I look around. Are these the same types of trees we encountered when we left the desert behind and entered this jungle? I thought we were in pine territory, but these seem more tropical. Bizarre. “This trip was a waste. We should just head back, see what we can do to help the Commander and the others.”
Khloe marches to where Tide crouches and stands beside him. “You’re just going to give up? After how far we’ve come? Never thought of you as a quitter, Eb. Fine. Go.” Hand shaking, she shoos me off. “But we’re staying. I trust Tide when he says he can find his way back to the Fountain. We’ll find that mean old Fairy Queen with or without you.”
I clench my teeth. I’m not one to be caught with my mouth hanging open. But seriously? My own flesh and blood is going to take his side? Not cool.
“I agree with Tide and Khloe.”
Stormy too? What is this, a mutiny? Who’s in charge here?
“If I’ve learned anything, it’s that you can’t see where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.” The oldest of our group takes a natural place between us. Stormy makes eye contact with me, then the others, then with me once again. “Tide’s been through the Fountain with Joshua before.” She turns her attention to him. “Are there any landmarks you can remember? Anything specific that might help us retrace your steps?”
He rises and holds his chin between his thumb and finger. Gazes up at the wide-palmed trees as if he’s contemplating the meaning of life. “We crossed a creek at one point. It was shallow, but the stones in its bed were black. We’re talking they might as well have been charcoal.”
“That’s good. See?” She rounds on me again. “I say we sit and strategize. Make a list of everything Tide remembers when he came through the first time. Then we go from there. Sound good?”
I nod, but I’m not on board. I don’t see how we’re supposed to form a plan when we’re already lost. Some leadership skills you have, Ebony. Like, oh, I know, we’ll just figure it out as we go along. Surely Tide can remember how to get to a place he’s been to all of once. When he was under a great deal of stress and grieving the loss of his mother. Makes perfect sense.
Not.
“Sounds great to me.” With a wide grin Tide heads off through the bushes to his rear.
“Where are you going now?” I call.
Not that I care, but we should stay together. Another film I watched in the Third once became the ultimate warning for stuff like this. El couldn’t make it to movie night so I watched it myself. So what if it was a horror flick? I could handle it. Anyway, these stupid teens were running from some ax murderer or something. They were fine when they remained in a group, but the moment one of them went running off? Let’s just say the amount of fake blood that production went through was enough to fill Dawn Lake.
“Don’t worry.” Stormy places a consoling hand on my shoulder. No wonder El likes her so much. Her positivity really does start to get to you after a while. “He’ll be fine.”
Her words send a bad vibe into the air. Like an omen or a jinx. Only seconds after they leave her mouth, a shout resounds from beyond the spot where Tide vanished. Crash, snap, thud. What follows is deadly silence. The wail that echoes afterward is enough to rip through me.
Well, this is just fabulous. I try not to show my terror as I speed in his direction. It’s okay. He’s not dead. He’s not.
Oh my word, what if he is? If he is, I hate him.
And if not?
If not I’ll kill him myself. How dare he scare me like this. How dare he leave without saying good-bye.
I’d slap him but he’s already in enough pain. No need to scold the poor guy. He’s doing that well enough on his own.
“Gah!” Tide’s agony pierces the night. “You’ll have to pop it back in, Eb.”
“No, no, no.” Don’t freak out. It’s just a dislocated shoulder, nothing serious. “I’m not a Physic. We’ll find a Physic. Someone lives here. They have to live here.”
“We haven’t seen anyone else for miles.” Stormy sits with Khloe. Both remain calm. Why are they so flipping calm?!
“You’re the oldest,” I tell Stormy. “You do it.”
“No.” Tide’s voice is steady as a rock despite his injury. “It has to be you. You can do this.”
Why does he insist on being so darn stubborn? If he wants me to do it, he’s got another thing coming. Hope you like a useless arm there, bud. “I’m not a Physic.”
“But you can become one.” Khloe’s eagerness has her bouncing on her knees.
“Transforming into a Physic doesn’t give me the Calling.”
“Have you ever tried?” Stormy really needs to stop agreeing with these two. I’m totally outnumbered and it’s super unfair.
I’m ready with my answer but stop myself midbreath. Have I ever tried to exude another’s Calling? My mind scans every previous alias. Lincoln Cooper. Quinn Kelley. Tide. I’ve even attempted to become my mother behind closed doors, just to see what it’d be like. In all those transformations, did I once stop and think, Hey, I know—maybe I can make myself a dolphin or Troll it up just for the Void of it?
I’m such an airhead sometimes. “No,” I say, dumbfounded. “I haven’t.”
Tide’s smile would fool anyone into thinking he’s just fine. “So give it a try. Change into a Physic and see what happens.”
Hesitation fills me. Partly because I don’t want him to prove me wrong and partly because I’m terrified he will be wrong and I won’t be able to help him.
He places his good hand on mine, which is pressed into the soil beneath us.
I can feel the dirt digging deeper and deeper into my nails, and I don’t even care.
“You can do this,” he says again.
Lips pursed in uncertainty, I nod. Then I close my eyes and think of all the Physics I’ve encountered. One stands out. Dennielle. Skin the color of midnight and eyes like winter mints. I met her right after I ran away from home. In Dewesti Province just west of Jasyn’s castle at the time. I was trying to figure out where I’d go. What I’d do to survive. Then Dennielle found me and offered me a place to sleep.
“My son is away,” she said. “So I have a free bed. We live in the Haven but left a few things behind in our home here. I was hoping to retrieve them, but it appears we’ve been looted. Have you heard of the Haven?”
I shook my head, not sure what to say. I’d never met someone so genuine and kind.
“Times are getting darker. The Era of Shadows continues on with no end in sight. But there’s a safe place for those wishing to stand against Jasyn Crowe and his growing army of Soulless. It lies south of Lynbrook Province, beyond the sea. A place untouched by darkness as long as it remains undiscovered by those who seek to douse the light.”
Sounded like a fantasy. A place free of darkness and night? I was only twelve at the time but already far past jaded.
“You should come back with me,” she said. “There’s always a place for someone else loyal to the Verity. I know the others would be glad to have you.”
I just stared at her. She could think what she wanted, but I wasn’t loyal to anyone or anything. When had the Verity ever helped me? If the Verity was so real and light and good, where was it?
I thanked her for the meal and bed, let her touch up the few scrapes I had attained since escaping my mother. Dennielle talked and I listened. She spoke of her Physicness and how proud she was of her son and daughter, waiting for her return to the Haven. She talked about how she grew up in the Third by the docks and how she longed for her childhood home.