SWNOVELS Chapter CHAPTER XXIII: NATE
Nate listened intently to the Captains tale but his eyes remained on Noir’s silhouette. Nate, together with Skhy and Faz, stood on the deck above the Captain’s office and quarters on the front of the vessel. They refused to rest even though they knew that they won’t be able to when they reached Noir. The Captain joined them an hour ago and talked non-stop since then. Nate welcomed the Captain’s interruption because his mind was full of negative thoughts that he couldn’t stop thinking of.
“That’s because of the strong energy concentration,” the Captain said.
“How did that happen?” Skhy asked. Nate shivered when the cold wind hit his neck. His face had become numb of coldness.
“Don’t know.” Nate rested his lower arms on the wooden railing. He glanced at Faz who was sitting on the ground with his eyes locked on the island.
“Maybe nature made them like that,” the Captain replied. “Who knows?”
“Do you think there’s a connection between the strong energy and the fact that we’re going to train there?” Nate directed the question to Skhy who took a moment before he replied.
“Yes,” he responded, “It’s going to be harder for us to use our elementals.” Nate frowned.
“Why?”
“The islands suppress any energy or power incompatible with its powers,” Faz replied.
“You know about it?” Skhy asked. Faz slowly stood up.
“No.” Faz scoffed. “I realized just now.”
“It’s probably why the knights looked annoyed that they had to go there,” Faz added. It’s going to be hard for both students and knights. Nate, however, knew that the knights’ strength, skills, and experience would overcome the difficulty, unlike the Seven who still had to train to become stronger.
Nate touched his front hair which kept on hitting his eyes. His last haircut was before Nate and Hanne’s graduation day.
“We’re near.” Nate immediately looked up. The Captain rushed downstairs. The island’s dark silhouette had swallowed a large part of the night sky. Countless large rocks piled near the beach which was now visible to the naked eye. Within a minute, sailors began running and shouting on the first deck. Skhy sighed beside Nate.
“It’s time.”
“Should I get the girls?” Nate asked. Skhy nodded.
“I’ll get Clyne,” Faz offered. Nate and Faz found their way to the second deck of the ship. The corridor was well-lit and wide. When the corridor split into two, Faz rushed to the right while Nate turned toward the left where Tessa, Lei, and Aria’s room was located. He knocked loudly on the door, thinking that everyone was asleep. But he heard their footsteps rushing to the door. Tessa’s tired face greeted him. He glanced at Lei and Aria who were already fixing their backpacks on the beds. Nate gave them a few minutes. Without exchanging any words, the three followed Nate upstairs. When they reached the first deck, they found Skhy, Faz, and Clyne together with the Captain and seven knights. A rowboat was hanging from two ropes.
“We’ll meet you there,” Anika told the students. Without waiting for the students’ reply, the knights vanished into thin air. Nate glanced at the row boat.
“They should’ve taken us with them,” Clyne muttered while visibly shivering in his thick coat. He hugged his arms.
“It’ll be really cold if you fall in the water,” the Captain warned them. Nate lived near the sea and loved going surfing, snorkelling and island hopping with Hanne and their mom. However, rowing a long boat in the middle of the dark ocean is entirely different. Glancing at his friends, they seemed uncertain about their mode of transportation.
“Off you go.” The Captain smiled. “They’re waiting.”
“How far are we from the shore?” Aria asked. Before the Captain could respond, a ball of fire ascended from the island to the sky, disappearing after a few seconds.
“Let’s go,” Skhy instructed.
When everyone was settled in the long boat, it started descending. Nate noticed the fear in Lei and Clyne’s eyes. When the boat hit the water, Nate marvelled at the size and height of the ship they were in to. He felt like he just left a three-story building.
“Good luck, sailors!” The Captain looked down at them. Nate couldn’t see his expression.
“Let’s row,” Skhy said. Only when Nate looked forward that he realized how dark the ocean was and how far they were from the island. When he started rowing, he noticed Lei’s tensed shoulders. She was sitting in front of him.
“Lei?”
“Yes?” It took a few seconds before she replied.
“Are you ok?” She nodded without looking back. Nate wasn’t surprised when she told him that she had never been near the ocean. He pitied her for the scary experience of rowing a boat in the sea in the middle of the night.
