Chapter 89 Peytor
Chapter Eighty-Nine
Peytor
Alight wind blew across the bay, snapping the sails and ruffling the tunics of all those standing on the top deck of the ship. None of the seventy-two Vessels and Mages aboard the twelve Iluulian ships spoke, the impending battle a palpable muzzle.
The unknown was almost as fear-inducing as the silence and heavy fog that swept across the empty bay.
Both grew thicker by the minute, causing alarm to ring loudly in my mind.
We floated here in the off chance Solace commissioned sailing vessels from Katiska or even Iluul and came around the north, but we’d assessed that likelihood at a very small percentage.
Even if they did command a navy, one of our scouts along the coast would have sent a message via the communication stone I held tightly in my fist.
I’d received no word, not even a whisper of their whereabouts.
Dread settled heavy as the fog slowly rolled across the ship’s decks with purposeful intent, obscuring my sight entirely until I could barely see the deck I stood upon and the rigging I clung to.
My heart pounded and sweat coated my palms as whispers began to float between the six Mage-Vessel pairs I had onboard this particular ship. A quick glance in the crow’s nest and up to the captain’s deck showed the Deucenans commandeering our vessel were just as nervous as my soldiers.
“Quiet!” I barked, my nerves causing me to speak harsher than I normally would. “I need to listen,” I added.
Instantly, the Mages and Vessels fell silent, leaving only the creaking of the ship to fill the ominous emptiness.
Clearing my throat, I brought the communication stone to my lips, activating it quickly. Its uses were finite, and we agreed to only communicate in dire circumstances, but the apprehension settling like lead in my gut couldn’t be ignored.
“Commander d’Aelius to Samee,” I spoke. The communication stone crackled with no response. I tried again, repeating the same call with a bit more urgency.
Were those the waves sloshing against our hull, or were there others in the water?
A chill skated up my spine, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. It felt like we were no longer alone.
“Samee reporting. What is it, Commander d’Aelius?”
I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “Any report of ships?”
“Negative,” was the immediate reply. His response should have eased my worry, but I only felt rising tension and bile.
“Thanks,” I said gruffly. “If you see any movement, report immediately.”
“Confirmed.”
I went to pocket the communication stone, but quickly put it back to my mouth before the rune could fade, ending our conversation.
“Samee, is there . . . fog by you?”
The communication stone crackled for a moment, the silence causing my teeth to grind together. “Uh, negative, commander. Bright skies and plentiful sun. Pleasant wind and temperature, too.”
Fuck.
I pocketed the stone without another word, my hands shaking the whole while.
“Air Mages!” I called, my voice hopefully carrying to the other nearby Vessels across the cold water. I felt the air shift as the Mage on my deck called forth their power. “Move this fog so we can see.”
Seconds later, I grasped the rigging with both hands as a gust of strong wind blew across the deck, pushing the tendrils of fog that lazily wound around my boots and legs back to sea.
“Conserve your power,” I commanded, relieved when her magic receded slightly as the other Air Mages aboard neighboring ships followed suit, slowly pushing the fog back.
Inch by agonizing inch, our ships were exposed, and I breathed an audible sigh of relief, my punishing grip on the rigging relaxed, as I saw everything exactly as it was when we first moored here early this morning.
Just fog, I thought, convincing my racing heart that we weren’t under attack, the warming spring air simply met cold winter ground.
But as the manufactured wind kept blowing, fear gripped my gut as a thirteenth then fourteenth vessel were exposed.
They were slight things; thinner and shorter than the Iluulian ships, their sails narrow and tall rather than billowing and wide.
The further the fog retreated, the more ships were pulled into stark focus.
“Sir, what is that? Who are they?” one of the Mages called from behind me.
I couldn’t find the words to answer him, my tongue sticking to the roof of my dry mouth as my heart raced in earnest.
“Ships! Ships to the north!” one of the captains called from across the way, his cry echoed by the remaining captains until it made its way back to our vessel.
“Sir? Your orders?” our captain shouted from the deck.
I shook my head, suddenly wishing I’d thought to shorten my hair or at least pull it into a bun. The last thing I needed was hair in my face as I tried to coordinate our attack.
“Wait,” I called, holding my hand in the air—our signal for my command. “Let’s see if they’re friend or foe.”
Though that seemed like a stupid thing to wait for—it was clear these ships were positioned in an offensive maneuver and, if I squinted, I could see magic held in palms from here.
Suddenly, the fog retreated completely, pulled off the water by a sudden gust of wind so powerful it nearly sent me toppling over the edge of the ship and into the chilly water below.
My eyes darted between the ships, searching for the Mage with that strong an affinity to Air. Exclamations sounded across the decks of our ships, and my gaze was drawn to what had my soldiers in such a chokehold.
I sucked a deep gasp through my teeth, shaking hands grasping the communication stone as I desperately tried to contact Torin.
There, on the bow of a ship not two hundred yards from me, stood Solace. Her white hair twirled in the wind, twisting around her face and head as she stood with her arms flung wide. Even from this distance, I could see her malicious grin.
