Page 98 of The Last One
29
The light streaming through my window is crisp and lemony. Morning has come. The fire of my anger toward Olivia still burns, but I push it away. Just a dream. I toss off the blankets, and my bare feet hit the cold stone floor. I stay in the bed, though, a strange tension prickling my senses. The wind is unusually strong today—strange, since it’s typically just a gentle breeze causing the grasses around the cottage to sway. Now, gusts are shaking the ferns, and dust pebbles tap against the windowpane. A shiver runs down my spine as I catch sight of…
That.Whatisthat? Perched atop a tree hollow.
I squint at the figure…abat? No…it’s too large for a bat. It is wedge-shaped, yet its form is indistinct in the dim light. It looks like a void, a hole of the blackest black, expanding and feeding on the terror of those who see it. But fear doesn’t grip me—it’s awe that pins me in place. The stench of rotten fruit and sulfur seeps through the windowpane, making me gag. I clasp a hand over my mouth and close my eyes. When I regain control and look back, the creature is gone. No shadow, no breeze, no stink of death.
I slide into my chair and roll to the sitting room. Veril is at his worktable, mixing ingredients in a bowl. “I saw something outside the cottage again,” I say, then describe the creature perched on the tree.
The old man hums in acknowledgment but doesn’t stop his work.
“You seem unperturbed,” I say, raising an eyebrow.
“We have a lot to do,” he says, flashing me a grin. “As much as I’d like it, you can’t stay here forever, Just Kai. If I had to swivel my head every time an otherworldly creature said, ‘good day,’ my neck would be a toothpick.” He nods at the bowl. “This is more important right now.”
“Another memory elixir?” I ask, rolling closer, the creature’s reek still lingering in my throat like grease.
“Breakfast,” he answers with a smile, eyes scanning my unwrapped leg. “You’re moving better today. Have you tried to stand?”
I push out a breath and grip the arms of the chair. I stand, wobbling a bit, but plant my feet firmly against the floor. “Behold,” I say, my arms out for balance. “What do you think?”
Veril laughs and taps the spoon against the bowl. “That’s the best standing I’ve seen all morning.”
I bend my knees, wincing from the pop of my tight muscles. “It’s quiet this morning. Where’s everyone?”
Veril flicks a dismissive hand and drizzles honey into the bowl. “Thankfully, out of my hair for the moment. Good sleep?”
I bite my lip and swallow. “I’m not sure.”
Without a word, he pours the batter into the iron skillet, and the edges of the thin cake bubble and harden. The aroma of warm honey wafts from the hearth. “What’s troubling you, dearest?” He coaxes the cake from the hot surface and flips it over.
“The Sea of Devour,” I say. “That mountain in its center. I’ve had dreams about both now, and I think…I need to go there.”
Veril slips the warm cake onto a plate. He spoons butter from the small pot and drops it atop the cake. “Because?”
My shoulders lift in a slight shrug. “There are voices telling me that I must come. Voices that include my own. And something about these dreams feels…right. Feels…true. The saffron, Peria, Kaivara, those mages… I need to go there soon or else—”
“Or else ‘what’?” He holds my gaze and tilts his head. When I shake my head, he sighs. “I’ve traveled to Peria with the intentions of crossing that sea and scaling the Mount of Devour.”
“And?”
He nods to my breakfast, indicating that I should eat. “I hired a boatbuilder in Peria and paid him to sail me across the sea so that I could summit the mount.”
“And?” I take a big bite of the cake and close my eyes as the light, buttery dough melts against my tongue.
“AndDayami and I reached the banks of Devour,” he says, “but the soles of our boots were nearly eaten away. We slipped the canoe into the water, and the acid of Devour burned away the tar used to keep the boat waterproof. We barely made it back to safe ground.”
I drop my fork and push away the plate. “You’re saying that I shouldn’t go.”
He pushes the plate back to me. “I’msayingthat you’ll need more than the clothes on your back to even reach the shores of Devour. I survived that trip only because I was younger, stronger—and most importantly, I was protected, wearing the right armor.”
I take another bite from the cake but taste nothing. “So…don’t travel to Devour naked and ill-prepared. And here I was, about to travel to Devour naked and ill-prepared.”
Veril peers at me and says, “Nothing is simple in that part of the realm. Have your dreams shown you how to reach the Sea and Mount of Devour?”
I shake my head. “I recall nothing of it at this moment.”
After breakfast, Veril pulls a book of maps from his shelves. “Devour Sea is far west of Pethorp, in the far west province of Vallendor. Its green waters have consumed nearly all the plants and wildlife in that region. Somewhere, in the crosses and triangles used by the mapmaker as markers, is the town of Peria, with its mages on defense, with its fields of saffron and altars dedicated to the goddess Kaivara, using magic to resist Emperor Wake’s invasion.”
