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Chapter 46: Granddaughter of Willa
Chapter 46: Granddaughter of Willa
Maeve
“They should’ve been back hours ago.” i exclaimed, turning towards Myla, who was equally as
concerned.
“They’re probably fine, Maeve,” Keaton said, but his eyes and posture betrayed him. He was getting
nervous too, especially now that the sun was beginning to rise over the water.
“I’m going to go find them. They can’t have gone far,” I said with conviction, raising my hand to cut him
off as he opened his mouth to argue.
“I’m going to-“Myla began, but Keaton rounded on her.
“No, neither of you are going anywhere,” he said firmly.
Cleo was watching the exchange nervously, wringing her hands.
“I’m going!” I said again, just as barking sounded from the jungle behind us.
I spun around as the dog, otherwise known as Duck, came sprinting onto the beach, his ears flat
against his head and his body trembling with fatigue.
“Goddess!” Myla cried as Duck nearly slammed into us, laying down on his side.
“I’ll go get him some water,” Cleo said hurriedly as she turned and quickly walked away.
I knelt beside Duck, stroking his back.
“What’s wrong?’
“Danger,’ he said, closing his eyes as he panted, his tongue lolling in the sand.
“Where?
*Follow,
“Rest now,’ I said to him, continuing to stroke his fur. I looked over my shoulder in the direction he had
come, a chill running up my spine as the jungle seemed to whisper menacingly in the breeze.
“Did he talk to you?” Myla asked, her eyes full of worry.
I nodded, looking up at Keaton. “He said ‘danger.’ He’s exhausted. Something happened out there.”
* Aye, I can see that.” Keaton crossed his arms over his chest, looking from Duck to the Persephone.
And then, he looked at Myla.
“I can’t leave the ship with Robbie and Troy gone. I just can’t-”
“I know, I understand why.” Myla said softly, a knowing smile touching her lips.
“The crew, Myla—”
“You don’t have to explain. We will be fine. I promise you.” She rose to her feett, stepping forward and
kissing him hard enough for a blush to rise to my own cheeks. I looked away, giving them a moment of
privacy as I checked Duck’s paws for damage.
He wasn’t hurt, but he was desperately thirsty. Cleo returned with the water and had to hold him back
by the scruff of his neck to stop him from drinking it all in one go. She offered him some food, and he
ate it, licking her hand in thanks.
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‘Tired,’ he said, laying his head back against the sand and promptly falling asleep.
“We need to be prepared to go as soon as he wakes up.” I said to Myla, who nodded in understanding.
“You can ride on my back,” she said, bending down to pet Duck on the head, cooing as she did so.
I gave Keaton a tight nod, noticing the greenish tint to his skin. He was absolutely sick over the fact that
Myla was leaving on a quest to find Troy and Robbie, knowing full well something had gone wrong.
But he was the captain of the Persephone. He hadn’t abandoned his ship or his crew when the storm
hit. He wasn’t about to, now. He just couldn’t.
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Chapter 46: Granddaughter of Willa
“Pete!” He called out, turning and looking down the beach towards the group of men seated around
Olly’s cooking fire, plates of fish in their hands
Pete put his plate down, wiping his mouth on his sleeve as he jogged over to us, looking down at Duck.
“What’s wrong with him?” he asked.
“You’re going with Maeve and Myla into the jungle. Troy and Robbie didn’t come back.”
“I was wondering where they were,” he began, then righted himself, straightening his shoulders as he
nodded at Keaton, “Yes, Captain.”
*The rest of the men stay here,” Keaton said quickly. “We need to get at least one of the engines
running by sundown, tell them.”
Pete nodded, looking at me and Myla before running back over to where the crew was congregating,
crouching down as he repeated Keaton’s orders.
Myla and Keaton walked away, their heads bent in inaudible conversation.
Cleo sat next to Duck, stroking him gently as he slept. I walked up the beach towards my tent, my
stomach turning over and bile rising in my throat. I quickened my pace, passing the tent and walking a
few paces into the jungle, leaning on a tree for support as I retched.
“Goddess.” I whispered, pressing my forehead against the tree, “Please, I can’t lose him again.”
Myla and Pete were sprinting through the trees, jumping gracefully over the massive roots that lined the
jungle floor as they raced after Duck. I was gripping Myla’s fur for dear life, ducking under the vines and
branches lest I accidentally clothesline myself and get thrown from her back
We had been running for an hour, if not more, but the sun was still high in the sky as we continued
deeper into the jungle, my ears popping as we climbed in elevation.
We finally reached a clearing, stopping to allow the wolves and Duck to drink from the creek. Duck was
sniffing frantically, his nose leading him around a large rock face and into the dense brush, his ears
perked.
