Iron Tide Rising

  Fin’s eyes widened as the narrow gap loomed. “We’re not going to make it!”

  “Like fun we aren’t,” Remy snarled. She stood with her feet braced wide, her hands clutching the wheel.

  “Aaaiiiiiiii!” Beside him, Marrill dropped from the rigging, just in time to shriek and drive her face against his shoulder.

  They shot into the corridor, the walls so close Fin could practically hear the whisper of the railings brushing against the mirrored surfaces. The force of their descent caused a thrumming sound to echo around them, the air between the Kraken and the mirrors so narrow it vibrated, sucking the ship forward.

  They were going so fast that the mirrors on either side became a blur, nothing but color and light rushing past with dizzying speed. Fin held his breath. The slightest twitch to the side, the smallest brush against one of the smooth glass walls, and the ship would crash, momentum tearing her apart.

  Up ahead, Rose broke from the corridor, wheeling and whirling. The Kraken followed, bursting into openness. Fin spun toward the stern, craning his neck as he scanned behind them. There was no sign of the Master.

  He slumped against a mast and let out a trembling breath. “I think we lost—”

  But before he could finish the statement a streak of red lightning broke from a mirror off the starboard side, the Iron Ship right behind it. The ship struck them broadside with a sickening crunch. They were thrown sideways, toward an iron-coated mirror. Overhead Rose spiraled, cawing madly. Fin grabbed hold of Marrill and cringed. Watching as the mirror loomed. Waiting for the crash.

  CHAPTER 15

  Iron.

  Aaaaaiiiiiiiiii!!” Marrill threw her arms over her head, even though she knew it was useless. The Iron Ship was forcing them sideways into a mirror that was now a sheet of metal.

  Overhead, Rose let out a piercing cry. On the bow of the Iron Ship, the Master’s ice-blue eyes snapped upward. Red sparks crackled.

  Marrill’s heart thundered hard, threatening to break free from her chest. Fin grasped her hand, and she squeezed tight. In moments, the Kraken would be smashed into pieces—or turned to iron. Whatever happened, she just hoped it would be quick.

  “Hold on!” Remy shouted.

  Marrill braced for impact.

  Just then, Rose tucked her wings and dropped into a sharp dive. She flew past them in a whoooooosh! By the time Marrill’s eyes could follow, Rose was about to collide headfirst with the iron mirror.

  Red lightning streaked, blazing an ozone smell through the same path Rose had just taken. Instead of hitting her, though, it struck the mirror. The surface reverberated with crimson energy. It cracked, and shattered.

  What happened next was a blur. A cold wind, sharp and powerful, blasted through the Mirrorweb. The air condensed into fog. Lightning slashed through it in all directions.

  “Hold tight, children!” Serth yelled.

  Marrill thought she saw the shadow of the shattered mirror’s frame pass over them. The wood of the deck groaned. The Iron Ship scraped free, pushing them aside. The sails whipped as the Kraken spun wildly into the heart of a furious storm.

  Wind tore at them. Lightning growled at their presence. Marrill’s stomach threatened to come out her eyes, then headed for her toes. She wasn’t sure where down and up were, but she was pretty sure they were falling.

  Marrill screamed. Fin screamed. Remy screamed. Somewhere deep in the ship, even the Naysayer screamed.

  She couldn’t see Serth, but she could hear him calling to Remy. “Hold her steady!”

  “I’m trying!” Remy cried.

  “Don’t fight the power of the storm,” he shouted. “Use it.”

  “How about you use your magic instead?” she spat, sounding almost on the edge of panic. The ship continued careening wildly, tossed like a toy in a violent sea.

  “Because you’re far too skilled a captain to need my magic,” Serth told her, his voice a steady beacon in the chaos.

  Remy froze for just a moment. Then she loosened her grip on the wheel, letting it slide through her fingers. No longer fighting the wind, but turning with it, letting it fill the sails.

  And just like that, the Kraken stabilized, pulling out of its tailspin and righting. Moments later, they burst out the bottom of a giant thunderhead, flying smoothly once again. Remy looked to Serth. “I, uh… thanks,” she said. The wizard nodded wordlessly.

