by K. C. May
She pointed at the glistening water ahead. “We’re almost there. Sundancer will make you smile. She always brings a smile to my face.”
“Yah,” he said glumly. “I’m sure she does.”
The smell of salt water and seaweed grew stronger the closer they got to the docks. The few fishers who remained pushed off from the pier and began to row out into the open water. Gulls squawked eagerly as they circled above.
Jora picked up her pace, and ran down the longest pier with Korlan on her heel, their footsteps hollow on the wood. At the end, she lifted the flute to her lips and called to Sundancer.
It took only one attempt before the dolphin’s dorsal fin broke the surface. She leaped out of the water and dove back in in a smooth arc with the rising sun as her backdrop. She’s so beautiful, Jora thought. I envy her freedom.
“Is that her?” Korlan asked.
“Yah. She’s the only dolphin who talks to me. I don’t know if it’s because she was chosen to, or if it’s her nature to befriend people. Or maybe she’s the only one who knows about me, but I can’t imagine she would keep our conversations secret from others in her pod.”
“Maybe she values you as a friend and wants to do what’s best for you, regardless of the cost to herself.”
Jora gave him a long look. His words seemed poignant somehow, but she couldn’t put her finger on why. “Maybe.”
Sundancer glided up to the dock and looked up at them. “Ahoy, Autumn Rain. Ahoy, Shark Fighter.”
“Ahoy Sun Dancer,” Jora replied. “She said hello to you, too,” she said to Korlan.
“Why Shark Fighter is sad?” Sundancer asked.
“I’m so sorry,” Korlan said.
He gave Jora a hard shove. She dropped the flute and her robe as she fell off the side of the dock, arms flailing to regain her balance. Her buttocks hit the water first, and the sea swelled up to engulf her. She’d had no time to take a breath but for her gasp of surprise. The shock of hitting the cool water made her lose half her air. Over the sounds of splashing water and her own gurgling, she heard a Thoop! muffled by the water.
Sundancer screamed, a high-pitched squeal that pierced Jora’s heart.
Jora broke the surface of the water and summoned Po Teng with lips salty and wet. “Sleep Korlan,” she told her ally. As she swam to where Sundancer had been, she looked around for her friend, both above the surface and below.
A cloud of warm blood dissipated in the water, growing larger as it mixed with the cool sea water.
“Sundancer,” she called, looking out toward the open water. She heard no sign of her friend, saw no dorsal fin above the surface. She can’t be dead. She can’t be. Her heart ached, both over Korlan’s betrayal and Sundancer’s injury.
With a strong kick of her legs, she managed to rise up enough to put her elbows on the dock and heave her upper body onto it. She clambered awkwardly until she was able to lift one leg up and climb the rest of the way onto the pier. Sopping wet, she rolled onto her belly and pushed herself up to her knees. The first thing she did was fling the crossbow as hard as she could out into the water where Korlan couldn’t reach it once he awoke. He hadn’t brought it with him, which meant he’d brought it earlier and hidden it within reach. His betrayal clawed deeper into her heart.
She groped for the flute that had rolled across the wood and stopped against one of the supporting piles. She lifted it to her lips. “Ahoy, Sun Dancer. Please come.” She waited a moment, but received no response. “Sun Dancer, please come. Shark Fighter sleeps. He cannot hurt you.”
He can’t hurt you now, she thought. That didn’t mean he couldn’t come back later and try again. Why would he do such a thing? Milad had to have made him, but why didn’t he warn her? She could’ve helped him.
Except that Milad could Observe him and see what Jora was up to. She didn’t sense anyone Observing Korlan at that moment, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do it later. And even though Korlan was asleep, Milad could still Observe him—and her.
“Po Teng, wake him up.” She wanted answers before she made her next move.
The ally gave her a sad look before touching Korlan’s wrist.
Korlan opened his eyes and flinched when he saw the tree-like creature staring down at him. He cast his gaze at Jora. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t want to do it. You have to believe me. I only meant to scare her off.”
“You could’ve killed her,” Jora yelled.
He pushed himself up onto his elbows. “Is she… is she dead?”
