Midnight came, and the supernatural beings were ready. Rowan stood in the alleyway with a blank mind. He couldn't afford to doubt himself, not when it could cost him his life. He looked up to the stars twinkling, wondering if Kaerius was near the surface and could see the stars too.
"The moon is very bright tonight," Kaerius thought.
Rowan's eyes moved to the big round glowing ball in the sky. No clouds threatened to cover its shine, and the silver light was bright enough to make the night a little less gloomy.
"Where are you?"
"At shroud island. We're waiting for you to move, so we'll move with you."
"You'll probably see the boat before us," Rowan thought. "It might be a good idea if you do, then you can tell us if it's guarded or not."
"Good idea."
The werewolves piled out the abandoned shop together, all in high spirits after psyching each other up. They patted Rowan's shoulder on the way past until Jenya reached him.
"Are you ready?" she asked, carrying no weapons. Once shifted, the werewolves were terrifying enough with their sharp teeth and huge claws.
"I am," Rowan said to convince himself.
"Well, Jack's not and neither am I. So at least one of us is confident." Jenya smiled and went ahead to guide her pack.
The Vampires shortly arrived with cars because Michael's parents were a few towns away and it would take a few hours to get there if they walked. Having getaway cars meant that those who couldn't jump into the water and swim away could make a quick exit.
Rowan sat with Jack and Jenya in the backseats, while Volher and his soulmate sat in the front. Rowan wasn't in the mood for talking, so he stared out of the window, watching the sea on the dark horizon. Whenever they neared the beach, he would scan the ocean for any sign of Thalassic Mortals. Of course, Rowan didn't see them on the surface.
Ten minutes into the journey, Jack said with annoyance, "I've missed far too many lessons."
Rowan completely forgot about university. He looked at Jack with wide green eyes. "I totally forgot to email the tutors-"
"Don't worry. I emailed them on your behalf. I said we're family and have a family emergency going on, which wasn't exactly a lie."
Rowan sank back into his seat. "I don't want to think about the amount of work we've got to catch up on."
"I'm actually looking forward to these study days. It'll mean that things have gone back to normal."
Rowan agreed, though now was not the time to dive into his studies. The conversation died once again, and he found himself staring at the world from the window. The night was the coldest one yet, and the roads were quiet.
After another twenty minutes, Volher said that they would park up a few minutes away from the docks, so they could sneak up on foot.
Leaving the car and smelling the fresh sea air felt like a punch to Rowan's heart. Kaerius was close. He could feel him. Rowan could even hear the distant crashing of the waves breaking on the shore, which meant that the ocean was just around the corner.
Rowan ignored his longing to be with Kaerius and asked, "Can you see the boat?"
"There's a big one on a private dock. I would say to be careful because it might be the wrong one, but 'Solar' is painted onto the side of it in big gold letters."
Rowan allowed himself to smirk. "Kaerius and his group can see the boat," he said aloud.
"Ask if anyone is guarding it," Volher whispered.
Rowan listened to Kaerius's thoughts and confirmed that all the hunters had most likely gone to sleep because the boat and the docks around it were empty.
"Hm, I don't know why, but I'm suspicious of that," Volher said, and as soon as he saw Rowan's panic, he quickly added, "but all of their hunters were around the vampires for the past few nights. They'll all be sleeping or too exhausted to fight. That might be why it's so quiet."
Rowan rubbed his hands together and tried to agree.
The rest of the cars arrived, and when everyone was together, Rowan, Michael, Mandy, Jack, Braiken and his soulmate went first. The werewolves waited until they were 10 metres away, then followed, then the vampires followed.
The crowd was as silent as their shoes allowed them to be. They didn't speak, only signalled to one another.
Rowan noted how long the path was to get to the docks and he knew not to go back that way if they got into trouble. He would jump directly into the water where Kaerius promised to be waiting.
