by A D Lombardo
Rayna ran her hands around the blackened section. “I could patch this—in a fashion. We cut trees down, but they still carry energy. I’m sure the wooden planks still have some life left in them.” She cupped her hands around the cavity. Her green crystal bloomed with light as she pressed at the wood.
Beneath her touch, root tendrils and bark grew together, sealing the void. The spot looked like the core of a tree had grown into the damaged area. “How did you know how to do that?” Ryker asked.
“One of the lessons Imani taught me. Consider everything is possible, and maybe it will be.” She smiled and leaned into Yulia, who beamed with pride at the young Kodama.
Chapter 25
The Gemidi
Bag in hand, Kai nodded and joined the others on Liam’s newly repaired skimmer. His double-hulled craft bobbed on the tiny waves next to the pier. Everyone helped Liam stow their supplies into the various compartments within both hulls. Rayna stretched out on a hard wooden deck in front of the main cabin.
Liam untied his boat and pushed off the pier. With a few minor adjustments to the twin red sails, the ocean breeze set them in motion. Gracefully it sliced through the tiny waves. Yulia perched on her knees in the middle of the rope netting. Her sleight of hand tamped down the waves in front of the boat. Unhappy with her current location, she moved to the solid decking in front of the mainsail beside Rayna.
Excitement stirred Kai’s imagination. Salty mist sprayed alongside them. The hull bounced steadily across the water. He had never sailed on the ocean. His most recent trip across Baden Lake against twenty-foot waves made him wonder if the ocean’s wild nature would be more than they could handle on such a small ship.
Ahead of them, Kai saw large waves break; they formed a barrier around the mainland. Each one crested over and crashed into a whitewash of power. Towering rocks jutted on either side—the very same rocks Liam claimed to have crashed his boat on months ago. Liam worked the sails, angling the vessel. Yulia’s movements intensified.
The first of three waves rolled upwards. Liam’s ship climbed up the wall of water. Water splashed the decks. Yulia slammed the heel of her hand down and her magic smacked the crest smooth. Gently they rolled over and down its slinking back. They raced up the second upsurge, and Yulia increased their speed. The skimmer soared up and over the second wave before it could break.
The third and final barrier wave swelled. The top began to spill over in spray of white. Their ship rose with the water. The wind pushed them higher. Yulia spun the wind to give them lift. Even Liam gasped in amazement as his hulls floated a few inches above the sea, the rudder the only part still cutting through the water.
Liam adjusted the sails. The wind propelled them faster. Everyone but Yulia clung to the vessel. They were still not high enough. The crest of the wave threatened to crash over their deck. With both hands, Yulia split the surf apart. Whitewash crashed away from them. Liam’s boat slipped through the opening and floated into calmer waters. The ebb and flow of the ocean unfolded into a limitless horizon.
“With the help of a Weathervane, it normally takes two days in open waters to reach the edge of the Mystic Islands. If we stand any chance at catching Lucca and Basil, we need to press harder,” Liam instructed. “It will make for a tougher ride, but I don’t think we have much choice.”
Everyone agreed it was a sound plan. Rayna tossed the remaining bags down the stairs and climbed into the suspended cabin. Kai followed. He dropped his pack in the tiny cramped cabin. It offered a place to sit out of the sun, two long planks on either side for sleeping and storage compartments. Unable to stand upright, he bent his back to keep from knocking his head. “Not much room to relax.”
Rayna nodded, stowing the rest of their supplies. “You are going to save your mother, and all this,” she motioned to their situation, “will be worth it.”
It was good to have her near. He’d known no matter what, she was not about to stay behind while he risked his life chasing after Lucca and the fulfillment of his lifelong dream to find his mother. “I am glad you’re with me.” He pulled her close and bumped his head. “Ugh, I am going up top. Too cramped down here.”
She patted his arm and led the way. Back on top, Kai listened to Liam explain how his quick skimmer was best used for racing. “While they were not really the best on the open sea during a storm, we use these vessels to traverse the distance between the islands and the mainland quickly. With a Weathervane at your side to calm the sea and supply ample wind, it turns a four-day cruise into a two-day race.”
