by Sarah Noffke
Since Sophia didn’t dare turn around, she didn’t know if the spell would hit the intended target. Not until she heard the creaking of the radio tower followed by the ground shaking under their feet did she dare to assume the spell had worked.
A gust of dust shot up at their backs when the radio tower crashed to the ground. Sophia dove, and Lee copied her movement. They rolled until they were inside the darkness of the tree line once more. Only then did Sophia spin around to see the commotion.
The radio tower was still settling from its crash to the ground. It was broken in many places and creaked as it crumbled apart. The structure was partially covered by the smoke monster, which was distorted more than usual. It slipped back and forth, trying to recapture all its bits after being sawed in half by the falling of the tower.
The smoke monster wasn’t out for the count yet, but it was definitely injured. Sophia expected that it would be pursuing them again very soon. Thankfully, they were in the trees and where they were headed was dense jungle, although the ship she’d spied was high up on a hill that wasn’t shielded. Hopefully, they could get there and pick the moaning desmond before the smoke monster recovered and came after them once more.
“Come on,” Sophia said to Lee, who was bent over, pulling in labored breaths. “Let’s go get that damn flower.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The two had slowed slightly but were still running when they came to the center of the island and found the ship. It reminded Sophia of a pirate’s ship with multiple masts and a huge deck.
Like the fuselage, it had obviously been there for a while based on all the foliage that had grown up around it. There were actually a few trees growing up through the deck and probably a few dozen types of creatures inside the bowels who called the ship home.
“How in the world did this thing get here?” Lee asked, her eyes wide as they strode around the large structure.
“How did a radio tower get on the island?” Sophia questioned.
“A radio tower that you destroyed,” Lee pointed out. “But quick thinking there.”
“Thanks,” Sophia replied. “Also on that list of unexplainables, how did a temple with monks get on the island, or the underground bunker, or the plane? This place is a total enigma.”
Lee nodded, looking the ship over. “Where do you think this flower is? I think we don’t have long before that angry smoke monster comes and tries to roast us.”
Sophia walked around the ship, which was leaning against a hill. Vines partially obstructed the stern side. She grabbed a heap of them and pulled them to the side, finding the name of the vessel engraved on the back.
“What?” she questioned, stepping back and reading the words.
“Black Rock,” Lee said, reading aloud.
“So not Penny’s boat,” Sophia said, deflated.
“Did you see any other boats from the radio tower?” Lee asked.
“Well, I didn’t have a lot of time. When I saw a ship, I figured that was the one we were looking for,” Sophia explained. “There was also the whole smoke monster charging after us that made me hurry to look around.”
“Maybe we misheard the dude in the suit,” Lee reasoned. “I don’t suppose there could really be multiple ships on the island.”
Sophia lowered her chin and regarded the assassin from hooded eyes. “Yes, please underestimate the place with a smoke monster and mysterious businessmen that materialize from ancient temples.”
“Hey, what’s that?” Lee asked. She pointed to the pretty copper wrapped around the ship, making it sparkle in the waning sunlight. They didn’t have much daylight left.
Sophia dared to take a step forward and inspect the surface of the vessel. “Are those…”
“Pennies,” Lee cut in, finishing her sentence. “The boat’s exterior is covered in pennies.”
“Making it a penny boat.” Sophia nearly yelled but decided to keep her voice down in case the smoke monster was drawn to them by sound.
“Nice,” Lee said victoriously. “So, this is the right place.”
“Which means we just have to find the moaning desmond flower,” Sophia said, looking for anything that wasn’t green or brown like the foliage and boat around them.
“Uh-oh,” Lee groaned after looking upwards.
Sophia tensed. Expecting to spy the smoke monster. “What is it?”
She followed Lee’s gaze and immediately realized the problem.
The assassin pointed to the top of the mast leaning over the forest ground. “That’s what’s wrong.”
Stationed at the very tip-top of the mast, growing out of a ton of vines, was a bright pink flower. Sophia knew that it was the moaning desmond.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Is this a sick joke?” Lee asked, shaking her head at the ship.
They had used every spell they could think of to try and get to the moaning desmond, but nothing had worked. It appeared the flower indeed had to be picked by the hands of an assassin and nothing else. There were no short cuts. Lee was going to have to scale the mast of the Black Rock if they were going to get the flower. They’d even quickly searched around the vessel, thinking there might be other pink flowers somewhere nearby.
There weren’t.
Since they were limited on time, not knowing when the smoke monster would resurface, the only option was for Lee to climb to the top of the mast.
“I tell much funnier jokes than this,” Sophia said, pretending to be offended.
“I’ve decided that I’m not helping you,” Lee told her stubbornly. “I’m okay with getting scrubbed until my skin is peeling. I’ll even take Cat’s incessant nagging when I’m apparently breathing too loudly…or too much in general. There’s no way I’m climbing to the top of that unsteady mast, which will undoubtedly crack in half when I’m at the top.”
“You have to,” Sophia begged. “It’s really important.”
Lee crossed her arms and gave her a defiant expression. “Why?”
