by Ben Alderson
I laughed, teeth coated with blood. It was too late. “Looks like you are out of time, Druid.”
Confidence came flooding back through me at the sound of the pounding feet getting closer.
“You are indeed out of time,” a voice said from beyond the throne room door.
My world seemed to slow as Gallion stepped around the doors, flanked by two soldiers dressed in purples and silver. Niraen soldiers.
“Now, Druid, I believe it is time we are introduced properly,” Gallion sneered, bent his aged knees, and pounced.
I PULLED ON my constraints until the muscles in my arms burned in protest. Had it been days, weeks since I last saw Gallion? I could not remember. But no longer did he look weak, thin and frail. Vitality glowed off him.
Locked in his dance with Gordex, it left the two Niraen soldiers to occupy Marthil.
Stumbling backwards until I reached the wall, I began smashing my wrists against it, trying anything to break my stone bindings. A shout from one of the soldiers distracted me. I watched him fall to his knees, a pike of stone pierced through his chest. Red blood pooled beneath him. Marthil retracted the spike. The entire city could have heard it rip out the soldier’s insides before he fell to the ground.
Chaos ruled this room. And I was helpless, unable to fight. Left to be the audience for this show.
Gallion fought without steel. Instead he whirled two wooden sticks in both of his hands. He threw one after the other towards Gordex, who ducked, spun and missed each attempt by inches.
I wanted to shout for Gallion, but I worried it would distract him. Why was he here? Did it mean Hadrian was close by? Just the thought urged me to smack my bound wrists against the wall again. This time harder.
Black shadow burst in the corner of my eye. It was not Gordex this time, but the Niraen solider. I tasted the shift, as I had months ago. The soldier’s sword clattered to the ground right by the paws of a wolf. It was jet black, eyes of ruby blood. Thrice the size of a mundane wolf, the shifter was almost as tall as Marthil.
Marthil took steps back, hands trembling beside her, the floor shaking as it echoed her nerves. I pitched over, face cracking with the ground, as I couldn’t soften my fall.
Straining my eyes to look up, I also saw Gallion and Gordex tilting as Marthil caused the ground to move. Her fear of the wolf was evident in her paled face and murmuring lips.
Gordex must have seen or sensed Marthil’s fear, for he spared a hand, which extended out for the shifter. In moments, it was locked in a cage of slithering shadows.
“You bring my own creation in hopes to win?” Gordex’s voice filled the room. As he said it, the shadowy cage vibrated, and the shifter began to falter. Steams of black shadow seeped off the shifter, melding into the surrounding cage. Yelping, the wolf fell to its hind legs, tongue hanging free as it shook its head. The shadow was pulled from the shifter, melting from his body until his elven form was left, just as Gordex had done to Nyah.
Gordex simply fisted his hand, and the cage of shadow disappeared. All eyes were on the shifter, who stayed on the ground. That left Gallion against Gordex and Marthil, who side stepped the shifter with caution before bracing for the fight.
“Two on one?” Gallion said, tilting his head to the side as he studied his opponents. “Now how is that fair?”
“War has never been fair,” Gordex replied, “old man.”
Gallion smiled, a knowing expression. “Rules are for those too petrified of failure.”
Gallion’s eyes flashed red, the same red that circled Nyah’s hands when she used her empathic abilities. Then the stone melted from my wrists, allowing me to be free. Gallion didn’t do this. Only Marthil had the power for that. As if she read my mind she looked over her shoulder at me, and my heart picked up in speed. Her eyes, like Gallion’s had been, were red. Burning, blood red. She snapped her head towards Gordex and threw her hands up. Gordex was not prepared when the stone floor lifted like free water around his legs.
It imprisoned him in place.
Marthil was no longer Gordex’s puppet. She now belonged to Gallion’s power.
“Zacriah, the orb,” Gallion called to me.
Gordex snarled, finally realizing what Gallion had done, controlling Marthil’s mind to do his bidding.
