Page 10 of Buoy
SOREN (AGE 11)
Soren didn’t want to leave Lane this time. He taught Rhys how to work with water in a different way. Using visualization and being in the water rather than tapping into emotions. Rhys had tried to tell Soren he was all wrong, but when the magic was easier, he apologized. Soren was mer for crying out loud! He knew water. Not that he could tell Rhys any of that.
Soren shivered on the dock as he watched Rhys tread water. He needed a proper swim and if he got into the water, he wouldn’t be able to stop the shift. Luckily, his constant shivering kept Rhys from pulling him into the water, surely thinking Soren was sickly. He didn’t ask, but gave Soren concerned looks every once in a while.
A thin arch of water hung over Rhys’ head, the brightest smile on his face. “I’ve never been able to work with water so easily.”
“Much easier when you’re in the water.” Soren wanted so badly to slide into the depths, but he refrained. The back of his thighs still stung a little from the night before, and he didn’t want to add more punishment to the last. If only he could keep his mouth shut. He was lucky the shirt went past his knees, otherwise everyone would see the purpling bruises. “We leave in the morning.”
“I wish you could stay.”
Me too.Soren enjoyed having a friend. And some place that was beginning to feel like home.
Chapter 4
SOREN(AGE12)
Soren sat quietly in the corner, waiting for Captain Vex and Bellani to finish their meal in their spacious quarters. He couldn’t hear what they were chatting about for the most part, but every once in a while, the word war slipped out. Cannons. Guns. Bigger crew. Magic.
He pulled his knees to his chest and squeezed. What would happen if war came to any of the countries they frequented? What would happen to Rhys? His country would need his magic. And Soren would have to follow whatever orders Captain Vex demanded.
“Soren,” Vex barked his name.
He looked up to find the pair had finished while he was worrying about something he wasn’t sure he needed to worry about in the first place. Pirates thrived in war. They played both sides and got richer for the deception. It’d be good for them, which meant it’d be good for Soren. When Vex and Bellani were happy, they left him alone. Which left Kane.
Soren scrambled to his feet and followed the captain. They went to the storage hold below, where Vex threw him a knife. The weapon skittered across the wooden floor until it slammed into the wall behind Soren. He bent to grab the handle and took a fighting stance. Boxes and barrels and wound rope littered the hold. Soren would have to dodge everything including Vex.
“Remember last week’s lesson?” Vex brought forth his dragon scales, making his sun-tanned arms all colors of pearlescent gray and black and white. He charged, fingers becoming talons.
Soren slid back, then jabbed and dodged. After a few warmup exercises, they fell into a dance almost until both were out of breath. Vex’s talons had caught Soren’s soft flesh a few times, but nothing too deep. He’d live.
“Good job.” Skin and hands back to normal, Vex rubbed the top of Soren’s head. “Don’t let Kane keep goading you. Ignore him.”
Soren nodded. “I’ll try my best.”
Vex pinched Soren’s chin in his fingers and tipped his head up. “You’ll do better than your best. You’ll do what I tell you. Keep out of his way.”
Soren fisted his hands and fought the urge to stomp his foot. “I don’t get in his way to begin with. He finds me. Not the other way around.”
With a sigh, Vex released his chin and stepped away. “That mouth on you will get you into trouble one day. Don’t let Bellani hear you say things like that.”
Soren ground his teeth, trying to keep himself from saying something snarky. “Kane’s… obsessed with me. It doesn’t feel right.”
“I keep my eye on him. He knows the rules.” Vex pulled a tin cup from its hook on the wall and opened a water barrel to fill the cup. Then he gathered bandages and patted a barrel in front of him. “Let’s clean you up before the wolves sniff you out.”
When Soren made it to him, Vex lifted him to the barrel. Blood marred Soren’s shirt. He wished he’d grow into the clothes Rhys had given him, but he was growing too slowly. Not that fitting into the clothes mattered. Everything he wore was too big, hand-me-downs from everyone else. Most of which were littered with holes and stains until Soren took the time to mend and wash them. He always wore his nicest when he met up with Rhys.
Vex gently cleaned Soren’s cut arms and dabbed on healing salve before wrapping them loosely in bandages. He’d be able to take them off that night, before swimming. Hopefully. He hopped off the barrel and retrieved a clean shirt from a box hidden behind other barrels. When he was dressed in a fresh shirt, Vex let him leave.
What if war was coming? What did that mean for him? For Rhys?
Chapter 5
RHYS(AGE14)
Rhys had two days before he had to go back to the academy, and The Golden Drake still hadn’t shown up. He didn’t want to miss seeing Soren, even if it was just for a day. His parents had made another care package, and Rhys was eager to talk with the boy. Wanted to know more about his pirate adventures.
Clutching the food bundle to his chest, Rhys ran down the cobblestone main street until he got to the busy docks. People milled around doing their jobs or shouting at each other.
