by Joe Jackson
“That can’t be good for him,” Kari said. “Channeling divine power takes a lot out of me, and I can’t even do much with it.”
Sonja nodded. “The power of the gods is an incredible thing to wield, but it’s not something for mortals to trifle with. It’s intoxicating and addicting, and if you take it for granted it can quickly be your undoing.”
“Is wizardry so bad?” Kari asked.
The larger woman nodded with a half-shrug. “It’s taxing, but different. The more I use it, the harder it is to focus on the rituals I see written in my mind. As I lose focus, I lose the ability to draw forth that power, so it limits itself before it does me any harm. I’m still careful to use it sparingly unless the need is great.”
“How did you learn to use it in the first place?” Kari prodded, and she returned to an upright position and sat cross-legged to face her friend.
“I was taught by Archmage Gareth Maelstrom of DarkWind, if you know of him.”
“He’s still around?” Kari asked, a brow raised in surprise. “I used to hear about him when I was training at the Academy, and he was pretty old then.”
Sonja beheld Kari curiously, but then her scarlet eyes suddenly widened and lit up with wonder. “Wait a moment, you’re Karian Vanador? Like, the Karian Vanador?” Kari nodded, and Sonja practically cackled with glee. “My word…but how?”
“As I understand it, Trigonh used some sort of divine favor he was owed, and I was brought back to fight in the Apocalypse,” Kari answered. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
Sonja considered Kari’s words for a minute, obviously all at once surprised and awed by the revelation. Trigonh was an erestram – or a wolf demon, as they were sometimes called – who had come to Citaria as an advance scout preceding an invasion by Celigus Chinchala. Before the demon king turned and allied himself with the gods, he sent the erestram known as Trigonh Cabra to evaluate and begin smashing the world’s defenses, but the wolf demon shocked his master by defecting to the service of Kaelariel. Trigonh had been Kaelariel’s most trusted servant ever since, and the erestram even reconciled with his former master once Celigus was also turned. It was simply amazing – even given the erestram’s remarkable history and personality – that a demonhunter would share such a friendship with him as to drive him to use a divine favor on her behalf. Given the fact that he was still a demon, it was hard to fathom that he had bestowed such a boon on a mortal woman when there were doubtless many, many things he could have asked for himself.
Sonja was apparently considering exactly that, and her face began to crease into a smile. Kari figured Sonja was coming to the same conclusion as she had with regard to Trigonh’s actual motivation. Sonja’s smile disappeared when she saw Kari’s reaction to her own words, though, and she touched a hand gently to Kari’s shoulder. “You didn’t want to come back?” she stated as much as asked.
Kari sighed. “I wasn’t asked,” she said with a shrug. “What can I do but make the best of it? At the very least I still have my duty to Zalkar. And thankfully I don’t have the disease that killed me.”
“Disease?” Sonja echoed. “You must mean Dracon’s Bane?”
Kari nodded and the larger woman grimaced, giving her shoulder a squeeze of comfort, which brought a slight smile to Kari’s face. Dracon’s Bane wasn’t so much a disease as a genetic defect, one that was quite often attached to the mutation that occasionally caused a terra-rir to grow wings. Terra-dracon was not a species but a mutation of the terra-rir, though the science behind the facts did not often change peoples’ perception. The terra-dracon was considered a separate species, and Dracon’s Bane was considered an incurable disease. It was a wasting condition that drained the vitality of the afflicted like a cancer until there was nothing left for it to consume.
“How old were you?” Sonja asked. She immediately regretted pushing the issue, and she waved her hand to dismiss any reply.
“Twenty-seven, and please don’t tell the others,” Kari answered, blinking back a few tears. She let out a long sigh when Sonja silently agreed. “It’s fine if they figure things out for themselves, but I prefer to keep it quiet. The amount of questions I get otherwise is just too much.” She stayed silent for a few moments, but then she finally raised her head off of her arms and fixed her friend with a mischievous look. “So you don’t have a boyfriend either, huh?”