“No,” I whispered raggedly.
My blood ran cold and my hearing faded, blocking out the surprised and concerned shouts of my Mages and Vessels.
Solace did the one thing we hadn’t prepared for; somehow she brought a fleet of ships across the north. I tried to quickly count the number of ships and Mages I saw on each, but stopped once I reached thirty vessels.
We were completely outnumbered and thoroughly overpowered; if any of us made it out of here alive, it would be by the grace of Fate.
How? How did we miss this?
Itanya . . . I swore loudly, hands carving through my unruly hair. This portion of her attack was unplanned; more retribution based on feeling for removing her surprise weapon from the board completely.
As I watched my Mages and Vessels scramble to form some sort of Air barrier that would, hopefully, protect us long enough to prepare to attack or flee, I came to the realization that this was more than just revenge.
Solace came to annihilate our way of life, our very existence.
The communication stone crackled with Torin’s voice just as Solace threw her head back toward the sky, power unlike anything I’d ever felt before coalescing in her palms and standing my hair on end.
Shouts and exclamations alike rang out with pure fear from my soldiers and captains at the sight of the blindingly white magic held in Solace’s hands.
Wayward strands shot from the quickly growing ball, sparking outward to strike friend and foe alike.
Two of her ships caught fire and I foolishly held my breath, thinking perhaps more would follow; at least enough to even the field so we could counterstrike and provide some sort of defense for Alvor to our backs.
The magic crackled loudly, nearly drowning out the shouts of my Mages and captains.
“Hold!” I shouted, jumping into the rigging and hanging over the edge so I could see better. “Hold the Air Barrier!” It shimmered for a moment as my Air Mages poured whatever magic they had in reserve into the pitiful protective barrier.
“Prepare for an attack!” I called, my voice magnified by a young Air Mage who redirected their magic at me so my soldiers could hear me better.
Uncaring if the enemy heard, I quickly reformulated my plans.
At this point, we would be lucky to survive the next hour; Solace’s navy hearing my battle plans was the least of my concerns.
Now, I had to ensure that at least some of my soldiers walked away from this alive.
“Earth Mages, ground their vessels. Water Mages, create whirlpools as close to their ships as you can. Try and pull them together. Fire Mages! Ready fireballs. As soon as the barrier drops, I want an immediate launch at their hulls and sails.”
I had no Creation or Destruction powers aboard any of my ships; the rare Mages were divided between the other ground forces.
Because we thought we had no use for them on the sea.
“Fuck,” I swore again, my boots thunking hard against the deck as I jumped from the rigging. “Juni,” I called to the singular Pain Mage aboard my ship.
“Commander d’Aelius,” she said, snapping to attention. Her black hair was cut short, a lock of it hanging in front of her nearly violet eyes.
“We work as a team. If and when they board our ships, you are to aim to incapacitate only. Whoever you hit, I will kill. Save as much of your power as you can.” I stared intently into her eyes, seeing only steely resolve when I expected even a hint of fear.
“With pleasure,” she purred, flashing me a savage grin. I felt a tingling sensation as she drew slightly on her power, readying it for when Solace and her crew of heathens would break through our barrier.
Before I could turn back around, a resounding crack sounded, and I felt a sudden swoosh of air, my heart plummeting into my belly at the realization that our barrier was already disintegrated.
Cries of pain and surprise rang out as the smell of fire-singed flesh floated on the humid breeze.
I whirled, the blood draining from my face at the sight that greeted me.
My Mages fought valiantly, launching their own disjointed attacks while doing their best to defend from what looked like a constant barrage of magical strikes. The sky itself seemed to rain fire, the heat of it causing steam to rise off the frothing sea.
Our ships rocked and dipped, forcing Juni and I to grab desperately to the rigging, lest we be thrown overboard and boiled alive by the suddenly heated water.
Pride briefly washed over me as I watched, transfixed by the nettle of our soldiers as they valiantly defended Elyria.
A blinding flash of light pulled my gaze to where Solace still gathered her power, the ball of white lightning growing steadily larger.
My heart pounded somewhere in my throat, my body twitching with the need to move as I watched that power nearly consume the ship Solace stood upon.
What was it? And could my Mages outlast whatever cosmic power she unleashed on our fleet?
The quick drop in my stomach and the sour bile in my mouth answered the question as a stray bolt of lightning struck one of my Fire Mages on the foremost ship, turning her to dust instantly.
Her quick death shook me from my stupor, and I launched into action, pushing aside my own misgivings and fears to command our navy, to protect those I loved just beyond these shores. Though I feared my desires were foolhardy.
The screams of the dying combined with the whistling of air as magical attacks struck our ships. Wood fractured into thousands of splinters, exploding outward onto neighboring vessels as we tried to circumvent the barrage from Solace’s Mages.
Grimly, I watched as our ships were picked off one by one, my Mages and Vessels plunging beneath the waves, never to rise again.
It was clear in that moment, as I watched a female Earth Mage no older than twenty sink beneath the waves, her blonde hair floating atop the ocean for a moment before sinking completely:
The sea was to be our final resting place.