Chapter 11:
All Smoke, No Mirrors
A second blast of fire jetted from the cargo hold window, licking all the way up to the copper and brass railing of the rear second-floor deck.
I tore down the curving stairs, lost my footing, skidded over three steps, and leapt, landing on the main deck at a dead run. Kyle was a split second behind me only because I'd partially fallen down the stairs. We reached the wide doors of the aft cargo hold together.
A thick cloud drifted overhead, impeding the daylight and feeding the shadows that pressed against the only entrance to the hold. The wicked darkness crept outward from the doorway, seeping over the golden ship, outstretching to reach me. I froze in place. Any moment a shadow creature would claw up from oblivion and lash me down into that dark place between places. Or worse.
Kyle stopped short, right beside me.
It's the Prince. It's Raserion. I agreed to help him, didn't I? What does he want from me now?
Kyle and I exchanged glances, each of us wide-eyed with dread.
“
The
fire
,” he said helplessly.
Sunlight spilled over us in the cloud's wake, chasing the expanding shade away to a hasty retreat. There was nothing unnatural going on here. No monsters. No prince. This was just me, jumping at shadows.
I growled, frustrated by my paranoia, and charged the doors.
Shouldering one of them open, I turned back to Kyle.
“It's okay, its only Rune.” I wondered if anyone had ever made such a statement before.
Facing the cargo hold, my lungs seized and I began to cough. A thick cloud of smoke beat against me, rolling out of the entryway. I pulled my scarf around my mouth and nose and took an easier breath. My entire body buzzed with alarm and I waved Kyle to stay back.
It was dark inside, and dry. I smelled ash and wood and burning hair.
Closing my eyes, I concentrated, funneling the electricity that lived within me up to my head and out of my skin. A circle of fine electric strands swirled at my forehead, giving me light without blinding me. When I reopened my eyes, a flickering luminescence brightened my surroundings. The smoke was thick, but instead of rising as it should, it lay heavily along the ground.
I reached the horse stalls first. The beasts were grunting and kicking at the walls that enclosed them, no doubt spooked by the scent of smoke. Vents built into the walls gave them life-saving fresh air.
Reflexively, I went for Florian first, swinging open the big
dapple-gray gelding's gate. His ears were pinned flat atop his head when he launched free, storming out of the hold into the daylight. I set loose the two bays and single chestnut mare, hoping dearly that Kyle would be able to catch and hold the four of them before we had any tragic accidents.
Setting horses loose aboard the deck of a flying ship was probably not a very good idea. The way I saw it, my alternatives were few to none. The horses had a better chance out there than in here, drowning in smoke.
“Rune!” My voice was muffled in my scarf. I pulled it away. “Rune!” Smoke piped down my lungs and I began to cough again.
The main cargo hold was a single room. Crates and cases filled with foodstuffs and travel provisions made a pair of
aisles that faded from view in the hazy air. The spacious cargo hold swirled with smoke. Recently, this very room had been packed with rescued children. Their cheer had been overwhelming and the cargo hold had seemed like a celebratory playground for a short time.
Now it was choked by a heavy darkness. With all the smoke, my light couldn't reach far. My eyes stung.
Gravity, what happened here?
“
Ru–” I bit back his name. Something ahead of me was moving. I could hear it. There was a tapping sound on the hard floor, as if claws scraped the ground with each footfall.
Something shuffled at my left.
The scraping sound clattered swiftly past my right ear and quieted.
My heart pounded and I clenched my jaw.
“Fine.” I wasn't here to play games, or be stalked like a frightened rabbit.
I held my arms out at the ready. Lightning bolted out from my shoulders, snaking down to ignite my biceps, forearms, and then my hands. Now I had claws of my own, but mine were made of compressed electricity.
“Beat that,” I hissed through my teeth, challenging the smothering quiet.
Ignoring the sensation of someone watching me from behind, I used the Pull to find Rune. Five steps in, I saw Dylan. He was crumpled on the floor, face down. His arm lay limp and outstretched, as though he was reaching for the far away door with
the last of his strength.
