by Travis Bughi
“Speaking of that,” Emily interjected. “For all we know, the battle has already been fought. The issue I have with staying at sea is that I don’t know if Sir Mark still holds Lucifan or if Jabbar has already come with his army and sacked the place.”
“That should be easy to see,” Takeo replied. “Assuming the battle is recent, the sky will be black with smoke.”
“And if it isn’t recent?”
Takeo didn’t have a reply to that. The answer to what they had to do was becoming obvious, and he didn’t like it. Going ashore without the colossus put them at risk—and, in this case, an even greater risk than when they’d gone to face Carlito.
“I’ll need to go to shore,” Emily said. “I have to figure out how things stand. Nicholas and Fritjof will go with us, of course. They’ve recovered well over these few months, and I know them. I need to find out who controls Lucifan. If it’s Sir Mark, does he know he’s about to be invaded? If it’s Jabbar, where is he at? Who knows, perhaps even stranger things will happen.”
Emily didn’t voice it, but she was silently hoping that Ephron, the last angel in existence, had returned to power. He had survived when his siblings died and had left Lucifan in secrecy, but there were those who knew that secret, and perhaps the truth had spread. Any number of things could have happened while Emily was away.
“Sounds like your mind is made up,” Valgrith said. “Shall I put you off at the docks or along the shore?”
“Assuming there’s no smoke in the sky, the docks will do,” Emily answered. “I’ll have a few days until the colossus arrives, so you don’t have to wait if you don’t want to.”
“I’ll put you ashore and head back out to sea.” Valgrith nodded. “I’ll return in three days’ time and wait one day. If you don’t return or send word, I’ll assume you made the wrong choice and return home. I’m looking for a battle, not a slaughter. Is that fair enough?”
That was more than fair, Emily agreed, and she thanked him again for all he’d done. She especially liked that this gave her the chance to send Valgrith and his crew home without endangering their lives.
But then she saw old man Gelik and began to second guess that thought.
They reached Lucifan on a dark and cloudy night, and the level of frustration that brought made Emily ball her hands up into fists. It was too dark to see any smoke and too dark to enter the bay. They would have to wait until morning, and the last thing Emily wanted to do was sleep.
So close, yet so far.
At least the city wasn’t on fire; that much could be seen.
She slept as well as could be expected, which wasn’t much at all. Her mind swam with all that was to come. Her heart ached at the thought of family and friends, so close, and yet too far to reach. Worse yet, she feared for their lives because she still didn’t know the fate of Lucifan. Even if Jabbar hadn’t invaded yet, she worried that Adelpha and the amazons might have encountered trouble from Sir Mark.
Sure they’d never bothered him, but if that vampire could betray the angels, who knew what other atrocities he was capable of.
“I don’t know where you are, Ephron,” Emily whispered to the ship’s interior, “but I hope that you are safe.”
The morning came too slowly, and when the ship entered the harbor, Emily could have sworn it was intentionally dragging in the water.
The first thing she noted was that there was no smoke. The grand city of Lucifan and its towering structures of chiseled stone stood as tall and proud as they always had. Their dull grey absorbed the sun’s light, providing a stark contrast with the bright yellow grass that swayed in the wind and surrounded the city. Emily couldn’t help but sigh in relief and then gaze in awe at the magnitude of what lay before her. Lucifan was—and always would be, as far as Emily was concerned—mankind’s greatest achievement.
Then again, she was biased.
“I forgot how large this city is,” Takeo said beside her.
“Hm, so did I,” she admitted. “Strange how far we’ve traveled, how much we’ve seen, and yet still the sight of this place overwhelms me.”
“It’s not just you. The entire world feels the same way. Why else come? This place holds more than riches and laws that are good for trade; there is a sense of presence and purpose that attracts all who are capable of coveting such concepts.”
“Well said,” Nicholas said with a nod, appearing beside them, “for a samurai.”
“Are you ready, brother?” Emily asked.
