by Candy Crum
His eyes closed again, but his hand weakly squeezed hers in response. She felt terrible that she couldn’t heal him more, but there were so many people in the water, she couldn’t use it all on a single person.
She and Corrine moved from person to person as the smaller boats came to pick up survivors. Cathillian sat in one of the boats, pulling people in and giving them another quick round of healing.
It took quite a while to get everyone on the ship, but once onboard, Arryn and her crew were able to get everyone situated and give them fresh food and water.
Dozens of bodies lay in pieces in the water, destroyed in the battle or ripped apart by marine wildlife. Those who survived had been incredibly lucky to not end up as shark bait with all the blood and fresh meat in the water. Had a few more hours passed, they would have all been goners.
Mariana was able to get answers from those who weren’t as badly injured, but most fell asleep soon after eating. Arryn couldn’t imagine how exhausted they must have been, even after having healing energy pushed through them.
The druid finished bandaging the superficial wounds of a sleeping woman and returned to the bow of the ship. “One of the crew told me a few minutes ago that you managed to find out what happened?”
Mariana nodded. “It was another Storm Ship. There are a few stragglers out there, and they feed on smaller ships. They overtake them, take anything they need or want—including food and supplies—and then destroy the ship. This one was no different, except they left people alive after destroying it. That’s new and even crueler than usual, but I’m not surprised.”
Arryn shook her head. “The world will never be short of people who surprise us with the level of evil in their hearts.” The Arcadian druid sighed heavily, a worried expression on her beautiful face. “Look…”
The Storm Caller smiled. “I know. Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine.”
“I’m sorry we can’t help you with this one. Bast and Cleo came to the Dark Forest so long ago asking for help, and their home was in danger back then. We’ve had a lot of things happen since. I haven’t spoken to them about it, but I know it’s been on their mind.”
“You worry you might be too late.”
Arryn looked into the Caller’s compassionate eyes. “Yes. The things attacking them…they’re not from our world. I don’t know what they are, but they’re scary as hell, and they’ve been there for a while. I’m terrified their homeland has already been destroyed and their family is dead.”
“We knew that was a risk when we came to find you,” Cleo said from behind Arryn.
Arryn turned to see Cleo’s dark skin glistening in the sun. Half her hair was in thin, uniform box braids. The other half was sectioned into naturally shiny black poofs. It was obvious she and Bast had been in the middle of re-braiding Cleo’s hair when the excitement had broken out.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were standing there,” Arryn said. “I used a lot of energy, so my senses aren’t what they usually are.”
Cleo waved a hand. Between her and her sister, Cleo was calmer and more calculated. She wasn’t cold, but she was realistic and serious most of the time. Both women had great senses of humor, but Bast was the more carefree of the two of them.
The woman took a step forward. “I came up here to check on you and overheard the conversation. Don’t worry about Kemet like that. Our mother raised us to be strong. Our people might have backward ways of thinking with tradition sometimes trumping common sense, but she raised us to overcome all that. It was our duty to come and find you, no matter the cost. When you get there, you’ll understand why we are the way we are and why we risked everything to find you. If Jadid still stands, we’ll fight for it. If it doesn’t, we’ll avenge it.”
Arryn forced a smile, but she couldn’t shake her worry. “I realize it’s not my place to worry about your city, but I can’t help it. You came to me for aid, and you helped me several times. I’m worried about arriving and finding only sand and bone where your people used to be.”
Cleo gave a soft smile. “If the city has fallen, it will rise again. Don’t you worry about that.”
A look of confusion crossed Arryn’s face. “What do you mean?”
“The people will survive. You know me; I’m pragmatic. I look at the situation in front of me, and I calculate what needs to be done to make a goal achievable. My mother is the same way, but she’s also optimistic like Bast. She sent us to you out of hope, but the side of her that sees reality compelled her to put plans in place that would save the city if the worst were to happen. Trust me, if Jadid is gone, the people aren’t. At least, not all of them.”
Bast wandered up, stretching her arms. “Besides, had we returned to Kemet without helping you save your people and the others we met on the way, do you know what our mother would have done to us?”
Arryn laughed. “If your mom’s anything like Elysia, you probably would have been in for quite a beating.”
Bast nodded. “Exactly. I’d sooner go back and live with the strange water-dwelling Daoine people than return to Kemet and tell her we left a bunch of hurting people behind us to rush home to save our own. Of course, if we’d done that, I wouldn’t have met the Daoine, but you know what I mean. Anyway, Kemetians are tough, but we aren’t afraid to ask for help when we need it.”
“Make no mistake,” Cleo continued. “Kemet is in grave danger, but the people are much different than those you're used to from Arcadia. They won’t just run around screaming until they die. Whatever those bastards are, this is a fight they won’t soon forget. Kemetians won’t go down without fighting. Even if they get to a point where it seems defeat is unavoidable, our mother will not fail.”
Mariana clapped Arryn on the back. “See? Leave the worrying to them. Since they don’t seem afraid of the fate they might meet, you shouldn’t be either. It’ll only distract you. You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met, but your heart is so big that it gets in the way of your brain sometimes.”
