Will We See the Starfish of Shallow Tides Bay?
Winona stepped forward, the air still crackling with the raw energy of her magic. A pulse of light shot from her hand, streaking towards Jace Renault. It didn’t seem to matter to her that he’d sidestepped her first attack with fluid grace and a dismissive swipe of his hand. But now, a faint red glow surrounded him. It brightened as Winona got closer, flickering ominously like embers ready to ignite with a strike of a match.
As Winona reached him she unsheathed her sword from her back. It glinted in the light from the chandelier overhead. Then, swift and precise, she slashed at his arm. The blade bit deep, cutting through flesh.
Jace flinched, his face twisting in pain, and the glow around him intensified, flaring brighter as if feeding on his agony. What kind of magic was Winona wielding?
Before I could fully process what was happening, an arrow whizzed through the air and struck Winona in the shoulder with a sickening thump. She growled — a feral sound of shock and rage — and her body recoiled from the impact.
My head snapped toward the source of the arrow. The female archer with a shaved head was perched on top of a table, her lips curled into a vicious grin as she quickly nocked another arrow. The bowstring hummed as she released another attack that sliced through the air with deadly precision. The second arrow struck Winona, this time burying itself between the folds of her armor.
Winona’s howl echoed through the room, a sound of raw pain and desperation. Her body wavered, and my stomach clenched with fear. We were outmatched. These bandits were too strong for us.
From where he was standing next to me, Toni raised his empty hand. His mace was still strapped to his belt. There was tension in his face, the strain of the situation pushing him to his limits.
“What are you doing?” I whispered.
“Trying to take out the archer,” he replied, his voice grim. “Winona can’t take any more hits like that.”
A flash of red light erupted from his hand, streaking towards the archer. But it missed her, instead striking the ground between her and two advancing swordsmen.
My heart sank. He’d missed.
Then the light exploded into a roaring inferno. I jumped back as the blaze illuminated the room and practically blinded me with its intensity.
After the flames receded, only the archer remained standing, the table beneath her crackling and groaning as it threatened to collapse. The other two were just… falling ash. I hadn’t taken any time to consider the fact that me, or Toni, or even Finn might kill someone during this fight.
Why hadn’t I thought ahead? I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to even hurt any of these people. Fear and confusion started to bubble in my brain, but then the archer — scorched but still in fighting-condition — turned her bow on Toni.
Adrenaline surged through my veins. I might not be entirely okay with killing these people, but I was not going to let them hurt my friends. Maybe I could knock her out?
I darted through smoldering furniture, my scimitar gleaming in my hand. The archer barely acknowledged me as I approached, her focus locked on Toni. She’d regret that. I swung my blade with all the strength I could muster, and it sliced across her ankle.
She gasped, dropping to one knee. As she landed, the table beneath her crumbled and sent her sprawling on the ground.
A fierce sense of pride swelled within me. All those hours of practice, hacking at trees in the forest behind the shire, had actually paid off.
At the same time across the room, Finn had scrambled to Winona’s side. His hands trembled as he pulled the arrows from her back. Until now, I’d forgotten the arrows were likely poisoned. Hopefully Toni had enough antidote for all of us.
“Hopefully, this helps,” he murmured, and his fingers glowed with a soft, radiant light. The blood flowing from her wounds slowed to a trickle, then stopped entirely.
“Thanks, kid,” Winona grunted over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off of Jace as their swords clashed and bounced off of each other.
Finn’s face was pale with uncertainty. He took a shaky breath, positioning himself behind her, facing the two remaining bandits with the borrowed dagger in his hand. “I’ve got your back, Winona,” he said, his voice quivering but resolute.
Jace’s cold eyes quickly flicked between Finn and Toni, and he snarled an order at his swordsmen. “Take out the ones with magic first.”
They obeyed without hesitation, charging at Toni with blades raised. But in their frenzied rush, their swords clanged together as they swung at him, and Toni spun out of the way.
“You’re going to regret coming over here,” Toni said, finally pulling out his mace. The scene in the room was a blur of noisy chaos — ringing, striking metal, smoke billowing to the ceiling from burning furniture, and the acrid smell of burnt flesh choked the air. It was overwhelming.
Jace moved like a viper, striking at Winona with deadly precision. His blade found its mark, slashing across her stomach in a way that reminded me of the wound on Emilee’s body. The sight of blood pouring from the deep gash sent a shiver down my spine.
