Feel the Burn (8 page)

Miss you. I guess before too long I’ll see you again.

Religion wasn’t part of my life. I was too suspicious of organized religions that required so many rules yet the mere humans that followed them frequently adjusted those rules however they liked, all too often at the command of the power hungry leaders. But I recalled Elena and Yakov teaching us about rebirth, at least here on Gar’nyse. If true, then at some point I would be reborn.

Hopefully here, hopefully with you.

Without meaning to I found my eyes drawn back to my gorgeous wee friend and the painfully sad smile she gave Rumal when he wrapped both arms around her solidly.

I’d give anything to feel your arms around me again.

Death. The word floated around in my mind while the acknowledgement of it as my, probable, outcome occurred to me again. I kept waiting for a reaction to that idea—fear perhaps, panic, a sense of incompletion? Not for myself, but the longer I watched Kassie and Rumal and the more I thought of the others, the greater the fear I felt for them. I’d wait for the right moment, keep them as far away as possible. Mustn’t let them near her.

The anxiety the thoughts provoked got me up from where I sat, cocooned warmly between Loushka and Kerak, and over to where the allies and soldiers sparred.

All practice ceased when Catherine started to utilize her gift. Always impressive to watch, even from the first moments when she learned to handle it, now it bordered on terrifying. Ignatius watched, feeling the prickle of fear at the ease with which she turned herself into a living flame. The memory of clutching that fire creature and getting her to Elena still haunted his dreams. All those on deck scurried out her path when the fire creature casually wandered around the deck, the heat emanating off her was formidable yet she left no singe or burn marks anywhere. Even her clothes remained intact when she returned to normal.

It took no effort, just a tiny thought, then whoosh, the flames engulfed me. I played with it, flicking the flames on and off like a switch and threw them wider before drawing them in. Oomoth and Belsesus stared with intent expressions, watching avidly while I walked the deck. I rather enjoyed how everyone leaped out the way. Even the tiny but deadly Halenine fae kept their distance. Leseach, her face impassive, observed me from a distance, Rashid a couple of meters down from her. I ignored them, fascinated for the moment with the change and strength of the energy within. Extinguishing most the flames, I kept some just on my palms, admiring the effect, then stretched both arms out to either side and arched those flames overhead, taking particular pleasure in flaring them excessively wide.

The sound of hooves behind made me twist. Oomoth stood nearby and I spun on the spot allowing a swirl of fire to flick up around us. The sudden surge of his life flame sung out to me like an intense sugar rush and I froze, staring at the vivid red light within him.

He’s scared of me.

I dropped the flames, feeling sickened at my little power display.

Showing no outward sign of fear, Oomoth bowed at the waist, extending a foreleg.

‘Your Highness, can I suggest practicing at withholding the heat while keeping the flame? So you might ride successfully in your true state; without frying Belsesus.’ He cut a sly look at the other centaur nearby.

I made an attempt at a smile and nodded. ‘Good idea.’

The Cavalry Lieutenant trotted over and extended an arm, I swung up onto his back then hesitated. Belsesus too showed that nervous red energy flickering within though externally he kept his expression calm. But it allowed me to see something I hadn’t noticed previously; the outline of his life flame. Focusing, I traced that line with my energy and felt a jolt, nearly like I’d linked with him even though he had no gift of that manner. A strange understanding ran through my body and mind and I knew, without a doubt, that my energy now wouldn’t harm him.

Kassie watched Cat with a frown, wondering again why her energy sounded so different now. Seated on Belsesus’ back, Cat closed her eyes then threw her energy out. A loud gasp rose from those watching and everyone moved back several steps from the inferno that engulfed the two.

‘Doesn’t look like it’s hurting him,’ Rumal called over the roar of fire.

Cat extinguished the flames and climbed down from the centaur’s back. Belsesus stood there looking frozen in shock, his jaw working with no sound at first.

‘I didn’t feel a thing,’ the centaur finally exclaimed. Those closest stepped forward to examine his armor for scorch marks, yet found none.

They spent the afternoon testing Cat’s developed gift and when Kassie’s turn came about she regarded her flaming friend in apprehension. This test was to see how close Kassie could get with no harm. Rumal and Rashid received singed clothing and scorched skin from their attempts. Cat healed them before they felt the injuries and now they watched Kassie with expressions of confusion and speculation.

Kassie stared at Cat whose figure shimmered before them, a beautiful mix of reds, oranges and yellows with a touch of white on her outline. Taking a steadying breath, she inched closer, not yet feeling any heat.

‘You’re nearly there,’ Cat said encouragingly, offering a hand.

