Into the Storm

by Christopher Johns

  Vrawn took out her weighted sword and nodded assent to my reasoning. “What would you have us do then?”

  “Bea, you go ‘take a drink of water’ then be ready to bolt as soon as you see something, while Vrawn and I hide and wait to spring a trap on them. Okay?” The raptor nodded once and trotted over to the side of the pool. I glanced from Vrawn to the tree she stood beside, and I stealthily made my way toward the tree on my left.

  Bea took a drink of water, then another, her thirst taking over for a moment as she lapped it up greedily.

  I felt movement through the shadows I’d sent beneath the water and mentally tugged at Bea. You gotta move sweetheart, they’re coming.

  She stopped drinking, and grudgingly stepped back from the water as five frog-like men silently hopped out of the depths, the water wicking away from them easily. Crude spears gripped by three-fingered hands aimed directly at Bea’s back.

  I coached her toward us so that the attackers would stalk forward a little more before I cast Lightning Bolt at the first one who looked ready to throw his spear. The electrical lance almost pierced his chest and flung him back toward the water.

  The frogmen froze, then one of them gurgled a shrieking war cry and threw his spear at Bea.

  Cast your next spell through me! Hubris ordered, and I did just that. I willed the shadows to form a wall like a shield, Void Shield for 203 MP, and the solidified mass stopped the spear and a globule of mucus with it before it dissipated.

  The reaction had been so fast that I sent another arcing blast of electricity at the offender just before Vrawn hurtled into the remaining three. Her heavy weapon caught one under the ribs where a set of gills assisted it in breathing and tossed it into the water fifteen feet behind it.

  I growled and sprinted forward as one of them prepared to spear her in the kidney, Aspect of the Hare washing over me almost as if by instinct. I caught the spear on the bottom of my foot and kicked it before it could pierce Vrawn, a gash opening up on her left side where the spear sliced through the shirt and skin.

  She grunted but kept her eyes on the opponent before her while I guarded her rear. I was about to brain the little shit before me when a green and gray blur snatched it up by its bulbous neck and savaged and tore into it. Bea wasn’t one to stay out of a fight long.

  “Good girl!” I called and spun on Vrawn and her frogman. He laid on the ground with his head caved in and his legs spasming violently.

  “Was that for me, or Bea?” Vrawn teased softly with a small grin. Blood seeped from her wound, but otherwise, we were hale. I reached out and cast Purify on her wound, then Void’s Respite as we walked to the shade.

  “I wouldn’t treat you like that.” I cupped her cheek, and her smile widened. “Let me clean this water, and we can see about swimming lessons, okay?”

  “As you wish.” She stood and watched our surroundings as I walked back toward Bea. Her muzzle was thoroughly bloodied, and her tail wagged happily.

  Helped. She puffed her head out and called out an almost chirp-like challenge. I killed it.

  “Yes, you did.” I scratched at some of the feathers now growing from the top and rear of her head. “Good job. Just don’t eat it because we don’t know what these things have going on protection wise, okay?”

  She nodded and went back to the water to drink some more, not really caring how grizzly the blood on her muzzle made her look.

  I sent a wave of shadows through the pool of water, cleaning the bodies and any other nasty things from it, leaving cool and pristine water behind.

  “Okay, Vrawn, we’re ready for you.” I took my shirt and breeches off. My boots already lay next to the water so I could feel it with my feet. It was nice.

  She shuffled over, watching me disrobe until I wore only a cloth pair of shorts to cover my modesty, then began to undress. Which was distracting, but we had business to attend, and I was capable of control.

  Pretty, Bea muttered beside me, staring at the orc as she stood in a loincloth and nothing else. She has no scales, and the sacs of skin on her chest seem fatty. How does she survive? They slow her down.

  I snorted and looked over at her. She’s stronger than you are dear, and I don’t have scales—what about me?

  She regarded me as if I were dumb. You have me and sister. We are your scales. Your fangs. We are fast, so you do not have to be.

