Spark (Legends of the Shifters)

by J. B. North

  “Hello!” Burton yelled.

  There was no answer.

  “HELLOOO!” he yelled louder. Still no answer.

  Burton clenched his jaw. “Drop the anchor!” he called. “Ready the boat!”

  The crew hurried to complete the tasks. I watched as Burton’s crew piled into the boat. Burton stepped away from me and hurried to join them and I noticed that Roland was among them, too. I followed, but he shook his head. “No. Stay on board.”

  I was very willing to comply. I watched as they scoured over the area, searching through the planks of wood and the floating barrels. As they went around to the other side of the ship, I waited and listened. Everything was silent for a moment. Then, all of a sudden, there was a shout. More shouts rang out, but I didn't hear any distinct words.

  I wanted to change form so that I could see what was happening, but I remembered that the headmaster had told me to keep hidden. All I could do was wait impatiently.

  It was ten minutes before the boat came back around. I squinted my eyes, trying to see better. The sailors were all seated at the edges of the boat and there was a bundle between them. I knew that it had to be someone. I just hoped that they were alive.

  I watched the bundle for some time, but I saw no movement. The little boat came to the side of the ship, and I looked over to see Burton hooking the boat up to some pulleys. A few men that had stayed on board helped pull them up.

  I hesitantly peered at the bundle. It was a man. He was pale and and his lips were blue. The scars on the side of his face were even paler than his skin.

  Kuris.

  By how still he was, I knew that he had to be lifeless. My heart filled with dread. Tears welled up in my eyes. My brother—the one that I had only just discovered—was gone.

  Roland noticed my tears apparently. As soon as he could climb out of the boat, he went to me.

  “Ivy, don’t worry. Everything is all right. Kurt is alive.”

  Relief flooded me from head to toe. I hurriedly brushed my tears away, ashamed of myself, and quickly regained my composure. I smiled at Roland. “Oh, thank goodness,” I said. Kuris was brought on board and I hurried to my brother’s side.

  Burton smiled at me, knowing the truth about Kurt and I. “Don’t worry. He’ll live,” he said. “He’s unconscious now, but I know him. He’ll be fine in a day’s time.”

  I smiled weakly. “You found no one else?” I asked.

  His face turned dark again. “We found a lot of people, but none of them were alive except for Kuri—uh, Kurt.”

  I shivered, glad that I hadn’t been on the boat with the rest of the crew. That was something that I would never forget.

  Roland came up behind me. “I’m surprised that Kurt was even on that boat. I thought that he was supposed to be back at the school, as a guard.”

  I hadn’t even thought about why he was here, I was just grateful he was alive, but since Roland brought that up, I began to question his random appearance.

  Why had he followed us? So far Roland and I had survived every obstacle that had befallen us. Now, rather than us, Kurt was on the verge of death.

  Cal, the giant, lifted him and brought him below decks. I followed them closely. Once Cal placed Kurt on one of the hammocks, he left me alone with my former trainer.

  I studied him. His clothes were still wet. I wondered if we had any dry ones to offer him. Finding anything dry would be tough, but it was the best bet we had to make sure that Kurt didn't die.

  I climbed onto the deck and confronted Roland. “Do we have any dry clothes for Kurt?”

  His brow furrowed. “I think we should. The storm got everything soaked, but the last time I was in the storeroom, I saw that many of the clothes and blankets had been laid out to dry.”

  “Good,” I said. “We need to get him dry and warm as soon as possible.” I was about to head toward the stores, but stopped short when I saw Burton already headed out with dry clothes in his hands.

  As he walked past me, he said, “Do me a favor and talk to Roland for a little while.”

  I knew what he meant. “Gladly,” I replied to his back.

  I sighed and turned to Roland. He was facing away from me, toward the ocean. He seemed like he was content in being alone, and I didn't want to ruin his peace. Instead, I walked over to the storeroom that Burton had just come out of. It was the only place I hadn't gone on the ship.

  I opened the door and peeked inside.

  The walls of the dimly lit room were lined with shelves of supplies. The wood on the floor was dark from the water that had gotten in during the storm. It smelled like mildew and rotting wood. There wasn't anything remarkable about it, but I had nothing else to do, so I ventured in anyway, shutting the door behind me.

  I studied the items on the shelves. There was a section of food, a section of clothing, a section of tools, and a section of life-jackets.

  Like Roland had said, clothes were drying on several lines that had been strung across the room, cutting it in half. I walked past them, further into the room, and eventually ran into a wall. The smell had gotten stronger, and I was beginning to feel claustrophobic. I hurried through a couple rows of clothes and blankets before I ran right into Roland.

  “Oh!” I said as I bumped into his chest. I took a hasty step backward. “I didn’t realize that you were following me,” I said with an embarrassed smile.

  I waited for him to move out of the way or reply, but he didn’t. After a few seconds of discomfort, I took another step back. That broke him out of his silence. “Sorry,” he said. “I was just thinking about something that Sophia told me earlier.”

  I clamped my mouth shut. What had Sophia given away? She hadn’t told Roland what I'd said to her, had she? It didn’t seem like something that a friend would do.

