Iduna (10 page)

Iduna followed Ani to a low house that wrapped around the black rock it was built upon. She waited on the large cobblestoned porch while Ani went inside. The sun was high in the sky. Long minutes later Ani waved her inside.

Kai was sitting behind a desk with maps strewn about. He was leaning back in a chair, and his feet were on an open desk drawer. Pua was pacing.

The room felt dark after the intense sun outside. The style of the building did much to mitigate the warm climate. The low roof with large awnings provided shade, and the many windows kept the air flowing.

“Iduna, it sounds like we have a situation,” Kai said.

Pua grunted.

He continued. “You want our help, but we have no reason to trust you. Ani likes you. You say that Gaelen has fallen?”

He rocked precariously on two legs of the chair. She wondered when he would fall.

“I don't believe you. Gaelen is well-known for their warriors and strong king. We've been trading with them for years. They aren't as closed-minded as the Lawanians.”

Iduna's nostrils flared slightly at the insult, but she mentally urged patience.

Her response was not lost on Kai. He pushed on. “And if you have come to get help for Lawan, well, Lawan has been no friend of ours for generations now. Lawan decided long ago to make contact with Okeenos illegal. We’re not allowed in your ports or land either, for trade or otherwise.”

She bit down a retort. She had no idea of the history between their two countries. What he said made no sense to her. Why would the peaceful people of Lawan have such a xenophobic policy and only toward the Okeeno? She knew for a fact that goods and people flowed freely among the countries of Gaelen, Ull, and Lawan. At least until Ull changed. What made Okeenos an exception?

Iduna said, “I am not asking for you to fight on behalf of Lawan but to learn from your people what they know about the magic that feeds on emotion and affects how others feel.” She thought of the empty feeling inside her. “You can tell me what you know, and I'll be on my way.”

Pua rolled her eyes and changed directions in her pacing.

“In case you don't remember, I'm a trader. What is in it for us?” Kai asked.

“You trade with Gaelen. Gaelen is conquered, and all their goods are being stolen or damaged by the invading Ull. If you teach me what I need to know, I could sweep the Ull all the way back to their homeland.”

“Everything you say just adds to the pile of words I have a hard time believing,” Kai said.

She didn't know if she could physically get any angrier. These stupid people had no idea what was going on. And adding annoyance on top of annoyance, they didn't seem to appreciate that she was an elite Spellcrafter in Lawan. Sure, a useless one at the moment, but it wasn't like she was a young ignorant pup. It was beyond frustrating. Fearing what had happened to those she cared for was eating at her like salt on a snail.

Where was the calm she had spent years learning? She would try patience. She looked to Ani, a supposed advocate. Ani was a petite container of confidence and, unfortunately for Iduna, self-containment. Drawing inspiration from Ani as an example, Iduna swore to herself she could use the power of a quiet will to overcome Kai’s objections. But then she looked at Pua and saw the slight smile on the woman's face.

Iduna exploded.

“You doubt because you don't know, and you don't know anything because you stay here on this rock, except when you decide you want some trinket from Lawan, then you sneak in the night. You are a band of smugglers and ignorant folk.”

At this Pua had the nerve to laugh outright. There was something contagious about the woman's laughter, and Iduna found herself confused.

“We don’t get trinkets from Lawan,” Pua said. “We get gold. They pay for our pearls, then we get their gold, and we trade with other countries that aren’t as prejudiced as Lawan. You might want to be a little more informed yourself, Iduna of Lawan.”

Ani frowned lightly at Pua and said, “This is easily settled. Kai, you could travel to Gaelen with Iduna. We're due for a trip there anyway. Verifying her story is easy enough.”

“You make a good point. We'll leave tomorrow morning. Iduna, are you ready to be shown a liar?” He was clearly having fun with her anger now.

“If you find that I'm lying, you can feed me to the fish.” With that, Iduna strode out, tired of the prisoner role. She’d show them.

With barely a nod Kai collected Iduna from Ani’s home early the next morning. The island was quiet with only the sporadic sound of birdcalls breaking the silence. It was still cool, and the air felt damp. Pua stood on the beach next to a small row boat.

“Good morning, Iduna. Ready for another ride?” Pua asked and tapped the side of the flimsy boat.

“Sure,” Iduna answered, refusing to be cowed.

Iduna and Pua climbed in, and Pua sat at the oars. Kai gave a running push and hopped into the dinghy. The water danced off the oars, and Pua hummed to herself while she rowed. With relief, Iduna realized they were heading toward a slightly larger boat.

