Daughter of Hauk (The Raven Chronicles Book 1) (27 page)

              Grinning and blushing slightly at the same time, she replied, “Think you can talk him out of guarding the door as well?  Joss and I have quite a lot to talk about yet. Most of which I’d rather wasn’t general knowledge.”

              “Talk?  That is a new vord for it.”  The impish grin on Y’Dürkie’s face made Arwenna blush even deeper before taking a playful swing at her. The laughter was contagious, though, and the two of them giggled like mad by the time Joss returned.

              Taking in the redness on Arwenna’s face and the giggles from both of them, Joss asked, “Do I dare ask what you two find so funny?”

              Arwenna looked over at Y’Dürkie, the two of them breaking out into even more laughter until tears streamed down their faces. Taking a moment to get her breath and wipe some of the tears off her face, Arwenna started to calm down before answering Joss. “You’d have to have been out here, I think. What’s the news from inside?”

              Joss shrugged, “There’s rooms for us, if we need them. Barek’s talking with someone in a corner that has the look of a captain to him. I guess we should wait for him to finish up before we know where we’ll be sleeping tonight.”

              Barek emerged a minute or two later. “Our friend was inside. We’re lucky; he’s planning to sail on the evening tide. He said to meet him down at the ship in about an hour and they’ll be ready to load the horses.”

              Arwenna nodded, glad to be back out to sea and heading home so quickly. “Let’s take a look around at some of the shops near the dock until it’s time to head down. We might find something good that’ll help once we get home.”  She swung down from her horse and started walking it.

              The group meandered through the streets, slowly working their way towards the dock. The varieties of wares in the shops made each of them stop here and there in amazement. Barek and Y’Dürkie spent a good amount of time in a weaponsmith’s shop, taking stock of an array of weapons they’d never seen before. Each carefully chose something that matched their fighting style. A jeweler next door made Joss disappear for a moment. Arwenna gave him a questioning look when he returned. He returned the look with an impish one of his own, whispering, “You’ll just have to wait and see” in her ear.

              Arwenna and the others arrived at the dock and began searching for the
Cygnet
. It did not take long to find it docked at the far end of one of the many wooden piers. Captain Wolfgang saw them approach, waving to them to hurry. Quickening their pace, he looked at them rather intently when they drew up next to him. “I was about to send men to find you. Rumor around the dock is that they’re going to close it off soon. Something about a stolen artifact. I’d rather not have my ship searched.”  The implication in his voice was clear. He started shouting orders to his men, having them work even faster to get the horses stowed below. “I’d recommend heading to your cabins as soon as possible and staying there for a while. We’ll get going once the horses are onboard.”  He moved aside, waiting for them to walk up the gangplank before following them.

              Arwenna looked at the others, concern on her face. “Let’s head down. We have no clue if we’re the targets, but I’d rather not find out.”  With silent nods of agreement, she and the others quickly went downstairs to the cabins.

              Some of the crew was still bringing up their saddle bags and packs as the ship lurched slightly, letting them know they were under way. Shouts from the dock rang out, followed by some minor explosions. Something hit the water near the ship, resulting in a huge splash. Barek took a look at Y’Dürkie then turned towards Joss and Arwenna. “Keep her in a cabin, don’t come out unless it’s me or Y’Dürkie.”  Grabbing his sword tightly, he ran back up the stairs, Y’Dürkie hot on his trail.

              Arwenna started up the stairs behind them only to stop as Joss put a hand on her arm. “You heard him, into a cabin you go. Whatever is happening up there, they can deal with it. We’re moving out to sea, they’re not going to be able to chase us for long.”  She opened her mouth to protest, but he stopped her before she could vocalize anything. “I know you can take care of yourself. And the two of them, as well. But it’s not like Barek willingly lets you and me have any time alone. They’ll be fine. It’s just that you’re more important to us alive and full of magic right now.”  He looked down at her, an impish look on his face.               “Let’s not waste time arguing and just do what he said.”  Arwenna glanced over her shoulder at the stairs as Joss led her towards one of the cabin doors.

