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Dia considers that. I can’t read the thoughts on her wrinkled face. I don’t bother to try. She’s never had a problem telling me exactly what she thinks, and I highly doubt this will be the exception to the rule. “Go on, then. If you leave now, you can get ahead of her.” She takes another drag. “She’ll know better than to try to seek shelter in the village, so she’ll head into the trees around the perimeter. If I were a betting woman, I would say she’d head east. It’s easier going that way, and it will take her farther from the sea.”
Farther from me.
“Thanks.” I move back so she can take my spot. “The crew knows the protocol. I’ll be back to relieve you as soon as I’ve dealt with the situation.”
She cackles. “Take your time, Captain. These old bones were made for the sea. I have no interest in land.” A sly light comes into her dark eyes. “Maybe give that girl a good ride. That might be enough to convince her to stay.”
My face flames, and there’s no way she doesn’t see it. “That’s not why I’m doing this.”
“I know.” She grins. “But no reason you can’t have a little fun along with doing your duty.”
She’s still cackling behind me as I flip up my cloak hood and move to the railing. A deep breath and I wrap my power around myself and lift off the deck. I cross the water in seconds and descend to lightly land at the outskirts of the village. It’s still early enough that dawn is barely a hint in the sky on the horizon. No one will be out and about for a while yet.
I consider the various routes through and out of town before deciding that I agree with Dia; the witch will go east. Now it’s only a matter of finding a good spot to wait until she makes her attempt.
Each of the islands have evolved to match the portals they contain. This one is no different. The trees are monstrous, thick and curling things that are blue and green and purple. I hate being on this island, to the point where I avoid it whenever I can. I’ve never quite been able to put my finger on why, though. There are other islands that are even more unsettling. Islands where trees grow upside down. Islands where there’s no organic life to be seen, just rocks and dirt and death. Even islands where gravity seems to shift based on the time of day.
None of them make me feel like this one does.
The small hairs at the back of my neck stand on end as I turn in a slow circle, squinting against the rain falling in sheets around me despite the interwoven branches overhead. I’m close enough to the village to see the ladders and the lift that lead up to the walkways strung between trees. Even on a clear day, the buildings themselves are almost indistinguishable from the trees they’re built into and around. Today, with the rain obscuring my vision, they might as well not exist at all.
I’m surprised the residents left the ladders down, but I don’t know why. There are predators in these woods, but they don’t venture close to the village. They certainly don’t have hands to climb ladders.
No, the sensation bothering me isn’t one of being hunted. I’m all too familiar with that. Instead, this almost feels like … memory.
I shake my head and do my best to ignore the feeling. I’ll deal with the witch and then make my way back to the ship. We’re well stocked, so there’s no need to go up into the village to negotiate or trade. My crew knows the rules, and they know the consequences of disobeying them. All in all, it should be an uneventful stop.
If not for the witch.
I turn and head east, deeper into the trees. The sensation plaguing me only gets stronger with each step I take. I’ve never been out this way before, but judging by the well-trodden path I follow, others have. I continue down it, grateful for the rain making it hard to see.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me. This place isn’t familiar. I’ve been to the village before, but I’ve never walked this path, never spent time in these woods. There’s no reason for me to be feeling like I could name every one of the array of blue flowers climbing a nearby tree trunk. They’re pretty. That’s all I need to know.
That’s all I do know.
“This is far enough.” I use my magic to rise to land on a well-hidden branch. It’s easily thicker around than I am, and it’s one of the smaller branches. I don’t even need to use my powers to balance as I crouch and survey the path below. Yes, this is a good spot. Now all that’s left to do is wait.
CHAPTER 10
Evelyn
ONE OF THE FIRST SPELLS I LEARNED ON MY OWN WAS the ability to quiet my steps and any noise of my passing. Combine that with the invisibility Bunny taught me, and I was very good at sneaking out as a teenager. These days, it makes me one hell of a thief.
Not that I capitalize on that … too often.
I wait in my cabin until the sounds of the crew moving about fade. And then I wait a little longer. My roommate appears to be dead to the world. That might even be literally, because I’m nearly certain they’re not breathing. It’s the sort of thing I got used to with Lizzie, but it still makes little shivers work their way down my spine. Living creatures are supposed to breathe.
I cast the spells and slip out of bed, careful to take my bag with me. Out in the hallway, there isn’t another soul in sight. As I climb the stairs and step out onto the deck, the rain engulfs me. It would’ve been nice to keep my dry spell going, but I can hold only so many spells active at a time. Right now, stealth is the name of the game.
I catch sight of Dia lounging next to the helm and have the most ridiculous urge to tell her goodbye. There’s no point. I don’t know her and she doesn’t know me. One conversation does not a friend make. I’m probably feeling sentimental because I miss Bunny, and while Dia is hardly a carbon copy of my grandmother, I think the two of them would’ve gotten along like a house on fire.
Grief rises in a wave so strong, it makes my knees buckle. I have to close my eyes and press my hands to my chest to still their shaking. As much as I hate this time of year, there’s a part of me that relishes it. Will I start forgetting her when the grief fades? The thought makes me sick to my stomach. Already there are bits and pieces that have disappeared into the depths of the past. The human mind was not meant to hold information indefinitely, and without her here to reinforce those pathways, I’ve forgotten the exact timbre of her laugh. Was it really just like mine, or has my mind tricked me into thinking that?
Now is not the time or place to focus on that.
I swallow down the tears threatening and head to the side of the ship. There’s no gangplank in place, which is nothing more than I expected. I swing myself over the railing. At least there are plenty of nooks and crannies to use to climb down to the water. I could probably jump, because the sounds of the wind and rain would cover up the splash, but it’s not worth the risk.
It’s a miserable, if short, swim to shore. By the time I stagger up the beach, I am quietly cursing Bowen’s name. If he had just let me go, none of this would be necessary. Yes, technically I may have drowned in the sea if he’d tossed me back overboard, but I’m not in the mood to be grateful.
