by Judith Leger
“I had hoped he would be a great king. Matters have
changed.”
“Me?”
“No. He’s invaded neighboring countries, laying them to
waste. I expect the downfall of my clan if I do not stop him.”
Seren had a sense of foreboding. “How are you going to
do it?”
“When I complete my duty to my late wife, I intend to
return home.”
“No.” The word came out before she thought. The images
of her vision flared to life. With them came the biting fear
she would lose something special if he returned to his
homeland. “I told you the other night. You can’t go back, not
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now.”
He nodded, slow, deliberate. “Yes, but you failed to say
why I must not.”
She wanted to open her mouth and admit what she’d
witnessed, but the words stuck in her throat. How could she
tell him she’d seen his death through a vision? She looked
away. Her mind went blank of anything to say.
He picked up her hand. Compelled to meet his eyes, she
tried to keep her face expressionless in hopes of hiding her
fear. A gentle smile graced his mouth. “You do not have to
say the words. I know. It was a vision. If I am meant to die,
there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. Do not carry the
burden of keeping this from me. I will not allow you to suffer
any guilt.”
A sailor called out to him, ending their conversation.
Paladin squeezed her hand and left. Somewhere along their
journey, her watching, all her worrying about him had
become a hobby. This gave her a focal point while she waited
for the baby’s birth. She smiled and patted the small bump in
her abdomen.
Paladin stood next to one of the thick masts, looking up
at the sails. He removed his coat, caught one of the ropes,
and climbed, hand over hand, until he reached the yardarm.
For a second, the world wobbled before her eyes. Her legs
weakened, refusing to hold her up any longer. She slumped
on the deck with her back against the solid wood below the
railing. She gasped for breath, fighting to drag each molecule
of oxygen into her lungs. She closed her eyes.
A man’s face appeared behind her lids. His head was
bald—round, smooth, and silvered in the surrounding light—
the stranger stared at her and smiled, his teeth flashing
white. Her eyes flew open. Terror gnawed at her. In an
instant, her vision righted. The sudden sickness passed.
Heart pounding, she sent a glance up. She met Paladin’s blue
eyes. She reached deep inside her, managing to find the
strength to smile so he wouldn’t wonder.
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Shaken, she stood. On unsteady feet, she walked to the
door leading below. She needed to lie down. No, she needed
to find out the man’s identity in hopes of discovering why
he’d appeared to her.
* * * *
Early the next morning, Seren came above deck. Men,
human and Felerian, worked tying lines, mopping the deck,
and attending to other tasks. She searched the area for
Paladin, but he wasn’t there. Disappointment darkened her
morning. She had wanted to thank him for the use of her
room. She decided not to mention she’d spent a restless
night, tossing on the narrow cot. She had missed the warmth
of his body, but the continued temptation of having him so
near at night bothered her. She refused to give in to her
desires.
Leo, sitting on a small barrel on the other end of the deck,
called out for her to join him. She smiled, waving in return.
Shifting left and right around the sailors, she made her way
to his side. He patted the top of another cask next to him.
“Have a seat. Eilan just left to fetch some food. I thought it’d
be nice to eat out here this morning.”
They visited for a few minutes before the food arrived.
After they had finished eating, Eilan, one of the Felerian
sailors, approached her. Seren glanced up and saw him
staring at her.
He bowed with a shy grin pulling his lips up to reveal long
canines. “Your pardon, my lady, might I play a song for you?”
Surprised at the request, Seren nodded with a smile,
pleased he wanted to do such a nice gesture.
Long incisors appeared on the outer edges of his grin.
Seren waited until he returned with a long handled, four
string instrument. The strangeness of watching and speaking
with these amazing creatures no longer bothered her.
He captured her attention with the first strum. Her gaze
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met Leo’s. He grinned, nodded, and nudged her. The fast
tempo of the song affected even him. Soon, another sailor
produced a long flute, his music joined with Eilan’s. Before
long, deep male voices rang out across the ship, the tune was
cheerful. Listening to it brightened her morning.
Unable to resist, Seren laughed while she tapped her foot
in time with the music. When the song ended, Eilan started a
softer melody.
Paladin appeared at her side. Without a word, he held out
a hand. She stared into the blueness of his eyes a moment
before she placed her palm in his.
He tugged gently and she came into his arms. She
positioned her other hand on his shoulder, allowing him to
lead her into a dance similar to a waltz. He moved with lean
grace, whirling around the deck. Ropes and casks
disappeared from their path with the help of the men. The
sailors laughed and cheered as they passed close to them.
