Chapter 28
AFTER EFFECTS
Ria leaned over the edge of the boat and threw up. Lavinia watched as Ria heaved drily, fingers gripping the gunwale. Niri kept a hand on her, rubbing Ria’s back between her shoulder blades. Finally, Ria stopped and curled up on the deck, her head against Niri’s side. The predawn darkness of the empty ocean was broken by the waning moon against the clear sky.
“Did Lavinia really kill that Priest?”
“Yes,” Niri answered without inflection. Lavinia gnawed on her lip and looked away.
“Good.”
Tears welled in Niri’s eyes. Looking away, Niri’s gaze found Ty. Without a word between them, Ty sat behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Lavinia swallowed and kept her eyes on her feet, watching her three companions from the periphery of her vision. They were a few feet away, wedged between a bench seat and the ship's rail. Lavinia sat on the rear seat, near the tiller post and lines to the sail. Being in charge of the ship gave Lavinia the excuse she needed for distance.
As Niri leaned against Ty, he wrapped his arms around her. Niri pressed her cheek against his and closed her eyes. She kept a hand on Ria’s head, absently smoothing her golden curls. Watching them, Lavinia ached for Darag so much she thought she would cry. A shudder went through her.
“Where are we?”
“About a quarter of the way to Tabook,” Ty answered Ria.
Ria sat up, glancing at Lavinia. Lavinia kept her expression fixed, hoping no one noticed that she sat because her knees would tremble if she stood. Ria offered a tired smile before turning to look around the boat. Ria’s gaze took in Niri, still held against Ty without a flicker of emotion.
“Are you feeling better?” Lavinia asked. At least her voice didn’t shake.
“A bit. I ... I don’t know what overcame me. I was so scared. I wanted to use my power, but couldn’t. I kept grabbing for it but it kept slipping away. Then ... then when you killed him it all just went out of me.”
“I know,” Niri whispered. “I saw.”
Niri took an unsteady breath. “I could see you try to call it. It rose up around you without staying attached to the ground or you, not like in Mirocyne or Sardinia when you tried there. It just rose like flames leaping from a fire, burning themselves out without fuel. But there was a glow under you, like you stood on ... on a beam of moonlight only it was soft green. Like your power. It is nearly the color of your eyes. I hadn’t thought of that before.” Niri’s attention wandered off for a moment. She gave a shake of her head.
“Then when Lavinia killed the Priest, the glow disappeared. More like exploded outward, dissipating so fast I could barely see it.”
“Why?” Ria asked.
“I don’t know. I wish I understood. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Ria’s hopeful look dimmed. She bowed her head, resting her forehead against Niri’s forearm.
“Maybe when we get to the Temple of Dust. I just don’t know.”
“Can we still go?” Lavinia asked. “The Church will know where we are even if Ria didn’t call the Curse.” They would know because of what she had done, although Lavinia couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“I’m not sure,” Ty said. “Rah Hahsessah doesn’t like to attract attention. People tend to disappear there without any stir.”
“But a Priest?” Niri asked.
Ty's expression was calm, although tired. “From what I heard from Ryic, even Priests. Arkira was careful to obey the city’s rules when we were there and she didn’t listen to much other than herself.”
The four friends looked at each other. Lavinia’s heart pounded. No one had said a word of recrimination for what she had done to save Ria. Her hand still felt the resistance on the sword’s blade as she pushed it into the Priest’s throat. She knew she had to do it. The Priest had known what Ria was. It was why she had learned to use the sword in the first place. But to have actually killed someone was too much for Lavinia to comprehend. She wanted Darag to know and to tell her it was acceptable more than she wanted to breathe.
“I say we still go. At the very least we are ahead of them,” Ria said, her voice breaking into Lavinia’s thoughts.
“I agree. We’ve come this far.” Lavinia answered, trying to find the same courage as her friend. There really was no turning back. Lavinia knew that.
Niri bit the inside of her cheek. Ty traced a finger against her jaw, an affectionate look in his eyes. Niri exhaled a small laugh. Lavinia’s heart throbbed.
“Okay, let’s go then,” Niri said.
