Beyond

Day 20-Part One

When Haiv made it back to the beach, his father was waiting for him by The Adamantes' longboat. Haiv saw him, and stopped dead in his tracks.

Hailoh was no longer blue. He stood solidly on the sand, wearing a nobleman's set of stockings, hose, and waistcoat. Thankfully he wasn't wearing a ruff, or Haiv wouldn't have been able to keep himself from laughing. His father's warm brown eyes twinkled proudly and a smile stretched underneath a neatly trimmed mustache.

Impossible, Haiv thought, tears forming in his eyes.

His father held out his arms, and before Haiv realized it, he was running. He stumbled a little over the chains and had to pick them up so he wouldn't trip. Hailoh was running too. Tears streamed freely down his face as he wrapped his arms around his son. Haiv fell against his father's chest, and together they sank to the ground.

"Haivan."

His father's voice was deep and full of emotion. The sound of it stole the air from Haiv's lungs. The last time his father had said his name had been the day he died.

Haiv clutched his father's shirt like it was a lifeline. He couldn't wrap his arms around Hailoh's waist because of his restraints, but he held onto that cloth as if to keep his father from leaving again.

When Hailoh pulled back, he gripped Haiv's shoulders and looked him up and down. A flurry of emotions passed over his face: pride, sorrow, guilt, and anger. Finally, he settled back on pride and raised a hand to cup Haiv's cheek.

"You did it," he said softly. "You Freed me."

Haiv let out a shaky breath. "I did, didn't I?" A nervous laugh bubbled up and out of his mouth. "You...you can talk!"

Hailoh leaned back and laughed. "Yes," he said. "And feel. The breeze on my face, and the clothes on my skin, and..." his eyes landed on Haiv again, "my son in my arms. It was torture to be able to touch but not feel. And you..." his voice trembled. "You Freed me."

Since Haiv wasn't really sure how he'd done it, he offered a shy smile.

His father smiled back and ruffled his hair. The affectionate fatherly action twisted Haiv's heart. Souls, he'd missed his father. Sure he'd seen him as a Japis. But that had been a sliver, a shadow of him....

Haiv's eyes widened. Shadow. Back in the brig, Haiv thought he'd been imagining it. Rodigan had walked into the room and cast no shadow on the wall like he should have.

"Father, what did the cap'n trade for me?" Haiv asked quickly.

Hailoh winced. "Haivan—"

Haiv gripped his father's lapels. "What did he give you?"

"His Sajet. His shadow."

Haiv released Hailoh and turned his gaze toward the pirate ship floating in the bay. In sending Haiv ashore alone, Rodigan had fired his last missile at an enemy ship. He'd had no choice, since the living couldn't come into Beyond, but still. Haiv had joined the enemy crew and had just added a new weapon to his armory:

He knew where the captain's Sajet was.

Haiv glanced at Hailoh who was watching him curiously. "You can't come, can you?" he asked his father.

Hailoh shook his head. "I cannot enter the world of the living."

"Will you wait for me?"

"I'll be right here."

Haiv took a deep breath, then stalked over to the longboat. He shoved it into the lapping waves and hauled himself over the side. As he rowed further and further from Beyond, though the ship wasn't out far, Haiv could feel his energy waning. His shoulders gradually got more and more painful. His stomach growled, though he'd eaten that fish only two hours ago. He began to doubt his plan. Would he have the strength to carry it out?