Harvest Island

By C. Lee Braxton

An island tormented by the mermaids living off shore becomes a battleground when four strange people, one a warrior terrified of the sea, one a displaced elf, one a judgemental human, one a massive horned worm, come up onto the beach. No one had been able to come or go from the island is many years. Then these strangers brought together the most

• Language: English
• Publisher: C. Lee Braxton
• Release date: Mar 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9781535606219

Book preview

~1~

Cally lay in the best cabin on the Farra. It was not overly spacious, and sparsely furnished, containing only a full-sized bed, a desk, and a chair. All the furniture was made from the same highly polished dark oak. There was a large window behind the desk and a recently hung hammock next to it. The window was boarded up temporarily on Cally’s behalf, who lived in terror of the water that rose and fell outside. Captain Tenneth, of the Farra, knew that Cally was nearly drowned several times as a child. Abandoned at birth, Cally was found and adopted by those who considered drowning a proper punishment. Captain Tenneth knew all this because Cally was an old friend. He owed many favors to Cally for the help she gave his wife during his long voyages. She had fought off raiders, bandits, and also delivered his only son, Jorgon. Since Cally was his friend, Captain Tenneth had insisted that Cally and her Elven companion, Skylark, take his cabin for themselves during their journey home. The two adventurers were on their way to the land of Kimber, where Cally made her home after an extended stay with a good friend while her husband was away. She liked to return to the town every few years and rest from exciting encounters and drawn-out battles.

Their latest voyage, from which they were returning, was a very taxing ordeal. A group of banshees were terrorizing an old town, Towmar, where some of Cally’s friends had settled down. They had sent Cally a message with a bird stating their need for her fighting skill. Cally had a reputation in the land of Kimber for her sense of honor and ability to defeat unstoppable evils of every kind. Cally’s friends had brought word of that reputation with them to Towmar. Cally responded quickly and brought Skylark with her to help with the flying banshees. Cally and Skylark fought to capture and lay to rest nine unclean spirits. Like most of Cally’s adventures, there was a lot of action and little rest involved. Now Cally could try to rest on the long trip across the very frightening sea, but as often happened on board a ship, her fear of water left her nerves raw and her muscles strained.

Cally, who was also known as the Sorceress of Beasts, lay stiffly in the captain’s soft bed. She could not feel the extra stuffing in the mattress or the rare silk sheets that cocooned her body. She listened to the sound that never stopped day or night: water caressing the ship only a few inches from where she lay. Cally could not rid herself of the feeling that the sea was desperate to get into the ship. She knew it was just in her mind, but still she ached with strain. Her attention was momentarily drawn away from her own discomfort to the movement in the hammock on the other side of the small room.

Skylark was making something from a piece of curved wood. Elves of any race are highly creative, and this Cloud Elf was no exception. Cally found some comfort in watching Sky work. He had changed a lot since she met him, the day after the storm giant’s feud that left many Cloud Elves homeless.

Wingless fliers, Cloud Elves lived in cities in the sky. They used magic to keep their homes in, and among, the clouds. The Storm Giants of the area caused so much turbulence that a whole city was displaced. Unfortunately, that city landed on the Wood Elves below. There were a record number of wounded and dead or missing Elves. Most of the casualties were on the Wood Elves’ side, since many Cloud Elves were able to fly clear of the crash. Since relations were strained with their Wood Elf cousins, the Cloud Elves decided not to rebuild their downed city.

Cally studied her friend’s appearance, comparing it to the one of the Elf when they first met. His ember colored hair was longer now, reaching past his shoulders. The green dyed leathers he wore—which were given him by a grateful family of Wood Elves whom he had saved from the city crash—were faded and turning the color of a dying leaf. His face and hands the same silvery pale with a few noticeably lines that he collected these last two years. Skylark appears to have aged very quickly, did I cause that? Is my lifestyle so rough to make an Elf age more rapidly? she thought. Perhaps I need to make a change in my life; this cannot be healthy for either of us. Soon this journey will end. What then? I have had enough adventures to last a lifetime. It would be best if I were to settle down and maybe have some young ones to tell of those adventures to. That last banshee nearly had me. Yes, I think this is when my journeys end.

Skylark was pleased with the harp he had constructed. The wood he had found days ago was almost begging to be worked on. He held it up for Cally to see and compliment him on, which she did. Skylark had been feeling Cally’s eyes for some time, and he tried to be the distraction she wanted so much. He began an old Cloud Elf ballad about the Wood Elf king; Skylark knew Cally had never heard this legend, so she would listen to it carefully. The legend of Star Elves was a subject kept from non-Elven ears, but Skylark felt Cally was one of them since she traveled so well among all Elves. At least the story about mythical Elves living in star cities would get her mind off the waves. At least he hoped it would.

Time, times a time ago a Wood Elf king saw a wondrous site as he watched a glittering rainbow prism come down from the sky. It was overwhelmingly beautiful that the king went out alone to find it. The king found the object only to discover that it was a woman. She was an Elf like none he had ever seen before. She softly glowed and at times sparkled. She saw him and waved him closer. The king did not hesitate but walked right up to her. She smiled at him and the king became light headed. The king must have fainted for the next thing he knew he was rising into the sky. The Elf woman was carrying him up higher and higher. Suddenly the Wood Elf king did not care where the woman took him, he was content to be wrapped in her arms. They arrived at the dazzling crystalline palace filled with more Elves that were like the woman he met. Now they were brightly shining and rainbows dance through their long hair. The woman let the Wood Elf king go and walked up to her thrown to sit down. Then a young maiden brought a crown to the woman on the thrown. She must be the queen of the Star Elves. The Wood Elf king was given something to drink and began to listen, but the next thing he knew he was waking up at home in his own bed. It was such a strange dream and stranger still was that many Wood Elves had the same dream. A bad batch of wine was blamed and little more was talked about it. Suddenly Wood Elven maidens began showing signs of pregnancy. When it was time for the births these Elven babies were silver in color and their hair was bright in color. Now, Elvin babies began to show up a door steps of young men who had the strange dream. The final amazement happened when the Wood Elf king too was visited with a baby. The half-bred babies all could fly. There were no explaining this, they could fly. When the Elves Matured, they referred to themselves as Cloud Elves, and not long later they all moved up into the clouds between the Woods below and the Stars above. It was believed that the Star Elves bred with the Wood Elves because they were dying out and were desperate to survive. The Star Elves were never seen again but the Cloud elves thrive in every sky.

