Chapter 26
THE SOUTHERN CROSSING
Niri woke before dusk. Slanting light flooded her room through the skylight, moving as the ship rode the waves. There was no sound other than water surrounding her. Niri had forgotten during her time in Drufforth and Lus na Sithchaine the joys of being on a boat. All she had remembered was the tension of the run north. Now her spirit rose as the bow plummeted down a trough.
The wind wrapped around Niri as soon as she cleared the cabin stairs, her dark brown hair buffeting around her in a sudden torrent. As she cleared her vision, Niri saw to her surprise Thornastal hovering on the horizon. The setting sun illuminated the crags and vertical rock cliffs of the rugged island. It looked painted or like mirage, especially as it was in sight at the end of the first day.
“This boat sails like a dream. We’ve had good wind all day.” Lavinia’s voice rose over the noise of the sea and breeze.
“I think it will be tough to outdistance the two of you tonight.”
Lavinia grinned. Ria smiled with a meager lift to the corner of her mouth. Niri glanced at Lavinia, who offered a bashful look. Niri and Lavinia had spoken briefly about Ria’s outburst and Ty’s anger. Lavinia had volunteered to talk to Ria, but Niri hadn’t thought she’d depress the girl. Niri slid onto the bench next to Ria.
“Are you alright?”
Ria sighed. “No, not really, but I’m trying not to let that get to me too much.” There was a brief spark in Ria’s eyes. Niri patted Ria’s hand and left it. If anything, Ria looked tired. A rehash of the morning was probably not the best use of their time. Plus, Niri had to save her strength. She still the long night ahead with Ty.
Ty came on deck as the sun plunged below the horizon, his appearance heralding the night. Ria bit her lip but Ty’s gaze swept by her. He took in their location and heading without comment, then stepped in front of his sister to adjust the sail. He nudged the ship’s course to skirt the eastern side of Thornastal.
Lavinia glared at Ty’s back before shaking her head. She cast Niri a mournful look as she headed below without saying a word.
Ria hesitated a moment. Her eyes lingered on Ty. With a sigh, Ria stood and followed Lavinia below. Ty remained next to the tiller post alone, abandoned by both his sister and Ria. He didn’t appear to have noticed.
Niri stretched out her mind, finding the tide and currents of the ocean. Power flooded through her. The seas before the ship changed, smoothing in the lavender light of the greater moon. The ship raced ahead on a following sea.
Ty’s form was silhouetted by the last of the fading light to the west. He stayed by the tiller post, one hand resting on the cross brace. He could have been alone he was so walled off in his thoughts. A solitary mood settled on the ship. Niri tucked her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.
She and Ty had not really spoken to each other since he had told them of his apprenticeship - since he had accused her of being something untrustworthy and manipulative as well. She could not find words to break the barrier between them. Niri had made a promise to Lavinia to speak to Ty, but it seemed impossible to fulfill.
Ria and Ty could barely be in the same room it seemed without an argument. Ty made it clear he was not going to speak to his sister. He'd accused Niri of vile intentions. It wasn’t true, but Ty believed it. Or she thought he still did. Their brief words when she had let the Curse free left things uncertain in her mind. No matter how she looked at it there was no one else to help them. Niri took a deep breath.
Niri talked about what she knew of the Kith. Ty never moved so she wasn’t sure if he was listening, but she spoke anyway. She doubted any mention of the Church or her role would be well received. But Niri hoped that at least some of her words would settle in Ty. Maybe he would understand a little of what his sister had chosen. It was all Niri could hope and the best she could do for Lavinia.
The greater moon set while she spoke, the smallest sliver less to its round face than had been visible the week before and its color a tad more rosy as it slid away from their sky. Only starlight dimly illuminated the sails when she fell silent. To their west, Niri could feel the Archipelago slipping by. By the morning, they would have begun the crossing to the southern shore.
Ty shifted in the quiet, stubbornly still on his feet. The wind and waves filled the stretching silence between them.
“Did you know she married him?” His voice was flat, unreadable as the night.
“I know the Kith only choose once, one love, for all their life. I knew Darag cared for your sister from that first day. I didn’t know she would fall in love as well and accept their ways.” Niri paused thinking of Lavinia’s angst before the dance followed by the pleasure on her face when Darag arrived. “But she still came with us. She left that behind to see this through.”
“I didn’t ask her to leave.” Ty repeated what he had said that morning, a brush of anger in his voice.
Niri exhaled disapproval before she could stop herself. She froze, afraid to say anything lest she unleash Ty’s anger. Then her own sense of injustice boiled up, overwhelming caution.
“Oh no, you only looked ready to kidnap her every time you saw her. I’m amazed she came as you made it perfectly clear you would make her returning to Lus na Sithchaine difficult at best.”
