by Liara Woo
Katie raised one eyebrow at him. "But what about you? Do you know anything about sailing?"
"I know how to steer, but other than that I don't."
Katie felt unease swim in her stomach. It was beginning to sound impossible to get to Kylaras through the Ocean of Storms. But there was no point in delaying the inevitable. "Alright," she sighed. "Ready for this storm?"
Joran nodded, smiling. He was obviously desperate to get home. I hope I won't let him down, Katie thought, not for the first time. He looked at her expectantly. Katie turned away and whispered the storm words: Celed serelbeth birthoniel.
She continued to speak the phrase, over and over again, faster and faster, gradually getting louder, following her instincts. Rain appeared out of nowhere, somehow falling from the top of the cavern's ceiling, drizzling on the boat and its passengers, peppering the surface of the water. As Katie chanted, adding more power to the words, the rain fell heavier and a fierce wind began to blow. Large waves formed in the small pool, rocking the boat. Katie tightened her grip on the sides and chanted louder. "Celed serelbeth birthoniel! Celed serelbeth birthoniel!"
Joran was astonished. His eyes were wide and his mouth was agape as his golden hair was blown back in the wind.
The water level rose at an alarming rate. The rain dumped on the waves and the wind roared, whipping at hair and clothing. And the walls of the cavern began to disappear.
"It's happening!" Joran exclaimed over the roar of the wind.
The sky was dark and overcast. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. The mountainous waves crashed over the sides of the small boat. Katie screamed and huddled in the bow, and as the small craft crested another wave she felt as if she were on some harsh roller coaster, untamed and wild.
"What now?" Joran shouted. "I can see nothing except for waves and rain!"
Katie shivered, soaking wet and afraid. "I don't know! I didn't think this far ahead!"
"At least the wind's behind us," Joran yelled. "Hopefully it will drive us to Kylaras!"
Katie didn't respond. She jumped every time lightning flashed, and the roaring thunder made her tremble. The raging wind tore at her clothes and hair; the driving rain blinded her and the monstrous waves rose up all around, as tall as mountains, just like the backs of a monstrous creature, both carrying the boat and crashing over the seemingly fragile sides, drenched her, and each time the boat rode down one side of a wave she was afraid that it would capsize and sink into the ocean. It was such a weak craft, tiny compared to the waves, which tossed it around the same way a cat plays with string. Or a mouse. Joran was wrestling with the tiller, trying to steer around the bigger waves while keeping the boat in line with the wind.
"Forget it!" Katie yelled. "Go with the waves!"
"This is the way Halthren taught me!" Joran responded. "Try to bail out some of the water!"
Katie nodded and scooped up seawater in her palms, quickly dumping it out. But each time the boat rose and fell, she didn't dare move for fear of falling out. Joran held the tiller so tight his knuckles were pale and shaking. His eyes were narrowed in determination. It was obvious that he had no idea what he was doing.
Suddenly there was a terrible shriek. Katie spun around, frantically searching for the source of the sound. "What was that?" she shouted.
"Sea serpent!" Joran responded, his voice cracking. Katie felt her blood turn to ice. What kind of a terrifying new world have I entered?! Joran continued, "They're the other reason no one survives this ocean! They love destruction and the taste of elven flesh!"
Katie looked at him. His eyes were wide with terror. "That's not good!" she shouted. "How about saying something encouraging?"
"Sea serpents only see in black and white, which is good, because our boat is the same shade as the ocean!"
"Won't they hear us shouting?" Katie shouted anxiously.
"They have terrible ears!" Joran yelled back. "They're almost blind, too, but their sense of smell makes up for everything else!"
Katie felt a shiver race down her spine—and it wasn't from the icy rain thoroughly soaking her. "Uh, that's not good," she muttered (even though she couldn't hear her own words above the roaring of the storm). She'd noticed that Joran smelled distinctly like pine sap. The sea serpent might want to investigate. "Joran…" she began, wanting to warn him about his pine sap aroma.