“To face Mother?” he asked back. “Ready as I’ll ever be. I might need to stop in a tavern for a drink first, to be honest.”
“That can be arranged. How about The Kraken’s Eye?”
Nicholas frowned at her for a moment, but then gave a wide-eyed stare as his memory dawned. He huffed, then laughed and finished with a smile. Fritjof, ever nearby, looked confused.
“Assuming Margret is serving men, that will do just fine,” her brother said and nodded.
As the docks neared, Emily felt surrounded by allies and hope and chance, all the things that had come in short supply since she’d last left Lucifan. She wanted to vault off the ship and sprint down the docks, but that feeling dissipated the moment those docks came into view.
Lucifan’s docks were always a busy place. Countless ships needed to unload their supplies or take on new merchandise. The noise from creaking ships, carts, and ropes coupled with countless voices shouting over one another could be heard clear out across the water. There was so much activity that Lucifan had a policy that ships could not stay docked unless they were loading, unloading, or bearing someone of great importance, such as the ambassador of a foreign kingdom. This left Lucifan’s bay constantly crowded with many floating ships waiting for their merchandise or new crew to arrive at the docks. Valgrith guided his ship up to the docks, and to Emily’s dismay, they were immediately challenged by an ogre.
Larger than the largest human, the purple creature strode forward carrying a massive chunk of steal in its hands. Its nails were filed to points, its tusks were dripping with drool, and its yellow eyes glared at the approaching ship. Emily hoped the creature was only there by chance, but her heart dropped when it addressed them.
“You!” it shouted in a thick voice. “What you carry?”
The ship nudged up against the docks, and two of Valgrith’s men leapt off to secure it with ropes. The ogre paid neither of them any mind and continued to eye Valgrith.
“What’s it to you?” the jarl spat. “Get out of here, you filthy ogre.”
The ogre snarled, but otherwise showed a level of control Emily hadn’t expected. It scratched an armpit, then its chest, and looked sullen.
“You got to tell me,” the ogre said, “or you can’t dock.”
“On whose authority?”
“Lucifan,” the ogre grumbled. “Knight’s Order. Sir Mark. Take pick. Tell me, or I get others!”
Damn it, Emily’s jaw clenched. If this ogre was telling the truth, then her fears were already being realized.
Lucifan had always had a Knight’s Order, which carried out the will and the laws of the angels. After the angels were killed and Count Drowin took over, his first step in installing his tyranny was to replace the human knights with ogre mercenaries.
It seemed Sir Mark shared the same ideology.
“Just stopping in to purchase supplies,” the jarl said. “I carry no merchandise.”
“Whole crew?” it asked.
“Just these four for now,” the jarl said and gestured to Emily and the three beside her.
The ogre switched its focus to them and eyed them harshly. Emily resisted the urge to look away, worried that the ogre might recognize her, but not wanting to draw attention by appearing secretive. It grunted and folded its massive arms. Emily decided to take that as acceptance.
She leapt ashore, along with Takeo, Nicholas, and Fritjof. The ship was pushed back out into the bay, and the ogre waited patiently for the next ship to come to the docks. It grumbled
as they went by, but looked at them no more as they disappeared into the crowded and noisy streets of Lucifan.
It never ceased to amaze Emily just how many people could be squeezed into Lucifan’s tiny streets. From the moment the sun was up, the entire city came alive. People poured out of their homes, from ships, and from the Plains to fill the streets and headed to the various markets and stores to buy and sell everything from all over the world. The inevitable shouting matches, the slow rumble of heavy carts being dragged through the crowds across cobbled steps, and the press of bodies made Emily remember her days marching across Juatwa, a lowly conscript in Lord Jiro’s army. And then, for a brief moment, she was sixteen again, overcome by the awe of the world melting together in this grand place.
Then Nicholas brought her back to the present.
“Was that really an ogre?” Nicholas yelled over the crowds. “I thought only knights enforced the law here?”
