CHAPTER 22

Ripples on the Ocean

Ardent?” Marrill asked, pushing her way into the darkened cabin. The wizard stood, hands clasped behind his back, staring out the far window. Through it, the Kraken’s wake glittered like golden fire, casting sparks into the night.

“When I first went to the Sheshefesh,” Ardent said without turning, “I believed the Bintheyr Map to Everywhere would lead me to the secrets of the Dzane.”

Marrill had to laugh grimly. “Well, it did.”

“That it did,” he agreed. “Though the Lost Sun of Dzannin was not quite what I had in mind. This was before Serth drank Stream water, before the Meressian Prophecy; I had scarcely even heard of the Lost Sun back then. No, what I wanted more than anything in life was to achieve the power of the Dzane. The Map was my utmost ambition. Knowing now that the Compass Rose was with the Sheshefesh… The creature fooled me good.”

Marrill let the door shut behind her, slipping closer to the wizard’s desk in the center of the room. It was strewn with junk, as usual. One corner, however, was clear, save for a thick scroll, partially unraveled. “So, that’s what I don’t get,” she said. “You said the Sheshefesh took something precious from you because it had the Compass Rose. But then it gave the Compass Rose to Annalessa, and you ended up getting it after all.”

Ardent turned to her. One hand hung limp at his side, the crumpled letter dangling from it as if stuck to his fingers, ready to fall at any moment. “Indeed,” he said, “it found something even more valuable to me to take instead.”

He took a deep breath. “In my quest for the Map, I would spend weeks researching before I went anywhere, making sure my leads were real, that I knew what I was looking for, that I would recognize any clues that I might stumble upon. When Annalessa went missing, I forgot all of that. I hunted wildly, heading anywhere I thought might even be possible, as fast as I could travel, for years, to no avail.”

He waved to the scroll on the corner of his desk. Marrill approached it cautiously. Scrawled down the length of it was a list of what looked to be locations: the Boastful Coast, Kittargh & Yaracdala, Scarbride Furrow, Strange the Grange. Most had been scratched through, but not all. Three in particular glowed a soft yellow at the bottom of the list, as though inked in candlelight. These three, she recognized.

Monerva

Margaham’s Game

The Knot of the Coiled Rope

With a flick of Ardent’s fingers, the scroll began to unravel. It reached the edge of the desk and fell to the floor, unrolling across the length of the cabin. Marrill sucked in a breath—there must have been thousands of locations scratched out. “You went to all of those?”

Ardent sounded tired when he answered. “Many of them twice.”

Marrill recognized the expression on his face. It was the same one her father always tried to hide from her—the one he wore late at night, when his thoughts were consumed by her mother’s health. It was fear and worry and deep, aching sorrow. Ardent and her dad had that in common, she realized. Both were unable to shape the fate of the person they loved.

“What was in the letter?” Marrill asked.

Ardent sighed and shrugged, his fingers twitching as he held it toward her. “You were the one to retrieve it for me. You have a right to know its contents.”

Marrill swallowed back her surprise and scurried across the cabin to retrieve it before he could change his mind.

Dear Old Fool, it read.

When we met in Monerva, I knew I could not stop Serth and his Prophecy of destruction. My future was your past—how could I change it? I could only track him, learn from him, and hope that an answer would reveal itself. What I didn’t understand was that my steps led in a circle, and even as I hunted, I was hunted in turn. I am pursued now by the walking shadow of the man I once knew, a grim reflection of the person I once held as dear as myself. He already knows where the path leads us; there is no escaping it. But even he doesn’t know what we will find there.

Still, I found what I needed. I cannot stop the Prophecy, I know, but I believe I can influence the manner in which it comes to pass. And that may be just the chance the Stream needs to survive the coming of the Lost Sun.

To do what must be done, I needed the Compass Rose. And to get it, I had to leave something precious behind. The Sheshefesh had but one demand: that I promise, bound by the magic of the Knot of the Coiled Rope, that I would not see or speak to you again until my task was completed. The Sheshefesh assures me that you will return someday and retrieve this letter. Indeed, he insisted that I write it. Part of his price on both of us, it seems, is for you to know exactly the terms of our bargain.

