Island of Darkness (13 page)

With the mast and sails gone, the boat didn’t ride at such a strange angle. MistyTrail sheathed her knife, crawled forward, and grabbed her pack. She strapped the pack onto her body and grabbed the bucket. She started bailing water out of the boat. She bailed for close to half an hour before her arms ached. All the while, the sea rose in intensity, and the rain continue to pour down on them. Eventually, she crawled towards the stern and shoved the bucket towards Mistake.

“Your turn,” she yelled to Mistake.

Mistake nodded and grabbed the bucket. She started bailing swiftly and appeared to be gaining on the water sloshing around the bottom of the boat. Then the waves began tossing spray into the small vessel. Mistake looked up and her eyes grew wide with terror. Instead of seeing the nasty sky, all she saw was a wall of water. The wave appeared taller than the Imperial Palace in Khadoratung.

“Grab onto something quick,” she shouted as she dropped the bucket and grabbed for the rail.

She closed her eyes and waited for the wave to collapse onto the boat, but it never did. Her eyes snapped open, and they were on top of a huge swell. Suddenly, the boat dropped. It felt like they were falling from a great height, but Mistake knew they were riding down the back slope of the huge wave. She also knew that another monstrous wave was coming for them. Her stomach wanted to heave.

The feeling of falling suddenly stopped and Mistake looked up at the next wave. She didn’t close her eyes this time. The small boat flew up the leading edge of the wave and tottered momentarily before plunging down the other side.

“Keep bailing,” shouted MistyTrail. “If the boat fills with water the waves won’t matter much.”

Mistake nodded as her hands grabbed for the bucket. She started bailing, but she had to stop each time they fell down the backside of a wave. She was sure that if there had been anything appreciable in her stomach, it would have exited by now. Her head began to spin with dizziness, and she tossed the bucket back to MistyTrail. She shook her head to clear it and looked up at the next wave. Her mouth fell open in horror as she saw the top of the gigantic wave curling over the tiny boat.

“Hold your breath!” she shouted. “We are going to die.”

The wave crashed down on them with tremendous force. Mistake felt the boat being ripped away from her while she was under the water. It felt like the sea was trying to tear her in half as it tugged at her body from every direction.  Her lungs wanted air, but she kept her mouth closed tightly. Her head spun with dizziness, and she was not sure which way was up. She collided with something hard, and a stab of pain shot up through her leg.

Suddenly, her head was above the surface of the water. She gulped air as quickly as she could before being plunged back under. The water moved her in only one direction now, and she felt like she was being dragged along a beach. Her hand felt sand as it brushed against the bottom and her spirits immediately brightened. She pushed away from the sand, and her head broke the surface again. She sucked greedily at the air.

She was sucked back under, but Mistake’s resolve grew harder. She fought the water as it tried to drive her body. Somehow she managed to get her feet under her, and she stood up. She was surprised to find out that she could stand with her head above the surface of the water. She looked all around for MistyTrail as the waves tried to topple her.

“This way!” called MistyTrail.

Mistake turned and saw MistyTrail on the beach. She forced her way through the surf and threw her body down next to MistyTrail.

“Are you alright?” MistyTrail asked. “Are you hurt?”

Mistake wasn’t sure how to answer the question. Her whole body ached and was strangely numb at the same time. She flexed her fingers and then her toes. She moved her head from side-to-side and then rolled over onto her back.

“I think I am alright,” Mistake finally said. “How about you?”

“Good enough to find some shelter,” replied MistyTrail. “Let’s get out of here before the storm hits us.”

“Before?” gasped Mistake as she sat up and stared at the sea.

The mountainous waves were barely visible offshore, but they were still coming towards them. Mistake saw that the waves were breaking into huge sprays of mist some distance off the coast.

“It must be a reef or submerged rocks,” explained MistyTrail. “It’s amazing we got over them in one piece. Let’s find some shelter.”

Mistake nodded and pushed herself to her feet. She saw blood dripping down her leg, but she ignored it. Pain lanced through her leg as she followed MistyTrail.

