Chapter 14

The week after, we set out on that last trip Tore had told me about to supply the surrounding villages before the Rains came. I’d decided to come along after all, even though I wasn’t sure I would be of any use.

‘If people believe you can protect them, they will have no need for the Council.’

Havan’s words rang in my mind, but there was still so much we didn’t know. Would the people of Tovira really defend the Master if we arrived, and even if they would, would my presence somehow convince them to abandon him? But seeing the others being excited about the plan, I didn’t have the heart to discourage them. At least it wasn’t dangerous.

“Come, it’s the last time we’ll see Varja for a while.”

Aase pulled at my tunic and led me across the crowded deck of Aeagon. Stella, Vessa, and Yorun had stayed to help Iris with her work, but many of the villagers had instead joined us, taking the rare opportunity to visit their relatives.

She halted by the railing and pointed into the distance.

“You see it?”

I nodded. A small dot on the mountainside was all that was visible in the falling twilight. I was about to reply when someone bumped into me, and I turned. An old dwarf bowed his head as he passed me.

“Apologies, Guardian.”

I sighed. That evening of healing hadn’t stayed a secret for long, despite my best attempts, and once the villagers had learnt I’d willingly met the Worm, they wouldn’t stop treating me as if I were a Guardian. It wasn’t as if I’d succeeded, neither with healing Aase’s eye nor defeating the Worm, but that didn’t seem to matter.

“Come…”

I gestured for her and made my way to the steering platform, where I climbed up on the roof and sat down next to Dalor's bow. With almost all of the rooms taken and ours shared with Kine and Tore, there weren’t many other places where we could be alone. Aase took hold of the platform to follow when Mitrandes called her.

“I’ll come back later.”

She disappeared back over the deck, and I watched the last of the sun setting behind the mountains. I hadn’t dared to try to touch the Flow since that night in the cave, but the words of the Worm still rang in my mind.

Your world is not the first one to fall prey to our kind, nor will it be the last one…

I shivered. Were they telling the truth? I know Ifrim said they were lying, and up until that evening I’d thought so too, but it was true that old wounds were hard to heal. So at least they knew about some things…

“Silje!”

I looked up. Mitrandes was gesturing for me, and I climbed down from the roof and joined them.

The days passed, and we soon found a daily rhythm. Every night we flew, and every day we found a spot to land to hide from the Monsters. There weren’t as many good places in the mountains, and according to Mitrandes, the ravines below were too narrow or unstable to land there safely. Being much more exposed meant that, apart from being silent, we also had to be mostly still so as not to attract attention, and I spent the days continuing to practise the sign language whenever I wasn’t on watch.

One of those early mornings, Mitrandes found a ledge jutting from the mountainside that he announced would be our resting place for the day. The moment we felt the soft thump, telling us we were on solid ground, the deck came alive in one last commotion as we hurried to attach long spears to the side of the ship as a deterrent against the flying beast. Once we were secured, I helped Kine pull the net above the deck to hide us from their gaze before climbing onto the roof of the steering platform. Aase climbed up next to me, and we watched the sun slowly rise above the mountains. I could see an old Neko and a Dwarf sitting on the deck next to the newly installed cannon while everyone else found shelter under the deck.

“Look," Aase whispered.

She pointed at the sky. I frowned. There were already Monsters gathering far above, dark shapes against the brightening sky. It wasn’t unusual for them to come, but to see so many of them almost as soon as we’d landed… Even from a distance, they looked big, bigger than the Griffis I used to see in Naria.

Aase put a hand on my shoulder and signed,

“We’re safe. They can’t see us."

I nodded when a wave of fear suddenly rippled through the air. I froze.

“Did you feel that?”

But the words had barely passed my lips when a loud shriek struck the air, and the first Monster hurled itself towards us.

“Load!”

Aase sprang up, and I scrambled to the bow and cranked the pulley. A light flashed from the deck, and the Monster screamed as it burst into flames and fell into the ravine below.

“Hit!” Kine yelled, running over the deck with his rifle.

“Silje, load!”

Another Monster screamed in pain, hit by a rifle salvo, but I managed to load a bolt when the ship suddenly jerked, and I stumbled into the bow.

“Shoot! Take it down!”

I scrambled to my feet when one of the beasts rammed into the ship, impaling itself on the row of spears, and it screamed as its talons tried to reach into the deck.

“Keep shooting!” Mitrandes roared, stabbing the Monster with a long spear.

The ship shook violently and began sliding from the ledge.

“They’re attacking the hull!”

Aegon jolted forward, leaning over the edge of the cliff, and I lost my grip and tumbled from the roof, crashing into the railing.