“Good, then let’s get this boat moving. We have to make up some time.” Ty stood. From where she sat on the deck next to Ria, Niri summoned her power. The boat leapt forward toward Tabook.
—
Warm wind on her face spurred Lavinia to open her eyes where she dozed on one of the benches. A golden dawn was creeping above the ocean and gilding the dunes of the desert to their west. On the other side of the ship, Ria was asleep with her head on Niri’s lap. Both were still wedged between the edge of the bench and the rail.
Niri was blinking herself awake. Ty steered the ship, his gaze on shore. Even though the night had been cool, the ship’s interior had been stifling the two times Lavinia had walked below for a drink.
“How much longer?” Niri asked.
Ty compressed his lips. “We’re about half way. We should arrive midday.” His voice was heavy with dislike.
Lavinia could understand why. From what Ty had said, Tabook was a true desert town. Already the early sun sent waves of heat shimmering off the sand. Niri was silent, gazing across the ocean for a moment. Then she shivered, closing her eyes as a nauseous look passed over her face.
Ria stirred half an hour later as the sun’s rays slanted across the deck. There was nowhere to hide until the sun moved higher and the sail would give them some shade. Ria groaned as she sat up blinking.
“How can it be this hot already?” she asked groggily. No one answered.
The morning slipped by. Lavinia took a turn at the tiller to give her brother a break. They were too hot to eat and sipped the stored water, savoring its slight coolness despite a musty taste.
Sitting in the shade of the cabin with legs over the starboard side of the boat, Ria watched the shoreline. Occasional winds from land blew across the sea to the boat. They were hot enough to blossom sweat. To Lavinia, Niri’s pale face looked more nervous with each passing hour.
“Have you been to the desert before?” Ria asked Niri, sensing her nervousness as well.
Niri shook her head. “No, I really haven’t been beyond the Temple and the smaller cities on the Sea of Sarketh. Mostly I went to towns along the Archipelago.”
Ty, who laid full length along the rail in the shade of the ship’s cabin, lifted his head. “It won’t be so bad, you’ll see. We’ll buy desert clothes in Tabook.”
Niri nodded. Ty closed his eyes and laid back down. Lavinia watched Niri chew on her inner cheek. The journey felt heavier now. Someone had died. She had killed a Priest. It was easier to sort through now that she had slept. Lavinia no longer waited for her brother to yell at her, appalled at what she had done.
As they sailed, Niri watched the desert as if she was afraid it would reach out to burn her. Ria was pale as an oyster shell. Ty, for once, seemed the least affected. It sent a ray of respect for her brother across Lavinia’s soul, eliciting a fraction of confidence in her.
Tabook was a small town with a sheltered spot for a harbor. Sand bars dotted the bay making progress slow, although Niri felt where the water was shallow ahead of them. But in the bright daylight and in full view of the rambling village, there was little more Niri could do other than to warn Ty and Lavinia.
A few scraggly palm trees and shrubby mangroves lined the shore. The remainder of the town baked in the desert sun with its squat white buildings set with narrow windows in thick walls. When they finally reached the bleached wood of the docks, it was to find the boards splintered in
to ribs by the heat and dry air. Ty took down the main sail and strung it across the deck, suspending it from the massive boom. It filtered the sunlight but did nothing to reduce the warmth. Not a breath of air stirred in the sweltering harbor. Braving the heat, Ty and Lavinia made their way into town.
—
Ty and Lavinia returned after the heat of the day as the sun’s angle began to cast longer shadows. They carried bundles of cloth as well as flatbread and spiced rice dotted with raisins. While they had been gone, Niri and Ria had braved the sticky interior of the boat, looking for spare blankets and packing food to be ready to leave. Bundles for the journey lay next to the cabin door.
“We couldn’t find a guide or anyone to take us.” Lavinia said as she passed out the food. The smell of cinnamon and curry filled the space under the sail-turned-awning.
“But,” she said in response to the worry on Ria’s face. “We, uhm, bought six camels.”
Niri looked questioningly at Ty. “Do you think you can get us there?”
He shrugged. “They showed us the old route on a map that we bought as well. Ocean of water or sand, navigation is the same.”
