Chapter 18
A Boundary Bend
A n arrow pierced through the imp’s eye, and he released his hostage. Meanwhile, the golem was overwhelmed with familiars, stumbling about the perimeter of the castle trying to battle against the mighty Kraken and the elusive Pina—”
Eli interrupted Tam’s vivid retelling of Troivack’s civil battle, which his family, with their familiars, had been instrumental in winning. “You forgot to mention Reggie the raccoon’s contribution.”
She seemed adamant that Tam shouldn’t overlook Reggie the raccoon, who was quite famous in his own right. The beastie was unfathomably large yet somehow healthy, and was a familiar to a Troivackian witch who had aided the king’s army in the war.
Tam let out a long sigh.
He had never seen Reggie the raccoon, but he had most certainly heard about him in great detail—too much detail at times—through the years from his father, sister, and brother-in-law. He didn’t understand the fascination with the rotund beastie from the tales he’d heard. It was a large raccoon. So what?
Their vessel was two-thirds of the way through the journey to Zinfera, and every night since the first, Tam, Eli, and Luca had sat on the deck with tea (that Eli insisted on brewing), snacks, and the sextant as Tam told the fantastical stories of the stars or—on a night like this, with the clouds above blocking the moonlit sky—legendary tales of the Ashowan family.
Tam had discovered during the voyage that he was an exceptional storyteller, and it wasn’t long before Eli and Luca eagerly joined him for their evenings together, appearing to enjoy that time above any other time of the day.
“Which are imps and golems again?” Luca’s legs swung to and fro while he sat at the edge of his chair as was his norm when listening to his father speak. The past few nights, they had in particular been discussing the ancient beasts that had been summoned from the Forest of the Afterlife to aid the first witch, daughter of the Gods, in banishing the devil to another realm and taking power in the Troivackian kingdom.
“Imps are the ancient beasts associated with water. They are seven feet tall and usually have purple, black, or blue hair. Their eyes are similar colors, and they have three spinning pupils in each one,” Tam explained, pointing at his own eye and drawing circles to illustrate his point. “My father’s familiar says that they can turn into sea creatures in water, and they wield their element as well as the most powerful water witches.”
“And golems are the giant rock men tied to earth power? Taller than some keeps?” Luca recalled.
“That’s right. They don’t talk much, and I’m sure you’ve heard about the stone golem that is loyal to the new Daxarian queen’s familiar. He stands off the shore of Austice and guards the harbor,” Tam confirmed.
Luca nodded along, though a line had formed between his eyebrows as he sifted through the information.
“Sirins are associated with air magic. They fly; they have pointy teeth, white or gray hair, and red, blue, or even white eyes. They can sing the most beautiful song you’ve ever heard, or scream and drive you mad,” the future duke said.
Luca shuddered at the imagery just as a particularly biting wind whisked through the trio.
“As for the last of the ancient beasts associated with the elements… dragons. Dragons are giant lizards that burp fire,” Tam concluded bluntly, making Luca laugh. “We know the least about them, as they rarely show themselves, but they are associated with the fire element, and are thought to have superior wisdom.”
The group fell into an amicable silence. Tam leaned back in his seat, his hands folded over his belly as he stared out over the inky sea.
“Tam?” Luca asked suddenly.
“Mm?”
“My Uncle Liam said you’re a witch…”
Tam’s easygoing expression tensed.
“I heard one of the crew members say that Eli’s a witch, too.”
Tam and Eli looked at each other, hardness entering their eyes as Luca continued speaking.
“What… kind of witches are you?” the boy finished, though he was looking increasingly uncertain. The tension in the air was as taut as a harp string.
Neither Tam nor Eli answered at first, instead gazing at each other in wordless communication.
“Luca… Eli and I aren’t like most witches,” Tam began carefully. “Neither of us likes to talk about our magic. No one knows what mine is, and Eli… Eli does not like her magic. I understand why you are curious, but, in the future please do not ask about it.”
“But wh—”
Tam raised his eyebrows as he stared firmly at his son. He hoped the expression in his face showed Luca that while he wasn’t angry, he was not going to budge on the point.
Luca, looking horribly chastened, gulped, and started fidgeting with his thumbnail.
Burning shame scorched Tam’s chest. The boy hadn’t fidgeted in days.
Despite starting to squirm, Luca still went on to ask, “Wh-what if I’m a witch, though? What if it’s like your magic?”
Tam felt his heart drop to his stomach at the thought that Luca might inherit his magic. Luckily, he swiftly came back to his senses.
“It has never happened that mutated witches have children with the exact same abilities. So you aren’t in danger of that, and you most likely would’ve already noticed some kind of magic by now. It’s not very often that magic arrives any later than at seven years old.”
“So you’re a mutated witch?” Luca latched onto the tidbit hopefully.
Tam straightened at the question, and his gaze sharpened, making the boy shrink back.
“Luca, how about you go to bed now?” Eli changed the subject smoothly, already sensing that the situation was about to escalate.
“O-okay,” the child stammered before nervously sliding to his feet.
As he did so, Tam took the opportunity to mask his emotions and resume a more relaxed posture. “Have a good night, Luca. I’ll see you in the morning.”
The boy gave a shy wave but couldn’t bring himself to meet Tam’s eyes as he made his way back to their cabin, where Tam had hung a hammock for him.
Once Eli and Tam were alone, the assistant looked expectantly at her employer.
He stared back unimpressed.
“Weren’t you the one saying I needed to exercise more caution around Luca?” Tam pointed out coolly. “Was that line of questioning Luca was pursuing not something to be wary about?”
“They’re normal questions for a child to ask, my lord. Especially one who hasn’t grown up around a lot of witches,” Eli replied calmly.
