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I’m going to die.
Silvio thrashed his arms wildly, but before he could surface, a current pushed him even deeper into its depths, spinning and rolling him underwater until the rage of the ocean was satisfied. The last wave slammed him on the beach, scraping his belly across the sand. Silvio opened his eyes just as Kaempie and Reuben grabbed his arms and pulled him away from the tide. They laid him next to Meneka and pushed on his chest until he convulsed, spitting up salt water, sand, and gravel. When he was breathing again, Kaempie collapsed next to him. Reuben walked back to the water, swimming into the breakers to get their boat.
“You should leave the blasted thing to drift,” Silvio called out, coughing. “We’re here.”
“We’re not safe yet,” Kaempie said quietly.
“I’m not risking my life at sea again,” Silvio’s teeth clattered as he hugged his shivering body. “I’ll run from the witch on foot before I drown in the depths of her briny deep. She owns the water.”
“She owns the land too, with her dagger fire,” Meneka said.
“I’d rather be warm than wet.”
“Well,” Kaempie said, “She knows we’re here. Her serpent followed us. There’s not much we can do about it.”
“You mean we’re going to die?” Silvio looked up at his leader, unable to believe Kaempie would give up so soon.
“Or be captured?” Meneka asked and spat on the ground. “You can’t deceive the queen. And if you could, you can’t elude her warriors. They’re all sorceresses.”
“Stop it, Meneka. My mother’s a sorceress. I’ve heard enough of your talk.”
Kaempie interrupted them by resting a hand on Silvio’s shoulder. “Meneka’s right. Your mother’s ability to cast spells hasn’t been channeled by Hacatine. The warriors were gentle once, like Claudia. But in the queen’s hands, their spells are now wicked and cunning.”
“So, we’re going to die?” Silvio’s voice trembled as he repeated his question.
“Not necessarily.”
The three watched as Reuben pulled the boat ashore, gathering the belongings that had been washed up on the beach.
“But we’ll have to discuss a plan, and we need to do it tonight.” Kaempie went to help Reuben gather the arrows drifting in the surf.
“I’m going on the boat,” Meneka said.
“What do you mean, you’re going on the boat?” Silvio asked as he curled his knees to his chest. His stomach was still ill from swallowing salt water. His fingers reached for the delicate chain around his neck.
“I’m going as far away from here as I can get, whether anyone else comes with me.”
“You’re crazy. You’ll never make it.”
“Sure, I will. Hacatine won’t be combing the waters anymore because she’ll think we are wrecked. She’ll send her scouts here to pick up our pieces.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because we’re just a short distance from Taikus. Look.” Meneka pointed to the east. Fog still hovered over the water, but it was rolling out to sea. The view of the coastline was clear. The silhouette of the island cut into the brilliance of the moon. “We’ve not come far at all. Hacatine will find us here.”
“If we don’t move soon,” Reuben added as he and Kaempie returned. Silvio took the bow and quiver that Kaempie handed him.
“By water,” Meneka said.
“By land,” Silvio corrected and then held his breath, hoping the others would agree with him.
Meneka kicked sand into Silvio’s eyes as he stood. Silvio jumped up. Kaempie held him back.
“Stop, both of you,” Kaempie said. “There’s no time to fight. When we get to where we’re going, you can beat on each other all you want.”
“Where is that?” Reuben spun around to face the older wizard, fire in his eyes. “Just where are we going?”
Silvio knew Kaempie didn’t have an answer. How could he? No one had been given a chance to plan this trip. They’d been hustled to the beach by Claudia and her friends, given the skiff and sent to sea.
Away. That’s where we’re going. Away, as if away is a place of safety.
Silvio’s stomach tightened at the thought of their voyage having no end. “If we make it to the northern lands, we’ll be safe. The winds will protect us.”
“How can you be certain of that?”
“They saved us from the serpent, didn’t they?” Silvio said.
“Our magic saved us,” Reuben answered.
“Our magic and the winds. There has got to be more to this world than just us.” Certainty rang in Kaempie’s voice, settling the unrest in Silvio’s heart.
“Of course, there is. There’s Hacatine,” Meneka interrupted. “And I’m going as far away from her as I can get.”
“If we’re going anywhere, I’m walking,” Silvio said. “I nearly drowned just now. The northern lands are farther away than the entire span of Taikus. The waters are dark and deep and inhabited by monsters. I’m not taking that course and you’d be wise not to either. I’m walking.”
“Look!” Meneka pointed toward the island. Lights flickered in the Taikan harbor where Hacatine kept her ships. “We don’t have time to discuss anything. Let’s get in the boat and head north, like Kaempie suggested.” Meneka raced toward the shore, but Reuben caught his arm and pulled him back.
“Wait.”
“For what? Can’t you see? She’s caught wind of us.”
