Moon

by Aaron Ehasz

  Callum leaned over to Rayla and whispered, “Bait loves the water, but he should be afraid of it.”

  Rayla glared at Callum. This was no time for a zoology lesson. The boat lurched and she cupped a hand over her mouth.

  “Do you want to know why he’s named Bait?” Callum asked.

  “No, not particularly,” Rayla managed to say through her fingers.

  “Well, I’ll tell you anyway,” Callum said. “Glow toads? They’re apparently … delicious.”

  “Gross,” Rayla muttered.

  “Deep-sea fishermen use them to catch giant fish, stuff like that. That’s why he’s named Bait. Get it? That’s my stepdad’s sense of humor.” Callum laughed. “But that’s why we have to be extra careful about him not getting in the water.”

  “Okay,” Rayla said. “No glow toads in the water. Got it.” The boat lurched again, and she cupped both hands over her mouth.

  “Hey, you doing all right?” Callum asked.

  Rayla didn’t answer—she was afraid of what might happen if she took her hands from her mouth.

  “Tell you what,” Callum said. “I’m going to ask you five questions. That way, you won’t have to think about your gut-wrenching seasickness.”

  Rayla braved moving her hands. “Please don’t do that,” she said.

  “Come on, it’ll be a fun distraction,” Callum said.

  Fine, Rayla thought. She was too sick to argue. “Five questions—that’s all you get.”

  Callum beamed. What should he start with?

  “Okay. Question one,” he said. “We always heard all these crazy things about Xadia. Like it was this place with magic everywhere. Is that really what it’s like?”

  “Yes,” Rayla said. “Next question.” But when she faced the boys, Callum saw a little light in her eyes.

  “It just must be so weird that everywhere you look … there’s magic,” Callum said. His knowledge of magic was limited to things he’d seen Claudia do—mostly dark magic. It was hard to imagine any other kind.

  “It’s not weird,” Rayla said, perking up. “In Xadia, magic is pretty much in everything. It’s no different from saying, ‘Everywhere you look, there’s nature.’ It’s just … part of the vibrancy or spirit of things, you know?”

  Callum felt a new burst of energy and pulled on the oars extra hard. “I can’t wait to see that. It sounds incredible.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, it is,” Rayla said, smiling for the first time since boarding the boat.

  “See, it’s working, right?” Callum said. “Don’t you feel a little better?”

  Rayla raised her eyebrows. “Maybe so. Ask your next question.”

  “Okay, question two. What are your parents like?” But as soon as he’d asked the question, he could tell he’d made a huge mistake. Rayla turned away, the smile wiped off her face, and laid down in the boat.

  “My parents are gone,” she said. “They’re dead.”

  “Oh. Rayla, I didn’t mean to—”

  “It’s fine.”

  An awkward silence filled the air, and Callum looked out over the river, trying to get past the uncomfortable moment. That’s interesting, he thought. They were moving a lot faster than he’d realized.

  “Hmmm,” he said out loud.

  “What is it now?” Rayla asked.

  Callum considered how best to break the news. “So, this might not be the best time to bring this up. But are you sure you’re not scared of the water?”

  “I’m done with questions,” Rayla said.

  “Yeah, I know, I just … the water’s about to get— Look!” Callum yelled.

  Rayla turned to where Callum was pointing downriver. The water was much rougher down there, speeding along with rocks, twists, and whitewater. She bolted upright.

  “Pull the boat over!” Rayla commanded. She crawled as far back in the boat as she could go.

  “I don’t think there’s time,” Callum said.

  “Pull it over—I admit it! I hate the water, I’m afraid of it, it makes me sick. All the bad feelings,” Rayla said, as if Callum could stop the inevitable if she only confessed to her phobia.

  “It’s too late, I’m sorry,” Callum said. “Hang on!”

  Rayla gripped the boat as it took a sudden dip over a short waterfall, heading into roaring rapids. She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. Next to her, Ezran and Callum shrieked with delight as the water splashed over them, though Ezran held tight to his knapsack with the egg in it.

  “Keep holding,” Callum yelled.

