Ancient Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Huntress #1)(51)

“I’m not liking this one bit, lassie,” Captain Alden said. Concern thickened his brogue. “We’re going to have to turn the ship around.”

The spell was getting stronger. My skin crawled with unease.

“It’s a spell,” I said. “Hiding the island.”

“Even so, this fog is too thick to see land.” Captain Alden waved his hand at the gray mist ahead of us. “We could run aground if we continue on.”

Frustration welled in me.

“That’s not an option,” Aidan said. “We need to go forward.”

“I can’t risk the boat, lad.”

“Can we have the rowboat?” I asked. “The one hanging off the back of the ship.”

“And row alone into the mist?” Nix asked.

It didn’t sound good when she put it like that. “We don’t have a lot of choices.”

She sighed. “No, we don’t, do we?”

“Aye, you can have the rowboat,” Captain Alden said. “We’ll give you a radio in case you run into trouble. Though I can’t guarantee we can get to you quickly. Not until this fog lifts.”

“Del, do you think you’ll be able to transport soon?” I asked. “And bring us along in case we get into trouble?”

“I should be. I feel almost at full power.”

“That solves it, then,” Captain Alden said. “O’Connel, get them set up with the rowboat. If you’re not back in eight hours, I’ll assume the lassie took you home. Good luck to you all.”

I followed O’Connel, the deckhand, down the stairs. Aidan stayed behind, thanking the captain, and then joined us at the stern a minute later. The deckhand lowered the rowboat using pulleys as I removed Aidan’s daggers from their box and slipped them into the sheaths at my thighs. They fit, though not perfectly. It’d have to do. I put my old ones into the box.

Once the rowboat was lowered to the water, I handed the box to the deckhand and asked, “Is there any chance you could ship this to Ancient Magic in Magic’s Bend, Oregon? I’ll pay you if you send your return address with it.”

He nodded. “Not a problem.” He took the box and nodded to the boat. “You can board. Good luck.”

“Thanks.” I climbed in after Nix and Del. The boat wobbled under my feet. It wasn’t more than ten feet long—just a tiny thing meant for shore landings in shallow harbors.

Aidan climbed in last and took up the oars. Nix and Del sat in the back, leaning against each other. I huddled in the bow as the deckhand gave us a push that sent us drifting off into the mist.





CHAPTER THIRTEEN





Aidan’s strokes cut powerfully through the water, the slap of the oars against the surface the only sounds.

“This is creepy,” Nix muttered.

“Seconded,” Del said.

Man, were they right. I could see nothing through the thick white fog, and the temperature felt like it was dropping. Not the natural kind of drop either—the kind that accompanied ghosts. But it was the sickening feeling in my stomach and the prickle that crawled across my skin that was the worst.

“Do you guys feel that?” I asked.

“The sense of extreme foreboding and that we should turn around immediately?” Aidan asked. “Yes.”

“That’s the one. But we’re going the right way,” I said, squinting into the fog. “I feel it.”

I ignored the instincts that told me to turn around and stared into the mist. It was just magic. Aidan rowed as the rest of us huddled in the boat. My breathing cut through the silence.

“We’re getting closer.” I rubbed my arms, trying to keep the warmth in. “I can feel it.”

“Sure can’t see it, though,” Nix said.

“We’ve got to be—”

The boat crashed into something, crunching against rock and spraying water into the air. I flew forward, but Aidan grabbed me before I went face-first into stone.

“We’re taking on water!” Nix yelled.

Waves rocked the boat, heaving it against the rocks. Fog shrouded the boulders and stone ledges that rose up in front of us.

“This is it!” I called. “Get on land.”

We scrambled out of the boat as it lurched against the rocks. Icy water splashed me and sharp stones dug into my hands as I scrambled onto solid ground. I turned to face the sea. Aidan and Nix stood next to me. Del leapt off the boat, which was going down fast.

“Not the easy beach landing I’d been hoping for,” Aidan said.

“No.” I watched the last of the boat sink under the waves and turned away from the misty sea. Jagged rocks rose up in front of me. “And this looks a hell of a lot like the creepy island in King Kong.”

“Seconded again,” Del said.

“Let’s make our way inland,” Aidan said.

The rocks ahead tumbled over each other like giant stairs. I began to climb, using my hands to help me keep my footing. By the time we reached flat ground, much of the fog had dissipated. It still rolled over the ground like something out of a horror movie, but it stayed low enough that we could see ahead.

A brilliant orange sun hovered over the horizon, casting its glow on a village as it set. Brilliant. We’d be doing this in the dark soon.