Shaper of Water: The Cloud Warrior Saga

by D. K. Holmberg

  If nothing else, Elle could use the knowledge of the waves and hope to know when it was time for her and Ley to jump into the water from that. Once they did, they would be dependent on her ability—and Ley’s—to shape them to the village.

  There are ten, Nimala said.

  Elle leaned her head back against the ship. Ten waves. Under the right—or wrong—conditions, that could mean wildly different things. With enough wind, the waves crashed on the shores of Doma with more regularity, and then there were other times when the shores were calmer, and the large swells came slower.

  The only way to know for sure would be to climb out and take a look.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said to Ley.

  She ignored his protests as she pushed out from behind the figurehead and squeezed back through the narrow opening connecting it to the ship. Cold wind caught her face, sending the mists spraying off her as she poked free, but at least this time, the water blew free from her. She breathed deeply of the salt air and strained to see the shore, but there was nothing but blue stretching in front of her.

  Elle gripped the mermaid, holding onto her wooden tail, as she crawled around the ship, moving to the starboard side, where she strained to see beyond the water. Falsheim was visible in the distance, small and growing smaller. To the west, she saw the leading edge of the outer peninsula. Beyond that would be Ophan.

  They were already farther out than Elle had expected. As she surveyed the water, she counted the waves. There might be ten, but then there might be more than that. Either way, the swim would be much more than she had expected.

  Her heart began to flutter. Making it to shore would truly depend on her ability to shape. Ley had talent and could shape well enough that he might be able to make it to shore on his own, but would he be able to bring her?

  She reached into the space behind the figurehead and tapped on Ley’s arm. At least, she thought it was his arm. For all that she knew, it could be his head. “What do you think?” she asked.

  Ley managed to pop his head free and stared out over the water. “Oh,” he said.

  That had been Elle’s fear. “You can’t swim that far?”

  “I might be able to make it,” he said. “It’s still closer than trying to swim from Falsheim, but I don’t know if…”

  “If you can bring me with you,” Elle finished for him.

  Ley nodded.

  “Fine. Then we will see how well the elementals will help,” she said.

  Ley started to climb out from behind the figurehead when someone grabbed Elle.

  She was lifted with strong hands and yanked onto the ship. She screamed, thrashing with her legs as she did, but whoever grabbed her was much stronger than she was. She was dropped onto the deck of the ship, her dress splaying out from her in a puddle of water. Three Xsa sailors stood around her, all sun darkened and each with tattoos covering their arms. One had inking marking all the way up his neck and onto his cheek.

  At least they didn’t seem to have Ley. Maybe she could provide the distraction this time and he could jump into the water and swim for shore. If there was a problem in Ophan, he could send word. Maybe Brist would send the fleet as he promised.

  “Stowaways?” a man grunted. His voice was heavily accented, even more than Calah’s had been. “We have stowaways on Xsa ship?”

  Ley was thrown next to her. He reached a hand toward her and one of the sailors kicked it away.

  “Seems that we have two from Falsheim think they can sneak into Xsa.” The man who said it leaned toward Elle as he spoke. He had a wide grin and a thick, bulbous nose. A long scar worked around the outside of his face, pulling one eye upward as if in a perpetual wink.

  “Not into Xsa.” Elle shifted to her knees and made a point of meeting each of the sailors’ eyes. This could go horribly wrong, she realized. She knew so little about Xsa, much less than even Ley, it seemed, but if they were slavers, they would have no intention of releasing her unless she gave them one. “To Ophan.” She nodded toward the outer peninsula.

  As she did, she pulled on a shaping, straining through her connection with masyn. With the fear coursing through her and sending her heart fluttering, reaching for the elemental was easier than usual. A fine mist began to coalesce around her face. Elle breathed it in, thankful that the connection was there.

