*Isla*
Green eyes shine out from the darkness in the corner of the room. I hold my breath. I’d seen Antony lock the door. But we aren’t alone down here.
Then, I hear a meow and see the eyes blink and shoot toward me. Before I realize what is happening, a cat is rubbing against my leg.
But it isn’t just any cat. I know this cat!
Stooping to scoop her up, I look at her little face. “Ginger,” I mutter. “So you are still alive.”
“That’s your cat?” Antony asks me. “She’s been hanging around here for ages. I tried to run her off, but she wouldn’t go.”
“She’s my cat,” I tell him. Apparently, she has nine full lives now. She couldn’t possibly still be alive now if it wasn’t for the fact that my tears had brought her back to life as a child, right?
Ginger wiggles free, and I go over to see that she has a huge amount of food and water on the floor in dishes set out for her. “Who did this?” I ask my cousin.
He shrugs. “A few of us use this place as a shelter. I guess someone’s been feeding her.”
“Where would they get cat food on the island?” Poppy asks.
“Traders.” That’s all Antony says. He plunks down on one of the beds. “I suggest we get some sleep It might not be that late, but we need to get up early, and if you guys are like me and didn’t get much sleep on the boat, now is the time to catch up.”
“I slept like a baby!” Mystica exclaims with a grin. Oh, to be as happy as her….
I settle onto the bed I’d been headed for to begin with. I don’t even bother to kick off my shoes because I’m so afraid that we’re going to be awoken in the middle of the night by whoever was howling at us from the jungle. I’d let myself think that the inhabitants of Maatua would be happy to see us, me anyway, but then, they might know who I am or why I’m here.
Eventually, I fall asleep. My dreams are of the jungle, bugs, Poppy screaming and running from giant gnats, and discovering the treasure. It’s all real dreams, not any kind of vision. When I wake up, it’s still dark in the dungeon, which isn’t surprising, but I hear someone moving around.
My eyes adjust, and I see that it’s Antony, pulling on his shoes. “We need to get going,” he says, not bothering to whisper though no one else seems to be awake.
“Is there a bathroom down here?” I ask him, hesitantly.
He motions to the cells, and I realize there are toilets in all of them, but they’re open to the world, and I doubt the plumbing works.
Still, I don’t have much of a choice. I wander off down the row to the very end where everyone is out of sight and use the facilities, thankful that there’s some tissue in the cell. Someone else must prefer this one as well.
When I come back out, the others are awake, stretching… and arguing. Poppy wants to know why Antony is in such a hurry. I am tired of listening to all of it. We have to find his mother and then get to the right location to break the curse, and we are down to three days before the Blood Moon.
“Let’s just go,” I say. “Poppy, if you want to stay here, you can.” The baby gives me a hard kick in the ribs, and I wince a little rubbing it. “I’m fine. He’s just… active today.”
Poppy and Ben look slightly worried, but Mystica nods, and Antony isn’t listening at all.
“I suggest you grab some more supplies for your bags, and you might want a mosquito hat, princess.” He’s not talking to me, though, when he uses that word. He’s looking at Poppy and gesturing to a stack of hats that have netting around them.
She swears under her breath but grabs one. I take one, too. Why they don’t bother me the same way they do her, I don’t like them.
We grab something to eat out of the stash of protein bars and other nonperishables and then, we are headed back out.
Walking into the heat of the day when the sun is just rising lets me know we are going to have a hot day in front of us. I try not to think about it. Right now, I just need to find Aunt Mary. If we can do that, then I’ll be happy.
“How big is this island anyway?” Ben asks.
“About a hundred square miles,” Antony answers him, slashing through some underbrush with his machete.
That’s a lot larger than I thought it was. For some reason, I had it in my head that it is a tiny little island, but it is actually quite big. The mountains rise up in the distance, towering above the horizon. Palm trees and other foliage reach toward the sky. All around us, crumbled streets and buildings jut up out of the ground reminding me of everything that’s been lost here.
“Have you used the mind-link to reach out to your mom?” Poppy asks Antony, her tone irritated already, and we’ve only been walking for about an hour.
“No. I’m hoping to stumble upon her by chance.” I can tell by Antony’s tone that he’s being sarcastic.
“Well, why isn’t she answering you?” Poppy asks. “She has to be able to hear you on the island, right? It’s not big enough for anyone to be out of range.”
“Actually, there are plenty of places on the island where the mind-link doesn’t work now, thanks to the different curses and magical spells that have been cast here,” Antony explains. “So either she’s ignoring me or she’s in one of them.”
