Chapter Twenty
Racing away from Rowan, I quickly reached Nan and her rope ladder. Wrapping my hands around the rough cords, I held the ladder steady as Nan climbed upward.
I shivered, thinking of Rowan’s prone body lying on the jungle floor. How did it come to pass that I would hurt my own mate? Shaking my head, I decided not to think about Rowan any more. There was a ladder to climb and—with any luck—once I reached the treetop, Nan had planned some way for us to hide or escape.
Once Nan had scaled high enough to give me room, I began to climb up behind her. I was only a few yards from the jungle floor when it happened.
The ladder began to rise.
And when I say rise, I don’t mean that it happened because I was climbing. The entire rope structure lifted up into the trees. Panic tightened every muscle in my body. I clung hard to the rough cords.
“Nan!” I called. “What’s going on?”
There was no sense of magick in the air, so whatever this was, it couldn’t be a spell. Were there people in the trees hauling us up higher? That didn’t seem likely, either. The motion was too smooth for the heave-ho of physical pulling.
“Wait for it,” cried Nan. “It’ll be glorious.”
I didn’t have much of a choice, considering. The thought flitted through my mind that this was all some kind of trap from my one-time friend. After all, Nan seemed to change her opinion of me rather rapidly. Back then, I thought it was because I’d faced Kila Kitu, but who knows? Maybe I’d lived through what that mage showed me only to be killed now.
Tree branches and wet leaves smacked against my body as the ladder rose higher and higher. It was an effort to keep my breathing even. I recited every Necromancer meditation I could think of.
“One more moment!” yelled Nan.
I’d have replied, but I was halfway through my mantra of calm. I really didn’t need to lose any further focus—the leaves and branches in my face were distraction enough.
After that, we broke through the treetops. What I saw was so shocking I almost lost my grip on the rope ladder.
The MAJE had transformed. All those yards of silk in the hull had been blown up into a great balloon that was somehow holding the entire ship aloft. I blinked hard, wondering if the vision before my eyes would change. It didn’t.
Jicho leaned over the side of the vessel and beamed a gap-toothed grin. “Wonderful, isn’t it?”
I gripped the rope ladder so tightly my knuckles whitened. “It’s a bit of a surprise.”
“If you’d let me tell you about the MAJE, I would have explained. After I finished my story about the bolts. And the metal.”
At that moment, an arrow sped by me. Glancing down, I could see the heads and torsos of Caster warriors peeping out from the treetops.
“Better get moving,” said Jicho. “Your friends are already on board.” He lowered his voice. “They’re really nice.”
My mind blanked. “My friends?”
Nan then looked out over the edge. “It’s me and Mrefu, silly.” She rolled her eyes. “I thought you said you were come kind of climbing prodigy.”
This entire situation still had me flummoxed. “I was. I am.” I’d spent five years learning Necromancy at a mountain cloister. For exercise, I used to climb the rock walls.
Nan rolled her eyes. “Then get your bony arse up here.” Another arrow sped by. This one came fairly close to Nan’s head. She ducked out of view.
The bony arse part jogged my head back into working condition. I scaled up the ladder at top speed. More arrows flew by as I continued my ascent. Within seconds, I reached the MAJE and slipped on deck, landing on my back. Nan, Mrefu, and Jicho all knelt around me.
“Took you long enough,” said Nan.
Mrefu let out a grumble. Nan translated.
“And Mrefu says you need to regain your magick soon, since your skills as an athlete are rather poor.”
“Mrefu said something? I only heard a grumbling noise.” I tilted my head. “I can understand what he says, you know.”
Nan winked. “I enhanced things a little.”
“Can I tell you about the MAJE now?” asked Jicho.
“Not yet.” I couldn’t say that without chuckling, however. The boy looked simply too pleased with himself. “We have to get out of here first.” In truth, there were a ton of things I wanted to know. What else could this mechanical ship do? Why were Nan and Mrefu along with us? But there wasn’t any time, especially because the archers had changed their target away from me.
Rowan’s warriors were shooting at the balloon itself.
Great rips sounded as the arrows found their target. Our flying ship lurched, sending me rolling onto a pile of metal tools. I get a few scratches, and that was certainly fortunate. Some of Jicho’s tools looked more deadly than knives.
“Right,” said Jicho. He turned to one of the panels of gauges and levers that lined the interior of the ship. “We need to get back to the water.”
I scanned the distance to the shoreline. “It’s close, but we’ll make it.”
Possibly.
Mrefu, Jicho, Nan and I all crouched on the deck as the MAJE lurched closer to the water.
Thirty yards.
Twenty yards.
Ten.
