fevan readied his mystic, concentrating on each projectile heading toward his ship. He raised his hands as soon as he could track every missile and summoned his own spheres of light for each one. The spheres attached themselves to the projectiles, redirecting each one back to its source.
The two airships that had fired the ammunition took heavy damage from the returned missiles, setting them both fully ablaze in seconds. “Two down, six to go,” Fevan told Crommik. He was growing weary from the constant use of his powerful mystic.
The DSV Reliant was a retrofitted training warship with only thirty-two guns. Although it was no longer meant for naval warfare, it was fortified with iron-plated hulls and reinforced masts, sails and lines to be able to withstand modern weaponry. Because it was generally only used for the naval training portion of the expedition, the skeleton crew of ten experienced sailors plus Master Chief Denil had to quickly train Captain Vorsen’s division on as many shipboard procedures as possible.
“They’re still on our tail,” Crommik said. “We’ll be in sight of Northwest harbor any minute. Master Chief Denil and three recruits are at the fore, ready to sound the horns and light the distress signal. They’ll hear us and see us coming soon and should respond with firepower to the enemy.”
The ship’s booming horn sounded as bright mystic light flashed rapidly in a cryptic sequence beaming toward the continent before them. What should have taken six days to travel to Sariadne from the Lantheun shore had only taken three thanks to the experienced sailors who had wind and water mystics to increase the ship’s speed, aided by the recruits with the same. The ship was nearly levitating from the unbelievable velocity it had reached.
Both Chief Crommik and Commander Fevan watched as the remaining airships readied their weapons. Commander Fevan breathed heavily. His powerful mystic was exhausted from the three consecutive days of use. The mystics were no longer replenishing, completely drained. He shuddered to think what would happen if they didn’t get relief soon.
Master Chief Denil peered through his scope at the response from the Northwest Dominion harbor’s mystic beams of light. He then scoped the port, watching lanterns light up and sailors quickly board the three ships that were docked. A smile stretched across his face at seeing the anchors pull up, the sails drop, and the cannons manned.
“Slow her down!” Denil shouted when he suddenly realized how quickly the Reliant was approaching the bay.
The sailors assigned to accelerating the sails immediately reversed their winds while turning the sails in an attempt to halt the ship. The helmsman turned the ship’s mighty wheel to prevent crashing into the docks. The DSV Reliant drifted dangerously close to the harbor, just missing a fellow warship pulling out, sounding its own horn at them.
Commander Fevan somberly watched the final volley of ammunition on its way to his ship. He could command his mystics no longer. Sergeant First Class Tevor quickly took stock of the situation and, dropping to the deck, he pushed upon the air surrounding their ship, ceasing all projectiles in mid-flight. They fell harmlessly into the water below. Those who witnessed his actions cheered his quick thinking.
The ship finally came to a halt as the more fortified warships sailed forward, firing their mystically enhanced cannons at the airships above. The manned turrets on base began firing their dual-projectile missiles as well. Sariadne’s defenses were determined to keep the enemy out.
Commander Fevan watched as flaming projectiles hit their targets far above, sending each airship crashing to the sea below, one by one. A single airship turned away in time, escaping with only a small fire in its side. He doubted the airship would make it back to Lantheus.
Fevan ordered his helmsman to dock the ship for and ready the damage control teams to evaluate necessary repairs and maintenance, but, most importantly, the crew needed rest. They had already missed the deadline by a day to pick up Vorsen’s crew. He hoped they had escaped and were well on the way to Beccilia.
&n
bsp; The commander was the first to disembark the ship to meet with the other commanders as soon as their ships were back in port. He briefed the naval captains what he knew of the whereabouts of Admiral Sen Asel’s daughter, along with Captain Vorsen, Chief Pyraz and the recruit Sergeant Reej. He told them of their plan to meet in Beccilia if for any reason he was unable to return to them.
Captain Maerc Nessel nodded, listening to every word. “Now that you’re back, Commander, I’d rather you continued with Captain Vorsen’s scheduled training division. Your crew did well, but I can’t risk the DSV Reliant crossing international waters again. She’s not the best equipped for battle, though after the ordeal you’ve been through, she sure could hold her own. I’ll take a warship along with two frigates to Beccilia to retrieve Vorsen’s team and Sen Asel.”
“Aye, sir,” Commander Fevan replied.
“DSV Sovereign crew; we leave in three hours!” Captain Nessel shouted. The docks flurried with activity as the three vessels prepared to deploy.
Chapter III
The shrill train whistle forced Ibrienne awake. Kanilas was curled up in the corner of the box car, still sound asleep. Ibrienne regarded him for a moment. His shaggy dark hair fell into his eyes. With his calculating eyes closed, he seemed calm, almost vulnerable.
The car rattled on the track, jostling them both. Kanilas immediately woke and jumped into a crouch, staring all around. Ibrienne giggled a little, earning her a glare in return. Once Kanilas had verified there was no immediate danger, he slowly sat down on the floor and stretched.
“Do you know where we are?” he asked.
She shrugged her shoulders. “You know as much as I do,” she replied.
Kanilas stood and opened the door to the train car just enough to peer out. He turned to face Ibrienne. “We’re getting close to our stop.” He pulled the door open farther for her to see.
The peaceful countryside had given way to farmland. Soon they would be in the first major city inside of the Beccilia border. After more than twenty hours on the train, Ibrienne would be glad to be on solid ground again. “Ready when you are,” she said, joining Kanilas at the door.
Spirits of Falajen Page 33