I didn’t want to get close to Gordex as I reached out with my own awareness and let the air show me the location of the orb. Wind rushed around the trapped Druid until it brushed across the curves of the orb within the folds of his robes. With a tug of my wrist the orb came free, floating beyond the Druid’s body and into my hands.
It was too easy.
“Destroy it,” Gallion shouted, his voice strained. “Quickly boy!”
“But Hadrian—”
“If you want him back you need to break the orb. Do it. I am losing my hold,” Gallion shouted, his voice building in urgency. His neck strained, and teeth bared as he tried to hold onto Marthil’s mind.
Looking into the twisting shadows within the crystal orb, I imagined Hadrian’s warm embrace. I held his soul in my hands as he held my love in his. A loud groaning brought me back into reality as I watched the stone around Gordex shiver. He was fighting against Marthil’s Heart Magick, but just as he couldn’t with me, Gordex failed to fully regain control.
“NOW!” someone screamed.
Was it Gallion? Gordex? Marthil?
Taking a deep breath, I raised the orb above my head and brought it down. It slipped from my fingers and flew for the floor. All sound in the room disappeared as the orb came into contact. I believed it would break instantly, but it didn’t. It bounced across the ground three times, each one giving a light noise, beautiful and deadly. On the last touch, it burst into a million pieces.
All across the room, shadow and glass filled the air. I raised my hands, covering my face. I bit my lip as glass cut into my hand.
Gordex’s low shout thundered, “No!”
The room shook. His bindings snapped like they were no more than weak twigs in the wind.
I lowered my hands as the room stilled in time to watch Gordex break free from the earthy prison. Marthil sagged, finally free of Gallion’s controlling magic. Her knees hit the ground and mouth gaped open.
Gallion stood, arms by his side and smile on his mouth. “You did it, my son,” he said, looking right at me. “You saved the flame.”
I opened my mouth to scream but was too late. Before my first note came out of my mouth Gordex raised the Staff of Light and thrust it towards Gallion. In the moments after, I would wonder if Gallion knew what was to happen. He didn’t even try to stop it.
Not once did Gallion stop smiling. Not when the pointed crystal embedded into his stomach. Not when Gordex lifted him from the ground until he hung suspended in the air atop the Staff.
He just smiled, eyes locked on mine, pride glowing from his face.
Even when his smile turned red and thick blood dribbled from the sides of his mouth, staining his purple armor, he did not stop. Nor when his skin turned lost its color and his eyes stained bloodshot. The smile stayed in its place.
Enraged, Gordex brought the Staff back down, knocking Gallion’s lifeless body from the end and turning back to me. I didn’t care what he did now. Gallion was gone.
“Get up, girl,” Gordex snapped. His voice was muffled as grief took control of my body, like I was listening beneath a sea of water. “Get up and help me take him.”
Soon careless hands grabbed a hold of me and yanked me from the room. I managed to keep my eyes open until Gallion’s body was no longer in view.
I closed my eyes, giving into the rough waves that stormed within me. I let it drag me down, deeper into its hold.
You did it, Gallion’s voice said again. You saved him. You have given us a chance. Once again there is balance in this fight.
I wanted to respond, but I was sinking further into the darkness. The rough hands of despair locked around my ankles, pulling me deep into the dark belly of grief.
&nb
sp; I BOLTED UP, pushing my hands into my stomach in hopes of calming the violent cramping. Gagging, I tried everything to retrain my breath.
Just in time, I rolled onto my side and let the liquids spew across the rugged floor beside the bed. My vision was doubled, making it hard to see what was happening. All I could focus on was the sickness. Breathing was difficult as the pain took a hold of my lungs. By the time I retched nothing but air, my head throbbed.
I studied the small wooden room through squinted eyes. My eyes clapped onto a bowl which slid across a counter, then back again. Everything seemed to be moving, tilting ever so slightly, enough to tease my stomach into retching again.
