She closed her eyes and pictured her parents. She imagined what it would be like to see them again, to feel their arms around her. She wanted to believe such a thing was still possible. She had to believe it.
Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes. “I don’t know,” she told Fin, her chin quivering. “I don’t know what to do!” The look on his face told her he didn’t either.
“Well, don’t drop it,” Serth said. For once, his voice was dead flat. “That key opens my very favorite cabinet.”
“What?” Marrill and Fin asked as one.
Serth lifted Fin’s thief’s bag and slipped one hand inside, his lips twisting into an awful smile. Out from it, he pulled a palm-sized crystal star shaped just like a warped image of the sun. Marrill recognized it; it was the same shape as the figurehead on the strange ship that sank when they’d arrived at the Khaznot Quay.
“The Key to open the Gate!” Serth cried.
“Aww, blisterwinds,” Fin groaned beside her. “It’s the doorknob.” With a grunt of frustration, he spiked the ruby key against the deck.
“What?” Marrill asked. “What are you doing?”
“ ‘Break the safe to get the Key.’ That’s what Serth wrote in the letter he sent. And then I pried that doorknob off the safe in the Meressian ship, and the whole place started coming down, and I just assumed it was because I’d gotten the ruby key.…”
Marrill’s shoulders dropped. “When the doorknob was the real Key all along,” she finished.
“Bad miss on that one, kiddo,” the Naysayer sighed from his net. And for once Marrill wasn’t sure he was being sarcastic.
Serth tossed aside Fin’s thief’s bag and held the crystal star aloft. “Behold!” he cried to the heavens. Red lightning split the sky. Marrill’s chest ached so fiercely she could hardly breathe. All around them, the pirates fell to their knees, wailing and sobbing.
“The Map to show the way!” he cried. “The Key to open the Gate!” He turned toward the glowing Gate, Key clutched firmly in hand. “The Lost Sun of Dzannin will rise,” Serth proclaimed, “this very day!”
Fin gulped. “Did I already say ‘blisterwinds’?”
Marrill gripped Fin’s hand as anguish swept through her in waves. Fin doubled over beside her. An image of her mother flashed before her eyes, and her father. Karnelius and the Hatch brothers, Ardent and Coll, everything, everywhere—even that stupid Naysayer.
It was all going to end.
Serth stepped toward the gates, fit the sun-shaped key into the lock. Its glowing rays lengthened into handles. He grasped them and pulled.
A rumble sounded, louder than the thunder, like the scraping of stone against massive, heavy stone. And then the Gate—the Map—began to crack open.
“Witness,” Serth screamed as he heaved against the Gate, wrenching the doors apart inch by inch, “as the Lost Sun of Dzannin dawns once more!” Shafts of burning light stabbed out through the widening gap, searing the air and destroying anything in their path. One struck the mainmast of the Dragon, shattering it to splinters. Another punched a hole through her hull; still another sheared the railing on the port side.
The ship rocked with the blows. Debris rained down around them. Marrill ducked and ran aft, throwing an arm up to protect herself. “It’s tearing the ship apart!” she shouted. Next to her, Fin leapt to one side, then the other, barely avoiding the white-hot beams.
Serth stood in the middle of it all, the light a halo around him. But if it affected the dark wizard, he neither noticed nor cared. “Behold the first light of morning!” he screeched. “Behold the last light of evening!”
Desperately, Marrill scanned the Stream for Ardent, hoping that maybe he’d come swooping in at the last minute to save the world. But he was nowhere to be found. For all she knew, the Iron Ship had caught the Kraken and sunk her. Whatever had happened, Ardent wasn’t coming to save them.
“We have to stop him!” Marrill cried. “There’s got to be something we can use!” She dug through Fin’s coat, pulling out a slingshot, three different pocket watches, and a tangle of wires. Frustrated, she yanked the jacket off and thrust it at him. “Couldn’t you have stolen something useful?”
Fin snatched his coat and shoved his arms into it. “If only I’d thought to swipe the ‘Defeat Evil Wizard’ kit from the Naysayer’s tower,” he sniped back. From the other end of the ship, Serth wailed, prying the Gate open even farther.
