by J. D. Wilde
Grace leads me around the ship because I would never be able navigate its twisted halls by myself. I cannot believe how complicated this is. I would get lost and never seen again if I had to get around on my own. There are way too many rooms lining the corridors and random staircases leading to all the different levels.
After taking a set of stairs up, we somehow wind up towards the back of the ship in a hanger-like place. There are several boats like the one that picked us up yesterday lining against the walls. Some of them are off to the side where workers are performing maintenance and repairs.
Grace orders one of the men here to drop us down as she climbs into a boat in the back of the hanger. When she is in, she offers me a hand up. Once I’m in, the people who had been working around the area all start yelling and barking orders at each other. An alarms buzzes as the floor beneath us opens, and we begin slowly descending towards the calm ocean water. Grace flips a switch in the back of the boat, and the engine begins to roar. For such a tiny boat it makes an incredible amount of noise. I am not about to start complaining though. The boat is as fast as it is loud, and we arrive at the shore in no time.
Thankfully there are no longer any dead bodies amongst the sands, but there are still several signs a fierce battle was fought. A lot of blood has dried on top of the sand, and there are plenty of empty bullet cartridges and broken arrows. There are also hundreds of footprints heading back towards the village.
“I’m surprised no one came to greet us,” Grace says as we follow the footprints along the trail.
“Do they normally meet you on the shore?” I ask.
“Yes, normally there are several guards on watch whose sole purposes as of late have been watching our ship,” she replies.
The rest of the walk is quiet between the two of us except for the occasional grunt as we travel along the narrow, worn path. My large bow and Grace’s long scythe are not making it easy because they get caught on the vines and branches. When we arrive at the village entrance, we are unable to progress. The thick jungle vegetation that formed a wall yesterday is back.
“Think they’ll let us in if we knock politely?” Graces playfully muses.
“Doubtful,” I respond.
“Should I go attempt to steal some of their rocks?” Grace continues to try and make light of the situation, but that is not what we need. I warn her to take this seriously. If we are going to pull this off, I need Grace and Adira to be able to work together.
“Fine, fine. We will do it your way. So how exactly are we going to get them to let us in o’ great leader?” she questions.
I sigh because she had a point when she offered to go steal some of the green stone. The only way it appears these doors will budge any time soon is if the people behind them are antagonized enough to open them. I would like to avoid another unpleasant confrontation though, so I take a closer look at the symbol. The vines intertwined again to form a tree just like before. I touch it with my hand armed with Jo’s claw armalo, and the vines separate. I look over the claw and see the same tree symbol on the bottom.
“That’s the tree of life symbol,” Grace observes aloud. She grabs my wrist to look at it and asks how I managed to get it.
I do not get to tell her, as the gate has completely opened and all of the villagers are looking at us. Several of the warriors have readied their weapons. Grace shifts her position to prepare for a fight, but I stop her. We are not going to be fighting them today.
“So, the symbol is genuine,” Adira calls from the back. Several of her people turn back with confused expressions as she orders them to stand down. Their mouths practically hit the ground when Adira invites both Grace and me in.
Grace and I walk to Adira who is waiting for us in the back. When we arrive where Adira is standing, she turns and leads us into her hut which appears to be just like the others on the outside. It is not the same on the inside.
Incense are burning providing a calm and relaxing ambience and the wooden floor is nearly covered entirely in an exotic, rich violet rug. A large piece of the green stone is positioned on top of a stand located in the middle against the wall. Adira takes three mats out from a small box, handing one to Grace, another to me, and keeping the third for herself. She unrolls it and sits down, so Grace and I do as well.
When we are situated, she begins by thanking Grace for showing respect to their dead last night. Grace says there is not a need to thank her, and I’m a little shocked. I expected her to take advantage of Adira's non-confrontational attitude, but I guess I really shouldn’t be all that surprised. She is Death’s daughter. If there is one thing I should expect from her, it is that she takes death seriously.
“All the same, I wanted you to know your actions did not go unnoticed. It was one of the reasons I didn’t let my warriors kill you when you entered our village uninvited,” Adira says.
“And the other reasons?” Grace curiously asks.
“She opened the gate,” Adira says and gives a nod my way, “which means the symbol on her wrist guard is genuine. Where did you get it?”
“It is an armalo like my bow, Grace’s scythe, and I’m assuming your hidden blade,” I answer. Adira looks down at her wrist, and I cannot believe I did not notice it before. The same overwhelming sense of power I felt with Grace’s scythe is emitting from the hidden blade, and I realize I really need to start paying more attention to my surroundings.
“What are you talking about?” Adira questions, so I answer. I tell her everything I told Grace. I again choose to not inform my sister about what would happen if one of them or I died because it is too early. I know neither Grace nor Adira trust the other one or me not to kill her, but everything else is included. The dragons, us being sisters, the whole deal. With a little bit of luck, I won’t have to tell them about being the anchor, and we can successfully save the world without them finding it out. Avoiding the additional fighting that will break out if they discover the truth is my current goal because I have a strong feeling there will be plenty of fighting between us regardless.
