The Sage's Vow

25.1 || A Traitor's Revenge

"RUN!"

Cale didn't need to tell him twice. Josh spun on his heel and sprinted back the way they'd come. Except what did it matter? The water was rushing in from all sides. Even if they escaped this tidal wave, they'd run into another.

"We need higher ground," Kaitlyn called, following the same train of thought as Josh.

"I think we need to get to that ship we saw before," Mateo countered, raising his voice to a yell to be heard over the rushing water and pouring rain. He'd slipped away from Cale and ran on his own now.

"What?" Kaitlyn jerked her head in his direction, but when it caused her to stumble, she faced forward again.

"I agree with Mateo," Cale said. "It's just a hunch, but head toward it."

They rounded the corner they'd taken before to find the Shadow Knights nowhere to be found. They must have scattered as soon as the dome broke as well.

The water grew louder and louder, the sound closing in from all sides. It almost overwhelmed the crashes of buildings as the floods slammed against them. Josh wanted to look back, but he didn't need to. He could see water approaching from the other directions.

How far away was this stupid ship? Josh really hoped that Mateo and Cale were right.

"The others are on their way there as well," Kaitlyn huffed out. She pressed a hand against her side but didn't let up. "They're taking the roofs, though."

Cale only grunted in response.

"There!" Mara pointed in front of them.

Two hundred feet separated them from the stone ship and its deep basin. It was tantalizingly close.

Too bad the water rushed in faster. Much more water than Josh had expected from what they'd seen of the outside flooding.

"Keep going," Kaitlyn said. She threw out the hand that wasn't pressing against her stitch. "Nivarus praetimus!" A shimmering purple platform appeared fifty feet in front of them right above the road.

Josh's mind flashed to his mission with Kaitlyn back at his old home. She'd used an energy barrier to help cross a river then. This one was too small and would be smashed by the flood, though.

Despite his doubts, he chose to trust her. So did the others because none of them questioned it. They all hopped onto the energy, ignoring the water that couldn't be more than a dozen meters away and approaching fast.

With a scream of effort, Kaitlyn threw her hands up. The platform lifted into the air fast enough that it almost forced Josh to his knee. Below them, water thundered as it finally all crashed at a single point. The subsequent wave probably threw water misting over them, but it was impossible to tell against the deluge.

"The ship," Mara breathed.

Josh hesitated to look. What if it had been taken under the flood? The water was at least thirty feet deep and rising still. If Cale's theory wasn't right, they'd have to escape to the roofs, and how would they ever find the seal then?

But he finally forced his eyes to the ship, and his mouth fell open. Despite his hope, he hadn't truly expected a good outcome. Stone sunk. But somehow, there it was, broken from its base and floating atop the waves.

"Can you get us there?" Cale asked Kaitlyn.

"I'll do all I can." Squeezing her eyes shut, Kaitlyn held her palms out toward the boat, and the energy moved in that direction.