  Marrill sucked in a deep breath and took stock of their situation. They weren’t in the Mirrorweb anymore, that much was obvious. The sky spread out before them beneath a roof of storm clouds. Below, a world made from metal stretched from horizon to horizon.

  She immediately spun, bracing herself for another attack by the Master. “Anyone see where he went?” she called.

  Serth pointed one long finger. “After his lost love.” In the distance Rose whirled through the air, a slash of black against the clouds. Behind her the Iron Ship gave chase. “I suspect we may be safe for the moment.”

  Marrill bit her lip, her heart pinching as she thought about the young Annalessa and Ardent she’d seen in the Master’s past. As she thought about the way Ardent’s voice softened whenever he mentioned Annalessa’s name. As she thought about his despair when he’d watched the echo of his love drink Stream water and morph into Rose.

  Of course the Master would abandon them to chase after Rose. His entire existence was rooted in that one single purpose. He would tear the world apart just to save her.

  The desolate landscape around them served as proof of that. The Iron Tide had taken everything for as far as Marrill could see. Wrought iron buildings, wrought iron land, wrought iron trees, wrought iron sea. Nothing had been left untouched.

  Marrill gave a silent thanks to the Dzane who had enchanted the Kraken to fly. The Iron Tide was everywhere. If they touched it at all, it would take them in moments. And from this vantage point, they were the only living things left.

  “What happened?” Fin asked. “Where are we?”

  Serth pressed his fingertips together. “We are in the inevitable future of all things.”

  Marrill glanced toward Fin, who shrugged. He didn’t seem to understand any more than she did.

  “Huh?” she asked.

  Serth had resettled into his natural pose—tall, unflappable, and decidedly scary-looking. The black-tear trails on his cheeks made him look evil and ominous. Like the weeping oracle he’d once been.

  Except, Marrill reminded herself, that wasn’t who he was anymore. During their journey he’d been helpful, protective, supportive. At times she thought he might even care about them, as bizarre as that sounded.

  She still wasn’t quite sure she was willing to trust him, though. After all, she’d trusted Ardent and look how that turned out.

  “I believe the Iron Ship pushed us through one of the mirrors,” he explained.

  Fin snorted, inspecting a long gouge in the hull. “Guess that answers the question of whether or not we can touch the iron mirrors.”

  Serth shrugged. “The Mirrorweb operates by its own rules. All the same, I don’t expect it will matter once the last of the mirrors is taken. At that point, every possibility will be exactly the same as this one.”

  Marrill frowned. “So we’re inside a mirror right now?”

  Serth nodded. “More like we are in the possibility that the mirror represented. More accurately, we are in a world without possibility. Nothing can change, nothing can grow. Nothing is possible. It is what will happen to every world the Iron Tide touches—every mirror will become like this.”

  He waved his hand over the metal wastes below. “This is what that end looks like.”

  Marrill shuddered. She looked down at the ground flashing by and thought of all that had been lost. The people, the stories, the dreams, the history.

  Marrill dropped her hand into her pocket, squeezing the shard containing her mother. This is what would happen to her own world if they didn’t stop the Iron Tide.

  Fin must have had the same thought. He dro
pped his hand to the hilt on his hip. “We have to go after him,” he said, eyes tracking the Iron Ship as it sailed away. He spun toward Remy. “Can you catch him?”

  She let out a laugh. “Of course I can catch him.” Under her breath she added, “Though why you’d want to…”

  Marrill’s stomach churned. “Fin—” she started, about to argue that there was still a way they could save Ardent.

  But Fin whirled on her before she could say another word. “Oh no,” he said. “Don’t you get in the way again. You’re the reason we’re here in the first place, Marrill.”

  Her eyes went wide, her breath catching at the anger in his gaze. “Me?” she squeaked.

  “I had him,” he said, cheeks flushed. “I would have taken him out if you hadn’t stopped me.”

  Marrill was thrown off balance by the attack. She’d rarely seen Fin mad about anything, and certainly never at her. “We haven’t found the mirror yet,” she sputtered. “The Dawn Wizard said we could still save him.”

