Aldo's Fantastical Movie Palace

  “When you reach the pool, you’ll need Nick, not me, at your side. I’ve heard that unseen creatures lurk there … Creatures only the blind among us can see. It was the blind of Old Retinya who first sensed them. They alerted us of their presence, described their faces, told us of their forms. The blind of Old Retinya were highly honored.”

  Chloe thought on that. “But Nick’s not blind anymore.”

  “Isn’t he?”

  They walked in silence, their padded, mile-after-mile shuffle interrupted only by the Sands’ occasional roar. Chloe nudged nearer to Nob.

  “In a different time, this desert swallowed entire enemy armies.” He gestured across the plain. “The Sands were selective, loyal at heart. They took the invaders. They left us.”

  Sand shifted beside Chloe, and Nob lifted her away from the gaping mouth. “Where is your allegiance?” he yelled, and the sand slammed shut.

  “Now they take whomever they will. These are no longer the Safelands.”

  Chloe stared at the tatters of her jeans and red marks on her ankles. She couldn’t imagine what the crossing would have been without Groundspeaker.

  Nob cocked his head slightly. “Do you taste salt?”

  Chloe licked her cracked, bleeding lips, and they stung.

  Nobody answered. They didn’t need to. On the right, the river they’d traced forked and then forked again. A cool, wet breeze caressed Chloe’s face.

  “Oh, that feels so — Grass!” Beneath her feet, the shuffle of sand gave way to the crunch of dry grass, then soft grass, then lush green sprigs.

  “We’ve reached the delta,” Nob whispered.

  They weren’t the only ones. Beaten trails became worn paths and finally small streets lined with huts and shops. Stern-faced people lost in their own affairs moved about quickly, without giving the four a second glance.

  “Seafarers all, come to trade with Shadowton across the bay,” Nob said. “Mostly Calainians.” He whispered conspiratorially and nodded toward an approaching group. “Their pale skin has earned them the name Palainians.” Pale did not approach it. Their skin was nearly white, while their hair and eyes were flame red.

  “They came from lands in the west and settled in the delta when Old Retinya vanished. But I think this is as far as they will travel, what with Vaepor ruling the land.” He thumped his chest. “We water rats are a superstitious sort.”

  Nob kept speaking, but Chloe couldn’t focus. The smell of cooking fish filled the streets and her nostrils. She hadn’t eaten well since her meal with the Quints, and this would more than do.

  “Can’t we stop for food?” Chloe begged, peering through a restaurant window.

  “Not here.” Scout called back. “Better to slip through.”

  “Through to where?”

  Nob pointed.

  Ahead, on the coast, rose a sprawling city, and beyond the many buildings clear blue water sparkled. Not river water, but open water. The kind Chloe’d never visited before. Dad never took her on those kinds of excursions.

  Her mountain stone shone, and Nob stopped. “Where did you meet me?”

  “Up there. High above.”

  The glimmer died.

  “It would be better if your stone were not noticed.” He raised his eyebrows. “We would be less … desirable.” He glanced at Chloe’s confused face and continued. “This town deals in many things — stones, weapons, slaves —”

  “Like people slaves?”

  The scent of salt sharpened, as did the harsh words on the streets. Sailors cursed and caroused, catcalling in Zophira’s direction.

  She is beautiful, thought Chloe, who stared straight ahead, tucked closely between Nob and Scout. They wound their way onto a main thoroughfare filled with horses and carts, people, and dwarfs. She felt safer among the masses, and they quickly wove their way down to the docks.

  Directly in front of Chloe, strongmen unloaded cargo from huge ships. Elsewhere, crates and barrels and chests stacked high on the wharf, waiting to be carried aboard. Shipmen and dockworkers argued with fishermen bobbing in tiny boats. Chloe smiled at the sight.

  “We have a big port in Duluth, not far from my house.”

  Again, the stone glowed. Zophira spun. “Are you … Is she going to be doing this the entire journey? Give me the stone. I’ll silence it.”

  “It fell to her.” Scout stepped between them. “It is connected to her memories. She will carry it.”

  A small crowd gathered around them, staring at the blue light.

