As Ember led Owen towards the boat’s stern, Kaz sauntered towards the prow, trying not to catch anyone’s eye. She wanted to follow up on what she had discovered that morning. Contacting Chukulla still made her nervous, but the force of her curiosity generated its own momentum. She simply couldn’t ignore this new way of finding out what was going on.

Near the prow, the reeds that formed the boat’s sides had been gathered to form a sort of bench. No one was there at the moment, so Kaz sat, casting a cursory glance at the rest of the boat. Ember’s tour had attracted a small audience. And everyone else seemed busy. Otto, stumping across the deck caught her eye. But he only nodded and veered off to shout something to Cascade, who hung from a rope about halfway up the mast.

Satisfied that she wouldn’t be bothered, Kaz turned her attention inward.

Chukulla? She ventured, speaking inside her head as she had done that morning. The answering fizz and zap of her element came even faster this time. It felt expectant somehow, even impatient. Though there was no answering voice, Kaz took this listening quality as an invitation to continue.

Uh hello, she continued, not sure how to address her element. Thank you for being here.

The lightning lashed out, shocking the inside of her skin. Kaz jumped. The message, though still wordless, was clear enough. Well, get on with it!

Uh, right, she thought. So you already told me you sent the dream. Can you tell me anything else about what’s going on? Do you know what Vidar’s planning?

The lightning hovered contemplatively within her, zipping up and down her limbs from where it occupied her center. It had used words this morning. Kaz wondered if it would be different every time she tried to communicate with her element.

There was an internal flash, blinding her imagination and leaving an image in its wake. She recognized Vidar, arm outstretched, finger pointing, a look of command on his face. The man he pointed to wore a water mage’s blue robes. A second flash showed the unknown mage directing a jet of water towards her. A third flash showed Owen holding her hand, a wall of light between them and the enemy mage. A fourth flash showed both Ember and Chel looking right at her.

The electric energy faded, along with the images burned on the insides of Kaz’s eyelids, though these lingered longer in her memory.

Kaz kept her eyes closed, uneasily mulling over the four images. The first two seemed clear enough. Vidar must have sent a lightning mage after her. She presumed by the third one that Owen could help her protect herself. But the last one? Was it a warning? Did the other passengers know who she was? Were they in league with Vidar? Could they be mages too?

I think I liked it better when Chukulla used words, thought Kaz.

There was a tiny flicker inside her with a definite flavor of snark. It was as if Chukulla was saying Deal with it!

Kaz burst out laughing. She couldn’t help it. Two days ago, when she had been blissfully ignorant of any deeper connection with the elements, she never would have imagined that they could show such strong personalities. In that one brief moment of sass, Kaz began to wonder if she could come to enjoy the relationship.

“Crew to your stations!“ Bellowed Otto, so loudly that Kaz jumped again. “Passengers to your hammocks! Rapids ahead!“

Kaz looked up and saw the canyon walls narrowing ahead, steep and sheer and black, with trees and tendrils of greenery cascading over the top. The river, though still very wide and (she hoped) quite deep, was no longer glassy and placid. Huge rocks poked up here and there, and the water froth and swirled in turbulent eddies and whirlpools, white and opaque in a variety of unnerving new textures.

Kaz rose and hurried back to the hammocks, her heart pounding with adrenaline. She had seen the river folk at the capital work, navigating fierce winds, obstacles, and each other. She had seen their speed and skill at the annual races they held. She had even learned enough to be profoundly grateful that she wasn’t the one navigating those rapids.

Even in the short time they had been on this boat, Kaz could tell that this crew was as good as - if not better than - any crew she had ever seen. They did this so often that it probably wasn’t even a challenge for them. It was bound to be exciting, though.

The other three passengers had arrived ahead of her. Ember unhooked two ropes from either side of her hammock and one at the bottom. “You attach them to the hooks on the deck, to keep the hammock from swinging.“

Kaz thanked her, secured her hammock, and sat. She wanted to tell Owen about her visions, but didn’t want Chel and Ember to overhear. So instead she asked Owen about the tour.

He began to tell her, with a great deal of enthusiasm, what he had learned. But he had barely started when the vessel gave a mighty jolt. They had entered the rapids.

Next Chapter: 36: Owen - Navigating the Rapids