"I found permission," Amos said. He was still lying in keel, heaving great guffs of breath. The ocean was rising into a storm all around them.
"Ask the ocean to calm itself down!" Victana said.
"I did," Amos said. "It said we won't sink."
"Did you mention that we might get sick?" Victana asked.
"I don't think that was particularly important," Amos said. "It also is protecting us from whatever that thing back in the village keeps on throwing at us."
"So we're safe," Victana said. "From drowning."
"I would say we're safe from the storm drowning us," Amos said. "The ocean wishes to remind you that we can still drown if we're bad sailors."
"I intend on doing my part," said Victana. "What price did the Ocean demand?"
Amos grimaced.
"Just tell me," Victana said.
"Our first born child," Amos said.
"How fortunate we're never going to have one," said Victana.
"In that case," Amos said, "possession of our soul after death."
"What a demanding ocean!" said Victana. The storm was still raging outside of the duvkanan, but the little craft was barely bobbing in the surf. Apparently the ocean was more conscientious of their stomachs than it had let on.
"Where are we going?" Amos asked.
"Does it matter?" Victana asked. "There's a storm all around us, our village burnt down, and we're alone in the world."
"We're alone," said Amos.
He was able to sit up now. They looked out from their bubble of calm at the raging storm. Lightning crashed and great waves crashed around them. The sky was pitch dark. Victana could see no landmarks to steer by and had stopped even paddling.
"We're alone," Victana repeated. "What do we do?"
Amos shook his head.
"How does something kill a Guardian Tree?" he asked.
"Maybe everyone isn't gone," Victana said. "We didn't see everyone who was..." her voice trailed off. She flicked her paddled in the water.
"Who was dead," Amos said. "They're all dead, Victana. I saw their shades. They were hovering over the dying Guardian Tree."
"Did you see my mom?" Victana asked. He nodded.
"And everyone else," he said.
She put her hand on his knee. With the duvkanan rocking in the water, she couldn't get closer to him.
"We're the last from our village," he said. "And we're stuck on the ocean."
Earlier episodes can be found at www.pathwaysbook.com. Just to be clear, content is posted here first, then reposted to the website. This is where you get it first.