Suddenly a massive head breached the waves, covered in sleek scales. It was flat and narrow, and the eyes were small and fishlike. Long, curved yellow teeth jutted out from its closed jaws. A beard of seaweed-like tentacles dangled from its arrowhead jawbone, whipping back and forth in the wind. Two massive nostrils were flared just in front of the eyes.
"Not good!" Joran exclaimed, shrinking back. The sea serpent snorted.
"I heard that!" it roared. It's a she, Katie realized. The female serpent hissed. "Lisssssten, elfling, I may not have the bessssst hearing, but I can at leasssst hear that! I'm going to eat you now, all right?"
Joran yelled in terror, pressing himself against the sides of the boat.
"No!" Katie shouted as the serpent brought her head down, jaws opened wide. Just then, out of the blue, she realized something. The waves don't bother her at all! If I could get her to help us…
Joran had nowhere to run. The serpent snapped her jaws shut, caught his tunic in her teeth, and lifted him high into the air. "Oh, ratsssss!" the serpent grumbled. "My teeth got sssssnagged!" Joran clapped his hands over his ears, grimacing, as the thunderous voice rang directly into his ears. The serpent swung her head violently from side to side the way a dog plays with a chew toy.
"Stop!" Katie screamed. "That's my friend!" She was horribly aware how weak and thin her voice was compared to the serpent's hissing, screechy roars.
The serpent stopped shaking Joran, who hung limp from her jaws, eyes closed and face pale. "We-ell," the serpent said, stretching the word into two syllables. "What have we here? Thisssss elfling travels with ssssomeone containing jusssst a trasssse of Darknessssss in her scent. Why?"
Katie cringed. A trace of Darkness? "Put him down or I'll destroy you!" Her voice was suddenly shrill and piercing. She felt something strange stir within her...the same thing she'd felt when she'd yelled at Joran. Something peculiar was rising within her.
"You are a ssssstrange creature," the serpent hissed. "You ssmell…different. Not like anything I can name. Let me look at you. Perhaps I will be willing to share thissss ssssnack with you." She sank down into the ocean so that her neck was hidden. Joran's legs dragged in the water, but still he didn't stir. "You can dessstroy me?"
"Celed Vorello!" Katie shouted, raising her right arm and bringing it down on one side of the boat. Lightning shot down and flames burst up, quickly doused by a wave washing over the side. The words had come to her mind out of nowhere. Katie stared in surprise.
The sea serpent reared her head back. "Ssssso you did not lie. I thought you were bluffing. Here's the problem: I can't put him down. His clothing is sssssnagged on my tooth and I can't get him off…unlesssss I keep shaking him." She seemed to relish the idea of causing Joran more discomfort.
"There's another way," Katie insisted as powerfully as she could. She glared at the serpent. "I can slip him out of that tunic."
"Oooh, goodie! We won't have to eat that fabric! I mean, I don't mind it, but it'll be great to tasssssste an elf without it…"
"No!" Katie exclaimed. She cringed as the boat lurched down another wave. "I don't want to eat him! I'm going to slip him out of that tunic and get him free and then you're going to carry us to Kylaras!"
The serpent reared her head. "Never! I'll plunge to the bottom of the ocean with him! I'll die before I go near that accursssssed realm of Light!"
Katie swallowed. Then an idea sprouted in her mind. "Tell me your name," she demanded, putting as much ice and authority into her voice as she could.
"Sharka," the serpent answered warily.
"If you disobey me, I'll kill every one of your kind who dares to face me, and before they
die I'll tell them that their death came from your disobedience. All will despise you."
Sharka looked from Katie to the huge waves and back to Katie again. Then she sighed. "Fine. I'll help you. Cut your friend free; then I'll lower my head and you can climb on."
Katie nodded. "Thank you," she said more respectfully. She slid to the other side of the boat and gently slipped Joran out of his tunic. He collapsed in the bottom of the boat, shivering and barely conscious. Katie splashed water on his cheek and his eyes fluttered open. He moaned.