              Joss barely shut the door and latched it when they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Arwenna began to gather her magic as Joss quietly slid an arrow out of the quiver leaning against the table and notched it onto his bow. Arwenna kept her eyes focused on the door, listening as the footsteps came closer. “Arwenna!  Get out here, Y’Dürkie’s hurt!”  Barek’s booming voice called through the door.

              Joss quickly unlatched the door but kept the arrow notched and ready. Arwenna darted past him to see Barek slowly lowering Y’Dürkie to the floor outside the cabins. An arrow was sticking out of her shoulder, and the area around it was blackened as if burned. Without thought, she closed her eyes and reached out a hand, the glow of healing magic already jumping from her hand to Y’Dürkie.               “Barek, get the arrow out of her,” Arwenna whispered, intent on the healing. She didn’t have to see him grasp the arrow to pull it out; she could feel it leaving Y’Dürkie’s body. Within a few seconds, the glow faded to reveal healthy skin.

              Standing up, she looked at Barek. “You’ve got a cut or two as well.” Before he could react, she wove a minor spell and the aches and bruises forming on his body faded. “Tell me what happened before I go up there and see who else needs me.”

              Barek reached down to help Y’Dürkie back to her feet. “Someone didn’t want us to leave. We didn’t get boarded, but they tried pretty hard to either sink us or get us to head back. The crew did pretty well. There’s one or two that didn’t duck in time and went overboard, and Captain Wolfgang’s got a healer tending to the few wounded up there.”

              “What about pursuit?”  Joss’ voice cut in.

              “We’ve got a good captain, one I suspect has had to make a mad dash out of more than one port in his life. He’s got the sails full of wind and we’re making good time. We’ll be long out of here before they can get a ship moving to catch us.”  Barek glanced up the staircase.

              “And, if they do catch us, ve vill show them a thing or two!  It vas a lucky shot that hit me, that archer vill not get a chance to do it again.”  Y’Dürkie’s thick accent added volume to her bravado.

              Barek’s assessment proved accurate and by nightfall Arwenna became more relaxed. The healer on board took care of the minor scrapes the crew took, leaving her time to regain some of the magic spent healing Y’Dürkie and Barek.

              The first few days of the voyage were somewhat rocky as the ship kept catching the edges of a large storm. After four days, the weather broke, the seas calmed, and the sun warmed the deck.               Feeling the effects of being confined to their cabins, Arwenna and her companions were grateful for the chance to walk on the deck and get some fresh air.

              Arwenna settled onto a small sheltered bench near the stern, her cloak lying nearby in case the weather turned cool. Barek and Y’Dürkie were about midship on the deck, taking time to clean their armor and sharpen their blades. Joss sat near them, working on some new arrows. Ever since his return, his aim with a bow had improved dramatically.

              “I think I’m ready to help you now. Are you ready to listen?” A voice near her ear made Arwenna jump. A small green light glowed next to her on the bench. It slowly pulsed and grew until a small female figure sat there. The green glow surrounded her. The figure itself was humanoid, but small enough to fit in the palm of Arwenna’s hand. “Well?  Are you?”  The figure asked.

              “Am I ready to listen? I think that would depend on who you are, who sent you, and what it is you have to say.”  Arwenna kept her voice down so as not to alert the others.

              “You don’t have to whisper, Arwenna. Your companions won’t know I’m here and talking with you unless I want them to. It’s not like you knew when I was talking with Bah’Laush.”  The figure smiled softly as she continued. “In answer to your questions, however, I am Tiren. And I am here to help you. If you’re ready to accept the help, that is.”  Tiren’s gaze held.

              “What did you tell him, anyway?  He was more at peace with himself when he left us than I’d ever seen him.”  Arwenna asked more to quell the butterflies in her stomach than out of need to know.

