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  Niri’s memories were old and from the perspective of a young child. She could not tell if the city had changed much in the fifteen years she had been away. But she began to recognize what once was familiar: a glimpse of a garden behind a metal gate where she had played with a friend as a child and the stately fountain at the crossroads of two wide boulevards.

  Niri’s family had been of high standing in the city government. Her grandfather had been the town elder when she was taken away. The house she grew up in sat near the large public piazza high on a hill overlooking the sea and archipelago. She took a turn by instinct to walk down an alley and along the side of her family’s house and property. As a child, she had rarely used the front door and barely recalled the colonnaded facade.

  But the garden she recognized. Her hand trailed along the brightly flowered and fine leafed hedge that grew over the low stone wall lining the alley. Niri remembered when the leaves had been beyond her youthful reach. The memory of her childhood elicited a constricting ache across her chest, one that she hadn’t felt in years. Her feet slowed along the infrequently used path. The memories of her time with her family were of laughter, suffused in light. When the Church came, it had brought eternal night to her life.

  “Dearest, hurry please.”

  The voice startled Niri. Her heart recognized it even if her mind had doubts. It was her mother. Niri raced down the alley, her eyes straining to see over the top of the hedge.

  The narrow garden alongside the house opened up to a large lawn bordered by trees on three sides. The back of the three story house with its walls of open arches made the fourth. A small pool shimmered in the sun at its foot. Nestled in a wide patio, the stone tiles around the water petered off in the grass just beyond the house’s shadow. Close to the trees, a pergola covered in flowering vines stood. Arms crossed across her gauzy coral dress belted in an ‘X’ from bosom to waist, Niri’s mother stood in the sunlit grass. She looked towards the house with a mother’s patience near its end.

  Niri’s heart soared to see her mother. She was older and her hair straighter and grayer. She was not the perfect, un-aging woman of Niri’s memory. But she was real and only a dozen yards away. Then with sudden force, Niri’s spirits crashed. She realized that her mother wasn’t calling for her to come but was waiting for someone else.

  She doesn’t even know I am here. Of course there is no way she would be calling for me. Tears stung Niri’s eyes at the realization.

  Her mother sighed and dropped her hands in exasperation. She turned and walked under the pergola into the thick shade. No longer fixated on her mother, Niri could see the table decorated with white linens, flowers, and fruits in the flickering shadows. In the moving dark, her eyes found her father sitting at the table. He looked so much like her memories of her grandfather that Niri was confused for a moment. The eyes were her father’s though. Heart hammering, Niri wondered for the first time if her grandfather was still alive.

  Unsteady, Niri reached a hand to the high wall on the other side of the alley. Her vision swirled. Through the tears in her eyes, she watched a young woman walk from the house. Her pace was hurried but careful due to the oversized bowl she carried. A smile was on her lips despite the caution in her walk as her summer blue dress flowed with each step. Long hair ruffled out around her, lighter and redder than Niri’s but the dark brown eyes framed by long lashes were the same. Niri’s heart skipped a beat at the beautiful young woman her little sister had become.

  A young man walked from the pergola to meet her, taking the dish from her arms as he leaned down to kiss her lips lightly. She beamed when she looked at him. Dark haired and with the same warm skin tone typical of the islands, he was athletically built, standing a hand taller than her sister. The deep green tunic he wore was richly embroidered at the wide oval neck and hem at his mid thigh. His sandal’s straps laced up to his calves below the knee length pants common to the often muddy and rain swept island. Niri sighed as his features softened into something greater than physical beauty as he gazed at her sister.

  “You are late,” he teased her as they turned to finish the last of the distance together.

  “I know something that will appease her,” Niri’s sister answered, taking his arm now that he carried the bowl. He chuckled in response, the sound drifting across the lawn. Niri’s father stood and took his youngest daughter in his arms. Still tall, his shoulders under the deep lavender tunic were not as straight as Niri remembered. He cupped his sister’s cheek affectionately before letting her go.

