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Three days after catching Zhou Min’s mechanical scout, we had seen no sign of pursuit, and I thought I might explode from boredom. Fishing, washing dishes, staring out at the endless void of blue water, avoiding Jackie—none of it was enough to keep me from going stir crazy. At night, while on surveillance duty, I paced a rut in the deck, trying to burn off my nervous energy.
If it hadn’t risked giving away my plans, I would’ve asked Jackie to transport us to Inselgrau with the same Magic that had been used to bring us aboard the ship—moving us through space in an instant. But I wondered if it was an indication of his strength, or lack thereof, that he hadn’t already tried to do that. At the least, we should’ve crossed the Continent by train. Going over land, we could’ve travelled from Isolas to Pecia in a few days, but taking that route risked greater scrutiny and a greater likelihood of interference and capture.
As the sun rose on our ninth morning at sea, I handed over my sentry duties to Mariana and trudged down to my cabin. If I was lucky, I could get to sleep before Jackie woke up. Although he had packed bedroom attire for me along with the fine dresses and accessories, I refused to wear his lace and silk nightgowns. Doing so felt like making a tacit agreement with him—one far too intimate for my comfort. Instead, I stripped down to my chemise, tugged on the recently washed pants I’d been wearing the night Jackie abducted me, and curled up under a thin blanket.
As I lay there wondering how long it would take me to fall asleep, a shout jolted me to attention. Boot steps pounding across the deck brought me to my feet. I jerked on my boots and grabbed one of Jackie’s shirts from a stack by his bed, buttoning it on as I raced for the stairs.
“Evelyn, wait.”
I stopped and backed up a step, pausing outside our cabin doorway. Jackie had risen and was scraping hair from his brow. His expression was drowsy and confused as he grabbed a clean shirt and shrugged it on, covering the bandage crisscrossing his chest. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t know. I was on my way to find out.”
His footsteps pounded behind mine as we clamored to the deck. I caught Mariana’s gaze and gave her a questioning look.
“Zhou,” she said, voice breathy with panic. She pointed toward the port rail near the stern. “She’s found us.”
I scanned the eastern horizon, squinting against the morning sunrise that had set the sky and waters ablaze. An incongruent black shadow disrupted the flat line where sky met sea—too distant to reveal details but undoubtedly a ship. “You’re sure it’s her?”
“I’ve never seen that ship before.” Clarice brushed past me on her way to the helm. “If it’s one from Zhou’s fleet, we can’t risk letting it catch us.”
“So we’re going to run for it?”
“Ambrose calculated the distance. If we pick up our pace, we can make it to Inselgrau before nightfall.”
“Maybe it’s just a merchant ship going to Inselgrau.”
Brow furrowed and eyes closed, Jackie tensed beside me and grunted. His eyes popped open and glinted like steel. “It’s not Zhou or a merchant.”
Clarice frowned. “Then who is it?”
“It’s the Council of Magic.”
My stomach turned to ice and dropped to my feet. I didn’t ask how he knew. If it really was the Council, I would’ve been more surprised if Jackie hadn’t been able to identify them.
“Why would they follow us across the ocean?” I asked. “They must know our ultimate destination. Taviano would’ve told them. Why not wait to intercept us when we arrive in Braddock?”
Jackie’s jaw clenched. “I think it’s safe to assume they’ve sent forces there as well—one by sea and one by land, forming the pincers of a claw to pin us in their grasp.”
“Then it’s a good thing we aren’t sailing to Braddock,” Clarice said.
I blinked at her. “Not sailing to Braddock? But you said—”
“I said what you needed to know at the time. But delivering two wanted fugitives to the biggest port city on Inselgrau would have been a bad idea, even before we knew the Council was on our tail.”
“So where are we going?”
Jackie answered. “Somewhere a little closer to home.”
“Whose home?”
