by Linda McNabb
‘I’ve always wanted to go to sea,’ Neras said as he floated over to the ship and up the small mast. He perched at the top and looked around with a broad grin.
MoonFlame and StarFire were swimming around in the water and nudged against the ship.
‘No fish,’ MoonFlame commented and promptly lost interest.
Everyone was aboard and the ropes were being cast off in the promised few minutes.
The dragons alternated between flying along above them and diving into the lake until they reached the outermost point of the main island. The ship sailed around the point and then there was nothing ahead of them except ocean.
The first thing Seth noticed was the waves. It wasn’t like the lake they had just left. The white-tipped waves vanished now and then as the sea rose and fell. Just watching it was making him feel rather odd.
‘Look at the horizon, not the waves,’ Marcel instructed.
Seth looked around and saw that Eagan, Ryker and Waide appeared to be feeling the same way. He tried staring at the horizon but it was very far away and all that did was remind him how long he might be bouncing up and down on this ship for.
The next few hours passed in a blur of trying to adjust to the movement of the ship. He envied Marcel as the old man stood by the huge wheel and moved as one with the ship.
**
After nine hours at sea Eagan was feeling like he might just be getting used to the movement of the ship. Then a sudden lurch as a swell dropped away had him sucking in deep breaths to stop his small breakfast from reappearing.
The horizon was easier to watch now as it seemed much closer. Very close in fact, which didn’t seem quite right, even though he knew nothing about sailing or the ocean.
His uncertainty was proven right less than half an hour later when a strange sight lay ahead of them.
‘Are you mad?’ Ryker asked. He stood at the prow of the boat and stared at the now very close horizon.
Eagan had to agree that it did seem mad. Up ahead lay the end of the ocean. Water poured over the edge of The Gap in a thunderous roar, and a misty fog rose up beyond, making it seem as if there was a land of clouds that could be walked across.
‘I was just a young fisherman when I came here last.’ Marcel had to raise his thin voice over the noise of the water.
‘Will it survive the fall?’ Ryker shouted.
‘Fall? We’re not going over that. Are you mad?’ Marcel threw back at him, then grinned. ‘My first boat was just a small fishing boat, this will be fine. Let me tell you about the time I was here before. You said you wanted to hear the story of when I was young. Well… It was an evening similar to this and I stared at the edge of the world as the waters pulled me towards it… ‘
He fell silent as he gazed into the distance. The sun was just about set and it cast a shimmering gold and rose-coloured light across the clouds that filled The Gap.
‘And…’ Eagan prompted the old man to continue.
‘If you take much longer to tell the tale we’ll have sailed off the edge to our doom as well!’ Ryker said with a scowl.
Marcel didn’t appear to hear Ryker but he remained staring at The Gap and resumed talking.
‘The fishing had been lean for some time. I was out to prove that I could fish better than the old-timers. None of them would come out this way and I figured that there had to be fish here.’
Eagan looked over the side of the boat and saw tell-tale glimpses of silver flashing below the surface of the water.
‘I brought the boat out here on my own. I wanted to see the surprise on their faces when I returned with a full hold of fish. I needed to show them their future leader could solve the fish shortage!’ Marcel smiled and nodded as he recalled the memory. ‘And yes, I did catch lots of fish. But I was so caught up in the joy of fishing that I didn’t notice that the boat was drifting towards The Gap.’
‘Like we are now?’ Waide pointed out.
‘It’s okay. The dragons will stop the boat from going over the edge.’ Seth pointed up to where the dragons were circling above them.
‘I could have done with one of them back then,’ Marcel said with a chuckle. ‘I used all the skills I had, which wasn’t much at that age, to keep the boat tacking along the edge of the water. I wasn’t getting any further away from the edge, but suddenly I found myself riding the crest of a wave. I was sure that was it. I was going to a watery grave with the largest haul of fish in a dozen years.’
‘Clearly that wasn’t the case though,’ Eagan said as the man fell silent again.