  Niri’s heart ached so much she didn’t think it could withstand more pain. The rushing of her pulse and inability to breath kept her feet frozen and voice silent. She felt like a ghost come back to see her loved ones a last time.

  “There she is!” Her father’s voice boomed across the lawn just as Niri remembered it.

  “Nirisine come! It is time to eat, not play.”

  Her sister’s voice was full of laughter. Niri glanced up at the little girl with raven dark hair that ran through the grass after a ball. She was only a few feet on the other side of the hedge, but her attention was on retrieving her toy. Not more than four and still a little chubby, the girl was slimming out to an active youth.

  “Coming mama!” the little girl chirped in a high soprano.

  She grabbed the ball and ran barefoot across the lawn. Her light green dress streamed out behind her. Niri’s mother stepped into the sunlight, her face radiant in joy as she bent down and opened up her arms for the little girl.

  “Come to me, my little Nirisi.”

  Niri sobbed into her hand. She turned away and stumbled blindly down the alley. Her only thought was to get beyond the the yard before tears overwhelmed her. Tear blinded, she tripped on the stone pavers and threw her hand forward to catch herself. Instead of falling and finding hard stone, her hand found warm fabric over a solid chest. Strong arms caught her and pulled her close, cradling her gently.

  “Shh, Niri, I’ve got you.” Ty’s voice was a soft murmur against her ear. She sobbed until she didn’t think any water was left in her.

  “I couldn’t, I can’t . . . not bring this to them.” Niri looked up at Ty with tear stained cheeks. “If the Church found I had been here . . . I can’t bring this to them. They are all I have left.”

  Ty brushed strands of hair clinging to her moist face back behind her hair, its thickness flowing between his fingers. “I understand, believe me.”

  Curiosity stirred in Niri, but did not rise high as her strained emotions collapsed to a calm numbness. “How did you find me?” she asked, leaning her cheek against his shoulder.

  He hesitated and when she glanced at him, a faint blush colored his cheeks. He shrugged. “I saw your face as we sailed into Tiero. I know what I would want to do . . . so I followed you.”

  Niri found herself smiling despite the dull ache that rummaged inside of her. “I’m glad you did.”

  Ty walked with her back to town, helping to pick up the packages she bought. They were back to the boat as faint wisps of clouds formed in the late afternoon sky. Ria and Lavinia were on deck, eyes on the weather.

  “It looks like rain,” Lavinia said as she reached for their bundles.

  “It wouldn’t be surprising, it often rains here except when the wind is out of the north from the headlands.” Niri’s throat fell raw as she answered.

  “The wind has shifted, coming from due west now. We should get going.” Ty was on deck stowing the new rope in the holds under the benches.

  “We are going to cross?” Ria’s musical voice was tense. Excitement and nervousness warred on her face.

  Ty glanced at her with a fraction of a lift to his lips. “Yes, we are going to cross to the Southern Shore.”

  Niri watched the lines of Tiero blur as their boat sailed out of the harbor. It was a sight she had once begged for as she screamed in the hold of the boat taking her back to the Temple of Solaire. This parting ached as well, but like a wound healing.

 
Out of the harbor, Ty swung the boom and raised a front sail to give them added speed. The boat heeled over as it turned to race along Tiero’s western edge, the heights of the mountains now lost to forming clouds. Ahead of them was murky fog hovering over the tossing waves of the crossing.

  Lavinia’s voice shattered the silence. “That is our parent’s ship!”

  CHAPTER 12

  THE CURSE

  Everyone’s gave swung to follow Lavinia’s aghast look. Just approaching Tiero was the same two masted ship they had seen in Kyrron, blue banners flying against the white sails. The dark wooden hall gleamed with spray above the waves.

  “Do you think they saw us? They can’t know which ship they are looking for, can they?” Ria’s voice was tight with concern.

  Ty glanced at the large forward sail unique to their boat then back at the two masted ship steadily sailing closer. “From the sails and wind, it looks like they are sailing for the harbor.”

