Sea Of Sparks And Shadows

Hey everyone! This story has the last two chapters removed. To read them, please head over to Webnovel and search for this book. By doing so, you would be supporting me while also getting to know what happened to the Amaris and the crew. Thank you for reading!

The picture of the young man never left Amaris’ head during their horse ride to the prison. Young, maybe twenty, twenty two at the most. His clothes were frail and dirty under that hood the soldiers made him wear. Now they were bloodied too. Soaked in his blood as he lay on the ground. Lifeless. Stray bullets had pierced his body and he couldn’t even go for cover because those damned soldiers were weaving his mind. They probably convinced his brain that he was in a peaceful place so he wouldn’t resist.

In the past week she’d seen more bloodshed than she would’ve wanted to in a lifetime. But this face haunted her more than any other. An innocent man, probably convicted for a small theft if his hollow face and bony figure were any indication, shot by her friends. Stuck in a crossfire and tricked to walk to his death. She felt bile rise up her throat.

The worst part was that she was happy when she saw his dead body. She hated to admit it to herself but she was thankful it was this miserable stranger and not Ash who was killed by those bullets. And that thought made her feel so disgusted with herself. And yet here she was. Leaning on the half fallen wall that surrounds the prison. Gripping a gun to her chest and listening to a plan that would surely result in more blood being spilled.

The crew had just huddled together after Slygrin returned from scanning the surroundings. “Four guards on each side,” he panted. “The windows on the first story are locked. Looked inside and it’s mostly offices for higher guards. Although, I think their weapons are kept down there too if-”

“No.” the captain interrupted. “If they have sixteen men spared just for the outside then do you have any idea how many are inside the actual prison? The risk is too high. We get in. Get ash. Get out. That’s it. Do you understand?” he threw a pointed look at Slygrin.

“Yeah, fine.” Slygrin grumbled.

“What else?” the captain urged him to continue.

“Right. I unlocked a window on the second floor. And my guess is that that’s where they keep the prisoners.”

“Alright, here’s what we’ll do;” Amaris scanned the faces of the small group. None of them were even deterred by the mention of the guards and weapons. If anything, they seemed even more eager to get in. Some bounced slightly up and down as they focused on what the captain had to say. “We’ll get in through a side window. Hawk, Mecheye, I count on you to take care of the four guards as silently as possible.” They both nodded. “Good. Once we’re in, we’ll have to find Ash as quickly as possible. I don’t think we can hold back all their men for long. So we’ll have to try and sneak around instead of full on fight. Understand?” The men didn’t look all that happy about it, but they nodded anyways. Satisfied with their stiff response, the captain stood up. “Alright, let’s get this over with then.” They all stood up and Amaris took a deep breath, tensed her shaky limb and stood up with them. “Not you.” the captain suddenly said. “You’re staying here.”

“What?” Amaris almost yelled, then remembered where she was and lowered her voice. “What?” she said again. “I’m not going to sit outside while you go in there and get yourselves killed.”

The captain was not amused. He looked at her firmly and repeated, “You’re staying here. We can’t risk you coming with us, it’s too dangerous.”

Amaris shook her head stubbornly. “No,” she said, “I will come with-”

“That is an order.” he cut her off. “You’ll sit here and you will wait. Hopefully, we will be done very quickly and come back. If we don’t, then you have to go back to the ship and find the rest of the crew. By now, they’re probably back and are wondering where we are. You need to find them and tell them to come here and bring backup from the ring.”

Amaris was still pissed but she replied, “Alright, fine.” The captain nodded and Amaris sat back down. She huffed as she watched them get ready.

Soon, Hawk was peering through the end of the broken wall and Mecheye jumped expertly over the wall. Both had their guns out and started shooting right away. Exactly four shots later, they turned back to the group and nodded. The captain looked at the rest of them and in one movement they jogged quietly to the Castle. Before they left, Hawk gave her a pointed look, a warning she was offended to receive. She scowled at him but nodded.

