Obsidian and Stars (Ivory and Bone #2)(54)

“What about the boats the Bosha came in?” I ask Morsk. “You were following them. Did you see where they left them?”

“Right beside the kayaks your family came in.”

“And your boat?”

“In the same place.”

My thoughts race. If we can reach them safely, there are enough boats in one place to get us all out of here. But would we be able to make it to the boats if we started down this cliff now? Or would picking our way down in the open, under a sun that’s still high in the sky, leave us too exposed? We will have to go slow, finding the best way down to the sand while Pek carries Kol. If the Bosha are nearby, we’d be completely vulnerable to an attack.

I glance around at the others. Everyone except Kol, Noni, and me still have spears by their sides. I doubt Noni ever had one, and mine and Kol’s were lost when the passageway collapsed. Both Pek and Noni carry packs.

“Pek?” I try to speak quietly into his ear. “Do you have any food in that pack?”

“I do,” he says, “and I’m more than happy to share it.”

“I have food, too,” says Noni, “though it’s not much.”

“Let’s find a place out of sight,” I say, noticing what sparse choices we have for getting under cover. The trees facing the north coast are few, and those are thin and spindly. Still, Pek finds a place where there is shade enough to conceal us. Everyone is excited about the prospect of food, and the mood is lighter than it’s been all day. Only Noni still stands at the bare edge of the cliff looking out.

“Come sit,” I say. “Everyone’s hungry. I know you must be, too.”

“I am,” she says, but her eyes don’t leave the beach. They stay fixed on something in the distance. I turn to see what it is that has her so entranced, and I see what she sees. A man, walking toward the base of the cliff. My breath catches in my throat.

“Is that your father?” I ask, sweeping her behind me.

“No, but I know him,” she says. “He’s my uncle.”

“Your father’s brother?” I ask. Fear ripples under my skin at the thought that Noni’s father might have found her.

“My mother’s brother,” she answers. We both watch him as he follows the curve of the shore. All at once he looks up at us and throws his arms up to wave. “I don’t know how he found us here.”

I stand staring at the form of the approaching man, wondering if he’s a danger, and wishing I had a spear. I remember the man who pursued Lees and me out to sea in a kayak from the Tama’s shore. I can see even from this distance that this is not that man—his hair is much longer—but that doesn’t mean Noni’s uncle doesn’t intend to do her harm. He reaches the base of the cliff and begins to climb. “Noni!” he calls. “I’ve come to warn you!”

“I trust him,” she murmurs.

We watch him climb—not coming straight up but choosing to pick a path that winds up the cliff. Still, despite this easier route, he struggles. I watch him grope for handholds as if he were weak, as if he were a man much older than he appears.

“Something’s wrong,” Noni says. “I’m going down.”

I watch him advance up the cliff as she works her way down, panic growing inside me. We should not be out in the open, exposed to the Bosha. Noni should not be climbing down this cliff, even if she does trust this man. I start down a few steps behind her, my eyes on her uncle, when suddenly he falls forward, landing on his face on the sand. A long dart protrudes from his back.

I glance over my shoulder at the clump of trees where the others are huddled. Kol lies on the ground, but Morsk sees me. He gets up. As I descend the cliff, I hear him coming over the ledge above me.

Noni reaches her uncle. He’s still alive, but won’t be for long. His hands grip Noni’s arm. “I had to warn you,” he says. “I had to warn you and your mother.”

“But how did you know—”

“Your father has been looking for you. He knew a boat was gone.” The poor man chokes. Blood spills over his lips. Morsk hurries to our sides and helps pull the man upright. He leans over and spits blood into the sand. “When he didn’t find even a sign of you up the river, he turned his attention to the sea. He’s had people out searching the coast. But—” He gasps and coughs, and I draw Noni away, as if I mean to protect her from the horror of watching her uncle die. But she pulls away from me and moves closer to him. She wants to hear every word he came to say.

“He noticed a branch with green leaves that came in on a wave. ‘Islands.’ That was what he said that day. He had seen two paddlers heading out to sea. He said they knew where the island was. He said this proved it. . . .” This time, mercifully, his voice trails off instead of breaking into a hack.

I swallow hard. The paddlers he saw were me and Lees. “We gave you away,” I say. “It was us—”

“I don’t care. I would be dead by now if it weren’t for you, anyway.”

I doubt this is true, but if Noni hoped it would make me feel better, it does. “Who attacked you?” I ask. “Did Noni’s father—”

“No.” He coughs again, and this time I think he’s died. He stills. Noni sets a hand on his, and he opens his sunken eyes. “Protect her, please,” he says to Morsk. “Protect her and her mother.”