Soul Fire (12 page)

The next morning we were woken by not one, but five
golden bells. As they began their shrill cacophony, we
rolled over and groaned. I swiped at my bell, though I
knew it wouldn’t do any good. It fluttered out of my
reach, and then dive bombed me when I closed my eyes
again.

“Up,” Dena instructed us all, pushing her glasses onto
her nose. “They’ll be leaving soon.”
We staggered around the room blearily, cursing our late
night chat. Slowly, we dressed and gathered up our
rucksacks. At the last minute, Rain snatched up the fallen
candy.
“Just in case,” she mumbled when she saw me
watching.
We stumbled out the front doors, squinting in the
bright sun that seared over the horizon. We slung our
rucksacks on our backs and shuffled slowly to the stables
with the rest of the class, where we quickly saddled our
horses. After two riding lessons, I could now heave myself
into the saddle, which I promptly did so, despite my sleep
heavy bones.
We all began to wake up during the ride. We bypassed
the turn off to Keyes, and I looked away as something, half
remembered, niggled me.
The ride was long and hot, but as we slowly woke up,
we began to chat again.
“Will we need to stop for the night?” I asked Rain.
“Probably not,” she replied, riding next to me. “Because
we left so early, we should get there by nightfall. We’re
making good time.”
I could only assume that was because we were yet to
see anybody on this road. Lined with trees on one side and
fields on the other, we’d been the only people for miles.
As the sun crossed overhead and finally began to drop
below the horizon, I began to smell the salty ocean. I’d
been riding in a daze, but as I came to, I noticed the sound
of rushing water. I looked to Rain in excitement.
“The ocean,” she confirmed with a grin.
We rounded a corner and began to head downhill. The
ocean lay before us, sparkling in the late afternoon
sunlight. On one end of the beach, there was a long jetty,
with a small ship next to it. I desperately hoped it was
there to take us to the islands, which I could just see on
the horizon.
Jett and Professor Alena had been riding up front. As
we closed in on the white sands, they slowed and gave the
signal to dismount.
Everyone did so gratefully, groaning as they stretched
their legs. We were led to a small grass area just behind
some rolling sand dunes. We unsaddled and groomed our
horses, feeding and watering them before we began to set
up our own camp. Jett started a fire by clicking his fingers
- he didn’t even look at where he was pointing, I thought,
disgruntled. I couldn’t wait to have control like that - and
we gathered around it to cook the meals we’d organized
before leaving.
“Alright, here’s the plan,” he began, and everyone fell
silent. “Tomorrow we head to the Main Island, and we’ll
spend a few nights there. Though this is a holiday, please
try to keep an open mind when exploring new places. This
will make it easier on you to write the paper when you get
back and start the new term.”
Everyone groaned in sync. As I looked sideways to
trade iffy looks with Dena, I spied Phoenix sitting just past
her, half in shadow. His eyes were fixed on the flames, and
he didn’t appear to be listening to a word Jett was saying. I
looked away from him when I noticed Eleanora seated
next to him, her arm looped through his.
As I tucked into our meal of warmed stew, Dustin came
to sit next to me.
“Good evening,” he said, kissing me on top of my head
as I ate. “Haven’t seen you for a few days.”
“Sorry,” I said, scraping the bowl for the broth. “Been a
bit busy.”
“Me too,” he replied. “Did you want to go for a walk
after this?”
I agreed and quickly finished up my stew. Night had
fallen as we’d set up camp, and a beautiful quarter moon
was beginning to rise, casting silvery light on the waves.
Dustin took his hand in mine, and I wriggled my fingers
around for a bit until it felt comfortable. We reached the
sand, and I pulled my boots off, tucking them next to a
bush and making a mental note to pick them up when we
came back.
We set off along the beach, my feet digging into the
warm sand. I wriggled my toes happily, the night air
brushing my cheek. I looked skyward; it was a clear night,
and thousands of stars dotted the abyss. We walked
towards the jetty, stopping before we reached it. We
plonked down in the sand, watching the small waves
break and slide up upon the shore with a sigh. I pushed
my hand through the sand, enjoying the feel of the coarse
grains on my skin.
“I love the beach,” I confessed, lying on my back, not
caring that I was getting sand all through my long hair.
“Mum and I used to go every summer. We’d stay in this
dingy old cabin and have fish and chips every night for
tea.”
