Heart of the Ocean Read online

  "It was said, in those first days following the Collapse, that the Magusari, the new Moon, and the Warden would one day return. That they would return and free the Ondine, release them from their imprisonment. That day has finally come, my friends. The Warden has returned, and with him has come the Magusari, the Moon incarnate. They will free us from the Storm and the Straits, setting right the mistake of thousands of years ago!"

  Verica's voice rang out over the crowd with the last statement. Tomo's translation had the same emphasis. Laila felt her heart sink. Free the Ondine, the water elementals. How was she supposed to do that? She looked at Connor. His eyes had the same haunted look she knew hers did. These people expected something of them that they could not provide. Their entire system of belief had revolved around this event for two thousand years, and Laila could barely control her powers over Earth. How was she supposed to break the Ondine free of something that had been set in place by the last Magusari so long ago, with all the knowledge of the Moon Kingdom behind her?

  Tomo turned to them as the crowd began to cheer. The smile on his face diminished seeing the look on Laila and Connor's.

  "What is it, my friends?" he asked.

  Laila looked back and forth between Connor and Tomo before responding. "We...cannot do what you ask. I...We couldn't even make it through the Straits. I don't know how to free the Ondine..."

  Tomo looked uncertain. "You are the Magusari?"

  Laila nodded.

  "And you are the Warden?"

  Connor nodded.

  "That is all that is needed. The Edonin have waited for your return. Now, we will take you to the Tomb. There you will understand. You will find the way. It is your path..."

  Laila sighed. "But—"

  "Enough." Tomo cut her off, gently. "Tonight the people will celebrate. We have waited for your return for two thousand years, and I will not deny my people that relief. Tomorrow, I will lead you across the Straits myself, and we shall see what we shall see. But tonight..."

  Laila hesitated. "Across the Straits? That's impossible."

  Tomo smiled wryly. "The Edonin have lived near the Straits for a long time. Do you think that we have not learned at least some of their secrets?"

  Laila did not know how to respond. The crowd was beginning to separate, and food was laid out on large tables that had been set up surrounding the bonfire. Some people looked as though they wanted to approach Laila and Connor, but they hesitated, seeing them speaking with Tomo.

  "Tomorrow..." Connor said quietly.

  Tomo nodded and turned away to join his people.

  Laila and Connor stood mutely in front of the raging bonfire.

  Twenty-Four

  Across the Straits

  Ashes from the previous night's bonfire blew across the village circle. The main body of the bonfire continued to burn, as Tomo had indicated. Laila sat, staring into the fire, watching it dance and move. She had been up since before dawn. The feast had lasted most of the night, but Laila had kept herself apart from it. She had watched Connor as he was pulled into the festivities by Nina. Despite their confusion about their part in the Edonin's legend, Connor seemed more at home here than he had anywhere else. Laila wondered which of the clans the Edonin used to be a part of. There were enough similarities that they could have been of the Phoenix Clan, but there were two other Clans that Icarus had mentioned, Sphinx and Dragon. They knew so little of what happened before or just after the Collapse. Before Laila had met Icarus, the stories of the Collapse had only been legends. She hadn’t had an inkling how real they really were and how much they actually mattered in her own destiny.

  The fire continued to roar in front of her. She felt a sense of anxiety rise up in her chest at the dancing images. Her vision in the cave came back to her. The world blazing in Nuriel's rage. She gripped her staff tighter. She had to find the Sacred Waters. Maybe, just maybe, if she could complete the Edonin's legend, then they could help her past the Straits and to the Sacred Waters.

  Movement next to her broke her from her thoughts. Her mother sat next to her. She and Icarus had kept themselves apart from the festivities the previous night as well, watching from the edge of the village circle and enjoying the food.

  "Good morning," Lunete said.

  Laila turned to look at her mother with raised eyebrows. "Good morning? Really?"

  Her mother smiled back at her. "What else would you have me say, child?"

