by Elina Vale
Strands of white web fell tonto his face as he tried unsuccessfully to tear them from his hat. “Six. Or five now.”
Eavan removed her senatai robe, tossing it on top of a rock, and rolled the sleeves of her white shirt. “Where did they go?”
Boa grinned at her. “Care to go hunting with me, Eavan Firestone?”
Eavan’s mouth turned into a generous smile and magic lit up in her eyes. “After you, Riverson.”
The streets had emptied, as the spiders divided up and crawled through the city. Boa sprinted almost joyously through the deserted alleys. He glanced up to see Eavan leaping from rooftop to rooftop, leaving a trail of magical, sparkling mist behind her.
Circling around the corner he pulled to a halt. A giant spider had placed itself in a small plaza between the butcher’s and dressmaker’s shops. It was in the process of wrapping up its latest victim.
There was a sharp whistle from the roof and Boa glanced at Eavan. She pointed to the spider and Boa, then to the prey and herself. Boa lifted his hand to signal that he understood the signs.
He ran into the clearing, waving his blades. “Hey! Eight-legs! I'm over here!”
The spider spotted Boa, screeched, and crawled toward him. In the meantime, Eavan dropped herself behind the creature to help the poor soul inside the bundle. Boa had no time to observe if the spider’s prey was still alive as the beast rushed toward him. Luckily, it was clumsy, unaccustomed to its increased size and the confines of the city avenues, and Boa was fast. He rolled away when the spider clenched its jaws above his head, then hopped up to his feet, and ran straight under the beast. Before the creature could crush him, Boa sliced its stomach open with his blades. Green, stinking substance poured from the wound and covered him.
“Burning bitches!” Boa swore and stumbled through the goo. He had to get out from under the creature before it collapsed on him. He sprinted forward, tossing himself to the ground and sliding to freedom before the monster slumped down.
Boa sat up, studying his sticky and smelly clothes.
Eavan leapt down from her perch and lifted her eyebrows. “Was that a clever move? Now, look at you.”
“It died, didn’t it? You can kill the next one. Let’s see how you manage.” He pushed himself up.
Eavan’s eyes twinkled. “This is fun. We should do this more often.”
Boa reached out to touch her arm, but she slapped his hand away. “No. You stink.”
“My prize for saving the city.”
“Let’s go find the rest. The guard may have taken them down already, but let’s make sure.”
Within minutes, they found the third spider slaughtered on the street. It had killed a woman and cocooned two citizens. Boa rushed to the cocoons, ripping one open with his knife to reveal another woman, immobilized by toxins. Eavan opened the second one, and a familiar face emerged.
“Teron DeLureau?” Eavan said, peeling the cocoon away from him.
The young man’s eyes widened. He wiped the goo from his face and stumbled up.
“You can move already?” Eavan asked.
“It didn’t bite me,” he said. “When I tried to fight it, it threw me against the wall and knocked me unconscious. When I woke up, it was wrapping me.” He stared at the dead spider in horror. “I daresay I didn’t expect to run into such things in Glasswater. Why are they here?”
Eavan placed her hands on her hips. “Why are you here? I gave orders to keep every trainee on the Island until I return.”
“I... I had to come, because...” He stumbled on his words.
“Tell me,” Eavan said.
Teron sighed. “It’s Shri.”
Boa leaned closer. “What about Shri?”
“She’s gone.” Guilt came over his face. “I’m sorry... I-I couldn’t prevent it.”
“Gone? Where? You don’t mean...”
“No, she’s alive, as far as I know.”
“She’s making for Ironflare, isn’t she?” Boa’s throat tightened when he pictured Shri standing in front of Shea, without magic, only her small sword and her foolish bravery to defend her.
Teron lowered his voice. “No. She was taken by... by Rogues.”
Boa grabbed the boy’s tunic. “The Maira? You allowed her to be taken by the Maira? Do you have any idea what kind of brutal, drunken, thieving...?”