As Jace yanked his sword free from Winona, he lashed out with a dagger, and drove it into Finn’s back. The blade pierced his new leather armor as if it were nothing, and Finn let out a sharp cry, stumbling forward. His face was a mask of pain and fear clouded his eyes.
“Focus on me, you coward!” Winona growled, stepping between Finn and Jace and landing another blow on him. That red glow flared again, and Jace bared his teeth at her.
“I’ll kill all of you, but if you want to volunteer to go first, I won’t argue with you,” he hissed, his voice laced with malice and hate.
As they all clashed together again, a grunt behind me snapped my attention back to the archer. I turned to face her just in time for a sword to swing over the top of my head, missing by less than an inch.
“Hold still, you little brat,” she said, her gaze darting between me, Finn, and Toni. Her eyes lingered a little too long on Finn, who was struggling to regain his composure.
Behind me, Toni sent out another blast of flame. A wave of heat flooded the room, and the two fighters near him grunted in pain but didn’t fall. They must have jumped out of the way just in time.
The heat in the room, mixed with the look in the eyes of the woman in front of me, made my blood boil. Finn was already hurt. I wasn’t going to let her touch him.
Fueled by rage, I swung my scimitar with all my strength. The blade connected with her armor, and for a heart-stopping moment, it got stuck and ripped from my hand as she stepped back. Panic clawed through me, but then, as if by magic, the weapon was back in my hand. I didn’t pause to question it — I slashed at her again, a furious roar escaping my lips as my blade tore across her arm. That definitely got her attention back on me.
Meanwhile, Finn staggered toward Toni. He grabbed a splintered table leg and swung it at one of the bandits, catching him in the leg. The bandit crumpled to the ground with a grunt of pain.
“Nice one,” Toni said, sounding pretty impressed. The table leg was nearly as big as Finn himself, after all.
Finn, panting, tossed the leftover shards of charred wood at the fallen man. “I learned that trick from the greatest warrior I know,” he said, casting a quick, pain-filled smile in my direction. Still locked in battle with Jace, Winona gave a slight shake of her head, but I could see the flicker of a smile on her face.
The bandit on the ground, despite his injuries, jabbed his sword upwards, catching Finn just beneath his armor. Finn’s face twisted in shock, the smile dying on his lips as he stumbled back, blood seeping through his fingers.
“Finn!” I screamed, torn between helping him and defending myself against the archer who loomed over me, ready to strike.
With that momentary distraction, the female bandit fighting Toni landed a hit on him with a club, though he barely seemed to notice. His focus was on Finn, who was shaking from the effort to stay on his feet. “Don’t you touch him,” Toni yelled at the man who just stabbed Finn as the man staggered to his feet.
Winona glanced over her shoulder, which was the opening Jace needed. His dagger slashed across her face, cutting deep into her cheek. She staggered back, more from surprise than pain, and narrowly avoided another of his strikes.
She feinted to the right but swung with her left hand, striking Jace in his side as he moved to protect where he thought she was going to hit him. He grunted, his expression slipping somewhere close to panic before he restored a stony expression. We were far from finished fighting.
I was too distracted with Finn hurt behind me. The archer brought a heavy blow down on my head with the hilt of her sword. Stars exploded in my vision as pain shot through my skull. I stumbled but stayed upright. It would be a bruise, but Finn…
I couldn’t help him if I was killed. I looked back up at the archer, ready to catch her next swing. I had to stop her now so I could go help Finn.
“I’m getting pretty tired of this,” Toni snapped, his tone razor-sharp with frustration. More light erupted from behind me and flared out into the room. The bandits behind me screamed, their cries abruptly cut off as fire consumed them. A streak of flame whipped past me, striking the archer and sending her crashing into a marble bar a few feet away.
Here was my chance. I rushed forward and slammed the hilt of my scimitar into an exposed section of her stomach while she was splayed out over the bar. She whimpered weakly before standing back up and grabbing where I’d just hit.
“I don’t know what to do!” Finn’s weak voice broke through the chaos. He looked like he was in so much pain. His head swiveled between Toni, Winona, and me. Winona was in bad shape, blood seeping from her wounds, and tendrils of black poison already crawled across the skin on her cheek.
Finn’s hands glowed as he ran to her. As his fingertips brushed against her armor, light poured from his hands and wrapped around her again.
