by Rain Oxford
“Go back inside, Sky, you don’t understand.”
“I hope you choke on your rules, Berry. Come on, Endra.” She and the younger girl went back inside.
“If anyone else has a problem with sacrificing these three to the monster, tell me now.”
“If we have a problem with it, are you going to tie us up, too?” the sorcerer asked.
“Yes.”
“Then I don’t.”
“Neither do I.”
An eerie howl echoed through the trees, birds took flight, and lightning crackled in the sky. The children ran for the cabin. “You can’t leave us out here!” Shae cried. The others ignored him and Merlin howled, calling for the monkey. “Don’t do that! The monster will hear you!”
The fire flickered dangerously as stormy winds grew. “How do we fight the monster?” I asked Shae. “What are his weaknesses?”
“He has none.”
“Everyone has a weakness. Where is the monkey?”
The forest around us suddenly fell silent, as if all the animals had fled. Not even the leaves rustled, although the fire continued to flicker. The wind was only in the clearing.
“Merlin, what do we… Merlin?” He wasn’t moving and I couldn’t see if his eyes were open. “Merlin!”
Still no response.
I started panicking until I felt Merlin’s calmness in my mind. It wasn’t as strong as usual, but I quickly realized why; he was having a vision.
I tried to wiggle out of my ropes, at least enough to free my arm. Then I froze when something moved behind me. I heard a stick snap, followed by footsteps in the leaves. “Shae, can you see what’s behind me?”
“No. I don’t want to see him. I don’t want him to see me.”
“Can you distract him with an illusion?”
“No.”
Well, that was useless. I tried again to reach for my knife, but I could hear breathing at that point. Fire wasn’t going to stop it this time.
“Close your eyes,” Merlin said. He was awake.
“What did you see in your vision?”
“Never mind that. I know what monster it is. Trust me. Close your eyes and take a deep breath.” I did. “Now stop being afraid.”
“What? It’s not that easy.”
“Nevertheless, you must. Trust me.”
I did. Merlin was hundreds of years old, had traveled many worlds, and was trained in magic by a dragon. If he said he knew what monster it was, I believed him. Despite taking many deep breaths and trying to clear my mind, I was keenly aware that the monster was in front of me. A cold breath brushed my face. My heart pounded out of control.
“Don’t eat me.”
“Do not open your eyes. Stay calm.”
“I am calm. I’m calmly asking the monster not to eat my face. I sound calm, don’t I? Is this calm enough? I don’t think I could be any calmer. I don’t know for sure, though, because I’ve never had to calmly ask a monster not to eat my face. And if he doesn’t stop breathing in my face I’m going to break my record of not screaming in terror. I’m completely calm, though. I’m so calm I’m about to need new underwear.”
Instead of interrupting my rant with instructions, Merlin pushed the image of a flowering tree into my mind. I recognized the tree from some of his memories, as it grew in front of the cabin that he had lived in with Caedmon when he was a child.
Caedmon, who taught him wisdom and life skills, was very strict with Merlin without being cruel, so he reminded me a lot of my father. Sitting under the tree was Merlin’s most peaceful memory, which I felt through the connection as strongly as his words.
His vision was so effective that I momentarily forgot I was in danger. Thus, I jumped, shrieked, and started thrashing when someone grabbed me.
“Be quiet!” Shae whispered.
I opened my eyes to see him cutting the rope. “What…? How did you get loose?”
“I wasn’t tied up at all. When I explained to Berry that you had fixed the ship and we could leave, he said I betrayed him. I made an illusion of myself and that’s what they tied up.”
Once I was loose, I pulled my dagger out of my boot and started cutting Merlin free. I was surprised the children hadn’t searched my pockets. “What happened to the monster?” I asked.
“He just disappeared.”
“I will explain when we are safe,” Merlin promised.
“I need to get my staff.”
“Did you kill the monster?” We turned around to see Sky and one of the boys. Sky, who had asked the question, was pointing my staff at me. Although its magic couldn’t be used against me, it made for an exceptional blunt weapon.
“No, but he’s gone for now.”
Sky and the boy glanced at each other worriedly, no doubt afraid the monster would reappear any moment. “Will you take us with you?”
“We were willing to take all of you before you attacked us.”
“Berry doesn’t like to listen to anyone else,” the boy said.
“You don’t know him like the rest of us, Rusty. He was only trying to protect us,” Sky argued.
“Then you can stay with him. I want to leave.” He took my staff from her and held it out for me to take. I grabbed it before he could change his mind. “I’m Rusty, a mage, and this is Sky, a witch. Berry is being unreasonable. Please take us with you.”
I patted his arm. “I’m not going to hold his stubbornness against you. Let’s go.”
Despite defending Berry, Sky didn’t need any convincing. Using my staff to provide light, we made it to the beach pretty easily, only to find the monkey fighting six sherkies. At first, I had no idea what was going on. In fact, it looked like the sherkies were trying to escape the island on the ship.
“They are trying to eat the sap!” Merlin said. The monkey was guarding the ship.
