She had to find Jai, had to get the message through to him about their parents, had to stop the Establishment from getting their iron grip into him, brainwashing him, before it was too late.
She pulled the rip cord. The engine spluttered. She tried again. This time, the motor caught. The off-kilter putting sound that came thereafter was a sick child with whooping cough.
She pulled away from the protected cove and ducked as the boom swung with the swell. The main sail remained in a crumple against the boom. She didn't know how to hoist it, didn't know the first thing about sailing. She would rely on the motor to get her to the mainland, and Herald to direct her.
Herald soared faithful circles in the air. Just get me as far as the city, she thought.
His answering ca-caw was more warning than ascent.
She squinted into the distance. If Gigi could float across the Southern Sea without a sail, she could float back to the mainland with a motor and a navigator. It couldn't be that far, right?
Reaching down for the flask of water she'd stored below deck. Instead, she grasped scratchy rolls of parchment and brought them to the light. It was the two posters Eli had brought back to the island.
Unravelling the first, she scanned the print, imagining her brother's furrowed brow as he drafted the words. Did he believe what he was writing? How much did he know about what was really going on?
Her eyes quested the text, looking for clues to his wellbeing—Was he okay? Was he safe? Did he know the Establishment were looking for her?
Attention citizens of Ace
She touched the bolded A, then penned her finger across the rest of the letters as though writing them herself. She wanted to feel him through the page, to touch his hand, hear his voice as he read the words aloud.
Her finger travelled down the line of bolded letters, all the way to the bottom, then stopped and ran the distance again. Something wasn't right. The sentences were all wrong. Chopped in the wrong places. It was as though someone had slapped the word on the page in a rush. And Jai never did things without thought.
The realisation knocked her off her feet. Literally. Just as a wave slammed the hull of the boat, dousing her salt water, she saw in the poster what had been there all along—a warning from her brother, meant only for her.
Attention citizens of Ace
Strange occurrences
Have led us to believe
That a new rebel gang
Have been kidnapping innocent citizens on our streets
Emergency protection lines are to be called if—
You have any information or
Know of any unexplainable disappearances in your area.
Night patrols are now on 24 hour watch
Our number is 1300 Ace
We're here for your protection
2, 000 dollars reward
With elevation to Elite citizen status for information about their stronghold
Keep your city safe
Stop these unspeakable ills
Sitting on the deck of the boat, she swiped spray from her eyes. The words on the poster were now blotched and dripping.
ASH
THEY KNOW
2 WKS
Another wave sent her sliding against the opposite railing so that she almost lost grip on the second poster. Splitting her legs to form an ungainly wedge between the railing and the jut of the centreboard trunk, she flattened the second poster on the deck and read quickly, before the words could become an indecipherable blur.
Wanted: Valancia Asher
A brown-haired, brown-eyed girl
Thought to be known as Val
Cuts on her upper left arm
Height: approx. 155 cm
Outcast and orphan
Unemployed
Twenty-one years of age
Believed to be armed
Last seen in the Entertainment District
Undermining business owners and
Establishment authorities
Have you seen her? Contact us
Anonymous calls will be accepted
Incentives have never been higher
Reward: Informants will be upgraded to Elite citizen status
WATCH OUT. BLUE HAIR.
The blood drained from her face. Blue hair. There was only one person on the island with blue hair. Well, a blue streak in her hair, that is. Jai was trying to warn her about Freia.
And just like that, she turned the tiller, pulled hard on the throttle and lurched back towards the island.
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*~*
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*~*
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Phoenix
FantasyOrphan Ashalia sleeps with her eyes open, walks with her back to the dormitory walls and never lets the other kids see her fears. In a world powered by greed, every moment could be her last. She also has a secret. An ability so powerful that if the...
