Shara sat on the end of the dock, her feet dangling so that her toes dragged in the water as she watched the boat creep away across the water. Part of her wanted to be on that boat – or was it big enough to be called a ship? – to pick up the hunt for her mother again. The other sorcerers and Clocksmiths on there were heading for the next portal, where they suspected her mother and aunt had gone.

But that would’ve meant leaving Tel and Anad behind, and her chance at getting ButterBee back with them. The Tailcoat had been hurt pretty badly in their battle with Gevar, and without Doctor Pain having some willing ‘assistants’, there wasn’t much to be done to speed up Anad’s recovery.

“I’m glad you didn’t go,” Tel’s voice said softly from behind her, and she glanced back to see him walking quietly down the dock towards her. He’d stopped limping, and now kept his silver arm covered with a long sleeve and glove, while regular pants and boots hid his leg. The bandages over his face to treat the burns also kept his eye – heh – under wraps for the time being. Which, considering how the other sorcerers looked at him, was for the better.

“You sure you should be out in this sea air?” Shara asked, but patted the dock beside her. “You won’t rust or anything, right?”

Tel looked at the leather glove on his left hand, fingers flexing underneath. “I don’t think the most advanced technology of the Escalation Wars is prone to rust, but I may have to…”

“Run a few experiments, I know,” Shara said with a chuckle.

Tel shrugged, but sat cross-legged on the wooden dock beside her. “Do you want to know what they had to say before they left?” he asked.

“Not really,” Shara said, leaning back on her arms to look up at the clouds passing lazily overhead. “But I guess I should probably hear it.”

“The explosion sealed the tunnel completely on the end we escaped from, and they believe it completely flooded the other side,” Tel said.

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“They believe?” Shara asked.

“There are still some of the monsters milling around the town, but the scouts say they seemed… aimless? Our people only got to check the tunnel entrances briefly, but they were filled with water. They think the portal room is inaccessible for the time being, but they’ve been keeping an eye on the town from a distance.

“In the week they’ve been watching it, there haven’t been any sightings of new monsters. I think we did it,” Tel said.

Shara let out a breath. “That’s good news. And no sign of Gevar or whatever her name was?”

“Nothing,” Tel said. “She must’ve been killed when the tunnel collapsed.”

“I hope that’s true,” Shara said.

“Even if it isn’t, if she shows her face again, she’ll have a lot to answer for,” Tel said, his leather glove creaking as he made a fist.

Shara reached out and put a hand on that fist, gently unwinding the fingers. They’d talked at length about what he’d gone through at her hands, and he was far from being over it. In the moments when he let down his calm exterior, there was a terrible anger lingering behind, and if Shara had to be honest with herself, the worry at what he would do was the other reason she hadn’t gotten on that boat.

“How’s Anad?” she asked to change the topic.

Hate lingered for a moment longer in Tel’s normal eye, but he pushed past it with a released breath. “Recovering,” Tel said. “A few more days. He overtaxed himself using the Trance, apparently, so he can only use it sparingly to help him recover.

“We can learn a lot from him about Tailcoats, their strengths and weaknesses, if he’ll tell us,” Tel said.

“Or maybe more about how they’re created. Do you believe there really is one of those portals under the capital? That Tailcoats are made the same way those monsters are?” Shara asked.

Tel seemed to think about it for a moment, then nodded. “I do. After seeing what happened to Gevar, it seems possible. More than possible. But the capital is the Tailcoats’ stronghold. It won’t be easy getting somebody in to confirm it. If it’s true, they’ve kept this secret for almost four hundred years.”

“Definitely sounds like a tomorrow problem,” Shara said. “Or maybe a next week problem.”

“What about you, Shara? Are you going to stick with the Swallowtails?” Tel asked.

Shara’s eyes turned back towards the boat in the distance. If she stayed, she was bound to catch up to her mother at some point. It was the best lead she’d had in years. But, it would also put her directly in front of more of those monsters as the group moved to seal any other portals out there.

“You are, right?” Shara asked, and waited until Tel nodded. “Then I guess I have to. Somebody has to keep you out of trouble.

“After we get ButterBee back.”

Fin.