Vantra folded her knees against her chest and gripped her hands over them, waiting for the changelings to strike from below. Kenosera and Yut-ta joined her and Kjaelle, each sporting a shimmery Light shield.

“The white boats made it through the barrier,” the pirate with the spyglass called. He did not sound concerned about sliding off the front after an enemy hit. She was terrified she would end up in the drink, and she huddled in the most protected part of the boat.

“They’ll want to stop us on this side,” Kjaelle said.

“Aye,” Dough said. “But the Little Duckie’s full of spiky surprises.”

His wide, delighted smile as he busied himself at the console intimidated Vantra; what did he plan? Before she could decide, a green glow came from the water, reflecting off the shiny parts of the boat. Where had that come from? She frowned, looking at the unconcerned beings surrounding her. Did they not see it?

Lightning flashed and struck the waves near them, and she winced; electrified water would harm anyone who fell in, ghost or living. Was that what triggered the green glow? Curious, she scooted to the side and peered over the edge.

While wavy and faint, she saw sketchy lines but could not identify exactly what the symbols looked like before they disappeared into the depths, the changelings they marked diving to avoid the huge spikes sticking out from the hull. When Dough said the Duckie had surprises, he did not disappoint. She wondered what he initially protected the boat from, other than maybe a greol. The whale-sized creatures enjoyed crashing into and sinking ships, so that made sense.

 Or did they have a more pirate-y job to do?

The changelings broke the surface far from the spikes, their white backs providing enough contrast for the lines to stand out. Two repeating symbols ran down their spines. Had they used them while inside Daunifen? She had not noticed. Annoyed at her miss, she retreated to the console after a volley of flaming Light forced them to dive, grabbed the notebook she had written the death symbol in, and wrote the two new ones for Kjaelle to read.

The elfine leaned over. “Hmm.” She tapped the first. “That’s a combination of light, darkness and poison, all in one symbol. The other is for charged water. Someone designed these to let the changelings function in the current water environment, so they must have planned for contamination and lightning from the beginning.”

The crackle of a radio caught their attention. Dough glanced at the device, frowned, and picked up an oversized, black teardrop microphone. He put it against his lips and pressed the side button. “Dough here.”

“Captain, the rivcon just ordered all boats to anchor and said they’ve locked down the barrier. No one’s getting through.”

Vantra recognized Arkie’s voice despite the heavy interference. Was that why they had not heard the original broadcast? The lightning interfered? Unease twisted through her; when they attempted to use the badge, they would have ended up smashed against the barrier instead. Maybe the rivcon’s office was on the mercenary side of things, but then why did their guards fight them on the docks?

“Not a surprise,” Dough grumbled.

“But we have a solution. Lorgan says he’s certain he can make a hole in the barrier without a badge.”

“We’re midway down the barrier. Get him here.”

“On his way. He said he can use a waterdome shield to reach you. Don’t know about—” Lightning hit the water next to them, and heavy crackles drowned Arkie’s voice. “—and Llel said—” Another struck the top of the shield, sending pulses across the surface.

“Repeat,” Dough said. Nothing more came from the radio but heavy static.

Kjaelle growled. “Those were deliberate strikes.”

“Think so?” Dough asked, setting the microphone in its cradle. “Alright mates! Keep a lookout for Lorgan and a waterdome shield!”

Vantra had no clue how the scholar thought he could navigate through the gunk; it infected the water, after all, and his was a Water-based nymph magic. The pirates trusted he could, since the pilot turned the Little Duckie parallel to the barrier, and Dough used the speaker system to inform the other boats.

Three ankis jumped over them, trailing water and gunk over the shield. Several others, who could not quite sail over the mercenary vessels, smashed into the sides and slid down, leaving a filmy coat of corruption behind. The Light shields wavered under the assault, and the Light-blessed threw balls of shimmery fire to drive the changelings away. As no cheers rose, she did not think any of them struck an enemy.

The boat rocked as larger waves slammed into the shield, and Vantra scrambled with everyone else to grasp something and hold tight. Another round pummeled them, and the pilot swerved to place more space between them and the barrier, so they did not get swept into it, making a bad day even worse.