  Heavy boots clomped across the deck and the sailors all stood with straighter backs. Elle looked over and saw Calah as he made his way toward her. His jaw was clenched and one hand squeezed the hilt of his sword, leaving his knuckles whitened. The jacket he’d worn on the docks of Falsheim had been removed, leaving him bare-chested. He had thick muscles and, like the other sailor, scars ran across his body. Calah seemed to wear them with pride.

  “You again,” he said as he approached. He glanced at Ley and then seemed to dismiss him as he turned to Elle. “You sneak aboard my ship? You defile my lady?”

  Elle started to respond but blinked. “Defile what lady?”

  Calah stepped past her and peered over the edge of the bow and pointed to the intricately carved figurehead of the mermaid. “She guides us through these seas. You would think I wouldn’t know that you’re there?” Calah turned back to her. “I know. I know the moment this one,” he said, backhanding Ley across the face and sending him sprawling to the deck, “thinks to begin singing. It was a lovely tune, but you cannot think to use music to bewitch us.”

  Elle reached through her connection to check on Ley and could tell that he was fine. He’d shaped a buffer around himself at the same time as Calah struck him, and the fall had been mostly play acting.

  “I had no intention of ‘bewitching’ you.” She started to stand but two of the soldiers grabbed her arms and forced her down. This sent a renewed surge of anger through her and she shook her arms, using a shaping of water as she did, and threw the two men away from her with more strength than she would have managed on her own.

  Calah watched her without any sign of emotion. The two men climbed slowly to their feet and unsheathed their swords. If it came to a sword fight, Elle doubted that she knew enough to keep herself alive. She might be able to shape, however inconsistently, but would she be able to slow or stop even two determined men? Possibly not.

  “All that we want is to reach the shore,” she said. “You were coming this way.”

  “Ah, then you would deter my ship?” Calah asked. “You think that you could send us toward the shores as if you were its captain?” He leaned toward her. “Tell me, do you work with them? Would you see Xsa overrun with the bonded as well?”

  Calah paced around her and grunted. “You ask why we run to Falsheim and back, and then you act like one of them.”

  Elle crossed her arms over her chest. So far, the other men hadn’t made a move as if to attack. If she could keep them at a distance, then maybe she and Ley could jump into the water, and then they could try to swim to shore. The longer they waited, the less likely it was to work. Already, the distant shoreline grew increasingly distant. Much longer, and they wouldn’t be able to see it. Then they would be in a worse position than they had been while in Falsheim, if they weren’t already.

  “I had no intention of deterring your ship, Captain,” Elle said, placing heavy emphasis on his title. “And I’m not one of them.” She made every effort of sounding as if she knew what she was talking about.

  “Then how did you intend to reach your shores?”

  “We would swim.”

  The two sailors started to laugh. Even Calah laughed. “You would swim?” the captain asked. “You think I should believe you would swim from here?” He shook his head. “You might as well have swum from Falsheim if that were true. No, you think to stop Xsa from saving her young and her women. You are too late for that.”

  Elle bit back a response. They were right. She might have been better off simply trying to swim from the shores of Falsheim. At least there, she knew there were elementals that might help. She had reached the nymid before. Could they have
helped? Or would they ignore her now that she’d bonded to Nimala?

  And what did he mean about saving Xsa women?

  “Tell us, great Doma swimmer, what is so important that you would reach this place?” He swept his arm around him, as if pointing toward Ophan.

  Ley slowly made it to his feet. Elle thought he was playing more than he should, but if it distracted the sailors, then maybe he was doing what was needed.

  “You have heard that Falsheim was attacked?” Elle asked. It wouldn’t do any good to keep those facts from Calah. If she was to get free of his ship, she needed him to understand the urgency they felt.

  Calah’s eyes narrowed. “It is said that Incendin attacked Falsheim, as it has many times before.”

  Elle took a step toward him. “Our people have been stolen by Incendin. Do not speak of how strong we are. And whoever attacked, it was not Incendin.”

