Before Marrill or Coll could jump in to help, Rose dove straight for Ardent, her scribbled wings beating furiously in his face. He threw up his hands to protect himself and stumbled, thrown off balance by the surprise assault. He was so busy defending himself against her sharp talons that the scrap of paper flew free from his hands.
Quick as lightning, Rose snatched it from the air. Ardent lunged after the bird, Marrill and Coll running to help him. But Rose was too fast. With a quick peck of her pointed beak, she tore open the left seam of his robe along the shoulder, exposing what appeared to be a hidden pocket.
Odds and ends spilled everywhere. Including the rolled-up Face of the Map.
Marrill saw it before it happened. She dove for the Face, arms outstretched. But all she got was a mouth full of snowy ground and the wind knocked out of her. She stared at her hands.
They were empty.
Helpless panic rose in Marrill’s throat as she watched Rose, her own paper-home in her beak and the Face in her talons, wing out across the icy wastes, straight for the frozen Stream.
Straight for Serth.
CHAPTER 35
A Matter of Scale
Fin shook his head, unable to believe it. Rose had betrayed them. Serth had three parts of the Map now, and the only means of finding the Scale and the Legend. And once he got those, he’d destroy the Stream. There was no stopping him.
“Haw!” the Naysayer snorted. “Hope you didn’t need that junk.”
“Oh, cram a clam in it,” Fin muttered. His hand strayed down toward his thief’s bag. At least he still had the Key, he thought. As long as that was safe, they still had a hope.
His hand waved in empty space. “Wha—?” His thief’s bag was gone! It must have come loose and skidded away when he crashed.
His eyes darted across the ice. Sure enough, there it was, across the ice field. Dangling from Stavik’s fingers.
A single tear dripped from the Pirate King’s eyes, freezing in the gaps between his scars. He opened his mouth and closed it, and a mass of letters plopped into the snow at his feet. Then he turned and headed for the Black Dragon.
“The Key!” Fin shouted, grabbing the Naysayer by one arm. His words slurred into slush, half-frozen. “We have to go after him!”
The Naysayer shrugged his four shoulders. “Speak for yourshelff—” He spat at the freezing letters, then yanked a handful of pebble-sized hope crystals from his pocket and cracked one open, tossing a second to Fin. Immediately, Fin felt warmer, both inside and out. “Yourself,” the Naysayer finished. “I have to stay here and not care.”
Fin scarcely spared the old grouch a glance. Invigorated by the hope crystal, he looked over to where Marrill stood waving on the other side of the widening fissure. “I’m on it!” he called to her. Then he scampered over the ice after Stavik, pausing only a second to read the letters trailed across the snow.
HEY BLOOD, they read. SO SORRY TO SEE YOU HERE. SO SO SORRY. Fin’s chest shook, ever so slightly. This is what it took for the Pirate King to remember him—dark magic in a crumbling world.
“No trub,” Fin muttered, steeling his nerve. “I’m on it.” He cracked his knuckles and braced himself for the sprint to the Dragon.
Just then, the boom of cracking ice sounded all around. The ground shifted beneath Fin’s feet, casting him off balance. “Not again!” he whined. Nearby, a large mountain began to crumble, sending deep fissures racing along the ice. One of them split the ground right next to him into a bottomless black chasm.
“Ah, fer crackin’ creepers,” the Naysayer moaned behind him. Fin stumbled, waving his arms to maintain his balance. Without the Neatline to hold the Naysayer’s little kingdom together, the chaos of the CrystalShadow Wastes had moved in once more.
Ahead, Stavik closed in on the pirate ship. There wasn’t a second to lose. Fin took off sprinting. The ground shuddered, forcing him to dodge chasms and ice spikes thrusting up from nowhere. Just as he thought he’d make it for sure, a shelf of ice pushed up in front of him, catching his foot and sending him sprawling. His hope crystal skittered out of reach.
Fin struggled to his knees. Stavik had already reached the Dragon. He looked back, and their eyes met, for just a second.
“I’ve lost,” Fin whispered. The words froze solid and dropped into the snow in front of him. He couldn’t believe it.