  “This isn’t about saving Ardent anymore,” he snapped. “Look around!” He motioned with one arm at the lifeless expanse. “We could have saved the Stream, Marrill. We could have stopped this.” He blew out a frustrated huff and stalked to the railing.

  Marrill blinked, tears stinging her eyes. If she hadn’t known better, she would have thought it was Vell pacing across the deck, not Fin. She sucked in a deep breath.

  “What’s the point of saving the Stream if we lose the people we love in the process?” The words burned in her throat as she spoke, and it was only after she said them aloud that she realized she wasn’t just talking about Ardent.

  She meant her mom as well.

  Serth cut in, sparing her from Fin’s response. “It matters little, regardless,” he said. “We are where we are, which is outside the Mirrorweb. Using the Evershear here will only unleash the Lost Sun to finish the destruction the Master has begun.”

  “So now what?” Remy asked from behind the wheel. “Back to the Tallowtrees?”

  Serth’s expression turned regretful. “I am afraid that will not be possible. As with everything else in this world, the Tallowtrees will be iron. The way back in time is blocked to us.”

  Fin shot Marrill an accusing glare. She stood her ground. She wasn’t sorry for interfering. They would still find a way to save the world, she knew it. And this time, they would save Ardent, too.

  “Then where to?” Remy asked. “I’m not keen on trailing after a wizard who just tried to ram us out of existence, even if he used to be a nice guy.”

  Marrill glanced toward the Iron Ship plowing across the sky in the distance, the storm clouds a cloak it dragged in its wake. Ahead of it, Rose flapped furiously, heading toward far iron hills.

  Rose. The missing piece to the Map to Everywhere. Suddenly, an idea clicked together in her head.

  “We go after Rose,” Marrill declared. “We get her first.” The others stared at her, waiting. Marrill felt herself standing taller as she spoke. “With Rose, we can make the Map whole again, and open the Gate back to the Mirrorweb ourselves!”

  Serth’s lips twitched ever so slightly, the closest he ever came to giving approval.

  “I hate to be a downer,” Remy interjected, “but how exactly are we going to snag Rose out from under the Master’s grasp? I mean, he’s right on her tail. Suppose we catch her. No way we assemble the Map and open the Gate before he blasts us to ashes.

  “Plus,” she added, “he knows we have the Evershear now. We’ve lost the element of that surprise.”

  Marrill’s heart sank. Remy was right. She chewed her lip, trying to figure out another solution.

  Beside her Fin grimaced. “I think I know someone who can help.” He sighed. The thought seemed to cause him physical pain. “We have to find Vell.” He practically spat the name.

  Marrill blinked, confused.

  “Yeah, cause an evil twin helps any situation,” Remy quipped.

  Fin scowled. “Remember Flight-of-Thorns? So long as their Fade live, the Rise can’t be taken by the Iron Tide.” He gestured to himself. “Well, I’m Vell’s Fade, and I’m alive so…”

  Marrill’s eyes widened with understanding. “So that means Vell’s still out there, half-iron, somewhere in this wasteland.”

  Fin nodded. “Yup. And since he can’t be defeated, that makes him the only person in this whole iron world who can truly stand up to the Master.”

  “Fin, that’s brilliant!” Marrill cried, clapping her hands together excitedly.

  “Me again,” Remy interrupted. “The downer.” She gestured toward their surroundings. “Everything looks the same. How do we find him?”

  For a long while, they stood silently. Then Marrill’s eyes fell on something—a distant plume on the horizon, far away to the port side. She smiled.

  “We follow the smoke,” she said, pointing. “Remember at Flight-of-Thorns? The Rise weren’t the only ones able to survive the Iron Tide.”

  “The Salt Sand King,” Fin groaned. “And what is Vell if not a loyal subject?”

  Marrill nodded. “The smoke will lead us to the Salt Sand King—”

  “And the Salt Sand King will lead us to Vell,” Fin finished. They smiled at each other, forgetting their earlier tension for a moment.

