Veritas

by St Clare, Kelly

  “I see Barrels.” Plank coughed, leaning his head against the boat.

  She followed his finger. “On it.”

  Ebba swam as hard as she could through the swell, grateful it was smaller than in recent days so she could see over the top. Ahead, Barrels slashed at a sole beast, but his strikes were slow and weak. The Capricorn swam around him, waiting for the moment her father exhausted himself.

  The Capricorn turned at her approach, water dripping off the white hair of its goat head. Horizontal pupils regarded her and dismissed her, like his friend just did.

  “I shoved my dagger in a buddy of yers down there,” she shouted at the immortal.

  The Capricorn slowly turned. Ebba couldn’t tell if he understood her, but the creature’s eyes rested on her dagger as it inhaled deeply.

  “He bleated like a little kid,” she called louder.

  “Ebba,” puffed Barrels. “Don’t.”

  The beast neared her, and Ebba readied herself, saying to her father, “Swim to the boat, catch yer breath. Plank be there; we’re regroupin’.”

  That was a stretch, and Barrels must’ve sensed it. He hesitated.

  “I can’t be worryin’ about ye drownin’,” she scolded him.

  Relief lit within her as he nodded, making for the rowboat.

  The beast turned to follow.

  “Oi, goat face,” Ebba yelled, splashing the water. “Ye’re a right ugly thing, ain’t ye?” She’d never get over some of these magical combos.

  The Capricorn lazily drifted her way and then, without warning, launched at her with vigor. Ebba gasped and blindly thrust her dagger out.

  The beast collided with her, and Ebba flew up and out of the water, arms and legs flailing as she soared backward through the air.

  The dagger was gone. That was her only thought before she bombed into the ocean.

  The dynami’s tingling power pulsed through her in waves, and with a few short, strong strokes, she broke the surface again. Where was she? On the other side of the rowboat? She couldn’t see it.

  Ebba swam in the direction of the yelling and splashing, knowing her crew would be exhausted by this point without the help of the dynami.

  A Jendu popped up in front of her. Ebba flung out her arm instinctively and just managed to stop herself from punching the creature.

  “What are ye doin’ here?” Ebba hissed.

  The Jendu began to tug her away from the noise, and Ebba jerked her arm free.

  “Nay,” she said, knowing the mermaid couldn’t understand her. Ebba pointed at her heart and then back at the boat.

  The creature sighed and shook her head, pointing at herself.

  “I don’t expect ye to come,” Ebba told her. “But I must save them.”

  The Jendu nodded and swam aside to let her pass.

  . . . But the way was barred.

  As Ebba spun in a circle, Capricorn rose from the water all around, some of them missing spears, some of them bleeding aqua blood, but all of them staring at her and the Jendu with burning eyes.

  “This ain’t good,” she whispered to herself as the mermaid began to cry, the sound like chimes. If Jendu had cursing magic, now was the time to use it.

  Ebba glanced down at her belt, double-checking the dynami was there. It was all she had to protect herself.

  Treading water, she spun in another circle as the Capricorn advanced. “Let the Jendu go,” she said loudly, pointing to the young woman. “Let her go.”

  The Jendu cowered against her back.

  “Blimey,” Ebba muttered. “At least help yerself.”

  She whirled in time to see a beast launch at them from behind. Ebba threw a punch, wincing as the Capricorn’s cheekbone collapsed inward with a loud snap. The beast dropped—whether unconscious or dead, she couldn’t tell.

  Ebba struggled to stabilize herself after the punch, briefly bobbing underwater.

  The other Capricorn stopped, and Ebba glared at them. The largest of them pointed his spear at her and then at a net in his hand.

  “I ain’t gettin’ in anythin’ that’ll drown me,” she said. “But I will come with ye if ye let the Jendu go.” She jerked her thumb at the Jendu and made a shooing gesture with her hand, hoping that was enough to convey her meaning.