“
Damn,” I cursed under my breath.
I rushed to his side and found myself at an impasse. He was mired in the thickest part of the smoke. If I didn't drag him away, he could die. Assuming he wasn't dead already.
No, no, no. He can't be.
Helping Dylan would leave us both defenseless. And what about Rune? What if he was in more trouble than Dylan?
I cast about in the darkness, coughing into my scarf, searching in the muddy light, seeing nothing but smoke and shadows.
Scrape.
Scrape.
Scrape.
The air whooshed past my face, curling the smoke as it went.
Dylan was helpless. Rune was anything but. I pulled the lightning out of my arms and back into my body, suffering a chill when the darkness closed around us. The light on my forehead was dim in comparison, but
it was enough.
I chose to trust in Rune.
Dropping down to my knees, I brushed Dylan's long hair away from his neck and pressed my cold fingers down to find a pulse. A beat thumped softly below the surface. He was still alive.
Gripping his right shoulder, I heaved him onto his back. He was pale as a ghost. Attempting to grab onto him below the arms, I pulled. My hold wasn't strong enough. He weighed more than me, and he was taller too. I held onto his wrists and tugged with all of my strength and dragged him a couple of feet.
Breathing heavily aggravated my lungs and I buckled over in a fit of coughing.
I couldn't carry him out. Both the Pull and the Spark were useless to me. I just wasn't physically strong enough to get him out the door. Kneeling again beside him, I began to prod his chest.
“Dylan! Dylan wake up!” A cough ripped from my throat and I began to feel dizzy.
Scrape. Scrape.
“Dylan!” I shouted, furiously shaking him.
His eyes rolled behind the lids.
The tapping sound returned, and then I heard it. Sobbing.
It sounded like the cry of a child, or a woman, but the pitch was off enough to insinuate an inhuman origin. The weeping became agonized, and then the sound changed, curling high and breathy. The quiet rushed in behind it far too quickly
, leaving the unnatural cries echoing in my mind.
I slammed my hands into Dylan's chest.
“Dylan, use the Lift! Use the Lift!”
His lids
fluttered open, revealing unfocused hazel eyes. He dragged his outstretched hand to rest on his chest, and slowly he used his Ability to carry himself into the air. He rose by his chest, with his arms, legs and head drooping down toward the ground. He was barely conscious, but at least he was above the smoke.
“
Hey!” I hissed. “Don't leave me down–”
There was a scuffle in the darkness. A thumping sound. Another scream. Sobbing.
All of the tension fled my body, and I stood there blankly, the way you do when you know you're overwhelmed. “Oh, gravity.”
A dark form swooped down on me, pushing me back against a row of crates.
I lost my breath, but my reaction time was improving. I was ready to fight my assailant within seconds.
“
Don't strike,” Rune pleaded. “Don't strike! It's me!”
“
Good gravity, Rune!” I barked through my scarf. “You scared the life out of me! What's going on?”
He pinned me protectively behind him, a dark cloth rag tied around his mouth and nose. His free hand was aflame with the Sear, the Ability that allowed him to control fire. The type of flame he created was the intense jetting blue variety. Bluer than his eyes.
“Get out of here! Run!”
I trembled beneath the weight of his order.
“No! I won't leave–”
“
You have to, it's–”
Like everything else, it came from the shadows. Its eyes gleamed like moonlight
. Its jaws gaped to display rows of teeth that were sharp as glass. Pearly and pale, it flashed like a wraith from the darkness. Cutting down through the smoky air, the monster dove from its perch on the aisle of provision cases. White steam shot from its shoulders, unfurling a pair of skeletal wings that fanned out wide enough to make me feel tiny and helpless. In seconds, the wings vanished, steam mingling with smoke.
The monster came down on its clawed front paws, and when its hind legs met ground, its shoulders tensed to pounce upon us. Its mouth gasped widely for breath, and those eyes, they weren't white. They were silver!
“Stop fighting!” I cried out, throwing myself between Rune and the beast.
The huge animal collided with me, taking me with it to the ground. It turned its body midair, landing on its side instead of atop me. I hit the floor without being crushed.
