The Compass Key (Book 5) (26 page)

“Why should I trust you?”

“I’m Nyx.”

“You could be my craftiness trying to trick me.”

“Nyx wouldn’t be the one to embody that.”

“Then, what would she be?”

Nyx rushes toward Sari and kisses her before she can react. Warmth rushes through the gypsy’s body, but she is not sure if it is magic or her emotions. The kiss ends abruptly, leaving Sari touching her lips and staring at the phantom of her oldest friend.

“You’re my lust?” Sari guesses
, scowling when Nyx shakes her head in dismay. “I have no interest in her that way. She’s beautiful and I love being with her, but I’m not like that. If this is about all the kissing then I should remind myself that I kiss everybody. It’s a fun way to say hi, cast spells, and say good-bye.”

“I’m
your passion, you ignorant twit!” the half-elf impatiently roars.

“Oh . . . I think I understand that. Nyx is so passionate about everything she does. She doesn’t see it, but it’s one of the most impressive things about her. People are drawn to her confidence and strength with little effort on her part. Meanwhile, I have to put myself out there for attention.”

Nyx grabs the gypsy by the ear and leads her over the ice. “We don’t have time for self-pity. Eventually, your body is going to be put into a deeper sleep to complete your power assimilation. All of us will be frozen in pockets of your mind when that time comes. So, I have to get you to the one who sent me before we are stuck with each other.”

“Why can’t she come to me?” Sari asks
, slipping out of the phantom’s grip and rubs at her sore ear. “Unless she is stuck in a deep recess of my mind and can’t leave it. That must be how she was able to access all of the dark parts of my mind.”

Nyx stares at the gypsy for a second before
continuing across the frozen ocean. “We sent guilt, fear, hate, and a horrific combination of all three after you. You never caught on to what was going on. Not even a hint that there was someone or something else in here with you. Now, it dawns on you in such a casual manner. May I say that it is truly frustrating to be a figment of your imagination?”

Sari mutters and trails behind until a loud crack startles her. She turns around to see the frozen beach shatter and fall into a swirling abyss. The
jagged cracks race toward her, forcing her to sprint ahead of Nyx, who continues casually walking along. Sari stops to catch her breath only to realize that the largest fissure is chasing her. Darting to the side, she tries to escape the persistent crack, but it makes a sharp turn to follow her.

“A little help!” Sari shouts. She
zigzags in front of the pursing crack before flipping over it and racing back to Nyx. “Why won’t you save me?”

“Because I’m the one doing it
. This ice is unnecessary and needs to go away. It’s hampering your progress and we have very little time to reach our destination.”

Sari skids to a stop at Nyx’s side and closes her eyes. She can hear the
splintering ice approaching and risks opening her eyes when it sounds like it is at her feet. The crack is circling the two women, so the gypsy hugs her friend as tight as possible. Once the fissure makes a full circle, all of the ice falls into the abyss, leaving only a small circle that the pair is standing on. Sari looks at the surrounding darkness and realizes that it moves like a black ocean.

“Please, move us forward,”
the half-elf whispers before she briefly vanishes and reappears behind her friend. She wraps her arms around the gypsy’s waist, the sleeves of her shirt melding together. “This is something only you can do, little nymph.”

“I’m only part nymph,” Sari nervously responds. She tenses when she feels Nyx nuzzle her neck. “Stop doing that!”

“Sorry, but your passion is so strong. I’m surprised you can keep yourself under control so often.”

“It’s simple
. If I let myself go, I’d get myself arrested. Now, tell me what to do.”

Nyx places her forehead against Sari’s shoulder
, her violet eyes peering at the horizon. “Please accept that this is your mind. We’re getting tired of telling you what you should already know.”

“You
mental images need to cut the attitude and stop assuming I’m smart enough to figure this out,” Sari states. She curses under her breath when she realizes what she has said. “I mean, you expect me to use abilities that I don’t understand and go to places that I don’t consciously know. I need a clue.”

“You control water as long as you focus,” Nyx says, tightening her grip. “If you need a bigger hint than that then I’m afraid you’re brain dead.”

“Thanks, but that answer still had attitude.”

Sari stares at the darkness and focuses on finding out where she should go. A distant light appears on the horizon, drawing her senses to its blue shimmering. The light is no bigger than a pinprick in the inky blackness, but Sari knows it is there. She puts out her arms and focuses on the ice, feeling it inch forward in the ocean of shadow. The ice suddenly jerks and spins as she meticulously tests her abilities.

