Coram turned and led her and the group to the staircase that would take them to the parapets and a fight with the snakes. Meadowrue was rubbing her swords together, the sound metallic and hungry just like her eyes.
“The Hollow is a path that was cut straight through the Woodlong Mountains so that the castle could pass through,” Coram explained. “It barely fits, but that’s what should make it a good defense against the snakes. They would have to do a frontal assault. Concentrated. We could throw everything we have at them. A smart plan.”
“That’s why she’s the queen!” Ridge stated.
“Will we make it?” Rose asked as they reached the top of the stairs. “I mean, we haven’t even started to move yet. Are we supposed to wait for some wind or something?”
Glancing down, Rose saw the thick, heavy chains that were built into the castle walls begin to move. They lifted high off the ground—something a hundred men couldn’t do—and she followed the links all the way to the front of the castle and beyond. There were four chains in all, and they were strapped to something very big. It was like a mountain rising from the ground.
Rose pushed her way past the scores of guards lining up along the parapet, arrows at the ready for the next approaching snake. Her eyes were wide as she strained for a better look at what this castle used as an engine. Rising up from its slumber, rattling the chains and shaking the ground, was a giant.
“Ramsey!” the people cried. “Ramsey!”
Rose stood slack-jawed at the awesome sight. So, that’s a Sorum, she thought. Ramsey must have been close to a hundred feet tall, casting a long shadow over the castle, the sun a halo around his head. He was broad and round-shouldered with legs like stone pillars, and his hair was dark and greasy, hanging well past his stubbled chin and filled with earthen debris. The chains were attached to a thick leather vest he wore, on the shoulder of which Rose noticed something moving. What she first considered to be a bug turned out to be a woman. She stood in a small pocket near the back of Ramsey’s neck, shouting commands into his ear. This, Rose assumed, must be Spectra, his caretaker.
Immediately, the castle lurched forward, the wheels screeching to urgent life underneath. Knowing what to expect, everyone was well braced against the walls, save for Rose and her group, who were instantly thrown about like playthings. Their heads slammed hard against the ground and walls, their bodies landing in unorthodox positions, upside down and twisted. When they managed to untangle themselves and get back to their feet, Rose noticed Deedubs was missing. Her heart sank when she realized that he must have been tossed over the parapet wall.
“Deedubs!” she shrieked, and everyone ran to the wall, searching for any sign of what might have happened to him. As they looked over the side, gasps stuck in their throats. He was fifty feet above the ground, dangling precariously by the leash between his teeth. In the far corner of the wall, Eo had somehow managed to keep the rope in his mouth, his legs braced against the stone, his entire body straining to keep his father from certain death, although he too was almost entirely over the side.
“Pa,” Eo whimpered.
Ridge, who was nearest, grabbed hold of Eo, and together, they began to pull the Cobberjack to safety. Slowly, Deedubs was raised, the rope straining against the sharp edge of the stone. He was no more than three feet from the top when the castle was struck yet again, the snake slamming the wall less than twenty feet away. With the rattling tremor, Eo went fully over the side, Ridge just barely catching him by his hind legs. Meanwhile, the rope slipped from Deedubs’s mouth. He held on now by nothing more than the very tips of his aged front teeth.
Coram, Meadowrue, and Rose reached the struggling trio, grabbing hold of Ridge and pulling with everything they had. “Heave!” Ridge cried. “Heave!”
Rose glanced to her left, noticing the second snake approaching fast. “It’s coming,” she yelled. “Another one!”
“If it hits, we’re going to lose him!” Ridge said, panic in his voice.
With no other choice, Meadowrue let go of the group and pulled free her swords. Looking at her in disbelief, Rose said, “Rue, what are you doing? We need your help!”
“You’re getting it.” And when the snake neared, Meadowrue simply jumped over the side, fell through the air, and landed directly on its back, her two swords driving down deep into its scales. The snake writhed in pain, pulling away from the wall as it cried out.
“Now!” Ridge yelled.
