The Way of the Power (22 page)

Moving with majestic grace, the Artisoll stepped forward. She had grown taller — older now. She looked like a woman who had raised children, who had loved, who had been loved, and who had seen Death. A serene smile and a gentle touch graced each of her motions.

She touched Stray’s shoulder as she walked by him, causing him to step back and lower his head. Tommy raised his arm to focus on a tattoo, but the Artisoll stopped him with nothing more than a glance. And Malja — Malja understood immediately. She pivoted back, making way for the Artisoll to approach.

Abrazkia crossed her arms. “Interesting that you only come forth for the stranger and not for when I executed your own people.”

Stray made a fist. “She knows her own people will sacrifice themselves for her.”

“You’re a strange people. Perhaps it’s best to give a stranger to the strange.” She pocketed her gun and kicked Hirasa down the steps.

Stumbling to her feet, Hirasa held a tight composure in her face, but she ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She tangled her arms around Malja as if holding onto a solid post in the middle of a horrendous storm.

Malja stroked her head and whispered, “Go get on the boat. You’re okay now.”

Hirasa wiped at her tears. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry they got me. But they ambushed me when I tried to get Fawbry. They were waiting with him. They have Fawbry.”

As if only remembering, Abrazkia’s face lit up. “That’s right. I wanted to share my new friend with you. Now Fawbry!”

A wooden balcony on the second floor exploded outward. Wood, stone, and dust plumed in all directions. Fawbry soared through the air — a dagger in his teeth, a gun in his hand, and madness in his eyes. His multi-colored robe fluttered behind him. His hand, the one that had been seared off long ago, had now returned covered in bright blue magic. He landed a few paces back and hurried to Abrazkia’s side, panting like a loyal dog.

Abrazkia patted Fawbry’s head. “Fawbry, listen close. Malja and her friends have been trying to hurt the Artisoll. You want to protect the Artisoll, right? Well, the only way you can protect her is to kill them all.”

Saliva trickled down Fawbry’s chin as he glowered at Malja.

Chapter 21

As Fawbry jumped down the stairs,
Malja pulled out Viper and lowered into a fighting stance. His wild expression broadened as he came to an abrupt halt — well out of Viper’s reach. He lifted his handgun and shot.
Bap! Bap! Bap! Bap!

Malja had never seen a small handgun fire so many bullets so fast. Had he been a better shot and not half-insane, he might have hit them all. Instead, he sprayed bullets into the ground, kicking up stones and dirt.

“To the boat,” Malja said.

The group rushed back up the dock, bullets chewing up the wood planks behind them. Fawbry followed this with a maniacal laugh that would have been comical if not for the Death that he sent their way.

Hirasa rushed to the mast and held onto it as if it had been Malja. Stray, Tommy, and Malja waited. Ready to fight. Uncertain of what would come.

Fawbry had stopped his pursuit at the edge of the dock. For a fleeting moment, Malja thought his insanity might prevent him from going on the water.

No such luck.

Three of Abrazkia’s trang-gaul crawled from the Temple’s shattered balcony. They slithered down the cliff wall, their carapace bodies clicking all the way, and stood next to Fawbry. He had merely been waiting for support.

With a wave of his gun, Fawbry sent the three creatures ahead. They dove into the bay and torpedoed through the water.

“Coming on the other side,” Malja said.

“I’ve got this.” Stray rushed across the bow of the ship.

Though the fog had started to roll back in, Malja watched as Abrazkia escorted the Artisoll into the Temple. To Tommy, Malja said, “Unless she starts fighting, protect Hirasa.” Tommy knew better than to question orders in a fight, and he rushed off to do as commanded.

Malja heard the splash. She saw the three minions rise into the air and over the railing of the ship’s port side. With his scimitars slicing in opposite directions, Stray dispatched one trang-gaul before it even landed. The other two approached cautiously and engaged Stray.

