Book 2: Web of Dreams

  Akari opened her eyes and spat out a mouthful of saltwater. “Kalden?” she called in a raspy voice. “Relia?”

  No answer. No sound but the wind and the clash of waves against the shore. She pushed her palms into the wet sand and forced herself onto her hands and knees. Where were the others? And where the hell were her glasses?

  Akari felt through the sand, hoping against hope to feel the smooth plastic of her frames. No such luck. Another wave struck her back, slamming her face-first into the shore. Memories assaulted her in the same moment: an electric blue sky, clouds like swirling funnels, and tides like skyscrapers.

  Their little boat never stood a chance in that storm, even with a Grandmaster behind the wheel.

  What if the others had all drowned? What if she was alone, half-blind, in the outside world? Fighting the Martials was one thing—they were all brainwashed Novices who knew nothing about real mana arts. Here, she might face other Apprentices like Relia. Maybe even Artisans or Masters. And Talek only knew if they’d be friendly.

  A fresh wave of adrenaline surged through Akari’s veins, and she crawled up the shore. Her arms felt like jelly, threatening to collapse with every movement. She wore a life vest over her hoodie, but her muscles weren’t used to swimming so far.

  When had she learned how to swim, anyway? Just one more lost memory she couldn’t explain.

  The damp shore gave way to dry sand, and she forced herself to stand on shaky legs. She brushed the wet hair from her eyes and tried to take in the scene. The sand shone golden in the afternoon sun, so bright that it strained her eyes. The ocean and sky blurred together in a thick blue haze behind her.

  Her heart pounded as she scanned the blur of colors. For all the good that would do; the others could be swimming twenty feet offshore, and she still wouldn’t see them. Stupid eyes. She drew in a deep breath and called their names again. “Kalden! Elend!”

  No answer.

  She raked in another breath, ignoring her dry throat. Then she cupped her hands and shouted. “Relia!”

  “Hey!” a familiar voice called out from down the beach.

  A figure jogged closer on the horizon. Several heartbeats passed, then Akari caught a blur of pale skin and red hair. She let out a long breath of relief as she waved at her friend.

  “You okay?” Relia asked as she approached.

  “Yeah,” Akari said through chattering teeth. “I think so.” The sun was warm enough, but she couldn’t say the same for the ocean. It didn’t help that her wet jeans and hoodie still clung uncomfortably to her skin.

  Relia stepped closer, and her face grew sharper against the blue horizon. She raised a hand toward Akari’s forehead, brushing aside strands of wet hair.

  “Uh”—Akari flinched away at the sudden contact—“what’s up?”

  “Sorry.” Relia yanked her hand back with a wince. “You hit your head on the boat. I was gonna heal it for you.”

  “Oh.” Akari raised a hand to her right temple. Sure enough, her fingers came back sticky with blood. She hadn’t noticed the cut before, but the realization brought a wave of stinging pain.

  “Is that okay?” Relia asked after a short pause.

  “Sure. Just warn me next time.”

  Relia stepped forward, and a burst of green and gold mana flashed in her palm. It smelled like fresh spring rain, but it stung worse than salt when it reached her wound.

  “What about Kalden and Elend?” Akari asked.

  “We got separated in the storm, and I swam after you.” Relia must have seen the worry on her face because she pressed on. “I’m sure they’re okay. Elend’s basically indestructible, and he’ll look after Kalden.”

  The life mana lingered for several heartbeats as the wound sealed shut. Then Akari’s skin felt suddenly tight as if she’d slipped on an extra small headband. “Thanks.” She rubbed at the freshly healed skin. “Any chance you can fix my eyes?”

  “That one’s trickier. But here . . .” The other girl unzipped her leather belt pouch, then she pressed a pair of familiar black frames into Akari’s hand. “You dropped these on the boat.”

  Akari slid the glasses back on her face, and the world snapped back into focus. The beach continued inland for a quarter-mile, and a wall of pale blue mana loomed over them. It looked just like the wall back home—ten stories tall, stretching from horizon to horizon. Miles of dense green trees filled the space beyond, and it looked more like a jungle than a forest.

  “Shit,” Akari muttered. “If this is an island, then I’m rage quitting.”

  Relia cocked her head to the side. “I don’t know what that means, but I think we’re somewhere in Cadria.”

  “So we made it?” Last year, she’d imagined Cadria as a war-torn wasteland. But that mana wall was a clear sign of civilization. She’d always believed Relia’s story about the outside world, but it never hurt to see the truth with your own two eyes.

