Zyrella descended from the foredeck and joined Captain Rohl, Sergeant Daras, Ohzikar, and Jaska. "They're following us."
The captain cursed. "Your wards did little good then."
"It's difficult to ward an entire ship without extensive preparations."
"And we did manage to get past them," Jaska said.
"Even if we outrun them," said Rohl, "they'll catch us in Port Ylclys."
Jaska stepped away from Zyrella who had come too close for his comfort. "So we won't go there. Instead, you can drop us off near to shore and get away as fast as you can. Then you'll sail abroad for two weeks before returning to pick us up in Ylclys."
Sergeant Daras said, "It sounds risky to me. Though better than going to port, I'll admit."
The captain asked, "Do you care what part of Vaalshimar we land on?"
"We don't know precisely where we're going," Zyrella said. "We're trying to reach the Farseer."
"According to all the tales I've heard," said Daras, "the witch lives in the center of the island."
Rohl agreed. "Well, if it doesn't matter, there's a hidden cove I can take you to. Reefs abound in that area and if you don't already know them, you can't go it at speed. I learned it from my father, and we used it many times when I was a boy. I even escaped from some raiders there about a decade ago. Not sure I could do it at night or in bad weather, though."
"I can guide you in poor visibility," Jaska said. "I'll be able to detect obstructions you can't see. Of course, our pursuers can do the same. But they'll still be slowed more than us by not knowing the waters or our destination."
"I might be able to summon a dense fog behind us to slow them down," Zyrella said. "But it won't take long for them to dispel it. I'm certain they have a sorcerer aboard."
"Did you get a look at any of them?" Jaska asked.
"Vaguely. Salahn isn't with them. I saw two males in charge." She described their size and what few features she had been able to make out.
"The one you think is a sorcerer sounds like Eholar to me. Possibly Adynarh with him. If so, we are facing the best operatives Salahn has."
"How many are aboard the ship?" Ohzikar asked through a yawn. He was tired and lacked the glow Zyrella carried this morning. Sex and rest had restored her.
"As many rowers and sailors as we have, plus fifty or so soldiers. And maybe fifty palymfar as well."
Sergeant Daras replied, "We can't survive five minutes against those odds."
"I suggest we maintain full speed as long as possible," Jaska said. "Zyrella and I will continue to monitor their progress."
After Jaska left to meditate, Zyrella pulled Ohzikar aside. "You're drained."
"Didn't sleep well, that's all."
"You're a terrible liar."
"I'm exhausted and melancholy as always. It will only get worse." He took her hands and looked into her face. Anguish welled within his dark-rimmed eyes. "I love you, Ella. And I do desire you, but a few more times is all I can offer. It seems the drain is greater the longer we're apart. This is the worst it's ever been after a single time."
"Do you remember how I once told you that I might be draining life-force from you?"
Ohzikar laughed. "I remember. It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."
"You truly think so?"
"Yes, the problem is with me."
"But look, I'm energized today, rejuvenated. It has always been this way. It's even more obvious this time because I was depleted beforehand."
"Well, if it restores your spirit, we'll continue. I'll persevere."
"I don't want that, Ohzi."
He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, then softly on the lips. Their tongues slipped together. They pulled away. Ohzikar glanced guiltily toward Jaska who was meditating on the aft deck.
"He knows," Zyrella said.
"Are you sure?"
"No, but there's something wrong in his body language when he's near us."
"Will he hold a grudge over it?"
"I don't think so. He doesn't want to desire me anymore than I want to have those feelings for him."
Ohzikar didn't like to hear about her desires for Jaska. Nevertheless, he asked, "When we were together, did you--"
"Don't ask me that, Ohzi. It's unfair."
"So you did?"
She scowled at him. "You're a stubborn man. Yes, but not much. Mostly I was lost in the experience with you."
Ohzikar relaxed, then realized how foolish he had been. "I'm sorry." She tilted her head in acceptance. "Should we be careful around Jaska?"
"I think it best not to make it obvious. His hold on sanity is tenuous at best. And we can never be sure what might put him over the edge."