"Katie…the serpent…" he murmured.
"She's agreed to give us a ride to Kylaras," Katie told him. "It'll be faster and so much easier…"
Joran nodded groggily and pulled himself into a sitting positon. He looked at Sharka nervously. The sea serpent chewed on the tunic in her mouth and swallowed it whole. She grinned. "Mmmmm, tasssstessss like elf!"
Joran cringed.
Katie jumped from the boat and onto Sharka's head, holding tight to two seaweed-like tentacles. She reached down and helped Joran up in front of her; he was so shaken that she wasn't certain if he could hold on tight enough. When she was certain he could hold on, she wrapped her arms around his waist and tried not to be distracted by the feel of his strong abdominal muscles against her hands and forearms.
Sharka lurched forward and reared her head back, raising it higher out of the water. Then she surged forward, her sleek body rising and dipping and crashing through the waves. The rain showed no sign of letting up, and the wind was just as fierce, if not fiercer. Salt stung Katie's eyes; exhausted, she closed them and leaned her head against Joran's bare back. Only then did the presence of his Light revive her from the Dark trance she'd been in.
She suddenly realized how pompous and rude she'd been to Sharka. Am I really that mean? I'm not always like that, am I? Panic stirred within her. I'm not turning Dark, right?!
As if in response, Sharka spoke in a sneering voice. "Well done, sssstranger. You have bessssted the Great One of the Ssssea. For I, Sharka, am the High Queen of ssssea sssssserpentsssssss. Your powers are asssssstronomical. Join Nashgor, the Blesssssssssed One of Allagandria! You will be welcomed with It. You belong at Itsssss sssssside."
Katie froze and lifted her head. Her heart pounded against her ribs. I don't want to! I don't belong with Darkness…right? There was a sick feeling in her stomach as Sharka lunged forward again. "You're wrong!" Katie said boldly.
Sharka laughed. "Only a being of Darknessssss could command me."
Unsettled, Katie laid her head back on Joran's smooth shoulder. She could feel him breathing. She could feel his heart beating. She could feel the Light and the goodness within him and was comforted.
Slowly but steadily, an hour at a time, they crossed the Ocean of Storms. Soon Katie thought the entire night had passed. Only then did the storm show any signs of relenting. The wind gradually decreased, and the rain lightened up. The mountainous waves were more like small hills. Every now and then, the clouds would part and pink sunlight streamed onto the water. It was morning.
With every break in the clouds, Joran would straighten and regain consciousness. But when the clouds covered the sky once more, he fell asleep again, almost instantly. Katie could tell that he was getting weaker and worried about him.
Why? she wondered.
After the first several patches of light she answered her own question. Joran had told her that Darkness sucked the energy from elves after a long time if there was more of it than Light, and it had been at least ten or maybe twelve hours since they'd met Sharka. The sea serpent was obviously a Dark creature and definitely had more Darkness than Joran had Light, simply because she was so massive.
Wanting to comfort him somehow, Katie gently pulled his hair away from his face and patted his shoulder. "I think we're getting close," she murmured into his pointed ear.
He turned his head towards her groggily. "The way you spoke to Sharka…you sounded…different. Not at all like an ally to elves."
Katie's heart sank. "Starling said that I have Darkness in me. But, Joran, that's not really what I'm like, I promise! It just…it just happened that way. She was going to eat you! Joran, seriously, I'm not allied to Darkness!"
Joran nodded and closed his eyes. "Good," he whispered.
Anxiously Katie leaned over his shoulder to see his face. It was pale and drawn, as if he were in pain. "It's because of her, isn't it?" she asked quietly. "She's Dark, so she's taking your energy. Is that what's wrong?"
Joran nodded, but he didn't say anything.
"Will you be alright?" Katie asked softly.
He nodded again. "I think you're right; we are almost there. I can feel it."