Heaven had granted Seren another chance to live happily.
In that moment, she decided to do her best to fill the years
ahead with simple pleasures like dancing aboard a ship, or
even just laughing out loud. Right now, she had reached her
goal.
A shout from the lookout jarred her daydreams. Paladin
stopped and squinted up to where the sailor called.
“Pirates.”
Chills swept across Seren’s back. She stiffened, her hand
squeezing Paladin’s. Repeating the word in surprise, she
glanced at Paladin. His mouth straightened into a line.
“Go below. Stay there until I come for you.” He gave her a
little push in the direction of the door leading below.
Leo appeared at her side and took her arm. Every sailor
aboard scurried across the deck, preparing in case the
thieves attacked.
She shook her head, tugging her arm free. She turned in
time to see Paladin grab a sail line that was tied off on the
center mast below the lookout. He drew his shorter blade
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and cut the rope. The sand bag on the top dropped. With the
sides of his coat flapping, he rode the other side up to the
yardarm. Once there, he leapt onto the narrow piece of wood
and walked to the center lookout post.
It felt as if her heart had stopped beating until he reached
the round tub supposedly the lookout. Oh, God, what was he
thinking? He was so high up. What if he fell? What would
she do without him? She wrapped her arms about her waist,
sending up a silent plea to whatever powers might hear to
keep him safe. She’d given up on her belief in God with her
child’s death but if her request was granted, she might
rediscover her faith.
Several grappling hooks flew out from a nearby misty
cloud bank on the right. Metal thudded into wood as they
hooked onto the ship’s railing. Two lines wrapped around the
yardarm where Paladin stood. More shouts rang out from
the ship’s crew. The ropes joining the two ships stretched
taut. At the sudden jarring, Seren grabbed hold of a nearby
barrel. The pirates winched their ship closer until wood
scraped against wood with another teeth shaking jerk.
“Come on, the captain and the crew will take care of
them,” Leo muttered near her ear. He took her arm. Lost in a
dazed shock, not believing this was happening, she allowed
him to lead her to the door leading below. Just before they
reached the hatch, three pirates, swords drawn, blades
glinting in the sunlight, jumped on board not far from them.
One charged Leo, who in turn, pulled Seren behind him.
Her feet tangled with each other. She fell with a whoosh, the
breath knocked out of her. The ship tilted. She slid backward
a few feet. Fighting to inhale, she looked at where she’d last
seen Paladin. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a
glimpse of Leo ducking to avoid a downward sword swipe.
He punched out with two quick jabs. Knuckles met the
attacker’s jaw with a dull thud. Blood trickled from the
corner of the pirate’s mouth.
Unable to find Paladin, she searched the deck, worried
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he’d fallen or worse, been knocked off the yardarm when the
grapples caught hold of their ship. She glanced back to see
the other two pirates avoid their unconscious shipmate’s
tumble and swerved past Leo, each angled at her. Trembling,
she slid her legs beneath her, prepared to fight for her and
her baby’s life. She refused to let the attackers harm her
child.
Someone shouted from above. She shot a glance up in
time to see Paladin step off the yardarm. Seren froze, terror
piercing her heart.
He fell, not twisting and fighting for a hold to stop his
sudden drop, but more graceful, as if he dove on purpose.
His right hand held the handle of his sheathed sword. When
he reached a point of several feet above the deck, he slipped
the blade free. The silvered length blurred with the speed of
his movement. The two pirates faced him. His sword slashed
out, slicing through stained, dingy white shirts to cut deep
into their chests. Both men, their eyes wide, breaths
gurgling, staggered back. They crumpled to the deck. Blood
pooled on the wood beneath their bodies.
Paladin landed, feet first, but his knees gave way so he
knelt with one knee touching the deck and the other bent, his
foot flat. His head remained lowered for a second then he
stood in the same slow manner she’d grown to love.
Unable to stop it, her mouth dropped open as her gaze
bounced from the yardarm to him and back. How had he not
crashed into the deck? Her vision wobbled a moment then
cleared. The heavy scent of blood in the air turned her
stomach. She tried to figure out how he’d fallen without
being dead weight with the strength of the gravity on this
planet, but she had nothing to compare this to on Earth. For
the first time in several days, she experienced the familiar
lost feeling—that of being alone with her confusion in this
new world.
More scarred, armed pirates, howling, their weapons
waving in the air, poured over the side of the ship. Many
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attacked the sailors, but the majority of them formed small
packs. Their focus appeared aimed at Paladin.
