Free The Nexus Ring by Maureen Bush Page B

Dad; they’d be frantic. I couldn’t believe that the Shadows would fool them for ­long.
    Maddy and I sat silently, listening to the sounds of the forest and watching the water. We could hear paddle splashes and Eneirda’s breathing, an owl call startling us out of the silence. I blinked as my eyelids drooped and grew ­scratchy.
    Then I spotted a shadow. “Look out!”
    The boat slammed to a stop, filled with icy water and tipped. I was flung into the river. Water filled my nose and my lungs were bursting. I struggled to the surface, coughing and ­numb.
    I looked frantically for Maddy. I couldn’t see anything in the dark. “Maddy?” I yelled. “Maddy?”
    I heard choking, and flailed around. Something soft brushed my hand. A pigtail. I grabbed it and pulled Maddy close, then swam sideways to the current. We swept up against a tree trunk fallen over the ­water.
    I pushed Maddy ahead of me, then climbed out of the water and collapsed on a pebbly shore. We huddled together, shivering, as we peered into the darkness, looking for Eneirda, the boat, the ­paddle.

Chapter Nine

    Before Dawn

    M addy and I staggered out of the river , gasping and numb, but soon I could feel the warmth of the magic world wrapping itself around me. We were still shivering in wet clothes, but at least we weren’t in danger of ­hypothermia.
    “Eneirda, Eneirda,” Maddy and I shouted. “We’re over here.”
    I could only hear water rushing. What if Eneirda was drowning? Should I go back in? I knew I couldn’t, not in the dark, not back into that icy water, with Maddy here, depending on me.
    I couldn’t see a thing. The sky was a deep teal blue, speckled with stars, but there was no moon. Even in this magic world, I couldn’t see by starlight ­alone.
    We kept calling and finally, we heard a faint call back. “Eneirda?”
    “Here,” she answered.
    I listened carefully to the direction of her voice. “I think she’s across the river.” I shouted, “We’re over here. Do you have the boat?”
    “No boat,” she called back. “Ankle hurt. Cannot swim.”
    Eneirda hurt? No boat? I leapt up, arms waving around me. “The troll will be coming for us by dawn. And when he’s free, Aleena will be too. What are we going to do?”
    “F-­f-­first, we ­n-­need to get ­d-­dry,” Maddy said, teeth ­chattering.
    “And how are we going to do that? Do you have any matches?”
    “Humans,” I heard Eneirda grumbling. “Fur easier than clothing. I have firestone,” she ­called.
    “We can’t come across to you, and you’re too hurt to swim to us,” I ­said.
    “I can throw. Can you catch?”
    “But firestone is magic. I can’t do magic.”
    “You ate muskberries?”
    “Yes,” I ­said.
    “You crossed glacier, saw with fingers?”
    “Yes,” I said, ­puzzled.
    “Then can use firestone. I will throw it.”
    My heart skipped a beat. Me? Do magic? “How will I see it?”
    “Be quiet inside. Firestone gleams. Feel for it with fingers.”
    Oh no, not that again. I took a deep breath, then tried to feel catching the firestone. When I could imagine its cool softness in my palm, I decided I was as ready as I was going to be. I called out, “Okay, can you tell where I am from my voice?”
    “Yes. Catch now.”
    I could almost see it glinting over the river. I reached up and felt it graze my hand, but I missed. I heard a splash. Maddy plunged a hand into the water and came up with a fistful of rocks. One of them shone at me in the moonlight. “I have it,” I called back. “Now what?”
    “Collect dry wood. Find safe place.”
    Shivering, Maddy and I groped for dry branches. I found a gazillion needles, most of them poking into my knees, but I found dry wood too. We cleared a spot near the river, laid a base of dry moss, and set small twigs ­nearby.
    “We’re ready,” I called ­out.
    “Josh make fire,” Eneirda called ­back.
    Oh sure, I thought. How was I supposed to do that ? I held the firestone in my icy hand,