“That’s very thoughtful of you,” said Maura. “I’ll certainly enjoy anything that’s throwing off any amount of heat,” she added. “This chill just doesn’t leave the bones, does it?”
“No. It certainly doesn’t,” agreed Maria. She set down a small basket covered with a cloth. As if it would help, she pulled her long brown locks securely around her neck to stave off the chill. It didn’t give much protection, a shiver pulsating deeply into her spine and down her thin frame.
Maria pulled back the basket cloth, opening up a space just wide enough for a hand to fit inside and grab a freshly baked meat pie. They looked like stuffed half moons made of flaky crust with gravy oozing out of the sides.
“Oh, Maria,” exclaimed Noah, his mouth full. “You’ve outdone yourself!”
She gave a shy laugh. “You seem in good spirits this morning. I think everyone is.”
“It does seem that way, doesn’t it?” agreed Noah. “I guess we’ve all had some time to recuperate. Catch our breath.”
Maria glanced out over the side of the boat. “So where are we anyway?”
“We are just off the coast of Cobbscott, Maine,” answered Billie.
“Do we have a destination then?” asked Maura, glancing between Billie and Noah, the ship’s navigators.
“We’ve been giving it some thought and we think we need to have a group meeting, allow everyone to have their say,” explained Billie.
“We do have options, but I don’t think it’s right for the two of us to decide for everyone,” added Noah. “And truth be told,” he said with a hint of worry, “we can’t seem to decide what the best move is.”
“We have decided that trying to seek out Meghan or Ivan could potentially be a terrible mistake. If our escape was a trap set for them,” Billie didn’t need to finish.
“I agree,” said Maria. “We should let them be. I don’t know what those two are up to, but I know Ivan, a little. He’s always been very nice to me. Shy. Quite shy. Even more than I am, so that’s saying something.” They got a good chuckle out of that.
“I have found,” said Noah, “and this is speaking from personal experience… you can ask my wife… that when a young man cannot speak to a young woman, it’s not normally because they are shy.”
Maria’s cheek’s got rosy, her own shyness almost getting the better of her. “Well, um, whatever the reason, I’d hate to see him get hurt, or lead him into a trap. Especially one set up by Juliska Blackwell. I wonder why she wants them so badly?”
No one speculated. No one could imagine, or wanted to imagine, what Juliska had in mind for them. Or any of them. Including those still stuck on the island.
“Wasn’t it Ivan that carried you to the hospital after you got injured in the meadow? You were hit pretty hard on the head weren’t you?” asked Billie.
“Yes. Tree fell, and I couldn’t get out of the way fast enough. Thankfully, I’m okay after all that, but I was told that he did carry me all the way. He must be quite strong. But by the time I woke up, he was gone. I’m afraid I never did get a chance to thank him. We did take classes together a few years back, too. Before I started over again.”
“Well, Ivan is a smart lad,” noted Billie, “and not one for thanks. But maybe some day you’ll get the chance to repay the favor.”
“I do hope so,” she said with a hopeful smile.
“He’s a pretty handsome young man, too,” Billie added, tossing Maria a quick wink.
Maria’s cheeks turned a rosy pink in reply and she pretended to look somewhere else. They weren’t getting anything out of her.
Billie, Maura, and Noah chuckled. It was nice to have something to find some humor in. Not that young love was funny. But it felt like an age since they’d all experienced such a thing. The innocence of youth. Of first love. They only prayed they hadn’t already (or were not about to), mess up the world so badly, that these young folk never got the chance to discover it all for themselves.
More than a few times Maria had caught a chance glance at Ivan just looking away from her. She’d never minded. Although, whenever they happened to be close enough to talk, he’d usually say a few words and disappear pretty fast. Not so much shyness, she’d thought after a few times. More like, he didn’t dare take the chance. Like something was holding him back.
She’d certainly never pushed. She wasn’t nearly bold enough to make the first move. And if something was holding him back, well, he must have his reasons. And she wasn’t one to pry. There had been times though, even when they were younger, she’d wanted to be his friend. He was never once cruel, or dismissive of her. But he never opened up either. She wished he would have. She’d have liked to have gotten to know him better.
And then this last year or so, more often than not, she saw him hanging around Meghan Jacoby. She was a few years younger. But she was exciting. A favorite of Juliska’s because they were both Firemancer’s. That much was obvious to anyone. That girl just always seemed to have things going on.
Maria was not an exciting person.
She liked simple. And quiet. And despised drama with a passion.
Perhaps this is why Ivan had never really shown any interest. He liked things to be exciting, and she wasn’t. There was nothing to be done about it, she guessed.
There was an audible sigh and Maria lifted her gaze to see Maura setting down her empty coffee mug. She’d gone straight to serious and back to the problems at hand, just like that.
“So what are our options?” she put out there. “If Ivan and Meghan are out of the picture, what other options do we have in seeking out help?”
“There’s the banished,” suggested Noah. “We know they are still hidden in the northern Maine woods, but we don’t know much about what’s going on there. Ivan was in contact with Amelia, and her plans were sounding a little crazy. Nevertheless, options are limited and they are still Svoda. I don’t see them turning us away out of spite, especially now, seeing as Juliska’s no longer the beloved Banon she once was.”
