Page 54 of The Endless War

The crew didn’t wait for his response, only released the driftwood. The tree moved toward the glowing pier.

The only sound was the slap of water against wood. The surf should have been loud, but rather than an ebb and surge, it felt as though he were caught in a river flowing silently into hell. All around was blackness, the moon hidden by a cloud.

Trust the current,he told himself.You know exactly where it flows.

Yet it felt like he was alone in a vast sea of nothingness, swimming in every direction but none, never reaching his goal.

Splash.

Keris jerked, looking back to the longboat, but it was lost to blackness. What had splashed? What was in the water with him?

Something brushed his leg, and he froze. A shark? Something worse?

The water swirled around him, and Keris heard something take a breath. He swung wildly, his fist finding air, then water, then flesh. A grunt of annoyance, then Aren’s voice hissed, “Calm the fuck down. You’re panting like a dying dog. They’re going to hear you.”

“What are you doing here?”

“There is no chance you won’t get yourself killed if you go in alone,” Aren said. “And I owe Zarrah. Now shut up before someone hears you.”

Keris clenched his teeth, willing his breathing to steady, hunting for calmness in the storm of emotion he felt.

“Don’t move,” Aren whispered. “Keep low.”

Voices filtered over the water. It was impossible to make out whatthey were saying, but the tone was of soldiers bored out of their minds and putting in the least possible effort.

Or perhaps that was just Keris’s wishful thinking.

The tree floated into a pool of golden light.

Keeping utterly still, Keris rolled his eyes to the right. Six guards, four men and two women, stood on the pier, all dressed in heavy cloaks of Valcottan violet, weapons glittering at their waists and bows slung over their shoulders. One of them glanced at the tree, and Keris allowed himself to sink beneath the water, the cold making his teeth clench.

His heart throbbed as the tree floated beneath the pier, but he remained submerged until the brilliant glow of torchlight faded before lifting his head and sucking in a mouthful of air. They hadn’t been spotted, but they were far from out of danger.

The current picked up speed, drawing the driftwood between the gaps in the cliffs. And into the unknown.

Casting his eyes skyward, Keris marked the glowing basins of oil hanging from brackets and the archers walking the cliff tops, eyes on the water below.

“Hang on,” Aren muttered. “This is going to get rough.”

The channel of water cut through the rock like a river through a mountain ravine, winding inland. Flecks of spray rose in the air as the channel narrowed, and with every second, they picked up speed.

Crack!

The trunk of the tree struck the bend in the rock, and the whole thing spun. His nails scratched the wood as he struggled to keep a grip, vision filled with light and water. The tree struck the cliff wall again, branches snapping off as the trunk twisted around.

Keris swore and was rewarded with a mouthful of water. Coughing, he tried kicking to drive the tree away from the cliff wall, but the force of the water was too great.

They were going to hit again, and hard.

He lifted his feet in time to take some of the impact, but his knees buckled. The branches smashed upward, bits of wood striking him in the face as they rebounded off the wall, spinning in a circle.

Crack!

He hissed in pain as the tree struck rock again, his shoulder taking the impact as Aren slammed up against him.

How far had they traveled?

How much farther did they need to go?

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