by B. T. Narro
Captain Mmzaza didn’t say a word as he stared wide-eyed at her. Finally he looked over his shoulder at his crew, none of them moving as they must’ve been in just as much shock as their captain.
“We’re going through the canal!” Mmzaza announced.
As he and his crew started to get the ship back on course, he muttered to the group, “I hope all of you can swim like fish and run like rats.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
It was difficult to judge the exact size of the Marros. As they screeched at the approaching boat and took off from the rocky island, Desil could tell they were much larger than any bird he’d seen, but just how much larger he didn’t know. Gray like rock, they lifted themselves quickly with big flaps of their long wings.
Desil could hope this would be the last he’d see of the creatures, but doing so would make him a fool. Better instead to prepare. Where was their weak point? He hadn’t been close enough for a good look, but even from the distance he could see their feet and legs were thick and strong. Their wings appeared thin against the backdrop of the evening sun, but they must be more powerful than they appeared. As they turned to fly inland, Desil realized they had no feathers, just leathery skin that didn’t seem as if it would protect them very well from the cold. He didn’t see how that would help him, but he wouldn’t stop himself from thinking of every detail he could.
It was their bodies that seemed the weakest if he had to choose a target while defending himself. They might come at him with the claws of their feet, but he should be able to hack at their abdomen. It depended on how tall they really were. He wondered if he could do any damage if he was grabbed. He fought back chills of terror as the prospect of being taken to the mysterious center of the island overwhelmed him.
Captain Mmzaza steered the ship around the outstretched arm of Kanoan. It was not a mountain upon land as Desil first thought but only rock. It must stretch down to rest on the sea floor, as it seemed too dense to float. Another arm of rock formed the canal. They began a good distance from each other but came together like a V as they ran closer to the island.
There was a brief panic among the crew about avoiding a tendril of rock jutting out over the water from one wall. When they made it past, Mmzaza ordered everyone to stay alert for signs of rocks hidden below the surface.
“Watch the waves,” he advised. “Look for them moving around something you can’t see.”
An enormous shadow came over them as they sailed deeper in at a steady but slow pace. The rocky walls loomed ominously above them. Desil saw faces among the impenetrable stone, some looking down upon him with a sneer. Fear gripped him as all conversation fell to a whisper. Only Captain Mmzaza seemed unaffected as he hollered commands at his crew.
They battled against a strong wind at their backs as the river grew narrow. Desil kept expecting Mmzaza to tell them this was as far as the ship could go, yet he went on. There seemed to be no end in sight as the river took slight turns. The walls of rock were connected above them in many places, creating long tunnels that gave echo to Mmzaza’s gruff voice.
Finally they completed a turn and the walls began to veer off as the river opened into a small lake. The sky opened as well, revealing a cloud of Marros arcing over the hills. There had to be fifty of them!
Desil and the others who would be leaping overboard burst into a panic as Mmzaza ordered his crew to turn the ship. “Get ready to jump!” Mmzaza told Leida and Adriya. “You must swim and run.”
As Adriya grabbed the old man for a kiss just like the last, Desil ran to the side of the boat to survey the land. It was flat and covered in thin, dry grass. Their only sanctuary was a forest guarded by azure trees, short and wide and certainly nonexistent in Ovira.
The monstrous birds were fast approaching. There would be no way to make it to the forest before they arrived. The swim to shore was quite a distance as well, delaying them even further. Desil wasn’t about to let all of them die just to keep his ability secret.
The boat swung around as Captain Mmzaza cranked the wheel, everyone crowding the side as they waited for the straight shot to shore.
“Get ready,” Kirnich yelled.
“Let me go first,” Desil said as he climbed up to balance on the side. “I will save us all some much needed time.”
“What are you talking about?” Kirnich growled.
Desil wobbled until two pairs of hands, Leida’s and Adriya’s, steadied his legs. “Get ready to run on ice.”