They thumped lightly against the hull of the bigger ship. Kai grabbed the rail and hauled himself up. He reached a hand down for her. Iduna grabbed it and sprung up onto the boat.

It was a midsize sailboat, nothing like the large ships she’d read of, but much larger than the dinghy. That they weren’t just traveling by the “leaves” suggested that Kai must be planning on bringing back some goods from Gaelen. Iduna knew that wasn’t going to happen, but she was glad to be in a bigger boat.

“Have a good trip,” Pua said and left them alone to rig up the boat.

The waves of the sheltered harbor rippled and splashed lightly against the hull with gentle slaps. Iduna sat on a bench above decks in the cockpit.

She felt antsy just sitting here. Kai was busy, but he knew what to do. She was out of her element. With the recent reminder of her failings as a Lawanian still fresh, she worked to absorb her feelings into calmness. Her eyelids slid down to cover most of her vision, allowing her to see a sliver of the world and help her focus inward. Drawing the wind to her, she played with the small gusts, adding a spin here and there to make miniature whirlwinds that hovered around her.

She noted that her control was not what it usually was. The whirlwinds took slight dips and turns that she didn’t intend. Perhaps the hollowness inside her from Vilir’s magic didn’t just affect her feelings but also her powers. Lawanian magic hinged on control and calmness. If Vilir’s powers disturbed those abilities, then the Lawanians would be defenseless. Tinh. Angko. Surat. They had no way to protect themselves. The thought was upsetting, and she stopped the whirlwinds as they started to grow. She wasn't going to lose control of them and cause a scene. She was supposed to be earning their trust.

Kai was moving around the boat, adjusting lines and getting ready to raise the sails. Iduna opened her eyes just enough to peer through her eyelashes to watch what he was doing. She was about to go out to sea on an unknown person again. Her hesitations now were just further proof of how desperate she had been last night. She couldn't believe she'd stepped onto a strange contraption with a complete stranger to ride out into a midnight ocean. It had been a wild and desperate night.

Kai's voice interrupted her thoughts. “If you're done pretending to meditate, then help me raise the mainsail.”

…

They'd been sailing in silence for three hours and were only halfway to Gaelen. The wind was light but steady. Kai seemed to like sitting on the bow. He was able to steer from there using either of the long sticks that ran along each side of the boat and connected to the rudder in the back.

Iduna asked, “Kai, why don’t we raise the speed of the wind and get there faster?”

“This will get us there in fine time. We don’t want to use up our resources. You claim that Gaelen is overrun. If that’s true, we’ll need all we’ve got, won’t we?”

“I can’t argue with that.”

She gave him a few moments, counting to herself, before she pressed on.

“Who are you?”

He rolled his eyes, scanned the horizon, then turned back to her.

“I’m Kai.”

“Yes, but what is your position? Why do you, Pua, and Ani get to decide if I live?”

“Pua and I brought you to Okeenos, so we are responsible for you, and Ani is a trusted friend.”

“Don’t you have some leaders who should make this decision for you?” she asked.

Kai laughed so hard she thought he might fall out the boat. Watching him, she almost wished he would.

Wiping his eyes, he schooled his face into serious lines. Seeing her fuming seemed to set him off again.

“Why is that so funny?” she asked.

“The people of Okeenos make decisions for themselves.”

“Surely you could benefit from someone older with more experience making such decisions as to whether to kill someone or not.” Her voice rose as she came to the part about them killing her.

“We have our experience, and we talked to each other. We considered different viewpoints. It works.”

Since Iduna was still alive, their judgment seemed fair—so far.

“Interesting,” she said.

Iduna eased back onto the bench and stared up at the closely trimmed mainsail that formed a large shallow pocket for the wind. The shadows on the sail changed gradually as the morning wore on.

…

With time and silence, Iduna had had too much opportunity to think about what might be happening in Cha. She was heading to Gaelen when instead she should stop this fool's errand and at least try to help save Surat. What were the Ull doing to her? Vilir might kill Angko himself. Her mood had moved from hesitation, to worry, to boredom, and now to a fast-growing combination of grief, shame, and doubt.

“What the hell are you doing?” Kai looked away from Iduna as a large hump broke through the surface of water nearby. “Crap!”

Kai started singing a brawny and boisterous tune while hopping to the back of the boat and grabbing the rudder. He eased out the sail just in time to catch a sudden gust of wind from directly behind them. An ocean swell came along with the gust, and they rose high onto the crest of the wave. When the wind hit the sail, the boat surged forward like a rock flung out of a sling.