  If the Jendu was allowed to leave, maybe the immortal would tell the kraken what had befallen Ebba. She couldn’t see her fathers but could hear them shouting for her. Which meant they weren’t fighting for their lives any longer.

  Hold on. Were all the Capricorn here surrounding her and the Jendu?

  Fear twisted her insides. It better not have anything to do with the fact they were both female. Her throat closed over, the image of Calypso popping into her head again. She fought it off, teeth gritted.

  “The Jendu goes,” she called loudly, hoping her fathers would hear her. “I’ll come with ye if the Jendu goes.”

  “She’s over there,” someone called. “I just heard her.”

  The Capricorn glanced in the direction of her fathers. Was it their urgent tone the creatures reacted to, or did they understand pirate?

  The beast contemplated her and nodded.

  These creatures definitely understood the mortal tongue.

  Behind her, their circle broke apart, and Ebba shoved the Jendu in the direction of the opening. The creature peered back at her with wide eyes.

  “Go,” she shooed her.

  As soon as the mermaid made scarce, she’d attack to stall a while longer. She’d told a pirate truth. She was only going with the Capricorn for one second.

  The Jendu’s lip trembled, but she turned and fled through the gap, disappearing under the surface.

  “So. . . ,” Ebba said, facing the Capricorn she assumed was the top goat.

  The circle tightened around her.

  She sized the beasts up.

  As the leader shifted, the net in his hand emerged from beneath the surface. She’d thought it empty before, but horror struck her when she saw the tarnished silver tube within.

  One of the root parts. The Capricorn had stolen it from one of her crewmates.

  Ebba scanned the immortals with new eyes. Four had nets. Considering there were five objects and Ebba had one of them, the presence of four nets was too much of a coincidence to be disregarded. But she had to be sure.

  Taking a breath, she dropped under the water and squinted at the closest net. The tell-tale glisten of tarnished silver winked back. Ebba wailed under the water and surfaced once more.

  Even if the beasts had one part, she had to do everything possible to get it back. But if her gut was right, they had four parts. And if she went with the Capricorn, they’d have five. What was more, the creatures appeared to have deliberately collected the items. They knew what the parts were.

  What that might mean, Ebba wasn’t ready to contemplate. Her choice had to be the same either way.

  She stared at the leader, heart sinking. Dipping her head at him, Ebba made no movement in the direction of her frantic crew.

  The Capricorn closed in on her, and she didn’t fight back. She didn’t resist.

  Ebba had to go with them.

  Sixteen

  They’d barely stopped the last two days. The longest break occurred shortly after the Capricorn took her hostage, once they’d put some distance between Ebba and her crew. And then, it was only to snatch the dynami from her belt.

  The slimy wooden raft they carted her through the sea on was just large enough for her to curl up in a ball. Rusty nails protruded from the boards around the edges of the raft. There weren’t sides to offer any protection from the water or spray.

  In short, Ebba had been soaking wet, thirsty, hungry, and aching for two days.

  “If I don’t get water soon, I’ll get sick,” she croaked to the closest Capricorn, who bleated at her and then swam ahead to the top goat.

  Should she take that to mean they wanted her alive? And why did they want her alive?

  In two days, she’d thought of n
othing else but how to get away with the parts. Trying to guess why the Capricorn wanted the five parts in the first place. If they knew the parts formed the root of magic, did they know what the root was meant for?

  That the Capricorn had no idea what they carried was impossible, considering the care they’d taken to keep the parts separate.

  She didn’t budge as a wave broke over her head.

  The continuous whirl of her thoughts between the snatches of sleep she’d managed to grab had left her exhausted. At least, she knew their direction. A few glimpses of the morning sun yesterday told her they were taking her northeast. Exactly where her crew had been heading before the beasts attacked—toward the sixth piece.

  That seemed awfully coincidental. . . .

  The situation threatened to overwhelm her, but she had to remember that the end game hadn’t changed. Ebba had to get the parts back and somehow find her crew. The latter seemed impossible, so she focused on the first step. Yet that seemed impossible, too, because to take the five parts meant she had to hold five parts. She’d managed two but hadn’t attempted more.