  Relia frowned, looking less certain as she scanned their surroundings. “Depends on what country this is.” She unshouldered her pack. “Before I forget—this stuff is yours, too.”

  Akari accepted her father’s old backpack and checked the contents. A sealed plastic bag held both her weapons , including the stolen Martial pistol and mana-enhanced blade. She found her clothes in a second sealed bag beneath them, along with her mother’s watch.

  The clothes seemed reasonably dry, so she grabbed a fresh pair of jeans and a black tank top.

  Relia coughed and looked away. “You’re really gonna change right here on the beach?”

  Akari shrugged as she yanked off her wet clothes. “Point me to the nearest locker room and I’ll go there instead.” Once she was dressed again, Akari grabbed both weapons and fastened the holsters around her waist. The pistol had a dozen rounds left, and the blade seemed as sharp as ever. She only had one pair of boots, so she tied those to the outside of her pack and left her feet bare.

  “So what’s the plan?” she finally asked. “Wait for Elend and Kalden to find us?”

  Relia shook her head and glanced up at the sun. “We won’t last long out here without fresh water.”

  “We?” Akari echoed. “Figured your fancy aspect would keep you alive.”

  She flashed an innocent grin. “I meant you. I could go a week without water, but it wouldn’t be fun.”

  Akari shrugged as she shouldered her pack. “Guess we head for the shade, then?” The other girl nodded, and they hiked up the beach toward the mana wall. Unfortunately, that brought no relief from the sun. The beach ran east to west, and the wall itself kept the jungle at bay, including the higher branches.

  Akari frowned up at the wall. The whole thing was a flat plane of protection mana, so climbing it seemed out of the question. Plus this was a national border, so they probably had wards to prevent that sort of thing.

  Relia knelt at the base of the wall and examined a tiny flag that someone had printed on the metal. It looked like a black jungle cat on a bright red background.

  “I think we’re in Creta,” she said in a low voice.

  “So?” Akari asked. “That’s good, right?”

  The other girl let out a humorless laugh. “Elend was aiming for Vaslana.”

  “What’s the difference? Aren’t they both in Cadria?”

  “Vaslana’s a civilized democracy,” Relia said. “Plus they’re friends with Espiria.”

  “And Creta?”

  “Creta’s a dictatorship ruled by an angry dragon.”

  Akari’s mouth hung open. She’d learned about dragons in school. Hell, she’d even fought a few in the Contested Area last year. But those were just animals. They definitely didn’t rule nations.

  “You’ll see.” Relia turned toward the west. “I say we head this way and look for a city.”

  Akari followed her gaze toward the endless miles of sand. “Why that way?” Relia knew her stuff when it came to combat, but she had a history of reckless decisions. Besides, Akari’s muscles still ached from her time in the water, and a part of her would rather stay put and wait for the others.

  “Creta’s a peninsula, and it sticks out from the continent like this.” Relia knelt in the sand and drew a lopsided star shape with her index finger. “This is Vaslana right here.” She gestured to the topmost point, then her finger drifted to the right. “But the storm brought us down here. “Going west brings us closer to Vaslana and the mainland.”

