by A F Stewart
Rafe sighed. “Very well. I’ll play my part. The game will start and end as the fates wish.” He rose and gave Amaratha a nod farewell. “May I come again, Oracle, under better circumstances.”
He turned on his heel and made his slow path back to his ship.
HIGH IN A TREE, OVERLOOKING a moonlit beach, the Nightmare Crow cawed. It leapt into the air and soared downward on the air currents to land on the warm sand at the feet of a goddess.
“He’s coming. He will be where we wish very soon. A matter of days.”
The Moon Goddess looked at the bird, a scowl on her face. “How do you know?”
“A sad little Oracle told me. Or rather I told her. A vision here, a vision there, and who’s to know where it came from? Not her. Not her.”
She smiled. “He comes because you called, little bird?”
“Yes. Because I called. We called. He will come to watch the destruction. He comes to die. Are you ready?”
“Yes. I have been ready for years. My brother will finally pay for what he did to me.”
Chapter Ten
The Portal
THREE DAYS HARD SAILING saw the Celestial Jewel hard-pressed with a weary crew. She navigated into the port of every primary Soul Temple in the Outer Islands to spread the Oracle’s message of vigilance, and relay the communication by spellcaster to the smaller sanctuaries on the peripheral islands in the western seas. Rafe’s presence softened the apprehension as the priests were asked all to facilitate the passage of souls to the After World, but disquiet still sliced across his visit. As more temples and towns became aware, dark clouds of misgiving shadowed the God of Souls and goodwill trickled away like spring rain into summer.
Rafe heard grumblings in the crew about it, but Blackthorne voiced the opinion out loud. “Ungrateful wretches. What do they expect? It’s not as if you’re responsible for the attacks. Damnation, you’re trying to unravel the whole mess.”
“They’re frightened. And a god they can see is easier to blame than one who’s no closer than moonlight. And her sea creatures are still attacking ships. Though no more settlements thankfully.”
“Fear is no excuse to turn on the person willing to protect them.”
“Perhaps not, but I understand it.”
Yet, despite his words, Rafe took to brooding, standing at the prow as the ship sliced through the waves. Only after the last temple visit, did he give the final order.
“We sail to the Sea Portal, boys. An unknown rendezvous awaits us.”
Neither cheer, nor smiles met his order as the crew’s mood lingered sombre, but the course was laid and the ship cruised from port toward deeper seas. Rafe’s gaze left the crew and circled out to stare at the horizon.
“Sir.” A soft voice echoed behind him. Rafe turned around to see Hugh Corwin standing there.
“Yes, sailor. What is it?”
“Trouble’s coming, isn’t it? For left behind souls like me? That’s why we’re visiting temples along the coast? And you’re ordering the souls to pass over, what will go.”
“I’m not exactly ordering, but, yes. Trouble’s brewing and it will be safer for such as you to be in the After World.” Rafe cocked his head. “Why do you ask?” Although he felt he knew Hugh’s answer.
“I’ve been thinking, maybe I should’ve gone. That I shouldn’t have stayed at all. That my being here was a big mistake.” Hugh hung his head, staring at the deck, scuffing wood with his toe. “It didn’t seem real. None of this. Not until...recent events. Now I’m scared. I think I’m somewhere I don’t belong.” He looked up at Rafe, a yawning unhappiness swirling in his eyes. “The crew scuttlebutt is I can use this Sea Portal? Can you put me where I do belong, sir?”
Rafe smiled. “Yes, sailor, I can. Where we’re headed, that will put things right for you. You can most definitely pass through the Sea Portal into the After World.”
An expression of relief, gratitude, and peace settled in Hugh’s face. “Thank you, sir.” He looked up at the floating white clouds. “Pretty things those clouds, all fluffy, in the shapes of the animals I remember from my childhood.”
“Yes, they do look a bit like animals. Very lovely. In fact, this whole day is lovely.” Rafe suddenly smiled and gazed at the horizon. The sun beat down on the sea, casting a silver sheen against the water’s surface. The cresting waves sparkled as day stars, shining back up to the sky. A small light of hope re-ignited in his soul.
