Prophecy (The Destiny Series Book 4) Page 2

  She had gone back to the berry patch and picked twice as many of the sweet berries as she had taken in the first place, which she presented to her mother in a heaping bowl as a silent offering. She'd set the bowl on the floor at her mother’s feet and looked up at her, waiting for the judgment she was sure would fall upon her like a hammer.

  Her father shook his head and turned away from her in disgust. She had wanted to melt into the floor and die, but she waited for her mother’s response, a knife of remorse twisting in her gut all the while. Dearra had looked at her for a long time before simply saying that Tabitha could go.

  Her feet felt like they were encased in lead when she left the Great Hall. Brint had been waiting for her. He must have seen the whole thing, and when she exited the room, he took her hand in his and walked with her out of the keep. His support had soothed her wounded pride and numbed her shame. In hindsight, she wasn’t sure that she didn’t deserve to suffer a bit more, and maybe by forgiving her so easily, Brint had lessened the effectiveness of the lesson. No, she wasn’t going to blame him. She always seemed to find a way to put the responsibility for her actions and feelings on someone else. It was past time she accepted that she, alone, was responsible for her own misdeeds.

  Aesri cleared her throat softly. “Tabitha? Are you still with me? You seem very far away.”

  Tabby shook her head, and the memory drifted away like smoke on a breeze. “Yes, I’m still here. I was remembering something. I suppose…I suppose that what you say is true. I don’t like fairies, but I do love you, Aunt Aesri. I really do.”

  “I know, child,” she soothed. “I think it is fear that makes you so distrustful, and maybe there is another reason as well, one that you are not yet ready to admit. Once you get to know more Etrafarians, you will learn that different does not have to mean bad. This trip will be very good for you. A couple years on Etrafa and you will not know yourself.”

  “A couple years! I thought this was supposed to be a short visit!”

  “Tabitha, settle down. We believed it best not to tell you. You have grown stagnant, like a pool of water that sits too long under the hot sun. Your prejudices and habits are making you bitter. You need some time to grow into the woman your mother and I both know you can be.”

  “A couple years,” she said again under her breath. Her eyes pooled with tears.

  “Maybe longer, maybe shorter. Who can tell what tomorrow will bring? You and Brint are on the cusp of adulthood, and it is time for you to cast aside childish things and embrace the future. When you cannot go back, you must go forward.”

  “What I feel like embracing is my pillow, in my bed, in my room. Aunt Aesri, why are you doing this to me?”

  “We are not doing anything to you, child, we are doing this for you. Also, I have had a feeling that something is coming, and you are to play a part in it. I cannot describe it, but I believe that Rah has a plan for you. For Holly, as well. Brin’du Drak’Tir and I have spent many nights discussing this and we feel—”

  “Brin? He was in on this?” Tabby wheeled on Aesri, her eyes rounded with indignation. Brin was her friend. She knew he spent time with the fairies, but the thought he’d played a part in this deception wounded her deeply.

  Aesri laughed, and Tabitha felt her temper rise. This wasn’t funny! She had been kidnapped! How could Aesri laugh at her when it was obvious she was upset and angry?

  “He was not ‘in on this,’ Tabitha. You have so much to learn, and most of it is about yourself. Do you think we would do anything to cause you harm?”

  Tabitha’s anger cooled a little, and she shook her head. “No, I suppose not.”

  “There is nothing we would not do for you. Besides, this sojourn is not a permanent separation. I will be returning to Mirin Tor next summer to visit Niada Fell, and you may accompany me, if you wish.”

  Niada Fell was the name given to the place where Aesri’s companion, Niada, had died during the Great War. She had sacrificed herself to save Brin, Dearra, and Darius. It was her unflinching courage that had given them the time they needed to free Brin’du Drak’Tir from his magical prison. Flowers bloomed in a beautiful spray each year on the spot where she'd died, and a contingent of Etrafarians went annually to remember and honor Niada.

  Tabitha huffed. “If I go to Mirin Tor with you to visit Niada Fell, good luck getting me back to Etrafa.”

  “We will see. For now, let us get you to your cabin. It will be a long journey, and you may want to unpack and rest for a while.”

  “I can find my own way,” Tabitha said stubbornly. “Which cabin is mine?”

  “You will be sharing a room with Holly. I have selected the one at the back of the ship. It has such a pretty view.”

  “But, Aunt Aesri! Holly? Don’t you think—”

  “I think it is time the two of you got to know each other better. Now is always the best time for these things.”

  “Stupid fairy logic,” Tabitha grumbled.

  “No, dear, it is stupid Etrafarian logic. You know I do not especially care for the word fairy. Come along, now. Let us get you settled.”

  Tabitha ran her hand along the smooth trunk of the living tree that made up part of the ship’s rail before giving one last look in the direction of home. She could no longer see the island, but she knew it was there, just out of sight, calling to her. She had barely started out and she already wished herself home. As long as she lived, she would never forgive her mother or Aesri and Brin for what they had done.

  Chapter 2

  Holly and Tabitha sat on their bunks facing each other. Holly was swinging her feet back and forth over the edge of her bed and staring at her toes, while Tabitha looked over Holly’s shoulder to examine the wood grain on the wall behind her.

