They were huddled together, pressed against a wall and the ground beneath them was lurching with a sickening pitch. Another roar of wind sent waves of water crashing down beside them, but the thick cloak Sovann had wrapped around both of them shielded the worst from her.
“Where are we?” Jala demanded, her eyes frantically searching the sky above for any sign of stars. Her father had taught her a bit about the stars and a glimpse would have given her a slight clue of her location. The sky however was shrouded with thick black clouds and driving rain.
“In hell,” Sovann muttered as he raised the edge of the cloak to block another torrent of water.
“No, that looks different,” Jala pointed out dryly, her eyes searching frantically for Marrow. There was no sign of her familiar anywhere around her and she felt panic rising in her chest. “Where is Marrow? Where is Valor? And most importantly, where are we?” she demanded once more, her voice rising in pitch with each word. The last thing she could remember was raising the dead of Goswin. It had taken everything she had to see the last of the souls brought back, but with the help of Zachary and the witches they had finally managed it.
“Marrow is with Valor. I think he is trying to calm him down. We are on a ship and should be very near Kithvaryn if the damned boat doesn’t capsize. I’m not sure what you said to Valor but he is certainly living up to the title Stormlord. I just wish he would have chosen a better time to do it,” Sovann explained, his voice thick with misery.
“What? I have no idea what I said to Valor that would upset him. Are you sure the storm is of his making and not simply the weather?” Jala gasped, her eyes searching the surroundings once more. She could see the shape of the ship now that she was looking for it. They were sitting in a recess on the deck and leaning back against the door to the hold.
“I’m positive the storm is of his making. It started in Goswin not long after you finished your magic. Valor was helping you back to Anthe’s and we had planned to rest there until you were able to travel. Then Valor’s expression darkened and so did the skies. He handed you into my care and stalked off around the time the snow began to fall. Within an hour it was a blizzard and not long after that, Anthe was very politely asking me to get Valor the hell out of her country. She has well over ten thousand homeless people right now and a blizzard was the last thing she needed,” Sovann grumbled and held up the cloak once more as another wave sprayed water across their feeble shelter. “The bloody storm followed us to the coast and now across the sea. I did have us in the hold for a while but it started to flood below. I made this damned ship with magic, Jala, it has no leaks in the hold. The flooding is from all of the bloody storm waves.”
“I need to talk to him,” Jala said quickly as she pulled herself free from the cloak. A lance of pain in her chest pulled her up short and she leaned back against the door as she struggled to find the source of her injury. Staring down, her eyes locked on her breasts and she groaned softly. She hadn’t even considered what the effects of being away from Legacy for so long would be for her. It had been a simple arrangement to find a wet nurse in Merro for her child. It was apparently not such a simple thing for her. With a sigh she wrapped her cloak tightly around herself and pushed away the problem for the moment. It was uncomfortable, but it was nothing that would kill her anytime soon, nor would her throbbing head. Valor’s temper on the other hand might very well kill them all if she didn’t resolve the problem.
“If you can’t calm him down, will you at least knock him out? Maybe if he is unconscious the damned storm will die down,” Sovann pleaded and she noticed the pale green tint to his skin for the first time. Finn had spoken of being a sailor in the past, but apparently his younger brother didn’t handle ship travel as well. By his appearance, Sovann was quite sea sick.
“I will calm him down, Sovann,” Jala promised as she climbed from the shelter quickly and crossed to the rail of the ship. Lightning filled the sky as she crossed to the rail and the crack of thunder that followed was nearly deafening. Blinking quickly, Jala tried to clear her eyes of the momentary blindness as she seized the rail of the ship in a death grip.
“Get back below!” Valor bellowed from somewhere to her right and she began to creep in that direction, moving both hands along the railing as she walked. Another wave crashed against the boat and her breath caught as the icy water drenched her. Gasping, she searched the deck until she located Valor at the wheel of the ship and glaring at her with an expression she had never before seen on his face – pure fury.
“I need to talk to you,” Jala called back, hoping he could hear her through the wind.
“Get back below!” Valor repeated with more force in his voice.
In hindsight perhaps you shouldn’t have gotten drunk on Essence wine while you had a guilty conscience, Marrow offered softly in her mind in a voice filled with utter misery. She could barely make out the Bendazzi’s form where he crouched behind Valor. From what she could see of him, the cat was drenched and shivering.
What did I say to him? Jala pleaded as she continued her slow approach to where Valor stood.
You told him of your plans to wed Seravae. Wait, no, I think “confessed” is a more appropriate word to use there, because I’m positive you were seeking forgiveness. As a side note, judging by the weather, I don’t think he has forgiven you, Marrow explained.
“Valor, I need to talk to you,” Jala repeated as she drew closer to him.