With a great splash, we landed in the river. Jicho cheered. “We did it!”
I peeked over the stern of the ship. Sure enough, Caster warriors were taking to the water as well. Flashes of crimson light appeared as the mages among them brought sea monsters and flying beasts to life. The warriors took to their mounts. After that, they all took off after me.
The Caster fighters weren’t the ones I feared, though. Rowan stood at the edge of the water, staring right at me as red smoke curled around his feet. With our mate bond, he could always find me. And Rowan was nothing if not a master at the transport spell.
If I didn’t do something, Rowan would be at my side in a matter of seconds.
I turned to Jicho. “I need to go where Rowan can’t transport beside me.” A mage would know if a spot was too tight, and they would never transport themselves into a wall. Or in this case, a ship. I gestured along the ship’s deck. “Are any of those compartments big enough of for me?”
Jicho pulled open a latch. “Sure, try this one.”
“Good. Once I’m hidden, we need to get out of here quickly.”
Nan grinned. “You just get below deck and let Nan, Jicho, and Mrefu take care of the rest.”
Moving swiftly, I slid into the tiny compartment and snapped the door shut above me head. Nan paced the deck. Although her voice was distant, I could still make out her words as they echoed into my metal chamber. “Crank up that engine. And take the fork to the right.”
“Oh, I can see that in my visions,” said Jicho. “That’s a major waterfall. Perfect.”
I rapped on the metal door above me. “Hey, I heard that. How is a waterfall perfect? Don’t boats usually avoid those things?”
If anyone heard me, they didn’t reply. Instead, I only heard Jicho speaking to Nan and Mrefu. “Over there are some storage compartments big enough for you two. I’ll take this one here.” The boy’s voice sounded far too excited about this for my taste. “No one will follow us past the waterfall. They’ll assume we’re dead.”
“What about Rowan’s magick?” asked Mrefu.
“I can see my brother. The transport isn’t working. He’s casting a Solar Burst now.”
“Can you say that in non-mage talk?” asked Nan.
“It’s an advanced fireball spell,” said Jicho. “He’s trying to melt the metal boat, but he doesn’t know we’re going under water. That fireball will fizzle out the second it touches liquid. Plus, the MAJE can keep us below the river for a short time. Rowan will really think we’re dead then.”
I pounded on the door again. “Jicho, that sounds impossible.” I couldn’t help but notice how the water was getting choppier. My shoulders were slamming against either wall of the hiding space.
We were definitely heading toward a waterfall.
This time, Jicho answered me. “No, it will be fine. I’ve had a vision.” His voice quivered as he said this, though. In the distance, I could hear the roar of sea monsters and the caw of giant birds. The Caster warriors were closing in. A low voice echoed over the river.
It was Rowan.
He was speaking an incantation. I recognized the words—Jicho was right that it was a Solar Burst. What I didn’t have the heart to tell Jicho was that, thanks to our mate bond, Rowan could sense me wherever I went. Sooner or later, he’d figure out that I was alive and know where to find me.
Which wasn’t a good thing.
The boat lurched from side to side. The rapids were gaining speed.
“Get below, fast!” cried Jicho. “The boat’s ready to dive.” A series of slams sounded as Jicho and Mrefu crawled into their hiding spaces.
A soft knock sounded above me. “Elea?”
“Nan? What are you doing? Get below deck.”
“Not until I tell you something. I figure we might not live through this, and so I’ve got to have my say.”
I knew Nan well enough to know there was no talking her out of this. “Go on.”
“In that battle with Viktor, the one where you raised all those Necromancers? Well, you raised me too. Afterwards, I got another Necromancer to cast a spell and hide the marks. I did it so I could escape Petra. She had agents out who were rounding up anyone with the skull imprint. So, that’s why I’m staying with you through this until the end. I owe you my life. And Mrefu owes me his, so you’re stuck with both of us.”
I rested my palm against the door above my head. My eyes brimmed with tears. “Thank you, Nan.”
“Water’s coming over the deck. Must dash.” With that, I heard the fast beat of her footsteps overhead, followed by another slam as Nan slipped inside her own hiding compartment.
“Get ready!” Jicho’s muffled voice sounded from under the metal. “We’re almost there!”
Curling up my body into a ball, I wrapped my arms around my head. Hisses sounded as the vessel sealed the compartment to become water-tight around me. I curled up into a ball, my arms wrapped around my knees. Perfect darkness descended into my small space.
Please, let Jicho be right.
The MAJE tilted on its axis. My stomach seemed to hit the roof of my mouth as we plummeted downward. For a moment, I had the illusion of being weightless. After that, my compartment shook as the boat hit the water. We’d fallen.