The hairs on Kassie’s arms seemed to flinch at the thought and she nearly shut her eyes when she reached for Cat’s hand. The solidness of the grasp and lack of heat made her gasp in surprise and look up. Cat’s green eyes slanted through the flames that transformed her face and Kassie glimpsed a flash of white teeth.

‘Well done, Kass!’

Not long after dinner the Princess feigned tiredness and excused herself, but Ignatius knew better. The days of practicing and conversing with those aboard wore her down. Waiting for another quarter hour he caught Leseach’s eye and excused himself, heading to the kitchen where the cook had the mug of nellor waiting. Ignatius took his time walking to the Northerner’s room. Their spat the other evening went unmentioned by either of them the next day and they managed to reach a sort of equilibrium. She appeared to respect him for his devotion to the task and he, well, he could appreciate some of her skills if not her personality. A yawn hit when he rounded the corner, in time to see Rashid walking away from the room.

You better have not annoyed her, he thought too tired to be really irritated. I can’t be bothered with that this evening.

Leseach appeared at the door with a calm expression and gestured for him to enter. Ignatius shook his head and motioned for her to go first. The courtly gesture annoyed her and he knew it. After a moment’s hesitation and a frown, Leseach turned, walking stiffly into the room and to the table. Her sense of unease amused him and he hid his smile while she selected various herbs from the medicine basket.

‘The other herbs should help keep her strength up and the wormal will hopefully stop the nightmares.’

‘That’d be good,’ Ignatius said wryly, rubbing a hand over his face. ‘I could use a full night’s sleep. The screams and singed sheets don’t make for a restful night. I can’t believe she never actually wakes up during them, half the ship does!’

Leseach didn’t answer, focused on measuring out an amount of the poison.

‘Is that a larger amount than last night?’

Leseach glanced at him, eyes widening, and in a surprised voice said, ‘Yes. Not much, but enough to allow her to sleep a little deeper.’

‘Not twelve hours, though?’

The Northerner’s lips twitched, the closest to a smile she came with him, and she shook her head.

‘No, not again. Rashid couldn’t handle it.’

Ignatius laughed then.

‘Neither could I.’

Catherine sat at the table dressed for bed when he entered and they made the usual chitchat while she sipped the nellor. He didn’t speak of the Prince, not wanting to encourage the dreams after the last—interesting—few nights.

Each night she went to bed and all seemed well, until the early hours, when the whimpering started. It woke him in an instant and Ignatius had been shocked to find her wide eyed on the bed, mumbling Alek’s name, though he quickly realized she still slept. No amount of soothing helped. With Leseach tapping on the door, demanding to know the issue he’d attempted to calm Catherine down; then she’d screamed and everything got very hot, very fast. Thinking quickly that first night, Ignatius leaped at one of the trunks and threw the heavy lid up snatching the first piece of male clothing he found and threw it at Catherine’s face. Those ten seconds or so felt like the longest of his life, knowing he had the fire elemental before him not conscious enough to know better than to set the ship alight around them.

Thankfully she paused for breath and inhaled the scent. It calmed her enough to curl on the bed crying quietly with her fire withdrawn.

‘Ignatius?’

He jolted out of the memory then realized what she’d asked.

‘Oh, ahh, we should see land in around ten days, give or take, Princess.’

Catherine nodded and swallowed the rest of the nellor, setting the mug on the table with a soft thud.

‘I don’t know what it is you’re using to knock me out, Ignatius,’ Catherine said while he gaped in surprise. ‘But I appreciate it.’

He stuttered an attempt at denial when she sleepily arched an eyebrow at him and stood, making her way to the berth bed. A moment after her head hit the pillow he could hear the breathy sound of her sleeping, that old blue shirt held close in her arms. Ignatius gave a snort of amusement. So much for discreet, he thought, but as long as no one else knows. He stood and cast a protective eye over the sleeping girl then set his bedroll up.

At around the same time in the early hours of the morning he jolted awake. The dark of the moon meant there wasn’t a hint of light through the windows. He heard the reassuring sound of water while the ship cut through the ocean, and another sound. Rubbing his eyes, he twisted up to look at Catherine, disconcerted at the different noise.

She murmured in her sleep, the sound pleasing in its happy tone.

Better than a singed bedroll, he thought in relief and flopped back down to sleep.

*~*~*

Chapter Six

Gredel stood beside Phroma watching the horizon. The main deck bustled with soldiers and allies training but here on the top deck they stood alone, both lost in thought. The clouds overhead grew thicker and darker, the occasional splatter of rain drops catching him though the griffon blocked most.

‘A storm is developing,’
Phroma thought.