Marcel jumped, as if surprised to see everyone on the boat, then appeared to remember where he was and what he was doing.
‘No, the boat settled into clear water again but The Gap was now behind me,’ Marcel explained. ‘I saw an island not far off and sailed close to it as the sun set. I saw other boats and tacked around to find a place to hide. I had no idea where I was and hadn’t even realised that I had crossed The Gap at that point.’
‘Did you go ashore?’ Ryker asked.
‘I did. I waited until night had fallen and swam around to the nearest bay. It was clear from the second I set foot on the island that I was somewhere I shouldn’t be. Most of the people were dressed in fancy clothes and the houses were grand and sparkling with lights.’
‘So you had a look around and left?’ Eagan asked.
Marcel laughed loudly and grinned. ‘Oh no, I stayed for three whole moon cycles.’
‘And nobody saw you?’ Waide queried.
‘I stole some clothes and blended in with the fishermen like I was one of their own.’
‘He might be some use after all,’ Darius remarked. ‘If he knows the layout of the island we might be able to work out where they are holding Caden.’
Eagan nodded in agreement. ‘But what about the magic, Marcel. Didn’t they notice that you didn’t have any?’
‘That’s the odd thing,’ Marcel said with a slow shake of his head. ‘I only saw a few people using magic. Most people lived exactly the same as we do. It was only a few that used it at all. I knew one of them quite well…’
His eyes went a little glazed and he smiled. It was obviously a fond memory that had distracted him from his tale.
‘It was a girl,’ Darius suggested. ‘I know that look.’
‘She was beautiful…’ Marcel said with a sigh.
‘Hah! I knew it!’ Darius shouted and laughed. Eagan ignored him and kept his attention on the old sailor-king. This was getting more and more interesting if the old man had spent that long on the island.
‘From the moment we saw each other we knew it was love. She was promised to another by an arranged marriage though. The upper city of wizards did not like their daughters marrying beneath their social circle and she was as high up as they came.’
‘Will this tale take long? We’re getting awfully close to the edge now.’ Darius said as he watched the edge of the sea come closer by the second.
‘Why did you leave?’ Waide asked.
‘Her father found out about us and married her off immediately. She wanted to run away with me but I knew there was no guarantee I would be able to make it back across The Gap and I couldn’t let her risk her life.’
‘And you never tried to go there again?’ Eagan asked.
‘As soon as I got back my father fell ill. I had to take up my role as king even though I was barely out of my teenage years. I’ve been laughed at almost every time I’ve tried to tell of my visit to Deek. I’ve dreamed of going back but I’ve never been brave enough.’ Marcel looked nervously out at the mist that rose near the edge of the cloudy expanse before them.
‘Seth, if you wouldn’t mind asking the dragons to come closer? We need them to hold the ship if it gets too close to the edge,’ Eagan asked the youth. Seth was leaning over the front rail of the ship and looked a rather odd shade of green. ‘Perhaps you’d be better riding on MoonFlame?’
Seth smiled weakly and looked up at the black dragon. MoonFlame immediate
ly dove down towards the boat. She scooped Seth up and, in one swift motion, flicked him up to sit on her back. Seth looked even greener for a few seconds and lay his head against the dragon’s scaly hide.
Eagan envied the youth more than ever. There was no official bond between the boy and dragon any longer, yet the dragon still heard Seth’s thoughts, and appeared to care about him.
‘And what are we supposed to do if and when we find this island full of wizards?’ Ryker asked petulantly. He looked a little green as well but was making efforts not to show it. ‘You think our two wizards are any match?’
Ryker looked irritated and paused. Eagan recognised it as what he did himself when he was listening to Darius. Then Ryker added.
‘Yes, Oran, I know Neras is also a wizard, but unless someone works out how to access his magic it might as well not be there!’
‘First we rescue Caden,’ Waide pointed out, then he looked pointedly at Eagan. ‘And heal him so that he’s no longer drawing life from the world.’