“Let him go, Boa.” Eavan said calmly. She nearly laid her hand on Boa’s arm, but changed her mind when the stench of the green goo reached her again.
Boa obeyed but continued his questioning. “Why did they take her?”
“I don’t know. She was being hunted by these two greedy old mercenaries. She must have run into them by mistake.”
“Hunting?” Boa groaned and momentarily closed his eyes. “Why were they after her?”
“Well...” Teron frowned.
“Enough,” Eavan said. “We need to hunt down the rest of the spiders before anyone else is hurt, or at least be certain that the guards have stopped them. Teron, stay close, but avoid contact with these creatures. Your father would not be pleased if I let you become something’s dinner.”
The guards had done a fine job killing two of the remaining spiders, and with Boa’s help, they brought down the sixth and final. Once the monsters had been dispatched, Boa and his companions retired to a nearby inn, where Eavan commanded him to scrub the stinking goo from his body and change into another set of clothes. He left his soiled clothing with her, asking that she have it washed, but Eavan declared that nothing would ever remove the stench, and she simply threw them away.
Once the spider attack was behind them, Eavan and Boa collected Teron in a private room at the inn.
“Now,” Eavan said, settling back into a rocking chair. “Start from the beginning, Teron. Why have you come to Glasswater?”
Teron paced nervously around the room. Boa watched him from the corner.
“Well,” he said, “Shri was worried about her family in Ironflare. She tried to sneak off the Island. But I refused to let her go alone.”
“Why?”
“She was ill-prepared. She had no plan, no idea how to reach her goal.”
“Well,” Boa said, “that certainly sounds like Shri.”
“How did you get here?” Eavan asked.
“We sailed with a fisherman from the Island.”
“And when you arrived?”
“I... rather foolishly brought us into a tavern of thieves,” Teron said. “We were rescued by a passing senatai named Vojmar, but he too had bad intentions. He wanted to bring Shri back to the Spike.”
“One of Shea’s little moles,” Boa commented.
“But that’s what Shri wanted,” Teron said. “She decided to go with him, hoping she’d reach Ironflare quicker. But the senatai saw me as a danger, a witness, and tried to kill me. Shri stepped in.”
“She has a knack for protecting those in danger,” Boa said. “No matter how much trouble it causes her.”
“She killed the senatai,” Teron said. “I-I don’t think she wanted to, but he was very persistent.”
Thoughtfully covering her mouth her finger, Eavan said, “Shri is leaving a mounting trail of corpses behind her. That’s not what I expected.”
“Once word spread that she had killed a senatai, the city posted a reward for her capture,” Teron explained. “While those old warriors were hunting her, she must have run into the pirates.”
“Teron,” Eavan said, “why did you really want to go with Shri?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I have no doubt that you were worried about her, but you have your own goals, don’t you?”
He refused to look her in the eye. “I was concerned.”
Rocking patiently, Eavan stared at him until he faced her. “I hear you spent much of the last three months sneaking in and out of Forbidden Bay.”
Again, he turned away. “H-How do you know?”
“Very little happens on the Island without my notice,” Eavan responded. �
�Particularly the movements of arrogant young students.”
“I wasn’t doing anything wrong!” he returned. “I’ve been doing research. Noble research. I knew you wouldn’t approve, but it’s important to me!”
“What research?” she asked. “If it’s noble, you need not fear judgment from me.”
Lifting his jaw, Teron straighten his stance and faced her. “I am on the verge of discovering how to restore a person who has been ripped.”
“Really?” Eavan stopped rocking. “What does a third-year trainee know about black magic?”
“Nothing yet,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for the mermaid to show me.”
Eavan lifted her hands. “Wait. A mermaid? That’s why you’ve been going to Forbidden Bay?”
“Well, yes.”
“You can talk to those creatures?”
“Not yet, but I’m certain they can communicate.”
Boa laughed. Teron DeLureau had been presented to them as a quiet young man, always obeying the rules and doing whatever was asked of him. But here he was, sneaking out of the school to test his fate against a species beyond his current level of comprehension. “Whatever your noble intentions, I’d advise you to stay away from the mermaids. They’ll have you in the water and stripped to the bone before you know what happened.”