I looked up at him when he didn’t reply, catching a
look on his face that I’d never seen before. It was gone
before I could properly register it.
“What?” I asked.
“What what?”
“Why were you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
I pretended to scowl at him and he relented.
“I was just thinking how lucky I am,” he admitted. “To
have you.”
My stomach did a little flip flop, and sunshine seemed
to spill out of my heart.
“I am pretty awesome,” I said awkwardly. I wasn’t very
good at this at all.
“And I concur completely,” Dustin laughed, lying down
next to me and pulling me in tight.
I snuggled against his side, completely at ease. I rested
my head on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his
heart. After a while I became curious about the stars above
me.
“Do you know astronomy?” I asked, my eyes fixed on
the glimmering pin points.
“Actually, my father loved it,” Dustin said, and I could
tell from his tone that he missed him. “He taught me all of
the constellations.”
He shifted beneath me to free his left arm.
“That one there,” he pointed at a cluster of stars,
showering me with sand. “That’s the Cup, as in a scrying
cup.”
I raised my eyebrows at him, making it clear that I’d
never heard of such a thing before.
“We’ll get to it in our studies soon enough,” he told me.
“It’s a cup through which you can communicate if
someone else has a similar tool.”
“Awesome,” I said appreciatively. I was just about to ask
him about another patch of stars when I became aware of
a noise, a low howl resonating through the night air. It
grew it intensity, until it seemed to block out the sounds
of the ocean and the night. It was a howl, but also with a
screech mixed in. It cut off abruptly, and the warmth
rushed back to the night.
Goosebumps erupted on my skin despite the heat.
Dustin sat up quickly, dislodging me from his chest.
“What,” I choked. “The hell was that?”
Dustin didn’t answer, instead standing up and looking
out towards the island that we were due to sail to
tomorrow.
“Did it come from here?” I asked, trying not to let my
voice waver.
“No. I think it came from the island,” he was still trying
to see into the darkness.
“Was that some kind of weird animal you have here?” I
asked, standing up next to him.
“Well, I don’t know what the norm is for you, but I’ve
never heard anything like that.”
I shivered as I looked towards the island. Suddenly I
wasn’t so keen to sail there tomorrow.
We headed back to the tents, and I picked up my boots
from where I’d left them. Dustin went to head off to his
tent, but then turned back to me.
“I’ll talk to Jett about it tomorrow, ok? Try to get some
sleep.”
“I’m not scared,” I said immediately, though I was
absolutely terrified. “I am a little apprehensive about going
to the island now though.”
Dustin chuckled, and kissed me swiftly. I let my hand
slide down his arm, and he clutched my fingers for a
second. I crawled into the tent that I was sharing with
Dena and Theresa, having secured the only three person
tent the Academy had.
I wondered briefly about what Phoenix was doing for
sleeping accommodations and then decided I didn’t want
to know.
“Have fun?” Dena asked as I rolled out my sleeping mat
and bag.
I quickly told them about the howl, leaving out the
goose bumps on my skin and my rapidly beating heart. By
the time I was finished, both of my tent mates were silent.
“We’re not still going there, are we?” Dena asked
finally.
“Why not?” Theresa asked as I wriggled into my bag.
“That howl could be anything, and besides, I’d like to see
it attack a group of people, mages, no less, if there’s only
one of it.”
“I hope like hell there’s only one of it,” I said, pulling
my sleeping bag up around my ears. “I can’t believe you
didn’t hear it; it was so loud.”
“If it did come from the island, we would’ve been
blocked off by the dunes,” Theresa said matter-of-factly. “I
guess we’ll hear it if we camp there tomorrow night.”
I shuddered; glad that the other two couldn’t see me in
the dark. Truth be told, I wasn’t looking forward to
spending any time, let alone a night, on an island which
had unknown creatures that howled.
The next day we were up early, the sun shining
through the canvas of the tent and baking us in our
sleeping bags like sweet rolls in the mess hall. We ate
quickly and then began to pack up our camp. Professor
Alena was staying behind with the horses and I was glad. I
wasn’t sure if Echo would be too impressed with a rolling,
moving boat. I was yet to find out if I was compatible with
the sea, let alone my enormous steed. I fed her pieces of
carrot throughout the morning, and then pecked her on
the nose when we left for the jetty.