“I don’t know. You definitely hit her, though. She’s gone. She’ll probably never come back.”
“I’m sorry, Jora. I’m so sorry.”
“What the hell were you thinking?”
Korlan lowered his gaze and shook his head. “I had no choice. They have my family.”
“What?” Though Jora was still livid, his words tempered her anger.
“They’ve arrested Persha and Sira. Milad threatened to punish them for stupid, made-up crimes if I didn’t do what he said.”
Jora groaned. Of course. “Why does he want Sundancer dead?” she asked.
“Because of Arc. He’s afraid of you having your own army of giants.”
“Challenger’s fists, Korlan. You could’ve talked to me. We could’ve come up with a solution.”
“Like what? One word from Milad and they would do to my daughter what we did to you. Jora, she’s eight months old.”
“What has he done to them so far?”
“Nothing yet, but I couldn’t take the chance that he would make good on his threat.”
“So instead you decided to kill Sundancer?” Jora was yelling and crying at the same time. The pain of his betrayal was as intense as her anger. “I trusted you.”
“I’m sorry, Jora. I truly am. What I did was unforgivable, but I didn’t have a choice. You have to know that.”
She glared at him for a time. Though she could see the dark circles under his eyes and lines in his face that made him look much older than his nineteen years, she fumed. That he wouldn’t come to her with his problem said as much about their friendship as his actions that morning did.
“What did you do when you found out they have Finn?” he asked softly. “You gave up your books, even though you swore you wouldn’t. You gave up what was important to you to save him.”
Though he still had all his friends, his family, his neighbors, she knew without a doubt that she’d have done anything to save Kaild. Would she have pulled that trigger if it meant having her family and friends back? If it meant saving the people of Kaild? She didn’t want to answer the question even in the privacy of her own mind, but there was no use dreaming of impossible scenarios. His family was still alive, and like it or not, she understood his determination to keep them that way.
Milad’s job was to force obedience using any means necessary. She opened the Mindstream and searched Korlan’s threads to find that of his wife, Persha.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Seeing whether Milad has hurt your family.” To Jora’s dismay, Milad hadn’t been lying at all. Persha was sitting on a bed in a jail cell, crying softly. She wore a thin white dressing gown as if she’d been pulled from her bed in the middle of the night. Except the baby wasn’t with her. “Found your wife. She doesn’t look injured, but…” She found Sira’s thread and jumped to it. “…Sira isn’t with her. She’s in a room by herself, lying in a bassinet. She’s asleep at the moment.” Jora didn’t tell him the baby was lying in a soiled diaper or that her dirty face was streaked with tears. He didn’t need to know that.
He nodded, his head still hung. “Sundancer’s still not safe. Milad could send Brutal or Gruesome to finish her.”
“I know.”
“How badly did I hurt her?”
“I don’t know. She swam away. Po Teng, statuize him.” Korlan’s sitting form stopped breathing and turned white head to toe. “Now Milad can’t see what happens.” She turned back to face th
e sea and searched for signs of the dolphin—a dorsal fin, a spray of water. “Sun Dancer,” she played on the flute, “Please come. You must come back to say goodbye.”
She waited for several long minutes, but Sundancer didn’t return. It’s my fault, she thought. I put her in danger. I should’ve known. I should’ve Observed Korlan. I could’ve found the crossbow and stopped him. Tears rolled down her face, and she bent her knees and cried into her crooked elbow. Sundancer’s hurt because of me.
“He sleeps?” asked Sundancer in a soft whistle.
Jora lifted her head but didn’t see her dolphin friend. “Yes. I will not let him hurt you again. I am sorry, Sun Dancer.”
A gray form appeared below the dock, rising slowly to the surface. Then Sundancer’s face peeked out, one dark eye peering up at Jora. “Shark Fighter is not Sun Dancer friend.”
“No, he is not. I am sorry. I did not know he would try to hurt you.” Through the water, she could see a ribbon of blood trailing from Sundancer’s dorsal fin. The sight of Sundancer’s blood spilled because of Jora filled her with remorse. “You are hurt. Let me see.” She set the flute down and then leaned over the edge of the dock to get a better look. The wound was about three inches long where the bolt had grazed her fin. It didn’t look serious, but it would leave a scar. A permanent reminder of Korlan’s betrayal.
