Witch Fall (32 page)

Watching Harshen sink, knowing Lilette was there, I saw myself clearly for the first time—my selfishness and my conceit. I ripped away that part of myself. I was done being used. Done being naive and malleable. I swore I would make them pay. ~Jolin

The crashing wave didn’t touch her, didn’t swallow her whole. Lilette let out a gasp and opened her eyes to see churning black waters surrounding them on all sides. They were sinking into the deep, the barrier a solid line of demarcation between them and water choked with the remainder of the dead city.

The remaining witches had managed to grab one another and sing. Han eased his death grip on her. Together, they watched the sky grow farther and farther away. After what seemed like forever, the island stopped sinking. Lilette could see nothing except a shaft of blue sky above them.

The barrier flickered, and water started to seep in. It was weak because the witches were weak, but it was holding. Feeling crumpled and damp, Lilette struggled to her feet, careful not to put weight on her aching leg.

The witches were humming to keep the barrier up, their faces pale and resigned. “Now what?” Lilette asked.

Han looked up at the distant sky and then back at the choked, black water. Lilette caught sight of a dead water buffalo hitting the barrier before bouncing back into the debris. She looked away before she saw something worse.

“How long can you hold it?” Han asked.

Nassa struggled to sit up, careful not to let go of the witch next to her. “Until we give out.” She craned her neck back to get a good look at the sky. “But eventually we’ll have to let go, and then the sea will come rushing at us.”

Han stared up, as if gauging the distance. “I think we could reach the surface before our air runs out.”

“I can’t swim,” Doranna said, her eyes wide. She seemed to be barely keeping it together.

Han gestured to the fragments littering the ground around them. “We’ll tie you to a board. It will carry you up. Matter of fact, we’ll tie you all to a board.”

Lilette motioned to the wreckage still slamming into the barrier. “I don’t think anyone could survive a swim in that.”

He rubbed his chin. “So we wait—hold the circle until the debris settles. Then we swim for it.”

“Harberd?” Lilette said.

Doranna gave a slight shake of her head. “He was in the city.”

So he was probably dead. Lilette’s body was threatening to collapse. She sank to the ground, her hand wrapping around her leg just above her ankle, the pain hitting her hard now that she wasn’t fighting anymore. “Merlay will see the barrier. She’ll be waiting for us.”

Han knelt before Lilette and pulled up her trousers to inspect her swollen leg. “She won’t dare come close, not with all the wreckage.”

Lilette lay back, resting her palms on her eyes. Her mother had shown her the island sinking. Lilette had thought she’d stopped it when she’d rescued the captive witches from Chen. She had been wrong. And now all those people were dead.

Han went about finding bits of broken wood inside their circle and tying them to the witches with ripped bits of their clothes.

Lilette stared at the blue sky as the debris slowly settled, enough that she caught sight of the pala
ce. Miraculously it still stood.

The stone dragons stood guard at the entrance, their lips pulled back in an eternal snarl. Beyond them, the leaves of trees waving gently in the water. Lilette couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that she was lying on the yellow-brick courtyard—which was now and forever underwater.

Han knelt before her. Using her sash, he tied a board to the front of her robes. “Lilette, look at me.”

She kept staring at the palace, wondering how many were dead now because of her.

He lay both his palms on her shoulders and shook her. “Lilette!” She finally turned to face him.

His face was tight. “The others—they’re not going to be able to hold on much longer. Better to let go now, while they have the strength to swim, than to wait until everyone is too exhausted. And the water is clearing.”

She pushed her head back into the rubble beneath her, the physical pain a relief from the emotional one. “Han, I don’t think—”

“Don’t you give up!” he growled. “I’ve seen battles where men give up. And they die. You have to fight to survive. You have to live!”

She slowly shook her head. “Why? I already failed my purpose.”

He cupped her face in his hands. “Did you? Your mother said you were to save those you could. Maybe that’s just the witches here. Maybe the others who managed to escape. Lilette, if your purpose was over, you wouldn’t have survived this.”

She looked at the devastated city. That they were still alive was a miracle. “You’re right,” she breathed. She forced herself to stand, her bad leg bent to take less weight. “Han’s right. We need to swim for it now, before we’re too exhausted to reach the surface.”

The other witches exchanged wary glances, but no one argued. Staying wasn’t an option.