“In here, you will have ultimate control,” Nyx softly whispers who nearly falls off the ice when it lurches ahead several yards. “Once you awaken, you will have to practice in your temple for some time.”

“So, this is to get me used to my powers,” Sari replies, her eyes locked on the blue light. “Will I be this strong once I’m awake?”

The half-elf yawns out of boredom, her energy already seeping away. “Probably not. You can do anything within your mental ocean, but real water will resist you. It is up to you to discover what you can do with your power. As you said, you are only part naiad, so full control over water might be beyond you. The one that wishes to speak with you can give you more answers if you are willing to listen. Though, we must hurry.”

With a playful smile, Nyx runs her hands down Sari’s sides and traces them along her hips. She can feel
her friend tense before she pinches the gypsy on the rump. The ice barrels through the ocean, the sudden acceleration nearly knocking the half-elf into the water. Grabbing Sari’s hair is the only thing that keeps the caster from falling off.

“Never do that again, Nyx!”

“It helped you focus.”

Sari snaps her fingers and a tendril of water leaps out of the ocean. It wraps around Nyx’s mouth and turns to ice, preventing her from talking. Another tendril bursts from the ocean to lash
the women together and pin the half-elf’s arms to her side. The gypsy turns to grin at the mental phantom in proud victory. The expression is short lived as Nyx rubs against her as if trying to scratch an itch that keeps moving around her body. Sari makes the ice move faster, silently praying that she can get away from this traumatizing version of her best friend.

12

The dawning sun is peeking through the porthole as Kira finishes changing into a pair of tight leggings and shirt. She checks the sleeves and pant legs to be certain that nothing is loose enough to be grabbed by an enemy. Sitting on the edge of her bed, Kira slips on her soft-soled shoes and taps them on the ground to make sure they do not make loud noises. Grabbing an ivory clip, she ties up her hair and gets to her feet. She takes a deep breath and stares at the balcony where Luke had stood only a few hours ago.

“Are you ready, Fizzle?” Kira asks while she stretches. She bends down to scoop up a coil of rope, which she slips her head and left arm through. “Luke says we need to get those spears onto the ships before the storm hits. So, we need to move now.”

“Fizzle ready,” he chirps from the desk. He focuses on the bed where an illusion of Kira sleeping under the covers appears. “Fake you move to help. You ready?”

Kira goes to the wardrobe and
quietly opens the doors, her eyes settling on the cherry wood base. Carefully, she presses a few spots on the surface and hears a faint click. Pushing on the panel flips it open and reveals an elegant weapon. The polished chain is coiled like a snake, which the heiress wraps around her arm. She holds the keen-edged sickle up to her face to make sure there are no nicks and scuff marks. Her mouth turns into a proud smile as she remembers all of the attacks and defenses that she has mastered.

“Fizzle make better,” the drite whispers as he lands on her shoulder. His eyes turn a deep gold
as the weapon hums. “Weapon quiet now. No noise when strike. Last hour.”

“Great
. Now, you’re sure nobody will see me?”

“No seen Fizzle’s best spell
. Only Fizzle see Kira. Bad ones only hear or smell Kira.”

“Not something you want to tell someone
who hasn’t really bathed in a few days. I hope the wash downs are enough,” the young woman announces with a nervous chuckle. She sees Fizzle staring at her, his tail twitching in confusion. “I think I smell bad, Fizzle. Forget it. Make me invisible and get the spears from the armory two decks below us. I’ll meet you at the first crow’s nest. Wish me luck because I’m terrified.”

“Why agree if scared?” Fizzle curiously asks. He darts around
the heiress, releasing rainbow mist from his nostrils until she is hidden in the fog. “No more be seen.”

Kira hurries to the balcony doors and slowly opens them, thankful for the well-oiled hinges.
“Because Luke needs my help and I’m not going to let him down. Good luck, Fizzle. I’ll be counting on you.”

She
slips onto the balcony and closes the door behind her, the ocean air making her shiver with excitement. Climbing onto the railing, she eyes the thick anchor chain that is sitting several feet around the side of the ship. Uncoiling her weapon, she silently prays to Cessia the Luck Goddess and prepares to leap into the open air. Before she can second guess her decision, Kira jumps off the railing and whips the club end of her weapon at the seaweed-covered links of the anchor chain. The kusari-gama catches and she swings to safety, her landing less graceful than she planned.

“Is the anchor moving?” asks a voice from the other ship.

“It’s probably a fish bumping into it,” answers a voice from her own ship.