  Laila lifted her hands to the sky. "Oh, I don't know... Maybe, ‘How are you doing with all of this saving the world business?’ Or, ‘How does it feel to know that an entire society has been waiting for your arrival for thousands of years?’ I'd even be all right with ‘How are you and Connor doing?’ As much as I've tried to understand what you meant about Connor and me, I still can't truly figure it out. But at least it'd have more meaning to it than 'Good morning!'"

  Lunete waited patiently for Laila to finish her small rant. "Feel better?"

  "A little," Laila said, her frustration barely contained.

  "There's not much else to say, Laila-sa. We are here, and you are who you are. There would be no point in denying that now. And, honestly, to do so would only cheapen the events that have led us here, rob them of their purpose. Is that what you want?"

  Laila thought about the Guardians who had lost their lives in Terus and the sailors who had been aboard the Via, the ones she had condemned to the bottom of the Straits. She felt her emotions rise up in her chest but quickly pushed them back down.

  "No," she said, shaking her head and keeping her eyes focused on the fire in front of her.

  Lunete nodded. "So. Good morning."

  "Good morning," Laila responded.

  There was a moment of silence. "So...how are you and Connor doing?"

  "Mother!"

  Lunete laughed as Laila swatted her on the arm. "I'm sorry."

  "We...well, I am fine."

  "Very well," Lunete said. "Tomo explained what his plan was. That you and Connor are to go with him to this Tomb they talk about..."

  Laila nodded.

  "He also told us that we cannot be allowed to come. That the ways are secret and known only to the Edonin..."

  Laila nodded again. Tomo had told them something similar last night.

  "I..."

  "I will be fine, Mother. Connor is coming. He's learned a lot from you," Laila said, seeing her mother's building frustration. "And I'm not helpless."

  Lunete took a deep breath. "Far from it...but you are still young."

  "Mother..."

  "No. I must say these things, if for no other reason than to appease my own conscience. You are young, and I cannot stand the thought of losing you. Every day we risk your life. Every day I see the danger you are in. I am sorry I cannot do more. I wish I could..."

  Laila reached out and placed a gentle hand on the bandage wrapped around her mother's hand, finally clean and fresh after their ordeal in the Straits. "You have done more than enough already, Mother..."

  Lunete placed her non-injured hand over Laila's, saying nothing. They sat together for while longer, studying the flames of the bonfire as the village began to wake up around them. It was a subtle thing. A few villagers stepped out into the misty morning air, glancing around the village center. A few approached the bonfire, absently biting off pieces of the dense bread so common amongst the Edonin before moving off through the winding paths that separated the village houses.

  "Did you know anything about the Edonin before we came here?" Laila asked.

  Lunete turned slowly, contemplating. "Only a little. They're not prone to trade, and the threat of the Straits keep most of those who might venture here from doing so. Though apparently not our Captain Drachus." She chuckled slightly. "But, yes, we know of the Edonin in Terus."

  "Why did we not learn about it?" she continued.

  Lunete shrugged. "You would have eventually. As you have seen, they are far removed from the machinations in Terus. And now that I've seen them, I believe
they prefer it that way."

  Laila nodded, she had seen as much herself. "I guess it just surprised me..."

  "There are many things that we willfully choose to be ignorant of in Terus. I used to believe in that philosophy..." Her mother hesitated a moment, her eyes taking on a distant look. She covered her injured right hand with her left, caressing the injury. "But, perhaps we should not have been so set in our ways…"

  Laila wanted to press her mother further. This was the most open she had been with Laila in a long time. However, before she could continue, she saw Connor approach from the direction of the house. He moved deliberately, watching the ground intently as he walked.

  "I've seen that walk before," Lunete whispered knowingly to Laila.

  "What...?"

  "Be gentle with him today. I think our young friend indulged a little too much last night."

  Indulged in what? Laila thought. Then Connor was standing before her. His eyes wavered slightly, and circles outlined the bottom half.

