Wave after wave battered against the Dragaron. Lightning cracked the sky, the dark windows along the hull of the ship flashed. Kai looked out a small window and held fast as the vessel rocked and rolled. One glance at Rayna, and he could see the fear on her face. Wanting to believe everything was fine, Kai rubbed her shoulders, but a small part of him wondered if they were in trouble.
“Kai, this weather is not natural,” Rayna called over the storm. “I have lived through hurricanes at the beach. This storm is too intense, too sudden. How is this possible?” Her eyes wrapped around an idea. “Weathervanes. They stand against us. Why?”
With a finger to his lips, he acknowledged her concern. Why indeed? If only he knew the answer, but she was right. This was no natural storm.
Kai searched his group; Yulia was not below. “Yulia must still be on deck. I have to help her!” he yelled over the thunder cracking the sky. “Stay here!” He crossed the cabin and reached for the doorknob.
The cabin’s door opened, and Dresnor entered, soaking wet. “Kai, where are you going? Stay below.”
“I can help Yulia. Trust me, Philip. She needs my help.” He gave his Kempery-man a glare.
Dresnor grabbed Kai. “Either we both go, or I must insist you stay here.”
There was no time to argue. “Fine, see if you can get the rest of the crew to come below. You can operate the helm. The fewer people above, the better.” With a nod, they plunged into the rain.
Kai and Dresnor climbed the stairs as rain pelted their faces. Halfway, Rayna's hand locked with Kai’s. “I want to help,” she insisted, stepping to his side.
“Go back below, where it's safe,” he yelled over the howling winds.
Rayna charged ahead of him into the storm. Fearful, Kai chased after her. “Rayna,” he called, but she did not stop.
Dresnor made for the captain and his crew, but each man refused to go below. He approached the captain, but the captain’s white-knuckle grip held fast to the helm. Dresnor grabbed the captain by his coat and pulled their faces together. The storm swallowed the sound of his voice. Shocked, Kai stepped in their direction. Dresnor released the captain, pointed, and took the helm. The captain and his crew scampered below.
Kai turned his attention to Rayna. He reached for her, but before he could protest, Yulia motioned to him. Yulia stood near the center of the vessel, water dripping from her face. Her movements were familiar. He had seen her perform them once before. He did not need to glean to know she was collecting energy, folding and shaping it with her hands, directing it upward against the storm. He surmised that she was forming a weak windbreak around the mast.
Whipped by the ferocious storm, the foresails tore from the rigging and flapped violently in the wind. The Dragaron sat dead in the water. Lightning pierced the sky, and thunder pounded.
Yulia yelled to Kai, “You know these movements. Riome taught them to you. Repeat them. Work one sequence behind my moves.” While she spoke, she continued the movements. “See the energy within the storm. Collect the energy, pull it from the storm, and push it to me.”
In their hesitation, Yulia called out again. “I cannot stop this storm, but we can use it. See the energy in the storm. Feel it. Draw it out of the sky. Use their power. Trust me. Each of us draws on the same essence. Magic surrounds us—you need only to take it from this storm. Weaken the storm. I will convert it and feed the windbreak around us.”
Kai took a deep breath and connected to his sight. He could see the energy Yulia collected from the black cloud. A small waterfall of light fell from the storm and splashed around her. In her hands, she converted the raw power. Magic she could control to protect the ship.
Kai pulled Rayna’s face to his. “Do as I do,” he instructed.
He took his stance. Rain, wind, and waves threatened his footing. Yulia’s small windbreak barely protected the mainmast and the remaining sails. He stepped closer to Yulia and felt the wind and rain slacken. The small protective sphere extended to Rayna and himself.
Focused on the dark mass thundering above, Kai reached out with his mind. The pulse within the storm rolled against him. He called out to Rayna. “Glean, connect to the energy within the storm. Feel its power. Draw it to you.”
Kai thought of the many lessons with Riome. How energizing the room often felt when they trained. As he pulled at the storm, he felt the power wash over him; then, he pushed the energy to Yulia. The loss felt hollow. The empty void drained him. Again he cycled through the movements. His movements recharged by a waterfall of magic pouring down from the storm.
Rayna copied his movements. After a few repeated moves, he noticed Rayna had grasped the pattern. Her body flowed in unison with his. Her precision behind each action impressed him. She was a natural. He looked to the storm—while neither of them could convert the energy, he saw they were affecting the intensity of the squall. The clouds above them began to thin and lighten.
Yulia used the increased power that Kai and Rayna sent her to create a more substantial windbreak around the ship. Struck with the occasional gust and pricked by rain, Kai felt hope that the boat would survive—they would survive.
But surviving wasn’t good enough. “Yulia,” Kai shouted over the pounding thunder and lightning crackle. “We cannot stay here! You must find a way to feed the sails and get us to land. If you give out, we are doomed.”
Wave after wave continued to pound the hull. Dresnor looked on in awe at the change in weather around the ship. Still, Dresnor held them steady. Yulia slid back behind the mast.
