by Logan Jacobs
“Nerissa,” the healer frowned as soon as she saw us, “are you sure it’s a good idea for you to be up?”
“I am fine,” the queen answered as she rocked our son in her arms. “There is no way I would miss this if I could help it. I will just take it slow.”
“Let me carry Arrick for you,” Mira offered as she took the baby from the queen and handed her the flowers. “Try to ease your burden a bit.”
Mira bounced the prince in her grasp, I plopped Marella up on my shoulders, and Talise took Nerissa’s arm to give her strength. Then we all walked down to the eastern shore together, and we arrived at the same time as most of the village.
Sela was already there and standing in the water holding a clay pot that was the coral color of Tiana’s scales. The warrior wasn’t wearing anything, but her body was covered with symbols I didn’t recognize. They had been painted on her with what may have very well been blood, since the lines were a dark red, almost black in color.
Once we all arrived, with me and Nerissa at the front of the crowd, Sela began the ceremony.
“Oshun,” the warrior intoned, and her voice echoed above the sound of the crashing waves, “goddess on high, we return your daughter Tiana to you so she may bask in your glory and rest evermore in your peace and light. We ask that you walk with her beyond the shadows and into your realm so she may join her ancestors and we may meet again when our time here is done.”
With those words, Sela turned her back to us and walked further out into the water, about waist deep, before she opened the pot and sprinkled the ashes across the sea. After she emptied the pot, the warrior replaced the lid and then started to sing.
I didn’t understand the words she sang, but the melody was both haunting and moving, and it sent chills down my spine.
I hoped wherever Tiana was, she was able to hear it.
After the singing was done, Sela dropped several white flower blossoms into the water and walked out to where one of the women waited with a pale, ivory colored wrap. Then, one by one, every person in attendance slowly walked out and dropped their own flowers into the waves. Nerissa and I went last, and we made our way out to the water and dropped the creamy white hibiscus flowers into the ocean.
I watched for quite a while as the waves pulled the blossoms out to sea, and as I did, I noticed a small rowboat washed up on shore about a half a mile down the beach.
“Nerissa,” I whispered to the queen, “do you see that?”
“What could that be?” she asked me with a frown.
“My guess would be it belongs to the raider who abandoned his buddies the other night,” I growled, “but not before he was pierced with at least one arrow.”
“Do you think he made it far?” she questioned as her eyes grew huge in fear.
“I don’t know,” I seethed, “but I am going to find out. I will take Mira and one of the twins with me, but you and Talise should take the children back to the palace to be safe. I will return soon.”
“Of course,” the queen nodded, “but please be careful.”
“Always,” I promised with a kiss, and then I raised my voice as I looked away from Nerissa. “Mira!”
The warrior was speaking with another woman, but she turned to me quickly when she heard my tone.
“Grab the twins and come here,” I ordered, and she nodded before she slipped away to do as I asked.
A few moments later, all three women stood beside me.
“Do you see that boat over there?” I asked them and pointed off to the side.
“Ugh,” Mira exclaimed, and her golden eyes went wide. “Do you think it’s the raider who got away?”
“That’s exactly what I think it is,” I growled and clenched my fists. “We need to go check it out.”
The women nodded in unison, but then I was distracted by the sight of Nerissa and Talise slowly making their way up the beach with the rest of the village. The queen and the healer were slower than the rest, though, and a sense of unease clenched in my chest.
“Actually,” I said, “Zarya, I want you to accompany the queen and my children back to the palace. Make sure they are safe.”
“Of course, Draco Rex,” the twin intoned, and she gave me a quick bow before she ran off to catch up with Nerissa and Talise.
“The rest of you,” I said as I turned to Mira and Darya, “come with me.”
We ran the half mile down the beach in no time and slowly approached the rowboat with weapons drawn. The boat was leaning quite heavily to one side, which let me know it was being weighed down by something, I just didn’t know what.
I scanned the jungle line with my excellent vision as we slowly approached the rowboat, but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, only a few of the delicious pheasants staring back at me. When I reached the side of the boat that was lifted higher than the other, I pulled out my sword and peeked as quickly as I could to see what was causing it to tilt like that. Then I saw a gray-green arm, and I carefully jumped back to my hiding spot.
Okay, this asshole was likely sleeping, so the best thing I could do was to take him by surprise.
I motioned to the two warrior women about what my plans were, and they fell in position to back me up.
Time to take this last mother fucker down.
I jumped from behind the boat and raised my sword to remove his head from his body, but the ugly beast was laying there with an arrow protruding from his chest. He was coughing, gurgling, and definitely on the brink of death, if the large pool of blackish blood beneath him was any indication. His eyes almost gave me a pleading look when he saw me, and I eased his suffering with a swift stab to his heart.
“If there’s a hell,” I growled as the orc’s light left his eyes, “I hope you find your way there swiftly.”
Then I jerked the blade out of his heart and wiped it off on his vest.
“Good riddance,” Mira snarled behind me, “though I would have taken some more time with him.”
