The Salamander Prince

by S R Nulton

  Stone’s rumbling voice broke through. “We all do, eventually. Hopefully it doesn’t involve being turned into a frog.” That got them all laughing. Before I could move from my corner, another topic popped up.

  “So, wives, huh? I never thought I’d see the day when you two were both married. What’s it like?”

  “Why, you looking into getting a wife yourself? My suggestion is don’t start your marriage turning into an amphibian every morning,” Jeshu wryly pointed out.

  Eric shook his head. “No. I mean, yes, I’d love to find a good woman to marry, but not quite yet. It feels like something is coming soon and I don’t want to be completely tied up when it comes.”

  Stone snorted. “You and your feelings again. Just call them premonitions and get it over with.”

  “I don’t want to. Anyway, how are you two adjusting to having more people in your relationship? Is everyone getting along okay? I sometimes worry about bringing another strong personality into my family and causing everything to go haywire.”

  That stopped Stone and Jeshu a moment as they thought things through.

  Finally, Jeshu spoke. “I don’t think that they’ve gotten between us at all, now that you mention it. Grace never seems to object when Stone, Yew, and I need to speak privately. I don’t know Thyme as well as I’d like, but she is rather shy most of the time.”

  Stone nodded. “She is, but she speaks her mind when she feels the need. She can be a right fishwife about it when she has a mind. Doesn’t care if I speak or not and likes that I don’t use pretty words. All part of her culture, I think. Flattery is just lies to them and they hate lies. Grace is good to her though. To both of us. She always makes sure that Thyme is comfortable, or if not that she’s adjusting well to things. Made sure I knew how to approach my wife when we first met in person. She’s strong.”

  “Strong? How so?” Eric wondered aloud.

  “She’s an enchantress and didn’t use her magic for over a month without going mad,” Stone replied. “Heard it’s near impossible to do, as the stronger you are the more likely it is that the power will break your mind. That’s why mages get their power early and a little at a time. ‘Course, she seems a bit mad at times, but from what she’s said, she went through worse than this when she was little. She even stood up to Fire here when he was insisting on doing something stupid.”

  Jeshu was staring at his brother like Stone had lost his mind. Then something changed and his expression turned from incredulous to contemplative. Meanwhile, his twin continued.

  “Both of them believe the same motto, something from Lettelach.”

  Eric perked up. “Let me guess. ‘Family defends always’?”

  Stone nodded. “Yep. Thyme is quiet about it, using me to accomplish it. Grace just sneaks around and gets things done herself. If she can, she does. If she can’t, she talks to the right person to get it done. ‘Bout the stubbornest women I’ve ever met and neither of them will take the council well. They’ll look at that group of snakes and want to get rid of them right quick. Either that, or they’ll make those old men jump through a bunch of hoops to stay on.”

  Jeshu laughed at that. “True! Thyme would stare them down with those big blue eyes and tell them they were idiots who needed to grow up and think of someone other than themselves for a change. Grace would just put on her scary smile and threaten to use her magic on them until they decided to leave, with or without their lives.”

  Eric seemed surprised. “Her scary smile? And I find it hard to imagine that lovely woman threatening anyone. She’s too sweet looking to be scary, what with those big hazel eyes. Then again, Pearl doesn’t exactly look dangerous either…”

  Jeshu shook his head. “You don’t understand. Stone probably doesn’t fully either, although he’s seen the smile I mean. Skies, I barely understand it! Basically, Grace was raised by a murderer, and a sadistic one at that. She never says who her mother is, but it’s pretty clear that we’d know her name if we heard it. She helped raise her nieces and takes protecting family very seriously because it was when she was little. When she wants to be scary, she is very convincing. It’s mildly terrifying, even when you aren’t the one it’s directed at.”

  Stone frowned at him. “Then why were you so surprised when I was singing her praises earlier? You seem to be pretty impressed as well.”

