5. Esther #3
I let my invisible chains drift out, curious what kind of magic and beasts make their way toward us. When they touch something, I immediately want to retract from the slimy version of the water element, a nauseous anticipation kicking in.
As if knowing, Master Kain leans in. So no one else will overhear, I quietly say, “It’s strong. There’s something strange about its magic. It feels… mutated.”
Four-winged crows flock in our direction, over the shoreline and cliff edge, past the city as if trying to outrun the thunderous storm that follows them.
“Prepare yourselves!” Master Kain announces. “We will not let our city wall fall!”
A cold shiver runs through me as the enormity of this moment dawns on me. Here, he isn’t the peaceful man I grew up with, who smiled and made unhumorous jokes. No, this is the man I heard rumors of that everyone once feared.
The four greers that stand at the back of the boat wait for their command, and once they have it, they begin to chant in unison.
The water beneath the boat picks up with tremendous force, catapulting us from the sand and advancing on the beast in the distance.
The four archers positioned at the front of the boat dip their arrows into a black bowl of oil, waiting for their order.
Once offshore, surrounded by another eight boats at Master Kain’s command, we come to a stop.
Dahlia, on the last boat to the right, stands tall at the front, her dress whipping behind her, and the valther is once again perched on her shoulder.
Three of the boats are occupied by her men, the red of her kingdom’s flags barely noticeable under the dark clouds.
She looks over to me with that permanent scowl on her face. Then she glances through the lines of boats, and an uneasy feeling sweeps through me.
“Ready?” Master Kain announces, and as he does, the corner of Dahlia’s lips tilts up as she looks back toward the dark cloud that sweeps in. “Fire.”
Archers release their arrows, and I hold my breath as many lit arrows streak through the black cloud. With the smallest of chants from Dahlia, the flames erupt powerfully, giving better sight. Six slimy tentacles shift through the dark waters, and then the arrows fizzle out.
“What is that?” one of the greers whispers as a creaking sound comes from the distance.
I look to Master Kain, his jaw hard as he quickly whispers to me, “Do not use your magic unless I tell you to. Do you understand?” Then his eyes snap to mine. “Do you understand?”
I flinch under the harshness of his words, yet my back straightens, and I nod, like a soldier would.
Thick raindrops begin to hit the boats as I look back into the distance at the kingdom, where I can barely make out the shoreline.
“It seems to have stopped!” one of the greers announces. Master Kain’s gray eyebrows dip as he steps closer to the front.
My heart is pounding as I look over the boats that rock back and forth as everything comes to a standstill. My throat marking burns in warning, and I whip my head to the farthest boat, the immediate illumination of Dahlia’s randor blade growing, her smile a violent, crazed thing.
“Kain!”
His head whips in Dahlia’s direction, and he whispers a four-word chant as fireballs rain down over us.
Immediately, the betrayal wraps around my neck like a collar on a beast, and a bubble of water blossoms in my throat when I try to speak my one-word chant.
I breathe through my nose, and tears well in my eyes as I finally understand what is happening. He’s forcing my hand so I can’t help.
Master Kain goes right into another chant, and a layer of water rushes to the side of the boat to act as a shield.
Steam erupts against its force, and he whispers again, changing the water to ice.
Another wave of flames erupts, this time more forceful and breaking through parts of the icy wall.
It gives barely enough time to alert those on the boats that the danger is not what lured us out, but the men who do not wear our armor.
Boats turn against one another, water and flames opposed as an all-out fight begins. I try to speak again, but the bubble chokes me. My throat marking burns, but I purposefully push Grimace back down. It’s ironic that, in a sense, Master Kain has done the same thing to me.
I watch in horror as two of the greers from the back of our boat turn on the other two, using water whips to grab them by the ankles and fling them overboard. Traitors.
Fuck this. I immediately jump into action, gliding along the slick water on the boat, collecting one of the fallen men’s swords. One of the greers begins to chant as I pounce, trying my hardest to scream, frustrated by my silence as I cut open his mouth. My magic is useless if I cannot chant.
