by Sarah Noffke
“I’m with a murderer,” Sophia replied.
“But I’m not crazed,” Lee spat back.
“That’s yet to be determined.”
When she was close to the floor, Sophia dropped down, spinning around at once and searching the bunker. It was larger than she would have thought, with multiple living areas. Although the orb of light didn’t illuminate a lot, it did show there was a kitchen modestly stocked with canned goods, all covered in dust. The living room had a pitched roof, with skylights that looked out at the forest above them. In the back were a set of bedrooms and a bathroom.
“What do you make of this?” Lee asked, tapping a dark television screen built into the wall.
“Some sort of storm shelter, I guess,” Sophia muttered, checking all of the rooms and finding no one there.
“What a strange island,” Lee observed. “A plane crash, a smoke monster, and an underground bunker. What gives?”
Sophia drew in a breath. “I’m not sure. That smoke monster isn’t the most perplexing part, but I hope not to meet it again.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure I can outrun it again,” Lee related.
“Speaking of running,” Sophia began with a laugh. “What was that thing you were doing back there when we were escaping?”
“What do you mean?” Lee took a seat on a sofa covered in sheets. The place looked like it had been prepped for its residents to be gone for a while, with all the furniture draped in blankets.
“You run like a neurotic T-Rex,” Sophia joked.
“Oh, that,” Lee said, laughing too. “Yeah, it’s my one shortcoming. I don’t know how to run. No one ever taught me.”
“Um, it’s not really something you’re taught. Most just know how to do it without looking like a loon.”
“You’re very brave, insulting a deadly assassin while locked in an underground bunker,” Lee told her, pulling the machete from its sheath on her back, the light from the orb making her face appear sinister.
Sophia swung around, pretending to search the space. “Deadly assassin! Where?”
“Haha,” Lee replied with no humor. “I’ll let this go since we have to stick together to survive that thing out there.”
Sophia nodded, listening to the sounds outside the bunker. “I think it’s safe to venture back out.”
“So, we don’t have time for a nap then?” Lee asked.
Striding back to the ladder, Sophia shook her head. “No, I want off the island as quickly as possible. Something tells me there are more dangers out there.” She grabbed the first rung of the ladder and glanced back at Lee. “Ready to find out what they are?”
Lee slid her machete into its sheath and nodded. “Bring on the savages and wild boar. I’m ready for some action.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
The tropical forest was quiet when Sophia popped her head out of the bunker. It was too quiet for her liking. There were no sounds from the birds in the trees or the ocean crashing against the beach, but to her relief, the smoke monster didn’t appear to be in the vicinity.
Sophia’s relief was short-lived when the first noise from the forest met her ears. It was chanting, like that of a hundred monks in a temple. Their voices were melodic and the rhythm constant.
Sophia paused outside the entrance to the bunker, trying to discern which direction the chanting was coming from. Unlike the smoke monster, the sound didn’t fill her with dread. Instead, it anchored her to the present moment with a quality of reassurance to it.
She was about to ask Lee what she made of the chanting, but the assassin charged passed her, speeding in the opposite direction they’d come from, straight into the thicket of trees.
“Where are you going?” Sophia asked, running after her.
“That noise,” Lee said, moving faster and doing that weird run thing again. “I have to find out where it’s coming from.”
“But it could be dangerous,” Sophia called, speeding to catch up with Lee.
“No,” she argued, a conviction in her tone. “It’s not. It can’t be. I’ve never felt safer and more assured in my life.”
So the constant chanting made Lee feel the same way, Sophia realized. Still, she didn’t think charging deeper into the forest and into the island was a good idea. There were a lot of unknowns, and there was still a dangerous smoke monster somewhere.
Lee didn’t seem to have the same hesitation as she ran faster, her hands swinging back and forth next to her shoulders like she was doing some strange zombie dance. Again, Sophia had to stop herself from laughing at the display.
She was grateful she had when they abruptly exited the thicket of the tropical forest to find themselves at the edge of a lagoon. On the far side was an ancient temple. It was made of six levels with a staircase running down the middle and columns marking the entrance.
Dwelling around the temple were the monks responsible for the chanting. They were wearing red robes and moving in an almost robotic fashion as they did chores, carrying baskets, gathering water from the lagoon, or carrying other items.
Lee started forward again, moving around the body of water.
“Where are you going?” Sophia hissed.
The assassin glanced at her over her shoulder. “To go and meet the monks that inhabit the island.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little strange they live here, in this mysterious place with a smoke monster?” she asked.
Lee considered this. “Well, I don’t think they are going to harm us, and maybe they will have answers regarding where this moaning desmond flower is located.”
“True,” Sophia replied, wondering if it was worth the risk.
As they approached the monks, Sophia saw there was something peculiar about them. She shouldn’t have expected anything not to be weird about the island at this point.
The working and chanting monks were semi-transparent, as if they were ghosts. Sophia tried to make out what they were chanting, but it didn’t sound like any language she knew.
