~Chapter Ten~
The next morning we were woken by not one, but five golden bells. As they began their shrill cacophony, we rolled over and groaned. I swiped at my bell, though I knew it wouldn’t do any good. It fluttered out of my reach, and then dive bombed me when I closed my eyes again.
“Up,” Dena instructed us all, pushing her glasses onto her nose. “They’ll be leaving soon.”
We staggered around the room blearily, cursing our late night chat. Slowly, we dressed and gathered up our rucksacks. At the last minute, Rain snatched up the fallen candy.
“Just in case,” she mumbled when she saw me watching.
We stumbled out the front doors, squinting in the bright sun that seared over the horizon. We slung our rucksacks on our backs and shuffled slowly to the stables with the rest of the class, where we quickly saddled our horses. After two riding lessons, I could now heave myself into the saddle, which I promptly did so, despite my sleep heavy bones.
We all began to wake up during the ride. We bypassed the turn off to Keyes, and I looked away as something, half remembered, niggled me.
The ride was long and hot, but as we slowly woke up, we began to chat again.
“Will we need to stop for the night?” I asked Rain.
“Probably not,” she replied, riding next to me. “Because we left so early, we should get there by nightfall. We’re making good time.”
I could only assume that was because we were yet to see anybody on this road. Lined with trees on one side and fields on the other, we’d been the only people for miles.
As the sun crossed overhead and finally began to drop below the horizon, I began to smell the salty ocean. I’d been riding in a daze, but as I came to, I noticed the sound of rushing water. I looked to Rain in excitement.
“The ocean,” she confirmed with a grin.
We rounded a corner and began to head downhill. The ocean lay before us, sparkling in the late afternoon sunlight. On one end of the beach, there was a long jetty, with a small ship next to it. I desperately hoped it was there to take us to the islands, which I could just see on the horizon.
Jett and Professor Alena had been riding up front. As we closed in on the white sands, they slowed and gave the signal to dismount.
Everyone did so gratefully, groaning as they stretched their legs. We were led to a small grass area just behind some rolling sand dunes. We unsaddled and groomed our horses, feeding and watering them before we began to set up our own camp. Jett started a fire by clicking his fingers - he didn’t even look at where he was pointing, I thought, disgruntled. I couldn’t wait to have control like that - and we gathered around it to cook the meals we’d organized before leaving.
“Alright, here’s the plan,” he began, and everyone fell silent. “Tomorrow we head to the Main Island, and we’ll spend a few nights there. Though this is a holiday, please try to keep an open mind when exploring new places. This will make it easier on you to write the paper when you get back and start the new term.”
Everyone groaned in sync. As I looked sideways to trade iffy looks with Dena, I spied Phoenix sitting just past her, half in shadow. His eyes were fixed on the flames, and he didn’t appear to be listening to a word Jett was saying. I looked away from him when I noticed Eleanora seated next to him, her arm looped through his.
As I tucked into our meal of warmed stew, Dustin came to sit next to me.
“Good evening,” he said, kissing me on top of my head as I ate. “Haven’t seen you for a few days.”
“Sorry,” I said, scraping the bowl for the broth. “Been a bit busy.”
“Me too,” he replied. “Did you want to go for a walk after this?”
I agreed and quickly finished up my stew. Night had fallen as we’d set up camp, and a beautiful quarter moon was beginning to rise, casting silvery light on the waves. Dustin took his hand in mine, and I wriggled my fingers around for a bit until it felt comfortable. We reached the sand, and I pulled my boots off, tucking them next to a bush and making a mental note to pick them up when we came back.
We set off along the beach, my feet digging into the warm sand. I wriggled my toes happily, the night air brushing my cheek. I looked skyward; it was a clear night, and thousands of stars dotted the abyss. We walked towards the jetty, stopping before we reached it. We plonked down in the sand, watching the small waves break and slide up upon the shore with a sigh. I pushed my hand through the sand, enjoying the feel of the coarse grains on my skin.
“I love the beach,” I confessed, lying on my back, not caring that I was getting sand all through my long hair. “Mum and I used to go every summer. We’d stay in this dingy old cabin and have fish and chips every night for tea.”