He ignored my question, letting me make my own assumptions. My conclusion was that he and Clarice had likely arranged to sail us to Fallstaff’s front door—or as close as we could get, considering Fallstaff was at least an hour’s ride from the nearest beach.
Jackie leaned close. “Can’t you do anything to stop them?”
“I was just wondering the same thing about you.” I gathered energy from the atmosphere, wrapped my intentions around it like a slingshot, and hurled lightning at the Council’s ship.
The bolt disbursed harmlessly over the surface of a Magical barricade surrounding the ship—the same kind of barricade Taviano had used to protect himself against me in the basilica. I could, perhaps, pour enough energy into an assault that would eventually defeat that barrier, but it would leave me bankrupt and vulnerable, and those were the last things I needed to be.
“Nothing changes.” Jackie raised his chin and peered across the sea. “We still run for Inselgrau. It’s our best bet for evading capture.”
Because I could think of no reason to disagree, I stirred the air currents, reaching not for thunder and lightning but for cool moist air. I tugged the closest stratus clouds, lowering them to the water’s surface, and once the colder moisture from the north blew in and touched the ocean’s warm waters, a thick fog rose between our pursuers and us.
Jackie stood silently beside me, observing the process. He nodded as the fog thickened into a white, impenetrable wall. “Clever girl. You’ve come a long way since we first met.”
I shrugged off his approval. “Desperation makes a compelling teacher.”
He pulled me aside where no one could overhear us. “The fog won’t keep them away for long, though.”
“What about your Magic? Haven’t you got anything up your sleeve that could help?”
He ground his teeth. “My time in prison and Taviano’s attack affected me more than I’d like to admit. I’d prefer saving my energy for when things become truly desperate.”
“I’m not looking forward to learning your definition of ‘truly desperate.’”
Clarice narrowed her eyes, giving us a suspicious look, obviously perturbed that Jackie and I were plotting without her. “Did you not tell the captain about me? You didn’t tell her who I am?”
“I told her my companion was a curious individual, a young woman of uncanny talents.”
“But does she believe in me?”
His lips twisted into a crooked frown. “What do you mean?”
I raised my voice, assuring Clarice could hear me. “Captain, you’re an Insligrish native, correct?”
She bobbed her chin in affirmation.
“So you’ve heard of the Stormbournes?”
“I left Inselgrau as a child and haven’t been back except for the occasional and very brief port call in Braddock, but I haven’t been away so long as to have forgotten the ruling family’s name.”
“The Stormbournes no longer rule Inselgrau.”
Her lips twitched. “I’d heard rumors to that effect.”
“And some say they’re gone for good. The days of the old gods are over.”
“Some say that, yes, but I’ve travelled too far and seen too many things to believe anything in this world is ever truly gone. They fade, they change or become lost, but rarely do such forces ever truly go extinct.”
I cocked my head to the side. “So you might call yourself a believer?”
The smile she’d been avoiding broke free. “I’m not particularly religious, but I believe there are greater forces in the world.”
I flicked a finger, and lightning flashed, cleaving the clouds. “What if I told you... I am one of those greater forces. I could use a little faith right now, Clarice.”
“I’m not the praying type, my lady.”
“You don’t have to pray. You simply have to believe.” Jackie quirked an eyebrow at me, and I left his side, striding toward the bow. “And if you could convince your crew to join you, there’s a chance we’ll get your ship to Inselgrau unscathed.”
She glanced at the sky.
I called another lightning bolt and let it dance across the clouds.
She dropped her gaze to my face. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Standing at the bow, I spread my feet, lowering my center of gravity. Jackie joined me, and his white-gold hair fluttered in the stiffening breeze. His boots were unlaced, his linen pants wrinkled, and he hadn’t bothered to finish buttoning his shirt—it gaped open at the neck, revealing a glimpse of bandages and smooth pale skin. He looked less like the icy-cold Magician I loathed and more like a young man—a fallible one with cracks and flaws. An earnest emotion burned in his eyes. I would have called it admiration if I believed him capable of such a sentiment.
