Chapter 7
A Dangerous Decoy
There was a look of relieve on Heath’s face once Chadwick appeared. “Just the man I want to see. Come Chadwick.”
A strange look crossed Chadwick’s face as Heath strode past him with Kerensa in his arms. More than a decade of listening to such a commanding voice caused the servant’s feet to react before he knew what he was doing. Heath’s face turned to the side as he strode forward, “Do you know where the captain is?”
“Yes, he is just this way.” Hurrying past Heath, Chadwick took the lead and guided them to where the captain was issuing commands to the men. Kerensa watched a scene that could easily have been from one of her nightmares. Though the men were working hard, the water was pooling on the ground.
Heath shouted over the noise, “Captain! A minute if you will.”
The captain frowned, but he did not miss the fact that the man was carrying the young scholar. The pair had been nearly inseparable since they arrived, though the captain had not heard that they had known each other before the boy’s arrival. The frown grew as he worried that the man was going to make some impossible demand about his lover in the midst of everything.
Once he saw that the captain was heading toward him, Heath walked into an adjoining room where it was somewhat quieter.
The captain strode into the room, “We do not have time for-”
Heath did not wait for the man to finish. “Captain, what do you know about the Aeolians?”
The captain closed his mouth and furrowed his brow, “They are a legendary army of some sort of bizarre water creatures.”
Heath was nodding, “Close enough.”
Kerensa looked between the two trying to figure out if they were serious. The captain seemed to answer that question as he laughed. “Is that what you brought me in here to discuss? At a time like this?” Shaking his head, the man turned to leave.
“They are attacking your ship, captain. I hardly think that there is much you are going to be able to do from here.”
The man scowled back at the well-dressed man, “Why don’t you stick to what you know best and let me take care of the things that matter.” His voice was almost as cold as his eyes.
Kerensa felt Heath tense, but there was no reflection of that in his tone or his face as he answered, “What matters is getting everyone off of this ship. Oh, except that weed with the fiance. Simpleton or something like that.”
The captain raised an eyebrow, “Stinton?”
“That’s the one. He tried to rape Velius here. I would not say a word if you left him behind. But I am being quite serious when I say that you need to get everyone else off of this vessel.”
“I am not about to go abandoning my post.”
“If you want to go down with the ship, by all means waste your life. The world has too few good captains, but no one should stop you from making your own mistakes. However, you have a responsibility to the people on this ship to get them to safety before you choose suicide by ocean.”
“Listen here young man-”
“I am neither young nor a man. My origins are in the country you know as Frozen Paradise. A man of your learning knows what that means, and you have an inclination of what I am.”
The captain swallowed, his eyes now wide as he looked at the man. Kerensa noticed Chadwick stiffen at Heath’s declaration of not being a human, and he began to fidget, as if he wanted to get her away as quickly as possible.
The captain finally spoke, “I’ve heard that your kind can live for centuries. How is that possible?” It was almost as if he had completely forgotten the emergency when confronted with something so rare.
“We aren’t human.”
Kerensa looked up at the man holding her, “Do shifters live that much longer?”
Heath’s eyes looked down at her with a hint of amusement, “It depends on the species of shifter. My people are an exceedingly rare type of shifter. We are nothing like the type who roam your continent.”
Chadwick spoke from the side, “My lady, you knew?” There was a look of shock on the servant’s face as he watched her mouth curve into a frown.
Kerensa reprimanded him, “And that is why I have not wanted you to stay with me most of this trip. Stop treating and addressing me like a woman.”
From his place a few paces away, the captain shook his head as he muttered, “Well, that certainly makes sense. She was one of the prettiest boys I’ve ever seen.” He looked at the pair, “Whatever you two have going on is not my concern, so as much as I would enjoy standing around finding out just how far down this vortex goes, I'm afraid that duty calls.”
Heath looked over at the man, “I have simply been instructing him in how to behave like a boy so that no one would find out otherwise.” His eyes flicked to Chadwick before continuing, “I suppose it doesn’t much matter now though. You need to get everyone off this ship and away as quickly as possible. The Aeolians will watch it sink before they start going after life rafts. I can help keep them away from the life boats longer by attracting their attention, but it won’t do any good if you are not well away by the time they give up.”
The captain nodded, “Any instructions in particular? Or should we focus on speed?”
“You will have your hands full getting everyone off the ship and away. It is up to you how you choose to do that. I do recommend heading south. There is an island not too far away where you are likely to encounter some merchants who could help you return to Berenice.”