Sonja laughed. “No, not as such,” she said. “Then again, I was only seventeen when the War started, and after its end, not two days passed before Erik was assigned this mission to Tsalbrin, and the rest of us with him. I’ve never been with a man; again, I’ve had no real opportunity…or desire to dally with someone I didn’t care about.”
Kari nodded. “You’re not missing much,” she said. “Better off waiting. Are any of your siblings mated or even involved, other than Aeligos?”
Sonja shook her head. “Serenjols is the eldest, and he’s still only thirty-eight,” she said. “I know it might sound old to still be unwed or even looking, but you have to remember our lifetimes are stretched out much longer than normal rir. Mostly my brothers simply haven’t had the opportunity to look, and in some cases – like Ty’s – the desire.”
“What’s his story?”
Sonja waved off the question. “Mostly he’s just still young and stupid, but it’s a longer story than that,” she said. “Try not to take it personally if he’s rude to you, because if he is, it’s likely it has nothing to do with you at all. So Trigonh pulled some divine strings to have you returned?”
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Kari said, and she lay her head back down in the pillow, but she kept her legs bent so she didn’t put her feet in Sonja’s lap. “He and I knew each other back before…I died. I think he always had this crazy idea that we could have a life together. How weird is that? An erestram falling for a rir, and a demonhunter at that.”
“These days, I’ve heard stranger things,” Sonja said, looking out the porthole once more. The ship had broken free of the fog, and the sky was finally beginning to show signs of life as the sun spread its warmth in vibrant colors. “I’d ask if you want to take a walk up on deck, but I’m not sure the crew will want us underfoot so early in the journey. We’d probably best give them a few days to get used to our presence before we start wandering the deck.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Kari said, “though there’s not much to do in these cabins other than sleep.”
“I have some books you’re welcome to borrow,” Sonja said, and she smiled in response to Kari’s dubious look. “Not all of them are about magic. I have a couple of history books and a great biographical about Kaelariel during the Fifth Demon War. Typhonix has some books too, though he reads about strange things.”
“I can imagine.”
Sonja chuckled. “Not like that,” she said. “He reads about politics and economics, and he’s a bit of a student of history too, even given his age.”
“Economics?” Kari echoed.
“Weird, isn’t it?” Sonja replied before she seemed to realize that Kari simply wasn’t familiar with the word. “How marketplaces work.”
“Really? Typhonix? You’re right, that is strange,” Kari said.
Sonja excused herself and rose with a smile, and she left Kari’s cabin for a couple of minutes. When she returned, she had a couple of heavy books with her, and she left them on the end of Kari’s bed. “I’m going to do some studying, I’ll see you in a while or tonight at dinner,” Sonja said, and Kari thanked her before she left.
Chapter IV – The Company of Strangers
Just after sundown, Kari was summoned to the captain’s quarters for the evening meal. She was surprised at how large the room was, as it apparently took up the entire first level below the sterncastle. Were it not for the motion of the ship, the room’s impressive décor and spaciousness might have led her to believe she was in the home of a minor noble. She gave herself a few moments to take in her surroundings, and found that mos
t of the lavish décor was outdone by the desk in the near starboard corner. Its polished oak surface was littered with maps, papers, and leather-bound books, and carved into the front was the crossed sword and flail of the sea goddess, Karmi G’Dorrinn, with the sword more prominent.
In the rear starboard corner was a long, oval-shaped dining table apparently made of the same polished oak as the desk, with nearly a dozen chairs of the same make around its perimeter. Apparently the captain’s quarters were not just his sleeping chamber. Kari looked more closely and could see that all of the furniture was affixed to the floor, just as in her own cabin, and the arms of the chairs appeared to lift up and down to allow their occupants to get in and out easily. Captain Galdur, Eryn, and the Tesconis siblings were already seated, and were being attended to by an apron- and hat-clad sailor placing large plates of steaming food on the table, while a second placed pitchers of drink. The captain waved Kari over, and she moved toward the table slowly as she scanned the rest of the room. Soon, she took a seat next to Sonja.
