"Paddle!" ordered Nicola, when everyone was back on board. She wanted to get away from the singing.The more she heard, the more she began to think it would be an excellent idea to jump in and swim to the Village of Song herself. She and Katie could go together and spend the rest of their lives doing nothing but listening to the blissful sound of--No! Stop thinking like that! You would never see your family again!
Water flew as everyone paddled like crazy. The raft flew around a bend in the river. The sound of singing grew fainter and finally vanished altogether.
Katie sat up and pulled the leaves from her ears.
"I'm sorry," she said sheepishly. "I don't know what came over me."
"I'm sorry for being so rough with you," said Shimlara.
"Oh, no, I'm sorry for putting you in such a difficult situation," said Katie.
"And I'm sorry I have to listen to you girls go on and on about how sorry you are," said Sean.
"Are there any more villages like that coming up?" Nicola asked Henry.
"No," said Henry. "The river will make its way through the Sublime Mountains and then we'll be in Griddlemill."
They spent the next few hours quietly paddling their way down the river, their arms beginning to ache from the effort.
"How are you going to rescue the Gorgioskios from the prison camp?" asked Henry at one point.
"We don't know," admitted Nicola."We'll work something out once we see what we're up against."
Henry nodded. He was lying on his back close to the edge of the raft and letting one hand trail through the water. It didn't seem to have occurred to him to offer to help out with the paddling.
"How are you going to win the war against Volcomania?" Sean asked Henry.
Henry blinked. "Well, I expect we're going to lose. I don't really see there's much point in even trying. Those Volcomanians are really a rather rough sort of people."
"That's not the right attitude," said Sean. "Are you a man or a mouse?"
"I believe I'm a man," said Henry confusedly. "What's a mouse?"
But there was no time for Sean to explain because the river had suddenly changed its nature, like a quiet person losing their temper. It was no longer meandering peacefully through the mountains. It was a raging torrent of white water.
"Why didn't you warn us, Henry?" cried Nicola over the roar of the water, as her oar was snatched from her grasp and the raft was flung around like a flimsy piece of driftwood.
"About what?" called back Henry.
"About this!"
"I always wanted to go white-water rafting!" shouted Sean joyously, as if he were on a roller-coaster ride.
"Well, I didn't!" yelled back Nicola.
The raft flew into the air and crashed down again, only just missing being smashed to smithereens against the side of a boulder.
Bumpity-bumpity-BUMP!
Bumpity-bumpity-BUMP!
Nicola felt as though she were being tossed around like a carrot in a stir-fry.
"Forget paddling!" yelled Tyler. "Just hold on!"
CHAPTER 25
Silence. Stillness. The scent of roses.