Hugh matched the Captain’s good spirits. “Yes, sir. Such a beautiful day, even a dead man can appreciate it.” He grinned at Rafe, who chuckled.
“Cheeky lad. But you’re right. The sea’s at her best on days like this. Calm, sunny, a lovely sky. With the horizon stretching out to adventure and new destinations. The best kind of day there is, a day like this.”
“Will it be like this after I cross? With a sea, and the salt air?” Hugh sighed. “I’d miss the sea.”
“Don’t worry. There are seas of all kinds and woodlands, meadows, and mountains. The place shapes itself to your heart, Hugh. If you want a sea, you’ll have a sea. In fact, you’ll have the perfect sea. With the bluest water and the loveliest of skies. You’ve nothing to fret about.” Rafe tossed him a smile. “You’ll see.”
“It sounds lovely. And I’ll be glad of an end to it, this uncertainty and despair I’ve been feeling. Aimless I’ve been feeling, drifting like, as if I have no purpose anymore. I guess it’s hard for the dead to have purpose.”
“You’d be surprised what can motivate the dead. But I’m glad you’ve come to acceptance.”
“I have. Time to leave my life behind and consent to being dead.” Hugh gave a chuckle. “Funny that. Always thought when you died all your choices went away, all the difficult decisions. I guess not.”
“Life and death are a mite more complicated I’m afraid.”
“Seems so. So how does it work? This passing over?”
“We’re headed east, past the islands, out to deeper sea to a place where the configuration of worlds settles just right. I would have taken you there in due course, had you made this decision under normal circumstances. It’s where all the souls from this boat pass through.” Rafe gave half a smile, half a shrug. “The portal there is under my direct control. I’ll open it and create a bridge. You simply have to walk from the ship to the After World like a stroll on a summer’s day.”
“A simple stroll. A lovely thought.” Hugh stared at Rafe for a minute, a strange mix of emotions flitting across his face. Then he turned away and whispered. “Thank you.”
Rafe placed a friendly hand on his shoulder. “Everything will be fine.”
COME TIDE AND MORNING light, the ship rolled to their destination a day or so out of Black Shoals. Heading in they heaved to and dropped the sea anchor, letting the Celestial Jewel drift on the sea. Rocked by the gentle waves, the crew gazed out at the well familiar position and place.
Then, as routine, Blackthorne shouted a customary refrain. “Dropped anchor at the Sea Portal and awaiting captain’s orders!”
Rafe smiled inwardly, though his solemn expression changed not a whit. He took comfort in the words and his crew. “At ease, men, but be vigilant. We are here not only to see off the newest member of this crew,” Rafe nodded to Hugh, “but at the behest of the Oracle. She directed us here for answers to our current troubles, and though I see naught but sea at the moment,” a few suppressed chuckles sprinkled the air at these words until Rafe gave a glare to the assembled, “I’m certain her insight will reveal itself in due time.”
Rafe then beckoned Hugh to his side. “However, we first must bid farewell to our shipmate and comrade. A fine crew member even if he joined us for a short while. To Hugh Corwin! May he find peace in death!” A cheer went up through the rigging and echoed Rafe’s words.
“Peace in Death! Peace in Death!”
The sound of their voices lifted above the clouds and spiralled far below the waves. It reverberated off the past and spun out towards the future, carried on so
uls already crossed and those waiting yet to die.
Rafe paused until the air quieted again, and then stepped away from Hugh towards the rail. The gathered men parted, giving him a clear view of the sea. As Rafe took a breath, a shadow flickered over the deck and the wind hit the sails like the sound of wings. Rafe looked up. A crow circled in the sky far above the ship.
“Something wrong, sir?’
Blackthorne’s voice brought Rafe’s attention back to earth. “No. Nothing.” He shrugged and began the ritual.
“Upon this day we give our brother back to the world beyond. To the arms of those he loved, whose journey ended before his. I call to them to meet his passage, to bring him through to their embrace. What the sea claimed, the sea will now grant peace.”
