Half Heart Hero: Rise of Sifa [Book 2]

Spine Clan

Far down the river, the boat floated onward. As Raya and the others left behind the dense jungle and river markets of Talon, the land was changing into tall slender mountains. The air turned cold. They passed through silent forests of giant bamboo. When Raya started to see snow on the ground, she knew they were near Spine. Spine was best known for its brutish warriors, giant wielding battle axes who could chop a tree in one blow. To get past them, Raya knew she would have to be at the top of her game.

As she cleaned her sword with a slice of lime, checking the blade's sharpness, she tried to clear her mind. It wasn't easy. Even since Noi and her Ongis had come aboard the boat, it had been in a state of pandemonium. The rascals shoved congee and condiments into their mouths at every opportunity.

"Hey! Stop eating!" Boun yelled, chasing them off for the millionth time.

As they scampered away, the Ongis knocked hot sauce onto Tuk Tuk's food. He took a big bite then knocked Raya over trying to get to the side of the ship for water.

"Whoa! Sorry, buddy, I got this," Raya said, deciding to take matters into her own hands.

"Did you just throw a shrimp at me?" Boun yelled at one of the Ongis. "That's not even edible! Don't look at me...like that you fuzzy garbage can!"

Raya walked over with a big smile. "Uh... Hey, guys? Do you wanna play hide-and-seek?" she asked.

Tuk Tuk, Noi and the Ongis nodded.

Raya covered her eyes, "All right. Ready? One. Two...."

Noi and the Ongis scurried away to hide. Even Tuk Tuk tried to hide, though he wasn't very good at it. "Thanks," Boun whispered.

"Two and a half. Three," Raya continued on. She sat down next to Sisu and whispered. "Remind me to never have kids."

[music starts]

"Being people is hard," Sisu said.

"Yep," Raya agreed. "Six. Seven."

"You have small heads. No tails," Sisu went on. "You lie to get what you want, like the Talon chief back there."

"Yeah. Well, the world's broken. You can't trust anyone," Raya said.

"Or maybe the world's broken because you don't trust anyone," Sisu retorted.

"You sound just like my ba," Raya chuckled.

"Well, he sounds like a smart man," said Sisu.

"Yeah, he was. I really wanted to believe him. I really wanted to believe that we could be Kumandra again."

"And we can," Sisu said.

Raya leaned forward. "Literally thousands of people turned to stone would argue otherwise."

Sisu wouldn't let go. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't try."

Raya's composure crumbled. Why couldn't she make Sisu understand? "And I did. And you know what happened? I got kicked in the back by someone who gave me a gift. Look around. We're a world of orphans because people couldn't stop fighting over a gem. Wanna know why other dragons didn't come back? It's because people don't deserve them."

"But you can change that," Sisu said.

"No, Sisu, I am done trying. Kumandra is a fairy tale. The only thing important to me now is bringing my ba back."

The ship came to a stop. "Um... I think we're in Spine," Boun said.

Raya glanced up. Through the parting clouds, she could see an imposing village sitting above them on the hillside. A tall fence of sharpened bamboo surrounded it, but she could make out the houses. Decorated with the horns and tusks of massive beasts, they reminded her of giant beetles. The dock was long gone. All that was left was a row of broken piles. Sisu began to think for a moment. She has to make Raya understand that she is wrong about Kumandra. She has to prove to her that she was right.  As Boun steered the boat toward the shore, Sisu suddenly leapt overboard, carrying a large pot full of Boun's congee. She hopped across the piles then stormed up the hillside headed for the village.