Free Fire Island: Book 3 of The Chatterre Trilody (Chatterre Trilogy) by Jeanne Foguth Page B

where it is? With my past dreams, we knew it was coming from the Star Bridge." She gestured to the window. "Now, I dream of water as far as the eye can see. Where is that? All I can see from here is trees and the river." She turned to face him. "Even when we were at the peak of Sacred Mountain and could see forever, we didn't see that much water."
    "We will find it."
    "How?"
    He shrugged. "Don't know, but I do know that we are meant to, so we will."
    "I wish I had your confidence."
    Larwin wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug. "I have confidence in you, Kazza, and Thunder."
    "While that makes me feel good, it also scares me. What if I can't figure out where the danger is? What if we can't fight four madrox?" She pushed away from him. "Did I mention that they could dive in and out of water?"
    "Perhaps it only looked like water."
    She blinked at his words and a kernel of hope for their survival began to bloom.

Chapter 9
    Tem-aki watched Cameron as he puttered around the boat, frequently looking toward shore. Shortly after mid-day, she spotted tiny dots of saffron slowly moving across the distant landscape. Was that what he was looking for?
    She consulted GEA-4, who confirmed her suspicion and added that the group had come from the distant ridge, which Cameron had referred to as Dragon Ridge, adding, "That is where the Summer Solstice Ceremony will begin on the next moon cycle."
    Tem-aki digested that information. "You can communicate with him?"
    "Verbally?" Tem-aki nodded. "No," GEA-4 said, "not yet, but I am working out the language based on the writing."
    "What writing?"
    GEA-4 gestured to the odd scraps of rustic paper, which had strange squiggles of charcoal, or at least something that looked like charcoal on them. "Draco Cameron is apparently some form of leader who rules based on celestial cycles."
    "I could tell by his attire that he didn't have access to much technology."
    "Technology isn't the answer to everything."
    Tem-aki blinked and stared at GEA-4, who was a product of said technology. "I can't believe you said that."
    "Fact is fact."
    Just before sunset, Cameron went over the side and rowed his small boat to the shore, a few moments later, a group of golden-robed individuals arrived on the shore. There were hugs and back-slapping, as ripples of conversation and laughter were carried across the water.
    "Now there should be enough for me to hear their spoken language and start breaking it down for you," GEA-4 said.
    "Excellent, once I can communicate with them, I can begin getting answers and find out where Larwin is."
    Things were looking up. Then all of them turned, as one, and stared at her.
    A chill ran down her spine.
    "Why are they looking at us, as if they've never seen a female before?"
    "Perhaps they have not seen one," GEA-4 said. "All are males."
    "Well, they all look humanoid too, so they had to have a mother. I mean they don't seem advanced enough to have been grown in a lab or anything."
    "This is true." GEA-4 studied the group on the shore, as they climbed into the small boat. "None appear hostile."
    "I'm glad to know that."
    "However, three have elevated blood pressure, which suggests high emotion."
    "Which can be bad." Tem-aki sighed. "Until we know that they are not hostile, please stay by my side."
    "Understood."
    ~0~
    Varlet glared at the strangers on Sirocco's deck, then spun to face Cameron so fast that the small boat rocked dangerously. "Those are females!" Varlet's face turned an unhealthy shade of red as he spat out the words.
    "Yes, they are fe-"
    "How dare you allow them to defile the order's vessel!"
    "I told you, they came to me in the Protected Place."
    Varlet's eyes bulged, as he tried to find words to continue his tirade. "You allowed them there, too? You do not deserve to be high draco."
    "What would you have done, if they walked out of the water?"
    "Thrown them back," Varlet said.
    "Walked out of the water?" Emmet asked. "I thought you said they came to you in the