“There has to be something!” Marrill frantically turned from Fin’s pockets to her own. A handful of the acorns she’d picked from the Gibbering Grove tumbled to the deck. She kicked them away in frustration. “Useless.”
“Watch out!” Fin shouted, shoving her out of the way of a burning shaft of light. She stumbled backward. Something snagged her ankle, sending her flailing to the deck.
Marrill’s head rang from the impact. She looked down, disoriented, to find a thin tendril of green twisting its way up her leg, ear-shaped leaves unfolding along its length. A rumor vine had taken root on the deck.
A rumor vine, she thought. Disoriented. It reminded her of Ardent, stumbling around in the Gibbering Grove, too messed up by the rumor vines to conjure more than a handful of snowflakes. If only they could do that to Serth…
That was it!
“Fin,” Marrill cried. “The rumors! They discombubble…”She paused. “Dismobob… confuse wizards!”
Fin cocked his head. Then a grin spread across his face as understanding hit him. “And the acorns grow rumor vines! Marrill, you’re a genius!” he cried. “Quick, hand them over!” He swiped his slingshot from the deck and snatched the acorns from the air as she tossed them at him. “I’ll draw Serth’s attention. You figure out how to get the Map!”
Marrill took a deep breath, steeling herself. Serth struggled with the Gate at the Dragon’s bow, and the deck in between was covered with pirates shrieking and wailing while the rays of the Lost Sun blazed. It would be tough to even get close without being fried. But she had to try. “Do it,” she said. Fin raised the slingshot, readying an acorn. “But be careful,” she added.
He nodded. “You too.”
Fin let his first acorn fly. It struck the evil wizard’s robes and froze on impact before dropping to the deck. Marrill gulped, half-frozen herself in a runner’s stance. Serth didn’t even seem to notice.
Then the acorn’s frosted shell cracked open. The tip of a vine burst free, one end burying itself in the wood of the deck and the other snagging the hem of Serth’s robes, ignoring the frost that struggled to contain it. Apparently, the acorns from the Gibbering Grove weren’t particular about where they needed to be planted; it seemed a good rumor could spring up almost anywhere.
“It’s working—go, go!” Fin shouted, letting loose three more acorns in quick succession. One of them hit a light ray and flashed out of existence in a puff, but the others found their target and began growing.
That was Marrill’s cue. She took off across the deck, sprinting low and weaving between shafts of burning light and panicked pirates. Ahead of her, the evil wizard kicked against the thicket springing to life around him, but he still refused to let go of the Gate.
Out of order, Marrill thought. He gets confused when things are out of order. She skidded behind one of the masts and cupped her hands around her mouth. “Hey!” she yelled. “I heard that the Lost Sun rises, then the Gate opens, then there’s a fire at the Gibbering Grove, but before that, Fin and I get here on wings!” It didn’t take long for the vines to take up the chorus, whispering
“No!” Serth shrieked. “The scenes must come in order! Children, Gate, Grove—no, Grove, Gate, Children… no! No!” The Oracle howled in rage as a sea of whispers welled up around him. “Quiet, I must have quiet!” He clawed at the vines, releasing the doors at last as he staggered backward.
Without Serth holding them, the great doors began to fall shut, drowning out some of the deadly beams. Fin followed her lead, firing more acorns and shouting, “Serth, doesn’t this
start when I give you the Key?” Rain poured across the deck in gusts, hissing into steam where it hit the Lost Sun’s rays.
Marrill knew her opportunity when she saw it. She bolted from behind the mast and raced toward the bow. But the closer she got to Serth, the more hopeless it all seemed. It was impossible. She could never beat him, not here. She could never close the Gate on her own.
“The Lost Son of Dzannin will rise!” the evil wizard screeched, tearing at the vines that choked him. “The scenes out of order will be set right!”
A deep, aching sadness welled inside Marrill, so intense she thought her chest might crack open. She stumbled, slipped to her knees. Her fingers clawed against the soaked deck. She had to make it. She had to. But it was so, so hard to fight.…
“Hey, kid!” a rough voice shouted from behind her. It took most of Marrill’s will to look back. Just in time to see the Naysayer sway in his netting, then toss something high with a flick of his wrist.