“Have you started reading the books I gave you?” Sonja asked as Kari sat down beside her. There was such a warmth to her smile that Kari couldn’t help but smile herself.
“Not yet,” Kari answered, looking over the large selection of hot food curiously. She had expected that the majority of the food served during the voyage would be salted meats, bread, and cheeses. To see so much hot, freshly-cooked meat and vegetables spread out before her was almost like a dream. “I took a nap, actually. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“I noticed,” the scarlet-haired female said, picking up one of the larger plates of meat effortlessly and holding it near Kari’s. “You woke up a few times like you didn’t know where you were. Bad dreams?”
Kari helped herself to several pieces of roasted pork, and then waved away the dish while she took up another full of some sort of leafy, roasted greens. “I think it’s mostly from living on the road my whole life,” she said quietly, not meeting Sonja’s eyes. “When you don’t sleep in the same place more than a couple days, you really don’t know where you are when you wake up a lot of the time.”
Sonja looked across to Erik, who half-smiled, and she poured herself a glass of cold wine. She seemed about to say something else, but remained quiet and took a sip from her glass before beginning to eat. Her siblings were all silent as well, taking their meal with no conversation, and though he looked from face to face, Captain Galdur didn’t seem intent on making any of them talk. His expression was a mixture of curiosity and suspicion, and he looked somewhat out of place even in his own quarters surrounded by these large, dangerous people.
“Thank you for the meal, Captain,” Kari said before she began to eat.
Captain Galdur nodded curtly with a slight smile but said nothing. The servants came in and cleared away the empty plates once the captain and his guests finished eating, and the empty wine pitchers were replaced with full ones. Contentedly well-fed, the group sat back in their chairs and looked up at the captain as he produced a deck of cards. Aeligos and Eryn grinned even as the cards hit the table’s surface.
“I thought perhaps you would all enjoy a game of cards,” Galdur said. “Normally my officers would join us, but they will have time enough to become acquainted with you during our voyage. I likely won’t, so I thought to share a game of cards with you and get to know you a little better, so in addition to coins, we’ll all be betting a little bit of ourselves, too.” He gave that small, muted smile again as he was fixed with furrowed brows from every side of the table. “The winner will receive their coin, sure enough, but when you win, you have to tell the table something about yourself – and no lies or tall tales.”
Chuckles sounded around the table, and Captain Galdur produced a sack of silver coins. He handed out a like amount to each of his guests and himself, and set rules as to how little and how much could be bet on each hand. He seemed to be more interested in the game continuing for a while than for anyone to actually make any serious money, and Kari saw Eryn and Aeligos shrug to each other. It seemed they realized it was more of a social game than a serious gamble.
“Are you going to let the ladies buy more coins with their clothing if they start losing?” Typhonix asked nonchalantly, which drew laughs from his brothers.
“You just concentrate on winning a single hand,” Eryn shot back, and she scratched the underside of her jaw toward Typhonix when he grinned.
Captain Galdur chuckled lightly, apparently trying to maintain decorum even in the face of such a bawdy comment. He dealt cards to each of the players and then set the deck before him. It was far larger than any deck Kari had seen before, and as she considered the number of people around the table, she guessed he must be using multiple decks. She scratched the side of her snout absently as she picked up her cards, assuming such meant her odds of getting difficult hands was better, as was everyone else’s. She was careful to guard her emotions as she looked over what she had been dealt, and organized the cards slowly as she sat back in her chair.
“Left of the dealer bets first, two silver ante,” Captain Galdur said, looking to Grakin. The priest looked much better than he had the first time Kari saw him: he was awake and alert, if a bit worn-looking. He twisted his draconic lips to the side slightly as he looked at his cards, and tossed two silver coins to the center of the table. They bounced off of the polished surface, but were slapped down almost reflexively by Erik, whose eyes never left his own cards.