No one uttered a word after that. Everyone, except Tessa, followed Skhy’s pace in rowing. Everyone was desperate to leave the darkness of the night and the ocean even Tessa who was shivering in her thick coat. Their only light came from the flashlights the Captain lent them. The round moon continued to hide behind the thick clouds and the tall mountains of the Noir island. It felt like eternity when the boat finally hit the rocky beach. The boat couldn’t go past the rocks so the student-adventurers jumped in the water which reached their knees. Faz and Skhy fought with Tessa because she didn’t want to be carried on someone’s back. Nate intervened and convinced her because they didn’t want her sick during the training. His statement got through her. He knew that she didn’t want to burden anyone.
“Finally!” Clyne exclaimed and dropped on the sandy beach. Everyone was catching their breaths. Nate looked around. There was nothing to see but the rows of thick and tall trees beyond the sand.
“Yeah. Finally.” Nate turned toward the mocking voice. His friends slowly stood up to face their mentors. Neus stood on a flat rock. Even without light shining on his face, Nate knew that he was disappointed. Where are the others?
“It took you an hour,” he said. Nate thought it was longer than that. “When it should be 15 minutes.” Someone scoffed. Nate glanced at Faz. Not a good start.
“What should we do now?” Skhy asked. Neus sighed. He turned around.
“Follow the blue rocks.” Without waiting for their response, Neus vanished.
“What blue rocks?” Lei asked. Everyone started looking around with their flashlights. Nate walked towards the trees. Beside a tree was a triangular rock painted in blue.
“Found it!” He called his teammates. He heard their footsteps behind him. When he directed his light to the forest, a creepy feeling crawled on his neck.
“We’re going there?” Tessa whispered.
“We have to,” Skhy replied. He led the way together with Faz. Nate’s backpack was getting heavier with each step. His friends also looked tired, weary and sleepless. The second blue rock wasn’t easy to find because of the tall and thick grass everywhere. There was no clear path. But when they found it hidden below a tree’s thick root, they easily saw the other rocks.
“Until when are we going to follow them,” Aria muttered. She was holding a long stick to support her weight as she walked. Clyne was no longer using crutches so he walked too slowly. Tessa accompanied him because she was still unwell. She refused to be carried again.
“What is that?” Nate turned to the direction Lei was facing. The group reached the end of the rows of trees and found a grassy field. A blue three-story wide building stood in the middle of the field, surrounded by smaller houses.
“A town?” Skhy asked.
“Better find out.” Faz was the first to step foot outside the forest. The bright round moon finally left its hiding spot. The houses looked inhabited because of the light and noises coming from them. No one told the group that people live in the Shadows’ Islands.
“Where are we heading?” Tessa asked.
“The manor.” Everyone turned toward the woman’s voice. Another mentor appeared without them noticing her presence. Anika smiled warmly at them, something that Nate never expects from the strict mentors.
“What manor?” Aria asked. Anika gestured at the blue building.
“You need lots of energy for tomorrow,” she said, “So you need food and sleep.” Nate’s eyes widened a bit. That’s unexpected…
“I thought the grouchy guy wants to start immediately,” Faz muttered.
“Faz!” Clyne complained, “Yes. We want sleep.” Anika smile widened. The group followed her to the manor.
“We didn’t know people live here.”
“Not a lot of them,” Anika responded to Skhy,
“They’re like the guardians of the islands.”
The inside of the manor was warm and cosy. There was a wide staircase in the centre. To the left was the kitchen and the cafeteria. To the right was a large hall. The students had a hearty meal before they were led to their rooms in the second floor. Anika left them to eat and appeared before they finished eating.
Homer was waiting for them upstairs. He led the boys to their room with two bunk beds. He never spoke a word even before he left.
“How long do we have?” Clyne asked after their backpacks loudly hit the floor.
“Four hours,” Skhy replied while massaging his left shoulder.
Nate glanced outside the open window. He couldn’t shake the creepy feeling he felt in the forest. He wondered what it was. However, despite the heavy thoughts in his mind, he immediately passed out when his back hit the warm and soft mattress.