Chapter 4 #2
Candara inclined her head to her. “Remember what I said about using it. You may not be thanking me later. Godspeed.”
Masakage waited for them to leave so that he was alone with his older sister. “What aren’t you saying?”
“What you already know.”
He winced at her confirmation of what he’d sensed. “How do I get the Shadows off him?”
“You can’t. They’ve been sent for him, and I don’t know how to stop them.”
Masakage scowled at her. “All the potions here and you have nothing for banishment?”
“I have plenty of those spells and potions. But nothing for the Shadows. They’re insidious.”
Which was why he’d postponed his original trip so that he could help his brother. No one wanted to deal with them. They slipped in when one least expected.
“Who sent them?”
Candara shrugged. “You’d probably know quicker than I would. His enemies are everywhere.”
“Is Gisela one of them?”
She nodded slowly. “But at least she’s torn. While she fears her master, she hates her, too. She can be turned against the one holding her leash.”
“How?”
“How do you win over any feral beast? Kindness.”
The same for him and his brother. The rarest of all qualities. Betrayal. Cruelty. Viciousness. Those were the staples of most creatures.
But kindness…
“I wish we were dealing with unicorns.”
Her frown deepened. “Why?”
“You can tell by the color of their horns if they’re assholes or not.”
She laughed. “True. They can’t hide their natures from others.”
Indeed. They wore them as trophies on their foreheads.
“And you just reminded me of something.” Candara left his side to head for a small chest in the far corner.
After a few seconds of rummaging, she returned with a slender, thin wooden box.
Before he could ask her what she had, she opened it to display a long, twisted gold wand.
A bad feeling went through him. “What’s that?”
“Relax. I haven’t been killing unicorns. It’s the wand of Amandine.”
He sucked his breath in sharply at the name of the mythical queen of the unicorns. It was said that she was the mother of their entire race. “How?”
“Legend says that when she lay dying, she begged her daughter to cut her horn so that her powers would always be preserved. That way she could always protect her family and people.”
That sounded like something the great queen would have ordered done.
Candara handed him the wand. “Since Xaydin is on an errand for her descendant, you should carry this to help him protect the last of her line.”
The wand heated in his hand as if in agreement. “What can this do?”
She gripped his hand in hers. “You’ll know when you need it. And when this journey is over, see it back to the ones who should be its caretakers.”
King Dash. She didn’t say his name, but Masakage knew who she meant. There was no one else who could do right by such a sacred object.
With a sad smile, she kissed his cheek. “Be safe.”
“You, too.”
She gave a last squeeze to his hands before she released him and stepped back.
His heart sad, he left her there and went outside to join the other two.
They were already mounted and waiting.
Xaydin frowned as his gaze went to the box, but true to his brother’s form, he didn’t ask about it.
Neither did Gisela.
As quickly as he could, Masakage mounted and tucked the wand away. “Lead on, my brother.”
Xaydin scowled at him. “That’s a rather chipper tone for you, isn’t it?”
“Not always a moody bastard. I mostly leave that for you.”
Snorting, Xaydin turned them away from Candara’s cottage. “Should have drowned you when we were kids.”
“Pretty sure you tried.”
Gisela pressed her lips together to keep from laughing. She loved hearing them banter and had the feeling that Xaydin would never tolerate such cheek from anyone other than his siblings.
And she really hated to admit that she enjoyed traveling with them. Weird, considering the fact that she normally didn’t like to even be around others.
Weirder still was the fact that she hadn’t even known them a full day and yet she felt a peculiar sense of being part of their group.
I’ve lost my mind.
They were enemies. Would always be such.
Yet she was more comfortable with them than she’d ever been with her own mother. How sad was that?
Not wanting to think about it, she allowed the sun to warm her skin as they rode deep into the surrounding woods.
From the maps she’d seen, they weren’t far from the sea that divided the troll lands from Oath Island—land of bureaucracy.
A word Meara had never heard of. They didn’t do contracts in Thassalia.
Disputes were settled in the arena…while Meara watched for entertainment.
Which begged the question as to how Meara had been forced to sign a contract with the unicorns? She must have fought that with everything she had.
But then King Cratus who had ruled before King Dash was reported to have been equally as savage. Not savage enough to survive a fight with his own son, yet he’d quelled the centaur queen.
Which made her wonder about Dash. She only knew the unicorn king by reputation.
Feral and brutal. Like Xaydin. Another product of Meara’s tender loving care.
To this day, Gisela wasn’t sure how Meara had been chosen as the host for the hostages.
After the truce of the Thirteen Kingdoms had been signed, Cratus had sent the children of each royal house to Meara to be held as a guarantee that their parents wouldn’t attack him or each other.
It’d been a peculiar deal by everyone’s estimation, and yet they’d all submitted to the High King’s dictate.
And screwed over an entire generation of royal children because the rulers were too afraid of Cratus to overthrow him.
While Meara might hate the Outlaws who’d banded together to survive her brutal dictates, Gisela understood why they’d done so.
She only wished she’d been blessed to be part of their company.
Instead, Meara had kept her imprisoned alone. Away from everyone except Gisela’s trainers.
You will be my sword.
And so she was the very weapon she’d been forged into. Vicious. Cold. Always on her own. Always alone.
Until now.
What she really hated was how much she enjoyed traveling with companions. Even though they weren’t currently speaking, there was something soothing about it. If she were attacked, she’d have help. If she were hurt…
Don’t be stupid. There was no guarantee they’d help her. Why would they?
Because he did so last night.
Before he knew who you were.
True. But in spite of their enmity, they were still being cordial to her.
Maybe she was being stupid.
Either way, she didn’t speak as they made their way to the docks outside another bustling town.
