Tewsdee, the 12th of Frost, 768 A.E.

  A slight buzzing grew in her ear, accompanied by a tickling sensation behind the same ear. The buzzing halted only to be replaced by a slight pinch. Grumbling, she lifted her arm and slapped behind her ear, killing whatever it was that was chewing on her. She opened her eyes and lifted her hand in front of it to see what had been feasting on her. She squinted her eyes to see the voracious little insect smeared on her hand with a drop of her blood that it had robbed her of.

  “Why are you here? It’s almost the Saysuhn of White.” Anthea wondered aloud, and such spoken wondering brought about curiosity as to why her voice sounded so hoarse.

  She was then aware of other people in the room, people who had surely been talking before she spoke out of turn and interrupted them. She turned stiffly, surprised at the weakness of her limbs and the chafed feeling along her back. Makan, Sagira, and Rolf regarded her in surprise, staring open-mouthed like children caught in the act of doing something wrong.

  “I’m thirsty.” Anthea announced.

  “Juria be praised, girl. I’ll get something.” Sagira announced, pausing only to kiss her fingertips and press them to her temples before she slipped out of the small cabin. She did not wait for Anthea to request any specific beverage.

  “You’re awake.” Rolf said.

  Anthea yawned. “Yes, but me waking is hardly such a momentous occasion.”

  “It is when you’ve been asleep for over a Wayke.” Makan replied.

  “A Wayke?” She echoed in surprise.

  “More like fifteen Dees, or near it. It’s Tewsdee the twelfth and you missed the last couple Dees of the Faestivul too.” Rolf said.

  Anthea shook her head in amazement. “So long? That explains why I’m so weak and thirsty.”

  Makan came to sit at her side, smiling down at her. “I watered you every Dee, little flower, but you couldn’t be made to eat anything. You just laid here in the light.”

  Sagira let herself back in quietly, carrying a tray of what looked to be tea and water. She settled down beside Makan at Anthea’s bedside, leaving Rolf watching and standing just behind them.

  “Where are we that there are still bugs that are biting me this time of the Yarre?” Anthea asked, showing everyone the carcass of the offending creature on her hand.

  Sagira brushed the insect off from Anthea’s hand unceremoniously and replaced it with a steaming glass. While Anthea sipped at it tentatively, Sagira fielded her question. “We’re at Zaraig. Here the swamps stay warm enough Yarre around that there are always some bugs. Yet many of them die this time of Yarre because the air gets so much colder. There’s never any snow here, but it gets cold enough to force many of the bugs to find the warmer places. They seek out the warmth of houses in droves that sometimes blacken windows and blot out the sun according to what I’ve heard.”

  “You’ve been here before then, I take it?” Rolf asked.

  Anthea and Makan nodded, having heard the stories already, even if Rolf had not, though they had each heard in private telling.

  “I have,” Sagira said to him, “and returning here is only a little less pleasant than I expected, and that is only because Nishan searches for a boat and we are allowed to stay in hiding here. But even here we aren’t safe from insects searching for somewhere warm to stay and something to feed on while they do it.”

  “I thought insects only live a few Dees or a couple Waykes?” Rolf asked, never unafraid to be contradictory.

  “Tell that to the citizens of Zaraig.” Sagira said with a laugh. “Here the insects come in successive waves so that the people here are never truly free of them all Yarre long. Somehow they seem to know when to die to let the next nasty critter take over making life unbearable for the people here.”

  Anthea grimaced. “That sounds unpleasant.”

  “Zaraig probably means unpleasant in some lost tongue. It wouldn’t surprise me. There is no redeeming value to this island.” Sagira pronounced convincingly.

  Anthea didn’t want to disagree with her, even if she wanted to see it to form her own opinions. So instead, she sipped at the herbal tea that warmed her trembling hands. “I feel so weak.”

  “You had little spare flesh to give even before you were unable to eat for over a Wayke.” Makan said sympathetically, his voice thick with worry. “You’re nothing but skin and bones now.”

  “I would eat a bit then and perhaps rest a bit more. I truly am famished in a way I can’t really recall ever being before.”

  “Do you mean Dees or just an Ouer or two? Nishan should be back soon.” Sagira announced.

  Rolf snorted at the mention of the Rumani’s name.

  Anthea frowned. Such a response made her realize that the two probably weren’t getting along. “Just a short while I think, though I would speak to Rolf before that.” Anthea replied, looking first at Makan and second at Sagira, letting them realize that she wanted to speak to him alone.

  They both nodded understanding, and after a brief goodbye that involved hand patting and well wishing, they excused themselves to let her talk to the anxiety-filled Kerathi while they sought a meal for her. Even after they’d left, he stood on the opposite side of the small cabin, which put him only two Mayters away at most.