  “Fine,” Akari said in a weary voice. “Let’s do it.” Her friend might be reckless, but she’d also survived for several months in the Contested Area. Plus she’d made a good point before: they wouldn’t last long without freshwater.

  ~~~

  They reached a coastal city three hours later. The sun hung low on the horizon by now, but Akari’s mouth still felt as dry as the surrounding sand. They kept following the mana wall until the jungle gave way to paved roads and buildings. A few billboards and neon signs loomed over the rooftops, all written in Cadrian.

  And were those palm trees sticking out from the sidewalks? Palm trees never grew back home. Akari didn’t know much about geography, but they’d been sailing northwest for most of the trip, and the Archipelago sat just north of the equator.

  If anything, shouldn’t it be cooler up here?

  Still so many questions. She’d have to ask Relia about it later after she’d gulped down about ten glasses of water. She wouldn’t say no to some food, either. The scents of grilled meat wafted out from a nearby restaurant, and her stomach wasn’t gentle with its protests.

  For now, she kept looking through the wall’s rippling blue surface, distracting herself with the sights. The city wasn’t large by any means—probably less than fifty buildings if you didn’t count the surrounding homes. A few locals had stopped to stare at them from the street while others leaned over balconies.

  She and Relia walked for a quarter mile until they finally reached an opening in the mana wall. It reminded her of the gate in White Vale that separated the city from the Contested Area beyond. Two men stood on the other side of the gate, clad in desert-colored combat fatigues and sunglasses. Like most of the locals, they had dark brown complexions and pitch-black hair.

  Akari relaxed her vision, letting her Silver Sight overlay the physical world. This was still a new technique for her, but she understood the basics. Every living being had a soul, and that soul shone brighter depending on your rank. In this case, the guards were both Golds. Back home, you’d never see Golds working as ordinary soldiers. But things were different here in the outside world. Most adults were Apprentices or higher, so these guys were actually below average.

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  Of course, that still made them stronger than Akari. She was just a puny Silver, with less than half their mana counts.

  “You speak Cadrian?” Akari asked Relia as they approached the steel gate.

  “Little bit,” she replied. “I spent a few years down here with my last master, before I met Elend.”

  They closed the distance, and Akari fought down a wave of nausea as she took in their weapons and uniforms. What if these guys didn’t let them through? What if they died of thirst on the wrong side of the wall?

  Relia waved at the guards as they approached. “Buenos noito!” From there, she fumbled through a few more Cadrian phrases, sounding less confident by the second.

  The guards stared at her with crossed arms and stern expressions, clearly unimpressed. Relia tried again, but one man threw up a hand and called toward a nearby building.

  “Okay.” She gave a nervous laugh while they waited. “So maybe I’m a little rusty.”

  Akari shrugged a shoulder and crossed her arms to keep them from shaking. Even the Cadrians back home didn’t speak Cadrian, so she knew next to nothing about this language.

  A third soldier stepped up to the gate. The first two men had smooth baby faces, but this guy had a graying beard, and the scars of a war veteran. Akari shifted back to her Silver Sight, and the man’s soul shone as brightly as Relia’s. An Apprentice.

  “What happened to you two?” he asked in accented Espirian.

  “A shipwreck.” Relia gestured a thumb over her left shoulder. “We washed up on the beach. Maybe five or six miles.”

  “Why? What happened to your boat, spira?”

  “There was a mana storm. My dad and I sailed out of Vaslana, just checking out the local islands and stuff. The storm caught us on the way back.”

  The officer grunted his sympathy and glanced at Akari. “Who’s she?”

  “Oh, this is my best friend from high school!” Relia stepped closer and put an arm around her shoulders. Akari tried not to flinch at the sudden contact.

  “You got your passports?”

  “Um”—Relia made a show of patting her empty pockets—“No. I think we lost those in the water.”

  The man shrugged his shoulders as if that didn’t matter. “Do you know where you are?”

  “Creta?” Relia pointed back down the beach. “We saw your flag on the wall.”

  “Whose side are you on?” This question came quicker than the others, as if he wanted to catch them off guard. “Unida or Liberta?” Relia hesitated, and the guard narrowed his eyes. Clearly, this question mattered far more than the others.

  Akari wet her lips and spoke for the first time. “Liberta, of course.” It didn’t take a native speaker to figure out those words. The first word sounded like unity, while the second sounded like freedom. She knew her answer, regardless of what he wanted to hear.

  His lips curled up at the edges, and he gave a small nod. “So neither of you are marked?”

  “Nope.” Relia held out her hands, showing him her palms. Akari copied her without comment.

  The man swiped a keycard on a panel, then he slid open the metal gate halfway. “Let’s see the bags.”

