Another thump, this time followed by a crack.
Someone came up the stairs from below deck, shouting, “We’re taking on water.”
Noah shot off a spell, hitting a spider head on, throwing it over the side of the ship. A moment later it had righted itself, spinning back towards the boat.
Billie called out and Noah came running over.
“We can’t hold them. We’re too few.”
Noah pushed Billie aside, lunging to get out of the way of a giant snakehead slithering across the deck. It stopped halfway through, punching its long fangs towards Billie’s legs. She yanked them out of the way, the fangs missing her skin by inches.
Its counterpart, the second head where the tail should be, slithered across from the opposite side of the ship, entwining its head around the other head, as if tying a knot.
Colin needed to act.
He took a deep breath and focused on the snake-like heads busy knotting themselves together, tightening their grip on the ships hull with each knot they added.
He put his arms out in front of him and tightened his fists as if squeezing something. Tighter and tighter.
Suddenly the Amphivena loosened the grip on itself, its massive heads unwinding. It let out dual choking noises, each head floundering across the deck as it struggled to get any air.
A moment later, it fell to the deck, unmoving.
Billie and Noah stared in disbelief. They glanced at each other.
“It wasn’t me,” he said to her, and she to him.
An older man behind them shot off a spell, missing its target, which still hurtled itself through the air, preparing to land right behind Billie and Noah.
Colin again raised a hand and closed his fist; the spider was crushed as if mere paper to be discarded. Its body slunk to the deck in a bundle of webbed skin.
The ship shifted. This time, not because of the Slopikes, but because it was becoming lopsided with the intake of water below.
“Enough,” Colin spoke darkly. He pictured the Salt Spiders crushed and sinking to the bottom of the sea. When he opened his eyes, hundreds of spiders cried out, their bodies crushed by an unseen foe. Colin swooshed his arm as if sweeping off the deck and the bodies flew over the side of the ship.
The ship’s inhabitants huddled together on the deck.
They were disheveled and battered; a few looked to have serious injuries. All were out of breath and exhausted. And all were now aware that they were not alone; someone was there, helping them in secret.
He heard a gasp and looked up just in time to see the body of the Amphivena sliding off the ship. It took a good chunk of the deck with it as it slid over the side and into the water.
“What are we going to do?” asked a desperate Billie, to no one in particular.
“We’re going to have to abandon ship,” said Noah.
“How?” asked Billie. “There’s no emergency boats on the ship. We can’t defend ourselves while trying to keep our heads above water.”
“The ship is sinking,” a woman standing by her side said. “Magic is weakening. We need time to recuperate.”
“We’ll sink before that happens,” said Noah.
Colin thought hard on what to do. How to save them. It was a funny thing he suddenly thought. Supposedly, he could do anything he could think of, and yet thinking of the right thing to do was not so easy when it had to be done at the spur of the moment.
They needed to get off the boat.
They needed to get somewhere safe.
Where was that?
He wanted desperately to ask them why they were here... why they were not with the rest of the Svoda? And how they had gotten back here. Last he knew, they had been in a meadow and could not get through a portal back to this world for some time.
But he held his tongue, kept his silence.
Uncle Arnon... I can take them to Uncle Arnon. He can help them, whatever it is they are trying to do.
“Now, how exactly do I move an entire ship?”
##
Meghan gave up trying to sleep. She left Nona curled up on the bed and tiptoed out of the bedroom. She was surprised to see wisps of daylight sneaking through the windowpane.
She wrapped a thick sweater around her body and stepped outside.
The village was quiet with an almost deserted feel to it. After a few minutes she caught a couple wandering down a path some distance away, but it appeared everyone was still snuggled up inside. She hadn’t looked at the time, but it must have been early, not too long after sunrise.
She decided to take a walk.
A walk sounded good.
After just a few minutes, she drew the sweater tighter around her body, letting the sleeves dangle over her hands. She hadn’t thought to grab gloves.
“Hey,” a voice called out, startling her.
She turned and saw Ivan leaning against a tree trunk.
“Oh. Hey. Um, have you been out here all night?”
“Yes.”
“Why would you do that? You must be frozen solid!”
He ignored her and asked, “What are you doing up so early?”
“A walk sounded good. Tried to sleep, just didn’t happen. I am tired. Just can’t sleep. Maybe tonight,” she added, not hopeful in the least.
“Let me know if that works for you,” he replied, sounding as though he was nearly asleep on his feet.
“We could resort to drinking one of Kanda’s special teas, knock us right out.”
“Really?” Ivan almost sounded interested.
“Yeah. She is really good at that.”
“I don’t like the idea of being knocked out,” he decided.
“Well, if we get desperate enough, at least it’s an option. Regardless, I still think you’re nuts for standing out here all night. What were you doing?”
He shrugged. “Walking. Thinking. Oh, um, happy birthday, by the way.”
“Nice change of subject,” she rebuked. “Thanks though. I’d completely forgotten about it.”
“You don’t look any different,” he said with a wary exhale, that teased lightly.
“Funny,” she retorted.
An unusual sound caught both their ears and they listened for where it was coming from.
“You can hear that, right?” Meghan asked Ivan, just to be sure.