Together, they pulled, all their strength channeled into each tug. A minute later, Deedubs and Eo were lifted over the wall to safety. The two Cobberjacks collapsed together, exhausted, Eo licking his father’s face over and over. “I thought I lost you, Pa. I thought I lost you.”
“You know I demand an honorable death, and an honorable death I will receive. No fall is going to take me.”
The castle was moving quickly now. Ramsey, who had started out at a slow pace, was running full stride across Eppersett. The ride was smooth, the castle gliding over the tracks with ease, wind in everyone’s hair. The walls were struck repeatedly, guards falling over the sides like leaves off a tree. The snakes had dozens of arrows in them, though they hardly slowed.
Rose watched helplessly as Meadowrue fought to hold on, her body jerked about, her legs in the air behind her, her grasp on the swords loosening.
“She needs help!” Rose cried, and when the snake was in range, Coram, with no comment or any hesitation, jumped on as well.
He landed hard, falling down the side of the beast, just barely getting a grip to keep from plunging to the ground. Steadily, he climbed up the snake’s back and past Meadowrue, until he reached the beast’s head. Then, raising his sword high, he brought it down right between the creature’s eyes. The head went limp and the snake’s wings stopped flapping as if something was severed. Suddenly, they found themselves in a lightning-fast nosedive. Rose looked on horrified as Ramsey led the castle farther into the distance, Meadowrue and Coram crashing hard to the ground behind them in a cloud of debris.
Angered at the loss of its brethren, the remaining snake picked up steam, screaming toward the castle. It swiped hard, thrashing wildly with its tail, and the castle wall looked close to collapse.
Ridge grabbed hold of Rose, shaking her. “The arrows aren’t enough! We’re not enough! It has to be you! Use your magic! Now!”
“But I don’t know how!”
“Try! Try anything! Or all is lost! Hurry!”
He let go and Rose backed away, her eyes darting from side to side. She lowered her head and bit her lip as she tried to settle her scrambling thoughts into something logical.
You know it’s tied to your voice, Rose. But it’s not just that. You can’t just sing or scream. It has to be directed. Aimed like a weapon or something. But how in the world do you do that?
The snake attacked again, dozens of guards falling to their deaths as the entire castle tilted, the left set of wheels rising off the tracks, then slamming back down. With her eyes focused directly on the snake, trembling and desperate, Rose shrieked, but nothing happened.
The castle continued to roar east through the territory. In the distance, the Hollow could just be made out. It wasn’t very far now. But glancing at the castle’s damage, Rose knew it couldn’t sustain much more. If she didn’t do something soon, they’d never make it.
Rose focused again, taking a deep breath. It’s up to you now, Rose. The snake has to be stopped. It has to. Forget all the eyes on you. Pretend you’re alone. Pretend you’re with your brother. He sees you. He sees you, Rose. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the snake maniacally slithering toward them. It was coming in fast, its dark mouth wide open, its wings beating viciously. You can do it. It’s now or never. Try. Do it. Do it. Do it! DO IT!!!
Eyes closed, hands extended out before her, she opened her mouth and let loose a long ear-piercing note, nothing in her mind but the rapid destruction of the snake. As the creature bore down on the castle for one final blow, wounds began to appear all across its
body. With each passing second that Rose held the note, more and more blood flowed, the snake ripping open in a million places. Shredded to pieces, it veered away from the castle and crashed straight into the ground.
A wild cheer ripped through the crowd, and everyone surrounded Rose, her body still buzzing with magic. They clutched at her and raised her up and cheered her on. And it wasn’t because she was the sacrifice. It was because of what she’d done; though she was still unsure of what, exactly, that was. She was shaking all over, but relief was in the air. As was victory.
It was hers. A small smile crossed her lips. And then she fainted.
The river was called the Zo and, as Ridge explained to Rose, “It’s Eppersett’s longest river! Can you believe it? Our longest river has the shortest name! Zo, Z-O! Two letters! Isn’t that amazing?”
Rose raised her brows, a grunted affirmation squeezing past her tight pink lips.
