A Dream of Mortals

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Thor stood at the bow of the ship as they sailed through the black ocean night, sailing faster than they’d ever had, a strong wind at their back, as he peered out into the blackness and thought of his sister.

Alistair. Where are you?

They sailed through choppy waters, mist from the waves spraying his face, heading their way south, following Thor’s instinct. Thor sensed Alistair was out there; he sensed her being in danger, so intense, it was as if she were right here with him. He knew that’s where the dragon had been leading him, and he could be nowhere else until he’d helped her.

But what was she doing out here, on this vast and empty sea?

He tried to recall the last time he had seen her. She had been leaving the Ring, on her way south, to embark for the Southern Isles with Erec. She had seemed so happy, and so had he. The one point Thor had always found solace in since the destruction of the Ring was his sister, knowing she had gotten out before the invasion, knowing she was somewhere safe in the Southern Isles with Erec.

And now this. How could she possibly be here?

Thor did not know the answer. He did not need to—he had learned to trust his gut.

“Are you sure we head the right way?” came a voice.

Thor turned to see Angel standing beside him, looking up at him with eyes full of trust and hope.

Thor reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sure of nothing, Angel,” he said, “only what my instinct tells me.”

She nodded back, solemnly.

“That is as sure of anything as we can be,” she replied.

As always, Thor was surprised by her wisdom; sometimes he felt when he talked to her as if he were speaking with an elderly man, filled with insight.

“Thor!” shouted a voice.

Thorgrin looked back to see O’Connor, standing high up on the mast, pointing into the darkness.

Thor turned and checked the horizon again, and he saw nothing.

But then, as they continued to sail, he began to see a faint glow in the horizon. He saw smoke, and smelled a fire at sea. He could see there wasn’t land up ahead, so he was confused; he could not understand how there could be a fire.

Unless something else was out there. Ships. Ships caught on fire.

Thor’s senses were heightened.

“FASTER!” Thor commanded. “Full sail!”

Reece, Elden, and Matus all worked the sails, and as they gained speed, Thor readied his weapons.

“Prepare yourselves!” Thor yelled out. “We sail into battle!”

As they neared, the clouds of smoke getting greater, perhaps a few hundred yards away, Thorgrin could begin to make out what was unfolding before them: there was a glow of flames, a fleet of ships on fire, and shouts of men. There were hundreds of Empire ships, an immense fleet, and within this fleet, he could see a half dozen other ships, blockaded but bursting free. And on these ships flew, his heart leapt to see, the banner of the Southern Isles.

Without even needing to see, Thor knew immediately that Alistair and Erec were on those ships, in danger, trapped by the Empire. He saw the Empire fleet drawing their bows, raising their arrows, aiming for Erec’s fleet, as they fired off volley after volley. He could see the massive ships that blocked their way, and could see that they were all about to be destroyed for good.

“Faster!” Thor commanded, feeling their sleek ship leaning into the wind, the spray getting stronger.

They were now fifty yards away and as they closed in, Thor realized they had an advantage: the Empire did not expect to be attacked from behind, from the open sea, and with all eyes turned inward, for Erec’s fleet, they had no one on watch even bothering to look.

Even so, it was not fast enough; Thor knew they would not reach them in time. His sister and Erec and all of their people would be killed.

Thor closed his eyes and focused, trying to sense his sister in the darkness.

The strangest thing happened. As they got closer, as he focused on his sister, Thor slowly felt a power welling within him, a greater power than he’d ever felt. It was as if being near Alistair enabled him to access his powers more easily. It shifted them, made them stronger.

Thor closed his eyes and felt the power surge within him, a joint power between him and Alistair, and as he raised both arms, he felt a power fly through them without even trying. He opened his eyes and directed his two palms, and from each there emitted a flaming orange ball of light. They shot through the air, each one aimed for each of the two massive Empire ships that blocked Erec’s escape.

The balls hit right before the archers could release their arrows. Each ship was rocked by an explosion, bursting into flames that lit up the entire night, and sending chunks of wood splintering, flying up in the air and raining down into the sea in every direction.

The two ships immediately splintered, began to list, and to sink quickly into the sea.

Erec, seeing his opportunity, raised his sails and rammed right through the remains of the flaming debris, creating a passageway for the rest of his ships, all sailing single file behind him.

Within moments they were out the other side, joining Thorgrin’s ship, coming up beside them.

Thorgrin looked out into the astonished faces of Alistair and Erec and all his men, lit up by the torchlight, and they all looked back at him, astonished. Alistair’s face was aglow with tears.

