Storybound

by Emily Mckay

  I gasp. “Ten thousand steps? That’s worse than I thought.”

  “No. What’s worse is that the steps are barely eight inches wide.”

  “Relax, Ro,” Morgan says. “Don’t forget. We have a plan for dealing with this.”

  “Right. A plan that involves Kane loop-jumping onto a narrow step. It’s not a plan, it’s a suicide mission.”

  I can do nothing but stare at Ro in mute horror. The idea of Kane loop-jumping onto an eight-inch ledge is terrifying. Especially if he has the same kind of trouble establishing a loop that he did in the parking lot on Le Mare Avenue. Landing on an eight-inch target seems impossible.

  “Don’t be overly dramatic, Ro,” Kane says. “We have a plan. We’re going to stick to it.”

  Ro takes a step closer to him, desperation in her eyes. “This is her plan. So what if she wants to save the princess and the Curator? We got her here. Let her rescue them.”

  Ro’s sudden betrayal stings, but part of me wonders if she’s right. My goal here is to save Kane, but I’m putting him in danger.

  “She’s right, I could go on alone from here.”

  Never mind that walking up ten thousand steps would straight up kill me. Never mind that I don’t know what to do on the island if I encounter any magical creatures. I’ll figure it out.

  Everyone turns and stares at me.

  “I can do it,” I repeat. “I can go on alone from here.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Kane says. “As you have pointed out, you have the least power of any of us. Driving a Kellas cat around town is one thing. Waltzing into the most secure detention center in our world is another.”

  “There’s Everdawn on the island,” I remind him. “No one has power there. So I’ll be no different than anyone else.”

  “You’ve gotten us this far, and we appreciate the help. But it’s time to let the real scoundrels take over,” Kane argued.

  “Oh, you did not just say that.” I take a step toward him. “Don’t forget, I’m the Untethered Sleeker. I may be more powerful than all of you combined. So back off. And don’t forget, it’s my plan. I’m the one who knows where the Curator and the princess are being held on the island.”

  “It’s an island. It can’t be that hard to find them.”

  “Everyone just calm down.” Morgan steps between Kane and me, planting a hand on each of our chests. “You’re both going onto the island. We got this far by following Cupcake’s plans. They’ll get us the rest of the way there, too.” He levels a hard gaze at first Kane and then me. “Got it?”

  I nod reluctantly, and then Kane does as well.

  Morgan steps aside and looks to Crab. “Obviously, the solution is simple. Take us around to the steps, and we’ll get a look at them.” He looks to Ro. “What do the steps connect to? A dock of some kind?”

  “Yes, a dock.” She wraps her arms around her chest, bumping out her chin with belligerent fear. “And here’s the best part. The dock is guarded by two hellhounds.”

  Excerpt from

  Book Five of The Traveler Chronicles:

  The Traveler Undone

  Yeah, I get it. Politics is always complicated. Mixing in magic sure as hell doesn’t make it simpler.

  The Tuatha like to think they have all the power. But there are plenty of other creatures who have magic of their own. Older, deeper magic. Magic most people don’t even understand.

  Needless to say, balancing the wants and needs of so many different magical creatures gets messy. Only a moron would want that job. So I guess it’s a good thing that no one knows I am heir to the throne. I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff, but I’m not a moron.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Hellhounds. Two days ago, I didn’t even know they existed. Now they are the bane of my existence. And they will most likely be the end of it, too.

  “Hellhounds we can deal with,” Kane says.

  “We can?” I ask. “Because before now, I have been under the impression that hellhounds were pretty much unstoppable. So if there’s some kind of magical doggie treat that will stop them in their tracks, shouldn’t you have mentioned it before?”

  Kane’s lips twitch. “Unfortunately, you are the magical doggie treat. Fortunately, hellhounds are not terribly smart. I’ll open a loop to Houston, you and I will jump through just long enough for them to catch your scent, and then we’ll jump back.”