  “If not Incendin, then…” Calah paused, and studied her for a moment. Then he began laughing, a rich and hearty sound. “No, if you speak truly and you’re from Doma, then your lands are still safe.” He smiled at her. “You do have spice, especially for one so little. As I said, you will fetch a fair price.”

  With a nod, two of the soldiers converged on Elle. They both had swords extended and moved more carefully than before. Neither focused on Ley.

  Elle felt his shaping. He was not a strong shaper, but there were tricks that he knew from all the time that he’d been out at sea with his father. Elle hadn’t noticed his shaping before, but now that she did, she recognized the controlled way that he used it, the way that the shaping pulled at the water. It was something like she’d seen him do before when they’d made their way across the bay in the small fishing boat, but she hadn’t expected him to be able to manage something with such skill on this scale.

  Water curved around the ship, changing the direction ever so slightly. Now, rather than sailing away from the peninsula, they were heading alongside it, angling toward the shore. So far, the Xsa sailors hadn’t recognized it, but Elle suspected that it was only a matter of time before they did.

  She had to help.

  Nimala, she called to her elemental, assist Ley with his shaping.

  Elle didn’t know of the elemental would answer. For a moment, there was nothing other than Ley’s shaping. It was strong, and he had skill with it, but he couldn’t hold it forever. Had he more strength, he might be able to send them with a surge toward the shore.

  The two sailors reached Elle. She didn’t resist and lowered her arms. Her energy would be wasted trying to fight them off. Instead, she needed to be helping Ley, and if that worked, then maybe they wouldn’t have ten waves to swim through. If the Sea Father was kind, they might have very little sea to swim through.

  Elle reached with her shaping and sent it surging alongside Ley’s. She didn’t know how he performed it, but she could follow his lead and add to the strength that he demonstrated. She felt their conjoined effort, the strength that they lent each other.

  Ley glanced over. His eyes were drawn tight.

  The ship heaved.

  It happened suddenly, sending it listing toward the starboard side on an unseen swell. Calah maintained his footing and raced toward the stern and climbed for a better vantage. The two sailors both went flying toward the railing. One went overboard and began calling for help. Other sailors threw ropes to him, but Elle paid only a distant mind to what they were doing. She needed to focus on helping Ley.

  The ship heaved again, as if lifted on the hand of the Sea Father himself. The shore loomed closer. Ley sagged to the ground. His shaping strength was depleted.

  Elle continued with the shaping, no longer needing to follow Ley’s lead. Helping with the shaping as she had, she understood what he had been doing and held the shaping as long as she could.

  Boots thundered across the deck of the ship. “You Par-shon witch will crash my ship!” Calah roared as he neared. His sword was unsheathed and his face was darker than a storm cloud.

  Elle lifted Ley and pulled him with her, holding onto the shaping as she did. “If the Sea Father demands that sacrifice, then it will be so,” Elle said.

  His lunged toward her, his sword slicing through the air.

  Elle shifted her shaping enough to catch his strike and deflect it. Doing so changed the direction of the ship, and it rolled, this time tilting dangerously to the port side. Calah glared at her, somehow still maintaining his footing. As the ship settled, he started toward her again.

  The rocks of Widows Ledge loomed close. Elle sighed. Of course that would be where they would need to come ashore.

  She pulled Ley by his shirt and jumped off the deck and plunged into the water.

  Elle held onto the shaping that she’d used with the ship, and now used it to guide them toward the shore. She felt a growing fatigue washing through her from the sustained shaping, something that she had never attempted or experienced before. She didn’t need much more strength, only enough to get them onto the shore. If she could hold out long enough, then they might find safety.

  With a final push, a massive wave caught them and sent them rolling into the dark rocks. Ley seemed unconscious, nothing more than dead weight, and Elle wrapped them in a shaping of water, trying to protect him since he couldn’t see what was coming. They slammed into the rocks with incredible force.

  The wind was pressed out of her lungs and Elle almost lost control of the shaping.

