Sea Of Sparks And Shadows

Hey everyone! This story has the last two chapters removed. To read them, please head over to Webnovel and search for this book. By doing so, you would be supporting me while also getting to know what happened to the Amaris and the crew. Thank you for reading!

By the time Amaris made it to the deck, her head was spinning, her feet were barely stable, and she was certain she bruised a rib in that last fall. But her mind was reeling, calculating the possibility of this working. Of them surviving.

“What? No!” She heard Slygrin before she saw him. He was facing Wind Tuner standing on feet much steadier than hers with a huge wooden crate in his arms and a stubborn pinch between his eyebrows.

“Sly, did you get the sails?” Amaris interrupted.

Slygrin’s glare vanished as he turned to her. “Yes, I-”

“Amaris, good. You’re here.” She looked at Wind Tuner, confused. “I need to take you and Sly out of here.”

“What? No!” She echoed Slygrin’s earlier protests. She also found herself in a similar stance to his as she said, “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Am-”

“Look, Wind, we’re out of time and I need your help. Maybe we can survive this.”

At that, Wind Tuner froze. “What?”

“Wind Tuner,” The captain’s voice jolted the winged sailor and Amaris silently cursed her father’s interruption.

“I’m under orders,” He explained.

“Please,” She said, “You’re the only one who can do this.” Wind Turner was silent. And just as he opened his mouth to speak, the two found the captain standing in front of them.

“What are you doing?” He demanded, “You’re wasting time. Amaris, I need you to go with him. You too, Slygrin.”

“I’m not going.” She protested.

“You have to. There’s no way out of this.”

“Like hell I have to. I have a plan. I can make this work. I just need you all to trust me. Everyone here can survive if this works.”

“We don’t have time for this.”

“It will work,” she repeated with a stronger voice.

The captain didn’t budge. “I’m not taking any chances I need you and Slygrin out of here and into safety.

“We will be safe-”

“Wind Tuner take them. That is an order.”

Amaris looked incredulously at her father. “I said, I’m not going.” She said again, glaring at the unmoving captain.

“Then you will go unwillingly. Wind.” He ordered.

The sails master didn’t move. His eyes shifted between the two not knowing what to do. “Sir-” He ventured.

“That is an order.”

Anger and frustration bubbled in her chest. They were wasting time. If there was any way for this to work they will need to act now. “I thought the decisions were by vote here.” She demanded. “I’m sure the rest of the crew would like to have a say in their fates.” She crossed her arms and waited for him to answer.

“What are you implying?”

“I’m implying that everyone who knows about my idea is working on it already. They all want this to work. And if it came down to a vote…”

The captain’s voice was seething when he spoke next. “If I see the slightest chance this might go wrong, you will stop and leave.” With that, he spun around and left.

“What do we have to do?” Asked Wind Tuner as soon as the captain was out of earshot.

****

Ten minutes later and with the Whirlpool much too close for comfort, the ship was ready. Or as ready as it could get. Two makeshift sails were added to the sides of the hull diagonally. And Wind Tuner’s melody had stopped all the air around them leaving only the harsh waves to battle. Amaris’ heart raced and her stomach whirled, as she watched the men around her throw the last of the cargo off the ship.

“Are you sure about this?” Ash asked quietly.

“Not at all,” She breathed. “It’s ridiculous, it’s stupid and probably the craziest thing I have ever thought up,” She admitted, She tugged at her ponytail in frustration, “But it is all I could think of. It’s the only thing that might not end up with us being in the belly of that thing.”

“Hey,” He wrapped his fingers around the hand she kept pulling at her hair with. “It will work.”

“And if it doesn’t?” The words cracked before leaving her lips.

“Then you would have given us a reason to hope in our last minutes rather than despair.” She looked around. He was right. Those looks of despair and bitter acceptance were gone, replaced with focus and determination. They had something to do.

“We’ll get through this.” He took the hand he was holding and brought it up to his lips. For a second, Amaris forgot about the sea serpents and the ship and all her thoughts were about the set of lips on her skin.

“We’re not close enough yet?” Slygrin’s voice snapped her back to the moment and she faced the front of the ship once again.

“Not yet,” She said. The serpents were so shiny it was hard to see in their direction for more than a second let alone calculate how far they were from them. “We need to be almost touching it.” Nonetheless, She made her way to the main sail and up to the Crow’s Nest where Wind Tuner hovered with his flute.