Rune dove to an open container and brandished a long metal pipe with bolts along one end. He hefted it with both hands, ready to use it as a weapon.
“
Don't hurt it!” I begged Rune as the beast fought to disentangle itself from me and clamber to all four feet.
“
It's a
Lurcher
!” he warned me like I was insane.
I pulled myself up, gathered my courage, and put my back to the creature.
“I know what it is and I'm telling you it’s not dangerous!”
Rune snorted through his nose and looked at me like he didn't know me.
“Rune, trust me, please,” I begged him.
This was a true test for him. I could see him struggling with his training, his experience, and his belief in me. He lowered the pipe, looked at the Lurcher again, and lifted it back up.
The dog-bodied beast stood behind me, it's long, furry black tail swishing.
“
I never got to tell you. There was never time. The Lurchers, they're part living creature, part machine.”
“
I know that,” he growled, eyes never leaving his enemy. When I'd met Rune, the very first time, he'd nearly been killed by Lurcher venom. I couldn't blame him for his caution.
“
They're Haven's guardians. They listen to our commands!”
“
They
what
?”
“
Look.” I turned around to face the Lurcher. It was large for one of its kind, but slender, taller than most. Breath hissing through its wide mouth, it turned its eel-head up to look at me, and waited patiently for another command. “Move away. Back. Stop there. Lay down, please.”
The Lurcher followed my instructions with perfect precision.
“Don't harm anyone on this vessel. Don't attack anything unless I tell you to.”
The Lurcher closed its mouth, resting its
jaw on its front paws.
“
You can stand again,” I told it. The Lurcher rose to its feet, and swung its head around to survey the compartment.
Aired by the open doors, the smoke in the cargo hold began to disperse. It became much easier to breath
e. I pulled my scarf down from my face. Rune did the same.
The anger that had tightened his features slipped away. He was left as slack-jawed and bewildered as someone who had seen the impossible.
“See,” I said, smiling. After so many encounters with the creatures, after seeing them hunt, chase and play, I had lost all fear of them long ago. I walked up to the Lurcher, placing a hand on the short, tight fur of its shoulder, and turned back to Rune. “I just needed to tell him what to do.”
The flames that covered one of Rune's hands disappeared and his fingers loosened their grip on the makeshift weapon.
The metal pipe crashed heavily down to the floor in front of him.
And so did Dylan.
Chapter 12:
A Lurcher's Name
“
Would someone kindly mind telling me,” Carmine said, her tone too soft, too quiet to be anything but menacing. She was going to snap… any minute now. “What in five bloody hells happened to my ship?”
It was like we'd been lined up for an execution. Kyle, Rune, me, and Dylan stood in that order on the main deck, our backs to the cargo hold. The last delicate tendrils of smoke curled up from the doorway and the recently opened hatch windows.
I planted my feet wide apart to brace against the rocking. Carmine had set the Flying Fish down, retracted the sails, and anchored us in the relatively flat open ocean. After growing accustomed to the cushioned motion of hovering, bobbing on the surface of the sea was a much bumpier ride.
Carmine didn't seem to notice the rocking at all. She was livid.
“There were horses on deck!”
“
It–” Kyle began to say.
“
Horses!” she shouted. “Running free! On my deck!”
“
I caught them,” he muttered under his breath.
Carmine stomped a heeled boot, pointing behind us.
“A window has been burst and my cargo hold was filled with smoke! No doubt a portion of our perishables are ruined! We're on a sea voyage! We've only just departed. If we run out of food, we die! Does that mean something to any of you?”
“
Threat of death always matters,” Rune said, taking her statement literally.
I elbowed him and he looked at me like he didn't understand why I'd done it.
“We're sorry,” I told her. “Everything is okay now.”
“
Implying what?” she fumed.
Dylan crossed his arms. His body language
suggested that this conversation was tedious. “Enough with the lecture, Pilot. There was a Lurcher onboard.”
Carmine cocked her head to the side, looking at us differently.
“You're... you're not joking.” Her face drained of color.
