Isle of Broken Years

by Jane Fletcher

  Ricardo and Piracola had gone to sit on a fallen log, a short distance away. Their heads were close together. Had they been whispering to each other? Sam could guess the subject. Maybe later she could think of a way to persuade them she was innocent of Alonzo’s death—once she had persuaded herself. At the moment, it was not her main concern.

  “The Inflatable is coming.”

  The boat was heading straight for them, traveling so fast it bounced from wave to wave, sending up plumes of spray. If the passengers were not holding on firmly they risked being tossed overboard. Somehow, Kali had wrested control of the outboard motor from Torvold, who was sitting hunkered down in the middle, next to Horatio.

  The Inflatable showed no sign of slowing as it approached land. Was Kali planning on driving it ashore? Sam was starting to feel anxious, but at the last moment, Kali brought the Inflatable around and leapt out while it was still moving, straight into Ricardo’s arms.

  Torvold and Horatio took more care, docking at the rock jetty.

  “How did you lose the Inflatable?”

  “Where’s Alonzo?”

  They spoke at the same time.

  “The hunters got Alonzo.” Piracola glanced sideways at Sam. “As for the boat, that was me. I dropped the mooring rope when the jump came.”

  “Oh, I say. Dashed rotten luck…on both counts,” Horatio said.

  “How did you find the Inflatable so quickly? We thought you’d have to get us in canoes.”

  “That was Kali’s doing. She’d borrowed my spyglass and was watching for you…well, watching for Ricardo, but you were with him, so it was the same thing. She spotted the Inflatable drifting yesterday afternoon, or morning, or before the last jump anyway.”

  While they talked, Torvold had been busy, putting the sacks in the boat. “I had to take a canoe and row for it. Me, rowing! Then we came to see if you were at the shore, but you were not. We were ready to come back this morning, and we saw the smoke, and Kali was off, quick as green mustard. I tell you, she drives crazy fast.” Which was saying a lot, coming from him. “But Alonzo, that is bad news. I think Catalina will be hit to the heart.”

  Sam was already anxious about how Catalina would take the news, but that was not what stoked her growing unease. They were standing, chatting, when they should be gone. Sam wanted to shoo them onto the Inflatable. She was about to say something, when she heard a distant sound. “Tck-tck-tck. Tck-tck.” It was not her imagination.

  “Quick. We have to get away.”

  “What is—”

  Then the others heard it too. Within seconds, they were in the Inflatable. The motor roared into life with Torvold at the helm. Kali had her arms around Ricardo and was showing no sign of ever letting go. Sam looked back at the shore, but nothing appeared, and soon they were too far away. She should mention never to use smoke signals again.

  “How did the wretched hunters catch poor Alonzo? Why wasn’t he with you?” Horatio asked.

  Sam turned to him. “After the second jump. We were at the farm. He made it to a roost, but then he…left again.”

  Ricardo loosened his grip on Kali and leaned forward, examining Sam’s face. “You do not know why he climbed down?”

  “I told you. He convinced himself Atlantis wasn’t real. He thought demons were tricking him, and he could pray it all away.”

  “And you couldn’t stop him?”

  “I tried to, but I couldn’t overpower him and make him stay.” Sam felt a twinge of annoyance. “I’ve already told you this.”

  “You weren’t friends. Anyone could see that.”

  “No. We weren’t. That doesn’t mean I’m happy he threw his life away.” She met Ricardo’s eyes. “What? Do you think we had a fight and I pushed him off the roost? Even if he’d survived the fall he wouldn’t have been able to go wandering off on his own.”

  “Yes. Of course, you’re right. I didn’t mean to sound as if I was accusing you. But it was such a crazy thing to do.”

  “I know.” Sam stared at her feet. “I just keep wondering what else I could have said to him.”

  Horatio patted her shoulder. “I’m sure you tried your best.”

  Nothing else was said until they docked at the inner island. A small group of castaways was waiting, Catalina among them. Sam saw her eyes go from face to face as they left the Inflatable.