And then, out of the blue, another wave of hope surged through him. “What kinda no-good-fer-what-have-ya steals a man’s Neatline and leaves him for freezer burn, huh?” the Naysayer grumbled to himself. A blue hope crystal shone like a torch in his hands.
“How’d you catch up?” Fin breathed.
The Naysayer looked down. One eye twitched slightly in surprise as he caught sight of Fin. “Oh,” he muttered. “Great, so they’re littering my nice clean snow with urchins now, too?”
Nearby, a mountain fractured and collapsed inward, sending out a jolt that rattled Fin’s teeth and caused everything around them to shudder. The rumble grew louder and louder and louder. The ground shook with violent fury. Cracks split the ice like a spider web, widening into giant, bottomless rifts.
Fin leapt to his feet. “Seriously, how’d you catch up so fast?” he demanded.
The old lizard held up a huge plank of wood he’d been trailing behind him. “Found my doorsled,” he said. “And no, you can’t borrow it.”
Then, with an enormous BA-RUUUM! the whole world seemed to shatter. Behind them, the ice rose up, and in front of them it dropped, turning the once flat ground into a sudden hillside.
Fin staggered. A stream of his own frozen Os and Ws smacked him in the face as he struggled for footing. The Naysayer reeled, arms flying. The door hit the ground and started sliding. “Fine, get on!” the Naysayer shouted, heaving his bulk onto it.
Fin launched himself through the air as they slid away. He grabbed the Naysayer’s back and hugged himself to it, ignoring the distinct musky odor that permeated the old beast.
And then they were flying, whizzing toward the Dragon at breakneck speed. Together, they skidded down the newly formed mountain, the Naysayer leaning from side to side to carve a path between the widening crevasses. The makeshift sled gained speed until the frozen wind whipped at Fin’s face, turning his hair to icicles.
“Well, thanks for coming over,” the Naysayer grunted. “All that not-dying sure was gettin’ old until you lot stopped in. But hey, who can blame ya? When I look back on it, the place really wasn’t all that well marked.”
Warmth from the hope crystal filtered back at Fin as the Naysayer continued grumping. Suddenly, his lost thief’s bag, the crumbling Wastes, even the fact that Rose had stolen the Map pieces and taken them to Serth—none of it seemed overwhelming. He laughed out loud with joy. They were going to make it after all!
Up ahead, the Dragon began pulling off, ribbons of snow and frost churning in her wake. The broken edge of the ice field sheered up behind her like a ramp. “Hold on!” the Naysayer called. Fin gulped.
They hit the edge of the ice field at full speed. The sled launched into the air, and this time they were flying for real. The doorsled fell away. The side of the ship loomed before them. Fin couldn’t tell where his scream ended and the Naysayer’s began.
And then he smacked into the thick hull, knocking the air out of his lungs. He clawed at the wooden planks instinctively, grabbing for holds. With one hand, he caught the rim of a porthole. One foot smashed against something rough but spongy.
“Watch it, Scooter!” the Naysayer grunted.
“Sorry,” Fin muttered, stepping off the lizard’s head. Below him, the Naysayer was a huge lump of debris clinging to the hull with three hands, the fourth still gripping a hope crystal. Random junk dangled from him, jangling in the air.
Fin scrabbled up the side of the ship, checking every now and then to make sure the Naysayer was still latched on behind him. He couldn’t help feeling a good bit of déjà vu; he was really starting to become an expert at ship scaling.
> When he reached the top, he catapulted himself over the railing and onto the main deck. All around him, pirates rushed about, bringing the ship to full sail. He looked for Stavik. Up toward the bow, the dragon leather gleamed in the midnight lights.
In moments, Fin crossed the ship, careful not to call attention to himself, and slipped directly behind the Pirate King. He took a deep breath and readied his pickpocketing fingers. Then he leapt forward and snatched his thief’s bag from Stavik’s hands.
“Oh, oh no,” Stavik muttered, turning. “Oh, blood, no.”
Fin smiled. “Don’t worry, old son,” he said. “I’ll make sure you get your cut at the end of the day!” He made to race for the stern.
“Sorry, mate,” another pirate said, stepping in front of him. It was old Billy Bulb, his giant nose bright red from blowing it. The other pirates all seemed to hear him at the same time. They dropped their tasks and advanced on Fin as one.
