Lindsey opted not to join Charles in his quixotic quest to explore Sutthaivasse. She wasn’t alone in this, as both Guernef and Jessica also declined, but at least the Nauh-kaee and hawk had the option of leaping off the balcony and flying away, which he did immediately and she did only after taking her full animal form. So she lingered in the room she shared with the women. Once there, she removed all her clothes and sprawled her kangaroo body on the bed, paws resting on the small mote swelling within her pouch.
Yes.
“I’m here,” she whispered into the air, ears laid flat on the pillow, chestnut eyes rolled back in her head as a smile split her muzzle. “They’re all gone. Are you growing?”
Yes.
The child she could almost feel the outlines now beneath the furry flap of flesh enclosing her pouch. Charles may have children of his own, but he was only a father and could never understand the adoration shared by mother and child. Of the others, only Kayla and Jessica could ever be mothers, and neither were yet. But those whom they would wed were still alive, while her Zhypar had been slain.
Yes.
He’d given his life to protect and nourish this child.
Yes.
He’d spent his last moments in seeing to this child’s well-being, making sure that Lindsey escaped with the child safely tucked inside her.
Yes.
She had to protect this child. She knew it in her heart. For Habakkuk’s sake. And for her own. Even if nobody else could understand.
They won’t understand.
Lindsey nodded, stroking her clawed fingers up and down through the soft russet fur. “I know,” she murmured. “I won’t tell them. You are mine and mine alone.”
Yes.
In such sweet delirium she lay communing with her child for many an hour.
Malger was less than enthused by Charles’s suggestion to explore Sutthaivasse. In fact, he outright forbade them to enter the city. Seeing his objection make the rat more obstinate, Malger cajoled them to stay in the manor house, assuring them that they would be mobbed by the people if they openly walked the streets. Not only were they beastly in appearance, but rumour of them and their heroic exploits had already spread through the canals, streets, markets, and shops. There was not a single soul in Sutthaivasse who wouldn’t clamour to get a glimpse of them let alone touch them for good or ill.
This was enough to convince Kayla to abandon the idea. Andares promised to show her more of the Åelf game that Qan-af-årael had begun teaching her two months ago. At seeing the others demur, Charles also relented, but once they had left the Lord Sutt’s presences, revealed his plans. And so, Jerome dressed in common clothes led James as a donkey carrying Abafouq who masqueraded as a midget, with Charles as a rat perched atop his shoulder. Such a strange group merited a few glances, but did not incite the onrush of panic their benefactor feared.
They enjoyed their brief tour of the city, though not knowing their way around, quickly became lost in the intricate maze of canals and alleys that dominated the lower ward. A few oblique questions from Jerome who cleverly hid his Sondesharan accent, and they were back on the main road along the river.
Still, when they returned they were met by an irate Malger. “You could have been killed!” he shouted at them when they stepped off the lift onto the manor property. They stared incredulous at each other for several seconds, before Malger shook his head and amended himself; “You could have killed someone!” His remonstrations met with no apologies, and in the end, Malger surrendered with no more than a half-hearted fit of self-effacing laughter.
It was the last time they ventured from the Sutt manor, as neither James nor he truly enjoyed being treated as an animal, and also, Charles didn’t like being separated from his vine. It was healthy enough now that he could remove it from his flesh, but it would be months before he’d be able to plant it in good earth. Until then it would need his flesh to subside in. He hoped that it didn’t unnerve Kimberly when they finally returned to Metamor. The vine, that splendid gift from the Wind Children which had saved their lives in the swamps of Marzac, was a part of him in a way now almost as inextricable as his Sondeck.
And so they stayed in the Sutt Manor, waiting for their ship to be reprovisioned. Of them all, only Guernef and Andares failed to exhibit impatience with the delays. Malger assured them that they were unavoidable as the ports closest to Metamor would likely be blocked with ice at this time of year. They would need supplies for a land journey once they reached Ellcaran. If they were lucky, the passes would be open as far north as Giftum, but few of Malger’s sea captains thought that likely, and even Phil expressed his doubts that they would fare so well.
Nor was the estimable lapine to remain with them long. Only two days after Charles, James, Abafouq and Jerome had taken their tour of the city, the Whalish vessels completed their repairs and Prince Phil made good on his promise to depart for Whales. The farewells were difficult, with many tears and promises as well as firm hugs between old friends and wishes for the future. They stood on the topmost tower of the Sutt castle to watch the proud array of Whalish vessels disembark and take to the wintry waves. They stayed upon the lofty perch until the last of their keels disappeared beyond the horizon.
They continued to wait and did their best to keep up their good cheer. Kayla and Jessica spoke of magic and inquired after both Abafouq and Guernef for the arts that they knew. After so many months together, they held back no secrets and the hawk learned of many of the secrets of stone and air that their companions from the Tabinoq knew. Kayla marvelled at all they spoke of and revealed to each other, but many of these secrets were beyond her skills, however fine they had been honed in the months of their companionship.
