Rives looked at Talla’s grave. Slowly he lifted his fingers to his lips, then reached out and touched her cross.
My chest was so tight I could barely get air. Grief for Rives, grief for Talla, fear for me and for Charley, all twisting into one massive life-sucking terror. The shadow of death had never felt colder. Or closer.
“Thanks,” I told Charley when I could finally speak.
“For what?”
“For what you said to Rives. He’s solid.”
She slid her hand into mine. “He told me the same thing about you once.”
As a tribute to Talla, the girl who loved the water more than anyone, we grabbed boards and the group of us hit the water together. With each stroke, I thought of Talla. Of how she owned the water and dreamed of Olympic gold.I’msorry, Talla. You deserved more time.
Don’t we all, the waves murmured, full of their adrenaline rushes.Don’t we all.
The swell pitched, rising like a mountain. Vaulting to my feet, I rode the line, going for speed, racing away from the shadow of death. Water flew under my board, then like a fast run downhill, the ride was over. The wave closed out, and as the foamball churned, for a second it looked like I was riding snow.
Then the wind kicked up, onshore and cross. Soon the sea looked like a washing machine, like the water was protesting Talla’s death, too.
“This sucks,” Rives said. “I’m going in.”
“Right behind you,” I said. I looked to my right, where Charley sat on her board. She’d gotten better, but she’d bust it bad in this chop. “Let’s bail, Charley. It’s getting rough.”
Sy flagged me down the minute we left the water. “Thad, got a second?”
Not really. “Sure.”
“Listen…” Sy fidgeted on the sand. “I know you’re not Leader anymore, but there’s something I have to tell you. It was me!” he blurted. “I messed up the Shack and took the knives. It was Bart’s idea. He thought that if enough people doubted you as Leader, that we could nominate someone else.” Sy looked sick. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t right. I already put ’em back, but I just wanted you to know.” If possible, Sy looked even sicker.
“Thanks for coming clean,” I said. “That took guts. But from here on out, I’d be a team player and then some if I were you.”
Sy nodded like his neck was rubber.
As he took off, I weighed his confession. He wasn’t Bart; he was better than Bart, I realized. Younger, more honest. Sy might just make it after all.
“Everything okay?” Charley asked.
“Yeah,” I said, my eyes on Sy’s retreating back. “I think so.”
Charley and I caught up with Rives and Jason at the Shack. As we racked our boards, we were a quiet group. The only noise came from Heesham. He rumbled around the Shack, testing the weight of the remaining knives, grumbling about the small handles.
Then a twig cracked, loud and crisp, in the identical spot where Heesham had appeared two days ago.
The wolf, I thought, pulling my knife.It tracked Heesham. It followed the blood.
Armed with a spear, Rives flanked my right side. Jason and Charley had my back.
As I raised my knife, the tallest, blackest boy I’d ever seen stepped out from behind a tree. Wearing leaves around his waist and holding a homemade spear tipped in black rock, he saw us and stopped. “Whoa.” Nature Boy took a step back.
The odds ran through my head, the same ones no doubt slamming through his.Four to one.
“I’m Thad.” I held up my hands, splaying my fingers, even though I still held a blade. “Don’t freak.” As an afterthought, I asked, “Do you speak English?” Based on his “whoa”, I’d have guessed yes, but on Nil, nothing was a given.
“Yeah. I’m Ahmad.” He lowered his spear. “Where am I?”
“Nil City,” I said.
“You’re on the island of Nil. It’s some kind of parallel dimension,” Charley chimed in with a casual wave. Then she plucked the knife out of my hand and slid it into the sheath at my waist. “I’m Charley.”
