It’s getting harder to ignore the cold and I wonder if it hasn’t started to affect my ability to reason. I sit against the far wall, hoping my body heat will rebound off the walls and create a pocket of warmth. I hate how helpless I feel. And that’s when I hear them.
“This is madness!” It’s Kai’s voice, full of anger and denial.
“If we don’t help her, they’ll execute her in the morning. Can you live with that on your conscience?” Ethan asks.
“She killed and maimed several of my people. She is a monster, Ethan. A quick death is more than she deserves.”
“You don’t really believe that or you wouldn’t be here. Isn’t that right?”
I hear the sound of a scuffle. Someone lands on top of the hatch with a loud THUD!
“What was that for?!” Ethan asks, his voice full of shock and anger.
“You don’t get to tell me what I believe,” Kai growls, breathing hard.
“We’re wasting time! Help me get this latch open,” insists Ethan.
I hear the sound of metal hitting metal then someone is fumbling with the latch. The door is flung open and the first thing I see is the moon, full and bright. Moonlight is replaced by the dark shape of someone’s head.
“Quick! We don’t have much time before the guards come back,” Ethan says, reaching a hand out. I grab it without hesitation, grateful for the warmth and security it represents. “How bad did they hurt you?” he asks, turning me side to side, inspecting for injuries.
“I’m fine, Ethan. Let’s just get out of here,” I say. “Thank you for once again getting me out of a sticky situation.” I catch sight of Kai who choses that moment to step out of the shadows. “And thank you,” I say. I know this can’t be easy for you.”
Kai looks dark and menacing in the moonlight. His body is held tight with barely concealed anger. “If I ever catch you in my village again, I’ll kill you myself,” he says in a whisper, that although quiet it is no less threatening.”
“Will you let me explain?” I beg.
“Just go,” Kai says, with less conviction this time. He turns to leave.
“Fine! Just walk away. We don’t need your help anyway,” Ethan calls in a loud whisper.
“That’s right,” replies Kai. “You don’t need my help. That’s something you both decided a long time ago.”
The truth of his words are like a blow to my stomach. I feel like I’ve failed in some crucial way. Like Kai is the missing link and I’m ruining any chance of future success by letting him walk away.
Any thought of chasing after Kai is dashed by the sound of Tupaea’s warriors coming our way. If Kai is somehow to play a part in the return of Sol Fyre, now is not that time. I must trust that fate has some bigger plan that is out of the scope of my understanding. Why else would I still be alive?
Chapter 25
The sound of angry cries and broken underbrush is getting closer. Together, Ethan and I, take off running through the bush, toward the ocean, toward my destiny.
We reach the same shore, I first set foot on, when coming to this island. I find my pearls buried right where I left them. But everything is different now.
Feeling the weight of them in my hands, I no longer feel bound to what they represent. I have a new path, one that will test my courage and resolve. It will either lead me to my death or transform me into something new, like the phoenix’s rebirth in the flames.
I turn to Ethan and hold out the pearls. “For that horse you’ve been wanting,” I say.
“I can’t, Ava. If you took the trouble to bury them they must be important to you,” Ethan says, still out of breath.
“I think I’ve outgrown them.” I smile. “I have need of only one pearl now. Besides, where I’m going, they would just be a nuisance.” Ethan hesitantly takes them from me, his hand returning to his side. The pearls dangle from his fingertips, reflecting the moonlight.
“I wish I could come with you.”
“This is for the best. Kai’s going to need you in the days ahead.”
“Yeah, right,” Ethan replies.
“Ethan,” I hesitate. I don’t have time for this. “Vailea is here on the island.”
“I don’t understand. How is that possible?”
“I saw her when they were bringing me out of the meeting house. She’s the one who revealed my identity.”
“She’s taking quite a chance coming up on land. Won’t that make her weaker?” Ethan asks.
“I don’t know,” I say. “She has the pearl; who’s to say what she can do now.”
“Wait! Do you think she has it with her, here on the island?”
“It’s possible,” I concede. “But I can’t take that chance. I’m no use to anyone dead. I think…” I continue, “if it’s me she wants, my leaving will draw her away from you, from Kai, and the village.” Please let it be me she wants.
“Don’t worry about us, Ava. We can take care of ourselves. Kai’s trained his whole life for just such a moment as this, remember?”
There is so much more I want to say, but we’re out of time. “If they catch you here, Ethan…”
Ethan wraps his arms around me in a tight embrace, effectively cutting me off from further blundering.
“Go save the world, princess,” says Ethan, using the nickname Kai coined for me all those many days ago. And just like that, he’s gone, running across the sand, yelling and making such a commotion, as to draw our pursuers away.
I turn, placing one foot in front of the other, cool wet sand sliding between my toes. Then I’m at the water’s edge, peering out at the glassy sea. The moonlight’s reflection is a beacon of light, welcoming me home.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Māori Words
Aotearoa – land of the long white cloud,
E kore ahau haurangi ahau! – I am not mad!
He haurangi koe, wahine? – Are you mad, woman?
hangai – earth oven
harakeke – flax plant
horopito – pepper
iti ika – Little fish
Kahurangi pounamu – greenstone
karamu – a shrub
kopu – evening star
kuri – Maori dog
lāunga – complainer
mana – power
merrow (Irish) – mermaid
Ngāi Te Rangi – a Māori tribe
Ngati Hangarau – a neighboring tribe
Pākehā – European settlers
rangatira – well-born, status
taniwha, – monsters of the deep
tapu – sacred
Tere! Ka kitea e rātou he tinana iho i te one. – Quick! They found a body down by the beach.
Titiwai – glow worms
Tohunga matakite – foreteller of the future
tohunga – expert healer
Utu – payment
whai – string
wairua – ghost
waka – canoe
Whakaari – White Island
whare – hut
wharenui – meeting house
Special Thanks
Much like raising a child, it takes a village to write and publish a book. My village consisted of multiple friends and family who cheered, rooted, pushed, and believed in me.
Thank you mom for advising and guiding me through my indecision and uncertainty.
Hannah, Chelsey, Janice, and Vanessa for being my beta readers.
Geoff, for keeping me accountable through the writing process.
Thank you Sean, for sharing your enthusiasm and desire to write, with your aunt. You can do anything through Christ Jesus who strengthens you! He will give you the vision and determination to see any project through to the end.
Maggie and Melissa for helping me hone my writing skills through the years. And for loving this story in its baby stages.
And thank you, Jordan, for supporting me in this venture. What freedom to know, that no matter what, you still love me and think I am something special.
; About the Author
HEATHER ZWYGART is prone to bouts of day dreaming (and night dreaming), her head full of stories just waiting to be told. She takes life very seriously. To remedy that, God blessed her with two delightful daughters. In her spare time… what spare time? *chuckle, chuckle* She gleans inspiration from her girls while enjoying the antics of her three goats and six chickens. She lives in Idaho where country music and cowboys still do exist.
For more information, visit:
www.twitter.com/hzwygs
www.facebook.com/heatherzwygartauthor
Lady of the Sea: The Aureate Chronicles, Book One Page 11