“I will survive this wound,” Sundancer said. “It stings but not affects my swim.”
Jora retrieved her flute. “Good. I am sorry.”
“You not hurt me, Autumn Rain.”
“No, but I feel angry and sad for his action. I not want to say goodbye to you, my friend, but it is difficult to come here without him.”
Sundancer regarded her for a long moment. “I understand. Sun Dancer is Autumn Rain friend,” she said at last.
“Autumn Rain is Sun Dancer friend. Always.” Tears streamed down Jora’s face, and her throat swelled with emotion.
Slowly, Sundancer swam away. “Love,” she whistled, the last note trailing off into silence.
They walked back to the Justice Bureau in silence. At first, tears of sadness streamed down Jora’s face over losing her dear friend because of what Korlan had done—no, what the justice captain had made Korlan do. The longer they walked, the angrier she grew. Rather than going to the side gate, Jora went up the front steps and in through the main entrance. Milad’s office was closer that way. She stalked to the staircase and began to ascend.
“Are you sure you want to confront him?” Korlan asked, lagging behind.
She didn’t bother to reply. He could stay down there if he was afraid, but Jora wanted answers.
Scanning the name plates beside the doors as she stalked down the hallway, she spotted the one reading Justice Captain Cirillo Milad and headed for the door. Without bothering to knock, she flicked the latch and barged in. Milad was alone, hunched over his desk, writing. She shoved the door shut, and it banged loudly in the frame.
He startled and looked up, but a scowl quickly replaced the surprise on his face. “What the–”
“Who do you think you are?” Jora demanded as she stormed up to his desk. She must have looked as fierce as she felt, for he stood and took a step backwards. The cageyness in his eyes made her confidence surge. Yes, you should be afraid of me. As much as she would like to have punished him for what he did, she also wanted him to squirm. “What’s your goal here, Milad? If it’s to make an enemy of the Gatekeeper, then you’re well on your way. I accepted my punishment without complaint. I put up with you dogging my every step with the one enforcer you assumed I would trust, but you crossed the line when you ordered the murder of an innocent being. What punishment does that crime warrant?”
The cherry in his throat bobbed, and he glanced at the door. “It was no crime. Your dolphin friend is not protected by law, and even if it was, an argument could be made that it supplied a convicted criminal with weapons. That is a crime—not just a misdemeanor but a capital crime. The sentence is death.”
“So you’re a disciple, adept, and elder now?”
“Are you?” He squared his jaw and his shoulders. “As I said, wildlife is not protected by law. It was my decision and well within my authority. My duty is to protect the citizens of Jolver, and the members of the Order in particular. That dolphin posed a threat–”
“You have no idea, do you?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. “You don’t even know what’s in the book of tones that Elder Kassyl gave me.” She laughed derisively. “What a pathetic fool. The dominee might have that book in her thieving little hands, but I have it up here.” She tapped her temple. “And it teaches everything Sundancer knows, perhaps more. What do you think the Spirit Stones are?”
Milad didn’t answer except for a tiny shake of his head.
She gave him a sardonic smile. Let him think about it for a while. “You’ve made an enemy of me, Milad. You could resign from your post and promote another to take your place, or I could–”
“Let me explain to you how this works.” He took a step forward and put both hands on the desk and leaned toward her. Despite his attempt to intimidate her, his voice quavered. “As a novice, you have no authority to make demands or take action against me other than to lodge a complaint with the elder council. If they find I’ve not acted in the best interests of the Justice Bureau, then they—and only they—will determine what disciplinary measures to take. Seeing as how I’ve faithfully served this office for a dozen years, after receiving the highest recommendation from our beloved Elder Kassyl, I might add, I’m willing to take my chances with the system we have in place. That is what it means to be loyal and patriotic, Novice. That’s what it means to serve Serocia.”
