Patrina frowned as she looked at Alto. Her gaze slipped to Namitus and saw the growing grin on his face. Her eyes narrowed. "What are you two up to?" she demanded.
"I have no idea," Alto said.
"Nothing," Namitus said. Patrina's narrowing eyes prompted him to throw his hands up. "Honestly! I just heard some of the sailors at the port talking about this island and—"
Patrina scoffed and asked, "You just heard about it?"
"What island?" Alto leaned forward and asked.
Patrina let out a girlish growl and threw her hands and eyes heavenwards.
"The island of Britanly," Namitus answered him. "It was an island nation for many years but they say it's cursed now. The people died off many years ago and anyone who's dared to visit hasn't come back."
"How do they know the people are dead if nobody's come back?" Patrina said, poking a hole in Namitus's story.
The rogue tilted his head and frowned. "That's a good point," he said. "Very mysterious!"
"They might need help," Alto reasoned.
"For the love of the saints!" Patrina blurted out. "You're both terrible! You're just making up an excuse!"
Alto and Namitus locked gazes and nodded. "It's probably nothing," Alto said. "Maybe a plague swept through them."
"Pirates," Namitus said. "Killed them all and stole anything not nailed down."
"Would they have anything that valuable?" Alto asked.
Namitus nodded and said, "They were once known for their weapons. They made fine arrows, lances, and spears. Indeed, it's said that Britanly spears are like no other."
"Britanly spears?" Patrina buried her face in her hands and shook her head.
Alto grinned. "Well, we should make sure they don't fall into the wrong hands if there are any left."
"That's what I was thinking."
Patrina groaned.
* * * *
"The sailors say a woman can be heard wailing," Namitus mentioned as they stood on the deck of the kelgryn ship. The vessel had a single sail and an open deck, with the exception of the small cabin that had been built for Patrina.
"Britanly spears and a woman screaming in distress," Alto said with a grin. "We were meant to come here!"
"Enough," Patrina said as she walked up behind the two men. "Stop with your excuses to go exploring."
Alto and Namitus turned and saw that Patrina wore her own dwarven-forged plate armor. It gleamed in the sun as she stood with her hands on her hips.
"Trina," Alto stammered as the sun glinted off her armor and dazzled his eyes. "I didn't think you wanted any part of this."
"Oh, I'm going," Patrina said. "Or have you forgotten the trouble you get into when you go off on your own?"
Alto frowned. "I've done pretty well by myself, I think."
"You were captured and nearly lost your hands and feet to the cold!"
"I was chasing after you," he retorted. "Trying to rescue you, as I remember. And after that, I managed by myself in the caves under the mountains. Then I spent weeks in the mountains alive and well."
Patrina scowled at him. "You were lucky."
Alto shrugged. "Perhaps."
"I think she's more worried about what happens to her when she's not with you," Namitus offered.
Patrina glared at the rogue while Alto chuckled. He nodded. "That has the ring of truth to it."
"You boys are impossible!" Patrina snapped at them.
"Boys?" Namitus asked.
"Yes!" she said in a huff. "You both act like children sometimes!"
Alto snorted. "Could a boy have done the things I've done?"
Patrina stared at him with her mouth open. Finally she snapped it shut and shook her head. "I thought you said you were lucky?"
Alto's stiffened. "Well, yes, but I did them. Nobody else would do what needed to be done."
"That's where you're wrong," Patrina snapped at him. "We all tried to help. We all wanted to stop Sarya. And we all came looking for you when you ran off into the mountains."
"But you didn't need to; I was fine," Alto argued. "I had to rescue you. Three times, if I remember right. Four if you count the dwarven city where I sacrificed myself for everyone else!"
Patrina stared at him until her glaring eyes softened and moistened. She looked away and blew out her breath, and then turned without another word and stomped across the boat to her cabin.
"See, she knows I'm right and can't argue," Alto said as he turned to his friend.
Namitus raised his eyebrows and turned to look over the rail at the island of Britanly ahead of them.