  I snorted again, and Vrawn cleared her throat pointedly. I shook my head and turned to see her almost pouting. “A woman hardly enjoys it when a man she likes laughs at her when she’s almost nude and afraid.”

  “I was laughing at Bea, I would never mistreat you like that, Vrawn.” She looked from me to Bea, who stopped drinking and looked up at her. “She wondered where your scales were and how you survive without them. I explained that you’re much stronger than she is and that I also don’t have scales. Then she said that I have her and Kayda to act as my scales and claws.”

  Vrawn’s deep laugh made me grin, and Bea nodded her head as if she understood and agreed; that it served me right that I doubt her knowledge.

  I rolled my eyes and hopped into the shallow northern side of the pool and pressed on toward the deeper section to suss things out. It went well, and we had enough space for me to help her.

  “All right, Vrawn, come on in.” I watched as she waded into the water toward me. “Go ahead and get yourself accustomed to the water, dip your head under, whatever you need to do to get comfortable.”

  I shifted into my human form so that my tails wouldn’t get in my way for this, and my claws wouldn’t be an issue. My dark skin was jarring against the water, but I held on and dunked myself to get used to the cool, crisp feeling of the temperature around me.

  Vrawn followed suit and fell back into the water so that her head and hair were soaked. She sputtered a bit, and a slight shiver overtook her, but she eyed me carefully.

  “First, we get you comfortable floating.” I walked until the water was chest height on me and turned to have her come along. “Now, lay on my hands and try to relax.”

  She frowned at me, so I took my right hand and held her still while I positioned myself next to her and explained again, “Lay back onto my hands, and I’ll hold you. You have to relax so that you can float, though.”

  She took a deep breath and leaned back, her broad shoulders on my right hand and my left lifting her tailbone. She was thick with muscle, so floating was odd for her, and I could tell by her breathing that she wasn’t relaxing at all.

  “Deep, calming breaths, dear,” my voice took on an instructing, soft tone. “And as you try to find your buoyancy, gently wave your hands and feet in the water.”

  She thrashed a little in her attempt to get it, and I raised her upright. “Here, watch me.”

  I leaned back and let the water hold my weight, taking steadying breaths to send air through my lungs into my blood so I could relax. I gently waved my hands and feet with my eyes closed so that I would stay afloat.

  “This is a serene practice, with more practice, you can float easier.” I stood and shook myself, the vulpine habits of my fox-man form taking over my human body for a second. “I have you, so you can focus on learning. Once I feel you have it, I’ll let you float on your own. No!”—I frowned at her worried look—“I’m right here, and I’m not going to let you fall and drown. I swear, I have you.”

  Warning!

  You, as both a Knight of the Unseelie Court and a member of a dwarven clan, have given your word. While a broken oath will have dire consequences in either realm, failing to keep your word in this, will have extremely dire consequences. If you fail to uphold your word as a Knight, your court’s honor will be besmirched, and your title in jeopardy. If you break your oath as a member of a clan, your clan can turn against you, or exile you.

  Be careful.

  She must have seen the same notification I received because she nodded once and did her best to obey my orders.

  After about half an hour with gentle prodding, Vrawn damn n
ear had it. She floated on her own, and I was able to let her go. I had to stay close because if I moved farther than ten feet, she lost her cool, but it was something.

  “Okay!” I gave her a hug and scratched her back, affectionately. “You’re doing great!”

  “I have seen others swim, but that was not it.” She looked me in the eyes. “Do I learn now?”

  “You do.” I leaned forward in the water and showed her how to doggie paddle, she took to it relatively easily as she moved from one side to the other. “Next, we use arms and legs.”

  She didn’t do so well, her fingers splayed out as she tried to swim. I fixed her hands so that they were like paddles, and I held her stomach as she paddled and kicked through the water. Finally, I had her do it on her own, and she floundered a little, her even strokes becoming wild and unmeasured.

  She stood and slapped the water in frustration. “I just don’t get why I cannot seem to overcome this!”