For a second, just a second, Fin panicked. He looked around for help: for Marrill, for Ardent, the Naysayer, anyone. Then he shook his head, clearing the cobwebs. He could do this.
This was a job now. He’d started it and he needed to finish it. He mustered a grin and dove into his trademark roll.
He’d just cleared the first line of pirates when the sorrow hit him. It was a physical thing, like the roaring thunder, the gusting wind. He’d forgotten how strong it could be, what it was like. He nearly collapsed. A tear formed at the edge of his eye.
“The time is nearly come.”
Fin knew that terrible voice. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to face it. At the bow of the ship, just beyond Stavik, the Meressian Oracle stood. Serth. The wind seemed to barely lick at the edges of his robes. “The Lost Sun is almost here, I fear.”
All around him, the pirates burst into wails. Tears came faster, harder now than ever before. Fin swallowed.
“You came to give me my Key,” Serth murmured. He wiped away a black tear from just beneath his eye. “I knew you would.” Fin tried to shake his head no, but the effort suddenly felt like too much to manage.
“Now, where is the girl with wings?” the dark wizard asked the sky. “Wait, no, not yet… out of order, out of order! Not just yet.” He clenched his jaw, pursing his lips tight and inhaling deep, as though trying to calm the madness clearly spinning through his head.
“Made it!” the Naysayer announced. Fin turned to see him hauling his huge body onto the deck. A forest of swords turned to meet him. “Aw, flippin’ flippers,” the Naysayer sighed, raising all four hands. The thieves closed in and stripped him of his junk.
Fin turned back to Serth. “No,” he said. “I’m not giving you the Key.”
Serth cocked his head to one side. “No?” His hands fluttered through the air. “Oh, Fin, Fin, Fin. I admire your spirit, I do. But you have no power to resist.”
Another wave of anguish hit, dropping Fin to his knees. He struggled to look out across the crumbling Wastes. Towers of ice shattered and slid into nothing; chasms opened up, devouring whole mountains.
In the middle of that tide of icy destruction rocked the Kraken. She was falling behind them now, but he could see Ropebone Man swaying. He could make out figures running frantically around the deck, making her shipshape to leave.
“You won’t get far, Serth,” he managed through gritted teeth. “The Kraken’s on your tail, and when she reaches us, you’ll have a whole lot of angry wizard to deal with. If you thought he was scary before, wait until you see what he’s like now that you’ve taken his crew.”
Serth’s head bobbed, and his chest shook with a sob. “Oh, Fin,” he said. “If only he remembered you like I do.”
An icy dagger of despair plunged into Fin’s chest. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it weren’t so true.
He forced himself to stay calm. Marrill wouldn’t forget him, he knew. And as long as she was there, the Kraken was still on his side.
“But to your point,” the Oracle continued. He slipped one hand into his robe. When it came out again, he held a shiny metal pair of pincers. Fin recognized them; they were calipers, used to measure distance. He’d seen sailors use them on their nautical charts at the Quay.
“Your friends will not catch us here,” Serth proclaimed. He held up the calipers and pulled the two arms apart just enough for the endpoints to catch the distance between the ships. Then he snapped them open, and the Kraken, the entire CrystalShadow Wastes, disappeared into the distance.
Fin’s mouth dropped open. They’d just traveled miles out into the open Stream in the space of a heartbeat. It was impossible. And suddenly, he understood how the Dragon had managed to always stay right on their tail.
“Did you think I hadn’t gathered any of the Map on my own?” Serth asked, his face a mask of sympathy. “No, no, no,” he said. “I found the Scale to be the most useful part. For what use is it to know where to go if you can’t ascertain the distance?”
Fin swallowed. Serth had more of the Map than any of them realized. And now, with the Key in Fin’s bag, the Meressian Oracle was only one Map piece away from ending the world.
CHAPTER 36
A Ship Cast in Iron, Her Crew Cut From Shadows
Marrill stumbled to a stop on the Kraken’s deck, eyes wide and mouth gaping. One minute they’d been closing in on the Black Dragon. The next, Serth’s ship was gone, leaving only icy Stream in its place.