Chapter 9
As I tell Adira why I am here, her expressions mimic the ones Grace gave me, but that’s not as bad as it appears. I can tell she thinks this is all crazy, but deep down, she believes me. That is what is most important. After I’m done explaining, I watch her as she deliberates and analyzes every word I said. I’m not worried because I know she, just like Grace, can sense I’m not lying.
After Adira thinks about it, she actually relaxes a little. However her relaxed state of mind does not last long when I inform her we need to leave soon. Sethos will destroy everything if we don’t.
“I cannot leave,” Adira declares. She refuses to leave the island claiming her people need her to protect them. She argues as their priestess she cannot simply go as she pleases.
“If we don’t figure this out, they are as good as dead anyway,” Grace fires back, and I sigh. I wanted to avoid a large argument, but it does not look like I’m going to get my wish. Grace, however, does have a fair point when she remarks the island will be swarmed with those creatures sooner or later, and there is no way one priestess is going to be able to defeat them all by herself. “Whether you like it or not, you need our help,” Grace finishes.
“I’m not abandoning my people to chase after something that may help. If you want me to take one step off this island, I need definitive proof that there is a fantastic reason I’m leaving,” Adira says with her teeth clenched as she stands up.
Grace grabs my arm and stands up dragging me up with her. She lets go before I can find my footing, so I stumble a little but manage to not fall. I try to calm them and break up the fight, but neither Grace nor Adira are listening. Grace is right in front of Adira’s face, and this fight can turn physical very quickly if I do not interfere further. Both of their voices are rising, and their bodies become tenser. I reach to pull Grace back a little, but she pushes me off. I stammer back and nearly knock over the stone. I catch it and the stand before they
come crashing down. Since the stone is in my hands, it begins to burn a bright white just like in the cave.
I turn to see Grace and Adira looking at me. Grace has already seen this, but Adira looks like she has suffered a stroke. I put the stone back quickly because I fear I have done something wrong. The last thing I need is for Adira to think I am trying to offend her. I start to apologize and claim it was an accident when Adira falls to her hands and knees and bows her head.
“I think we’ve lost her,” Grace says. “You broke her, Lux.”
“I am not broken!” Adira exclaims. “She is the child of light!”
“We just covered that,” Grace states clearly agitated and, to be honest, I am as well. Grace is correct. We literally covered this a few minutes ago.
“The Viroca burns white in your presence. You are the vanquisher of evil as the prophecy foretells,” Adira explains. She goes to a stand behind her which has a drawer attached to it and pulls out a piece of paper before handing it to me. “The wise men and women found this with me when they found me as a baby.” She appears to think I should completely understand what she is talking about, but I don’t. I was never told by the dragons there was a prophecy. This little paper means nothing to me. I cannot tell this to Adira because Grace elbows me in the gut before I can utter a single word.
“Yes, the great child of light. Are you ready to assist her?” Grace questions, and I want to roll my eyes so badly. She cannot seriously believe that is going to work.
Adira starts speaking so quickly her words are blending together. Most of it isn’t comprehendible, but I do manage to hear her bring up how the prophecy has always been important to their beliefs and customs. Adira excuses herself stating she must speak to the wise men and women but will be back shortly. She runs swiftly exiting her hut, and I’m dumbfounded. It seriously worked. Grace smiles as soon as Adira is out of sight and says that for once she thinks the jungle people’s crazy religion is going to help her.
“Grace, I have no idea what she is talking about with that prophecy,” I say with the same stumped expression on my face.
“I know. I could tell by that stupid expression you were making, but she doesn’t need to know that,” Grace explains.
“We need her to trust us,” I argue.
“Exactly,” Grace retaliates, “Right now, she thinks your some high and mighty power sent to save everyone foretold by a bunch of old loons. She finds that more believable than your story.”
“But my story is the truth,” I continue to fight. It might not have been the complete truth as some key details are missing, but it was more accurate than whatever prophecy Adira was talking about.
“And deep down, just like me, she knows that. But that story isn’t going to be enough to get her to leave her people. This, you being the grand child of light, is, so let’s just go with it for now. Sooner or later she’ll figure it out. If she’s really our sister, she cannot be that stupid,” Grace says.
I feel awful. I’m already lying to both of them by not telling them about how I’m the anchor. There are so many ways this can backfire, but Adira isn’t going to leave just because we are sisters and I’m asking nicely. The only way she is coming is if they deem me being the person in the prophecy more important than whatever is currently happening on the island.
After several minutes, Adira enters the hut again and declares she will in fact be joining us. I still feel bad about lying, but my muscles relax because I’m relieved Adira has agreed to join us.
The three of us exit the hut to leave the village together. Several of the villagers are outside, and they wish me and Adira well as we pass. They seem intent on ignoring Grace, but at least they aren’t being overly malicious. Because we are being wished well by nearly everyone in the village, Adira and I fall behind Grace. She is leaning against the entrance wall as she waits for us. I’m about to rush out of this crowd to join her when I see a small boy walk up to her. He extends his small hand out to her. Grace looks at him and gives a slight smile. She takes the boy’s offering, and he runs off as soon as she does.