  Her eager expression turned to confusion. “Alonzo? Where is he?”

  Ricardo took her hand. “I’m sorry.”

  “What?”

  “The second jump, we were at the farm. We all got safely to the roosts before the hunters came. But Alonzo returned to the ground and they caught him. I’m so sorry.”

  “Why? What made him do that?”

  “I don’t know. I wasn’t at the same roost as him. Sam was there and spoke to him, but she has no more answers than I do.”

  “You?” Catalina turned on Sam. “You were with him? Why didn’t you save him?”

  “I tried. There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t make him stay.”

  “What made him want to leave?”

  “He…” What could she say? He thought I was a demon? “He convinced himself Atlantis was a test set for him by the devil. He thought he could pray it away.”

  “You’re saying he was mad.”

  “No.” Or was she? Had guilt driven him mad?

  “Your face. I see the marks. You fought with him.”

  “No. I mean yes. He hit me, but we weren’t fighting. I was trying to stop him from climbing down.”

  “You’re lying.”

  The hostility in Catalina’s voice burned like salt on a raw wound. Sam opened her mouth, but no words would come out.

  “You attacked him, threatened him. He told me you’d done it before.”

  “No.”

  “I don’t believe you. What did you say to him?”

  “I said…” The words stuck in Sam’s throat. If she had not challenged him, Alonzo would not have felt threatened. If she had not tried to make him face the truth, he would not have had a reason to flee. She had taunted him, and she had enjoyed doing it.

  Catalina shouted in her face. “You did this. I know it. He told me not to trust you. You’re a thief and a murderer. You murdered him. You will pay for it. I promise, you will pay for it.”

  Chapter Nine

  The sound of waves slapping against the quay was a rhythmical background to the darkness. Night had fallen and a blanket of cloud covered the moon. However, there was no need to carry lanterns. The pathways of the inner island were lit by streams of tiny blue lights floating overhead, and the buildings were washed by up-facing beams of warm yellow. The cornerstones of the embankment also glowed, marking the edge between land and sea, but not so brightly as to cut into the utter blackness beyond.

  Catalina sat on a patch of grass, staring at nothing. She could not see the outer island, but it was there, the nightmare in the dark. She could not tear her thoughts away. Her dress was getting crumpled, but she did not care. Alonzo had brought it back for her. Maybe she should take better care of it. Yet the sense of remorse was not enough to bring her to her feet.

  Why had Alonzo done it?

  Catalina hugged her knees. Sam had played a part. Of that, she had no doubt. But she could not deny Alonzo had not been himself recently. The dry humor, the playfulness, the calm certainty had been absent. He had carried a deep-rooted hatred of Sam, and yet had given no reasons that did not apply equally to the other pirates.

  It was not simply that Sam was the only one to survive. If she did not know better, Catalina would have said he was frightened of Sam—which was absurd. Alonzo had never been frightened of anyone. Yet something had passed between them. That much Catalina was certain of. But what? And had it played any part in his death?

  The sound of soft footsteps made Catalina turn her head. Kali was strolling along the quay, her path slow and aimless. She was also looking into the darkness, but as she reached Catalina, she paused.

  “Do y
ou mind if I stop with you a while?”

  “No. Of course not.” Catalina had not wanted company, but Kali was not one of the people she wished to avoid.

  Kali carefully lowered herself to the ground.

  Catalina offered a hand. “Are you all right?”

  “Oh yes. I’m only five, maybe six months gone. My mother did a full day’s work on our farm the day before I was born. In another three months you can help me.” Kali’s smile was white in the darkness. For a while they sat in silence.

  “You’re mourning your friend.”

  “Of course.”

  “You had known him a long time?”

  “All my life. He was my grandfather’s squire, before I was born.”

  “You must feel his loss keenly.”

  “I do.” Tears filled Catalina’s eyes.

