City of Islands by Kali Wallace

Author:Kali Wallace
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2018-05-14T00:00:00+00:00

14

The Graveyard Island

Mara stumbled along the black-sand beach toward the Ossuary’s single dock. As awed as she was by the sea serpents, and as lonely as she felt now that they were gone, Izzy needed her help. Nothing was more important than that. The momentary calm she had felt with the serpents swimming beside her was gone. She had to get back to Tidewater Isle. She had to stop the Muck before he hurt anyone else.

She didn’t think there would be any mourners or gravediggers on the island after dark, but she had to check. Her only other choice was to swim the long distance to Summer Island.

The Ossuary was made of the same black stone as the other islands, but it was a long hump rather than a narrow spire, like a whale lying on its side. The founders had never shaped it with their magic, and it had no towers or palaces, as it had only ever been home to the dead. Here and there spots of light punctured the darkness; mourners brought candles and oil lamps to leave on the graves. The candles were said to help the dead navigate the sea during their long, dark night. Nobody ever seemed to wonder why the dead needed to navigate anywhere if they were trapped safely in their crypts, but the tradition persisted.

Mara climbed a staircase to the top of a crumbling sea wall and followed a path to the western end of the island. The fog was thickening, and a soft rain began to fall. It was going to be a chilly night. She could barely see the lights of Gravetown, just across the water on the shore of Greenwood Island.

She didn’t know which of those specks of light was her old home or who was living there now. Another family of stonemasons, perhaps. A father who greeted the dawn with silly children’s songs and fed stray cats with scraps from their table. A mother who loved to walk barefoot on the beaches on sunny days and kept a precise ranking of her favorite sea captains, duelists, and adventurers from history. There might be a tabletop scattered with intricate sketches, a bubbling pot of spicy fish stew, tea in earthen mugs that had been given to them by the potter who lived in the muddy valley above town. There might be a little girl who slept in the warm loft beside the fireplace. Instead of being an only child she would have brothers and sisters all around her, so many there was no chance she would ever be left alone.

Mara pushed those thoughts away. Feeling sorry for herself wasn’t going to help Izzy.

A cold wind rose, twisting the fog in wraith-like whirls. The sea was growing rougher; the air smelled like a storm was approaching. It would be hard to swim to Summer Island. Mara didn’t even know if she could make it.

When she reached the western edge of the island, she leaned out from the terrace for a look down at the dock.

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