Page 50 of The Bones of Benevolence

I lowered myself down to the ledge and started for the city. My entire body ached as I pushed my legs faster, my bare feet scrambling over the thinner parts of the cliff as quickly as I could, careening down the hill and winding through the manicured streets of Prisma.

“Cal?” My feet pounded to a stop on the cobblestones as I whipped around to see Lord Castemont and Tyrak. “We were just headed back to see your aunt, what–”

“Tobyas!” I choked, gasping for air. “He’s in the harbor! I need a boat!”

Castemont looked at Tyrak then back to me, his eyes wide but brows furrowed. “What are you–”

I grabbed his shoulders, unconcerned about the informality or the fact that Tyrak could cut me down for touching the Lord. “Tobyas is out there!” I yelled, pulling the man back toward the waterfront, my lungs burning.

“Take him,” Lord Castemont ordered Tyrak.

“My Lord–”

“I can make it three blocks unguarded. I’ll get Bernadet, you get Cal to the docks. Johan should be there. Commandeer his vessel if you have to. Go!”

The Lord took off down the street while Tyrak and I sprinted for the waterfront. “There’s a fisherman,” Tyrak pushed out as he sprinted beside me, matching me stride for stride. “He’ll take us out to look for him. What happened?”

I pushed my legs harder, hoping Tobyas could sense I was coming for him. “We were climbing,” I gasped, my chest on fire. “He’s out there waiting for me.”

Tyrak was wordless beside me, only the sound of his heavy breath giving me hope as we neared the docks.

“Johan!” Tyrak shouted, a hand in the air as we approached. “Johan! Your boat!”

A red-faced, gruff looking man was repairing a fishing net on the dock, my bare feet and Tyrak’s boots pounding on the wooden planks. His boat was small, with dirty rolled up canvas sails crowding the deck, but anything would do at this point. “Tyrak? What–”

“My brother’s out there!” The man surveyed me as I stood before him, his shock at my eyes and height all the more irritating as time pressed in on me.

Tyrak hadn’t slowed, instead leaping directly on the boat and reaching for the mooring ropes.

“Aye! What do you–”

“We have permission from Lord Evarius Castemont to commandeer your vessel,” Tyrak offered quickly as he unwound the last rope. I hopped into the boat, my eyes moving between the folded canvas sails and the cliffs that awaited us.

“Then it’s ‘yers for as long as ye need it.”

“Do you know how to sail?” I asked Tyrak, my voice desperate.

“Well enough. Hold tight.” He dropped the canvas, and I had no idea how he did it, but he caught the seemingly nonexistent wind, steering us right for the cliffs.

“I don’t know what happened.” I chewed a fingernail, scanning the water. “He just fell.”

Tyrak stayed silent as he zipped around the deck. “Point me in the right direction.”

The cliffs grew closer, my desperation turning leaden in my chest. “Tobyas!” I screamed. Over and over I screamed his name, fighting the impending break in my voice. “Tobyas! Can you hear me?!”

“Where did he fall from?” Tyrak asked, his voice stern.

“The cliffs to the west. We’d never been there before. The waves were huge.”

The guard was quiet, brows furrowed as I furiously searched the rocks, trying to get a look into every crag, dip, and pit.

“Tobyas!” I kept screaming.

Tyrak joined in, his voice quickly going hoarse as he called for my little brother. “Tobyas!”

The only answer was the sound of our own cavernous echoes and the waves pounding the desolate cliffs. I choked back sobs, each one growing harder every time I called his name only to be met with silence.

“That’s where he fell from!” I yelled, a finger pointed to the ledge. Then I saw it — the cliff didn’t meet the harbor, hanging over the water and leaving a small gap. I could just make out a few chunks of rock that were easily wide enough for Tobyas to crawl on. “Look!”

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