“Well…” Sophia suddenly realized she hadn’t explained why they were getting the flower. Lee had been so desperate to go on the mission she hadn’t even questioned things. But it seemed that motivation had run out, and Sophia had to encourage her to overcome her fears. “There’s this friend of mine, and she lost her memories when she sacrificed herself for someone she loved. Doing that made it so she will only live if she’s confined to the Gullington in Scotland. If she leaves for too long, she’ll die. So she has no memories of her life before the incident and no chance for a life afterward.
“I know it’s a lot to ask of you, but I really care about this person, and I want her to have a chance at a normal life…because, well, if it wasn’t for her, I never would have gotten through my first few months as a dragonrider. This friend, much like you, is a total pain in the ass, but she’s also one of the best people I’ve had the opportunity to know.”
Lee considered this long explanation with narrowed eyes. Finally, she said, “You didn’t have to say that last part, but thank you.”
“Well, I really do respect you, and despite your profession, you’re pretty great.”
Lee shook her head. “No, you didn’t have to say that part about me being a pain in the ass, but I’m honored.”
Sophia laughed, enjoying the opportunity to release some stress. “Well, you totally are. I want you to know that if it were you that needed to be saved and have your memory restored, I’d do something similar to get you the cure.”
“If I lose my memory, then do me a favor and let it go,” Lee said, starting forward to climb up the side of the ship.
“What? You’re going to do it?” Sophia asked in disbelief.
Lee paused and looked over her shoulder at Sophia. “I’m probably going to regret saying this. I’m definitely going to regret putting aside my fear of heights for this. But you know what, dragonrider, you’re a good person, and I’ve done a lot more for a lot of lesser people. I consider this a way to repay some of my karmic debt
. Your friend…she sounds like good people. If they are your friend and you’re willing to risk your life for them, then they have to be pretty okay.”
Sophia smiled, grateful Lee was going to help, and she was that much closer to helping Ainsley. She was also grateful that near and far, she had awesome friends.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Are you going to catch me if I fall?” Lee asked, hiking up a leg as she tried to clamber over the side of the ship. Her shoes kept slipping, and her nervousness wasn’t making the action all that graceful.
“Yeah, I’ll totally throw my body down to cushion your fall.”
Lee shook her head. “No, your boney ass will just make everything worse. I want you to stick out your arms to catch me.”
“Sure,” Sophia replied. “Just let me know when you’re about to fall.”
“I’ll give you a second or two notice,” Lee grunted, trying to find her grip. She wasn’t even halfway up the side of the ship, which meant, to Sophia’s disappointment, this was going to take a while.
“Is it ironic that a bit ago I was the one climbing, and you were on the ground, and now the roles are reversed?” Sophia mused.
“So beautifully ironic,” Lee muttered. “Be sure to journal every detail of this when you record it in your heart-shaped diary.”
“Should I take a picture for the scrapbook?” Sophia joked.
“Absolutely, and then put a rush order on your coffin,” Lee said, her hand reaching the railing and a victorious laugh spilling from her mouth.
“Wow, you’ve made it to the deck of the ship,” Sophia teased, knowing it was taking the assassin’s mind off the fear—or at least hoping that it was.
“Yeah, and this place is a mess,” Lee said, moving farther onto the ship.
“Well, then we should fire the crew.” Sophia couldn’t see Lee because she’d moved to the center of the deck, next to the first mast where the moaning desmond was located.
“I think Mother Nature has already done that for us.” Suddenly the ship shifted and jerked to the side, making it tilt even more. “Whoa!” Lee exclaimed, followed by several stomps as she fought to keep her balance.
“You okay?” Sophia asked, running around to the other side of the ship, hoping to get a better view of what was happening.
“Peachy,” Lee responded sarcastically. “Just facing a lifelong fear on top of a haunted pirate’s ship precariously hanging on the side of a slippery hill in the middle of a jungle.”
“That’s like a regular Tuesday for me,” Sophia said and retraced her steps, not wanting to be on the other side of the ship in case it fell further.
She could now see Lee trying to climb up the mast, although if she appeared ungraceful before, now she was an otter clambering to get a ball up high.
“How am I supposed to get up this?” Lee asked.
It was a relevant question since the rope ladder that led up to the lookout booth was missing—probably destroyed in whatever happened to the Black Rock that caused it to be in the middle of the Island.
“Try climbing,” Sophia offered, knowing that wasn’t particularly helpful.
Lee cast a wicked grin at her. “Wow, you’re about as helpful as a politician.”
“Use your legs,” Sophia suggested.
Instead of taking her advice, Lee pulled out her machete. Sophia thought at first she was going to try and chop down the mast. She was going to caution her not to since that might damage the moaning desmond when it fell. Instead of slicing into the wooden mast, the assassin bit the blade into the solid pole, creating a sort of rung.
She pulled herself up using her arms and then hiked up a leg on either side of it, clutching the mast for dear life.
“That was pretty smart,” Sophia commended.
“I have a degree in journalism,” Lee said, already sounding out of breath as she stood on the flat side of the machete blade.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Sophia asked. She checked over her shoulder for any sign of the smoke monster.