  “We don’t know if you can open a loop to the other side of the Crimson Miasma,” I argue. “There’s got to be a better way.”

  It’s Crab who speaks up. “Well, m’dear. I think it’s obvious what needs doing.” After a moment, he nods firmly and takes off his hat. “I think I’d best go in.”

  “Won’t the hellhounds immediately rip you to shreds?”

  “Nah. Hellhounds aren’t likely to bother me. I can swim up to the dock, pretend to be lost. Talk my way onto the island.”

  “Hellhounds can’t be reasoned with,” Kane says.

  “Well then, I won’t be reasoning with them, now will I? I’ll just work a wee bit of me magic and see if I can persuade them.”

  “Persuade them to do what?” I ask.

  Morgan strokes his chin with one hand. “Persuade them to take him into custody.”

  “How does you being in prison help anything?” I ask.

  “Well, those hellhounds will have to take me up the stairs to the island. That will give you a chance to sneak up after me. Don’t worry, m’dear. I expect you to come and get me when you rescue the princess and the Curator. I’m not planning to make any grand sacrifice here.”

  Even without the Siren allure of his words, I know he can do this.

  When no one else offers up a protest, Crab adds, “Now, if you wouldn’t mind turning away so I could have a bit of privacy to change…”

  “Wait!” I say. “We have no way of keeping in touch once you go in. No way of knowing if you’re in danger.”

  He gives me a gentle knock on the chin. “A man like me is in far more danger on land than he’d ever be in the water.”

  “No,” Kendal says quietly. “She is correct. It would be foolhardy for you to venture out with no means of communicating.”

  He studies the deck in front of him, giving the planking a scuff with his bare foot. “Not much we can do about that now, is there?”

  She blinks, looking nonplussed. “You could become my dowt-mate.”

  He blanches visibly. “Your what?”

  “My dowt-mate. I could form a mental bond with you like the one I now share with Kane. For that matter, I can see the benefits of all of us forming a mental link. Shall I initiate a link with all of you?”

  Ro, Morgan, and I all take a step back. Kane just laughs. “I think that’s a no.”

  Finally, Crab shuffles forward.

  “Well there, then. How exactly does this work?”

  It’s easier to watch this time, either because I’m not taken by surprise or because Crab isn’t wholly human and so his brain works differently.

  I try to do what I did for Kane, but racked with pain, Crab waves everyone away. Unable to watch, I go to the far end of the boat and stare off into the mist. When the bond is completed and Crab’s groans have stopped, I turn back to see him laid out on the deck, in his true form. Where his legs once were, there is now a massive, finned tail.

  The fabric from his pants lays crumpled beside him. His tail is long and tapered and a slick gray, like the skin of a dolphin. Crab moves awkwardly to sit up.

  “How do we know if this worked?” he asks.

  Kendal stares hard at him and then gives a flick of her tail. Beside me, Kane chuckles under his breath.

  Crab looks right into Kendal’s gaze. “All right, then,” he says and starts unbuttoning his shirt. Looking at Kane he says, “So obviously, I can hear her, but can you hear me?”

&nb
sp; “Just concentrate on what’s happening. We should be able to keep up.” He claps a hand on Crab’s shoulder. “Don’t do anything heroic.”

  Crab winks. “I don’t think any of us are worried about that.”

  Crab slips his shirt off his shoulders and holds it out to me. “Hang this up in the wheelhouse for me, will you, m’dear?”

  He doesn’t wait for an answer but rolls over onto his stomach and pulls himself along the deck toward the back of the boat, his merman’s tail swishing behind him. When he reaches the hull, he uses his arms to hoist himself up so he’s sitting on the railing.

  “Well, then, mates. I’ll see you in few, all right?”

  Then he gives a jaunty two-finger salute and a wink. For an instant, with the water sparkling behind him, Crab doesn’t look short and plump. He’s sleek and strong as he tips backward into the water, his tail arcing over his head for just an instant before he disappears under the waves.

