The Bladeweaver [Book 1 Complete]

Rika said, "Uh oh."

Something thudded above them again, heavier this time. Then came the distant hiss of magic.

Liliana muttered, "Oh no."

They rushed up the stairs but stopped at the top. The harriers were already there, standing in front of the door to below deck. Motionless. Tense. Like they'd decided no one was getting past them.

Saryn clicked his mandibles softly. Nyrax flared the ridged fins along its neck. None of them took their eyes off the newcomers.

Across the deck stood seven armored figures. They wore different gear—coats, plate, partial cloaks—but there was a uniformity to them anyway. Faded blue fabric, iron trim, brushed and unpolished. Same weight to the way they stood.

Each one bore the same emblem: a circlet of iron, broken at the bottom by a sharp V, stitched or stamped across their left shoulder. Nothing flashy. Nothing loud.

They didn't move, they didn't speak. These were not smugglers, nor grunts, and they were not here by accident.

At the center of the line stood a tall, composed man. He wore a long, storm-blue coat trimmed with dull iron, tailored and spotless despite the weather. An iron circlet rested across his brow, plain, unadorned, matching the emblem on every shoulder around him.

His hair was silver-white and cut close, neat as the rest of him. His face was pale, angular. Not young, not old. Not quite human, maybe. His eyes scanned the deck with no urgency, no emotion, just quiet, clinical interest. Like someone counting pieces before a game began.

He didn't move, but it was clear he was the one in command.

Kale felt something pressing against him, an aura, cold and heavy. It didn't feel like magic exactly. More like presence. Like the world itself leaned back a little to make room for this man.

The boat wasn't drifting anymore. A ship at least four times the size of theirs sat just off the hull, close enough to board. A magical barrier shimmered faintly where the two ships touched, locking them in place.

The man with the circlet looked them over once. "Where is Loran?"

"He couldn't make it," Namara said. "Came down with something. Sore throat."

The man's eyes lingered on her. No change in his expression, no shift in posture. "I see."

One of the others spoke. "They obviously killed Loran!"

The man ignored him. "I assume," he said, still looking at Namara, "you have the package he was carrying for me."

Sadek stepped forward. "You're not taking Yajub."

The man turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "We are not here for the Osposian." He turned back to Namara. "My package, please."

Namara shrugged, just a little. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about."

The man motioned to one of his own, and one of them started walking toward her.

Kale's group tensed. Their hands hovered near their weapons, but no one drew.

"He's just going to retrieve what is mine," the man with the circlet said.

The man walked right past them without a word. He made straight for the stairs and disappeared below, right where they'd just been.

Neither side spoke. The two groups stood watching each other, still and tense.

Rika leaned in slightly and whispered. "What's going on?"

"Not now," Liliana muttered.

The man with the circlet glanced toward them, just a flicker of movement.

"So… were you and Loran good friends?" Namara asked.

The man's eyes lingered on her for a moment. "No."

The man who went down the stairs reappeared a moment later, carrying a small chest in both hands. He stopped in front of the circleted man and opened it. "It's empty."

The man with the circlet turned his gaze back to Namara. "Did you take it?"

Namara's expression didn't change. "Like I said before, I have no idea what you're talking about."

One of the others stepped forward. "They took it. For sure."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Namara raised a brow. "You're welcome to search me, if that'll help you sleep."

Another man grunted. "Or we could just kill you and take our time."

Namara tilted her head, voice still calm. "Loran wasn't exactly the most trustworthy smuggler. Maybe he sold it to someone—"

"It is obvious that you killed Loran," the circleted man interrupted. "He probably deserved it. No one will shed a tear for him. I don't care. All I care about is what is mine."

He took a step closer. "Now I will ask you once more. Did you take it?"

"I don't even know what we're supposed to have taken," Namara said.

"Zodrem's Allure," the man replied. "Small. Black and gold. About the size of a coin. Opens like a locket."

Namara frowned. "Never heard of it." She looked to the others. "You guys see anything like that?"

They all shook their heads.

"They're lying," the man with the box said. "It was supposed to be in here. We should just kill them, take it back, and be done with it."

Kale stepped forward. "You think we'd let you?" His voice was steady, but heat simmered beneath it. "We don't have whatever that thing is. You're wasting your time."

Namara placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't antagonize them," she whispered. "I don't know if we can win this."

That made Kale hesitate. Even Rika tensed beside him, jaw tight.

Only Liliana looked unmoved, like she'd already run the numbers and hadn't liked the outcome.

One of the armored men stepped forward, the same one who'd grunted earlier. "Why wait? We can take them."

"Hold," the man with the circlet said.

The other man paused, visibly frustrated. "Why?" he asked. "We can take them!"

"Maybe," Namara said. "But I reckon it'd cost you dearly… and I think you know that too." She let the silence hang for a moment. "Besides… we have the Osposian."