How I wish you had come with me, back when I visited you in your tower. Now, there are no more chances. I must do this alone.

The lodestone, the Compass Rose you tried to find so long ago, weighs heavy in my hand. It guides me to the Font of Meres, where wizards and magic mingle. What will happen there, I do not know. Perhaps one day, I will send you a letter telling you the job is done, the Sheshefesh’s curse is lifted, and we can see each other again. Perhaps not.

One way or the other, trust in me, and believe this: You will see me again someday, though time and tide render us both unrecognizable.

Until then, I remain, for always,

Yours,

AnnaL

“That’s why I could never find her. Annalessa made a deal with the Sheshefesh so that she might never be found.” Ardent pulled off his hat and ran his fingers over his forehead, as though trying to ease tension. Without his cap his soft white hair fluffed around his head like a cloud, making him look even more absurd than usual.

Marrill frowned. The way she interpreted the letter, Ardent had it all wrong. She thought back to her first visit to the Stream, the very first time Ardent had told her about his quest to find Annalessa. A quest that started when she sent him a letter.

“Um, Ardent? This is great news!” she cried.

“How do you figure?” the wizard asked, arching a white eyebrow.

“The letter,” she said, vibrating with excitement. “The one Annalessa sent you that started your search for her. If she sent that letter after writing this one, that means her promise to the Sheshefesh is already over!”

Ardent’s brow furrowed. “Well, certainly it would, Marrill, but we have no way of knowing the order in which these things happened. And besides, she didn’t actually send me a letter. She sent me…” He trailed off. His eyes suddenly opened wide. “The Compass Rose,” he breathed.

Now it was Marrill’s turn to be confused. “Huh?”

Ardent’s eyes, however, flashed with understanding. “I never told you that bit. She sent me the Compass Rose itself. I opened her letter, and off it flew. You see, Annalessa never approved of my quest for the Map. She worried that my obsession with finding it would destroy me; indeed it was she who once persuaded me to give up on it. For her to send me the Compass Rose, a piece of the Map, well…”

He kicked on the hem of his robe and began pacing. “She never would have tempted me to resume my quest for the Map unless things were dire. Unless there were truly no other options. I knew right then that I had been a fool. That I had turned my back on the person I cared about most. That if she was lost for good, it would be my fault. I swore I would not let that happen.”

Marrill grinned, glad to see him more animated again. “So if she sent you the Compass Rose, that definitely had to happen after she wrote this letter.” She crossed her arms. “You know, I think the Sheshefesh was just toying with you. Annalessa seems convinced you’ll see her again—maybe she’s waiting for you in Meres. And if she is, and the Sheshefesh is just a big blustering jerk… then after that, maybe we can go get Coll back after all!”

Color infused Ardent’s cheeks. “You have a point, Miss Aesterwest. You have many good points.” He leaned over the desk to tousle her hair fondly. They both laughed. It felt good—after seeing Ardent act so cruelly and so callously with the Sheshefesh—to hear him be himself again.

The old man smiled a grandfatherly smile and turned back to the window. “Well,” he said, “the night grows late. Tonight, let us sleep soundly, dreaming of fond reunions and glorious victories. For tomorrow, we make landfall at Meres.”

The next day did not dawn so much as leak into the world.

Marrill had seen some pretty incredible places on the Pirate Stream. She’d imagined that the Isle of Meres, where wizards conferred, must be the most magical of all. Beyond magical. Super magical.

But when she emerged onto the deck the next morning, there was none of that. Rocks jutted up from the wave-tossed Stream, some of them bigger even than the Kraken. They formed a maze so dense that it seemed impossible to sail through. Not that anyone would want to. Because from what glimpses she could catch, nothing but a squat scrap of land awaited, covered in dead trees. They looked lost and dull beneath the sorrow-colored sky.

Marrill climbed to the quarterdeck where Remy leaned against a post, one finger on the wheel to keep them steady. “Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Marrill asked.

Remy let out a huge yawn, blinked her bloodshot eyes. “Of course I know. This is the current for Meres.” She nodded her chin toward the rocks around her, rubbing absently at her side. “Which should make that the Isle of Meres.”

