The Unexpected Heir: A Tale of Alus (33 page)

The mage had conquered the warlock and the traps as well proving his ingenuity over and over, but it was just one more stop on the trail to finding the immortal. Sebastian must have tripped some alarm along the way, however, because a portal had opened. At least one of the things to come through was the black ship and its crew.

Somehow the black ship had tracked them over leagues of water. They visited Trillian, an island country with ties to the Grimnal's past, and changed direction heading south; yet the enemy ship had still managed to adjust course to try and intercept the Sea Dragon. Unable to fight the magic used, they had decided to turn towards the Dark One's vessel. There was at least one more ship in their path to the south, so they could ill afford to continue without removing their pursuer.

Sebastian rode the winds well before they could see the enemy. She had watched as he mimed the actions of an archer. His magic sent wind and light arrows miles away to strike at this enemy. It was magic the likes of which she had never seen or heard of before and yet Sebastian was a mage doing it. His power was less than hers, yet he had combined his skill at wind riding with being able to cast magical projectiles. He used his mind to guide the attacks over the miles between his body and the target.

This was magic that she intended to try and learn for the future as well. Annalicia and the other wizards from Malaiy had been taught the light and darkness spells by Sebastian also. The mage was surprisingly willing to teach his magic, though he could have withheld the knowledge since it was his to give.

It came in handy now. While water wizards guarded the ship with massive waves to catch the iron cannonballs and fire magic tried to destroy anything on the enemy deck, spells of light and dark were incredibly useful as they defeated most elemental spells. Fire was absorbed by darkness shields. Light destroyed darkness and the chess game of spells continued on both sides.

The enemy brought new powerful spells into battle. Red, crystal looking shields guarded their vessel and were proof against all but Sebastian and his healer, Yara. The two were lovers, though no one was supposed to know. Unfortunately, Sebastian and Yara weren't the greatest at hiding the fact. Not everyone knew, but Annalicia and a few of their closest confidantes did for sure.

Their relationship had also managed to unlock a strength in them that allowed for a joint spell of great power. The two joined to cast light spells that broke the red shields when no one else could. Without their impervious shields, the Sea Dragon continued to trade blows equally.

The enemy turned to a different tactic. Their warship was larger and had a bigger crew made up of orcs and trolls. Using the strength of the monstrous soldiers, the enemy cast grappling hooks onto the Sea Dragon and the two ships crashed together as they tried to pass.

Orcs, trolls and goblins poured over the rails from their higher deck onto the Sea Dragon. She watched the battle mages lead the counterattack. Sebastian left Yara and a woman fished from the sea who had jumped from the enemy ship to escape the warlocks named Ashleen to fend for themselves on the rear deck as he joined the push.

He had created a new sword from the broken pieces on the first island. Sebastian called it a Hollow Sword, since it could hold magic in the runes etched into the metal blade. Now it turned white with light magic to counter the black armor of the monsters. Like the night spell, their armor could absorb elemental energy; but the sword holding light cut through their defenses. The other mages used light shields following their leader's actions and succeeded at driving the monsters back.

Ashleen, the lightning wielder she had seen at the tournament, attacked the beasts with her lightning weakening the creatures' armor while Yara used her magic to cast light. Wanting to help, Annalicia used the light spell as well.

Reynolvan shoved her aside protecting the smaller wizard as a troll led a charge onto their deck. Her wizards weren't as strong as the mages so close to the enemy, but they cast their spells directly into the troll and orcs following it. Reynolvan stumbled to his knees despite his shield held between him and a pair of orcs. Their blades were black and bit into the water shield he had pulled from the air. Like the night spells, the swords fed on the element and nearly broke his defense in one blow.

"Light!" she cast her left hand towards the orcs only a few feet from her. On one knee, her right hand braced against the deck as the light lanced out at the closer of the two orcs. Black armor seemed to boil under the power of her light making him reel back in shock. The second orc raised his mace quickly to smite the woman, but was pushed back as a handful of Malaiyan marines charged across the fore deck towards the enemies.

The marines had little defensive gear, but the men fought bravely against their armored foes. Annalicia struggled to her feet casting the light spells into the enemy. Between the men and the wizards, the troll and its allies' charge stalled before they eventually gave way falling back.

Sebastian and two of his mages chased the black armored foes back to their warship. A battle between the wizard hunter warlocks and the three looked to be as frenetic and dangerous as any of the fighting between the two sides. Luckily, Sebastian and the others proved to be better despite a hard fought win.

With the enemy defeated, Annalicia leaned against the rail overlooking the lower, middle deck. Some of the enemy sat against the side rails below bereft of their weapons. They were prisoners, but she wondered what they should do with them. Their mission didn't leave room to deal with the sort of numbers that they had captured.

The black ship had taken a lot of damage in the fighting and it was decided, after removing the ship's weapons, to leave them on the enemy vessel to fend for themselves. Their firepower gone, the black ship couldn't harm anyone else. They only had one full sail and couldn't possibly catch any other vessels now.

A chest of gold and jewels was put below deck, the spoils of battle. Two more wizards from Southwall were found as well. They had been prisoners caught by the ships at the island with the castle. Annalicia listened to their stories later. The Sea Dragon tended its wounds and turned to the south following Darterian's compass once more.

As the ship continued south, Annalicia was just thankful that she had sent Xerese away on her father's other ship. She could bring the letter from Darius to her father and return to the safety of Malaiy. There should be no danger if the trip back was as uneventful as the trip to Southwall had been, Anna thought hopefully.