Iduna had snapped up to a sitting position and dared not move anymore. The boat felt precariously balanced as it hurled forward on the tip of the wave. The nose of the boat had risen out of the water, and now the boat's only point of contact with the water was its stern.

Iduna’s eyebrows rose to the sky and her jaw dropped when she sighted the green-scaled head of the beast chasing them. It had light-green eyes and webbed cheeks that looked like fins or gills. Whatever they were, they did a good job of expressing anger as they flared out, while the beast's shrill cry filled the air, setting her teeth on edge and giving her goose bumps. The creature’s green eyes focused on them, vicious and hungry, then the monster dove purposefully underwater.

After the gnarly beast disappeared from view, hopefully not swimming under their boat to toss them from their wheeling ride, Iduna closed her mouth, gulped, and looked at Kai.

He was kneeling in the stern of the boat, eyes fixed on the mainsail that was all the way out now, with the wind gusting behind them. She instinctively moved back to sit next to him, and the boat wobbled precariously. Her eyes darted to Kai. Of all things he actually winked and continued to sing. After she'd heard him sing a chorus twice, Kai nudged her. She started singing, but the wind's direction began to swivel to and fro. She saw the beast's green-scaled back break through the water's surface just three boat-lengths away from them.

“Focus!,” Kai shouted to be heard. They were now riding the top of the wave. Just in front and below them, the wave crashed, dropping off like a continuous waterfall as they careened over the reef and into the bay.

Kai's singing tapered to a whisper. The wave and wind diminished. He pulled in the mainsail, and the wind shifted, coming off the bow. The sea beast bellowed with frustration from behind the line of reef.

Kai looked over at Iduna. “You have no idea, do you?”

How could she know what she didn't know? Until living with the Ull, she'd felt she knew a lot. She was an elite Spellcrafter with years of experience. Although she and Angko acknowledged her imperfect calm, she was the best wizard in Lawan. She usually approached her craft with humbleness, but hearing Kai’s question brought out her pride.

“Perhaps if you would explain instead of complain, you wouldn't have to ask such a question,” Iduna snapped.

Kai considered her for a brief moment before moving to land the boat. They had finally arrived at the Gaelen port town. Boats ran along the long dock and sat at moorings. There was no one about.

They landed with a soft bump, and Kai jumped to the dock to secure the line. Iduna dropped the mainsail and clambered on deck to wrestle down the jib. No one could say she wasn't a quick learner and eager to help.

The dock connected to a wooden wharf with a row of buildings fronting the harbor. The area was flat with hills far off in the distance. It was sunny here, and seagull cries punctuated the silence.

The wrinkle in Kai's forehead was her first sign of his confusion. She felt a dash of satisfaction.

“What's wrong?” Iduna asked, her query tinged with mockery, since part of her couldn't wait for the smug Kai to grasp the situation.

“A lot.”

He surprised her. She'd expected him to be blind to the situation for as long as possible. He’d been obtuse and resistant before. Maybe she didn’t understand him.

“This port is always busy,” he said.

He scanned the wharf and the galleons on the moorings. “The large galleons out there should have crew in the rigging or keeping watch in the crow's nest. Those buildings off the wharf usually have people constantly coming and going.”

Caught between gloating and wondering how Gaelen had further deteriorated since she'd been here, Iduna settled on following his directions about stowing lines and rolling up the sail. That done, they walked down the dock toward the buildings that fronted the wharf. It was slightly foggy on shore with a mist lying heavy and silent.

“This is the pub. If there’s anything going on, it will be in here,” Kai whispered, pointing to the building up ahead. Its door was wide open, the interior dark.

They could hear a faint tune coming from inside. Encouraged, they entered and were relieved to find many people gathered here, sitting at tables or standing against the walls. A fiddler perched on a stool on a small stage in the back of the room. She played a sad tune—her head was tilted to cradle her instrument while she stared sightlessly, immersed in the music.

As Iduna’s eyes became accustomed to the dimness, her focus was drawn to the man sitting in the center of the room. She couldn't look away. He had wide shoulders like an ox, red curly hair and an unruly beard. His hazel eyes stared blankly with the world's sorrows reflected in them—a bottomless pool of suffering. His skin had a collection of grime, and Iduna wondered when he had last showered.

The song ended, and Iduna became aware of the rest of the room.

Every table and chair was occupied, and every man and woman sat slumped with a forlorn, haunted vacancy. The fiddler paused, lowered her instrument and frayed bow. Iduna felt everything hang in suspended animation as if no one were breathing. With a deep sigh, the fiddler lifted the violin to her shoulder lethargically, settled her chin, and started the same song again.