The words fell off his tongue with practised ease, disappearing into the swirling wind. Rafe lifted his right hand, palm side down, splaying his fingers and arching his wrist slightly. A smile lifted the edge of his mouth as he felt the power stir, and slowly a silver-blue glow drifted across his skin, sliding from his fingertips. His thoughts glided with the radiance, wafting, searching past the waves and breeze until the recognizable connection clicked.
Well beyond the ship the waves bounced and twisted, and the sweet scent of spring flowers hit the wind. An answering luminescence glimmered in the air and skimmed the tumultuous water, growing, spreading, until a glistening translucent circle of blue frost formed between the sky and the sea. The gaping hole connecting worlds shifted and shimmered, yawning wide enough to sail the ship through. Another cheer rose among the crew, and the captain heard a gasp from Hugh.
His hand quivered, the energy building, and Rafe twisted his wrist slightly. A flash of light erupted, shooting outward in a starburst, arching over the deck to hover at the rail. Rafe snapped his finger closed, balling his hand into a fist, and a bridge of light snaked across the water from the ship to the portal. It widened, translucent and luminescent, and hovered effortlessly as a connection between the Jewel and the After World.
“Anytime you are ready, Hugh. Walk across the bridge and into the portal. You’ll feel some resistance as you cross the threshold, but that’s normal.”
“Aye, Captain.” Hugh saluted Rafe and tossed him a cocky grin even though his voice held tremors. He slowly walked to the rail, ready to climb onto the bridge crossing. Yet, before he could put a foot off the deck, a shout broke through the ceremony.
“What in all the seas!”
A horrendous roar followed the sound of Pinky’s voice, and the sea to the far starboard side of the ship erupted in roiling waves and plumes of spray. Then, another shout shocked fear through every man on deck.
“Kraken!”
The cry of terror rose from the ship as surely as the dreadful tentacled, multi-eyed, fang-toothed beast ascended from the depths. The monster uncoiled and swung a colossal appendage, casting a great shadow over the Jewel.
“Prepare for incoming!” Rafe shouted a warning and then a command, “Man the sails and hoist the bloody sea anchor!”
But the massive limb did not touch the vulnerable ship. Instead, it smashed it down across the magical bridge. The delicate connection shattered, sending energy and sea slamming against the ship. The vessel lurched, the still set anchor strained, and the crew went tumbling haphazardly head over foot. Rafe felt the surge of backlash blast into his chest, rolling him across the deck to crash into the bulkhead. The wind and magic knocked out of him, he slumped in a heap.
“Captain’s down!” Blackthorne’s anguished cry chilled the crew even more than the sight of the great beast sloshing through the water, bearing towards the ship.
Chapter Eleven
Kraken
“MAN THE GUNS! MAN THE bloody guns! And hoist that bloody anchor before that bloody beast uses it to drag the ship about!”
Blackthorne’s order cut through the panic and crew scrambled to obey. The clattering chain signalled the rise of the anchor while men rushed below decks to prepare the cannon as more leapt to load and aim the deck side harpoons. The first mate clambered to the captain’s side with a prayer for both Rafe and what seemed a hopeless situation for the ship. Blackthorne felt a pulse in his commander’s wrist and saw the rise and fall of his breath. He sighed with relief and then turned to face his enemy.
But the expected attacked never came.
Instead, the Kraken swam past, bouncing the ship near capsized as Anders wrestled to hold her firm. The monster of the sea barreled straight for—
“The Portal! It’s attacking the portal!” Outrage sliced the sky as Anders' voice yelled the warning.
“Fire the harpoons! Stop the beast!” The words came quick from Blackthorne’s mouth, and swifter still the missiles sped through the air at the creature. They hit true, puncturing the beast’s side, tearing scaly flesh in a crimson spurt of fresh blood. It bellowed in pain but charged straight at the open, yawning portal.
Anders wheeled the ship around as the beast hurtled itself through the water, its tentacles flailing at the portal, sparks and radiance flashing against the sea and sky like a violent storm.
Blackthorne’s shout of “Fire all weapons” brought another round of harpoons, and this time, cannon fire, which drove the monster off course, but only briefly. With a screech of rage, it advanced on the ship, bent on destruction.
“Ring the damn bell!”