Dylan shook his head. He plucked at the sleeve of his jacket, brushing dust free of the cuff.
“I was simply taking a stroll through the hold when I came upon it.”
Rune cut in.
“I heard him scream, so I went in to investigate.”
Dylan was indignant.
“I didn't scream. That was the Lurcher. They make strange noises to confuse and frighten their prey. Besides, things got out of hand because
someone
couldn't listen.”
Rune was un
fazed. “I went in to help you, Axton. It's more than you deserve after shooting me.”
“
Help me? You nearly singed my eyebrows off!”
“
It kept the Lurcher back, didn't it?”
“
It only added to the problem! The Lurcher started spitting smoke out of its body to conceal its movements. Blasting flames in my face only tainted the air further! I couldn't breathe!”
“
Lurchers kill Commanders as easily as they do Dragoons. If you don't take the offensive, you die.”
“
I told you to call Katelyn!”
“
And endanger her too?”
“
Idiot! She could have saved us all!”
“
I know that now,” Rune admitted.
Kyle sighed.
“I could have called her off too you know.”
My brows lifted.
“Her?”
“Yup, she's a female.”
“Huh,” I said. I'd seen baby Lurchers, but I never really stopped to guess about which were male or female. They all looked creepy in a way that didn't associate with gender. “Me and Kyle heard Dylan scream too, so we went in and found the place up in smoke.”
“
It
wasn't
me! I told you!” Dylan argued. “I don't scream like that!”
“
Sure, man, whatever you say,” Kyle smirked.
Dylan's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Maybe Rune was the one who screamed. He was in with the horses, knitting like an old woman.”
Rune's face was a cold hard mask.
“Displaying fear is one of the three ultimate forms of weakness. I would not sacrifice my strength facing an enemy, not even if I were fighting death itself. And I was stitching. Without stitching, clothing and armor will fall apart, and wounds will bleed.”
Rune was knitting? I mean, stitching?
Kyle chuckled at Dylan's expense, “You just said the Lurcher did it.”
“It
did!” Dylan growled.
“
Then why are you blaming Rune?” Kyle bantered.
Dylan was
too flustered to form a proper sentence. “Because– you– he– Damn all of you!” He began to march away from us, toward the forward cabins, but Carmine stopped him with a single deadly look.
I held my hands up to her peaceably.
“I let the horses out. They could have suffocated.”
“
No.” Rune shook his head. “Lurcher smoke is different. It sinks to the ground to promote inhalation. If enough is breathed it can render you unconscious. The body goes numb, but there is no danger of suffocation.”
I'd spent all that time trying to rescue Dylan.
“That would have been nice to know.”
“
An understatement,” the young Lord of Breakwater frowned at me and rubbed the back of his head like it still hurt from the fall. “This entire mess would have been resolved if everyone had known that you can control the creatures.”
Rune looked at me strangely. I wondered if he was angry that I hadn't told him sooner.
“Well, we can. Now you know. No permanent harm done,” Kyle said with optimism. “She won't gas anyone again. I promise.”
“
Wait,” Carmine growled. “That
thing
is still on board?”
“
Her name is Sadie,” Kyle told us as though she deserved a little respect.
Of course he named the Lurcher.
“She’s still on the Fish,” he admitted. “But she's here to help us.”
Revelation struck me.
“You're the one who brought her on the boat!”
“
Well,” he squirmed. “Yeah. I told her not to hurt anyone in the city or at the harbor. I may have forgotten to give her instructions once she was on the ship.”
Carmine's voice was strangled. She repeated herself like she didn't quite believe what he was saying.
“There's a live Lurcher on the Flying Fish? Now?”
“
Sadie.” Kyle was positively cheerful. “Don't worry. I told her not to eat the horses.”
Our pilot's eyes narrowed, sliding across each of us until they settled on Rune.
“Kill it.”
The decisive violence in her tone came as a shock to me. Lurchers had been considered deadly monsters for hundreds of years, but that wasn't how I saw them.
Dylan laughed darkly and rubbed his face with both hands. He tilted his head in Rune's direction, like the two of them shared a joke that we wouldn't understand.