Though she heard the back and forth of blade versus carapace, the strained grunts of Stray and the anguished clicks of the minions, Malja could not help. She had to keep her eye on Fawbry as he approached. With his gun trained on her head, Fawbry strolled across the dock, his magic hand sparking off bits of blue into the air.

Malja decided to attempt to talk through the craziness that possessed Fawbry. Putting Viper away, Malja raised both hands. “Listen to me.”

Fawbry giggled as if he had heard the most absurd idea. “I’d have to be crazy to listen to you.”

“Please, all I —”

“You have done nothing but destroy my life time and time again. Had I never met you, I’d be King of the Griffles, living in luxury, enjoying my life on Corlin. But you came and destroyed that. I had an opportunity then to be married, live with my family again, but no — you came and ruined that. Then, you take me away from the land I’d known since birth and brought me into a war zone. But I survived. I found a place for myself. They made me Sheriff they liked me so much. But you couldn’t let me have that. Everything that gave me purpose and place, you took away. You even took away my hand.”

“I’ve never tried to ruin things for you, and I’m sorry it happened. I’ve always tried to make life better for us.”

“You lie. You only wanted to make things better for yourself, and even then, you were more interested in the next battle than settling down to a peaceful life.”

Fawbry boarded the boat. Malja backed up purposely towards the stern of the ship, hoping to lead Fawbry the furthest away from everyone else. Towards the back, Stray had beaten one trang-gaul into a stupor, went to strike it down, only to be deflected by the other. He held his own, though, and Malja trusted that he could finish the job.

“Okay. I let you down. I’m no good. By why help Abrazkia?”

“The Artisoll is all that matters. That’s my purpose.” Fawbry placed his glowing blue hand between them. “The Artisoll’s magic drives me. Abrazkia has shown me that together, the two of them can be greater, more special. My hand here is the proof.”

“But Abrazkia wants this for herself. She’s Gate. If you think I’m selfish, then you must know that Abrazkia is a hundred times worse. She’s worse than Harskill.”

“She gave me a new hand. She gave me a full purpose. All you ever did was take away.”

The boat lurched forward. Malja widened her stance to keep her balance, and Fawbry only had enough time to look quizzical before the boat shot away from the dock as if launched from a sling. Fawbry tumbled towards Malja, and the winds caused by the boat’s rapid motion blew hard against them both. She caught his gun-wielding arm in the crook of her elbow. Turning as she clamped down, she tried to wrench the gun free.

With a loud report, the gun went off. For a second, Malja watched as the bullet cracked through the hard shell of a minion, knocking it overboard. She saw Hirasa pinned down, arms still wrapped around the mast. Tommy stood at the wheel, using his magic to blast them faster and faster away from the Temple.

In the next second, Malja wrestled Fawbry to the deck and smashed his hand against the railing. Once. Twice. On the second time, his fingers popped open and the gun flipped into the water.

Barring her left forearm against his throat, she pushed down on his waist with her knee, trying to immobilize him. But Fawbry wriggled his new hand free and grasped Malja on the side. Shocks of electricity ripped through as every nerve in her body awoke. She jumped back with a shriek. Fawbry had learned much from Malja when it came to fighting — as she jumped back, he moved forward. He took hold of her by the waist. His hand continued to jolt her but also proved to have incredible strength. He lifted her, one-handed, over his head, and slammed her back down hard enough to break through the deck.

Along with the wood raining down, Malja flopped into Tommy’s bunk, breaking it into pieces. Fawbry dropped down on top of her. Though too stunned by the assault to react, Malja never had to worry. For the seconds it took to clear her head, her do-kha took over. It formed a stiff pole, catching Fawbry in the chest, and knocked him through the cabin door.

With the help of adrenaline, Malja jumped to her feet, gained her bearings, and stepped into the hall. As Fawbry stood, Malja punched him in the jaw. Rage blinded her. She punched him again and again and again — each punch cracking into his face, his gut, his chest, knocking him back a step or two, dazing him, keeping him from focus.