  I rush to the side of the boat and peer over, eager to glimpse him in the water—where he’s meant to be.

  “You won’t see him,” Kane says quietly beside me.

  I glance in his direction. “Oh.” I bite down on my lip, feeling weirdly embarrassed.

  “Sirens don’t surface often. They don’t have to.”

  “I know that.”

  He shoots me a glance. “You do?”

  “Crab can manipulate water, right? So I figure he must have an affinity for oxygen, which lets him pull the oxygen directly from the water.”

  Kane smiles faintly. “You’re pretty smart for a Dark Worlder.”

  “You’d be stupid to follow me if I wasn’t.”

  Excerpt from

  Book Five of The Traveler Chronicles:

  The Traveler Undone

  The last thing my mother gave me before she died was a medallion. It had been her most prized possession. Handed down from one generation to the next in her family for over a thousand years. Imbued with the kind of power most people couldn’t even imagine. For four years, I’d guarded that medallion with my life.

  Needless to say, the fact that Smyth took it from me pissed me off.

  Yeah, he’s been my enemy…well, ever since I was born. Sure, he’d murdered my mother. Hunted me. Tormented my friends. But this?

  This shit was personal.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  At times like this, the waiting is the worst. Time stretches when you have nothing to fill it with but dread.

  I distract myself by thinking about my mother.

  If time moves at the same rate here—and I have no way of knowing if it does—then roughly twenty-eight hours have passed since the last time I texted my mother.

  Most likely, she’s been trying to call me.

  I know my mom. After three—maybe four—unanswered calls, she’ll turn on the “Where’s My Phone” app. Unless that app has a “Lost in a Parallel Universe” function I don’t know about, my phone isn’t going to pop up.

  Yeah. Worrying about Mom? It’s not any better than worrying about Crab.

  I push away from the railing and go to sit beside Kane. “What’s happening?”

  “He’s almost to the dock.”

  Kane’s entire body radiates tension. Kendal merely swishes her tail. But her claws are slowly digging into the wood of the bench, gouging deep scratches.

  Then Kane shoots to his feet, cups his hands in front of him, and pulls a loop.

  Kendal jumps down, and, before the loop gets too big, she rears up on her back paws, plants her front paws on Kane’s chest, and growls.

  Kane stills, looks down at Kendal, and scowls. After a second, he drops his hands.

  “Fine. But if they hurt him, it’s on you.”

  Kendal pushes off Kane’s chest and lands neatly on the ground. “If Mr. Crab is injured, it is on all of us. However, he did not want you to interfere. We should respect his wishes.”

  Tail high in the air, she says to the rest of us, “Mr. Crab is being escorted to the surface of the island. I suggest we bring the boat around to the dock. I, for one, am not fond of swimming.”

  With Morgan, Ro, and Kane manually working the paddle wheel and Kendal and I steering, we take the boat around the island. I am not as skilled as Crab but I get The Blossom as close as I can, and then Morgan and Kane leap out and use ropes to pull her the rest of the way in.

  Kendal jumps nimbly onto the dock and heads straight for the stairs. Once she is gone, there is more waiting. Finally, Kane pushes away from the spot where he’s been leaning against the rock and says, “Looks like I’m up.”

  Ro, Morgan, and I go to stand near him.

  “When I get to the top, I will pull a loop and you can come through,” he says, even though we have been over the plan numerous times.

  “I don’t think you’ll be able to get all the way to the top.” Kane frowns as he turns to look at me, so I explain. “Because of the Everdawn.”

  He shrugs. “We’ll see.”

  Okay. So clearly, he still doubts the existence of Everdawn, despite Morgan’s opinion that it’s possible. He might have doubts, but I don’t. He won’t be able to pull a loop on the island. He’ll have to do it somewhere on the stairs. Which is better than nothing, I guess.

  We all nod. He looks at me, and for a second, I think he wants to say something more. Something meaningful. Then he gives his head a shake and says, “Cupcake, I hope your plan works.”