“Thorgrin!” she called out.

He could see their faces fall in relief.

But there was no time for a reunion. Thor joined Erec’s fleet as he immediately turned his ship around and set sail with them, fleeing from the Empire.

Behind them, the hundreds of Empire ships gave chase. Thor looked over his shoulder and saw them bearing down and knew, as they all headed out to the open sea, that they had little hope of escape. But at least they were together. And if need be, they would all fight, together, to the death.

They sailed and sailed through the night, Thor pushing his sleek pirate ship to go as fast as it could, and Alistair and Erec keeping up beside him. A fog had descended, coming in and out, and as it momentarily cleared, Thor checked back over his shoulder, as he did every few minutes, and saw the Empire fleet was still there, but a few hundred yards away. They just could not lose them; in fact, they were slowly but surely closing the gap. Thor and the others were lucky to have a strong wind at their backs now—but if that wind were to die, he knew, they would all be surrounded and killed.

Worse, Thor was spent from his use of energy, from those fireballs, and while he tried to summon more power, this time when he closed his eyes, nothing came. He knew he had no other option but to fight them hand to hand, man to man—and that, he knew, was a fight he could not win.

Thor looked over the ship, and he took assurance in seeing Alistair’s face, so calm, tranquil, standing beside Erec; Thor sensed that together, with their powers combined, there was no danger they could not face.

Yet as the Empire ships closed in, the air filled with the sound of arrows whizzing by, and Thor and the others took cover.

“They’re in range!” Ere called out.

A sea of arrows and spears descended upon them, and Erec’s men cried out, as too many were hit, falling over the rail.

There came a shriek beside Thor, and he looked over, horrified, to see his friend Reece kneeling beside him, an arrow stuck in his chest.

Thor’s heart stopped to see the wound. He knew, without a doubt, that it was fatal.

“Hang in there,” Thor said to Reece, holding his head. “You’re going to be OK!”

There came a great bang, and Thor suddenly felt the ship hit something hard, the bottom of it scraping, as if sailing over something—then just as quickly, it disappeared. Thor looked at the others and they looked back at him, equally baffled.

Yet as it happened again, Thor rushed to the rail and looked down at the waters, and he was shocked by what he saw: there, before them, spread out as far as the eye could see, were shallow shoals, rocks interspersed in the water, every fifty feet or so. He looked up and, through the fog, he saw them reaching as far as the eye could see. As he peered through the fog, Thor saw something else that surprised him. There was a huge rock formation rising up out of the ocean, and within one of the massive boulders was the entrance to a cave, its arched entrance tall enough to hide their ships. He looked beyond it, and saw another cave—then another. While there was no land in sight, this entire stretch of ocean was filled with shoals and caves, strange rock outcroppings in the midst of the ocean.

Thor had an idea.

“What about the caves?” Thorgrin yelled out across the rail, to Erec and Alistair.

They looked out and examined them, too.

“If we can hide in them, maybe they will pass us by,” Thor added.

Erec checked back over his shoulder, then shook his head.

“They’re too close,” he called back. “They would see us.”

Alistair reached out and laid a hand on Erec’s wrist, and he looked over at her.

“There are other ways,” she replied.

Alistair stepped forward, looked at Thorgrin, and held a single palm out toward his boat.

“My brother,” she called out to Thor, “bring your boat closer. Raise your palm and join mine.”

Thorgrin directed his boat, and they sailed closer, and as he came to the edge of his boat and did as she said, holding one palm out for hers, he felt a tremendous heat rise from it.

As all the others watched, transfixed, brother and sister joined palms—and slowly, a white light began to form between them. The light began to morph, to take the shape of a cloud, and it began to sweep through all the ships at once, then pass behind them.

Thor looked back and saw that it formed a perfect wall of fog behind their fleet, obscuring them all from Empire view.

“To the cave!” Alistair called out.

All the ships turned and sailed together into the cave, deeper and deeper. It was quiet in here, and lit up by the strange, light-blue waters, reflecting off its walls, providing enough light to see by.

As the last of their ships sailed in, Alistair held out her palm, and she and Thor joined palms again.

Again the cloud appeared, and this time it concealed the entrance of the cave—and then, the entire cave itself.

Thor heard the sound of the Empire fleet, just beyond the cave, cutting through the waters, sailing right past them.

They had no idea they were there.

Finally, he breathed a big sigh of relief.

They had done it.