  Rayla gritted her teeth as the boat careened through the whitewater. They hopped over stones and thumped over logs, rushing with the turns of the river. She closed her eyes and tried to find her inner calm like Runaan had taught her, but her hand was throbbing from gripping the boat.

  Finally, the boat tumbled down one last waterfall and then, as suddenly as they had started, the rapids ended.

  Callum and Ezran pulled themselves into upright positions. Callum’s heart was beating hard, but he was energized. He hadn’t braved rapids like that since his father-sons bonding trip with King Harrow and Ezran years ago. He’d been scared then … like Rayla was today. She was lying on her back in the boat, drenched and clearly exhausted.

  “You faced your fear!” Callum said. “Now that you’ve been through the worst of it, do you feel better about water?”

  “I have never felt worse about water,” Rayla said. “How would being through the worst make me feel better?”

  “Well, anyway … We’re making great time,” Callum said. He thought it was best in moments like these to focus on the bright side.

  “Hey, guys? Does anyone see Bait?” Ezran asked.

  The three looked in every corner of the little boat for Bait, but he was nowhere to be found. Callum scanned the water and finally spotted the little yellow blob.

  “Over there!” he shouted. Bait had evidently been bumped from the boat during their wild ride and was just now catching up, bouncing down the last of the rapids. They watched as he fell headlong down the waterfall, landing some distance from the boat. He bobbed up and down like a buoy.

  “Bait! Come back here, you need to be inside this boat,” Ezran yelled. “Do your widdle froggy-paddle.” Ezran mimed swimming to Bait, who copied him.

  Callum slowed the boat to a crawl with an oar, and Bait flapped his toad legs as fast as he could, slowly closing the space between himself and the boat.

  Rayla shook her head. This was unbelievable. “I see how it is now. Stop the boat for the grumpy toad, but not for the cheery, positive-attitude elf.”

  Still, she had to admit she was relieved when Bait reached the boat and Ezran scooped him up.

  “You know you’re not supposed to get in the water,” Ezran said as he rubbed noses with Bait.

  “What a disaster,” Rayla said. She collapsed back onto the boat floor, where she noticed something strange—the rune cube was glowing.

  “Hey, guys,” Rayla said and pointed at the cube.

  Callum followed her finger. Sure enough, one of the runes was pulsing with light.

  “Hey, that’s the Ocean rune,” Callum said. He picked up the cube and the light dimmed. Odd. He moved the cube closer to the bottom of the boat and the rune glowed again. Was there some kind of primal magic in the river?

  BAM! Something hit the boat from below and sent it shooting up into the air. Before he knew it, Callum was looking straight into the jaws of a giant green river monster. It snapped its teeth but just missed the boat and its occupants.

  Callum, Ezran, and Bait landed downstream with a tremendous splash. Where was Rayla?

  Over on shore, Rayla didn’t care that a huge monster had just attacked them—she was glad to have been flipped back onto dry land. “Sweet solid land, we meet again. How I’ve missed your solidness,” Rayla said. She kissed the ground with glee.

  A huge splash turned her attention back to the river. Callum and Ezran were swimming for land and it looked like they would
make it. But the huge river monster had no interest in the human princes—it had set its hungry eyes on a tasty, glowing yellow-and-blue morsel—Bait.

  Rayla cupped her hands over her mouth and yelled, “Hey, guys, behind you, Bait is in trouble.”

  The monster dove down after Bait, who moved out of the way at the last second.

  But Callum and Ezran seemed oblivious to the danger.

  Rayla waved her arms at the boys. She’d have to yell louder over the splashing. “Bait is in trouble!” she shouted. Ezran finally heard her.

  “What?!” he shouted.

  “Bait needs help!” Rayla repeated.

  “Bait sneezed kelp?” Ezran asked.

  “No,” Callum shouted to Ezran. “She says, ‘Bait’s knees smell.’ ”

  “Well, that’s just mean,” Ezran said.

  “No!” Rayla cried out. Seriously—it was one frustration after another with these boys.

  The river monster lunged at Bait again. This time Bait leaped and landed on the side of the monster’s face.

  This was not going well.

