Page 80 of Skalterra By Nightmare
But towards myself, the monster I’d so quickly devolved into, and the insatiable hunger that the monster had brought with it.
20. Maritime Trade and Management
My fight against Galahad followed me into Keel Watch Harbor, leaving me winded and fatigued as I went about my usual shop duties. Liam had brought me an iced coffee with my bagel, but the caffeine mostly made my heart race. The cool touch of the plastic cup at least soothed the scars in the palm of my hand. They’d been burning all morning, and I wondered if Galahad was making them sting on purpose as a reminder that he was the one in charge.
To add injury to insult, Galahad gave little-to-no warning when he called me to Skalterra the next few nights, each time earlier than the evening before. I was never ready, and woke up to new bruises each morning after hitting furniture on my way to the floor of my bedroom.
Tamora continued her experiments, but Galahad was getting better at stemming the flow of Skal between us. After the third night of giving her nothing more than my usual arm spikes, Tamora grew bored of my fights with Titus. Instead, Galahad put me to work sitting outside Fana’s cabin while she slept. Those nights, long and boring as they were sitting on the wooden floor all alone, were almost worse than being pitted against Titus.
A week into this routine, I was left to close shop alone after Gams left for a game night with her friends at the library. Jonquil meowed for dinner up the apartment stairs as I locked the shop door.
“I get it,” I called up at her, taking the steps two at a time. “You don't need to yell at me. There’s no way your food isthatgood.”
“It’s time, Nightmare,” a voice growled at me from the shadows at the back of my head, and I froze on the darkened staircase. Galahad was summoning me.
“Not yet, I’m not—”
The wooden steps underfoot rushed upwards to welcome me to Skalterra.
I fell upright, landing again on the deck of Tamora’s boat. The water was wide and slow here, looking more like a lake than a river, and the sun, hanging low over forested hills, lit it in hues of orange and red. The steam pouring from boat’s smokestacks bled with the sunset and filled the air with a smell akin to that of warm dirt after a sudden rain.
I leaned against the railing of the deck, trying to orient myself in the late-day warmth. A village lay ahead, floating atop the river as a network of boardwalks and wooden cabanas.
Whatever relief I might’ve felt at finally seeing civilization after a week of dark landscapes was eclipsed by the fury that rose in my chest.
“Galahad!” I yelled for the old man and spun around, still leaning against the railing for support.
“Calm yourself, Nightmare,” Galahad said. He stood with the others, all laden with packs, Skal bottles, and travel cloaks.
“You couldn’t give me one more minute to get into bed?” I snarled.
“I told you to be ready.” Galahad adjusted Fana’s pack, refusing to look at me. I pulled on the well of Skal that connected us to get his attention, drawing his magick into myself before he pulled back. He glared at me from over his grizzled beard.
“I was on the stairs!” I shouted. “My grandmother is going to come home from Game Night and call an ambulance when she finds me!”
“Ambulance,” Orla repeated in a whisper. She stood without a cloak, rubbing her arms to stave off the cool breeze that rolled over the river and cut the summer warmth.
“We’re disembarking,” Ferrin explained in an even tone. “I’m sorry you were in an inconvenient place, but—”
“Inconvenient?” I seethed. “My bedroom floor is inconvenient.Thestaircaseis dangerous. What if I fell? What if my neck is broken?”
“Then I suppose it’s a good thing your grandmother will find you.” Ferrin bit back a smile, but his sense of humor was less than appreciated.
“I’m going to wake up in a hospital.”
Ferrin shrugged at Galahad. “Could you send her back really quick? Just long enough to let her get to bed?”
“And waste all the Skal I just used to bring her here?” Galahad stalked to the bow of the boat to watch our approach towards the village docks. “She’ll be fine on the stairs.”
I whirled to face Ferrin, but all he could offer me was a sympathetic hand on my shoulder.
“We do need you,” he insisted. “This next part of our journey will be tricky.”
He held my gaze, but ginger curls flying in the breeze caught my eye over his shoulder. Tamora watched us from the upper deck, leaning against the railing as her Nightmare deckhands hurried around her to prepare for docking.
“I can’t sleep on the stairs,” I said through gritted teeth. Ferrin nodded with his hand still on my shoulder.
“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again, but you’ll have to worry about it in the morning.”