“They are misunderstood creatures!” Teron insisted, lifting his stubborn jaw. “I’m not stupid, you know. I wasn’t in any danger. Not with this.” He revealed a small pendant hanging around his neck.
Boa paced over and examined it. “A swimmer’s rock. You’re just loaded with surprises.”
“And you’ve broken a number of rules,” Eavan said. “I’ll need to look at your research.”
“Fine,” he said. “It’s all just theory right now.”
“You don’t understand,” Eavan said, pushing her hair behind her ear. “There’s a reason why we teach you certain things at certain times. Too much knowledge at once can be dangerous. The most curious senatai I ever met, the one who studied the hardest and dipped into forbidden knowledge long before she was ready to receive it...” She sighed. “Let’s just say that her power came at a cost, and that cost may well have been her soul.”
“What happened to her?”
“She became of the greatest senatai of our time,” Eavan said. “But somehow, she’s still a prisoner of the basic greed that menaces us all.”
“Fine,” Teron said, folding his arms and pouting. “Your point is well-made. But none of this changes the fact that Shri is in danger.”
“He’s right,” Boa said.
“This is true,” Eavan said. “Although I will say that as much talent Shri has for trouble, she seems to have just as strong a talent for survival.”
“But how long can her luck last?” Teron glanced out the window. “She must be far from her already. Did you know that she’s afraid of the ocean?”
Boa rubbed his face. Shri was out of his reach, and he didn’t like it. “How did they take her? Did you see?”
“I lost her when she was running. Honestly, I don’t know what happened, but suddenly, I could no longer magically scout her. It was like she was... dead. But I followed the sounds of scuffling over to the marina, and there I saw her being carried into the pirate ship. They left instantly, right there in the middle of the night.”
Boa didn’t like Teron’s story. Shri was a hot-headed girl, too brave for her own good. How long would the Mairas put up with her attitude?
Teron tucked his hands to his pockets and studied his shoes. “I failed. I wanted to help her, but all I managed to do was to lose her.”
Boa stopped his pacing. “Burning pits...” He approached Eavan. “We must go after her. Even if the Mairas are treating her well, we’re running out of time! Shri has better things to do than float around with pirates!”
Eavan’s eyes glazed into a frozen state, revealing that she was having another vision. She rose from the chair and stood silently, her pupils dilating and her breath nearly stopping. Boa knew not to interrupt her, and he gave a silent warning for Teron to keep away. When she gasped and blinked, Boa clutched her arm. “What was it?”
She took a calming breath and looked into his eyes. “Remember when I said that what was missing will be found soon? Well, Shri may be on the right path.”
“What are you saying?”
Eavan squeezed his arm and whispered, “I’m saying we must let her go. Her fate has been decided.”
“But she’s defenseless! No magic, no training...”
“No training?” Eavan smiled. “I thought you said she is an excellent fighter.”
“Well, yes...” Boa let go of her and sneered. He had promised Shri’s father he would take care of her. Now, she had gone off with the most dishonorable people he knew. “But she’s alone with Mairas. We may as well let her walk off in the hands of murderers!”
“We never considered whether or not the Mairas fit into this,” Eavan whispered. “Their culture. Their history. That ancient story about the Heart. Boa, what if it’s all connected?”
“Bloody hell,” Boa swore and stroked his face with his hands. “We didn’t think about them because they’re pirates, criminals. Whatever grace they possessed is long gone.”
“My visions have been twisted somehow....” Eavan laughed. “Perhaps they’re causing it. Maybe the Mairas are better equipped to train her than I am!”
“You think this is funny?” Boa murmured.
“A bit, yes. I understand now. The Mairas have magic. I’ve never detected their actions or their intensions, and now I know why. They’re protected. But now the veil has been lifted from my eyes, and I’ve seen something of the future. We don’t need to worry about Shri, at least not for now.”