Jace snarled furiously. “I’m getting tired of your friends extending this fight,” he said, and then brought his sword down on Finn while he concentrated his magic on healing Winona. The first blow sent Finn to the ground soundlessly. He didn’t even move to avoid the second hit.
He was unconscious.
He was dying right in front of me.
Winona gasped, leaning over Finn’s body to stop a final attack, which left her vulnerable. His dagger plunged into her upper arm. She roared, dropping her sword, which clattered to the ground. But then her fingers lit up with lightning, and she grabbed Jace by his armor, sending electricity throughout his body. When she let go, he slumped to the ground, dead.
The woman behind me screamed as Jace fell to the floor, swinging her sword wildly at me, missing since I’d dropped to my knees at the sight of my friend’s unconscious body.
Toni’s head whipped between the archer and Finn. A gurgle escaped from Finn’s unconscious body.
“Save him!” I cried out, tears welling up in my eyes.
Toni rushed over and put a hand on Finn’s forehead. Finn relaxed at the touch, his breath returning to normal and his skin’s color returning to its normal taupe color.
I screamed and thrust my scimitar up into the archer’s guts, its newfound sharpness cutting through her body like butter. I yanked it free as she fell lifelessly to the ground and scrambled over to Finn.
“Finny, Finnan–” I said, shaking him. “You have to wake up right now. You have to show me that you’re going to be okay.”
A sob racked through my body as Finn’s eyes remained shut despite my pleas. He was still breathing, though.
“He just needs to rest for a while,” Toni whispered, pulling me into a tight hug. “He’ll be okay. He’ll wake up after getting some sleep.”
“But will he wake up in time to see low-tide?” I asked. My mind raced. The only reason we’d stayed in this forsaken city was to see the starfish. Staying had nearly cost Finn his life. I should have protected him better. I shouldn’t have hesitated.
Winona stood nearby, quietly swaying as she observed the horror show around us. The fire. The bodies. I tried not to think about the body I’d added to that tally and just focused on Finn and his breath.
“Take Kithri and Finnan back to that first room,” Winona instructed, finally looking down at the three of us on the floor.
“What about you?” Toni asked her quietly, sounding worried.
“I’ll follow behind. Kithri’s seen enough for someone so young, but I have to finish my task. Anything you find in that other room is yours to keep,” she said, motioning toward the open hallway. She bent down and inspected Jace’s unmoving body.
Toni glanced around finally and nodded. He fiddled with a small bag at his side and pulled out a vile of orangey-yellow liquid. “Only if you drink this,” he said, holding out the vile in her direction. “It’s the antidote.”
Winona grabbed it out of his extended hand, uncorked it, and drank it in one swift gulp. The lines of poison on her face slowly started to fade.
At the sight of his serum working, Toni gently scooped Finn from the ground and walked toward the exit.
I stayed for a moment, staring at her. She was already back to looking over Jace’s body like it wasn’t anything special. “Why were you investigating the Reanault family in the first place?” I asked, almost too quiet that I thought she hadn’t heard me at first.
After a moment, she looked over at me, meeting my gaze. “I don’t ask questions like that when the guild gives me a target to go after. The guild had their reasons for wanting Jace Reanault out of the picture, though,” she said, picking up some kind of amulet from around Jace’s neck and pulling it off. “At least this target was someone who deserved to be taken down.”
I paused, hesitating to look at the room around us, but when I did, the horror of what had just happened set in. We’d helped assassinate these people. Good or bad… they died because someone at whatever guild Winona was part of said they should.
I straightened up and walked out of the room without another word.
What had we done? What would it cost us?
After a silent trek through the second tunnel, I entered the first room full of crates. Toni was breaking them apart and sorting through them. Most everything was set into a pile to his left. It all looked relatively useless. But to his right, he dropped a couple of bottles filled with red potion, a rolled-up scroll, and a small kit with some clippers and a mortar and pestle.
“Most of this is useless,” Toni noted after a while longer of searching and not finding anything. He gathered the small pile of items to his right and put them in his backpack.
I’d taken up a post next to Finn in case he woke up while we waited for Winona.
But he didn’t wake up for a full day.
When we got back to the tavern, I sat by his bed, not moving once, waiting for him to open his eyes. Toni brought up food for me and waited around some but murmured something about needing supplies and disappeared for a portion of the day.
He returned with dinner and Winona. I hadn’t expected to see her again.
