“Okay,” I said, swallowing my own rations. “Do you, uh, want me to help you look?”
“That’s really sweet of you to offer,” she said with another cocky smirk. So I just sat there and tried to remember why I had thought she was so shy earlier.
“Yep,” she said after another minute. “That’s the Fish. I know where we are. About fifty miles east of Floodward Bay.”
“That sounds very much like a place I’ve never heard of,” I admitted. To my surprise, Via didn’t tease me on that fact.
“It would be impossible for you to know its name,” she said with another large smile. “Because it had a different one fifty years ago.”
“Really?” I asked. “Why?”
“Because that was when the people that used to live there became experts in avoiding flood damage,” she continued, still smiling. “They had already had plenty of experience with dangerous tides, but that year, they really began to come up with methods to limit the damage they did. Especially after a certain Challenger showed them a handful of tricks they could do to help with the really bad floods,” she added, giving me a meaningful look. “That was actually a big deal, because I had already managed to work out another system to help the bigger villages get through them. But when one of the poorest islands realized their village was saved just by a guy throwing a bunch of large rocks on the ground, the idea took off. They started bringing their own ‘flood rocks’ with them to their new islands, and made sure to lay them along the shore whenever they predicted a massive storm would hit their island. Then other villages saw that, and realized that if just leaving rocks in the right locations made a difference, maybe all the other techniques Stell and I had been telling them to use weren’t such a bad idea after all.” The tanned woman made a face as she said that.
“I take it the people in this world are pretty resistant to change?” I asked, moving so I would be ready to unfurl the sail at her mark.
“I guess,” Via blew a frustrated breath, walking over to another rope. “I haven’t lived on any other ones, though, so other than Stell’s memories, I don’t have much to go on. But I’m one of the younger Satellites, and most of these villages have been doing things a certain way for probably a thousand years. I’d been convincing them of my techniques one by one, but your little trick actually made it easier for me to bring the rest on board. So I guess you’re not in trouble after all,” she decided, winking at me.
“I appreciate it,” I laughed, playing along and privately glad that she had chosen not to take it personally. “Is that our destination? And are those people okay?” I added worriedly.
“They and their descendants are fine,” she said cheerfully. “They had moved away from the island years ago. They were one of the first groups to come find me when things began to go wrong. If we had more time, I would have reintroduced them to you when we stopped at the Haven Islands. If we survive everything, I’m going to make sure they get to see you. Ready?” She moved next to the ship’s rudder.
“Ready,” I answered with a nod, beginning to unfurl the sail.
With another smirk, the beautiful sea maiden slapped her magic whip into the water behind our craft. The waves rippled into a tiny current, nudging the boat forward. I traced a script into the air, formed by the word repeat in three different languages, and fired a gust of wind through them and into our ship’s sail. The canvas stretched as it caught the wind, and our momentum gradually increased.
“Nice trick,” Via said from the back.
“Thanks,” I answered. “Borrowed the idea from what you did with the ship’s mast. Say,” I said suddenly. “We’re not changing direction any time soon, are we? Because I didn’t take that into account when I wrote the scripts, and it will look less cool if I have to rewrite the whole thing in like five minutes.”
“Not yet,” she replied, laughing again. “But I may change our route based on the performance of your corny jokes. So don’t mess up.”
The worst part of that comment was that I didn’t know if she wanted me to stop or keep telling said corny jokes.
Either way, she decided to be merciful, because we continued straight ahead for the next hour. Every now and then, Via would move to a different part of the ship to get a better view of a certain cluster of stars, but she would always nod and look satisfied after seeing them, so I guessed that was another good sign.
Also, she was at least a hundred different kinds of beautiful under a night sky like this. Her appearance reminded me of the way Stell seemed to shimmer under Avalon’s night sky. But I hadn’t wanted to be caught noticing it then, either, so I turned my mind back to keeping us on course as we navigated across the ocean waves in the middle of the night.