It was easy to see Liam loved the thrill of riding the waves, even if his ship was taking a pounding with a faster pace. All around him his friends supported him. He was lucky.
During the first few hours on the open water, Kai saw nothing. Just wave after rolling blue wave. Sunshine burned his shoulders and glared across the water. White puffy clouds drifted in slow motion across the afternoon sky.
Perched on the foredeck behind the rope netting, he watched, his heart pleading to catch Lucca. But no amount of begging gave him what he looked for. They were nearly four hours behind Lucca and Basil. Yulia’s wind continued to speed them through the open water and soften the rough sea protecting Liam’s craft.
Everyone on board seemed to lean forward with anticipation. Squinting, Kai leaned forward when he noticed a glimmer of white. It was a speck of another ship racing against the waves. Kai and his group were catching up.
Pent-up anger hardened Kai’s heart. He wanted the old man to know he was coming. Focused on Lucca’s ship, he gleaned the gap. They were just out of reach.
The more Kai focused on Lucca, the angrier he became. The angrier he became, the more energy built within his core. Collecting and suppressing energy only compounded its power. Unable to hold the magic back, he pushed the pulse out with Lucca’s betrayal on his mind and one thought attached—I will save my mother.
Across the ocean, a spear of light bolted from Kai’s mind, headed straight for Lucca. Kai gleaned and he could see his magic sparkle over the water. A ray of energy collided into the mind of Lucca. Kai saw his grandfather step back and turn to face him. One thought returned—Please don’t.
A pang of sadness in his grandfather’s response struck Kai, but his words made no sense. Undeterred, Kai felt compelled to continue. As if he could propel them faster, Kai tapped the ship. New bitterness bubbled as he thought of Basil’s betrayal. If Basil had not betrayed them, Kai might have caught Lucca already and recovered his mother’s necklace. At the very least, he could have forced his would-be grandfather to take him along to rescue his mother.
Why the man had to be so stubborn, Kai did not know. Did they not want the same thing? To save his mother? Lucca’s hatred of Keegan rolled around in Kai's thoughts. What little Kai knew of his father’s deeds, he could understand the emotions, but why his grandfather’s feelings transferred to him, he did not understand.
Each passing hour they gained on Lucca’s ship. Liam was right, his boat was built for speed. Lucca’s boat was larger, but it was not nimble. As the two vessels neared, the Weathervane on Lucca’s craft switched focus and turned on them. Lucca’s boat slowed and the man waved his hands at the sky. Unsure what he was doing, Kai called back. “Lucca’s Weathervane is up to something.”
But it was too late. Kai felt static raise the hair on his arms and neck only seconds before a lightning bolt struck their sail, ripping it in half. Flames ate away the material. Yulia’s wind billowed through an open gash. Liam’s skimmer lurched to a stop, dead in the water. When the second bolt streaked across the sky, Yulia raised her hands and deflected the shot into the water.
Helpless to stop them, Kai watch as Lucca’s ship resumed speed putting renewed distance between them. Behind him, Yulia dowsed the remaining flames and Liam scurried to a storage compartment. “Help me removed the damaged sail!” he shouted, snapping Kai back to their situation.
Kai pulled the rope to release the sail. They had been so close. Out of the
corner of his eye, he watched Lucca and Basil slip away. While removing the old sail only took moments, stringing the new one took longer than Kai hoped. With each passing minute, his grandfather widened the gap between them.
Once they were back underway, Kai searched the open seas for their target. His grandfather’s ship was once again hardly a speck on the blue horizon, and the sun was setting fast. When he felt the boat slow, he looked to Yulia. He wanted to beg her to continue, but she had been working all day without so much as a break.
Kai climbed to the back. “Thank you, Yulia. I know it was a lot to make up for the hours Lucca and Basil had ahead of us. We will catch them tomorrow.”
“We will, I promise,” Yulia assured him. “Even Lucca’s Weathervane will need a break at some point.”
