by JD Franx
“These are beautiful, Kael,” she added, stepping into the ankle-length, white, doeskin skirt.
“I found both pieces last night. They look brand new.” He rushed to the cabin door, but stopped dead as he caught sight of her fully dressed. The corset clung to her body, pushing her small breasts together, yet it left her midriff bare. The velvet smooth skirt hugged her hips as if it were painted on, but flowed outwards down to her ankles. With her hair still tousled from their lovemaking, her casual outward beauty struck him for the first time in the months he had known her. Rushing too now, she slid her ratty leather slippers on and snatched her travel pack as well as her cloak before running to the door.
“Come on, handsome,” she said, kissing him softly and caressing his cheek. “I wish we had more time for... everything.” She smiled. “We have to go.”
They joined the others on the quarterdeck where Journeyman Wizard, Galen Vihr, had taken over the helm from the older man, Master Wizard Kalmar Ibess.
“What do you need us to do, Galen?” Kael yelled, having to shout to be heard above the pounding fury of the incoming storm. With one arm around Kyah and the other hooked through the rear ballistae’s winch bolt, he held on for both their lives as rain pelted his skin and the wind threatened to toss them overboard.
The Sea of Storms hit hard when in the mood to claim more victims, and Kael felt her fury, as if the ocean were alive and hungry for victims. He stared out into the storm to the south-east and as the waves dropped, a massive city with high towers faded in and out of his vision.
“What the hell? Kyah?” He nodded in the direction of the city. She looked, but her puzzled expression told him she did not see it. As the waves crested again, the city flickered and vanished.
“Pray, Kael,” Galen shouted, catching his attention. His brow furrowed in concentration, the soon-to-be Master Wizard spun the ship’s wheel hard to the right, turning the ship into the coming waves. “The sails are already down. Just hang on and pray for the best. Topside is the only place to be if we go down, not in the cabins,” he barked back. With a crooked smile powered by the rush and excitement, Galen winked at the two new arrivals to the ship’s top deck.
Twenty minutes passed as they rode out rolling waves, fifteen feet high and getting larger by the minute. The keel cracked and moaned from the stress as the ship shot down from a wave well over twenty feet in height. Kael stared in awe at the raw power of the ocean as waves even larger loomed ahead. Shivering at the oncoming danger and knowing there was nowhere to run, he held Kyah tighter to his side. As if it were a premonition, the boat slammed into the wave’s far side and started up the thirty-foot rolling incline of the next monstrous wall of water. Like nothing more than a toy in the hands of a rampaging child, their ship crested the massive wave and jetted down its far side as rope, barrels, and all manner of other supplies fell to the ship’s bow. Losing his footing, Kael hung on to the ballistae for dear life, clutching Kyah’s waist in a death-grip as she screamed and grasped at his cloak.
The ship slammed into the ocean, plunging beneath the surface for several seconds. The keel twisted sideways and shattered from the stress as the next wave crashed over the top of the boat, knocking all four passengers to the deck. Full of water, the sturdy ship listed heavily to the port side. A second, larger wave followed seconds later, smashing into the ship and obliterating it. Kyah was ripped from his arms as the four friends were tossed into the water.
Kael surfaced first, with Kyah only feet away, floating face down in the cold ocean. With a strong kick, he was at her side. Rolling her over, he checked to make sure she was breathing. A large piece of the ship’s hull banged his shoulder as it rode along the bottom swell with them. He grabbed it to help keep them afloat. With one arm around Kyah, Kael climbed onto the debris. Forcing it below the waterline, he managed to float the unconscious young woman up onto the top. Once she was up, he held her with both arms, but couldn’t climb up to join her without sinking it.
As they crested the next wave, Kael looked out for miles across the ocean. His heart sunk; there were no other ships and no land in sight, even the mysterious city was nowhere to be seen. Passing the giant wave’s apex, the debris-raft rushed down the wave’s far side and ploughed into the ocean. Kael shook the water from his eyes and saw Galen and Kalmar using smaller pieces of the ship to stay afloat. They passed close enough for him to hear them shout, but he could not make out the words, and the storm-fed waves were too strong to try and swim closer. The movement of the ocean currents and the power of the storm soon had them too far away for Kael to keep them in sight. Things could not get much worse.