“Yeah. What is it?” He shook his head as if trying to get the noise out of his head.
Meghan felt the need to do the same. The noise was powerful. Becoming overwhelming to hear. Like the sound was suffocating them from inside their own heads.
A crack rent the air and out of nowhere, a ship appeared, nestled between two trees just like it had always been there. The thick tree trunks kept the ship from falling to one side or the other.
The ship was damaged badly, the wooden hull cracked underneath and great chunks of the ship missing completely. It looked like they’d been torn off.
Villagers emerged from their dwellings, with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. When each saw the ship, they froze, not sure what to think or how to react.
Meghan wanted to go closer but held back.
There was someone familiar close by.
Someone knocking at the locked door in her mind... Colin?
He did not reply to her. He allowed his guard down only enough to let her know he was near. She heard the words, “I needed to make sure they were safe.” His block reformed itself and he was gone.
“Ivan, I don’t know what this is, but Colin brought this here.”
“Colin did this?” he confirmed in astonishment.
“Yeah.” She had never seen anything like it. A ship now ported in the middle of the woods, nowhere near the ocean it must have been plucked from. How had Colin accomplished such a thing?
“Did he say anything else?” Ivan asked her.
“No. Just disappeared. Didn’t really talk to me directly. It was more like, just letting you know this was my doing.” So sad that this was their first connection in what fe
lt like forever, but it wasn’t really even aimed at her. She just happened to be able to hear his thoughts. It was convenient, and that was all.
They, along with a growing crowd of onlookers, edged closer to the ship, only to gasp simultaneously as shapes moved on the deck.
A face lifted over the edge, peeking out. Whoever this was, they clearly had no idea where they were, any more so than the villagers had any idea who was on board the ship.
“Um,” said Meghan, recognizing the face peeking over the edge. “Billie?” she rushed towards the ship now. Ivan at her heels.
Billie stood up, making a motion that it was okay for everyone to join her. She looked stunned and there were numerous rips in her clothing.
“Meghan? Ivan?” Billie responded, her voice shaky. “Jae Mochrie,” she added, stunned at not only seeing him, but seeing him alive.
Jae sidled up alongside Meghan and Ivan. Meghan noted, somewhat jealously, that Jae looked rested.
“You... You’re dead,” stuttered Billie to Jae.
A man Meghan recognized as Noah Flummer appeared, holding someone appearing to be unconscious. “We need help,” he said. “She’s injured badly.”
Villagers raced forward to help the weary and stunned travelers. Seemingly, the fact that Meghan, Ivan, and Jae knew these people and were not afraid of them, meant they were friendly and it was okay to help them.
Ivan climbed up the side, offering help to a young woman trying with all her might to hold someone up. Her long dark locks were a tangled mess. When she turned, she nearly dropped the man she was holding. “Ivan Crane?”
“Maria,” he replied, equally shocked. He cleared his throat and grabbed hold of the man.
“Thank you. I didn’t think I would be able to hold him up much longer. He was stabbed in his back,” she explained, adding, “What are you doing here? Wait, strike that. Where exactly is here?”
“It’s a long story, but you’re in the encampment of the banished Svoda.” He saw her give a little start. “It’s perfectly safe here. You’re safe here.”
“Okay,” she breathed out. “I can’t believe you’re here. You. Of all people.”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“Oh, um, just that you’re someone I know. I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Right. Of course. Well, let’s get you off this ship and get this man some help.”
Ivan passed the man down to someone on the ground below, where he was whisked away to get treated for his injury.
He turned to help Maria off the boat and had to catch himself from letting his mouth hang open in the dread forming around his heart. Her coat was torn on one side, her shoulder exposed with blood trailing down her arm. There was an injury, but oddly, it looked to be healing already. Her coat was ripped to shreds and barely hanging onto her small frame at all. Like something had clawed at her, trying to dig into her skin.
What the hell happened to her? To them all?
He wordlessly got aboard and removed his own coat, then reached over and gently slid the remnants of her coat off and let it fall to the ground.
“You’ll freeze,” she argued as he wrapped his own coat around her.
“I’m fine,” he replied, shaken by what he’d just seen. He wanted to ask what had happened, but could not find his voice to ask. He started to climb down, Maria gladly accepting his assistance to get over the side and onto solid ground.
“I could just kiss the earth,” she whispered, finding her footing. “There were a few moments not too long ago, I didn’t think I’d ever set foot off that ship again.”
He had a difficult time letting go of her shoulders, afraid she might lose her footing and topple over. And he had this urge he’d never had before, to wrap her up and get her somewhere safe.
Billie strode over, patting Maria’s shoulder. “Thank you, Ivan,” she said. “Boy, it’s good to see a familiar face.”
He let go of Maria and she left to join other shipmates, now gathering nearby.
Meghan raced over. Billie saw her and they hugged.
“I- I don’t know how we got here,” said Billie, still stunned.
“Yes, that is a mystery,” said Meghan, lying. “But, Billie, can I just say how good it is to see you. We have been so worried about everyone on the island.”
“Yes, the island,” she said in a daze. “Maura. Wait, where’s Maura?”
