Chapter 86

Up River

Max leaned against the trunk of an oak tree, watching the beach where the Rollo warriors were boarding their ships. He caught sight of Britt, highlighted in the early morning light as she stood out in front of the ships. She leaned on an axe and watched over them like a shepherd with a flock. The ships’ afts bobbed in the rising tide as crewmen fixed oars in preparation to leave. Looking over his shoulder to make sure nobody from the camp on the Plains had followed him, Max took a deep breath and thought again about what he would say to Britt. He knew she would tell him the same thing she had said last night: serve where you’re needed the most. Having been selected and now trained as a crystal bearer, Max and the others he trained with would be needed at the front lines. Britt’s words told him to stay with the Army, but her silent tears begged him to come with her.   

I won’t leave you, you know, he thought to himself while watching Britt. She pointed at a crewman on an adjacent ship and shouted a string of orders in their native Rolloan language. Max knew the dynamic of leadership among their clans had been mixed since they discovered Red was purposely ignoring the war being fought in Kartania. Many Rollo Island warriors had abandoned their Chief, leaving him on the island with those who chose to remain loyal. With more than half of their Navy answering Anders’ plea to fight in Southland, Red didn't have much choice when these sailors returned home and rallied the rest of the warriors to fight in Westland. Max suspected Red’s ego as the island nation’s leader drove him to follow his warriors, though he claimed it was his idea all along.  Max could see in Red’s eyes that he feared what would happen to the Rollo Islands after seeing what Merglan had done to the elven capital.  

The opportunity Max was waiting for presented itself when Britt left her post to further instruct the crewman she’d been shouting at. Max came out of his hiding place among the trees and jogged across the beach toward the rest of Britt’s crew. From the short time he’d spent sailing with them, Max knew the other crewmen well enough to know that they would help hide him onboard. It wasn’t enough for the crew to want him, however, so he was going to have to hide among them until they were unable to turn back. Britt always stood at the ship’s stern, so as long as he kept his hood on and head down, Sanka and the others would continue rowing in silence until they were well on their way.  

Max hurried through the sand. He kept Britt in his line of sight, hoping she wouldn’t turn around until he was onboard. Reaching the crew, Sanka was ready to sneak him on. As a true member of Britt’s crew, Sanka was permitted by Anders and others to send at least one crystal bearer on the boats. Just as they had planned the night before, those in on the secret reacted to his appearance. As Max quickly climbed into the ship, one of Britt’s new crewmen jumped down. While she was helping with the ship next to them, he slipped into their crew unnoticed.  

Max pulled his cloak hood over his head and moved across the deck, finding Sanka and joining him at his rowing bench. Glancing over the side, he saw Britt leaving from the neighboring ship’s crewman. He sat down, blocking himself from view with the bulk of the ship’s bow. Max sat wondering if the Captain to their right was as particular as Britt. If he was, the extra crewman could give him away before they left.  

Just keep your head down and follow orders, Max told himself. Once we’re out beyond the break I can show myself. She’ll be mad, but I know deep down she’ll be glad to have me by her side. I just hope Anders isn’t too mad when Bo tells him where I am.  

Max helped Sanka stuff the oar through the hatch in the ship’s side and slide it into the oarlock. Britt ran up to the edge of the boat, grabbed the side and hauled herself into the ship. When Max saw her come aboard, he hunched over the oar, pretending to adjust something as she walked toward the aft. As usual, Britt started checking to see that the oars on either side of the ship were locked and ready to row. Leaning forward, Max heard the click of Britt’s boots as she approached. He wiggled the bench a little to authenticate his reason for bending over. Britt’s black boots came into view and Max felt her hand pat him on the back as she continued past zigzagging across the deck toward the rear. Straightening, Max continued to stare forward, hearing Britt’s footfalls continue behind him.  

Max shifted to the right on his bench, making sure his face couldn’t be seen. He looked down the beach at the entire Rollo fleet. There were more ships on the beach outside Brookside than there had been when he first met Britt just a few days’ walk to the south. His eyes found the crewman who’d left Britt’s ship to join the one next to them. Noting that the other ship had several empty seats, he assumed they were glad to have an extra hand for rowing. Max saw the sailor look over at Britt and then at him. The two shared a momentary glance, nodding to one another as Britt began issuing her commands.   

Her voice cracked like a whip over the sound of the wind whipping up along the beach, “Listen up! Those of you who were with my crew before know I’ve been away for a while, but that doesn't mean I’ve changed. Get those oars in the water! This Navy won’t lead itself, especially with our current Chief. Come on now, push off and row!” 

Four crewmen at the bow pushed the ship off the beach and into the rising tide. Max and Sanka worked together to row on Britt’s count and in cadence with the others. With each stroke, they pulled hard to push the boat farther from shore. Max hadn’t had time to think about what he would do if his plan worked. He had only thought of how to carry it out. He held onto the hope that after he revealed himself, she would eventually forgive him. As they rowed through the breaking surf and out into open water, Max’s nerves started to buzz. He didn’t know if he should just pop up and turn around to say, ‘surprise’ or wait awhile to get her attention. 

“Drop the sail and bring in the oars,” she ordered once they’d distanced themselves from the breaking surf. The two benches of warriors seated in front of Max cleared to open the main sail. One of them tossed Max a rope and he pulled it tight, holding the tension against the wind as Sanka secured it to the side. After the sail was set, Max helped bundle the oars and carry them below deck into the shallow hull of the ship. In the dark underside of the ship, he saw the outlines of the cannons; a vivid memory of when he and Anders had first left Grandwood flooded his thoughts. 