  “It’s down to me, isn’t it? Of course it is,” Rayla said to herself. She buried her face in her hands. “Goodbye, sweet solid land. I barely knew you …”

  And with that, Rayla leaped into the river and landed on a slippery, floating log. She took a moment to get her bearings and then stood up with her blades drawn.

  “Come on, Rayla, do it for the frog,” she said. “The grumpy frog that hates you. Here goes!”

  Just then, the river monster threw its green, scaly head back, tossing Bait high into the air. As Bait plummeted back toward the water, the monster opened its jaws to catch him in its mouth. Rayla flipped from the log and into its mouth, jamming its jaws open with her blades. Bait landed on Rayla’s head instead of in the creature’s gullet.

  But Rayla didn’t have time to celebrate that victory. The monster nosedived deep below the surface, trying to shake Rayla from its jaws. Rayla squeezed Bait in her arms and tried not to think about seasickness, river monsters, or drowning. She’d never been underwater for so long. Her lungs felt like they might burst.

  Do something, Rayla.

  With a burst of courage, she managed to scramble out of the creature’s jaws and hook one blade into the folds of its leathery skin just as they broke the surface again. The creature thrashed about and Rayla hung on tight, with Bait hanging on to her. She glanced at the shore. Where were those boys? She could use a little help.

  Meanwhile, Ezran and Callum managed to pull themselves out of the water, where they could finally see that Bait and Rayla were in major trouble. Thinking quickly, Callum lifted the primal stone with one hand and traced a glowing rune shape in the air with the other. Powerful electricity began sparking around his hand, just as it had before.

  Ezran saw his brother’s stance. Uh-oh.

  “Why would you even attempt to do that again after this morning?” he asked.

  “I have an idea,” Callum said. “And it doesn’t require knowing any Draconic.”

  Before Ezran could stop him, Callum yelled across the water. “Rayla, jump!”

  “But you don’t know how to—” Rayla shouted back.

  “Never mind, just jump!” Callum repeated.

  Rayla decided she didn’t have anything to lose. She propelled herself and Bait into the air just as Callum plunged his electrified hand into the water.

  Zap!! The electricity traveled through the water and hit the monster with a mighty shock. It fell back into the water and made a quick getaway.

  A moment later, Rayla and Bait plummeted back into the river. They swam to shore where Callum and Ezran were.

  “Rayla, you saved Bait,” Ezran said, reaching out for the toad with his face full of gratitude. Then he covered Bait’s ears. “Without you, he would have been fish food.”

  “That was really brave, Rayla,” Callum said.

  Rayla stood up and shook her head. “No, I already told you. I’m afraid of water.”

  “I know. That’s why doing what you did was so heroic,” Callum explained.

  “Oh.” Really? “Thanks,” she said. She sat down on a nearby rock and started wringing out water from her hair.

  “Why wouldn’t you just tell us about your fear before?” Ezran asked. He took a seat near her and Callum came over too. “It’s okay to be afraid of things.”

  Rayla thought for a moment. Why had she held back? “I guess … I was afraid of being afraid,” she finally said. It sounded funny, but it was the truth.

  “That’s kind of circular,” Callum said with a philosophical air. “But worth noting: You’re not afraid of being afraid of being afraid.” He squinted and nodded slowly as he said this so it would sound more like timeless wisdom.

  Rayla rolled her eyes. “That’s deep, Callum,” she said. “But stupid.”

  Callum laughed.

  “The thing is,” Rayla continued, shifting her position on the rock. “Moonshadow elves aren’t supposed to show fear. Ever.”

  “That’s sad,” Ezran said.

  Rayla closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Maybe it is sad. But … “It’s just our way,” she said.

  Ezran leaned in. “I know elves have different ways, but I’ll tell you something my dad always says.”

  On hearing the king mentioned, Rayla instinctively fidgeted with the ribbon-binding on her wrist.

  Ezran continued, doing his best to impersonate the king’s deep voice. “He says, ‘Feelings are feelings, and there’s never shame or weakness in your heart’s truth.’ ”

  Rayla thought those words were beautiful. Beautiful, and so different from what I was always taught.