Full dark settled over the ocean early because of the storm, and Kael tried several times to climb onto the wreckage. Shivering and teeth chattering, his strength waned in the cold ocean water, but every time he tried to board the makeshift raft, it threatened to dump Kyah into the water with him. Little time passed before it was so dark he could not see her in front of him on the raft. He held on to her Orotaq cloak with one hand and clutched the wooden planks with his other, making sure she stayed on top for as long as he could. In the sheer black of the late night storm, it seemed every time they crested a wave, the ride down was taking longer and the impact at the bottom more violent.
As the make-shift raft rode the lazy side of a massive wave up into the air one more time, it reached the top just as lightning ripped across the dark sky, lighting up the night and the ocean for miles. Kael’s eyes shot wide with terror as he stared down at the forty foot drop to the bottom. He grasped at Kyah with both hands, anchored his feet to the raft’s bottom, and held on for dear life as the wave pushed him over the crest, rocketing the raft down the thundering swell. Again the storm’s electricity high above the ocean lit up the darkness, returning Kael’s sight just as the raft slammed back down onto the water’s flat surface. The whiplash effect drove the wooden planks of the raft into his face. Stunned, his hands slipped from Kyah and his head scraped against the side of the wooden wreckage a second time. Kyah and the raft were wrenched from his grasp.
“No!” he screamed, his vision wavering.
Dazed, blood flowed into his eyes, mixing with ocean water and adding to the sting. Kael turned onto his back and relaxed his muscles in order to stay afloat. The salt water carried his weight like a buoy in a harbour until his body scraped something rough as it passed underneath him in the water. Panicking at the thought of some kind of unseen water monster or perhaps a school of sharks, he jerked upright. The sudden movement washed his mind in dizziness and disorientation. Without noticing, he sank below the surface. Confused, he choked on salt water as a pair of arms gently circled his chest, holding him while his body shot back to the surface. Kael gazed in concussed awe as the violent ocean settled to an unnatural calm for as far as he could see.
Trying to understand what was happening and desperate to stay conscious, Kael drifted in and out of awareness as his head eased back against something cool, but soft. A warm breath tickled his neck. Music drifted over the calm waves, far away at first, but it glided closer as if riding on the ocean’s gentle air currents. He suddenly realized it was not actually music. His addled mind relaxed and he listened to the beautiful melody of several women singing as they swam in the ocean around him. Smiling, Kael drifted in the cold water of the Sea of Storms without a single care coming to mind. The angelic voices were unlike anything he had ever heard back on Earth. Stunning harmony was the closest description that came to mind, but it was not adequate. The warm breath returned, on his cheek this time, and as the black spots clouding his vision grew and his consciousness faded, he heard one of the melodies stop and a voice whispered in his ear.
“Sleep, dark wizard. My sisters and I will carry you safely home.”
The words carried a softness, a peace, that calmed him further. Her hushed tone was sweet and added to the mellow harmony. Kael blacked out with the muddled understanding that such incredible beauty would never harm him and would forever keep
him safe.
With the gentle movements of their long, finned tails, the women floated Kael into Siren’s Bay, as the melody of their magical voices drifted out over the ocean.
WILDLANDS EASTERN SHORE
PRESENT DAY
The pain of recalling the events of the past two days turned Kael’s stomach and he suspected he had suffered a concussion.
“With my luck, probably smashed my head in,” he muttered. Kael tried to focus his blurry vision. He felt the side of his skull where the makeshift raft smashed his head and found a five inch gash that felt bone deep. Unable to do anything about it, he made sure his travel pack was whole and wrapped a cloth rag around his head. His heavy cloak and bizarre looking blades were still on his back, and though the inside of his pack was soaked, the contents were still intact, including Jasala Vyshaan’s book and letters he took from her abandoned tower.
