Chapter Six
Kyella
Barnabus was instantly recognizable. Before coming to this land, I hadneverseen a bat either as large as him or with a beautiful cream coat of fur. I’d been in his presence only a few times, but even with the reduced visibility from the rain being spat out in violent sheets from the sky, it was him.
His light fur darkened, though, as the waves crashing against the ship spewed water on him. His leathery wings tipped in small movements to shift him through the air to avoid the brunt of their force. It was oddly beautiful, the way he maneuvered himself so easily. As I stood staring at him, awe-struck, he flew closer to the window, hitting the tip of his wing against the glass three times to gather my attention.
I blinked, trying to figure out what the hellthatmeant. Or even what he was doing here. The clarity was shocking—he had to be here for me. Right? Had Myrin sent her pet bat on a rescue mission? I felt as if I was missing a few marbles even considering that, but was it possible? From the times I watched the two of them interact, it was clear that Myrin and Barnabus had a connection that went beyond my comprehension—as if they could understand one another on a level that others could not.
Behind me, the loud sound of a plank splintering had adrenaline surging through me.Shit.Water was filling up the space in a steady stream, and the scent of salt water saturated the dark room, making panic crawl up my throat. I was going to drown if I didn’t get out of here.
Turning back toward the window, Barnabus made a show of moving back far enough for me to see the movement of the waves again, the dark shadows within them seeming to grow more numerous. I may have wanted to get out of here, but I could tell you that diving into that damn water was not the right choice. I didn’t know what was in there, but it certainly wasn’t a run-of-the-mill amphibian—
Crack.
I let out a small, surprised scream as Barnabus suddenly slammed his full weight against the window, the heavy glass cracking with a deep fissure right in the center. He slammed into it again, causing the entire pane of glass to shatter, and I winced. I couldn’t imagine the amount of force that required.
I ducked to avoid the glass as the howl of the wind and waves suddenly filled the space. My focus wasn’t on the cacophony of noise, though. No, it was on Barnabus. What the hell was he thinking? He could have seriously injured himself.
When I snapped my head up, trying to ignore the water that was now nearly level with the tops of my ankles, I found Barnabus flying through the window. He swooped toward me, wings expanded.
“You could have hurt yourself!” I shouted, feeling a weird stab of concern for the creature. The bat offered me a click, of what I swore was disagreement, before flying around me. I jolted as he appeared in front of me again, offering another series of clicks. I cocked my head with my confusion, uncertain of the message he hoped to convey.
“I have no idea what you’re trying to say,” I hissed, waving my hands about the room. “But we gotta get out of here! I would go out through the window and try to swim or climb the side of the ship, but—”
That same deep bellow as before sounded once again, this time causing planks to actually crack as the power behind the sound vibrated the entire ship. I briefly cupped my ears, realizing how much of the sound the window had blocked out. What the hell was that?!
Barnabus didn’t seem to view it as a problem, flying behind me and urging me forward with his wings as he batted the air around me with urgency. I dug my heels in and shook my head vehemently, realizing that he was trying to get me to go through the window. There had to be another option. The entire point of me escaping and getting out of here was to fucking live, and if I climbed out that window, I would either topple into the sea and be eaten by whatever was out there or…No, that was about it.
Did he not realize I couldn’t fly?
He pushed me forward again, and that was when I saw a swarm of bats, almost appearing like a secondary series of storm clouds. They weren’t ordinary bats, though. These were even bigger than Barnabus! Their massive wings coupled with the clicking sounds they made were loud enough as a group to echo audibly over the storm. I couldn’t begin to estimate how many of them filled the skies.
I jolted back when one pulled right up to the window. I met its dark gaze, and it held mine for a moment before turning itself to face outward, not seeming to mind the waves crashing against the side of the ship. Barnabus made a series of clicking noises and flew toward the window, as if urging me to follow.
“What?” I demanded in confusion. A series of clicks and a fluttering of his wings pulled my attention back to the window, trying to piece together…Wait, did he really want me to…No, there was no way.
“What do you want me to do?” I asked, grabbing onto a post nearby as the ship rocked violently once more. “Climb out of the freaking window?”
This was like déjà vu, being told to climb out of a window in a moment that felt otherwise hopeless.
Barnabus offered a single click.
“And climb onto your friend?” I asked, wanting to eliminate the crazy possibility.
Another click met my ears, seeming like confirmation.
That was exactly what he wanted me to do. Crap. The bellow sounded again as water sloshed around me, nearly up to my shins now. I was running out of time. My choices were trying to get through the locked door or doing what Barnabus expected.
Uneasy resolution settled within me. If Myrin had sent him, I had to trust that I would be okay.
“Fine,” I hissed, rushing toward the window. Once on the ledge, I used the side of my arm to knock some of the leftover glass to the floor before gripping the frame and pulling myself up. I grunted, arms shaking from the effort, exhaustion from what I’d been through sapping my strength. But no amount of exhaustion could compare to my will to survive.
An enormous wave slammed into us, and I was thrown back, a scream leaving my throat as I landed in the water on the floor. I groaned, pain radiating through my back as I pushed myself to stand. I rushed toward the window, wanting to get out before another massive wave hit.
And that was when I saw something I would never forget…an actual freaking sea monster!
I felt my body go stock still as its massive scaled form began to rise out of the water, its physical appearance like something out of a story. Its body was decorated in deep blue and green scales, and the waves seemed to travel upwards with its form in a hypnotic pattern. Narrowing my eyes, I realized what I was seeing wasn’t waves. They were fins. Awe and fear filled me equally before the vibrating, bass-like bellow I’d become familiar with filled the air and jolted me into action.