Elder Kassyl had recommended him? Perhaps Milad hadn’t been the mean-spirited knave he was now. The other choices might have been worse. Bastin had said that carrying out the often brutal punishments changed a person.
“And considering your brother’s plight, sparked by your behavior, you might want to rethink your threats, Novice. I was tasked with issuing his punishment, which includes choosing the enforcer to carry it out.”
Jora swallowed. She’d assumed the Legion would discipline Finn. “What punishment?”
“For assaulting a Legion officer. Haven’t you heard? He was found guilty, of course. His sentence is fimbling of two fingers and ten lashes.” He leaned back in his chair with a cocksure smirk playing on his mouth. The nervous jitter in his voice was gone. “Fimbling means breaking a bone in each finger, but depending on the experience of the enforcer, he could end up with dislocated joints also. You have to hit the finger at the right angle, you see, otherwise snap! goes the knuckle.”
Her stomach spasmed, and a foul taste rushed up her throat. She swallowed it back down, suddenly feeling clammy.
“I could assign Gruesome the task. Oh, I know. His nickname sounds bad, but in a case like this, you would thank me for that. He hasn’t hit a joint in probably two years. The breaks will be clean and quick. On the other hand, I could assign Korlan. He needs to learn how to do it. With Grue to guide him, he might get it right on the first try, but it’s far more likely that he’ll–”
“Stop,” Jora said, squeezing her eyes shut. “Stop it.” How had she lost control of this conversation? She straightened, lifted her chin, and met his eyes squarely. “Finn isn’t above the law. He has to accept his due punishment, but no more. Any injury he sustains beyond his sentence will have consequences. Do I make myself clear?”
Milad raised his arm and pointed to the door. “Get the hell out of my office.”
Chapter 24
Jora ignored Korlan, bobbing along behind her, as she hurried through the corridors. The anger and frustration and pain of betrayal were burning in her like a red coal in the center of her chest. The last thing she wanted to do was to burst into tears before she was safely alone and have people try to stop her to ask what was wrong. After finally reaching her room, she slammed the door in Korlan’s face and collapsed face down onto
the bed.
She spent the next two hours alternately crying into her pillow and beating it with her fists. The headache her anguish spurred only made her feel worse. She missed breakfast, but she didn’t care. She had no appetite. One friend was a traitor, the other was gone for good, and her brother was being used as a pawn to manipulate her. She had no one left. Adriel was a dear, but Jora couldn’t put her in jeopardy by telling her things she had no power to fight.
Someone knocked at the door.
Her initial reaction was to quiet her crying and pretend she wasn’t there, but it was likely her sobs had been heard through the walls and door. And then there was her jailer Korlan standing outside the door, like a flag to tell everyone she was there. She used the Mindstream to see who was outside her door. It was the princess. Retar’s fists. Slowly, reluctancly, Jora sat up and wiped her eyes. “Come in,” she said softly.
“Are you all right? I heard crying.” Princess Rivva came into the room and shut the door behind her. “Did they punish you again?”
“No, no,” Jora said. She gestured to the reclining chair as an invitation for the princess to sit. “It wasn’t anything like that. My brother’s about to be fimbled and whipped, and I can’t stop it.”
“He’ll be all right,” Rivva said, sitting in the chair. Her posture was relaxed and confident. “He’s strong and tough. He’ll make it through, just like you made it through your punishment. I can’t stop it either, but I’ll request mercy from the justice captain if you think it’ll help.”
“It won’t. The justice captain sent Korlan to kill Sundancer.”
Rivva’s eyes widened as she leaned forward. “No. That’s despicable. Why would he do such a thing?”
“Because of Arc. Because Milad’s afraid of me learning any more magic.” Jora threw up her hands. “He didn’t even think about the fact that I can read the book of tones anytime I want to and learn magic from that.”
“I’ll ask Elder Devarla to bring the matter before the elder council. With censure and instructions from them, Sundancer will be safe. Listen, one of the Legion captains is missing. He hasn’t been accounted for since yesterday and no one can find him. They searched his office and found the coins, which were eventually delivered to the mint. Might you know anything about that?”