I looked up at him when he didn’t reply, catching a look on his face that I’d never seen before. It was gone before I could properly register it.
“What?” I asked.
“What what?”
“Why were you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
I pretended to scowl at him and he relented.
“I was just thinking how lucky I am,” he admitted. “To have you.”
My stomach did a little flip flop, and sunshine seemed to spill out of my heart.
“I am pretty awesome,” I said awkwardly. I wasn’t very good at this at all.
“And I concur completely,” Dustin laughed, lying down next to me and pulling me in tight.
I snuggled against his side, completely at ease. I rested my head on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart. After a while I became curious about the stars above me.
“Do you know astronomy?” I asked, my eyes fixed on the glimmering pin points.
“Actually, my father loved it,” Dustin said, and I could tell from his tone that he missed him. “He taught me all of the constellations.”
He shifted beneath me to free his left arm.
“That one there,” he pointed at a cluster of stars, showering me with sand. “That’s the Cup, as in a scrying cup.”
I raised my eyebrows at him, making it clear that I’d never heard of such a thing before.
“We’ll get to it in our studies soon enough,” he told me. “It’s a cup through which you can communicate if someone else has a similar tool.”
“Awesome,” I said appreciatively. I was just about to ask him about another patch of stars when I became aware of a noise, a low howl resonating through the night air. It grew it intensity, until it seemed to block out the sounds of the ocean and the night. It was a howl, but also with a screech mixed in. It cut off abruptly, and the warmth rushed back to the night.
Goosebumps erupted on my skin despite the heat. Dustin sat up quickly, dislodging me from his chest.
“What,” I choked. “The hell was that?”
Dustin didn’t answer, instead standing up and looking out towards the island that we were due to sail to tomorrow.
“Did it come from here?” I asked, trying not to let my voice waver.
“No. I think it came from the island,” he was still trying to see into the darkness.
“Was that some kind of weird animal you have here?” I asked, standing up next to him.
“Well, I don’t know what the norm is for you, but I’ve never heard anything like that.”
I shivered as I looked towards the island. Suddenly I wasn’t so keen to sail there tomorrow.
We headed back to the tents, and I picked up my boots from where I’d left them. Dustin went to head off to his tent, but then turned back to me.
“I’ll talk to Jett about it tomorrow, ok? Try to get some sleep.”
“I’m not scared,” I said immediately, though I was absolutely terrified. “I am a little apprehensive about going to the island now though.”
Dustin chuckled, and kissed me swiftly. I let my han
d slide down his arm, and he clutched my fingers for a second. I crawled into the tent that I was sharing with Dena and Theresa, having secured the only three person tent the Academy had.
I wondered briefly about what Phoenix was doing for sleeping accommodations and then decided I didn’t want to know.
“Have fun?” Dena asked as I rolled out my sleeping mat and bag.
I quickly told them about the howl, leaving out the goose bumps on my skin and my rapidly beating heart. By the time I was finished, both of my tent mates were silent.
“We’re not still going there, are we?” Dena asked finally.
“Why not?” Theresa asked as I wriggled into my bag. “That howl could be anything, and besides, I’d like to see it attack a group of people, mages, no less, if there’s only one of it.”
“I hope like hell there’s only one of it,” I said, pulling my sleeping bag up around my ears. “I can’t believe you didn’t hear it; it was so loud.”
“If it did come from the island, we would’ve been blocked off by the dunes,” Theresa said matter-of-factly. “I guess we’ll hear it if we camp there tomorrow night.”
I shuddered; glad that the other two couldn’t see me in the dark. Truth be told, I wasn’t looking forward to spending any time, let alone a night, on an island which had unknown creatures that howled.
The next day we were up early, the sun shining through the canvas of the tent and baking us in our sleeping bags like sweet rolls in the mess hall. We ate quickly and then began to pack up our camp. Professor Alena was staying behind with the horses and I was glad. I wasn’t sure if Echo would be too impressed with a rolling, moving boat. I was yet to find out if I was compatible with the sea, let alone my enormous steed. I fed her pieces of carrot throughout the morning, and then pecked her on the nose when we left for the jetty.