The entire area lit; a Light-blessed used the reflective nature of water to make sight impossible. Cries came from all around them—the ankis?—and the larger waves stopped.

“Warning a mate would be a good idea next time,” the pirate with the spyglass called, his grumbling echoed by others. Vantra, rubbing her eyes as white spots paraded through her perception, agreed.

Kjaelle rose and bustled to the side facing the barrier, and Vantra had the irrational urge to pull her back. What did she see?

“How’d you get here so fast?” the elfine shouted.

“I used the barrier as a ziptrail,” Lorgan shouted back. The steady sound of raindrops on the river and the shields attempted to drown out his voice, but while faint, Vantra understood him. “The stuff in the water weakened it enough, I could attach my shield to it.”

It did? That surprised her, as she assumed whoever created the spells had formed them with the barricade in mind. She supposed it was another indication that the enemy did not care about the interests of Selaserat. She crawled around Light-blessed and pirate legs to Kjaelle and peeked over the edge; Lorgan was in a small boat with Llel manning the motor.

Her relief that Llel and the pirates with her made it back to the docks unharmed vied with her curiosity over Lorgan’s achievement. She bet he asked Katta and Qira about their ability to shield the living while using a ziptrail, and since the barrier was a long line of constantly flowing magic, the ingenious could use it as a form of magical transportation for something like a boat. She never would have thought to do such a thing, and she admired him for constructing a unique travel solution when he needed one. Were she that creative.

Lorgan cupped his hands over his mouth. “While the nasty stuff targets Light and Sun magics, it still isn’t that great for Water, either. It’s sticking to the bottom of the barrier and creeping up, draining the magic along the way. Someone decided the spell leakage was worth the outcome.”

She winced. That sounded terrible.

“Now it makes sense, that the rivcon called all boats to anchor,” Dough said, tapping at the console. “They don’t want to lose money if it goes down.”

“Follow us!” Lorgan shouted.

The dome bloomed over all of them, using water pulled from the river and forming a cylindrical, rather than a circular, shape. Gunk rolled down the sides and plopped onto the crackly surface, the lightning baking it into black chunks that broke apart like charcoal and floated away. What magic had he added to fry the stuff?

A bright line sped up from the bottom of the barrier and parted like a curtain, tall enough that the mercenary boats could sail through. Vantra peeked back; green glows just below the surface rushed towards them. The changelings gave chase.

A flash came from overhead, and symbols that resembled those she witnessed within Daunifen flared along the lattice lines, then faded. Two columns of sizzling light extended from the clouds and connected with the water, sending a spray of crackling energy along the surface. They thickened, and an electrified wall stretched from each; judging by their speed, they would meet in the center of the Little Duckie before the boat could sail beyond them.

The waterdome burst on impact, splashing down on the Light shields. Those wobbled, unstable, but held after the walls hit them and bounced back. The boats sped through the gap, and the magic fused behind them. The resulting explosion sent water cascading over them, leaving gunk to slowly glump down the defenses.

Symbols again flashed in the clouds, and two more columns formed far enough ahead of them, the shields would not interfere with the wall connection. Water shot skyward after the explosion, and choppy ripples, crackling energy, and flying gunk battered them despite the hasty, V-shaped barrier that Lorgan threw up ahead of his boat, attempting to divert the worst waves to the sides.

The attacks would break apart the Light and Darkness magic, then the vessels, if not stopped. Vantra looked up as the lattice flared yet again and bulges grew at those spots. Faint pulses that ran just above the clouds fed the bumps before they zipped down and plowed into the water, creating the electrified columns.

The boat shook after being struck, and she stared at the crackly gunk sludging down the Light magic, leaving smears of oily green behind that tore divots in the already-weakened protections.

Daunifen’s insides flashed in her mind. The protective glyphs allowed her to swallow water and function despite the nastiness polluting it, which meant she knew what would happen if she had contact with it for too long. If the lightning broke the shields and destroyed the boats and the ghosts landed in the river, the stuff could do great damage, especially to the Light-blessed. A quick dip had not harmed them, but an extended swim to shore might.