He stood, trembling, as a bad case of vertigo assaulted his senses. Looking around, trying to figure out where he was made the dizziness worse. He stumbled and dropped to his knees in an attempt to stop his world from spinning out of control. After several minutes, Kael glanced up, making out a beach that ended after a hundred feet. At that point a large forest began, stretching in both directions as far as he could see.
Kael struggled up from the sandy beach and walked a little over half way to the forest when he chuckled about the huge mound of sand in his way.
“Where the hell did all this sand come from?” he said, cackling. His mind, so clouded from the impact with the raft, never felt himself fall face first into the sand. Exasperated, he turned over to look at the morning sky, when it dawned on him that he was trying to walk while lying down.
“Oh, my head. Can’t think straight.” Kael’s thoughts kept drifting away, disrupting his sense of balance. For only a second, he thought about trying to heal himself, but it flashed through his mind and was gone. As his mind began to shut itself down, all he could think about was that he kept forgetting to heal himself. The throbbing and ringing inside his head continued to get worse until he was writhing in agony on the beach.
It lasted several minutes before he blacked out again.
Opening his eyes, several hours later according to the sun’s position in the sky, Kael struggled to understand how he could still be alive. As Kyah’s face leaned into his vision, he understood.
“You saved me,” he said, almost accusing her.
“Yes, handsome. I figured it was only fair seeing as how it must have been you who put me onto that wreckage. Correct, am I not?” she asked, smiling.
“Yeah.” His voice was a croak from swallowing too much salt water, and he coughed to clear his throat. “But I couldn’t get up there with you without dumping us both into the ocean.”
She bent over and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “Thank you. Your selfless choice saved us both, it seems. Now, can you walk? It has been hours since I watched you fall into the sand.” Still with some difficulty and disorientation, he stood.
Looking around, he asked, “Do you have any idea where Galen and Kalmar are? Or where we are? Did they make it?”
“I have not seen them. I came to shore a few miles north of you, but there was no sign of them. I am sorry, Kael. I know not if they live. It is a miracle from the gods that we made it alive ourselves. You, even more so. With that head injury, you should have drowned.”
“I thought I was,” Kael said, confused by the flashes of memory from the night before.
“How did you get here?”
“I’m not sure. I smashed my head on the raft and was having trouble staying awake, when...” He hesitated, afraid to tell her what he remembered. “If it’s a memory and not some brain-addled hallucination.”
“When what, Kael?” she prodded. “What happened?”
“You’re gonna think I’m nuts...” When he stopped the second time, she moved closer and touched his chin, forcing him to look her in the eyes.
“Tell me. What do you remember?” she asked, and gave him another gentle kiss.
“All right, but I warned you.” He smiled, uneasily. “I heard music, singing, but no words. It was strange. I was in and out of consciousness the whole time. I remember sinking below the surface, I think, and then something brought me back up. The ocean calmed at some point and I floated here. Someone was holding me above the water. I don’t know, Kyah. My head’s messed up. It still hurts.” As he tried to explain, it became clear that he actually did sound like a mad man.
“The music, female?”
“I think so, yes, there were several different inflections, different voices, maybe, is a better way to explain it.”
“Women singing without words in the Sea of Storms,” she said, frowning and looking over shoulder out into the water. “We must have washed ashore on the Siren’s Tails or in Siren’s Bay. We must be in the Wildlands, Kael. For some reason, the sirens saved you, instead of killing you. I am not sure what is more terrifying, the fact those creatures saved your life or the fact that we are now stranded in the Wildlands.”
“It can’t be much worse than being stranded in the Forsaken Lands, can it?” Her look told him he should know better. “Don’t look at me like that. I’ve only been here for five months, remember? The Wildlands might as well be on one of the moons for all I know about it!” he snapped, as he pointed skyward.