  “To be clear,” Serth pronounced, “if we change course, we will no longer be following the Master and Rose. What we saw earlier confirms what I long suspected—the Master strikes from the Mirrorweb. He can pass through the mirrors to any point in time, any possibility.” He shook his head slowly. His voice was loaded with warning. “If the Master recaptures Rose before we return, his power will allow him to travel back into the Mirrorweb and leave us stranded. Permanently.”

  A chill stole down Marrill’s back. Suddenly, grabbing Rose was more than just about saving Ardent. It was about saving themselves. She glanced between the smudge of smoke and the smudge of bird, trying to figure out which to pursue.

  Rose dipped and spun. Always, always beyond the Master’s grasp. Like the echo of her escape back in Meres, when she dodged the Master’s cage.

  In fact, Marrill realized, there was only one time Rose had been caught, at Margaham’s castle. Just after the Master’s fight with Ardent. That whole time, he was really fighting himself, Marrill thought. And just like that, she understood.

  “Rose won’t be caught,” she told them. Her heart thundered in her chest. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became. “The only reason the Master caught her at Margaham’s castle was because he knew where she was going to fly before she did. Because he’d seen it happen before—as Ardent.”

  Fin poked out his lips, pondering. “Good call!” Marrill blushed, doing a little mock curtsy. “Plus, we have the rest of the Map,” he continued, patting the thief’s bag at his hip. “We know she’ll come to us, because the Map wants to be whole, right?”

  Marrill nodded. They’d learned that lesson the hard way, back when Rose had stolen the Face of the Map and taken it to Serth, who’d already collected the other pieces. She dared a slow glance at the wizard, but if he remembered any of this, he didn’t show it.

  Remy had taken off her bandanna mask and was shaking free her long hair. “Well,” she said. “I guess I’ve heard crazier explanations since I’ve been on the Pirate Stream.” She gathered her hair back into a ponytail, securing it with one hand while spinning the wheel with the other. The bow swung toward the smoky horizon.

  Marrill took a deep breath. The smoke looked to be far away. Finally, at long last, they had a moment to relax. As if on cue, Karny came trotting up from belowdecks, and she snatched him up, burying her face in his fur. He bonked his head against her chin and curled on her chest. Her shoulders loosened as his purrs rumbled through her.

  As she settled into the journey she watched the world pass by below, the landscape frozen in iron. What had once been trees were now just chips of metal, flaked up as though someone had struck the ground with a sharp stone. It was
beautiful and devastating at the same time.

  She shook her head, imagining all the amazing things that could have lived there, now vanished beneath the tide of iron. “I wonder what world this was,” she said aloud. “Before, I mean.”

  “You don’t recognize it?” Serth asked softly behind her.

  A chill stole up her back and she clutched Karny tighter. “Should I?”

  “Unless you forget your friends so easily,” he said.

  Her heart spun into overdrive. She set her cat down on the deck and pressed herself to the railing to get a better look. It was an island, broken trees at the outer edges reaching up through what once had been the surface of the Pirate Stream but was now a stretch of sheet metal.

  The island itself appeared unremarkable. No structures were visible, but there seemed to be hints that they once had been there. The suggestion of walls and ramparts, towers and bridges. A thick forest covered it, but cut off abruptly, giving way to a wide expanse of brambles. There were slashes throughout it all, swaths of land that looked barren—almost charred.

  Marrill sucked in a gasp of recognition. “No,” she whispered. The brambles coiled like barbed wire, their iron-coated thorns so sharp they practically glistened. She looked past them to what lay ahead. Already knowing what she’d find, but still not prepared for it.

  A group of trees soared in the air, taller than anything else in sight. Their scorched canopies spread wide, every singed leaf rendered in exquisite, metallic detail. Marrill recognized each tree, knew each one’s name. But her eyes sought out one in particular.

  “Leferia,” she breathed when she found it. This iron wasteland had once been the Gibbering Grove, where they’d first found the Face of the Bintheyr Map to Everywhere.

  “A court of spies,” Serth said, “transformed into trees, burned by fire, and now cast in iron. As I said, this is the inevitable end of everything.”