Go around. Kira tried to push through the floor, but it too changed to armor plate. Every blow she tried to strike met an equally powerful barrier.
Despite her lack of success, Kira kept hurling herself against those barriers. But whenever her will peaked to smash through, the force on the other side peaked as well. Kira strained against it, pushing, pushing, and it held and held.
How long had she been trying? Kira had no idea. Why are you hurting me? she hurled at the Mage powers behind the door, but the only reply she heard was the echo of her own words. I will not be beaten! And again all she heard was the echo coming back at her.
There finally came a point when Kira couldn’t strive any longer. She felt the weariness in her spirit and knew the unthinkable had happened. Her Mage powers were still in that basement, still confined, but she hadn’t beaten them.
A draw. Which meant a defeat.
Kira withdrew, exhausted, rising back into the world, even more turmoil filling the darkness around her, finally opening her eyes to the growing storminess of a day that seemed calmer than what lay inside her. Her breathing came deep and heavy, her heart pounding as if she’d been fighting a battle in this world, sweat trickling down her face, the tracks chill under the blustery winds.
When she felt recovered enough, Kira stood up, her legs unsteady, holding on to the mast for support. Turning, she saw Jason watching, the question in his eyes. “Hi. It’s still me.”
“You don’t sound happy,” Jason said.
“I couldn’t destroy them, Jason. Not this time. I have to figure out a way past their defenses. They’re… really strong. They got stronger as I fought them.”
“That sounds like you,” he said.
“Yeah. Great.” Kira managed to walk back to him without falling as the sailboat plunged through the seas. “Do you think we’ll be all right if the weather keeps worsening?”
“You stole a great boat,” Jason said.
“Borrowed.”
“Okay. Borrowed. I think we’ll be okay if the seas don’t build much more. We’re running with the winds and the waves to the southwest. And, silver lining, this bad weather should make it a lot harder for other ships to spot us and catch us.”
“That was part of my plan, too,” Kira said, sitting down next to him. “That’s a joke, Jason.”
“Oh. Good. Um, you’re tired now.”
“Yeah. Worn out. I feel like I just fought freestyle against three opponents for… how long was it?”
“Close to an hour.”
“Blazes,” Kira said.
“But… nothing?” Jason asked. “No feeling of problems?”
“No. Danger must bring them out. Maybe danger is more important than being tired. Or an essential ingredient.” She looked at him. “Did I show any external signs of what I was doing?”
“Some,” Jason said, trying to look stoic and not quite managing to carry it off. “Groans and low cries sometimes, like you were fighting or striving as hard as you could.”
She leaned into him, holding him with one arm. “That must have been hard to just watch.”
“Yeah. It was. As long as you brought that up.” He sighed. “But after the last few days I’m getting kind of used to feeling helpless.”
Kira squeezed his arm reassuringly. “Jason, I know it seems like you haven’t been able to do much to stop me, but you’ve made a big difference. Just being there. Just sticking with me. The first thing I ask myself when I wake up from one of those irrational episodes is, where is Jason? Because if you’re there, I know I’m all right.”
“You’re not just saying that?”
“Of course not. Let me get our lunch, then I’ll take over the tiller. I’d like to fight the sea for a while. That’s one battle I know how to win.”
The stormy seas rose a bit more as the clouds built, and the afternoon light faded into a gray immensity of overcast sky and water with their boat suspended between. By the time night fell the waves pursuing their boat were crashing against the transom at the stern, soaking them at the tiller, because by that time they were both holding onto it to keep the boat on course. Both had tied themselves to the ship so they couldn’t be washed overboard, and Kira had reefed both sails to reduce the strain on the masts as the winds grew in intensity.
She and Jason held onto the tiller, the night growing darker until she could barely see even those parts of the boat close by. The sailboat leaped through the waves, the bow rising as each crest came under it, the stern dipping into the trough behind, then the next wave coming on astern, the stern rising and the bow swinging down, like an endless amusement park ride with cold saltwater sprays and battering winds tossed in.