  “Maybe you need more of an incentive?” I raised an eyebrow, memories of my childhood washing over me. My mother in the pool calling to me with her arms open, her normally sun-kissed brown hair stuck to the side of her head as she smiled at me encouragingly. I would paddle as hard as my tiny, flabby arms and legs would propel me. When I caught her, she would give me the biggest hugs, and I would grin triumphantly up at her.

  Those had been good times. Really good times. Times that I had unfortunately missed out on with my son, due to distance and my time away from him.

  My jaded heart turned, the sunny summer day growing cold and barren. The pool filling with algae and leaves, then disappearing altogether, leaving me as the adult I was. Devoid of that warmth that so many people took for granted. The warmth that I’d had to turn to others for that had made my life both hell and happy.

  I felt hands on my shoulders as I trod water and snapped out of my reverie to see Vrawn watching in concern. “Maybe we should rest?”

  Suddenly, I felt much less like swimming than I had before. “Yeah, we can rest then get back to it in a while.”

  We trudged out of the water, the warmth of the breeze still managing to chill the two of us. With a flex of will, I summoned a small flame with my mana as the fuel and used it to warm the both of us.

  “What was it that you remembered?” Vrawn’s quiet question brought my gaze from my small magical fire. I mean, theoretically, I could have been doing this with flame all along, but I wasn’t yet sure I could do with fire what I could with shadow. Maybe someday.

  “My mom.” Even as I spoke, I could feel the numbness of my past clambering up from the pit of my stomach and around my heart like a living shield.

  “Was it not a joyous memory?” Vrawn tilted her head and continued, “I saw the way you smiled at the beginning, then when you stopped. So slowly as if something tainted it. What happened?”

  I was quiet for a while, my silence making her fidget before finally, she put her larger hand over mine. “You needn’t speak of it if it hurts you. I understand that pain.”

  “It’s okay.” I offered her a sad smile to let her know I appreciated it. “My childhood wasn’t the best. I think you remember me telling you that things like this in my world aren’t always safe?”

  “I recall from our night on the plateau, yes.”

  “Well, people aren’t either.” I frowned, trying to get my thoughts in order before I fucked up. “My mom had me and my sister pretty young for my people when she was still basically a child herself. This was also in a time when she wanted to be with her friends and have fun. I never really knew all too much about it when I was young, but my aunts and uncles always took care of us. They were hard on her—tried to be, because she needed it. But it never really stuck. I was forced to watch, from a young age as alcohol and drugs consumed her, her focus and her drive. Made her get with people who were shitty and abusive to her, just so she knew where her next fix was coming from. Well, eventually, she married this guy she thought was perfect.

  “Except he wasn’t. They would get drunk, fight, and he would hit her. My whole family was really hard on each other, and sometimes, when she drank, she went after everyone. I had to watch all that while looking out for my little sister. My mom would try sometimes, like, it seemed like she really cared, you know? But it always seemed like her addictions took priority even as she called my sister and me her world. Eventually, she couldn’t afford to have us anymore, forcing my sister and me to go live with two different sets of relatives. I can’t complain, my aunt and uncle did their best to raise me to be a good man. But my sister and I grew apart, and then I joined the Marine Corps when I was old enough and ready to get away from everything.”

  Vrawn nodded as I spoke, my story was mine, and she wouldn’t interrupt.

  “Well, while I was away, my mom divorced the first asshole, and found herself another one.” I shook my head, forlornly explaining the next bit, “She had cleaned herself up, was sober and as far as I knew, was off drugs too. I was really proud of her, this was about the time when my son was born. She wasn’t around much for him—my fault, really. Lingering anger on my part and family drama, I think, but she was really there for my sister's two little boys. Those two were awesome. Well, they used to go and stay with her sometimes and they would for years! They had fun, I guess. Never was a problem until my sister caught wind that my mom’s then-husband drank a lot and would yell at her and the boys. My sister told her she didn’t want them around that because she knew what it could do to them, and that she wasn’t sure what this guy was capable of doing to her kids. You know what my mom does?”

