“We’ve been waiting for your return. Kull has been in an awful mood, and I can only assume it’s because you are not with him. He needs someone to protect. Someone weak.”
At the mention of Kull, my heart gave a tiny leap, but I couldn’t mistake the aloofness in Heidel’s voice. “Yes,” I answered, not missing her implications at my supposed weakness. “He does need someone to protect. I’m grateful that he was able to rescue you.”
She scowled. I expected her to attack me, perhaps put me in chains and force me to follow her. Instead, she replaced the knife in the sheath at her belt and held out her hand.
I hesitated. She wanted to help me? Despite her attempt at civility, I stood without taking her hand. “Where are you taking me?”
“Back to the village, of course. Kull will not leave until you are with him.”
“Leave? Where is he going?”
“You don’t know?”
“Should I?”
She placed her hands on her hips. “We will set sail for the outer islands at dawn. That is, if you’ll oblige us with your presence.”
I rubbed my forehead, feeling confused. “And we’re going to the outer islands because…?”
“Am I to explain everything to you?”
“Yes, if you don’t mind.”
She let out an exasperated sigh. “More than a week ago, Kull rescued me from the goblin catacombs. They’d been holding me hostage for some time. The goblins knew he would come for me, so they had planted a trap. He would have been killed if the pixie man hadn’t found him. After Kull freed me from the goblins, this pixie man told Kull of your plan to restore the magic, and without a second thought, my brother came here to seek passage to the outer isles.
“I do not know how the pixie knew such things, and it baffled me that Kull would trust him. As it is, I am merely his sister and can do nothing but be controlled by my brother’s fantastical whims.”
“So you’re taking me to Kull?” I asked hesitantly.
“Of course. Where else would I take you? I do not want to deal with my brother’s foul temper a moment longer. He has been short-tempered and brooding, and you are the only person who can make him see sense. Come, I will take you to the village.”
“Heidel,” I said before following her. “You know I can’t trust you. The last time we met, you were working with Geth.”
The wind battered loose strands of dark hair over her face. When she spoke, it was with a quiet tone. “It is true that I was controlled by Geth, but that is no longer the case. I have seen the error of my ways, and now I know him for who he is. He is a traitor to both my people and everyone else. When I found out he was planning to destroy the Everblossom, I tried to stop him, and that is why he imprisoned me. No, I no longer follow that man, and if you allow me to take you to my brother, he will tell you the same thing.”
I eyed her. I wanted to believe her, yet she still carried the goblin blade, which made me distrust her. Was there more to the story? “Let me get this straight—you chose not to follow Geth because you didn’t agree with his decision to destroy the magic?”
A pained expression filled her face. “That is not the only reason. It is…” She paused, and then started again. “It is difficult for me to speak of my past.” She lowered her shirt collar to reveal a bruise surrounding her neck. “This is how he controlled me. For a time, I told myself that he loved me and would someday see the error of his ways. But now I know that I was wrong. He will never change, and so I will never follow him again.”
“I see,” I answered, not sure what else to say.
“Will you allow me to take you to my brother?”
“If you speak the truth and have had a change of heart, then I will follow you. But know this—I will still be wary of you. You have tricked me once before, and I will not allow it to happen again.”
She nodded. “Then I respect your decision. Come, we must hurry before night falls.”
I followed, holding tightly to my pack as she led me across the beach. Waves crashed offshore. I watched Heidel as we walked up a small slope. I wanted to believe her, yet I’d had too many clients who’d sworn to me they were changing their lives and leaving their past behind, only to return to it once again. However, once they decided to change, they never looked back.
What other choice did I have but to trust her? I’d arrived in an unfamiliar place, and finding my way would be impossible without help.
“Where are we, exactly?” I called to her.
“Volport,” she answered, looking over her shoulder. “The only halfway-civilized village on the inner islands. And that’s a bit of a stretch.”
Volport. I’d heard of it before. Heidel was right. It had a reputation. Criminals and the seedier folk congregated in places like Volport.
Great. Just the place I needed to be with the current inventory in my pack.
As dusk descended, nobbinflies appeared over the water, leaving ribbons of light in their wake, though I noticed their usually vivid pink-and-blue streamers were barely bright enough to illuminate the encroaching darkness.
The sand muted our footsteps as we passed by a large rock outcropping. As we crested a hill, the town came into view.
Volport was nothing more than a tatty collection of log-planked, two- and three-story cabins. Lights glowed with a hazy luster through the smoke-tarnished windows. The sharp odor of dead fish wafted through the air. Beyond the town, tall ship masts rose into the air and spanned the shoreline as far as I could see.
As we entered the village, we navigated through the narrow, cobbled streets.