  Scout glanced up from his sister. “Does anybody have a ship? We need a berth to Shadowton.”

  “Just a small skiff will do,” added Nob.

  “Aye. I have your ship.” A river dwarf pushed to the front. “The price will be one blue mountain stone.” He never took his eye off Chloe’s pocket, where the now-dull rock rested.

  “That is not in the barter.” Scout turned. “Though I have something else to offer.” He limped up to Zophira and stared. “A year of favorable winds.”

  At first, there was silence. Then a chuckle that gave way to laughter. “You offer what no boy can possess.” The voice belonged to a sailor dressed in gray, who now parted the crowd. “I have a ship. I will not sell it, but I sail to Shadowton in the morning and I have plenty of room.”

  “Well,” Chloe said, “that settles tha —”

  Nob slapped his hand over her mouth and leaned over. “Slaver.”

  “My offer still stands,” Scout shouted. “What would a year of tailwinds be worth to you? Think of it. A quick skip to Shadowton. One less day sailing in the Terror’s domain.”

  Terror?

  “Prove you have it to offer!” a lone voice called.

  Scout turned again to Zophira, whose eyes narrowed. “I am no circus clown who performs for the bidding of these whistling apes!”

  “Then do it for Chloe.”

  Her jaws tightened.

  “For Nob and me.”

  Nothing.

  Two more gray-clad sailors pressed in.

  Zophira looked to either side. “I’ll do it out of hate for a quest so beneath me.”

  She raised her hand and then turned her palm to the sky. For a moment, all was still; a strange still as the steady, salty breeze fell calm. Then the winds came. They moaned in from the desert, bearing particles of fine sand. Chloe shielded her eyes and turned her back, eyes stinging.

  “A witch! She’s turned the wind!” a voice called.

  People fell to their knees and bowed. “Who are you that the winds obey?”

  “Don’t bow!” Scout yelled. “She’s only a —”

  “Oh, let them fall on their faces.” Zophira squinted. “It won’t hurt them.”

  “Don’t do this,” Nob said.

  Zophira frowned and raised her hand higher. The wind howled, blowing everything not tied down toward the open water. Oars and nets and people tumbled down the docks. Scout lost his balance. Nob grabbed Chloe’s hand and let the wind have its way.

  Within seconds the three crashed into one of two posts at the end of the Great Pier.

  “Don’t you three need a ship? Isn’t this what you wanted?” Zophira yelled. “Go! Take your precious Chloe and leave.”

  “No.” Scout took a limping step into the gale, gaining a few feet before tumbling backward. Nob caught his shoulder, but others weren’t so lucky. Hundreds of men, women, and river dwarfs shouted and splashed into the water.

  “Friends, here!”

  A young Calainian held tightly to the mast of his small skiff. “Take it before we all perish!”

  They jumped in and Nob quickly made ready.

  “Zophira!” Scout hollered.

  Crack! The post to which the boat was tied gave way and they washed out into the bay. Hundreds of unmanned ships joined them in a makeshift flotilla.

  An hour later, and many miles from the coast, Zophira’s wind had calmed to a gentle breeze. Chloe stared at the endless waves, but didn’t feel like speaking.

  “Wi
ll she come back?” Nob asked, without emotion.

  “No,” said Scout. “She is too bitter.”

  Chloe looked down. “Was it me?”

  Scout nodded. “She couldn’t bear to look on one more important than herself.”

  “I’m not more anything. I mean, she can control the wind.”

  “But she can’t control her own anger.”

  Chloe thought of Dad, at how long she’d been angry. If they only knew.

  CHAPTER

  23

  THE CALAINIAN BOAT pitched and rolled for three days. Chloe passed the time whittling with Scout’s knife. She carved little animals and little inventions out of the trader’s small stack of snakewood, some of which seemed quite ingenious, at least to her.

  They’d reached the bay, which rested on the edge of her map memory; she’d only sketched in points east. Chloe envisioned a road that led to the palace, a road reached from the far side, but the harder she tried to picture it, the more it eluded her. Not that it would matter. If Qujan was correct — if Chloe had written a world hundreds or thousands of years in the past — what good would her knowledge be? For the second time since Nick had ventured off, she felt completely alone.