Ty spun at her. She could hear his feet against the boards of the deck although she could not see him before her.
“Why do you do that? Be nice one minute and so cruel the next.”
Niri stared at where she thought he stood. “Me? Do you know how impossible you’ve been? How much you’ve upset your sister? She asked about you every day in Lus na Sithchaine. She worried about where you were and what you were doing. Do you even care?”
It was like there was empty air before her. Ty was so still and silent, she doubted he even breathed. This sudden absence of him frightened her, erasing her momentary anger. If he had jumped in the water, Niri would have felt him. If the air was more humid, she could have sensed where he stood. Instead, it was like his existence had suddenly ceased to be.
Panic filled her. Niri reached out blindly and brushed his hand, twisting her fingers to grasp his. She heard him exhale at her touch as if it caused him pain. She held on.
He sat heavily next to her, a choked sob escaping from his lips. Like he had held her in Tiero, Niri wrapped her arms around him. Silent sobs shook his frame. She rested her forehead against his back, feeling the force of his emotions contort his body. After a time, his breathing slowed. His shoulders no longer strained to hold back racking sobs.
Niri loosened her arms, sitting back. Ty shifted slightly, but did not pull away. She felt him turn his head toward her.
It took him a few tries to find a steady breath, but eventually he asked, “What do you know of Darag?”
Niri softly chuckled over a few tears. She leaned her head against his shoulder again, afraid to tell him what she really wanted to say - to tell him to ask Lavinia. He kept himself so closed that the fragile link she held seemed likely to dissolve at a moment’s notice.
She looked up, brushing the tears from her face. To her surprise, Ty wrapped an arm around her. Niri took a deep breath, chasing away the tightness gripping her.
“Laith Lus said he is the most skilled of the Kith. He is very proud of him.”
A few tears lingered on her eyes. Niri wiped them away or let the salt wind dry them on her cheeks as she spoke of Darag’s family, the death of his father, and Darag’s trips south. The words came easier, the worries and sadness fading with the night.
Dawn found Ty standing quietly at the bow of the boat before the mast. Lavinia came on deck as the first fiery edge of the sun rose above the waves. Seeing only Niri in the cockpit, Lavinia peered anxiously around. As Lavinia’s wide eyes settled on Niri, Niri nodded toward the bow. Lavinia let out a soft sigh, seeing her brother standing with arms folded across his chest, eyes gazing at the breaking waves below the bowsprit.
It had been weeks since Niri had
used her power all night. She wasn’t exhausted, but there was a tiredness in her veins that only a deep sleep could cure. Niri rose as Lavinia settled onto the bench closest to the tiller post, releasing her hold on the ocean tides with relief.
“Good luck today. Call me if there are any problems with waves or storms during the crossing.”
“I will.” Lavinia hesitated, her eyes darting to the front of the boat. “My brother?”
Niri glanced toward Ty. They had never talked during the night, not about problems or why either of them was in tears. Instead, Niri had spoken of other things and Ty had listened, neither questioning the other’s soft sobs. When silence had come again before dawn, Ty had risen to correct the sail and simply not come back.
“I don’t know. We talked some. We will have to see.”
Lavinia nodded. Niri went below and was asleep before the blankets had settled over her.
—
A change in the roll of the waves brought Niri out of her sleep. The light was bright through her window. She guessed it was early afternoon and near the height of the worst possibility for storms.
When she made it to deck, it was to bright sunlight and large, rolling waves. No land was visible in any direction. They were in the middle of the crossing. Dark clouds danced to the west and mare’s tails raked the sky above them. Storms were not far off, but for now the fair weather held sway.
Niri settled next to Lavinia in the rear of the boat. Ty sat near the front, not far from where Niri had last seen him. Though now Ria sat next to him. Ty’s barefoot legs dangled over the rail, the spray from the waves hitting his calves. Ria hung well back from the edge, her knees pulled loosely to her chest and arms wrapped around them. Absently, Ria chewed her lower lip, her eyes watching beads of water race along the ship’s rail. Ty’s gaze was toward the east where the sun sent beams of light across the rippling waves of the ocean. From what Niri could see, neither was speaking. At least they aren’t yelling, Niri thought with a sigh.
“Ty had me keep well east of the regular shipping channel for the crossing. I think we are going to miss the worst of the storms.”
“Has he slept at all?”
Lavinia frowned. “Dozed.” She hesitated, watching the silent figures. “Can you sail alone tonight if he is too tired?”
“I can manage, I think.” Niri glanced over at Lavinia quickly as she realized what Lavinia had said. “He’s talking to you again?”
“A bit,” Lavinia replied with a smile.