  Tabitha gritted her teeth. Why did she have to be the one to make the first move? Why did she have to be here at all? “So…nice boat," she said in a voice she hoped didn’t betray her frustration. "Pretty."

  Holly looked up as if startled to find another human being in the room with her but then her features smoothed out to a look of indifference, and she went back to staring at her feet. “It’s a ship.”

  “Huh?” Tabitha asked.

  “It’s a ship, not a boat. A boat is the thing we lower from the ship so we can get to shore.”

  “I hadn’t noticed there were any boats,” Tabby said, frowning. She had seen her share of Etrafarian “ships” and she didn’t think she'd ever seen one with smaller boats attached to its sides.

  “They’re there. You probably didn't notice them because they blend so well with the rest of the ship. I’m not even sure why they need boats. I'd think they could float to safety, but I suppose, with us on board, they'd have to have some no matter what.”

  “Us? Don’t you…you know?” Tabitha waved her hand in a swirling motion.

  “What’s that supposed to be? Don’t I what? Mix a cake?”

  Tabitha narrowed her eyes for a moment. Why was she making this so hard? Holly knew what she meant. She didn’t have to be so high and mighty about it. “I was asking if you knew how to float.”

  “You’ve known me for your whole life. Have you ever seen me float?”

  “I assumed you kept it to yourself.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  Tabitha thought Holly looked genuinely confused which confused her as well. “I thought…it’s not really something that Maj do. I figured you'd want to be as much like us as possible to, you know, fit in.”

  “I don’t need to pretend to be Maj, Tabitha; I am Maj. The fact that I'm a small part Etrafarian doesn’t change that. Your own mother isn’t exactly pure blood. She—”

  “Don’t talk about my mother!” Tabitha said, raising her voice loud enough to startle Holly into silence. “You don’t know anything about my mother!” She was almost as shocked by her outburst as Holly was. She and her mother had never been very close, but hearing Holly say something about her was different than thinking the same things herself.


  “I wasn’t…I didn’t mean any insult. I was only saying that you don’t have to be limited to Mirin Tor blood to be Maj, that’s all.”

  There was a knock at the door, and both young women looked up, relieved to have something break the tension in the small space.

  Brint cautiously stuck his head into the room. “I heard yelling. Can I watch?” He pulled his head back and slammed the door when a bed pillow sailed in his direction. “In Cyrus’s name, Tabby!” He called through the now closed door. “I was only joking. You don’t have to get your Breken up!”

  Brint’s reminder that her blood wasn’t crystal clear either brought a crimson blush to her cheeks, and she looked up to see if Holly was gloating; the tiny girl was grinning in a way that said she found the whole situation amusing.

  “Let him in, Tabitha. I've always wanted to have a brother. It’s nice to be able to share yours.”

  That statement caused Tabitha pause. She hadn't noticed Holly pay any attention to Brint, one way or the other, but now that she took some time to consider it, it made sense. It was a small island. They had grown up together. It was logical that Holly and Brint would have spent time together. Tabitha had to admit, to herself, anyway, that she wasn’t usually the keenest of observers, usually too wrapped up in what she was doing to notice much going on around her.

  Tabitha tipped her head, first to one side and then the other, trying to decide if she was willing to forgive her brother so quickly.

  “It’s getting pretty boring out here,” Brint called. “When you’re done tipping your head back and forth, you could let me know what you come up with.”

  Tabitha’s lips twitched into a wry smile. He knew her too well. “Well, come in if you’re coming in. Uncle Daniel says it’s rude to linger in doorways.”

  Brint opened the door, a smile lighting his face. Some of his long, dark hair had fallen over one eye, and he casually swept it aside. “I wasn’t lingering. I was simply waiting to be invited in. That’s just good manners.” He looked about the room and quickly dismissed the one small chair. He settled on the bunk beside Holly and leaned back against the cabin wall.

  “Now that you’re here, what do you want?” Tabitha asked. She crossed her arms and scowled, but her brother didn’t seem impressed with her show of ferocity.

  “Like I said, I was minding my own business when I heard a terrible screeching noise. Naturally, I figured it was you, Tabby.”

  “Naturally,” she said, arching an eyebrow at her unrepentant brother.

  “So, knowing you as I do, I concluded that Holly had said something to irritate your more sensitive bloodline, and I felt duty bound to come in here and save you from yourself. Either that, or get a really good show. The two of you have been headed toward this moment for some time now, and I’m not going to let something as inconsequential as a door get in the way of what I can only guess would be a really awesome girl fight.” Brint grinned at his own wit and looked between Tabitha and Holly, waiting for their response.

  Holly giggled at his wild statement, but Tabitha wasn’t feeling that generous. “I wonder how Mother would feel about that—her son wanting to see a ‘girl fight.’ I can’t wait to ask her.”

  “You do that, Tabby. In a couple of years, when we make it home, you go right ahead and trot up to her and ask.” Brint stretched out his long legs and crossed them at the ankles, secure in the knowledge that his mother was far, far away.