Closing my eyes, I sank inside myself, focusing on strengthening my connection to the storms. Are you up for this, Grandfather?
In reply, he cackled with delight.
Under normal circumstances, I could command the storms with absolute authority but for only a limited time. The power within me, and my body’s ability to channel it, was finite. Limited. But the faith of my believers replenished my wellspring and kept me from running dry. The more believers, the better.
Clarice, Jackie, Ambrose, Leo, and Mariana were few, but added to the others who believed in me—Gideon, Malita, Niffin, the Fantazikes, my friends in the mechanical circus—their faith might provide enough fuel to keep me charged until we reached Inselgrau. I wasn’t waging war but was merely adding a strong wind to our sails. With concentration, I could perhaps take the wind away from the Council’s ship, as well, slowing their progress considerably. It was an effort of precision, but after all my training and progress, I believed myself capable.
The seas swelled, and the winds howled, but the Velox’s sails held. Clarice’s ship flew. Jackie remained at my side despite the driving wind and heaving waves that dashed against the bow and drenched us in cold spray. He formed a perpetual fireball that hovered close, providing heat to ward off the numbing chill.
If we were running from any regular pirate, even a clever one like Zhou Min, our efforts might’ve been enough to leave our pursuers quite literally in our wake. But the ship trailing us was being propelled by a cadre of fierce Magicians. Perhaps the fiercest in the world. Possibly even fiercer than—
I coughed as an idea hit me hard enough to knock me breathless.
The Council of Magic is fiercer than Le Poing Fermé, Grandfather said. Was that what you were thinking?
Of course they were fiercer than Le Poing Fermé. Otherwise, Ruelle Thibodaux and his cronies would’ve marched through the Basilica di Magia’s front doors themselves. Instead, they’d blackmailed me into doing it. They hadn’t wanted to risk making an open move against the Council. However, manipulating a young woman, albeit a powerful one, must have seemed more manageable. Plus, Le Poing Fermé could claim my throne and me as spoils for the victor.
But oh, how Le Poing Fermé had underestimated me. It wasn’t their first time, either, but it would be their last.
Grandfather, have you ever heard that old wives’ tale about mixing two fire ant colonies together?
The one that says they fight each other to the death, and both colonies are destroyed? he asked.
What if, instead of ant colonies, it’s two Magical cabals?
Your machinations would make Hannah Schulze proud, my dear.
I grinned. Perhaps during my time with her, a bit of her, um, talent rubbed off on me.
***
The Magicians and sailors aboard the Council’s ship must have worked ferociously to keep us in their sights, but we maintained our lead. Our pursuers appeared as little more than a pinprick of shadow on the horizon when we finally reached Inselgrau in the early evening, slightly ahead of schedule. The dark silhouette of her coastline loomed before us, and I gasped a breath of awe and reverence.
Home.
Until I saw those familiar shores, I hadn’t quite allowed myself to believe I’d ever make it back.
Don’t relax yet, Grandfather said. The hardest part is yet to come.
We raced onward, following the shoreline, heading north while the sun slowly descended.
“I can’t hold out much longer,” I said, letting Jackie think I’d burned most of powers away in my efforts to hurry us to Inselgrau. Although my body sagged with exhaustion, the Velox’s crew had remained faithful, keeping my wellspring relatively full. There was still plenty of fight left in me, but Jackie didn’t need to know that. “I’ve got to take a break.”
He signaled to Clarice. She nodded and banged on the boiler’s exhaust pipes. I eased my hold on the winds while, down in the hold, Leo and Mariana started shoveling coal into the boiler. The paddlewheel churned, beating against the water in time with the rhythm of my anxious heartbeat.
