How Shadows Turn to Ash

Chapter 25: Antonia

It was daybreak by the time Antonia drifted to sleep. She had hoped the rock of the boat would lull her into a false sense of security, but all it did was remind her that they were in dangerous waters.

Antonia only knew about the Forgotten Sea from reading. Stories of Second Sons mentioned that one of her ancestors had been the first to sail through it, battling the monsters lurking within. The sea was a dumping ground for the dead.

According to Octavia, who knew pretty much everything magical, necromagic was formed when someone with magic died with it still in their body. It decayed with the corpse, becoming an unstable form of power that nothing could touch without consequence. Animals turned monstrous or rabid, crops rotted, and plants became poisonous. The few humans who attempted to absorb necromagic themselves went insane... or worse.

The solution was to take the bodies that were affected by necromagic and lock them in certain areas. In Dualis, there was said to be a hollowed mountain where the bodies were put in with an abundance of earth magic that could contain the necromagic. The Nameless Lands burned bodies, entangling necromagic in an eternal fire with fire magic.

Romanov and Cambria would toss infected bodies out into a specific part of the ocean, trapped by water magic. The Forgotten Sea was that part of the ocean.

Cracking an eye open, Antonia used the rising sun to risk a look at the water. When they had left the port, it had been a dark blue that reflected pieces of light off of it. Now, it was a glittering gold, filled with the spirits of hundreds of years of magic.

Antonia had never seen someone using magic die before. A knight she had followed around for a bit described it as someone slowly melting.

"One second, they're alive," he had said as Antonia clutched her pendant tightly. "And the next, the wind magic in their hands turned yellow."

Yellow didn't seem like the right word now that Antonia saw necromagic herself. It was metallic – a deeper sort of burnt sunshine that pooled around the ship.

Octavia had also told her anything that touched necromagic turned wrong. The whales in the water grew venomous teeth. Sharks ended up growing in size. Fish became faster and more dangerous. And worst of all-

"Mermaid!" a young voice called. The entire boat popped up at once. "Mama, I see a mermaid!"

Antonia scrambled up. A woman had shot forward, yanking a little boy from the railing as he pointed toward the water. Something grabbed Antonia's arm, making her jump before catching the familiar smell of daffodils and rain.

"Are you okay?" Antonia asked, turning to where Nema's hand was still on her elbow. Wordlessly, Nema nodded, jutting out her chin to peer down.

Antonia did the same and risked a glance over the railing. There was a subtle movement as rings rippled near the front of the boat, but nothing was there.

"....creepy," Nema shivered and looked out where beams of pink were beginning to creep out of the sky around them. "Another two days, and we'll be out of this wretched place."

"How do you know?" Antonia asked, tilting her head. Nema shrugged. "Have you been sailing before?"

Antonia used to venture into the sea for short trips with her family. They never drifted far from the coast and certainly not anywhere as dangerous as this. Nema, however, seemed eerily familiar with the boat. While others complained of seasickness and the sounds of sloshing water, Nema merely nestled herself into whatever crevice of the ship she could find.

"I've dabbled."

Antonia studied her. Nema's eyes were fixed on the horizon, fingers tapping absently against her thigh. There was a moment of silence, but a second later, Nema turned her gaze to meet Antonia's, expression softening.

"Hungry?" she asked and held out her hand. Antonia's previous trepidation dwindled, delighted to accept the invitation. Just as their fingers met, the boat shuddered.

A scream punctured the air, the sound lost among the vastness of the ocean around them. At once, panic whipped around the deck. The little boy from before clung to his mother as everyone began to rush to the center of the boat. A horrible gurgling sound erupted from below, like a strangled gasp followed by the choking spit of something drowning.

"SOMEONE HELP!" a man screamed as if there was anyone else in these waters who might appear to rid them of whatever was banging the side of the ship. Just as Antonia began to walk toward the group, her feet stopped.

Another bang came. Strangely enough, the noise didn't seem so startling this time.

"Antonia?" Nema asked. 

A wave of tranquility filled the air. Antonia was pretty sure she was the only one who felt it, though. While most were fearfully fixed on the banging, others watched Antonia with equal wariness. Her shoulders slumped, brows furrowing as she turned to the railing.

Something felt... familiar. She tilted her head, trying to identify it.

"Antonia, what are you doing?" Nema asked. The words sounded muddied. Antonia couldn't process them. She just stared out toward the water. "Toni, come- Antonia!" Nema's voice rose an octave, going from concerned to outright panicked as Antonia stepped away. "Don't-"

 Antonia stepped to the railing.