Page 39 of Take No Prisoners
As it always did upon returning home, the blue-green shallows sparkled with brilliant intensity, and the sky above was a deeper shade of blue. Even in his exhausted state after his night shift and fun morning activities, Efren was glad to be home. His mind drifted to showing the island to Niall if they had time. His favorite fishing spot wasn't far from his house. He recognized the buoyant sensation in his chest as something he hadn't felt in years: hope.
Stan, Tovey, and Hannah also received hugs from Beatrice, and then the sailors who had helped them made their way off the ship under Stan's direction. Codger Tim ushered the rest of Vadim's crew from the hold. The rescued conscripts looked as stunned and awed as Efren felt upon seeing the crystal blue waters offshore.
Klaus the seeker was with them. "What did you do to Vadim?" Klaus stared at the dock planks instead of meeting Efren's gaze.
"Confined him with silver."
Klaus sighed. "I sense his power, but I can't hear him in my head anymore. It's been peaceful."
Efren hadn't thought about that side effect of Vadim's power. He planned to leave the cuffs on for as long as possible, so the death weaver couldn't steal information from the elders' heads. Efren hadn't known silver worked for that part of Vadim's gift. He should have guessed, though. Wooden cuffs prevented Efren from touching his water source and from communicating with marine life.
"There you are," Elder Beatrice said to Klaus. "We'll have lunch on Horseshoe Island, and then we can talk about your involvement in the plot to rescue the emperor."
"Wait." Efren couldn't hide his shock. "You knew about Vadim's plan to rescue Hugo?"
She nodded. "We have much to discuss." She gazed at the hold, as though determining how much they carried. "I'll have a crew unload your cargo to give us time to talk. Wait here."
Efren couldn't argue with her. He circled his crew in the grassy sand off the dock boards and waited. Niall continued to stare at the driftwood docks, patchy grass growing in the sand, and clear blue water as though it was unusual, or magical.
Codger Tim returned from the ship with the two rescued children. A young man about Niall's age collected them and walked with them to the barracks, a low building just off the beach. Efren recognized the young man as one of the teachers, but he hadn't spent enough time around the barracks to learn his name.
"Where is he taking them?" Niall asked.
"That's the barracks, which also serves as the weaving school. They will spend the afternoon testing the children's abilities, and then they'll find a foster family to take them in."
"How often does Aquarion take in strays?"
"Too often," Efren admitted.
Tim returned with Vadim in tow. Before Efren could suggest keeping him in silver, Elder Beatrice had the cuffs off and was hugging the death weaver as though he were her long-lost son.
"Elder," he said, holding her at arm's length after she'd tried to squeeze the life from him.
"Is Hugo well?" she asked.
"He was when I left him. He's disillusioned, as we all are, but he's unharmed."
"Wonderful." She clapped him on the back with her open palm. "We'll talk more after lunch. Come!"
Vadim hung back behind the rest of the crew, and Efren stayed beside him. When Vadim attempted to turn away, Efren clutched his shoulder.
"Where's Klaus?" Worry clouded Vadim's gaze as he scanned the beach. "I don't see him. Thanks to your cuffs, I can't get a lock on his location."
"He's ..." Efren had just seen the young man. His shock of red hair was impossible to miss.
"I need to find Klaus," Vadim said, grabbing the front of Efren's shirt. "Please. He's part of this, too."
"Klaus," Niall called, waving toward the water. Klaus rose from where he'd been lying on the boardwalk, shaking his wet fingers.
"You didn't answer me," Vadim shouted to be heard over the waves.
"I was ignoring you." Klaus rolled his eyes. "I got used to having my thoughts to myself."
"She lied about the healing waters," Vadim said once Klaus was close enough to hear his regular speaking voice over the waves. "She lies about everything."
"I had to try."
The waters off Aquarion were rumored to be restorative. Efren remembered when General Coryn had started the rumor. She'd organized several scouting parties to find Aquarion and claim it for Embertide.