Ryker looked surprised then glared at Eagan as he realised he had been tricked into coming. He gave a wry smile. ‘But surely we could use Caden to supply an endless amount of magic. Then we’d have a chance of defeating the wizards.’
Waide frowned at the suggestion but was prevented from responding as the boat lurched sideways suddenly. Everyone reached for something to hang onto and Eagan shouted up to the dragons.
‘Anytime now would be great,’ he called.
Both dragons dove down and each grabbed one end of the boat, holding it fast as they flew along the edge of The Gap. Not as much water was spilling over the edge as Eagan had expected. Most of it swirled back at the boat, and only a small amount splashed over and down into the chasm. He supposed it was logical or the sea would be gone by now if it continually tipped off the edge.
‘Can we keep the boat in the water? It might be an important part of finding the passage,’ Eagan suggested.
‘Wouldn’t it be easier if they carried the boat across The Gap?’ Waide asked.
‘We cannot fly over the clouds,’ StarFire replied. ‘It is as if there is no air, a nothingness that would kill both us and all of you on the boat before we got more than a dozen heartbeats across.’
‘We could try going under the clouds,’ MoonFlame suggested. ‘If there are clouds, there must be air to breathe?’
‘And we risk getting lost in The Gap, with no clue which direction to fly.’ StarFire looked irritated that his decision had been challenged. ‘How long can you fly - and carry the boat?’
MoonFlame offered no more suggestions and a heavy silence fell as the boat rocked along the edge of the water. Eagan was amazed at what sort of sailing skills it must have taken for a young lad to keep a small boat from being tossed over the side.
‘If his story is true,’ Darius remarked.
Eagan frowned. Had Darius heard his thoughts. The wizard chuckled.
‘No I didn’t hear what you were thinking. We’re all thinking the same thing.’
Eagan looked along the side of the boat where everyone hung to the rails and each person was flicking their attention between the sure-death-drop and the old man who stood wrangling the wheel, appearing to be enjoying every minute of the rough ride.
‘How far does the edge of The Gap go?’ Waide asked, raising his voice a bit over the noise of the echoes rising from The Gap.
Nobody answered. Eagan shrugged and Ryker just looked blank.
It seemed an age later that Eagan had had all he could take.
‘Surely we have proven that the old man is just senile. He never went this way,’ Darius said as he popped into view and hovered above the deck.
The wizard looked to be shaking back and forth, but Eagan knew it was the boat that was moving so erratically, even with the dragons keeping it from tipping over the edge. The waters churned mercilessly as they banged into the invisible force holding them back.
Eagan sighed. Yes, Darius was probably right. He should call a halt to this madness and they would just have to find another way to stop the wizards. Perhaps they could build a bridge of their own over the chasm? He lifted one hand from the rail to wave at Seth. The dragons would be able to lift the boat back to safe waters.
Just as Seth caught sight of him, the boat lurched harder than before and Eagan had a terrible sinking feeling. He looked at both dragons, yes, they were still holding on tightly to the boat but what was missing was the sloshing of the waves and the echoing sound of water emptying into the chasm. In fact, there was no noise at all except for the beating of the dragon’s wings and the creaking of the boat.
MoonFlame and StarFire looked distressed and Seth clung to the dragon’s neck as he looked wildly around. The only person who wasn’t panicking was the old man. Eagan looked over the rail. There was no sign of the ocean or the chasm!
‘See, this is what I was telling you about! I should have come back here a long time ago,’ he shouted, but with the absence of noise his voice was far too loud.
With another jolt the boat splashed back down onto the water and the sounds of the ocean returned. The Gap was now behind them and was pulling them towards it again.
‘Hold on, Seth,’ MoonFlame said both dragons lifted the boat clear of the water. The boat swung wildly beneath them until the two dragons managed to work together. They carried it far enough so that the pull of the waves was no longer a problem, then they slowly lowered it back to the ocean.
StarFire and MoonFlame both let go of the boat. MoonFlame deposited Seth back on board and the two dragons flew along level with the boat.
