The Myatheira Chronicles: Volume Two: Beyond the Veil (50 page)

Releasing his arrow, Callum watched it soar through the air, landing uselessly amongst the others already lodged in the thick hide. “Let me worry about that,” he frowned. “You focus on getting Edric and Aiva onto one of the boats.”

Panic coursed through her at the thought of leaving Callum behind. He would die there. Even if the divastru lost interest before the ship sank, it would inevitably wind up at the bottom of the sea. She couldn’t bear to think of leaving Callum to such a fate. “What do you intend to do?” she asked frantically. “You’re going to come with us, right? There has to be some way to distract it from a distance without anyone having to stay behind.”

“I’ll take a lifeboat and head in the opposite direction from the rest. If I make enough commotion, it will lure the creature toward me so you and Edric can get away.” Rising fluidly to his feet Callum started to make his way to starboard, preparing another arrow just as the tail swung overhead, forcing them back to the ground. “Go with your brother and follow Gadiel. He will show you where the boats are. We don’t have much time.”

“Callum, you can’t do this,”

“I am the Captain. It’s my duty to protect your family and my men.”

“But you will die!” Aiva stared at him in horror. She didn’t understand. Why did he have to insist on doing something so crazy? There had to be another way. Something that wouldn’t involve sacrificing his life.

Turning to face Aiva, Callum’s eyes burned into hers. She could see the uncertainty there. His discontent at the thought of what he was about to do. Still he refused to change his mind. He was stubborn. It was an admirable trait while yet foolish. “If death comes to me, it serves to make things easier for you upon reaching Tanispa, doesn’t it?”

Her heart seemed to cease its rampant beating in her chest. As if Callum fired an arrow through it at close-range. She watched him running away from her, leaving her to Gadiel’s hands trying to pull her to her feet. No. She couldn’t let him go. She couldn’t allow him to do this. But what could she do? Gadiel would never let her go with Callum. He knew it was suicide. So why did he let Callum go? Why would he let Callum do something like this?

“I’m fine, Gadiel,” she snapped, yanking free of his hands. “Find Edric. I will stay here and we can go to the boats together.”

With a sharp nod Gadiel moved toward the cabin where Aiva had left Edric. He gave no question of her intent. Although going was what her head told her to do, her heart was calling her elsewhere. She couldn’t go with the others in the lifeboats. There was more for her to do here.

Waiting until Gadiel’s attention was diverted, she scrambled quickly along the rail, finding her way up the stairs to the quarterdeck in hopes of getting a better look along the ship. Callum had to be somewhere. She needed to get to him before he lowered a boat into the water. Maybe she could talk some sense into him. The crew needed their Captain. Someone else could act as a diversion. But arguing with him would be pointless. He was the Captain. And that was exactly why he would never let her sway his decision. The men would have Edric and Commander Varik to issue directives in his absence. They would be taken care of. She just couldn’t accept it. She
refused
to accept it.

Clinging desperately to the railing, Aiva felt the ship pushed hard to port side, nearly losing her grip on the slippery wood. She cried out at the realization that there was already a boat in the water below. “Callum!” she shouted wildly. He couldn’t hear her. She watched him quickly rowing the boat away, leaving space between himself and the ship. From somewhere on the main deck voices called to her. Edric. He and Gadiel were coming.

Her legs and arms moved of their own accord, pulling her up onto the railing, balancing precariously along the edge. The shouts were becoming more frantic. It was now or never. She had no inkling of what she intended to do once in the water. All she knew was that she couldn’t stay on the ship. If she allowed the others to get to her, they would take her away, and Callum would be lost to the sea forever. Closing her eyes she drew in a deep breath, preparing herself for the plunge into the frigid water. It was like a dream. The way the cool air rushed along her skin as she plummeted from above. The weightlessness in that brief moment where she almost seemed to fly. When she hit the water it was a painful reminder that everything was very real. It struck her like thousands of tiny knives piercing her skin, freezing her immediately to the core. What was she thinking? This was insanity. She had completely lost her mind.

Yet she knew she hadn’t. Her goal was clear. And that goal was still rowing hastily, unaware of Aiva’s floundering form splashing in the water. The shock of the situation was beginning to set in. The frozen water creating pinpricks of pain along her arms and legs.
Stop panicking. If you make too much noise, the beast will come for you.

Heeding her own warnings she ceased her struggle. She could think her way through this. Pieces of the ship were lying broken, scattered throughout the water. Any large portion would do to act as a means of floatation until she could get to Callum. Pushing her soaked hair out of her face she scanned the area for something suitable. She treaded water, slowly inching her way toward a jagged piece of the ship exterior floating not far away. Gripping it with all the strength she could muster, Aiva pulled herself onto it, lying still to avoid drawing attention to her location from the creature. Edric’s shouts were growing faint.
Go with Gadiel
, she urged him silently.
Get on the boats and go save Shaelyn
. If they didn’t get on the lifeboats soon, Callum’s distraction wouldn’t be enough to keep the divastru away.

From her vantage in the water, Aiva watched in horrified-awe at the massive creature wrapping itself around the ship. It was incredible to behold. Tentacles clasped the sides like colossal hands. Squeezing it. Crushing it under the strength of its body. The ear-splitting shriek of the monster filled the air around her. A victory call. Aiva could only hope that the others had made it onto the lifeboats. She couldn’t see from where she was if the boats were in the water. All she knew was that the deck was silent. No longer filled with Edric’s desperate cries. Somehow she knew he was alive and safe. Gadiel was a brave soldier. He would see his Prince to safety no matter how much Edric might argue.

