by Riley Tune
“Can this Craydon be trusted? I know you said he seems to be a less than appealing man.” I let out a deep breath as I rubbed the back of my neck. “Well he’s all that we have. No other person in the Kingdom seems to have been outside our waters. It’s him or nothing, and too much is riding on this.”
My mom shook her head as she let her hand caress the casing surrounding Kula. “The war with Galcon, I know.” I put on my cloak on, and checked my bracers. “Not the war,” I said as I began placing my throwing knives in their appropriate spots.
“The war is the least of my concerns actually. I’m worried about them.” I jerked my heads towards the twins both resting on the beds. My mom smiled at me as she looked down at them, but she didn’t know the entire story.
She didn’t know about The Keeper, and the battle I had slowly immersed myself in between gods of long ago. Not too many people knew what we planned to do tonight, and of the few that did, they assumed we were only searching for answers. Answers to some of the things Rema Thorne had orchestrated, and to see if the orbs that were killing people were a larger part of a plan she had started.
It was no secret to our trusted friends, that she had discovered some people from beyond our waters, and that her plans for the Prime Sovereignty, may have had something to do with the people suddenly finding themselves in similar situations as the twins. From what the reports that were still coming into Thera were saying, the twins were still among the lucky few. Many others were still dying after these orbs sprung into existence and took hold of them, but some had been placed in the deep sleep and were living. Not many, but some.
We told them most of the truth. We owed our people at least that much, and hopefully this trip would lead to findings of what, if anything, Rema was doing with the people from beyond the water.
See, we knew so little. All we knew was that she had been in contact with them from the first. Remy told us that much. Months ago, when the people from beyond the waters arrived and spoke of their god sending them, Rema had spoken to them first.
After this, suddenly Rema had a grand scheme of overthrowing the Emperor and was able to control Battle Borns. She knew something, something that we didn’t or she was in contact with somebody who did and this trip to Rewling was one of our best shots as to finding that out, in theory.
“You need anything else?” I asked, as I finished checking my greaves around my legs. “Who is going with you?” she said softly. I actually wasn’t expecting that sort of question. It reminded me of the days when I was younger.
Before I even found out I was a Warper. Sometimes I would ask mom if I could go out and play, and her response would be, who is going with you? I guess some things never change for mothers.
I let out a groan as I found myself falling in another chair near the table. My eyes clenched shut as I leaned over and grabbed my stomach. “Lox,” my mom said as she scrambled to get out of the bed.
I breathed in deeply, and let out another groan and then, to my surprise, I warped. I reappeared and came crashing down against a wall. My mom dashed across the room and grabbed my face as I forced myself to stand up.
“Lox, what’s wrong?” I breathed heavily for a few moments, as I held my stomach and looked at the wall I had just collided with. “It was my stomach, but I’m fine,” I said as the pain in my stomach slowly began to fade away.
“I thought you went and saw a healer about your stomach,” she said, as she looked at me only the way a mother could. She was sleep deprived, and weak from barely eating, but she still had the strength to scold me.
“I didn’t get a chance to, but I will. After all of this is settled I will mom. I promise.” She didn’t say anything. She just looked at me. The silence was short, but I couldn’t take it.
“Vida, me, Craydon, and some guards.” I said quickly. “What?” my mom snapped. “You asked who else was going. It’s me, Vida, Craydon, and some guards.” My mom's lips tightened. “That’s it? I expected more. Why isn’t Jolin going ?.”
I shook my head as I slowly rubbed my stomach again. “He has stuff to handle here. He and Remy still have to worry about this war. We have four days to figure out what we can, but if we don’t get back in time, then they need to be ready. Plus, Remy has some sort of fear in regards to the boat.”
My mom wrapped me in her arms. “A boat,” she said. “It’s hard to believe something was made to travel the waters. Next thing you know, something will be made to fly in the skies.” She sucked in air as she shook her head.
“Be careful. I know what you do is dangerous work, and I just can’t lose you, too. So, come back to me.” I hugged her back. “I love you too, mom.”
She released me from her embrace and then climbed back into the bed. “Cloud should be here shortly. She’s going to be staying in here with you, so that way you can get cleaned up, and some rest. With her here, the twins will still be watched.”
She snuggled up between the twins, but didn’t respond. I walked on the side of the bed where Luka was and looked down at him. I could still see most of his face behind the thin layer that encased him.
He looked like he was fast asleep. I placed my hand on his encasing. It was indeed noticeably warm. “See you later, bud.” I said as I rubbed it once more. Then I walked over to Kula’s side of the bed and placed my hand on her encasing as well.
Unlike Luka’s, her’s wasn’t warm. If anything, it was rather cool. “Hang tight in there, sis. I’m going to sort all of this out.” My mom sniffed as she wiped her cheek.
“Okay, I got to head out,” I said to her one last time. She nodded, and then laid back down between the twins.
I walked over to the window and looked outside where the city was a faint blue glow, from the still falling orbs. Vida was going to meet me outside near the front entrance of the palace, and from there I would warp us a few times, until we got to the part of Thera that lead to the water.
