by Justin Sloan
Kia didn’t want to admit it, but that was true. “Something about not being able to kiss a woman.”
“You ask me,” Rose said, smirking, “that’s the best kind of boyfriend.”
She stepped aside for them to see the unicorn, and Kia felt her heart flutter. A horse was damn rare, even thought mythical by many, but a unicorn! A unicorn was like true magic.
“You want to keep discussing life and death and love, or do you want to have some fun?”
And it was fun. For the first time Kia could remember she lost herself in the moments that followed, laughing and feeling like a child again. When the fighting came she’d put her grownup face on, but right now being a kid was fine, she realized.
It was even more fine when they started playing hide and seek. She had to ask herself why Rose hadn’t been in her life up to now.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Heading out while the majority of the mages and others were sleeping seemed like the best option. Alastar said farewell to the other paladins, leaving Stone in charge. He turned to see Lars, Kim, and Andreas chatting with Larick and Volney. Apparently they were ready, as they had satchels with food and drinks, and weapons at the ready.
Lairds Lokane and Summers both came to the tunnel’s exit to wish them well and remind them of the importance of their success, as if that were necessary. If they failed, Roneland and Gulanri might soon be overrun, and with the army the enemy could create then, who knew how much of the rest of the world they would conquer?
It was up to these two groups to stop that from happening.
Soon they had moved out, and were following a narrow walkway that led outside into the hills. A leaf drifted past, turning to catch the morning sun at an angle just before hitting the ground. Alastar found himself turning back to it, smiling. As he watched the leaves rustle overhead he felt like that one leaf, moving out for the attack while the others prepared, anxious to follow suit.
It made him laugh to think that he was so caught up in the whole experience, but for him this was what it had been about all along, right? Putting himself out there for others, making the ultimate sacrifice.
Hell, he’d sworn off women in the name of being a paladin. Now that he knew—and had recently been reminded—what that really meant, even he was impressed with what his level of commitment to Sir Gildon and the Order of Rodrick had been.
Now it wasn’t to any false idol or so-called Saint who hadn’t been anything more than a man. He wasn’t denying a higher power, by any means. There was something giving them this magic, and when he used it he felt a strong sense of good. He knew what evil was, and he wanted no part of it.
But Saint Rodrick wasn’t holy to him, not anymore. Maybe he would find out what lay beyond the stars in the sky, but until then he had one focus, one area of his life he would devote himself to completely, and that was seeing the Lost Isles purged of evil men. He would devote himself to fighting injustice, to ensuring no one need suffer in these lands at the hands of other men and women.
When they were done here, maybe the Lost Isles wouldn’t be so lost anymore.
He smirked, reminding himself to have a word with someone about that—a new name for the land. Then maybe he would be able to settle down with Estair.
It wasn’t like his vows meant anything anymore—vows to an evil man who had taught them to worship a lie. So why not? A son and a daughter, a quiet house on a mountain overlooking a lake. What could be more perfect?
“So eager to ride off to our doom, Brother?” Rhona asked, noting the look on his face.
“Honestly, yes.”
“I’m glad someone here is,” Volney muttered, pulling up his robes to avoid getting them wet in the damp grass.
“About the plan: your side of it, anyway,” Alastar said to the mystics. “How can you be sure you won’t mess it up? Give away who you are?”
“It’s as simple as this,” Larick replied. “We find one of their soldiers or sorcerers and read his mind enough to know who’s who and what’s needed to fit in. Then it’s all about finding a way to get close enough to learn what’s going to happen.”
“And Larick staying close enough to receive my mental messages without being discovered.”
“Why ‘his’ mind?”
“What?” Larick turned to her, confused.
“You said his mind. Why not a she?”
Volney turned bright red. “It’ll be bad enough pretending to be someone else, please don’t make it harder on me by having me pretend to understand the female mind.
“Indeed.” Larick winked at Rhona. “No amount of magic can help him there.”
She chuckled as Volney nodded.
“It’s not a joke. I’m really clueless on the matter.”
“Surely they have women in Arcadia?” Kim asked, and Alastar glanced back. He’d nearly forgotten they were from there, Lars and Kim had been so quiet. Andreas had taken up the rear, using his long staff as a walking stick and taking his time to look over this strange land.
“Plenty of women,” Volney replied, “but I’m not exactly a prime catch.” He slapped his protruding belly to emphasize his point.
“Nonsense,” Kim argued, waving away the comment. “Why, if Lars here wasn’t so great in the sack, I’d be asking you what your favorite color is right now.”
“Hey, now,” Lars said, flushing. “None of that, or a man could get jealous.”
She kissed him on the cheek and then gave his lower cheeks a light slap. “You have nothing to worry about, Pumpkin Butt.”
“Don’t mind them,” Andreas called, pretending to only be halfway interested. “They were like this most of the time on the island. It gets sickening if you don’t learn to tune it out.”
Alastar laughed. “After the prudishness of paladins most of my life, I enjoy a little banter from time to time.”
“Point remains,” Kim stated, turning back to Volney, “you’ve got nothing to worry about. Nothing.”