And so she instead spent time practising her swordsmanship with the men. The dragon blades were comfortable friends in her paws now, and she found they guided her motions so adroitly that she felt a confidence in battle she’d never before experienced. She hated even letting go of the blades; her paws felt barren without them. Still, those who’d spent their lives in combat such as Charles and Jerome, not to mention Andares, were always the ones teaching her how better to stand and move. And then there was Malger who often joined them for their impromptu matches, sporting twin, slender blades with bright tassels affixed to their hilts. Those tassels did nothing but confuse and distract her.
Other than James who had only first learned a year past, all of them could make their weapons dance. But each had their own style that way too. Charles and Jerome were fast and hard, like the pounding of a thousand hammers in a smithy; even then, she knew the Sondeckis were holding back. Andares was stately and refined, precise in the way the stars moved in the sky, but no less devastating. But Malger was a true dancer, almost seductive in the way his body twisted and turned with each stroke of steel and flash of colourful thread. Even though he wore his pendant and his musteline body was hid behind the veil of a human illusion, she could see through to the marten and understood why so many dreamed girlish dreams for him.
But most of the time Malger was treating with Val, his named successor Regent Sicillan, the new Marquis du Tournemire, or any of the other nobles who had come at the call of the Archduke of Sutthaivasse. Philippe called on Charles and Jerome a few times to learn more of his late father who it seems had sent him to Whitestone shortly before he’d ventured into the Marzac swamps; they’d never spoken since. Charles wondered if perhaps in some way, the late Marquis hadn’t deliberately kept his son in Whitestone to keep him out of the affairs of Marzac. It was harder and harder to hate the man the more he dwelt on these truths.
And then there were the officious scribes sent by Malger to record the tale of their journey from Metamor to Marzac and of the defeat of that great evil. They did their best to retell their tale, omitting only events and descriptions of places that it seemed best to keep secret for now, such as the artifice of the secret stone markers in the Åelfwood, the ancient flying ship Nak-Tegehki, the location of Qorfuu, and what they could recall of the spells Yajakali had cast. The last must remain buried with him, on that they all agreed without hesitation. But the rest they told freely and in some detail as much as their tongues could stand and for as long as they could sit still. Neither of which proved to be very long.
Of them all, only Lindsey did not appear to tire of their confinement. The kangaroo spent most of her time cloistered in their rooms, eyes withdrawn and manner indifferent. She always joined them for their meals, but she often left after finishing and spoke little to the rest of them. It was painful to see, but they knew her pain had to be great. She had lost the man she had loved deeply but whom the curses of Metamor had prevented her from having. And now she was a female kangaroo to match him, and he was dead and lost to her. This was a grief that Lindsey appeared to prefer to face alone, and so they left her to it.
Three days after the Whalish fleet had returned south, news came to them that a vessel was ready for the long journey north along the Sathmoran coast. A Sutthaivasse crew and one of their faster carracks waited for them at the wharves. Malger was still waiting for his vassals to arrive but seemed optimistic that he would be following them back to Metamor in no more than a month. Still, he seemed reluctant to part when the time finally came, and joined them in carriages down to the wharves.
Guernef because of his size refused to try fitting into a carriage again so he took to the air with promises to meet them once the ship cleared the wharves. The rest crowded into a single carriage, their refurbished gear stowed into the travel packs and stored in the carriage rear. Malger smoothed out his fine breeches as he sat. “Well, soon you will be on your way home again. I apologize for keeping you here so long But it couldn’t be helped.”
“We understand,” Kayla assured him with a warm smile. Her long monochromatic tail twitched behind her head. “It’s been a long hard road for all of us. And not all of will be even be home when we reach Metamor.”
“Though,” Charles said, casting a quick glance at Jerome, “you are all welcome to stay at Metamor. It won’t be the same not always seeing each other’s faces every day.”
“We shall decide later such things,” Andares said in a firm tone. “For now it is enough to think of the journey before us. Who will be our captain?”
“A seasoned veteran. Benito Aldanto. He captained one of my carracks in the battle against Marzac’s forces and rather distinguished himself. I’m told he cut the head off of a Merai who foolishly attempted to drag his first mate overboard. And that with a single stroke. He has made the journey north before and,” he added with a smile, “this will not be the first time he has seen Metamorians.”
“Has he been to Metamor before?”
“Once a few years ago as part of a trade mission. He has orders to see you all the way to Metamor. He will deliver letters from myself and from Regent Sicillan to Duke Thomas. I want to see our cities be allies no matter the distance that separates us.”
“Good,” Charles said with a firm nod. “Metamor needs all the allies she can find!”