Rune wasn't laughing.
“I can't.”
Carmine began to pace, digging her nails into her palms.
“You can control it, Katelyn? Is that true?”
“
Yeah,” I said. “I know it sounds unbelievable, but they listen to us.”
“
I've seen it with my own eyes,” Dylan said, lending my story a bit of credibility.
“
Okay,” Carmine exhaled. “Order it overboard.”
“
She'd drown!” Kyle protested.
“
That's the idea.”
Kyle looked at me, pleading with his eyes. He didn't need to.
“Kyle is right. You're all afraid of Lurchers because you know what they can do. Well, this one is on our side. Think about it. From what I've been told, they're extremely difficult to kill, and where we're going, we can use all the help we can get. Sadie is staying.”
Dylan smirked, stepping back to lean on the mast.
“We should have brought more of them.”
Neither Carmine
nor Rune seemed happy about our decision.
“
Fine,” our pilot said. “But keep the damn thing away from me.”
No sooner than she'd said it, the Lurcher in question emerged from the cargo hold.
Like a dog, her body was sturdy and solid. Her short, flat coat was dirty white and marbled with dull, moss green markings. A shock of inky black fur ran down the length of her spine, covering her long, swishing tail. There were eight tiny vents in her back, four on either side, hidden by the markings along her shoulders. I watched a faint tendril of smoke escape from one such opening.
Long, black nails tapped the floor as she padded across the deck. When she moved, I could see every muscle flexing beneath her thick skin. Her round, silver-colored eyes were canine enough, but the way her jaw gaped with every drawn breath was enough to give me the shivers. I could see each and every one of her needle-sharp teeth.
And she was big. Her shoulder reached the full height of the largest dog we'd had in Haven. A thick, strong neck supported her eel-like head.
The truth was, she was scary. In the peripheral, Lurchers looked and acted enough like dogs do be disarming, but staring directly at that face was sobering. This was a predator, designed for hunting the strongest of us.
And she was ours.
“
Bloody hell,” Carmine whimpered. “I don't feel good about this.”
My heart fluttered in my chest, momentarily affected by the emotions of my
companions. She was a formidable ally, but we wouldn't get anywhere if everyone was afraid of her. I needed to set an example.
“
Come,” I said in a firm voice.
The Lurcher swung her head to look at me. There was no predatory intensity in her eyes. She padded obligingly to my side. Carmine, Dylan and Rune all took a few steps away, giving her a wide berth. I placed my hand on her back, the way I'd done in the cargo hold.
“See?” Kyle said, smiling. “Perfectly safe.”
Her tail snapped to the side, and I could hear it cut through the air. Every one of us flinched like a bunch of spooked deer. She sat on her haunches and yawned, digging her claws into the deck. The sound grated in my ears.
Carmine's voice was shaking. “Sadie is far too sweet a name for a Lurcher.”
There was a sound like clapping out on the water. At first I didn't think much of it. There were many sounds at sea that I wasn't accustomed to.
But it came again.
Sadie
suddenly stood alert, and I knew something was wrong.
I heard the whistling before it struck. A sharp sound sliced through the air beside my ear. The right shoulder of Carmine's coat split open like it'd been torn. Something long and thin collided with the metal mast, spraying out in a sunburst on impact.
Dylan cursed, ducking and grabbing his neck. “Aughh! Something hit me!”
Rune walked up to the mast where Dylan had been standing. He ran a hand down the smooth surface.
“There's a small dent here. You're lucky it didn't get you between the eyes, Axton.”
“
Small comfort,” the young lord growled.
Rune sniffed his fingers.
“Water.”
I was rattled. Did the ship malfunction and shoot us? The engines were off. It was impossible.
“What was that?”
Carmine's shoulder began to bleed. She should have clasped a hand over the wound, or acknowledged the injury, but her attention was elsewhere.
The deep blue ocean waters were calm and vast, but imperfect. A dark shape obscured a small portion of the horizon. Whatever it was, it was getting closer. Fast.
“
Salvagemen,” Carmine hissed. “We need to get out of here. Now!”