Wicked Path (The Daath Chronicles Book 2) (29 page)

The sea rocked us back and forth. The fire danced around the waves, tempting to scald it. The deadly dance continued as the suns heated my face. I grew tired, even though I didn’t want to sleep. How could I? My eyes blinked, and I fought against their weight.

Lucino held me tighter. “They will come for us.”

Our ship seemed farther away than before. Was it leaving? How could they? Didn’t they realize we weren’t aboard? No; the ship wasn’t leaving for it still fought with the second ravager ship.

We were floating away.

No, this is not how my life ends.

Then, as I’d done many times before, I recited the prayer for protection, over and over until I lost myself in the words.

Lucino hoisted me onto the wood.

“What are you doing?” I laid flat against the board.

“We can’t stay in the water.” He pulled himself up beside me. “We’re too far now.”

Too far?
“They’ll turn around, won’t they? They can’t leave us…” Panic threatened to consume me, and my breaths came too fast. “Help! Help!”

“Jeslyn.”

“No, if we scream they might hear us. Del saw us jump. He knows we’re here. Del!”

Lucino grabbed my arms. “It’s too late! Even if he wanted to, the captain isn’t going to risk his ship and crew for us.”

“That’s it? We’re left alone to die out here?”

“We won’t die.” His voice softened. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Lucino gave my arm a squeeze. “We weren’t too far from land. Ravagers hunt the coast. The winds are blowing from the west.”

“Isn’t that the opposite of where we want to be?”

“No. The winds are pushing us east. As the currents follow the wind, we’ll reach land.”

Our ship was gone, leaving us alone in an empty sea. Out here with nothing but calm water, I felt deserted; terrified. All those mornings I’d wished to venture out into the sea, to explore its beauty and splendor, I had no real understanding of the danger. How easily it was to be lost—and what about the creatures? We had no weapons, and if a shark attacked, how would we survive?

I wrapped my arms around my sides, praying and wishing this was all a horrific dream—that Grandfather was safe in his bed, snoring, and none of this was real.

Because if it wasn’t a dream, I was going to die.

he suns took a toll on Jeslyn’s fair skin. I had nothing to shelter her with, and no clouds hung in the sky to block the scorching rays. Her skin burned. With no water, and the heat bearing down on both of us, we wouldn’t last long.

“My brother said you weren’t human.”

“He was wrong.”

Her mouth dropped open in confusion and I elaborated, “I’m half human.”

“Half?”

Should I tell her
? I thought about not telling her the truth, but at this point, none of it mattered. If we didn’t find land soon, we would both be dead, and all the years I had spent creating my intricate web would be lost.

“My birth mother was human. My father is Reptilian.”

“And what is Reptilian? Is that a type of magic you use?”

“I come from another world—”

Her eyes widened, so I stopped, but she nodded for me to continue.

“There are gates between our worlds that allow us to pass. Reptilian is one of the races of my home world, Mirth.”

“Are all of you shapeshifters?”

“Yes. Reptilians are one of the shifter beings. We can copy certain intelligent life forms, other shifters can only transform into one specific type of creature.”

“Fascinating,” she whispered. “To think another world like ours exists…”

Her response perplexed me. She didn’t seem frightened, and I wondered if the heat had affected her mind. She lay against the wood, staring out at the water.

“I wish I had something to drink.” She dipped her hand into the sea.

I had nothing to offer her, words or otherwise. Wind brushed against the waves creating a quiet hushed noise. We had a few more hours left of sunlight. The wind brought a cold scent. Something was coming, though I didn’t know what.

“Lucino… ?”

“Yes?”

“Can you not be Edward anymore?”

Since there was no reason not to, I transformed back.

Jeslyn squinted at me and smiled. “That’s better,” she said, and closed her eyes.

We drifted for the rest of the day. Jeslyn hummed, and I found her singing relaxed me. If signs of land didn’t appear soon, I’d have to make a decision. While I’d rather not let my sister know my current situation, I had little choice, and she would not let this mishap go without some type of reward. Even then, she may not find our location in time.

“What’s that?” Jeslyn sat up and peered across the water, using her hand to shield her eyes from the suns.