Not five minutes later gunshots started to ring around the palace and Amaris held her breath and prayed to the heavens that everyone was alright. The shots continued and she was starting to get agitated. She didn’t know what to do. If she went back to the ship like she was told, she wouldn’t make it in time. Heck, by the time she even sets foot on the dock the whole group could be slaughtered. She sighed, her foot started tapping on the grass as she frowned. Who cared what the captain said? He was just trying to keep her away. She wasn’t part of his crew. He couldn’t order her around like that. The image of the dead prisoner floated in her mind again. What if the next body she sees like that is one of her friends’? What if they get shot or weaved of captured? No, she was not going to sit waiting outside while they were risking their lives like that. She took a deep breath and made her decision; she was going in.

Amaris jumped to her feet and dusted her pants. She took another deep breath and checked her pistol. She tried to pretend that this wasn’t a big deal, that she was used to this kind of event. Used to the weight of the pistol in her hand and the racing thundering beats of her heart.

It worked only for a few seconds. She took a peek from the side of the wall and found only the bodies of the four dead guards to welcome her. This was good, she tried to convince herself, that meant no one had died out there. She tried to ignore the mushy sound the soil made as she stepped on it. It was a dry hot summer evening. The grey sea didn’t have a drop of rain in the last two months. No, it wasn’t rain. It was only the blood the ground absorbed.

Amaris looked up at the building in front of her. It was really a castle. Old and abandoned, mostly ruined but she could still see the grandeur it once was. Its white brick walls stood high but now, not so proud. It was a huge building surrounded by gardens and lands but almost all of it was abandoned now. All that’s left was this half wrecked place they once called a palace. And this Palace had an open window on the second story. Probably where the crew got in. Amaris checked for a way to get to it. She noticed the plant that crawled its way up the wall; that was her ladder. She placed the pistol in the band off her pants and prayed it wouldn’t go off as she made her way to the window.

She jumped inside and found the room abandoned. The door was wide open and loud banging noises and shots were coming from the hallway. They must have gotten discovered. Amaris slowly approached the door. Another shot that sounded way too close to her made her flinch and almost yelp, and yet she continued onwards and stepped out into the empty corridor.

Amaris listened closely. The noise was coming from the end of the corridor. With shaky legs, she stepped forward even though every muscle in her body protested and every instinct told her to run the other way. As she reached the end of the wall she cautiously looked out.

The hall was a mess. A few men lay dead on the ground. Thankfully, all were wearing the white and gold uniform. Some side tables were flipped and Amaris suddenly started to have second thoughts about her plan. Bullets seemed to shoot in every direction. Some were hiding behind doors or other corridors, some behind the flipped tables and-

“Found one.” Amaris heard a low triumphant voice from right behind her seconds before a cold blade touched the back of her neck. She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed before slowly turning around, the sword still close enough to her skin to feel its coming sting.

A guard stood in front of her. Smiling as he pulled his sword back and readied to swing it again. Amaris’ heart beat out of control as she ducked and hoped the sword would miss her.

It did.

Instead, a thick sticky substance splashed across her face. She looked up just in time to see the body of the guard fall to her feet, a huge gurgling gash on his throat.

“Are you okay?” A distant voice asked. But it was muffled to her. Her eyes were fixed on the dead man in front of her. “Hey.” hands shook Amaris gently by the shoulder. She gasped, as if coming out of a nightmare and looked up.

In front of her, stood Mecheye, looking at her with a mix of panic and concern. “What are you doing here? I thought the captain told you not to come.”

Amaris blinked at him a few times before her mind registered what he said. “I know...I... I thought maybe I could_”

“No. you can’t.” He said, still looking around. Just then, Amaris noticed that he was holding a sword of his own. One that was stained with so much blood. She took a step back. Mecheye looked at her trembling movement and understood right away. He placed the weapon back in its hilt. “You need to get out.” he stated.

