Born of Water: Elemental Magic & Epic Fantasy Adventure

by Autumn M. Birt

Chapter 18

  TY’S ISLAND

  “I won’t go with you!”

  Ria’s shout echoed in Ty’s ears as he stormed down the inn’s stairs and hurtled toward the exit. As he took the ten paces from the bottom step to the door, he saw heads turn and a few people rise from their seats. His dash burst into a run.

  He hit the small skiff Skree had lent him with both feet, his momentum surfing it away from the end of the short dock. The slipknot pulled out with one practiced tug and he was fifteen feet from the dock before he even sat down to grab the oars. No one pursuing him would have any chance of catching up.

  The dock extended back to the small town of Drufforth without a soul along its length. A great seabird spread its black-tipped, alabaster wings and took off to skim toward the far end of the bay. Ty bit the oars in deep and hauled back with all his might.

  He was halfway around the point of the bay, fighting the tide and wind, when his fury finally left him. His cheeks were damp but he would have denied to the world that it was anything other than sea spray. In futile disgust, Ty slammed the oars into the skiff. The tide caught the boat and it bobbed along on the swells, finding a direction dictated by forces greater than him.

  Today, the waves tossed him up on a small island north of Drufforth’s bay. Ty waded through brisk water to drag the skiff onto pale, crystalline sand. He flopped onto the ground next to the boat to stare across a stretch of deep-blue water to the mountainous forest towering over the shore.

  “My sister is in there somewhere,” he said to the tiny sand lizard that poked its head into the sunlight next to him. It blinked as disturbed sand grains rained down around its head. Ty gritted his teeth and lay back, feeling the sun-warmed sand through his shirt. Arm across his eyes, he couldn't see the dark forest or its stunted twin on the island. There were only the sounds of wind and waves against the beach. He could have been anywhere.

  The dreams rose the instant he relaxed into the blackness. This time it was the night of the council meeting in Lus na Sithchaine. Before him stood Niri, Ria, and Lavinia, silhouettes barely discernible in the dark. His stomach clenched as first Ria and then Lavinia supported Niri’s actions. Lavinia placed a hand on Niri’s shoulder as she stepped forward and spoke.

  In the swarms of living light, three Kith stood watch, weighing the words spoken. Their eyes were on Lavinia, one set concerned, one heavy with thoughts, and the last with a look that boiled fury in Ty’s chest. The Kith that his sister had whispered to Ria was Darag gazed at Lavinia with a proud fondness. It was a look too unmasked and far too intimate for Ty’s liking. Lavinia did not belong in Lus na Sithchaine. She certainly did not belong with a Kith boy.

  His sister’s words echoed from the forest, growing louder with each reflection. "She saved our lives, twice."

  Ty bolted awake. Sand scattered from the folds of his clothing as he sat up, sending three lizards diving for protection. He held his head for a moment, rubbing his eyes while the knots in his stomach unwound. The daylight was too bright for his eyes. The faces in his dream haunted his mind, but they were better than the nightmare version of his failed apprenticeship. Or the dream from the night before where he battled the Curse alone while Niri taunted and called it to destroy him.

  “It wasn’t just him,” Ty said to the nervous lizards on the beach, offering them some of the bread he found in his pocket. The thin, tan creature with scales that glinted like tiny crystals froze, cocking its head to look at the food with one eye. It flashed a deep violet color, lunging forward to grab the morsel before squirming into the sand. Ty chuckled and then sighed at the empty beach.

  “Everyone looked at Lavinia that night,” he muttered.

  Ty lay back down, this time watching the clouds overhead. A freshening breeze rustled the shrubby trees on the island behind him. His thoughts left him uncomfortable. The Kith had looked at his sister the way everyone in Mirocyne had watched Ria. He had once gazed at Ria with the same yearning and rapture himself. That was why he recognized the desire in the strange faces of the Kith.

  If Lavinia had grown up with such attention he would have put a stop to it. Ty shifted his shoulders against the sand. Of course, Ria was an only child. She had no one other than very nervous parents to protect her.

  No wonder the girl is afraid all the time.

  His angry words at her that morning rang in his ears. Ty sat up quickly again, putting one hand to the skiff. But it was already too late. Chop roiled the sea between him and the mainland. The tide out of the harbor was fast and opposite the direction he needed to go. While he had watched unseeing, the clouds above him had thickened to a woolen gray.

  If he’d brought the skiff’s sail, he could have risked the waves before they became any larger. But with only oars, there was no beating the sea’s intent. Ty was stuck on the island until the storm wore down to calm again.

  With an eye to the lowering sky, Ty dragged the small boat further above the waves. He placed the upended prow on a rock, tying down the bow line to keep the wind from catching it. He dug the stern into the soft sand. By the time the rain started to drizzle against the overturned hull, Ty was in the small shelter beneath the boat with a fire dancing light across the beach. He happily fed it broken sticks.

  —

  Drufforth appeared unchanged in the morning, mist still thick in the harbor. It wasn’t until he was nearly to the small wharf that he saw three Kith men standing on the now beached Grey Dawn. The desire to yell at them fell with a heavy weight onto his innards as he realized what they were doing. Darag, Ty recognized him with a cold sweat, stood shirtless with his hands on the mast. He worked with his eyes closed, humming low. The fibers of the mast knit themselves together while Ty watched.

  Ty blinked back his awe. His gaze grew cold as Darag opened his eyes to stare directly at him. Darag’s mouth pulled tight. Ty looked away with disdain, to see the merchant boat heading south was already gone. But he had suspected that. His ride to the Archipelago was gone.

  Despite that, the weight stifling him lifted as his eyes found his sister and Ria sitting on the sand between the two rooted wharves. For a moment, Ty thought they were waiting for him and had been worried about his night away. Then his spirits crashed again with enough force that they threatened to bury his hopes forever.

  Ria and Lavinia sat side by side, feet buried in the sand as they had done as girls in Mirocyne. Neither of them gazed down the wharf to where he stood. Lavinia rocked sideways, nudging Ria with her shoulder. Ria smiled bashfully. Quickly sober, Ria picked up a pebble and threw it at the water.

  “They pulled the boat yesterday morning. You should have seen it. Niri floated it on a tide she created while the Kith rolled the logs forward. It was really impressive.”

  Ria’s voice floated across the water. Lavinia’s soft laugh was barely louder than the breeze.

  “I’m starting to think you wouldn’t mind being an Elemental.”

  Ria tossed a pebble with a bit more force. “Huh, it would have been easier.”

  Lavinia was silent for a second. “You should have seen Niri’s face when you saved my parents’ boat.”

  Ria stared at Lavinia. “Really? She was impressed?”

  “Very.”

  Ria stared across the harbor with a smile pulling her lips wide. Ty couldn’t remember the last time he had seen that expression on her face. He blinked rapidly, the rope tying the skiff to the dock forgotten in his hand.

  Ria’s smile changed to a smirk. She nudged Lavinia with her shoulder.

  “He’s looking at you again.”

  Lavinia blushed a rosy pink. She peaked up through her lashes toward the boat where the Kith worked. Darag’s eyes caught Lavinia’s and a smile flashed across both their faces.

  Ty cinched the knot with force. His momentary idea of joining Ria and Lavinia evaporated. He leapt onto the wharf without another glance toward the Kith or Ria and his sister. As his feet left the wooden dock, he turned his steps away from the inn and
the wharves to head along the ramshackle wandering paths of Drufforth toward where its edges were lost to rocks and forest.

  Ria’s voice followed him.

  “You like him?”

  “Yes, a lot.”

  “I think he likes you, too.”

  Ty wished with all his heart for the noise and bustle of an archipelagic city.