  They were skimming around the island’s western side, heading nearly due south towards the Steppes of Umbrel. Misty clouds and dark waves lay before them, but the afternoon sun still blazed in a clear portion of sky. The white sail of their boat blazed in afternoon light.

  “They have to see us, but that doesn’t mean . . . ,” Lavinia’s voice was doubtful. Her words were cut off as the sails of her parent’s ship turned. The ship which had been slowing to enter the harbor lurched as the wind caught the sheets again. The boat pivoted, the long bowsprit swinging to aim directly at them.

  “Dam the wind,” Ty cursed. “They must have learned which ship was ours in Kyrron.”

  “They’ll be able to catch us in an hour with all their sails flying. Ty, what are we going to do?” Lavinia’s blue eyes were wide.

  Frustration pulled at Ria’s brows while worry clouded her chest. “We were only just heading to the Southern Shore. We could have answers in a few days. Why did they have to catch up now?”

  Niri glanced at Ria. “If we get around the island so that we are out of sight, I can help outrun them. But the last thing we want to do is attract the attention of any Priests if they see a small boat speeding under Elemental control.”

  Ty nodded and swung the boom. “Yes, but not by heading south. We aren’t catching enough wind. We’ll have to run east along the Archipelago and turn south later.”

  Despite Niri’s protestations that she couldn’t help, a faint aqua blue suffused her eyes. The Grey Dawn sped east, riding crests as it leaned into its full sail. The ship behind them slammed into endless waves, the heavy bow rising again and again in explosions of spray.

  “What are you doing?” Lavinia’s voice rose with the tension coursing through her. “That is our parents!”

  Niri’s glance crossed Ty’s anxious gaze as she turned to look at where Lavinia and Ria sat hand in hand watching the boat behind them. “I’m slowing it by pushing the current back. I’m not trying to sink it.”

  Lavinia blushed as she looked away. They were behind and a little east of Tiero now. No towns were visible along the coast. Niri’s eyes were inundated with her power, flooding lavender. Their boat picked up more speed as the seas pushed them ahead.

  Ty glanced back once more, then adjusted the rudder pole. The boat veered across the waves, angling toward the north east. Ria leapt to her feet, turning toward the south.

  “Where are you going?”

  “We have a shallower draft. We may be able to lose them amid the islands once night falls. We can’t have them following us into the crossing, Ria.”

  Crestfallen, Ria sat back down, staring at her shoes. She could feel the trek to the southern shore slipping away from her once again. Lavinia let go of her hand as she stood to get a better view of the boat behind them. Every sail strained under the afternoon wind. It was heavier and fighting an onslaught from the sea, but the larger ship was gaining.

  “We’ll be overtaken before dusk at this rate,” Lavinia said, one hand on the rail as she leaned over the side.

  They were passing the outer islands of the Archipelago now, uninhabited storm swept rocks with scant trees offering few places to hide. The populated towns were mostly deep in the peninsulas or on the sheltered side of the inner islands. Ty scanned the sea around them. No sails but the chasing boat were visible along the horizon.

  “Isn’t there anything else you can do?” Ty asked Niri.

  Ria could feel a vibration in the air, her skin itched as if her blood hummed. It was similar to what she had felt standing next to Niri at the well. It was power and she knew it. She longed to be able to release hers as well, but hesitated. She had no idea how to help.

  Niri’s eyes had slid from Ty to the sky. Her forehead unknotted as she slowly smiled.

  “I think I can feed the clouds.”

  “What will that do?” Ria asked doubtfully.

  “Create a bigger storm. If you do it between us, the wind should drive them back while it pushes us forward. They’ll have to lower their sails and tack.” Ty’s look weighed their odds and came up with a smile.

  “That could work. A small storm, right?”

  Niri nodded at Lavinia’s concern. The air began to buzz above the boat, making the hair on Ria’s arms stand up. She looked at Lavinia, wondering how she could sit still watching the ship behind.

  She doesn’t feel it.

  It was the first time that Ria could think of that she and Lavinia couldn’t share something. This was a part of her that Niri could understand, but never Lavinia. It felt like a tiny rip opened in her chest. Despite the pain, Ria felt freer. Ria looked up at Niri where she stood head tilted to the sky and eyes glowing lavender blue.