“I-” before she could prepare an answer, another sword swung in front of her she yelped and jumped aside. Another guard appeared, he wasted no time in swinging again, this time at Mecheye. Instinctively, Mecheye blocked the hit with his forearm. He grunted as the blade cut through the leather and into his skin. He used his other hand to take out his sword. “Get out. Now.” He yelled at her as he blocked yet another swing.

Amaris nodded silently, though she was sure he couldn’t see her, and sprinted down the corridor, through the battle zone hall, and into another corridor. She stopped only when she was out of breath. She leaned on her knees and panted. Only when her heart rate returned to a remotely normal rate, did she realize what she had done. She’d run in the opposite direction of the exit. She looked back at the corridor she was in and watched just as Mecheye kicked the guard to the ground. Before he could get up, Mecheye brought out a match and lit it. Just as the man moved towards him he blew at it and suddenly, the guard was on fire. Amaris looked away. What was she going to do?

She looked back out at the hall between her and the door to safety. Too far. She wouldn’t make it. She wasn’t even sure how she got to where she was unscathed. And here, even Mecheye wasn’t with her. She was completely by herself. Completely vulnerable. If only she could at least get somewhere closer, with one of the crew-...

Amaris suddenly glimpsed a shadow at a door facing the hall. She focused on it and soon realized who it was; the sunburned hand shooting the pistol, the quick movement, red hair. The captain. She was looking at the captain. And he was looking back at her. He didn’t seem too happy but he motioned for her to come to him. Amaris measured the distance between them. It was much shorter than if she attempted to sprint back to the corridor. He mouthed something she couldn’t understand, but by his gestures she guessed he was telling her to hurry.

Amaris looked around one last time before starting to run. She was half way there when she noticed something. Slygrin. He was sneaking down a different corridor. He wasn’t fighting or shooting, he was just trying to go unnoticed. The captain noticed her gaze and shook his head but it was too late. Amaris had already changed her path and ran after Slygrin. “No.” she heard the captain whisper yell.

Amaris was almost at the corridor when she felt something cut through her arm. She bit her scream and continued running until she was out of range. She looked down at the bullet wound at the top of her arm. She quickly looked away. Now wasn’t the time to focus on it. She continued down the corridor until she heard voices. She took out her gun and fisted her hand around it.

As she got closer, she recognized the voice. “Hang in there, man... I’ll get you out of here soon...shit...Ash say something already!” As soon as she set foot in the room, Slygrin whipped around aiming his gun at her. He relaxed once he recognized her. “You? What are you doing here?”

“What’s wrong with him?” she asked instead of answering. Ash sat on a small bench inside a cell and gazed at the wall opposite him with a small smile. She stepped closer and examined him. He didn’t seem to even realize that she and Sly were in the room with him.

“I don’t know.” Slygrin answered. “I think he’s still being weaved.”

Amaris pulled her gaze away from Ash and faced the boy. “I thought he still had those acacia seeds.” she stated.

“They must have found them and took them away from him.”

“How can we get him out of this...this mind weaved state?”

“We have to feed him the seeds. Once they’re inside his body the weaver won’t have control of him.”

“Great, did you find the key to get him out so we can get to him?”

“You think I’d still be here talking to you if I knew how to get him out?” Slygrin snapped. He snatched her gun from her without a word and shot at the base of an iron bar. The bullet bounced off of it and into the floor. Slygrin had to jump out of its way. It landed an inch from his foot. “Shit.” he cursed again.

Amaris inspected the cell again. There was something wrong. “Where’s the door?” between them and Ash were simple black iron bars.

“I don’t know!” Slygrin huffed in frustration. “I have no idea what I can do to get him out.” He crouched down on his knees and took out a small knife from his pocket. He tried to saw the bar at its base but as soon as the knife touched the bar, it flew out of Slygrin’s hand and slid across the floor. “What the hell?” He yelled as he spun his wrist a few times.

“I think it’s enchanted against weapons.” Amaris said as she wrapped her hand around another bar. “That’s probably why no one could escape.”

