NOVEL NEXT Volume 3 Chapter 14
Yvette stared at the island in the distance, her heart pounding ever harder. It was finally here. Jade had, true to her word, brought them to the sirens. It remained to be seen if they would be able to succeed. She glanced to Gervas.
Her heart fluttered for a reason different from nerves when she saw him. Now that they were leaving, his armor and weapons had been returned to him. He still didn’t have a shield or a spear after losing them back on Cragtooth Isle, but even with just the sword at his hip he looked dangerous. Powerful. Regal. Noble. Her guardian who could and would protect her no matter what. Alas, he still refused to comment on her feelings for him. Refused to acknowledge them. She desperately wanted to push for more from him, each night they had been locked inside the cage she had wanted to demand answers.
But she knew pushing him would likely only drive him away. She might have a chance with him. Maybe. She didn’t want to destroy it by trying to force him to love her. She turned her eyes back towards the island, glancing down at the bracer on her arm. Everything had been returned to her. She had even put a new flower from the dryad inside it.
The air was still, the sails having been brought in and anchor having been dropped. Off in the distance she could hear a strange humming sound, so faded it was near impossible to make out. Apparently it was the sound of the siren’s song. To go much further risked the full effect of the song being heard and drawing them in to their deaths. But once night fell and the song ceased, it would be safer for them to go.
Safer, but not safe. She reached out and rubbed the bracer on her arm, glancing towards the horizon. The sun was setting. Soon she would say goodbye to them, possibly forever. There was a good chance she’d never see any of them again. Though she found she didn’t particularly mind. Lunia had been kind enough and was an excellent teacher, but remaining on a pirate ship did not sound particularly appealing. While she hadn’t seen anything that truly turned her stomach, it didn’t stop her from feeling uneasy whenever members of the crew seemed to stare at her or Gervas a bit too long. Judging by the way his hand kept brushing against the hilt of his sword, he was no less uneasy.
The humming got a little quieter when more of the sun disappeared behind the horizon. Soon. She went over the plan once more in her mind. This island held the siren’s nests. Get in, get a tear, somehow. From there, escape to one of the other islands. There were apparently dozens of them here. One of them was known as void island, primarily because it was an island that seemed to be cut in half, directly pressed up against the void. There were people there who would, supposedly, be able to get them back to the main continent. If they could make it there. She reached down and touched her bag for what felt like the thousandth time, sliding a hand inside to find the map and hold it one more time.
So many islands. So many that held their own little dangers. But so long as she and Gervas were together, she was certain they could face them.
The last of the humming stopped and she let out a sigh of relief. She glanced towards Lunia, who somehow looked nearly as nervous as she did. The sunlight quickly faded beyond the horizon, disappearing until the only light that remained were the few glowing torches on the deck. A few of the crew had come to watch the departure, but they were silent now.
Yvette glanced back to Gervas one last time and offered her hand. “Ready?” she asked.
“I am. Are you sure you can do this?” he asked, his own unease evident in his voice.
“I’ve done it before. It’s just to the island, right? I--”
“As touching as this is, one moment before you go,” Jade’s voice rang out, making her pause and turn towards the hold. The captain rose out from the door, Quinlyn trailing behind her. “I have one last gift for you.”
Yvette stared at the woman, her suspicions instantly raised. Something about the woman’s tone and the way she said ‘gift’ made her suspect something bad was about to happen. She tensed up with each step the captain came closer until finally the woman was standing directly in front of her and holding out a scroll. Gingerly, she took it. “What’s this?”
“I told you, a gift.”
She slowly opening the scroll. It was hard to make out in the torch light but she was able to read the words after a few moments. Some kind of spell scroll. Fay dust, petals of a silver lotus, blood of a changeling, tears of a siren, scale of a dragon turtle, the talon of a--
Her heart nearly stopped, quickly finding herself unable to breath.
It was THE spell. No, not just the spell. It was the spell translated. “Y-you… you translated it? How? WHEN?” she asked, turning up to look at the woman. She couldn’t contain herself. She lunged forward and hugged her. “You-- erk!” She went completely still when she felt the tip of a knife pressed over her heart.
“I’m going to let that one slide, kid,” Jade said with a growl. “But get off me.”
Yvette nodded, slowly pulling back from the captain, her eyes lowering to that blade that was pushed up to her chest. She hadn’t even seen it on the woman and when it was pulled back, she couldn’t even follow the movements when it disappeared into that overcoat. “Sorry.”
“You should thank Quinlyn. After going through your, frankly, atrocious translation, she decided she could do a better job. If it wasn’t such a simple task I would have told her to not waste her time,” Jade said before shaking her head. “If you do, by some miracle, manage to succeed in your task I will be expecting your return. So consider it payment for future labor.”
Yvette nodded before staring down at the scroll one last time. Her mind felt as if it was exploding in all different directions, a mix of excitement and wonder. She wanted desperately to go through the scroll and read it, to compare what was in it with what she already knew. But this was not the time. The window for when they could go to the island was closing. “Thank you. Thank you so much,” she said, turning towards the giant of a woman and barely resisting the urge to give her a hug as well. “I don’t know what to say.”
The first mate stared at her, before giving a small nod. Yvette wasn’t sure how she was supposed to take that, but she hoped it was at least positive. She slid the scroll into her bag before moving towards the edge of the ship. It was almost time. “I guess this is goodbye then. Thank you for everything. For bringing us here.”
“We said we would,” Jade said dismissively. “It doesn’t do well for one to break their agreements. Makes it hard for others to trust them.”
Yvette nodded, but paused for a moment. “You know, I never asked. What was it that you all took from that island, anyway? I never-- AHHHH!” She let out a shriek when the captain reached out and shoved her, hard, off the ship.
She was flying through the air for only a moment before, with a loud splash, she hit the water. She hacked and coughed for a few moments, shaking her head before glaring up. “That wasn’t--”
“You’re wasting time. You better get going, unless you want to be on the island when the siren’s wake up?” Jade asked, smirking down at her.
Yvette sighed and then shook her head. It seemed she wasn’t going to get an answer after all. She held out her right hand and, very slowly, her form began to shift once more. Growing larger and larger, her frame and body once more took on the shape of the dragon turtle. It was odd. When she had first transformed into this body, it had felt so difficult and strange. But now the body felt almost familiar. The world seemed to light up, despite the lack of sunlight above. The creature’s vision truly was incredible.
After a few moments she felt a light weight landing on her shell. “I’m here,” Gervas said, his voice low and calm. “Let’s go.”
She gave a small nod before slowly making her way through the water, flowing along it with ease.
The sirens awaited. All she needed was one tear. They could do this.