She stopped, hoping this beating had been enough. She looked at him, waiting for a reaction, waiting for a sign that he had finally returned to the Fawbry she knew. Because a sickening thought churned in her stomach — if she had to fight him more, she would probably have to kill him.

And she would do it. The Artisoll had to be saved.

Fawbry’s head lolled. Rubbing his palm into his forehead, he moaned. But when he raised his head, though his eyes did clear, they did not return to normal. Squinting at her, he opened his mouth, letting the saliva drool down his chin. With a tormented yell, he swung at her with his magic hand. Malja ducked, and Fawbry’s punch tore open a hole in the side of the ship. Ocean water rushed by just below the hole.

Wrenching his arm, he tried to backhand Malja. Jumping aside, Malja evaded the strike, and Fawbry broke open another hole in the opposite side of the ship. Water splashed in. Malja’s do-kha stretched out and covered the blue hand, but the electric jolts still penetrated. Malja stumbled, smacking into the mast pole. She lunged forward, driving her shoulder into his stomach, and thrust him into the wall of maps and charts. But this new Fawbry ignored most of his pain and reacted quickly.

His blue hand grabbed Malja’s neck and forced her back. The pain coursing through her body caused her fingers to twitch and her legs to shake. Breathing proved difficult. Fog formed around her eyes. She couldn’t tell if that came from outside or within. How close was Death? Worst of all, the one to kill her bore no resemblance to the Fawbry she knew and cared for.

But behind him, Malja saw Hirasa. The woman stepped down from above, inching closer, doing her best not to be noticed. Malja made sure not to look at her directly, not to give Fawbry any reason to check behind.

Hirasa undid her belt. She slid closer in and lassoed it around Fawbry’s neck. Yanking backwards, she cried out. The surprise startled Fawbry, causing him to release Malja.

As she gasped for air, she saw Hirasa pull even tighter. Veins popped from Fawbry’s head and neck. In shock, he thrashed his arms about, failing to react in a rational manner.

Two more deep breaths and Malja started to feel capable again.

“Don’t kill him,” she said with a raspy voice, but Hirasa continued to pull tighter on the belt.

Malja jumped forward and decked Fawbry in the head. Five times she had to hit him until he went unconscious. Only then did Hirasa ease her hold.

A bell clanged from above. Malja could not be sure how long it had been ringing, but she heard Stray’s voice clearly. “Get up here. Now.”

Malja turned her weary eyes to Hirasa. “What now?”

Together, they secured Fawbry to the mast pole in the middle of the room. They plugged the holes in the boat with debris from the fight. It wouldn’t stop the water for long, but hopefully for long enough. With that task complete, they went above deck.

At some point, Tommy had stopped using his magic to control the boat, for it now traveled under the wind’s power. Stray sat on his knees, the dead trang-gaul behind him. He looked off into the ocean, and Malja noted that he did not gaze outward with the same reverence he held the last time he was on his knees. This time, he looked out with subservience.

Malja saw a small skiff break through the fog. Three men sat aboard. Older, black-skinned men wearing dark, heavy robes.

“It is the Old Men,” Stray said. “My teachers and trainers. The Holy Men.”

Chapter 22

While Tommy aligned the cruiser
with the skiff, Stray frantically dumped the trang-gaul bodies and washed down the blood-soaked deck. Hirasa dangled her legs over the stern, her head lowered, and her hands juddering.

Malja joined her. “You did a great job.”

Hirasa snorted disbelief. “I fell apart when you needed me most.”

“Offering yourself to sacrifice, facing Death as you did, took incredible strength and courage. That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“But after — when I was released, I didn’t help you fight. I acted like a little girl crying for her mommy.”

“You didn’t stay that way. You found yourself again and saved two lives.”

“Without you there, I think I would’ve killed Fawbry.”

“Maybe. But without you, I definitely would have killed him. You have behaved like a true warrior, and the people of Carsite will be proud of you. I know I am.” Malja pulled herself up by the rail. “Come on. Let’s join Stray and welcome our new friends.”