Compass of the Nymphs (12 page)

As Zara sat and thought, he found himself
drifting off to sleep as well. It seemed to the three as they slept
that only minutes had passed, but in reality there was a peaceful
hour that had slipped by before they were harshly awakened. A large
wave smashed atop the raft, startling the riders and soiling a
couple of the books sitting on top of the wagon. Taisiya struggled
to cough up some of the water, and Zara tried to help her clear her
throat as he looked up at Lahara. “What is going on?!” he
shrieked.

The nymph gauged their surroundings and made
an educated guess. “I’d say we’re almost there,” she said
cautiously. “It looks like we just hit a tributary that, like the
river we were riding, will empty into the ocean.”

“That’s good, then,” Zara said
optimistically. The worried expression that Lahara had on her face
wasn’t as optimistic.

Taisiya coughed a little and chimed in, “Sure
that’s good,” she said, grabbing her wet hair and pulling it up
into a ponytail so that it would stay out of her eyes. “But what’s
your plan to stop the raft?”

She was right; as they conversed, they
continued to rocket along, being tossed back and forth by more and
more water as they veered closer to the ocean. Zara looked up at
Lahara and said with a sheepish grin, “Magic?”

Lahara and Taisiya were too busy deep in
thought to reply. Seconds later, Taisiya tried to get her footing
on the swaying raft. As she steadied herself, she shouted at
Lahara, “Take off your cloak!”

The nymph seemed appalled. “Why?!” she
shouted back.

Taisiya was busy rummaging through the wagon.
“You’re already soaking wet. Take it off!” she growled. Despite
saying she wasn’t afraid of Taisiya earlier, Lahara obeyed. Taisiya
snatched the cape and quickly wrung it as dry as she could get it
before handing it to Zara. He took the cloak without saying a word
but wondered what crazy plan she was cooking up. He’d spied from
afar many of her wild schemes before to save her life, so he knew
that as crazy as it may appear, Taisiya knew what she was
doing.

“Hurry!” Taisiya said, motioning for Lahara
to come and help her. The swaying was getting more violent now, and
Lahara struggled to take even a few paces over to Taisiya and the
wagon. “Zara, we’re going to take all the food and belongings we
can get out of this wagon and use the cloak as a makeshift cover to
stop them from getting so wet.”

Taisiya already had half of the wagon
emptied, and Zara quickly started protecting their possessions
under the thickness of the cloak. Once Lahara joined the process,
the wagon was emptied hastily. Taisiya then grabbed Lahara by the
arm, forcing her back with Zara. Stepping forward and grabbing the
wagon, Taisiya glanced back at her comrades. “Here goes nothing,”
she said, picking up the wagon and holding it high above her head.
Zara and Lahara watched in incredulous horror as Taisiya took a big
breath and plunged the wagon over the side of the raft.

Her upper body went under the water with it,
and Zara raced over to make sure she was okay. Sure enough, she
soon came back up for air, her hand still staying firmly
underwater. “Zara!” she said, smiling, “hold me.”

Zara quickly went to give her an embrace, but
she shoved him off. “I mean hold me down! To the raft!” she
chortled. “Lahara, you help him. Any second now, if I’m
right…something will try to fling me off the raft.”

Lahara raced over and held down one of
Taisiya’s legs with Zara supporting the other. The raft was then
rocked violently before slowly coming to a halt. Taisiya let out a
sigh of relief as Zara and Lahara looked at each other bewildered.
“What have you done?!” Zara exclaimed.

Despite the fact that they were no longer
barreling towards the ocean, water from the other tributaries was
still threatening their lives. “I’ll tell you later!” Taisiya
replied. “Now, Lahara…take your cloak and the belongings and jump
to the land. Zara, stay here with me.”

“Of course,” Zara said quietly. He held down
Taisiya’s other leg as Lahara got up to make her way to dry land.
She disembarked safely and shouted at them to hurry up in joining
her.