Then the smell hit. Salt. Heavy, overwhelming salt. It was so strong I could taste it in the back of my throat, melding with the thick sick that lingered there. The sounds followed next. Singing of birds, the lapping of water against wood.
I scrambled to the end of the bed, a cold breeze from the circular window tickled across my damp skin. I peered through the window and saw ocean. Deep azure for as far as my eyes could make out.
No city, no palace, no Gallion.
Blinking I saw Gallion. As I knelt on the scratchy sheets of the cot, the memory lingered within me. Gallion’s smiled haunted every corner of my mind. The closest I had to a father figure since I left home. Murdered. Dead. Never to return.
I leaned over the cot again and retched. Nothing came out, only air and a hoarse scream.
The last thing I remembered was leaving his body in the throne room. After that my memory failed me. Or did it protect me?
Linking the missing events, whatever happened between then and now, I had been taken to this ship. I couldn’t gage for how long I had slept.
I stood, steadying myself against the wall as the ship groaned. My bare torso tingled with fresh winds that slipped through the paneled wall. Even the loose cream undershorts shifted slightly. I didn’t want to dwell on who had undressed me, that could wait. I spotted the pile of brown clothes on the dresser. Beside them was the black uniform.
Running my thumb against the tough material, it came back covered in the dust of stone. Proof that the fight with Gordex and Marthil had happened.
Pushing the thought back down, I pulled the brown clothing on, not wanting to wear the uniform again.
There was no mirror to inspect my state. From the throbbing that settled in the back of my head, I knew I had a lump. Running my tongue along the side of my lip, I left the raised mark from where my teeth had cut.
I was numb of emotion.
I opened the door with caution and walked the empty, narrow corridor beyond. Using both hands, I pressed them against the walls to still the incessant rocking.
Up ahead, I spotted a set of stairs. The doors above were open, enough for me to see the sky and the white gulls that danced through the blue expanse above. I didn’t reach for my magick to see how many waited for me up top. I didn’t dwell on what would happen, how I would react when I saw Gallion’s murderer. I would rely on instinct for dealing with Gordex. He had to be punished for this.
There was a cold touch in my consciousness, but I ignored it.
Reaching the top step, I was welcomed by harsh winds. And Marthil. She stood at the helm, hair whipping around her face as she studied the horizon. I looked around, eyes streaming from the bright sun, and saw no one else.
“He’s awake,” Marthil called, not bothering to look over her shoulder. “Finally.”
“You,” I shouted back, unable to take another step towards her. She may not be the one who ended Gallion’s life, but she didn’t stop it either. Not that I expected her too.
“You have been sleeping for an entire day. I was close to coming down and forcing you to get up.”
I couldn’t take my eyes of her. My hands clenched to fists beside me. “YOU.”
Winds gathered around my fists. Marthil snapped her head to me and raised a single finger.
“Unless you want to bury us in the middle of the Coralitic ocean, I suggest calming yourself down.”
I looked behind her again at the never-ending sea. It took me a moment to see the difference between where the sea ended, and the sky began. Without the clouds I’d gotten used to seeing in Lilioira, it looked like an entire universe of cobalt.
“Give me a good reason not to. It would rid you from the world.”
“We’re on route to Morgatis. Do that and you wouldn’t reach sand to see your friends again.”
I burned holes through Marthil with my stare. Her face was a shade of green. Eyes framed by shadows, the whites black with veins.
“Where is he?” I spat.
“Gordex?”
My silence was enough of an answer.
She shrugged her shoulders, gripping the wooden paneling next to her as if it kept her up. “It’s almost been two days since he put us on this ship. If he was going to join us, it would have happened already.”
She is lying, she must be. I reached out with my magick, searching the ship for his presence. I didn’t sense his wretched body. Beside Marthil, I sensed countless bodies in the bottom of the ship. Each moved with great rhythm matching the movement of the ship. Living bodies.
“Why?” I shouted over the winds. “Why leave us alone?”
Marthil didn’t respond this time. Instead she peered back out towards the ocean.