A bright flash of reddish light erupted from around the creature, engulfing its nose in the glow. Something about the light angered it, causing its head to crash backward into the water, slowly slipping away from where it held the ship. It was changing course. Seeking the new enemy that had disrupted it. Callum. She could see him now, a good distance away, standing in his boat with his bow drawn, arrow loaded, firing repeatedly into the water where the beast approached. In that moment she saw him, a noble soldier, sacrificing his life for the sake of his people. Refusing to stop fighting until the very end.

In a spray of water the divastru rose from the depths, towering above Callum, unaffected by his arrows. It twisted its head to the side, slamming into the boat with a terrifying crunch, Callum’s body soaring through the air. Clinging to the sides of her makeshift raft Aiva felt the tears streaming down her cheeks at the sight. Sickened. Her agonized cries echoed through the night air. No! No, this couldn’t be happening! Not again. Not Callum.

Rolling onto her back she clutched at her stomach. An overwhelming desire to retch came over her. What was she going to do? She couldn’t give up on Callum. But if he was dead, she would be lost as well. The lifeboats were too far away. She had to do something.

Overhead the stars were visible in the sky, twinkling brightly. Tiny flickers like burning candles in memory of the ancient kings and queens. The heroes of their people. Fallen soldiers. Kaemin was up there somewhere. Watching her. Did he weep with her? The thought of his friends dying there in the ice-cold water. “What do I do, Kaemin?” she whispered quietly into the darkness. “I don’t know what to do.”

The cold was excruciating. Her body was racked with shivers, trembling uncontrollably on the remains of the ship which now served as her only hope of survival. Gazing at the stars, she could swear she saw something flash. As if in response to her stricken pleas. It couldn’t be right. The cold was making her delusional. Yet there it was again. Pulsing brightly. In awe she reached toward it. If she closed her eyes, she felt certain she could touch the light. But no. She couldn’t let herself do that. Kaemin wouldn’t want her to do it. He would want her to keep going.

With renewed determination she turned back onto her stomach, listening intently to the water around her. It was quiet. Calm. Masking the true terrors that lay within. How long had she been lying there? It felt hours, though she knew it couldn’t have been so long. Behind her the remains of the ship were sinking into the blackened water. Over half submerged now. Battered. Destroyed. She could see the tattered fabric of the flag slowly disappearing under the surface. The Levadis crest would lie forever at the bottom of the sea. She was obstinate in that the crest would be the only part of her family that would find its home there. Steeling her resolve, she lowered her arms into the freezing water, inhaling sharply at the sensation. With careful strokes she floated along the surface, scouring the area for Callum’s body.

It was hard to see anything amongst the rubble. Several times she thought she’d found him, only to discover it to be nothing more than a large chunk of shattered wood. She refused to give up hope. He had to be there. He had to be!

Up ahead the light of the moon reflected across the still water. In the glow Aiva could see what looked to be the outline of a person slumped over something, floating gently along the surface. Her arms were becoming numb from the cold, harder to maneuver as she forced them to push her onward. With every stroke she could feel her heart flutter with excitement. It wasn’t just scrap like so many others had been. This was a person. A man. Bearing the colors of the Tanispan military upon his doublet.

Stiff and frozen, she slid off the support of the wood, flopping into the water with a loud splash. “Callum?” she whispered hesitantly. “Callum, can you hear me?”

He gave no answer. Swimming to his side she pressed her fingers against his neck in search of a pulse. He was ice-cold. Arms draped over a long section of what had at one time been part of the ship’s mast, keeping him afloat. She could sense a vague flow of energy still within his body. Alive. Barely. She needed to get him out of the water before they both froze to death. But where? She had no idea where they were. Land couldn’t be far, though based on their travel during the day, she knew it was at least a few miles. And without the sun to guide her, she would be swimming blindly into the night.

Afraid to move him, Aiva positioned her hands on either side of Callum’s still form, kicking her feet behind her to move them forward. The support was small enough for her to maneuver, but it wouldn’t provide her a way to get him out of the water.

Releasing her hold, she turned to seek out the wood that had kept her afloat for so long. She could see it move under her direction, hands settled on top of it, unable to feel it against her fingertips. Pulling it over to Callum, she grabbed onto his waist under the water, lifting his legs to position him on top, arms still dangled over the broken mast. It acted as a handle, allowing her to push Callum’s body forward without applying pressure to the thinner wood that supported his weight, keeping most of the water from touching his frozen skin. She would worry about herself later. There would be time to think about the lack of feeling in her fingers and toes once she had gotten them to dry land. She just had to pray that Irisus didn’t claim them first.

Aiva clung to consciousness by a mere thread. She couldn’t feel her legs. Callum remained motionless atop the ship debris. Through her foggy vision she saw something up ahead. It looked to be land but she didn’t dare hope. Pausing in the water, she hung onto the wood, focusing her energy in attempts to push it outward to provide a minimal amount of circulation through her numb limbs. It had been easy to accomplish at first, but her muscles were weak. Exhausted. The energy within her body could only do so much for so long before it would start to fail her. Without it she would have surely frozen to death by now. If she didn’t get to land soon, the same fate would find her despite the efforts she took in avoiding it.

The image was coming closer. A beach. Could it be? Had she found her way to Luquarr? There were no boats. No torches lit to guide sailors to the cities. Only a long stretch of darkened sand along the shore, lined by massive trees stretched high into the early morning sky, blocking out the remainder of the stars that hovered behind their reaches.

She thought she would weep tears of joy, feeling no moisture come to her eyes. Her face was numb. When she heard her voice cry out in relief at the sight of land, she didn’t recognize it as her own. It was cracked. Strained. Movement of her lips was impossible, the surface frozen and unfeeling. Swinging her body around she took to pulling the makeshift raft toward the shore, aware that her body was on solid ground, not able to sense where it was. Convinced that they were close enough, she tugged Callum’s hands from where they dangled limply over the broken mast, dragging him off the raft and onto the cool sand.