The Traitor by A. Lombardo (novels for beginners txt) 📗

covered parts of his face, still fresh from the burns inflicted months ago by his grandfather Lucca. But clearly, Keegan was healing.

“Why are you here, Keegan?” Kai snarled. “Have you come to gloat?”

“My, no! I have come to offer you aid.” Keegan knelt and grabbed Kai’s arm. The sensation of power coursed into Kai as he felt the healing power of a Kodama ripple through his body. His ribs healed, his vision restored, his broken hand mended. Every cut and broken bone made whole again.

His strength returned, Kai stood and backed away. “Why would you heal me after everything that happened two months ago?”

Keegan stood up and gleamed with delight. “We should not dwell on the past right now. Not while everything I have ever wanted is with our grasp. You did more in a single night than I managed to do in decades. Diu blames Katori for brainwashing you, and Milnos is all too willing to crush, well, anyone.”

Visions of war and chaos filled Kai’s mind, weighing heavily on his shoulders. “It will never come to war. The Master General and the Grand Duke will stop this madness. The Katori Elders will force Diu to see reason, that I was only visiting my mother’s country for the first time in my life.”

“Son, you are trying to convince the wrong man. And honestly, anything you say now will only prove the point—you care more for protecting the Katori than your Diu countryman. Men prepare to march toward the Katori Mountains to seek out any Katori they can find. Your dear Kendra is a fellow cellmate, only five cells down from you this very moment, now wanted for treason. The Diu council believes she helped you. Word is spreading through the kingdom; Kai Galloway is a traitor. Fort Pohaku has orders to lead ships in mass around to Katori.”

Knowing Kendra shared his fate weighed heavy on his heart. Kai was so focused on trying to change his fate that he did not consider the ripple effect to those around him. “And this pleases you, why?”

Keegan chuckled. “This means war on Katori. They will have no choice but to defend themselves, and I can tell you they will win—but at a cost. The world will discover magic, and the common man will be on the wrong side of its power. No longer a myth or mystery. Even among my Caroco countrymen, they have no real idea the depths of our power. The fear I instill keeps them on a short leash, and our secrets do not extend beyond their shores. Now all will feel the full force of our might. The fear of the Caroco people will be compounded a hundred-fold around the world. None know the might of the Katori nation, but they will, everyone will. They will shutter in fear.”

Kai refused to believe it. “Katori will never reveal its true power. The Katori Elders would not allow magic to dominate this world. I believe they will fight back, but not with obvious magic.”

“If I had known killing a king would result in war, I’d have killed Iver years ago. Join me, Kai, and together we can rule. We can put the Katori people where they belong, in a position of power. No more hiding on our side of the world.”

Kai shook his head in refusal. “I will not join you, Keegan.” He thought of his crystal hidden within his boot, unsure how he could use it to send the man away.

“I was afraid you might say no.” Keegan’s finger touched Kai’s forehead. “In due time, my boy, in due . . .”

Everything went black as Kai collapsed.

♦ ♦ ♦

Sunlight poured through a bank of windows. Kai blinked. He felt rested as he sat up. The space was a wooden masterpiece; the craftsmanship was like nothing he had ever seen. He assumed he was in the captain's quarters of a ship. The toss of the vessel was rougher than he expected from a boat crossing Baden Lake. He rose to look out the wavy glass. Dark blue waves churned behind the ship with no land in sight. He opened the window, and the salty ocean air assaulted his nose.

He was not on Baden Lake, but on the open sea. Wondering how far out they were, he gleaned the distance. Not so much as a sliver of land developed along the horizon; the shore was beyond his natural ability. All he could do was base his location on the sun’s angle and Keegan’s mention of Caroco. If they boarded in Port Anahita, he could only hope they had yet to pass Fort Pohaku. There must be a way off this ship, he thought.

An abundance of anger brimmed in Kai’s chest, making it difficult to breathe. A deep, hollow desire pulled his soul down to a level of hate he never felt before. His mind bubbled with thoughts and feelings he could not understand. A tingling sensation sent goose flesh down his arm, and claws surged from his fingertips and then retracted as if a figment of his imagination. Kai winced in pain but held in the cry. Something was wrong, but he did not know what.

Instinctively he reached for the crystal he wore around his neck—it was gone. He thought back, he checked his boot—missing. Keegan must have taken it to prevent Kai from using his magic to escape. As the tightness subsided, he gleaned every inch of the ship, gathering intel on his captors. The vessel held heavy armaments, thirty-two cannons, and over one hundred men. The cargo was laden with weapons, gold, and jewels.

On deck, Caroco men crewed the ship while Katori Weathervanes created a substantial breeze to propel them across the ocean. On the ship's bow, Keegan stood focused on his outstretched hand while he held Kai’s crystal in the other.

Kai let go of his sight and slumped against the desk.