At that moment, one of the sherkies got past the monkey, hopped on the ship, and tore off one of the bark panels. I pointed my staff at him. “Stop him!” Magic shot through me and struck the creature, turning him into a wooden statue. “That’s new…” I said, confused. My staff must have been tired of turning foes into stone.
“The monkey needs help,” Merlin reminded me.
“Right. Rusty and Shae, get another piece of bark and more sap to replace the one the sherky broke. Sky, defend the ship, and---”
“I don’t have a wand,” Sky interrupted.
The monkey was holding my wand in one of his tentacles. I held out my hand. “Monkey!” He flung it to me and I caught it easily. “Here, see if this works, but be gentle with it.”
She took it hesitantly. “You’re a sorcerer. Why do you have a wizard’s wand?”
“I’ll explain later. Defend the ship or we’re not going anywhere.”
She pointed the wand at it and sparkly white magic flowed out. The energy coated the wooden ship with snow-like dust. When a second sherky got past the monkey and tried to tear off a piece of bark, it couldn’t. Meanwhile, I attacked the sherky that had gotten on the monkey’s back. In effort to avoid hitting my monkey, my magic shot too high and missed. Merlin jumped right into the fight, leaping over the monkey and crashing into the sherky. Before the creature hit the ground, it was dead.
I felt bad for it, but at the same time, I knew Merlin needed to eat.
I turned two more sherkies into wooden statues while Merlin and the monkey took care of the remaining two.
By then, Rusty and Shae had returned and started to patch the ship. I helped them by hardening the sap. “Let’s go.”
“Can you wipe the blood off your wolf, please? It’s making me a little sick,” Shae said.
Merlin’s face, chest, and front paws were covered in blood. It was gross, but I wasn’t foolish enough to tell him so.
“You are the last person who should be lecturing me on hygiene, young magician. Are you allergic to water?”
“Both of you, stop. We need to get out of here before---”
“Don’t move, any of you!”
“�
�� before that happens.” We turned to face Berry and the remaining four children. Berry and Cyril pointed their bows at us. “I’m getting really tired of people trying to stop me from saving everyone.”
“I told you that you couldn’t leave!” Berry said, sounding whiny rather than commanding.
“Oh, stick a cork in it and grow up,” Merlin growled.
Merlin was the most patient person (or wolf) I’d ever met, so when he lost his temper, I knew the situation was serious. “We don’t have time to waste arguing with you. Either come with us or go away.” I pointed my staff at him in warning. “Sky, keep protecting the ship.”
“I’ve got it,” she said.
“Just because you’re old doesn’t mean we’ll listen to you!” Berry said.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not old.”
“Focus,” Merlin reminded me.
“You’re not leaving and you’re not taking anyone with you!”
“We are out of time.”
“Fine. If you want to stop us, Berry, you’ll have to fight me.”
“I’m not fighting you! It’s not fair!”
“Because of my magic? Fine. You drop your bow and I’ll drop my staff. Hurry, though, or we’re just going to leave.”
Berry handed his bow and arrow to Cyril. “You shouldn’t have challenged me. I’m a warrior!”
“That actually explains a lot.” I was surprised more of the children on the island weren’t. Since honor was so important to warriors, those who learned responsibility too slowly were often expelled from their guilds.
I handed my staff to the monkey right as Berry charged me. I considered dodging him at the last moment, but he would have went flying into the ocean, so instead, I put one foot back to brace myself. When he crashed into me, I pushed down, not back, and his feet slid between mine. He held still, stunned and confused as to why he was suddenly on the ground.
“How…? You’re so scrawny!”
“Size isn’t most important in a fight. I’m fighting because I can’t afford to lose. You have nothing to win. You won’t win the fight every time. I’ve learned that the hard way. However, if you learn from your mistakes, and the mistakes of others, and if your heart is in it, you’ll win the important fights.”
“I will beat you!” he yelled.
“Not today.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet.
He tried to punch me in the face, but I caught his fist, jerked his arm behind his back, and shoved him away. After several more failed attempts to hit me, he collapsed in the sand and started crying. “You can’t take them.”
“You don’t have the right to keep them here against their will.”
“They’re all I have. I don’t want to be alone.”
I grabbed his arm and pulled him back up. “I’m not trying to separate you from your friends! We can take all of you!”
“But as soon as we leave, we’ll be separated.”
“Why?”
“Because we have different magic and families.”
“So? I’m living at a wizard’s castle with a bunch of different magic-users who aren’t related to me or each other. In fact, a number of them are warriors.”
“You talk like a warrior. That doesn’t mean the others will stay with me.”
“Why wouldn’t we?” Sky asked. “You’re bossy and you don’t listen to anyone else, but we know you’re only trying to protect us. We may not like you, but we’ve needed you. I think most of us would rather stay with you after we got out of here.”
“I don’t want to stay here,” Cyril said hesitantly.
“But I don’t want things to change,” Berry said, sniffling. As he wiped his tears on his dirty sleeves, it left dark streaks of mud.
“If you want your friends to be happy, you sometimes have to sacrifice your own happiness.”
“They don’t understand! The world is full of rules and punishments.”
“I know.”
“Ayden, we need to leave now!” Merlin insisted urgently.
