by Eliza Tilton
“Are all of you shapeshifters?”
“Yes. Reptilians are one of the shifter beings. We can copy certain intelligent life forms, other shifters can only transform into one specific type of creature.”
“Fascinating,” she whispered. “To think another world like ours exists . . . .”
Her response perplexed me. She didn’t seem frightened, and I wondered if the heat had affected her mind. She lay against the wood, staring out at the water.
“I wish I had something to drink.” She dipped her hand into the sea.
I had nothing to offer her, words or otherwise. Wind brushed against the waves creating a quiet hushed noise. We had a few more hours left of sunlight. The wind brought a cold scent. Something was coming, though I didn’t know what.
“Lucino . . . ?”
“Yes?”
“Can you not be Edward anymore?”
Since there was no reason not to, I transformed back.
Jeslyn squinted at me and smiled. “That’s better,” she said, and closed her eyes.
We drifted for the rest of the day. Jeslyn hummed, and I found her singing relaxed me. If signs of land didn’t appear soon, I’d have to make a decision. While I’d rather not let my sister know my current situation, I had little choice, and she would not let this mishap go without some type of reward. Even then, she may not find our location in time.
“What’s that?” Jeslyn sat up and peered across the water, using her hand to shield her eyes from the suns.
Water sprouted into the air in bursts. A giant creature broke through the surface of the water. It was the largest beast I had ever seen in Tarrtainya, a mix between a giant whale and turtle.
“Blues!” Jeslyn shouted and her smile reached to the ends of her cheeks. “I can’t believe I’m seeing a big blue. Grandfather always talked about how magnificent they were.”
“Our friend isn’t alone.”
More blues popped out of the water on all sides. Their bodies were a mix of smooth skin and barnacle, and a dark blue shell covered their backs. Strange echoes surrounded us. The blues spoke to one another. Their big bodies dipped in and out of the water. I counted five all together.
We floated alongside the blues. Jeslyn oohing and ahhing at them. I squinted at the strange current in front of us.
“This is not good.” I jumped into the water, kicking us in the opposite direction.
“What’s wrong?”
“Whirlpool. If we’re caught in it, we’re dead.”
She jumped in the water next to me and both of us started kicking furiously. We weren’t moving fast enough. The blues continued forward, unconcerned with the whirlpool ahead.
“I have an idea.” I summoned all my strength to boost us to the nearest whale. “When we’re in range, grab the blue. Use the barnacles to hold on.”
“You want to ride a blue?”
“Would you rather die in the water?”
The blue swam mere feet from us. “Now!” I yelled and we both hurried to the whale.
I grabbed hold first and reached for her hand, pulling her up. “Hold onto my back.”
She climbed on and wrapped her arms around my neck. Using the barnacled skin, I climbed to the top of the blue. The blues moved closer to the whirlpools, but then split apart from one another. Our whale veered left.
“Don’t let go of me,” I told Jeslyn.
“I won’t.”
We held on as the whales navigated the violent waters. The current was strong, and I was intrigued with how these giant creatures swam so easily. The whirlpool sucked in our float. It swirled around the waters until it finally disappeared. The blues maneuvered around the foaming current and were soon back to calm waters.
Jeslyn released her hold on my neck and slid off my back. The whale was wide enough to walk around on, and there was no fear of falling off due to the size and length. A patch of smooth shell was in front of us, so I waved her over and we sat.
“Lucino, what do we do when the blues dive?”
The suns positions stood midday.
“We still have time,” I said.
Romulus had mentioned a large sea creature like this. He said they would stay on the surface of the water during the day, absorbing the warmth of the suns, but when night came, they would dive back into deep water.
I had no choice. Regardless of what consequences faced me, I had to do it.
Lucy.
Calling out to my sister, I waited for her mental response, dreading each word she would say when I told her of my predicament.
Lucy.
It was unlike my sister to ignore me. In fact, she had never ignored me.
If you’re angry with me . . . now is not the time to show it.
Still no response.
The dead connection meant one thing, wherever Lucy was, it blocked our bloodline ability. A thing I didn’t think possible.
Jeslyn’s clothes stuck to her skin, and she slowly sat, her eyelids drooping. It had been almost two days without food and water. I didn’t know how much longer she would last. She rested against the blue, a soft smile on her lips.
“I never thought I would ever see a blue, let alone ride one.”
“This has been one interesting voyage.” I took off my shirt and rung out the water, then laid it down to dry in the sun.
Jeslyn looked at her own shirt.
“You should let it dry.”
She shook her head, horrified at the thought. “I’m fine.”
“You can leave the chemise on, but take this outer one off.”
I tugged at her shirt, and she smacked my hand away. “I can do it myself.”
I nodded and examined the barnacles covering the blue’s shell. Some of them were big enough to hold both my hands. I crawled around, searching the different holes.
Tiny crabs skittered around them. I grabbed one and smashed it against the barnacle, breaking its shell. I took a piece of the white meat and tasted it. The salty, smooth texture rejuvenated me, and I grabbed another three crabs.
