Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Aaran
J ax keeps Harper’s head from striking the deck when she faints. He holds her like a child. “Shadow magic.” Worry dims his eyes.
I kneel beside her while the last of the fires are dowsed on the charred ship. “Without it, we would all be burned to death.” I take her from him and hold her in my lap.
Ash falls like snow, but the mountain is again silent. The rain slows to a sprinkle.
I kiss her forehead. “Wake up, Harper. Tell me you’re alright.”
Her right arm has a puckered, blistering burn. I run my fingers over it and send healing to her flesh.
Drawing a gasping breath, she sits up, one hand in a fist and the other reaching for her sword. She pulls away from me, but her fear shifts to relief, and she closes her eyes and relaxes into my arms.
Inches from us, Fancor slides to a stop. “By the old gods, let her be alive.” His hair is scorched in several places, and his skin is covered in soot, which makes his eyes appear brighter.
“I’m alive, friend.” Opening her eyes, she tries to smile. “I guess we won?”
Patting her hair, Fancor sighs, and it’s more like a bear about to attack. “We lost four elves including Jarnol.”
“Oh no.” Harper sits up, but her eyes roll and she eases back into my lap. “He was only a boy.”
“Ay, a good lad. He and the other three went into the sea when the big wave hit. We’re lucky we didn’t capsize. If not for Bert’s skill, we’d all be drowned, and the kron would be loose in Domhan.”
Voice sharp, Jax demands, “How did you know to use shadow magic, human?”
It’s not a good sign that he’s stopped using her name again, and I feel her annoyance with him.
“I don’t know, elf. I haven’t had any magical training. I did what you told me to do. I wished to save this ship and the lives on it. I wished for a way to defeat the demon. Why, is shadow magic bad?”
Jax’s jaw ticks.
Despite needing Jax and respecting him, I’m not immune to finding his old ways aggravating. “No. There is no good or bad kind of magic. The user and the usage determine such things.”
“The witch queen uses shadow magic to create her demons.” Jax stands and surveys the state of the ship. He sighs. “Aaran is correct, as is Fancor. Without your magic, we would likely have all perished. I shall attempt to alter my beliefs.” He stomps away and helps two elves push a burning barrel overboard.
“I feel like we just had a breakthrough.” Harper sits up again, only slower this time.
“What is a breakthrough?” Fancor gives her his hand and helps her to her feet, then he hovers to ensure she stays upright while I rise.
Gripping his shoulder and my arm, she smiles. “Humans use that term sometimes to describe when someone makes a step in a mentally healthy new direction.”
“Oh, yes.” Fancor laughs. “I see.” Still chuckling, he leaves us near the wooden rail, black with ash and soot.
Harper looks from one end of the ship to the other. “How will we ever get anywhere now? We’ll be adrift.”
I wonder the same thing, but kiss the top of her head. “Let’s help clean up and then we can talk to Bert.”
“We need to have some sort of memorial for the elves who were lost at sea.” She bends down and tosses a burnt piece of railing overboard. “I hope we’re not the next to be mourned.”
Underneath her sarcastic tone stirs fear and sorrow that stab me to my core.
I t’s full dark, and most of the elves are asleep on the lower deck. We’re all exhausted and sad over the loss of four souls. Jarnol was only a boy with his entire life ahead of him. I failed him and the others.
Harper squeezes my hand and whispers, “It’s not your fault.”
Bert sits between Nainsi and Fancor.
Jax kneels to my right. “How do we get to the western continent?”
Taking Nainsi’s hand, Bert kisses her fingers. “We’ll use the tide. It won’t bring us as far as we’d hoped, but we’re lucky to still be afloat. By all rights, we should have capsized, and then burned. Nainsi tells me there are shallows where a sandy bottom might save us from falling apart when we beach. I’ve made that our heading, and the tide should bring us to a grinding halt just after first light.”
“How do you move us without the wind?” Harper asks.
“We’re not the first ship to lose her sails. She has a manual rudder, so that helps. Not having electronics to begin with makes small disasters easier and everyday sailing more difficult. I’ll try to tack us in with Beran’s help. I suggest you all get a couple of hours’ sleep. It’s not going to be a three-point landing.” Weary and determined, Bert rises and heads back to the helm. He and Beran exchange whispers.
Nainsi stands. “I’ll stay nearby in case he needs me to wake you.”
I can see there’s no convincing her to get rest. She won’t until her man is able. As if they’re always meant to be together, one unit working together despite having been raised in different worlds, their differences do not matter to either of them.
Rather than separating, we all stay in the small circle with the magical light that Jax created to give off heat. The deck is still damp, but the rain helped wash away most of the ash and dirt.
I pull Harper close so she can rest her head on my shoulder as we attempt an hour or two of sleep before daybreak.
“These shallows that we’re headed for, do they extend very far from land?” Harper’s mind is already calculating all the things that might go wrong even without the witch queen’s interference.
