Jadelynn

Jadelynn’s head broke the surface of the water, and she gratefully sucked in air before taking in her surroundings. A giant boom resounded above her, and she swiveled in the water to locate the sound’s origin—a massive pirate ship just off shore. They were firing at…their own castle? Pirates made her head hurt. The cannon ball sailed over her head, but before she followed its arc in the darkness, the hard-to-see dark ball was enveloped in swirling gray fog that evaporated and reformed near the pirate ship. The cannon ball flew from the fog the opposite direction, straight toward the ship, slicing through the top of the tallest mast. A tiny figure dove off the crow’s nest below just before the tip of the mast and its topmost sail collapsed, snapping rigging and tangling sails on its way down. The Ingobernable flag tumbled down with the broken mast, its jagged red streak piercing a skull fluttering down into the ocean.

Jadelynn mopped stinging salt water from her face and scanned for the Flifary, but the ocean swells buffeted her. The erratic movement combined with the dark and her waterlogged dress created an insurmountable obstacle to good vision. At least she could tell the direction of the cliffs, so she took a deep breath and pushed off, managing to swim her way toward the few lengths of damp sand remaining after the incoming tide had its way. As she closed in, she saw a body-shaped lump close to shore and increased her pace, digging through the stubborn water.

The ocean was deep until Jadelynn was nearly on top of the cliffs, and her arms burned by the time her feet touched sand. She noticed none of it, thinking about only the time it took to reach High Sorceress Issabeth, bound and motionless. Jadelynn reached toward the Sorceress, but the ropes reacted. On closer inspection, what seemed to be vines and leaves stretched toward Jadelynn. That was not a good sign.

She hesitated, calling out, “Sorceress, are you ok?”

Sorceress Issabeth’s body trembled in recognition. “Jade? Stay away from the vines.” She trailed off weakly.

Jadelynn was not a crier, but tears sprang to her eyes seeing the invincible Sorceress this way. “What can I do?”

Issabeth faded again. Jadelynn searched for a sharp rock to hack at the vines, but before she could, fog swirled in around her. Two forms materialized. Jadelynn recognized the dark skin and flame-red hair of the Flifary from her studies into magical peoples of the past, and to see them in person was unnerving.

“Look what we found!” crowed a bright-haired woman before her gleeful face melted into an expression of anger. “Ack, you’re not the right Sorceress.”

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That was insulting at best.

“You let Sorceress Issabeth go!” Jadelynn blustered. There was no harm in trying.

“Sure,” the woman mocked her. “Just tell us where the meddling Sorceress disappeared to, and we’ll consider a trade.”

The benefit of being so close to tears already was being able to put on a convincing show. She let those desperate tears swim in her salty eyes.

“She’s dead,” Jadelynn sobbed. “I was too late!”

The red-haired woman narrowed her eyes. Sure, the story was too convenient, but Jadelynn was confident she could sell it. What good was having six older brothers if she did not use them to hone her persuasion techniques over the years?

“It’s your fault!” she accused through heaving sobs. “You killed her! You killed Sorceress Rosaliy! And now you’re going to kill Sorceress Issabeth!”

Mildly confusing and largely baseless accusations were always useful to distract from holes in logic.

“Lies,” the dark woman scoffed. “She was wearing a belt that would protect her from harm.”

Obviously, that was an oversimplification. Rosaliy couldn’t be stabbed to death or shot with a bow or blasted with magic, but the impact of falling the height of a castle and hitting water as unforgiving as a brick wall was outside the scope of a wearable enchanted object. Jadelynn was not about to have a discussion about the ins and outs of enchantments right now.

“Doesn’t work that great when there’s no air to breathe,” she shot back.

“Do you know what this means?” grumbled the woman. “I could have killed her so long ago. Dalor, what do you think?”

“Well…” waffled the man with spiky red hair like flames atop his head. “The guests did see somewhere between one and eighteen bodies fall in the water, and the cats can’t find the Sorceress anywhere in the castle.”

The woman glared at Jadelynn suspiciously, so she dissolved into more tears. It was best not to be too coherent in the midst of all her grief. Even pesky brothers avoided crying girls.

“We have Daniella, now, so it’s not like she’s important,” the man added.

“True,” sighed the woman, “but these negligible factors are nothing but trouble. Run a search when we get back.”

Another boom resounded from the ship and the Flifary woman swished her hands toward the incoming cannon ball. It redirected with a swirl of fog and launched itself directly at the ship this time, punching a hole in its hull.

“Nice shot, Iketa,” praised the man.

She puffed up a bit. “Ready to grab the cats?”

“They’re probably just eating party food anyway,” he grumbled.

Fog swept around them, and after Jadelynn’s vision cleared, she was left on the sliver of shore alone. She took a moment to choke down the rest of her shaky breaths and squash out the real tears for Sorceress Issabeth. The Sorceress could handle anything, but this seemed like more than even she could overcome.

Jadelynn had to do something. She almost considered going back underwater, but maybe she could find some way to be more useful than tagging along with two people who clearly wanted to be alone.

“Jade!” yelled a voice directly above her. Cliff’s face hung over the broken base of the castle. “Hang on! I’ll get ropes.”