emptied. But the other ships remained in the mist with few men aboard.
“Yet those who left their ships—many days ago—would not live long upon the waters, for it is too far to the nearest land. Nor did any return, and it has been too long to hope for their success. Thousands set out from those ships, our companions. There will be food there, and freshwater, where ours dwindled over the months. In my dream, you flew several miles to one of the ships and returned with these supplies.” He said this all as if he had known of the will of the universe well before my arrival, and I had fit in perfectly with it. “There is a nettle’s leaf, ground to fine powder, stored in small red boxes I would like, also.” He pointed to a shelf by his head, and there was a horn-shaped pipe with a round blue bowl at its tip. “It is good to burn it in the bowl and breathe it into the throat. Old men enjoy such things.”
I glanced at the men who squatted near us on the floor, listening intently. Each looked at me with a dreaded curiosity, as if expecting me to shoot fire from my mouth and bolts of lightning from my eyes.
I returned my attentions to Illuyanket. “Your dream included bringing you a burning leaf for your bowl?”
“My dreams are very particular,” he said, a wan smile upon his face.
“You are a wise man,” I said, chuckling a bit at his ingenuity. “Perhaps your dreams may be true.”
“Always,” he said. “They are. Since the demon touched my brow when I was a child. Now, please let an old man rest for the night. When I see you again, I would like a bit of salted pork and a larger bowl for drinking water. Do not forget the small red box with the turtle engraved upon it—it is the size of your hand, no larger.”
I told him I would bring what I could find from the nearest ship. “Tell me, how far is it to land?”
“To the east, too far. To the west, too far,” he said. “You fly like a bird, but even a bird must rest. You must wait, for when the storms come, we will find our way homeward, far to the west of this unhappy spot, just as the storms flung us across the ocean. Within no more than two nights, you will fly from us and seek your landfall. As you fly to the west, the night will stay with you many hours. Beneath you, islands large and small will welcome you and your lady. This is my dream.”
“In your dreams, you have seen these storms come again?”
He nodded. “Demons are the bringers of storms, my friend. When the demons come, the sisters of the sea grow angry. The brothers of the wind chase them. You will see, my friend. You will see.”
His eyes shifted slightly as he glanced at the other men, crouching nearby. “Do not fear them. They will do as I say, though I could not keep them from devouring their own kind. But they fear you more than you need fear them. After you have brought us good meat and drink, I will show where you and the lady demon may sleep in comfort and not fear these ruffians. They believe you have the power to watch them while you sleep. I know the secret of your kind, my friend. I know that in the day, you...”—he then spoke in the barest of whispers—”...are vulnerable...”—then resumed his soft but audible tone—”but you are a demon of terror and blood. You will kill us if we do not do as you say. We will protect you while you rest during the brief hours of sun that burns beyond the mist. You shall fear nothing from us, so long as you do not murder any more of our men. Do you understand?”
I nearly grinned. “What a bargain this is, for if I do as you say, I become your servant. If I disobey you...”
“While you sleep, it would be terrible for a blade to reach your heart,” he whispered. “For even an old man might stick a small knife into the flesh of the dead.”
I wished then that such men could live as long as vampyres, for the world needed more of them. “You seem a thousand years in wisdom, not a mere hundred,” I said. “Will you
“Yet those who left their ships—many days ago—would not live long upon the waters, for it is too far to the nearest land. Nor did any return, and it has been too long to hope for their success. Thousands set out from those ships, our companions. There will be food there, and freshwater, where ours dwindled over the months. In my dream, you flew several miles to one of the ships and returned with these supplies.” He said this all as if he had known of the will of the universe well before my arrival, and I had fit in perfectly with it. “There is a nettle’s leaf, ground to fine powder, stored in small red boxes I would like, also.” He pointed to a shelf by his head, and there was a horn-shaped pipe with a round blue bowl at its tip. “It is good to burn it in the bowl and breathe it into the throat. Old men enjoy such things.”
I glanced at the men who squatted near us on the floor, listening intently. Each looked at me with a dreaded curiosity, as if expecting me to shoot fire from my mouth and bolts of lightning from my eyes.
I returned my attentions to Illuyanket. “Your dream included bringing you a burning leaf for your bowl?”
“My dreams are very particular,” he said, a wan smile upon his face.
“You are a wise man,” I said, chuckling a bit at his ingenuity. “Perhaps your dreams may be true.”
“Always,” he said. “They are. Since the demon touched my brow when I was a child. Now, please let an old man rest for the night. When I see you again, I would like a bit of salted pork and a larger bowl for drinking water. Do not forget the small red box with the turtle engraved upon it—it is the size of your hand, no larger.”
I told him I would bring what I could find from the nearest ship. “Tell me, how far is it to land?”
“To the east, too far. To the west, too far,” he said. “You fly like a bird, but even a bird must rest. You must wait, for when the storms come, we will find our way homeward, far to the west of this unhappy spot, just as the storms flung us across the ocean. Within no more than two nights, you will fly from us and seek your landfall. As you fly to the west, the night will stay with you many hours. Beneath you, islands large and small will welcome you and your lady. This is my dream.”
“In your dreams, you have seen these storms come again?”
He nodded. “Demons are the bringers of storms, my friend. When the demons come, the sisters of the sea grow angry. The brothers of the wind chase them. You will see, my friend. You will see.”
His eyes shifted slightly as he glanced at the other men, crouching nearby. “Do not fear them. They will do as I say, though I could not keep them from devouring their own kind. But they fear you more than you need fear them. After you have brought us good meat and drink, I will show where you and the lady demon may sleep in comfort and not fear these ruffians. They believe you have the power to watch them while you sleep. I know the secret of your kind, my friend. I know that in the day, you...”—he then spoke in the barest of whispers—”...are vulnerable...”—then resumed his soft but audible tone—”but you are a demon of terror and blood. You will kill us if we do not do as you say. We will protect you while you rest during the brief hours of sun that burns beyond the mist. You shall fear nothing from us, so long as you do not murder any more of our men. Do you understand?”
I nearly grinned. “What a bargain this is, for if I do as you say, I become your servant. If I disobey you...”
“While you sleep, it would be terrible for a blade to reach your heart,” he whispered. “For even an old man might stick a small knife into the flesh of the dead.”
I wished then that such men could live as long as vampyres, for the world needed more of them. “You seem a thousand years in wisdom, not a mere hundred,” I said. “Will you
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