With the terrible book in my hands, I retraced my steps through the neglected garden and returned to the palace. A cold wind had come in from the sea as the sun set, and the strange warmth of the book’s leather binding cooled until it felt like the skin of a dead man. I considered throwing it from the ship as soon as I reached open water. I could only guess at its contents, but I was filled with the grim certainty that it was an evil book, and I would find no help in its pages that did not cost me my very soul.
The god beneath the island had returned to its endless sleep, leaving the mortals who walked under the sun to fend for themselves.
Chapter XXI: Calm Seas
Eske is continuing his quest at last! The island is safe, but new perils arise in the latest chapter of Journey to the Water, now available on Patreon.
Like most of the people of Salmacha, the priest Chanjask was tall and long-limbed, and his age was difficult to tell. His skin lacked the rough, oaken quality of his superior, Ucasta, so I guessed him to have lived forty or fifty years. He possessed bright, dark eyes that darted quickly from face to face in the crowded throne room. He was a clever man, if not a wise one; he knew which way the winds were turning, and he would set the sails of his life and career accordingly.
He finished his recitation of the law as Mara had asked, and he bent to kneel on the floor, touching his brow to the marble tile and raising his hands in supplication—to the princesses, it would appear, though Mara still held the power to decide his fate. She dismissed him with a wave of her hand, and he stood, more quickly than his apparent age might allow. He backed away, holding his empty hands palms-up as though he were offering a gift. He let the gathered mass of noblemen envelop him, and I was certain he intended to disappear.
“The book does nothing,” said Chanjask. “But with the book, Ucasta could preserve the body and soul of the king, and with it, I can retrieve the soul you want and place it in the correct vessel. Its original body seems to be out of the question, so would you prefer a gem? A lamp? Another body? It would be a simple matter to sacrifice one of the prisoners—”
Chapter XX: The Temple of the New Gods
While the survivors of Salmacha’s near-disaster argue over how their new government is going to be run, Eske’s attention turns elsewhere: to one of the priests who helped the late king almost achieve immortality. Can this man help Eske on his quest? Or will the price of his evil magic be too high? Find out right now by subscribing to Patreon and reading this chapter! Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until next week.
In the throne room, the windows were little more than arrow slits; the last line of defense between the king and an invader from the sea. But as the sun filtered through and cast bright lines on the marble floor, the throne stood empty. Salmacha was now without a ruler. Perhaps, I thought, it had been without for a long time before my harpoon finally slew King Sondassan.
The weapon lay quiet across my legs as I sat at the base of the dais, beside Hamilcar and his crew and a good distance from the twin princesses. Having done its duty, it was content, and projected to me a sense of accomplishment. It was pleased with my actions. There would always be more tyrants, more men willing to spend the blood of others on power for themselves, but for the moment, the work was complete.
I’d held an enchanted weapon only once before: the Sword of Heaven, the tool of the god Torr, who had taken my Khalim from me. It, too, had approved of me. I’d used it to slay the great worm as it laid waste to Phyreios, and I had gladly given it up to the custody of Jin and his temple.
I would call my harpoon Storm, I decided, for the thunderclap I had heard as it destroyed King Sondassan. Having spent the early part of my life upon the roof of the world, I had great respect for storms. They could destroy a ship just as easily as they could fill its sails; lay waste to a village as easily as water its crops.
“And how is it that both these illustrious men perished, and in the same evening?” came a voice from the crowd.
Chapter XIX: The Palace, Still Standing
Eske has survived a harrowing evening, but new dangers about as the island of Salmacha struggles to decide on succession. Besides, Captain Hamilcar says they can’t leave until they get paid. You can read this chapter right now on Patreon!
Sondassan fixed his gaze upon me, but it was not I who would first face the half-dead king’s wrath. As Hamilcar and his crew entered the room, they descended upon the priests, knocking them down and silencing their chanting. Soon, only the sound of the heaving earth and the clashing of steel remained in the room. I recognized Halvor and Kelebek, both armed with curved swords and small round shields. With them were Issa and Adama, a pair of brothers from the southlands, Issa with his dark pate shaved bald and Adama’s hair twisted into a mane of tiny braids. Their swords came in matched pairs, one in each hand. Halvor also carried my harpoon on his back. Languishing in the dungeon, I had thought I would never see it, nor any of my companions, again.
An evil light shone in Sondassan’s eyes. Though his face was still a withered skull and his arms shook under the weight of his robes, he looked as though he might live another year under the power of whatever he had done to Hamilcar.
Chapter XVIII: In the Hall of the Dead King
In the latest chapter of Journey to the Water, Eske contends with strange dark magic and the king who would be a god while the island beneath his feet threatens to sink into the sea. You can read this chapter right now on Patreon!
I held the unlocked manacles close to my chest and kept my head bowed, being led as I was to the slaughter. For all I knew, I would be sacrificed at the end of the tunnel. I had received no news since Mara Suryan had promised me she would try to contact my companions on the Lady of Osona and prepare a daring escape. I feared she had not been successful. Or, perhaps, she had decided that my death was an acceptable loss for the sake of the lives of her young charges. I would not fault her for that.
Ajan led me through the bowels of Salmacha. Behind me walked two other guards, mailed and armed as he was, to prevent my escape. They were unnecessary—the way back led only to my cell. The only way to go was forward.
Silence fell upon the corridor. The digging had stopped. Beneath my feet, the earth tensed and trembled; not quite a quake, but the warning of one. Whatever slept under the island was close to waking. If it did, all hope was lost.
His sunken eyes fixed me with a gaze of pure, unholy hunger. If ever they had possessed the power to recognize his family, that was long gone. He saw only the life-force that would let him live another hour, another day.
Chapter XVII: The Hollow Chamber
Eske is in a fight for his life and the lives of all who live on the isle of Salmacha in the latest chapter of Journey to the Water, now available on Patreon! If you need to catch up, you can read all the previous chapters herecompletely free. If you’re already caught up, consider subscribing to Patreon!
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