Lilette stared at the sky, as Han had done. She was raised by a fisherman—she knew the sea. “You’re going to be tempted to breathe. Fight the urge. When the water comes in, everything will be blurry, and the debris will probably be stirred up. Follow the bubbles. And don’t stop kicking.”

The witches nodded.

“When we reach the top,” Han said, “swim for each other. We’ll be safer if we stay together.”

“What about . . .” Nassa cleared her throat. “What about Merlay and the others?”

Han took a deep breath. “If they’re up there, hide. It’s all you can do.”

They all nodded grimly. Lilette tried to prepare herself, but how did one prepare to die? She looked at the surface, speckled with flotsam and so far away. And she accepted that she might not make it. If so, she had at least saved some of her people. She could die knowing that.

Han took her hand. “Sometimes you just have to move.”

The other witches stopped singing. Cracks appeared in the barrier’s surface, and it was as if the pastel purples and blues caught fire and smoldered to ash.

Lilette took a deep breath and held it as water roared toward them. She instinctively turned away from it, burying her face in Han’s chest. He held her tight as the water slammed into them. But even the strength of his arms couldn’t hold her as the water hit, ripping them apart. When it stopped dragging her, she was blinded by debris again.

She spun in the water, pain piercing her ears. When she finally came to a stop, she was surrounded by debris, so thick she couldn’t see up or down. It was too dark to even see bubbles. Her lungs burning and raw, she turned in the circle, searching for the surface. 

And then something registered in her brain. There was tension at her neck. The chain attached to the pendant was pulled taut to the left and down. It had been activated. Han was trying to find her. That meant up was that direction. The thought shocked the fear out of Lilette, and she clawed and kicked at the water. She suddenly broke free of a pocket of wreckage. Morning light shattered across the surface in golden waves.

But she’d been down too long. Of its own volition, her body took a breath. She coughed more water into her lungs, the brine abrasive and foreign inside her. Her eyes fixed on the surface. Just as everything began to grow dim, something touched her head. A hand latched onto her hair and yanked.

Her body was pulled through the water and she surfaced. Han squeezed her chest violently, forcing water from her lungs and sending a blaze of pain through her. It made room for her to draw a little air, which she devoured greedily. She coughed more water from her lungs and gasped in the barest trickle of air. Han wrapped his arm around her upper shoulders just as a wave slammed them into them, forcing them underwater again. But the hands holding her never let go. His legs kicked, and she forced hers to do the same. She came up again, choking out half the ocean. Water streamed down her face, brine filling her mouth.

Han swam with powerful strokes as the coughs locked up her whole body, making it a struggle to keep her head above water. He hauled a chunk of wood through the water toward her. “Grab onto this.” She hugged it to her chest, too consumed with coughing to do anything else.  “We have to get away from all this flotsam!”

She realized with a shock how loud everything was compared to the stillness of the water. She could hear cries in the distance—people and animals. “We have to help them,” she said between coughing fits, her voice sounding rough and raw. 

Han made a helpless gesture. “How?”

He was right. There was nothing they could do. “Where are the others?” Lilette asked.

“There.”

She turned in time to see four of them holding onto ropes that pulled them onto a Harshen ship Lilette hadn’t noticed before. Nassa and Doranna were among them. Her relief was immediately overshadowed by sorrow. There had been eleven of them on the ocean floor. “Are you sure that ship is ours?”

A broken piece of wood came rushing at them, and Han had to let go of her to shove it away. “We don’t have much of a choice. It’s too dangerous to stay here.”

He lugged her toward the ship. As they came closer, Harshens shouted at them and threw ropes over the side. Lilette took hold of a rope and held tight as they pulled her onboard. She collapsed onto the deck and lay panting in a puddle of water.

One of the Harshens stared at her in horror. “Empress!” His face contorted with fear. “Jump!” he cried, waving his arms.

Lilette gaped at him in confusion. Then the hatch opened and Pescal stepped into view. He took one look at her and shouted, “It’s Lilette!”

More guardians rushed from below, one of them killing the sailor who’d warned her. She pushed herself up to jump overboard, but Pescal grabbed the ankle of her broken leg. She screamed and went down.

Han brandished his knives and lunged at Pescal, but he was swarmed by at least five guardians and knocked down. While another guardian bound Lilette’s mouth, Pescal pinned her arms behind her. She cried out, sure he was tearing her arms from their sockets. 