  I’ll follow her anywhere to learn to be this and do what she can.

  In Ria’s eyes, Niri stood surrounded in a haze of aqua blue and lavender. The sensation of rising amid a thousand other drops filled Ria, before she sank again into her body. The clouds above and behind them thickened, changing from misty gray to a dark roiling mass. Ria’s hair fluttered across her face as the winds shifted direction. Lightening flickered on the edges of the spreading thunderheads. Rain began to pelt the sea a few feet from their boat.

  As the rain spread in earnest and drummed the sea around them, Lavinia glanced up with confusion on her face. No raindrops were falling onto their boat or sail.

  “Niri is controlling the water so that it doesn’t fall on us,” Ria said to Lavinia.

  Surprise erased both the worry and bewilderment on Lavinia’s face. “You can tell?”

  “Yes,” Ria said not really looking at Lavinia. “I can see it.”

  Lavinia watched Ria for a moment before turning to check on her parent’s ship. The evening sky was now overspread with clouds, the sunset obliterated by the storm. Lightening flashed frequently above them, arcing between thunderheads. The wind slammed against their ship. Without a word, Ty began to reef their sail, shortening it against the strengthening gale.

  It was eerie for Ria to watch the pouring rain on the storm tossed sea, feel the ship heave on the waves, yet the wind whipping over the boat held no dampness. Ria could see the water shield around them if she looked for it, a clear line like a bubble. The buzz of the air and hum to her blood were more audible than the storm or thunder, more immediate than the wind or boat. She wondered what it was like to be Niri, building a storm while protecting them at the same time.

  The other ship was not fairing as well. As the minutes passed, lightening exposed the scene again and again of the larger ship, still with all sails flying and fighting the wind to reach them.

  “I think that is enough,” Lavinia said as she strained to see her parent’s ship in the pelting rain and lowering skies.

  “I haven’t been feeding the storm for a few minutes,” Niri said quietly. Despite her calm voice, Niri’s brows were pulled together and her jaw was tight.

  The lightening flashed again, revealing the other ship heeled over against the onslaught of wind. The mound of a rock island was silhouetted behind it by
a second flash.

  “You have to stop it!” Lavinia’s voice was piercing, rising higher than the wind that screamed through the rigging of the ship.

  “I can’t control the storm. It is beyond me now. They are too close to the rocks. I’m trying to keep the boat away.” Niri’s voice was thick with desperation. Her eyes were closed as she struggled with the sea.

  “Pull them away. Why can’t you pull them away?” Lavinia clutched the rail as she leaned over the edge of their ship above the storm tossed sea. There was no sign of her parent’s ship.

  “I can’t match the wind with the current. They need to drop some sails!” Panic echoed in Niri’s voice along with confusion. Any other captain would have dropped or reefed the ship’s sails in such a storm. Even as a novice sailer, Ria knew that.

  Another flash showed the boat slammed by a gust of wind. It tipped under the force, rolling onto its side. A large main sail tore, the sound echoing like an explosion through the storm.

  “No!” Lavinia screamed, nearly throwing herself over the rail of their ship.

  Ty grabbed on to Lavinia before she fell into the tossing sea. With Niri’s concentration now on saving the larger ship, she was no longer trying to ease the strength of the waves around them or stop the rain. Raindrops thrummed against the deck of the boat, leaving dark rings on their clothes. The small boat rocked with a sickening motion, riding the crests and troughs of the building waves.

  Niri staggered, falling to her knees. The itch of Niri’s power was gone from around the boat. The desire to act but not think it had created in Ria was lifted as well. Instead, she felt a shift and felt Niri’s power in the sea distantly as it wrapped around Lavinia’s parent’s ship. The wind driven hull slid closer to the rocks of the island. Ria stood, one hand against the cabin’s door while she looked back to see any sign of the other boat all the while part of her was mingled with Niri’s power around the larger boat.