Jett stood by the boat as we filed up the walkway, and I swallowed nervously as the sea rolled below me, my imagination wondering what it would be like to be caught between the boat and the jetty. I shoved the thought out of my mind and hurried up onto the deck. Jett had been counting us all and followed us up. He made for the top deck to speak with who I could only assume was the captain.
I peered over the railing of the boat, watching the green waves lap gently against the wood. We rocked gently, and despite my misgivings, my stomach was fine.
We all gathered out of the way as the sailors began to raise the anchor and cast off. A pleasant breeze was blowing, a tail wind, and we set out towards the island. Despite the sunshine, icy fear clawed at my stomach as I looked towards the island and remembered the howl from the previous night. My fear only worsened when Jett gathered us into a group to chat to us, relaying some of the things he’d been discussing with the captain.
“We’re not going to turn the ship around, but I think I should let you know that there have been some mysterious happenings on this island of late,” Jett began, and I groaned. “So please don’t wander off by yourselves, and make sure you’ve got your daggers please.”
My fingers grasped the hilt of the small knife that I’d hooked onto my belt. As we weren’t allowed to bring swords – it was peacetime, and as such the chances of being attacked were relatively little – we’d been allowed to bring small daggers if we so wished. I was glad that I had now.
We sailed across the ocean for a short time, the others speculating about what these mysterious happenings could be. Someone had gotten Dustin to tell the story of the howl we’d heard across the ocean, and it was spreading like wild fire, with each retelling casting larger and larger embellishments upon it. Apparently we’d also seen smoke rise from the island with a tongue of flame, and heard the screams of doomed villagers.
“Except no one lives on the island,” Theresa said disparagingly to one of our classmates, a young woman with black hair, when she heard that retelling.
The girl’s shoulders slumped, and she sauntered off to try to sell her story elsewhere.
Despite the wild inaccuracies of the story, by the time we moored just off the coast of the island, everyone’s emotions were running high. I spotted Jett as we began to lower the smaller boats to go ashore, and could tell he was regretting telling us about his misgivings at all. I climbed into one of the boats with my group of friends, and helped lower ourselves into the water.
Petre and Dustin took hold of the two oars in the boat, propelling us to the shore. I noticed Rain admiring the swell of Petre’s muscles as he rowed, and winked obviously at her. She blushed furiously and looked away, not daring to say anything in the small space.
The boat beached itself just off shore, and everyone hopped out to drag it onto the beach. I paused in climbing out, removing my boots and hanging them around my neck. I followed them into the water, enjoying the feel of the wet sand beneath my toes, not minding that I was soaked up to my knees. I gripped the boat and heaved with the others. We were almost to the shore when I felt something sharp slice open the bottom of my foot. I cried out as I let go of the boat, looking down at my foot through the water. Dark brown water swirled around it - my blood - and I dimly wondered if there were sharks around. Salt water rushed the wound, stinging it sharply.
“Sky?” Dena sloshed through the water towards me. I noticed she was still wearing her boots.
“My foot,” I said, lifting it carefully out of the water. “Something cut it.”
She helped me back to shore as the others dragged the boat onto the sand. I watched them with guilty eyes; I should’ve known there was a reason the others were keeping their shoes on.
Dena plonked me down on the wet sand and picked up my injured foot. I winced when I saw the sensitive arch of my foot; a large, deep gash slit across it, blood running down my skin in rivulets, staining the white sand.
“Razor fish,” Dena said immediately. “Sorry, Sky, I should’ve told you before we cast off.”
“When did you find out about them?”
“Last night when you and Dustin went off. I suppose he already knew they were in the region.”
She tentatively placed her thumb at one end of the cut, her forefinger at the other. I squirmed uncomfortably; for such a small wound, it hurt a lot.
“Stop wiggling about,” she commanded, and sent a pulse of magic through her fingertips. I watched avidly as a small blue spark zipped up the skin of my foot. It vanished when it reached the end, and I gingerly prodded where the wound had been. My foot felt fine; I was healed.
“You’re getting really good at that,” I said to her appreciatively. “Thank you.”
