On Sapphire Wings and Jade Scales

Chapter 29: The Isle of Trusa

A row of empty beach houses greeted the distraught travelers with their creaky doors and windows. They smashed against moss-covered walls whenever a gust of ocean air blew through. And with the wind came the faint smell of fish. The dark skies above the island let out low groaning sounds, as if a giant pushed a sofa atop the clouds.

Eila took three steps into the coarse, damp sand. After one quick look at the gray scenery, she ranked it as the least fun beach she had ever visited. Already she missed the fine, golden sands of Aegean City, plus the cooling winds, the sun's warmth on her skin, the view from the hotel, and Marco's pastries. She found it difficult to explain, but the lonely scene before her gave her this sinking feeling in her stomach.

Seeing red-snouted pelicans and lavender-tailed albatrosses scattered around the beach brought some comfort to the twins, however. They weren't completely alone, at least. The pelicans' honks helped lighten up the mood with their silly tunes, enough for Ari and Nino's heads to perk up.

Queen Suilah and the man in green took the lead, ambling towards the beach houses. "To think my abode could fall to such a state in a mere year," the man in green mused, as he regarded his home with a touch of sadness. "If this is what the Nether Oracle desires for this world... I must stop him at any cost."

Tomas, Eila, and Nino, who sat upon his "noble steed", Ari, trudged up the sand. Behind them were their parents, who chatted with Joanne in a near-whisper. The twins paid little attention to their talk, but they sounded a bit worried. Further behind them, Levias called to his queen one last time before the twins heard a loud splash.

Chills ran down their back. No turning back till their trip was over, they thought. Or until Suilah called the Mysticetan.

Although the travelers tried keeping a casual mood around them, they couldn't ignore the island's claws creeping up on them. Even as the twins looked up at the Ilenes in the distance with wonder, their hearts whispered at them to turn back. Both exchanged knowing glances; the monsters could already be waiting for them at the top. After all, the final shard was on the island, according to Narciso.

Tomas skipped ahead toward the man in green and lightly tugged his coat. "Say, where's the last piece? Did Narciso say anything about it?"

The man put a finger up to his chin and furrowed his eyebrows. "They did not give any other details on our last conversation, only that it was certainly on the island." The two stopped as the wind howled past them. "Let us find a more comfortable place, then we may contact Narciso about it. I pray they have gathered more clues by now."

Tomas nodded and returned to Eila. After repeating Mr. Green's words, Eila crossed her arms and looked up to the Ilenes.

"So, we just explore a bit and find somewhere to stay for now?" she asked. "This place gives me the heebie-jeebies, but it'd be fun to catch some photos of those birds, and maybe some other critters wandering around this town."

Tomas squinted his eyes at her. "We're stuck on a spooky island. Those cloaked monsters are probably hiding or looking for the crystal piece, and you're thinking about taking photos of animals?" He tilted his head to one side and huffed. "What about bugs?"

The twins argued about animals versus insects as the group went past the empty beach houses. For a moment, they felt as though they were back in Cherub Woods, imagining the sort of wildlife they wanted to find.

Meanwhile, Ari kept her snout to the sky, nostrils flaring as she took in the island's scents. The fishy smell grew weaker as they strolled down a dirt road leading into the island's insides. Palm trees arched over the road, looking like a gaping mouth that bobbed up and down with the wind. A mass of trees in the distance reminded the twins of the dark forest back in Zephyr Town. Combined with the Ilenes' peaks behind the swishing trees, the island seemed like a sleeping dragon with brown spikes. Completing the image was the thundering, resembling Ari's snoring growls when she slept. These snores were more menacing than cute, however.