“Indeed,” Malger agreed. “And there is one other who will be accompanying you to Metamor. Once Captain of the Iron King, he was taken by the taint of Marzac but has now been freed. He wishes to go to Metamor to seek his brother who he’d thought slain. His name is Darius Egland.”
Charles’s eyes widened. “His brother is Sir Yacoub Egland? Did you tell Darius what has become of his brother?”
Malger nodded. “He took it fairly well, but now insists that he must see his brother for himself to bring word back to his family that their youngest son is not dead as they’d all thought. He will return with Captain Aldanto, but for a time he shall journey with you. Charles, as you know Sir Egland, could you bring Darius to his brother?”
The rat squirmed in his chair, one paw reflexively cupping the vine which now curled over his chest. “I had hoped to find my wife and children first. But I suppose I can, or at least, lead him to Sir Egland’s home. I don’t suppose anyone else knows the elk knight?”
“Only by reputation,” Kayla admitted. The rest shook their heads.
“Then I will do it,” Charles acquiesced with a sigh.
“You’ll see them soon enough,” Jessica cawed in a gentle voice. She draped one wing over the rat’s shoulder. “We’ll make sure of that.”
Charles smiled and patted her long black feathers. “Thank you, Jessica.”
The carriage rattled on along the terrazzo streets until they reached the wharves. After Malger’s announcements, he quickly told them of the remaining compliment of their crew and what time they could expect to make. With luck they would reach Ellcaran in three weeks time, and another two week’s journey would bring them to Metamor. If they were truly fortune and the ice hadn’t closed the northern wharves, they could reach Menth and shave a few days off their voyage. Either way, they would likely see Metamor by the middle of February.
After what seemed an interminable number of minutes, the carriage came to a stop and Malger was forced to bid them farewell. As before with Phil, there were many hugs and promises made, although all knew that they would likely see Malger returned to Metamor in the months ahead. This tempered their displays, but they were no less genuine.
The carrack was a sizable craft with two dozen oar locks and sailing masts fore and centre. The aft castle was raised to accommodate passengers, and as quickly as they could, they all fled beneath where they wouldn’t be seen by inquisitive city-dwellers who’d followed their carriages out to the wharves. Captain Aldanto proved to be a stout, bow-legged man with deep black hair turning white around his ears. He promised he would speak with them more once they were underway, then proceeded to shout orders to the rest of the crew.
Their belongings were brought on board after them, and as they divided up the guest rooms between men and women again, they felt the ship groan against the water. Through the narrow portholes they could see the city slowly shifting away. A few moments later a loud thump resounded above them.
Abafouq laughed when they heard the startled shouts of sailors and the shouting of the captain. “Guernef has landed.” The Binoq rubbed his hands together and sighed. “Another stage of our journey is over. Onward to Metamor. I hope the seas stay calm. I’m eager to be off these waterborne nightmares!”
“We’ll all be home soon,” Charles murmured softly as they settled down one-by-one to endure the long weeks until they saw the spires of Metamor. “We’ll all be home soon.” With a long sigh, they watched Sutthaivasse continue its long slide to the south, the floor shifting beneath them as the waves glided with the carrack to the north.
The child was growing. Lindsey could feel it not only swell her pouch, but he exhibited a definite shape now too. She could feel the outline of his spine growing in a downward turning lune from one side of the pouch to the other, head and tail. She instinctively knew his head was on the right. It was connected there, drawing nourishment from her body.
And talking to her. More and more now. She spent more time talking with her unborn child than she did with her companions. But they didn’t understand and wouldn’t like it if they knew. After a week in Sutthaivasse, and now two days at sea again, she already knew that she didn’t want any of them near her anymore.
It should just be her and the child.
Yes.
She shivered with delight, her fur standing on edge in eager anticipation. The affirmation from the child, Zhypar’s child, was like sweet nectar on her tongue. She ran her paws over her pouch and smiled. The lump within stirred against her paws. “I will keep you safe,” she whispered with nearly shut snout.
All the way to Metamor.
“Is that where you’ll be born?”
Yes.
“Zhypar would like that.”
Yes.
Lindsey smiled, ears, folded back in her cramped bed. The ship rocked gently in the waves. The others were undoubtedly topside trying to make themselves useful. Good. They should stay up there and away from her and her child. Only a few weeks more though and they would be in Metamor. She knew the forests very well. It would be no trouble to slip amongst them to have her child in secret.
Until then, she would keep her pouch concealed from their eyes. Her gaze fell on the trousers she’d tossed in a pile on the floor. She’d have to wear them when the others were around. Her child was growing so fast, surely they’d notice soon.
They will. You must hide me.
“I will.” Lindsey gently patted her child inside her pouch. “I promise.”
Yes.
“I love you my child.”
Yes.
Lindsey’s tail twitched, her body shivering with a cool delight.