Water sprouted into the air in bursts. A giant creature broke through the surface of the water. It was the largest beast I had ever seen in Tarrtainya, a mix between a giant whale and turtle.

“Blues!” Jeslyn shouted and her smile reached to the ends of her cheeks. “I can’t believe I’m seeing a big blue. Grandfather always talked about how magnificent they were.”

“Our friend isn’t alone.”

More blues popped out of the water on all sides. Their bodies were a mix of smooth skin and barnacle, and a dark blue shell covered their backs. Strange echoes surrounded us. The blues spoke to one another. Their big bodies dipped in and out of the water. I counted five all together.

We floated alongside the blues. Jeslyn
oohing
and
ahhing
at them. I squinted at the strange current in front of us.

“This is not good.” I jumped into the water, kicking us in the opposite direction.

“What’s wrong?”

“Whirlpool. If we’re caught in it, we’re dead.”

She jumped in the water next to me and both of us started kicking furiously. We weren’t moving fast enough. The blues continued forward, unconcerned with the whirlpool ahead.

“I have an idea.” I summoned all my strength to boost us to the nearest whale. “When we’re in range, grab the blue. Use the barnacles to hold on.”

“You want to ride a blue?”

“Would you rather die in the water?”

The blue swam mere feet from us. “Now!” I yelled and we both hurried to the whale.

I grabbed hold first and reached for her hand, pulling her up. “Hold onto my back.”

She climbed on and wrapped her arms around my neck. Using the barnacled skin, I climbed to the top of the blue. The blues moved closer to the whirlpools, but then split apart from one another. Our whale veered left.

“Don’t let go of me,” I told Jeslyn.

“I won’t.”

We held on as the whales navigated the violent waters. The current was strong, and I was intrigued with how these giant creatures swam so easily. The whirlpool sucked in our float. It swirled around the waters until it finally disappeared. The blues maneuvered around the foaming current and were soon back to calm waters.

Jeslyn released her hold on my neck and slid off my back. The whale was wide enough to walk around on, and there was no fear of falling off due to the size and length. A patch of smooth shell was in front of us, so I waved her over and we sat.

“Lucino, what do we do when the blues dive?”

The suns positions stood midday.

“We still have time,” I said.

Romulus had mentioned a large sea creature like this. He said they would stay on the surface of the water during the day, absorbing the warmth of the suns, but when night came, they would dive back into deep water.

I had no choice. Regardless of what consequences faced me, I had to do it.

Lucy.

Calling out to my sister, I waited for her mental response, dreading each word she would say when I told her of my predicament.

Lucy.

It was unlike my sister to ignore me. In fact, she had never ignored me.

If you’re angry with me… now is not the time to show it.

Still no response.

The dead connection meant one thing, wherever Lucy was, it blocked our bloodline ability. A thing I didn’t think possible.

Jeslyn’s clothes stuck to her skin, and she slowly sat, her eyelids drooping. It had been almost two days without food and water. I didn’t know how much longer she would last. She rested against the blue, a soft smile on her lips.

“I never thought I would ever see a blue, let alone ride one.”

“This has been one interesting voyage.” I took off my shirt and rung out the water, then laid it down to dry in the sun.

Jeslyn looked at her own shirt.

“You should let it dry.”

She shook her head, horrified at the thought. “I’m fine.”

“You can leave the chemise on, but take this outer one off.”

I tugged at her shirt, and she smacked my hand away. “I can do it myself.”

I nodded and examined the barnacles covering the blue’s shell. Some of them were big enough to hold both my hands. I crawled around, searching the different holes.

Tiny crabs skittered around them. I grabbed one and smashed it against the barnacle, breaking its shell. I took a piece of the white meat and tasted it. The salty, smooth texture rejuvenated me, and I grabbed another three crabs.

I broke open another and fished out the white meat. “Here.” I handed Jeslyn the crab. “Eat.”

She sat, rubbing her eyes. “What is it?”

“Crab. I found some crawling around.”

“Thank you.” She took the pieces of meat and shoved them in her mouth, hastily eating all of it. Afterward, she sighed.

She stretched across the blue, closing her eyes, and I was surprised to find I quickly followed.