He heard Beatrix mutter something to Kirnich that almost broke his focus. “He’s like Wade.”
How much does she know about my father?
Desil ignored his curiosity and jumped. He commanded the dark waves below him to turn to ice. A gust of warmth blew his cloak up and kept him from seeing the ice as he came down hard. It had some give, as the water was still liquid a few feet below, but it was uneven and slippery. He fell onto his side and felt a surge of pain through his whole body, but he knew he wasn’t seriously injured because he was able to get out of the way quickly enough to avoid the others falling on him.
He focused on turning as much of the water into ice as he could, while the boat continued to peel away. The others jumped, every one of them falling onto their hands and knees except Kirnich, who landed perfectly on his feet.
They formed a line behind Desil as he morphed water to ice before him while running. It crackled and hissed as it solidified, steam clouding the air. All of them slipped and slid on their way across, but they came to the land quick and dry.
Adriya and Leida bolted ahead in a sprint as if controlled by fear. Desil knew they couldn’t keep up the pace all the way to the trees, but he couldn’t let them get too far ahead where they’d be vulnerable. It seemed that Beatrix and Kirnich had the same thought, as they broke into a sprint, too.
Leida looked around as if hoping to find her father waiting for her, but there wasn’t another living creature in sight, except the Marros. Suddenly she gasped and slowed, only to speed up again. Desil realized what it was when he came across the same spot. A memory. There was no time to stop and experience it. They would have to come back.
The Marros swooped down as they closed in. They were large beasts, giving Desil little hope of fending them off. “Shoot them,” he told the mages, hoping it would scare the creatures as much as they frightened him.
Leida and Adriya spun around with their wand and staff out. There was a burst of light, two fireballs shooting over Desil’s head. He looked over his shoulder as he ran. Some of the Marros were quick enough to dodge, but the creatures flying behind them were struck. Three of them let out an otherworldly shriek as they spun, smoking, to the ground. The others opened their long mouths full of sharp teeth, a terrifying sight that made Desil realize he’d never seen a bird with teeth before now. The front line of creatures let out a throaty call that sounded like a mix of a bird singing and a dog screeching.
Other Marros seemed to reply to those in front with a different sound, a deeper growl. Desil thought he heard distinct words among the noise. The idea of them speaking to each other filled him with even more terror. They were not afraid of his group; they were figuring out how best to kill him and the rest of his party.
Desil resisted the urge to run for his life as he drew his sword and slashed at the first pair of claws swooping down for him. His sword clanged against the metallic skin on the leg, his blade sinking into the limb deep enough to get stuck. The Marro tried to fly off with Desil’s sword imbedded in it, but he clung to the handle with both hands. With a tremendous show of strength, the screeching creature picked Desil off the ground by his sword. Something scraped the back of his head—the claw of another Marro. He nearly lost his grip but refused to let his weapon go.
His mind yelled for him to drop it as he went higher and higher, nearing the point where he would at least break a leg. A pair of massive bird feet landed on top of his shoulders midair. He looked up to find another bird crowding the first one, staring down at him with
malice in its black eyes. It growled out something to the injured bird, then gave its wings a strong flap as it pushed Desil down with its feet.
The sword cut through the Marro’s leg. Suddenly Desil was falling, a loose gnarled claw twisting in front of him in the air. He tossed his sword to the side and shifted to get his feet below him. With a slight bend of his knees, he made sure to keep both feet together to increase the odds of them hitting the ground at the same time. A broken leg might be the same as death here.
He made sure not to stiffen his joints, letting the natural motion of his fall take over as he hit the ground and rolled away from his sword, all the while softening the earth with his mind. He was vaguely aware of everyone scrambling around him while the Marros attacked them. He popped up and sprinted for his weapon, but one of the Marros landed on top of it, grabbed it by the handle, and started to take off.
With only the dangling blade to grab, Desil was hopeless. “Someone shoot—!” Before he could complete the sentence, an arrow impaled the creature’s chest. It crashed down, the sword bouncing out of its grasp.
