Letters to Eksovaham, Chapter 9

What do you do when there's an evil person around?

IX. Iva

After identifying and sequestering the demon who haunted their boat, Iva slept comfortably. She now knew what had caused the discomfort of the previous days; her boatsickness and her unconfidence were both caused by Ka Vosa. She had been using hidden sorcery to bring harm to the paktkeepers, but Iva had suspected her. While the demon had been speaking with Avram the previous evening, Iva wisely listened from the cabin door. Most went unheard until Avram began crying and Ka Vosa began her sick manipulation, tempting her friend into breaking his oaths.

She did not blame Avram for his slip in judgment in inviting the demon in as a friend. But he should have been more weary of her foreign ways. Many of those raised outside the Ethoan peninsula are corrupted by the sun’s harsh light. 

In the morning, she untied the demon from her bed but kept her arms and legs secure. Ka Vosa didn’t speak as this happened. Instead, she stared at Iva. Her glare wasn’t simple anger, there appeared to be sadness under it. She was trying to trick her into thinking she was a true person. With the help of Thira, Iva led her up the stairs and tied her to a cleat, one of the wooden structures used to tie the boat up to a dock. From here she would be able to give direction to the paktkeepers if necessary but still remain out of their way.

It would only be two more days before their arrival at the north of Karsone Bay, the point from which they could continue their trek on foot without having to walk through any dense forests or jagged mountains. They would be entering the bay this afternoon if all went according to plan.

And it did. They sailed past Kovske’e-Riork marking their entrance into the final stretch of their boat ride, albeit a long final stretch. The Paktkeepers hadn’t spoken at all unless to give direction in sailing or other necessary communication. Iva had asked the demon a question or two to get a better handle on the rudder, but Ka Vosa didn’t speak a word. That was alright, they didn’t end up needing her advice. 

The only time she had opened her mouth was when they fed her or gave her water. There had been two other boats they had sailed past. When they had seen them approaching, Pevro gagged and hid Vosa in the cabin, only coming back out when Iva knocked.

During the journey, Vosa had begun staring at Avram, trying to silently enchant him. He had retreated inside except for the times when Ka Vosa was brought there, during which he stepped outside. Iva found this wise of him. It was probably better to not risk another curse of temptation.

As the day approached its end, and the sun began to angle itself in a blinding position, Pa Iva felt her ears pop. Her shin began hurting. That happened sometimes, even now, so many years after the day she earned her injury. She took in a deep breath, trying to ignore her pain. The air was cooling with the end of the day. It was thick. Thicker than it had been a minute ago. Iva gave a look at Vosa. Had she been causing the pain? Putting a spell on the very air around her?

“Stop that,” Iva said. Vosa did not respond.

“What?” asked Pa Pevro.

“The air. Ka Vosa’s changing it. It’s making my leg hurt.”

“Yeah, I noticed that too,” Thira said. “The pressure in my ears changed.”

Vosa’s indifference shifted to concern, and then worry as she too observed the air’s changes. She spoke. “Take the sails down. There’s a storm coming.”

“How can you know? You can’t see storms.” Iva said.

“You’re right about the air. It changes like this before a storm hits.”

“That’s convenient for you.”

Vosa looked to the sea around her, baffled. “No. It isn’t!” The demon would try to make order devolve into argumentative chaos. Pa Iva wouldn’t let her.

“You want to slow us down. More time for Vas Kostep to run away.”

Vosa gave a shocked look but did not respond.

Thira began, “Iva maybe we should listen to her. She’s been sailing much longer–”

“She’s a deceiver Thira! Don’t listen to her.” Iva thought for a moment before looking at Pevro and ordering, “Gag her.”

This time, Ka Vosa urged him not to, but there was nothing she could do to stop him.

Iva approached Thira and began speaking at a low voice. “Look, I understand that she’s lying, but the sun’s about to set. We weren’t going to be sailing much longer anyway. I think we should err on the side of caution and take them down.” Iva opened her mouth to interrupt but Thira grabbed her hand and continued speaking. “I know you’re stressed. It’s been a tough time, but let’s calm things down and take down the sails. Besides, if a storm doesn’t come, then we’ll know for certain she’s a demon.”