I looked back at my mom once more as she tapped her fingers gently on Kula’s tomb.
I turned back to the window and I warped to the street below, or so I intended to. When I reappeared, I was someplace else. I looked around rapidly, as I drew my dagger. I could barely see, and then slowly my eyes adjusted. Wherever I was, the orbs were no longer falling. I could see a slumped over man a few feet from me. I wanted to move, but didn’t. Fear was keeping me stationery for the moment.
The man slowly stood up and as he did so, two large figures sprung from his back. In the darkness, I could barely see, but they looked like wings. Dark wings, each larger than a full -grown man, and had jagged points sticking out at random locations.
He began to walk away, and as he did I followed him with my eyes. I could hear what sounded like water moving around us, and wherever I was, smelled like rotten meat. As the man walked, I could see a massive orb in the distance. It was glowing yellow inside, and from where I stood, it looked like buildings were inside of it.
I moved one foot to follow him, and instantly he stopped and looked in my direction. As he did so, I could feel a shift in the air around us. Some unseen energy was pulsing from him, so powerfully, that made the man who had been leading the Clipasie army look like a powerless child.
The speed in which he turned around to face me made me jump. Instantly, the air around me began to ripple, and then I found myself on the streets of Thera again.
I leaned over and threw up, as I dropped to one knee and coughed in the street. I could hear feet running in the distance. “Warps.” Her voice gave me a feeling of safety like it never had before.
I didn’t know what was going on, but at least I was back where I should have been and Vida was here. She helped me to my feet. “It’s your stomach again, isn’t it?” she asked. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand as I shook my head. “I’m fine.” “You don’t look fine.”
I stood up on my own strength and wiped at my mouth again. “I’m okay. It was. Something happened when I warped.” Her brow raised
as she looked at me. “When you warped?” “I’ll explain later,” I said as I reached for her hand.
“We have to get to the boat.” She pulled her hand away. Maybe we should walk for a few minutes, until you get yourself together.” It was a good idea, because I felt like whatever was left in my stomach was still trying to make its way up. “Plus, this way we get some alone time.”
I laughed some. “Like a date?” I asked. “I’ll take what I can get” she said as she walked in front of me a little.
She had on all black. Her shirt and trousers both blended in well with the night around us, and as the blue orbs bounded off of, and burst on her skin, she looked almost like a goddess in her own right.
I couldn’t help but stand and watch. She stopped and turned around, and then sort of skipped back to me. She stood in front of me and smiled. “Come on, we have a boat to catch. Unknown worlds to see, and a ragged thief to trust with our lives.”
As she smiled, I realized that warping wasn’t the greatest feeling in my life anymore. Her smile, those full lips, and her soft brown skin was, and I leaned in and kissed her.
Then, she pushed me away with such force that it knocked me out of my love- fueled daze. “Warps!” she said as she wiped her mouth.
“What?” I asked confused. “You just sprayed the street with bile. Give me a warning next time, or at least rinse with some water.” she said as she began to laugh. “Gross.” I smiled and walked by her, as I allowed my hand to find her waist and pulled her in close.
My face, was only inches from hers and I breathed in her direction. Bile breath and all. “You love it,” I said as we both burst with laughter.
We walked a few moments more, in each other's embrace, as the orbs fell and for those moments, it felt as if my life was normal. For those moments, nothing else mattered but us, and nothing could go wrong. Then my heart fell to my stomach and my knees seemed to tremble.
The darkness before us began to swirl and I felt intense heat flood the area. As if they stepped out of the shadows themselves, my two attackers from nights ago were upon us.
12
Just as our encounter before, both of them were dressed the same, both wearing those odd clothes. The only difference between them was that one of the men had a hood on, while the other didn’t.
Never in my life had my throat felt so dry as it did now. “Keeper, be with me,” I said as I slowly stepped in front of Vida and drew my dagger while extending my arm out to protect her. “When I move, you run for it,” I said to her.
It was a wasted breath. I knew Vida well enough that she was not the type of person to run from a fight, and she definitely wasn’t going to leave me here alone to fight them.
“Friends of yours?” Vida asked me as she brushed my arm aside and stood beside me, confirming that she had no intentions of running away. The assassins stood there, barely moving. They didn’t even look like they were breathing.
The man with the fire powers moved first, and with a single step his hands became engulfed in fire as a wave of heat exploded from him. He clapped his hands together in two fists, and as he separated his fists, he created a staff of pure fire.
Vida’s head jerked back slightly as her mouth fell open. “Warps,” she said with uncertainty as she blinked rapidly as if what she was seeing wasn’t real. The staff floated in the air freely for a moment and then he snatched it out of the air and twirled it around his body a few times.
With each twirl, it felt like the area we were in became hotter.
I put my arm in front of Vida again as I tried to move her, and myself, back away from these two. Judging from the look on her face she didn’t fully understand what was going on. “That night I showed up at the palace, when I passed out, and was burned,” I nodded slowly to the two men in front of us. “They were the reason why,”
Vida didn’t speak. Instead she raised her hands and changed into the Battle Born female. For once, I was happy to see this form standing beside me. She couldn’t block their powers, but she could mimic the strength of the Battle Born, and against these two we would need it.
