City of Thirst

by Carrie Ryan

  Remy’s head shook so hard it nearly popped off of her shoulders. “If you think I’m leaving you in a crusty old death trap during a storm, you’re insane. There are flash floods, Marrill. Flash floods!”

  Above, the sky boiled black, making Remy’s fears seem somewhat reasonable. But then, a flash flood was exactly what Marrill was banking on.

  “Oh, it’s nothing.” Marrill had to raise her voice over the growing wind. “Just a sprinkle! When we lived in Costa Rica, this much rain fell, like, every day!” She blinked as a huge raindrop fell straight into her eye.

  Remy was having none of it. “Marrill Aesterwest, you’d better—” But she didn’t finish. Her eyes grew wide, jaw dropping as she stared at something over Marrill’s shoulder.

  “Oh my… shooting stars!”

  Every atom in Marrill’s body vibrated as she turned. Her lips curled into a smile; she half expected to see the Enterprising Kraken sailing into the handicapped spots once again.

  Instead, a three-story-tall wall of water pounded toward them. Its top frothed and curled and danced with the golden glow of magic. Deadly, powerful magic.

  “The Stream is here!” she yelped.

  “Into the car, now!” Remy screamed. She snatched Marrill by her backpack, shoving her and Karnelius inside and scrambling in after them. She’d barely gotten the door shut when the wave hit.

  The impact came like a giant had picked up the car and tossed it into a lake. Metal groaned under the force of the water. Remy wrapped her arms around Marrill, tucking her against the seat. Marrill, in turn, tucked Karny against her chest. All they could do was hold on.

  “We’re going to be okay,” her babysitter reassured her. “It’s only a flash flood. The water will drain away as fast as it came. We just have to hold on, and, you know, think buoyant thoughts.” Her voice trembled even as she tried to laugh.

  But Marrill knew that sinking was the least of their worries. Because the water all around them had that familiar golden sheen. The one that said any minute now, the car could catch fire, or start singing, or turn into a log or a cloud or a sandwich, or all of these things at once.

  A tingle buzzed along the back of Marrill’s neck. It was the sensation of possibility—of pure magic. Karny hissed, the tip of his tail twitching. He struggled out from underneath her and leapt onto the dashboard.

  “Does it taste like Thursday in here to you?” Remy asked. “Why does it taste like Thursday?” Her voice grew suddenly panicked. “Why does Thursday have a taste?”

  Marrill pushed herself up and looked around. They were floating now, at least. But the desert was gone. A wide, endless expanse of golden water surrounded them. As she watched, a small wave crested across the hood and rippled around the base of the antenna. In a flash of light, the aluminum rod exploded into a swarm of tiny squid-shaped birds that zipped around the car like chattering hummingbirds. Karny batted at the window after them.

  Remy’s jaw dropped. Her entire body trembling, she clenched the steering wheel as if that might help. “Wh-what just happened?”

  Marrill held out her arms weakly as the car shuddered around them. “Welcome to the Pirate Stream?” she offered.

  Remy just stared at her, eyes wide. “Where did the everything go?” she whispered.

  “Okay,” Marrill said, trying to think. “The good news is we’re still alive. And human.” Just then, the whole car buckled and shook. A groan of metal came from all around. In front of them, translucent scales popped out along the surface of the hood. “The bad news is that we might not stay that way.…”

  Overhead, the sunroof folded upward, forming into a point that looked suspiciously like a shark’s fin. Marrill grabbed Karnelius and held him close. She turned to face Remy. “No matter what happens, don’t let the water touch you! And hold on tight!”

  Remy shrieked as the hood popped open and long, curving fangs sprouted out. The carpeted mats turned squishy and soft beneath their feet. Long rows of narrow teeth snaked from the doorframe. The car was turning into some sort of creature, and they were sitting in its mouth.

  The walls of the car ballooned, growing translucent as the metal stretched and thinned. Larger than a hot-air balloon now, the car-creature billowed out around them, bobbing along the surface of the Stream.

  Remy screamed again. After a second of restraint, Marrill gave in and screamed as well. From somewhere behind them, back in what was now the inflated body of the beast formerly known as Remy’s car, a deep, hollow moan sounded right along with them.