“Stars above, I feel alive!” she shouted to Jason over the wind. “Am I being crazy again? Because I love this!”
“Then I guess I’m crazy, too,” he yelled back at her. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than with you in this storm.”
“Hey, do you want to get married today?”
“Sure!”
Another wave crashed over the transom, soaking them. Kira laughed.
* * *
By the time the eastern sky paled with dawn, both wind and seas had subsided. The waters remained rough, and the winds brisk, but one person could handle the tiller again.
Kira pulled off her water-soaked clothing in the deckhouse, shivering from the chill, used some of their precious fresh water to rinse out the salt, and hung the clothes up to dry.
And then hesitated before pulling on the spare set of clothing she’d had the sense to buy even when out of it in Altis. Kira looked around the deckhouse, thinking it would be a little cramped in there, but Jason could tie the tiller and…
And he knew she’d lost her battle yesterday, and was tired from last night. He wouldn’t know if she was blacked out or thinking straight, so Jason would put her off. As he should.
She got into her clothes, ate quickly, then went back to the stern to relieve Jason so he could do the same.
The next couple of days gave them good winds, slowly moderating seas, and increasing sightings of masts and ships as they approached the shipping lanes through the Strait of Gulls. Kira watched every new mast and ship but didn’t get any sense of menace from them. Maxim’s ship was probably still a distance behind them.
The water grew choppier again as they sailed through the strait on the last night and the early part of the next day, dodging around the larger ships plowing their way along the same course. The last of the food had made up dinner, and their water had given out this morning. As the day grew brighter and Cape Astra came into sight ahead, Kira felt a lift at knowing the trip was almost over, tempered by guilt because the trip was almost over and she hadn’t made another try to destroy her powers.
“Thank you for not saying it,” Kira told Jason. She was at the tiller while he adjusted the sails.
He knew what she meant, giving her a sidelong glance. “I know when you’re ready again to tackle destroying your powers, you’ll do it.”
“You’d have had every right to ask why I didn’t try again yesterday, or the day before,” Kira said.
He shrugged in reply, going up to the bow to look ahead. “There’s a lot of traffic into and out of the port.”
“This boat is a dream to sail,” Kira said. “We shouldn’t have any trouble. Do you think we could get one like this?”
“You mean steal another one or buy one?”
“Very funny.”
They wove between the large ships entering and leaving the harbor at Cape Astra, heading for the piers where smaller boats were tied up. Jason scanned the harbor, calling to her. “That Imperial-flagged ship isn’t here yet. We beat them.”
“Good.” Kira brought them alongside the pier, Jason jumping up to catch the lines and secure the sailboat to the bollards lining the pier.
Getting her pack, Kira patted the deckhouse affectionately. “Thanks. You’re a great boat. We’ll make sure you get home safely.”
Joining Jason on the pier, she saw a man walking their way, a clipboard in one hand. “What boat?” he said in a bored voice.
“What boat?” Kira repeated. “Oh, we never checked. Jason?”
He went back along the pier far enough to see the name on the stern. “Sea Rover!”
“Sea Rover,” Kira said.
The dock supervisor gave her a flat look. “Out of?” he asked, wanting to know the port the boat was registered at.
“Jason, out of?”
“Altis,” he said, coming back to join her.
“Oh, yeah, duh, Altis. Sea Rover out of Altis,” Kira repeated to the dock supervisor.
“You know,” the dock supervisor said, looking and sounding not amused at all, “this is my job. There’s a port fee and a pier fee. Payable now.”
Kira mentally reckoned her remaining cash and pulled out the necessary amount. “You take Tiae crowns?”
“As long as they’re real. You came from Tiae?” His gaze on her suddenly sharpened. “A sailboat from Altis? And you’re from Tiae? I was told to watch for that.”