  I couldn’t help the tears of impotent rage that sprang to my eyes. “She accused my little sister of being on drugs and neglecting my nephews to try and get them taken away from her. So that she could have them.” I punched the ground with my metallic hand, the earth giving in to my fury and hurt, leaving behind an imprint of my knuckles. “My sister had to prove to the people who would take her boys away that she wasn’t on drugs, and the boys were taken care of. That was a long and arduous process that was borne completely out of my mother’s need to feel like she could finally be a good mom. Two kids of her own, and she had to try with someone elses?!”

  That last bit had brought me to my feet, my chest heaving, and the breaking in my heart coming about all over again. “I’m still not very close with my sister, and I only have my mother and myself to blame. I barely know my nephews because I feel like a stranger to my own family! What kind of monster am I? What kind of monster—”

  Large arms encircled me from behind. “You aren’t a monster any more than I am for foreseeing my brother’s death, Zeke.”

  “You know, I tried to see her when I got out of the Corps?” I shook my head, chuckling darkly at my stupidity. “For more than a year, I tried to see her and get her side, but she never showed. I tried and tried. Because I was stupid and I wanted her side of things. To tell her that what she had done was wrong. And now I don’t have a mother. Hell, except for a few aunts and uncles, I barely have a family. Because any time I see my grandparents they tell me I should go see my mom, and I worry she’s going to be there, so I stay away. I’ve lost so much.”

  A scaled muzzle sniffed at my cheek, Bea trying to cheer me up a little. I could feel her mind pressing against mine sadly, trying to show me memories of her running to make me smile.

  “You have your son,” Vrawn offered softly. “He’s adorable from what Maebe has shared. And you have your brothers, and friends, and Maebe. And me.”

  I turned in her arms and held her tightly for a moment as my anger and sadness slowly drained away from me.

  “Thank you.” She ran her hand over my head and back comfortingly. “For sharing that with me.”

  “Thank you for listening to me rant and complain for no reason.” I sniffed bitterly. She pushed me back so that she could hit me with a severe glare. “Don’t try to cow me, Vrawn, that was a lot. I’m sorry you had to endure it.”

  “I did so because I care f
or you.” She grasped my chin and forced me to look her in the eye. “And that you shared that with me means that you trust me enough to know your pain. I hold that trust dear. But it also shows that no matter how broken by their circumstances one may be, they are capable of great things, as you are. As you have shown time and time again.”

  My lips twitched. “I don’t even remember if I’ve ever told anyone here about my mommy issues. Not even Maebe.”

  “Then you should tell her.” Vrawn cupped my chin and bent to try and kiss me. I stopped her by jerking my head back. “What? What is wrong?”

  “You tell her, I want you two to share things, and it seems she’s had to tell you more about me than I have.” I pulled myself from her arms. “As for that kiss? You’re going to earn it. Back in the water.”

  She growled, her tusks flashing as she frowned and stomped her way to the water with me. I ran and cannon balled into the deeper end where I wouldn’t break my ass on the ground and came up to see her stepping into the shallow side.

  “What now?” She crossed her arms under her ample chest and glared at me.

  “You’re going to swim to me, and when you get to me, I give you a prize.” I grinned at her as she cocked an eyebrow up curiously. “Come catch me, darling.”

  She grinned and began to press forward through the water until it was hip-deep on her, and she dove in as I had shown her to. Her powerful arms rowed, over her shoulders and through the water like a green, newbie Michael Phelps. As she grew closer, I would back away and have her come further and further into the water. Her breathing grew slightly ragged, so I reminded her to breathe every time her head was above water.

  After ten minutes of constant cat and mouse, I let her catch me where I stood in the beginnings of the shallow end. She touched my abdomen with one hand and pulled me toward her with a call of pure animal victory.

  “Finally, got you!” She lifted me above her head, my turn to panic as she laughed and pumped her arms up and down with me in them. “I will have my prize now!”