That got their attention. A few shifted their stance, weapons adjusting slightly. Eyes fixed on Namara now, more focused than before.

The circleted man's gaze sharpened. "Do you know who we are?"

"I believe I do," Namara said.

"Then you understand, if you're lying—if you did take Zodrem's Allure—we will find out. And when we do, we will hunt you down to the edges of Ilvaria. There will be no refuge. No one who can help you."

Namara slowly nodded. "Then I'm glad we didn't take it."

The same man who'd stepped forward earlier—the one who'd pushed for blood—spoke up again. "Boss. Why are you letting them get away with this?"

The man with the circlet turned to look at him and in an instant the man vanished. There was no sound, no warning, just a streak of ash where he'd stood.

"Fuck," Rika whispered.

He turned back to the group, and held their gaze for a few long seconds before he turned away. "We're leaving." He rose into the air and drifted back to his ship. The others followed in silence. A second later, the barrier shimmered once, then vanished.

"Who were those guys?" Kale asked.

"Was that Zarik Tel Omra?" Liliana said. "Leader of the Iron Circle?"

"In the flesh," Namara replied.

"That means nothing to me," Kale muttered.

"Yeah," Rika said. "Me neither."

Sadek just folded his arms. "Never heard of him."

Liliana turned to Namara. "What did you get us into? We don't need this right now. We don't need this ever."

"Me? What did I do?" Namara asked.

"Is this why you wanted this ship? Because you knew that thing—Zodrem's Allure—was here?" Liliana asked. "Did you take it?"

Namara didn't say anything.

"Did you take it?" Liliana asked again.

A sly grin crept onto Namara's face. She reached into her kimono and pulled out a small, black-and-gold object. "This?"

Everyone's eyes widened. Kale felt a chill creep down his spine.

Namara laughed and flipped her hair back for effect. "Of course I took it."

"They could've killed us," Liliana said.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Namara replied, flipping the small object once in her fingers. "I mean, yes, they possibly could have killed all of us. But they didn't. I'm guessing they knew about Yajub, or at least what he is. So they knew they couldn't take him out without losing at least one of their own. And let's be honest… we're not exactly pushovers."

She tucked the object back into her kimono. "He probably still thinks we took it. But the way I see it—and the way Tel Omra saw it—he calculated the cost of a fight and decided it wasn't worth it. He's no fool."

"So they're just going to get more men and come after us later," Liliana said flatly.

"Definitely," Namara said. "But not today."

Kale shook his head. "He vaporized a guy. Instantly. I didn't even see what happened."

"If he could've done that to all of us, he probably would have," Sadek said. "It was a warning."

"Exactly," Namara said. "A show of force. Just enough to remind us who we're dealing with."

"We wouldn't even be dealing with this if it wasn't for you!" Liliana snapped.

Namara looked scandalized. "How was I supposed to know the Iron Circle was looking for this little doodad I just happened to find in a chest, in the hold of a ship we just happened to have to steal because of old double-crossing Loran?"

Liliana narrowed her eyes. "Wait a minute. When I asked you, you said you didn't find anything you liked."

Namara shrugged.

Liliana pinched the bridge of her nose. "What does it even do?"

"Couldn't tell you," Namara said. "But if the Iron Circle wants it, it must be good. And I'm certainly not giving it to them now."

Kale stared at her. "You risked all our lives for a shiny maybe?"

"Well, when you put it like that—"

"No," he cut her off. "You swore to protect me." He gestured toward the spot where a man had just ceased to exist. "This doesn't feel like protection. So tell me, Namara—who sent you? And why?"

Namara blinked, caught off guard. Just for a second. Then she straightened, expression shifting back into something unreadable. "You're still alive, aren't you?"

"This isn't a joke," Kale snapped. "Not everything is a joke."

Her gaze met his, steadier now. "I know it's not a joke, Kale."

He stepped in closer. "Was it an accident? Runom's Departure. You just happened to be there? Or was that part of it too?"

"I was bound when you found me," Namara said calmly. "If I planned that, I'm better than I thought."

"So you're saying you didn't plan any of this?"

"You have my word," she said, placing a hand over her heart. "Cross my heart."

Kale narrowed his eyes. "So I just found you? By pure coincidence?"

She tilted her head, almost thoughtful. "Well… I don't know about that."

Kale's voice dropped. "Is someone orchestrating this? Because it doesn't feel like Aeloria is behind all of this."

Namara looked at him apologetically. "I wish I could tell you, Kale. I would if I could. All I know is… we're meant to do this. All of us. Together. For a reason I don't understand yet either."

Kale didn't answer right away. He just looked at her—really looked at her—and wondered how much of what she said was truth, and how much was just what he needed to hear. Because that was the thing about Namara. You wanted to believe her. Even when you felt like you should know better.