  “Well,” he began sheepishly. “I hadn’t realized how dangerous it was for her to avoid using her magic. How did you know?”

  “Easy, I had more people trying to figure out why my powers are so weak.” I smirked at that. I had never known someone to be such a weak mage but I knew it had to do with them being a split soul. Stone ended up with the part almost devoid of magic, which made him the most unusual mage on the continent. Normally they were overflowing with power. I tuned back in when he continued to talk.

  “There was a test where I wasn’t supposed to use my powers for a few weeks and let them build up. I could go a long while before needing to use mine. I was told that the more powerful you are, the more dangerous it is to do such a thing. The build-up and subsequent explosion of power can kill you if you aren’t careful. She was able to drain some power starting up pre-existing enchantments, but Grace is very powerful. I’m honestly amazed that she lasted as long as she did. She has a lot of strength, both mind and body, to do that.”

  Jeshu looked sick and I was taken aback as well. I’d been told that it was dangerous, but I had no idea that abstaining could be deadly. Then again, it had never been an issue before. It clearly was now. Luckily, I had an idea for how to hide my signature, but it meant connecting with a close friend who’d been traveling. I needed to do it quickly to prevent future issues.

  The sun came up then, ending the conversation as Stone and Jeshu changed back into their animal forms.

  Eric sighed. “I guess this is goodbye for a while. Send word if you need anything and let me know how it goes. I’ll be ready if you need help.”

  They nodded and Eric stepped off the boat, pulling his horse behind him and waved as Yew took us out onto the river. It was time to go north.

  ~

  It took us five days to reach the unclaimed land above Crechel. Well, three-and-a-half, really. The extra day-and-a-half was to get parallel with the area we wanted to cross the mountains. They weren’t especially large, but they were dangerous if we weren’t careful.

  When we reached the perfect spot, Yew and I jumped out to pull the boat to shore and drag it out of the water completely. Once that was done, I had everyone get off and powered the enchantments to change my boat into a carriage.

  The switches between one type of boat and another were easy and didn’t require much effort. It just unfolded some space and made things bigger. The shift was completely safe as long as everyone was above deck. Changing from a seafaring vessel to road-worthy transport was quite a different animal. It required a bit of spacial… well, let’s call it ‘sharing’. It was that sharing that allowed the vehicle to hold everything and still be large enough for three men and two women, or conversely two women, one man, and two amphibians.

  No matter how one looked at it, it was not an easy thing to do and required a lot of concentration and a cessation of my illusion charm.

  “Oh, my…” Thyme began before stopping.

  “Skies! Is that the real size? How did that manage to get up those tiny channels?” Yew asked incredulously.

  Jeshu answered, his voice nearly breaking my concentration. “She tried to explain it when we first left her cottage, but I didn’t understand. I knew that she’d oversimplified, but I’m starting to wonder just how much she didn’t say.”

  Stone snorted. “You think? I told you she was powerful.”

  From the outside, I could see what they meant. The boat was very large. It was much larger than they had thought, though it should have occurred to them much earlier. Honestly, our rooms were quite a bit larger than most berthings on ships and the galley was a very… comfortable size. It didn’t matte
r much though, not right then anyway.

  The rudder had disappeared, melting into the wood as it changed. Windows appeared in various locations and the canvas sails created a tent-like structure over the top of the slowly forming box. The canvas quickly covered itself in shingles and a small porch appeared, with stairs that could fold up with a pull of a lever. The trim around the windows was elegantly carved and painted to look like vines and leaves, flowing into shutters decorated the same way. The siding shifted out and took on a lovely cream shade that made the emerald green door stand out.

  They last piece of the puzzle was the set of wheels forming under my former ship. They were large cart wheels, painted the same green as the door and shutters, but with the addition of gold flecks in the paint. Nothing over the top, just making it look like tiny pieces of mica got sprinkled in the paint. They got me thinking though, and as I looked at the rest of the vehicle, more gold flecks appeared in the green.