  “What were you discussing before I woke?” Anthea asked eventually, turning her head to look directly at him.

  He had almost thought that she had sunk back into sleep, so quiet had she been and so unmoving. Even her eyes had appeared closed, so when she spoke, he flinched a little bit. “We were talking about what to do next if you did not wake soon.”

  “I have good timing then.” Anthea said with a smile that made her cheekbones stick out very strongly since her face was so thin. “What was the discussion though? We have always been going to Aetheline.”

  “Yes, but we were debating taking you there to see if they could help you or staying here until you were conscious for travel.”

  “I’m not sure they could help me.” Anthea said with a sigh. “I’m a special case if you remember.”

  “I remember, of course. It’s just that half Aurean or full, they may have had a better idea how to help you than a Kerathi, a Mueran, an Elegian, and an Ox-Man could figure out.”

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  “How is Bedros?”

  “He’s fine, though antsy and ready to go. He doesn’t leave your side unless we run him out of here. We’re just lucky he’s good natured, because we couldn’t make him leave if he didn’t give in to our requests.”

  Anthea smiled at the mental image his words provided, but another worry on her mind chased the smile away. “I think I heard you arguing. Was the decision to go now or later that heated?”

  “No, admittedly there was more to it, and it was of my making.”

  “Was it about you leaving us in Rummas?” Anthea asked.

  Rolf felt a pang of guilt. “No. I’ve already explained that to them at least in part, as well as my reasons for coming back. I told them to you while you slept too.”

  “I think I heard that.” Anthea said, lying back to stare at the cabin ceiling. “You heard of a plot against me, and you came to help?”

  Rolf cleared his throat in surprise. “That is the sum of things, yes.”

  “I knew you would be there for me.” She whispered and smiled warmly.

  “I didn’t know that I would. Not after what I have sworn.”

  “Sworn?”

  “I have made a Racheneid Pact with Cainel. I have sworn vengeance on those who brought about the destruction of my village and the deaths of my clansmen… and my mother.” Rolf answered, his voice wavering as he finished speaking.

  “Against the Aureans?”

  “Yes.”

  Anthea rubbed her forehead and set aside her empty mug. “Then you have already chosen to work against me.”

  “No, I would never.” Rolf replied indignantly.

  “Rolf, you foolish boy. Am I not Aurean? Was I not the one they chased after? Was I not the one that inadvertently caused all this pain and suffering for you and your people? You have sworn to destroy me.” She breathed heavily, tears filling her eyes that had been filled with hope and warmth before.

  Rolf sank to his knees beside her, suddenly right next to her. His hands sought out hers, and he pressed her small hand against his face, his dark green eyes threatening to tear up. “Know this, Anthea. You were never my intended enemy, and I will end my life with my own two hands before I hurt you. I will never seek your destruction.”

  She turned toward him on her bed; her narrow shoulders squared toward him. “What if my path changes? What if Aetheline is just the beginning, as you must surely hope? But what if my end road does not lead to the destruction of those who wronged your people? What if we go elsewhere instead?”

  “Then I must part ways and seek their destruction on my own.”

  “The Gods chose us and put us together. How is it you can try to serve two parties at once? You must know that it can only end in a choice.”

  “Then I will choose you, even if it destroys me.” Rolf promised.

  “The Gods do not go lightly on those who would forsake their duties. There will be no peace for you until both of your quests are fulfilled.”

  “Then let me pray that our goals coincide, for I will not part from you if you will not let me.”

  “I could never hold you to my side, Rolf.” Anthea told him, sliding her hand out of his.

  She turned away from him then, leaving him to consider all she had said. He did not stay to do his thinking. She turned back when she heard the door open and close behind her, but she did not call out for him, understanding that he would need time to think on his own.

  ?????

  Nishan burst into Anthea’s cabin, only to find that the door would only open halfway and he had to squeeze through. He had felt Anthea’s heartbeat pick up when he was negotiating in town, and it had been hard for him to resist the urge to just run to her, but he had stayed to finish buying them a boat and supplies before returning.

  He frowned at Bedros’ bulk combined with that of the others – minus Rolf – as they surrounded Anthea, crowding her in. He cast a covetous gaze at the nearly emaciated girl whose heartbeat had pounded in his ears even from across the city. Her face lit up upon seeing him, and all his complaints and niggling doubts melted away.

  “Anthea.” He breathed the word out, giving it a moment’s life in everyone’s ears though he meant it only for her.

  “Nishan.” She replied, smiling.

  “What news?” Makan asked.

  Nishan regarded the Mueran with a secretive grin.

  “What news?” Makan repeated, clearly disliking the strange look on the other man’s face.

  “I bought a Mueran ship. It wasn’t cheap, but when I heard that they had one, it seemed like a good omen, what with us having a Mueran among our number.”