“I don’t know,” he replied, but Alastar could tell the mystic was standing a tad taller already.
“How about this,” Rhona offered. “When it’s all over, I’ll see if I have any new women friends among the clansfolk, introduce you, walk you through the whole thing.”
Volney and Larick shared a concerned look, though Alastar couldn’t help but notice the look of hope in Volney’s eyes.
“The thing is,” Larick started, “we were never supposed to linger even as long as we have. We’re chroniclers, meant to come, jot down what we can about the people of these lands, and then move on to do the same with others.”
“Well, the offer stands,” Rhona stated. “Take it or not, it’s no skin off my nose.”
“Skin off your nose?”
“Just an expression. You can include it in your chronicles.”
He chuckled. “Believe me, I will.”
At the peak of a hill that allowed them to look to the east and see the hills where the ruins of the Fortress of Stirling lay and to the north in the direction of the Highlands, they paused for a bite and said their farewells.
“When we meet next, it’ll be in a safer land,” Volney offered.
“Or in the afterlife,” Rhona countered. “Spirits, I hope there’s an afterlife. I’d hate to become a ghost and have to wander this place forever, watching how it turned out after it was occupied by those bastards.”
“Maybe you’d become a shadow wisp?” Andreas offered contemplatively. “Maybe we each follow our magic and I’d be a water sprite, and—”
“How about we all just stay alive and defeat our enemies?” Alastar interrupted, not liking the way the discussion was veering toward death.
“Deal,” Rhona and Andreas said in unison.
Alastar waved, watching the two mystics walk off along the hill that was now turning orange with shadows twice as long as the trees that cast them reaching toward his friends.
“Good news,” Lars said. “Since we’re heading north before cutting across to this area yo
u say has a boat, we might see any sorcerers or armies they send in response to the raven.”
“That’s good news?” Alastar asked with a chuckle. “It isn’t if they kill us and the king of Gulanri never gets our message, therefore causing the lands to descend into chaos.”
“Right. I was thinking more along the lines of, if they look like too big a force and we think our new friends are in trouble, we can move to warn them.”
“Not a bad idea.” Alastar looked back the way they had come with thoughts of Estair, and knew Rhona’s mind was back there too. But it was time to move on, for now. “Shall we?”
The others nodded and grunted, and they got to marching.
“Tell us about the Kaldfell Peninsula,” Rhona said. They’d come to a river and had to turn downstream to look for a place to cross.
Lars looked at Kim, who turned to Andreas. “What’s there to tell? It’s a fun place, or last we were there it was. Great ships led by great captains and their Storm Callers, like young Andreas here.”
“Still apprentice,” he reminded them.
“Not if I have anything to say about it when we get back,” Lars stated. “After the way you handled yourself when we were coming back from Sair Talem?”
Andreas smiled. “Thanks, but you don’t, of course.”
“He’d technically have to pass the test,” Kim explained to Rhona and Alastar.
“Not just any test.” Andreas’ eyes got wide as he thought about it. “Imagine the most important test you’ve ever taken; everything in your life depends on it. I mean, my father had known I was going to be a Storm Caller since I was born, but I just don’t know if I could do it. I mean—”
He froze, then laughed.
“That’s more words than I think you’ve ever said at once,” Rhona said. “I like the passion.”
“And I’m serious,” Lars chimed in. “What you did back there, that’s the stuff of a true Storm Caller.”
“I’d give anything to serve on a ship as amazing as the Thunderclap when we get back,” Andreas said. “Imagine, a captain like Captain Tor and me, side by side. Knowing my luck, I’d get stuck with The Foggy Day.” A troubled look came over his face. “Er, if we get back.”
The others were silent for a bit, and then Lars found a spot that looked shallow enough and started making his way across the river.
“It’s safe enough,” he called, waving them over.
Before Andreas went, Alastar put a hand on his shoulder. “When this is over, we’ll find a way to get you home. I promise.”
The young man’s hopeful smile reminded Alastar how much this meant to everyone here, not just him. This wasn’t just about making up for time spent following a false god, or teaching the sorcerers that he wasn’t to be messed with. What they were fighting for here was real people, each with their own concerns, hopes, and dreams.
He crossed too, and soon the conversation turned to lighter topics such as everyone’s favorite food and what they hoped to do for fun once this was all over.
“Hold,” Rhona said when they reached a much-worn path. She gestured to the rocks up ahead. “We need to find cover fast.”
They all ran, not asking what it was about. In times like this, they needed to act quickly and with trust.
But once they were kneeling behind the rocks, Rhona explained.
“I’ve been—how do I say it—searching the shadows here and there since we left. Kind of like seeing if I could feel any disturbances, and now I did. A large one.”
“Could be a bear,” Andreas offered.
“Would have to be a large group of them,” Rhona countered. “And would that be much better?”
He shrugged.
“But no. I could tell it’s not bears.”
“That’s some power you’ve got there,” Kim stated, clearly impressed. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
“Trust me…you? Couldn’t happen.”
“You two are too cute,” Lars commented, giving them a hard time. Of course, that earned him a punch in the shoulder from Kim. “Oh!”
“Shhh!” Alastar pointed—he had just spotted movement.