‘Are we through the chasm?’ Eagan asked, looking around, but not seeing much in the twilight gloom.
‘We are,’ MoonFlame replied. ‘And I feel the presence of the child not too far away.’
Eagan felt a surge of relief. Not only for them all getting past The Gap in one piece, but because Caden was obviously okay. They still had a chance to return the boy to his mother.
‘Rem is also near,’ StarFire said as he wheeled up and around in a circle above the boat.
‘Don’t let her know we’re here yet!’ Eagan called up to the dragon and then added. ‘Please.’
The dragon did not respond and Eagan could only hope that he would keep quiet. If Rem was now faithful to the Yarris, and knew they were here, it would ruin their plans before they had even begun.
‘We should drop anchor around by the cliffs on the south side of the island,’ Marcel suggested. ‘I hid my boat there the whole time I was on the island. Nobody goes there to fish because of all the rocks.’
Eagan did not dare ask how dangerous the rocks were and if the old timer remembered where they all were. Instead he spoke quietly to Darius.
‘Can you strengthen the boat a little more, just in case.’
‘I can, but Oran has already done so. It seems he values Ryker’s life highly at the moment.’
They sailed into the growing darkness as the top of the island lit up brightly.
‘So what do we do if we can’t get the boy back?’ Darius asked.
Eagan did not respond. He realised that beyond stealing Caden back they had no plans on how to defeat the wizards at all!
Chapter Eleven - Rise of the Yarris
Rem woke up feeling uneasy. She could still hear the echo of StarFire’s voice from her dreams. The white dragon had been angry with her and she saw burning buildings everywhere as she ran through the city looking for Caden. She looked out the window, half-expecting to see the city burnt to the ground but it looked as glittering and sparkling as it had yesterday. The mark on her forehead ached as it had back when the night-shadows where near. It was odd as she had been near the night-shadows for days and she hadn’t felt as much as a tingle.
She tried to think back. What had StarFire said it meant. It was their connection. Was StarFire hurt or upset or calling for her?
Rem knew Caden was safely sleeping just along the corridor but he wasn’t really safe at all. What the
wizards planned for today would draw so much magic through him that she had no idea how it would affect him. Each day he seemed older but the change happened mostly while he slept. Would he age before her eyes with so much demand on his gift?
There didn’t seem to be any good way to solve the problems she faced. If she had a way to take Caden to Delantia her people would die but if she let them use his magic, then he would probably die and so would half the humans back on the mainland. She did not doubt the wizards intent to get revenge on the ancestors of those who had put them in exile. Could she just stand by and watch that happen? If she hadn’t met those on the mainland she might have felt the same as her kin, but she was different, in more than one way. If the other wizards knew of her lack of magic they would probably want nothing to do with her. She wondered briefly if she would age like a human too. It would not be obvious until she reached her fifth decade or later and by then who knows what sort of world she would live in.
But now was not the time for wondering about immortality, or the lack of it. She had immediate problems to solve and Caden was the most important one. Her decision was easy really as she knew there was no way she would let the wizards use him for revenge. Then it struck her, she didn’t have to take him all the way to the mainland to stop them drawing magic. This was an island, so there had to be boats. She stood up and looked out the window again at the blue waters beyond the trees. Was there another island out there she could go to or would they simply float around until the wizards came and found them? If there was another island the wizards would surely have moved some people there after so many hundreds of years going by how crowded this one seemed.
She nodded to herself to reconfirm her decision, she would leave with Caden today. They would sail for as long as it took to find somewhere safe for him until she found a way to return him to the mainland. She didn’t let the small matter of how to sail a boat dampen her resolve. She would just have to learn fast.
With that decided she turned her thoughts to the next worry that was bothering her. Sufi. She so wanted to explain everything to Sufi but if she did she risked ruining her plans to take Caden away. She touched the pendant that still hung from its chain around her neck then glanced at the matching one sitting on her dressing table.