"What?" Alto demanded.
"She's a woman," Namitus explained. "A magnificent woman who cares about you almost as much as you care about yourself."
"That's nonsense," Alto spat. "Doesn't she know all the things I've done for her? The times I've been willing to die to protect or save her?"
"She knows," the knowing rogue said. "And it eats at her. She wants you to prove you’re willing to risk it all for her, but she doesn't want to feel indebted to you."
"What?" Alto blurted. "That's impossible! How can she want both?"
Namitus chuckled. "She's a woman, my friend. A wonderful, confused, beautiful woman."
Alto stared at the island slowly growing larger as they approached it. He sighed and shook his head. "I'll never understand her."
Namitus chuckled. "No, you won't, but that won't make it any less fun!"
"Fun for you at my expense, maybe," Alto muttered.
"Oh, I expect you'll have your share of fun, too. Now stop moping. We need to get ready for the island and then you need to go and kiss up to Patrina."
"Kiss up?"
"If we set foot on that island without her with us, it's going to be a long voyage back. That's if she doesn't order the boat to set sail without us!"
"I could see her doing that," he admitted. "She has a temper."
"Yes, she does. I recommend we get your armor on before you make up with her," the rogue said.
Alto chuckled and nodded. With the help of the smaller man, he girded his armor in a matter of minutes. Alto stared at the cabin on the boat and steadied himself. He started towards Patrina but stumbled as a wave caught the ship broadside. Others cried out, making Alto feel better that he wasn't the only one caught unaware.
"Stand ready there, lads! The backwash from the island's making the sea act up," the captain of the vessel called to them from his position near the ship's prow.
Alto waved to him and walked bow legged across the deck until he reached the cabin. He rapped on the door and waited. A moment later, the door swung open to reveal Patrina staring at him with red eyes and pale cheeks.
"Um, are you okay?" Alto managed. He had to reach out as the ship bucked under another breaking swell beneath them. His hand landed on Patrina's.
The princess shifted as the ship righted itself and looked at their hands. Her eyes went to his and she nodded. "The swells caught me by surprise is all," she said.
Alto grunted. "Me too, and I'm on the open deck."
"You're not a kelgryn," she said. "We're born to sail."
Alto sighed. "Look, Trina, I don't want to fight. I'm sorry about what I said, okay?"
Her right eye twitched as she stared at him. "I want us to be together," she said. "Not always running after each other."
"Me, too. What happened before was…" Alto hesitated while he looked for the right words.
"Complicated," Patrina offered.
Alto smiled. "Yeah, complicated. Very."
Patrina offered a faint smile of her own. The boat rocked again but they both swayed with it, their fingers intertwined on the doorjamb.
"No more complications?" Alto suggested.
Patrina's smile widened. "Keep me by your side and you won't need to worry about it."
Alto chuckled and opened his mouth as a larger wave struck them. He stumbled forward and stopped himself only when his breastplate clinked against hers. His hand went behind her to keep her f
rom falling but her sea legs were worthy of her claim.
"Like this?" Alto asked with a boyish grin.
Patrina didn't respond with words; she pushed her face to his and kissed him. Alto nearly pulled back in surprise but he stopped himself and wished he hadn't put his armor on after all. She hadn't kissed him like that since their fateful trip to Sarya's lair.
Namitus coughed behind them, breaking the moment. "We're, um, anchored off shore."
They broke the kiss and stared into each other's eyes. "We should go," Alto said.
Patrina smiled. "Britanly spears screaming."
Alto's lips curled up. "Something like that." He stepped back and out of the way so Patrina could emerge from her cabin. His eyes swept across the deck but none of the kelgryn sailors showed any interest in the two of them. They were busy lowering the longboat and readying the ship to wait for them to return.
Namitus puckered his lips as Alto stepped past him. Patrina stopped and stared at him. "Not a chance."
Namitus shrugged. "So much for being family."