Marrill scrunched up her face. She couldn’t hide her disappointment. “But… it’s so empty… and ugly.”

Remy shrugged. “I guess they can’t all be the land of unicorns and rainbows.”

“Nah, went to that one for my third anniversary,” the Naysayer grunted from a nearby table. “Overrated.”

Marrill gave him a sidelong glance. “Third anniversary of what?”

“Third anniversary of mind your own business, that’s what,” the monster snapped. “Oh, wait, you minding your own business hasn’t happened yet. I’ll make a note to celebrate if it does, though.”

“Are we celebrating something?” Ardent asked in midyawn as he stepped from his cabin.

The Naysayer pushed from the table and slumped toward the hatch. “Not unless you call doing something stupid to get us all killed a celebration. ’Cause if you do, then every day’s a party with you thumbheads.” He reached the stairs just as Fin appeared at the top.

“Morning,” Fin chirped.

The Naysayer gave him a withering look. “Congratulations, ya mastered the time of day. Learn to count your fingers, and you’ll officially be not as dumb as you look.” He stuck a thick hand out at Fin’s face. “Classic Naysayer,” the beast snarled before lumbering belowdecks.

Fin shook his head sadly as he scooched next to Marrill. “Good to know the Naysayer’s still here. I keep taking down that sign he posted on the Promenade Deck, but he just won’t wander onto it anymore.” He swiped a cheese rind off a nearby table and gnawed on it thoughtfully. “Speaking of signs, any sign of the Rise and Fade?”

Marrill shook her head. “Horizon’s clear. Looks like smooth sailing.”

He nodded. “Good. Fig says they’ll be here, though. She’s sure of it.”

Marrill gave him a long look. Fig? Did Fin have another friend she didn’t know about? She’d felt like he’d been a little preoccupied lately. Most of the trip actually. As if half the time, he wasn’t even talking to her.

Something familiar nagged at the back of Marrill’s mind, like she already knew the answer to this problem. She just couldn’t focus on it.…

“So this is Meres,” Fin interrupted, scattering the thought away. “Not much to look at, is it?”

Ardent shot them a mischievous smile. “Not yet, perhaps. But Meres doesn’t reveal its secrets to just anyone. Observe.” He kicked aside the hem of his robe and strode toward the nearest railing, took a deep snort, and hocked a loogie straight into the Pirate Stream.

“Ew,” Marrill said. “Why did we have to observe that?”

As she said it, though, ripples spread from where his spit hit the water, and it was like a bloom of color sweeping the Stream. Everything that had been sepia before shifted, the hues growing more and more vibrant. The rocky shoals seemed to separate, clearing a path for the Kraken to sail. Beyond them, the island stretched out into an impressive coastline. The leafless trees twisted and grew, branches tangling into one another.

Marrill blinked. It was like a veil had been lifted from her eyes. What had been barren and brown before was now strikingly lush. “Whoa,” she whispered.

“It takes the waters of a wizard to unlock the waters of Meres,” Ardent said, straightening. “The others always preferred the dramatics of blood, but I was never partial to needles or knives.”

“Best loogie ever,” Fin declared.

Ardent bent down between them. “You should have seen what happened when I peed in it,” he whispered.

“Oh, gross. I heard that,” Remy moaned.

Ardent cleared his throat and swept out an arm. “Mmm-hmm, yes. What I meant to say was, welcome to Meres! The birthplace of the Pirate Stream! Now that the path is clear, take us into shore please, Madam Captain.”

“Way ahead of you, old man,” Remy murmured. Sure enough, she’d already guided the Kraken into the main channel. In moments, they were weaving their way through newly formed gaps in the great rocks, hemmed in on either side by the massive boulders.

With only the island ahead of them, Marrill realized that this would be an awfully easy place to get trapped. She looked aft, just in time to see the warships slipping out from behind the largest of the rocks.

“THE RISE!” a girl shouted from the main deck, giving voice to Marrill’s fears.

Remy stayed the course, white knuckled. “We’re in trouble, folks,” she said. “Nowhere to turn, nowhere to run. Either we head to the island and risk getting pinned, or we’re gonna have to try to reverse this thing past them.”