“We’ll take a vote right now.” Kaempie was trying to be diplomatic, but his rationale was losing way to nerves. Silvio heard it in his voice. Silvio scooted into the shadow of the nearest tree and watched his comrades. Meneka struggled to get free from Reuben as Kaempie stacked their belongings in a neat pile on the beach. All the while, the lights in the distance intensified. For as much rowing as they had done, they were only a short sail from Taikus. When Hacatine called their names in the hall this evening and no one answered, she must have suspected they had escaped. Silvio hoped that his mother would not pay for their disappearance.
“If she used her serpents to find us, she’ll wield the flash of her dagger to kill us.” Meneka released himself from Reuben’s hold just as the sky lit up. “Hide.”
It was only a moment’s flash. A huge beam lit the waters and changed the fog into a haze of white. Silvio ducked into the trees, Reuben and Kaempie fell face down on the sand behind a pile of driftwood, and Meneka crouched behind the skiff as the clouds glowered. The flash was brief. Silvio sighed with relief.
“She’s watching the waters,” Kaempie said.
Meneka tipped the skiff upright and loaded his weapons into it.
“What are you doing?” Kaempie asked.
“I’m getting out of here.”
“Didn’t you hear me? She’s watching the waters.”
“I’ll hug the coast until we’re out of range. Are you coming with me or not?” Meneka said.
Kaempie turned to Silvio, who shook his head. There was no time to exchange words. A giant wave hit the beach, lifting the skiff afloat. Meneka climbed into it and Kaempie ran to him.
It was a horrific thing—to watch the waves crash again. Kaempie was there one minute, and then a cover of bubbling foam rumbled to shore without him. Reuben ran into the water, but when another breaker pounded the beach, the dark-haired conjurer retreated. Silvio thought, or hoped, he saw Kaempie holding onto the gunwale of the little boat as it receded out to sea. But already the blanket of fog concealed the skiff, and he knew the moonlight was playing tricks with his eyes.
He listened to the sound of the waves beating like an injured heart. The wind blew salt spray into Silvio’s face. It bit his cheeks with sand and sent shivers of cold up his spine. He waited, his pulse pounding in his chest. But the boat didn’t come into view again. It was gone.
Reuben walked up the beach and stood next to him, dripping wet, trembling with cold. Silvio didn’t know Reuben very well, and it wasn’t as though Reuben wanted to know him. They just stood there, two strangers side by side, trying to comprehend what had just happened.
There were no comforting words. The older teenager was lost in his own troubles.
“I’m going back home,” Reuben whispered.
Silvio looked up at him. The older boy’s face reflected the moon, his head turned toward Taikus.
“You’ll die,” Silvio assured him.
“I’m going to die anyway,” he answered. “I’ve left something behind that I can’t live without.”
The lights of Hacatine’s ships were offshore east of the cloud layer. It was obvious now she wasn’t headed north. No. The ships were headed due south, to Bandene, the beach where they stood.
“If that’s Hacatine coming here, I’ll be able to escape back to Taikus unnoticed.”
“How? Without a boat?”
Reuben looked at Silvio, determination in his eyes. “I’ll move east through the woods until I come to the channel of Alisubbo. From there, I’ll swim.”
“And leave me here?”
“You can come with me.”
What? Swim? You’re joking. “I guess we’re on our own,” Silvio concluded. It didn’t sound right. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. He looked north again at the approaching fog. No skiff came with it. No Kaempie or Meneka.
Hacatine’s ships stabbed at the moonlight to the east, catching wind and moving with considerable speed. The cloud might conceal the galiot soon, but Silvio doubted a little fog would hinder the queen’s pursuit.
“Then run.” Reuben said. “Your magic is powerful. Follow the coast west to the bay, and then veer north. Meet up with those two.” He nodded toward the sea where they had last seen their friends. “I doubt they perished. Kaempie is too good a wizard for such an end. Go. Have hope. My heart lies elsewhere.”
Silvio couldn’t have stopped Reuben with words or magic. He watched the older wizard walk east along the shoreline for a little way, and then disappear into the forest that bordered it. Silvio knew those woods, having foraged them with his mother, and he had seen the mysterious city of Alisubbo that it bordered. Protected by their own inventions, Alisubbo was a contention of Hacatine’s even before she crowned herself queen. No Taikan had ever gained entry, nor had their attacks ever been fruitful.
They are too wise in that city,” Silvio’s mother had told him. “They have weapons that take the wizards and sorceresses by surprise. No one will ever conquer them.” And then she whispered something in his ear that he would never forget. “And they have the wind of the north on their side.”
Silvio drew his breath as Reuben disappeared.
Silvio gathered what supplies were left. A bag of food, his bow and arrow, and a lance he could use for a walking stick. He slung the pack on his back and turned west.