Rafe’s voice shouted hoarse, and he grabbed Blackthorne’s arm. “Help me stand.” The first mate complied, helping Rafe to shaky feet. A scurry of flesh rushed past, and Mouse, with a shaking hand, clanged the ship’s bell with all his might.
Sky, breath, wind, and sea all shattered with the echo of the bell, breaking into a thousand bits, and slamming back together. The ship shook as if in the teeth of a storm, and every man aboard screamed from somewhere dark and primal. The clouds blackened and spit rain, while the great Kraken screeched a roar to be heard by the gods themselves.
The beast stopped dead in the water.
The captain fell to his knees and sucked in an agonizing breath, Blackthorne tumbling beside him. His ears filled with noise: the beast’s screams, the moans of the crew, and the strange distressed caw of a crow. Rafe cried out against the backlash and mustered all his strength, willing himself to his feet. He stumbled to the rail to see the creature lashing the portal with its tentacles yanking itself towards the opening.
“No!” Rafe summoned all his magic, squeezed every ounce from his being, and formed a seething ball of energy between his hands. He heaved it at the monster, striking it with the force of a hurricane, lifting the creature half out of the water, and thrusting it well beyond the portal.
A sound of shrieking woven with a high whine shattered the area. Such a pitiful, painful sound emanating from the beast. Rafe raced forward, standing boldly at the bow of his ship, anger laced with ferocity on his face and in his blood. The magic sparked off of him, from fingertip to hair follicle.
Rafe shouted defiance from the deck of the ship, hands flung to the skies, voice booming with the shock of thunder. “Away, vile Kraken! This is my domain! Neither you nor my sister have power here!”
The portal light shimmered, cracked, the silver light shattering into black. In an instant, the gateway between worlds vanished.
“I am God of Souls! You shall not defile this sacred place! Away you vile miscreant spawn!”
The seas around the Kraken boiled, lifting the beast from the ocean in a gargantuan plume of water. Tentacles waved helplessly and it roared its displeasure in a swell that brought the crew to its knees.
Rafe did not flinch. “Tell my sister I am neither weak nor dead! And I will not tolerate this ignominy! There will be a reckoning!”
With a wave of his hand, Rafe hurled the beast through the heavens, cast it against the horizon, and banished it far from the place of the After World portal.
His arms fell to his sides, fists curled. He heard Blackthorne’s footsteps behind him.
“How dare she?”
“I don’t know, sir. But you took care of the beast. The Sea Portal is safe.”
“Is it? Knowing her, she’ll try again.” Rafe turned his head to stare at the ocean, the spot where a few moments before the door to the After World pulsed. Then he slumped against Blackthorne, all energy spent.
“Help me below deck.”
The first mate lent him support, and the pair walked below deck without another word. Dread chased Rafe’s footsteps, and a shiver creaked through the bones of the ship.
While far beyond the Jewel, and deep below the sea, the Kraken moaned, the anguished cry sliding along the currents to the ears of its mother. Above it all, a crow circled unsteadily in the sky.
Chapter Twelve
Decisions
BLACKTHORNE KNOCKED gently on the door on the captain’s quarters. A half hour had passed since Rafe banished the Kraken and left the deck, leaving behind a gaped mouthed and confused crew. More than enough time for recovery and rest.
At the silence, Blackthorne knocked again. As loathe as he was to disturb him, the crew’s disquiet could no longer be ignored. They needed their captain. Drifting aimlessly alongside the portal would not do, nor would the crew’s unease that rippled throughout the ship. And poor Hugh, pondering his fate, unsure if he would go or stay, did nothing but stare into the water.
Another knock, this time followed by an entreaty. “Captain. Captain Morrow. The crew need orders.” Blackthorne kept his voice soft not knowing the man’s mood. As fair as he was, the captain’s temper could be volatile.
A moment’s more silence and then, “Enter.”
Blackthorne opened the cabin door with the old familiar creak of its hinges, breaking the silence. Captain Morrow sat behind his desk in his favourite chair staring out the rounded glass of the port window. He didn’t bother to glance in Blackthorne’s direction as he entered.