  Nob sat down beside her.

  “Are we near?” Chloe focused on shaving a thin slice of wood from her block.

  “Perhaps a day out,” Nob answered. “Which is good, given what lives beneath.”

  Chloe made another smooth cut.

  “I’m sorry, lady, this whole adventure isn’t what you expected, is it?”

  “No.” She smirked. “I thought my school year would go differently.”

  “Tell me about school.”

  “Well …” Chloe set down her piece of wood. “We leave home and cram into a yellow bus that takes us to a green building where we learn math and literature and geography —”

  “I don’t suppose they teach about Retinya.”

  Chloe laughed and placed the knife on the deck. “No. Just real places. I mean, real to us … er … no, they don’t.”

  “I wish you could have come before.” Nob leaned back. “When Retinya was beautiful. When Blind Secholit walked the ground and everywhere you looked — Well, it was a time. The three of us were royalty, you know. We acted a lot more like Secholit back then.” Nob sighed. “Hard to believe. Look at Zophira now. Look at me. We don’t resemble him at all. Maybe Scout …”

  “Tell me about the man you saw in the wood elves’ mirror.”

  Nob didn’t answer, and Chloe waved off her question. “You don’t need to —”

  “We lived near Shadowton.” Nob turned toward Scout, who grabbed and held tightly to his knife. Nob peeked over the ship’s edge, took a breath, and peeked again. Chloe hadn’t seen him nervous before.

  “Scout and I have always been brothers — brothers from birth — though it’s a fact we don’t share much,” Nob continued. “Even before we were forgotten. Before Dad changed.

  “Secholit called Zophira from a different family. From a different land. I don’t know where.” He paused. “I fear she forgets who she has become. To forget is a dangerous thing.”

  Chloe paused. “Then remind me. What am I doing here?”

  “Only you know, but I think you are leading the wildest rescue mission I can imagine. Vaepor’s palace is well-prepared for an army’s attack. It may not be so ready for a girl like you. Either way, your arrival, and what has happened since, means Secholit wants Retinya back.”

  “And that’s why I’m here.”

  Nob raised his eyebrows. Chloe gazed down.

  “Lady? Did I offend?”

  “No. Nob, will you be honest with me?”

  “Always, lady.”

  “Since I’ve come here, people have been calling me … Let me start over. Do you think, I mean, do you think I could be, maybe …” Her face flushed. “This is so not a big deal compared to saving a world, so it shouldn’t matter, but it does, because in my life at home it does, and I’m totally embarrassed to ask, but … Do you think somebody, not you, it doesn’t have to be you, because I don’t want you to feel like you have to say this or that or … And I completely understand if you can’t answer me, or don’t want to answer me, or —”

  “Yes, Chloe. You are very beautiful.” Nob grinned. “Does that answer the question you didn’t ask?”

  Chloe bit her lip and looked away. She let the words wash over her. Yes, Chloe. You are very beautiful. She touched her scarred face, and a lightness filled her.

  “Thank you, Nob, I —”

  “Ship ahead! Cloud above!” Scout called, and Nob jumped to his feet.

  “Slaver.” Nob sat back down. “Sailing away from us, thank goodness. Probably left a day before we blew out of port.” He glanced up. “It’s the cloud that doesn’t look right.”

  Chloe lowered herself into the bottom of the boat. “Do we need to catch up to that ship?”

  “No.” Nob smiled. “We’ll slow down. They aren’t interested in … us.” His voice dropped. “They’re turning. What would make them turn?”

  Scout exhaled slowly and pointed beyond the ship. “That’d do it.”

  Three funnels descended from a puffy white cloud directly in front of the ship. As they struck water, three waterspouts sprung to violent life, dancing and skipping and forcing the slavers straight toward the smaller vessel.

  “In the Safelands, the land was too arid for Vaepor to materialize. Here It has plenty of water from which to draw strength.” Scout ran his fingers along his blade. “Can you identify the ship, brother?”

  The hulking boat closed in, and Nob squinted into the sun. “River dwarfs. Greedy little things. If it comes to fightin’, we could do worse.”

  “I just found worse.” Scout slumped. “Behind us.”

