Gozan flew through the Veil, just out of reach of the ocean’s spray. Behind him his swarm followed, a cloudy mass of colors and shrieking sounds. He wished for silence but hadn’t the energy to rebuke them just now.
If things didn’t change, he might never have the energy again.
In the distance the Armanian king’s flagship Seffynaw sat low in the water, a fat tub stuffed with treasure and humans whose greed had nearly killed off their race. The shadir had played their part as well. Gozan hadn’t realized the effects of his dependence on human bonding. None of the shadir had. They had always taken for the sake of taking, for pleasure and power and to please their master Gâzar. They had not ever considered consequences.
But now they must, for their way of life was at risk.
Gozan reached the Seffynaw from its starboard side and circled the hull. He soared above the railing and onto the stern deck. Slights and commons filled the area, invisible to the humans seated at a table there. Magon stood at the back of the ship, leaning against the taffrail. For centuries she had preferred to take form as a human female. Gozan never understood why she wanted to look like her slaves.
His shadir swarm met Magon’s, and the cacophony of the two groups intermingling grated on Gozan’s nerves. “Silence!” he yelled.
To their credit all obeyed, even those shadir loyal to Magon.
Gozan folded his arms and let the soles of his feet rest on the deck so that he stood before Magon, looming over her frail, human form.
She smirked at his posture. “Greetings, Rurek.”
The name sent fire through his limbs. “I am Gozan now.”
“Still hiding, are you?”
“Waiting.” He had never been hiding.
“Well, I have waited long enough,” she said, which brought cheers from her votaries. “We must act before all is lost.”
“You have a plan, then? How to survive this setback?”
“I’m bored with no access to my mantic,” said one of Magon’s slights. “It’s no fun merely whispering in ears. I want the humans to see me and be swayed by my influence.”
“Mine hasn’t seen me since we left the land,” said another.
“Mine either,” said a third.
“They are completely out of evenroot on my human’s ship,” said one of Gozan’s brood.
“Mine too!” echoed the first of Magon’s slights.
“Stop fretting, all of you,” Magon said. “We simply must lead these ships to land. Once the humans plant and harvest new evenroot crops, our power over them will return.”
“But it takes at least three months to reap a harvest,” a slight said.
“And harvesting that early, the roots will be small,” said another.
“Patience,” Magon said. “We must remain calm and focus on leading the ships to land.”
“But, master,” Masi said to Gozan, “with so little evenroot, we have no control over the captains of these vessels.”
“We only need control the one who leads,” Gozan replied.
Snickers broke out among the slights, and a common behind Magon said, “Humans will never agree on the same leader.”
“They will follow Armania,” Magon said. “They always do, despite my efforts.”
“Then we must work together to lead the Armanians to land,” Gozan said.
“I have no power in Armania yet,” Magon said. “I am close. But my mantics are divided at present as to how to proceed.”
Typical. Magon bored too easily. “You never could stay loyal to one human.”
“Where is the fun in that? It’s much more entertaining to bait them against each other. Better than hiding for decades in a lowly position.”
“Jazlyn is loyal to me,” Gozan said, “and now that she is High Queen of Tenma, I am in a place to use my power to advance her realm.”
“The real problem is that I am uncertain where land is,” Magon said. “The humans are headed to an island now, but if they are to plant a substantial amount of evenroot without interference from religious zealots, we must lead them to a great expanse.”
“Are you certain another exists?” Gozan asked. “Perhaps only this mysterious island remains.”
“This world is vast, Gozan,” Magon said. “If there is a great stretch of land out there, my swarm will find it.”
This sent Magon’s votaries into a flurry of color and objections.
“Go without you?”
“We mustn’t leave you, Great One. We would be lost apart from you.”
“Lost without your guidance.”
“I refuse to leave your side,” a purple slight said. “I will die before I do.”
“Die, then!” A wave of Magon’s hand obliterated the purple slight into a wisp of smoke. Her votaries scattered briefly, then cowered at her feet, trembling.
“Are you ready to listen?” she asked.
Her swarm stared at her, eyes wide and contrite. Some nodded. Not one made a sound.
“I have no need of you here at present,” she said. “You will be of better use to me seeking out land. Remember, as your great shadir, I can summon you all at a word. And no matter how far you drift from me, call on my name and you can always return.”
It would pain them, though, to be parted from her, and it would weaken her to be without their energy. Gozan hesitated to join her risky plan, knowing it would cost him as well, yet he couldn’t afford to be left in the dark. “My shadir will go with yours,” he said.
A heavy silence fell over their group. The two swarms appraised one another as if trying to decide whether or not such a joining was in their best interest.
“We might as well get started,” Magon said, and she set about dividing her followers into four groups with a common at the head of each.
Gozan did the same with his swarm.
“Do not return until you have found a fair amount of land or until I summon you,” Magon told her shadir. “Now fly!”
As her swarm flitted away, Gozan lowered his voice to his own. “Return to me when summoned, when you find land, or if you sense a betrayal from Magon’s swarm. I want them tracked at all times. Understood?”
His shadir throbbed and spun their agreement.
“After them!” he yelled.
They shot away like streaks of smoke on the tails of fire arrows. He watched them, pride welling inside. They would not fail him.
“You are vulnerable without your swarm,” Magon said. “As is your mantic.”
“And you are not?”
She smiled. “My mantics still have stores of evenroot.”
“If it’s a fight you seek, you will not win. Alone, I am stronger than you.”
She cackled. “I have no wish to fight you, Rurek. My fight is with Dendron. It always has been. I cannot defeat him alone, but we might do so together.”
She did not tempt him in the least. He hadn’t even seen Dendron since The Great Parting. “I have no quarrel with Dendron.”
“Not now,” Magon said, “but Dendron has a hold on Armania. The realm is his. And once the humans find land and set up their seats of power, Armania will rule. It will not be long thereafter that we will all come to odds with Dendron. I have a plan to protect myself. You should too.”
“Perhaps, but I will not seek out trouble now.”
“Be ready, then, for trouble will find you.”
Gozan flew away from the Seffynaw without answering. Halfway back to the Baretam, he risked a little of Jazlyn’s power to enter the Solid. He instantly felt the wind shift the hair on his body. He breathed in the ocean’s smell, heard the sea foam sizzle, admired his reflection rippling over the thick waves. Without his swarm around him, he appeared small. He reached his hands down into the water and basked in the cool moisture.
Even at this distance, he could feel Jazlyn’s strength draining. Disheartened, he shifted back into the Veil and his senses instantly dulled. Unless Jazlyn could find Emperor Ulrik’s evenroot, before long she would lose sight of him completely.
The thought birthed a well of terror within him. If he could never again enter the Solid, he would go mad. Life in the Veil was but a haze of the Solid. He cursed the sunbird, Nesher, for keeping his kind from it. It resolidified his vow to Lord Gâzar. He would continue to help the humans destroy each other. The more souls won to Lord Gâzar’s domain, the greater loss Nesher would suffer and the longer Gozan could enjoy the Solid realm that the sunbird had created for his pathetic humans.