I broke open another and fished out the white meat. “Here.” I handed Jeslyn the crab. “Eat.”
She sat, rubbing her eyes. “What is it?”
“Crab. I found some crawling around.”
“Thank you.” She took the pieces of meat and shoved them in her mouth, hastily eating all of it. Afterward, she sighed.
She stretched across the blue, closing her eyes, and I was surprised to find I quickly followed.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Jeslyn
Drops of rain startled me awake. I’d forgotten where I was until Lucino hugged me. At some point during our rest, we had slid closer to one another.
I opened my mouth trying to drink in every raindrop. My lips cracked from the suns, and my throat burned with thirst. The rain came slowly, but it was welcomed. I sat up and cupped my hands while drinking the falling drops. I let my hands fill with water, then drank from the small pool. Lucino quickly joined me.
We both smiled and laughed in the rain. My stomach filled with water, and the pain in my head dulled. I didn’t care my clothes were wet, or that soon I’d be cold. We would live another day.
“Lucino!” Panic replaced joy as I realized the suns were setting. “What are we going to do?”
“It’s not diving, none of them are . . . .”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Deep bass sounds from the whales harmonized around us. It was difficult to forget the danger we were still in. Their voices spoke in lows, and I wondered if they understood our predicament. Grandfather said blues were intelligent creatures. Were they protecting us?
The rain stopped and I lay on my back, gazing up at the painted sky, imagining how beautiful it must look filled with stars.
“My grandfather t
old me as long as stars fill the night, you can always find your way home.”
Lucino perched on his elbow, his body facing mine. “Stars have been a guide to me since I went on my first hunt.”
“Do we see the same stars?”
Our eyes met and an unspoken emotion, both longing and curious, ran through me. I wanted to see his stars.
“No,” he said.
He rubbed the blue, his hand inches from mine. Part of me wanted to reach out and touch him.
The sounds of the whales singing their life chorus, and the waves gently crashing against one another mingled into beautiful music.
“Are we going to die?” I asked.
“It’s not our time.” He ran a finger against my skin. “You’re cold,” he said in a husky voice.
I moved my body closer to his. “Just a little.”
He slid against me, wrapping his arm around my waist. My body nestled against his, and I breathed in his winter scent. With my head resting against his chest, the thump of his fast heart patted against my cheek. Was it fast because of me, or was he afraid of what would happen next?
I don’t want to die.
Fear threatened to give me tears, and I closed my eyes, pretending we were back in Daath at the sacred grotto.
“Jeslyn.” He sat straighter, and pointed. “Do you see that?”
I opened my eyes and followed his finger to where glowing pink dotted the waters. I scrambled to my feet, balancing myself. “Land!”
Lucino stood beside me. “Land? Are you sure?”
I bounced on my feet. “Yes. Those are a special type of plankton that glow at night. They wash up on shores. Grandfather told me about them when I was little. We should jump,” I said, “and swim there.”
Lucino stared ahead. I imagined his mind processing my words and creating a plan. He took our shirts that were lying on the whale, then removed his pants—I quickly turned my head.
“What are you doing?”
“Making a rope to tie us together.”
“That’s sensible.” I kept my eyes focused on the water. “How far do you think it is?”
“A knot or two. Distance is distorted out here. We could be swimming for a while.”
He tugged at my waist, looping the rope around it until it secured, then tied the end around his wrist, where he held it. “On my count.”
I nodded as we walked to the edge of the whale’s back.
“One . . . two . . . three.”
We plunged into the water, Lucino’s rope tugging me to the surface. In the sea, the big waves made it harder to see the luminescent lights. Both of us swam forward, the waves rolling us across the waters. The farther we swam, the farther the island seemed. My muscles ached, and water forced its way into my mouth with each breath.
“We’re closer,” Lucino said in between strokes.
I couldn’t respond, fearing if I lost my focus, I wouldn’t be able to continue swimming. I wasn’t athletic like my brother, but working on a farm did give me a bit of strength—strength I called on now.
The closer to the shore we came, the rougher the waves pushed me along. The tides were in our favor, but it was harder and harder to keep my head afloat.
Give me strength, I prayed. I refused to die now.
“Ride the waves to shore.” Lucino turned his head. “Here comes a big one.”
The sea rolled toward us. Ride the wave? How do I ride a wave?
The wave came and Lucino started paddling. I mimicked him, stretched out my arms, letting the water lift me and take me to shore. My muscles were fatigued, and the burn twisted my stomach.
“Again!” Lucino yelled as another wave came to take us the rest of the way.
This one crashed us into the shore. I went under the water, spinning in a whirlwind of sand. The water retreated, taking me with it. I swam harder as my lungs screamed for air.
Lucino pulled the rope, lifting me out. I broke the surface with a gasp. Before another wave crashed, Lucino lifted me into his arms and rushed to the shore. His strong legs were like trees, firmly planted in the sand and unwavering from the rough waves. Once we were free of the sea, he placed me on my feet and untied the rope.