Soon after, the sun extinguished itself in the Antellic Ocean. Night bled through the sky like an ink drop on a wet page, and the thickening darkness camouflaged the Council’s ship. Jackie swiped his hand through the air, executing a spell similar to the one Brigette had used to peer through the darkness the night we stormed the Basilica di Magia.
“Can you see them?” Clarice asked.
“They’ll be gaining on us now that we’ve slowed,” Jackie said.
“Ambrose says another hour, at least, until we reach your rendezvous point. Think we can outrun them?”
Jackie tensed. “Looks like they aren’t going to give us that option.”
I followed his gaze and spotted a blazing fireball, like a shooting star, zooming through the sky. It arched over the water, a fiery arrow following a parabolic arc that would likely end somewhere near our ship, if not directly in the middle of it. He raised his chin and swiped his hand in a broad arc, as if wiping fog from a large window.
The air thickened. The edges of my peripheral vision sparkled. The hairs on my arms rose. “What’s happening?”
He offered no answer. Instead, he gritted his teeth as his gaze narrowed, locked on the comet hurtling toward us. Moments before impact, it exploded like an egg thrown against a window. Fire spewed across Jackie’s invisible shield. His barrier shivered, dim waves of pearlescent light rippling outward, dispersing the firebomb’s energy into the atmosphere.
The night fell still, dark, and silent again.
“What in the Shadowlands was that?” Clarice demanded.
“A test,” Jackie said. “Perhaps a warning.”
Three more glowing comets—this time green, violet, and gold—soared from the Council’s ship, flying fast enough to leave trailing streaks of light.
“That’s no warning,” I said.
Jackie braced himself for impact. Out of curiosity, I reached for the sky and shoved two giant copses of clouds toward each other. They crashed together, discharging a brutal crack of thunder and a ragged lightning bolt. I grabbed the bolt and hurled it in the comets’ paths.
With a horrendous screech, the lightning collided against the green and violet orbs, spraying drops of molten light over the water, raising plumes of sizzling steam.
“Well, wasn’t that interesting?” I said as the third, golden orb crashed into Jackie’s shield and melted away.
“Interesting indeed,” he said. “You didn’t know that would happen?”
I clamped my mouth shut, not willing to admit what I did and didn’t know about my own abilities. Before he could press me for an answer, another volley of lights screamed toward us. A terrible shadow chased the orbs, growing taller and wider as it raced toward us like a speeding mountain.
Clarice yelped. “Is that a—”
“A wave!” I shouted as sudden and violent surges rocked our ship. “Everyone hold tight.”
I whipped up a torrent of winds, a battering ram of angry air. The wave and winds met like two bulls butting heads, forming an instant and monstrous waterspout that swallowed the Magicians’ orbs. Turbulence rocked the Velox, throwing us all to the deck.
The ship’s timbers groaned. Rain pelted us. The sails whipped and snapped.
I pushed myself up, fighting to recover my balance. Jackie stumbled to his feet as I latched onto the cyclone with my thoughts and tore at its bindings. It flew apart in a blast of wind and water and disappeared.
“You might be exhausted, Evie, but they’ll catch us if you don’t do something.”
I squinted at him. “Sure, expect me to bleed out all my energy so I’ll be too weak to defend myself when we get to Fallstaff.”
“That wasn’t what I—”
“Stop lying, Jackie,” I said in a bored tone. “If you don’t want the Council to catch us, maybe you should do something about it.”
His face screwed into a sour expression. Before I could react, he threw his arms around me and shouted a harsh word. The world spun like a top. Then, as if losing momentum, it slowed and stopped. I swayed drunkenly, clutching my head. When my vision stabilized, I blinked. Other than catching a nasty case of vertigo, nothing appeared to have changed. We remained on the Velox’s deck. Jackie gave me a dumfounded look.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
“We should’ve been transported to shore, at the rendezvous point.”
“I thought you didn’t want to waste your Magical energy on such things.”
“It wouldn’t take much, now that we’re so close.”