“Luca normally doesn’t push boundaries when they’re set. That was strange.”
“Or it’s a sign he is getting more comfortable with you.”
Tam let out an irritated breath. “How should I have handled that, then?”
“A lot of people know you’re a mutated witch. You could have confirmed that and let it be. Furthermore… if Luca is the devil, it isn’t a bad thing for him to start showing his agenda.”
The future duke didn’t respond immediately, instead turning the argument over in his mind while he gazed back out over the water.
“My lord, I know I’ve said this a few times, but we still don’t know if he is the devil or—”
“I know. But there is still the chance he isn’t, and if not…?” Tam shook his head, at a loss at how to proceed.
Eli sighed. “If you would be so kind as to indulge me, my lord, but how about we switch sides of our arguments. Why did you get so upset about your own son asking about your magic? He has every right to be afraid when it’s clear you yourself are terrified.”
Instantly Tam recoiled as a spectrum of emotions struck him in response to his assistant’s observation. But he suddenly froze, and his gaze locked on something in the water.
“My lord?” Eli frowned, then followed his line of sight. She paled upon recognizing the dark shapes in the water.
A loud bell clanged from the helmsman before Tam or his assistant could say another word.
“PIRATES!” the captain roared while emerging from belowdecks, the brass buttons on his emerald coat still undone as he dashed up to the helmsman.
Tam rose from his seat and, without looking, reached over to the lantern, opened its door, and with his left hand pinched out each flame on the candles.
“Eli, you are going to go to my cabin, and you are going to stay there with Luca until I come get you. There will be two passwords. If I say that everything is clear, that means someone is holding me at knifepoint, and you are to hide Luca immediately. If I say everything is fine, it’s safe. Understood?”
The assistant bobbed her head.
When Tam was finally able to tear his eyes away from the longboats that had crept up alongside the ship, he discovered that despite the imminent threat, Eli appeared perfectly calm.
He lowered his gaze in thanks, and she turned to see to his orders. Inside his pockets, Tam’s hands curled into fists as his magic started tearing urgently at his chest.
He swallowed with difficulty and closed his eyes.
This was precisely what he had worried would happen while he was trapped on a boat: a situation arising where he might lose control over his magic. Not only would there be witnesses, but someone could get caught up in his power while he could do nothing to help.
◆◆◆
“Captain Pinnel, the pirates are just bobbing around the ship while their own vessel comes to our side. We’ve got Basque and Torrie on either side of the deck prepared to fire off the crossbows at them, but we don’t want to waste resources.”
“They’re waiting to dispose of anyone that jumps into the water…” the captain rumbled ferociously as he stared at the longboats.
“Why are you letting the pirate captain aboard our ship for negotiations when they are planning on killing all of us?” Declan, the first mate, had his dark-brown eyes intent on his superior.
The captain, a fit man in his early forties, stared at the pirate’s ship that was pulling up alongside their own. “Lord Tamlin Ashowan said it would be fine if we did.”
“What?” The first mate turned to face Captain Pinnel abruptly.
“He said he would defer to me, but he believed he could manage the negotiation as long as we didn’t reveal who he was.”
“He is a pampered noble!” the first mate declared angrily. “He is well known for being adept at paperwork but useless everywhere else! He is not capable like the rest of his family!”
“Have you seen him train with his assistant?” the captain asked softly, his eyes gleaming when they rested on Declan.
“No, I haven’t,” the first mate confessed. “Why? Did you see his magic?”
“No… but he can handle himself far better than you think. I only watched for a short while before he noticed me and stopped, but truthfully? I sincerely doubt anyone in the Ashowan family is useless.”
“You’re gambling our crew’s lives with barely any—”
The sound of a gangplank slamming down on their deck prevented Declan from making another furious comment. The two men turned toward it in time to see the Zinferan pirate captain sauntering across the gangplank, seemingly without a care in the world, the yellow plume in his hat matching the yellow of his baggy pants. He wore a well-made black coat that he had obviously stolen from a much larger nobleman, and a crisp white tunic that signified he was a rather wealthy pirate—and of course, no one missed the curved sword on his hip.
He had long black hair threaded with white, his face hidden by his hat, though a silver hoop in his right earlobe flashed in the faint light of torches and lanterns.
“Where is Ashowan?” Declan asked abruptly as he glanced around the ship deck, expecting to find the future duke standing, wearing his usual black vest and pants, hands in pockets, waiting.
Instead, he was nowhere to be seen.
The captain said nothing, but there was a peculiar calm about him… almost as though he knew something Declan didn’t.
One of the Daxarian crew members approached the Zinferan pirate as he stepped aboard with five more of his men at his back.
“Did you tell Roberts to greet them?” Declan couldn’t take his sights off the deck as the scene unfolded.
“I didn’t.” Captain Pinnel craned his neck to see that his crew member was gesturing toward the bow of the ship, still looking remarkably unperturbed.
“Why would Lord Tam want to meet with the man up there?” Declan wondered with growing exasperation.
Captain Pinnel paused, tilted his head, then glanced over to the port side of his boat as he listened to shouts and orders to move the longboats, drawing a smile from the captain’s mouth.
“By the Gods, he guessed right.”
Declan looked at the captain, puzzled.
“Lord Tam just forced two of the boats to have to move to keep an eye on the pirate captain. We have fewer eyes on us on this end of the ship. Declan, start quietly letting the men know that my cabin is empty. If they happen to have any of those steel spears around, they should be able to add some… renovations to the pirate ship beside us from my window.”
Momentarily stunned by the turn of events, the first mate gave a quiet chuckle before saying, “Yes, sir.”
Apparently, the next head of the Ashowan family had a trick or two up his sleeve after all.