◆◆◆
Come dawn, Yulia again resumed their pursuit. The sun rose behind them, casting a yellow streak against the blue sky. Within a few hours, Kai and his group were back in the running. They could see Lucca’s boat getting closer.
In the distance ahead of his grandfather, Kai saw a massive gray and white fog hovering along the blue horizon. Ryker called Liam to the helm and Yulia increased their speed. The hulls hydroplaned over the tiny waves. The saltwater sprayed their faces. Lucca’s vessel disappeared into the mist ahead of them. Frantic they were losing them, Kai stomped wildly across the rope netting to the front crossbeam.
His white-knuckle grip folded around the beam. “Go faster, Yulia. They’re getting away.”
“Let me navigate, Kai.” Yulia continued her aggressive movements, propelling them forward. “I brought us this far, but I will not break this ship apart for your pursuit.”
Faster and faster, they raced. The white haze billowed out over the ocean waves. The mass of nothingness grew closer with every bounce of their vessel. Feeling overwhelmed by the eeriness, Kai climbed to the helm to stand near Liam.
Yulia backed off their speed as they entered the gloom. The sunlight was replaced with dark gray emptiness and the waves subsided into dark ripples. The sounds of splashing echoed around them. The faintest rays of sunlight serpentine above them outlined the towering landmasses on either side.
Kai gleaned the dark void. Trickles of light snaked through the mist, revealing their secrets. Much like the Katori coastline, rocks of all shapes and sizes jutted out of the ocean floor. Within the fog, Kai saw dark towers. Looming spires of rock. The closer they got, the more significant the rock formations became. Above and below the waterline, they threatened to slice any boat that dared to enter.
Liam aptly steered clear of danger. “Here is where my boat really comes in handy. Her shallow bottom allows me to navigate more directly. Lucca’s boat will have to make more turns to avoid scraping the jagged rocks below the surface. Glean the way, and you will see what I mean.”
Slow and steady, they steered through the fog. Kai continued to gauge their surroundings. Twice the height of the palace, island towers loomed overhead. Rayna gazed up at the towering island beside them and pointed. “The islands are staggering; it appears as though each island is supported by inverted cones. The base must be miles wide.”
“You are correct, Rayna.” Liam pulled on the sail to angle them around a rock formation, “They are designed to be difficult to climb. The few daring souls who enter the fog find it impossible to navigate, and we must later remove their wrecked ships to keep our paths clear.”
They sailed deeper within the shadowy mist, passing the first set of islands. The occasional beam of sunlight cut through the darkness. Jagged rock formations along the surface sank and reemerged with the rolling waters. “There,” Ryker pointed. “The light must be Lucca.”
A yellow glow bobbed up and down with the rhythm of the waves, then disappeared. Kai gasped, until they weaved around a rocky tower, bringing the light back into view. Cautiously Liam guided their boat around each obstacle. “Can we not go faster?” Kai squinted into the darkness. “They are putting distance between us now.”
“We should be careful, even with our shallow bottom skimmer, there are still dangerous spots.”
The sounds of splashing echoed off the walls around Liam’s boat. Yulia leaned over the side and muttered under her breath. “What are you doing, old man?”
Kai noticed her concern as Yulia climbed to the front rope netting, her hands instantly in motion. Before he had time to ask her what was wrong, he felt the boat raise and lower, raise and lower. “Tidal wave!” she called out.
The rushing water pushed at Liam’s ship. Yulia did her best to squelch each growing wave, but then each wave bounced off the protruding rock formations and back again. Waves smacked at them from all directions. They were like a toy boat in a tub. Every move Yulia made caused another set of waves.
In the distance, everyone watched as the light floated skyward. Kai could not believe his own eyes. Ship and all, Lucca disappeared into the air. The dark shadows made it impossible to see how his boat ascended. “Is his ship flying? How is that even possible? Now, what?” Kai glared upward.
“Liam, we need to move out of this spot, get ready.” Yulia stirred the wind, and the skimmer lurched forward, scraping the side of the island.