Lightning flashed overhead. Everyone looked up at the rolling clouds that were flooding the milky sky. Lavinia leapt to her feet, reefing the main sail while Ty took down the jib. Ria helped keep the sail from flying overboard, bundling the fabric in her arms as Ty unclipped it. He kept a light hand on Ria’s back as they negotiated their way aft, the heavy sail carried securely between them. Niri felt a sense of relief despite the thickening clouds.
“Vin, you are taking in too much sail.” Lavinia opened her mouth to argue, her eyes on the darkening sky. “You don’t know what Niri can do. We can use the wind.”
Lavinia had no response. Ty let out some of the main sail while Lavinia settled next to Ria. As Ty swung the boom in over the hull, the boat’s heel angle deepened. The heavy keel the Kith had shaped rose in the waves to offset the weight of the wind in the sail.
Niri felt the power thrum through her, intensified by the approaching storm and water filled air. She smoothed the worst of the building waves, easing the course of the boat so that it no longer slammed into each rising crest. She added water over the keel, reducing the boat’s angle slightly. The first raindrops slanted around them, missing the boat seemingly by a strange accident.
“I think they’ve got it under control. Let’s take a break," Lavinia said to a pale Ria.
Both girls made a dash across the slanted deck, racing down into the safety of the cabin. Ty adjusted the sail another degree, offsetting the fitful gusts of the storm’s front. The boat sliced through the waves, sleek and fast.
Niri’s hair blew about her in dark streams. She pushed it aside, grinning even while she lodged a foot against the edge of the bench to keep her seat. Ty’s sailing challenged her to keep the boat riding the waves just so, using them to push the ship forward while weighting the keel with water to balance the full sail. It was exhilarating.
Ty knew it too. He looked over at her, grinning. He tossed back his head and laughed when he saw the glee in her expression. Ty stood by the tiller post, keeping the rudder angled to offset the push of the wind toward the east. Together, they skirted the edge of the storm. The sky to their west was black and laced with lightning. As the sun dropped toward the horizon and below the cloud deck, it set the sky afire.
As the waves softened without Niri’s intervention, Lavinia came on deck alone. “Ria isn’t feeling well. She’s fine. Asleep now,” she said in response to Niri’s concerned look.
“It’s okay, Vin. We’ve got it for tonight. You’ll probably be bringing us into Rah Hahsessah tomorrow night,” Ty told Lavinia.
Lavinia paused as she turned to go back below. She pivoted, turning back to give her brother a quick hug. Whispering something in his ear, she let him go with a kiss on his cheek. Alone again, Ty met Niri’s eyes. He blushed at her expression.
“I only have one sister.”
“Yes. Probably a good thing too. She is quite the handful as it is.”
Ty barked a laugh. “Yes, I could imagine the plotting if there was another.”
Chuckling, Niri watched the sun set. Absently, she bit the inside of her cheek. She jumped when Ty touched her arm.
“I couldn’t get you to shut up last night, now you won’t tell me what is bothering you.”
Niri blushed, glancing away. “You seem to be doing a little better is all.”
“You were wondering why?”
Niri looked to the boards on the deck. Faintly, she replied, “I was wondering for how long.”
That sobered Ty. He fell quiet. Finally, he said, “I’m trying. Ria said something today that ... helped.” He let out a slow breath. “The rest I’ll just have to figure out.”
“Do you think you’ll figure it out?”
A light touched his eyes. “Well, my sister can manage. I’ll certainly try.”
Niri returned his wry smile. As the clouds cleared above them to reveal a sky full of stars, Niri told Ty what she had learned of the Temple of Dust. Quietly, she spoke of Laith Lus’ journal and the war between the Orders of the Church.
“Your friend, Sinika, he is a Fire Priest, isn’t he?” Ty asked her just before dawn.
“Yes.”
“You said before you trusted him.”
“I did ... before.”
“You don’t now?”
Niri shook her head, a weight compressing her chest. “What you’ve thought about the Church is not so very wrong. I used to believe it was good, but I was blind and foolish. I didn’t see.” Niri paused. Ty took her hand. “I am sorry if I did something to hurt you, Ty.”
“No, not you. You never ... I’m embarrassed for what I said after ... after Tiero and the Curse. You did try to warn us. I can’t blame you for everything, for Arkira.” Ty swallowed hard. “It is so easy to be angry at everyone else.”
When he paused, Niri squeezed his hand. Her throat was too tight to speak. After a moment, Ty looked up, his eyes widening at the fear she knew was on her face.
“What is it?”
“I don’t trust anyone in the Church, Ty. I’m afraid Sinika may have used me as much as Arkira wanted to use you. Only I never had the foresight to realize it.”
Ty’s face paled. He looked toward the south.
“What do you think is waiting for us in Karakastad?”
Niri could feel her pulse pounding in her wrists. “Laith Lus says the library is real. Besides that, I’m afraid to guess.”