  “What did Sophia tell you?” I questioned suspiciously.

  He thought for a moment, and opened his mouth to reply, but apparently changed his mind. He shook his head. “Never mind about that… But there is something that I was wondering about earlier and I thought that you might know. How does Burton know Kurt?”

  I wasn’t sure what to say. “I think that is something that you’ll have to ask him,” I said slowly.

  He sighed. “I guess so.”

  We were silent for another awkward moment. “Let’s go see if Kurt is doing okay,” I said, wanting to get out of the growing suffocation of the storeroom.

  Thankfully, Roland nodded and turned.

  I followed at a distance. He was behaving very strangely. I didn’t know how to act around him when he was like that.

  Roland went first to see if Burton had finished helping Kurt into his clothes. He motioned for me to come down after a few seconds.

  I had expected Kurt to be unconscious still, but instead, when I came down, he was wide awake. He looked drained and tired, but color was starting to return to his cheeks. I felt a lot less worried now that he had warm clothes and a warm bed.

  “Hi,” I said, coming closer to the bed.

  He turned his head to look at me, his eyes droopy with exhaustion. “Ivy,” he said, reaching for my hand.

  Roland looked back and forth at us, his forehead wrinkled and his mouth pressed into a firm line.

  “I’m glad to see that you’re awake,” I said. I wondered if I should ask the question that had been bothering me since they first brought him on board. Curiosity got the better of me. “What were you doing on that ship, Kurt?”

  His mouth quirked up in a failed attempt to smile. “I was trying to catch up to you… I couldn’t stop thinking to myself that if I didn’t go after you, you might die. And if that happened, I would blame myself for the rest of my life.”

  “And now look at whose life was in danger,” I said with a sigh.

  Kurt chuckled, but the chuckle quickly turned into a cough.

  I looked over at Roland, and was surprised to see him looking closed off, almost angry.

  I didn’t have a clue what he would be mad about,
and I found myself searching over the conversation for anything that would be offensive. I couldn’t find anything in the least.

  Burton was watching Roland also, but he had an understanding look on his face. He stood up and excused himself, walking over to the fuming Roland and pushing him up the ladder and out of the hatch in his gruff manner.

  I watched with confusion before turning back to Kurt, who had finally managed to control his coughing fit, and was now rambling tiredly.

  “I remember when you were a baby,” he was saying. “Your hair was lighter than it is now, so light it looked orange.” He smiled weakly. “Your green eyes were always lit up for a new adventure—” he stopped talking abruptly, the smile dropping from his face. “And then, the fire…and after that, the orphanage. And still after, being picked up by…” he shivered visibly, worrying me.

  “Let’s talk about it later,” I said in a soft voice.

  He nodded and turned over in bed. “I suppose,” he said tiredly. Not long after, his breaths became deeper, and I knew that he had fallen asleep.

  I rubbed my temples, a thousand different thoughts circling in my head. I sighed and climbed the ladder to the deck, where I found Roland and Burton talking. I wanted to ask Roland what had been wrong, but when I saw his face, it was no longer angry. His mouth was formed into a slight smile and his eyebrows were raised.

  When he noticed me, he said something to Burton, who nodded. Burton headed back toward the captain's quarters, and Roland strolled toward me.

  “Ivy, I’m so sorry for my behavior. Burton just told me that Kurt is your...brother,” he said, his cheeks reddening.

  “So Burton told you,” I concluded.

  “Is that okay?” Roland asked.

  I nodded. I didn’t mind if Roland knew. I trusted him. “But why were you acting like that in the first place?” I asked.

  He sighed heavily. “I don’t know,” he replied finally.

  I squinted my eyes. “You’ve been acting very strange lately.”

  He smiled as he turned away and started walking. “I have my reasons,” he said.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The next day Kurt seemed a lot better when I checked on him. He was able to sit up in his bed. Although his face was still drawn, I figured he was well enough for me to ask one simple question.

  “When did you leave the school?” I inquired.

  He thought about it, and cleared his throat. “Just after the last survival test,” he rasped. “It was the soonest I could get away.”

  I whistled. “You must have hurried to catch up to us.”

  He nodded. “I barely took any breaks until I got to Achron.”

  “No wonder you're so exhausted,” I said. “You should get some more sleep. I'll be back later to see how you're holding up.”

  As he sunk down into his bed, I stood and left. Once I had climbed up onto the deck, I looked around for Roland.

  I found him mopping the deck.

  “Roland, there's something we need to talk about,” I said.

  The mop stopped moving as he looked up as he drew his eyebrows together. “Alright,” he said.

  Although I was confused by his reaction, I went closer, not wanting to be overheard by the other crew members who were performing various tasks nearby. “When are we going to leave the ship?” I asked.

  The look completely disappeared from his face, and he smiled slightly. “Well...do you want Kurt to travel with us?”

  I nodded. “He went to a lot of trouble to find us, so I don’t think it would be right to leave him here.”

  He studied the deck as he thought. “Then our journey will take a few more days, or at least until Kurt feels good enough to fly again.”