The man with the staff of fire, crouched as if he was ready to attack, but then something happened. A hand was placed on his shoulder as a few bands of darkness stretched out and blocked his way.
The flaming staff in his hand vanished as he looked at his hooded partner. The one who could control darkness raised his hand slightly, and just as before, a thin layer of mist or darkness, or something, came to life and wrapped itself around the arm of the man with the fire powers.
They looked at each other for a moment, as if we weren’t even there. “Are we doing this?” Vida asked out loud. Her eagerness to engage these two in a fight was off- putting. I loved the fire she had inside of her. It was one of her best qualities, but she hadn’t seen what I had.
She didn’t realize the power these two wielded. If they wanted two, they had the means to make this night our last. “Calm down,” I said to her. She glanced at me and then shrugged as she looked back to them.
The orbs continued to fall around us in the silent street. The man who seemed to control the darkness shook his head slightly. Was he able to control the other with that band of darkness he created around his arm?
I was battling a mixture of uncertainty, fear, and relief all at once as we waited for the outcome.
Then, just like that, the hooded assassin looked at us, raised his hand, and then the darkness around us swirled around them and they vanished into the shadows once more. I exhaled as Vida changed back into her normal self.
She was still dressed in black but this time she had on a cloak similar to mine. “What’s going on here, Warps?” she asked, as she dropped her hood.
“I’m not sure. They attacked me a few nights ago,” I paused. “Well you saw how it ended for me. You had to carry me into the palace like a sick hound.”
She frowned her face up at me. I knew what she was thinking. I never told any of them the details of my encounter with these two. To be honest, I hadn’t really told them anything. Some of the guards mentioned that they saw two attackers after me, but for the most part, I allowed everyone to assume that my condition was a result of battling the Clipasie army.
“Did you ask The Keeper?” I grimaced at her. “Asked The Keeper? I haven’t seen him in months. Even when I look for him. Nothing.” I looked around the street one more time.
My distrust for the darkness around me was coming back again. I grabbed Vida by the hand, reached inside myself and warped onto the top of the nearest building.
The falling blue orbs scattered as we appeared. “What are you doing?” she asked me as we stood on the roof of what seemed to be a two- level home. “Getting us off of the street. If they come back, I’m going to need room to warp.” I turned and looked in the direction we were heading.
The edge of Thera that connected to the water wasn’t close, but as I touched my power and held onto it, my vision enhanced tenfold and, as if I were standing in front of it, I saw a large wooden structure in the water.
I grabbed Vida once more, and we warped together. In seconds, we reappeared on the damp shore of Thera. “A little warning next time would be appreciated.” Vida said as she slapped the back of my head. I winced as I rubbed it and looked around us, and then I saw it.
The boat. No, not a boat. Remy said they called it a ship, when it was this large.
We both stood still as if we were unable to move. I had heard stories about it, and even Remy and Jolin had described it to me, but I had never actually seen it. Vida’s mouth parted as she searched for words to speak but nothing came out. Instead she raised her hand as if she wanted to touch it but we were too far away.
It was a massive wooden structure, that had dozens of holes near the top. From what I was told, that is where the guards would sit, and moves large sticks back and forth to push the ship along. In the middle of the ship, on a long center pole, that extended almost as tall as a Th
era building, was a large white portion of cloth. This was, in theory, used to catch wind and help propel the ship along.
A person cleared their throat next to us. I had been so consumed with the ship, that the noise caught me by surprise. I turned and there he was. I let out a sigh. May as well get this out of the way and make the best of it I thought to myself, as I heard Vida curse under her breath.
I couldn’t make out the words, but I’m sure it was a curse.
“Nice to see you made it.” I said as I walked over to Craydon who was sitting on a rock, wearing the same clothes as before, and chewing on a twig again.
“Hello chaps, and indeed I did. A trip with a warper and his crazy lady friend,” he shot a wink at Vida. “I wouldn’t miss this if the forgotten gods, tried to stop me.”
Forgotten Gods. I thought to myself. What did he-?
“I’m not crazy,” Vida said as she joined us. “I’m passionate.” “Sure you are, girly,” Craydon said with a wink. “Sure you are.”
He leaned on the rock and watched some of the guards load up large supply boxes on the boat. Judging from the number of guards here, I could see I was wrong in thinking only a few would be joining us.
“What’s with the stick?” Vida asked. I looked at Craydon as he pulled the twig from his mouth. “Oh this? It’s a flavor stick. I make ‘em myself. This one is mint- flavored. You want one?” he asked us both, as he removed two more from his pocket.
We both grimaced at almost the same time and shook our heads. “Well if you change your mind, I’ve got plenty,” he said as he shoved them back into his pockets. “It’s a shame that Remy isn’t coming.” Craydon said as he watched more boxes being carried onto the ship.
“Why’s that,” I asked him. “Because he’s a handsome fellow.” Craydon replied. I could feel my brown raise. “He’s as attractive as his sister was.” Craydon shook his head. “The Keeper blessed them both with looks to drive a man crazy, and the wealth to make it all worth it.”
