Page 101 of Ship of Shadows
Spots dotted my vision, and my lungs burned, begging for air.
My magic faltered, and my limbs grew limp. Something swished by me, but I was too weak to be afraid.
Suddenly, a hand gripped my arm, tugging me up. I broke the surface, and Kara yanked me onto the boat.
I gasped, the air cleansing my lungs while I coughed and sputtered. Kara banged on my back.
“Now use your magic to push us toward the land,” she yelled. “The oars are gone. So I need you to give one last push. Can you do it?”
I could barely see straight, my vision still clouded by dots, but I nodded anyway.
“They’re coming,” Kara said. “Your magic only held them back for so long. But we have a clear shot. Just get us to the land.”
I slumped over, taking a shuddering breath.
“Come on, Princess,” Kara shouted. “You can do this.”
I pushed my hands forward.Land, take us to the land.
Nothing happened at first, and Kara swore. Then the water rippled, and our boat lurched forward toward the island until it shoved up onto the marshy land with a resounding crash. Wood splintered, flying out, and the boat cracked under us.
“Well there goes our ride back to the ship,” Kara said, slumping down. “But we made it.” She shot me a grin. “Well done.”
I nodded, breathing heavily, body completely spent. I hoped we didn’t need my magic again because I wouldn’t be able to use it. Just as we’d stepped from the boat, a shout rang out in the distance.
“Bloody hell,” a voice yelled.
Kara and I looked at each other and both straightened.
“Bastian,” she breathed.
He yelled again, and fear laced his voice.
We didn’t waste any time, both of us running in the direction of the screams. We’d gotten past the crocodiles, and now the real danger lay ahead.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Thick jungle surrounded us, slowing our movements as we made our way deeper into the belly of Sorrengard. We had no weapons, so we were forced to use our hands and legs to push and punch our way through the thick tangle of brush and trees and vines.
Glittering magical items lay on the ground, hung from trees, were buried in bushes, tangled in thorny vines. They were everywhere. Power seeped from them, and I could understand the temptation to take one, to use its magic. I ducked under a cup that hung from a branch and wondered what it had the power to do.
“You feel it, right?” Kara asked. “That power?”
I nodded, a chill creeping over me at the sight of all this dark magic.
I grabbed onto a thick ropey vine, yanking so I could step over it, only to feel a sharp pain slice across my hand. A strip of crimson welled in my palm, and I looked back at the vine, realizing tiny thorns covered it.
“Don’t touch that,” I warned Kara, who’d just come up behind me.
Another scream echoed through the jungle. It had to be Bastian and his crew. Blood and water, I hoped the shadows hadn’t already descended upon them. But the books claimed the shadows weren’t a danger unless one was trying to escape the jungle.
I looked up at the swirling darkness hovering under the canopies. Shadows zoomed over us, a whoosh following their movements as they dove through branches, slipped under vines, and wrapped around trees. But they didn’t bother us, didn’t even seem to notice our presence. So what was causing those screams?
Kara had gotten onto her belly, scooting under the heavy curtain of vines and inching past a long black staff that shimmered. I sighed and followed her. At this point, mud caked my wet clothes. The humid air pushed down on us, and my clothes stuck to my body with a mixture of sweat and swamp water. We emerged on the other side, and continued deeper into the jungle. The thick canopies provided cover from the sun, which must’ve been why it was so easy for the shadows to survive here. The jungle of the shadow court provided them with the perfect cover to thrive, to guard the island so no one could escape.
“Do you think we’re almost there?” I asked Kara.
Her gaze turned dark. “The island is bigger than it appears, the jungle hard to navigate. All that to say, I have no idea.”