  “We all know the pain of losing those we love. Some might say I abandoned my family, but the choice I had was no choice at all. The sailors had me cleaning the ship’s galley. I was emptying a bucket of slops when the captain called to raise the anchor. The sailors were busy, none were watching me, and the beautiful island was so close. I dived over the side and swam. I reached the beach and looked back, thinking they’d send the longboat for me, but the ship sailed away. Who knows if they even knew I’d gone? I watched it slip over the horizon. In the hold was my mother, my brothers, my aunt, my nephew. I never said good-bye.”

  “You knew they were still alive.”

  “That was not living, and people died in the holds. I think the only reason they didn’t leave them to rot was they didn’t want the rest of their merchandise to grow sick. My sister was thrown overboard when she died, to feed the fishes.”

  “I…” Catalina did not know what to say.

  “But it’s you who have lost today. Your wounds are still fresh. Tell me about Alonzo.”

  “You met him.”

  “Tell me a memory of him from your childhood that will make you smile.”

  Catalina thought. “I must have been six or seven. I had a cold and couldn’t go out. I felt so sorry for myself. One of the hounds had given birth. Alonzo brought three puppies to my room. Small black furry bundles. We spent the afternoon playing, throwing a ball between us so the pups ran back and forth, sliding into each other and wagging their tails and licking us.”

  “Did he have children of his own?”

  “No. He never married. He’d been with my family so long he was more a friend than a servant. He volunteered to come with me to meet my new husband. He risked his life joining the pirates as the only way to stay close and protect me. And that’s why I don’t believe he’d have abandoned me, throwing his life away.”

  “Do you seriously think Sam killed him?”

  Catalina shook her head, in confusion rather than denial. Her initial certainty had faded, leaving only a tangle of conflicting emotions. Nothing made sense. “I don’t know. I don’t have any evidence, but I’m sure she was involved.”

  Kali placed a hand on Catalina’s shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I spoke to Piracola. He tracked the route Alonzo took after he left the roost. Alonzo was on his own, and he wasn’t running away from Sam. Piracola said his footsteps were of a man striding through the forest. Alonzo wasn’t stumbling along in a daze. He thought he knew where he was going, but he wasn’t in a wild rush to get there. Piracola is sure Alonzo was acting as though he did not think himself in danger. Which agrees with what Sam said.”

  “So he was mad, delusional?”

  “Atlantis has driven people mad before. This island robs us of our families, our homes. My poor Rico is tormented now. The last two jumps were close together, less than a day apart. From Liz’s graph, we know the date was about 2005. If there was just a way for him to have left, he could have been reunited with his sisters, his friends. Merely twelve years would have passed in the outside world. Yet we only can know the date when we’re no longer there.”

  “A cruel jest.”

  “Yes. Yet Rico and I have each other. I’m sorry you’ll never see your beloved again.”

  Catalina frowned. “Who?”

  “Your husband. Had you forgotten him?”

  “No. Not really. But I’d never met him, so…” She shrugged.

  “What?”

  “My parents arranged the marriage. They hadn’t met him either. It was all done by emissaries.”

  “You didn’t object?”

  “It was expected. I’d always known my husband would be picked by my family, either for politics or money, preferably both. And this was the third time.”

  “You’ve been married three times?”

  “No. My two previous husbands-to-be died before the ceremony could take place.”

  “You must have been very young.”

  “I was six the first time. Older than my betrothed. He was three.”

  Kali shook her head. “This was not the way of my people.”

  Catalina’s thoughts returned to Alonzo. “I don’t think being lost in time was what troubled him. He had no family to return to.”

  “But he was troubled?”

  “Yes. I think so.”

  “Do you have any idea what it was?”

  “No. Except I know Sam was involved. He said she had threatened him before, with a knife.”

  “Did he say why?”

  “No.”

  “You should ask her.”

  “Can I believe a thing she says?”

  “Has she lied to you before?”

  Catalina shrugged. “Not that I know. But Alonzo warned me against trusting her, and he was an honorable man. Sam is just a pirate.”