She had mentioned it had been two days. Two days since the attempt to save us from Lilioira. Two days since Gallion’s life was stolen from me. The mere thought turned my stomach. I swallowed a lump in my throat. I’d not show Marthil any weakness.
“How long till we reach Morgatis?” I asked, keeping my distance from her.
“Days, weeks, your guess would be as good as mine.” Marthil peered back at me, the whites of her eyes red. She didn’t look well at all.
“Why leave us alone?”
“We are not alone. You sense the soldiers below, keeping us on route. We do not need him with us for him to ensure we arrive as he plans.” She stumbled slightly, exhausted from the simple sentence she had forced out.
“They’re alive.” I reached out again, sensing the honest breathing of the living who keep this ship moving. “Why not send his shadowbeings for the job?”
“Because…” Marthil stopped talking and threw her head over the side of the ship. It was followed by the sound of something splashing into the sea.
“Sea sick?” I sneered, unable to hide my smile. I crossed my arms and watched as she fumbled to cover up her weakness.
“Don’t worry about me,” she said, walking straight past me towards the steps that led to the lower decks. “You’re going to need the energy when we reach the shores of Morgatis. Because when we do, I can promise my strength will return tenfold.”
There was an undeniable bite in her reply, clear as crystals. But so was her breathlessness and slight hobble when she walked.
I let her leave me. She knocked passed, shoulder hitting into mine, but it lacked strength. It was Marthil who stumbled backward and turned from green to red. She rushed down the stairs and disappeared into the belly of the ship.
Part of me was glad that she left. I had another means of conversation to have. If Gordex truly was far from here, he would not sense mine and Nyah’s link. Unless she didn’t get out.
The thought panicked me.
It took me a moment to regain my use of the link between Nyah and myself. Closing my eyes, I willed the image of the door to glow in my mind’s eye. Once it was clear I reached a hand and knocked. Three raps on the solid frame and it creaked open. A rush of warm and light filled every vein in my body.
Zacriah, at last. Nyah’s voice was full of relief as it echoed across my mind. I have been worried sick.
I can’t tell you how hearing your voice is making me feel, I replied, leaning against the wooden paneling behind me.
Likewise.
I’ve been trying to get through for almost two days. I thought… Listen, just don’t leave me hanging again.
/>
I’m sorry. I couldn’t respond. Turns out I have been out of it for a while.
There was a moment of paused silence. Foreshadowing of the conversation to come. Nyah sensed it as much as me. I could feel that between our link.
I felt Gallion pass, she said, voice wobbling. Even in my mind I could image the twisting pinch of her face as grief took over. It was so strange. Like the snuffing of a candle. My brothers found me and got be through the city, and just as we left I felt him die. They wouldn’t let me go back for him. I needed to go back for him, but they stopped me. Told me it was too late. It hurts, Zac. It really hurts.
I know. The two words were all I could conjure. Even with the ocean between us her sadness was palpable.
What happened to him?
He—he ambushed Gordex. Tried to stop me, to give me time to save Hadrian. But Gordex, he… I couldn’t finish what I had to say.
Zac, are you safe?
I am not sure. I am headed to Morgatis with Marthil. I don’t know what is happening. I don’t know where I am. I could fly, leave the ship. Marthil would not have the energy to follow me. But we have been traveling for two days and land could be far.
A calming warmth raced up the link between us and wrapped around me. You don’t need to go anywhere, Nyah said. We have means to intercept your journey.
I looked out to sea, filled with a sudden burst of hope.
You do?
We would have gotten to you sooner, but since this is the first time you have opened our link, I can start to track you from now. I will relay what I know to Queen Kathine, who will contact the necessary people.
Queen Kathine is with you?
Yes, she got out before Neivel and Negan found me. She is not in the best state, but she is healing fast. Yesterday she was taken to an undisclosed location within the mountains of Eldnol. No one but her closest knows where she is.
I couldn’t believe what Nyah was telling me. The ambush on the city was a success, in ways and a failure in others.