  "Good morning, Connor," Lunete said.

  "Aye..." Connor said, his eyes cloudy.

  "To be young again," Lunete said, laughing again before standing and leaving the two of them alone.

  "What happened?" Laila asked.

  Connor slid next to Laila, a grateful sigh escaping him. "Our gracious host, Tomo, has a taste for a harder drink than I am used to."

  "You sure it was Tomo and not your new friend Nina?" Laila could not help the stinging tone in her words.

  Connor did not seem to notice. "No, it was Tomo. He did not think it was an appropriate thing for her..."

  "Will you be all right?" Laila asked, letting her frustration go for the moment. Connor was too oblivious anyways.

  "I think—" He stopped himself mid-sentence with a hand over his mouth. Laila raised an eyebrow as he held his mouth for a moment longer. A shudder went through his body and then he moved his hand away slowly, taking a deep breath as he did. "Yes, I think so." He turned and gave her a weak smile.

  The rain beat against the treated leather of Laila's new cloak. It wrapped around her body, hanging heavy against her shoulders, but keeping her dry beneath. The hood seemed to be raining itself; water dripped off of it so quickly. She brushed a hand against the dampness covering her brow for the millionth time and continued trudging through the barren hills that surrounded the Straits. Connor walked beside her, his gait slightly improved from earlier. She still felt a twinge of anger when she thought about the night before, and then she felt anger at her anger. Why was she mad? There was no reason to be. Shaking her head free of her confusion, she looked ahead at the wet back of Tomo and the man named Ayman as they led them south, back toward the coast of the island, back to the Dead Straits.

  There had been little fanfare to their departure that morning. After Connor's reappearance, Tomo and Ayman had come and collected Laila and Connor, leading them toward the outskirts of Anhre. Lunete had said her goodbyes before heading back to the house to find Icarus, Wyndam, and Dio. The two Edonin had prepared packs and cloaks for the two outsiders. Laila had not been looking forward to the prospect of wading her way through the perpetual storm of the Straits again, but, if it helped them reach the Waters sooner, it had to be done. No other solution to the mystery of the Straits had presented itself. Captain Drachus, even if he had had a ship, had no way of getting to the western shore of the island, and he had told her that even there, it was said, that the chaos of the Straits stretched, allowing for no passage further west.

  Once they had clad themselves in the attire of the Edonin, Tomo and Ayman had let them south, back through the forest and toward the Storm.

  They stopped briefly at midday. At least, Tomo said it was midday, but there was no way to tell in the dark storm clouds that loomed over their heads. He handed the two of them dried meat and fruit as they leaned against a small grouping of rocks. Laila glanced at Connor and saw him staring at the ground still, munching absently on his food, lost in his own thoughts. Laila, tired of the dullness of their trek, finally decided to speak up.

  "How are we going to get across the Straits?" she asked abruptly.

  Tomo glanced up at her. Ayman said something to him in their own language, and Tomo responded. Ayman nodded and returned to his own meal.

  "There is a way. It's dangerous. But I have made the crossing a few times. I can get you across and to the Tomb."

  "How? Everything I've heard of the Straits since before we arrived says that there's no way through..."

  "Through. Not across," Tomo said simply.

  "Across?" Laila saw Connor's head rise slightly, his interest piqued.

  "No ship, especially a large ship, can make it through the chaos of the Straits and out into the west. But, the Straits are not wide. A few miles across at their widest, much less than that in other parts. There is a place, southwest of here, where the Straits come very close together and the waters are...navigable. At least, for one of the Edonin."

  Laila considered for a moment. "And what happens once we get across?"

  "I will lead you to the Tomb, as has been told. There you will free the Ondine." The last statement was made so matter-of-factly. There was no doubt in Tomo's mind.

  "But...I told you last night. We don't know what that means. What we're supposed to do..."

  "And I told you that it does not matter. The Edonin have held onto this small part of our faith for two thousand years. It is not something that can be given up by simply denying it. This is where your path leads. You will find a way."