Eryn followed suit, pushing two of her own coins to the center, Sonja did likewise, and Kari looked over her cards with a finger to her chin. After a few moments, liking all the picture cards she was holding, she pushed two of her own to the center. It continued all the way around, and Captain Galdur put in his own two. Grakin called and the others followed suit; it seemed to Kari that no one had an overwhelming hand, or if they did they were simply biding their time to increase the pot. The captain dealt cards to each player in turn, and Kari asked for only a single card. She worked very hard to suppress a smile, not wanting to give away what she had.
Bets went around the table twice, and along the way all four of the Tesconis brothers on the far side of the table folded, along with Sonja. Captain Galdur, Grakin, and Eryn continued to raise the stakes, and Kari met their bets each time, not sure exactly what she had but pretty sure it was a winner. Eryn watched Kari intently each time it came around to the demonhunter, but Kari made sure to always give a little smile whenever she fell under the half-brys’ scrutiny. At the very least, she thought she was doing better than she did the prior night. Captain Galdur called a halt to bets due to the limits he had set on the game, and the players revealed their hands. Grakin had a full house of eights over fours; the captain revealed two pairs, eights and tens; and Eryn laid down a three of a kind – nines.
“Lots of pictures,” Kari said as she laid down her cards: a king, a queen, and three jacks. The eyes of nearly all the other players widened when she showed her hand.
“King’s court,” Erik said, amazed. “That’s a lucky hand.”
“I see it’s a good thing I put a limit on the bets; she’d have cleaned us half out,” Captain Galdur said with a chuckle.
Kari collected all of the coins in the center of the table, and looked to the captain to deal again, but she found the entire table staring at her. She realized she was supposed to share some intimate detail about herself for having won, and silently cursed her so-called good luck. Kari wasn’t interested in revealing or proving who she was and then spending the entire voyage telling everyone all about her past life. She smiled to stall for a minute while she thought of something she could tell the gathering that would satisfy the captain’s requirement without exposing herself to too much interest.
“My name is Karian Vanador,” she began, stalling a little more. “I was born and raised in the city of Flora on Terrassia, and lived in Solaris for about five years before attending the Academy at DarkWind. During the war I fought in the Thirty-Fifth Li
ght Division, where I served directly under Kris Jir’tana.”
“And I’ll bet he had a smile on his face every morning on account of it,” Typhonix muttered, stunning the table into silence. Erik put his hand over his face, trying his best not to laugh, and Aeligos turned away with a chuckle. Jol and Grakin didn’t seem to know what reaction to have; they were clearly amused by the comment but refrained from demonstrating it considering how rude it had been. Captain Galdur pursed his lips, obviously sensing a shift in the mood, and though he’d found Ty’s previous comment funny, he wasn’t amused now.
Eryn and Sonja were obviously disturbed by the rude comment, and they scowled at Ty, but they didn’t seem to realize that Kari wasn’t even sure what he’d meant. She stared at him for a minute, unsure how to react. She puzzled out what he'd meant after a few moments and felt her blood boil as she saw the laughter around her from the corner of her eye. He’d just insulted her quite personally, and after another few silent moments, Kari stood up, tossed her cards to the table, and made her way for the door.
“Kari,” Sonja called after her, but Kari kept walking. Before she left the captain’s quarters she overheard Sonja tell Typhonix, “I ought to break your snout!”
Karian left the captain’s quarters and ignored the curious stare of Jori-an, and she suddenly felt quite trapped on the ship. She made her way back down to her cabin and slipped inside. She closed and latched the door behind her and sat down on the edge of the bed. Tears rolled from her eyes and down the length of her snout as she looked at her hands, and she clenched and unclenched them to calm herself. The insult was so much worse for how long it had taken Kari to understand it; on top of Ty making her look like a fool, the fact that she looked too stupid to understand his insult only made it worse. She wasn’t sure why the comment itself even bothered her; Ty was an ass and his siblings had even told her so ahead of time.
