She began kicking the rock wall, looking at Kai to see if anything seemed off. He whistled like he was calling for a dog, and claimed he was shouting Chewy’s name within his mind. There was always a chance, Chewy forgot that was his name, considering it was so new.
But then, Kai stopped. He grabbed Hollyn’s hands and pulled her back from the wall. Thank goodness. Her toes throbbed in pain, and she knew she wouldn’t have been able to take much more anyway.
“The lyrics of the song. They have the answer.”
He listened quietly for a few seconds. Then, he began to speak the lyrics aloud.
“A child was born with a cruel, cruel fate.
His father spurned and the queen did hate.
The piece of his mother’s heart did hide.
Behind the wall of the cave inside.
More powerful than king he will be.
That hears the voice of those of sea.
With roar of anger that none can stem.
He summons the might of the water to him.”
Kai finished and stared at her, but she didn’t understand. “What does it mean?”
“The captain told me on the ship that when I was fighting his crew, the water of the ocean began to toss as if we were in a storm.”
“I remember that. I thought we must have just passed one and only got the tail end of the gusts or something.”
“No. He seemed to think that the water responded to my emotion. I think I have to call the water here to break through this cavern wall. The amulet is on the other side, and it’s the only way through.”
Hollyn thought it was worth a try, but she wasn’t quite sure how it was going to work. “Do we need to make you angry somehow? I could kickyouthis time.”
He laughed dismissively, but she assured him she was willing. She still wasn’t happy that he’d kept the song a secret until now.
“Go back up to the path. There’s a ledge up there. Sit there, out of the way of the water. I have a feeling it’s going to come in strong once it gets here.”
She moved to the safety of the ledge and watched him get ready to try something. He rocked back and forth on his feet as he braced one in front of the other. He cleared his throat and sucked in a deep breath. After a moment, he let go of a quaking roar that was worthy of the Hulk, but as they waited, nothing happened.
He tried again, this time crouching low and slowly rising as he released a deep rumble of a yell that echoed throughout the chamber and back up the path. She hoped this worked soon because she knew Kai was making enough noise now that anyone following would know exactly where to find them.
After two more tries without any progress, Hollyn hopped down from the ledge and said, “Maybe I could sing to it.”
But before she took a step back toward the cavern, she was grabbed from behind, and her mouth was covered by a sweaty, dirt-covered hand.
Her father stepped forward, and on cue, her eyes began to water with tears at just the sight of him.
