Free Ship of Souls by Zetta Elliott Page B

he’s about to curse me out. Then he darts around the stone beast and starts jumping up and down, waving his arms over his head. “Hey—over here! Hey!”
    Even though the beast has no head, it clumsily swivels to face Keem. “ Get the boy! ” It follows the hissed command and takes one lumbering step forward, then another.
    “Grab the bird and get out of here!” Keem snarls at me. Then he takes off with the stone beast in pursuit.
    I search the sky for Nuru and finally spot her descending from the clouds on flame-colored wings. Nuru seems to be moving in slow motion now, and I anxiously pace the shore until she finally comes within reach. I wade into the water, reach out my hands, and pull her warm body close to my own.
    “Let’s go, D!”
    I tuck Nuru inside my jacket, then turn and run into the woods with Nyla. We can hear Keem yelling, “Over here! Follow me, you stupid hunk of rock!” But when we turn to look, the stone beast is no longer following Keem. It’s lumbering after us!
    Nyla grabs my sleeve and yanks me into the dense forest, but the creature only thins itself out, dropping excess stones and picking up dead branches to use as limbs. It’s moving faster and faster, weaving through the trees, breaking apart and reassembling itself instead of going around the big trees like us. Heavy paving stones whiz past us as the beast hurls parts of itself in order to knock us down.
    I turn to see how quickly it’s gaining on us and trip over a fallen branch. Nyla screams at me to get up, then grabs the collar of my coat and hauls me up off the ground. For the first time, I realize just how strong she is.
    “Come on—this way. Let’s see how it handles stairs.”
    But just as we start to dash up the stairs that lead out of the ravine, the stone beast makes a giant leap and knocks us both into the gully. When I finally stop rolling downhill and manage to look up, my heart jumps into my throat.
    The stone beast has got Nyla pinned to a tree. She is struggling to break free, but its fist of stone is pressing her into the trunk several feet off the ground. With its other hand, it reaches down and grabs something dark and thin off the forest floor.
    “No!” I cry, but the beast ignores me and thrusts a spiked iron fence rail at Nyla. Already pinned to the tree, there’s little she can do to avoid the spear. But with no eyes to see with, the creature’s aim is off and the first jab enters the tree—not Nyla.
    “STOP! Don’t—you’ll hurt her!” I yell.
    The beast ignores me, plucks the fence rail out of the tree, and thrusts it at Nyla once more. This time the spike pierces her shoulder and lodges in the tree. Nyla screams in pain.
    I frantically search inside my coat and pull out the bird. She shimmers in my trembling hand. “Look—look what I’ve got! I have it—I have it right here. And I’ll give it to you.” My voice cracks as a sob inches up my throat. “Just don’t hurt her—don’t hurt my friend.”
    Nuru burns in my hand like a flame, and I hold my arm high like a torch in the gathering dark. The beast turns toward me, its free hand reaching for the bird.
    “NO! You have to let her go first. Put her down and then I’ll give you the bird.”
    The beast rocks back on its heels, unsure what to do. Then the vicious hissing returns, and the beast pulls the spike out of Nyla’s shoulder. She drops to the ground, moaning in pain.
    Now the beast turns to me, but before I can figure out how to give it the bird, I feel a burning sensation in my hand. Suddenly Nuru is so hot I’m forced to unfurl my fingers. She hovers in the sky like a brilliant star just a few inches above my raised arm. I have to shield my eyes from the bright light, but I can still hear her say, “I’m sorry, D. It is as I feared. Your heart is no longer free. Forgive me.”
    Before I can say anything, Nuru rises up into the sky and then flies straight at me. I close my eyes and turn away but still feel the impact as