“He wasn’t worth the effort.” I shrugged and turned to take in my surroundings.
I looked at the boat and thought about hauling it back to the village, but then I remembered there were several other vessels on the eastern shore waiting for me, and it would be so much easier to get rid of this body by just pushing the whole thing out to sea. So, I started to just shove his body back into the boat and send it sailing, but then I saw a survival pack of sorts by his feet. I grabbed it before I lugged the foul corpse all the way back into the boat, and then sent the disgusting beast on his way.
I turned to see Mira and Darya had already started examining the sack, but they looked leery of what could be inside. It was mostly standard things, though, a short knife, dried meat, fruits, bread, dry clothes, a flint and whetstone, those kinds of things.
“What is this?” Mira asked, and I turned to see she’d found a slingshot in the bag.
“It’s a slingshot,” I told her. “Have you never seen one?”
“No,” Darya said with a frown, “what does it do?”
“It’s actually a sort of weapon.” I grinned. “I will show all of you how to use it when we get back to the village.”
Both warriors smiled at the prospect of a new weapon. Gods, I loved these women.
Just as we were about to leave, I saw a piece of paper by Darya’s foot.
“What’s that?” I asked as I pointed at the paper.
“I don’t know,” she said and lifted her foot. “It must have fallen out of the bag.
She picked it up and handed it to me, but I realized what it was before she did.
It was a map.
I opened it up to see a dozen or so islands all surrounding a much bigger island that sat in the middle of the smaller ones. I studied it for a few minutes before two things occurred to me.
One, we definitely weren’t alone in these waters.
Two, this map didn’t belong to any place back on Earth.
Chapter Four
I immediately spread the map out r
ight there on the ground where I’d found it.
“What is that?” Mira asked over my shoulder.
“It’s a map of islands,” I told her as I leaned over to inspect the image closer. “I am trying to figure out which one is ours and go from there.”
The map had been made out of some type of animal skin that yellowed over time. The drawings on it were crude and likely done with charcoal, but it still painted a better picture of our surroundings than anything I’d come across before.
“My father used to talk about the other islands,” Mira mused with a frown, “but I don’t remember much about it. Nerissa may know more since she was the first born and always followed our father around.”
“We will take this back to the palace,” I decided with a nod, and I rolled the map up quickly. “I could use some help figuring out what is what on here.”
Darya, Mira, and I made the short trip back to the palace and immediately set out to look for the queen. We didn’t have to go far, though, since she was in the kitchens with Hali and Zarya going over the stores of food and what we needed before the storm season set in.
“You should be resting,” I said with a smile, “but I am glad to find you awake. I need your help with something we found.”
“I am always glad to help,” Nerissa replied as she turned to me. “What do you have?”
I took the map over to one of the kitchen work tables, laid it out on the flat surface, and motioned for her to join us.
“Mira said your father spoke of possible other islands,” I said to the queen, “so I was hoping you could shed some light on this map we found in one of the raider’s boats.”
“Is the raider dead?” Nerissa asked with a worried look.
“Yes,” I informed her, “he was dying in his boat when we found him. I just helped him along with the process and sent his body out to sea.”
“Good,” she sighed, “one less thing to worry about before the storms set in. Now, let’s take a look at this map.”
I stepped back and let her study it for several minutes, and I watched as she turned it a few times, took in every angle of the map, and gently ran her fingers over the delicate material it was drawn on.
“Do you know which one is our island?” I asked her after several minutes of silence.
“I believe I do,” the queen replied with a nod. “My father always told me our island was shaped like the center of the eye of a dragon.”
In unison, we both reached out and touched the island on the map that laid the furthest to the west. It was shaped like the elongated pupil George, Nixie, and now I all possessed. Our island was about the same size as the ones around it, with the exception of the island in the middle that was easily three times larger than any of the others. The large island was also quite a ways away from our home island, and it looked like it couldn’t be sailed to within a day, like a few of the others. Sailing to what I dubbed “the mother island” would require an actual ship and a lot of preparations, in addition to a few weeks’ time to get there.
If this map was the least bit accurate, I wondered if I could sail to the closest island in a day, without much risk or the need for a huge vessel to do it in. Maybe a well-made raft or one of the row boats abandoned by the raiders would work. This island could have new and plentiful resources we could gather and take advantage of. Maybe better lumber, new food sources, or some kind of metal deposits.
I got lost in all the possibilities until one of the women cleared her throat to grab my attention.
“I know that look,” Mira chuckled, “plans are definitely forming in that head of yours.”
“I was just thinking of all the prospects of new and unknown resources for our village.” I grinned. “There is no telling what we can use out there.”
“There is also no telling what is out there that can bring us harm or kill us,” Nerissa scoffed and shook her head. “It is a lot to risk for the unknown.”
“While I don’t deny that, my queen,” I reasoned, “the risk might be worth it. It is definitely something that can wait until after the storms have come, but I won’t be forgetting about it.”
“Of course you won’t,” she sighed.