  I sighed inwardly and turned away as Roland returned to mopping. I liked the view that the ship provided, but I did not like to sit and wait. My instincts wanted me to take action, but I had to be patient. I had no choice.

  *****

  Two days passed slowly. I helped Sophia in the kitchen when she needed me, and when she didn't, I talked with Kurt or Roland. Burton was usually too busy.

  Kurt seemed to return to his normal self. He had even offered to help with some of the easier chores on the second day. That night, I saw him resting against the rail on the fore of the ship. I decided to approach him with our plan.

  I rested my arms on the railing next to him. “When do you think you'll be capable of flying long-distance?” I asked.

  He eyed me curiously. “I don't know. Perhaps tomorrow or the next day. Why?”

  I raised my eyebrows. Leaving tomorrow would be pushing him too hard.

  “Roland and I are wanting to go on with the trip. There is no time limit, but we don't want it to take longer than it has to.”

  Kurt smiled and looked up at the stars. “And you want me to go with you?”

  “After all you've done, there is no way that we'd go without you.”

  “Then we should plan to leave tomorrow,” he said firmly.

  I shook my head. “No. Tomorrow is too soon. I know that you are trying not to be a burden, but you not being able to make it is more of a burden than waiting a day or two longer. We'll leave the night after tomorrow.”

  Kurt shrugged. “I think I could make it tomorrow, to be honest. I feel fine right now.”

  “Just in case,” I said stubbornly.

  Kurt rolled his eyes. “Fine, then. Have it your way.”

  I smiled. I had never been able to tell Kurt what to do before now.

  For a long time, we both watched the ocean, and I felt that for once, we were doing something that brothers and sisters would do together. After a few minutes, I looked over at him.

  I had family. It felt good to know that.

  *****

  The next day after lunch, I couldn't find Roland anywhere. I searched below decks, in the storeroom, and even knocked on the door to the captain's quarters only to receive no answer and no sign of Roland. I was about to circle back to the kitchen when I spotted movement from above.

  The sun made it almost impossible to see, but I recognized Roland's tall form and naturally relaxed stance. He was acting as a lookout. I gave a heavy sigh, and started climbing the ladder, not even considering whether or not there would be room for both of us up there.

  Only when I had nearly reached to top, did he finally realize that I was there. He turned and looked down at me with surprise. “Ivy? What are you doing up here?” He moved to the side, and pulled me up onto the platform.

  “I need...to tell you something,” I said as I tried to regain my balance. The platform didn't allow either of us much room. A few boards were missing and the rocking of the waves made me feel dizzy at this height. I leaned against the railing, but it was weak and nearly gave way. Roland caught my arm again to steady me, and pulled me away from the edge. We were uncomfortably close.

  “You'd better tell me what it is before you pitch yourself overboard,” he said.

  I blushed and smoothed my hair back, trying to recover my composure. “Kurt and I have decided that tomorrow night will be the best time to leave.”

  “I figured that would be the case,” he replied.

  “Are we going to tell anyone else of our departure?” I asked.

  “I'm sure Burton has already guessed that we're going to leave soon. As for the others, I would prefer it that no one else knew. I don't want to blow your cover. If news of you reaches the ears of the enemy, it could be bad for us.”

  “What about Sophia?” I asked.

  He thought about it. “If you think she's trustworthy, go ahead and tell her. Make sure she knows that it is a secret, though.”

  “Of course.”

  Roland studied me for a long time. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, a sailor popped his head up from the ladder. “I'm back, so you can return to your former duties,” he said gruffly. He seemed to notice me for the first time. “My apologies. I didn't know you were up here, miss.” He raised his eyebrows at Roland.<
br />
  I felt my cheeks grow hot.

  The sailor hoisted himself up, making the mast creak as I tried to wedge myself past him to get to the ladder. The awkward moment stretched out for a few seconds before I finally managed to get to the ladder, and climbed my way down to freedom.

  I didn't wait for Roland to join me. We both had chores to do, and I didn't want to keep Sophia waiting any longer.

  She didn't seem to mind my absence, humming happily as she did the dishes. She nodded at me as I entered.

  I started helping her dry them. I figured I would skip to the point. “I'm going to be leaving soon.”

  She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. “I know that, silly. Every passenger leaves the boat eventually.”

  “I mean that I'm going to leave sooner than we dock. Tomorrow night to be exact.”

  “Oh,” she said, frowning as she stopped scrubbing a plate. “Why?”

  “Roland and I are on a quest. We want to get it over with as soon as possible.”

  She sighed. “I suppose that's understandable.”

  “You can't tell anyone else about our plan,” I said. “We're going to be leaving when everyone else is asleep.”

  “But...why?”

  I stopped drying the dish and faced her with a serious expression to show the importance of what I was telling her. “To keep my identity a secret.”

  She squinted her eyes. “Your identity? Most of the crew already knows that you're from the conservatory.”

  “I know,” I replied. “But not everyone knows what my second form is.”

  “Your second form must be pretty important...Is it so important that you can't tell me?” she asked.

  I hesitated, but eventually answered, “Not really...I'm a phoenix.”

  She shrugged. “I don't even know what that is.”