“I suppose that green car over there is yours,” Anh said, looking at the road.
“That’s right. It was the fastest way to travel along the coast the twelve kilometers to this location,” the Two Waves master replied. “And the blue car has to be yours.”
“Of course. My place is fifteen kilometers away, beyond Akonit.”
“There is just one road passing by the coast, mostly surrounded by forest. Few cars use it at night. They must have prepared roadblocks on each side.”
“It’s the most likely scenario.”
“Who knows, perhaps our cars have already been tampered with and won’t even start.”
“Should we check them now?”
“Let’s decide first if we’re going to use them.”
Both Rongo and Anh went silent, thinking of a way out.
To his surprise, Kolin heard himself breaking in:
“I live about five kilometers away, in Akonit’s suburbs. Perhaps I could put the artifact in my backpack and take it to my home for the night? I doubt the thugs would recognize me.“
The masters turned their heads and examined him for several long seconds.
“I don’t think this is going to work,” Rongo said. “They would be watching the road and anyone who leaves this place.”
“Let's think from the thugs’ perspective,” Anh replied. “They know who we are, they know we’re here, and they know we have the artifact. Those who tried to kill us on the Iron Rock have certainly sent signals to other people on the shore. The gang didn’t have enough men and weapons to stop us here, so they moved away from the beach for the time being. Or they didn’t want to start a fight in this spot, for fear of leaving too many tracks. These men would likely ambush us on our way out, somewhere farther away along the road. It would be easy to make it look like an accident. For the same reason, it’s quite likely they didn’t tamper with the cars. I think it’s a good idea to call our headquarters. Even so, the help must be discreet, or the police will soon find out what’s going on, and we’ll need to hand them over the artifact.”
“I’ll go to the payphone,” Rongo said and strode through the grove towards the road.
It was getting dark, but Sen was going to appear in the sky at any moment. The waiting was tense. Four or five minutes later, Rongo came back. His face, reflecting the pale light coming from Sen just rising from the sea, said everything.
“The payphone doesn’t work,” Anh said.
“As expected, they’ve made it inoperative,” Rongo confirmed. “I think the thugs have surrounded us and are slowly closing in.”
“Their reinforcement must have arrived. Too late to dash out. We should probably retreat to Iron Rock.”
“What about the kids?”
“I don’t think the thugs will let them pass. They know too much already. The safest course for them is to come with us.”
Rongo turned to the teenagers:
“Sorry for the mess, I think we should all go back to the Island. I know it's getting late, and your families are expecting you at home, but it’s too dangerous to leave you alone.”
"We're going to be in deep trouble when we get back," Lila mumbled.
“Don’t worry about that,” Rongo said, smiling. “We’ll talk to your parents.”
“Do your parents know you are here?” Anh asked.
The teenagers looked at each other for a few moments with guilty expressions.
“We told them we’re going to a concert downtown,” Solis said. “They don’t expect us at home before twenty-one.”
“So, no chance of them calling the police and sending a squad over here later,” Rongo concluded. “Well, even the police came by, they would be outmatched by the thugs. We’ll have to take care of ourselves. Perhaps it’s better this way. Let’s go!”
Without wasting any more time, the group jumped into the boats and rowed towards the Iron Rock. They only left the cars and bicycles behind. Kolin looked for a moment at the beautiful light-green disc of Sen, still touching the fuzzy horizon of Zephiria. Everything felt like a dream. Or perhaps like a nightmare. A chance discovery and an innocent contest had just turned into a deadly game.
The Iron Rock was isolated by the sea, but it was an exposed area. They were never going to survive an assault coming from dozens of well-armed attackers. Unless some of the legends were true, and they could hide INSIDE it…
The boats reached the stone steps, and the group climbed back onto the platform.
“It’s quite exposed,” Anh remarked, assessing the situation.
“The water might delay them by half an hour or so, but not much longer,” Rongo agreed.
(to be continued…)“That’s right. It was the fastest way to travel along the coast the twelve kilometers to this location,” the Two Waves master replied. “And the blue car has to be yours.”
“Of course. My place is fifteen kilometers away, beyond Akonit.”