“No shit.” Slygrin muttered as he stood up. “That, or the fact that there are no damned doors to the cell.”

Amaris ignored him as she knelt down and examined the floor near the bars. The stones were old. Some were already shrinking, leaving small piles of dust. “Sly, give me your knife for a minute.” she said, still looking at the floor.

“What?”

“Knife.” she said again and held out her hand. Slygrin gave her a strange look but placed the knife in her hand silently. She wordlessly spun it around and held it as a dagger. Then, she thrust it in the space between two stones, over and over again, breaking small parts of them in the process, until one of them had enough space to start shaking.

“Oh.” Slygrin muttered as he watched her work. “But this will take forever.”

“Not really. We just need to get one bar out,” she pointed at where she could now see the end of the bar. “Two at the most. That’s about four stones in all.” she grunted as she stuck the knife in the ground once more. “Well? Aren’t you going to help me?” she demanded.

“I would if I didn’t throw all my other knives at those stupid gibfaces,” he said and she grumbled. “Hang on, I’ll go find something out there,” he added after a thought.

“What?” she stammered.

“I’ll go find something,” he repeated slowly, “Who knows maybe I’ll find something we could use that’s faster.” He threw her gun in her lap and picked up his knife. “I prefer these,” he explained as he threw it up. It spun in the air before he caught it effortlessly. “I won’t be long,” he promised. “If you see someone you don’t know, shoot first, ask questions later.”

“Be careful,” she said, her voice sounding smaller than a moment earlier. While chipping away at the stones, she had forgotten why she was there in the first place. “Stay away from that hall, alright?”

Slygrin laughed. “Little miss ‘I never held a gun in my life’ is giving me fighting tips?”

“I’m not giving you fighting tips, I’m telling you to stay away from the fight all together.” she scowled.

He laughed and slipped out the door. “I’ll be fine.”

Amaris hoped the heavens would keep his promise for him as she slouched, leaning on the bars, and exhaled.

She wished she had a knife of her own so she could continue instead of sitting uselessly and waiting. She’d have to ask Hawk or Mecheye to give her one once they’re back on the ship. If they’re ever back on the ship...

Amaris shook her head and with it, the thoughts that were slowly eating at her. If only she could do something. An idea suddenly popped into her head. If she could just get Ash to respond, to wake up, she could start a fire for him and he could melt the bars completely. She jumped to her feet. But how?

Ash sat in the same position she last saw him; still facing the wall, still smiling. She took a deep breath and used her pistol to fiddle with her bracelet.

“Ash?” Her voice came out shaky and weak as she spoke. “Ash please, can you hear me?” Silence. “I don’t know what to do and I... I need you to help me. You were right.” she let out a small dry laugh. “I am just a useless brat, compared to you that is. I never even thought about ending the draft or stopping the emperor or saving people. I was so focused on me and my miserable life that I didn’t think I could do anything to help anyone else. But you guys do. You’ve been through worse and survived and focused on the greater good.” She recalled her first night on the ship, how Mecheye told her that they passed through much worse. “And right now, I need you to do just that. I need you to fight for that greater good. I need you to come back.” She shifted between begging him and ordering him. “I need your help.”

Nothing.

She blew out a breath and pressed her forehead to a cold metal bar. “What am I doing-?”

And then. “Amaris?”

Her head snapped up and she watched as Ash stood up, first dazed and then urgent as he came closer. “Oh thank the heavens.” she whispered then reached for her pant pocket. “One second, I’ll give you some acacia seeds just to be safe. You were so-”

Suddenly, Ash grabbed her by the throat and in one maneuver, had her back pressed to the bars. The arm with the gun held in his iron grip, the other, still wrapped around her neck.

Hey everyone! This story has the last two chapters removed. To read them, please head over to Webnovel and search for this book. By doing so, you would be supporting me while also getting to know what happened to the Amaris and the crew. Thank you for reading!