A bright blue crystal flipped end over end through the rain-soaked air and smashed into the deck just beside her. Warmth instantly filled her, burning away the doubts. “Yer welcome,” the Naysayer called. “Now get back to making sure I don’t die, would ya?”
“Got it!” Marrill jumped to her feet as the hopeful heat infused her. The Gate had nearly fallen shut, but it still pulsed with power, creating an odd hum that vibrated through her teeth as she reached for the sun-shaped handles jutting out from it. The Key seared her skin as she touched it, burning into her palm. In her head, she could hear her mother’s voice, telling her to be brave. Telling her she could do this.
She braced one foot against the Gate, slamming it closed, and pulled against the crystal with all her might. Before her, the doorway flickered and warped, the last bits of light dying. From a distance, she heard Fin calling her name—a warning.
But it was too late. A jolt of unbearable cold lanced through her back, searing her straight through to the core. It was like the chill of the CrystalShadow Wastes, concentrated in the swoop of one pale hand.
“Release the Key,” Serth hissed, his fingers clutching her shoulder. The few remaining vines still clinging to his robes echoed everything:
A tremor started deep inside Marrill, forcing its way outward. She could feel the tide of sorrow threatening. Rain pounded around them, thunder roaring.
Fin shouted for her. But he was too far away.
She couldn’t move. Couldn’t call for help. Could only stand helplessly as her body went numb. First her lips. Then her shoulders, her arms, her wrists. Her fingers trembled just to keep hold of the Key. Already, she could feel it slipping from her grasp.
“Let go, child,” Serth whispered, turning her toward him. His lips quivered red against pale skin. His wild eyes gleamed fever bright, tears like ink running down to his jawline.
Out the corner of one eye, she saw Fin grappling with a band of pirates, the slingshot torn from his hands. He was caught. She was caught.
Nothing they could do would stop Serth. She knew it now. The Prophecy would be fulfilled. He would open the Gate. The world would end. Sorrow yawned inside her, a gaping pit of misery, and she could do nothing but stare into it.
Just as she teetered on the edge of giving in, something over Serth’s shoulder caught her attention. Something large and dark, crashing through the storm: a ship!
The Kraken rode into view, cresting a froth-tipped wave. Her bow towered over the Dragon, so close that Marrill could practically count the barnacles waving their little feathers at her from the looming hull.
The ship was moments away from ramming them.
And there, on the tip of the bowsprit, crouched an orange cat, tail twitching to pounce. Marrill’s eyes widened in panic, drowning out Serth’s sorrow.
No! Her mouth formed the word soundlessly.
At the last possible second, the Kraken surfed to one side, missing the Dragon by inches. And that was the moment Karnelius chose to launch himself.
No one had ever accused Karny of being a graceful creature. But today, he had all the elegance of a bird in flight as he leapt from the bowsprit, claws outstretched. Landing on all four feet, right on the back of Serth’s head.
Serth roared, flailing to dislodge the furious beast. Ice clustered in Karny’s fur, clinging to his thick coat. His claws raked across the evil wizard’s scalp.
Marrill sucked in lungfuls of air, freed from Serth’s frozen grasp. “Karny!” she cried. But that was all she managed. Because just then, the Iron Ship burst into view, coming hard. And unlike the Kraken, she wasn’t turning.
Marrill knew what she had to do.
Time seemed to slow around her, almost like a wizard’s spell. She could feel each breath as she took it, pulling in, flowing out.
She spun, reaching for the Key.
Inhale.
Her fingers slipped between each of the crystal sun’s rays.
Exhale.
Serth’s voice bellowed, but the sound came from far, far away.
Inhale.
In front of her, the Gate began to shift and change, folding in on itself. Somewhere behind her, pirates shrieked and timbers shuddered. The Iron Ship striking the Dragon.
A spiral of ink swirled across the blank parchment of the Map. Marrill tugged, hard. The ink became a series of numbers, repeated over and over, running down the page.
Exhale.
Using all of her might, Marrill twisted the Key and wrenched it free. There was a loud tearing sound, like the world ripping apart. She felt herself being thrown through the air. And then darkness.