A jungle ran along the coast, separated from the sea by a thin stretch of beach. MistyTrail stood staring into the jungle, but Mistake shook her head and indicated that MistyTrail should follow her. Mistake walked along the edge of the jungle peering into it. The wind still tore into them, spraying their bodies with fine sand, and the rain continued to pour from the sky. Mistake eyed the jungle with caution, remembering the dangers that might be found within it. After twenty minutes of walking swiftly, she was about to give up and plunge into the jungle when she saw a small rowboat farther along the beach. She turned to check on MistyTrail before picking up the pace a bit. A few minutes later she halted nervously. MistyTrail came up alongside her and stared at the small three-story building standing on the beach.

“Why are we stopping?” asked MistyTrail. “Let’s bang on the door and get out of this rain.”

“I don’t know where we are,” cautioned Mistake. “At first I thought we might have come out in the Qubari Jungle, but they would not have a house like this on the beach. They wouldn’t allow anyone else to either.”

“Alright,” whispered MistyTrail. “Let’s find out if anyone is inside. You take the front, and I will take the back.”

Mistake nodded and they both dashed towards the house. MistyTrail raced around to the back of the house. The windows were shuttered and the door was locked. She continued around to the far side of the house and eventually to the front where Mistake was standing by the door.

“The back is all locked up,” MistyTrail reported softly.

“So is the front,” nodded Mistake. “I am going to open the door. Get ready in case there are people inside.”

MistyTrail nodded and drew her belt knife. Mistake extracted a thin strip of metal from her belt and worked it into the lock. Seconds later a click let her know that the door was unlocked. She looked at MistyTrail and inhaled deeply as she shoved the piece of metal into her belt and drew her knife. Mistake eased the door open cautiously and stepped inside. MistyTrail followed her and pulled the door shut.

The first floor of the house was dark. Mistake and MistyTrail quietly worked their way through each of the rooms and found nothing. Mistake led the way up the stairs to the second floor. There were only two rooms on the second floor. One room had two large beds in it. The other had a table with chairs around it and a lone chair in front of the window. The window was shuttered like all the rest.

MistyTrail led the way up to the third level. The top level was smaller than the rest because the roof slanted down at a sharp angle. It was a single room with piles of used furniture and small crates. Another lone chair sat before the window at the front of the house. Mistake walked to the window and opened the shutter. She gazed out at the angry sea and watched the waves crashing on the reef offshore. She looked down at the small rowboat on the beach and shook her head. She closed the shutters and turned to see MistyTrail rummaging through the crates.

“Whoever lives here likes to watch the sea,” Mistake said. “I doubt it is a fisherman. The rowboat is too small for any serious fishing. Find anything interesting?”

“Uniforms,” MistyTrail said with a puzzled look. “Red uniforms. We are not in Omunga or Sakova. That much I am sure about. I have never seen uniforms like this before.”

Mistake walked over to the crate that MistyTrail was rummaging through. She took out one of the uniforms and held it up.

“Open the rear shutters,” ordered Mistake. “I can’t see much with the light only coming through the cracks.”

MistyTrail opened the shutters and tied them back. The sky was still angry, but there was more than enough light to see what they were doing.

“This is interesting,” commented Mistake. “I have seen just about every uniform from Khadora and Fakara. I have never seen anything like it. Who would go into battle wearing something this loud?”

“There is a city in the distance,” announced MistyTrail.

Mistake dropped the uniform and walked to the rear window. She gazed out at the distant city and frowned.

“Recognize it?” asked MistyTrail.

“No,” answered Mistake as she gazed at the nearby mountains. “The only jungle that I know of is the Qubari Jungle, and it is nowhere near the mountains when it is near the sea. We are not in Fakara.”

“And Khadora has no jungle,” sighed MistyTrail. “So just where are we?”

“I don’t know,” Mistake said as she moved away from the window, “but I am going to slip into one of these uniforms. I have had enough wetness next to my body for now.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” agreed MistyTrail. “There is some rope in the corner. I will string up a line to let our stuff dry out. We should look at your leg. It is bleeding.”