Desil ran for it. The ground was covered in shadows shooting in every direction. He felt movement just above him, so he ducked low and dove for his weapon. Feeling as if something was coming for him, he spun and swiped the sword through the air. His instincts were right, the blade fending off a pair of massive claws.
“Run!” Beatrix yelled, and Desil realized how behind the others he was. The Marros came down upon him in a group of five, all of them slicing at his body with their feet. He couldn’t get up as he kept his own feet up to protect himself, stabbing his sword at anything within reach. He felt his boots absorbing the claws like a shield, but many were getting through to scrape his hands and arms.
There was an explosion just above him, the impact of a fireball striking him as a blast of heat. He saw just how many Marros there were when the front line of them dispersed—twenty more ready to take their place.
He jumped to his feet and sprinted to catch up with his group, but the Marros were faster. Claws scratched at his head and neck as some swooped past him and tried to claw the rest of his comrades before soaring back up. With a scream, Kirnich took a nasty cut down his shoulder. One of the Marros landed on Adriya’s back, knocking her over. Beatrix lifted her hand and caused the creature to shriek as it toppled sideways. Desil grabbed Adriya by the arm and yanked her to her feet.
Leida looked over her shoulder at them, but her eyes shifted upward as she let out a shriek of fear. A great shadow came over Desil as he looked behind him. Flying in front of the sun was a Marro that seemed to take up the entire sky. The other creatures parted as it soared down toward them and screeched out a deafening command.
“Freeeeeahhhh!”
The other Marros filed in formation behind it. A fireball flew over Desil’s head, but the enormous creature swerved to avoid it. Adriya lifted her staff as it approached.
“It’s too close to shoot!” she yelled as she and Desil ducked.
He got too good of a look at its enormous claws as it stretched out its feet and kept going past them. Leida was screaming by the time Desil looked behind him. The flying beast beat its wings as it quickly gained altitude, Leida looking as small as a mouse in its grasp.
“Shoot it!” Desil yelled as he ran after them, every Marro giving up on the others to trail behind their giant.
Adriya fired, but her fireball missed high. Kirnich had an arrow ready, aiming, but Beatrix grabbed his shoulder.
“Wait.” She extended her hand and the beast roared in pain. It brought its wings in as if to protect its body as it spiraled toward the ground with Leida entangled. It crashed down, a cloud of dirt hiding it and Leida from view as everyone ran to catch up. The Marros swooped down and clawed at Desil and the others. He could hear the sound of clothes ripping all around him as one claw sliced open the back of his neck.
Beatrix lifted both arms as she yelled out from the strain. Agony unlike anything he’d felt before coursed through Desil, sending him to the ground as a scream ripped out of his throat. His sound was lost among a cacophony of grating yelps as every man, woman, and Marro writhed on the ground.
Desil tried to get to his feet, but no muscle would work. All he could do was hope the torment would end soon, his teeth gritting together so hard he worried they would break. He became aware of Kirnich rising up, getting his sword above his head with a tremendous amount of effort, and driving it into a Marro. Then he did the same again, then again.
The spell finally came to an end, leaving Desil as frail as a dying man, his heart racing. He summoned his strength and managed to get to his feet, but the Marros were stirring as well. Before Desil could strike one down, they were all in the air again. Beatrix had exhausted herself, stumbling with a curse toward the forest. The creatures again swarmed Desil’s group.
The biggest of them all was trying to get its claws around Leida as she scrambled away on her hands and knees. Desil came up behind it and slashed his blade down its back. It shrieked as it wildly swung its wings around behind it, knocking Desil every which way until he eventually kissed the ground.
He raised his head to find a stream of fire coming out of Leida’s wand as the enormous Marro quickly retreated with one wing smoking. It yelled out something to its kin.
“Chauwreeeee!”