The captain nodded, then strode out of the room.
Chadwick was looking at the ground as Heath turned his attention to the attendant. “Chadwick, I have something very important to ask of you.”
The young man’s expression was of clear concern, but the man looked the shifter in the eye as he gave a curt nod.
“I would like for you to get Velius into a raft and make sure he does not get hurt again. He was just attacked by some noble half-wit who didn’t have a clue who he is or what kind of world he is now entering. But once you get Velius home, I want you to give this to his father to contact me.” Heath flicked his wrist and a small piece of paper appeared in his hand. Kerensa still rested in his arms, so the shifter was not able to stretch his arm far.
“How did you-” Chadwick looked down like the man had just used magic. His hand finally reached out to take it, but it was clear the man was apprehensive.
“I have plenty of these. Tell him it is about the deplorable behavior of one Stinton Entrengo Brattle. He will know how to get in touch with me.”
Chadwick looked up at Heath, then back at the paper, “How can you be so sure?”
Heath smiled, “Because Sir Gwavas is a legend among humans.” The shifter moved his arms a little under Kerensa as if he were debating whether to actually let her go. Chadwick looked surprised at the mention of his employer’s name, but one look at Kerensa’s face and the servant knew how the stranger knew the identity of the young woman.
Kerensa frowned, “What if I do not want to go?”
Heath looked down at her, “There is no reason to debate a hypothetical.”
“Then let me be plain. I do not want to go.”
Heath raised his brow, his eyes searching hers, “Are you saying you want to go down with the ship?”
Kerensa sighed, “No, I want to stay with you.”
“My lady!” Chadwick said, his voice unable to hide his anxiety at her words.
Heath simply shook his head, “That would be unwise.”
“I feel safer with you.”
Whatever Heath had thought she might say, that was not among them. His head leaned to the side, “Why? Were you not frightened of me in your cabin?”
“Not nearly as much as I was of being alone with Brattle. I admit there was something terrifying about you, but it was not directed at me.”
“But it could just as easily have been.”
Kerensa smiled up at him, “Not so easily.”
Heath couldn’t help but give her a small smile in return. “Do you think you know me so well.” Suddenly the smile fell and he shook his head, “I cannot take you with me. That would be irresponsible and dangerous.”
“I don’t think you would call me either of those either, yet you have worked with me to improve me.”
“That is not the same thing. Not by a long shot. If you are thinking that you will learn something you can document about the Aeolians, you are very much mistaken.”
Kerensa frowned at him, “I hadn’t even thought of that. However, this could be an opportunity-”
Suddenly she was shifted in his arms. Looking up into his sparkling eyes, Kerensa saw that he was not pleased with her words, “I just told you that you would not be able to do that, and you ignore me? Will you not at least pretend to be interested in self-preservation over acquiring knowledge. For the love of the gods, what good will it do if you learn something while your brains are being dashed out.”
Kerensa frowned at him, “I am not staying out of scholarly interest. I am staying because I don’t think that you should do this alone.”
Heath looked at her for a moment, his mouth open. He looked away from her as he tried to process her words, “And just what do you think a tiny human can do to fight one of the cruelest warriors on the planet?”
“As someone who has spent nearly two decades immersed in the study of wars, I think I may be of some help. Do you honestly think that you can face them alone?” Out of the corner of her eye, Kerensa thought she saw a familiar haze. Her head moved a little so that she could look at the area with part of her glasses. Her peripheral vision was horrible.
“I will not put you in unnecessary danger. Especially as you seem to have quite the penchant for harm all on your own.”
Most of her attention was still on Heath as she took in his reply, “You still did not answer my question.”
“I don’ see that it is necessary. You are like a child pitching a fit for something, and I will not give in to whatever your infantile understandings of the world are.” He was frowning at her when he spoke, his increasingly clouded features becoming scarier as he did.
It reminded Kerensa of her mother after a long day of trying unsuccessfully to train Kerensa, “Well, it is a damn good thing that my infantile understanding was around earlier tonight when you and Cyprian were missing one of the most obvious diversions in the history of war.”
“You shouldn’t have been there.”
“You shouldn’t be trying to take on a whole army of demonic warriors on your own.”
“Who said anything about demonic warriors!” Chadwick finally entered the conversation, his grasp of their argument only paper thin. This was the one thing that he did know.
Heath held Kerensa away from his body, “No one did until your master opened his big mouth. Take him and leave.”
