Snake Heart (Chains of Honor #2) -Lindsay Buroker Page 0,13

down the trail.

Yanko relaxed, recognizing Lakeo’s voice. “Might want to re-light that lantern, Dak. It’s easy to trip on that trail.”

“Yes.” The dryness in Dak’s tone made him wonder if he had witnessed Yanko’s trip.

“The ship,” Lakeo blurted as soon as she spotted them. “They left. It’s gone.”

The light of the lantern revealed water dripping from her clothes and her usually frizzy wild hair plastered to her head.

“You tried to stop them?” Yanko guessed.

Dak set the lantern down and jogged to the rock he’d stood on before.

Lakeo wiped her face. “Yes. Two of Shark’s men rowed into the cove, said another ship was on the horizon, and everyone decided that meant they should leave too. I tried to stop them—knocked some teeth out, but there were too many of them. Someone shoved me off the pier. It was too high for me to climb back up, so I had to swim to the beach. Shark and your girlfriend ran past while I was swimming—I don’t even know if they saw me. I shouted for them to wait, but by the time I reached the beach, the boats were all being rowed back to the Falcon’s Flight.

Dak joined them again, the lantern highlighting his face from below, casting shadows across his grim features. “Judging by the lights, there are three ships out there.”

“In addition to the Flight?” Yanko asked.

“The Flight is gone.”

“Gone? Already?” Yanko’s thoughts of being abandoned on the island returned to him in full force. Whoever these new ships belonged to, there was no guarantee they would give his little team a ride back to civilization. If anything, this could be some fleet that Sun Dragon had put together.

“The view is limited from up here,” Dak said. “Minark could have moved to the other side of the island to avoid notice. His ship could also be running with its lanterns out.”

“Or it could be gone forever.” Yanko closed his eyes.

“I’d put my money on that, if I had any.” Lakeo propped a fist on her hip. “What’re we going to do?”

Yanko sighed. “Find a waterfall. Before those ships find us.”

Chapter 5

“Are you sure we’re going the right away?” Lakeo asked after tripping for the twentieth or thirtieth time.

“No,” Yanko said.

He had tripped at least forty times. The villagers apparently hadn’t been big explorers of the lush interior of their island, because trails through the thick foliage were scarce. Whenever Yanko tripped, Kei squawked a protest from his shoulder. More than once, a wing slapped him in the back of the head. He wasn’t sure if it was because the parrot was catching his balance or if it was meant as punishment for being an unreliable porter.

“It’s dark, and all I have for a map are the memories of a tortoise,” he added.

“Anyone ever tell you how odd you are, Yanko?” Lakeo pushed a branch aside, one that whipped back and almost smacked Yanko in the face.

“Not everyone is as blunt as you are.” Yanko glanced back for the hundredth time. Logically, he knew it was unlikely that the newcomers could have anchored, sent in boats full of men, and started to search already. Still, he couldn’t help but believe Sun Dragon would know where he was and have little trouble catching up.

“So others only think about how odd you are?”

Dak, who had the lantern and was leading the way, gave them a dark look over his shoulder, clearly feeling this wasn’t the time for chitchat. Yanko wanted to lift his hands in protest—he hadn’t started the conversation—but he was too busy pushing aside branches and fronds. He kept thinking that he should be leading, since this was his quest, but Dak had grunted something about having a map of the island in his head.

Yanko wondered what he would do if they found the lodestone behind the waterfall. Could he keep Dak from grabbing it and claiming it as his own? A true warrior mage would have the power to beat a mundane warrior, but that presumed that the mage had a bodyguard to keep the warrior at bay while he concentrated on using that power. What did one do when one’s enemy and one’s bodyguard were the same person?

“Stop worrying,” he muttered to himself, trying to still his whirring mind. Going forward without a plan would be foolish, but worrying himself to death would be equally foolish. If they found the lodestone, he would just have to get it before Dak, then run into the rainforest and disappear. He