  Another ship closed in fast. It bore the same markings but was even larger than the first.

  Caught between two slave ships? Perfect!

  “So what’s the plan?” Chloe asked.

  The brothers looked at each other, then away.

  Thunk!

  A grapple hook from the first boat landed near Chloe’s feet. Scout dropped his knife and yanked Chloe back.

  Thunk! Thunk! Two grapple hooks from the second boat landed in the aft. Nob lunged at them, but both pulled taut. The deck of the Calainian vessel creaked and groaned. Scout looked at Nob. “This is a strange end.” He pointed to the sea. Vaepor’s spouts sucked beneath the waterline, and the waves churned. They rocked the big ships mercilessly; the oncoming surge would easily capsize their small craft.

  “They will either board us or pull us in two,” Scout said. “And even if they fail, Vaepor will see us drowned.”

  As the two boys stared at each other, Chloe nibbled her lip.

  “Chloe.” Vaepor’s voice was unmistakable. “I’m above you. I’m below you. I see you.” A wave crashed into their mast and ripped the sail from the boom.

  Scout and Nob dived into the bottom of the boat, and inside Chloe, fear gave way to anger. “Well, that’s fine, because I see you back!” She stood up in the gale. “And we’re just going to wait here?”

  “Our options are somewhat limited, lady.” Nob grunted and pounded at the grapple.

  I’m so tired of hiding from this thing — from everything!

  Chloe cupped her hands around her mouth. “All right then.” She stepped up and balanced on the boat’s edge.

  “Stay out of the water!” Scout shouted. “You don’t know who rules this bay or what lies —”

  Splash! She dived and swam toward the first slave ship. If I’m so important, and it’s me everyone’s after, fine. Nob and Scout have done nothing but guard me. It’s my turn to protect them.

  Fifteen seconds passed underwater.

  Ahead, a school of fish approached, and for an instant Chloe forgot her predicament and smiled at their choreographed dance.

  Thirty seconds.

  The first fish came into focus and Chloe squinted. It was no fish, but ra
ther a river dwarf; make that an army of swimming river dwarfs with Tuftunder leading the school.

  She dived deeper, swam harder, and swallowed. I must be nearing a minute. The dwarfs, who had at first pursued, now watched. Then scattered.

  They’re probably scared of Vaepor’s waves. Or they’re running out of air.

  Chloe peered down.

  A huge, scaly hand wrapped around her and pulled. Deeper she plummeted, then deeper still, until all light vanished from above. Her lungs burned and her lips parted.

  She opened her eyes, surrounded by brilliant light.

  “Dead. I’m dead.”

  “No.”

  “Where is this?”

  “A place where I ask the questions.” There was a pause. “You are in the Sea Shepherd’s domain. Why did you come so close to me?”

  Chloe sat up and blinked. She assumed the bottom of the bay would be cold and dark. But resting on the bed, the opposite was true. Warmth and light flooded around her and she sat, breathing in water as if it were pure oxygen.

  I’m using water for air.

  “Yes, you are.”

  “A person can’t do that.”

  “No. But you are no ordinary person, Chloe Lundeen.” The Sea Shepherd walked toward her. Rainbow fish swam about him and shells hung around his neck. Ribbons of multicolored coral flowed from his hair. He was a beautiful, terrible sight. “Tell me what brought you here.”

  She winced. “No. I mean, I was given a task.”

  “No?” Echoes shook the water and the rainbow fish scattered. “You intrude and tell me no? Who gave you an unspeakable task?”

  “Secholit.”

  The fish paused and the Sea Shepherd hinted a grin.

  “Blind Secholit has returned … The world is indeed changed.” The Shepherd took a deep breath. “No, then I suppose you mustn’t share. But perhaps you can tell me what is happening here?”

  He pointed to a giant conch shell. It darkened then lightened and then turned clear. Two men appeared on the shell’s face. They bailed frantically as huge waves swept over their battered craft.

  “Nob! Oh, sweet Nob! And Scout. They’re friends. They’re helping me!”

  “Hmm. It does not appear so.” The Shepherd swiped at the shell and the image disappeared.

  “You’ve got to help them!”