“Well, this really sucks. She’s the one who knows where everything is, right? You don’t know, do you?” Poppy asks, using a tone that shows her irritation.
“I know where the pool is,” Antony says. “That’s where we are headed now.”
“So how long will it take us to get there?” Poppy presses him.
“I guess it depends on how fucking whiney you intend to be.” Antony glares at her over his shoulder.
“You’re such an asshole!” Poppy shouts at him. I hear a snap of a branch over my shoulder and then see that she’s plucked a piece of fruit from a tree and launched it at him. It hits him in the back of the head.
Antony turns around, his eyes wide with rage. “You stupid, bitch!”
“All right, all right!” I put my arms up. “Both of you, stop! Poppy, really, let’s just keep walking and stop complaining. You wanted to come, remember? No complaining. And Antony, just try to be nice if you can, please?”
Glaring at me now, Antony says, “She hit me in the back of the head with a fucking passion fruit!”
“You’re lucky it didn’t wipe that ugly smirk right off your face!” Poppy screams back.
“You two!” Mystica says with a laugh. “I’ve seen my fair share of conflict amongst mates before, but nothing like this.”
We all stare at her, mouths hanging open. “What’s that now?” Ben asks for all of us.
“What? Oh, come on! You two know it. You’re fighting it because you don’t think you like one another, but you feel it. I know you do.”
Poppy’s nose is wrinkled up as she folds her arms. “That man is not my mate!”
“Course he is,” Mystica says with a shrug. “I know it. Hell, I think he even knows it. He’s older than you. Maybe he can feel the pull and you can’t.”
“No fucking way!” Poppy screams.
Antony says nothing, only turns around and continues walking.
Could it be true? It does make sense to me now that Mystica points it out. I can’t imagine the two of them ever being able to get along as a couple, but maybe if they stop fighting their feelings, they can make it work.
We continue on our way, walking on through the jungle, the sun beaming down on us, sweat pouring down back. I’m already beginning to ache from the strain of walking and carrying this baby, but I won’t complain, and Poppy doesn’t say another word after Mystica’s declaration.
We stop for a water break and a snack, sitting beneath some trees. It feels good just to stop and drink some water. Ben and Antony are talking about how much further it is to the pool where I was brought back to life when it occurs to me that Aunt Mary is part of my family and my original pack.
I can use the mind-link to talk to her myself!
I wish I would’ve thought about that before.
With a deep breath, I try to keep myself natural because Antony doesn’t need to know what I’m doing. I’m not sure I can completely trust him. “Aunt Mary? This is Isla. I’m here, on Maatua, headed toward the pool. Are you there?”
I hear nothing in response and figure what Antony said earlier is the truth. Either she’s in a dead zone or hiding from us. The latter would be frustrating considering that she asked me to come here.
After our snack break, we reluctantly get back to our feet and continue on. Antony has told us he hopes we are at the pool by tomorrow evening, but he is worried about camping outside. There are remnants of his father’s men out here. That’s who was howling the night before. “If my mother were here, she could use her powers to protect us. But she’s still not answering.”
I believe him now that I’ve tried to get her a few times myself.
“If we get to the pool by tomorrow night, we’ll have to camp nearby and hope that she shows up for the Blood Moon,” Antony tells us. “Then, she should be able to lift the curse, which will also release the treasure. You guys can take what you want, leave the rest for us to restart the country, and then you can head back to the boat.”
“Wait!” Poppy exclaims. “You’re not coming back with us?”
Antony shakes his head. “No, I’m not. This is my home. I’m staying here.”
Her face falls. A few hours ago, she would’ve been happy to hear that. But now, she seems upset by the news. Maybe she recognizes him as her mate after all.
Night begins to fall, and in the distance, I hear howling again. A chill runs through me. “Are we safe?” I ask Antony.
He shakes his head. “I don’t know. I’m a pretty good warrior. Most people won’t want to mess with me. But if they have us outnumbered, there’s a chance they will attack. The rest of you need to be prepared to defend yourselves.”
“But most of us aren’t even old enough to shift,” Ben reminds him.
“I know. I don’t think you can die though—or Isla.”
“Of course, they can if something kills them,” Mystica says. “That’s not how it works, silly.”
Silly. She doesn’t seem bothered by anything. What is Mystica keeping from us?
More howls echo through the jungle. A chill chases down my spine. Are we going to have to fight to defend ourselves? It seems like they’re getting closer.
Then, I hear another sound. A voice. In my head. It catches me completely off-guard.
“Isla—where are you?”