“Then what happened?” I tried for an innocent expression, but I’d always been a terrible liar. I suspected Brigette’s charm had worked to prevent Jackie from using his Magic on me.
He narrowed his eyes, his expression full of suspicion. “Perhaps you could tell me.”
“How should I know?”
He growled, his arm tightening around me. Before I could shove him away, Clarice yelled again. “Incoming!”
I pushed. Jackie stumbled back. Another fireball, twice as big as the last, plummeted from the sky. Jackie swung his body into a defensive position, arms raised over his head, and coughed a string of strange and foreign syllables. The firebomb exploded, but either its Magic was more powerful, or Jackie had reacted too slowly. Like fall leaves in a stiff breeze, burning flecks rained to the deck, charring timbers. Errant sparks ignited Clarice’s top-most sail.
On instinct, I squeezed the clouds, bringing down a torrent of rain. The flames went out but not before doing their damage.
“This wasn’t part of the deal, Faercourt.” Clarice, still at the helm, glared at the tattered remains of her sail. “I would never have agreed if it risked harming my ship.”
“Did you think you could transport a fugitive of the Council without any risk?”
“It’s not like you gave me much choice.”
“If you don’t like it, then why don’t you come up with another idea? Quickly.” He jabbed a finger at her. “You might actually have to use your Magic for once.”
“For once?” She stomped her foot. “I already used it once, and that was once more than I ever wanted after leaving Zhou Min. I swore I was done with Magic, and you made me break my promise.”
“You’ll break a lot more than that if you don’t get me and Evelyn off this ship.”
“While you two waste time arguing, the Council is gaining on us.” I poked Jackie’s shoulder with a sharp finger. “Quit being such an obstinate prick, Jackie.”
Clarice snarled. “Tell me where Nicholas is. You promised.”
“You’ll get us off this boat?” Jackie asked.
“That wasn’t part of our deal, Faercourt, but I’ll do it to get the Council off my tail. But only if you keep your end of the bargain.”
“Your brother’s in a debtors’ prison on an island off the coast of Threnmarcht.”
Ah... a brother. I’d been wondering what vulnerability Jackie had exploited to gain Clarice’s cooperation. Threnmarcht was a northern country of glaciers and icebergs, sitting on the border between the Antellic Ocean and the icy Polarctic Sea. I shivered at the thought of being imprisoned anywhere near that frigid wasteland.
At the news of her brother’s whereabouts, Clarice’s face hardened. “And the money?”
“There’s a false bottom in my trunk. There should be more than enough to finance your excursion to Threnmarcht and to pay your brother’s ransom.”
“If you’re lying to me...” Her words drifted away, threat unspoken.
Jackie closed the short space between us, lashing his arms around me as Clarice left the helm, striding toward us. The Council unleashed three more fireballs. I clenched my jaw, resenting the need to spend my energy fighting them, but I wouldn’t leave Clarice’s ship vulnerable. Whether she knew it or not, we were kindred spirits, joined by our mutual hatred for Le Poing Fermé and by us both being victims of their manipulations.
But I was done letting them use me.
Clarice likely felt the same.
I battered the remaining clouds with my will, rending a furious rain from their depths. The fireballs diminished and fell harmlessly against Jackie’s shield.
“Do it now, Captain,” Jackie said. “Get us off this ship and go find your brother.”
Clarice stopped several feet before us, feet planted, a hand on her hip. Her scowl was black, her eyes hard obsidian. She raised her other hand, slashed it through the air, and snarled incoherently.
The dizzy sensation struck again, and my vision blurred. A horrible screaming like thousands of tortured voices battered my ears. My bones rattled. My joints stretched like strands of silk pulled too tightly in a loom, on the verge of snapping.
My voice rose to answer the howling in my ears, and the moment I thought I’d surely shatter, the turbulence stopped with a bone-jarring crunch.
Time and space recoiled, slapping me hard in the face with invisible force.
Everything went black.