The Pyralian sailors were at first disturbed by the presence of Keepers on board the Racasse, but Captain Aldanto silenced all grumbling with promises of extra shifts on the oars for any who even suggested violence against their guests. The Keepers brought good will to themselves when Charles, Jerome, Andares and James all volunteered for shifts on the oars. None would sit beside any of them, even the human Jerome, but their sneers and frightened glances turn to looks of admiration and gratitude as the hours wore on and the day turned to a week.
The Keepers were all surprised when after several days on the oars, Andares’s hands showed no sign of callusing, where the others all found them growing even thicker and harder than before.
Of the others, Jessica spent her time watching from the crow’s nest, while Kayla and Abafouq pored over maps with Aldanto and Darius Egland. Guernef usually paced them high in the sky, claiming that the cool air would help mend his pierced thigh. Lindsey kept to herself and spoke little, rarely ever even leaving the room she shared with the other two women.
So it was that Charles overheard her on the afternoon of the third week. The rat, stepping as soundlessly as ever, was intent on retrieving Jerome’s scarf to help keep his neck cool. A bitter wind blew out of the north, promising ice and snow in the days ahead. The others were all protected but for his fellow Sondeckis who had thought the exertion alone would suffice. It had for most of the day, but now as the sun set, the chill grew worse. And even though Jerome hadn’t said anything, Charles knew him too well, and so had excused himself to reclaim the scarf he’d acquired in Sutthaivasse.
Only he stopped, ears turned to the other oil-slicked door across from his. He recognized Lindsey’s voice immediately, but he couldn’t quite discern who she was talking to.
“Why would they want to harm you?”
Charles’s whiskers drooped and he took a step closer, resting his ear against the jamb. But he only heard Lindsey speak.
“I will keep you safe. I won’t let them hurt you. You are mine.”
A brief pause, in which the rat risked sniffing, but he could only smell the salt of the sea and the earthy flavour of kangaroo, and the fainter musks of his friends and the captain.
But Lindsey’s voice came again, sounding almost subservient. “Zhypar gave you to me. I am yours.”
This was very odd. Charles felt an urge to knock on the door and see what was amiss. But that would be rude. He resumed walking, his original errand all but forgotten. He knocked lightly on the captain’s door, and at his voice, stepped through. Kalya and Abafouq were there as he expected, while Captain Aldanto squatted on a three-legged stool with his chin in his hands and elbows on the table. Darius Egland stood at his side scratching his chin thoughtfully. Between them stretched a map of the coastline ringing the Sea of Stars decorated with little wooden markers for the Racasse and what they supposed to be the iceline chocking the northern harbours.
“Ah, Charles,” Abafouq said with warm delight. “How are you enjoying the life of an oarsman today?”
“Invigorating,” the rat replied honestly. “I just needed to speak with Kayla about something.”
The skunk smiled and stepped away from the table. “What is it, Charles?”
He trusted Abafouq, but the little Binoq might not have seen anything odd in Lindsey. Only Kayla or Jessica might have seen them, and Kayla was closer at hand. He beckoned her toward a corner of the room. Abafouq, Darius, and Aldanto took their meaning and spoke loudly what the day’s weather meant for the remainder of their voyage.
Kayla’s smile had turned into a worried frown. “Is something wrong?”
“I just passed Lindsey’s room and she was talking to somebody. Only I don’t think there was anybody else in the room with her. Have you seen her do anything odd?”
The skunk’s frown deepened. “She hasn’t wanted to spend any time with any of us lately. I’ve been starting to worry about her. But just talking to herself? There must be something else, Charles. What did she say?”
“Who or whatever she was talking to, she seemed to think it would come to harm, and that she was going to protect it. It belongs to her, and she to it. And that Zhypar gave it to her.” Charles narrowed his eyes as he struggled to explain the momentary horror of it all. “It was just so odd, and the way she spoke, it was so different from her. I’ve never heard her like that. Ever.”
Kayla’s tail lashed back and forth the way it always did when she was concentrating on a particularly difficult move in a game. “That does sound odd. I hope she’s okay. I’ll check on her in a little bit and see if she’s okay. The only thing I can think of that Zhypar gave her were the letters. Oh my! I’d completely forgotten about them!”
“I had too. I think she still has them. We should find out what he wrote us. With all the care he spent in them, it must have been important.”
“Indeed. I’ll ask her. You go back to the oars.”
Charles smiled and patted the skunk on the arm. “Thank you, Kayla.”
“Thank you for telling me. I hope she’s okay.”
“She will be. She just needs to know we’re all here for her. Maybe reading Zhypar’s words to her could help.” The vine at his chest tightened in agreement.
Lindsey lay sprawled on the bed, her paws rubbing over the hefty weight filling her pouch. Her child grew so fast, drawing nourishment from her body. It was the only reason she would join the others now, to go and partake food that she might pass as much sustenance on as she could. The child assured her that they were not to otherwise be trusted. And how could they? They hadn’t experienced what she had. They would hurt the child if they could.