"Good," Katie sighed. Unsure of what else to say, she looked down at the dark waves. The sky was still overcast, but the wind had faded to a gentle breeze and the rain had ceased. In the distance Katie could see the sun glinting off of the waves on the horizon. She squinted; for a moment she thought she could see a glimmer of green. Her eyes widened. "Joran! Look!"
Joran straightened and looked up. Katie frowned as she noticed how much effort it seemed to take him. The sooner we get away from Sharka, the better, she thought.
Joran peered over the top of the serpent's head, his eyes widening. Katie smiled, feeling some of the uneasiness leave her heart as joy lit up his face. "It's Kylaras!" he exclaimed. "That's Eagle Point, up ahead! I'm home!"
Katie felt herself sag at his last words. Home. For her, home was now worlds away. She felt an overwhelming sense of loss… and then, as Sharka continued slithering through the ocean, she could truly see Kylaras for the first time.
Bright sunlight streamed down from the heavens, glinting off of two tall waterfalls racing side by side down a large dark cliff into a small pool in the dark gray sand of the beach. Gargantuan linden trees, oaks, and aspens grew at the base of the cliff and hung over the top. Their leaves were shades of red, orange, and yellow more vibrant than any Katie had ever seen. It was as colorful as a dream.
The waterfalls sprung from a river at the top of the cliff, and beyond that Katie could see tall hills covered in trees and ferns, and in the far distance she saw a single snow-capped peak. Moss covered the northern sides of the tree trunks, which were a rich, healthy brown. Rainbows shone in the mist rising from the waterfalls. The air was cool and clean.
"It's…paradise…" Katie breathed. Joran's face was almost glowing with joy.
"It's my home," he whispered softly.
"Farewell," Sharka growled. "I will go no further; that terrible light dries out my skin." With surprising tenderness she shook her two passengers into the water. Then she dived back into the depths of the ocean with a huge splash, causing a massive wave to rise up and push Katie and Joran closer to shore. They rose back up to the surface, sputtering and giggling. For once, in his joy, Katie saw Joran as a child, fun-loving, not solemn and dutiful as responsibility had made him. I wonder if he's carefree like this around Halthren, she reflected.
"Come on!" he exclaimed, striking out towards the shore. Katie swam after him as fast as she could. The seawater was pleasantly cool, and the sun was shining warmly. With the return of light, Katie felt more awake, more energized. She followed Joran to the sandy gray shore. The waves did most of the work for her; she didn't have to swim very hard.
I'm tired, she realized, not for the first time. And hungry. And thirsty. She looked ahead, where Joran was already climbing out of the water and flopping down on his back. He'll know what to do.
Soon her feet brushed the smooth ocean floor and she made her way to the beach with long, heavy steps, and when she reached the sand she stood over Joran, smiling as he stared up at the sky with a dreamy look on his face. She knelt beside him and looked back only once at the dark mass of clouds on the horizon. Thank goodness that's over, she thought.
"Welcome to Allagandria, Katie," Joran smiled. "I hope you like it."
Katie looked up at the waterfalls, the cliff, and the trees. It was all so m
uch more colorful and bright up close. Overwhelming happiness welled within her soul—so much that she couldn't contain it. "I love it!" she exclaimed, bending down and pulling Joran into a quick, tight embrace. He sat up and grinned at her, his cheeks reddening. Katie blushed, trying and failing to ease her smile into a more neutral expression.
"We should camp here tonight," Joran said happily. "I'll look around and get some food. Then we can sleep until we've made up for the past few sleepless nights. The last time I actually slept from dusk until past dawn was before the demons came."
"I can't believe that was almost a week ago," Katie sighed. "So much has happened…but whatever comes next, it'll be nice to sleep tonight."
Joran nodded and got to his feet. "We can rest beneath those oaks. The grass and fallen leaves will be nice and soft, and the dryads will keep watch."
"Dryads?" Katie asked curiously.