First came a row of men who looked like ordinary soldiers, then several men and women in purple and black robes like the woman at Stirling had worn. There couldn’t have been more than a dozen of them in total, and Alastar found his hand reaching for his sword.
“What’re you doing?” Rhona asked.
“We could take them easily.”
“And leave none for the mystics?” She shook her head. “Even if we killed all but one, he might run back and ruin the plan. We can’t.”
Alastar gritted his teeth in annoyance, but couldn’t argue. Instead he just watched them march away, unable to ignore how they were regaling each other with battle stories. It tore at him, not being able to simply run down there and detach their heads from their bodies. That time would come, though. He would stick to the plan.
“At least the mystics shouldn’t have too hard a time,” Lars commented. “I mean, all they have to do is catch one of them on a break, peeing and… Oh, speak of the devil.”
One of the soldiers had just turned off from the group and started toward the rocks. He stopped as if to demonstrate what Lars had been saying.
“Ladies, avert your gaze,” Lars advised. “This won’t be pretty.”
“As if we’d do otherwise,” Rhona replied with a scoff, already covering her eyes. “Sorry to tell you, but I can honestly say I’ve never once wanted to watch some stranger take a piss.”
Kim nodded. “Aye, seconded.”
“My point was,” Lars continued, in a hushed voice, “and no, I didn’t need the demonstration, that it should be easy enough.”
“Good, we just—” Rhona glanced out and then pulled back with a scrunched-up face. “How long can one man shake? Yuck. What if I just did a little bit of magic? Something small to make him pay for putting us through this.”
“Sorry, Sis,” Alastar replied with a chuckle.
They all were glad to see the group move on. Soon they too were back on the move, relieved to have had a relatively trouble-free journey thus far.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Before long the small group of travelers needed to rest. Rhona’s feet were killing her, since her boots had been tearing at a seam for a few days now and had mediocre ankle support at best. Even Alastar, with his massive sword and heavy armor, admitted he could use a moment to catch his breath. How he did it Rhona had no idea, though she imagined he secretly healed himself occasionally while on the move.
The others took the time to stretch or readjust their armor and whatnot, but Rhona was once again keenly aware of her need for more training. Her magic had done its part at Stirling, but she didn’t like losing control.
With the excuse that nature was calling, she excused herself and found an area somewhat secluded from the rest of them. She leaned against a tree, glanced back to ensure she was alone, and focused as she had when training with Donnon. She hoped they weren’t separated from each other for too long, since she was already missing him and Kia.
The thought was distracting, so when Rhona tried to focus on moving with the shadows she simply dimmed. No shadowy teleportation, not even a little jolt.
Stay focused, she told herself.
Again she tried, but knowing she was unfocused was causing her to become frustrated, which made it worse.
She turned to the tree and thought about kicking it, but then realized Mother Nature really was calling. Since she needed a moment to center herself anyway, she took care of business, then found another spot away from the moist dirt and prepared to practice some more. This time her stomach grumbled.
“Oh, come on!” she shouted, and then heard someone humming. She spun guiltily, and saw Kim approaching.
“Jumpy, are we?”
“What’re you doing out here?” Rhona asked, trying to look like she’d been enjoying the surroundings. Only problem with that was, the area was c
ompletely brown, with a few scattered trees and jagged rocks. Beautiful in its own way, she told herself.
“Same as you.”
Rhona frowned, doubting that very much. When it hit her that the woman was talking about relieving her bladder, it made more sense.
“None of us should wander off on our own,” Kim said, preparing to squat nearby.
Rhona turned away, annoyed that she wouldn’t be able to get her practice in. “Aye, of course.”
“You and Donnon have become quite the match, no?” Kim asked.
Still looking at the hills, Rhona replied, “Aye, he and his daughter both hold a special place in my heart.”
“Isn’t it funny how you and your brother both found love interests so fast after leaving the paladin order?”
“The Order of Rodrick. And no, I don’t think so.” She turned to see the woman, done now, standing and coming over. “Imagine two children, completely sheltered for most of their lives, and one sworn to celibacy. Now unleash them into the wild and see what happens.”
Kim laughed. “Oh, I get that. It just seems like you might’ve gone looking for a little something more before landing in a situation as serious as this. I mean, you’re practically best friends with the daughter already. There’s no escaping now.”
“Escape? I can’t see myself ever wanting to. This isn’t some fling, some ‘see what it’s like to be with a man’ situation. No, this is the universe speaking and me listening.”
“Damn.” Kim motioned toward the others. “Me and Lars there? Just a booty call, at first. We went onto the ship thinking it would be more fun that way, and before we knew it we were stranded on that island.”
“And yet you’re still kind of together.”
“Funny thing about being on an island, just you and several other people, surrounded by blood-thirsty remnant and paladins… You start to care less about booty and more about survival. You start to think about the person next to you, how they make you feel, and how they’ll make you feel in thirty or forty years.”
“If we survive that long,” Rhona countered. “I’m thinking more along the lines of dying next week or the week after. If that were to happen, I’d damn sure be glad I went down fighting, but even more so knowing I did it for people I care about.”
