Wave Over Stone

Written by Ai Law

To the East came a lord who by chance spied

Our Daimyo’s love who under moon did lie.

This lord cast a spell, volition denied.

Set upon Himari did in fact defy.

West practice clashed with East and tragedy

Did result, in mixed energy and mind.

Summoned by the conflict, our Daimyo sped

To save Himari and expel in kind.

But late did Mamoru arrive to see

The way the human in victory fled.

Fifteen years he’s sought to free Himari,

And filled the human lands with dread.

Yet now through players, freedom is in sight:

Beware young lord, who you welcome this night.

England, 1594, near the River Avon

“A most excellent play,” Christopher Sly said. It still surprised him how much he could enjoy the simple enchantments of theater. He had expected the finer things in life to lose their luster and all hold on his sensibilities once he’d found Himari. Sly thrived on the secret he held over others as they enacted the very myths he now knew to be true. Once, he had been just as frustrated, able only to put to paper the idea of a life he could not seek. For years he had poured over stolen works; books that held mastered spells of energy, force, and will. Everything he craved but immortality. Those pages were as empty as his inhibitions, void of all but hollow, untested theories. Sly’s obsession had eventually taken him to Glastonbury Tor in search of the Chalice Well but that too had ended in failure. It was only during his return to London fourteen years ago that he stumbled upon something inexplicably extraordinary.

The players bowed before their host, underwhelmed by their sudden accostment. As a traveling group, they were used to the incongruous commands of those who flaunted wealth and were unfazed by the demand that tonight they perform at The Bell, the only inn outside Warwick. “We are honored that you have enjoyed it so, my lord.”

Sly laughed and put his arm around the person sitting beside him. Dressed in a fine scarlet gown, their expression was blank and distant. They did not react as Sly ran a heavy hand over their thigh.

“It is our greatest pleasure to be able to entertain—”

A swift breeze rushed through the hall and snuffed out the lights in an instant.

“Players.” The voice of Tranio filled the dark, his light and cheerful tone gone. “Leave this human with me.”

There were bangs, soft curses, and small cries of pain as the players fled the inn.

Lord Sly stood and squinted into the gloom. “What’s going on?”

There was a rustle of cloth behind him and then a deep sigh. Sly’s skin prickled at the sudden feeling of animosity that filled the shadows. He turned back and reached out for the one who had sat beside him. “Himari. Give me your hand.” His own was slapped away.

“Do not touch me,” Himari said.

Sly frowned and groped in the dark again. He smiled when he found an arm and caught hold of the sleeve. A light flared and Sly raised a hand against the glare. He looked down and saw that the arm he held was not swathed in red, but a shade deeper than ebony. Sly let go and stepped back. “Who are you?”

'Tranio’ stood a foot over him. Had the actor’s hair and eyes always been so black? “I’d advise you to let go, human.”

Lord Sly dropped the arm he had been gripping and stepped back a pace. He looked around the room and brightened when he saw his companion. Himari stood beside the window bathed in moonlight. The edges of his body and hair were touched with silver. Sly was enraptured by the sight, as he had been years ago when he had first seen Himari on the beach. It took Sly a moment to notice that the dress he had carefully selected and had specially fitted to Himari, lay shredded on the floor. Instead, Himari was draped in a simple yukata. He looked as if he wore a piece of the moonlit sky.

“Himari.” Sly pitched his voice lower and poured power into his command. “Come here.” He held out a hand but couldn’t bring himself to fully look at Himari’s reclaimed stature.

“I will not.” Himari’s voice was no longer the gentle whisper Sly demanded he use, but a rich and clear baritone.

“You shouldn’t—” Sly’s fingers trembled and reached for the flask he always wore on his hip. He uncapped it and took a sip to wet his dry mouth. “Talk to me like that.”

“Despite your wish, I am not a woman,” Himari said.

The man who had played Tranio moved a step closer to Himari and crossed his arms over his chest.

Sly felt a shiver settle in his spine as he realized that the...thing, had not stopped staring at him once. “As I made you, you are—”

“Not,” Himari said. “I am not yours to use as you wish. You are not my lord, life, or sovereign. You have not kept me warm. I have lived in a frozen existence since our unfortunate meeting. I have a husband you have kept me from these years I have suffered with you.”