  Somehow, she managed to maintain it. She grabbed for the rock and pulled herself up, scrambling toward higher vantage, pulling Ley with her. He began moaning softly and fought her. Elle pulled him along the rocks, knowing that he would be injured, but if she did not, the next wave would slam against them and throw them into the rock even harder.

  Then they reached dry ground. Elle leaned back, an exhausted breath washing out from her. Ley rested draped across her lap, bleeding from a dozen scrapes to his arms and legs. There had been no avoiding that.

  Distantly, Calah’s ship still wrested with the waves, veering through the rough waters. This close to shore, there would be narrow breaks and places where deeper hulled ships could not easily pass. Somehow, Calah managed to make his way through them, only the occasional sharp crack and the heavy groaning of the ship telling her that he didn’t make it perfectly through.

  Then the ship turned back out to sea. The wind caught the sails and it rolled over the next wave, mist spraying around the hull. Calah stared down from his perch near the masthead, a spyglass in hand, and watched her. From where she sat, Elle couldn’t tell whether he was angry or impressed.

  Ley moved next to her. He pushed himself so he sat beside her, his head no longer in her lap, and looked out to sea. “Guess we’re both sea brides now,” he said.

  Elle glared at him and then punched him in the shoulder.

  Ley grabbed at his arm. “Ow. What now, Shaper Vaywand?”

  She sighed. Somehow, after what they had just been through, now felt like the hardest part. “Now we need to see what happened in Ophan.”

  16

  Elle climbed to the top of Widows Ledge, remembering the last time that she had been here. She had been trying to find some way to escape Ophan and return to the kingdoms. She had escaped, but now she had diminished interest in returning to the kingdoms. It was not gone. There might always be a draw to discover what she could learn from the archives and from the master shapers of the kingdoms, but it was different. She was different.

  Ley took her hand. “Tell me that it will be okay, Elle,” he said softly.

  Down below them, toward the village hidden by the rocks, came the steady stream of dark smoke. There wasn’t much else. This close, the smoke was too dark to be any sort of fire pit, or even celebration fire. The timing was wrong for something like that anyway. This was a smoke so dark that it was almost black. It blotted out the sky where it rose into the air and hung like a cloud sitting atop Ophan.

  “This will be as it will be,” Elle said. It was some
thing that her grandfather once said, a phrase that she never really understood before now. There was nothing that could be done about what had happened, only about what would happen.

  She started along the rocks. Somehow, she had managed to hang onto her thin shoes, but Ley wasn’t so lucky. His feet scraped the rough rock of Widows Ledge as they made their way slowly down and toward Ophan. He said nothing and his face revealed nothing, but the tension in his body told Elle that he was in pain. He attempted a weak shaping, but he had little success. Likely the effort expended earlier had drained him nearly completely.

  They reached the sand shore and continued around. “You stole my father’s boat here,” Ley said.

  Elle nodded.

  “He’ll want it replaced,” Ley reminded her with a tentative smile.

  She returned the smile. “We’ll see if the Lord Commander has any that he could use.”

  “I think that might be a bit more than my father needs, don’t you—”

  He cut off as they crested the small rise away from the beach leading into the village. The small homes within were mostly burned; only a few still stood. The dark smoke drifting up and into the sky came from the nearest three homes, where flames still crackled with dark intensity. The small shops within the village were all gone. No one moved outside in the streets.

  Ley dropped her hand and started into the village.

  Nimala, can you help with the fires?

  Elle didn’t know what the elemental would be able to do, but she didn’t want Ley to risk injury simply trying to see what had happened. Knowing him as she had come to over the last few weeks, he would attempt to go into one of the burning houses, and without his shaping, might end up hurt or worse.

  In answer, a cloud formed overhead and a steady rain began to fall. First it came as a soft drizzling mist, but then it picked up intensity, coming down with enough force to quench the flames. Elle stood in place until the rain eased, only doing so when the last of the flames within the village had been extinguished.

  Thank you, Elle said to Nimala.