Breathing slowly,
Kira crawls up the anchor chain and slips onto the deck where several chaos elves are standing guard. She hides on top of a barrel to avoid anyone bumping into her, enjoying the fact that nobody can see her. Her huge merchant vessel sits between two of the chaos elf ships, its masts spanning the gaps between them.

“At least the sails are bound. That should make this easier,” she whispers before she can stop herself.

“Show yourself!” demands a chaos elf from her left. He approaches with his spear held out and focuses on the area behind the barrel.

Kira hops off the barrel, her shoes making a barely audible thud on the deck that is easily mistaken for the ship bumping into the padded part of the dock. She carefully makes her way to the main mast while coiling her weapon around her arm. Without hesitation, she clambers up the main mast until she reaches the longest boom. Crawling onto the long beam, Kira moves along toward the port side of the ship. It is painstakingly slow progress due to her fear and the growing wind from the coming storm.

“I can’t waste time,” she mutters as she stands.

Waiting for a break in the wind, Kira steels her nerves and eyes the chaos elf ship. Once the wind stops, she sprints along the boom and leaps for the other ship. The wind kicks up and moves the boom she was aiming for. Twisting in mid-air, Kira reaches out with her weapon’s
sickle and catches it in the wooden beam. It is enough of a hold that she can flip onto the boom and clings there while her heart thuds in her chest.

“Doing this for Luke. Have to remember that I’m doing this insane,
dangerous stunt for the man I love with all my heart,” she whispers before making her way to the main mast. A wry smile crosses her face as she reaches the ladder. “If I die doing this, he better name one of his future kids after me. I’ll haunt him if he doesn’t honor me.”

“Who’s there?” asks a chaos elf from the crow’s nest.

“Nobody in the crow’s next. That pointy-eared idiot,” she hisses.

Kira continues climbing until she is within reach of the
lookout’s perch. She reaches over to pull herself around the edge, her legs leaving the safety of the ladder. The guard is staring down the ladder and never hears Kira sneak over the railing behind him. Before he can call for help, she kicks out his knees and wraps her chain around his neck. She pulls back hard, hoping to make him pass out, but she hears the sickening snap of his neck. The body slumps at her feet and she pulls it out of view.

“Oh my god, I just killed someone,” she gasps, touching the guard’s face. She kneels next to the body and closes his eyes. “I did it for Luke. People die all the time and this
. . . corpse is one of the bad guys. I . . . I need to forget this until I can handle it. Just push it away and get the job done.”

“Fizzle here,” says the drite as he appears on the railing with his tail wrapped around four spears. He cocks his head to the side when he notices Kira is crying. “Kira sad. What we do?”

“We finish this,” she mutters, cutting a length of rope and grabbing a spear, which she lashes to the crow’s nest. “Do you know any spells that can help me move quickly? I want to get this over with.”

“First kill. Hard on heart
. He no suffer. Fizzle sense quick death.”

“Not really a comfort,
little guy. Now, cast something to help me get to the other ships.”

“Kira not clear. Kira need rest.”

“This just started, Fizzle. I’m not quitting because I’m upset,” she argues, ignoring the fresh tears on her face. “Please cast a spell to help me move quickly.”

Fizzle stares at his friend with worry in his eyes, but
whispers a spell that makes the young woman’s body tingle. “Now you like cat.”

“Thank you, Fizzle.”

Kira feels lighter on her feet and leaps onto the boom, her landing perfect due to her enhanced balance. She races across the boom and vaults back to her ship. The invisible heiress hurries through the rigging like a phantom, her trail of swinging ropes mistaken as movement from the brewing storm. Reaching the end of her ship, Kira leaps at the next chaos elf vessel and gracefully lands on the deck between two chaos elves. They whirl around with their swords drawn, but she is already sprinting toward the main mast.

“This is so much easier,”
she says as she climbs into the vacant crow’s nest. Fizzle is already waiting for her, his eyes nervously darting around. “Relax, Fizzle. This will all be over soon enough. Then you can nap and I can cry.”

“Fizzle feel wrong,” the drite whimpers, releasing a spear for
his ally to lash to the crow’s nest. “Air feel dark.”

“It’s just the storm,” Kira contends, gesturing toward the dark clouds that are nearly upon them. She hops onto the railing and stretches her arms. “We’re both invisible and-”

A high-pitched whine catches her attention and she tumbles back before a serrated disc whizzes through the space where her head used to be. The chaos elves are scrambling around the deck with their weapons, none of them appearing to know what is going on. In the middle of the chaos is a bald gnome in ugly clothing. His goggled eyes are looking directly at Kira and the odd gauntlet on his hand hums as another disc grows out of it.