Christopher glanced at ‘Tranio’, who hadn’t moved, and realized that not only was he still staring but that there was something wrong with his eyes. When he smiled Sly felt his fear flop into his stomach. He felt sick. That thing definitely wasn’t human. But then, neither am I. I have magic still. Sly gritted his teeth and groped for it. He was shocked to find that the deep pool he’d fled the East with, was nearly dry.

“How foolish to believe that power makes one less human,” ‘Tranio’ mocked.

You have maintained the spell so long, it has become a drain on you.

Sly looked up in shock as Himari’s voice echoed in his mind.

You cannot face your desires. The truth of the love you seek. You cover it with the claim of wanting obedience though you coveted me.

Unable to bear the pressure of another mind, Sly bent over and was sick on the floor.

“You…” Sly wiped his mouth and glared at Himari. “Traitor.”

Himari smiled. “There is no greater betrayal than to discard yourself. I can face the desires I have and embrace them readily.” Himari held out a hand and Sly watched the other thing come over to take it. It disturbed Sly how much it looked like a human. When it knelt and kissed Himari’s wrist gently, Sly’s knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists.

“You wished me to serve, love, and obey? When you are incapable of those yourself,” Himari said. “There are consequences for forcing any being to act against their will.”

The one in the black robes turned to smile at Sly and for the first time, Christopher considered the possibility that he was outmatched.

“I do, however, owe you a debt,” Himari said. “I have lived beneath your command for nearly two decades of human time.”

Himari moved away from the window and Sly saw that he still glowed in the shadows as though he stood beneath a full moon. Sly took a step back as the one beside Himari rose as well. He realized then that the inn was silent. Even the soft sounds of the night outside had vanished. As dread filled his belly, Sly yearned to hear the trill of a cricket or the wind and her sighs.

“I shall show you how we entertain our guests. Our plays are quite involved, Christopher Sly.” Himari stepped forward.

“Don’t touch me.” Sly’s mouth was dry, his heart a claw that raked through his lungs.

Himari stopped just out of Christopher’s reach and smiled. “I promise that unlike myself, you will return in better condition than when you left.”

Unable to suppress his cowardice any longer, Sly turned to run. His boot hit the floorboards only once before the inn around him vanished. Instead, a forest of murky greens and scattered light filled his vision. Driftless, Sly’s wail devolved into a stream of bubbles as his anchor held fast.

‘Tranio’ frowned at the kelp blades strewn on the floor. “You swapped them out? I’d prefer him as sea foam. It’s of the same mind.”

“I care for the ocean, Mamoru. I won’t do anything to cause it harm.”

“You finally said it.”

Himari turned to Mamoru with a frown. “I did not wish to give him your name.”

“I appreciate your concern.” The cool expression on Mamoru’s face, which had terrified Christopher Sly, was finally banished by a smile. It vanished in an instant. “But I’d like to address mine.”

Himari struggled to form a reply and then sighed. “I need time.”

“As you wish.” Mamoru offered a hand and when Himari took it, he drew his husband close. “May I stay with you?”

Finally safe in Mamoru’s steadfast embrace, Himari nodded. Sly had been wise enough to stay inland, afraid the ocean would crave what he had stolen. Exhausted, Himari rested his forehead on Mamoru’s shoulder, comforted by the scent of salt. He breathed it in as he put his arms around Mamoru’s waist as the last of his strength left him. “Take me home, gege.”

Mamoru swept Himari up into his arms and left the inn. He walked to the nearest beach in silence, unsurprised when Himari fell asleep midway. Once they reached the shore, Mamoru stepped into the waves without hesitation. He stopped only when the water reached his waist. There on the foreshore, Mamoru’s legs shifted back to a powerful tail covered with blood-red scales. He smiled under the full moon’s light, then dove under the next wave with his reclaimed love.

When tempted to steal or cheat, keep in mind

This tale of revenge, sweet. To take someone

Not inclined, you very well may risk in kind

The fate of the knave known today as Sly.

Below the ocean, he did work and stay

‘Til his debts to Himari were thrice repaid.

When to the shore, Sly did return one day

He found his house and body all decayed.

For to Himari, human time is slight.

Should you espy on moonlit beach a fin,

Do not consider it with all delight:

Go back or you may see our Daimyo grin.

If you insist and pursue, one promise

We can make, from us there’ll be no solace.

You can find this piece in our Fall 2022 issue titled Trailblazer here.