“We’ll get through this,” She muttered to herself as she pulled herself up.

****

It felt like hours before they got close enough to the two beasts. Wind Tuner had continued playing his flute tirelessly while perched on the edge of the Crow’s Nest. His melody has gotten more and more strained as he countered the waves’ speed with his music. Amaris had continued monitoring the glowing serpents until she was sure she was going blind.

“We’re almost there,” She said. Her heart was clenching painfully in her chest. “Remember, main sail first. Once we’re out, you aim at the lower ones.”

Wind Tuner didn’t answer. He only continued playing his lulling melody and nodded once, his eyes still trained on the Blessed Beasts.

“Stop here,” She ordered and the ship’s speed slowed even more. They were so very close to the monsters. The bow of the ship was barely three feet away from the serpent’s silver jagged scales. “Ready?” She asked again. She clutched the railing, Knuckles turning white. She watched the silver tail flash before her. Wind Tuner jumped off the rail and flapped his wings beside her. As soon as the tail passed the bow of the Silver Crescent she ordered, “Now!”

In a split second, the soft quiet melody changed into a high squeaking note and the ship lurched forward. It was working. The ship was gliding forward between the tail of one serpent and the mouth of the other. And it was doing it at a very high speed.

Before she knew what was happening, Amaris’ hands lost their grip and she was thrown back cracking the railing behind her. She barely had the chance to wrap her hand around a part of it before she found her feet in the air. She gripped the railing with both hands and looked below her. At least fifty feet were between her and the deck of the ship. She wouldn’t make it.

Wind Tuner made to move and help her but she yelled, “Just keep playing.” She glanced to her left where the golden beast’s mouth was open and waiting. Rows upon rows of huge monstrous teeth lead to a hollow dark tunnel she did not want to know the end of. It was getting closer, and fast.

“Faster,” She called again. They were almost out of its path but not quite. The music got even higher, the wind stronger. Amaris’s hands were slipping and she cursed. She searched for something to hold on to. She found nothing. She watched as the beast’s fangs got closer. The sharp melody continued. They were almost out.

Then, it happened.

Her fingers finally unwrapped from the bar and she found herself free falling to the deck below. She could picture it perfectly. Every bone in her body shattering, her skull cracking open and her blood pooling on the wooden floor boards. She waited for the impact, bracing herself for death to come and collect her soul. But it never did.

Suddenly, the violent winds stopped and a set of arms wrapped around her. She opened her eyes to find Wind Tuner staring at her with wide eyes and a pale face. “Don’t stop playing,” She responded, holding to him for dear life. Immediately, he lifted his flute once again and played as quickly as he could. But it was too late. The ship was out of the serpent’s path but it’s scales dug to the back of the ship.

Time slowed as the ship swerved left and a huge chunk of wood went flying to the other side. “Up!” She yelled Wind Tuner didn’t waste a second. He quickly adjusted the melody supporting her with one arm and playing with the other. The ship started lifting slowly, but not high enough. With the new trail the serpent directed them in, they would reach its scales again before they were high enough to pass it.

She looked around for a solution. For something. And then she realized the problem; it was her. Wind Tuner couldn’t play well enough with one hand. She was slowing him down. She looked below her once again. She was much closer to deck now. Still painful, but not deadly.

“No matter what, keep playing.” She ordered before letting go of him and falling down. She landed with a horrible thud and pain shot up her right shoulder. But she wasted no time getting up and reaching for the closest rope.

“Higher,” She yelled once again to the sailor who was flying down to check on her. Everyone on deck were to the sides, holding on to the railing not trusting enough in the ropes around them to keep them safe and out of the water. She was quick to join them in the port side near the front. She watched breathlessly, praying and hoping that they would make it. But she was too close, she couldn’t see anything. It was all up to Wind Tuner now. He flew to the side and lower as if to inspect how high the ship was. Amaris waited for that sound of the crash, the sound of the ship breaking on the scales of the serpent, the sound of their death coming. Amaris waited and waited for the crash. She couldn’t believe it until she checked behind her and saw the scales far in the distance. Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

They were alive. They were out.

Hey everyone! This story has the last two chapters removed. To read them, please head over to Webnovel and search for this book. By doing so, you would be supporting me while also getting to know what happened to the Amaris and the crew. Thank you for reading!