“Keep going,” Ardent commanded. “The Lost Sun is nearly at Meres. We must reach the Font before he does… even if we lose the Kraken in the process.”

“Lose the Kraken?” Marrill whispered. It would be like losing Coll all over again. She swallowed, trying to force the thought from her mind. If she dwelled on everything they might lose in all of this, it would paralyze her with fear.

“Quickly,” Ardent continued, “gather everything we need to make landfall. This will be a race, it seems.”

“Dream ribbon, check,” Marrill said, snatching it up from where she’d been inspecting it by her sketchpads. She shoved it into a bag she used to carry her drawing supplies. “Fin, you got the ink?”

“Check,” Fin nodded, passing her the jar. She added it to the bag.

Ardent nodded at him. “Thank you, unfamiliar young man.” The wizard patted at the sleeve of his robe. “And I have the Map and the wish orb.” He leaned closer, adding, “Wouldn’t do to leave it here for the Rise to use while we’re facing the Lost Sun. One apocalypse at a time, I say.”

He started toward the railing, but a girl stepped in his path. “This is a race you can’t win,” she warned him, grabbing his arm.

Marrill jumped back. For a moment, she thought they’d already been boarded. But Fin put his hand on her shoulder, then on the girl’s. The name Fig sounded in Marrill’s head. It sounded… familiar.

“It’s okay,” Fin said. “She’s one of the good ones. And she’s right.”

“Now see here,” Ardent blustered.

Fin pointed off the stern. “The Rise are fast behind.… They’ll catch up long before you reach the Font.”

They were all silent for a moment, distracted as they watched the Rise ships move into the channel behind them. They’d be on them in less than ten minutes. That wasn’t much of a head start.

Then Marrill realized what Fin just said. “What do you mean, ‘before you reach the Font’?”

Fin gave her an odd smile. “You go ahead with Ardent. I’ll stay here and buy you time.”

“That’s crazy,” she pointed out, crossing her arms. “They’re an unbeatable army. How in the world do you think you can stop them?”

Fin rocked back on his heels, his usual cocky grin splitting his face. “Don’t worry about me. I have a cunning plan.”

Marrill rolled her eyes. “Fin, this is serious. It’s just that… it feels weird to split up. We’ve always faced the end of the Pirate Stream together.” She took a deep breath. “And besides… this whole journey was supposed to be about helping you find your mom. I just feel… I feel like I completely lost sight of that and abandoned you. Just like in Monerva.”

The next thing she knew, Marrill found herself swept up in an enormous hug. “Marrill,” Fin said, “you’re the best friend I have in the whole Stream. You don’t have to be helping me every second for me to know that you want to.”

“Land ho!” Remy shouted. The Kraken ground to a halt, her squid-shaped anchor dropping with a loud grind of its chain.

Fin pulled back, his hands gripping Marrill’s shoulders. His expression grew serious—or as serious as it ever did. “The Rise may be an unbeatable army, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a weakness. Everyone has a weakness, and I intend to use theirs against them. Besides, they’ll never hurt me. Vell needs me.”

Marrill lunged forward and grabbed Fin in another hug. “Be careful anyway.”

Despite the looming danger, Fin smiled and waggled his eyebrows at her. “Pffft, my job is the easy one. Now you and Ardent go save the world.”

“I’m staying, too,” Remy declared. Marrill gave her a stunned look. But the older girl was dead serious. “This ship has already lost one captain,” she said. “I’m not leaving her. Besides, you’ll be with Ardent. I may be northern Arizona’s best babysitter, but I’m still no match for a wizard.” Remy nodded at her. “You’ve got this, Marrill.”

Taking a deep breath, Marrill joined Ardent at the stern. “I guess it’s just you and me again,” the wizard said. He held out a crooked elbow. “Shall we?”

Marrill looked back as Ropebone swung them across to solid ground. The shore was narrow, not much more than a strip of rugged rock edged by the maw of the dark woods. Fin waved from the bow as they headed into the forest.

Up ahead, shadows loomed; it was impossible to know what awaited them.

But whatever it was, the Enterprising Kraken had their back.