Yes.
But not while Lindsey still drew breath. She gently pet the form inside her pouch, a smile breaking her muzzle. “My little one. I love you.”
Yes.
“I will keep you safe.”
Yes.
“I will — wait!” The last was shouted toward the door. Someone was lifting the latch.
Lindsey quickly threw the blanket over her body and rolled onto her side, long tail poking out the side of the bed. It would hide the child growing inside her pouch from foul eyes. And something foul did indeed step through the doorway, her black and white snout creeping in like a spy. The eyes noted her, and the smile seemed a predators. “Oh, Lindsey. I didn’t mean to wake you. Are you all right?”
Do not let her come close to me!
“I’m fine,” she replied as briefly as she could. “What do you want?”
“I just thought I’d come and see how you were,” Kayla replied as she crossed the room. Lindsey shifted back in the bed, eyes wide. The skunk stopped and shut the door, then sat down on her bed, coming no closer. Her paws rested on the hilts of her swords. “You’ve been keeping yourself a secret in here all this time, and I’m starting to worry about you.”
“Please don’t,” Lindsey said, her voice strained. “I’m fine.”
Kayla frowned, leaning closer. “Is there anyone else here?”
She suspects! She’s come to kill me!
Lindsey’s ears laid back and she shook her head. “No! There’s nobody else here!”
Kayla shifted on the bed, her paws tightening about the hilts. “But I heard you talking to somebody before I came in.”
“No, you... I...” Lindsey lowered her eyes and sighed. “I was talking to Zhypar.” A tear perched in the corner of one eye, ready to stain her cheek fur.
“You miss him terribly don’t you.”
“Aye. I loved him, Kayla. I loved him so dearly.” Kayla moved to lean closer, but the kangaroo held out a paw. “Please don’t! I just need to face this by myself. When... when we return to Metamor, I think I’ll be ready. Just... just not yet.”
Kayla sighed and leaned back. “All right, Lindsey. But please don’t push us all away. We’re your friends and want to help.”
She lies!
Lindsey grunted and shook her head. “You can’t help me with this.”
The skunk’s tail drooped, but still she held the blades. “I want to, Lindsey. But maybe you’re right. There is one thing. The letters.”
“The letters?” Lindsey felt the child kick in her pouch.
“Zhypar’s letters. You saved them for us. I was hoping we might be able to read them this evening. The others will finish with their shifts on the oars soon. Do you think you could retrieve them for us? It might help. We could all use his foresight now.”
Lindsey had completely forgotten about Zhypar’s letters. How jealously she’d guarded them against all the elements after their escape from Marzac, but since then, they had slipped away like sand through her fingers. Still they lingered in her pack, unopened and unread. Just to see the letters drawn by his paws would be a great relief.
Do not share them!
“I’ll.. I’ll see if I can find them,” Lindsey replied, trying to smile to Kayla through her confusion. The skunk appeared to accept the word as she rose and turned for the door. “I’ll bring them out when I do.”
“Thank you, Lindsey,” Kayla said, her smile too broad for the kangaroo. “We’ll be waiting for you.” She mercifully shut the door behind her.
Lindsey waited for the skunk’s footfalls to vanish down the corridor, and then in a low whisper she said to her pouch, “What is wrong with the letters?”
Until I have come, it is not safe to see them.
Lindsey felt more confused than ever before. “But they’re from Zhypar. He meant for us to read them.”
Yes. But not yet.
“I don’t understand.”
Yes. Trust me. No one else.
“How can there be any harm in reading his words?”
Trust me. No one else.
Lindsey lay her head back on the pillow and sighed. “Yes, my child.”
If they come for the letters, destroy them.
Her heart ached at the thought of destroying any gift from Zhypar, but the child was the most precious. Did she really have any other choice but to do as the child asked? She would have to obey. She belonged to the child.
Yes.
“I will obey.”
Yes.
“I belong to you.”
Yes.
Lindsey lowered her head into her paws and shook with misery over her lost Zhypar.
Prepare a fire.
Still shaking, the kangaroo slid from the bed and proceeded to do as she was ordered. The child in her pouch quivered in need.
“So what did she say?” Charles asked when he and the others left the oarlocks to the Pyralians. An orange sun strived to kiss the western sea, its august light filling the sky with clouds the hue of freshly baked bread. Jessica landed next to them, stretching her wings as she became human-sized again. Behind them the drummer kept a steady beat for the sailors, and the oars ground away, chopping the waves as they lapped the Racasse.
Kayla took a deep breath, paws on her blades and shook her head. “Zhypar’s death has hurt her badly. I don’t think she can accept it yet. Just asking her about the letters upset her. But she did say she’ll look for them.”