“We need to see what kind of food is in the kitchen, too,” nodded Mistake. “Everything in our packs will be soaked.”

“Why do you suppose the house is empty?” asked MistyTrail. “There were dishes on the table downstairs. Who would just up and leave like that?”

“Probably anyone who knows about storms,” Mistake answered as she listened to the rain pound on the roof. “These people spend a lot of time watching the sea what from I can tell. They must have seen this storm coming.”

“Do you think we are safe here?” asked MistyTrail.

“A lot safer than we were in that boat,” replied Mistake. “It hardly matters now. There is no way that we could reach that city before the storm really hits. We should eat and get some rest while we can. We may end up running as this place falls down around us.”

“The beds downstairs looked comfy,” shrugged MistyTrail.

“I think we should stay up here,” frowned Mistake. “I am glad that we found this house as shelter, but I will not feel at ease until we get a chance to observe the people that live here. These uniforms disturb me.”

“Alright,” agreed MistyTrail. “You tend to your wound, and I will see what food is available downstairs. I will take portions that will not be noticeable if the people return.”

“Smart idea,” smiled Mistake as she sat on a crate and examined her leg.

* * *

Temiker made his rounds of the small classrooms in the schoolhouse in Alamar. He examined the projects of each of the groups and discussed magic theory and its application with the students. He was very happy with their progress. Next, he walked into the large common classroom. One of the older students was leading a discussion on the basics of concentration. Temiker stood against the wall and listened.

A minor commotion near the front door of the school drew his attention. He craned his neck to see what was causing the distraction and saw that a kitten had wandered in off the street. The commotion died as the older student demanded the attention of all of the students. Temiker smiled as he watched the students try to listen to a lecture on concentration while the cat roamed between their desks.

Although the distraction was ironic, Temiker could see that the lecture was being disrupted. He walked over and picked up the kitten. Perhaps if the students were more advanced, he would have let the cat continue its meandering ways. He thought about intentionally providing such a distraction as the students became more familiar with the subject. It would be a good indicator of their level of concentration.

Temiker took the kitten out of the schoolhouse. He gently dropped it on the ground and returned to the common classroom. He listened for another fifteen minutes before he felt a rubbing on his leg. He looked down to see the kitten rubbing against him. Temiker knelt and scratched the kitten’s head as he continued to listen.

Suddenly, the kitten raced down the hallway. Temiker frowned as he slowly stood up, his own concentration on the lecture destroyed. He sighed heavily and followed the cat. The kitten had run by all of the individual classrooms and had entered the dining room. Temiker smiled as he pictured the kitten searching the kitchen for scraps of food.

As Temiker entered the dining room and headed for the kitchen, he heard a door close behind him. He whirled around and saw a large, gray-hooded man standing next to the closed door. His finger was raised to his mouth in a symbol of silence.

“Who are you, and how did you get in here?” Temiker asked calmly.

“I am a friend in need of your help,” the man replied softly. “Can we talk privately?”

“There is no one here,” Temiker stated. “What is it that you need?”

“There is no one here now,” retorted the man, “but the midday meal approaches. A dining room is not where I would wish to be seen.”

“Very well,” nodded Temiker as he walked to another door leading off of the dining room. “This is my private office. Come in and explain what you are doing here.”

The man nodded gratefully and walked through the door to Temiker’s office. He sat in a chair before the desk while Temiker closed the door and walked around the desk to sit behind it.

“First you will remove your hood,” demanded Temiker. “I will see the eyes of who I am talking to.”

The man hesitated only briefly before complying. Temiker swallowed hard as he stared at the man’s face. The man’s snout, for that is what it was, had a split lip and long whiskers. A bushy mane ran from the man’s forehead to a golden drape over his shoulders, and the man’s cat-like eyes sparkled as they bore into his own.

“I am a Chula,” declared the man. “Please hear me out.”

Temiker pressed his lips tightly together as he nodded slowly.

“My name is Ukaro,” stated the man. “I am a shaman of the Zatong tribe in Khadora. I have been asked by Marak to come down here to investigate the mysterious disease affecting your crops.”