Patrina's scowl made him laugh. Alto shook his head and waited until the longboat was held steady against the side of the larger kelgryn ship. The low sides made it easy for large waves to swamp the ship but it also made it easier for the three to clamber into the longboat and join the two men already present at the oars.
"We'll take you to the shore, but no farther. When you're done, come back and wave. We'll come and fetch you," they said.
Patrina scowled. "I thought kelgryn men were made of sterner stuff than to be scared off by a yarn spun by fisherman who slept and drank instead of fished."
"Lady Patrina, this isn't the first we've heard of this place. All sailors along the coast know of this island. And all steer clear of it."
Patrina looked at Namitus but her pretend brother only shrugged. "Why is that?"
"Haunted, some say. Ghosts of the Britanly. Others say beasts roam the island."
The other sailor shook his head. "I heard it’s the Britanly themselves, cannibals who will eat a man while he's still alive!"
Alto snorted. "I don't hear any wailing."
"Winds coming from the west," the first sailor said.
"Or they're waiting for new people to torture," the second one said.
"And what tales will you spin when we come back unharmed?" Patrina asked them.
The two sailors looked at each other, at a loss for words. "Depends on what you find," the first said.
Namitus grinned and leaned closer to them. "I heard it was a tribe of women who run naked through the woods. They've got no men among them, so any that stop by are passed around among them."
Alto lifted his head at Namitus's claim, as did the two sailors. Patrina slapped the rogue on the arm. "Enough. Let's be off and get this wanderlust out of your heads."
Alto raised an eyebrow and looked at Patrina's custom-fitted armor. "Our heads?"
She nodded and said, "Of course. I'm only here to fight off the native women."
Alto joined in the laughter with the others after Patrina winked at him. The kelgryn sailors put their backs to the oars and soon they were riding the breaking waves toward the island of Britanly and the mysteries it held.
Chapter 8
Aleena backed away from her mentor and turned away. Through the skeletal trees, she saw a pink glow in the east. It was a glow that she was sure her cheeks matched. "It's almost dawn," she whispered.
Celos coughed and cleared his throat. He pushed himself to his feet slowly and grimaced at the mud and water in his armor and clothing. "So it is," he said after a moment.
"I'm sorry," Aleena said, still not looking at him. "You gave me such a fright, but Leander blessed you. He blessed us both. He let me lay hands upon you."
When Celos didn't respond, Aleena turned to look at him, afraid of what she might see. The frown he wore, she knew, wasn't disapproval; it meant he was thinking. He nodded and lifted his eyes to hers. "You've done well. Beyond well, even."
Aleena's teeth broke through the dirt and grime on her face in a smile. "Thank you! I was afraid I'd overstepped my bounds."
Celos let out a chuckle that sounded harsh for its brevity. "You destroyed the evil corrupting the swamp and Leander rewarded you with a gift few can hope to achieve. In this, I can't speak for the church, but I believe you're a squire in title only. To Saint Leander, you are one of his proven champions."
Aleena's mouth fell open. She stared at Celos until he laughed and shook his head. She clamped her lips together but only for a moment. "But I haven't passed any tests! My act wasn't one of heroism; it was of necessity. Your sacrifice was what made it possible."
"And what did you sacrifice?" Celos asked her. "What weighed most heavily on your heart when you released the spirit?"
Aleena tilted her head as she brought back her memories. When she looked at Celos again, her lips were twisting up into a smile. "I thought of helping you. No matter what happened to me, I had to destroy that tree so you would be released."
Celos nodded. "As I suspected. You acted without thought for yourself, only others. That is why you will be a knight when we return."
The impact of his words forced Aleena to take a step to keep her balance. "But…a knight? Already?"
Celos nodded. "There are knights among our ranks who have never felt the true blessing of Leander. Do not doubt their worth or their conviction; they simply have not been called upon. For those who have been given a sign such as the healing hand, the church makes special arrangements. We exist to serve Leander; even the most reclusive of our order do not make the mistake of putting our rules before His."
