The storehouse shuddered as shadows forced themselves through cracks in the wood. Darkness poured in like smoke, hissing with hunger.
"Back!" Imade shouted, swinging her iron rod. The first shadow dissolved with a hiss, but more followed, twisting violently.
"Through the back!" Zoba cried, her voice sharp, urgent.
They sprinted out, feet pounding across rickety planks toward the lagoon. Boats rocked violently as shadows swarmed behind them.
Kafé felt his mark burn.
Taye's chest glowed faintly.
The resonance between them pulsed like a living heartbeat.
Imade leaped into a wooden canoe and held it steady. "Enter!"
Kafé jumped in first. Taye followed. Zoba pushed off with a long paddle, her movements sharp and practiced.
Water splashed as she guided them away from shore. Behind them, shadows gathered at the water's edge, unable to cross. They hissed in frustration, twisting violently.
Taye exhaled. "At least dem no fit enter water."
Zoba shook her head. "Normally no. But tonight… things dey different."
Then they saw it.
A figure walking slowly onto the water. Not sinking. Not struggling. Walking.
His cloak dragged across the surface, whispering like dry leaves. His eyes glowed faintly.
The sorcerer.
The Red Shadow.
Where his feet touched, fish floated lifeless to the surface. The lagoon's glow dimmed into ash.
Imade swore loudly. "No be say he dey walk on water?!"
Zoba paddled faster, sweat streaking her face. "If he reach us—finish be that!"
Her arms moved with precision, each stroke cutting through the lagoon like a blade. She wasn't just paddling—she was guiding them through hidden currents, steering into paths only someone raised on the water could know.
"I grow for Tark Island," she muttered between strokes. "Lagoon dey my blood. I don lose family to Red Shadow raids. If una wan survive, trust me."
The canoe surged forward, weaving between abandoned boats and halfsunken nets.
The sorcerer lifted his hand. Shadows rippled across the water, stretching toward them like black tendrils.
Kafé closed his eyes. The lagoon wind swirled around his palms. His mark flared.
Taye's chest glowed brighter, pulsing in rhythm with Kafé's mark. The resonance between them vibrated like thunder.
For a heartbeat, both boys saw the same vision: a serpent rising from the lagoon, its twin heads clashing in fire and water.
The water around the canoe rose in spirals, forming a barrier. The sorcerer paused, his eyes narrowing.
"…So both flames awaken," he murmured. "Good. That will make breaking you far more satisfying."
Imade planted herself at the canoe's edge, rod raised, daring the shadows to come closer.
"You fit walk water, you fit twist shadow—but you no fit break us. Not tonight."
Her voice carried across the lagoon, defiant against the storm.
The lagoon itself seemed to respond. Waves rose, mist thickened, and the canoe surged forward as if the water carried the twins toward destiny.
Behind them, the Red Shadow advanced, each step rippling outward like a curse.
Ahead, Tark Island loomed in the mist—halfhidden, halfwaiting.