“Take us into the air!”

I clung to the guardrail, forcing myself not to look at the ravine below us.

“Silje!”

Ifrim’s voice cut through the chaos.

“Use the Flow! Make us float!”

He cast a spell, scrambling to try to climb to the sterling platform. The Flow… I gripped the railing as the last of the ledge gave away and Aegon plunged into the ravine below. I… I reached out and touched the Flow, and the wind, gusting from below, took hold of the ship.

We told you that old wounds don’t heal well… We never lie, Silje…

I flinched.

“What do you want?”

We can help you, Silje...

I dared to glance around, but the Spectre was nowhere to be seen. Where was it?

We don’t care who will rule this world...

“You are lying!”

We don’t lie, Silje, you know it… Did you ever care which rooster protected the chickens? No, you didn’t. You only cared about the eggs... We are no different, Silje…

“You…”

Do you really believe you can stop us when your elders failed to do it? You have a good heart, Silje… You will make this world a better place than the Council ever did. We can help you…

The voice suddenly vanished from my mind, and the screams from the deck filled the air. I opened my eyes, wondering when I had shut them close, and looked around. I was floating above the deck, enveloped in a swirling wind.

"Guardian… The Guardian protected us!"

I stared around. What had happened? I just tried to...

“We’re stable!” Ifrim called out from the steering platform.

I slowly descended onto the deck and let go of the Flow.

“Silje!”

Aase ran over to me, throwing her arms around me.

“You are safe…”

“Guardian!”

An old Kitsune called me, bowing his head.

“Please save my friend…”

I shivered. His friend lay on the deck covered in blood, his chest ripped open by the Monster’s talons. Tore was kneeling next to him, trying to mend his wounds, but we all knew there was not much she could do. I rushed over to him, kneeling beside her. He groaned, and I braced myself as I touched the Flow, but no Worm came as the Flow poured into him. For a moment, I missed its voice, wondering what they had wanted to tell me when the Dwarf’s laborious breath became steady. I let go of the spell and slumped back.

“You saved him…”

The old Kitsune bowed his head, and I watched them carrying their friend below deck. Tore got up.

“How could they see us? We didn’t make any noise.”

Aase shook her head.

“And so many of them…”

She paused and turned to me.

“Silje… Did the Worm come?"

I hesitantly nodded.

“Yes… I… Why…?”

Tore leaned back.

“We believe they can control the Monsters, at least a bit. But… Why would the Worms want to attack us? And how did they know we were here? We didn’t use the Flow.”

I frowned.

“They only come when someone casts a spell," she explained. “So we believe that they somehow can only see things directly connected to the Flow.”

“What did the Worm tell you…?” Aase asked.

“I…"

Tore put a hand on my shoulder.

“You saved us…”

She bowed her head.

“Forgive me that I ever doubted you."

“Tore, no… I’m still Silje… Please..."

She ruffled my hair and smiled.

“I know… Rest now. I can take care of the others that are hurt.”

“I can help…”

“No, rest. We don't know what lies ahead…”

I must have reached deep into the Flow because the Crystal pulsated within me, and it felt like I could endlessly rely on its power. But even Auntie got drained when she worked with the Flow for long. The Worm was right… I knew so little.

I sighed and watched Tore disappear below deck.

“Come, we need to help Mitrandes," Aase said.

We climbed up on the roof and kept watch as Ifrim and Mitrandes guided Aegon between the steep cliffs, looking for a safe place to land. In the end, we found a shallow stream at the bottom of the ravine, taking our chances in the hope it would offer us some protection from the Monsters. Mitrandes left to inspect the damage, and I stared out over the arid landscape.

You will make this world a better place than the Council ever did. We can help you…

It was a lie, was it not? But it had been right about other things…

“The hull is cracked. We cannot land in any deeper water. We can repair the railing, but the hull needs to wait until we go back to Varja."

Mitrandes came up to the steering platform, shaking his head.

“We will reach Atla tomorrow. We can stay there for a while," Kine said.

The others agreed, and we tried to settle in for the day, but none of us could relax, and we spent the hours watching the sky with our rifles next to us as the wind howled through the valley. But no flying beast came into sight, and the sky remained clear. Had they left us? I didn’t think we’d killed them all, so why would they suddenly leave us alone?

Was it true what the others believed, that the Worms could control them? But why would they have sent them to attack us? I shivered. To force me to use the Flow? I glanced at Aase sitting next to me. I hadn’t dared to tell them what the Spectre had said.

You will make this world a better place than the Council ever did. We can help you…

But then… Wasn’t it right? Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if the Council were gone?