“This is your last chance. Merlin, me, and anyone who wants to go with us is leaving now, and we’re not coming back for anyone.” I headed for the boat. It was small enough for me to climb into. The monkey grabbed Merlin and set him in the boat next to my bag. Sky helped Rusty into the ship and then we both pulled her and Shae up.
Berry bit his lip, undecided, and the other children watched him. Eagerness and hope was all over their faces. “We need to stick together either way,” the sorcerer said, “but I really want to go.”
“Merlin has a lot of wisdom he likes to share, and one I think applies here is that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” I looked at Merlin, who dipped his head in a nod.
“You’re right. Everyone, get on the ship.”
“My necklace is on my pillow,” Endra said.
“We don’t have time to go back for a necklace,” I argued.
“It’s the only thing she has left of her mother,” Berry said. “I’ll get it.”
Before he could even turn, the monkey charged into the forest. “The monkey will get it. Hurry.”
The rest of the children got on the ship and I levitated us, causing several of the children to gasp with shock. It was actually more difficult to move the ship with magic than to float it. However, as the wind stirred, it gave me an idea. I turned the wheel. “Berry and Cyril, raise that sail thing.”
“Sail thing?” Berry asked.
“I pretty much know how to sail it, but I don’t know what everything is called. Just do it.”
He did and the ship drifted away from land. An elementalist would have been especially helpful. When we were far enough from the beach that the boat was free, I set it down and continued navigating.
As we cruised further out to sea, Endra grew more and more anxious. “What if he can’t find it?” she asked.
“He will.”
“Um… something’s wrong with your wolf,” Rusty said.
Merlin was lying on his back with his front paws over his eyes and his hind legs sticking straight up. “He does that sometimes. There’re a few motion sickness potions in my bag. Please get one for him.”
He got one out and helped Merlin drink it. I was surprised the bottles hadn’t gotten smashed during the sea monster’s attack. I told Berry to man the wheel and patted Merlin’s back while waiting for the potion to take effect.
“I’m proud of you, young sorcerer.”
“Why?”
“You learned to be a leader today. Leading is not about forcing someone to do what you believe is right; it is about fighting for those who trust you to protect them, guiding those who ask for guidance, and being a role model for those who need one.”
“We lost time we needed to save the egg.”
“Saving someone’s life is never a waste of time.”
“We didn’t really save them, we just didn’t leave them.”
Before he could say another word, I heard a strange rumbling sound. Merlin flipped over to his feet and howled. Thunder birds unleashed their impressively ominous warnings. We all covered our ears.
“What’s going on?” I asked, having to yell to be heard over them.
“The island!” Sky shrieked. I looked up just in time… to see the island collapse in on itself. Endra screamed hysterically. Sky grabbed her in a hug as Endra shook, seemingly unable to breathe over her shock.
“Something is eating the island!” Cyril said. Rusty and Shae watched in silence, too traumatized to move or speak.
“Our home…” Berry said, despondent.
Instead of jaws closing over the island or a monster emerging, a massive hole formed where the island had been, and water was quickly being sucked into it. This time, I didn’t need Merlin to remind me to focus.
I stomped my staff and silently commanded it to levitate. My magic shot through the ship and levitated it above the water, but that didn’t mean we were out of danger. “Everyone, hold on!” I took over the wheel and steered the
ship away from the hole.
“What do we do to help?” the sorcerer asked.
“I need to focus. Just stay calm.” A moment later, my monkey flew out of the hole and over the ship, then grabbed the bulwark and started pulling us. I let him take over and slumped against the wheel with a sigh. However, before the relief could fully settle, my stomach churned and I had to rush to the side of the ship to throw up.
Chapter 8
“What was that?” I asked Merlin, still too nauseous to stand without bracing myself on the bulwark. The more distance we put between us and the hole, the more incredible it seemed to me.
“A sinkhole.”
“Have you seen this curse before?”
“It is not a curse. Like the solar eclipse, it is a natural phenomenon, which is not uncommon on other worlds. I believe it is merely the latest side effect of the black star, as well as what my vision had been trying to warn me of. Sinkholes of any size can appear anywhere, without warning.”
I couldn’t continue flying the ship for long, because I quickly ran out of things to forcefully eject from my guts. When we were far enough away from the hole, I settled the ship down without any issues. Then I ate a coconut and passed out. I needed to let my body adapt and my energy recover.
* * *
Over the next two days, I got to know the children better. Although Berry wasn’t the oldest in appearance, he had been there for at least ten years. Merlin decided that the curse must have prevented Berry from developing emotionally in addition to physically. Berry wasn’t irresponsible so much as he refused to fight when his guild ordered him to conquer a neighboring village. He had become friends with the children of that village and knew that they didn’t have any way to defend themselves.
Cyril had been a seer, but he lost his magic recently. I explained that a lot of people were losing magic and that Merlin and I were trying to stop it. I even revealed that I was a curse breaker, not a sorcerer.
Sky was an orphan who had refused to work because she was unloved. She returned my wand willingly, but asked me to help her make one because she liked how well mine worked. “This isn’t the way I designed it. I made it to be a sorcerer’s wand, and then it transformed into this when I first used magic with it.”