That made a lot of sense to Arryn. She’d always been a thinker, and thinking sometimes got her into trouble. Most of the time, her will carried her through, but like anyone, there were times when she let doubt consume her. This was one of those moments.
Taking a deep, calming breath, Arryn reassured herself that if the twins weren’t scared, she shouldn’t be either. She would wait until they arrived to decide how to feel. Even then, she wouldn’t have time to think too much about it, not when lives would be at stake.
Chapter Three
Asim made her way down the palace steps to the stone walkway, holding her head high as she moved. Her long red royal robes flowed behind her as she strode toward the gathering of men, women, and children gathered outside.
“Good morning,” she said with a smile.
“Good morning, Your Highness,” her people greeted her in turn.
Asim looked toward the west for a moment. In the distance, she saw a large group of people walking toward the palace. Clouds and darkness still clung to the sky overhead, but to the east, the sky had begun to turn yellow and orange.
It would have been a beautiful sight, but all she could think of was the danger that lurked far to the south.
Their days were numbered if they didn’t do something soon.
Luckily for them, Asim had a plan to ensure the safety of everyone.
“Last night’s workers are coming in, and we'll soon replace them,” Asim said loudly and proudly. “Each of us has a full belly, and we have set out a beautiful meal for them to eat before sleeping for the day. Our soldiers are guarding our borders to make certain we are safe while we work. These are not the greatest of conditions, but we have made the best of what we have to work with.”
Asim was their queen, and as such, every life in Jadid was her responsibility. When they had first appeared several months back, the creatures had been smaller as well as few and far between. Over the last few weeks, however, reports coming from the south said they were much lar
ger.
Not many people risked venturing too close to the portal anymore, so it was hard to get reports, but she understood.
For the most part, the attacks happened in smaller villages, but they had increased in frequency. Because of that, plans had been put in place to ensure the safety of everyone inside the royal city as well as the people scattered throughout Kemet.
Unfortunately, that required secrecy. If anyone with a dark heart were to learn of the tunnels being built under Jadid and to the north, they could invade and harm those under her care. She hated to do it, but increasing security was incredibly important.
Before closing the gates, Asim had invited all those who lived outside the city. They had all been encouraged to gather their supplies and crops and move inside the walls. Asim wanted everyone in her kingdom taken care of. Though it had never been done before, Asim had even opened the doors of the palace to the public.
Carefully selected and secured areas of the palace had been converted into temporary housing for those who needed it. Asim had also commissioned homes to be built in neighboring large towns that were safe for those seeking refuge from the south.
Each newcomer in the city was assigned a job, one they had to accept and complete with pride if they were to live for free inside the great city. Within a few weeks, everything fell into a rhythm, and Queen Asim set her plan in motion.
At night, workers moved into the tunnels that Asim and her most skilled and trusted architects had designed. Once the sun began to rise, those inside the palace made enough food to feed themselves as well as the workers returning from their long shift.
After eating, they made their way outside and traded places with the night shifters, Asim among them. Though she was queen, she was a firm believer in hard work and leading people by example. She had raised her children to do the same.
Once the palace beds had been remade and the tables cleared of dishes from Asim’s group and re-set with plates full of hot food, it was time to start the day.
“Today, we'll begin creating the maze tunnels. I'll lead the diggers. The rest of you will be reinforcers. As we remove the earth, you will stabilize and harden the walls and ceilings,” Asim instructed.
“Your Highness,” Abram, one of the night shift diggers, said with a respectful bow of his head.
"Abram, good morning,” the queen responded. “Any problems to report?”
He shook his head. “We nearly doubled the progress we made the night before. Things are moving much more smoothly. If we keep working at this rate, we should be finished within a month.”
Asim nodded. “Let us hope we have a month. We'll focus on the most important parts. The night shift will continue to work on the main tunnel, and we'll work on the false tunnels and creating traps. Thank you for your labor. Please rest well.”
Abram and his team bowed deeply before moving toward the food.
Asim sent her team into the tunnels to inspect the work done the night before while she looked over the plans. The underground network would be a fortress once finished. Above ground, soldiers surrounded the city on tall, thick walls they hoped would be enough to keep the monsters at bay.
The top of each wall had an armored walkway, which allowed the guards to move freely around the city if positions needed to be changed. Every smith in Jadid was busy crafting new weapons from scrap metal taken from buildings left over from the ancients in the past capital of Kemet. They stocked the wall as well as stockpiled more to hide inside the tunnels.
If an emergency evacuation were needed, the city would gather at the palace and head into the tunnels. Once everyone was inside, the ground would be closed tight, making the entry invisible to anyone above ground and cutting off any scent left behind. Asim couldn't imagine anything would be able to smell them that far down.
Every family in the city had been assigned a number between one and four that represented which tunnel they went to when the time came. That would decrease the risk of confusion and panic.
