Chapter 14
1661 Words
14
My bold words came back to bite me in the ass. Tomorrow came early. Really early. The sun wasn’t even thinking about rising when I was aroused from my sleep on the bed. My eyes fluttered open. A large, familiar shadow loomed over me. It was Darda.
“Wake up, Miriam! The ship is about to launch!” she warned me.
My eyes shot open and I shot up. I whipped my head to the spot beside me. It was empty. I whipped my head back to Darda and got a little whiplash. “Where’s Xander?”
She grabbed my arm and tugged me out of bed. “Aboard the ship! Now you must hurry or you will be left behind!”
“What?”
My feet hit the floor and I leapt over to the dresser. Darda was close behind me. I hopped into my pants as she drew out my shirt. My hops were in time with my words. “How could he do this to me? He said I could go!”
“He did not explicitly give his permission,” she pointed out.
I snatched the shirt from Darda and glared at her. “He still doesn’t have to leave me behind!”
I dashed from the room and pulled my shirt on during my flight down the stairs. The house was dark and quiet. A few candles flickered in the entrance hall. Fog drifted past the windows. I grabbed the bottom post of the stairs and swung around so I was in the central hallway. The double doors to the rear patio were open. Stephanie stood at the railing with her eyes on the two small away-boats that were docked at the long, mist-shrouded dock. They were shoving off for the large clump of lights beyond the mouth of the foggy bay. Cayden’s warship awaited them.
I was going to make sure it awaited me, too.
I pounded down the hall and out onto the patio. Stephanie turned and her eyes widened. “Xander said you weren’t feeling well.”
I flew down the stairs and onto the beach. The fog parted for my drop. “He’s the one who’s going to need a doctor!” I shouted back over my shoulder as I raced across the sand.
The strong crew of the away-boats sailed past the end of the dock and out into the open waters of the bay. I skidded to a stop at the end of the pier and glared at the dark figures seated in the two boats. One of them turned at my coming and I recognized that handsome face.
“Bingo. . .” I murmured.
I knelt down and stuck my hands in the water. The surface gurgled and frothed. My sea dragon exploded from the depths of the bay and stretched into the dark, early-morning sky. Its long neck hovered close to me. I slowly stood and tapped my foot against the water beast’s back. It was solid.
Only the lamps at the bows of the away-boats told me where they were, at the mouth of the bay. I took a deep breath and, careful not to loose water contact, leapt onto the creature’s back. There was a little give, but I was buoyed by a saddle that rose from its watery body. My hands now clutched a set of reins.
“Come on, boy!” I yelled to my creation as I turned us toward the mouth of the bay.
The creature turned at my command and cut through the water like a hot knife through margarine. The boats had hardly reached the ship when I broke through the entrance to the bay and sailed toward them. The crew aboard ship loomed out of the fog and raced to the starboard railing to watch me.
I grinned and pulled back on the reins. The reins didn’t pull back with me, and I found myself empty-handed. I was also empty-dragoned. The sea serpent beneath me disappeared faster than I could say ‘s**t,’ or even take a breath of air before I dropped into the cold water of the open ocean.
I kicked my feet and broke through the surface. A large wave splashed over me and shoved me back down into the chilling waters. A shadow sailed over me, a long arm was shoved into the water, and I felt my collar grabbed. I was pulled from the ocean and dropped onto the floor of one of the away-boats. My body shivered against the cold wind of the open ocean. A heavy coat was draped over my quivering form and I looked up at the kind soul.
Xander loomed over me with his eyebrows pointed down in a sharp ‘V’ formation. “Have you no sense?” he scolded me.
I glared back at him. “I-I said I w-was coming.”
Beside Xander on the board sat Spiros. “My Lord, the ship.”
Xander glanced over his shoulder. The large hull of the warship rose before us. A rope ladder was tossed over the side and reached our small boat. We docked against the side and Xander looked to Spiros. “You will need to carry her, but not gently.”
Spiros bowed his head and leaned forward. He looped one arm around me and hefted me over his shoulder. “H-hey! I c-can get-”
“You can hardly speak, much less climb a ladder,” Xander pointed out.
