This island had a tree-covered butte in the middle, the remains of a volcano that had blown its top during some past century. Yanko hoped it was a dormant volcano and that hunting for the lodestone wouldn’t involve any trips through lava tubes. He’d had enough of that. A desire to get to the artifact propelled Yanko up the slope with alacrity, and he and Dak outpaced the women. Of course, part of that was Yanko’s desire to avoid being smacked by Lakeo again. She kept glaring at him and calling him a fool for letting the mage hunter escape. Fortunately, with Dak’s powerful rowing, their group had reached the island first. The pirates hadn’t yet sent a team to land, either, though Yanko suspected that would change soon, and that the beaches would be besieged with his mother’s people by noon. “Thank you for coming after me, Dak,” Yanko said quietly as they scrambled up bare lava rock. They had already risen five hundred feet or more above the beach, leaving the ocean and the pirate fleet within clear view.