  I walked around the structure once before nodding and turning to the rest of the group.

  “You made a house,” Thyme said. “On wheels. You made a house on wheels.”

  I blinked. “Of course.”

  “Why? Why not just make a large carriage?”

  “It’s more comfortable this way.”

  My answer seemed to have them stumped. Or maybe it was my tone. It honestly wasn’t that big of a deal for me. I’d been working on that particular spell for a while, but I’d done more exciting things in the past.

  “More comfortable,” my husband said. “Love, I think you went a bit overboard.”

  Good thing they haven’t seen the furniture inside yet, I thought.

  Yew shook his head. “It’s bigger than your cottage! Why would you have a house just for traveling that’s bigger than the one you actually live in?”

  “Because I live alone and I usually travel with friends or family.” It really didn’t seem that odd to me, and I couldn’t understand why it did to them. “We should get inside and be on our way. Unless we want to stay here for the rest of the day.”

  They didn’t answer, just tramped into the house and began to exclaim over what they’d found.

  I reset the illusion to show a rickety old farm wagon pulled by an ancient donkey and stepped aboard, just in time to hear, “You have separate dishes for when it’s a house? Really?”

  ~

  Creeeeeak! Plchh!

  “What in the world?” I asked as I bolted from the bed.

  Jeshu sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Did we break an axle?”

  I shook my head and threw on some clothes before rushing to a front facing window. “There’s a tree in the road!” I exclaimed.

  We’d been on the road for a solid week and were very close to the mountain pass we needed to take. The road, which we’d found on the second day, had been old and in very poor shape, but extremely helpful. I didn’t want to have to use my evasion charm to allow us to avoid trees and boulders. It made me queasy and I was just getting my land legs back.

  “What was that crash?” Stone asked as he pulled a shirt over his head.

  “A tree. It’s in the middle of the road.”

  He blinked at me. “A tree spontaneously decided to fall in the middle of a road directly in front of us. With no storm or high winds in sight.” He snorted. “I’ll grab my sword.”

  I laughed shortly before walking down the stairs to the door. Jeshu and Yew were on my heels with Stone close behind.

  “Thyme up yet?” I asked my brother-in-law.

  He shook his head. “She’s been exhausted lately and can sleep through pretty much anything now that the morning sickness is dying down.”

  “Good. It’s probably highwaymen and I know she doesn’t respond well to those.”

  We stepped outside to look at the obstruction.

  “What would they be doing all the way out here?” Jeshu asked. “It makes sense to have a hideout here for emergencies, but there’s not a lot of traffic to make a living off of.”

  He’d pointed out the very thing that I was worried about. It was too unusual to be a coincidence, but the reasoning was still off somehow. The operation was seamless. The tree hit exactly where it needed to, blocking off the road without coming close to crushing the wagon. Add to that the fact that our ‘little old farm wagon’ was being driven at night without any trouble. If they’d watched us for any length of time (which the tree stunt suggested) then the bandits would expect magic and would have backed off.

  Unless…

  A wolf howled nearby and the men went on the defensive. All I could do was close my eyes and say, “Oh, crap.”

  “What?”

  I had no idea which one asked, but I knew all of them wanted to know what was going on. Instead of answering, I addressed the real problem.

  “Come on out, Mother. I know you’re there. And you can bring your friends with you.”

  Jeshu’s shoulders tensed and he moved his head slightly so he could see me. He opened his mouth to speak but stopped when movement was apparent near the fallen tree.

  The darkness lessened as a few burly looking men, a wolf with black fur, and a brunette in a very dark dress stepped forward. Most people would have said the dress was black, but it was actually a red so dark that it nearly disappeared in the night. As the woman moved closer, her pale skin and dark eyes shone in the moonlight.

  “Hello dear. What brings you out my way?”

  I suppressed a shudder. She’d followed me. I didn’t know why, but she’d gone out of her way to follow me and have a confrontation. It did not bode well.