Gredel glanced up, studying the gloomy looking clouds but didn’t answer, reaching to run a hand down the griffon’s neck, his hand buried in her dark mane. Citaan and Rirae’s faces echoed in his mind, his heart aching at the ever present memories of their smiles and laughter; occasionally punctuated by the god awful screams of Cat that morning. The wind picked up while they watched and shrieked around them. Phroma hunched against it, curving her body and shielded him from the brunt of it. Gredel met her sympathetic gaze with a half smile.

‘Looks like it could be a rough ride,’
he thought.

‘I don’t know if it can possibly get any rougher,’
Phroma thought in a dour tone.

‘While I’d like to agree, we both know it can always get worse.’

Gredel sunk to the bench seat that edged all the decks and leaned forward, elbows on knees and squinted into the strengthening gale. The icy wind bit at his nose and cheeks but he barely noticed it, his mind on Alek.

‘I can’t believe he was taken in such a way,’
Phroma thought.

Gredel blinked in surprise, eyes stinging from the salt spray.

‘Sorry, was I projecting?’

‘No, but I’ve known you for a while now,’
she thought wryly.
‘And I can tell from your expression if you’re thinking of your girls, or the men.’

He made a sound of amusement but couldn’t summon a smile and glanced at Phroma. The griffon’s hooded dark eyes regarded him in sympathy. A sigh slipped out, his chest feeling weighted from the lack of air.

‘I just never thought we’d lose him,’
Gredel gave a short dry laugh.
‘Al always seemed indestructible.’

Phroma agreed.

‘I’ll never forget that time he came to our rescue.’

‘I suspect even his father would have declared it a lost cause. I’m sure Sabyn’s hair lightened a shade by the time we returned.’

Phroma huffed in laughter.

They both stared at the horizon, lost in thought again. More than two decades had passed since Gredel last set foot on his homeland. The thought of setting foot there so soon, triggered a plethora of memories, good and bad.

‘Will you ever take Rirae to Ohranel?’

‘No!’

The griffon glanced at him.

‘It’s not all bad memories. Your mother and sister loved the estate there.’

‘And they died there. No. I couldn’t possibly.’

‘Will we stop by their graves on the way back?’
Phroma asked.

‘Perhaps. If there is a way back for us.’

Lightning flashed, zigzagging through the thick, purple black clouds that drew closer and an ominous roll of thunder vibrated through the air. The white caps broke roughly on the bow of the ship and the floor rocked, splashes of sea water reaching Gredel—who didn’t notice—his mind locked on the memory of his mother and little sister.

The warmth of the field they played amongst in the summer. Running through it with Cerphyna, playing hide and seek. It wasn’t fair, she’d been so short she could barely see over the long grasses. He’d waited until she stood a foot away, then leaped up with a roar, arms extended to catch her when she squealed and ran. Shortly afterward mother came to scold him for overexciting his little sister. Gredel smiled at the memory of his mother. She’d always smelled of sunshine to him, and of the herbs she worked with in the garden, their fragrance infusing her very skin with a warm and soothing scent.

Images of the night they fled tore the happy sensations away. Gredel shrugged in an attempt to loosen his shoulders when the muscles tensed in reflex. The torn mutilated body of his mother, his little sister beneath her—dead. The first time he’d drawn a sword, but far too late.

‘Did I ever thank you for getting me out?’
he thought, flashing the images of that onerous crossing to Elion and the terrifying night spent on the Isle of Syrenta.

‘You never needed to. And you know it.’

He glanced at the beautiful ebony and violet griffon and felt a surge of love and pride. Reaching out to throw an arm over her neck he thought,
‘Thank you, Phroma.’

The dark clouds gathered close overhead, thickening till no light showed and the wind screamed. Those on the main deck started to shout commands, preparing the ship for the storm.

* * *

Kassie gripped the edges of the bed, taking what comfort she could in the solid wood. A flash of lightning lit the room so bright she could clearly see the whites of Cat’s terrified eyes. The room veered to a ninety degree angle while they both shrieked and clung tight to whatever they could. Thunder boomed and voices roared from the deck above while soldiers, allies, and Draoths fought to keep control of the ship. The guilt Kassie had felt at not helping vanished when the storm hit and the floor pitched high and low. Even with living in New Zealand, none of the girls knew much about sailing and with all the experienced persons aboard there wasn’t a need to help.

Still, thought Kassie gritting her teeth and keeping her death grip on the base of the bed, it’d be nice to not feel quite so useless. Might take her mind of the pitching and heaving of her stomach.

‘Oh c-r-a-p,’ Cat said in a tight voice. ‘Kass, I think I’m gonna be sick.’

‘For the love of all that is holy,’ hissed Kassie through clenched teeth. ‘KEEP IT IN!’

The ship rocked and rolled for hours. Cat resisted throwing up until the ocean leveled out enough that she could crawl to the basin behind the door, face pasty with a nasty sheen.