“There’s also Colin and Catrina,” added Billie. “Although, I can’t imagine how we’d even begin tracking them down. Colin’s a very powerful young man. I don’t believe for a minute dangerous,” she added, for Noah’s benefit.
“No, I don’t think so either, and I’d be lying if I said having Catrina back wouldn’t be a relief. But I don’t know as searching them out would be any safer or easier than searching for Ivan and Meghan. Juliska probably still has it out for them, too.”
“Is there anyone she doesn’t have it out for?” launched Maura.
“You have a point there,” said Noah.
“What about the Tunkapog?” piped in Maria. “I don’t know much about them other than what I’ve learned in school. But they were once our allies, right?”
“Ah, yes. Indeed, they were,” said Billie. “They tend to stay out of the affairs of magic, opting to live quiet lives.”
“Can’t imagine why,” mumbled Maria under her breath.
“I would definitely not count them out,” Billie added.
“This would probably be easier if we knew more about what was going on,” Maura added, her tone taking a frustrated edge. “We have been so secluded these last months, heck, years, that we have no idea what’s going on, anywhere. We could be creating an even bigger problem, going so blindly into this next step.”
Before anyone could respond, there was a thump from underneath the ship. Maura grabbed hold of the wheel next to Noah; Billie reached out and steadied Maria.
“We are not close enough to shore to hit anything,” exclaimed Noah, answering their question before they could ask it. “There should be no reefs where we are.”
Another thump.
This one rattled the entire ship.
They heard a shout from below the deck.
Maria gasped, the color draining from her face.
“What is it?” Billie asked her.
Maria just pointed.
They turned to look.
&
nbsp; Something was skimming across the surface of the water, heading directly at the ship.
“Oh damn,” gulped Billie.
Those below deck climbed the stairs to get topside, each becoming petrified as they witnessed round web-like bodies whirling at great speed towards them.
“Salt Spiders,” whispered Maria coarsely. “So many of them.”
A great host of spiders skimmed across the water’s surface, preparing to consume the ship’s inhabitants.
Another thump hit the bottom, rippling its way to the deck.
“Magic stronger or not, we don’t have the numbers to fight this, and win,” warned Noah.
“We have no choice,” said Billie, in a take-charge voice. “We fight, or we die.”
She jumped down the stairs leaving Noah to steer the ship.
“Prepare for battle!” she called out. “We’re under attack.”
CHAPTER 27
Bedgewood Harbor. An island town that should have been bustling with Svoda going about their day. People coming and going from work. Visiting shops. Kids heading to school. Zone meetings to discuss how to restore their normal, everyday life, after years spent traveling aimlessly from magical portal to magical portal, often separated from friends and family.
The oncoming winter did nothing for the look of the island today. What would already be a dreary landscape of leafless trees and decaying gardens, was now also shrouded in a frosty grayness that didn’t ever lift.
A darkness which greatly pleased their Queen, Juliska Nandalia Blackwell. She stood on the terrace of her stone fortress, just off the coastline of the island, overlooking her new conquest.
Oh, the things she had in store for her people. When she was done with them, they would be nothing more than a shell of what they once were. That is, if she allowed any of them to survive.
Currently, she was awaiting a report from Ardon, KarNavan’s number two in the Striper clan, now serving as guards for Juliska.
Ardon had come up with a devious plan that Juliska hoped would lead her directly to the two people she wanted returned to the island.
She had proposed the idea of allowing a group of escapees to get off the island, under the guise of helping them get away to find help. But not without a warning first: that Juliska was looking for two young people; two young people she wanted returned to her.
The plan: that the escapees, in their need to do good, and protect these young people, would lead them directly to the two people she most desperately wanted to be brought before her.
Juliska’s own powers had not been working correctly for some time. Her visions had disappeared. This fact, which she had shared with Meghan Jacoby (a possibly regretful move), was true.
The rest of her Firemancy skills remained intact, but not a single vision. So far, she had been able to hide this fact from Jurekai Fazendiin, but she would not be able to hide it for much longer. And what would happen after he found out? Would it change anything?
She had not given him anything useful towards his end game for far too long. Her visions had, in part, helped set this current path she was on. It had started long ago, back when she was just a student of the craft. Before she was named Banon to the Svoda. Back before she had met that dreadful excuse for a man, Edward Gillivray. Back before she had agreed to marry him and... a sour look spread across her face, like she had eaten something bitter.
No, she would not sink into memories now.
The only thing she needed to remember was that these people, the Svoda Gypsies, had taken everything from her. Including the most precious thing she had ever possessed.
And for that, they would pay. One by one. They would no longer rule the world of magic. And the world of magic would no longer play by their rules. Soon, it would have a new King, and a new Queen. And a new royal bloodline to reign for all eternity.
The sound of faint footsteps on the ground approaching her fortress turned her sour smirk into a malignant smile.
As Juliska waited to greet her guests, a shadow grew overhead, casting an immense silhouette over the terrace. Powerful wings slapped against the air, lowering towards the terrace floor. Jagged, curved toenails clicked against the stone as it landed, striding towards Juliska.
