Page 3 of Of Scale and Blood

Watercraft. Flesh.She paused.Three.

Three boats?

Yes.

I couldn’t help hoping they belong to the gilded riders rather than the islanders, even if I knew that hope would turn out false. Which begged the question, why only three boats? Even with overcrowding, three boats would not have carried all those who’d lived on Kinara.

Unless, of course, they were simply carrying all that had survived....

But again, would they really risk their lives leaving in such a storm?

Similarly, it couldn’t be a fishing fleet—aside from the fact the sheer height of the white caps dominating the seas below made casting nets impractical, the ferocity of the storm deepened the risk of waves swamping the boats.

But perhaps they had air mages aboard. Just because Jakarra had been bereft of their services didn’t mean the other islands were.

Are all three on fire?I asked.

Two. One stands apart. She paused.People in water.

Túxn help them, I thought, though if they were in the water, then it was likely that Vahree—the god of death, and taker of souls—had already claimed them for his own.

Any sign of the gilded ones?

No.

Which didn’t mean they weren’t out here, of course, just that they were currently out of Kaia’s sensory range. Something must have attacked these boats, though, and it wasn't likely to be pirates. Aside from the fact Esan’s patrols normally kept them away, it made no practical sense for them to burn their prize.

So why were two of the boats on fire? When the gilded riders attacked us near the Throat of Huskain—the nigh on impassible mountain that dominated the northeastern edge of Arleeon—they’d used both the gilded birds’ feathers to kill our mage and their acidic droppings to sink the boat. Fire had never been a feature of their attack.

Did that mean this was yet another weapon in their arsenal?

We’d find out soon enough.

Kaia tipped low enough for me to see without our presence being obvious and glided over the one boat that wasn’t on fire. The tattered remains of the flag fluttering lightly from its mast told me these boatswerefrom Kinara.

They’d hung thick nets over the starboard side of the boat and the people in the water—men, women, and, Túxn help us, children—were clambering up them, more than a few of them injured and burned. A thin strip of calm water connected that boat with the other two, while the storm’s fierceness and the worst of the seas was being deflected away from them. Somewhere down in that chaos, there was at least one air witch, if not two, alive, giving those still aboard the burning vessels and those already in the sea a better chance of survival.

Of course, for many down there, it was already too late.

We had to help the survivors. Had to do something to get them and the remaining boat to safety. We couldn’t simply leave their fate in the hands of a fickle goddess.

As the boats disappeared in our wake, Kaia swept around, the wind’s ferocity easing as we flew with, rather than against, it. As we drew near once again, the mast on the closest boat gave way, falling with slow grace into the sea, shattering what remained of the port side in the process and dangerously tilting the entire boat. People ran to the starboard side in a futile effort to balance it, but most were washed away by the waves that swept in through the breach. The small bubble of calm that had surrounded that boat burst, and the sea surrounding claimed its prize, sinking the boat so swiftly it was there one minute, gone the next.

Nothing remained. Not debris, not survivors, not even steam rising from the now extinguished fires.

The bubble remained around the other two boats, but for how long? An air mage, however strong, could not battle the elements for hours on end, and these mages had obviously been doing so for at least five hours now, given where they currently were. It would take another four, if not more, for the remaining boat to reach Hopetown, especially given how overcrowded it was and how low it was now sitting in the water.

Which meant they would not reach safety before the gilded riders were aloft once more.

We swept past the burning boat and circled around again.

What do?Kaia asked.

That is a damn good question.

Help?

Yes, but how? It’s not like you can carry them all, and towing isn’t exactly practical, given the sheer weight of that boat and the fierceness of the storm.

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