              “He was having a problem with guilt. Not nearly as serious as
you
are, but it was bad enough for him. I showed him how silly and selfish he was being about it, and then sent him off on some quest that was pretty easy and harmless but would make his need for redemption complete.” The tiny creature floated up so it was eye level with Arwenna, then sat as if on something solid. “Now, are we done skirting the issue?  We need to get you past a few things if you’re ever going to tap into all that power Hauk gave you.”

              Arwenna swallowed, the butterflies in the pit of her stomach growing. “I don’t think I understand….”  She felt tears building in her eyes without understanding why.

              “Before we get talking, I want you to understand that all your companions will see before we’re done is you sitting here. This is just between you and me. If you want to tell them anything, that’s your choice.” Tiren locked eyes with Arwenna in such a way that she couldn’t pull free of the gaze. “You’ve got a lot of things you’re feeling guilty over. None of which you
should
feel guilt for. This is what’s preventing you from tapping all that extra magic. It’s what will keep you from doing what you know you must do when we get back to the war. My job as far as you are concerned is to get you past all the guilt and tap that magic.”

              Arwenna nodded her agreement, the butterflies slowly calming down. “Is this what the legend says about someone being able to wield you?” 

              Tiren chuckled slightly, “No, it’s not. But before I choose my Wielder, I like knowing those they fight alongside and for. If there are any issues they need to solve that are potentially damaging to my Wielder, I help fix them first. It’s easier on me to do that before the battles start. The first thing with you that we need to address is what happened with your village. That was absolutely
not
your doing, miss. Corse went to several villages over several years looking for a child of your age. Hundreds were killed. That blood is on his hands, though, not yours. A young child such as you were cannot be held accountable for such evil.”

              Blinking in shock, Arwenna voiced her argument. “But, wasn’t he there because of me?  If I hadn’t been there…..”  Her voice trailed off, tears long unshed for those who had died finally trickled down her face.

              “Yes, he was after you. But that village or any other made no difference. He’d done raids like that before. And he didn’t know specifically it was you. He knew that Hauk planned to mark a child, that’s all. Those deaths were because of him, not you. Even if your mother had lived with you in utter seclusion, the deaths would’ve happened.”

              “Why?  What threat could I have been that young?  I barely knew what magic was.”  The knot of guilt in her stomach loosened a bit.

              “I don’t think he saw you as a threat yet, though he certainly knew you’d grow into one if left alone. What he was trying to do was create an opportunity for himself. If he had found you, Corse would’ve raised you as one of his own and then used that which Hauk gave you to destroy this world instead of save it. So, you see, even being raised in a false faith for you was infinitely better than the alternative.”

              Arwenna closed her eyes, her mind trying hard to absorb the information. Ever so slowly, the tight ball of guilt in her stomach loosened up. Almost simultaneously, the magic she’d felt for months but couldn’t tap slowly trickled out.

              “Good. You’re faster at this than some. It can take months with some people. We have quite a ways to go yet, so don’t get too comfortable.”  Tiren shifted in the air. “Now, we need to talk about Irini. She’s going to be easier than a few others I think.”

              Arwenna jumped slightly at the mention of the name. “Irini?  What about her?  She chose her side, and paid the price for it.”  Anger more than tinted her words.

              “She was infected with a curse, the same as Joss. The only difference was it wasn’t noticeable on her and so she was healed. That healing sealed the curse inside her. She fought the voice in her head for days, trying to combat it. In the end, though, she wasn’t strong enough. She was still in her body when she tried to kill you. Her soul was screaming out the whole time. In some ways, she welcomed your dagger. She felt like she deserved to die for the betrayal. She tried suicide twice, but the curse was stronger. Even now, she’s tormented in a way that is beyond comprehension.”

              With a start, Arwenna realized she fingered the dagger at her side that had killed Irini. “I killed her, though. I didn’t even give her time to explain, say anything.”  The knot loosened a little, but refused to come free. The trickle of magic slowed.