“I’ve never been to the area north of Bolcán except to visit the port, and that’s a long way from where we’ll stop.” I avoid saying crash, even though that’s what will happen. “On the maps, it’s perhaps half a mile out to sea where the continental shelf ends.”
She nods against my biceps. “We can carry the children and injured a half mile or so. Do you think we’ll be able to rest once we reach land?”
“I can’t say, but I’m not counting on it. We’ll still be in the shadow of the volcano, Harper.” There’s more to say about that. Venora found a way to the west. My heart pounds in my ears at the ramifications of what we saw in the fire.
“She’s strong again. I felt her in the fire. I felt her in that kron.” Inside, Harper shakes as if a shiver went up her spine.
Holding her tighter, I kiss her temple. “I know. I felt her too. She’s stronger than before. To break through and control a fire demon is the darkest kind of magic. She has somehow grown more dangerous since she attacked you. Maybe we should have risked a portal after we got you back. I fear I’m not a very good leader.” Even whispered in the dark, it feels like the truth. Doubting myself is not how I’ve lived my life. I’m the eldest son of Elspeth and Brion Riordan. My abilities should be sharper. My mission was clear, yet I deviated and put Harper at great risk.
She pushes me back to the deck and stares into my eyes for a long second. Her jaw ticks as if she’s straining against scolding me. Leaning close, she whispers, “If you had left these elves in Venora’s clutches, you would not be the man I love. Besides, what if you or I had died in the next portal? You told me it was too soon when we first left Tobhtá. Even when it was safe, we could not leave them. Personally, I would just as soon never go through one again.”
My emotions are rocketing in every direction. Her strength is both adorable and arousing. She loves me for the man I am, not the leader I strive to be. Her vision of me makes me want to rethink everything I know. I press my lips to the shell of her ear. “Thank you.”
We lie awake for the hour we have to rest. Her thoughts mingle with mine, and it’s a kind of symphony of give and take. I love the way she thinks and worries and pushes those worries aside to focus on the task at hand.
All we have to do is survive long enough to get these people to safety. After that, we’ll figure out how to survive the next step, whatever that might be.
My father would have a plan for the entire journey. He would anticipate battles and risk additional lives to beat his opponent.
I wonder how my mother would handle this journey. I suppose when I tell her my choices, she’ll explain where I didn’t meet her expectations. Every step we take seems to bring more danger. We’ve lost five lives, and I must carry the burden of those losses. My entire life has been in preparation for this, and I pray I measure up to the task.
Nainsi stirs and listens to Bert for a moment.
Before she steps toward us, Harper and I sit up.
“We’re getting close,” Nainsi says, with the first pink daylight on her face. “Help me wake everyone?”
Fancor and Jax are up and stretching before we have a chance to nudge them.
“We should have tried harder to sleep.” Harper raises her arms above her head and makes a squeaking noise and she shifts from foot to foot.
On a gruff laugh, Fancor says, “Sleep never came to anyone from trying, lass. We rested, and that’s better than nothing.”
The western continent looms before us, white sand with a smattering of ash from the eruption and rolling hills beyond the dunes. The clouds of the previous night have given way to a clear sky that hints at a warm, dry day. The scent of flowers reaches me and for a second, I wish I’d taken the time to learn the name behind the fresh smell.
One by one, we wake everyone above and the children below, and all assemble on deck. We gather as much from the hold as we have, which amounts to a day’s worth of meat and some edible leaves. We’re short on water, but that’s a problem for later.
I stand at the top of the stairs on the upper deck. “Everyone grab something solid, and hold on to each other. We are going to hit bottom, and the ship may tip and break apart.”
Many of the elves look back with fear, but on the faces of most, I see only resignation. They’ve been through so much that death is not a threat. At least, if they die here, Venora will not have them or their souls.
Beran and Bert stay at the helm, while I join the others. Wrapping my arms around Harper, I hold the central mast.
“Brace yourselves,” Bert shouts.
The sound of the keel striking land is like nothing I’ve ever heard before. The ship screams in protest. If I could, I would hold my ears to protect them from the cacophony of cracks and breaks. The wood roars as it gives way, and a shrill scream fills the air as we crash over the sand bar. We jerk to the left, then forward. Wood snapping and cracking follows. The deck buckles like water but doesn’t break.
When we come to a stop, the ship lists to the starboard side, and elves tumble across the deck. Their screams replace those of the broken ship.
Harper reaches out and grabs Cara’s hand before she can fall past. She hauls her up to us where Cara grabs hold of the mast and braces her feet.
Dorian rolls across the deck to the rail. From below us, he yells. “I’m fine. Hold on.”
Still the ship creaks and moves until it settles.
Bert’s voice breaks the momentary silence. “Beran will see how stable the shelf beneath us is. Hold on another moment.”
The splash of Beran hitting the water and sloshing across forms a knot in my gut. It feels as if everyone is holding their breath.