  Laila sighed. She could see there was no point in arguing further. Icarus had said essentially the same thing when he had sent her up Mount Obrussa. Tomo was convinced of the outcome, no matter what she or Connor had to say. Without further conversation, the four of them finished their small meal and continued south and slightly west, heading back to the coastline.

  The short rest and conversation at midday was the only time their small group stopped that day. Tomo led them through the wind and rain, his feet steady on the barren stone. Laila had to catch herself several times with her staff as she slipped on the rain-slick ground. She wondered how the Edonin had lived in this place for so long. Why would they not have migrated to the east, toward the Confederacy, or north, to the Dragonlands? The Dragonlands were said to be hot and dry, but having spent days in the perpetual storm, a land of heat sounded quite good, despite her current anxiety over fire.

  Tomo led them up over a long, narrow ridge of stone that jutted out from the landscape like the spine of an ancient creature. As they topped the ridge, Laila could see the line of the Straits less than a quarter mile ahead. The sharp cliffs brought back images of their desperate escape from the capsized Via. Much of that had process been a blur to her; she had been so consumed by her failure. Even now, seeing the Straits again, she could hear the cracking of the hull, feel the water rushing in to devour the ship, almost see the crew scrambling across the doomed deck. She gripped her staff tightly but still refrained from calling on her power. She had become so accustomed to that practice during their journey, using her power to distance her from the danger they faced. Now, she feared her power. The exaltation she had felt freeing the winds had been incredible, but it had then led to Nuriel's attack and her mother and Icarus's injuries. Then, she had tried to push Captain Drachus and his crew through the Straits, and that had cost lives, many lives. And something in the Straits had seen her, attacked her, and nearly killed her.

  She ran her hand along the stone of her staff. She feared her power, but she also knew that without it she could not stop Nuriel, could not stop the visions she was having. The world would burn for her inaction. Tomo and Ayman moved down from the ridge, Connor following quickly behind, glancing back at Laila. She took a deep breath and followed.

  Shortly they reached the cliffs surrounding the Straits. The water crashed within. White-capped waves slammed against the cliff walls. Tomo and Ayman led them toward a small cleft in the cliff that cut its way toward the
water. Laila and Connor squeezed down between the sides, turning to fit themselves through the narrow passage. Pulling themselves along for several yards, the cleft finally opened up into a small, protected cove. The cliff wall hung overhead, giving them a brief reprieve from the driving rain. The water lapping at the edge of the cove was calm compared to the tempest that raged just behind the protection of the small inlet in the cliff. Tomo walked along the edge of the water to a boat that had been pulled up, free of the shifting waters of the cove.

  The boat was small, only large enough for five or six people. Tomo and Ayman reached inside and lifted a large wooden post that they then attached to the center of the hull. Laila and Connor watched as they strung a large canvas up to the post, and Laila realized that the whole thing was a small sailboat, but built to be broken down quickly so that it could be stored here in the cove.

  Once the canvas was strung and ready to be released, the two Edonin positioned the boat facing the exit to the small cove but did not push it into the water yet.

  "That's how we’re going to get across the Straits? It doesn't look big enough to float down a river, let alone get through that," Connor said, pointing out into the tempest.

  Tomo turned to them. "I have made this crossing. It will suffice."

  "But how?" Connor pressed.

  Tomo sighed, but he pointed out of the cove to the south. "Do you see the stone outcropping, just above the top of the waves?"

  Laila leaned forward, as did Connor, straining her eyes to see what Tomo was pointing at. The light was dim, and it would grow dimmer as it was drawing close to sunset, but she thought she could just make out something beyond the raging waters of the Straits. It could have been a stone outcropping, it could also have just been a large, dark cloud on the horizon. But she nodded with Connor.

  "That is the north side of the island south of us. It is only a half-mile across the Straits at this point. I have made this crossing before, as has Ayman. We will get you across. We must."