Page 19 of Trapped By Claws
"I don't understand this." I crossed over, holding my tattered shawl close as the wind tugged at it. "Even if takes a couple months more to reach the Oracle of the Glass Mountains, at leastwe'll make it. There's nothing on that island that's worth risking death!"
"There are staircases that lead into the air. They are dangerous most of the time, but sometimes they can be strengthened and lead to specific portals that may go to magical places. The one on this island probably won't work as well, but it will contain more knowledge that we may be able to use," Mama said."We may even be able to strengthen it and use it to learn more. It may give us the key to finding your sister."
"It sounds like nonsense to me," I said, sharper than I intended. I hugged myself tight. "This is ridiculous. I can't believe the captain's letting you do this!"
Mama shook her head, clicking her tongue. The sharpness had returned to her gaze, her manner more steely rather than weepy. "Saving your sister is not nonsense."
A low growl of frustration rose in me before I bit it back. There was no reasoning with her. This was pointless.
I tilted my head back. Heavy clouds rolled across the eastern sky. The sea rocked the ship, making my stomach sour. Pointless or not, I had to try. "Please. Don't go, Mama. Something bad is going to happen. We'll find Erryn, but this isn't the way."
"We're two miles out from the boundary line," Captain Hosvir said, his tone gruff and his features drawn into a scowl. "And we didn't come all this way for nothing."
Was he only doing this for Mama or was there something else? No one else was raising concerns. Already three of the longboats had been outfitted and prepared to head out.
"We'll stock up on supplies. Replenish the water stores. Forage what we can. Ophelia can do her tasks." Captain Hosvir gave a firm nod as if that settled everything. Then he returned his attention to Mama.
I bit the inside of my lip. We weren't that low on water or food. We could turn around and sail for another ten days and reach another port.
But I wasn't the one giving orders.
I might as well not even talk.
Almost three quarters of the crew and all of the hunting otters went to the island.
Captain Hosvir invited me again. But I refused and just watched until Mama got into the longboat and reached the shore. Mama refused to look at me. Not even to wave. Maybe she was lost in thought, or maybe she genuinely didn't see. But really…no—Mama was mad at me again.
We were probably going to have another big fight when she got back.
Especially when she realized—again—that this wasn't the solution to finding Erryn.
Disappointment and hopelessness brought out the worst in both of us.
I wandered through the ship. When I reached the study, I found Mama's book. She must have forgotten it. It looked like it had fallen out of her bag.
This she would miss.
I picked it up and flipped through it. It was all about the ancient magics and staircases in the air and other strange phenomenon. She'd probably come back for it.
Picking the book up, I returned to the stern of the ship, gazing out at the island shrouded in fog and mist. As I waited, I read.
The words didn't stick in my mind. I had to read and reread. My focus kept returning to the water and the island. The island, from this distance, looked ordinary. A sandy beach with grey stones and a coniferous forest farther back. The fog did not dissolve as the watery-yellow sun rose higher in the sky.
A storm was coming.
That pressure in my stomach and up through my chest coiled and expanded.
I wanted to throw up.
Hurry back, Mama.
I tugged at my hair as I glanced around.
Numerous white stone pillars and jagged spires jutted up from the sea like bones. These were narrower than the ones I'd used to get back to the ship, and they rose much higher above the waves. Some even looked to have pocket caves and indentations large enough for a person to stand on. If ever people had lived in this place before the wars, people had likely fished in those places.
Now the strange rocks reminded me of death. The clouds darkened, taking over more than half the sky. The rumbling of thunder intensified.
Movement at the beach caught my eye.
