Djaren lifted his head from sheaves of notes and rolled plans to look at the new Trimela, just beginning again. The town was gone, with only some charred rubble to show there had once been buildings. The whole lower part, near the harbor, had been submerged by a huge wave on the night of the eruption. The sea had rushed in and back out again, sweeping the land with silvered bubbles, which had changed all they had touched. Instead of mud, char, and devastation, they had left new growth, flowers, young saplings, and an inlet.

Continue reading “Chapter Twenty-Five — Farewell to the Islands”

Jon had wanted to see Tuwa again, but not under these circumstances. All the captives had been brought up on deck, awaiting separation and the ships that would take them to their new destinations. There was still no sign of Tam, of any rescue. Jon shivered in the warm breeze. He could feel that something was coming, but not what or from where, if it was a good thing or a terrible one. The luminous island off the starboard deck wasn’t softly glowing as before, but burning from the inside, and not with any visible kind of fire.

Continue reading “Chapter Twenty-Four — Battle At Sea”

Temanava and the sailors decided on an inlet to hide their new pirate ship in, and anchored there to wait out the few remaining hours of night. They were just done deciding on watches when Tam smacked his head with his palm. “Oh! The Queen! I was supposed to—what time is it now in Shandor?”

Continue reading “Chapter Twenty-Two — Trimela Ablaze”

Jon watched the others climb up the ropes to the pirate ship. He watched Tam particularly, and so he saw at once when Tam lurched, with an exclamation, and began to slide back down. Jon helped him catch his balance as he landed back in the boat with rope-burned hands.

Continue reading “Chapter Twenty-One — The Siege and Its Disasters”

The sky was still turbulent with clouds as the handful of little boats sped silently over dark water. Jon peered ahead, wishing he could see with Tam or Temanava’s extra sight. The Professor was still out there, somewhere, always ahead of them.

Continue reading “Chapter Twenty — What Happened During The Storm”

“We’re not leaving,” Djaren told Kara, turning to face her. She opened her mouth to argue, but then closed it again. “Not yet. Every panicked thief will be stealing boats and filling them with whatever they can loot. They’ll be prey to any group of plunderers who sees them fleeing. It’s too visible. And where would we go? We don’t want to get stranded in open ocean or shot by poachers before Mother and Father can find us.”

Continue reading “Chapter Nineteen — Princes, Kings, and Fortifications”

The girls who met Jon and the Professor at the rendezvous point looked upset, though not about the eight small children and the unconscious girl their guests had brought home. They ushered everyone down the rope ladder, making a harness for the girl and the smallest two boys just as they did for food baskets, without a word.

Continue reading “Chapter Eighteen — Corta”