“Let’s get to The Kraken’s Eye,” Emily yelled back. “Even if the amazons aren’t there, Margret will know what’s been happening since we’ve been gone.”
They diverged off the main road onto one of Lucifan’s smaller alleyways. The crowds avoided these places because they did not lead directly to the markets. Emily found room to breathe and touched her bow. It wasn’t strung because she didn’t anticipate needing it so soon, but touching it always brought comfort.
Down one dark alley, then another, Emily traced her mind, trying to remember how to reach the tavern. When they became lost, she had to admit defeat, and Nicholas asked for directions from a family, a father with two young boys, just exiting their home. The man sheltered them behind his legs and looked around warily as Nicholas approached. Emily could see the debate in his eyes about whether he should duck back into his home, but thankfully he decided to stay and assist the four, heavily armed warriors.
“Excuse me, sir,” Nicholas said, raising a lone hand. “Do you know where The Kraken’s Eye is?”
Emily smirked. Nicholas was using his when-talking-to-minotaur voice their father had taught them. It seemed some habits never died.
“I do.” The man eyed them. “You don’t look like pirates.”
“We’re not,” Nicholas said.
The man took a deep breath and raised his eyebrows. A look of realization came over him, and he nodded in what appeared to be quiet disapproval. The boys behind him clung tightly to his knees.
“Take this road here down two streets and take the third right,” he said. “Good luck, though. The amazons don’t take prey that comes begging at their door. They prefer to hunt.”
And just like that, Emily was jumping for joy.
“Thank you!” she shouted and bolted down the indicated direction.
The others shouted and scrambled to follow, but she was too elated to look back or slow down. She sprinted with a grin plastered on her face down to the third right and made the turn so sharply she nearly tripped. She still wore heavy winter boots, having nothing else that fit her small feet, and they clunked heavily on the cobbled street as she regained her footing.
Ahead of her, hanging above a tavern door just two streets down, she saw a wooden sign with an hourglass-shaped pupil carved into it.
“Yes!” she smiled. “My memory isn’t that bad after all.”
Emily wasted no time taking in the sight of it. She dashed to the door and flung it open. Behind her she could hear the others running to catch up, but she didn’t bother holding the door for them. She stepped inside and took in the sight of just over ten amazon women seated about the tavern and one lone bartender named Margret serving meals of roasted behemoth meat to the table closest to the bar.
All the women snapped their heads to see who had dashed inside, and a look of shock swept over their early morning drowsiness. More than half of them reached for their bows instinctively. They stopped when they realized they were staring at a lone, young girl with short hair and a treantwood bow strapped over her back. The boiled leather skirt and vest weren’t a patchwork of green and brown like theirs, but enough similarity existed to make every one of them pause.
But only one recognized her face, and she leapt up from her seat and screamed like a child.
“Emily!” Leda shouted. “It’s Emily!”
And then the dam broke.
“Chara’s daughter! That’s Chara’s daughter?”
“The one who went after Heliena? She’s back?”
“I can’t believe it!”
“Ah! It can’t be!”
“Oh, I see it now!” yelled Margret. “You made it!”
Leda was the first to rush forward and wrap Emily in a tight hug. Emily laughed with pure joy and hugged her back. She remembered well Hanna’s daughter, the surviving twin she’d fought alongside of through the Forest of Angor. Emily squeezed her tightly and then was overcome when more arms began to wrap around her.
“Our sister is back!” Leda yelled. “Emily is back!”
A thunder came rushing down the stairs. More amazons, another five who were late to rise, appeared and screamed as they realized who was there. They joined the ever growing hug, shouting her name, and Emily felt her eyes grow wet because she’d never thought, not in a million years, that they would accept her like this. She’d known them all so briefly, in her mind, and she’d never made a strong attempt to get to know many of them, and yet everyone here knew her name and was shouting it, even some she’d never seen before.
“Thank you!” she heard herself say. “I missed you so much! I missed you all so much!”
Not until she said it did she realize it was true. She had missed them.
