The One Who Was Chained

27

We had flown all day on Klika. The wyvern showed no sign of exhaustion, though. In fact, she was more energized than me or Finn. Sybin did indeed seem impossible to find. Somehow, I knew he wasn't. In fact, I knew something that would have made Finn very suspicious of me. Sybin wanted to find me. It was a memory that had been taken from me. Something that I wasn't supposed to remember. But I did. It was just the essence of a memory that I had uncovered. But it was enough to tell me that Joan had some kind of history with Sybin. For better or worse, I did not know. Then, a breakthrough. Ripples.

"You see that too, right." Finn said, pointing at the abnormal waves.

"Yep. But is it Sybin?"

"Oh, I have no doubt in my mind that it's him. But the question is, where is he leading us?" I watched as the sea monster slowly trailed off eastward, towards the border. It was just asking to be chased. "It's your call Queenie."

"Follow it." Finn snapped Klika's reins, and the wyvern went into a steep dive at my command. I dared to stick my head out of the saddle bag. Below us was the tail of Sybin. It stretched across vast expanse of ocean. He must have been alive long before this place was created, to have grown that large. Sybin, sensing we were chasing him, picked up his pace, leading us directly to that island. As we got closer, Sybin slowed, diving deep. Suddenly, Finn whistled to Klika. She flapped upwards faster that I had ever seen, each wingbeat clawing at the air, desperate to gain height. And for good reason. Sybin's mouth snapped shut behind me, missing Klika's tail by an inch.

"How did you know he was going to do that?" I asked Finn.

"I have experience with sea monsters. They all hunt their prey the same way. Luring it in, feigning disinterest, then snapping it up in one gulp." We were now at a high enough altitude to examine the island in full detail. An ebony tower stood on one end, teetering at the edge of a cliff. And on the island... there were people?