James rubbed one hand down his mane, sea spray dripping down his arm. “Letters? Oh those. I’d forgotten about them.”
The rat blinked and frowned, one paw curling around the vine on his chest. “Did anyone remember them?” His question was met by headshakes and blank stares. “That can’t be good,” the rat mused darkly. “The last time everyone forgot something it was because of a great evil.”
“But that was a magical hyacinth,” Jessica pointed out as she folded her wings behind her back. The black hawk’s golden eyes bore into the rat. “And Marzac has been defeated.”
“True,” Charles admitted. “But that doesn’t mean it isn’t suspicious.”
“Do you think some magical spell was cast on them?” James asked, ears upraised in sudden alarm.
The rat shrugged, but his paws stayed wrapped about the vine which now curled up to the back of his neck. “I don’t know, but it is possible. We were surrounded by magic down there. Who can say what artifacts it has left on us!”
Andares nodded his head sagely, pointed ears hidden finally emerging through his long dark hair after a day spent rowing. “It is true. We cannot be certain that some stain has not been placed on us. If none of us could recall the existence of Habakkuk’s letters, then we should all be wary of magical mischief.”
“I will use mage sight,” Jessica said. “But if there is something to fear, we shouldn’t delay.”
“What of Abafouq and Guernef?” James asked.
“Guernef is still flying. He lands when he lands,” Jerome pointed to the sky, but the white gryphon was nowhere to be seen. “And Abafouq is probably still debating routes with our two good captains. Fetch him if you like.”
“I think Jessica and Kayla should go in first,” Charles suggested in a soft voice. “If all of us enter, Lindsey might feel threatened. We want her to open up, not lash out like a cornered animal.”
“Right,” his fellow Sondecki admitted. “You two go in first. We’ll hold back until you call.”
The skunk clearly looked uncomfortable with the way the conversation had led. Her tail flashed back and forth, and she had the dragon swords a few inches from their scabbards. “I’ll go in first. She’s expecting me.”
“I’ll follow you in. It looks like she’s built a fire.” The hawk gestured with a nod of her head to the plume of smoke rising from just behind the starboard gunwale.
“It is cold,” Jerome muttered. He pulled the scarf tighter around his neck.
They exchanged a few more quick words, then Kayla and Jessica entered the central passage beneath the aft castle with the others following discreetly behind. Kayla knocked on their door and called out, “Lindsey? It’s Kayla. Jessica and I are coming in.” She opened the door and saw the kangaroo crouched with tail pressed to the deck warming her forepaws by the fire. The small stove in the corner was just big enough to steam a single pot, and a rich blaze burned within. She wore very baggy trousers that hung about her middle. Between her legs was a satchel.
Kayla smiled and came within six paces of the kangaroo, paws wrapped about her swords. The warmth of the fire greeted her. Lindsey’s eyes were iridescent with the flames as if hypnotised. “Oh that is quite warm, Lindsey! It feels very nice. Are you feeling any better?”
“I’m really not ready to talk, Kayla,” Lindsey said, her voice strained as if she bore an incredible weight. “Please don’t ask for anything.”
Kayla sucked in her breath. “I’m sorry, but I do have to ask... are those Zhypar’s letters? We are hoping to read them. Everyone is eager to see what he had to say.”
“I... can’t...” Lindsey cried, agonized and forced. She put one paw on her middle. “Please don’t ask that. Please, my... don’t.”
“Lindsey?” Kayla asked, her heart beginning to flutter in fear. The kangaroo leaned back on her tail and put her free paw in the satchel.
Jessica squawked in alarm. “By the gods! Stop her!”
Lindsey yanked out an armful of sealed letters and threw them into the fire, tears streaming from her eyes and a mournful cry ripping her tongue. Kayla jumped forward, intent on grappling her to the side, but took her paws from the swords a moment too late and merely bumped into her back and bounced off. Lindsey lifted one foot and gave the skunk a firm kick with the heel. Uncut, Kayla still flew across the room and slammed into the wall, her back a million lances of pain.
Charles and Jerome rushed into the room a second later as Lindsey tossed the rest of the letters into the fire. Jerome grabbed the kangaroo about the middle of the back and lifted her off the ground. She shrieked, kicking and gouging her claws into the ceiling. Charles’s flesh turned grey as the deck groaned under his granite weight. He thrust his arms into the fire and yanked out the burnt letters. He took a handful of sand from the bucket next to the hearth and dashed it across the letters, extinguishing the last of the flames and embers. Dust and ash gathered around his legs and tail.
“There’s something in her!” Jessica shouted as Andares helped the Sondecki restrain their companion. James and Abafouq rushed in a moment later, the latter’s face ashen as he searched through his leather pouch for some spell component. “Something black and evil like we saw in Marzac! Beneath her trousers.”