I collapsed onto the sand, digging my hands into it and closing my eyes.
Land.
We were finally safe.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Avikar
“Ahh-choo!”
Not again. I shoved my head under the blanket.
“Ahh-choo!”
Number six. One more to go.
“Ahh-choo!”
Jonas had the strangest sneezing fits—always seven, and they were loud. His eyes would go wide, and his whole body would convulse forward. His nose must’ve gotten into something because he’d been sneezing on and off since he woke. No one else stayed in the shack with Jonas, even though there were other bunks. I guessed no one could sleep with his sneezing.
I threw the blanket off and swung my feet onto the floor, rubbing the grit out of my eye. Inside the tree, time was hard to tell. One of the workers marked the hour on a counter on the main level, but not seeing the suns rise and set unsettled me.
Jonas sat at the long table in the center of the room. I stood and stretched, looking at the carved figures he worked on. “What are those?”
“Woodlings. I make them from leftover wood.”
The one in his hand depicted a scene of two children playing on a swing.
“Those are good.” I leaned over, examining the more detailed lines. The children had faces with big smiles, and the swing had an intricate line of ivy running down the sides.
“People like to be reminded of the good things. With war upon us, everyone’s uptight.”
“War? What war?” I sat on the stool across from him.
“Everyone’s heard of the war. Where did you come from? The bogs?”
“I’ve been away for a while. Where I stayed, we don’t get many travelers.”
He took a metal instrument with a curved edge and scraped the wood in his hand. “The Nomad King is raising an army.”
“An army? Against who?”
“He plans to take the throne.”
Impossible. The Nomad King lived in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but sand and stone. The Purring destroyed the desert lands two hundred years ago, a place now inhabited by bandits and roamers.
“Why would he go against the king? He’ll be slaughtered.”
Jonas frowned. “He’s been recruiting mages. If he gets enough, he’ll give the king’s army a good fight.”
“Excuse me. I need to find Cael.”
He nodded and went back to carving his woodlings.
Before I searched for Cael, I walked to the shack where Raven stayed. A young woman holding a basket of linens walked out.
“Is Raven in there?”
The woman shook her head and passed me on the wooden bridge.
The hideout wasn’t large, but there were too many shacks and walkways to search. I turned around, following the woman to the main floor. I was almost to the winding stairs when Raven laughed.
“When did you become such a brute?”
Raven laughed again. “I told you, you can’t beat me!”
Below me, Cael and Raven stood, heaving and full of sweat. Cael grabbed a pitcher from the floor and drank from it. He wiped his mouth and handed the pitcher to Raven, who took three heavy gulps. He waited for her to finish before picking up the staff.
“Again,” he said, letting her take the offensive position.
I wasn’t stupid to think I was the only person Raven ever sparred with, but watching her with Blond Boy made me want to take her place and wallop him good.
She snapped the staff at him. Her hands guided the weapon in fast arcs that Cael blocked. He swiped his staff forward a
nd she ducked, smacking him in the shins.
“Ouch.” He laughed and stepped back.
Raven grinned. “Should I take it easy?”
The staff bounced in her hands.
“No.”
Cael swung the staff, Raven blocked. I loved watching her fight. Her body moved around her opponent in a swift dance, as if she sensed where they planned to attack next, a skill that went beyond logic. She put Cael on the defensive, and I walked down the rest of the steps to wait for them to finish.
Raven arced high, twisting her hip out of Cael’s stance and slapped him on the back with her weapon.
“Avikar!” She spotted me leaning against the wall and skipped over.
“Giving Blond Boy a workout this morning?”
“He thinks I’m still the young girl who couldn’t throw a dagger.”
“I still think I can beat you,” Cael chimed in.
“What is it?” Raven touched my arm.
“Did you know about a war?”
Her puzzled brow indicated she didn’t.
“So, Jonas told you of the war?” Cael dropped the staff against the weapons rack. “I wanted to tell you, but when I left, the mage army was just a rumor.”
Mage army? War? Thousands of lives in danger . . . I needed to return to Lakewood. Our village was in the center of Tarrtainya, right along the main trade route—a territory both sides would fight for control of.
“Are you ready to meet General Malak?” Cael asked.
I nodded. The sooner I met Malak, the sooner we could leave. I squeezed Raven’s hand before leaving, a gesture that spoke everything I couldn’t say. She nodded and squeezed back. I imagined her words in my head: Be careful.
Cael led me to the last place I would want to go, or anyone would want to go: the cleaner station.
Pine hung in large bundles from the ceiling, but it did little to cover the acrid odor from the sewage. A pile of soiled buckets sat next to a row of large hot tubs steaming with bubbles. A woman dumped brown sludge into a hole in the ground, then tossed the bucket into the soap tub.
I covered my nose, and even still, the putrid scent made me gag.