Pescal was breathing hard—she could feel his chest rising behind her. “I’ve got her.”

She cocked her foot to kick him, but he wrenched her arms up higher and an involuntary cry slipped from her throat. Han gave a shout of outrage, but the guardians had him pinned to the deck. Lilette struggled against Pescal, tears of pain and fear coursing down her face.

Merlay came from below decks and surveyed her in disbelief.
“You just won’t die, will you?”

Learning that Lilette was alive and about to be executed burned all the fear out of me. ~Jolin

Merlay drew back her hand and slapped Lilette. “You think you saved any of them? You’re just forcing me to kill them, one at a time. Soon as we’re clear, I’ll have to send a storm that will sink every ship for a hundred miles, and even more will die!”

Lilette could taste blood from where her teeth had cut her cheek. “I’m not the one soaked in blood.” Her words came out muffled around her gag.

Shaking, Merlay wiped her face. “I risked so much to spare your life for your sister. I sent you to Harshen—made you an empress. All you had to do was stay out of my way.”

Rage boiled inside Lilette. “You murdered my entire family! Sent Pescal to drug me, and who knows what else.”

When Merlay looked away, Lilette realized it wasn’t just Pescal. “You sent Laosh after me too?” She shook her head in disbelief. “Sash trusted you! I trusted you!”

Merlay took a step back, and her eyes clouded over for the smallest moment. And then her face hardened. “I did what I had to do. What I’ve always had to do.”

Lilette ground her teeth around the gag. “You’ve been playing God.”

Merlay made a slicing gesture. “We are Gods! The Creators endowed us with the power—us and no other! Nations can either obey us or they can feel our wrath!”

The guardians hauled Han to his feet. “Like Harshen felt your wrath,” he growled.

Merlay’s glittering eyes met his. “Yes. Like Harshen.”

“Having power doesn’t make us better,” Lilette said through her gag.

Merlay raised a brow. “Of course it does!”

Lilette’s gaze shifted to Brine as she came up from below decks. “What’s all the commo—” Her gaze lighted on Lilette. “Oh.”

Lilette tossed back her head. “And you? You knew what was going on, didn’t you?”

Brine only grimaced. Beside her, Nassa growled through her gag, “Brine, if you’re going to murder me, I deserve to know why.”

The stolen zhou turned, probably toward the next batch of survivors. Brine took a shaky breath. “This isn’t about Merlay or your family. This is about the fact that Sash and the others were singing a counter-curse that rendered us completely powerless.”

Brine pressed the heel of her hand into her forehead. “What do you think will happen if the world realizes how vulnerable the witches are? We risk becoming slaves to the very people we rule.”

Nassa shook her head desperately. “I won’t tell anyone. I swear I won’t! Take me with the rest of you.”

Brine looked toward the back of the ship, and Lilette realized the stern deck was coated with blood. “I’m sorry, Nassa. But the others have proven their loyalty. You haven’t.”

Brine tipped her head toward the stern. “Cut their throats and throw them overboard like the others. We have more of them to dispatch.”

Pescal dragged Lilette to the back of the ship. “Merlay sent you to drug me into oblivion,” Lilette muffled around her gag, “so I wouldn’t realize what she was doing.”

Pescal leaned in, his breath whispering against her neck. “You would have enjoyed it immensely, I promise you.”

She threw her head back, but he dodged her. “Easy now, there’s no point in adding any more pain. You look like you’ve suffered enough.”

Lilette gasped in horror as tacky blood squelched beneath her bare feet. How many other survivors had they “rescued” only to murder?

The other four witches were screaming and begging as a guardian pulled out a knife and stalked toward them. Lilette pinched her eyes shut and turned away as one of their cries was abruptly cut off.

Merlay and Brine headed below decks, most of the guardians following. The ones who remained were either guarding the prisoners or had hidden themselves on deck, their weapons trained on the captive sailors maneuvering the ship toward the next batch of survivors.

Han was struggling, fighting. He wasn’t any closer to free, but he was distracting the guards from killing them.

And then Jolin climbed from below decks, Galon beside her. The two of them rushed toward Lilette.

“What are they doing?” Merlay’s shout could be heard from below. “Get her back here!”

Her friend had betrayed her. Lilette rose up, her anger cresting. She threw herself back and kicked, but Jolin dodged her and slammed into one of the guardians holding Han, just enough to knock him loose.