Water bullets shoot toward me from the remaining greer, but I dive and run along the boat, doing my best to outmaneuver him. Within seconds, he is wiped out by a greer who was previously holding a bow and arrow.
I offer a curt nod in appreciation, and he does the same, but in that split second, his eyes widen as a fireball plows into him and throws him overboard. My hand reaches out as if I might make it in time, startled by how quickly it happened. By helping me, he’d left his own guard open.
I’m flung to the side of the boat, barely grappling for purchase so I’m not thrown over the edge, when Master Kain’s water dragon violently erupts from the sea as chaotic as the storm around us.
The sword I used flies out of my hand as I slide down the boat.
I dig in my nails, catching on one of the floorboards.
Steam rises in front of Dahlia as water meets flames, our men trying to fight against her, but no one is even close enough to get behind her defenses.
She wears a sadistic smile, those crazed eyes looking more red than brown from the glowing hue of her randor blade as she unsheathes it.
Those are the eyes of a greer gone mad with thirst for power.
Her valther screams, swooping in and throwing one of our men overboard who was able to board her boat. Dahlia chants, a sweep of flames turning into a soulless firebird, far quicker than any ordinary greer should be able to chant. Is this because of the power of the randor blade?
The firebird swoops for Master Kain’s soulless beast and claws at the dragon’s eyes.
The dragon’s tail whips around, flinging it into the distance, steam temporarily destroying its tail until it replenishes.
With a quick chant, Master Kain throws a tidal wave over their boats, throwing two of them into the sea, leaving only one of Dahlias boats remaining.
Two of Master Kain’s boats endure but they fight among themselves.
Those who are loyal to their king and the other traitors, fighting on Dahlia’s command.
My stomach churns as I sense the slimy beast directly beneath us.
When my invisible chains slide over the beast once again, on closer inspection I notice the controlling shackles already there.
Is this a binding contract between beast and master?
Or something else entirely, but who would have the power to control a beast as large as this?
A soldier creeps up behind Master Kain while his attention is focused on his dragon countering Dahlia’s advances. I grit my teeth as I pull myself up, yanking the knife out of the garter from my thigh and charge for him. When he turns, he seems surprised.
I know his face. I’ve even trained with him, and tears spring to my eyes as the certainty of finishing him eludes me. Even the other traitor, I didn’t have it in me to kill him, because what if I was wrong? What if they were under some kind of influence or enchantment?
But what if killing is delicious?
The thought has me reeling, forcing me into a defensive position as my arms tremble with the weight of his sword coming down.
I deflect his blade and dip low, sweeping his feet out from underneath him.
Then I pounce, bringing the blade down to his throat and slamming my foot on his wrist so he can’t reach for his sword again.
His eyes grow wide as our arms both shake from the force.
I know the action I have to take. Know how quick it would be to slit his throat.
But my hand still trembles from the barreling thoughts and questions as to why.
Why would they betray Master Kain? Why is Dahlia attacking her own cousin?
Then a vibrant red cuts through the dark clouds, almost blinding.
I squint, still trying to keep my eyes open against its illumination and pelting rain.
The randor sword glows brightly, and I brace myself for the force it’ll rein down on us.
I try again to speak but can’t. Then, at the simple swing of her sword, a line of fire cuts through all the masts, the chaos of it knocking the boats into one another.
Master Kain’s dragon bites into the flame, preserving our mast but knocking us in the process as I’m yet again thrown, fumbling to catch onto something.
The man I was sitting on screams as he’s dragged down the boat at an awkward angle.
I hit the mast hard, but it stops me from falling over the side of the boat.
My eyes grow wide when the man is thrown overboard. A tentacle snatches him from the air, suffocating his screams and dragging him into the ocean. More tentacles peel over the boat, rocking us farther over. I look up to Master Kain and meet his eyes, blood pooling out of his mouth.
“They’ll all die.”
No.
He smiles at me then, and fear - unlike I’ve ever known, grips me.
They’ll all die.
I quickly shake my head as if knowing what he’s thinking.
“Listen to the Fates, but only the sane one. Come back for our people,” he says. I shake my head profusely. “Give them the wrath of Felia, but protect those who defend Neina.”