Hey, I sent to her over the mindlink, wanting to talk without distracting her. I know I haven’t said anything yet, but it’s kind of impressive that your small boats do so well in the open ocean. I know just enough about sailing to know that’s a big deal.
Thanks for noticing, she replied as she looked up at the night sky again, turning the rudder ever so slightly. I guess I am kind of a big deal. Aha! She said as I winced. You know about that movie, too!
Yes, I sighed mentally. And well played.
But you’re kind of a big deal, too, no? She asked me, still playful. I know just enough about Challengers to know that most don’t destroy Horde Pits and sail around on magical ships that haven’t been seen in ages.
Fair point, I replied with a grin of my own, giving the sail another tug to make sure it got enough of my wind magic. But are we really going to spend the rest of the voyage complimenting each other?
I doubt it, she replied. I’m thinking I have two more minutes before I’m out of nice things to say about you.
I lost every battle of wits we had for the rest of the boat ride. But I still had a lot of fun. I decided it was one of the best ways to wind down from battling a Tumult-causing abomination.
It was hard for me to see much at night, even with my new dragon senses. I could make out the boat, and the night sky, and a bunch of waves that didn’t look any different from all the other waves I had seen since boarding this boat. But for Via, that was enough to go on. Before I realized it, she was messaging me that we had come across the island we would be docking at for the night.
I was also surprised that we had managed to reach the island within the night, with a damaged craft operating under an improvised sail. But my fatigue kept me from asking too many complex questions, so I gratefully let Via guide us onto a shore where we could dock.
Ironically, it was the very same shore I had once covered with dozens and dozens of heavy stones. I winced when I recalled how heavy the stones had been to move back then, and how they had been even heavier when the storm had left, and I had to move them back to wherever I had found them.
Beyond that, there wasn’t much else I recognized about the island. The people and the buildings were all gone, and I hadn’t stayed at the place long enough to learn any landmarks, so it just looked like every other tropical island I had seen so far.
Via and I climbed out of the ship on shaky legs, tired from all the traveling and from battling a monster that should have been unbeatable. The still-functioning part of my mind insisted that I needed to process the fight so that I could learn from it, but the rest of my brain wanted to just shut the hell up and go to bed.
Stell’s Satellite acted as if she knew this island like the back of her hand. As soon as we staggered up from the shore, she led me up a trail through the foliage that brought us to a small cave I dimly remembered the villagers hiding in once. I still would have never found it on my own, tired as I was. But she tugged me all the way there without a word of complaint.
“Here we are,” she said tiredly as we stood just inside the opening. It was a reminder that she had been pushing herself to the limit long before I had showed up, on top of the fact that the day had to have been as exhausting for her as it was for me. “It’s not much, but if we put the bedding down
, we’ll be able to...” she trailed off with a curse. “I forgot the bedding I packed. So we’ll either have to hike all the way back to the blasted ship, or just lie down on the cold, hard ground.”
“Sorry,” I said as I pulled out Breaker again. “One second.”
I summoned out two sleeping mats, two warm blankets, two reasonably comfortable pillows, a rock enchanted with Script, Shaping, and Fire magic to retain heat and serve as a campfire, two light plates of food to have as a small snack before bed, along with a wineskin and two twigs enchanted to brush teeth, and, finally, what I considered my crowning achievement for cheat-camping, a large tub of water, covered with a removable wooden lid and fitted at the bottom with another heating rock, allowing the water to stay just warm enough to bathe in. Attached to the back of the tub was a pole with a curtain looped around the top, so that the bather could have a bit of privacy while traveling with others. As an afterthought, I summoned a small rag and a bar of soap to go with it.
Via looked at the tub, blinked, rubbed her eyes, then looked at it again.
“A bath,” she said in numb disbelief. “You carry a portable bath around with you. How long have you been packing around warm water?”
“I figured out how to put it together back in the Woadlands,” I said, probably sounding just as tired as she was. “We’ve had someplace to stay ever since, so I haven’t needed it yet. I also didn’t want Breena to find out about it before I found a way to keep her from stealing it.”