Water was starting to overtake the tiny raft.
Taisiya turned to Zara and explained the situation. “The wagon is
acting as an anchor. I tossed it down there and it gathered up
enough mud and rocks from the floor to halt the raft. But…” she
said wistfully, “the only thing keeping us secured is me. I’m
holding on to the handle of the wagon. You can jump off now,
and…”

She didn’t have to continue. Zara finished
the sentence for her. “And then you won’t have anything holding you
to the raft. You might drown…”

“Zara, please,” she pleaded, “I’ve been in
worse situations than this. Swimming in a raging river will be
nothing.”

He shook his head, “That’s not a risk I’m
willing to let you take.”

Taisiya opened her mouth to reply, but before
she could say a word, Zara had picked her up. The raft went racing
away once more, and before either one could stop to think, Zara
held on tight to Taisiya and jumped off. Water surrounded them, and
it was hard to get back above water.

Lahara raced down the riverbank to where she
had last seen them before the jump. She concentrated, honing in her
powers, and plunged her head under the water, looking around for
the drowning humans. Zara’s frame came in to view, and Lahara
reached a hand out to help him. She pulled with all her might, and
a few seconds later Zara and Taisiya were on top of her, coughing
and spewing up river water. Lahara was disgusted and relieved at
the same time.

Zara rolled off of Lahara and caught his
breath. “Thank you so much,” he said gratefully. “You saved our
lives.”

Lahara smiled and nodded as if it were no
problem at all. “Taisiya, are you all right?” she asked.

Taisiya shook her head in frustration. “No,”
she grumbled. “There’s just one thing I need.”

“What’s that?” Lahara asked.

“A ship with a real anchor.”

CHAPTER EIGHT –

ANCHORS AWEIGH

Once Taisiya, Zara, and Lahara had gotten
back on their feet and dried off, the group consulted the slightly
soggy map and set off towards the harbor. The sun had already begun
to set, and all three were thankful that the dark and dense forest
was far behind them. A bustling city was coming into view, and it
was very much alive at night. The townspeople were out and about
having a wonderful time. Wine was flowing all around while the
citizens enjoyed themselves.

Men and women were dancing in the streets as
a symphony of music echoed throughout the city. A celebration was
definitely occurring. As they approached the merriment, Lahara
sniffed the air and remarked there was evil afoot. She couldn’t
decipher if it was the powers of a good or bad nymph, though. The
travelers proceeded with caution as they entered the
festivities.

Their arrival went generally unnoticed; those
that did observe them welcomed them with open arms. A man
intoxicated from the partying grabbed Zara’s arm and spun him
around, dancing. Zara was taken aback and shook the stranger off
him, much to the man’s sorrow.

“Pardon me,” Zara said, slightly offended at
the state of the man before him. “Have you any idea where we can
rent a boat around here?”

The drunk cackled as if it were the funniest
question he had ever been asked. “Head to the docks, of course!”
His eyes crossed before he went on to ask, “I take it you’re not
the friends of the new queen, no?”

Taisiya pushed past Zara and grabbed the
drunken man by the neck. She glared at him. “What new queen?”

He contorted his face in a funny face at her.
“The
new
queen, duh.”

“Taisiya…he’s too drunk; let’s move on,” Zara
pleaded.

She ignored him, refusing to release her grip
around the man’s throat. He was starting to turn blue. Her
vice-like grip had a sobering effect on him, and as she repeated
her question he changed his tune.

“Look little girl,” he spat. “I don’t know
who she is. We just got word today that a queen from far away would
be visiting here in the next few days. Our mayor announced she
wishes to buy all our land---the money will take the town out of
debt. Just days ago we were facing an invasion from armies we are
indebted to…we are celebrating this generous queen that heard our
cries.”

“Do you not know her name?” Taisiya growled,
loosening her grip enough for him to take a breath.

He shook his head. “Not quite, miss, but it’s
something hard to pronounce. Astral T, perhaps?” He scratched at
his head as his eyes glazed over once more. Taisiya let him go, and
he went across the street grabbing another wine bottle and
pretending nothing had happened.

Zara had gone pale. Taisiya shook her head as
well. “Let’s hurry up and get out of here.”

Lahara glanced around before saying in a
hushed voice, “Follow me.”