“Just for the boat?” Kira asked.
“And to make sure whoever was in it reported to the harbormaster when they arrived.”
“Sure,” Kira said. “Come on, Jason.”
“Wait! I’ll take you!”
“No need for that!” Kira called back. “You need to stay here and keep track of things!”
They left the pier, Kira angling toward the harbormaster’s offices as long as she thought the pier supervisor could see them. As they got among thicker crowds of people on the pier and passing wagons, Kira changed her path, heading out of the harbor and into the city.
“We told him we’d go to the harbormaster,” Jason said.
“No, we never said that. He said we should go and I just said ‘sure.’ That doesn’t mean yes. Someone must have told Cape Astra we were coming, but it doesn’t sound as if people like that pier supervisor were told who we were. And I don’t think I want to check in with the authorities yet.”
He studied her closely. “The plan?”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t think so. I’m full of uncertainty right now, Jason. But I don’t want to risk being politely confined by Western Alliance authorities.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. I’m being honest with you, Jason.”
“Okay. When you lose it, you just tell me to stop asking questions, so I guess you’re still all right. Where are we going?”
“Kath should be teaching today. She told me she taught at the Jorge School, so we just have to ask directions to there.”
The Jorge School proved to be only a few hundred lances inland, a short walk that allowed them to stretch their legs. Kira tried to keep her face averted from the crowds to reduce the chance that she’d be recognized, wondering how long they’d have before Maxim reached Cape Astra.
Reaching the imposing façade of the school, Kira paused and looked at Jason. “I’m too recognizable. You go in and ask for Kath of Caer Lyn. Say you’re an old student of hers. Can you make it sound like you’re from somewhere on this world?”
“How about this?” Jason said, his usual Urth accent changing.
She pretended to wince. “You sound like you’re from somewhere way south of Awanat. I guess that’s good enough.”
Kira huddled on a bench outside the school, acting like she was sleeping with her head scrunched down into her jacket collar to lessen the chance anyone would see her face. None of those passing by seemed to pay any extra attention to her.
Jason came back out, smiling. “They said she’ll be out in a few minutes.”
“Good. I’m nervous being out here in the open.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Still like me. So far, so good.”
Kira jumped to her feet as she saw her aunt walk out of the front door. “Kath!”
Kath turned to look, startled, paused with another look of surprise, then laughed. “Kira! For a moment I thought you were Mari and couldn’t understand how you could look so young! You’re looking more like her all the time!”
They ran to each other, Kira hugging her aunt tightly. “It’s been way too long,” she said to Kath.
“It has been,” Kath agreed. “But I was told a young man asked for me.”
“Oh, that was Jason. Here he is. This is Jason.”
“Jason? Jason! The Jason?” Kath clapped her hands together. “You came all this way so I could meet him?”
“Not exactly,” Kira said. “Is there someplace safe we can talk?”
“Safe? Oh, yes, Mari’s family! Always on guard. Come on to my place. It’s not far.”
“We don’t want to interrupt your work… ”
“I’m done. This is one of the days I only teach in the morning.”
“I’ve always wondered what teachers did on their time off,” Jason said as he followed them along the street.
“Most days we get drunk,” Kath said. “Kidding! Have to be a good role model for impressionable minds, you know. That’s why Mari wanted me to spend time with Kira.”
“Good role model?” Kira scoffed. “More like partner in crime, from what I remember.”
“Good role model is actually a pretty ill-defined term,” Kath said. “What is good, after all?”
“Good is not an essence, but something to pass on,” Jason said.
“Oh, that’s an interesting argument!”
“I’m just quoting an ancient philosopher,” Jason said, abashedly waving away Kath’s impressed look.
“You memorized the quote, didn’t you? And thought about it? Anyway, Kira, our days in crime are gone, aren’t they? I understand now you’re Lady Kira, the dragon slayer.”