It took a few heartbeats for it to all sink in. But when it did, it hit Marrill hard. Tears burned the back of her throat. Serth had everything now: Rose, the Neatline, the Face. Even the Naysayer.
And, of course, he had Fin. Not only had he taken her only chance to get home, but he’d also kidnapped her friend. Even surrounded by the rest of the crew, Marrill suddenly felt very, very alone. It was like the chill of the Wastes had seeped inside of her, numbing everything.
In that moment, it all seemed hopeless. But then she felt something cold and soft falling against her cheeks and drifting around her shoulders. Glancing up, she found Karnelius, crouched on the yard of a mast and looking down at her. His frozen purrs drifted like snow, tiny Rs floating on the breeze.
It felt strange and wondrous. It felt like magic. It was magic. And if Serth found the rest of the Map and opened the Gate, it would all disappear. The Stream would cease to exist. She’d never see her parents again. She’d lose Ardent and Coll and Fin—forever.
Marrill refused to let that happen. With renewed determination, she kicked frozen letters out of the way and headed aft.
Coll stood behind the giant wheel, his mouth set in a grim line. Next to him, Ardent flicked his fingers to create warmth. “Coll,” he ordered the moment he could speak, “follow that ship!” He pointed toward where the Stream narrowed, snaking between two towering cliffs that had already begun to collapse. Marrill squinted her eyes. There was no hint of the Dragon.
“We already are,” the captain shouted back.
Ardent waved his hands in exasperation. “Then belay the anchor or jib the trim sails or whatever you sailors do!”
“Huh?” Coll raised an eyebrow.
“Make it go faster!” Ardent cut his arms sharply through the air, pulling at the wind. “The Stream’s at stake! Serth already has the fourth piece of the Map; this is our last chance to catch up with him before he finds the Legend and opens the Gate!”
The sails bellowed. The Ropebone Man stretched and bobbed, holding the cordage tight. Pirats darted through the rigging, making sure the knots stayed secure.
The Kraken picked up speed, hurtling toward the narrow gap in the cliffs that marked the edge of the CrystalShadow Wastes. With nowhere else to go, the Stream frothed and churned ahead of them where ice met water, chewing into a slushy mess.
A wave of panic rolled through Marrill as she mentally counted the Map pieces in her head. Compass, Face, Neatline, Legend. That left… “How do you know he has the Scale?” she asked.
Ardent paused, eyes scanning the rigging. “It was Rose betrayin
g us that told me. I should have guessed when he was chasing us before, but I had so convinced myself we had the lead.”
He licked his lips, hands now hauling through the air with fierce determination as wind filled the sails. “Rose seeks to unite the Map,” he explained. “Why then leave us, and take our piece, unless Serth was closer to bringing the Map together? And that meant, of course, he had to have more than just the Neatline! That would give him two pieces to our one, if you don’t count Rose herself, who apparently was always free to go.”
He looked Marrill dead in the eye. Ice crusted in his beard. “With the Scale, he controls distance and size. Which certainly explains how he moves so quickly. We’ll get it back, though, never fear.” The words were meant to be reassuring, but his voice was filled with doubt.
Unsettled, Marrill stared at the frozen letters scattered across the deck, bits of conversations she’d had with Fin only recently. It didn’t make sense that his words could still be here, trapped in ice, but that he—and the others’ memory of him—was gone.
Her thought was interrupted by Coll’s bellow. “Better find something to hold on to!” Marrill lunged toward one of the gunwales and wrapped her arms around it.
The ship careened, almost out of control. Ahead of them, the massive ice cliffs marking the end of the CrystalShadow Wastes crumbled toward each other. The space between them grew narrower with each second.
“We’re not going to make it!” Marrill cried.
“Oh, posh,” Ardent chided. He cut a hand toward one of the overhanging ice shelves behind them. With an earsplitting rumble, a chunk easily four times the size of the Kraken broke free and plummeted toward the half-frozen Stream.
It smashed into the slush behind them with a gigantic SPLOOSH! An enormous wave billowed up from the impact, taller than even the Kraken’s tallest mast. It roared toward the ship, threatening to crush them whole.
Marrill screamed. But Coll was ready. He twirled the wheel hard to the left and signaled for full sail. The Kraken lurched forward, racing just before the wave.