A Reign of Steel. Morgan Rice
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of how huge the world was; she thought of her brother, Thorgrin, out there somewhere, and she wondered where he was right now. She knew he was on his way to see their mother. Would he find her? What would she be like? Did she even really exist?
A part of Alistair wanted to join him on the journey, to meet their mother, too; and another part of her missed the Ring already, and wanted to be back home on familiar ground. But the biggest part of her was excited; she was excited to start life again, together with Erec, in a new place, a new part of the world. She was excited to meet his people, to see what his homeland was like. Who lived in the Southern Isles? she wondered. What were his people like? Would his family take him in? Would they be happy to have her, or would they be threatened by her? Would they welcome the idea of their wedding? Or had they envisioned someone else, one of their own, for Erec?
Worst of all, what she dreaded most – what would they think of her once they found out about her powers? Once they found out that she was a Druid? Would they consider her a freak, an outsider, like everyone else?
“Tell me again of your people,” Alistair said to Erec.
He looked at her, then looked backed out at the sky.
“What would you like to know?”
“Tell me about your family,” she said.
Erec reflected in the silence for a long time. Finally, he spoke:
“My father, he is a great man. He’s been king of our people ever since he was my age. His looming death will change our island forever.”
“And have you any other family?”
Erec hesitated a long time, then finally nodded.
“Yes. I have a sister… and a brother.” He hesitated. “My sister and I, we were very close growing up. But I must warn you, she’s very territorial and too easily jealous. She’s wary of outsiders, and does not like new people in our family. And my brother…” Erec trailed off.
Alistair prodded him.
“What is it?”
“A finer fighter you will never meet. But he is my younger brother, and he has always set himself in competition with me. I have always viewed him as a brother, and he has always viewed me as competition, as someone who stands in his way. I do not know why. It just is how it is. I wish we could be closer.”
Alistair looked at him, surprised. She could not understand how anyone could look at Erec with anything but love.
“And is it still that way?” she asked.
Erec shrugged.
“I have not seen any of them since I was a child. It is my first return to my homeland; nearly thirty sun cycles have passed. I do not know what to expect. I am more a product of the Ring now. And yet if my father dies… I am the eldest. My people will look to me to rule.”
Alistair paused, wondering, not wanting to pry.
“And will you?”
Erec shrugged.
“It is not something I seek. But if my father wishes… I cannot say no.”
Alistair studied him.
“You love him very much.”
Erec nodded, and she could see his eyes glistening in the starlight.
“I only pray our ship arrives in time before he dies.”
Alistair considered his words.
“And what of your mother?” she asked. “Would she like me?”
Erec smiled wide.
“Like a daughter,” he said. “For she will see how much I love you.”
They kissed, and Alistair leaned back and looked at the sky, reaching over and grasping Erec’s hand.
“Just remember this, my lady. I love you. You above all else. That is all that matters. My people shall give us the greatest wedding that the Southern Isles have ever seen; they will shower us with every festivity. And you will be loved and embraced by all of them.”
Alistair studied the stars, holding Erec’s hand tight, and she wondered. She had no doubt of his love for her, but she wondered about his people, people he himself barely knew. Would they embrace her as he thought they would? She was not so sure.
Suddenly, Alistair heard heavy footsteps. She looked over to see one of the ship’s crew walk over to the edge of the railing, hoist a large dead fish over his head, and throw it overboard. There was a gentle splash below, and soon a bigger splash, as another fish leapt up and ate it.
There then followed an awful sound in the waters below, like a moaning or crying, followed by another splash.
Alistair looked over at the sailor, an unsavory character, unshaven, dressed in rags, with missing teeth, as he leaned over the edge, grinning like an oaf. He turned and looked right at her, his face evil, grotesque in the starlight. Alistair got a terrible feeling as he did.
“What did you throw overboard?” Erec asked.
“The guts of a simka fish,” he replied.
“But why?”
“It’s poison,” he replied, grinning. “Any fish that eats it dies on the spot.”
Alistair looked at him, horrified.
“But why would you want to kill the fish?”
The man smiled more broadly.
“I like to watch them die. I like to hear them scream, and I like to see them float, belly up. It’s fun.”
The man turned and walked slowly back to the rest of his crew, and as Alistair watched him go, she felt her skin crawl.
“What is it?” Erec asked her.
Alistair looked away and shook her head, trying to make her feeling go away. But it would not; it was an awful premonition, she was not sure of what.
“Nothing, my lord,” she said.
She settled back into his arms, trying to tell herself that everything was all right. But she knew, deep down, that it was very far from all right.
Erec woke in the night, feeling the ship moving slowly up and down, and he knew immediately that something was wrong. It was the warrior within him, the part of him that had always warned him an instant before something bad happened. He’d always had the sense, ever since he was a boy.
He sat up quickly, alert, and looked all around. He turned and saw Alistair soundly asleep beside him. It was still dark, the boat still rocking on the waves, yet something was wrong. He looked all around, but saw no sign of anything amiss.
What danger could there be, he wondered, out here in the middle of nowhere? Was it just a dream?
Erec, trusting his instincts, reached down to grab his sword. But before his hand could grab the hilt, he suddenly felt a heavy net covering his body, draping down all around him. It was made of the heaviest rope he’d ever felt, nearly heavy enough to crush a man, and it landed all over him at once, tight all around him.
Before he could react, he felt himself being hoisted high into the air, the net catching him like an animal, its ropes so tight around him that he could not even move, his shoulders and arms and wrists and feet all constrained, crushed together. He was hoisted higher and higher, until he found himself a good twenty feet above the deck, dangling, like an animal caught in a trap.
Erec’s heart slammed in his chest as he tried to understand what was going on. He looked down and saw Alistair below him, waking up.
“Alistair!” Erec called out.
Down below, she looked everywhere for him, and when she finally looked up and saw him, her face fell.
“EREC!” she yelled, confused.
Erec watched as several dozen crew members, bearing torches, approached her. They all wore grotesque smiles, evil in their eyes, as they closed in on her.
“It’s