But the one she missed most of all was not there. Emily scanned the faces, looking for a tall, broad shouldered amazon with straight, black hair. She couldn’t be hiding. She wasn’t good at that.
“Where’s Adelpha?” Emily asked.
“With your brother.” Leda laughed.
“Hello, Emily.”
The voice was deep and male, striking a chord within Emily’s mind. Her laughter and smiles froze, and she raised her head to look up at the stairs from where the voice had come. Standing on the steps halfway up stood a handsome knight with a chiseled chin, blonde hair, and soft, green eyes. His face, once covered in stubble, now supported a full, yellow beard just big enough to grab with one hand. His eyes glistened, and his lips were parted.
“You’ve returned,” Gavin said.
Chapter 19
“You’ve finally come back.” Gavin smiled.
He was dressed in a white tunic and leather breeches—both looked hastily donned and were stained—which struck Emily as odd. She stared at him wide-eyed, so surprised to see him that she didn’t respond. Gavin didn’t wait, though. He opened his arms and strode down the stairs, one purposeful step after another. The amazons parted for him, making room as he increased his speed at the last few steps.
“I knew you’d come back!” he said and laughed. “I knew it!”
He passed the amazons and spread his arms wider, nearly closing the distance, when Emily thrust out an open palm with a straight arm. He ran straight into it; his chest was hard with muscle, but her heart didn’t skip like it used to. Gavin came to a stop, both his walking and his laughter, and he looked down at her hand as if she’d just stabbed him in the chest. His breath had stopped, but the silence of the amazons around them was almost deafening.
Oh no, Emily grimaced. I shouldn’t have done that, not here in front of everyone. Damn it!
Emily took her hand from Gavin’s chest and held it out for a formal handshake.
“It’s good to see you again, too, Sir Gavin.”
He stared at her hand as if it were covered in his own blood, but then he blinked and took a breath, his eyes lifting slowly until their gazes met. His face read of betrayal, of loss and pain, and of suffering much too long. A guilty stab lodged itself in Emily’s heart. She saw then what she had long wished was not true, that Gavin still loved her.
Or at leas
t he thought he loved her. He was standing in a tavern full of women, half-dressed and looking at her like she was the only woman for him. It was enough to make her anger flair, but then she scolded herself for being so callous. She should have been more respectful, perhaps, or sympathetic. She should have accepted his hug as a friend. She should have been more careful with his pride. Now he stood before her—defeated, making her pity him—and accepted her handshake with a slight frown.
“You came back,” he said. “I’m so glad.”
“Me too, truly.” She nodded, trying to let the honesty in her words shine.
Just not for you, she wanted to add. His face suggested he heard her thoughts, and her pity grew. She withdrew her hand and smiled, taking in a deep breath and willing away the cringing feeling in her nerves.
“Won’t you at least tell me which of my sisters had the pleasure of your company?” Emily asked playfully.
“That’d be me!”
One of the younger amazons waved, a beautiful redhead that she couldn’t remember seeing before. She was small, like Emily, with dainty wrists and feet, but a defined left arm that told Emily this amazon was not only left handed, but probably a decent shot. Emily guessed this was her first trip to Lucifan, judging by her age, and gave the girl a wink. Gavin’s face turned guilty this time.
“A strong and handsome knight,” Emily said to the girl. “You chose well.”
“Former knight,” Gavin mumbled.
“Huh?”
A knock at the tavern door interrupted them. The amazons were startled, and Emily tensed as she realized that her companions were still outside. They’d been kind enough to give her some privacy, but ignoring them would border on rudeness.
“Hold that thought,” Emily said to Gavin. “Oh, and also, please don’t move or do anything violent.”
“Violent?” Gavin frowned. “Why would I—”
Emily opened the door mid-sentence to reveal Takeo, Nicholas, and Fritjof standing patiently in front of the doorway. Nicholas grinned and Fritjof balked at the number of tightly packed women, but Takeo met eyes first with Emily and then with Gavin. The jaws of both men dropped.