  Ebba shifted her cheek against the slimy wooden board, blinking a few times as the waves smoothed out.

  Pushing up on her elbows, she peered ahead to a long, shadowed mass in the distance. She had little idea of the time or whether it was night or day, but the darkness shrouding the island sent a foreboding shiver up her spine that had nothing to do with the cold.

  The swell continued to smooth as the Capricorn towed her to shore.

  Ebba scanned the creatures for any hint, noting the way they bunched together as they got closer to the island. Their spears were now lifted before them, their eyes scanning the shoreline.

  They were afraid.

  Which made Ebba afraid. If the Capricorn were meeting someone here, the creature had to be more powerful. Had Medusa been freed? Were the Capricorn working for her? Or was there a new foe behind the attack that they were yet to come across?

  She set her attention to scanning the shore for any clue of what was to come. No boulders littered the dark beach. The landmass itself seemed relatively flat. She couldn’t make out any treetops in the dim light, which added to her sense that the place was generally inhospitable. The island stretched far out to the north, beyond what her eyes could track.

  What was this place?

  The Capricorn slowed after the break, and the raft Ebba was on sank down into the water slightly. The closest one beckoned her off with jerky gestures.

  Careful of the nails, Ebba obeyed, forcing her stiff limbs to move. They weren’t inclined to. Ebba rolled off the raft and went under, her aching legs scrambling for purchase as she windmilled her arms through the sea.

  The beast gripped the neck of her tunic and hauled her up. Her feet found purchase. Apparently, the water was shallow enough to stand. She grunted her thanks to the creature before recalling she was their hostage.

  “Are we goin’ in or what?” Ebba called to the top goat. Being a pirate, she was well used to being wet. But after two days of being soaked to the bone, she wanted to be dry. Even for an hour.

  One of the Capricorn splashed, and she remembered their fish tails.

  “Oh,” Ebba drew out. “Ye can’t go on land.”

  They were definitely meeting someone, then. Judging by the empty beach, their boss wasn’t here yet.

  She straightened. The Capricorn were restricted to water with their fish tails.

  The beasts were twice her size, and the water reached her waist. This had to be as close as they dared go. Which meant she only had to get a little in front to escape. Ebba edged forward in slow increments.

  Sod it.

  She stopped with a weary sigh. They still had the parts. Those things were going to be major seaweed on her rudder.

  The Capricorn bleated to each other, casting furtive glances at the beach, but their fearful conversation halted at a deep, echoing thud.

  Several thuds.

  Ebba shrank back into the water with the rest of the beasts at the sound, instinctively feeling for the weapons no longer on her body. What was making that noise? It sounded like a stampede of horses or cows. She braced herself to meet another magical species, however, knowing domestic farm animals could never instill such tension in the Capricorn.

  The two closest immortals gripped her elbows and shoved her forward.

  Ebba waded forward until she was just out of their reach, in water to her hips.

  The thundering of hooves grew louder, interrupted by yips and shouts, and Ebba struggled to hold her ground as a horde of galloping creatures flooded over the beach toward them.

  At first, she could only make out horned heads that reminded her of the Capricorn.

  These creatures stood upright, which she found hard to correlate to the galloping noise. As they reached the water and started into the shallows, Ebba saw the new beasts did have hooves. In fact, their entire bottom halves were goat though they were human on top. Various colors of goat hair—white, shades of brown, and black—covered their bodies up to their waist. They were at least five heads taller than her and stood on two legs that bent the opposite way to Ebba’s. Around each of their necks hung a small wooden windpipe.

  What were these things? Did it mean something that both magical beings were half-goat, or not?

  The goat-men surged into the water and Ebba lost the battle to face them off.

  Rearing back, she yelped as a spear jabbed her in the back. Glancing behind her, she found the Capricorn’s weapons raised in a pointy wall so she couldn’t retreat.

  Swallowing, she turned to face the latest threat to her life.

