Page 1 of Buoy
Chapter 1
RHYS(AGE12)
“Whatcha got in the basket?”
Rhys startled at the question. He’d been so in his head trying to remember the best spell to keep insects out of the herb garden, he hadn’t realized he was at the docks already. Whipping around, he found what appeared to be a human child around his age, perhaps younger. Long white blond hair poured over their shoulders and waved in the breeze. Arms crossed. Barefoot. Wearing a shirt entirely too big for them, with a rope tied around their waist. They watched Rhys with interest.
“I like your horns.” Lifting a hand, they rubbed their own temple, exactly where the nubs of Rhys’ dragon horns protruded from his head. “I wonder what they’ll look like when they fully grow in.” The child strolled along until they stood next to Rhys to look inside his basket. Scrunching their nose, they looked up at Rhys. “Smells weird.”
The smell came from the herbs Rhys purchased for his father. The man was sickly, and when Rhys was home from the mage academy he liked to experiment with what he learned in healing class.
At twelve, Rhys already had two years of the academy behind him, with at least five more to go. Every summer the school took a month off, and he always hated it. He’d rather stay at the academy year round.
“My name’s Soren.” They rooted around in the basket.
“Hey!”
Soren found the freshly baked bread and took a roll. Their fingers were long and slender, unlike Rhys’ own chubby ones.
Soren’s stomach rumbled, and they took a big bite of the roll. “Pirate,” they said around their full mouth. “Not sorry.”
Rhys stared in awe. “You’re on The Golden Drake?”
Soren nodded with a mischievous grin as they took another bite. “Youngest boy on the ship.” He pushed back his shoulders and puffed out his chest. “Captain Vex said he’d never take anyone under the age of fifteen, but I’m ten. I think.” He tapped his lips with a long finger.
Rhys wasn’t sure being the youngest on a pirate ship was anything to be proud of, but he smiled anyway. Why would a captain take someone so young? It was probably a rude question, so he locked it away. He held out his hand.
Soren cocked his brow and took another bite of his stolen food, watching him.
Rhys dropped his hand. “I’m Rhys.”
“Do you like flying? Captain Vex’s a dragon, but I can’t ask him. He already thinks I’m foolish as I am. But if it weren’t for me, we’d…” He cut himself off with another bite. “Never mind. I said too much.” Turning, he started back the way he came from. Towards the tall, imposing ship with a dragon figurehead.
Rhys didn’t know much, or well, anything about ships, but The Golden Drake was huge. It boasted several masts with billowy sails when it was out to sea. He always enjoyed watching it come to port.
“Wait.”
Soren stopped and turned. With his food gone, he wiped his hands down his shirt. “Yeah?”
Rhys scratched at his neck. He didn’t know what to say, but he couldn’t let Soren leave. He was the only other kid around. Families didn’t stay in Lane and he was admittedly lonely at home.
Soren tipped his head to watch him. “You don’t talk much, do you? I’m always getting in trouble, but I can’t help it.” He sighed, his shoulders sagged. “I have too many questions and not enough people to answer them.”
Rhys dabbed his lips with his tongue, still not sure about the strange child in front of him. “I talk.”
Soren nodded. “But not much.”
Rhys picked at the fraying basket handle. “Depends. Know any magic?”
“Some. Vex doesn’t want me to learn. Says I’d get into too much trouble. But…” he looked around and waved Rhys closer. “Someone taught me this.” Soren lifted his hand to Rhys’ ear, then pulled away with a coin. His eyes lit up.
Rhys couldn’t help the smile. “That’s not magic. It’s a trick.”
“And what about this?” Soren had the small leather pouch from Rhys’ belt in his other hand.
“I need that back.” Rhys’ cheeks burned. He should have seen that coming. The boy had admitted to being a shameless pirate.
“It’ll cost you.” Soren skipped away. With a grin, he peeked inside. “What is it?” He dumped the precious stone into his hand.