“So far, so good,” Sanka said, patting him on the shoulder.  

Max nodded.  

“If you want to wait awhile, you could stay down here,” Sanka suggested.  

“No, I should get the ugly part out of the way.” 

“You’re braver than most, going against Britt’s orders,” Sanka said. “Good luck.”  

“I hope I won’t need it,” Max replied. He took one more deep breath as he prepared to come above board and face Britt. 

With his heart pounding and a nervous quiver in his arms and legs, Max walked up the stairs toward the deck. By now, the steering would have been turned over to a crewmember and Britt would be more attentive to the crew onboard. She typically remained at the stern, making sure everything went smoothly, especially with so many new people on her crew. If Max was correct, she’d see his face when he reached the top of the stairs.  

He pulled back his hood and let the ocean breeze blow through his straight black hair as he stepped out from the hull. Max expected Britt to say something the moment he came out. Without his hood on, the color of his hair was the only thing he shared in a Rollo Islander’s appearance. Rolloans were bulkier and tattooed with dark-toned skin. Their hair grew thick and curly, unlike his. Max faced the ship’s stern for a moment, waiting for her to react. When nothing happened, he looked for her and didn’t see her. The mast blocked him from Britt’s view, so he took another deep breath and walked out into view. Max made eye contact with her and continued to stroll confidently toward her. He watched her eyes grow wide in disbelief and her jaw slacken in surprise.  

“What are you...” Britt started to say and trailed off, staring at him. 

He held his breath when he saw her look of surprise turn into a smile, then an instant later she shook her head and replaced it with a scowl. “Max!” she barked. 

Max twitched, jumping at the sudden outburst. He stopped several paces away, thinking, I should’ve stayed in the hull. Britt stormed at him and he put up his hands defensively, “Now just hear me out.” 

“Oh, hear you out, should I?” she growled, stopping just inches from his face. Her dark facial features hardened, and her lip quivered as he had never seen it before. After a moment during which Max thought she might headbutt him, she said, “I’m turning this ship to shore right now and dropping you off.” 

“Britt, please don’t send me back. I belong here with you and the crew,” Max pleaded.  

“I can’t believe you directly disobeyed my order. If we weren’t going to war right now and our speed wasn’t depended on, oh boy, you would be in for it.”  

“I will be more effective here. If you send me back, I won’t be able to concentrate. I'll just be worrying about you and why I’m not here with you.” 

“The crystal bearers need you with them. Anders and Maija will need all the help they can get in fighting the dragons once they reach Aquina.”  

“And I will get there faster if I come with you,” he argued. 

“We went over this last night,” Britt said through clenched teeth.  

“And you were wrong,” Max stated firmly. “What if Aquina has already been attacked with magic by the time you arrive? You’ll also need people with crystals to fight them.” 

“That’s why we brought Sanka. You were ordered to stay with the others,” Britt said. 

“You think Sanka can hold off a hundred dragons by himself?” 

“And you could?” 

“We would have a better chance and at least I would be there to protect you. Look what happened to Kirsten. Do you want that to happen to you if I’m not there?”  

“You bring her up as though she’s still at the front of your mind,” Britt said. 

“Oh, that’s bull. You know I was never into her,” Max sighed and added, “Please, Britt, it would kill me to show up in Aquina and find out that Merglan had beat us there and something horrible had happened. Even if a hundred dragons burn all the ships when we get there, at least we’ll be together. I need to be with you in the end.”  

Britt didn’t respond right away. Max held his breath, waiting for her to say something. Suddenly Max realized that the entire crew was staring at them. They had been hanging on every word he and Britt had said. Max had become so lost in the moment he forgot that an entire crew was witnessing their fight. 

“Let him stay, Captain,” one of the warriors standing nearby said. 

“Yeah, come on, he’s one of us now, even if he still can’t use a sword,” Sanka added, smiling at him.  

Soon the whole crew began pleading with Britt to keep Max onboard. Max heard one of the warriors call out over the others, “Besides, we’ll be in the back if we turn around now. We can’t let Red beat us to the mouth of the Bareback River.”  

Finally, Britt held up her hands to silence them, “Alright, alright. He can stay.”  

They responded with a resounding cheer and Max felt hands patting him on the back and shoulders as if he had just won the Grandwood Games.  

Britt emphatically pointed a finger at Max, “But don’t think you will get any special treatment. You will act as one of the crew onboard my ship. Don’t think I didn’t notice that you had to take the place of one of my men. Where is he anyway?” 

“Onboard Cricket’s ship,” Sanka said, thumbing behind them.  

“Well, at least Cricket could use him,” Britt said with a wry smile. Max matched her grin and she shouted, “What are you all doing standing around? Get back to work!” 

Max and the others hustled back to their stations. While he and Sanka made necessary adjustments to the rigging, Max glanced back at Britt. She was staring at him. When their eyes met, she shook her head at him with a broad smile. He laughed and knew that he’d done the right thing in sneaking aboard the ship.  

That night Max leaned against the ship’s stern, his arm around Britt. He looked up at the stars overhead. The sky rocked and swayed as the ship bobbed along, sailing farther south along the coast of the Bareback Plains. Britt leaned her head against his chest and whispered, “I can’t believe you pulled that stunt.”  

Max chuckled, “I can't believe you seriously considered dropping me off on shore.”