by Keith Walter
Leslie pulled Serin aside as the table emptied. “You’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. Perhaps we should return to our cabin and…unwind?” She winked at the shorter woman, eliciting a mischievous smile in return.
The prospect of some alone time was maddeningly enticing. Serin was still feeling the lingering effects of sharing magic, which in itself was a deep intimacy. Sharing magic wasn’t inherently sensual, but it was always intimate. Rarely did anyone outside of family members risk opening a direct link to the well of power within them. The captain’s condition was just one, though extreme, example of the dangers. But it was different with Leslie. The bond they shared was more than just a tattoo, it was a connection carved into their very souls. When they shared magic as they had in escaping the portal, it was felt in every sense. She knew the emotions of her partner directly, awash in love in a way humans could not feel. It was impossible to bathe in all the feelings of love, lust, trust, and determination without a need for something more physical.
Serin shook her head forcefully, earning an adorable pout from the woman at her side. She frowned apologetically. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d like nothing more.” She placed her hand on the small of Leslie’s back, drawing circles. “But I can’t let myself calm down yet.” She waved around the room. “We’re sitting around chowing like things are okay, but they’re not.”
Leslie furrowed her brows. “We may not be completely safe, but at least we’re still alive, and we even managed to escape that damn demon ship following us.”
“I’m not sure that’s true,” Serin admitted, pursing her lips in contemplation. “Grace was spooked, we all were when that thing talked to her. But I saw the radar—it’s been barely following since then. I think there might be more going on.”
“You’re reading too much into it,” Leslie replied. “Grace wouldn’t hide anything important from us.”
Shaking her head, Serin replied, “No, I don’t think she’d leave us in the dark for no reason. I just…” She trailed off before hardening her expression. “I just need to make sure we’re okay. All this time we’ve been relying on everybody else to take care of us. I’m tired of being the one that needs to be saved.”
Leslie stared intently at her bond. “You don’t…regret that I came for you, do you?”
“No,” Serin answered quickly. “I could never regret you at my side.” She broke from Leslie’s piercing gaze. “But I wonder, if you hadn’t come, if you didn’t need to rescue me, if maybe you would be far away from here, much safer than we are now.” She closed her eyes as she admitted, “I could have ended that bastard before you showed up. I’d caught him off guard and I purposely held back a final blow. I wonder, if I hadn’t, if we all might still be on the road to a new home. I wonder if I didn’t just drag the captain, Grace, Charles, and even Talmer to their deaths because I was too weak to do what needed to be done.”
A firm embrace consumed the smaller woman, so tight it could have cracked bones. Leslie leaned her head down, placing a kiss on the top of Serin’s head. “It’s not weakness to spare a life,” she breathed into auburn locks. “It is strength to live by the ways of great Behemoth, even in the face of death.” Serin melted into the embrace. “I could never stop loving you, but you prove again and again why my heart’s song will only sing for you.”
They stayed in embrace for minutes, but it felt like hours, replaying all the memories they shared together. When Leslie finally released her arms, Serin wafted back to being a single person once more. The smaller woman whispered softly, “I love you.”
Leslie smirked and caught her bond’s eye. “Does that mean I can persuade you to unwind now?” At Serin’s hesitation, Leslie remarked, “How about we go check on things first, then decide after?”
Serin smiled apologetically. “Yes, let’s.”
◆◆◆
Talmer paced the bridge frantically. He couldn’t find it, and that infuriated him. The maps and monitors glowed dim in the night. He’d turned off the overhead lights to try to follow the flow easier, but it just seemed to disappear. What made fey ships like Grace so interesting was that they were both entirely physical and entirely magical at the same time. When she made clothes, or food, or bandages, they were fully real objects. You could take them away and it would have no bearing on the magic she used to make them. Normal fey could store and summon objects they possessed, but they couldn’t rearrange the very particles around them into a previously non-existent object.
Normal fey were born with a battery of sorts from which they drew magic, replenishing themselves with food and rest when they ran out.But ships like Grace were more like solar panels. Fey ships were pure magic—spiritual beings, if such a thing made sense. As such, they tapped into the magic of the world around them. Limitless energy was available and all they had to do was consume and store it to grow more powerful.
From what Talmer understood, each ship was born by the will of a more powerful fey ship, who broke a part of themselves off and allowed it to grow into a new life. The new spirit was then placed within a physical vessel where the two become one. As a purely magical being anchored to a physical world, the spirit must feed on magic continuously to survive.
That ability to feed on the magic of the world required a conduit, something that could pierce the veil between the physical and the spiritual. They called this their heart. And the longer a fey ship sailed, the more magic the heart would generate and the more powerful the ship would become. There were theoretical limits, of course. After centuries, the heart would slow and the ship would cease to grow in strength. But any ship that survived centuries without getting on the wrong side of a powerful noble or Ancient would be staggeringly powerful, on par with the oldest and highest nobility.