“No worries,” she said, standing up and brushing sand from her knees. “You should really learn to do it yourself.”
“I’ve tried,” I said, and it was true, but I just didn’t have the finesse that Dena had. My only hope was that I’d have to heal myself, not others, otherwise they might end with a finger too many if I accidentally reduplicated a finger instead of healing its paper cut. Healing was best left to those with natural talent, and I just didn’t have it.
Razor fish wound aside, the others had successfully pulled the boat ashore, as had our classmates. I noticed, disgruntled, that they all kept their boots on. Looks like I’d be the only one to suffer a razor fish wound that day.
Only after I helped Dustin and the others pull our equipment from the boat, strap it onto our backs and turn towards the forest that seemed to take up most of the island, did I remember the hair-raising howl from the night before. I took my time pulling my boots back on, very reluctant to walk amongst the shady trunks. Only when Dustin and I were the last two to head into the trees following Jett did I pluck up the courage.
We walked the path side by side, not speaking but feeling comfortable with each other’s presence. I watched the foliage around us for any sign of movement, but despite my misgivings, I couldn’t see anything around us.
We reached our camp site, a clearing a good way into the trees. I couldn’t see or hear the beach anymore, and I desperately hoped that the boat
hadn’t left us here. We began to set up camp, and it was as I was threading the poles through the canvas that I noticed what had been bothering me.
“Dena,” I said urgently, and she looked up from counting tent pegs. “Have you noticed there are no birds?”
It was true. No birdsong filtered through the trees, no lizards rustled the leaf litter. It was as though the island were dead. Theresa, having heard me, straightened up and looked about; our classmates hadn’t noticed anything wrong.
All of our classmates except Phoenix. I saw him standing on the edge of camp, his one man tent in his hand as he surveyed the trees surrounding the clearing. I wondered what he thought of the whole thing.
We spent the day exploring the island in groups of five or more. Eleanora had somehow managed to get Phoenix to accompany her and her friends into the forest, something I knew must be hell for him; I could barely stand their giggling, how could he?
My group wandered along a long forgotten path which was strewn with leaf litter. Petre and Ispin were having a mock sword fight with long sticks while Dustin watched on; he hadn’t been allowed to join in. As the scythe was his chosen weapon, he was used to handling longer weapons than the two, granting him an advantage. Rain and the other girls were ahead and I brought up the rear, meandering along behind the others. I knew we must be getting close to the other side of the island, but there was no break in the trees. I had my hands in my pockets, watching the sky above me as the sun moved in and out of the clouds scudding across the blue sky.
I stumbled, my foot falling into a depression on the path. As I tried to lift it out quickly to regain my balance, my toes caught on the dirt and I went sprawling.
“I envy your grace,” Theresa said, laughing as she helped me up.
“There’s something on the path,” I said, more concerned with what I’d fallen into rather than her sarcasm.
I bent down, moving aside rotted leaves to reveal what could only be-
“Is that a footprint?”
A giant footprint. As I pulled more leaves away, the boys came back to us, as did the girls.
“It’s not a footprint,” I swallowed hard, fighting against the fear that was once again threatening to take a hold of me. “It’s a paw print.”
A paw print that was longer than two of my foot lengths. I stood up hastily, and Dustin caught me, grasping my muddy hand in his. Petre and Ispin worked together to clear the path with their magic, the squalls of wind they had summoned making short work of the tree litter.
The whole path was covered in the prints. Yasmin measured them out and then faced us, visibly pale.
“I don’t know exactly what it is,” she began, trembling slightly. Petre caught her elbow and steadied her. “But it’s a carnivore. And I think... I’m going to get Jett to check these though,” she looked up at us, uncertainty sparking in her eyes. “I think it’s the size of a horse.”
A brisk wind blew up the path, scattering the leaves back over the prints. I knew I wasn’t the only one contemplating running and screaming back to camp.
“Let’s head back,” Dustin said unnecessarily. “We’d better show Jett these.”
As we hurried back down the path from whence we’d came, the hair on the back of my neck prickled and I knew, without doubt, that we were being watched.
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