Really, there were a lot of things she found amazing. This entire world for one, that her voice gave her some kind of power here for another, that she had just brought down a giant monster snake all by herself, that they were able to find Coram and Meadowrue five miles from the castle and in one piece, as well as about, oh, three million other things including, most miraculously, that she might actually have a chance to save her brother. But a long river with two letters? No. She didn’t find that amazing. At all.
Thankfully her fainting spell back at the castle didn’t last very long, but it was enough to let her know that she had expelled far too much energy in one attack. If she wanted to make sure she saw this through to its proper conclusion, fulfilling her end of the bargain, she’d have to be careful from here on out. At least that was what the queen had told her after she came to. If she was ever going to reach the Abomination, she would have to gain better control of her voice.
They followed the Zo River south. At some point on their journey, they were supposed to reach Lemonwyll Bridge, which was so long and so wide an entire city was built across it. This was their destination, their first stop on the way to the Abomination. According to Coram, the bridge was almost as old as Eppersett itself. It had its own castle, its own king and queen, its own army and laws, most of them very loose. “It’s a rowdy place,” Coram explained, “full of incorrigible monsters, but don’t concern yourself with it too much. Our sole purpose for being there is the labyrinth in the center of the bridge, hidden just below the castle. That’s where we’ll find our first weapon in bringing down the Abomination.”
“The armor?” Rose asked.
“The armor of Syedel!” Ridge clarified. “The warlock deserves our respect!”
“Spiked armor, you imbecile,” Meadowrue said with a snap. “If you really mean to show respect.”
The group was tense since they had departed for this new phase of their mission. Coram was breathing heavier, Meadowrue kept clutching at her throat as if her head were about to separate from it, Ridge’s branches shook without any wind, and Eo was whimpering. The only one it didn’t seem to affect was Deedubs.
Large ships sailed up and down the Zo River, though the majority of them kept very close to the west bank rather than the east. It was as if there was an imaginary line dividing the river and all the boats made sure to keep on the same side. Something told Rose this was for a very deliberate reason.
“What’s on the other side of the river?” she asked.
There was a quiet moment before Deedubs said, “Dark territory.”
“Sounds ominous,” Rose stated, hoping for more, not that she’d get it from him.
Instead, as she suspected, it was Coram who elaborated. “Our land is divided in two halves. On this side of the river is Eppersett. On the other is Widcrook. The two countries have been at war since anyone can remember. It is a dark place filled with monstrous beings who seek nothing but blood and treasure. Yet they are at the mercy of the Abomination same as we are. No one is safe.”
“Have you ever been over there?” Rose asked. “Across the bridge and into Widcrook?”
Coram shook his head. “No. Hardly anyone goes over there if it can be avoided. There’re only two reasons one would go—war and a death wish. Of us, only Deedubs has ever been there.”
Rose looked at the Cobberjack. “Have you really?”
Deedubs grunted as if annoyed, but his head raised slightly, his pride peeking out. But only for a moment. When he spoke, it was in a voice that was gnarled with pain. “Be thankful the weapons we seek aren’t on that side, little Rose. We’d stand no chance. I lost my entire army over there. My sight too.”
Rose felt her throat constricting. “What … what happened?”
Deedubs’s lips pulled back, revealing his teeth. “I don’t talk about that.”
Some of the boats sailing up and down the river looked like living things—huge orange beasts with sails like skin and heads like serpents, populated with crews all along their spines, while others moved with swirling dark clouds above them, which Rose assumed was some kind of magic since engines were not in existence here. There were boats that could have been floating islands—they were filled with thick trees and animals that cried out over the great river. Many vessels were fishing while some were docking in little shanty towns filled with tents and open fires—Coram said these places were up and down the entire river, populated with people fleeing the Abomination, their homes in the south destroyed, their families displaced. On both sides of the river. These unfortunate creatures had run for their lives, hundreds of miles, but there was nowhere to hide for long. Eventually, the Abomination would find them. It would find everyone.
