Adventuresome

Chapter 17

Lilliana felt as if she were swimming in the open ocean. But every time she got near the shore a wave struck her down, sent her spinning through the depths of the water until she could hardly breathe. In one night she had lost so many things she held dear. She looked at her father's staff in her hands.

No. At her staff.

The idea was nauseating.

With Father's death, Dominick had been passed to her. He was her spirit now. If she had had any lingering doubts about her father, that had dissolved them. Her stomach twisted inside her. She knew the theory, but in no way did Dominick feel like "hers." He still felt like Father's.

The metal rod was engraved with designs, and the crystal at the top was rather ostentatious. It had always looked so comfortable in Father's grasp, but Lilliana only felt conspicuous.

"Well, come on then girlie get a move on." Dominick's voice sounded different in her head now. In comparison, the thought link Dominick had created before had been tenuous and uncertain. Now his voice was a powerful presence in her mind. In some ways, it was even harder to differentiate his voice from her own thoughts.

But there would be more time on their journey to learn how this would work. For now, all she needed to do now was climb onto Senator Yula's airship.

She followed Perrin, who had jumped onto the airship easily with her eyes shining in delight. The airship was small, almost more like a small sail boat. It had one sail down the center of the deck and only four oars below deck.

Senator Yula did not follow them onto the ship.

"Be careful, Lady Lilliana. Protect Dominick as he will protect you."

"Thank you, Senator Yula. I will."

Perrin was running around the airship, and for the first time Lilliana wondered how much the desert wanderer seemed to know about these ships.

"I leave Captain Rill with you, he will help guide your airship where you need to go."

"Thank you again, we owe you our lives tonight."

Yula gave a small nod to her head, although such a submissive gesture was stiff and almost begrudgingly given.

"Then my debt to your father is repaid. Fair winds to you. Captain Rill, it is passed time to depart."

Almost immediately, the ship began to shudder. A man walked up to Lilliana's side.

"Lady Lilliana," He said with a bow, "I am Captain Rill. We wish to do this with as few others as possible, could you and Dominick act as the mage power to lift the ship?"

Dominick?

Dominick gave a loud harrumph. "Only because it was your father's idea to start with, not because some old captain asked me to."

What should I do to help?

"Nothing."

A little disappointed, Lilliana simply watched as the crystal turned brilliantly blue and the sail filled with air.

"My lady, there is a place for you to sleep in the cabin there." The captain said. "I am going belowdeck to check on the rowers."

"Rowers?" Perrin said, approaching them suddenly. "I thought this was supposed to be as small a crew as possible."

"Without decent rowers this ship could go nowhere fast, and there would be little precision." The captain said stiffly, eyeing Perrin's pale hair. The blonde hair that Perrin kept cropped short was a noticeable trait for her desert region heritage.

She let out a laugh. "Even your personal vessels are this far behind? In the desert region personal airships like this have always been the most advanced. I suppose I am just surprised is all."

"I would expect such impertinence from a desert rat. Just stay out of the way of my crew."

The captain turned without another word and walked down below and out of sight.

"Um, Perrin?"

But Perrin walked away as well, leaving Lilliana alone again. She looked over the side of the ship, her stomach dropping as the ship began to rise. Farther and farther below, Senator Yula was disappearing.

She gulped as the airship rocked back and forth uncertainly. She had only been on much larger airships with her father, and those had not moved quite so much. Stepping back from the edge of the ship, she looked for a good place to go.

Tucked away at the back of the ship was a tiny cabin, the one the captain had pointed her to. She looked at the staff in her hands, not even certain if she was allowed to bring the staff with her. Did Dominick need the staff to stay nearby?

"Go in the cabin, girlie." Dominick said, his voice still bored. "Get some sleep. I happen to be plenty powerful enough to handle this on my own."

She looked up at the billowing sail, then past it to see the soft starlight.

Oh spirits, Dominick may be powerful enough to handle all of this, but I'm not so sure that I am.

The rocking of the ship kept her offbalance, and she was embarressed at how difficult just walking across the ship became. But Captain Rill was still below deck, Perrin was off to the side looking out at the sky, and there was no one else on the deck. Lilliana made it to the cabin with few mishaps and opened the door.

The tiny cabin held two cots, one folded up in the corner, and nothing else. With only one tiny window, little light would come in even during the day. Unfolding the second cot so Perrin could rest as well, Lilliana prepared both of the beds with sheets.

Then she lay down and hoped the rocking of the ship would allow her to sleep.

I wish you were here, Father.