  “A Mueran ship?” Sagira asked in surprise.

  “Apparently the ship washed up on shore a few Dees ago. Its owner was nowhere in sight, and being the sailors Muerans are, something bad must have befallen him, because they are not often deprived of their ships. Though I suppose it is not inconceivable that a storm could have broken it free from its moorings on a Mueran island and it floated all the way here.”

  “With such fortuitous timing? Regardless of how it got here, it is a gift from Fallu and the Gods of the Seas. Tulis has provided.” Makan said, pressing his palm to the crown of his head.

  “So, we have a ship?” Anthea asked.

  “Yes, I bought it.”

  “Bought it? How did you manage that? I didn’t see you bring any large chests of gold and jewels that you brought onboard.”

  “I have ties.” Nishan said offhandedly.

  “With pirates you mean. Likely they ‘found’ that ship after they killed the people onboard. Then they sold it to you or gave it to you because of your business ties to them, right?” Sagira accused.

  Makan’s face registered distaste, though that look had not really left his face in one portion or another since he’d stepped onto the Ula. First, he had boarded the whaling ship and now they’d bought a ship that some of his kind might have died on to provide for him.

  Nishan looked past him and eyed Sagira like one might regard their next meal. “Whatever my ties to the people here, they are of no concern to you other than they were sufficient to get us a boat out of here. That is the main, nay, the only purpose we had in coming here.”

  “Oh, but they are.” Sagira insisted. “I nearly died here trying to put an end to the pirates that prey on Elegian shipping lanes.”

  “And they have died for many Yarres because they were preyed on by the Elegian elite that forced them into piracy. The heavy grind of the machine of progress on Elegius cares not for the blood and lives spent achieving what benefits only the ruling elite.” Nishan returned agitatedly.

  “While I appreciate both of your arguments, I do not think now is the time to try to begin righting wrongs perpetuated over many Yarres. I am sure there is plenty of blame to go around, but at least we have our vessel, and we can continue to Aetheline. The six of us cannot fix what is wrong with the world, but we can see about getting to our destination.” Anthea interrupted diplomatically.

  “I will put whatever wrongs have been done to get this boat for us out of mind for the sake of our journey.” Makan said. “I’m sure that in the grand scheme of things the Gods wish for the best. Sometimes small evils lead to a greater good if right-minded individuals have the strength to turn evil into good.”

  “Sometimes they lead to a greater evil, though. Rihyas has no shortage of evil, and evil begets evil.” Sagira said in disgust.

  “I don’t see you complaining about the evil done on Rummas in your behalf, but here in Rihyas the smallest possible wrong conflicts with your sense of morality.” Nishan spat at her, forgetting the company he was in for a moment.

  “Evil? What do you mean?” Anthea asked, her stomach sinking nauseatingly.

  Nishan swallowed and shook his head, regretting having said anything. “Nothing.”

  “No, what do you mean?” Anthea demanded, but he would not meet her eyes.

  “I mean that whatever you tried to do, whatever your good intentions, you made those Peacekeepers and their families disappear.” Nishan replied, reluctantly coming clean since he was unable to unsay words that had been said. He lowered his brown and gold eyes from Anthea’s pale violet eyes in shame. He hadn’t meant to tell her what she’d done.

  “Disappear?” Anthea asked.

  “There was no trace of them to be found.”

  “How?”

  Nishan shook his head. “I don’t know. No one does. Most people that saw that light think that Nelius returned the spirits of the people killed in the Peacekeeper massacre during that one night of the Faestivul. They say that the spirits took vengeance on the men responsible. That theory spread like wildfire and even the men on this ship know. It will spread to every island, and while the truth may never be known, the story will not be forgotten.”

  “I see. That had not been my intention though. I just wanted everyone who could harm us to go away and those who would hunt us to forget us.”

  “We know it was not.” Sagira reassured her. “But you saved us all, and even if the Peacekeepers suffered another blow to their reputation, it may have been for the greater good.”

  “No, likely that was why I was punished so severely with this Wayke and a half of incapacitation. These are more lives that will weigh on me. Perhaps it is best if we move to the boat as soon as possible. I wish to leave todee. If we leave todee, our end is that much closer to us, and there is less chance that I will bring misfortune on this city as I did on Rummas.” Anthea told them all, and no one doubted her sincerity.

  “I will see to it.” Nishan said. “We will leave by the sixth Ouer.”

  “I will go with you to ready the vessel.” Makan announced, earning a nod from the somber Rumani.

  Sagira made no excuse to leave. She simply left when the others did, leaving Bedros to comfort a disheartened Anthea. The Ox-Man had been coveting Anthea’s presence since she had woken up anyway.