There are no birds. No wind. No rustling leaves or distant calls. Just the steady, unnatural glide of the Nightboat and the growing weight in our chests—an instinctive pressure, as if the Hollow is watching us arrive and deciding whether it will let us leave.
“Is that?” Nala breathes.
“Half Dead Hollow.” Ryder nods, and I audibly gulp as its threatening aura takes my breath away, but before I can even attempt to say another word, the boat shifts violently into something hard, making us all stagger and clutch the sides.
Chapter Fifteen
We all jolt hard, my knuckles locking around the edge of the boat. If my stomach was turning before, now it feels alive—twisting, writhing as if the slug is inside, trying to crawl out of me.
“Why have we stopped?” I shout to the ferryman, but only the wailing wind answers.
“H-he’s gone,” River pants, breath coming in sharp bursts as he scans every shadowed corner of the boat for the Deceiver.
“What do you mean he’s gone… where could he go?” Nala’s voice quivers as her brows pinch tight. She clutches the chair beside her, as if she could fuse herself to the wood and keep from shaking apart.
Another thud.
This one nearly knocks my feet out from under me.
“He said our fate was up to us…” Ryder mutters, jaw tight. “Fucking Deceivers.” A muscle jumps in his cheek—anger or fear, I can’t tell.
The wood beneath us groans, long and low, like something enormous brushing up against the hull. Then another violent jolt.
“What’s happening?” My voice cracks as it escapes me. Ryder pushes to his feet, the boat rocking slightly under his weight.
“Those pretty little eels you were admiring earlier,” he says, retrieving his sword. His voice dips into something darker ashe raises the blade, the weapon humming with power, daring anything foolish enough to come close. The moonlight catches the metal, turning it into a warning flare. “They have very protective parents.”
The boat slams again, this time sending icy water splashing over the edge. Droplets hit my legs, and the shock tears through me instantly; my muscles seize, spasming with a violent electric sting.
Nala gasps as a droplet hits her arm; River clenches his jaw against the zap racing up his wrist.
The water isn’t just cold.
It bites.
Ithungers.
“Ah. You weren’t kidding about the water.” River draws back slightly as another drop of water latches onto his arm, his eyes clench shut as it spasms.
“I never kid.” Ryder tuts, his words drowned out by a deafening shriek that rips through the air; it is so loud it feels like my head just split into two, and I struggle to keep my eyes open in the ordeal.
Suddenly, the water erupts; a monstrous eel, taller than the trees in the distance, launches into the air with another crackling screech that pierces my skull for the second time. Sparks fly as its quartz-scaled body twists like a serpent, towering above us, jaws yawning wide, uncovering three rows of sharp, pyramid-like teeth, aiming to swallow us whole. I can feel its potential as its head snakes closer to us, a static radiating off of it commanding all our hairs to stand on end. They rise with it, each strand defying gravity and standing upright. Nala’s black hair betrays her and worships the night as she draws her bow, aiming at the creature with unwavering focus. Whether it’s her Influence or simply her uncanny aim, each arrow strikes true, embedding itself in the eel-like form until her quiver is empty.Three arrows remain lodged in the creature, one in the fleshy gap between its eyes, the others in its neck and the rest lost to the sea, and still the creature does not falter. She tries to Influence the arrows back, willing them to return, but it’s no use—the electric holds them fast.
“Don’t let it bite you; their venom is immune to the Gifts.” The words leave Ryder’s mouth like a warning, and the sheer size of its mighty teeth makes me shudder.
“What?!” Nala replies in shock. “What do you mean immune?” The wind stifles her voice.
“Guys, the boat is tipping,” I interrupt, my eyes still dumbfounded by the size of the creature rising from the sea. My neck crooks with its length, until I can no longer see Mourn Peak’s tip in the distance.
The creature continues to grow; visible branches of electricity cling to it like spiderwebs. It screeches again like metal scraping on metal, a sound that makes my whole body shudder.
Its head darts towards Ryder and me with open jaws, saliva dripping off each tooth, and I hold my breath as its tail collides with the boat again. The ship shudders and knocks me down, along with some barrels that crash onto the floor and spill out random objects that have accumulated over the years. I manage to throw an orb of light in its direction, and it travels through the air but fizzes out when it collides with the creature’s slick skin.
“Fuck.” I breathe. Of course, fire doesn’t burn through water.
The creature’s high-pitched keening drops into a guttural growl that vibrates through the deck. It was angry before—now it’slocked on, eyes blazing, pupils narrowed to predatory slits.
And they’re fixed on me.