CHAPTER 39
That Which Was Foretold
Rough hands gripped Fin from every side. It was over; the pirates had him. And then, a second later, the Iron Ship tore through the Dragon.
Wood splintered. Metal shrieked. All around, the pirates fell back, screaming. Fin crashed to his knees. The deck buckled under him, sending him sliding backward to slam hard against one of the masts. Anything not lashed down went flying, and Fin just barely snagged his thief’s bag as it went skidding past.
Groaning, he rolled to his side and looked to the source of the crash. The Iron Ship had sliced straight through the stern of the Dragon, cutting her almost in half. The two ships were helplessly tangled now, the Dragon listing hard as she took on more and more Stream water.
Out from the Iron Ship, her shadow crew poured, swarming the Dragon’s deck. They carried blades and axes and maces forged from darkness; their battle cry sounded like the hiss of a cobra in the buzz of a swarm of bees. The pirates, regrouping, rushed to meet them.
In moments, the deck of the Dragon was a full-blown battleground. Behind it all, an armor-clad figure cast arcs of red lightning from the Iron Ship’s bow. They were met with equally violent blasts of white; Ardent, on the circling Kraken, keeping the Master occupied.
Fin pushed himself to his knees, hunting for Marrill through the chaos. His gut clenched when he found her. She was slumped limp against the railing by the bow, her eyes closed, head lolling to the side. Karny was rubbing up against her slumped body. Next to them, the crystal Key wobbled in a slow circle.
He called out her name, but she didn’t move.
The collision had thrown Serth to the deck, but already he was struggling to stand, tearing away the last of the rumor vines still tangling him. In one hand, he held the rolled-up Map. And he was headed straight for the Key.
A sea of pirates and shadow soldiers separated Fin from Marrill, but that didn’t matter. His friend needed him. And he hadn’t become the Master Thief of the Khaznot Quay without learning how to escape from a few precarious situations.
He stepped forward, knives at the ready. Stavik reared up before him, eyes bright with tears as he raised his dagger. Fin gulped.
But before either could make a move, a loud “Incoming!” sounded above them and a large heap fell onto the Pirate King, slamming him to the deck.
“I said ‘incoming.’ What’re ya, deaf?” the Naysayer sna
pped, leaning down to nab Stavik’s dagger and cut himself free from the remains of his netting.
“Thanks,” Fin said. “And thanks for the lift!” He leapt onto the Naysayer’s shoulder, using it as a launching pad to fling himself into the air. Shadow soldiers swiped at him, but he twisted easily out of their reach.
He hit the deck hard, his feet slipping on the rain-sodden wood. “Hold on, Marrill!” he called, not even sure she could hear him.
He was still too far away. Serth nearly had the Key. The evil Oracle shouted in triumph as he bent to snatch it.
But Karnelius got there first. In a blur of orange, he darted out from behind Marrill’s legs, pouncing toward the crystalline star. He was a cat after a mouse, determined to catch his quarry, slapping it across the deck between his paws.
Serth let out a piercing wail, the sound like ice daggers in Fin’s ears. The pirates wailed with him, sorrow cutting across the ship.
The Key gleamed, bright even through the wind and the rain, bright as a burning hope crystal. Bright as the waters of the Stream. It skittered across the deck, splashing through puddles, Karnelius not far behind.
Fin dove, hand outstretched. He landed hard on his hip and slid across the now-tilting planks, water spraying into his face. He was just barely able to hook one of the Key’s rays with his fingers and snatch it up into his hand.
“Nice job, Karny,” Fin said as he gave the wet cat a sodden pat on his head. In return, Karnelius hissed and swiped at him, tail twitching angrily.
Victorious, Fin rolled to his feet and held the Key aloft. “Okay, this time, I know you’re looking for this,” he announced to Serth. But then his smile fell. Because Serth stood firm at the very tip of the bow, Marrill clutched in front of him. She shivered against her captor, her face already turning deadly white, lips a frightening shade of blue.
The Oracle’s mouth split in an awful grin as the rain eased around them. His long black fingernails glistened dark against the white of Marrill’s cheek. All across the deck, the cries of battle sounded against the thunder.