Rumal, Ignatius, Leseach, and Rashid all paid visits to check how they’d survived and all of them appeared in high spirits. When Kassie finally staggered off to the room she shared with Rumal the sky looked calm and clear, daybreak only a few hours off, but the crew and everyone else celebrated on the decks upstairs.

‘Noisy sods,’ Kassie grumbled while she settled into bed. A few more indignant thoughts along those lines ran through her mind when the sound of singing wafted down, then sleep beckoned and she dozed off.

She woke to sunlight streaming through the narrow windows, the room warm and the floor steady. A loud snore and potent scent caught her attention. Since when does Rumal snore like that?

Kassie sat up yawning and brushed her chaotic hair back while she leaned over the prone figure of her—normally so attentive at this time of the day—partner. Rumal lay full on his back, pants still on with a section of sheet dragged over his naked torso. The rather phenomenal sound reverberating through his muscular chest impressed her, she’d never heard anything like that from him the whole time they’d shared a bed. With a cautious look, she tentatively reached out and prodded his chest. The loud grunt made her snatch her hand back with a muffled giggle but other than an incoherent grumble and shifting of figure, Rumal didn’t wake.

‘R-u-m-a-l,’ she sang and straddled his waist.

Still nothing.

Kassie ran her fingers playfully up that muscled chest and leaned over, about to kiss his lips when he belched.

‘Holy shitake!’

Eyes watering she staggered off the bed shaking her head. The fumes felt like they’d seared her nostrils and the back of her throat burned like she’d taken a decent shot of scotch. A glass of water helped and with an unimpressed ‘humph’ Kassie carried the jug of water to beside the bed, setting it on a chair. He’ll probably need that when he wakes, she thought snidely, then thoughtfully added the basin too.
 

The main deck felt eerily quiet while the rest of the ship’s inhabitants presumably slept off their celebrating too. The Draoths, however, looked no worse for wear and hassled the few soldiers and allies paying homage to the fishes over the railings. Kassie chuckled while watching them and continued on her normal route around the ship. Seaweed and other small debris littered the decks and a couple of goblins scrubbed away at the floorboards with sour expressions. A Draoth sauntered over to one and a squabble broke out when the sailor took apparent pleasure in pointing out spots they’d missed.

Sounds like someone lost a drinking game, Kassie thought, listening to the argument with amusement. With the deck so unusually empty the thought of jogging around it, like Cat did most mornings, occurred to her. I’d love to stretch my legs, she thought and glanced at where Kerak and Loushka slept, feeling guilty. Poor critters, they must be going mad with not being allowed to fly.

When she reached the stern of the deck and jogged around, starboard side toward the bow, she noticed a large clump of seaweed and stopped to examine it. Covered in zebra stripes of green and dark red, this seaweed didn’t have the air pockets like the seaweed on Earth. Instead it had large lily-like flowers with four widespread petals and a central dark brown mottled bulb. Fascinated, she reached out to pick up the leathery folds then jerked back with a surprised yelp when the mass of seaweed shuddered.

At her cry the movement stopped. She stared in bewilderment at the plant when it started to whimper, the sound growing louder and the plant shook again, the folds falling away to reveal a small creature tucked amongst it. Two enormous, doleful black eyes regarded her, a transparent eyelid sliding past when it blinked. It sniffed from a flat nose. She gaped at the little thing and the creature’s small chin wobbled. It started to cry again.

‘Oh! Shush shuuuussshhh, it’s okay,’ she soothed, feeling awful for just staring at it and she crouched slowly, getting down to its height.

Such a strange little thing, she thought, unable to resist studying it. It’s kind of cute. The creature looked the size and shape of a baby seal but with more defined, chunky arms and what looked like a tail buried beneath the seaweed. Those huge black eyes blinked again, the transparent lid sliding across while it watched Kassie creep closer. Its mouth started to wobble and she made soft, comforting noises, inching nearer. The corners of the creature’s wide angular mouth tugged, hinting at a smile and she grinned, reaching a hand out.

WHACK!

A broom smacked down between Kassie and the creature. She yelped in surprise then recoiled when the creature’s face transformed into an expression of fury and it snarled at the broom with a mouthful of needle-like teeth.

‘WHOA!’

‘Move, Kassandra!’ The goblin who’d slammed the broom down grabbed her arm, wrenching her back when a Draoth hurled a net over the creature and in a swift move threw the thing overboard. The deck, so quiet moments before, now teemed with Draoths the sailors moving around the edges with boat hooks and clubs at the ready as they peered over the rails, down at the ocean. Kassie stood, brushing her pants and noticed the sails on the ship in front flapping up and down. At first glance it looked random but after a moment she could see the pattern.