The others took to the air to follow the dominant one, but some circled around to glare at Desil and his group. They flapped their wings to stay in place as they growled out indistinguishable words in what sounded to be anger. Eventually they turned back and fell in line behind their leader.
Desil and the others watched, every one of them panting and bleeding. No one said anything, not even when the creatures were little dots in the evening sky. Desil realized this might be his only chance and took Leida by her bleeding arm to pull her away from the others.
“I felt the memory, too,” he whispered. “We’ll go back for it at night.”
She nodded. They both looked toward Adriya as she stood between Beatrix and Kirnich.
“We’ll find some way to tell her,” Leida said.
They returned to their group before anyone noticed the exchange.
“Beatrix, why did you hurt all of us with the Marros when you used psyche?” Desil asked.
“I couldn’t help it. I’m not yet familiar with all of your natural energy patterns to exclude them. Give me time.”
Even with the creatures nearly out of sight, they still opted to run the rest of the distance to the forest.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Desil was no longer sure separating from Beatrix and Kirnich would be in their best interest. They could go back to the memory spot at night to see what message Basen had left for his daughter, but unless they could get to him immediately, Desil figured they would all be safer together.
The azure forest was as eerie as it was beautiful. A light fog with a blue hue prevented Desil from seeing past the dense trees. As they walked in, everyone glanced around cautiously except Kirnich as he counted the arrows in his quiver.
“I lost nearly a quarter of them!” he complained.
Beatrix shushed him. “I’m sensing something I don’t recognize.”
Everyone jumped in alarm as something scampered down the nearby hill. Leida, Adriya, and even Desil aimed light. The creature had four legs like a dog but with more of a rat face. It stopped to give the group one assessing look, then darted back up the hill. No one offered a comment at the strange sight.
“Thank you,” Leida told Beatrix. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t pained that flying behemoth.”
“You can repay the favor by cooperating. Now it should be clear that we need each other.”
No one gave an objection. Desil, however, needed a better sense of what Beatrix and Kirnich had planned to keep everyone together.
“It’s hard to cooperate with people who plan to put my friends in jail for trying to stop war,” he said to get the inev
itable conversation going.
To Desil’s surprise, Beatrix glared at Kirnich instead of him. “Did you tell him?”
“So what if he knows? He deserved a warning not to get involved in this.”
“Why do you care what happens to him? You’ve never cared about anyone.”
Desil didn’t know where Beatrix’s aggression was coming from, but its effect on Kirnich was clear as his face turned red.
“I care about you,” he muttered.
“You only think you do. You don’t really know what caring is.” Beatrix seemed to realize her mistake and held up her hands. “Wait, I’m—”
He slammed his sword down to the dirt as he yelled, “I am the only one here with you!”
“Quiet your voice,” she hissed. But he kept on yelling.
“Both you and your father chose me because there’s no one better. You blame me for trying to warn Desil not to get involved, then you claim I’m some monster who can’t care about anyone. Which is it?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m just annoyed. No one’s supposed to know the reason behind Basen’s betrayal. It could create a divide in the kingdom at the worst time.” She seemed to be telling this to Desil now instead of Kirnich.
The large warrior looked at Desil as well. “I didn’t tell him. He figured it out.”
“So he should be smart enough to know that cooperation is his only choice.”
Desil challenged, “Can you promise we won’t be arrested, and neither will Leida’s parents?”
“If everyone cooperates,” Beatrix said, “then yes, I promise.”
It was unfortunate Desil’s side didn’t have its own psychic to verify this. Desil wasn’t sure the headmaster would cooperate anyway. He had come this far in hopes of stopping the war. Why would he cease now?
In that moment, Desil realized Beatrix and Kirnich’s plan. They would threaten Leida if her father didn’t cooperate. That would be the only thing that could stop Basen. And that meant it was crucial, after all, to find him without Beatrix and Kirnich. If that didn’t happen, they’d all better be prepared to fight.