Kavio
The bark on the canoe needed repairs.
At dawn, the morning after the shark attack, Kavio gave out tasks. He sent two men into the woods to peel bark from a birch tree and bring it back in a roll. He sent two others to collect spruce gum.
The healer, Brena, and her daughter, Gwenika, tended the campfire. They set out two clay bowls—one to boil water, the other to melt bear fat.
Kavio glanced at the women.
He was looking for Dindi. She usually helped the healer and Gwenika, but she wasn't there.
He frowned. What task did Brena give her today?
Trying to distract himself, he turned to Rthan.
"Do sharks often swim upriver and attack people?" Kavio asked.
Rthan shrugged. The bone beads in his long braids clacked together. Each braid stood for a warrior he had killed. Blue Waters warriors were proud of their kill braids, and Rthan had earned many. Rthan had sworn to follow Kavio's orders, but that didn't mean Kavio trusted him. He could never forget that Rthan hated him and was an enemy.
"Sharks sometimes come into these rivers when the tide is strong," Rthan said. "Especially if there are seals."
He gave a hard look at the seal rookery on the rocks nearby.
"We should avoid the seals," he added.
"You mean we should avoid the place where Selkies could hide," Kavio said.
"That's exactly what I mean," Rthan replied. "Not all the Shunned accept their punishment. Some embrace it. When they learn they're cursed, they leave their clans and live like beasts."
Kavio grunted.
The two men were from different worlds. Rthan's people followed the Morvae path. They believed a Tavaedi—a warrior-dancer—should use only one color of magic. Anyone who danced more than one Chroma was Shunned. Kavio's people believed the opposite. The more colors a Tavaedi could dance, the more honored they were.
"You really think any Selkies still live around here?" Kavio asked.
Rthan just grunted again.
Kavio narrowed his eyes. "Wait… you've met one. Haven't you?"
Rthan didn't answer. He turned his focus to the canoe, pretending to be busy.
But Kavio wasn't fooled. He could smell a story now, and he wasn't going to let it go.
He smirked. "A shapeshifter beat you in a fight, didn't he? That's why you won't talk about it."
Just as Kavio had hoped, Rthan bristled.
"He took me by surprise," Rthan snapped. "But later, I had him at my mercy…"
Kavio raised his eyebrows.
Rthan's jaw tightened. Too late, he realized Kavio had tricked him into revealing the truth.
"And I would have killed him," Rthan growled. "But he was a slippery eel of a man. Just like you."
***
The warriors came back from the forest carrying a roll of birchbark and sticky clumps of spruce gum. They unrolled the bark, laid it flat with heavy stones, and poured boiling water over it to soften it.
Meanwhile, Kavio crouched by the fire next to the healer, Brena.
"May I borrow a pot, auntie?" he asked politely, using the respectful word for an elder woman.
"I already set it in the fire for you, Zavaedi Kavio," she said, nodding toward a clay jar nestled in the embers.
He took the spruce gum, wrapped it in cloth, tied it with a strip of rawhide, and tossed the little bundle into the boiling water. As the gum melted, dirt and plant bits stayed trapped in the cloth. The clean gum floated to the top.
Kavio scooped it out with a wooden spoon and poured it into a fresh container. Brena added bear fat she had melted. Then Kavio mixed in charcoal and stirred the thickening liquid until it turned the color and texture of raw honey.
"May I ask," Brena said, "what task you gave my serving maiden? And when she'll return?"
Kavio kept his face calm. He hadn't given Dindi any task—but Brena didn't know that. He didn't want to lie outright, but he also didn't want to admit he had no idea where Dindi was.
"I hope I haven't caused you trouble," he said, carefully.
"Of course not, Zavaedi," Brena replied quickly.
In truth, Kavio was worried. Dindi could be impulsive. She often wandered off by herself. Just last night, he'd nearly choked when he saw her sitting on the shoulder of a stone giant—completely unaware it was a living fae! What if it had woken up and eaten her?