She slipped behind a building with Taisiya
and Zara following her. They carefully made their way around the
revelry, getting closer and closer to the docks. While the city
dwellers were busy partying, no one was paying much attention to
the ships in the harbor. No one noticed as they snuck onto an empty
ship that usually transported goods.

The craft was of a decent size; it would
easily and comfortably house the three of them for the extent of
their journey. It wasn’t too massive like some of the other ships
they had seen in the dock—those ships were built to impress and
intimidate. This ship was built for speed, and that was just what
they needed.

Of the three, Lahara was the one most
comfortable at the helm of a ship, having journeyed on one during
her escape from Ethnymphai. She stowed their belongings and went to
steer while Zara and Taisiya worked on undocking the ship. It had
been tied to posts at the dock with extremely sturdy and
complicated knots. Taisiya worked on untangling the loops while
Zara climbed the mast to be lookout for their departure from the
docks.

Taisiya was beginning to wish more and more
that she had a mastery of nature like Lahara. It would be much
simpler to use nature to unlace the knots than to sit here,
chaffing her hands as she attempted to loosen the ship from its
binding. Adding to her anxiousness was the fact that at any second
someone might spot them. As one knot was conquered, she raced to
the other one and began working on it.

An entire town of drunken people can either
be your best friend or worst enemy. While Taisiya was working away
at the last of the knots, one of the people partying from across
the town noticed Zara climbing the mast. Those around him passed
off his exclaiming and disbelief as a result of his intoxication,
but as word of what he saw traveled it reached the ears of those
that weren’t as tipsy.

As they made their way to the docks, it was
imperative for Taisiya to free the knot and get them on their way.
From his position, Zara noticed the people were making their way to
the ships. “Taisiya, I don’t mean to scare you,” he shouted down,
“but please hurry!”

Sweat rolled down her face as she raced even
faster to complete her task. The sound of angry voices reached her
ears, and she looked up to see the shadows of the figures
approaching the ship. Taisiya looked back down at the knot. It was
nowhere near close to being finished. There was no way that she
would have it unknotted by the time the townsfolk reached the
dock.

Thoughts raced through her head too fast for
her to even comprehend.
If this knot is so strong that it won’t
easily come undone,
she thought,
maybe it’s stronger than
the wood holding it to the dock…
She stopped trying to untie
the knot, and looked up as the drunks neared closer and closer. She
grabbed the length of the rope holding the ship to the dock and
pulled with all her might.

Fearing the worst, Zara began descending the
mast, and Lahara racked her brain as to what to use incase a brawl
were to occur. Neither of the two had braced themselves for the
impact little Taisiya was about to cause. As she pulled and pulled,
the feeble and dilapidated wooden leg that held the dock up began
to crack. It would have held up just fine if it had not been for
the mass of people that rushed on the dock. The pressure of their
bodies on the dock combined with Taisiya’s strength pulling the leg
towards her sent the entire port into collapse. The knot stayed
attached to the post, but with the post freed, nothing was holding
the ship back.

As the bodies of the angry townspeople fell
into the ocean, they created a surge of water. The wave rippled out
into the water, setting the ship sailing along at a breezy pace.
Taisiya fell backwards and smiled, wiping the sweat off her brow in
relief. Zara and Lahara turned to each other and began cheering.
They raced over to help Taisiya get up. Once she had assured them
she was all right, Zara went back to being the lookout and Lahara
continued steering the ship.

Despite what she told her comrades, Taisiya
truly was in enormous pain. Her hands were nearly bleeding from the
rope burn. She joined Lahara at the wheel and started to sort
through the belongings they had brought. Immediately she searched
for the balms and ointments Ammon had bought them. She found one
labeled ‘Soothing Crème’ and applied it sparingly to her hands. As
the pain subsided, she felt a aching in her stomach as her mind
turned once more to thoughts of Ammon.

Taisiya hoped that all was well in his secret
hideout. She knew that Queen Adrasteia would stop at no lengths to
find out where she and Zara were headed; if that meant torturing
her parents or setting Ammon’s library on fire, so be it. She
wistfully brushed back a stray hair that had fallen in her face and
decided that now was not the time for moping. The three of them
were on a mission to get to Ethnymphai, and believe it or not, they
were almost there.