The Poison Season(90)

When they reached the shore, Leelo was relieved to see the boat was still there. But the storm wasn’t just affecting the Forest. The surface of the lake churned with foam, and large waves crashed on the rocks, bigger than any she’d ever seen. She glanced back at the mob, who stood with their weapons brandished. The crossing would be perilous, but they didn’t have any other choice.

“Get in,” Leelo shouted to Fiona above the wind. “Jaren and I will push the boat into the water.”

Jaren stepped forward, prepared to help Fiona into the boat. But to Leelo’s horror, she stepped away from them.

“Mama? What are you doing?”

Fiona was shaking her head, her eyes wide and shining. “I’m sorry, my darling. I can’t.”

Leelo wanted to scream in frustration. “What are you talking about? Of course you can. They want you to leave,” she said, nodding toward the mob.

“The lake is too choppy. That boat wasn’t built for three adults. If I upset the balance, we could capsize. I can’t take that risk. Not with you.”

“We’re not going without you,” Leelo cried. “We’ll wait until the storm passes.”

“I’m not sure they’ll let you,” she said. She lowered her voice and pulled Leelo into her arms. “The only thing that matters to me is your safety.”

“But the boat. You said it can only make one crossing. We won’t be able to send it back for you.”

Fiona released Leelo. “You’ll come back for me one day, after you’ve found Tate.”

“No,” Leelo sobbed. Now that they were here, now that they were really going, she couldn’t leave without her mother. There would be no one left to take care of her.

“I am going to get better,” Fiona said. “I promise.”

“Leelo...” Jaren was staring above the heads of the crowd, where the Forest glowed a brilliant orange. “The fire is getting worse. We need to go.”

“Please, Mama. Just come with us,” she pleaded, but Fiona was pushing her back toward the boat.

Someone screamed in the distance. “The fire! It’s reached the cottages!”

The mob surged forward, intent on driving them from the island. Jaren had a hold of Leelo’s arm and was pulling her toward the boat. “I’m not leaving you!” Leelo screamed at her mother, just as her feet hit the hull.

“And I’m not letting you stay.” Fiona shoved Leelo backward, digging her heels into the dirt and using all of her strength to push the boat into the water before Leelo could get her bearings.

“Mama!” she screamed. The boat rocked perilously as soon as they reached open water, and Leelo found herself scrambling for an oar. There was a strong wind coming off the mainland, blowing toward Endla, and there were still shouts and screams coming from the Forest.

“I love you!” Fiona shouted, but her voice was lost to the wind. It was too late to go back, Leelo realized. Too late to save Mama.

“Pull!” Jaren screamed. Tears coursed down Leelo’s face as she rowed, her arms burning with every stroke, the tendons in her neck straining to the breaking point. Just when she felt as though they were gaining ground, another strong gust of wind blew them back toward the island. Endla was refusing to let them go.

Leelo couldn’t help thinking of all the people she was leaving behind. Selfishly, she wanted to be free of Endla, to never sacrifice for it again. But if the cost was her mother, her friends, even her aunt and cousin, then it was too high. It would be easier to give up and return to Endla. It would be easier to let the boat capsize.

She glanced at Jaren through her wet hair and the slashing rain. He was rowing with all his might, but it wasn’t enough. They were just two people against an entire Wandering Forest, strong enough to bend the wind itself to its will. Who were they to think they could defeat it?

From here, it seemed as though the entire island was on fire. What if their cottage was already burned to the ground? Where would Mama go? Panic began to descend on Leelo. What had she been thinking? What had she done?

The music was so soft she didn’t hear it at first over the crashing waves, but then she realized Jaren was singing.

It was the prayer for lost things, the one that had brought them together, that had brought Jaren back to Endla. He had found himself in Leelo, he said, and she had found her answers in him: things didn’t have to be the way they’d always been. They didn’t have to accept the world they’d inherited from their ancestors. They might have bowed under the pressure of their rules and expectations, but they were strong enough not to break, resilient enough to bend.

For the first time, Leelo didn’t feel like she had to sing.

She wanted to.

The song spilled out of both of them, their voices joining in perfect harmony, and when Jaren looked at her, she knew he felt it, too.

Magic.

She’d never told Jaren the rest of the song, but as she sang, his voice rose to meet hers. When they finished, Leelo watched in wonder as the waves began to calm.

“Leelo, look,” Jaren breathed.

Her eyes followed his gaze to Endla. The rain had stopped. The fire had gone out. Just as the old woman had predicted.

She’d never seen her home from afar before, and she understood for the first time that Jaren was right. It was unsettling to realize how small her world had been.