Aleena turned to the east and saw the uppermost branches of the dead and rotting trees in the swamp bathed in golden light from the dawning sun. She dropped to her knees in the mud and bowed her head in prayer. When she looked up a few minutes later, she had streaks of clean skin on her face where her grateful tears had washed away the grime.
"Sir Celos," Aleena addressed him formally. "I'm sorry about my, uh, excitement. I mean, what I did. It was because I was so overjoyed by everything."
Celos frowned and shook his head.
"I, uh, kissed you." Aleena's cheeks flared beneath the dirt when she reminded him.
Celos's face tightened and he nodded. He smiled thinly and said, "Leander does not frown upon celebrations nor does he forbid relations between men and women. You've pointed this out yourself."
"I know. I just, well, I wasn't apologizing to Saint Leander; I was apologizing to you."
"I see," Celos said. "Well, you were excited, like you said. I understand. And I thank you for your kindhearted resolve. I am willing to give my life in His service, but I hope to live a bit more of it before I'm called upon to do so."
Aleena grinned and nodded. "That's what I said! You've got too many good deeds yet undone to be finished this young."
Celos turned and looked around for his equipment that had been lost. He found his missing armor, save for a gauntlet and his weapons. Aleena was walking around with only one boot. By the time they were ready, the sun shone through the trees and warmed them.
"Back to Portland?" Aleena asked.
Celos frowned. "We should fire that hut first. There is much in it that could cause harm in the wrong hands."
"So can a knife or a rock," Aleena pointed out. "But there are some books I'd like to grab first."
Celos scowled. "Taking up wizardry, are you?"
Aleena laughed. "Far from it! There was one I know my friends might be interested in; it was on the Order of the Dragon. A few others had some fanciful tales in them, including the story of the nymph and the warrior."
Celos's scowl faded and was replaced with a cold and expressionless mask. He turned away and looked through the mists that rose off the water towards the cottage. The sun was already beginning to burn the mist away. Of the corrupt animals that had plagued them, there was no sign. "Then fetch your books," he grunted.
Aleena look at
him for a long moment and then nodded. His sudden gruffness baffled her. Was it fear that she was going to be corrupted by the sorcery? He should know better than that, especially after she'd been given Leander's blessing! Rather than try to figure the complicated knight out, she turned and strode into the water, trying to retrace the path they'd taken a few hours earlier.
As Aleena and Celos neared the shore, she saw shapes through the mist. Unlike the shadows from the night before, these shapes weren't moving. After she'd taken half a dozen more slow steps through the sucking mud of the pond, she gasped. The shapes weren't rocks or logs she'd failed to notice last night: they were bodies. The bodies of the creatures that had been twisted by the nymph and the wizard.
"You vanquished more than a rotten tree," Celos said behind her.
Aleena jerked and turned to glance at him. She saw that he wasn't making fun of her, which prompted her to look back at the creatures lining the shore. She could see gashes and tears where the different species had been joined together, almost as though they'd tried to tear themselves apart. She shuddered and kept working her way through the waist-high water until she climbed onto the bank.
Aleena picked her way around the corpses and grimaced when she stubbed her bare foot into a rock. She glanced back at Celos and saw him studying the creatures. "Did you notice any spare boots in the wizard's house?"
Celos looked up at her and then dropped his eyes to her naked foot. He frowned. "I don't recall any. Could make for a long hike through the swamp."
Aleena grunted and turned away. She knew he'd offer her his if she made an issue out of it. Some champion of Leander she'd make if she needed to borrow other people's clothing. She clenched her teeth and moved ahead, snaking her way through the piles of bodies. She couldn't discern the smell from the general humid reek of the swamp but flies and other scavenging insects had begun to appear.
She turned and looked back at Celos as an idea occurred to her. "Should we burn the animals, too?"
Celos looked around and frowned. "We can't fit them all in the house and the wood is soaked through around here. The swamp will reclaim them. They weren't evil, just twisted by magic."
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