  Usually, the biggest creature was the leader, but the opposite appeared true here. In the middle, the smallest of the goat-men stood, arms folded against his chest, slightly ahead of his herd, in clear dominance of the situation.

  He opened his mouth. “You have the parts, brethren?”

  Brethren. They were related?

  She jerked as, one by one, the mesh nets containing the parts were thrown to the standing creatures. The spear jabbed her in the back again, and Ebba glared over her shoulder at one of the Capricorn. They held veritas out to her.

  Wait. They wanted to give her a sword? Sure.

  Ebba reached back and grasped the net holding the weapon. She wasted no time grabbing the hilt, focusing her thoughts on one question: What were these immortals going to do to her?

  She waited for the sword to answer, but no image appeared in her mind as it had with Locks. Caspian was right. The veritas didn’t show you the future; it only confirmed what you already knew. And she knew nothing right now. But as the leader of the standing beasts beckoned her forward, Ebba gripped the veritas tight and glanced around with the extra sight the sword lent the bearer.

  . . . The island possessed a dull glow as did the water around her.

  The Capricorn glowed, too, but a ball of shadow swirled deep within them. A dark cloud that was very similar to the taint Ebba had glimpsed inside of her fathers.

  She peered down at herself and saw she possessed only shiny radiance. She glanced up at the new immortals.

  No light.

  None whatsoever. The hooved creatures were drenched in shadows. The cloud of darkness wasn’t just a ball inside their chests—it consumed them.

  Her mouth dried. The Capricorn were a little tainted like her fathers. But if Ebba was correct, these new immortals were saturated with the evil.

  She squinted along the rows of them, trying to make out their eye color in the dim light. If they were contagious, Ebba had to be very, very careful.

  Shite.

  The sword was ripped from her hands, and Ebba jumped, coming eye-to-chest with the leader. Tilting back her head, she felt her mouth dry at the glow in the beast’s yellow eyes. The knot within her loosened at that; yellow, not black with taint. This one wasn’t contagious, at least.

  “This is the right girl?” The leader spoke over her head while inspecting he
r. He had horizontal slits for eyes just like the Capricorn.

  He lifted a hand to her cheek and Ebba slapped it away.

  “Keep yer hands to yerself,” she snarled.

  The beast ignored her, addressing his herd. “Then the others shall come as expected.”

  Her heart dropped into her boots.

  This was a trap for her fathers? She was the trap? But how had they known that would work? How could these creatures ‘expect’ anything? That meant they had information on her crew.

  “What are ye plannin’?” she asked him, jaw clenched.

  The leader gestured and two more approached, yellow eyes fixed on her.

  She braced herself, watching their movements. “Where are ye takin’ me?”

  Pain exploded across her face as the back of the beast’s hand spun her sideways, submerging her in the water once more. Lights exploded before her eyes, and her ears rang as she was hauled gasping from the sea again.

  This time, she was dragged to the shore, and by the time they’d heaved her onto the muddy sand, Ebba managed to blink away the dots of white light from the blow and struggled to her feet.

  “Speak when spoken to, mortal,” one of the goat-men holding her upright hissed.

  “Sod off,” Ebba snarled.

  His yellow eyes flared.

  “Ye just spoke to me,” she hurried to add.

  The second beast looped one rope around her hands and another rope in a noose about her neck. They held one end each and she didn’t need them to jerk the rope to gather she’d either keep up or be dragged.

  The leader shouted a command, and she was forced in a run up the beach.

  Ebba tried to limit her weaving, her face throbbing from the earlier blow. Her calves burned as she pushed through the dark, muddy sand. The clouds above were so thick it was like perpetual night here. As the sludgy sand gave way to dirt ground interspersed with wiry, thorny black vines, the heaviness in her stomach swelled.

  She was the trap.

  They’d gotten that half wrong, though. The Capricorn could’ve taken any member of the crew, and the rest would’ve done their darnedest to save the person. But how had the Capricorn known? Had they spied on the rowboat or Felicity without anyone realizing?