Trying to keep her safe felt like trying to stop the wind from blowing.
When Kavio returned to the canoe, carrying the pot of glue, Rthan was already there. He had cut a patch of birchbark to match the tear. With a bone awl, he had poked holes and was stitching the patch on with strips of rawhide.
"What kind of fat did you use?" Rthan asked, not looking up.
"Bear fat."
Rthan grunted. "Seal fat would be better."
"There are plenty of seals nearby," Kavio said. "Should I go fetch one?"
Rthan stopped sewing. He turned to look at Kavio, clearly trying to figure out if he was joking.
"You think it's easy to hunt a seal?" he asked.
"Can't be harder than hunting a bear."
"A Blue Waters boy isn't called a man until he gets his first seal. It's not easy."
"I didn't say it was," Kavio replied. Then he added, "Buuuuut still… seal? Bear?" He held out his hands like scales. "Seal… bear? Seal… bear!"
He dropped the "bear" hand, as if it were far heavier.
"Are you mocking my people?" Rthan demanded.
"Well," Kavio said, grinning, "when Yellow Bear captures an enemy, we throw him into a pit with a bear. What do Blue Waters do—toss their prisoners in with seals?"
"No," Rthan said.
Kavio spread his hands in mock innocence.
Rthan's voice darkened. "We tie our enemies to stakes and feed them to giant blue crabs. Then we eat the crabs."
"Charming," Kavio said, still smiling.
Rthan almost smiled back—then remembered Kavio was his enemy and tightened his mouth.
"You almost smiled," Kavio teased. "Face it, you're starting to hate me a little less."
"I assure you," Rthan said, "I still find you very, very annoying."
"That's a good sign. All my friends find me very, very annoying."
"You think that's a good sign? I can see why your tribe exiled you."
Kavio's grin tightened just a little.
"How much longer will the repairs take?" he asked.
"After I finish stitching, I'll glaze the seams with spruce glue. Then we wait for it to dry."
Kavio nodded and left Rthan to work.
As Zavaedi and leader of the party, no one questioned him when he started to walk the edge of camp. He scanned the ground carefully, looking for signs.
When he reached a tree near the outer border, he stopped.
Something had scratched the bark—deep grooves, left by fingernails.
The size and shape told him it had been a girl.
He touched the tree bark.
A wave of magic burst out and wrapped around him like a net.
Kavio fell to the ground.
His knees buckled. His body twisted. Light flared. He knew what was happening, but he couldn't stop it.
A Vision took hold of him.
He saw Dindi—being attacked. Rough hands grabbing her. Blows striking her. Men dragged her through the shadows. Her fear rushed into him like a flood. But the light in the Vision was dim, and just like her, he couldn't see the attackers' faces or clan marks.
The Vision ended quickly.
The magic had come from Dindi's raw emotion—her terror during the attack. It had lingered, just barely. Another day, and it would have faded completely.
He pushed himself off the ground, shaking.
Had anyone seen his fit?
The trees and brush gave him some cover. He didn't think the others had noticed.
Last night, that same cover had allowed Dindi to be taken.
Now, it let him hide his shame.
Kavio's fae blood made him react this way to strong magic. These fits embarrassed him deeply. The last thing he wanted was for anyone—especially Dindi—to see him thrashing like a dying fish.
But this time, he didn't mind. If that Vision helped him find her, it was worth it.
Kavio raced back to camp.
He couldn't take the whole party. It would look strange to risk everyone over a missing servant girl. Besides, he trusted himself more than he trusted anyone else here.
But he couldn't go alone.
He especially couldn't leave Rthan behind, unsupervised. The warrior might have given his word not to run, but he was still an enemy.
Was this all a trap?
Had the shark attack been planned? It was no ordinary beast. There had to be magic behind it.
Whose magic?
And what did it have to do with the abduction of an innocent maiden?