The Witch's Patron

Chapter 25

Noori's first order of business was convincing her father and the Captain that they needed to split up.

"We need to get everyone as far away from the harbor as possible, and fast," she explained, motioning toward the ships and structures that were emerging in the faint early morning light. "We'll cover more ground if we split up."

"I'll take the ships," Denali said. "Most of the crews will be rousing by now, but we can't let any of them set sail with those seeds aboard."

Judging by the furrow of her father's brow, Noori could tell that he wasn't completely sold on the idea. She hurried to cut him off before he could voice his concerns. "Great idea. Papa, you should take the homes on the waterfront."

"What about you, Pup?" he asked.

"I need to find Toddrick. I doubt he'll want to listen to the truth about his lady friend, but maybe I can talk some sense into him." It wasn't a complete lie. After all, wherever she found Toddrick she'd likely find Vidonia, too. Her father opened his mouth, no doubt to protest, but Noori silenced him with a hug. "Don't worry, Papa. As soon as we get everyone to safety we can regroup and figure out what to do next."

Before either of them could stop her, Noori spun on her heel and took off running along the waterfront toward the market.

"Stay safe!" she heard her father call after her.

With fury in her veins, Noori raced into the maze of shuttered market stalls and hunted for the spot where person she once knew as Minty set up shop. She realized it was unlikely that either the witch or Toddrick would be there, but perhaps she'd find a clue about where to look for them next. Only in hindsight did it dawn on her that she had no idea where Vidonia lived.

Sure enough, both the garden stall and the Fairbanks' family's fish stall were deserted. Noori slid her hand through the protective grating around Vidonia's stall and pushed aside the canvas curtain inside: it was barren. Clearly the witch had no intention of returning to her simple, honest life. Cursing loudly, Noori reached through the grating at the Fairbanks' stall and grabbed anything she could reach that might work as a weapon. She got a handheld icepick and a box of matches for her trouble.

"That'll have to do," she muttered as she took off running again. As she emerged from the market wondering where to look next, Noori stopped short when she spotted something scurrying across the cobblestones toward the docks. It was Solanales.

Perfect, she thought, changing course to follow the familiar back to his mistress. She sprinted to keep up, leaping over splintered boards and brittle vines as she went. The path was so treacherous that Noori had to keep her gaze fixed on her feet. She didn't realize where Solanales was leading her until saw him dart to the right and scamper up a gangplank. Only then did she stop and look up.

Noori let out a strangled cry when she saw where the familiar had gone. What had once been a ship was now a grotesque knot of vines. Beneath the creeping mass, Noori could hear the muffled sound of wood cracking and splitting. To her surprise, the vines didn't seem to notice that she was there. Or, if they did, they were too preoccupied to care. Either way, she needed to be careful. She pulled out the matches and wrenched up a loose board from beneath her feet. It took a few tries for her trembling hand to hold a match steady long enough to light the end of the board. Once her makeshift torch was burning, Noori tiptoed up the gangplank and onto the infested ship.

As horrifying as the vessels's exterior was, it was nothing to what Noori found onboard. The insides of the hull had been completely transformed by the plant, its slithering appendages choking out any source of light until it appeared cavelike in its darkness. Around her every surface throbbed with life, but still the vines let her be.