“Excuse me,” Lee said loudly, trying to be heard over their collective voices.
This didn’t make them pause.
Lee cleared her throat and tried again. “Hey there, we were hoping you could help us."
Sophia tensed, expecting the monks to go silent. They didn’t. Instead, a man in a business suit appeared in the entrance to the temple.
Blinking, Sophia tried to discern if what she was seeing was real. Not only did it seem out of place for a businessman to come out of an ancient temple surrounded by chanting monks, but she could have sworn she recognized him, but she didn’t know how. It was the strangest bit of déjà vu she’d ever experienced, making her wonder if she’d lost her mind. Maybe that was a goal of the island—to make her feel lost.
When the man opened his mouth to speak, all of the monks fell silent at once, although they continued to move about doing their chores.
“To find what you seek, look for Penny’s boat,” the man said, his voice calm and clear and professional like they were discussing mortgage rates.
“Penny’s boat?” Sophia asked, glancing around the lagoon, half expecting to find a canoe suddenly drifting on the waters. There was nothing on the placid surface of the lagoon.
“Can you point us in the right direction of this boat?” Lee dared to ask.
The man shook his head. “But if you can’t find those that have fled, then instead, use a spell to keep them hidden. Even that which is evil deserves to be protected.”
Lee scratched her head. “The moaning desmond is evil?”
Sophia stepped up beside the assassin. “No, I think he’s referring to something else. We have evil dragons that have gone missing. Well, as he said, they fled.” She directed her attention back to the man. “There’s a spell that will hide them? Something that will protect them from frightened mortals?”
The man didn’t reply. Instead, he turned around and went back into the temple. At once, the monks started chanting again as they worked.
“I’m thinking we’re not invited into the temple for tea,” Lee said.
Sophia nodded. “But at least we know to look for Penny’s boat. Whatever that is.” She turned in a complete circle, trying to decide which direction to go. She saw a radio tower in the distance, on the far side of the lagoon. It appeared to be several stories high, towering high above the island. “Hey, what if we climb to the top of that? Maybe we can see the whole island from up there and find this boat.”
Lee smiled victoriously. “You know, for a blonde, you’re kind of smart at times.”
Sophia shot her a punishing glare. “After you pick this flower for me, watch your back.”
The assassin winked. “I always watch my back, dragonrider.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“I think one of us should remain on the ground to serve as a lookout,” Lee remarked as they made their way to the radio tower.
Sophia’s chin was high in the air as she studied the tall structure, trying to figure out if it could be occupied. “Well, I don’t mind staying here if you want to go up there and take a look around.”
Lee shook her head adamantly. “No, I’m the stronger one with more combat experience. I insist I stay here and keep an eye out.”
Sticking her hands on her hips, Sophia gave her an annoyed look. “I’m a dragonrider for the Elite, trained by the very best, and a Royal for the House of Fourteen.”
Lee smiled. “And despite all that coddling, you’ve still managed to be an okay person.”
“In all seriousness,” Sophia began. “I don’t think there’s anything up in the radio tower. The more dangerous job will be down here on the ground where the smoke monster could materialize again. I really can’t have anything happening to you, so I’d prefer for you to go up and search for this Penny’s boat.”
The light expression on Lee’s face fell away. “The thing is…”
Sophia sensed a sudden tension in her friend. “What is it?”
Lee looked up at the radio tower and shivered. “The thing is, I’m sort of, kind of, maybe a little bit—”
“You’re afraid of heights!” Sophia guessed, laughing.
The assassin scowled at her. “When I was a child, my sister pushed me out of bed when I was sleeping, and ever since then, I prefer to be on the ground.”
Confusion covered Sophia’s face. “Shouldn’t that experience have made you afraid of your sister or sleeping or beds? And actually, come to think of it, beds aren’t that high off the ground. Like only a few feet. Don’t you think—”
“Hey, I don’t judge you for your irrational fears,” Lee interrupted, appearing offended.
Sophia scratched her head. “I don’t have any…”
“Oh, really? What about when that man wanted to be yours, and you were all afraid of following your heart!” Lee pointed out.
“It’s natural for people to be afraid of getting their heartbroken,” Sophia argued.
“Yeah, well, how about when I offer you pastries and you turn your nose up at them?”
“You’ve tried to poison me several times,” Sophia countered.
“What about when you took off running that one time because a smoke monster was chasing you?”
“That was just a bit ago, and there’s still a very real chance that thing could come back and eat us or whatever it does,” Sophia stated. “I believe you were running for your life too, or whatever you are calling that sporadic weird dance you were doing.”
Lee threaded her fingers together. “So, do you want me to give you a leg up so you can get to the first bit of lattice?”
Sophia considered making another joke but decided against it for the moment. Even a deadly assassin had their weaknesses, she realized. “Yeah, that would be good since the climbable part is about ten feet off the ground. Thanks.”
“You’re so short, I often mistake you for a gnome,” Lee teased.
“And you’re so tall, don’t you get scared from way up there?” Sophia asked. “I mean, you could fall over at any moment.”
