Free The Dream Sanctum: Beyond The End by Kay Solo Page B

was also clearly moving – and
coming straight toward them. Tall trees swayed in the breeze, and Kai could see
flocks of birds circling it as it got closer.
    “We’re in luck!” Alastor declared happily. “Remember the creatures I
mentioned? You’re about to see one of them.”
    Kai looked closer, scanning the trees and rocks for any signs of life,
but apart from the birds and what appeared to be a few deer-like creatures
roaming the island’s shore, he couldn’t see any cause for the island itself to
move.
    “No, look down,” Alastor chuckled. It took a few moments for Kai to
understand, but when he did, his mouth nearly dropped open.
    The island was a massive whale. Below the water he could see the
creature’s body, its eyes as large as a car, its fins three times the length of
their ship. It moving steadily through the water as though it weighed nothing.
    “Oh! Look!” Lindsay cried, pointing somewhere behind the whale. From
beneath the waves, a smaller whale appeared with a burst of water as it took a
breath.
    “Well, this is a first for me,” Alastor said, looking down at it with
interest.
    The smaller whale was much more energetic, and while the larger whale never
completely submerged itself, the younger one dove underwater and back again,
occasionally leaping into the air and crashing down again, sending forth waves
that rocked the ship slightly.
    “Eventually that baby whale will grow up and become an island of its
own,” Alastor explained. “I read about these but I’ve never seen one. They’re a
lot bigger than I expected.”
    The whales swam alongside the ship, coming closer and closer until Kai
could almost reach out and touch the trees on the older whale’s back. The
younger one circled the ship, dipping underneath the waves and appearing on one
side then the other, looking excited for the company.
    “Would you like to explore the island?” Kwin suggested.
    “Wait, what? Really?” Kai replied, and she nodded.
    “Why not? What else is it there for?”
    Without a moment’s hesitation, Kwin leapt over the side of the ship and
landed easily on the whale island’s sandy shore, causing the few land animals
that had gathered on the edge of the small forest to dart away into the trees.
She surveyed her surroundings for a moment before glancing back up at Kai.
    “Don’t make me explore alone!”
    Kai relented and jumped down after her. Despite the island being alive,
it felt very stable, as though he were standing on solid ground; however, every
time the whale swept its massive tail, the island would sway slightly. He
jogged after Kwin, and soon they found themselves in the midst of the forest.
    It was quiet, but in a calming, pleasant way. The ocean breeze whispered
through the trees, and a myriad of colored birds perched comfortably on the
branches, uninterested in the newcomers below. A small creek ran by them, and
they followed it for a few minutes, watching as it flowed through the forest
and to the shore, trickling back into the ocean.
    “How does this all work?” Kai asked. “Does this not hurt the whale or
weigh it down too much?”
    “I doubt it. This creature is large and strong, and the water must make
its weight less of an issue. However, we can’t apply the logic of our world to
this one; sometimes the most wonderful things are created simply because they
can be.”
    “That works,” Kai replied, feeling that there was nothing he couldn’t
appreciate about this world.
    “I also wanted to come here to search for something,” Kwin continued,
looking at the ground and around the trees as they walked. “Alastor told me
that on every one of these islands there is a jewel of sorts, one that is
formed by the whale when its island is first created. As it grows, the jewel is
hidden within the forests, sands and waters of the island. He said it is part
of the power that keeps the entire ecosystem alive, and that they are very,
very rare.”
    “What would you do with it?” Kai