  She decided it was time to tell the truth, if not about their father, then about her own father and mother. “I’ve got something to tell you both. My parents aren’t actually dead, but I wish they were. Because they’re cowards.”

  The boys looked at her, shocked. “What do you mean?” Callum asked.

  Rayla felt a heaviness in her belly; talking about her parents always hurt. “My parents were part of an elite force, the Dragonguard—elven warriors chosen to protect the egg of the Dragon Prince. You might not know this, but storm dragons only lay an egg once every thousand years, give or take a century. So that egg is so rare and precious.” She pointed to the egg in Ezran’s knapsack. “Being part of the guard was a great honor. But when the humans came and killed the Dragon King, the Dragonguard failed in their duty.” She hung her head. “They weren’t killed. My parents ran away. I’m so ashamed of them.”

  But Callum shook his head. “Rayla, I’m sorry for what humans did.”

  She ignored his apology. “So, you see, that’s why I have to make things right. When I first left Xadia, I was on a quest for revenge. But the moment I saw that egg, everything changed. Now? This is a journey of redemption.”

  “We’re in this journey together,” Callum said. He put a hand on her shoulder.

  Rayla appreciated the gesture, but she was reaching her limit on this mushy stuff. She turned toward the water … and saw their boat floating away.

  “Oh no,” she said, feigning worry. She ran to the shore and pretended to try to grab the boat. “Ooops. It slipped just out of my reach. What will we do now?” Not so secretly, Rayla was thrilled the boat might get lost forever.

  But the boat reversed and drifted back toward her. Callum and Ezran laughed. Then Callum walked over and kicked the boat away with his foot.

  “Goodbye, boat.”

  Rayla let out a sigh of relief and unconscioulsly fidgeted with her binding again. “Thank you,” she said.

  “So, what is the deal with your wrist ribbon thing? Does it mean something?” Callum asked.

  “Uh …” For a moment Rayla considered letting it all out. She could tell these boys, she thought. She trusted them enough. But when she finally spoke, all she said was “Nah. It doesn’t mean anything. Just decorative.” She covered the ribbon with her unbound hand.

 
; Callum sensed a sudden change in her tone from just a few minutes before. “Decorative?” he asked.

  “Yeah. Moonshadow elf thing, I guess,” Rayla said, looking away.

  Callum nodded, but he wasn’t convinced. “Hmm. Okay.”

  It was late in the day and most of the castle denizens had begun to settle in for the evening, but a garrison of Katolis soldiers gathered near the great castle gates. Amaya was preparing to return to the Breach with her troops, but first she needed to brief the rescue party.

  “I’ve sent word to Corvus that the king has passed,” she signed to Gren and another officer. “Corvus will be expecting you and the rescue party within a day or two.”

  “Very good. And is Lord Viren aware that Corvus has been tracking the princes?” the officer asked.

  “No,” Amaya signed. Corvus was her insurance against Viren’s treacherous ways. She leaned in close to Gren. “Do not trust Viren,” she signed. “It may be a month from now, it may be a year from now—but he will stab you in the back.”

  “I’ll be careful,” Gren said.

  Amaya put a finger up to his lips to drive home her point. Then she signed warmly to Gren: “I trust you. You have been my voice. Now I need you to be my will and save those boys.” She wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

  “You find those boys, Gren—bring them home,” Amaya signed as she mounted her horse.

  “Yes, General. Your wish is my command,” Gren said.

  Amaya signed back for added clarity. “It is a command.”

  Gren smiled. He would miss his general’s wisdom, but also her humor.

  Just then, Viren and Soren appeared. All traces of warmth vanished from Amaya’s face.

  “I expect to be notified when the princes are found and safe,” she signed to Viren.

  Viren bowed in assent. “I’ll send word to the Breach immediately.”

  Amaya gave Viren one last intimidating look and then galloped off, her troops behind her. Gren could still see them in the distance when Soren sidled up to him.

  “Bad news, Gren,” Soren said, an exaggerated frown on his face. “Change of plans.”

  “What are you talking about?” Gren asked.

  Soren smirked but said nothing further, so Gren turned to Viren.