“There is just one road passing by the coast, mostly surrounded by forest. Few cars use it at night. They must have prepared roadblocks on each side.”
“It’s the most likely scenario.”
“Who knows, perhaps our cars have already been tampered with and won’t even start.”
“Should we check them now?”
“Let’s decide first if we’re going to use them.”
Both Rongo and Anh went silent, thinking of a way out.
To his surprise, Kolin heard himself breaking in:
“I live about five kilometers away, in Akonit’s suburbs. Perhaps I could put the artifact in my backpack and take it to my home for the night? I doubt the thugs would recognize me.“
The masters turned their heads and examined him for several long seconds.
“I don’t think this is going to work,” Rongo said. “They would be watching the road and anyone who leaves this place.”
“Let's think from the thugs’ perspective,” Anh replied. “They know who we are, they know we’re here, and they know we have the artifact. Those who tried to kill us on the Iron Rock have certainly sent signals to other people on the shore. The gang didn’t have enough men and weapons to stop us here, so they moved away from the beach for the time being. Or they didn’t want to start a fight in this spot, for fear of leaving too many tracks. These men would likely ambush us on our way out, somewhere farther away along the road. It would be easy to make it look like an accident. For the same reason, it’s quite likely they didn’t tamper with the cars. I think it’s a good idea to call our headquarters. Even so, the help must be discreet, or the police will soon find out what’s going on, and we’ll need to hand them over the artifact.”
“I’ll go to the payphone,” Rongo said and strode through the grove towards the road.
It was getting dark, but Sen was going to appear in the sky at any moment. The waiting was tense. Four or five minutes later, Rongo came back. His face, reflecting the pale light coming from Sen just rising from the sea, said everything.
“The payphone doesn’t work,” Anh said.
“As expected, they’ve made it inoperative,” Rongo confirmed. “I think the thugs have surrounded us and are slowly closing in.”
“Their reinforcement must have arrived. Too late to dash out. We should probably retreat to Iron Rock.”
“What about the kids?”
“I don’t think the thugs will let them pass. They know too much already. The safest course for them is to come with us.”
Rongo turned to the teenagers:
“Sorry for the mess, I think we should all go back to the Island. I know it's getting late, and your families are expecting you at home, but it’s too dangerous to leave you alone.”
"We're going to be in deep trouble when we get back," Lila mumbled.
“Don’t worry about that,” Rongo said, smiling. “We’ll talk to your parents.”
“Do your parents know you are here?” Anh asked.
The teenagers looked at each other for a few moments with guilty expressions.
“We told them we’re going to a concert downtown,” Solis said. “They don’t expect us at home before twenty-one.”
“So, no chance of them calling the police and sending a squad over here later,” Rongo concluded. “Well, even the police came by, they would be outmatched by the thugs. We’ll have to take care of ourselves. Perhaps it’s better this way. Let’s go!”
Without wasting any more time, the group jumped into the boats and rowed towards the Iron Rock. They only left the cars and bicycles behind. Kolin looked for a moment at the beautiful light-green disc of Sen, still touching the fuzzy horizon of Zephiria. Everything felt like a dream. Or perhaps like a nightmare. A chance discovery and an innocent contest had just turned into a deadly game.
The Iron Rock was isolated by the sea, but it was an exposed area. They were never going to survive an assault coming from dozens of well-armed attackers. Unless some of the legends were true, and they could hide INSIDE it…
The boats reached the stone steps, and the group climbed back onto the platform.
“It’s quite exposed,” Anh remarked, assessing the situation.
“The water might delay them by half an hour or so, but not much longer,” Rongo agreed.
Books by Marian C. Ghilea:
BUTTERFLY’S DREAM: https://bit.ly/2PM63uU
TIDES OF AMBER: https://bit.ly/2HfcHVB
Image source: Pixabay – https://pixabay.com/photos/tide-569367/
BUTTERFLY’S DREAM: https://bit.ly/2PM63uU
TIDES OF AMBER: https://bit.ly/2HfcHVB
Image source: Pixabay – https://pixabay.com/photos/tide-569367/
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