They spent a quiet evening on the boat, knowing it would be their last for some time. Lethargic from the late night and its stresses, they lingered on deck as the setting sun erupted in shades of scarlet and gold. Ty peeled back and then stowed the main sail to let the slight wind drift across the boat.
Finally, stars filled in the violet-black sky. The desert released its stored heat. The breezes from shore held a refreshing tinge in the evening air. With every porthole, hatch and skylight open, the cabin finally cooled off. Along the shoreline, small communal cook fires burnt. Ty saw Niri’s gaze on them.
“Nomads, from the desert. They don’t like to sleep within the city.”
Camels and sleek desert horses called hauntingly from the shadows beyond the flames. The hollow sounds echoed from the buildings of the town and across the water.
Lavinia sat with her back against her brother. Ria stretched across the other long bench in the cockpit while Niri sat with her back to the mast, watching the sky and the desert with a worried stare that grew more anxious with the night.
Nearly falling from the bench, Lavinia caught herself. Ty chuckled at her sleepy surprise.
“I think it is time for bed.”
Ria glanced over groggily, stumbling to her feet. Ria headed below while Lavinia paused, waiting for Ty to follow her down. Instead, Ty walked to where Niri sat near the bow of the boat. He dropped gracefully down next to her, one leg sliding to dangle over the gunwale.
“You should sleep too,” Ty said quietly to Niri after a moment of silence. Lavinia watched, unexpected tears stinging her eyes. She envied them their closeness, even if it leaned more toward friendship than what she shared with Darag. Lavinia hadn’t expected to miss him so much.
He had warned her. Darag had told Lavinia that she would be drawn to come back to Lus na Sithchaine so strongly that even her bones would ache from it. There was such a pull north that she felt even if blind she would find her way back. But it was more than that, which Lavinia was beginning to realize as she watched Niri and Ty. It wasn’t just a connection through Darag to his tree, their tree now. She missed his arms, his smile, and the light in his green eyes. She missed how much she laughed when she was near him. Lavinia’s lip trembled and a tear slipped over her cheek.
Niri glanced over at Ty, blinking slowly as she focused on him.
“I’ve never been more than a day’s journey from the sea. I was born on an island. Even the Temple of Solaire is between the ocean and the Lake of Tears.”
“Even in the desert there is water. You’ll see.”
Niri held his gaze for a moment before nodding. Ty stood and pulled Niri lightly to her feet.
“But I can’t do anything about exhaustion.”
Niri chuckled at him. A devilish smile chased concern from Ty’s face. Before Niri could react, Ty pushed her over the edge. Lavinia gasped, but she heard Niri laugh as she came up for air. Joining her, Ty gave Lavinia a roguish grin and pushed her ahead of him into the cabin.
“She’ll swim awhile. I’m willing to bet on it.”
Lavinia smiled, a bit of the longing easing for the moment.
—
They did their best to secure the boat in the morning. Ty took it out alone and tossed the anchor at a lonely spot sheltered from the wind and current. Surprise filled Niri’s face when Ty dove into the water and swam to shore.
“I thought you hated water?” she asked as he waded through the surf.
He shook his wet hair at her. “It has its uses. Hopefully, it will be enough to keep the boat safe.”
Niri nodded, her gaze no longer focused. “I’ll have a water spirit watch it. Everyone will think it is cursed.”
The camels were waiting on the edge of town, food and water strapped to the extra two camels. Lavinia glanced once more to where Ty had anchored the boat, her hand going to the wooden pendant that hung at her throat.
“You miss him,” Ty said to her. Lavinia’s eyes filled with moisture as she nodded. Ty put an arm around her. “Soon, you’ll be heading north again.”
The ache in her was almost too much to bear. If Darag felt half of what she did, Lavinia couldn't imagine what had driven him to leave Lus na Sithchaine twice. The promised tears slipped from Lavinia’s eyes as she hugged her brother. For a moment, the two siblings were one dark silhouette against the blazing desert. Then, Ty released her and helped Lavinia onto her camel. Getting onto his, Ty took a heading. With a nudge to his mount, he led the way into the desert.