  “Me, too.”

  A moment later, he is gone.

  Ro, Morgan, and I just stand there. Waiting.

  “Well, I guess he made it,” I say, clenching my hand around the strap of my messenger bag.

  “Yeah. I guess so. Judging by the fact that we didn’t hear him scream and see him fall from the sky,” Ro said.

  “Thanks. That’s a helpful image.” Like I wasn’t worried enough already.

  Morgan steps between Ro and me. “There’s no point fighting. He made the first jump. He’ll make the others. Kane is good. I’ve seen him make more precise jumps than this.” He turns away and leaps back onto the deck of The Blossom. “You two need to get along. I’m not going to be there on the island to separate you.”

  “Wait. What?” I ask. Ro looks just as surprised as I am.

  “Why aren’t you going onto the island?”

  “Someone needs to stay with the boat. Trust me.”

  Trust him? Trust one of the deadliest assassins this world has ever known?

  “You’re going to have to do better than that.” I follow Morgan down onto the deck, albeit a lot less gracefully. But what I lack in grace, I make up for in persistence. I get right in his face.

  “It’s cute that you think you can demand answers from me, Cupcake.” He reaches out and gives my chin a playful nudge.

  I have never hated that nickname more.

  “I discussed it with Kane,” he continued. “He knows I’m staying on the boat and he’s okay with it. You need to be too.”

  “Not. Likely.”

  Morgan just smiles. “You know, Cupcake, this is why I’ve always liked you. You’ve got spunk.”

  Before I can reply, Morgan heads up the ladder to the wheelhouse.

  Fuming, I sit down on the bench and glare at the deck between my feet.

  Suddenly, the space between Ro and me swirls. A second later, the loop opens and, where there was once nothing but boat deck and salty air, there is now a view of brilliant blue sky. And a tiny stone step.

  Just like I thought, Kane couldn’t open a loop to the top of the island. Damn it, I hate being right sometimes.

  “Quickly,” Ro says.

  She doesn’t have to tell me twice. I step through a hole in the fabric of the universe and onto a ledge barely wide enough to stand on. Kendal is a few steps above me and already on the move. Cleaving close to the cl
iff, I go up several steps before looking back.

  I don’t need to tell you what a mistake that was, right?

  On the upside, Ro and Kane are below me on the steps. We’re all here.

  We’re also all inches from a horrific death.

  The steps wind down the side of the cliff, just as treacherous and terrifying as Ro described them. They are tiny. And narrow.

  Vertigo rises up to punch me in the gut.

  I let out a shaky breath only to find that breathing back in is harder than it should be.

  I press myself to the face of the rock and suck in a lungful of air so thin, my head swims.

  “Move,” Ro pleads from behind me. “Get out of my way, or I swear to Thread, I will push you.”

  I believe her.

  It takes us another forty or so steps to get to the top. Okay, it’s forty-three. Yeah. I counted. And even though I know that Kane got us as close to the top as he could, I still resent every damn step.

  Forty-three chances to die horribly.

  When I stumble to the top, I drop to my knees and crawl away from the ledge. I flop onto my back and breathe as deeply as I can.

  I love the sun-kissed ground beneath me. The pokey grass. The solid, firm earth beneath it.

  I adore it. I want to hug it forever and buy it flowers on Valentine’s Day. I want to doodle “Edie ’s Solid Ground 4 evah!”

  When I’m done pledging my eternal love to the ground beneath my back, I push up onto my elbows and find myself in paradise.

  I don’t use the word “paradise” lightly. But the detention center on Gull Veston Island may be the prettiest place I’ve ever seen.

  The air up here—so much higher than the sea level in Houston—is crisp and clear. There’s no cloying humidity. No oppressive heat. Just a view that stretches a hundred miles in every direction. Far below, the thin line of the barrier islands stretches down the coast to the southwest. Galveston Bay and the intercoastal waters spread out all the way to Houston.