Seren shook her head, scooting out of the way until the
wooden side of the railing stopped her. She counted at least
ten armed men advancing, their stances intimidating and
heading for him. He couldn’t fight all those men alone. Each
of them held a hateful glimmer in their eyes. Her fear
threatened to blow up into a full-blown panic.
A moment before the mass of sweating, reeking pirates
reached Paladin, loud caws streamed from the sky above.
White dracs, countless numbers of the small dragons,
swooped down on the attackers. Sudden, wild fear flared in
their attacker’s eyes. All the pirates retreated. The dracs
started to land, their mouths open to release gusts of heated
air at the pirates still aboard. The entire band of bandits
broke away, scrambling to return to their ship. All the lines
were severed. The other ship sank into the white cottony
cloud bank and disappeared from sight.
Hands trembling, Seren released a sigh of relief. She
closed her eyes, resting her head against the wood behind
her. When she opened them, several dracs landed. The small
dragons stood facing her. Paladin, balanced on the balls of
his feet, held his swords in a guarded position before his
body.
“My thanks, but now you may leave,” he ordered the
white-scaled creatures. Small frills at the base of their heads
fluttered with each call they made to him.
Six scurried closer, their throats working up and down.
Once they stood within a few feet of him, they opened their
mouths. Shining gems gushed from them to fall to the deck
at his feet. He took a step back and shook his head.
Gasps and quiet whispers came from where the crew
stood further along the deck. The gemstones caught the
sunlight, sparkling with internal flames.
Leo tried to shift around the dracs. The ones closer to him
twirled with a vicious cry, fangs bared. His eyes widened, and
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he held out his hands, shaking his head.
Paladin’s voice boomed out above the cawing dracs. “Be
gone, I say.”
She jerked at the sudden volume of his tone. Honed
sharpness added force to his words. He’d never reacted like
this before. Even when the sea dragons had come the other
day, he had been calm. All that was absent now. The dracs
had to leave now that the danger from the pirates had
disappeared, but instead the miniature dragons refused to
budge even with his order.
A disembodied voice, musical in tone, floated in the air
around Paladin. “Be gone? Come now, how dare you speak to
your brothers in such a fashion. They wish only to save and
serve you, my king.”
Glimmering lights swirled around Paladin. These strange
lights settled behind where the dracs had formed a semi-
circle before Paladin. Caws changed to excited squeals.
The brightness from the lights increased unti
l the form of
a man appeared. Long tattered white robes fluttered in the
breeze over a pale shirt and pants. Bare feet floated several
inches above the deck. Slender to the point of thinness, the
strange man stared at her.
A slow smile curved his mouth to reveal white teeth. Like
a warrior’s helmet, a silvered skull cap covered his head. His
blue-gray stare sent uneasiness through her. Recognition
flared in her. The man from her vision of the other day. She
glanced at Paladin.
“For shame, my boy, you have insulted your kin,” the
man murmured. He shook his arms out from his sides to
spread them wide, encompassing all the glittering stones on
the deck. “These valiant children have gifted you with great
wealth.”
Paladin’s jaw tightened. “Bask.”
The smile widened. “Lior sent me. She yearns to see the
mother. The time draws near. This blessed woman’s blood
must be purified.”
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“I will bring her.”
“I think not. We will take her this day. You will not
interfere.”
“You dare defy me?”
Bask threw his head back, guffing out a laugh. Paladin’s
shoulders, already taut with tension, tightened more.
“You are the one who gave up his rights to rule. You are
the one who rides the skies searching for what? Even you do
not know what that something is. Yes, I dare. This and even
more.” Bask, hovering above the deck by several inches,
glided to the right. His gaze met Seren’s again.
She froze, hypnotized by the fires of strength burning in
his eyes. He smiled, gentle yet knowing, and then nodded.
A muffled flap came from behind her. Five dracs, hidden
from view by the railing and much larger than the ones on
deck, rose from the side of the ship. Each grasped her limbs,
and the fifth one caught hold of the waistband at the back of
her pants. Lifted up, face down, Seren screamed, jerking,
trying to escape. Strong and agile, they twirled around and
returned the way they had come, her body mere inches from
striking the rail.
Paladin whipped toward her and leapt the distance
between them. His foot landed on the rail, his hand reaching.
She struggled to stretch her arm to him. Time slowed, each
second branded into her mind. She met his eyes, their gazes
held, their fingers brushed then separated.
The moment froze in time. His forward motion