I couldn’t mind-link with either Myla or Pete. They knew to follow Duck, however, and I trusted their
judgment in locating Robbie and Troy.
They followed Duck through the brush, the landscape changing from dense jungle to a wide, open
valley of low brush and towering mountains.
I looked around in awe as we continued on. I was not expecting this. We were past the jungle now. We
couldn’t see mountains from our camp on the beach.
Duck skidded to a stop about an hour later. He looked around nervously, then began to whine. Myla
and Pete looked at each other, then sniffed the air, whining to alert me to some smell they were picking
up on that was new, and possibly shouldn’t be there.
Myla suddenly reared, tossing me off her back. I gasped, the wind knocked out of my lungs as I hit the
ground, hard, handing on a rock.
Growling and snarling filled the air around me as I sat up, reaching to rub the tender bruise forming on
my back when I stopped, fear taking hold of me.
A group of people were standing around us, surrounding us, holding a variety of spears and long
knives. They charged, driving Myla and Pete back into the brush. Duck trembled as he reached my
side and nudged me to get me to move.
But I didn’t. I got to my knees, then rose to my full height, squaring my shoulders as the group
approached.
“Stop!” i bellowed, and to my surprise, they did. They were all oddly dressed and wore masks that
varied in shape and color. A murmur passed around the group, and then someone pushed through, a
woman, her face hidden behind a mask made entirely of what looked like crushed seashells.
She walked straight up to me, reaching out and touching three of her fingers to my forehead, then took
them away, tightening her hand into a fist.
She bowed low, bending at the knees until she touched the ground. The group followed suit.
“A White Queen,” she said, her voice carrying a strange lilt to it as she spoke, “A youth, not yet in her
powers.”
Another murmur passed through the group.
“My friends-” I said, watching the woman as she tilted from side to side as though sizing me up. “Are
they with you?”
*Two wolves?” she asked, and I nodded.
“Where are they?”
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Chapter 46: Granddaughter of Willa
“Come, I will take you to them.”
“No,” I said quickly, forcefully. Myla was growling at my side, drool dripping off her bared teeth. The
woman took a step back, reaching up to remove her mask. “I cannot trust your word, Release them,”
And then I saw it, the same symbol that had been painted all over the map. The same symbol on the
altar in the Temple of the White Queens. It was etched into her mask, right over her forehead.
“Wait-” I said, but she took off the mask, pulling a string to release it from her head.
She was beautiful, roughly my own mother’s age. Dark eyes and glossy black hair that was pulled into
a tight bun at the nape of her neck. She smiled at me, her cheeks dimpling.
Behind her, the rest of the group began to remove their masks. My mouth dropped open as the group
stepped forward. At least a half dozen women were staring at me, leaning into each other to whisper as
I continued to gape at them.
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The woman who stood before me reached out again, her fingers brushing against my forehead once
more. She furrowed her brow, confusion flashing across her face,
“You’re a vessel for a dream dancer,” she said, letting her hand drop to her side.
“I’m a what?”
She pointed to Duck, who was standing between my legs, “Your familiar?”
“My fam-Oh, um. We found him in the jungle”
“Come, we have much to discuss.”
“Wait a minute!” I said, practically screaming it. A hush fell over the group, all of their eyes watching me
as I stepped forward.
The woman turned around, eyeing me with interest.
.
“Who is your mother?” she asked. I blinked, suddenly feeling like I was being talked to by a teacher
after getting in trouble during class.
“My mom? Why?”
“Are you Loralyn’s daughter?” she asked, a look of hope flashing in her eyes. “Loralyn was my great
grandmother,” I said slowly, suspicion gripping my mind. How old did this woman think I was? “How do
you know her name?”
“Willa, is she still alive?” she asked hurriedly, her eyes shining with an unreadable emotion.
“No, she-she died when my mother was young.”
“Then you are the daughter of a White Queen. The second in line.” She said this as though she were
talking to herself. My chest tightened with apprehension as she looked down at her hands. She brought
one hand up, her fingers in the shape of an L, and held her hand to the sky. “I thought we had more
time,” she said softly.
“More time for what?”
She looked at me, startled by my presence as though I had just appeared before her eyes and hadn’t
been standing here the entire time.
“Please, come with us. Your friends are safe. They are not our prisoners. The small one, he was hurt.
His arm is healing.”
“The small one?” I almost laughed, but then I remember how everyone looked small compared to
Robbie. I would definitely be telling Troy he was called the small one at a later time.
“Your mate, he is well.”
“1-you’re mistaken, I don’t have a mate!”.
She smiled at me, a knowing smile, tilting her head to side as she broke her gaze and looked down at
Myla and Pete, who were guarding me.
“We are the Daughters of Artemis,” she said, her voice strong and filled with conviction, “We have been
waiting for you, Maeve.”
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