Richard Tuttle - Island of Darkness

He held his knife before him and crept cautiously towards the kitchen.

“Be careful,” he whispered to the last man coming down the stairs. “Something is not right here.”

MistyTrail waited until the fourth man was visible on the stairs. She tossed a knife at the fourth man, and it struck him in the chest. His hands came up to the knife and his eyes looked down in disbelief. His knife clattered on the stairs as it fell just before his body collapsed. MistyTrail waited the required second for the third man to turn around to see what the noise was. She threw her second knife quickly and caught the last man in the throat. His body hit the floor as the fourth man’s body was still tumbling down the stairs. MistyTrail raced across the room and checked the bodies. She crept up the stairs and checked the rest of the house before returning to the ground floor.

“MistyTrail?” Mistake called tentatively.

“I am fine,” MistyTrail replied. “You?”

“The same,” Mistake said as she exited the kitchen. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Not so fast,” MistyTrail shook her head.

“Why not?” asked Mistake. “My pack is full of food. Let’s go.”

“We are taking the bodies with us,” declared MistyTrail. “Why chance someone coming along and finding them. I say we lock this house up tight and dump the bodies at sea. It may just buy us the time we need to get to Elvangar.”

“And it will look as if they took the boats,” Mistake nodded enthusiastically. “I like it. No alarm will be sounded at all. The kruls and soldiers will spend the rest of their lives searching for Caldal.”

Mistake and MistyTrail retrieved their knives and started carrying the bodies to the rowboat. When they were done, they returned to the house and cleaned up the blood. They made sure that all of the shutters were closed and then locked the front door. Mistake strapped her pack on and the two women struggled to drag the rowboat into the water.

“We should have done this before we filled it with bodies,” Mistake complained.

“No plan is perfect,” retorted MistyTrail. “Pull harder. The moon is almost gone.”

They finally managed to get the rowboat into the water. MistyTrail raced back and picked up the coil or rope she had left on the beach. She threw the rope into the rowboat and then pushed it out to sea. Mistake rowed while MistyTrail swam and hung onto the boat. There was no room for her with the pile of bodies occupying most of the space. When they eventually reached the sailboat, Mistake threw a line to Eltor.

“What happened back there? Eltor whispered. “Why are you bringing the bodies?”

“Later,” snapped Mistake. “Get MistyTrail aboard and secure this rowboat. We are going to tow it behind us.”

Eltor shook his head and tied the rowboat’s line to the stern of the sailboat. He helped MistyTrail over the side and then pulled Mistake aboard.

“I thought we had lost you,” Eltor said softly as he adjusted the sail and headed towards Caldal who was standing on the submerged reef. “Caldal and I should not have left you alone on the beach. I won’t ever do that again. How did they discover you?”

“They almost didn’t,” MistyTrail replied. “Mistake had to slam the door to wake them up.”

“Wake them up?” gasped Eltor. “Why?”

“I am sorry that I snapped at you,” Mistake said softly. “I may make light of it at times, but it always bothers me to kill someone.”

“They were your enemies, Mistake,” soothed MistyTrail. “Those four would one day end up in Fakara or Sakova murdering our friends. We did the right thing. Who knows how many sailors those men lured to the island to become slaves to Vand.”

“She is right,” nodded Eltor as he followed Caldal’s hand signals and steered the sailboat towards the break in the reef. “Vand’s people plan to kill a great number of people. If it is your homeland they are heading for, you should want to kill as many of them as you can. I have no doubt that the four of us would die if they caught us.”

Caldal swam towards the sailboat as Eltor sailed through the break in the reef. He grabbed onto the rowboat and pulled himself forward until he could reach the towline. He pulled himself aboard as Eltor raised full sails.

“Souvenirs?” Caldal asked as he nodded to the rowboat full of bodies.

“We will dump them at sea when we are far from the island,” explained MistyTrail. “Hopefully no alarm will ever be sounded.”

“Smart,” nodded Caldal. “I should have thought of that. This wind is strong. The island will be out of sight in no time.”

“Even sooner than you think,” commented Eltor as he pointed towards the moon which was sinking below the horizon. “It will be very dark very soon. Why don’t the three of you get some rest? All of you seem to have had more to do than I did.”

No one objected and soon Eltor was alone at the helm. He sailed into the dark night, letting the strong easterly wind have its way with the sails. He no longer cared where he was going, just as long as he put distance between the island of darkness and his sailboat. Several hours later, the dawn woke Mistake. She stretched and yawned.

“How are you doing?” Mistake asked Eltor. “Do you want me to take over for a while so you can get some sleep?”

“No way,” interjected MistyTrail as she rose. “You are forbidden from manning the controls of any boat. You are only allowed to crash one, and you already did that.”

Caldal started laughing as he sat up. “I can’t tell if you are friends or enemies sometimes,” he chuckled. “I can take over for a spell.”

“This is no time for levity,” Eltor said seriously as he pointed off the starboard side. “There is a ship out there. It is barely visible on the horizon.”

“Motangan?” asked Caldal as he jumped to his feet.

“I can’t tell,” Eltor replied. “It is too far away. I think we are both heading pretty much the same place, although he appears to be tracking in from far to the north. I don’t know where on the west coast we left from, so I don’t know how far the northern end of the island was.”

“I think we should turn to the south,” suggested Caldal. “We will watch to see what he does. If it gives chase we will know it is Motangan.”

“Wait,” interrupted Mistake as she wove an air tunnel and directed it at the ship. “I am leery of zigzagging across the sea. Let me see if I can hear anything first.”

Several long minutes passed without anyone on the sailboat talking. Mistake moved the air tunnel over the length of the distant ship and listened to every conversation that she could detect. Finally, a grin spread across Mistake’s face as she spoke loudly.

“Ahoy Khadoran ship,” Mistake said. “This is Mistake, friend of the Astor and the Torak. Where are you headed?”

“Who was that?” came a male voice. “Where did it come from?”

Female laughing could be heard nearby and soon the voice of a Khadoran mage spoke.

“We are heading for Raven’s Point, Mistake,” replied the mage. “Where are you?”

“We are in a small sailboat off your port,” answered Mistake. “If we can reach you, will you allow us to ride with you?”

“Who is with you?” asked the mage.

“Three friends who need to be presented to Emperor Marak,” answered Mistake. “We have vital information regarding the evil.”

There was a discussion going on aboard the Khadoran ship, so Mistake waited patiently for the answer.

“Why do you want to go with them?” whispered Eltor. “That is not the way to get to Elvangar.”

“Because we will be safe on Emperor Marak’s ship,” answered Mistake. “They know where they are going, they are armed for combat at sea, and the Motangans will not be looking for a ship that large. They will be looking for this one.”