“I am sorry,” Kyah said, smiling. “I apologize. I forget that sometimes. You deal with everything like someone who was raised here. But you need to learn these things and fast. When we stop to rest at night from now on, I will teach you the little that I know. For now, we must be very careful. The tribes of these lands care not for intruders. They are violent and their society is built on the blood of slaves. Some tribes are cannibalistic. We must not be found here, babe,” she explained, in detail.
Kael flinched at her use of the last word. Ember had called him ‘babe’ from the time they were both twelve years old. With his dream of her and Max still fresh in his mind, he needed to figure out what to do. He was also confused about why he had allowed himself to be intimate with Kyah on the ship the night before. Before he came to a solution, she called his name and the thoughts left his mind for the time being.
“Come, Kael, this way,” she said, heading into the forest. With no other choice, Kael looked to the north, the way Kyah said she had come.
“Good luck, Galen, Kalmar. May your gods see you guys home safely.” He prayed for them, figuring it could not possibly hurt.
He turned and followed after Kyah, entering the forest and heading west. She recommended travelling into the forest for only a mile before turning north and trying to get out.
“Some of the tribes will use the ocean as a source of food. Travelling the beach could be dangerous, but we do not want to get too deep into the forest. They are like ghosts in here, Kael. We will never see them.”
“We can’t sense them?” he asked.
She glanced over and shook her head. “Not always. Arabella said once that the tribes in here use spirit magic and that it interferes with normal magic. You may find your senses unreliable, or you may not. You are... unique.”
They were less than two miles in and heading north as mid-afternoon approached, when Kael grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side, down into the heavy brush.
“What is it?” she whispered, just above his sense of hearing.
“I can sense a group of people less than a mile ahead. There can’t be more than twenty of them. We should check it out.”
“Would such a thing be wise? Wait... Did you say a mile ahead? Gods, Kael. How far away can you sense someone?” she asked.
“I don’t know, just over a mile maybe. I never tried to see how far, at least not since we escaped. I’d like to go see what’s happening ahead. It could be Sythrnax’s people. If not, then maybe it’s someone we can get supplies from. We only have what we’re carrying and it ain’t much. I’m going. You can stay here if you like,” he snapped, sharper than he in
tended. A slow resentment towards her was growing. Mixed with the confusing emotions from the strange dream, he could feel an irritation fuelling his ever-present anger. It was an uncomfortable feeling.
“Fair enough. I will follow you wherever you go, just be careful. This forest is full of dangers,” she responded, her voice calmer.
Kael could sense the group ahead had two sentries posted away from the majority of the group. He made sure to pass between them using the cover of the forest. Concentrating, he successfully silenced both his and Kyah’s footsteps as they used the heavy brush to sneak by the two guards undetected. A small rise covered in thick grass and heavy vegetation gave them an excellent vantage point of the small camp on the far side. The site was situated in a large bowl, located on the right-hand side of a small creek running through the gorge. It was obvious that a larger camp was normally set up in the valley floor. The current camp consisted of a dozen tents spaced evenly in the shape of a wide letter U. A small cook fire was in front of the tents at the deepest part of the curve, the farthest point from where they were hidden. A six foot rack at the opening of the camp was the dominate feature on the closest end to Kael and Kyah. Twenty tribesmen patrolled the interior camp.
“There’s no reason for us to stay,” Kael whispered, nudging Kyah’s elbow. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He turned to go, but she grasped his arm as he slid back.
“Kael, wait. Look,” she said quietly, pointing down into the small valley. Kael looked back to the camp as two more men, clearly not tribesmen, came out of the biggest tent, dragging a long-haired man with a beard who’d been beaten to a semi-conscious state. A third man followed them. Kael recognized Grodin immediately and couldn’t believe his luck. The two large, muscled men who worked for Sythrnax both had magic nullifying amulets hung around their necks, bouncing around their bare chests as they dragged the prisoner to the rack. Kael smiled, knowing the amulets wouldn’t work against his magic as long as he used his connection to death in order to power it.