She dropped three small purses of coins on the bedside table. “Thought you deserved some of the cut,” she mumbled, not making eye contact with me and not looking at Finn’s unconscious form.
“I don’t know if I can accept blood money,” I spat, and she recoiled a little bit.
She scratched her forearm, a nervous habit. Today, there was no sign of a tattoo on her arm where there once was one. Had it been the sign of some sort of contract with her guild?
Toni cocked his head to the side, looking between the two of us. I’d not told him what I’d figured out in the destroyed parlor. That we were part of an assassin plot.
I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to tell him, but it was all coming out now as I stared Winona down, feeling anger and contempt rising hot in my belly.
“You made it sound like those guys were terrorizing the city, but I guess lying doesn’t mean much to someone who’s planning on committing murder,” I continued, scowling at her. “All of that death for some stupid trinket and coin.”
She slammed a hand into the wall, making the glass windows shake on the opposite side of the room. “The Reanaults were terrorizing the town. They’ve been a problem here for years, but no one did anything about it because they didn’t want to end up dead in a ditch somewhere. Or worse, lose their family if the Reanault clan found out who spoke against them,” she growled, angry. But she wasn’t angry with me.
“You shouldn’t have lied to us,” I said, Finn’s bedding scrunching up in my hand as I clenched it tightly.
Toni cleared his throat, stepping forward, but not between us. “We might have helped you if you’d just told us the truth from the start. Did you have some sort of pact with whatever guild you’re working for? Is that why that tattoo you had yesterday is now gone?”
Winona stared blankly at the wall, her fist still resting where she’d hit it. “It was a death pact. Emilee and I were caught stealing some fish from the guild. They told us we could do a job for them or lose one of our hands,” she said, tempered and slow in how she explained it. “I only had a week left to take out Jace before the guild sent someone to kill me instead. But now it’s over.”
Her story struck a profound blow to my stomach. What kind of twisted punishment would force you to assassinate someone for getting caught trying to steal food? I almost pitied her even though I was so angry that she’d lied to us. But what would I have done if I was in her shoes?
Finn stirred under his covers, sighing in his sleep. He was starting to look better.
We certainly wouldn’t have survived that fight with just the three of us. Not that we would have even entered that fight if it had just been Toni, Finn, and me — but I knew there would probably be some unavoidable fighting in our future. It would be nice to have an extra set of hands to help.
“What will you do now that your debt is repaid to the guild?” Toni asked, the room too quiet for him.
Winona shrugged listlessly, still not looking away from the wall.
“What if I said that you should come with us and help me protect my village from an incoming raid?” I asked. “I can’t undo what’s happened, but I do know I’ll need help if I’m going to keep Hill Hollow Shire safe.” Winona finally looked over at me. Her eyes were rimmed with tears. “Are we adding another person to our group?” Finn mumbled quietly from his pillow.
I jumped on top of him and shouted his name. “Finn, thank goodness you’re awake,” I said, hugging him and feeling a burst of relieved laughter bubbling up into my throat.
“I didn’t miss the starfish, did I?” he asked, wrapping his arms around me and squeezing with returning strength.
“That should be tonight, so you’re right on time,” Winona commented, sounding hesitant.
I whirled around and said, “But low-tide is tomorrow night!”
She shook her head, disagreeing. “I guess I do need to come along with you since you can’t even tell what phase of the moon we’re in,” she said. A shy smile began to form on her face, but she quickly brushed it off and returned a hardened, serious look to her face.
“I suppose so,” I said. “Well, we might as well get ready to go see those starfish, then.”
Finn, Toni, Winona, and I sat on the docks an hour later as the Golden Sea shone brightly for its namesake as the sun sunk below the water. Very few large ships were left in the harbor, having moved out to sea for low-tide, so we were able to spot thousands of starfish that dotted the sandy banks with every color. “This was worth waiting for,” Finn whispered to me, smiling a characteristically wide grin, his brown eyes sparkling with the giddy joy I loved witnessing.
We were so early in our journey to find the Dragon’s Head Warrior, and we’d already been through so much. I’d found a new reason to find my warrior — I needed to protect my village from Hellbringer’s return. We’d strayed from the path of what I’d been told was the right thing to do and ventured into some sort of gray area that I hadn’t figured out how to define. I’d nearly lost my best friend.
But we were here, alive and moving forward. Maybe that was all I could count on in this life that I was building. I’d have to learn to be okay with that.
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