Dark Tides

Chapter 1

The smell of wood smoke fills the hut. Kylo can hear the chimes made of bones clinking in the light breeze outside. Vicrul follows him through the animal hide flap covering the entrance. An old woman is sitting cross-legged on a mound of pillows, chanting. Only the whites of her eyes are visible.

Kylo stands upright from bending to get through the door, his hand on his sword. He and Vicrul hiked up to the top of the island to find the oracle. A rumor from a reliable source had brought them to Delphi.

The woman stops her low chant. Blinking her eyes open, she looks at the two tall men."You seek something," she says in a gravelly voice. She's wearing loose robes. Her hair is gray and her skin weathered. Necklaces of animal bones and beads are stacked on her neck. Her hands lay flat on her knees.

"Aye." Kylo steps closer. "We were told you know where the Wayfinder is." He drops a hefty bag of gold on the table in front of her.

She narrows her eyes, looking between them. "Sit."

Kylo and Vicrul slowly thunk down to their knees in front of her. Their weapons clattering and boots squeaking with the movement. A deep purple cloth is covering the small table. Cards with strange symbols and colorful stones are strewn across it. She picks up a small dagger with her right hand.

"Give me your hand," she says to Kylo. Vicrul shoots a glance at him, suspicious of her intentions. Kylo stretches his right hand out in front of him. She quickly drags the blade across his palm. Blood beads out from the wound. She brings a small bowl under his hand. He closes his fist. Droplets of red fall into the bowl.

Setting it down, she reaches behind her and pulls out some herbs and sand. Crushing them in with the blood with a stone. She stands up gracefully, walking over to the small fire burning in the corner. She burns the tip of some dried sage. A trail of smoke follows her as she glides back to her position. The pirates are transfixed by her actions, anticipating what she has to say.She picks up the bowl with one hand and waves the sage under it with the other. She closes her eyes and starts mumbling words in a quiet voice. Neither Kylo nor Vicrul recognizes the language. She continues for a tense minute. Her voice slowly gets louder. The words are more pronounced.

Kylo is glaring at the bowl as if it will reveal the answer quicker if he scares it. Suddenly, drops of blood rise out of the container on their own. Floating in the air. Vicrul lets out a small noise of surprise. Kylo looks to the oracle. She's swaying in her seat. The blood continues to float around, drops gathering and swirling in the air over the table.

The oracle gasps. Harsh and abrupt. The drops fall and splatter on the purple cloth. She sets down her materials in a hurried manner, her gaze now on the stained cloth. She runs her hands over them, urgently analyzing the pattern with her long and craggy fingers.

"What say you," says Kylo in a stern voice.

She pauses her movements. Slowly bringing her eyes up to him, she lifts her pointer finger to connect with his forehead.

Kylo feels a jolt through his entire body. His muscles go rigid. Flashes of light burst behind his eyelids. He has no connection to reality. It's black. Pure darkness.

An image bursts forth from the depths of his mind. A face. A young woman. She's smiling. The edges of his vision blur. She looks up and he is momentarily stunned with her beauty. It's almost like she can sense him, her eyes locked on Kylo's. She turns away. Her outfit is that of a barmaid. As she walks away, Kylo's vision goes dark again.

He jolts again. Taking a harsh breath in, he's plunged back into reality. Vicrul has his cutlass at the woman's throat. It's digging into the skin and he's glaring at her.