Iva was already certain, but she conceded that they should take the sails down anyway. Maybe Vosa was being truthful in warning them of a storm, if only because she had caused it.

Pevro went to the jib to take it down as Iva and Thira did the same for the main sail. But then the storm hit. The sails whipped and the boom swung across the boat like a hammer. Iva was on the side the sail swung away from, but Thira was hit and knocked into the water. Pevro fell over, there was a red mark on his cheek where the jib had hit him. Iva looked at Vosa. Her gagged face was terrified.

The weight of the sail swinging across had rocked the boat, and now it was making it lean too sharply towards the water. Iva heard Avram’s footsteps as he went up the stairs. She spotted Thira in the water, floating on her back. She didn’t think. She dove. Vosa screamed under her gag. She hit the water. Cold. Loud. She began to swim. Her leg hurt with every kick. The fabric of her garments greatly limited her flexibility. With each stroke, she lifted a bucket’s worth of water. The splashing drops faded away in the air. Cold. Black. She couldn’t see. When she opened her eyes everything blurred to black and blue. She spotted a blob of white in front of her. She kicked. Pain. She slipped her arm through the neck hole of her garments. Her hands touched wet fabric. Thira wasn’t moving.

She grabbed her friend with one arm and swam with the other. Her body was growing used to the temperature, but her head throbbed. She would not go unconscious. It would be the death of both of them if she did. Her breath was heavy. With each kick and arm stroke, she seemed to barely move. Her head began to dip underwater. The wind whipped her hair around, smacking it against her cheek. The water swelled carrying the pair. You are not a piece, you are just the ocean. The boat wasn’t far. Ten more kicks. Pain. Tired.

They sank as the waves passed. Iva saw the underside of the boat as it leaned toward her. She tried to dodge to get her head out of the way, but there was nothing she could do in the water. The water swelled again, bringing her up close to the boat’s edge without crashing into it. She grabbed it. Her arm was burning. She knew she would not be able to get Thira on board.

She looked to her friend as the wave dropped again. She was still. Perfect. They rose. A hand grabbed Thira. Iva pushed. Iva pushed with everything she had left. They fell in the boat. Water splashed but faded away. Avram had pulled them up. Iva closed her eyes wanting this ordeal to end. But she knew she would have to open them, so why wait any longer? She saw Vosa working with Avram to get the jib down. They had already gotten the main sail. He had freed her. How dare he? No. It was the right decision. She had helped.

It was so nice to have dry clothes. She moved her arm to fix her garments but it wouldn’t move. She tried again. It burned as she lifted, but once she started moving it, it was more bearable. Pevro was awake now. He opened the door to the cabin and rushed the others in. Avram and Vosa carried Thira. Pevro left the door as they entered and helped Iva up. The wind was so loud. It screamed obscenities to her.

She was taken inside. She practically fell down the stairs. It was dark in here, but from the objects she tripped over, she could tell it was a wreck. Everything that wasn’t in a bag had been thrown or spilled. But there was no wind. The boat rocked, but it was quieter. They tended to Thira. The side of her head had been hit and was swelling. She didn’t know what to do. Thira was the best at medicine.

“Lay her down,” Avram said. Vosa and Pevro gently placed her on the floor even as the boat moved, positioning an additional layer of a bedroll under her head. Avram lifted her chin and put his ear up to her mouth and nose.

“She’s breathing.”

Iva let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. They were safe now. They could wait out the storm. Clean up the cabin. Sleep.

The storm whipped, and the boat was hit by a gust of wind and a large wave. They rocked violently— much too far in either direction for comfort. They flipped. She couldn’t see much except for faint rapid movement all around her. She heard a thousand combinations of two objects hitting each other. A bag hit her shoulder. A loaf of bread hit her shin. The pain shot up her leg. What had just been the wall was now the floor. She heard someone crying.

They had capsised.