Kira winced again, this time for real, uncertainty filling her. “Kath—”
“Hey.” Kath stopped walking, turning to look at Kira with a smile. “I know what you thought we were doing back then. Because you talked about it to me. But I always knew there was more of Mari in you than you ever wanted to admit. And I knew someday it’d pop to the surface and you’d start slaying dragons and, uh… ”
“Blowing up ships,” Jason said.
“Yeah! You blew up a ship?”
“Sort of,” Kira said.
“I have to hear about this.”
“You’re really all right with it?”
“How could I not be happy to see you doing so well?” Kath asked.
Kira smiled. “Jason was right. You do have a super power.”
“I do? What’s a super power?”
“It’s something some people have on Urth,” Kira said as they started walking again. “Like Wonderful Woman.”
“What makes her so wonderful?”
“She’s a little like Kira,” Jason said.
Kira rolled her eyes as Kath grinned. “Don’t encourage him, Kath.”
Kath’s home was one of a row of houses packed together along a street like soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder at attention, all of the houses three stories high with narrow fronts and deep backs. Kira couldn’t help checking the size and strength of the door lock as they entered, trying to figure out how long it would hold against a determined attack.
Jason said openly what Kira was thinking. “You’re not worried about security?”
“No,” Kath said. “I doubt there are a half-dozen people in Cape Astra who know Lady Mari is my sister, and they all know I don’t want to make a deal of it, so they don’t talk about it, either. I’m just your average schoolteacher.”
“No, you’re not,” Kira said, following her inside. The big room on the ground floor stretched all the way to the back of the building, where stairs led up to the second and third floors. Closest to the door were couches and chairs gathered around a low table whose polished wood surface streaked with different shades betrayed its origin in the forests of Tiae. Farther back was a dining table, beyond that the kitchen, and against the far wall stairs leading upwards. “I love t
his. You’ve got this beautifully understated fashion sense, Kath. Subtle and clean.”
“Why, thank you, Lady Kira. Do you two want some lunch?”
“Yes! We’ve been on short rations the last couple of days because there wasn’t enough food on the boat.”
“Why wasn’t there enough food?” Kath asked as she went to the kitchen and got out cuts of ham, a loaf of dark bread, and a block of cheese, as well as a bowl of tomatoes in various hues of green, purple, and orange.
Kira gave Jason a guilty glance. “That’s a long story.” She took off her jacket as she sat down, exposing her shoulder holster and the pistol in it, but to Kira’s relief Kath barely glanced at it.
Kath poured them each a glass of wine, then raised hers. “To the daughter of Jules. May she live long and her peace endure. Kira, don’t give me that look. That’s a common toast around here, and I do want Mari to live long, and personally I’m in favor of her peace enduring.”
“It didn’t,” Kira said, clinking her glass against Kath’s and Jason’s before taking a drink. “We had a war.”
“Do you think I missed that?” Kath asked as she sat down and they started eating. “But it was short, and it’s over, and from what people say, the peace of the daughter is now stronger than ever because the daughter herself told the emperor he’d better behave because he wouldn’t get a third chance. Knowing my big sister Mari, I have no doubt she did just that.” For the first time, Kath openly looked at the scar on Kira’s neck. “Is that where that came from?”
“Yes,” Kira admitted after swallowing a hunk of bread that suddenly felt a little dry in her mouth. She tried to change the subject. “The emperor died, you know. Sabrin is empress now.”
“Oh? Sabrin? Are you on a name-only basis with the new empress?” Kath teased.
“Well… yeah,” Kira said. “We’ve met.”
Kath laughed and shook her head. “At some fancy party?”
“No. I’d just escaped and had blood all over my mouth and… I think we hit it off.”
“Then she blew up the ship,” Jason said around a mouthful of food.
“No,” Kira said. “I set fire to the ship and that made it blow up.”
Kath laughed. “And to think you used to complain you were nothing like Mari! She set fire to ships and buildings all the time.”