The docks were made up of old and uneven planks of wood. Kaerius would have most likely tripped over them if he were on land. No lights guided their way. They didn't dare use torchlights, so all they could rely on was the moon though it shined brighter than ever before like it willed for them to succeed.
Rowan saw the boat first and watched his dad's reaction. Michael paled and tensed. He hardened his jaw and turned away from the boat like the sight of it brought back harsh memories.
"Let's find a way in," Rowan whispered.
"The front door always faces the water, but they have a trap door near the back." Michael guided them around the home that bobbed softly on the calm sea.
Rowan scanned the water and thought he saw eyes watching him. He felt comfort in that, hoping certain purple eyes could see him.
As they neared the back of the boat, Rowan could see a small wooden trap door with a big padlock on it. His dad noticed too and signalled for the others to stop. If everyone piled on first, the boat would rock. Rowan stopped and held his breath when his dad grabbed the railings and carefully stepped onto the boat.
Michael crouched low. His ears were ringing.
Mandy gripped Rowan's wrist, both watching Michael fiddle with the lock and trying to pick it open. The longer he tried, the more uncomfortable Rowan felt. He kept glancing around, expecting hunters to run from all sides, but they never came.
"I'm in," Michael whispered, carefully removing the lock. He pointed to Rowan, wanting him to approach the boat. He then pointed to Mandy and the rest of their family to wait around the front to block other exits.
Rowan felt like he made lots of noise when he climbed over the side of the boat, but he thought his heart made a lot of noise, so Rowan wasn't sure if it was all in his head.
He crouched by the trap door too and very carefully, Michael pulled it open. The rusty hinges from years of salty water and rain squeaked loud. They froze, listened, and when they heard no movement other than the soft splashing of the sea, Michael continued.
The trap door didn't squeak again, but Rowan's heart didn't slow down while he stared into the pitch-black space below. He didn't know what awaited him, and he would rather not find out, but for the sake of peace, he climbed in after his father.
At first, he couldn't see anything, only smell the faint scent of fish and salt. His eyes slowly adjusted, and he was crouched in what looked like a storage room full of fishing gear. A narrow path lead from the trap door above to the doorway in front of them.
"This looks like fishing gear," Michael whispered. "But once you start searching, you'll find all the hunting gear."
Rowan shivered. The night was cold, but his estranged grandparents made him colder. "Where do we go now?"
"Through that door, and hopefully they're sleeping, so we can get everyone inside and talk."
Rowan knew his dad was tense. He hoped he could pull it together enough to stay calm.
They crawled through the storeroom and opened the door to more darkness. Rowan's eyes were adjusting, and he could see the short hallway and the three doors, both on the left and one to the far right. The floorboard felt cold under him, and maybe a little damp.
"Are you okay?" Kaerius's voice was loud in Rowan's head. He would have jumped if he wasn't so used to hearing him.
"Yeah, we're in the boat. Tell the Thalassic Mortals to be wary of getting too close. Most hunter's boats have spears ready to shoot from the sides."
"Rowan, be careful."
Michael and Rowan's heads snapped towards the trap door when someone dropped down, rocking the boat.
"Braiken," Michael hissed. "Quiet!"
Jack dropped into the boat behind them, and they crawled through the clearing among the fishing gear.
"The boat's surrounded by werewolves, vampires, and Thalassic Mortals. Even if the hunters come, it'll take them forever to reach the boat," Braiken whispered a little too loudly for Michael's liking.
"Let's move quickly then. The longer we're here, the more likely we are to be noticed." Michael took the lead and tiptoed down the corridor to make as little noise as he could. He stopped outside a room Rowan assumed was the bedroom and put his hand on the handle.
Rowan tried to breathe deeply instead of holding his breath. He had his weapon in his dominant hand with his thumb ready to press the button to extend the poles. His dad turned to look at him, and Rowan didn't feel confident when he saw his dad's nerves.
"Ready?" Michael mouthed. His eyes moved to Braiken and Jack who nodded. When everyone was prepared to fight for their lives, Michael looked back to the handle and wrenched the door open.