“No need to worry just yet,” I laughed as I folded up the map and put it in my pocket. “I won’t be heading out anytime soon. Now, what do we need to secure our resources before the storms hit? I noticed this morning that the winds are shifting, so our time to prepare is limited.”
“Good job changing the subject,” Mira snickered into my ear.
“Hali and I were discussing what we needed to get done to ensure we have enough food to last through the storms,” the queen said. “She has already arranged for our crops to be picked completely and for the seedlings to be preserved for when the weather clears.”
“That doesn’t surprise me in the least,” I laughed.
“I do what I can,” Hali said with a wink. “We will have plenty of crops to tide us over, the most we’ve ever had, actually. The dragons’, um, enhanced fertilizer, has made sure of that. We are actually having to add more storage room to the kitchen to hold it all.”
“That is excellent to hear!” I laughed. “I don’t think I want to go back to the days of just fish and coconut.”
“You and me both,” Darya grumbled, and Zarya nodded beside her sister. “I have become quite fond of the new foods we’ve had since you arrived here.”
“I have to agree,” Nerissa added with a smile, “I do enjoy having eggs and meat and fruits we never had before. I thought the eggs were just a pregnancy thing, but I woke up this morning wanting them.”
“I will be glad to head out tomorrow and see what I can hunt up,” I told the women.
“Thank you, Ben,” Hali bowed her head, “I will make sure all the baskets are cleared and ready to go.”
With that, all the women started to talk about what they were going to do for the rest of the day and other preparations that needed to be done. While the others were distracted, Nerissa came over and pulled me to the side out of everyone else’s ear shot.
“Sela wanted me to let you know she is in her fertile time and is ready to mate with you,” Nerissa whispered.
“Uh, okay,” I muttered and blinked in surprise, “I will seek her out later.”
I didn’t know if I was ever going to get used to them all being so at ease with sharing me like this.
“Also,” the queen added, “have you mated with Mira again? I thought she would be with child by now.”
“I actually haven’t,” I mumbled and rubbed the back of my neck. “We have both been too distracted with preparing for the invasion.”
“Well,” Nerissa smiled, “now that the invasion is over and the new babies are here, I don’t see any sense in waiting. We all desperately need your seed.”
I was just a baby making factory to this woman.
“I will see what I can do,” I sighed.
“Thank you,” she said, “the future of our village is the most important thing to me, and increasing our numbers is vital to that future.”
“I agree,” I nodded, “but we don’t have to do it all at once.”
“It’s not all at once,” she laughed. “Two new babies and no pregnant women proves that.”
Nerissa kissed me on the cheek before she left me standing there rather speechless. I was going to have to get used to not having the last word with this woman.
A few minutes later, I walked out into the courtyard and found Mira with Nixie and George overseeing the sea-glass weapons being made. I stood there and watched as Nixie bounced around the hut like an over-excited puppy. She’d grown to the size of a full-grown black bear, and her pink scales shone like they were made of fire. She’d finally produced a piece of sea-glass big enough to be made into a weapon for Mira, and her excitement was palpable.
Ben, Ben! the littlest dragon cried out in my head. Look what I did!
“I see, Nixie!” I laughed. “That is going to make an excellent sword!�
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Yes! she giggled. Pretty, too!
It was hard not to be happy around the little dragon and all her excitement, but I still had things to attend to, so I turned to Mira.
“I just talked to your sister,” I said to the warrior with an arched brow. “She wonders when we are going to increase the population.”
“About that,” Mira blushed and averted her gaze, “I have been thinking a lot lately about having a baby, especially today after we found the map, and I think I want to wait to become a mother. I would like to sail with you and be there for all the adventures. It will be hard to do that if I am with child, or a mother.”
“Mira,” I frowned, “are you sure about that? I would love to have you with me for all of this, but I don’t want you to put anything off for it that you want.”
“I am positive.” She turned back to me and smiled. “I will settle down later with your child. I am still young and have plenty of time left. I am not worried about it.”
“I am actually really glad to hear that,” I laughed and hugged her. “There is nobody I would rather have by my side.”
“But,” she pulled away and chewed on her bottom lip, “does that mean we can’t, well, you know?”
Her golden eyes flicked down toward my crotch, and my blood followed the trail of her gaze.
“No,” I chuckled, “we can still have fun. We will just have to take precautions.”
“Good,” she said with a grin.
I spent the rest of the day planning a hunting party for tomorrow and gathering everything we needed. I made several arrows for the trip, sharpened my sword and an axe I’d made out of a piece of glass George had given me, fashioned another hammock in case we came across a boar, and charted a good route in my head. After that was done, I went to see how my children were doing and was greeted with Marella kisses and Arrick’s baby coos.
My children were together in one of the palace rooms we’d designated as a nursery and were being watched over by Careen. Marella was playing with a little wooden box I’d made that had different shapes cut out of it, and I watched from the doorway as she tried to fit the pieces back in, gave up, and decided to chew on them instead.