With each step, it changed. Transformed. Snarls pushed through its wolf-like teeth as its face contorted and shifted. Its rough skin turned smooth and silky. Its wings shrunk, enclosing around a female form emerging underneath them, the wings morphing into a tight dress suit reminiscent to webbed-like mesh.
“My Queen,” said a voice, as the female lowered her head in a bow.
“Ah, Hollee. Perfect timing, I’m about to get a report.”
“Is there anything I can get you?”
“I’ll dine after my guests leave. We’ll speak then.”
Hollee nodded, departing.
KarNavan and Ardon came marching up the stairs onto the terrace.
They bowed in greeting and Juliska nodded back in reply.
KarNavan made an extra nod towards Ardon, indicating she could give her report.
“You’ll be pleased to know the ship’s tracing system is working and we have tracked them to the coastline, near Cobbscott, Maine. The names of the two people you’re searching for were mentioned a few times.” Ardon finished, but looked as though she had more to say.
“And?” prompted Juliska.
KarNavan took over speaking. “And, it seems at the moment they are in a holding pattern. They have not moved position in nearly two days.”
“What are they waiting for?” Juliska asked, with a tone of impatience.
“We can only assume they are trying to figure out where to go, what their next move should be,” added Ardon. “I still feel confident they will seek out the two you are looking for. Their protective instincts will kick in.”
“However,” said KarNavan, in a definitive tone, “we have just implemented a little something to help get them motivated, to speed things along a little. I think you’d find it to your liking, my Queen.”
Ardon shot him a scrutinizing glare, but let it drop. It seemed that KarNavan had not told her of this, or she disagreed with his actions.
“Not trouble amongst the ranks I hope?” asked Juliska, her voice indicating she really didn’t care.
“Not at all,” answered KarNavan.
Ardon gave a short nod in agreement. But her eyes revealed displeasure just the same.
“And what is this motivation tactic?” Juliska asked, her interest piqued.
“We’ve sent some special guests to shake them around a little. They’ll be forced to move along, very quickly, very soon.”
“I do like your style, KarNavan. I’ll give you that,” granted Juliska. “And frankly, I don’t care how you do it as long as I get those little brats kneeling in front me.”
KarNavan asked, “What is so special about these two brats anyway?”
Juliska let out a gust of annoyed breath.
“The first one, well, he needs to be taught a lesson. You don’t interfere with my plans and get away with it. And the girl,” she let out a needful coo. “I need something only she can give me.”
“Which is?” he asked, assuming she would not actually answer.
Juliska pondered not answering, simply to drive KarNavan crazy with the need to find out, but her desire to have this girl’s powers was stronger.
“I need her gift. Which unfortunately for her, will also claim her life.”
KarNavan did not flinch at her reply. He had expected nothing less.
CHAPTER 28
Colin listened to Catrina breathing. With each inhale and exhale, she slept peacefully and deeply throughout the night. Colin thought he could be perfectly content to sit and listen to her breathe, but the warning song she’d heard from the underwater sea creatures was unsettling. Could they not get away from danger anywhere they went?
He had dozed off a few times during the night, only to jolt himself awake mere minutes later.
He lifte
d his head and peeked out of the window. It was less overcast, thick rolls of fog mixing with the arrival of the slightly warmer morning air. The sun peeked through the clouds, letting a few beams hit the water.
Catrina still slept so peacefully, he dared not wake her.
He tiptoed to the window.
The beach was deserted.
A long, wide lane of sand and rocks lined the edge of the coastline.
He could not remember the last time he stepped foot onto a beach and just played in the sand.
It was cold though. Too cold to play on a beach. He supposed if he wanted to, he could use magic to make the beach feel like it was a warm summer day. But would something that grandiose be smart? Probably not. The less magic he used, the better. He’d save it for when they were in trouble, or in need of it.
Colin’s mind was so awake, he was afraid that somehow the loudness of it would wake Catrina. His curiosity about what she had heard nagged at him. He couldn’t let it go. He wondered if he could use Projector’s powers to listen to the underwater creatures, mimicking Catrina’s gift; find out what they were so afraid of, or if they were even still afraid. Many hours had passed since she’d heard the cry.
He wasn’t sure if this was a need, but his curiosity got the better of him.
He opened the door and slipped out of the cafe, closing it gently behind him. I shouldn’t leave her. If she wakes up and I’m not here...
He glanced into the window. It did not look like she was going to awaken any time soon.
“I’ll be quick,” he promised himself. He trudged his way through the cold sand until he had reached the water’s edge. He had no idea how to replicate Catrina’s gift as a Song Spinner.
But he did have another idea.
He could use the same spell he used when he originally located Catrina; the one that allowed his mind’s eye travel to great distances, very fast. “Aspectus Remotus,” he spoke through shivering lips.
Suddenly, it was as if he was no longer standing on the beach, but soaring over it, like a bird. At first, he saw nothing. Not a bird in the sky, not a single shadow in the water below.
The Spell, The Stones, and The Treasure (Fated Chronicles Book 3) Page 21
