Kings: Chaos Book 5.5 (12 page)

He wished he could solve all of his problems so easily.

Chapter Nine

Brendan

They celebrated with a fish stew, and nobody complained about having fish again. They were just glad to be away from that gods-forsaken island.

“The fir
bolg
are the ugliest creatures I’ve ever seen,” somebody proclaimed loudly while they ate. The rest of the crew laughed until someone came up with the idea of naming all of the ugly women they had slept with.

Brendan rolled his eyes. “Must I travel with children?”

“They’re just happy they have their king back in one piece,” Yvette said. “And with those trees to boot. How lucky are we?”

But she didn’t look happy.

Brendan didn’t feel exactly happy either. His pleasure at the success was marred by those he had left behind. “I’d feel luckier if we had all of those we left on this journey with,” he said.

“They made their choices for the greater good,” she said dismissively.

He gave her a hard glance. “For a woman, you’re not very sentimental.”

“As opposed to?” She shook her head. “We’ve been on this ship for too long if you and I are getting nasty with each other.”

“You really wouldn’t be concerned if your people had been left behind?” he asked.

“They were just soldiers,” she said with a tinkling laugh that grated on his nerves. “They’re unimportant.”

“They were important to me,” he said. “And I left them behind.”

“They chose to stay behind. They chose to come on this trip in the first place. We all knew the risks.”

“None of us knew about the fir
bolg
,” he snapped angrily.

“You should have said sooner if you wanted your wife to have premonitions of the future, Brendan. We did what we had to. The small sacrifices are worth it for the greater good. On this, I have no regrets.”

“Well,” he said, getting to his feet. “I’m glad not all of my acquaintances share your views.”

Her responding glare was stony. “You do recall that it will be me sitting next to you when we return. We had an agreement, and I expect you to keep it.”

Without a word, he stormed out of the room and headed to the top deck for some air. Bran was already out there, looking only a little green.

“How are you feeling?” Brendan asked him.

“I’m fine.” Bran sighed. “I just wish we could have done more for the others. I should have offered to stay with
Alyss
.”

“There was no need,” Brendan said. “Perhaps someday, we’ll go back and bring them home.”

Bran smiled. “I’d like that.” He turned and gestured toward the trees. “What a haul, eh? I can’t wait to see everyone’s faces when we return with this load.”

“I just can’t wait to see everyone’s faces. We’re quite outnumbered on this ship, don’t you think?”

“I just ignore that,” Bran said. “I wonder will the children remember me when we return.”

Brendan laughed. “Their oversized playmate? How could they forget? I can’t wait to get back and eat a meal that isn’t made of fish. I’ve never been so fed up of food in my entire life.”

“Have you spoken to
Dafina
much since we left?” Bran asked. “She seems to keep to herself, more content with those trees than spending time with the rest of us.”

Brendan recalled Yvette’s disgust at the new addition to their crew. She hadn’t been keen on the elder coming back, but he wasn’t sure why.

“Not much,” he said. And he wasn’t sure if he could trust
her
either.

“She’s going to get a shock when she realises she’ll have to live above ground. I’ve never been so excited to go home. I’m going to get the cook to make me about a dozen of those crumbly apple things he likes to bake after
Lughnasadh
. And I can’t wait to ride on a horse in the forest.”

Brendan listened to Bran list all of the things he missed from back home. But as he gazed out at the strange sea, there was one face above all others he longed to see, one voice he wished to hear again, and it was the very one Yvette would do her best to stop him from seeing. His people didn’t realise how much he would be giving up on their behalf.

“What are you thinking about with such a solemn face?” Bran asked.

“Cara,” Brendan said unthinkingly.

“You care for each other,” Bran said assuredly. “So why all this with Yvette?”

“It’s not what I want that matters. I have so much to atone for.” He gripped the rails. “Although I find myself feeling more distaste at the prospect as time goes on. I can’t imagine going through with it. In fact, I—” A sound from behind them interrupted him. He turned to see one of Yvette’s woman scurrying away.

“She was listening,” Bran said, looking worried.

“Most likely,” Brendan said. “I’m never free on this boat. There’s always someone watching, someone listening. It’s ridiculous.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I must do my duty,” Brendan said. “Yvette’s right about some things. I don’t see clearly when it comes to Cara and Drake, but I know that she’ll never give up the
Darkside
. She’ll never play second fiddle to my court either.”

“You’re both frustrating people,” Bran said. “What’s wrong with just being happy?”

“Nothing, but happiness in the faery realm doesn’t come without consequence, Bran. We hold too many lives in our hands to dabble in happiness. Even if I free myself of Yvette, I can’t see a way for me to—”

“Portal in the distance!” a voice shouted from the crow’s nest.

“Almost home,” Bran said excitedly. “This is it.”

But something else had grabbed Brendan’s attention. A ripple through the water was enlarging by the second. Something was circling them. No. A lot of somethings were circling them.