Another wave sloshed them back in the opposite direction. Riding across the waves, Liam turned the ship around the next island base. More waves sloshed and knocked the skimmer into a rock. Liam cringed as his ship groaned. Yulia pressed them faster. Liam twisted and pulled at the sails and rudder, angling them through the treacherous darkness.
The farther they went, the less the waves rolled. When the water settled, Liam angled them through a narrow gap and into a larger channel leading to the center of the Mystics.
Yulia altered her hand gestures. The wind billowed and the mist diminished. The sunshine reached through the towering islands. Liam adjusted the rudder, and they cruised between two islands. Yulia maintained their speed and kept the fog at bay. “Do you know where we are, Liam?” she asked.
“I do, but we are way off course for the island Lucca took. Mine is this way, we should keep going. I can ask my father where the manta rays gather. We will catch Lucca, don’t worry, Kai.”
Kai craned his neck to survey the distance above them. “Fascinating structures, your islands, but due to the outward angle, there was no way to climb up. How did Lucca get up?”
“Well, unless you can fly, you don’t. Like I said before, to come here, you need a Weathervane and a Stoneking.”
“Not necessarily,” Yulia interrupted. “The wave that washed back on us…I think Lucca’s Weathervane created a geyser—a shaft of water to carry them up. When they were up, he let the water collapse, probably in hopes it would wash us away and give them more time.”
“There, that one. That is my home island.”
“How can you tell?” Rayna asked. “No offense, but even with the fog lifted, they all look the same.”
“Do you see those protruding peaks? They are sea stacks—part of the original island before we pushed it into the sky. I simply know by the curves and peaks, and how deep into the Mystics we’ve traveled.”
Yulia slowed their speed. Rayna pointed to the waves. “Don’t you have to worry about erosion? The waves are constantly hammering the base.”
“That is true. The stone we pushed is extremely durable. Not to say the Stonekings don’t inspect the base from time to time, but each section is several miles wide. It would take centuries to erode. The top is not that much wider than the base.”
Yulia reversed her movements, and the wind swirled around the sails, forcing them to billow backward. The vessel lurched and slowed to a crawl. Changing her motions again, she calmed the winds, and the waves shrank to a waveless pool.
Kai searched the area. “Where do we put ashore? Or are we riding a geyser like Lucca?”
“Technically, we don’t land per se. And we cannot use a geyser because it would damage my suspended cabin.” Liam pointed. “We take the ship with us, but I must lift it off the ocean
floor. Again, another benefit of the design of our boats—twin hulls supporting a shallow lofted center.”
Liam dropped the sails and leaned off the back of his boat. His hand reached into the water. Kai craned to observe his friend’s hand movements beneath the surface. Eyes closed, Liam tensed his hand, his fingers angled downward. Below the surface, through the crystal-clear water, Kai saw ripples in the sand. The water appeared to tremor. When he heard thunder rumble below the surface, he looked to Rayna. She peered over the boat’s edge beside him.
The sandy ocean floor glistened in the sunshine; it appeared to be only a few feet deep. That is until Yulia stopped her movements, and the eerie fog settled back around them.
Liam leaned into the mast. “Everyone, hold onto something.”
Everyone grabbed on tight. Liam strained, and his arm muscles flexed under the exertion. His fingers curled inwards. The ground rumbled as it rose and displaced the water. There was a thud as the sandy soil pressed against the bottom of the boat. The two hulls settled into the wet sand and Liam raised his clenched fist. They began to rise. Higher and higher.
Through the fog they were lifted, the blue sky returned. Etched black stone towered beside them with various ledges covered green foliage. Below them, the fog closed in around the water. The wind pressed down on them as they rose, Liam took them higher still. Above them, Kai saw a green edge protruding out from the black rock. As they came level with the extensive outcropping, four men waited at the entrance to a stone archway.
Liam brought the ship even with them and stopped. The men performed a series of movements extending a platform to Liam’s column. Together they tugged at the ground beneath the vessel, sliding it sideways onto the landing. Two men approached Liam’s column and shoved downward with one foot each. The tall column collapsed back into the sea.