Chapter 14

The Nightmare Begins

Baelfire didn't speak to his Mama or Killian for a week. And he didn't go anywhere without his wooden sword tucked into his belt, plain side facing out so they wouldn't see Rumple carved on the blade. He hoped his father was okay, but he was afraid of what might have happened when he realized Bae wasn't coming back.

I will be waiting for you. Always.

His father loved him. He loved him enough to abandon everything he had and live like a beggar just for the chance to see Bae again. He loved him enough to promise he wouldn't take Bae away from Mama, even when that meant letting him go and maybe never seeing him again.

But Mama had stolen him away from Papa twice now. She lied and said he didn't love them, and called him a coward. She hated Papa. And Bae hated Mama for knowing he had met his father on his birthday and sneaking away in the middle of the night when she knew Papa needed help. And Bae hated Killian for helping her.

At first Bae's silence worried Mama, but once she was sure he wasn't sick and was still eating most of his food, the worry left her voice. After a couple of days though, she started to get snappy. Killian, however, accepted his punishment for what it was, and even did his best to calm Mama down when she got mad at Bae for his stubbornness.

On the seventh day, Bae whispered a message to one of the crew, who went and told Mama and Killian. Bae would talk again if they turned around and went back to Seatown. They talked and argued about it all day, but then finally turned the ship around. Bae went to bed happy, but determined to wait until they actually let him see Papa before he spoke to them again.

That night, a terrible storm struck. Bae huddled in his bunk, holding tight to whatever he could while the ship rocked. Everyone else was up top trying to keep the ship afloat. He could hear shouting in between the thunder and crashing waves. When water trickled into the room from the hall, Bae whimpered and held his wooden sword tight, wishing he was with Papa. They had been caught in storms before, but nothing this bad. As water continued to flow across the floor, Bae closed his eyes and prayed for the storm to go away.

A sudden thump, and everything stilled. Bae opened his eyes. The room was tilted, all the water on the floor gathered by the door, and the little round window pointed up to... treetops? Bae scrambled over to the window. There were trees out there, and no sign of rain. He could even make out a few stars in the night sky. They must have run aground, but Bae didn't remember being that close to land when he went to sleep. He tucked his wooden sword into his belt and splashed through the water to the door. The hall held even more water, and Bae had to swim more than walk to the stairs.

It was quiet up on the deck. All he could hear were the wooden planks creaking beneath his soggy footsteps. He didn't see any of the crew.

"Mama?" he called, his voice small. "Killian?" No response. "Anyone?"

He looked around. There was a faint glow in the distance. A town? The trees he had seen from his window towered on both sides, and as far as he could tell in the dark, stretched on forever. A river, then. But how was that possible? A storm couldn't have carried them this far inland and then just disappear. Could it?

He walked along the tilted deck towards the wheel. The storm had extinguished all the lanterns, so he had to feel his way. Here and there, shadowy lumps lay sprawled across the deck. Debris and rope knocked loose by the storm, he guessed. He kept to the railing so he wouldn't trip.

"Mama?" he called again, and thought he heard someone moving up on the raised deck, by the wheel. "Mama!" He raced forward, scrambling up the stairs to get to her.

Before he cleared the last step, the lantern at the top of the railing flickered to life with a soft whisper. All the other lanterns followed one by one, as though lit by a little fire fairy zipping around the ship. It was beautiful, until Bae realized the dark, shadowy lumps he had seen were the lifeless bodies of the crew. All dead. He yelped and fell back to sit on the stairs, then turned and scrambled to the top.

The last lantern to light was at the rear of the ship. A man stood there, hooded and cloaked, a gloved hand around Mama's neck.

"No! Don't hurt her!" he cried, darting forward only to trip over something and fall to the deck. He looked back, but wished he hadn't.

Killian lay there, one arm trapped beneath Bae's feet. His gaping mouth overflowed with water that continued to bubble up from some impossible place inside, but he never moved. His eyes stared up into nothing, and water pooled around him from his still-dripping clothes.

Bae trembled, unable to do more than back away from the body. He looked up at Mama struggling with the man's hand clamped around her throat, and knew he'd be next.

He drew his wooden sword out of his belt and charged, hitting the arm hurting Mama as hard as he could. The man growled and let go only to fling Bae away without touching him. The hand swept towards him, and Bae flew backwards to crash against the ship's wheel.

"No!" Mama screamed, collapsing to her knees. "Run, Baelfire!"

The man turned to look at him as Bae picked himself up off the deck. The wooden sword lay between them, Rumple illuminated by light and shadow. Bae reached for it, but the man's boot came down, pinning it to the deck. Bae shrank back and looked up.

Inside the hood, the man's skin was glittery gold, his eyes inhuman. The Dark One. Bae had heard stories. He was the most feared sorcerer in the Frontlands. They were going to die, and Papa would never know what happened. He'd never see Papa again.

"Baelfire!" Mama shouted, motioning for him to flee. She opened her mouth to say more, but the Dark One raised a hand without taking his eyes off Bae. The hand twisted, and Mama fell to the deck, her neck bent at a terrible angle.

Baelfire screamed.