Chapter 35 #3
“I don’t have anywhere safe for you to go,” he told them. “The leviathan is dead. You could scavenge the creature for meat for a time, but the sandwraiths will be back, no doubt.”
The woman with bark colored skin shivered.
“We’ll die on our own.” She rubbed the hair of the boy who had small scales forming along his temple.
They were faint, barely showing, and probably wouldn’t for a time.
Connak committed his face to memory. The kid’s arms glowed faintly as he peeked through the woman’s tight hands around him in awe.
“Yes.” Connak shifted his attention to a dark corner.
He didn’t want them to die, especially not with a child potentially marked by the dragons, carrying a long forgotten ember.
“We are at war, and my path requires speed to prepare for a battle, or I’d take you to safety myself. Let me see the boy.”
Connak stood and approached the slaves. The woman held the boy tighter, but the kid pushed her away and stood bravely.
“Move at night,” Connak told him, staring into the deep brown eyes swirling with hints of silver—a color that matched the hidden glow. Connak pointed at his hands. “You will guide them. It’ll be cold, but you can do it.”
“I’m a kid,” he said faintly, but bravery dared him to lift his chin anyway.
The other two slaves weren’t so convinced. They glanced at each other, shifting further into the safety of the shadows.
“Cover your tracks and follow the wind,” Connak continued, placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder. He summoned his own magic to his fingertips.
The boy’s eyes widened with delight.
“It blows from the river. You’ll go the opposite direction. Trench enough water from the wells you dug from the wraiths. If you see a sandstorm, bury yourself shallow and breathe through cloth.” Connak’s magic pulsed into the boy’s shoulder, a spark brightening his glow.
The others didn’t react. They couldn’t see it. In fact, it took a special type of magic to be able to see another’s hidden glow.
“You’ll hit the trade routes in a day. If someone doesn’t find you, keep going. Holbeck is a two-day walk. With stops during the day, you can make it in three. Be careful of the glassmaw snakes. A bite from them is an instant death.”
He leaned forward, staring at the boy, then his eyes cut to the woman. “When you get to Holbeck, ask for Tavren.”
The slaves stared at Connak for a beat longer than he liked, but then they stood and left the ship with the boy. They’d be alright. Connak tried his best to make sure of that, if anything, for the sake of the boy and what he could potentially possess.
Danek shifted in the cot. “Their deaths are on you.”
Connak tensed, the words digging deep into his chest. If he had another choice, he would have taken it. He cleared his throat, pushing the guilt away. “Feel better?”
Danek groaned. “Like I’ve been hit by a horse.”
Connak laughed and stood straight. He caught the slaves running through the sand, tiptoeing and disappearing over the dune. He sent a prayer to the Eternal Mother as he turned to Danek. “I have plans for you, Danek. Big ones regarding the Blades. I needed to know you could handle it.”
“And if I couldn’t?”
“You’d be inside the belly of a leviathan, I guess.”
“That’s not funny.” Danek stood and pushed Connak’s shoulder, a sly grin on his own face. “Though I wondered if you were trying to kill me for almost kissing Kienna.”
The words nearly winded Connak. He was admittedly more agitated lately. He even pushed Danek into longer training sessions to fight against the Blades, justifying it as giving Danek leadership opportunity. He couldn’t lead if he wasn’t strong, but Danek apparently thought differently.
Connak clicked his tongue. “That’s not why—” There were a million things he could say. In the end, he only said, “I’m sorry. In my defense, this was truly for training.”
Danek stretched and cracked his neck to the side. “It’s fine. What do you think Broan will say when he hears I killed one of those beasts by myself?”
“Probably to take him to the desert, so he can show you how it’s done.”
They both laughed.
A shadow undulated in the corner before it took form. Tislin stepped into view from the light shining through the broken planks. The clothed sails battered in the wind, letting in a hot breeze. He took formation quickly, which told Connak he had news. “Soldiers in the Malintale,” he said.
“And Northpass?”
Tislin nodded. “Yes.”
“Take Danek.” Connak sighed. The war was inevitable now that soldiers were closing in from both sides. “Get the Blades out of the forest and to Dove Port. I’ll let Tristian know. We’ll begin evacuating the outer edge of the city, and then we can set up traps. And Tislin?”
Tislin lifted his chin. “Yes, Commander?”
Connak tilted his head toward Danek. “He killed a leviathan.”
The Shadowmaster’s brows rose. “Leviathans were meant to sleep until the world ended.” He looked at Danek, then a hint of realization flickered behind his shock.
“If it awoke, and you’ve killed it, the old wards truly are broken.
We only have the god of light to protect us now. Come. We have work to do.”