“I’m good at making shit up,” Lee responded with a laugh.
Sophia joined her, grateful to not find the trees swaying back and forth. “Maybe you should be the politician then.”
Lee pulled out another machete from a sheath on her back that Sophia hadn’t seen. “No, that won’t work because I’m too honest.”
“Where did you get that other machete?” Sophia asked, perplexed.
Lee scoffed. “I’m a freaking assassin. I always have four to five concealed weapons on my person.”
“Good to know,” Sophia said with a laugh, watching as Lee struck the blade into the mast just hard enough to make it stick. Then she carefully grabbed onto the handle and the other side of the blade and pulled herself up. Sophia thought she must be using a spell as well to ensure the blade stayed in place. Otherwise, it would have come unstuck when she hiked up her foot and stepped onto the narrow surface. However, she was doing it; the assassin was making her way up the mast.
When she was standing on the second machete, she held out her hand and summoned the first one, repeating the process.
If she was nervous, she wasn’t showing it.
“You’re doing great,” Sophia commended.
“Shush it, cheerleader,” Lee said with labored breathing. “I don’t need your positive reinforcement. I’m not a toddler learning to use an axe for the first time.”
Sophia shook her head. “We usually don’t teach toddlers how to use axes where I come from.”
“Which is exactly why you’re such a wimp.” Lee was almost to the top, and as long as she didn’t look down, Sophia reasoned she’d make quick work of this.
The sound of the trees stirring gained both of their attention. Sophia swung around to spy the forest. Lee jerked her gaze down, fear in her eyes.
“Oh, hell!” Lee exclaimed.
“What?” Sophia questioned at once. “Do you see the smoke monster?”
“No, but why didn’t you tell me how high I was?”
“I didn’t think that was going to help matters much,” Sophia related.
Lee clenched herself to the mast, pressing her face into it as she squeezed her eyes shut—not moving. “I can’t! I can’t! I can’t do this!”
“You are doing this,” Sophia encouraged, spying the violently swaying trees behind her. “You can do this. Tell yourself that.”
She wanted to add, “And hurry the hell up,” but decided it would be best if she didn’t since Lee looked on the verge of crying.
“Keep going,” Lee said, opening her eyes and drawing in a breath.
“You don’t have that much farther. You’re almost to the lookout bucket,” Sophia told her, finding it ironic that moments prior Lee hadn’t wanted her cheering her on, and now she was asking for it.
Lee nodded and swallowed. She seemed to resign to the fear.
Blindly, she reached over her head, grabbing onto the yard for the topmost sail. When she had her grip firmly around it, she dared to release her other hand and pulled herself up, her feet pinned on either side as she shimmied her way up.
Sophia was impressed by the display. It was more graceful than her prior efforts, and in light of the fact the smoke monster was on its way, it was even cooler.
From the horizontal beam, the lookout bucket was just another few feet. Lee slithered her way up through the bottom and climbed into the barrel-like structure. She nearly collapsed.
“You’re almost there,” Sophia imparted. “Just reach up and pick the flower growing at the top of the mast.”
Instead of doing this, Lee looked out at the forest at Sophia’s back. “You have to get out of here now!”
Swinging around, Sophia saw exactly what she was dreading. “No! I’m staying and waiting for you to come down.”
Lee shook her head. “I’m not coming down!”
“What?” Sophia yelled. “You have to!”
“No,” Lee argued. “I’m portaling home from here. And
you should too before the smoke monster gets you!”
The assassin reached up and plucked the moaning desmond, a victorious expression on her face. Sophia let out a huge relieved exhale and watched as Lee opened a portal beside the lookout bucket.
She was going to have to dive for it, and if she didn’t make it, it was going to be bad news. Before she made her attempt, with the pink flower clutched in her hand, she glanced down at Sophia, an urgent expression in her eyes.
“Seriously!” she exclaimed. “It’s almost on you!”
Sophia dared to look behind her and spied the almost total darkness.
“Go!” Lee yelled. “I’ll be fine!”
Out of options and desperate to survive the third encounter with the smoke monster, Sophia did as she was told and opened a portal just as a nightmarish dread overwhelmed her. She dove through the portal, closing it almost at once and hoped the smoke monster didn’t follow her.
Chapter Thirty
Tumbling through the portal onto the alleyway outside Crying Cat Bakery on Roya Lane, Sophia’s head thumped hard on the cobbled road.
The pain didn’t even register as she sprang to her feet, swinging around and checking for the smoke monster. To her relief, there was no dark monster or foreboding feeling on the lane. There also was no sign of her friend, the assassin baker.
“Where are you?” Sophia muttered to herself.
“Waiting on you,” Lee said behind her.
Sophia turned around, wondering how her friend was there when she had just done a full circle looking for the smoke monster.
Standing in the shadows, nearly obscured by darkness, Lee held the large pink flower in her hands, a sly expression on her face. She stepped out into the light of the alleyway, away from the cover of the buildings.
“You couldn’t have been waiting for long.” Sophia let out a long sigh of relief.
“For-freaking-ever,” Lee said, a laugh springing from her mouth, showing her own exuberance about having survived the island.