Oddly, she’d expected a single ferry for crossing the sea. But there were boats of all sizes lined up at the wooden docks and along the shore.
“This many people really go to Oath Island?” she asked as they dismounted.
“Not at all.” Xaydin stroked his horse’s nose before he headed toward the docks on foot. “No one usually ventures there.”
That confused her. “Then why so many boats?”
“They’re mostly for fishermen. There are only two ferries that go back and forth between then island. One stays there and one on this side. They’re always manned in case an ataswere needs to leave or return.”
As she continued to glance over all the so-called fishermen, she was even more confused by his words. “That’s a lot of fishing boats.”
Masakage chuckled. “Trolls and giants eat a lot of fish.”
Oh…that made more sense. She should have thought of that herself.
But then she wasn’t a troll, ogre or giant. She really didn’t know what they ate, especially since they’d refused to allow her to purchase food.
Without a word, Xaydin led them toward the largest boat where a troll sat off by himself.
He scowled at Xaydin, then sighed heavily. “You’re back.”
“Always, Ferris. How are you today?”
“Too sober to be taking you across. Can’t you learn to fly or capture a dragon or something?”
Xaydin tsked at him. “And miss out on your charming company? Why would I do that?”
“Because I’m getting a reputation, and my other clients are highly resentful that I ferry you to their shores. Can’t you find another hobby?”
“I like this one too much. Besides, I’m on an errand for the High King. Don’t you want to make him happy?”
The troll spat into the water. “Take your unicorn and shove it someplace highly uncomfortable. I got no use for the High King. Or any low king either. They can all rot for what I care. Except for your father. He was a good one. The only good one.”
Chuckling at the surly beast, Xaydin held up a small red bag of coins. “What about your favorite hobby?”
“I do like making money.”
“Then consider this hazard pay.”
Ferris snorted. “I’m sure it’s not enough for the danger you’re putting me in.” He glanced past to Xaydin to where she and Masakage stood. “They with you?”
“They are. And you’ll be glad to know that the woman is here to save the ataswere I’m after.”
Ferris arched a single brow. “She thinks she can stop you?”
He nodded.
The troll laughed uproariously. “That alone makes the journey worthwhile. I’ll be hearing tales of this for years to come.” He pushed himself to his feet. “Get onboard. Not like I’m expecting anyone else anyway.”
Xaydin pulled the black scarf from around his neck and used it to blindfold his horse. “You might want to do the same. It’ll make getting them on board the boat a lot easier and keep them calm during the trip.”
Since she wasn’t that familiar with dealing with horses, she’d trust him on that. But there was just one problem. “I don’t have a scarf.”
“Here.” Masakage handed her a long purple cloth.
Thanking him, she duplicated their actions and covered her horse’s eyes. Or at least she tried to. Unlike theirs, her horse had a mind of his own.
Just as it jerked its reins from her hands, Xaydin caught its bridle. “Easy, boy. Easy.”
The horse quieted.
He held his hand out for her scarf.
Sheepishly, she gave it to him.
Without a word, he blindfolded the beast, then handed the reins to her.
She blushed as she led the horse onto the boat. “Sorry. Horses and I aren’t exactly friends. They’ve never liked me.”
“It’s all right. I can’t ride a human horse.”
Those words confused her. “Human horse? You mean unicorn?”
Xaydin shook his head. “Horses that are used to humans. Trolls, oni, fey and such have different pheromones. Unless a horse is used to the scent, they tend to be skittish of us.”
That made total sense and it was something she’d never thought of before. “Oh. It’s not used to my scent.”
Those words caused Xaydin’s eyes to darken an instant before he cleared his throat and looked away.
Gisela froze as she realized he was attracted to her.
That thought sent a wave through her that was as disturbing as it was electrical. Not because she was offended.
Far from it.
Rather, she was thrilled, and that terrified her.
Blushing profusely, she stepped back and saw that Masakage was watching them both with an amused glint in his dark eyes.
She quickly hid behind her horse as she tucked it on board.
Xaydin clicked his teeth. “C’mon, Glory.”
“Glory?” she asked.
“Name of my horse. I forgot to ask about yours. Should we name him?”
She’d not thought about that. “Does Masakage’s have a name?”
“Bluden. And yours is called Gellen.”
Patting her horse’s neck, she was confused by Masakage’s words. “Gellen? How do you know?”
“Kage talks to animals. One of his many annoying gifts.”
“All animals?” she asked.
Masakage nodded. “It’s why X and I get along. I’m one of the few creatures who can speak his language.”
Ignoring them, she scratched Gellen’s neck. “So what is he thinking?”
“That he doesn’t like the boat. He wants to fight, but he’s too scared to try since he can’t see.”
“How do I know you’re not making that up?”
Xaydin snorted. “He’s not creative.”
Ferris moved to stand next to Xaydin. “Ready?”
“Sure. Why not?” There was a note in Xaydin’s tone that gave her a bit of worry.
“Why do you say it like that?” she asked.
“Because we’re about to hit rough waters. I suggest you sit.”
She had no idea what he meant until they traveled far enough that there was no shoreline in sight. “How do you know where we’re going?” she asked Ferris.
“How does one know how to breathe? I make this journey enough that I could be as blind as your horse and still find my way.” Something he proved as he effortlessly glided them over the calm sea.
Only it wasn’t that calm, she realized as she saw waves in the distance.
Big ones that were heading for them.
“X?”
They both looked over to Masakage.
Scowling, Masakage studied the commotion, heading for them. “Is it me, or are those waves filled with Nereids?”
Xaydin cursed. “Worse. Mermaids.”
That only confused her. “Is there a difference?”
“Little bit,” he said sarcastically. “Nereids are friendly and only attack when threatened. Mermaids and mermen protect the ataswere and kill anyone who threatens them.”