  Akari handed over her backpack, and the younger soldiers did a quick search. They’d only find spare clothes in there, which was nothing compared to the gun and dagger she wore on her belt. Relia just carried a small leather pouch, no bigger than a purse. The guards found nothing when they searched it, so she must have hidden her shiny blue pill in her pocket. Either that, or she’d already taken it.

  “Good enough for me.” The officer said as he passed back their bags. He opened the gate wider and gestured them inside. “Welcome to Costa Liberta.”

  “Thanks!” Relia practically skipped through, then she spun around to face the guards. “Has anyone else come through today? I’m looking for my dad. His name’s Elend Dawnfire. He’s Espirian like me. Short gray hair, gray beard?”

  Dawnfire? Why not just use Elend’s actual clan name?

  The man shook his head. “You’re the first Espirian I’ve seen all week.”

  “How about a younger Shokenese guy?” Relia nudged Akari with her elbow. “We lost her boyfriend, too.”

  Akari rolled her eyes at that. They’d already made it through the gate, so she saw no point in playing along.

  The guard shook his head again. “Sorry, spira. We don’t get many foreigners this way.”

  “Oh well, thanks anyway.”

  “Wait,” Akari said. “Where can we find some water?” Clearly, Relia had no concept of basic human needs. Food and shelter would be the next priorities, but those might be harder to find with no money.

  “The Cantina.“ The guard gestured straight down the street. “Go that way, then take a left on Callo Central. Big neon sign, overlooks the town square. Tell ‘em Juan sent you.”

  She and Relia nodded their thanks, then they set off down the street.

  “Elend Dawnfire?” Akari asked once they were out of earshot from the guards. “What’s up with that?”

  “Oh.” Relia winced. “Guess I should have told you before. Darklight’s kind of a famous clan, but Elend doesn’t have his full power. It’s better if no one knows who he is. Plus we’ve done the whole father and daughter act before. Makes us sound less intimidating.”

  “So Dawnfire’s not a famous clan?” The name had always given her ancient tribal vibes, sort of like Frostblade. Plus it sounded cool enough to be famous.”

  “Nope. Dawnfire’s not even a real clan.”

  Akari furrowed her brow. “Then what’s your real clan name?”

  Her smile faded, and she bit her lip. “Dawnfire is my clan name. It just wasn’t my parents’ name.”

  Huh. Definitely a story there.

  “Quick thinking, by the way.” Relia glanced over her shoulder. “How’d you know those guards were Liberta?”

  “Lucky guess.” Akari shrugged. “What’s that even mean?”

  “I think they’re all rebels in this town. You know—enemies of the Dragonlord. That’s why they didn’t care if we snuck in.”

  “So that stuff about marks . . .”

  “Oh yeah.” Relia gestured between her forehead and palms. “The Unida faction marks themselves with mana suppression sigils.”

  “They mark their skin? Why?”

  “Something about ambient mana levels causing storms?” She furrowed her brow in thought. “I don’t pay much attention to politics. Especially down here.”

  They made their way down the sidewalk, passing rows of old buildings around the cobblestone streets. The city itself was barely bigger than White Vale, but the architecture was way cooler. Most of the buildings back home had been relatively new, but these looked well over a hundred years old. Most had stone or plaster walls, covered patios, and ornamented pillars and windows. A few cars drove past, but they looked even older than the cars on Arkala.

  All the while, the scents of food hung heavy in the warm tropical air, wafting over from the restaurants and street vendors. A few of the vendors even called out to Akari, but she kept her eyes forward. Aside from her mother’s watch, she only had her weapons to trade. She wasn’t that desperate. Not yet, at least.

  They walked another block before they reached a wide, circular courtyard with a stone fountain at its center. A massive chapel dominated the scene to their left. Three stories high, it had a bell tower on either side of the stone facade. Between the towers stood a statue of an Angel, carved in relief over the wooden doors. She’d half expected to see Talek’s face on the statue, but this Angel looked more feminine, with a thin frame and chin-length hair.

  “Who’s that?” Akari asked.

  Relia glanced over her shoulder. “Oh, that’s Akariel. Archangel of Freedom. Figures we’d see her in a town like this.”

  Akari gave a slow nod as they kept walking. Back home, everyone had favored Talek, the Archangel of Existence. He was all about accepting your lot in life, and other nonsense like that. Akariel sounded like the exact opposite.

  A taller brick building loomed on a hill opposite the chapel. Half a dozen balconies protruded from the upper levels, and the sign said ‘Cantina & Hotel’ in bright red letters. Relia led them up two flights of stone stairs, then she pulled open a heavy wooden door at the top of the hill.

  The inside was cooler, but not by much. A few fans hung from the ceiling, blowing around a haze of smoke. The floor was a mosaic of colorful tiles, all faded with age.

  Relia sat down on a padded barstool. “Buenos noito!”

  The bartender stared at them as if they were a pair of homeless girls. Then again, that wasn’t far from the truth right now.

  “Juan sent us,” Relia said with a cheerful grin. “He said we could get some water here.”

