On her shoulder, Steve let out a tiny chirp, as if he wanted to say he was here too.
Vela and Enkle halted at the end of the dock beside a curled horn. It was taller than Enkle, and it curved out over the water. The mouthpiece was framed in gold, and the horn itself looked like mother-of-pearl. Calisa wondered what sort of creature it had come from. She didn’t ask, just filed it away to ask later.
It occurred to her that she was collecting far more than a summer’s worth of questions. Every person she met, every realm she visited, led to a dozen more.
“This horn summons all the fishers to the dock. It’s used for storm warnings, as well as the start of festivals,” Vela explained. “If we blow it, your father and the others will know to return to dock.”
“Then blow it,” Calisa said. “Please. Jack and his father have waited long enough.”
Jack seemed unable to speak. He was clutching her hand hard.
Vela and Enkle exchanged glances, and she wondered why they were hesitating. She had no way of knowing how long the portal would stay open. Didn’t they understand that?
“He won’t be the only one to return to dock,” Enkle explained.
“We’ll apologize to the other fishers,” Calisa said. She’d blow the horn herself if she had to. Jack deserved to see his father, and his father needed to know they were here—and then they all needed to get back before the portal closed again. Surely that was worth missing some fishing time. She could pay them all back for the lost fish in chocolate cake. Or whatever.
Vela shook her head. “You don’t understand. It won’t be just the fishers who come.” She exchanged another glance with Enkle. “Thomas wasn’t afraid at the first horn blow. Perhaps these two won’t be afraid either. Look what she carries on her shoulder as if it were a tame pet.”
“His name is Steve,” Calisa told them again.
“See, she’s even named it,” Vela said. “She’s brave enough, and he only wishes to be reunited with his father. All will be well.”
Enkle said to Calisa and Jack, “If you are calm, it can be beautiful.”
Okay, this was sounding ominous. Maybe they weren’t worried about lost fishing time. Calisa began to feel a tickle of nervousness. She noticed her hand was sweaty, squeezed by Jack. “What can? What’s going to happen? Who’s coming?”
But Vela had already placed her lips on the mouthpiece. She blew, and a low note unrolled across the waves. The water rippled as the sound spread.
The note seemed to grow louder, echoing like thunder in the belly of a storm—it echoed off the cliff faces, and it was reflected back by the sea.
Vela stepped away from the horn.
“Now what?” Calisa asked.
Steve let out a nervous chirp.
“Now? We wait,” Enkle said. He crossed his hands in front of him. Vela stood beside him, her hands also crossed. They both looked out at the waves.
Calisa scanned the ocean, looking for ships. She wondered how far out the fishers sailed, as well as what kind of fish they caught. What was in these waters? They’d mentioned a lobster trap, which indicated they at least had crustaceans in common. Unless their word for lobster actually meant an entirely different creature, and the portal magic was just doing its best to translate. She didn’t know if…
The sea began to churn.
A tentacle flailed out of the waves, followed by a second tentacle. “Whoa,” she breathed.
“Uh, Calisa…” Jack said, strained. “Is that a…”
She was fairly certain the word waskraken,no translation needed.
Beyond the kraken, she saw a silvery sea snake, perhaps the same one they’d seen from the cliffs, swim closer to shore, winding through the waves. It was at least twice the length of a bus. A second sea snake, golden in color, followed. It was even larger, and when it raised its head out of the water, Calisa saw rows of swordlike teeth. Soon, the sea around the dock was filled with massive creatures.
Vela and Enkle continued to stand side by side, motionless, with their hands crossed, looking out across the water. Steve buried his face into Calisa’s hair.
Calisa tried to convince her heart to stop galloping as the sea around the dock continued to fill with sea monsters. The waves battered at the pilings, and water sloshed onto the boards. What if one of the tentacles smacked down on the dock? It would break it. A single sea snake could swallow it, if it wanted to.
But it didn’t seem to want to.
The monsters swarmed, but they didn’t attack.
