Page 128 of Ship of Shadows
Shadows swooped down over us, hissing and swiping at anyone who dared get too close to the tree line. The marsh was right there. We just needed to find a way through.
“Can you use your magic?” I asked Lochlan and Mal.
“It’s weak,” Lochlan said, “after so long of not having my shadow, not being able to use it, it’s going to take practice to master it again.”
More and more boys ran to us, emerging from the trees and the foliage, coming in all different directions. Bastian’s crew came, too, everyone converging, waiting for us to save them like we said we would.
Like I said I would. “Torches!” I shouted. “Bring your torches.” But many of the torches were no longer lit, and a strong wind blew through the trees. Wait, no. Not from through the trees. It was coming from the shadows.
“They can blow out fire?” I said.
Lochlan scratched his head. “Apparently so.”
In the distance, I could see the shimmer of pixies, flying toward us. Goji’s wall had broken. She was dead, and it was going to be all for nothing.
The remaining fire on the torches flickered out, the shadows closing in around us. More boys filtered into the area, but it no longer mattered because we didn’t have a way out.
The necklace had said the light would save us. So why wasn’t this working? I fell to my knees and pounded the ground in frustration.
The crew and the older boys surrounded the boys of Apolis, and shadows began plucking those too close to the tree line and throwing them. A few hit trees with sickening crunches, others screamed as the shadows ripped them apart.
“No,” I said, my voice breaking.
Bastian watched with horror as shadows ravaged his crew. Still, the remaining boys and crew members stood their ground, protecting the younger boys. Protecting our boys.
All of a sudden, the trees parted, a blinding path of light shining into the jungle. The shadows screeched, scattering away.
“Take that, bitches!” a voice yelled, and I collapsed to my knees in relief.
Driscoll. He stood there, his hands held high as he parted the trees and allowed the sun through. Allowed a clear pathway.
“We figured it out,” he yelled, smiling. “The necklace said the light is the key. So here I am, bringing in the light.”
“Go!” I yelled at the boys and they began running out, sticking to the path of light that Driscoll had created.
“Who in the bloody waters is that?” Mal asked.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, watching as boys ran past us and out into the sun, their shadows stretching along the bank of the marsh.
Leoni stood on the other side, and I wished I could run and give her a huge hug. “Start getting them to the ship,” I called, and she nodded, gathering them into the two remaining boats, and using her magic to send the boats rocking past the marsh and out into the sea.
Boys continued running, and more still emerged from the depths of the jungle, staying in the sun and waiting for their turn to get onto a boat.
“I think I’ve got all my boys!” Lochlan yelled.
“Think?” I echoed, looking for mine, mentally tallying. Everyone but two.
The pixies were getting closer, and Bastian grabbed my arm. “We don’t have time to count, love. We’ve got to get these boys out.”
“Go, go, go!” I yelled at the boys running out into the marsh, the sun still shining down.
I looked up, praying the clouds wouldn’t cover the only thing keeping us safe right now. Shadows swooped down, but the crew lined along the edges of the sun ray that painted the jungle ground, jabbing at them with their swords and torches. Another rowboat returned to the marsh, Leoni commanding it with her magic as she piled more boys in.
I arched my neck, searching for the crocodiles, when the flash of a tail emerged from the water, shimmering and scaled. The mermaids were here. They were helping us, keeping the crocodiles at bay. My heart swelled, but I didn’t have time to think about it as the final boys ran through the opening Driscoll created and out onto the bank, all of them huddled together, shaking and watching with wide eyes as the pixies flew toward us, so close now.
“Go,” I yelled to the crew, and they began filing out.
Boys were now using their water magic to ride waves that took them to the ship, Leoni instructing them while using her own magic. Sweat dotted her brows, and pink flushed her round face as she concentrated on making waves that would ride as many as possible toward that ship.
