Page 42 of Take No Prisoners
Efren knew better. Hannah was the most powerful weaver on his ship, hands down. Their control of both water and lightning made them more dangerous than any water or lightning weaver alone. A weaver skilled in both earth and air could steer a ship toward land or move land to ship without touching the water. One with both the power to kill and the power to restore life would threaten the gods themselves.
Vadim had worked with Martiz from sunrise to sunset every day for six years before the council of elders decided the academy in Hearthstone might be better able to break through to him. Efren didn't know what Vadim had learned at that school, but he hadn't learned healing magic. When Hannah had been injured by a lucky swipe from a naval officer before their lightning bolt had taken him down, they'd used another bolt to cauterize the wound before they bled out on deck.
"All he could offer me was a quick death," they said. " No, thank you."
Efren only half-listened as Elder Beatrice led Vadim through a list of questions Efren had asked himself. Vadim gave a greater accounting of his time with Emperor Hugo in his rooms. When the questioning turned to General Coryn, the conversation piqued Efren's interest once more.
"What does she think she's found on Stony Eel Island?"
"Something she's kept secret, but her men can be persuaded."
Elder Beatrice scoffed. "What did you learn from them?"
"She's found an element, something between stone and metal. It's as strong as a gemstone. The earth weavers sent to uncover it say it speaks to them, that it wishes to be excavated from its stone prison. I thought they'd gone mad from overusing their weaves for too long." He swallowed and took a quick sip of water before continuing. "Then I went there, and I felt it, too."
"Felt what, exactly?" Elder Beatrice asked. "We've all sensed old weaves."
Klaus shook his head. "Vadim took me to Stony Eel Island. There's no residual magic that I can sense. It's not a weave, but the general seemed to think it was magical."
"It is magical," Vadim said. "What's worse, it wants to be free, and General Coryn wants to free it. Whatever we do, we need to stop her."
Elder Beatrice nodded. "How soon do you think they will free it?"
"At this rate, it will take years. After a month, her strongest earth weavers are so burned out, they must return to Hearthstone to recover for half a year. I shuttled a group of them to the capital. Two were so exhausted, they needed the infirmary straight away. The other two were awake enough to share their tales. They said the thing is huge, and several lesser earth mages died for their efforts. Once they lock onto it, it's almost impossible to pull away."
Efren looked to Stan for confirmation, and he shrugged. They'd never sailed close to Stony Eel, always giving the island a wide berth thanks to her rocky inlet approach that would ground all but the shallowest keels at low tide.
"You've all sailed past the island on our usual route between Hearthstone and Luminest," Vadim said. "It's twice as wide as it is long. According to these folks, this element in the ground is four times as large as the island.
Elder Martiz whistled, and Elder Jermain, who was also an earth mage, nodded. "She would need every earth weaver on the continent working together to lift something that size out of the ground, and that's after they free it from the surrounding stone."
"She's increased the number of patrols to the north," Beatrice said. "This explains why the other islands have had so many unexpected visits. She needs more earth weavers."
"They've also added suppressors to their fleet," Vadim said. "I put mine on a boat headed for Glamiere when we docked in Landale. I wanted Efren to find me without any trouble."
"You wanted me to find you." Vadim had said as much during Efren's initial interrogation but hearing him state it to the council was irritating, to say the least. "In five years, you never thought to send me a message?"
"And say what? 'I had to leave, there's a reason, I'll share more when I know Coryn won't steal our correspondence'?" He glanced across the table to Stan. "You were supposed to tell him to forget about me."
"When have words stopped Efren from doing anything?" Stan asked. "'Captain, that's a lighthouse.' 'Captain, I think we should repair the hull.' 'Captain, please don't go swashbuckling into the night while our ship is sinking. That lighthouse brokered no argument with you.' We're lucky to be alive!"
"Gods, it was one time." Efren took a drink of water to staunch the heat in his face. "And I was too drunk to be your captain."
"Thank all the gods we had Olivia, or we would have cracked open on the rocks and fed ourselves to your friendly shark," Tovey said.
Olivia's cheeks darkened to a burnished red, but she said nothing.
"A fucking lighthouse." Vadim grinned. "I'd forgotten about that." He glanced at Niall and sobered. "Fuck. That was after ..."
"It was the night you returned and told us Willamina was dead." Stan said the words Efren didn't dare say, not with her son sitting across from him.
"At least he fucking cared," Niall growled. In their short time together, it was the first time Efren had seen him angry.
"I said I was sorry." Vadim looked down at the table. "I am sorry."
Niall opened his mouth to protest, but Elder Beatrice cut him off. "Before we move on, we need to talk about the weavers who died when Efren attacked Vadim's ship."
Efren thought Vadim would be put on trial for his crimes, starting with what had happened to Niall's parents, but now the elders' heads all swiveled toward him. He sat straighter in his chair and squared his shoulders for the onslaught.