Jett stood by the boat as we filed up the walkway, and I
swallowed nervously as the sea rolled below me, my
imagination wondering what it would be like to be caught
between the boat and the jetty. I shoved the thought out
of my mind and hurried up onto the deck. Jett had been
counting us all and followed us up. He made for the top
deck to speak with who I could only assume was the
captain.
I peered over the railing of the boat, watching the
green waves lap gently against the wood. We rocked
gently, and despite my misgivings, my stomach was fine.
We all gathered out of the way as the sailors began to
raise the anchor and cast off. A pleasant breeze was
blowing, a tail wind, and we set out towards the island.
Despite the sunshine, icy fear clawed at my stomach as I
looked towards the island and remembered the howl from
the previous night. My fear only worsened when Jett
gathered us into a group to chat to us, relaying some of the
things he’d been discussing with the captain.
“We’re not going to turn the ship around, but I think I
should let you know that there have been some
mysterious happenings on this island of late,” Jett began,
and I groaned. “So please don’t wander off by yourselves,
and make sure you’ve got your daggers please.”
My fingers grasped the hilt of the small knife that I’d
hooked onto my belt. As we weren’t allowed to bring
swords – it was peacetime, and as such the chances of
being attacked were relatively little – we’d been allowed
to bring small daggers if we so wished. I was glad that I
had now.
We sailed across the ocean for a short time, the others
speculating about what these mysterious happenings could
be. Someone had gotten Dustin to tell the story of the
howl we’d heard across the ocean, and it was spreading
like wild fire, with each retelling casting larger and larger
embellishments upon it. Apparently we’d also seen smoke
rise from the island with a tongue of flame, and heard the
screams of doomed villagers.
“Except no one lives on the island,” Theresa said
disparagingly to one of our classmates, a young woman
with black hair, when she heard that retelling.
The girl’s shoulders slumped, and she sauntered off to
try to sell her story elsewhere.
Despite the wild inaccuracies of the story, by the time
we moored just off the coast of the island, everyone’s
emotions were running high. I spotted Jett as we began to
lower the smaller boats to go ashore, and could tell he was
regretting telling us about his misgivings at all. I climbed
into one of the boats with my group of friends, and helped
lower ourselves into the water.
Petre and Dustin took hold of the two oars in the boat,
propelling us to the shore. I noticed Rain admiring the
swell of Petre’s muscles as he rowed, and winked
obviously at her. She blushed furiously and looked away,
not daring to say anything in the small space.
The boat beached itself just off shore, and everyone
hopped out to drag it onto the beach. I paused in climbing
out, removing my boots and hanging them around my
neck. I followed them into the water, enjoying the feel of
the wet sand beneath my toes, not minding that I was
soaked up to my knees. I gripped the boat and heaved
with the others. We were almost to the shore when I felt
something sharp slice open the bottom of my foot. I cried
out as I let go of the boat, looking down at my foot
through the water. Dark brown water swirled around it my blood - and I dimly wondered if there were sharks
around. Salt water rushed the wound, stinging it sharply.
“Sky?” Dena sloshed through the water towards me. I
noticed she was still wearing her boots.
“My foot,” I said, lifting it carefully out of the water.
“Something cut it.”
She helped me back to shore as the others dragged the
boat onto the sand. I watched them with guilty eyes; I
should’ve known there was a reason the others were
keeping their shoes on.
Dena plonked me down on the wet sand and picked up
my injured foot. I winced when I saw the sensitive arch of
my foot; a large, deep gash slit across it, blood running
down my skin in rivulets, staining the white sand.
“Razor fish,” Dena said immediately. “Sorry, Sky, I
should’ve told you before we cast off.”
“When did you find out about them?”
“Last night when you and Dustin went off. I suppose he
already knew they were in the region.”
She tentatively placed her thumb at one end of the cut,
her forefinger at the other. I squirmed uncomfortably; for
such a small wound, it hurt a lot.
“Stop wiggling about,” she commanded, and sent a
pulse of magic through her fingertips. I watched avidly as
a small blue spark zipped up the skin of my foot. It
vanished when it reached the end, and I gingerly prodded
where the wound had been. My foot felt fine; I was
healed.
“You’re getting really good at that,” I said to her
appreciatively. “Thank you.”