I glared at him, but resigned myself to being carried up the rope ladder by Xander’s general. He stepped onto the deck and strode to the half front of the ship. A small, short wall of wooden boxes lined the deck, and he set me atop one of the crates.
Xander followed us and knelt in front of me. He readjusted his coat that covered me so warmly as a chill breeze wafted over his own unprotected torso. “You would do well to avoid using your fae abilities in public,” he warned me.
I arched an eyebrow between shivers. “W-why? Will it d-drain my life energy or something?”
Xander’s eyes met mine. “I do not know, but the attention you draw upon yourself is not wise.”
I frowned. “Why not? I thought f-fae were supposed to b-be some sort of gods.”
He glanced over his shoulder and swept his eyes over the large deck. Some of the crew hefted the away-boats to the deck. Others scurried about manning the large white sails. More than one pair of eyes glanced in our direction, and some of those glances didn’t look friendly.
“Not everyone worships the same god.”
Cayden walked over to us, and at his side was a cleanly-cut bearded man in a white sailor’s uniform. A large hat that looked like a half circle was perched atop his head. He had a stiff stance and when they stopped in front of us he clasped his hands behind his back and stood as straight as the masts.
Cayden looked to us, but gestured to the stranger. “Lord Xander, Miriam, Spiros, may I introduce you to Captain Grimur Kamban. Captain, Lord Xander, his Maiden Miriam, and his personal guard, Spiros.”
The captain stiffly bowed his head. “It is an honor to meet you, Your Lordship, and your companions.”
Xander smiled. “Your reputation precedes you, Captain Kamban. I have heard much of your exploits on the seas from Captain Magnus.”
Captain Kamban pursed his lips and, if possible, he stiffened even more. I wondered if rigor mortis had set in until he spoke. “I can imagine.”
“I believe you once hunted your countryman on these very seas,” Xander mused.
The captain nodded. “Yes, and I may promise you that should he leave your service I will venture to try again.”
Xander bowed his head. “I will carry your promise to him when I see him again.”
Cayden cleared his throat and turned to Kamban. “How long is the journey to the island, captain?”
“We should arrive at the port an hour after sunrise,” he replied.
“Then that would give us four hours to deliberate our approach to the humans,” Cayden mused.
“We would do better to move the conference to the captain’s quarters,” Xander added as he climbed to his feet.
I stood with him, but Xander lay his hand on my shoulder and pressed me back down to my hard seat. “You will do better to remain on the deck until we return.”
I glared at him. “But you’re dealing with humans, so who better to help with the planning than a human?”
“Your affinity for your own kind is admirable, but may not be appreciated,” he argued.
That ruffled my feathers. “What’s wrong with that?”
The others of our group waited a few steps off. Xander turned to them and nodded in the direction of the cabin. “I will join you in a moment.”
Cayden bowed his head, and he and the captain continued forward. Spiros stayed close by while Xander resumed his seat beside me. He clasped our hands together and looked into my eyes with a gentle gaze. “While all aboard this vessel understand that you are my Maiden, many of them have comrades who have been struck by the Dragon’s Bane. Because of those familial strikes, and the plunder to the realm they call home, they have little kindness for humans. If you were to lend your voice to the deliberations they would see any plan that materialized as tainted with human bias.”
My eyebrows crashed down. “But I didn’t do anything to them!”
He squeezed my hands and a ghost of a smile slipped across his lips. “I know your nature, but in these moments of tension when the drums of war beat in the distance we must walk a line of diplomacy with both sides. At the moment that side is dragon. Perhaps later this day it will be human, but until that moment arrives we must defend Cayden’s people.”
I pursed my lips, but my shoulders fell and my head drooped. “All right. . .” I mumbled.
He leaned forward and pecked a kiss on my forehead. “Warm yourself in my coat. I will return as soon as I can.”
He stood. His fingers slipped out of mine and my hands dropped into my lap. I looked away as the dragon men turned from me and strode away to the cabin. I was alone.
Or was I?
“Can ya make the Call?”
- Writer