  “I could ask you the same thing,” I responded. “Checking up on me?”

  “Well, I am your mother. Besides, I sensed something strange in your powers. What have you been up to lately? And who are those delicious men next to you?”

  It was like déjà vu. Almost the same thing happened to my sister just before her husband was captured and put under my mother’s spell, forced to work for her as long as she wanted. I was not happy with the situation I’d found myself in!

  “Doesn’t matter. They’re heading inside right now.” I turned and glared at them as they all attempted to complain. My look must have been severe enough to shut them down because they said nothing, just nodded before heading back onto the cart. Jeshu was the last and watched me carefully before stepping aboard. I knew he’d be by the door, ready to leap into action as needed, but the protections I’d placed on it would stop any spells my mother might have thrown.

  “Was that necessary? They were so pretty! Specially the one with the dark beard. He looked like a good lover.” She grinned maliciously.

  My eyes narrowed. “Yes, he is. He’s also my husband, so keep that in mind.”

  “Ah, so he’s the reason you received the power boost, eh? Neatly done. Mage?” I nodded. “Makes sense. I’m glad you got rid of those dratted storms. They’d started to mess with my supplies and I was not entertained.”

  I laughed. “So, basically, you checked on me when the storms got in your way, only to find me dealing with them. Then you noticed something odd about my power and signature, so you came to ask me about it and see if you can use it to your advantage.” I shook my head, frustrated and tired. “Family reunion complete. Now, let us pass. We have places to be.”

  “Ungrateful brat! After all I’ve done for you, that’s all you have to say to me?”

  “Mother, I don’t like you. You hate me. What more is there to say?”

  “How about you tell me why you married that ragamuffin? I thought at least one of my daughters would have been smart enough to listen to my advice about men.”

  My brows drew together. “Your advice was to enchant them so they couldn’t rebel and then use them until they broke. We listened, much as we wished we didn’t, but neither of us agreed with you.”

  “Fine,” she declared with a put upon expression. “Then don’t come crying to me when he doesn’t want you anymore. You’re thirty-years-old, Grace. He’l
l tire of you soon. Then you’ll realize that everything I’ve ever said is true.”

  I just shook my head. “Goodbye Mother. Have a safe trip wherever your going and don’t forget to move that tree. I don’t want to have to deal with it in the morning and you know what will happen if I do.”

  And with that I walked inside and shut the door.

  “Are you alright?” asked Jeshu as the others hovered in the background.

  I started to nod before shaking my head. “No. But we’re safe in here.”

  And then I let him pick me up and take me back to bed, cuddling with me the rest of the night.

  Chapter 12: Shop-ing!

  Things moved smoothly after that. Except when we came down the next morning to find Thyme holding a sword at the ready. Apparently, she did wake up and armed herself when she saw the highwaymen. She’d stayed awake all night, defending us as we slept. Stone was vacillating between proud she’d moved past her fear and upset that she’d been about ready to go out there and fight the brigands. They retired to their room to discuss it more, but Thyme seemed too happy at lunch for the conversation to have ended badly for her. For that matter, so did Stone.

  I didn’t sleep very well for the next few days, though, mostly due to my mother being in the area and taking an interest in me again. On the bright side, the tree was gone in the morning and we were able to continue on our way. We traveled through the pass and finally reached the Red River.

  “It’s named that because closer to the capital, the red flowering freshwater plant makes the water look like blood every summer when it blooms.”

  It was fortuitous that Wrigestrin was right on the river because it meant we were coming in the opposite direction that our enemy expected us to. As soon as we were back in the water, I turned to the men/amphibians and decided to get some answers.

  “So, what exactly are our plans when we arrive? I assume we will still be hiding?”

  Whatever they’d been expecting me to ask, it apparently hadn’t been that. All three seemed to relax, making me realize how tense they’d become as we moved closer to the capital of their country. Thyme noticed too.