Chapter 18- In the Storm

Xerese held a cup of water in one hand and a pair of pills in the other as the Zephyr continued to push west. It went up and down in continuous repetition to the point that should she stop to think about it, her stomach wanted to heave.

The pills went in and she quickly washed them down before her taste buds had the time to be disgusted by a flavor like moldy mushrooms. Next time she saw Annalicia, Xerese had to ask her cousin to do something about the taste of the seasickness pills. She didn't know what they were made from, but they certainly tasted unpleasant. However bad they might taste, the young lady from Malaiy had to admit that they seemed to work well enough for her.

Now if they had just made a pill to make the time go by faster, she thought as her return went well into the third week. It was taking longer than the trip to Southwall from what she understood. The captain took readings from his equipment and did his best to keep her apprised of their progress even when all they had seen for over a week was water.

The winds had been at their back heading to Southwall and, when they flagged, Annalicia or Jezra and Ivanor could take turns using their air spells to keep their pace. With her cousin taking the other wizards with her on the Sea Dragon, the Zephyr lacked any magical assistance. They had also stopped more along the way.

As a commercial ship, the Zephyr and its crew needed to conduct business to fund the long trip. They had forgone most of their trade along the route to Southwall in an effort to catch up to the Sea Dragon to relay Marq Philip's letters to his daughter and father. After dropping off the letters and some cargo bound for Hala, they had even gone north during the tournament for some trade in Staron before returning to pick up the lady and her guardsmen.

Correspondence from Darius and Annalicia were in Xerese's possession to return to the Master of Coin, but Captain Hedrin seemed to have been given permission to take his time on the return. It seemed like every decent size city along the coast became a stop slowing their travel to a crawl until they left the southern point of Sileoth.

She had no doubt that if there had been any other island between Sileoth and Taltan that he would have found a reason to stop again, but land was weeks away. Even full sail took considerable time, but they were forced to tack back and forth fighting the wind. That was on the good days, since the gods seemed inclined to make the trip as agonizingly slow as Hedrin had at first. Winds died to nothing three times and they lost nearly three full days.

Xerese's mind wandered as she went to place the cup on a barrel tied to the side of the central cabin. Catching less of her makeshift table than was optimal, the cup began to fall.

"Careful, my lady," Toman warned catching the cup with his amazing reflexes or perhaps he was simply used to her clumsy ways. The sea and the pills had made her a bit groggy at times. More graceful on land, the lady felt awkward at sea.

"Thank you, Toman," she said with a sigh to the massive guardsman. He was almost a decade older and often felt like a big brother as he watched over her. The youngest of five children, Xerese was the only daughter and her brothers were all much older than her besides; so she knew the feeling of an older brother.

The dark haired guard was the leader of the two men protecting her. His backup sat on the deck across from them whittling at a piece of a wood with a small knife. Though likely a potential weapon, the small knife was probably a last resort since he also had a pair of daggers on his belt. Slightly younger than Toman, Dillon followed the larger man's lead; but stuck on the ship with little to do he appeared as bored as the girl they protected.

They were also aboard a ship owned by her cousins. Marquess Serafene was her first cousin, but like most of the children of the king and his siblings they were much older than her. She missed Annalicia, her second cousin who was also her age. Anna had helped her pass the time on the way to Southwall, but no one aboard the Zephyr had stepped up to take her place.

A ship of men should have been a little more interesting to a young woman perhaps, but her guards tended to make any sailor keep their distance leaving just her guards and the captain for conversation.

"I wonder how much longer it will be before we see land again? I suppose that Captain Hedrin will want to make more stops, but at least we should have time to get off this beast of a ship. Solid land would be wonderful to feel if only for an hour. I am so sick of these waves."

Dillon heard her tone and fought to keep from smiling at her discomfort, but Xerese caught the slight upturn to his lips.

"The captain has been working the ship both south and west at the same time. I would guess that the first town that would be a likely stop would be in Tseult, my lady," Toman replied. They had spoken with the captain from time to time, but all the tacking had left the man telling them that it would depend on the winds as to where they would close on Taltan.

A thump as the Zephyr landed in a trough between waves that was less consistent made Xerese stumble. If she had continued to try wearing her shoes, the girl would have fallen. While she still chose to wear her ladylike dresses, Xerese had given up on wearing shoes as soon as the air turned warmer. She had turned an ankle a couple times vainly holding onto her heeled shoes, until it was warm enough to remove their coats while on deck.

Looking at the position of the sun, the girl thought that they were heading nearly due west. She opened the door for the steerage cabin and questioned the officer holding the wheel, "Are we still tacking or have you chosen to take us simply west?"

Without smiling at the pretty girl, he remained businesslike with Toman behind her blocking out the light from the door. "Taltan is a few leagues south, but it is safer to give this section a wider berth."

Frowning at his answer, Xerese asked, "What danger is there in sailing closer to land? I would think that it would be better and offer more ports for trade if that is what the captain wishes."

"There have always been pirates or privateers that have plagued the seas around here. A trade ship like the Zephyr makes a decent prize, so the captain prefers staying a bit further out in case there are spotters along the coast that might be in league with those kinds of ships."

The young woman could hardly argue against the offer of safe passage, though she heartily wanted to push for a quicker visit to land. Walking out in frustration, Xerese barely noticed Toman move aside for the girl he was supposed to protect.

"They're just doing what they think is right, my lady," the guardsman said after the door was closed once more. "I know that you are ready for this trip to be over, but you need to remain patient."

Frowning at him in annoyance, the girl complained, "I know that already, Toman. If I didn't, I would still be arguing with Varda in there or I would drag Captain Hedrin from wherever he has decided to hide himself this time.