  Tabitha sulked for a moment, and then she stuck her tongue out at him, which, much to her annoyance, made him break into a hearty, full-throated laugh that grated on her nerves like coarse sand.

  The ship suddenly lurched and shuddered violently, tossing Holly forward on her bunk. Brint had his arms around her in a moment, stopping her from tumbling to the floor. He released her almost as quickly, and was soon through the door to make his way onto the deck to see what was going on, with Tabitha and Holly close behind.

  Holly seemed less than eager to leave the shelter of her room. She looked back over her shoulder several times, as if reassuring herself the safe space was still there, should she need it.

  There was another rough shaking, and both girls were knocked off their feet. Tabitha crawled on her hands and knees as she worked her way toward the steps which would take her above deck, but Holly must have decided the floor was perfectly fine with her, for she didn’t move any further.

  On the deck, it was a glorious day. The seas were fairly quiet, and there was a steady wind filling the sails. The sun beamed merrily down upon them, and there was a pretty, dappled pattern cast by the leaves of the tree that served as a living mast. Tabitha couldn’t begin to imagine what had caused the shaking. They hadn’t hit a land mass, or anything else that she could see. The ship continued to slice through the water, so she knew they were still moving.

  Etrafarians ran everywhere. A few were poised high up in the branches of the tree. They held their hands out before them, magic shimmering from their fingertips as they looked all about themselves for the unseen threat.

  Tabitha heard a crashing noise behind her, and she looked back down the steps to see Holly scrambling toward her. Following closely behind her was what appeared to be a green, handless limb. It looked a lot like the tentacle of an octopus, but much, much larger, and where the suction cups would normally have been, there were disk-like shapes, roughly the size of a dinner plate, instead. Small, needle-sharp teeth rimmed each of the disks, and at the center, something that looked like a mouth made sucking and slurping noises as it drew nearer to Holly.

  “Brint!” Tabitha screamed. Her brother raced toward her, sword in hand. When Holly shrieked, he bolted down the stairs without even bothering to assess the situation before rushing in to face whatever was threatening her.

  His sword slapped at the tentacle, but the monstrous arm ignored him. It continued reaching for Holly who was plastered tightly to the wall as she tried to inch her way forward.

  Holly held her hands out, and the temperature in the hallway dipped noticeably. A layer of thick ice encased the tentacle, but it slammed up against the wall, and the ice was instantly shattered.

  Three Etrafarians joined Brint and Holly in the corridor, their hands raised as well. There were only female Etrafarians onboard, so there was no way to know what effect fire might have had on the beast, but wind and water were having no effect at all.

  Brint lunged forward and drove his sword straight down into the flailing limb, pinning it to the floor. Holly hastily broke free from her place against the wall and fled to the upper deck.

  There was an awful tearing sound as the tentacle ripped itself free of Brint’s blade. It flapped wildly in the narrow hall, sending a shower of blood raining down around them. In the next moment, the tentacle withdrew in a slithering rush.

  Brint had the presence of mind to wrench the sword free from the wooden floor before making for the deck.

  They grouped together and stood, back to back, in a defensive circle, the only sound the gentle slapping of waves against the sides of the vessel. The ocean began to swirl and foam around the ship, and the water exploded upward before crashing back down upon them like a drenching rain.

  “Kraken!” Aesri shouted.

  Tabitha stared up, up, up and looked upon the face of a nightmare. It was sea green and had a face unlike anything she had ever seen. The head came to a domed point where two bony spines protruded like the curved horns of a ram. The mouth was almost beak-like, and filled with multiple rows of jagged teeth. The eyes were tiny, black dots, set deep into its skull. Its arms were tentacles, and there was a kind of rudimentary hand at the end of each appendage. She saw two of the legs as they began to snake their way out of the water to wrap themselves around the Etrafarian ship. Those tooth-laced suction cups had begun to dig themselves into the wood, and Tabby heard the wood as it gave way with a rasping groan.

  The Etrafarians were at a loss. Their magic didn’t seem to affect the creature in any way, and they didn’t fight with weapons,
so other than Brint’s sword, they had no meaningful defenses.

  “Aunt Aesri!” Tabitha shouted. “What should we do?”

  Aesri had just enough time to cast Tabitha a frightened look before the whole ship lurched alarmingly to the side and was lifted several feet above the surface of the water.

  From above them came a deep, booming, roar of rage, which Tabitha would have recognized anywhere. The kraken released its prize, and the ship was dropped, slamming violently down on the water below where it bobbed like a cork. Green water poured over the sides, sweeping them off their feet and threatening to wash them overboard.

  Tabitha shoved her sopping hair out of her face, and then she saw him.

  “Brin!” she called.

  The dragon dove straight down and raked the kraken with his claws, narrowly escaping a tentacle that was whipped in his direction.

  The kraken bellowed and plunged back beneath the waves, while Brin circled overhead, waiting. For a moment, everything was eerily quiet, and the hushed creak of the ship and gentle swish of water filled Tabitha’s ears. She could hear Brint’s breathing, steady and controlled, as their mother had taught him. From her other side came Holly’s rapid, shallow breathing. Her terror caused the air to chill, and Tabitha shivered.