The tunnels twisted and turned, intersecting with fake passageways stocked with supplies to make them look real. This would stall any enemy that may find their way in. In those false tunnels were traps meant to kill.
The families’ elders had been tasked with memorizing the layout of the tunnel system and teaching their family, going over them every day to ensure no wrong turns would be made.
Every day, they would go to the palace to study one of several copies so they could all be burned when the evacuation was announced. That would prevent any attacker, human or otherwise, from stumbling upon their routes.
Kemetians were extremely detailed in their work and prided themselves on perfection. Anything less was disappointing, and in this case, dangerous. While the city had once been a patriarchal society, Asim’s rise to power after the death of her father had changed things, and the quality of work within their borders had gotten better.
Asim had stuck to tradition for some time to soften the transition, forcing her daughters to do the same, even though she had taught them to be strong and powerful women regardless of rules. Soon, it became clear that change was essential. Eventually, women began to serve in the army, nearly doubling its numbers overnight—something that was desperately needed.
Though there were still a lot of things to overcome, Jadid had come to rely on Asim and her style of leadership. It was a new time, and while her ideas were radical within their conservative city, she hadn’t failed them yet. They looked at her less like a mere woman and more like their rightful queen, which paved the way for women across their society to pick up tools and learn new trades.
Jadid had been reborn, and they weren’t about to let it get destroyed. That was for damn sure.
“How much longer do you think it will be before the princesses' return?” Asim’s advisor, Omar, asked.
The queen thought for a moment. “If I know Bast and Cleo, they met with trouble along the way. I have no doubt they succeeded on their journey, and we have to make sure we succeed here.”
Omar smiled. “They do often find trouble.”
Asim returned the smile. “That they do, but I raised them to be fighters. They found the city of magic, I’m sure of it. Soon, they'll return with an army capable of things we’ve never dreamed of.”
Omar nodded. “When they do, we’ll be ready.”
Chapter Four
A light gust of wind blew through the Dark Forest, brushing Christopher’s face as he sat cross-legged on the edge of the Kalt River. His hands rested palm-up on his knees, and his eyes were closed as he focused on his breathing. The sun touched his face, warming his entire body.
Since being in the Dark Forest and away from the dark druids, Christopher had spent every day trying to better himself. Each day freedom graced him, and he felt another piece of himself return.
At first, every night was plagued with dark dreams and horrible memories of the life he’d been forced to live for over ten years. Arryn and the others had healed his body of the decade of damage taken from the many poisons he’d been forced to test, but his mind still suffered.
The young mystic Zoe had worked with Elysia to heal his mind of the terrors, and since then, he’d worked to strengthen his body. The stronger he became physically, the more confidence he found. Every day, he remembered more of who he was before his wife died and his daughter was lost to him.
Sitting in the sun today, Christopher felt almost like himself. Elysia had asked the village leatherworker to create new clothing and armor for him since his body had changed.
His arms, chest, back, and thighs were much thicker now than when he’d first arrived. He’d been terribly thin, with little muscle definition. Now, thanks to his diet and the lifestyle he led in the Dark Forest, combined with the daily training and healing sessions, his body was stronger than it had been before he’d been taken from Arcadia.
In the last few days, Christopher had been thinking about his magic. He’d excelled in warrior training, and like his daughter,
he wanted more. Life was far too short, and Arryn had accomplished so much. He was her father, yet it was she who was an inspiration for him. He wanted to learn everything he could to make sure no one he loved was ever harmed again.
The Dark Forest and everyone within it had become his family. They had given so much to him when he had nothing. If he couldn’t protect them, what good was he? In his mind, he would be useless.
Every day, Christopher came to the river to meditate and think about the decisions he had in front of him. He had to speak to Nika, Elysia, and the Chieftain since he wanted to be more than an Arcadian in warrior training. If Arryn had become a druid, he wanted to do the same.
He also wanted to be a warrior. A true warrior.
That would require knowledge of nature magic, something he’d had little training in. He’d tried, but it hadn’t gone well. He felt silly learning alongside the children, even though he loved being around them. They were all so full of life, and they reminded him of the happiness he’d felt when Arryn was so little.
Still, if they continued to allow him the opportunity, he’d train next to the little ones. If a rearick could learn nature magic, it wouldn’t be a stretch for him since he already knew physical magic.
Though he’d never been as strong with magic as his late wife, he was very powerful. He was stronger than Arryn had been when she left for Arcadia if the stories Elysia and the Chieftain had told him were true. It seemed she’d grown exponentially in a short period from sheer determination and the need to protect those she loved.
As soon as I get back to the village, I'll do it. I’ll speak to them, he thought.
His eyes shot open when he heard a stick snap. As loud as it was, he knew it must have been thick, meaning whatever had broken it wasn’t human. No animals within the Dark Forest barrier, aside from Chaos and Zobig, were large enough to make a noise like that.
Christopher’s heart skipped with the adrenaline jolt that urged him to stand and run, but he knew something watched him from a hidden corner. If he ran, whatever it was would chase him. He had to be cautious.