  It vibrated through Marrill’s body, swishing her stomach and making the world swim. It was a pitiful sound, fierce and lonely. Marrill felt a stab of sympathy for it.

  But that feeling only lasted a moment. Then everything shook, and she tumbled onto her back. Thick, nasty-smelling fluid coated her arms and fouled up her hair. Remy smashed into her, elbow smacking Marrill’s hip and making her grunt with pain.

  “We’re going down,” Remy yelped. “Hang on to me, Marrill!”

  “I can’t get off of you!” Marrill yelled back, rolling around on what was now a big, spongy tongue. The creature was moving. They were diving into the Pirate Stream!

  “Everything’s going to be fine,” she said, trying to reassure herself as much as Remy. It was like being inside the body of a giant jellyfish. One with a set of nasty, curved teeth. But so long as the thing kept its mouth closed, they might be safe. “Coll says the Deep Stream is really a bunch of different rivers, all around and on top of each other. So maybe diving is just following a different branch?”

  “I have absolutely no idea what that means,” Remy fired back.

  Karnelius squirmed in Marrill’s arms, letting out a loud MROW. She pulled him against her shoulder for comfort. “It’s okay, Karny,” she whispered, kissing his head.

  “Oh yeah, this is definitely okay,” Remy said. Marrill looked over at her and grinned. The older girl’s eyes were wide, her blond hair plastered to her forehead with monster spit. “So, so not okay,” she muttered.

  Marrill held her chin up with pride. “I think you owe me an apology for my math assignment.”

  “I don’t feel that way,” Remy said sternly. “Math is math, Marrill. But yeah, I guess you were telling the truth about the whole magic-river thing. Now, how are we getting out of here?”

  The creature turned its head one way, then the other, but all Marrill could see through its translucent skin was golden water, spiraling and eddying as they sliced through it.

  Suddenly, a violent jerk threw them backward, sending Karny skittering off her. Around them, the creature began writhing as it zoomed upward. Marrill’s ears popped as the gold water gave way to blue sky. The creature let out a loud bellow as it was yanked up and out of the Stream.

  “Hold on!” Remy cried, pulling her close. The thing lurched to a halt, swinging back and forth, but no longer rising.

  “The kids in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe didn’t have to deal with this stuff,” Remy pointed out. “Why couldn’t you find a nice magic wardrobe to walk through, huh?”

  And then the jaws opened, and they crashed onto the hard wooden deck of a ship.

  “Ooooowwwww,” Marrill moaned, rolling onto her back. Overhead, the creature swayed, hanging by a weird flipper foot from a tangled net strung from a tall mast that reached up into the sky. High above them, a black flag flew. A black pirate flag.

  “Shanks,” Marrill groaned.

  A moment later, a band of men, and things that looked sort of like men, and things that really didn’t look that much like men at all, surrounded them. Each was more menacing than the last. Their skin was dark from the sun; at least the ones that had skin, rather than fur or scales or whatever those pink spiky things were. Their clothes were tattered along the seams from the harsh days at sea. Each held a weapon at the ready. Not even one of them was smiling.

  “Hi?” Marrill tried. “Nice to meet you?”

  Several of the pirates stepped aside, and a man strode forwa
rd to glare down at her. He was tall and thin. His close-cropped pants and vest were made of gleaming leather. Almost every inch of visible skin bore either a scar or a tattoo.

  “I think this is yours,” he said, holding Karny forward by the scruff of his neck. Even her angry, cantankerous cat seemed to give up in the man’s grip.

  “Please don’t kill us,” Remy gushed beside her. “I’ve got the ACT in, like, a month, and I was just starting to look at colleges.…”

  But Marrill had to smile. Because this wasn’t just any random wicked pirate captain.

  “Stavik!” she cried as she pushed herself to her feet. And before he could protest, she launched herself at the dragon-leather-clad Pirate King.

  “So…” Marrill tented her fingers together in front of her, a gesture she’d picked up from Ardent. It meant he was contemplating something weighty. She hoped it looked the same when she did it.