Talmer needed to find the heart, it was the only way to put things right. He needed to do more than just talk, he needed to create a direct connection with Grace’s emotions. The only way to do that would be to find her heart and pour his magic into it. She would feel it then, how much he truly cared for her, and she would know they were meant to be together. But it was hidden somewhere, just as she hid from his words. He crouched below the radar monitor, gently prying away a panel. He had no knowledge of the intricate circuitry found therein, but his eyes could follow the pulse of magic coming from below. If he could follow that pulse, it would certainly lead him to her heart.
“Talmer.”
A voice pulled him from his search. His eyes narrowed instinctively. He loathed how similar his name sounded to when the captain challenged him before—the condescending confidence in that voice’s superiority, the barely masked disdain below the surface. His eyes darted to Serin, the gutter swine that dared address him by name. He could see in her eyes the same cold challenge that the captain had leveled.
“What are you doing?” Serin demanded.
“Nothing that concerns you,” he retorted. He might respect the captain as a superior, but he refused to even consider that this woman could deserve the same.
Serin stepped onto the bridge from the stairs, engaging a staring contest with the man crouched under the radar monitor. Leslie followed close behind, cringing from the force of the two’s stares. Serin stepped forward. “What’s our current situation?”
Talmer rose from under the monitor and brushed off the question. “Look for yourself.”
Through gritted teeth, Serin reminded him, “I believe Grace asked you to keep track of the situation, just tell me where the Entregon is located.”
Talmer’s lip quivered slightly, pulling into a small sneer. Grace had asked him to keep an eye out, and he had, but he wasn’t going to be ordered around by this tart. “Do not tell me what to do. You are not the captain of this ship.”
Leslie suddenly stepped between the warring eyes, facing Serin. “Let’s all just calm down, okay? I’ll check.” Her long legs covered the distance to Talmer. She was eye to eye with the dark-haired man, which unnerved him. Mustering up as much sincerity as
she could, she politely addressed him. “Excuse me, please.”
He eyed the unusually tall woman, but sensed no challenge like from her diminutive partner. He stepped to the side primly, returning to his staring contest with Serin.
“Shit!” Leslie cried.
“What?” the warring parties asked simultaneously, abandoning their battle to question Leslie.
“The Entregon—it came through the portal, too,” Leslie answered, eyes glued to the monitor.
“How close is it?” Serin asked frantically.
“It’s, um, wait,” Leslie answered, brows furrowing at the monitor. “It’s just sitting there.”
Serin and Talmer both scrunched in on either side of Leslie, staring at the monitor. All three noted the fine red line surrounding the glowing dot that was the Entregon. They’d been through the portal over forty-five minutes now, but they were just inside the thirty-mile mark from the Entregon. Apparently Grace hadn’t been able to run at full speed since they stopped.
“What is it doing?” Leslie asked.
“I don’t know. The line shows it should know we’re close, right?” Serin asked in response. She turned to Talmer, who was decidedly nervous. “How long has it been sitting there?”
Talmer hesitated. He couldn’t well admit that he’d been ignoring the monitor as he looked for Grace’s heart. But he couldn’t stoop to lying, either. He settled upon, “I did not see it before you two arrived.”
“Maybe,” Leslie started, “it can’t see us for some reason.”
“When have we been so lucky?” Serin asked sarcastically. “But I suppose we’ll find out soon.” Three pairs of eyes stared at the monitor watching their own position on the map just seconds away from breaking through the red line around the Entregon. A collection of air was sucked in as each prepared for whatever would happen next.
The moment the white dot of Grace passed the red line, the Entregon moved. In reality, the movement was miniscule onscreen, but it was exaggerated by the surrounding red bubble. The Entregon took an immediate turn south, before tracing an oblong half circle to the east. It was so fast, much faster than Grace. In just a minute, it had covered almost two looping miles before the red bubble encompassed their position once again. And again, the reaction was immediate. Once they were inside the Entregon’s sensory range, it turned again, making a direct line to their current position.
“What was that?” Talmer asked, apprehension clear in his voice.
“It’s tracking us,” Serin answered, eyes wide, still staring at their pursuer. “Look.” The Entregon was fast, but now that it had caught their scent again, it was moving only slightly faster than Grace. “It slowed down, like it’s waiting. It knows where we are, but it’s not in any hurry to catch up.”
Talmer clenched his fists, fearing that his lack of attention may have caused this. He couldn’t bear to let Grace down. “But how does it know where we are now? Did Grace not say it couldn’t tell where we are within that range?” he asked pointing to the bright red line on the monitor.
“It doesn’t have to,” Leslie chimed in. “It doesn’t know exactly where we are now, but it can tell when we leave or enter that range.” She snapped her fingers, realization dawning on her face. “That’s why it wasn’t moving.” She looked to Serin and received a knowing smile.
“What do you mean?” Talmer demanded. “If it knows where we are, why does it not pursue at full speed?”
“It’s faster than Grace,” Leslie continued, “and knows it. It let us leave that range on purpose, and made that big loop so that the moment it caught our scent, it’s just basic geometry to figure out an exact position.” She gripped the dashboard around the monitor. “It came through the portal after us, but we could have gone in a number of different directions from there. It was waiting to figure out which way we ran.”