“What
is
that?” he asked.

Bran leaned over to peer more closely. “I’m not sure.”

Brendan thought he saw the flick of a tail before a sea creature lurched out of the water, aiming for Bran’s head. Brendan pulled him back with a shout while Yvette’s crew called out warnings.

A similar creature leapt out of the water and landed on the deck where it flopped ineffectually. It had a head like a fish, but a human-like torso. Its bottom half ended in two fish-like tails. Without a second thought, Brendan ran through the creature with his sword. It stopped moving, bleeding what looked like green goo rather than actual blood.

And then the boat was rammed. Brendan almost fell over at the movement. “What the hell is happening?” he shouted.

“They’re trying to stop us from reaching the portal!” one of the crew members screamed. “We should never have taken the trees!”

Dread filled the pit of Brendan’s stomach. He raced to the side of the boat as it rocked dramatically again. The creatures had piled on one side of the boat, doing their best to destroy the ship with their bare hands while others threw their bodies at the vessel.

“This is insane,” Bran cried.

“I’m going down there,” Brendan said. “I have to get them off the hull before the ship sinks. We need to make it through that portal.”

“Wait for me to get rope.” Bran ran to help his king.

Brendan wasn’t going to wait. “Too late,” he said.

Yvette’s crew were trying to force the ship to move faster, but the creatures in the water ruined every attempt. He found some rope first, tied it to the rails, and climbed over to make his descent. Gripping the rope with one hand, he held the sword of victory in the other, adrenalin rushing through his body. He would kill those creatures before they stopped him from returning home. That was a promise he could easily make.

Using his feet to balance himself, he held tight then stabbed with the sword. He knocked two of the creatures away from the hull, but four more climbed up in their stead. They were truly ugly and completely unafraid of his sword. He stabbed again and again, his blade stained with green. The creatures communicated in a high pitched language, but they still moved in the way of his sword as though misunderstanding his intent.

His repeated attacks exhausted him. Despite his attempts, the creatures had finally caused some damage. Enraged, he renewed his attacks with increased vigour as bloodlust rushed through his body.

One of the creatures gripped his ankle, and the others keened with excitement. They clambered over each other to weigh him down.

He kicked them free, his arm straining at the extra weight. He twisted the rope around his arm, feeling it burn as more creatures climbed onto him. They didn’t care that he stabbed them, didn’t care that it brought them death, they continued to try to bring him down, all the while others attempted to destroy the ship. His sword arm grew numb as he chopped and stabbed inelegantly, missing fatal hits more often than not. Seawater splashed him, drenching his clothes and weighing him down.

He heard Bran shouting his name, knew his friend was trying to pull up the rope, but he ordered him to stop.

“Enough!” he roared. “If I come up, they’ll take the entire ship down. We need the trees to survive.”

He beat back the creatures with every word. He couldn’t give up. Not yet. Not until they passed through the bloody portal. At least then they stood a chance at getting home, even if they had to land on human shores in the meantime. He rallied himself mentally. Everyone needed him to succeed. He couldn’t possibly allow himself to fail now.

His grip on the rope slipped, but still he sliced at his foes. He sensed the portal mere inches away from the boat as he finally lost hold of the rope. He kept his sword in his hand, and despite being dragged underwater, he still fought them off, giving the boat the chance to pass through the portal. One second it was there, the next it was gone, and as the creatures pulled him down, he ran out of air.

Something heavy hit him on the back of the head, but the creatures stopped trying to kill him and disappeared as though he had been forgotten. He blinked a couple of times in the murky water, but he couldn’t see anything bar the light of his sword. The green glimmers were said to foretell victory, but he had already lost. He tried to swim to the surface, but his head pounded, and the water around him was coloured red with his blood. Debris from the ship had hit him, he realised. And then his fight for air had to end because he couldn’t even see the surface anymore. His vision blurred as he began to lose consciousness. He held on for as long as he could, never letting go of the sword entrusted into his care.

He thought he saw a mermaid’s tail swim past him, and something underneath him buoyed him, but everything was darkness, and he was already dying. The pressure on his lungs was gone. He saw Cara’s face as he opened his mouth and let the ocean gush in. Saw her smile, felt her touch, and knew regret. But this time, he knew they would meet again in death, and his life didn’t matter anymore. He was cradled in warmth, soothed by the release of his fears, and he found peace.

As he died, as the darkness completely shrouded him, a strong hand gripped his and pulled tight.

Thanks for reading Kings. I hope it tides you over until Sacrifice’s release later in 2015. Blurb below!

Sacrifice – the final book in the Chaos series.

One king’s life hangs in the balance.

Alliances are broken.

Usurpers bring war to the realm.

Enemies show their true face.

Every distraction feeds Chaos.

And the end of every path leads to Sacrifice.

For more information, check out
Claire Farrell’s blog
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email the author
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