  She let the word trail off, hoping one of the pirates might jump in and she wouldn’t have to admit that she really had no idea what to say or where to begin. They sat around a scarred wooden table in Stavik’s cabin, Marrill across from Stavik, with the pirates all gathered around but seated just a little back from their boss. Each cradled a glass of strong-smelling amber liquid. Marrill clutched her mug of warm milk the same way. Beside her, Remy sat with arms crossed, shaking slightly.

  “He looks mean,” she hissed to Marrill.

  “He’s the Pirate King,” Marrill said. “He’s supposed to look mean. But inside he’s really a kitten.”

  “Kittens have sharp claws,” Stavik snarled. “And pointy little teeth.” The pirates looked at each other nervously. “First oneaya who calls me a kitten loses a finger,” Stavik warned. The pirates stared back down at their mugs.

  “Don’t worry, he owes me one,” Marrill whispered to Remy. “After all, I did break his crew out of a spell and save them from a sinking ship. Pirates actually have a pretty strong code of ethics.” I assume, she mentally added.

  Remy narrowed her eyes, giving Stavik what Marrill knew all too well was her I’m-watching-you look, but she kept quiet.

  “So…” Marrill started. “The Purple Serpent’s a nice ship,” she said, looking around. “Is she new?”

  The pirates in the room went completely quiet, all eyes swiveling toward Stavik. Marrill wondered if perhaps the Pirate King was still a bit sore about losing his last ship, the Black Dragon.

  She cleared her throat and tried a different approach. “I mean, uh, how’s… pirating?” The pirates exchanged glances, and she thought she heard a “Not bad” somewhere in the crowd, but Stavik said nothing. He just kept his cold eyes glued on her, face frozen in a sneer. Marrill took a deep sip of milk and tried to gather her nerve. “Seen the Enterprising Kraken around, by any chance? Coll the sailor, Ardent the wizard, another guy you probably don’t remember?”

  There were a few grunts of recognition, but still Stavik’s expression didn’t change. Not even an eyelash twitched.

  “Anyway,” Marrill continued, “I’m trying to find them. It’s important.”

  Slowly, Stavik leaned back in his chair, the dragon leather of his pants creaking as he lifted his feet and placed them on the table. “The Kraken, yeah? Rings a bell. Strange ship, lots of brainbroke goings-on going on. Rats with spare legs and decks that don’t stay put and whatnot.” He shrugged. “Brig wasn’t half bad.” Around him, the pirates murmured in agreement.

  Marrill nodded eagerly. That was her Kraken! “Do you know where she is?”

  Stavik lifted a shoulder. “I know a lot of things.”

  Marrill beamed. “Can you take me to her?” she asked, almost breathless.

  The Pirate King pretended to examine his fingernails. “I can do a lot of things,” he said. His eyes met hers. “Question is, why should I?”

  Marrill bit her lip, her stomach twisting. He had a fair point. After all, they had just sort of popped up out of the Stream, lodged in the mouth of a sea monster. She wasn’t really in much of a position to make demands. “It’s really important?”

  “I got a whole slew of important stuff on my to-do list.” Stavik shrugged. He snapped his fingers at the pirate hovering behind him. “What do we have on tap tomorrow?”

  The pirate’s eyes grew wide, his nose turning an alarming shade of red. “Uh…” He looked around the cabin nervously, then swallowed. “We, um, got a thing. The one with the thing. You know the thing I’m talking about?” He cringed, like he was bracing to get smacked.

  Stavik just grinned and laced his hands behind his head. “Well, there ya go. ’Fraid I’m all booked up.”

  Marrill sighed. It was almost as bad as trying to get something relevant out of Ardent. Fin would know what to do, she thought. After all, he’d gotten along with thieves and rapscallions for years. Of course, Fin would just leave the room and let them forget about him, then swagger back in like he knew exactly what was going on. He’d be calm and confident and just a little bit groveling.

  It wasn’t exactly her strong suit, but she let out a slow breath, trying to focus. Be confident, be confident, she told herself.

  Beside Marrill, Remy laughed. “Can’t find it, huh?”

  Marrill stared at her babysitter. “What are you doing?” she hissed under her breath.

  Stavik’s smug smile faltered. Every eye in the room swiveled toward him. He pulled his feet from the table and slammed the front legs of his chair to the floor. Marrill struggled not to cringe. The scars on his face turned purple and danced as he spoke. “Believe me, I know exactly where the Kraken is.”