“It’s safe. We’re lengths of the boat beyond the deep drop.” Beran’s voice is strong and calm.
“Well, that’s step one.” Harper eases down until she’s sitting on the slanted deck.
Below us, Dorian is on his feet with one leg braced against the rail now at a forty-five-degree angle. He smiles at his wife, and she lets go, then slides down the deck on her bottom. He catches her, and they climb over the rail together and splash into the water.
Nearly every elf is off the ship before I take Harper’s hand. “Together?”
She nods and we let go of the mast. If not for the half-burned rail at the end, it would be like a child’s slide. I grip the edge with my boots against the rail.
Harper tumbles over the edge ass-over-head and lands with a hard splash.
My heart stops and doesn’t beat again until she surfaces.
Sputtering to the surface, she laughs and grins up at me as she gains her feet. “I’m fine.” She wipes water from her eyes.
I join her in the hip-deep water.
Bert is the last to leave behind the ship that saved us and was nearly our doom. He lifts one of the Aracan boys and Nainsi takes another as the couple leads our group toward dry land.
Tal slips one hand into Harper’s and the other into mine. We walk together as if we were a family. Visions of my parents taking me for walks before Venora upturned our world flit through my memories.
This is what I’m fighting for. This is worth dying for. We cannot fail, or there will be no more parents to hold their children’s hands in Domhan.
“The witch queen.” Harper stops and lets go of Tal. Her hands glow rainbow colors. “Run.” She draws her sword and faces the darkening sea.
Tal runs toward the shore until an elf lifts her and runs, carrying her. As if of one mind, the former slaves all run to the beach.
Standing with Harper, I hold my sword ready. Jax and his soldiers turn back, as does Fancor. Seven against whatever horrors are churning up the deep. “Let’s back away. Try not to stir the water.
Harper grips her head. “She’s angry about the elves we took.”
Grabbing her around the waist, I pull her back with us as we slowly retreat. “Block your mind, mo chroi . Don’t let her in.” I send magic to her to help her close the door to her thoughts.
The shallow water roils. A terrible cackle rents the air. A black tentacle slithers toward us, and before I can get away, it wraps around Harper’s leg and pulls her out of my arms. Another tentacle springs out of the water and slams between me and Harper.
Jax slices his sword through the air, but the tentacle pulls back. He leaps on top of the one holding Harper and stabs through it and into the soft sand.
Another rises from the dark waters and smashes my ribs, throwing me backward, then presses me under the water.
Sword lost in the water, I grapple for the dagger in my boot.
The creature releases me, and black blood pours into the water.
Sputtering to the surface, I gasp for air and cough out the water burning my throat and lungs.
Sword raised, Fancor runs after the tentacle pulling Jax and Harper out to the darkening sea.
More tentacles attack the soldiers. I can’t tell if it’s one monster or five. The one that attacked me lies inert under the sea, its blood mingling with the water.
Getting to my feet, I chase after Harper. My vision narrows on her, and I’m fixed on getting close enough to haul her back.
Jax lifts his sword and plunges it into the beast again and again.
I run past Fancor as he slices another tentacle with his broadsword. What remains, smacks him and sends him flying ten feet in the air.
Calling on my magic, I leap forward and land within inches of Harper. I wrap my arms around her and dig my feet into the sand. Slowing our progress to the deep, but not stopping, I think about a rope. In my mind, in my soul, my magic responds, and the thick strands bite into the skin of my fingers. “Fancor!” I wrap one end around my forearm and cast the rest to the dwarf.
His eyes widen, recognizing what I’m doing. He wraps it around himself, and holds, digging his sturdy feet into the sand.
“Jax, get ready.”
The magical rope pulls taut, and our progress stops.
Lifting his sword, Jax slices off the tentacle, and we fall into the water on our backs.
I rise, and keeping hold of the rope, throw Harper over my shoulder. As I run, Fancor pulls us in, ready to keep anything else from reaching out and grabbing us.
A bulbous black octopus-like head breaches the deep before sinking out of sight. Perhaps four severed tentacles were too much, or maybe Venora’s magic is spent for the moment. When we collapse on the sandy shoreline, nothing comes after us.
Lying on my back with Harper lying against my chest, I hold her tight, as if something else might pull her away. “Are you hurt?”
She turns and her elbow grazes my ribs.
I suck in a sharp breath. My chest hurts almost as much as my ribs.
Touching my ribcage with the tips of her fingers, I can feel her wishing she had healing magic. There is no tingle from her. This is beyond her abilities. “Cara, Aaran needs you.” Harper scrambles back out of the way.
My vision blurs. “It’s hard to breathe.”
Dozens of faces stare at me. I want to reassure them that all will be well, but I can’t catch my breath. Harper’s eyes stare into mine. Our minds open, and she says, “Stay with me, Aaran. I’m here. Just hold on.”