~~~
Zhura and Avida hung in the clear sky above. As midnight approached, the
Spindrift Cloud
plowed through the choppy seas. The oarsmen worked hard after a short four-hour rest. Not a single one complained. The alternative was to allow the palymfar to catch up. The ship neared the coast of the large, mostly barren island of Vaalshimar. Flames leapt up from an iron brazier placed on the foredeck. Around it sat Jaska, Ohzikar, and Zyrella. The templar uttered a calming mantra, not of magic but of faith and comfort to support Zyrella. Jaska merely watched the Shadowland. The pursuing palymfar were not yet within sight.
Zyrella ventured in. This time she went not to observe but to kill. The plan was risky. Ohzikar didn't like it all, but that was only because it carried risk to her. Still, they had to do something. The faster palymfar ship would catch them as they neared the shore.
~~~
Eholar hid within the Shadowland and waited. As soon as the priestess arrived, Adynarh and five other palymfar would join him. They could bring more, but it was foolish for so many to enter the Shadowland at once in the same location. Nothing would draw hungry Zhura demons with more certainty. And sometimes, having so many of the living enter the Shadowland in one place could cause disturbances that would keep them there for all time. As a general rule, one never risked more than ten people at once.
The priestess appeared, her hazy form taking substance within the shadows. Eholar smiled and stalked toward her. "You have chosen a poor time to observe us, priestess." He swept his hand downward, cutting across his body. A wave of shimmering energy flew toward Zyrella.
Zyrella threw her hand out with her fingers locked into the crescent mudra of warding. The sorcerer's shockwave reached her and struck an invisible shield. Zyrella knew then that she was stronger. Eholar knew it, too. She saw it in the twitch of his lips, the widening of his eyes.
"You are more capable than I expected," said Eholar.
"Yes, and I'm here to kill you."
Eholar snapped his fingers. "How ironic. I'm here to kill you."
Adynarh and five other palymfar appeared behind him. Zyrella stepped back. She released the whitefire bolt she had planned to strike the sorcerer with and spoke the word of return. Nothing happened. She was trapped in the Shadowland.
"I am quite sorry, but to kill you it was necessary to keep you from fleeing. I am afraid I have also barred the way for others to enter this area. Jaska cannot help you now."
Eholar held his hands skyward and chanted. Two minor demons no bigger than wolves, with giant bat wings and taloned appendages, appeared above him. They were servants of Salahn and more than willing to obey. Adynarh and the palymfar rushed forward.
Zyrella didn't bother responding. Calmly, she raised her staff in both hands and called on all the power she could muster. As the demons neared her, she unleashed the power. A globe of whitefire enveloped Zyrella and blasted outward, blinding the two demons and forcing them back. The palymfar halted and shielded their eyes.
As Eholar turned, a saber whisked toward him and tore through his face. He died within two heartbeats, stunned and confused that his spell hadn't prevented Jaska's entry to the Shadowland.
Jaska wasted no time. He sprinted forward, lunged, and drove his saber through the back of the nearest palymfar. He pulled the blade free and with a flick of his other hand launched two throwing knives that pierced another palymfar in the neck, above his qavra choker. Both palymfar went down, their forms fading from the Shadowland.
Adynarh hesitated. Zyrella blasted whitefire from her staff and struck one of the shadow demons. The other circled her warily. Jaska wounded the first palymfar to reach him and dodged a set of thrown blades.
Eholar had disappeared, and Adynarh didn't think him the type to flee like a coward.
Jaska finished a third palymfar.
Adynarh had seen enough. "Retreat!" he yelled, hoping Eholar's blocking spell had quit when he died.
As Adynarh faded, Jaska hurled a blade toward him.
Adynarh's awareness returned to the regular world. Blood flowed from a wound on his forearm. Blood covered the deck around him. Most of it wasn't his. Three palymfar lay dead with opened wounds as real as those their spirits had suffered in the Shadowland. Eholar's skull was half-split. Palymfar didn't often show fear, but it flickered in the eyes of those seated with Adynarh and in the eyes of those who stood watching.
"Clean this mess up," Adynarh said to his second as he clenched the wound on his arm. "And catch us up to that ship. Quickly."