Adira has also noticed what just occurred and explains the boy lost his father last night. He heard about Grace’s crew tending to the bodies and wanted to thank her despite the majority of the village being against it. They might have appreciated Grace being kind to their dead, but Grace’s troops were probably the reason some of them died in the first place. I can’t blame them for not wanting to become best friends with her.
“We ready?” Grace questions when Adira and I finally pull out of the crowd, “Are you done shaking everyone’s hand like we’ve already won?”
“Are you going to be this irritating the entire time?” Adira immediately retorts. She places her hand against the wall again, and the path to the shore appears when the vines are done disconnecting.
“Of course,” Grace simply responds. I roll my eyes at both of them, though neither notice. These two really are not going to make this a smooth process. We walk out with Grace in front, me in the center, and Adira behind.
“It’s going to get worse no matter what, isn’t it?” Adira whispers in my ear because she does not want Grace to know she is worried.
“Everything is going to be all right, Adira. I promise,” I comfort in a hushed tone. My words seem to have worked as Adira slightly smiles and relaxes at bit more as we continue walking. I’m glad they came out much stronger than I thought they would, so at least one of us feels better. I have in reality made myself more nervous than before. I made my first ever promise; I only hope I can keep it.
Before we leave the beach, Grace turns to me and asks what the plan is. Adira also voices her curiosity about what exactly I have in mind, and boy are they both about to be disappointed. I don’t have a plan.
Getting the two of them to work together is my plan, and since they both agreed to, I’m stuck on how we shall proceed. Neither of the two are pleased to hear this, and for the first time since I’ve met them, they both agree on something. Neither Grace nor Adira are leaving the island till we have something in place that we all agree on.
Their agreeableness with each other does not last long. Both are yelling and screaming about how the other one’s plan won’t work. Their constant bickering is getting us nowhere, so I ask Adira why we can’t use some of the stone from the cave. After she shows hesitation to tell us, Grace asks nicely claiming she just wants to understand what the big deal is. Adira relents and finally tells us the reason.
The stone, or Viroca as it called by her people, is not a lifeless rock. It is a living creature directly connected to the island through its water, soil, and sand. Every living being on the island whether it plant or animal is connected to it. To mine the stone and take it away is killing a piece of the island.
It’s interesting and farfetched. I’m not the only one who is not convinced; the explanation is not enough for Grace either. She continues to question Adira with her voice full of skepticism, so Adira elaborates. The Viroca is connected to the island through its water and soil. Both the animals and human drink the water and eat the plants grown in this ground. Over time the Viroca becomes a part of them, and connects the living beings around one common core. This connection is how the islanders tamed the large jungle cats I saw on the beach.
I get it, but Grace is still sporting a confused look. She asks how a merchant got a piece of it to sell as jewelry if it is so sacred and important, which causes Adira’s facial expression to match Grace’s. Adira claims until Grace showed up, no one touched the Viroca making it either very old or not from the island. She is leaning towards not from the island, since the Viroca cannot live for a long period of time without being connected to its large host where the nutrients are stored.
Grace does not buy it and pressures further insisting the man stated the stone came from here, but Adira does not budge. She stands strong as she hisses back that either the man or merchant is lying then. I break up their fight yet again with a plan of our next move in my min
d. We are going to find the merchant in Oriare.
Grace feigns deafness and asks me to speak up because she cannot believe I want them to sneak into a locked down country to find a jeweler. Her attitude is going to get annoying very quickly, but I keep myself composed. I calmly ask if she has any better ideas, knowing full well she does not.
While I personally side with Grace and doubt the rock is as important as Adira claims, we need to respect her customs if she is going to willingly work with us. This jeweler is therefore our only lead, and arguing about it gets us nowhere. He might have more information we can use, and Jo was correct about something dark happening in Oriare. As far as I can tell, it was as good a place to start as any.
Grace narrows her eyes at me as she admits she does not have any better plan besides angering Adira and using the Viroca, and since Adira has no better place to start either, I speak. “Adira says that piece of Viroca didn’t come from the island, and if it did, it is really old. The way I see it, either the merchant is getting it from somewhere else or manipulating it to last significantly longer than it should.”
“Or, Adira is wrong,” Grace disagrees.
“We have to trust each other Grace,” I say. “Adira, your sister, is saying it didn’t come from the island.”
Grace really does not want to stop arguing. I know this is tough for her, but she really does need to start listening to and trusting us. If not for her world, then at least for her own life. “Fine,” she relents after pacing around on the beach for a few minutes. “I’m obviously not going to win this one, so let’s go to Oriare then.”
Chapter 10
“This is ridiculous,” Adira complains for what has to be the tenth time since we got up this morning.
“Our sister’s great plan was to find the merchant in Oriare, so you are just going to have to cope with it,” Grace whispers harshly back. “We need to blend in!”