Rose was ashamed of herself. Back home, she had run from far less.
Two hours later, the Order of the Sacrifice stopped along the river to catch their breath and eat some of the food that remained and drink from the river. The water was cool, and it caressed Rose’s throat on the way down, her tongue left pleasurably buzzing. But as she came up, wiping her mouth, she caught her reflection in the river, a face materializing over her right shoulder. It was Coram, and he was grinning madly, as if trying to stifle laughter. His arms were extended, his fingers wriggling.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Rose yelled. She whipped around and grabbed him by the arms. Then she leaned back, bringing all her weight with her and, placing a foot on his chest, propelled him straight into the river, head over heels.
Quite impressed with herself, she waited for him to come back up so that she could laugh in his face. Oh, was she going to give it to him. She was already giggling like crazy. No way was he getting off that easily.
Only Coram didn’t come back up.
“Coram?” The name popped like a bubble. “Coram, don’t joke around.”
“What did you do?” Ridge cried as he came running over, his breaths heavy. “He can’t swim! He’s made of gold, Rose! He’ll sink!”
Rose’s heart plummeted. She leaned over, her panic-scorched eyes searching desperately for him. She plunged her hands deep into the water, the sun casting a brilliant reflection across the rippling surface. It was so strong it almost blinded her eyes, and beneath this intense glow, a shadow dwelled. Rose’s eyes widened in hope. “Coram? Coram!” A moment later, his arms came thrusting up out of the shimmer and grabbed hold of Rose’s shirt. She saw his face only for a second, a huge grin all the way across it, before she was pulled in after him.
On shore, Ridge and the others dissolved into hysterics. Even Deedubs had a smile on his face. Coram, laughing so hard he was choking on all the water he swallowed, swam to the riverbed and leapt up out of the water as if he had been born in it, his long, thin hair draped across his face, his shirt clinging to his chest.
Flopping around in the river, her body frozen over with shock and anger, Rose cried to Ridge, “You lied to me!”
“A joke!” Ridge said, wiping at his eyes. “A joke! All in good fun!”
Eo, who had not seemed amused at all, hurried over and very carefully lifted Rose out of the water by his teeth
. The air snapped at her body, her chin quivered, and her hair was a mess—she moved it from her face, but now it was spiking out from all sides as if she were electrocuted. Coram, his grin somewhat restrained, held out his arms, his fingers waving her in. “Come here. I can warm you up.”
“No,” Rose said, turning her head away, her chin jutting forward.
“Come on. It’ll take two seconds.”
“No.”
“All this sun has got me burning up, Rose. Don’t let it go to waste. Come on.”
Still, she refused.
Everyone else was still laughing, and it was as if they needed to so bad. But Rose didn’t like the sound of it at all. It reminded her of SallyAnn. It reminded her of home and all the things she was running from. Her instinct was to hide. To dig a hole and climb into it. But instead she spoke up.
“None of this is funny,” she said, her arms folded. “People are dying. And it’s up to us to do something about it. And if we don’t, my brother …” Her voice trailed off, unable to finish. “There’s nothing funny about it at all.” Then she stormed off and sat far away from the group.
Meadowrue followed and took a seat across from her. “Coram’s a good fighter,” she said. “So good he probably never even thought about dying before this mission. The stakes are very high for him. For all of us. It’s very jarring. He doesn’t know how to react.”
“And I’m supposed to?”
“No. Of course not. But when you find yourself in enough of these situations like I have—all these battles, all these wars, facing down threat after threat after threat—you realize people react in different ways, most of them pretty strange. Dying’s natural, but we don’t get much practice with it. You can understand that, right?”
Rose nodded. “I guess so. It’s just that, I don’t know … I don’t even feel like myself anymore.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing.”
“A good thing?” Rose said.
“They say there’s a place hidden somewhere in Eppersett that you could go,” Meadowrue said. “A place where you’d find a sorcerer in a cave who could make you someone else. Jundowko. I’ve always dreamed of finding him. I see myself walking up to him, and I know exactly what I’d say.”
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