Jade Fire Gold(89)

An emptiness returns. And with it, that shadow pulling me down into its depths.

He can’t be by your side forever.

I bury my head under the pillow, heart hammering in my chest, hands over my ears, trying to block out that dark, dark voice.





38


Ahn


Shouts from above deck jolt me awake. It takes me a few seconds to remember where I am. Altan left some time ago and I fell back asleep. The bed is cold and empty without him. The ship’s lulling sway is now a rocky pitch and roll that turns my stomach. Something’s wrong. I scramble out of bed and head up.

The wind howls in my ears like an alpha wolf readying its pack for a hunt, determined and ferocious. The sky above is a slash of ominous gray. Not to be outdone, the sea churns, white froth convulsing as aqueous crescents crash back onto themselves. The pitter-patter of rain tapping the deck rapidly transforms into a deluge, as if a dam in the Heavens has broken, its waters gushing forth.

Lightning zigzags, spreading its jagged feelers across the sky. In the rhythmic spurts of light, I catch sight of Captain Yan planted firmly on the slippery deck as his crew struggles to man their posts.

“Ahn! What are you doing up here?” a drenched Tang Wei calls out as she struggles to the stairs. “Get back down!”

“I’ll join you soon,” I yell back, fighting my way forward. “Where’s Altan?”

She gestures at the bow, then disappears below.

“This isn’t an ordinary storm,” Captain Yan shouts above the wind, squinting as rain beats down his face.

“Typhoon?” I close my mouth quickly as raindrops splatter on my tongue.

“From the gods themselves!” His eyes darken. “We’re in the Dragon’s Triangle.”

“How? I thought we were a day away—”

The ship rolls violently again and I stumble. Barrels of fresh water fly across the deck, some tumbling overboard. I spot Altan helping to secure the sails, but it’s too difficult to get to him. I start to turn back when the wind drops with a shout and the sea goes flat.

An uncanny silence follows. The sun is a sliver of fading orange on the horizon. A blink and it’s gone. This can’t be right. The storm can’t have lasted the whole day. It feels like only a few minutes since I’ve been on deck. A shiver creeps down my spine. The captain’s right: something else is at work.

“Get below deck or secure yourselves!” someone roars.

There’s a mad scramble of boots, but it’s too late.

Smoke curls up from the water, drifting toward us. No one moves, either from surprise or some spell. Ming lurches forward, his hands seizing the empty air in front of him, face desperate and forlorn.

Captain Yan dashes over and drags him away from a wisp of smoke. Altan seizes another man clawing at himself. Blood dribbles from the scratches on his cheeks. The man struggles, and Altan knocks him out cold.

“Better that than to have him rip his own face to shreds,” he says.

The captain acknowledges and cuffs another of his crew at the back of his head before turning to me. “Ahn, you should get back down.”

“I will. Altan, are you—”

Someone rams into me and I fall onto the deck.

A hand on my bruised ribs, I struggle up. My mouth drops open at the sight of an empty deck. The air is still. But the vessel drifts, propelled by some unseen force, unfurled sails catching a phantom breeze like a ghost ship. Goose bumps erupt over my arms. Where is everyone? Where is Altan?

Something light and cold touches my cheek. A faint lick, like something tasting me. I rub my cheek with a sleeve, fighting the urge to scream.

A spiral of smoke rises in front of me. Then another. And another. Faces, solidifying before me. Li Guo, Mali, the mutilated girl by the well, the men from the alleyway, the priests I killed in the bamboo forest. . . .

They can’t be real. I must be hallucinating.

They converge on me. I stagger back, looking for a way to escape.

“You’re not real.” I squeeze my eyes shut. “You’re not real.”

The shriek of metal and bone pierces the air and the wail echoes in my ears. The ship vibrates as the hull splits.

Wait.

This is familiar. I’ve dreamt it. Am I awake? Or is this a nightmare? I bend down to touch the floorboards, then I pinch myself so hard I yelp. Wake up, Ahn. Wake up. I pinch myself again.

The ship plunges and I fall with it.

I hit the water hard, sinking to the seafloor like an iron anchor. How long will the air in my lungs last? I try to push myself up toward the surface, but something holds me down. Desperation floods me, followed by shock when I realize I’m breathing normally, as if I’m back on land or I have gills like a fish. I stop struggling. Air fills my lungs and clears my head.

This must be a dream. That’s the only explanation. And if it’s a dream, it means I’m sleeping in the cabin on the ship. I’ve nothing to fear.

Do I?

Something swims toward me. Something big. Silvery scales. Burning red eyes with bright yellow centers. It moves so fast I can’t tell what it is until it unwinds in front of me and rears up.

A pair of large antlers rises from its majestic head, which is shaped like something reptilian. Its snakelike body extends into a tail spreading far beyond what my eyes can see. Four limbs, each ending in massive eagle-like claws, sprout from its body. The creature moves its magnificent head, whiskers swaying gently in the water.