“She would,” Via said with a fatigued smile. “You’d never get it back. Are you planning on using it right now?”
“Not unless you make me,” I mumbled. “I figured I’d bathe in the morning.”
“So I can use it right now? Since it has warm water, and a curtain and everything else?”
“Go for it,” I said, summoning a larger rag that she could use as a towel. “I don’t know if I packed any clothes that would fit you very well, though,” I told the woman. “I know nothing about women’s clothing.”
“I was planning on just wearing these tomorrow,” she gestured at her own shirt and trousers. “Do you mind?”
“No,” I said, confused as to why she’d even need to ask. We had gone on a sea voyage, not a prom date. I wasn’t in any position to tell her what to wear. “Those clothes are fine, if you’re comfortable sleeping in them.”
“That,” she said, looking at me. “Your shirt is ruined. Take the rest of it off. I’ll take another look at your wound right before we sleep. And don’t sleep in your armor, okay? Leave it off for the entire night. All of it. Every layer you have.”
I started to point out that I wasn’t even wearing my damaged hauberk or padding right now, but I could tell she wasn’t making a discussion out of this, so I shrugged out of my shirt and began removing my leg armor.
“Um, maybe you should wait until I’m behind the curtain?” Via spoke up quickly.
“I’m wearing pants underneath, but whatever,” I said with a shrug.
The beautiful, but suddenly awkward, woman, yanked the curtain around the tub, then stepped behind it. I went back to removing my armor, grumbling a bit to myself as I undid the straps. Of course I don’t sleep in my armor, I thought grouchily. I’m not that ridiculous. Why would I sleep in my armor when I can just summon it on?
Then I heard the rustling of her clothing, and suddenly I became weird.
Calm down, I told myself. You’re not a horny teenager anymore. You’ve camped and sailed in mixed company. You can handle a woman undressing behind a curtain a dozen feet away.
Bro, Teeth spoke up unhelpfully. I just ran a fact check, and you’re wrong about us not being a horny teenager anymore. Just saying.
Leave me alone and go talk to your dads, I snapped at my inner dragon as I finally finished pulling my leg armor off. After going over its condition, I sent it back into Breaker, just like I had done with my hauberks and aketon.
Then I realized that if I could summon my armor directly onto my body, I could just as easily summon it off of me. Which meant I had been wasting precious minutes every night undressing when I could be sleeping. Then I gave up trying to think anymore for the night, ate one of the plates I had laid out because I was tired and hungry, chased the meal down with the wineskin, crawled under my covers and closed my eyes. A minute later, I was fast asleep.
A minute after that, Via woke me up with a message.
Wes? She asked me. Are you asleep?
I am now, I replied tiredly. And you can actually use the mindlink to sense whether or not a member is awake, asleep, or even knocked unconscious.
I’m sorry, she said quickly. I mean it. I shouldn’t have woken you. I just wanted to say tonight’s too late for us to talk after all. Is that alright?
Yeah, Via, I mumbled mentally. That’s not a problem for me.
She seemed relieved, but I began to feel bothered about why she needed to ask.
You’re okay though, right? I sent to her, realizing a moment later that I was making this even weirder. Sorry. I’m just checking. Ignore me if you’re fine. I’ll let you get back to getting ready for bed.
Somehow, I had made her giggle again. I decided that would have to be good enough, and rolled over and closed my eyes again.
Chapter 19: New Horizons
My eyes opened slowly. I closed them again, blinking. I tried to roll over, but something held onto me. The rest of me woke with a start, but before I could finish panicking, I realized that someone was holding my hand. I looked over to see Via’s sleeping bag next to my own.
“It’s okay,” she muttered, “go back to sleep.” Through the mindlink, I could tell she was still asleep herself.
I figured out what had probably happened and clamped down on my feelings of embarrassment and disappointment. I had hoped to be over my issues, and I hated that other people lost sleep helping me take care of it. It felt like all of my recent gains over my last trauma had been swept away, assuming they had been real to begin with.