How sick would it make Kenosera and Yut-ta?

She squinted, attempting to trail the pulses back to their origin, but distance hid them before she could tell where they began. Columns formed, and Light-blessed attacks did not stop the walls from connecting. Electricity skidded across the water, and, horrified, she realized the gunk fattened when struck. Someone used the lightning to feed the stuff energy, and the contamination would remain potent far longer, doing great harm downstream.

And upstream. Her stomach churned as dead fish rose to the surface, bobbing up and down, black streaks marring their scales. How horrible, to kill innocent fish!

“We have to get them out,” Kjaelle snapped.

Vantra frowned at her harried insistence, then jerked back as the body of a changling floated to the surface and bounced around in the bow wave. They did not react to any of it. Were they unconscious?

“Let one of their vessels rescue them,” Jare muttered.

Dozens rose with the fish, far more than one vessel could easily retrieve. Her emotions twisted as she saw a couple shimmer, ready to discorporate. The waves would tear them apart, send them to the Final Death.

Darkness and Water baubles formed around them, keeping them afloat. How long would those last, against the gunk?

“It’s in our power to help them,” Kjaelle said, waving at Lorgan.

“You should save yours,” Jare replied, annoyed. “If Katta has made us honorary Shades, then our path is treacherous and we can’t waste magic on the enemy.”

That was how the changelings’ leaders felt, because otherwise, why harm them? Vantra looked back up as another two walls connected, the burst of energy taking the Light shields. Light, Darkness, and Water protections reformed, but how long could they continue the renewal?

The boat rocked, and the waves left cracks in the defenses. She heard Kenosera hiss through gritted teeth, and she glanced at him. Both he and Yut-ta hung onto a metal pole that had a thick, waterproofed book chained to it, looking green. The hooskine breathed in a way she recognized as someone trying not to puke.

They had more to lose than their last meal; their lives. They bravely accompanied them, despite the danger, because they felt it was the right thing to do. She did not want this adventure to be their final one in the Evenacht.

The lightning strikes came from the lattice. If she could take it out, she could keep them all safe from electrocution. But how?

Ziptrails. Lorgan used the barrier as a ziptrail, and she could use the same techniques to sink into the lightning that spread across the water’s surface, reach a column, shoot up one, and hit the lattice. If she struck it before it recharged, she could rip it apart.

Sun was near enough Light, she could enter the lightning without too much damage to her essence. She could do this.

Concentrating on her right hand, she formed the symbols she had seen in Daunifen’s stomach.

Hopefully she remembered them correctly and they worked. If not, this would be a short ride.

“I have a plan,” she said.

“Plan?” Jare asked, confused.

“I can ziptrail up into the clouds, hit the lattice.”

“Lattice?” Jare asked as both he and Kjaelle blinked at her, then looked up.

Too late to explain. Electricity zipped down from the clouds, touched the water, and spread wide. Coating herself in Sun shields and sending a fleeting prayer she knew would never be answered, she rose, slapped the shard against her chest, and jumped over the edge. She sailed through the protections and triggered Ether touch just before landing in the crackling magic. Holding her right hand in front of her, she flowed upstream to the nearest column.

“VANTRA!”

Kjaelle’s shout reached her, faint but terrified. She was not exactly sure about this herself, but she had to try.

She sped up the energy before it dimmed and disappeared. She reached the top as it faded, and swept her arms out to gather what lines she could, using her momentum to continue upwards.

She broke through the rain, sailing above the drops. The lattice behaved like a net, rising up with her as she pulled it, and water dripped from it; so not natural rain, but a magic-induced deluge. Xafane might have interrupted the witch seeding it with gunk, but the one creating the downpour was still active.

She examined the strands as the netting pulled tight; if she severed enough of them, that should interfere with the lines of magic and stop the power from coalescing. She hoped. She gathered them closer and pulled, intending to thin the strands below her to the point they snapped.

No luck, and pulses of power rushed towards her. She, tangled in the lattice, would absorb the hit, maybe retain consciousness, maybe fry into oblivion. They were so fast . . .