“You really think she’s safe?”
“Probably not,” Eavan admitted, “but she is travelling her appointed path. She must find her own way. But until she’s ready, we need more time before King Magnus marches on Ironflare.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
“We take a brellyboat to Sungarden.”
“What about me?” Teron asked.
“You’ll come with us.”
“Why don’t we just travel by gate?” he asked.
“It’s not safe,” Eavan said. “Shea is looking for us, and the creation of a traveling gate might draw her attention.”
Boa lifted his hands into the air. “Fine by me. I’ll take a brellyboat over a magical gate anytime.”
“I know that too, darling.” Eavan winked at him
“It will take four days to get to Sungarden by brellyboat,” Teron said.
“We’d better get started, then.”
Boa wanted to trust Eavan’s visions, but he had encountered the Mairas before. They were a cruel people. When they came to the mainland, they might be peaceful traders, but there was always an even greater chance that they were looking to loot and kill. He was afraid for Shri.
As they exited into the street, Boa considered Shri Moongale. What was it about her that made him so protective? He wasn’t a fatherly man. He had never craved a child of his own, but something about Shri had stirred protective feelings within him. Little had he known what kind of a young woman Shri was when he promised Merrilon Moongale he would take care of her. Keeping an eye on her was proving to be a full-time job.
Boa studied Eavan. She had lowered the hood of her senatai robe, revealing her proud face. Her shiny black hair had grown back a bit after being scorched during their escape from Ironflare. Boa could still remember the first time he had seen her. That same fire she still possessed had never dimmed. She was such a marvelous woman, and so stubborn.
She was so certain with her visions. Boa wished he could have some of her confidence, and he wished he could see what Eavan saw, but she had told him the visions were a curse more than a gift. The visions never happened exactly the way she had seen them; they showed only glimpses of possibilities, scenarios of the future. Often, Boa wondered if his l
ife was nothing more than masochistic self-torture. He remained with Eavan, and he would always be by her side. Even if she never answered his love, he would stay. He knew she loved him, if in her own way. He saw the way she looked at him, and he felt the passion between them. Events they had long prepared for were finally starting to happen. When the struggle was passed, when the wicked Black Star was finally defeated, Boa would no longer allow Eavan to keep her distance.
They belonged together.
PART 2
CHAPTER 12
WAKING UP ON A PIRATE ship was something Shri never imagined she would experience. She tried taking calming breaths, but just the idea of being at sea again terrified her. She stared at the ceiling, where a sturdy wooden chandelier swung with the rhythm of the waves. The ship swayed lightly from side to side, the boards shrieking with every motion. She heard shouts, hollers, and the splashing of waves.
Concern shadowed her mind. She had spoken long enough with the Mairas that had kidnapped her to learn that they trained their own senatai. This seemed mysterious for a group who was known only for pillaging and trading.
The ship made a deep sway and Shri closed her eyes. Her guts turned around, forcing her to focus on controlling her breath. She tried not to think about the ocean underneath her.
The vast, dark, cold ocean.
She breathed out, opened her eyes again, and sat up, nearly hitting her head on the boards. There was another bed above her, but it was vacant. Last night, when she was brought onto this enormous ship, she had been placed in here with some food and the door had been locked. The ship had taken off instantly. It was probably far from Glasswater already. She still wore the same clothes she had on yesterday. The shirt was rumpled, though dry. Her boots were still moist, but she didn’t have any alternatives, so she put them on, grimacing at the dampness reaching her feet through her socks.
She touched the black bracelet on her wrist. If the Mairas had been truthful, it was designed to block her magic. They were being cautious.
Shri tried the door, expecting it to be locked. It opened easily, suggesting that she wasn’t a prisoner after all. For that matter, where could she escape to? Her only choice would have been to jump into the cold ocean. Peeking through the open crack, she saw nothing peculiar; merely a rough corridor with more doors. She stepped out to find a set of steep, wooden stairs leading up to the deck, while another set dropped down under her feet. She was about to start climbing when she heard something from below.