  The man’s frown deepened when he realized they weren’t spending any money, and he took his time filling the pitcher from a nearby sink. He practically moved in slow motion, and Akari almost hopped over the bar and did it herself. Instead, she distracted herself with the song that blasted from the radio. The lyrics were all in Cadrian—too fast to understand—but the drums and guitar had a catchy beat.

  A thousand years later, the bartender passed them the pitcher with two plastic cups. Akari threw back her first glass like a shot of hard liquor, and Relia matched her speed. It was the best water she’d ever tasted, and they both went back for seconds and thirds.

  Relia wiped her chin dry and turned to the bartender. “Do you speak Espirian?”

  The man nodded once as he ran a white rag over the bar’s wooden surface.

  “Great!” She clapped her hands together. “Any chance we could bargain for some food?”

  Ah, so Relia did eat like a normal person. Thank Talek.

  “Bargain?” The bartender raised a dark eyebrow. “It’s not a market, spira.” He gestured over his shoulder. “Prices are right there.”

  Akari followed the man’s finger to the blackboard behind the bar. She didn’t know most of those words, but the scents of sausage and peppers wafted out from the kitchen, and those needed no translation.

  “I’m a healer,” Relia said. “If anyone’s sick or injured—“

  “No injuries.” The bartender held out his hand, gesturing to the locals around the room. “No sickness.”

  “Seriously? Someone must need my help around here.”

  The bartender shrugged his massive shoulders. “Then go find someone, spira.”

  “Come on, Marco!” a thin boy called out from farther down the bar. He looked a few years older than Akari, and he spoke clear Espirian. “We all know you’ve got stale tortillas in the back.”

  Akari leaned closer to Relia and spoke in a low voice. “What’s a tortilla?”

  “Cadrian flatbread,” Relia said in a stage whisper.

  “Oh.” Akari raised her voice over the music. “Stale tortillas sound great!”

  “Times are tough.” The bartender glared at the boy down the bar, then back at Akari. “And this isn’t a soup kitchen, shokita.”

  “Fine.” Relia slumped her shoulders. “Do you at least have a phone I could borrow?”

  Just then, the roar of engines filled the courtyard outside. Motorcycles? Several of the locals sprang up from their seats, looking tense. A few wandered over to the windows, while others clutched their children and shied back

  Akari exchanged a look with Relia, then they followed the crowd to the front of the bar. From here, they had a full view of the town square where half a dozen motorcyclists rode in from the west.

  “Grevandi,” someone muttered from the crowd.

  ”Gre-what-now?” Akari turned and saw the same boy who’d mentioned the stale tortillas”

  “Greenskins,” he translated. “Half-human, half-dragon.” He fingered a pair of pistols on his belt.

  Akari squinted at the strange figures as they dismounted their bikes. Their bodies looked human, but their skin was dark green and scaly like a raptor’s. How the hell had humans bred with dragons? Probably some shapeshifting shenanigans.

  Chaos erupted in the square a few seconds later as the Grevandi forged walls of fire mana around the townsfolk. Most of them staggered back in time, but a few got burned.

  “Arturo!” the bartender shouted. “Gonna put that fancy education to use?”

  “They’ve got four Apprentices,” Tortilla Boy shouted back. “I can’t take ‘em all.”

  Screams followed outside as the Grevandi rounded up the townsfolk. The fire Constructs blocked their retreat, and the dragons seized them by their arms and threw them by the fountain.

  Talek. The Martials were downright gentle compared to these guys.

  Relia raised a hand to her mouth, and turned to Tortilla Boy—or Arturo, as the bartender had called him. “What are they doing to them?”

  “Marking them,” Arturo replied in a low voice. He held a pistol in his right hand, but he made no move to step outside and help. Neither did anyone else. “I chased off a smaller group two days ago, but . . .”

  “Then we’ll take them together.” Relia cracked her knuckles and strode toward the bar’s front door. She looked totally confident, as if she hadn’t just walked six miles with no food or water.

  Arturo sized her up for several quiet heartbeats. “You know how to fight, spira?”

  Relia flashed him a quick grin. “I can take a few backwater thugs.”

  “Well then.” He returned her smile and drew his other pistol. “What are we waiting for?”

  “Hang on.” Akari slipped through the crowd and blocked the front door. “Not for free.” Relia looked at her as if she’d just kicked a puppy, and Akari gestured to the bartender with her chin. That guy clearly wanted those Grevandi gone, so they might as well make the most of this attack.

  She made her way back to the bar before Relia could reply. “Ready to bargain now?”

  The man’s eyes widened in the same way Relia’s had a second before.

  “What?” Akari gave him a lopsided shrug. “We’re not a soup kitchen.”

  “Fine.” He waved her toward the door. “Kill those Grevandi, and dinner’s on the house.”

  “Plus a room for the night,” Akari countered. “And breakfast tomorrow morning.”

  The bartender looked like he wanted to argue, but a Missile struck the Cantina’s outer wall, shaking the windows in their frames. Akari forced herself to smile rather than flinch.

  “Fine, fine.” The bartender looked ready to shove her out the door. “Now get the hell out there, shokita!”

  Akari nodded once, then she followed Relia outside.