Galon tossed Han a sword and stabbed the other guardian holding him. Han caught the sword, whirling about so fast Lilette couldn’t follow his movements. The two of them cut through the guardians holding them. Pescal scrambled away from Lilette just as Han grabbed an extra sword.

Galon and Han turned to face the guardians constraining the crew. A dozen against two. Pescal exchanged an amused glance with another guardian and they started forward. But then one of the sailors tackled him. As if it was the cue they were waiting for, the rest of the sailors jumped into the fight. One of them even managed to batten the hatch and trap the rest of the guardians below.

Jolin produced a thin knife and cut Lilette’s and Han’s gags, then rushed for the hull, her small knife frantically working at the ropes holding a small dingy to the side. “Help me,” she cried.

Lilette wanted to kill her instead, but there wasn’t time. The three of them scrabbled and pulled until the ropes slithered and the boat crashed into the waves.

The guardians busted free. They streamed from below, quickly overpowering the sailors.

“Han! Let’s go!” Lilette shouted. Galon cried out. A guardian had broken through, slicing his arm. Galon stumbled back. The guardian cocked his arm for the killing strike.

One of Han’s swords snaked out, deflecting the stroke. The movement cost Han. His right flank was open. Pescal sank his sword into Han’s side.

“Han!” Lilette started toward him, but Jolin grabbed her and hauled her toward the railing.

“Go!” Han growled as he countered with a blow to Pescal’s thigh.

When Lilette hesitated, Jolin tightened her hold. “They won’t break away until we’re safe.”

Han’s blades twisted about him like a whirlwind. Nassa had already jumped into the water and was pulling herself into the drifting boat.

Doranna wasn’t far behind. “Come on!”

Gritting her teeth, Lilette leapt off the side, her legs and arms windmilling as she fell. She crashed into the water hard, slamming into more flotsam. Pain, old and new, flared inside her. She pulled herself out of the water, pushing flotsam out of her way as she swam to the boat. She pulled herself in and turned back.

His swords crossed, Galon forced a guardian back. Then Galon jumped.

With the scrape of steel, Han twisted Pescal’s swords to the side and head butted him. Pescal stumbled back and Han’s sword whipped forward, stabbing him in the throat.

Mouth open in shock, Pescal gripped the sword, blood welling between his fingers. Han threw himself back. Pescal grabbed something at his waist. Even as he tipped forward, he threw a knife.

Lilette didn’t see where the knife landed. Han hit the water hard. The boat had drifted from the ship, so she snatched an oar. “Help me.” They brought it closer. “Han!”

Merlay appeared at the railing. “Stop them!” Other guardians jumped in after them.

Galon climbed into the boat and went to the stern, his swords at the ready. Holding the oar like a club, Lilette scanned the water for Han. He would come up. He would.

And then he did. She barely recognized his face, it was so dark. With both swords clamped in his teeth and red surrounding him, he swam for the boat and pulled himself inside. Lilette saw blood streaming from his body and panicked. He barely spared her a glance.

Doranna snatched the oar from Lilette. She and Jolin started frantically rowing. More guardians were coming through the water. Han and Galon hacked at them as soon as they came within range. The rest of them stomped on their hands as they gripped the boat.

Lilette’s gaze swung to the ship as it turned toward them. Nassa kicked one of the guardians in the face. “You have to bring that ship down—now.”

Lilette hesitated.

“You have the power to do it,” Nassa cried. “I’ve seen it!”

The panic in Lilette’s chest turned to something else—something dark like the shadows around the stars. As her chant built, the elements turned toward her, eager and hungry for her command—almost as if they knew they’d been used for evil and were eager to right the wrong.

Her voice lashed out like a whip, calling down lightning from the clear sky. It slammed into the ship. Once, twice, three times. Flames licked across the bloody deck.

Their boat picked up speed, fast enough that they’d left the guardians in the water behind. And Lilette knew what she had to do. She sang a current, one strong enough to pull them to her island.

The fire grew higher, spreading faster than the guardians could fight it. The screams started. It was the screams that brought the memory crashing down on her. This wasn’t the first time she’d escaped from a burning ship. Not the first time those she loved had died. Her eyes wide with horror, she swung around to face Han.

“You’re safe,” he said, relief in hi
s voice. And then he collapsed.