Andares slid his ivory-handled blade down one leg of the trousers, and then cut outwards. The fabric split in two and was easily yanked free. Something stirred beneath the skin near her waist. A large lump squirmed back and forth like a toad in the mud. Lindsey’s eyes were frantic and she kicked at the ceiling with both legs. Jerome gasped and fell to his knees, one arm sagging.
“She just dislocated my shoulder!” The Sondecki cried as his grip failed and Lindsey slipped free. Cradling his wounded arm, Jerome crawled out of the way, while Andares kept his sword trained on her with slackened face. James joined him a moment later, though his eyes were more confused than determined.
“You will not hurt us!” Lindsey screamed, voice hoarse. She had no weapons but her claws and feet and she backed away from them until her tail bumped into the corner of the room. “You will not hurt us!”
“That thing inside of you is evil,” Andares said levelly. “It must be destroyed.”
“No!”
Kayla, still stunned, managed to stand up with Abafouq’s help. The Binoq blew some powder into her face, and after snuffling at the acrid scent, discovered the pain rippling her back was no more. And though she was still unsteady on her feet, her mind worked fast enough. “It’s a child! She conceived it on the Dais.”
“He says you’ll kill us both! Please! He’s Zhypar’s son!”
“He’s Marzac’s child,” Andares declared without a trace of doubt. “It is altogether evil.”
“He wants me to... to...” Lindsey stopped, shaking with a fury they had never seen even when she’d been a man.
“Hold a moment!” Charles shouted, picking up one of the letters. “This letter was meant for you, Lindsey. It’s from Habakkuk. He calls you his one and only love. Much of it has been destroyed, but that remains. And these lines: ‘If you should conceive, my Lhindesaeg, whatever grows in your pouch must be destroyed. This is the most horrible thing I have ever had to write, for I have only ever wished to have a child by you, my Lhindesaeg. But this cannot be, for it is my greatest temptation as it is yours.’” Charles held out the burned letter. “See it for yourself.”
Lindsey’s eyes glanced quickly at the sheet, and then were dragged away. The thing in her pouch shrank back against her flesh as if pushing inside her. Her wail was a thing to mar glass. “No, you lie!”
“It’s his own hand,” Charles insisted. “You know it well. Just look at it and read!”
Lindsey’s paws fell to the pouch and grabbed at whatever seethed within. Her snout turned to the letter, ears pressed back, fur trembling as if set afire. Eyes passed over the text, and then shut tight. She wailed.
And then to their surprise, she jammed her paws inside her pouch and pulled. Something dark bubbled up across the fleshy line in her mid-section. The figure beneath the skin struggled with the fury of an insect. Lindsey yanked and the black ichorous mass spilled forth, a head shaped in the manner of a kangaroo emerged, fiery eyes opened with hate. A vicious howl escaped its throat as its skin glistened and coagulated as slick and as thick as corroded oil.
“By Eli!” James swore as he fell to his knees and began to retch.
The monster’s arms came free next, and they grasped at Lindsey’s fur, soiling it with its foul mucus. Lindsey’s paws appeared charred as if she’d thrust them into the fire. “Zhypar forgive me!” She screamed, eyes closed and dripping tears. She gave one final pull and the creature came free, legs and tail, much like a young kangaroo would be. Only this one was black and coated in a slime that seemed to bubble from within its body before being sucked back in. Lindsey cast it to the ground and the wood sizzled where it struck.
The creature spat foul words in a language none of them could understand as it crawled toward Lindsey and the half-open pouch still dripping the same ooze. It was stopped short when Andares’s sword shore it in two. And then three. And four. And several more pieces each smaller and smaller until there was nothing left that moved. While not all the insides were dark, the blood was as black and as foul as its skin.
“What in all the hells was that!” Kayla asked, tail stiff, her body ready to spray.
“It looked like what we saw in Marzac,” Jessica said, her eyes still peering into the magical weave that surrounded and flowed through them. She looked at Lindsey, and then gasped. “Lindsey!”
The red-furred kangaroo collapsed into the corner, her body trembling and then sliding against itself. Her chest filled out and broadened as her arms thickened, the fur absorbed back into the skin. Her ears and muzzle shrank as her cheeks widened. Her tail dwindled into nothing, and her legs tightened and stretched until they were human. The red of her fur bled back into long braids of hair on head, chin, and cheek. Where once had been a kangaroo now lay the once familiar man naked and quivering. He took one look at himself and began sobbing anew.
“The Marquis’s spell...” Jessica said, shaking her head, a quaver of awe mixed into her fear, “I saw it!”
“What spell?” Jerome asked as he massaged his wounded shoulder.
“The one that made Lindsey a kangaroo. He didn’t change the Curse, he just overlaid it. His spell just melted off Lindsey.”
Charles draped a blanket over Lindsey’s shoulders, and then stepped back to collect what remained of the letters. Lindsey said nothing, but did hug the blanket close. Captain Aldanto stuck his head in the door, face livid. “What by Eli are you doing to my ship?”