Skylark studied Cally critically to determine her state of mind. She was not currently as golden as her natural color, which happened to be very close to actual gold. Her hair was a yellow contrast with her skin, since she was paled out to near white. As usual, she wore blue. Long pants, made from a strange stiff fabric and worn tight to the leg, with a short sword strapped to her right hip and thigh were her preferred daily wear. That same blue fabric also made a sleeveless open vest, and she even had a matching shirt that was tight and sleeveless. She never wore anything else. When her clothes were damaged, she seemed to know how to restore them. To this day, they looked and smelled new.

Skylark realized he was looking into those amethyst eyes of hers. He had been staring at her for a while now. Skylark was caught pondering the same old mysteries of his friend. Suddenly, an idea struck him.

Cally? What if you went up on deck and walked around awhile? The sea is calm and the fresh air will do you some good. He watched her bite her lower lip, but she made no other movement. He could sense the tension build in her body more than see it, but he was going to try to sell her on the idea anyway. I could put a blindfold over your eyes. You would see no more of the sea than sitting here in the cabin. I’m sure you will feel much better.

I don’t know. I would feel vulnerable. I think it would be best to stay in the cabin until we dock. Cally had a tight feeling in her stomach and had to concentrate to remain still. You know how I am around water. If I fall overboard, there will be no coming back for me. Not completely anyway.

Do not worry. I will be with you the whole time, and if it is too much to endure we can return to the cabin. Skylark knew she could go from one place to another by just thinking about it, if it was not too far. Traveling from deck to the cabin would not be too hard if she needed to escape. I think you should try it at least. If it works, it could make it easier to cross water.

Yes, so would flying. I wish we could just fly over the sea. Cally knew they had gone over this before, but it did not seem so risky a thing when she was on board a ship.

You know it is too great an expanse to fly nonstop, he reminded her.

Skylark also wished to fly rather than sail. He was not as comfortable sitting inside dead wood and enclosed bobbing on the water. He felt a little trapped and stifled in the cabin below deck.

He added, We would be in far more danger of drowning trying to fly it. We are safe on bored this ship, and out of the weather as well. I think you should go up and see what happens. That is just my opinion.

You are right, my friend. I will give it a try. Cally did not feel inclined to share her feelings of wanting to settle down and leave behind her traveling. It was still a new concept to her and felt odd. Sky, I just wish that we were home and on dry land. I feel stronger on land.

~2~

They left the cabin and walked down a long hallway toward a set of stairs. The stairs were well worn and warped, yet remained sturdy under the pressure of feet. They walked up toward the light from the outside. Cally stopped four steps away from the top of the stairs. Skylark took a blue sash from his pocket and tied it around Cally’s head. The sash was made of thickly woven silk and hardly let any light through. Cally was ready to take the next four steps.

The deck was large compared to the cabin they had been in for the last two weeks. The crew was relaxing as the wind was down, and there was not much that could be done with empty sails. The biggest thing on deck ran the length of the ship and looked to be covered with a strange greenish-grey animal skin.It would take three men standing on each other’s shoulders to reach the thing’s height, and he could not see an end at either side but imagined that the thing must curve around itself. The strange skin on it was like somewhere between elephant hide and snake scales. Most of the deck was open except for the small cabin toward the ship’s stern. Skylark stopped and stood in place to wonder at the long mass at the one side of the ship.

How does the ship stay upright? All that weight on one side of the ship. The balance would be off on a destructive scale, he thought. This ship is going to tip over from the first big wave that comes along.

The fact that the ship is not overcome by weight is easy to explain, Sky, Cally said in his mind. They would put a light-as-a-feather spell on it.

Being able to talk to Cally without anyone being aware of it pleased Skylark a great deal. I guess their mage is weak or undertrained. He should have decreased its size as well as its weight.

Cally tried to navigate her way around the deck using what she saw through Skylark’s eyes. She sometimes looked through other people’s eyes for a new prospective. Cally had to be very close in order to do it, and sometimes it gave her and the other person a bad headache. Unfortunately, this time she needed the sight of the other person for more practical means. Skylark was taller than her, causing Cally to trip over something about her knee height but was out of sight to him. She fell and splayed out across something rather firm but not hard.

Excuse me. Would you kindly watch where you are sitting? You are on my tail, stated a large, extremely long creature, which had huge tusks and horns.

A moment ago, this monster was that lifeless cargo that ran the length of the ship. Now Skylark could see it was a Horned Worm. Through Skylark’s eyes, this creature had three-inch spike teeth, tusks like an elephant, and vicious horns that ran down his back in two rows.

I’m sure you didn’t mean to sit on it, but you really should…um, miss? Why are you wearing a blindfold?

Cally was so calmed by the emotional and mental state the Horned Worm was in that she casually lay there sprawled across his tail without any intention of moving. She could feel he was not very bothered by her and she was comfortable.

Skylark was at Cally’s side quickly, but he was unsure of the situation. He was afraid of the Worm, although he controlled that fear so that he could help Cally to her feet. Thinking fast, he said, "She’s wearing this