Eholar had been wrong. It had been a mistake to take them on in the Shadowland where they couldn't use their full advantage in numbers. Adynarh glared at Eholar's corpse. He didn't regret the sorcerer's end, but he still needed him. He scanned the sea. He couldn't yet see their target, though they closed on them.
What, he wondered, was Jaska up to? Why did he head for Vaalshimar's barren coast? Was it some sort of trap?
~~~
Zyrella leaned into Ohzikar's arms, exhausted. Jaska stood, gasping for breath. "Is she all right?"
"I think so," Ohzikar said. "Just exhausted. Was she injured?"
"Not that I could see, but she used potent sorceries."
"How many did you kill?"
"Four, including the sorcerer. Our ambush worked. They didn't detect me when I entered the Shadowland before Zyrella. Unfortunately, it didn't work as well as I had hoped."
"Have we slowed their ability to follow us at all?"
"Not by much since Zyrella won't be able to summon a fog cloud behind us now. Still, we decreased their numbers and we escaped. Do what you can for her. She's going to have to run when we get to shore."
~~~
After giving his post over to Ohzikar, Tieros Rowman stepped warily onto the aft deck to join Jaska, Zyrella, Sergeant Daras, Captain Rohl, and all the ship's officers. He bowed his head. "What can I do for you, Kharos?"
Jaska stepped forward and clasped Tieros on the shoulder. In his other hand, he held a set of papers. "Relax, my friend. You're not here to be punished."
Tieros released a deep breath.
"So what are our orders?" the captain asked.
"Sail wherever you will," Zyrella said, "but return to Port Ylclys in two weeks. Wait for us there. If we don't show or send word after two more weeks, do as the ship's new owner wills."
The captain gave her a confused look and turned to Jaska who grinned. "I am giving up ownership." He handed the papers to Tieros. "I hereby give my ownership to Tieros Rowman in good faith for the return payment of providing us passage back out of Vaalshimar and to wherever we need to go afterward."
With a trembling hand, Tieros took the papers. He stuttered without saying anything intelligible then clamped his mouth shut and shook his head. He tried to hand the papers back to Jaska, but he wouldn't take them. Captain Rohl was stunned, Sergeant Daras likewise.
Jaska said, "I trust you, Tieros. I know you won't betray me."
"But a man like me can't own a ship, Kharos."
"Of course, you can."
"But a galley like this costs a fortune."
"Indeed. Lord Ezaras spared no expense on my behalf. I feel it only fair that the gain he made by exploiting his fellow men should be returned to good people."
"But I don't know how to run a ship."
"Neither do I," Jaska said. "That's why I had Lord Ezaras hire me the best captain available. And he will continue on in your employ and follow your orders."
"What about our payment?" Captain Rohl asked, overcoming his surprise at an oarsman becoming owner of the ship.
"Tieros has the papers for that now. You will be paid at his leisure."
Rohl bowed at the waist before Tieros. "I await your command, sir." No desire to steal ownership from Tieros crossed Rohl's mind. First, he was an honorable man. Second, he would not have the Slayer's wrath placed against him.
Daras also bowed. "I also await your command, sir."
"Um, thank you. Captain. Sergeant." Tieros shook his head. "Do as Jaska commands until he is gone, that is my first order."
"Aye, sir," said Captain Rohl and then he departed to oversee the ship's course.
"I don't deserve this," Tieros whispered to Jaska.
"No man could deserve it more, I think."
Sergeant Daras, who had looked dubious throughout the handover, now scratched his beard and nodded. "I think you'll make a fine owner, Tieros. You understand the men who work the ship. They'll trust you to be fair with them and will go wherever you want to go. They'll be proud to serve one of their own."
Overwhelmed, Tieros shook his head. A tear rolled down his weathered cheek. Then he crushed Jaska in a giant hug.
"You're a good man, Kharos."
"Don't say that," Jaska replied with a glint of menace in his eyes. "Too much blood stains my hands, and there is much blood I have yet to shed."
"The blood of oppressors," said Zyrella.
"But blood nonetheless."
After having watched the entire proceeding, Bakulus and Caracyn exchanged nods. The transfer of ownership sealed the decision they had made the night before, after three hours of debate and an equal amount of prayer to Selial Earth-Mother. The two stepped forward and bowed to Jaska.