Ziptrail. The boats could use the Light shields to ride the lattice like Lorgan’s rode the barrier, using the energy to push them forward, towards the enemy. She faced down and used the first trickle of magic to power her flight to the boats. She reached Lorgan and Llel, altered course to soar parallel to the water, and caught all four boats in a wide loop. She made two more passes, weaving between the vessels to create smaller, secondary nets that rested against the shields. Once she again reached the front of Llel and Lorgan’s boat, she snagged the taut strands connected to the clouds and, using Retravigance to melt them, combined them with those wrapped around her and the outer loop, creating a V-shaped diversion with her as the breakpoint. The power struck her, streamed down each side, and collided at the back, the continuous explosion pushing them forward.

And pushing fast.

She absorbed the pulses that attempted to flow into the secondary nets, and the symbols on her hand flared, wisps flying away with an abrupt spit of released energy. Not comfy, but she did not discorporate! Using the added boost, she wove side to side, and the energy followed the way she pointed. She did it! She guided the push!

Eeep! Corner!

She followed the curve, though the boats flew wide, and it took much of her strength to keep the lattice knit so the vessels could resettle and move in a straight line behind her. Her essence quivered, and she prayed she remained whole until they reached the enemy.

Pulses continued to feed the lattice, and unable to form columns or create rain from the repurposed lines, flowed into the loop instead, forcing them faster. The shore sped by, a blur of green and brown caught in rainy grey.

The next corner caught her off-guard, and she almost missed it; the lattice stretched, and the boats swung wide again. She felt her grasp slip, and the shard flared, strengthening the lines. Relieved, she thanked the Sun object as the vessels again rocked into place behind her.

The end. The end?

Vantra arched to the right, pulling the boats in a wide arc, and the lattice broke. The vessels spun, sending showers of water into the air, and she flipped until she struck cold, wet dirt and slick grass. Numb, she listened to the insistent drone of insects and frogs, the calls of night birds, the gentle lapping of water against a shore.

And the hissing. The hissing?

Gleeful laughter from above preceded hands snagging her shoulders and peeling her from the deep impression her essence made.

How had she done that? She had triggered Ether form!

“You are definitely coming with us on a Light-blessed adventure,” Mica said. “You’ll have so much fun!”

What?

Lightning struck near them, emanating from the jiggling ends of the severed lattice strands. Mica spun a shield around them, offered her his elbow, and helped her to the sandy shore that was two gentle slopes over from her landing place. How far had she flown?

Jare and several other Light-blessed stood there, their attention on an imposing grey stone structure, something that looked like a castle keep from ancient fairytales. Clouds gathered at the top of the nearest flat-topped tower, multiple lightning flashes from the lattice remnants illuminating the spiked turrets in a purplish-yellow haze.

She did not understand the wide grins that met her as she released Mica’s arm. She wobbled, steadied, and patted at her essence to make certain all was in order. Trying to think through the numbness, she ended up staring at the moored boats rocking gently in the broad river; not one had sunk or looked damaged. Good. Her impromptu plan worked.

Why she found that sadly amusing, she did not know.

“We aren’t hiding that entrance,” Jare said. Mica snickered, and she wondered whether to feel embarrassed or resentful. She bypassed the priestess and the yondaii, so they did not have to spend time catching and interrogating them before sneaking to their destination. That was a good thing, right?

Shouts came from the front gate. She noticed a blur of commotion through the bars, but the lanterns on the inside did not provide enough light for her to identify what was going on.

“We charging in, or waiting for them to come out?” Janny asked as she walked to them, hands on her hips, examining the imposing castle. Llel followed, her eyes as bright as stars as she eagerly studied the structure.

“Charging in. No reason to lose our surprise advantage.” Jare eyed Vantra. “We need you to stay with the boats. We don’t want important people escaping downstream or into town.” He pointed across the water to the glow of a large habitation. Buildings lined the river, but in the cloud-enhanced dimness of evening, she could not tell the architectural style.

She nodded; being a lookout gave her a chance to rest.