Incorrect assumption, the Well of Atlantis said in my mind. All is not lost. Pain itself cannot not negate or disprove recovery. Involuntary responses to the sensation are a subconscious part of the body’s healing process.
I took the magic medical computer at its word and stayed still. I didn’t know how much sleep Via had lost while dealing with whatever nightmare I had been having. Come to think of it, I had no idea how much sleep Breena and Guineve usually lost in dealing with the rough nights I usually had. All is not lost, I reminded myself, before I could go down another downward spiral of negative thoughts. I focused instead on the scenery, on the first rays of light crawling out from the sea, painting the world a faint hint of gray, as if in preparation for the upcoming sunrise. The noises from the few nocturnal birds and insects on the island, that I had been too tired to pay attention to before, slowly began to die off, and a few louder, more obnoxious birds decided to take their place.
“Hate chickens,” Via mumbled fitfully, still not opening her eyes. “Should cook them all.”
Then she rolled over, and since she was still holding onto my hand, she wound up pulling me a little closer to her.
“Um,” I said as my chest pressed into her back. She mumbled incoherently, and through the mindlink I realized she had gone back to sleep, apparently unaware that she, an exotically beautiful woman, was wrapping me around her body.
Stop, I told my inner dragon.
Are you talking to me? Teeth demanded. I haven’t even said anything! Why the hell am I in trouble now?
I’m warning you, I said bluntly. If Stell suddenly opens a portal and walks in right now, we are both going to die painfully and horribly.
Shit, you’re right, Teeth said in a rare moment of understanding. Especially when she sees the bathtub you’ve been hiding until now. That would really give her the wrong idea. You know, since you waited until you were alone with one of her Satellites to suddenly whip it out.
You criticism is insightful and unfair, I snarled
as I inched my waist as far away as possible from the beautiful woman who was unable to give any kind of consent right now. I couldn’t believe how awkward this night had been. Next time, I’m leaving the bathtub at home.
And probably the wineskin, too, Teeth volunteered. That was also probably a dumbass idea,.
The next moment, Via rolled over again, ending our internal argument by headbutting me in the face.
“Ow!” she said, pulling away suddenly and clutching her own pained forehead with her free hand. “Watch it, pendejo! People are sleeping here!” She sat up and began blinking at me until her eyes could focus. “Oh. It’s you, Wes. Sorry. I’ve got to stop calling you that word.”
“No worries,” I said with a wince. “I take it I gave you a rough night, too?”
“Huh?” Via asked in a baffled tone, cocking her head. Then she looked down and quickly let go of my hand. “Oh! Sorry! Yes! I mean, no! I mean, you sounded like you were having a nightmare!” she clarified, words spilling out of her. “But it was no big deal! Everything was fine! Everything is still fine!”
“Good,” I said, recognizing her nervousness. “I appreciate your concern. Really.” She relaxed when she realized I wasn’t offended by what she had done. “Was I having the hand dream again?”
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “You didn’t want anyone to step on it. You calmed down after I held it, though. So I figured we’d both sleep if I didn’t let go.” She rubbed her forehead again, looking annoyed. “That was super uncomfortable, no? How come none of your movies and books ever talked about how hard it is to sleep next to someone?”
“I have no idea,” I admitted. “Maybe everyone gets forced to take some kind of secret oath after they have their first head-bump?”
Via looked over and shot me another annoyed look.
“Your sense of humor needs to be able to feel shame,” she grumbled, before tossing her blanket and standing up. She must have changed back into her old clothes before she went to bed. “Alright, we need to make a plan for today,” she announced confidently. “We are now maybe three days away from my old islands, if one was sailing a normal ship. Our own vessel has done well, but I do not trust it to survive another voyage after the damage it has taken. I think we should try to signal the others with our mindlink, or maybe a signal fire, and then wait for them to come on your fast magical ship. Do you have a better plan?”
Lighting Distant Shores (Challenger's Call Book 4) Page 48
