The Moon Temple
Page 3
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Akahele, the Master Navigator of the Dolphin Clan, one of the greatest explorers of his age, agreed to be his pilot and captain. He refused payment, saying it was a chance to visit the one place he had never seen. But when he looked at Kai, there was a gentle kindness in his eyes she understood. Perhaps he could read hearts as easily as the paths of stars, but it did not show in his calm, impassive face. Their ship was a twin-hulled catamaran, a reluctant gift from one of Elsu’s uncles, small enough for three men to manage alone, large enough to sail the four thousand leagues to the lost city of Angor Drava, and fast enough to cover the distance in a few months.
Kai insisted on going. Determined and immovable, in the end she sailed with them. Her chaperones tried to stop her, but the moment Kai danced under the stars she became an adult, free to do as she wished, and all the Clan elders supported her. Bane supposed the elders believed Kai had more sense than Elsu and hoped she would talk him out of the dangerous adventure, something Bane thought unlikely. Though Kai offered, none of her chaperones dared sail with them, more fearful of the sunken city than a father’s anger, and Elsu laughed at their cowardice. Bane went along because he was a seasoned navigator and the old man needed someone working the tiller when he took his readings of sky or sea, thrusting his hand into the waters to catch the reflections of waves against his skin. Besides, Elsu asked him to come and Bane could not refuse.
Elsu wanted to sail at once to the great sunken city, but Bane and Akahele dissuaded him after long argument.
“We know nothing of the city but legends and tales,” explained the old man. “Legends will not guide us through reefs and shallows that might rip out the bottom of our ship. We need more information before sailing into unknown waters.”
“Where will we find this information? And from whom?”
“It will take us several months to reach Angor Drava,” injected Bane, knowing his friend’s temper, recognizing the warning signs of an outburst. Elsu controlled himself, swallowing his anger. “Along the way we can stop at various temples,” Bane added quickly in a soothing tone. “I’m sure they or some of the guild or Clan halls have records of others who tried to reach the city. Perhaps they will have something we can use?”
Kai put a hand on Elsu’s arm, giving him a pleading look, and he relented, saying it was fine to spend a few days burrowing through useless books. “We need to stop for water and supplies anyway,” he grumbled, looking abashed when Kai suddenly kissed him on the cheek.
The ship put to sea at dawn. Few saw them off. Kai stood with the captain by the tiller, arms crossed, the wind pressing her white gown tight against her body, watching the island shrink behind them until it sunk beneath the horizon and the catamaran crossed into the deep swells of the ocean. Dark thoughts circled in her mind, phantoms she could not escape. Bane saw it clear as sunlight. The tentative, abstracted way she stood at the stern made Bane ache and he wished he could put an arm around her shoulders. Instead, he helped Elsu manage the lines as the ship ran before a squall.