  Remy raised an eyebrow. “Oh, obviously.”

  The pirates around the table shifted, uncomfortable. Stavik ran his tongue over his teeth, a knowing look in his eyes. “Totally doesn’t know,” Remy said with an exaggerated flip of her ponytail.

  Marrill held her breath, trying not to imagine what walking the plank would be like.

  After what seemed like eternity, the Pirate King leaned back. “All right,” he said. “Set course for the Enterprising Kraken, mates. Full sails.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Here There Be Pirates

  I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” Ardent confessed. He was clothed in a white dressing gown with big purple slippers, and the wind whipped his beard through the air behind him. His robe and hat, still drying from washing out the Belolow funk, fluttered above their heads on a line strung up special by the Ropebone Man.

  Fin snatched the silver bracelet back before the wizard could forget where he’d gotten it. “You must have seen that symbol somewhere,” Fin pressed. With his thumb, he traced the raised outline of the dragon, the arcs of the circle above it.

  The Enterprising Kraken skated across the Stream, surrounded by clouds. This branch of the magic river spouted up through empty air, like riding on a rainbow. Fin had no idea why they weren’t currently falling, and he liked it that way.

  Ardent shook his head. “The Stream is a large place. Endless, really. Do I know most of it? Possibly. More than nearly anyone else who ever lived? Obviously. But even I can’t know all of it. Wherever this came from, it is either obscure, or isolated, or very, very secluded.”

  Fin nodded, pretending he knew what those words meant. “Soooo…” he said. “How do we go about tracking it down?”

  Just then, a flat wobbly creature that looked like a cross between a manta ray and a flying pancake swooped straight toward them, hissing and chirping as it came.

  “I said we don’t want any!” Coll shouted from the ship’s wheel. He waved at it with a long wooden pole they’d brought out for just this purpose. The creature gave a disappointed chirp and swooped back into the clouds.

  Fin shook his head and turned back to Ardent. The wizard looked at him suspiciously. “How do we track it down?” Fin repeated.

  “Track what down?”

  Fin threw up his hands. “The symbol! We have to track down the symbol and find my mother!” Ardent opened his mouth, but Fin cut him off. �
��Before you ask, my name’s Fin.” He could already tell the wizard had forgotten him. Again.

  Ardent frowned. “We’re not accepting stowaway applications, I’m sorry to say. We’re full up at the moment.” He rolled an eye toward the Naysayer, who was slouching down toward the lower decks.

  Frustration tightened the muscles along Fin’s shoulders. “It’s me,” he said. Ardent stared at him blankly. “There are posters all over the ship to remind you?” Fin snatched the nearest one from the mainmast and thrust it at the wizard. It was tattered and torn from exposure, the ink smeared where he’d misspelled something and tried to cross it off. A circle-face smiled a big thick swoosh of a smile beneath two misshapen eye-dots.

  Ardent squinted at it. “Is that you? I thought that was supposed to be Ropebone!” He laughed. “Coll, guess what?” he shouted toward the quarterdeck. “Those signs are pictures of this boy, not Ropebone!”

  Coll came closer and squinted at the image. “I thought it was a dinghy. I really thought you made this to remind me to haul in the dinghies.”

  Fin scowled furiously. Okay, so he wasn’t a good artist like Marrill was. But there were still her originals. “Also the drawings pinned to your sleeves,” he reminded them. For the umpteen millionth time.

  They both looked down. Only dirty scraps of sail clung to Coll’s shirt. “Oh yeah,” he grunted. “Must have lost it back in the Skeleton Garden.”

  Fin’s eyes whipped to Ardent, who was licking his. The entire thing, Fin realized, was stained gray. “Toadbutter,” the wizard said with a scowl. “Definitely toadbutter. When did I have toadbutter?”

  Fin ground his teeth. “It says I’m part of the crew. That I helped defeat Serth, and I’m Marrill’s friend, and—”

  Ardent’s expression softened into a smile. “I wonder how Marrill’s doing. I miss her, don’t you, Coll?”

  “She definitely livened things up,” Coll agreed. “Remember that time she threw the pepper shaker into the Stream and it turned into a kraken?”