Chadwick paused as Kerensa glared at him, “If you take me out of his arms, I will never speak to you again Chadwick.”
The poor man looked between them unsure what his best course of action was.
Suddenly Kerensa turned an angry look to the corner of the room, “And just what is that hanging out in the corner of the room? Someone please tell me that my eyes are going bad, because it looks to me like we have some kind of distortion in this room.”
Both of the men turned their heads to follow where her eyes were directed. Chadwick began to rub his eyes, but Heath pulled Kerensa back to his body and bowed.
A clear voice from the distortion spoke, “The human is right, Heath. You need to take her with you.”
Heath stood up and looked at the moving air as it approached them, “Why would you say that? The Aeolians are attacking. It will take everything I have to-”
The air murmured, “You know as well as we that you will not survive the encounter. Take her with you.”
Still not ready to concede, the shifter tried to argue his point, “What makes you think that I will survive if I have him along with me?” He lifted Kerensa up for emphasis.
“If you take her with you to your destination, we will take care of the Aeolians.”
“Why would you do that?” The surprise was evident on his face, “Demons never get involved in the affairs of other species.”
“We are repaying a favor.”
“You intentionally involved a non-demon in your own affairs?” The look of shock on Heath’s face was impossible to understand, but Kerensa was trying to take in everything that was being said and the shifter’s reactions. In all of their time together, she had seldom seen him surprised.
“She had a very clever way of finding out what our fiery brethren were up to.”
“Do you mean this boy?” He shifted Kerensa in his attempt to find out who had helped the demons.
Kerensa wondered if she should speak up, but the light breeze in the room suggested that the wisps were laughing. “No, the sorceress.”
Kerensa did not need to look at Heath to know that this was a potentially dangerous bit of news. She shivered and it had nothing to do with the breeze or the cool feel of Heath.
“There is a sorceress? Alive? What are the risks?”
“The last time we saw, she was under the care of Calixto, so I dare say that her existence is no longer a risk to anyone.”
Heath was trying to process everything, “Calixto? The head of the Volsci clan? Has he trapped her? And how is your dealing with the Aeolians paying her back? What is her interest here? Why wouldn’t she use the repayment to set herself free?”
The air shifted rapidly, “You question as if you were still 50. How young you still are.” Kerensa thought she detected a hint of pride and interest in the words. The beings continued to speak. “She is with him by choice, and the last I saw, it appeared she was the one in control.”
“Of Calixto? We are talking about the same shifter? Tall? Imposing? Statuesque, including that ice-cold heart of his? The guy who almost single-handedly reduced the number of dragon attacks in Volsci to practically zero? That Calixto? ”
There was a definite laugh, “We have heard of no other. He was rather surprised when we last saw the couple. Likely because of the position she had him in but it could have been the fact that she had tired him out.”
“Calixto and a sorceress. Now that is a strange thing to imagine. And here I had expected him to refuse to mate forever, and defy logic by living that long.” Heath shrugged, “I can’t imagine anyone more capable of handling a sorceress though. Still, what is your interest here? Why the Aeolians?”
“The sorceress’ somewhat vague idea of how to be repaid, but she is letting us determine how to get there. After observing you and Kerensa, it is obvious that taking her with you is the best way to achieve our goal. And it comes with the added pleasure of reminding the Aeolians that they do not own the waters.”
“Kerensa?” Heath looked confused.
Kerensa spoke up, “Why is she interested in me?”
The air stirred, “I would assume because you met the sorceress and she liked you. We’ve been watching you for a few days, and you do seem like the kind of human she would take an interest in for good reasons.”
The young woman could feel Heath’s eyes boring into her as she objected, “I don’t know any sorceress! If I did, I would probably have already begged to be allowed to study her.”
There was a chuckle from Heath as the demons answered, “And her being a sorceress, Bree likely introduced herself as something else. Ah, by the look on your face, that must have been it.”
Kerensa shook her head trying to hide her own shock, “I still don’t understand why she would want repayment by helping me.”
The air stirred, “It’s not like Bree explains her whims and desires to us. Nor would we want her to given what she and Calixto were up to when last we saw them. Heath, take the young woman with you, and we will take care of everything else. Chadwick,” the man looked afraid as someone finally remembered he was there. “Go help the captain, and make sure Kerensa’s father learns about Stinton. We are certain the sorceress would wish that, and we are interested to see how that works out as well.” With that, the demons were gone.