  “Was. She was a pirate. Now she is a castaway, like the rest of us.”

  “And if she does not change her ways?”

  “There have been murderers on Atlantis before, and thieves and liars.”

  “What happened to them?”

  “Sometimes they were exiled to the outer island, sometimes they became leader and did whatever they wanted. You should ask Liz. She knows more about the history of those who have gone before us. But one thing I would say.” Kali turned her face away, staring into the darkness. “The good and the bad. Atlantis will claim us all in the end. There were six others with Liz on her boat, forty-five years ago. Floyd arrived with five comrades. Yaraha and Piracola’s canoe held eight. I’ve been here nine years, and I’ve lost count of those who’ve come and gone. We follow in the footsteps of the dead.”

  “You make it sound hopeless.”

  “It is.” Kali wrapped her arms over her stomach. “I didn’t plan this child. Much as I love Rico, it wasn’t what I intended. Will either of us live to see our child’s first steps? Hear the first words?” She turned to Catalina, her eyes empty of emotion. “None of us are going to get off this island.”

  * * *

  The words which test the purity of gold are with Tydides. Two faces are offered to us by the other ones. We must raise a shield over their unseen target. Behind the hall of books when this sun falls into the sea, we will join together and talk about where to aim our thoughts. Friends who wear their hearts on the outside only should hear this.

  The writing was scrawled on a slip of paper that had been folded multiple times, the sort of thing that might be passed from one hand to another when guards were not watching. Gerard had brought many similar notes back from Old Town. Mostly, they concerned trivial matters—so trivial Catalina had previously ignored them. But that evening she had taken a pile of fragments to her room, to distract herself when other thoughts became too painful.

  The pages were spread out around her. She sat cross-legged on her bed, wearing only her loose smock. Her blue satin gown was draped over the storage cabinet. Catalina looked up from the paper and considered it briefly. It was too hot for the weather, especially with the stiff high collar. Her smock was more comfortable. The full-length embroidered gown had to make her appear ridiculously overdressed, compared to everyone else. But it was her last gift from Alonzo, an
d she did not want to cast it aside.

  Catalina rested her chin on her cupped hand and returned to the note. Normally, Liz, Floyd, or Madison worked with her, but she did not need twentieth-century engineering input on this. She was sure the issues were political, not technical. Several interpretations were possible, but the one she kept coming back to was:

  Tydides has the proof. The aliens are going to betray us. We have to block whatever they are up to. We shall meet at the rear of the library today at sunset to make plans. Only tell those you trust completely.

  The note was interesting, but how important was it? It definitely held implications about the relationship between the Greeks and the aliens—assuming they were the other ones referred to. Of course, it might be about something as minor as discovering their opponents intended to use underhand tactics at the next soccer match, or whatever sport the Greeks had taken part in.

  Catalina picked up another scrap of paper.

  You will teach pigs to sing sooner than you will talk me into your bed.

  She smiled. That one at least was easy to decode. A third note was far more cryptic.

  Go in my likeness.

  This was followed by a word she did not recognize. Catalina frowned. Was it even a word? A mnemonic? It seemed decidedly short on vowels, although with the poor penmanship of some Greeks it was hard to be sure. If the delta at the beginning was really a carelessly scrawled alpha, then the word would be asblof, which still did not mean anything, and did not sound at all Greek. Was it a word in the alien language? Catalina tried saying it aloud a few times.

  She riffled through more papers until the name Tydides caught her eye. What was his role, chief rebel or soccer team captain?

  The page had suffered water damage. Several words were smudged, as if by raindrops. Catalina raised the light in her room to maximum and returned to the bed.

  […] jar holds all we have for the thoughts Tydides has set on his bow. Four […] of destruction we ask you please to […] for him to hold when the night […]. The detailed drawing of the […] of all has Meriones in his rooms for life away from […] eyes. A path to victory if we find not, my […] says our names […] will write in his book.