“The captain and Grace, they thought we could lose the Entregon through the portal.” Talmer spoke aloud, but seemingly to himself. The wavering in his voice was unmistakable, as if he was trying to convince himself of something that couldn’t possibly be true.
“It was a gamble,” Serin admitted, and he could see the barest hint of empathy in her face. “It looks like after we stopped earlier, we never got back up to full speed. We must have missed what window we had to get away.”
Talmer took a step back from the monitor. His eyes were wide, almost wild, but his posture sagged, defeated. “We…we will not ever escape it now,” he breathed softly. It wasn’t a question, and it demanded no reply. “It will follow us across the entire world if it needs.”
Serin appeared to fight with herself, lips quirking between smug satisfaction and sympathy. Sympathy ultimately won out as she spoke softly, trying to sooth Talmer. “We shouldn’t jump to conclusions. The fact the Entregon even needs to resort to such tracking is a testament to our lovable Grace. I’m sure she and the captain can figure something out.”
Unfortunately, Talmer felt no relief. His eyes narrowed, almost offended to have his fears challenged. Before he could retort, Leslie cut in, “Check this out.”
Three pairs of eyes locked on the monitor again. Instead of the bright white and red dots of Grace and the Entregon, tiny clusters of yellow began to appear like stars throughout the lake. “The Union,” Serin gasped. “They’re mobilizing the entire lake.”
“What do we do?” Leslie asked in concern.
Three pairs of eyes stared pensively at the dots on the screen. They were spread wide, with large tracks between each other. One could guess by the tiny size and close clustering that they were actual fey on different ships. Given the relatively slow speeds at which they moved, it was also obvious they weren’t living ships like Grace herself. That would be a small advantage at least. “I think,” Serin finally said, “we should tell the captain and Grace.”
“Right.” Leslie nodded quickly. Talmer could see she trusted Serin completely, and even without a plan, was just relieved her bond had an answer.
The shorter woman addressed the wild-eyed man seemingly frozen before the monitor. “Are you coming, Talmer?”
“No!” he cried, much louder than he intended. He cringed at his own outburst, willing his voice to lower as he added, “I think someone should stay here, continue to monitor the situation.”
The women seemed unconvinced, but let their desire to get away from Talmer override a need to call him out. Serin grabbed Leslie’s hand and began walking to the stairs, adding a quick, “Fine,” before they disappeared below.
Talmer let out a long breath once the women were gone. He shakily placed a hand on either side of the monitor, fists clenching so tight his knuckles turned white. His eyes seemed to shimmer as he stared at the yellow dots that continued to spring up. “It is hopeless,” he whispered.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
Hopeless
Grace remained by the captain’s side after Charles left. She was still unsure what to make of the discussion between them. As she understood it, Charles had engaged in some form of forbidden magic, binding the souls of soldiers to him in order to fight an Ancient One. By some miracle, he had prevailed, but at the cost of the lives of all the soldiers. He felt like he killed them, though she wasn’t entirely sure she agreed with that assessment. The captain certainly didn’t, and thought Charles was being selfish, wallowing in his own misery instead of living for the souls that were lost. She didn’t know how to feel about either side. The killing of others, even unintentionally, seemed ample cause for mourning, but she did wonder why Charles had spent all these years hiding instead of trying to make a better world.
She wanted to talk to the captain, perhaps understand his words better, but he had fallen asleep almost immediately after Charles left. If she didn’t know better, she’d think the old fey could only stay awake when he had someone or something to be angry with. Still, sleep was better than being awake. Grace could feel through her healing magic how severely the captain was injured, and she was sure he was in great pain. She tried to al
leviate what she could, but a focus on dulling the pain would slow the healing overall.
She was particularly pleased, then, when Serin and Leslie barged into the cabin, breaking her from her thoughts. “Oh, hi,” she offered.
Both women smiled with sincere affection in response, and Serin nodded at the captain. “Is he awake yet?”
“He was… He spoke to Charles briefly, but he’s sleeping now,” Grace replied.
“Would you be able to wake him up?” Serin asked, suddenly serious.
“I…suppose,” Grace answered tentatively, “but it would cause him great discomfort, I think.”
Serin chewed her lower lip in contemplation before locking eyes with Grace. She gave a curt nod. “I need you to do it, I’m sorry.”
Grace waved a hand over the bed and the glow changed from a forest green to a subtle blue for several seconds. The captain coughed and the bed became green again. Grace picked up and offered a glass of water to the injured man, who sucked loudly from the offered straw before he seemed to settle.
Barclay opened his one good eye, an automatic sneer fading when he caught sight of the bonded instead of the broken. “What’s the situation?” he demanded roughly.
“The Entregon is still on our tail. We’ve also got a growing force of Union fey showing up on the water,” Serin explained quickly.
Barclay cleared his throat before asking, “How much time before they catch us?”
“The Union forces are still a ways out, milling around a bit. I don’t think they can track us, so they’re trying to form a net. The Entregon, well, it doesn’t seem like it’s in any rush. It knows where we are, but is just sort of hanging back, maybe waiting for us to screw up.” Serin paused, perhaps realizing her next thought for the first time. “Actually, we don’t seem to be in any immediate danger.”
