Kingdom's Vice Series: A Voyage of Vengeance ( #2 2015)

Chapter Two

Faeore's visions seem to be coming in by the nights now. She doesn't say what they are in detail, but they are enough to keep her and Duhamas up into the early hours of the morning. Alec covers his ears to block out the cries and the wails, but the sad fact is that, after a while of hearing the same thing over and over, you get used to it. I have, in a way. Her gift comes with it's burdens, though I remind her every day that it is not a curse. She has the power to save so many people, she just doesn't know it yet, because she's the only one who sees the things she does.

'Give her a thought or two,' I nudge Alec with my shoulder as I slide down the wall beside him. 'You would do the same if it were you.'

He scoffs and shakes his head, 'Light be praised I don't have any special talents like you Allerians.' He says mockingly. 'I don't know how I'd live with that.'

I frown, 'But you could hear me when I spoke to you through our link.'

He smiles and turns to me, 'But that's different.'

'No it's not,'

'Yes it is!' he argues back, his smiling still spanning from one ear to the other. 'It's different, Skaya. I know it is.'

I raise an eyebrow. 'How?'

He touches my cheek, 'Because for her, it only happens to the one person, but what we had...that's just it—it's what we had. The two of us. Doesn't that make it different?' he sighs. 'I mean, Duhamas can't see the things she does, he can only be there for her when they come.'

I nod. He has a point, damn him. He folds me into his arms as Uncle walks past us. He stops for a moment and steps backward, his eyes lingering on us.

'Are you two just sitting here while all of that,' he gestures to Faeore's door, 'is going on? Light be praised, you have a tolerance for wailing I cannot fathom.'

I smile, 'Uncle,' I say, 'I think she needs you more than ever. There's only so much Duhamas can do to calm here, but her visions are getting more vivid by the night.'

He nods with a sigh, knowing this would happen at one point or another, I suspect. 'You're right. I will attend to her, and I will call upon some of the other maidens who can be of use. Perhaps some of the Sapphire paste will help calm her.'

I nod, though I don't think the paste will do much for her, since the last time they used it, Duhamas ended up with injuries. Uncle slips into the room and a boom of Faeore's wailing spills into the hall, startling Alec awake.

'Hand me a pillow so I can smother myself with it,' he moans as he sits there, his eyes buried in the flesh of his arm. His head pops up, 'Oh, wait,' he says, 'Or shall I let you have the honour of suffocating me since you're my wife?'

I roll my eyes and shake my head at him. 'Don't be such a child,' I scold him, 'Faeore must endure it if she is to save us.'

He looks at me like I'm mad. 'Save us from what, Skaya? What can she possibly foresee that hasn't happened already?'

The possibilities, I fear, are endless.

~.~.~.~

When she is sedated enough, Duhamas and Uncle emerge from the room with the same grim look on their faces. It is not good. All is not well, I sense it in their eyes, in the things they do not say.

I rise to my feet and drag Alec with me. 'What is it?' I ask, 'What did she see?'

Uncle sighs and lowers his head as Duhamas takes a single, but cautious step forward, into the light. 'She saw a man clad in leather, covered in blood. She saw him here, in our halls, weeping...a woman at his side. An injured woman.'

Uncle meets my eyes, 'Our fortress is up. They will not be able to see Alleria from the Sea. The enchantment will only last a few days at most, so we must pray that they change direction before then.'

'But,' I begin, my words coming out faster than I think them through, 'Uncle, will we not help them?'

He says nothing and walks straight past me. I look to Duhamas, who offers no comfort, no assurance. We both know what the answer is. The answer is no, we will not help them. My body is ready to run, to chase after him and demand his surrender, but Duhamas is always one step ahead of me. He grabs my arm and holds me back, Alec staring at him intently.

'Careful, Duhamas,' Alec warns him, 'If your grip tightens on my wife, you'll have plenty more to deal with than your wife's visions.'

Duhamas releases me and nods. 'Noted. The reason is simple: the man Faeore saw in the vision is a pirate, a scum of the Sea. Not to be trusted. We would be mere fools to accept him here. He must find aid someplace else.' He tells us in a firm, yet understanding voice. 'There would be little we could do for him even if we did grant him refuge here. The Light does not shine on those of his kind...he is a bad omen, no doubt.'

'Screw omens,' I snap, my eyes burning again. Tears threaten to leap into them, but I force them down. 'We must help him, and his wife. They cannot be left alone at sea. They could die!'

Duhamas smiles a little. 'That, my dear, is all we should be hoping for. That would be a kinder fate than the one they would receive from others who do well to remember not to cross blades with a pirate.'

And with that, there are no more words, just glances here and there, saying all the things unsaid.