Jessica turned and spread her wings. “There’s nothing to fear now, Captain. We’ll tell you later when we can. For now please leave.”
Aldanto glowered at her, but the hawk’s stare was the more intimidating. After several seconds, Aldanto turned and left cursing under his breath. He shut the door behind him.
“Well, now what?” Jerome grunted. He slammed his shoulder into the wall and gasped in pain.
Charles, still stone, sorted through the letters, pieces crumbling off despite his careful touch. “The letters are ruined, but I think I can identify who they were meant for. Is everyone all right?”
Kayla nodded as she stepped around the bedpost. “A little stunned but I’m all right.” And then she looked at Lindsey and tears came to her eyes too. “Oh, no...” She crept closer, falling to her knees, cheek fur beginning to stain. “Lindsey?”
Lindsey lifted his face, and reached out one arm toward her. The two hugged, crying. The Keepers clustered around to lend what comfort they could, but all kept clear of the black mess still marring the floor. Abafouq sprinkled several powders over it that sizzled like incense. It may be dead, but it was still evil.
Later that night, Captain Aldanto lent them a steel canister which they carefully filled with the remains of the Marzac-spawn. They used a wooden spoon and small knife to scoop and scrape the remains off the floor, and once done, these too were tossed into the canister. Abafouq sprinkled more powders inside, and then they sealed it with locks both mundane and magical. Guernef was employed to fly it further out over the sea and drop it where it would never be found again.
Charles distributed the letters as best he could, but the fire had done so much damage that most of them revealed only a few words. The only things discernable on the rat’s were his name, the name of their host in Sutthaivasse, and an unspecified loss. Of the rest, only Jessica and Andares’s letters had one or more complete sentences.
Andares frowned as he read his aloud. “ ‘Your sword has been of inestimable use in our journeys, and will strike down an evil that seeks to destroy she whom I love. But it is also something that must be passed on to another. You will instead take up...’ and there it breaks off. I can make nothing further out.”
Kayla glanced at the Binoq who was turning his letter upside-down. “Surely there must be some way we can bring the letters back.”
“Even in the hands of a clever alchemist I do not think you could bring these letters back,” the Binoq admitted with a moue souring his face. “The fire has truly destroyed them. I have only a few scattered words left on mine, and they make no sense that I can tell!”
Jessica glanced at Lindsey who sat still wrapped in the blanket, but whose tears had ceased. “I see only this sentence, ‘Do always what the one you love asks of you.’ The rest is obscured.”
“All this care,” Charles said as he carefully folded his letter, “and yet I wonder if Zhypar knew the letters would be burned anyway. Is that why he took such pains in writing them? Perhaps he wanted what was left to be enough to instruct us in whatever it is he saw coming.”
“He didn’t see everything,” Lindsey murmured in gruff, but empty tones. “He wrote letters for himself and Qan-af-årael too. He didn’t know until it was too late which of us would survive. But still... he knew to warn me.” Lindsey’s eyes strayed to the carpet they’d used to cover the burn marks the monster had left in the floor. “I was ready to kill you all.”
“Why didn’t you?” Kayla asked, her voice soft and gentle.
“Because of Habakkuk’s words. It’s all I have left of him now. I wanted to believe the chi... thing. But it wanted me to destroy all I had left of Habakkuk. Once you read the letter, Charles, I knew the words were his. I didn’t have to see them. I knew. His letters were his way of reaching beyond the grave to save me again.” Lindsey took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “And that’s when I knew it wanted me to hurt my only friends left in the world. That’s when I understood that it was not my child. It was... evil.”
“We who went into Marzac and left may still have horrors to confront,” Andares mused quietly. “We should be watchful. Of ourselves and each other.”
“I agree,” Abafouq added. “None of us should let ourselves be alone for long. If we feel a need to withdraw, let us remember this and seek each other. If there are any other evils we have carried back with us, we should destroy them together.”
“Let it be a pact between us,” Charles suggested. “Even if we must go our separate ways.”
“I’ll agree to that,” Lindsey was the first to offer his hand.
“And Guernef will too when he returns,” Abafouq agreed. He clasped hands with Lindsey. “Let us all be together in this for a little while longer.”
“Hear, hear!” Charles put his paw down, then James, Kayla, Andares, Jerome, and Jessica. And for that moment their eyes locked, they each felt in their heart the great misery that Lindsey knew. Without Habakkuk or Qan-af-årael, they were so much the weaker. And they always would be.
“A drink then,” Lindsey suggested. “To seal our pact.”
“Captain Aldanto has a decent selection,” Abafouq added with a half-smile.
“Then tonight we shall dip into it,” Charles declared, rising to his paws. “I’ll go get some. I’m thirsty too.” The vine tightened briefly about his chest.