“Not until we find out what he knows,” Marcus insisted. “Thaddeus agreed to help us. You remember, don’t you, Thad? You were supposed to sneak into the Warden’s office and learn what you could about the Elves.”
“I did,” Thaddeus replied. “I’ve been tailing the Warden…”
He groaned, like being here pained his spirit.
“Marcus, this is obviously too much for him—” Ava demanded, but Thaddeus cut her off like he didn’t hear her.
“I found records of a ship in the Warden’s office,” Thaddeus told us. “The records only go back a few months. But from what I found, he’s looking for a ship by the name ofThe Assassin’s Destiny.”
We all shared a collective gasp. “The Assassin’s Destinyis a children’s story,” Kallie said.
“A story named after the ship,” Thaddeus clarified. “The Assassin’s Destinywas an Elven ship that launched from an Atlantean dock, with plans to come to Darke Island… but it never made it. It’s believed to have carried a great treasure, which the Warden thinks is some kind of key.”
“That’s the ship Amalie and Dante took to escape Atlantis,” Marcus said, before he began reciting lines from the children’s story. “Into the dark she ran, with her treasure of the sea. The key to her riches lies withThe Assassin’s Destiny.”
“The story was being literal,” Kallie realized. “It’s the name of the ship from our vision!”
“They brought the key aboard,” Thaddeus said. “But the ship was caught in a storm, and it was lost to sea, along with the key. There were two survivors— a merman named Dante, who was imprisoned on Darke Island, and a sorceress named Amalie, who was sent back to her people to be executed.”
“Plus Erasmus,” I noted. “But he escaped the authorities. The Warden must not know he’s still out there.”
“I found no records of anyone by that name,” Thaddeus said. “What I do know is the ship itself was never found. The Warden is searching for it.”
“Fuck,” Ava mumbled as she grabbed my arm. “Charlie, this is my fault. Remember when I told Jaymin we were investigating Atlantean shipwrecks last semester? It was a lie meant to throw off the Warden, but now wearesearching for a shipwreck. That means he’s way ahead of us.”
“It must’ve been your intuition,” Kallie realized. “You randomly came up with the lie when Jaymin was prodding us for information, but your insight was actually giving you hints on what we needed to look for next.”
“And I just handed that information to the Warden, months before we knew what we were looking for,” Ava grumbled. “Fucking perfect.”
“Does the Warden know where the ship is now?” I asked Thaddeus.
“Not that I could find,” he replied. “But he’s getting close. He’s got teams of merfolk searching the waters surrounding the island.”
“Damn it,” I growled.
“No, this isn’t a total loss,” Kallie insisted. “The Warden may know about the ship, but he doesn’t know where it went down or where to get that information. We know Erasmus is still out there, which puts us a step ahead of him. No only does he know what memories he wiped from Dante and Amalie, but he knows where the ship crashed— and where the key is. The second we get that information from him, we can search the waters and get the key before the Warden finds it.”
“That involves contacting Erasmus, and he’s off the grid,” I added. We’d learned the name of the ship, but that didn’t help us track it down. We knew most of this information already, so none of it was particularly helpful— not until we could get in touch with Erasmus, at least. Maybe Ava was right and Thaddeus wasn’t really ready, or even capable, of helping us. Talking to him one time was different than harassing his soul for answers, and he couldn’t be at rest when we were constantly calling him up like this.
“We can’t wait around,” Marcus insisted. “You need to get us more information, Thaddeus.”
“If you want more, you’ll have to go to Cellblock 9,” Thaddeus told us. “I discovered that’s where the Warden is keeping information on where the Elven camps are, and where Eddie is. What more do you want from me? This isn’t as easy as I previously believed… I offered to help you before, but I’ve done all I can.”
“That’s not true,” Marcus replied. “Ifwego down to Cellblock 9, we’ll never come out. You have to go for us and see what you can find.”
“Marcus, we can’t keep him here,” Ava argued. “Can’t you see that the longer he’s here, the greater toll it has on him? Thaddeus’ spirit deserves to be free!”
“So do the Elves!” Marcus demanded, shooting out of his chair. “Sorry these decisions aren’t easy, Ava, but this needs to be done! Thaddeus agreed to help us, and he’s not leaving until he finishes the job.”
“You can’tmakehim stay here,” Ava shot back.
“I’m not forcing him to doanything,” Marcus insisted. “Thaddeus wants to help us.”
“Ava’s right,” Thaddeus said in a strained tone. “Staying here is harder than I thought it’d be. I need to return to the Ancestral Lands, but I’m not sure I can do it on my own anymore. I need your help, Marcus.”
“Then go down to Cellblock 9 and find what’s in those records,” Marcus said.
Thaddeus hesitated. “I’ll help you this one last time, but then you need to help me cross over again.”