“I’m here, Billie,” a voice returned. Maura was sitting on the ground next to an older woman, assisting her.
Billie took a deep breath. “We escaped the island, came seeking help. We nearly died today, all of us. But someone saved us. I don’t know who. I don’t how we got here.”
Escaped, Meghan thought. Why did she need to escape the island? What exactly was going on back there?
Nashua, the leader of the Tunkapog, alongside Curtis Bevins, the temporary leader of the banished, arrived to assess the situation. Arnon and Kanda arrived just behind them.
Meghan made the introductions.
It had been a long time, but most everyone actually remembered each other from their life on the island.
Noah Flummer and his wife came striding over, standing at his side. “We know how confusing this must be,” he told everyone. “We are equally confused, but there are pressing issues we must discuss. Is it possible to be granted a meeting with Amelia Cobb?”
“I’m afraid that is not possible,” said Curtis. “She’s no longer with us. Dead,” he clarified. “For reasons I shall not enter into right now.”
“Dead. Oh. I’m sorry,” said Noah, not sure of what else to say.
“Your arrival here is at an odd time. A time of transition,” Curtis explained. “But you’re welcome here.”
Nashua stepped forward, dressed in his white-skinned wolf-like furs.
“Why don’t you take time to recover, treat your wounded. We can speak in two hours’ time.”
Noah nodded that he agreed. The news that Amelia was dead had caught him off guard. It appeared that the island was not the only place in a transition, as the man named Curtis had said. It seemed that the entire magical community was in peril.
Meghan assisted the new arrivals, pointing them in the direction of the large meeting room near the center of the village, as it was being set up as a triage of sorts to help the new arrivals get cleaned up and recover from what must have been a harrowing experience.
When they had all gone, she noticed Ivan not too far away and raced over only to stop in her tracks. He was kneeling down holding the ankle of a girl Meghan recognized.
She bit her lip and tried to look away but Ivan caught her. She lifted her eyebrows towards Maria as if trying to send him some secret message.
He replied with a frown.
Maria looked up and saw Meghan. Her smile dropped a little.
Meghan knew it right then. This girl, Maria, liked Ivan. And he had more or less, admitted that he liked her too.
Meghan marched right up to Maria and extended her hand.
“Hi. I don’t think we have officially met before. Your name is Maria, right?”
Maria took her hand, her smile returning. “Yes. I am. That’s right. And you’re Meghan Jacoby?”
“I am. Are you injured badly?”
Ivan replied on Maria’s behalf. “It’s not bad. It happened after she got off the ship.”
“Caught a root,” said Maria, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment.
“Well, you are in the best hands,” said Meghan. She thought to herself, you know, this is a great opportunity to show Ivan the good side of having a little sister. I can get a good word in for him. So she added, “I happen to know for a fact, that Ivan’s hands are the best at just about everything he does,” she cut herself off and made a face that said, ick!
Ivan shot her a look that said, WHAT are you doing?
“Um, I meant to say, Ivan will take great care of you. Did I mention that Ivan and I are related? No...” Meghan felt her own face turning hot. Dumb! Guess I need pr
actice at being the little sister.
Maria nodded, and shook her head, in a very much confused manner.
“You’re related?” she asked, as Ivan helped her stand and test her ankle. “How is that possible?” she stopped herself. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to pry. It just surprised me.”
“You, me and him,” retorted Meghan. “Believe me when I say it is a really long story. Ivan, maybe you can tell her all about it sometime.”
Meghan tossed him a smile that said, You’re welcome.
His icy stare pleaded that she stop.
“You know, you handle strange really well,” said Maria to Meghan. “I’m afraid I’m still rather confused. I barely know where I am. One minute, we were sailing, I should say, sinking, on the ocean, and the next minute, we’re here.”
“I do handle weird a little too well,” agreed Meghan. “I think it just means I’m adjusting to my impossible-to-deal-with, screwed up life.”
“Oh,” Maria replied, clearly bewildered.
Meghan looked closely at Maria’s kindly face. A while back, when Meghan had guessed that Ivan had a thing for Maria, she had thought she was sixteen. It would make her about eighteen now if she’d been correct. Perhaps she had been wrong though. Maria had a grown up look about her. An old soul sort of look. Meghan wondered if Ivan knew her birthday, and if she could trick him into admitting it.
“Maria, when’s your birthday?” she asked boldly.
“It’s Meghan’s birthday today,” noted Ivan, thinking she was just fishing for happy birthdays; that, or he realized she was trying to get him to slip up and answer it on Maria’s behalf, admitting that he knew, which he could have.
He eyed Meghan suspiciously.
Meghan wore a wide toothy smile in reply.
Maria beamed watching the two of them react to each other. “Happy Birthday, Meghan,” she said. “What birthday is this?”
“Sixteen.”
“Sixteen is a good birthday. I celebrated nineteen a few months back myself.”
Meghan had been off by a year. And Ivan hadn’t fallen for her trick. She’d have to be sneakier. Setting up someone was not easy!
Control (The Blood Vision, The Immortality Stone, and The Woman in Glass) (A Fated Fantasy Quest Adventure Book 7) Page 6