“I see you, girl, so come on down!” Nyder demands from the deck. “You’re alone and outnumbered!”

“Take the rope and finish the job, Fizzle. I don’t think he can see you,” Kira whispers, slipping the rope over her head. She stares down at the gnome, disgusted by his ugly grin. “I’ll keep him busy until you can come back for me. Your spells should give me an edge and I think I can avoid that thing.”

“Fizzle no like plan,” the drite insists
, picking up the rope with his legs and hovering in place. “Kira no warrior.”

“I was trained by Selenia. That’s enough for me to call myself a warrior,”
the heiress growls, letting her training rise to the surface of her mind. “Just get those spears up before the griffins attack. You might only have minutes.”

“I promise not to kill you, Lady Grasdon! You’re an important hostage!” Nyder shouts up to her
while removing the gauntlet and slipping on a pair of blue leather gloves. “I hope you won’t force me to damage you!”

Kira steps off the crow’s nest and bounces down the rigging, taking full advantage of Fizzle’s spell. She leaps off the lowest boom and swings the club end of her silent weapon at Nyder. The gnome puts up his right hand to block the attack and fires a bolt of force at Kira. It hits her in the chest, sending her crashing against a guard, who is knocked overboard. She holds her side where the guard’s sword nicked her, the wound stinging more than hurting. Sprinting to the side, she avoids another blast and swings the sickle.

“You can’t hurt me,” Nyder declares, deflecting the attack. He fires again and yawns while watching his enemy leap over the barely visible blast. “You nearly escaped, which I give you credit for. I assume that drite helped you and he’s long gone by now. You should have tried to sneak off your own ship instead of onto mine.”

“I had to leave by my balcony, so my options were limited,” she responds, playing along with Nyder’s assumptions. A guard charges toward where he
hears his voice, but he swings a few feet to her right. “That’s so sad.”

Nyder fires at
Kira, who dives out of the way, letting the blast knock the guard across the deck. She hits the ground with one hand and springs onto a crate, leaning away from another bolt of force. When the gnome fires again, she jumps over the blast and swings her sickle at his left side. At the same time he blocks the attack, she swings the club end at his right. The club hits his knee, breaking the bone and sending him to the ground.

“You spoiled child!” Nyder shrieks, unused to such agony. He struggles to his feet and limps toward the stairs. “If you want to escape then that is your choice. I did my best and refuse to put myself in any more danger.”

Nyder’s eyes turn black as he reaches the stairs and he pauses, sweat appearing on his brow. He stares at Kira, shaking his head in disbelief. A crack of thunder and flash of lightning brings his attention to the sky. Looking toward the mountain, he can see a flock of griffins heading for the ships. The gnome’s face pales when he realizes that something life-threatening is about to happen.

“Get up here, Vile!” Nyder
screams, limping toward the wheel. He turns to hit Kira with a force blast before she can react, knocking her against the main mast. “Stay put! Everyone else get this ship moving!”

“What is going on up here?” Vile asks as he climbs above deck. The shirtless halfling hurries to the wheel and wrestles control from Nyder. “Don’t be scared of griffins and a small storm.”

“That invisible wench did something to the ships. I’m sure that drite had something to do with it. I had a void when I tried to go below decks. It vanished when I came back to make preparations to pull out to sea.”

Vile frowns at the gnome and looks in the direction of Kira, unable to see her. “We can’t abandon Trinity and the city.”

“Both will be fine,” Nyder assures him, sitting down on a crate and wincing at the pain in his leg. “Trinity is a survivor and I have a special surprise nearby for those griffins. Still, it is best that we stay out of the battle. We can return to pick up her highness, the Magic Hunter, and the Compass Key once the storm passes. Trust me, Vile. I never joke about voids.”

The halfling
looks across the deck at the bustling chaos elves and smacks the wheel in frustration. “Prepare to depart and battle our way through to the ocean! We will not stop for an attack, so archers take your fire bows and assume defense positions now!”

Recovering from the force blast,
Kira stands and feels a tingle run over her body. Several chaos elves stop to stare at her, their hands going for their weapons. She looks up at Vile, who drops his hand for a shortsword that is not there. The sound of the anchor rising and the sails unfurling galvanize the young woman into action. The ship sails out of port as she sprints around the mast and bolts for the front of the ship.