“Not funny,” Lee said dryly. “I scraped my nose when my sister pushed me out of bed.”
Sophia clapped her hands to her face, her mouth falling open dramatically. “Oh, wow. How have you managed all these years? Scraped nose! Is there no humanity left in the world?”
“The offer for the leg up will expire in twelve, eleven, ten—”
Sophia shook her head and pressed her hands into Lee’s shoulders as she placed her boot into her hands. When she was firmly in place, Lee shoved her up high, and Sophia sprang into the air like a cheerleader being tossed up at a pep rally. She grabbed the first diagonal rung and swung her leg around, holding onto it like a monkey.
“You know,” she observed, hanging upside down. “Most people start with a ten count. Or a five-count. Three is also very popular, but I’ve never heard of someone starting at twelve.”
“Most people are dumb,” Lee said as Sophia righted herself and began to climb.
Grunting, Sophia pulled herself up the crisscrossed boards that ran the length of the tower. As she got higher, the wind made the structure sway slightly. “Yeah, you wouldn’t have liked it up here,” she called down to Lee on the ground, which was really far away.
“Don’t think I don’t see the strain you’re putting on that flimsy structure. You better be quick before it topples over,” Lee teased.
“So this sister of yours,” Sophia said, getting into a rhythm as she climbed higher. “Did you off her for that whole bed incident?”
“She’s my sister,” Lee replied like that was a sufficient answer.
“So no, then?” Sophia asked, grateful to have Lee taking her mind off the fact she was free climbing up a tall structure on a seemingly haunted island.
“Assassins have rules. You wouldn’t understand, dragonrider,” Lee yelled up to her.
Sophia nodded. “I think I would. We don’t kill each other in my family, either.”
“Although this heart to heart is really nice, I think you better focus on climbing and talk a bit less,” Lee said, tension suddenly coating her voice.
“Yeah, it’s getting harder to talk and climb this high,” Sophia related, sweat beading down her back.
“That weird wind thing is happening with the trees again,” Lee admitted, making Sophia tense on the radio tower.
She looked over for the first time and realized how high she’d climbed. She was easily five or six stories off the ground. She could see almost all of the island stretching out to the north since they were on the southern tip.
To her horror, to the east of them by the ruins they’d just left, the trees were parting like they had before the appearance of the smoke monster.
Sophia jerked her gaze around the island, looking along the beaches to find a boat tethered at the shore. Besides the fuselage protruding from the waters where they had started their exploration, there wasn’t anything else like a boat.
The trees to the east arched severely, bending as they had before, although there was still little wind.
“Not trying to rush you, but…” Lee said urgently.
“I’m trying,” Sophia replied. She scanned the island, wondering if there was something she was missing. “A boat. A boat. Where is that freaking boat?”
Her eyes stopped when she looked toward the center of the island. She should have expected this from the mysterious island. Of course, the boat wouldn’t be in the waters around the shore. That would be too logical. Sophia spied Penny’s boat sitting on one of the lush hills in the center of the island, as though a tropical storm had picked it up and placed it there.
Grateful she knew where to go for the moaning desmond, Sophia began to descend and not a moment too soon.
“We have company, dragonrider,” Lee warned. “If you’re good with dropping from high places, now would be the time.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
The ground was a punishing force when Sophia dropped from roughly thirty feet. She landed in a c
rouched position, grateful the chi of the dragon healed most of her minor injuries, or the fall would have broken a bone or two.
She wasn’t on the ground for more than a second before Lee grabbed her by the elbow and hauled her up. The assassin began running toward the center of the island, just as the smoke monster barreled through the trees. The radio tower was in a clearing and would give the strange beast an advantage unless they got to the trees right away.
“How did you know Penny’s boat was this way?” Sophia said between breaths, moving her arms rapidly to propel her faster.
“It’s the last place you looked before looking victorious and dropping off the radio tower,” Lee explained, moving fast too, having again employed a speed spell on her legs.
“Impressive,” Sophia said, awestruck by Lee’s detective skills.
In unison, the pair glanced over their shoulder, and then exchanged looks of fear. The smoke monster was quickly speeding in their direction, overwhelming the space at their back. The tree line was roughly fifty yards away. They weren’t going to make it before the smoke monster swallowed them.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Lee yelled, having come to the same conclusion about their impending death.
“We’ll make it,” Sophia urged, pulling ahead slightly as she ran, her feet hardly touching the soft earth.
“I don’t know,” Lee fretted and surprisingly overtook Sophia a second later, jerking her arms back and forth.
The roar of the smoke monster was louder than before. The blackness was a wall at their backs, overtaking everything. The dread was palpable. It served to rob Sophia of her very spirit—of her will to live. Never again did she think she’d smile or laugh or ever be the same.
Almost out of options, Sophia aimed a hand over her shoulder and blindly muttered an incantation that would either make things a whole lot better or a lot worse. It was all they had left—a simple spell that was inspired by the destruction of the smoke monster.