They found the path at the end of the docks, just where Sweet Pea had said it would be. It was a thin and narrow strip of dirt, barely more than a few feet wide, perfect for sneaking along up the coast, especially with the dunes and their long grasses hanging over one side, shielding them from view. The only thing she’d forgotten to mention was the tide.
As the surf came in, the waves broke just inches below their feet, spraying them with icy water. Soon enough, both of them were soaked and shivering, even as they ran.
“Ugh! Do you see the pipe yet?” Dandy shouted.
“Keep down!” Maine shushed him. “I don’t even see the wall yet!” Ahead of her, she could only see the path curling along to the right, following the bend in the dunes. Surely they were close though, the sound of fighting was getting louder and there was a red glow in the sky, just ahead of them.
Suddenly the sand under her feet gave way and Maine started to slip. Her feet slid into the water as she clawed at the grass, trying to fight for purchase.
“I’ve got you!” Dandy yelled, grabbing hold of her hand. Maine stopped sliding her feet dangling over the edge of the path.
“Thanks,” she sighed. “I was in no mood to go swimming.”
Dandy nodded and started to pull her up, when suddenly he stiffened. “Quiet!” he hissed, ducking his head down.
A light had appeared, shining over the edge of the dunes. “You hear something?!” a man’s voice called out.
Maine flattened herself against the edge of the cliff, trying to hide in the weeds. The waves crashed again, soaking her up to her thighs. As water splashed against the lantern at her belt, she felt it jump all on it’s own.
MMMmmrrowww!!?
“Ifri!” she hissed. “Stay quiet!”
They heard heavy footfalls overhead and the light grew brighter. Someone was climbing the hill, staring out over the dunes. “Who’s out there?” the man called. The waves crashed again below them and the lantern rattled one more time.
Mmmrrrroowww?!
Winced, trying to keep her legs up and out of the water. Dandy was holding his breath. The light was so close now, if he just climbed a few feet more, he’d be able to look down on them, there’d be no way they could stay hidden.
The waves crashed again, but this time only soaked her ankles. The lantern gave another soft rattle and was still. After a moment, they heard the man curse and start to climb back down the hill. Slowly, the light faded away.
Dandy let out his breath. “That was close. Who was that?”
“I don’t know,” she told him. “You want to go see?”
He pulled her up with a grunt and set her back down onto the path. “Not really, but let’s go anyway.”
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
They started to climb the hill, keeping low as they peeped over the top. Maine saw immediately that they’d already gone a lot further than she’d thought. Across from the dunes there was a sandy dirt road running east to west, leading out of Old Coney. It was much like the one that had gone to Henna’s shop, all the way on the other side of the island, sparsely bordered by shacks and abandoned shops. This one, however, instead of leading to edge of the grassy dunes of Sheepshead, ran to the wall off neighborhood of–
“Gravesend!” Dandy hissed. He sucked in his breath. “God! Look! It’s like the whole place’s ablaze!”
Behind the brick walls that encircled the small neighborhood, fires were leaping from rooftop to rooftop, the tightly packed homes Gravesend providing a natural path to spread. They could hear the shouts and screams from the townspeople, but over that was the rattle of gunfire.
Two full wagons had been driven into the main gate leading through the walls, blocking the entrance. As if that wasn’t enough of a barrier, men with guns were crouched around them, firing into Gravesend. Maine squinted, trying to see what they were shooting at, but just then there was a roar from inside the walls.
From out of the flames and smoke in the streets, a huge Troll came charging, head lowered and bellowing. Trimble’s men started to shout, focusing their fire, but he was already too close. He smashed into the first cart, dislodging it in a shower of wood and sending it rolling backwards as the men scattered. The Troll continued to yell, trying to pull himself free, but the force of his impact had been so great that he was partially embedded into the wreck. Trimble’s men ran forwards, trying to bring him down, but there then there was an answering shout. More Elders were running from out of the smoke, men, women, children. Some fled around the wreckage, but others were fighting, tackling the men and swarming them under. In moments, it was a general riot, Human against Elder with no quarter given.
Maine grabbed Dandy’s arm and tugged him back down the hill. “Come’on, we’ll never get in that way!” She hopped down onto the path and took off running. Ahead of them, the path led around Gravesend, just as Sweet Pea had said. It also grew even narrower, with the surf frequently crashing over the path, leaving them to slip and slide their way along. It wasn’t easy going. Ifri’s lantern began to shake again with each wetting, and behind her, Maine could hear Dandy huffing along.
“Maine! They’ve all got guns!” he called up to her. “How are we going to get the Firstborn out, even if we find them?”
“I don’t know! We’ll figure something out!” Dandy groaned loudly, but she hardly noticed. She pointed up ahead. “Look, there’s the pipe!”
Sticking out about halfway up the wall was a twelve inch diameter lead pipe. It hung several feet over the shoreline, with what looked like something black and nasty dripping slowly from the end. The smell wasn’t any better as she got closer. Maine clamped her fingers over her nose but even that didn’t seem to help, even the air foul and greasy. “Ugh! Gross! Why didn’t she warn us?” Dandy was swaying on his feet, his eyes almost crossed.
Maine squinted, looking up. The wall above the pipe was actually broken, with a large crack running up the middle. A few boards had been placed across it, but it looked easy enough to slip through. “Can you give me a boost?”
Dandy grunted, breathing loudly through his mouth, and let her climb up over him onto the pipe. She moaned as her fingers sunk into the slimy moss on top, or at least, that’s what she hoped it was. Throwing her leg over, she climbed up, then reached down to grab Dandy’s hand.
“Ugh! That’s rank!” he complained.
“Just shut up and get up here!” Suddenly, something was scrambling up the wall beside her and Maine yelled, nearly losing her grip. Dandy yelped and clung to her, his feet kicking in the air.
It was a rat. The little gray thing clawed its way up the wall and then sprang up and onto the pipe. For a moment, it paused, and the cold look it gave Maine seemed oddly familiar to her. Then with a flick of its tail, it scampered towards the crack and slipped through. Maine stared after it.
“Well sure, it’s easy if you’ve got four legs,” she muttered.
“Maine!” Dandy yelped again.
“Hold your horses. I got you!” She hauled him up and onto the pipe, then slapped him on the back. Both of them were soaked from the surf, and their clothes covered with muck and slime. “See, not so bad, was it?” she asked.
WILL CONTINUE