by Lorna Reid
Danny nodded. It was an odd thing to say, and Russell’s face had flushed as he looked away. Something was bothering him.
There was a cheer from across the crew room as Katrina and Poppy successfully disarmed the Captain and Mineska, and Danny settled back among the cushions, feeling too sluggish and tired to have more than a tiny pang of jealousy. Even the blade Katrina had didn’t bother him as much as it usually would have, thanks to the weird dreams sliding around inside his head.
The Captain excused himself and paused by the sofa on the way out. ‘We’ll be out of the Pass mid-morning, barring incident. We took a few shortcuts. We’ll hit Varron later in the day and swing by the dock before heading for the Ridge.’
‘Thank you, for believing us,’ said Russell.
‘I believe in your parents and, by extension, you,’ the man said.
Katrina bounced into a chair next to them as the door banged shut behind the Captain. ‘You okay?’ Russell asked. She nodded.
‘Yeah, just learned some cool stuff.’
Danny tried not to seem that interested; he didn’t want her to know that he was jealous. ‘Cool. So you can use that thing now?’ He nodded at the knife.
‘No, but I’ll get there. He said it was Dad’s. I didn’t know if I wanted it at first.’
Soon changed your mind, didn’t you? he thought. He picked at an embroidered cushion and partially undid a crow’s beak. Russell tutted and moved the cushion away.
‘We were saying that we need to work out what we’re doing when we get to Darrant Ridge,’ said Russell.
‘I thought we were just going to find Isa, or her commanding officer,’ said Poppy, flumping down beside Russell and nudging him over.
‘It won’t be that easy,’ he huffed, making room.
‘Why don’t we just get hold of my mum, or your dad now that we’re nearly here? I mean, it’s too late for anyone to haul us home,’ said Poppy.
Danny wanted to see his father more than anything, but a part of him was afraid that he would be taken away at the last minute, before he could see his mother, or perhaps save her from the creature. ‘No, let’s stick with our plan,’ he said, knowing he was doing something stupid but unable to stop himself.
*
Poppy winced as they emerged on deck to be greeted with daylight. Pain needled through her nerves, forcing her to jerk her hands over her face. Behind them, a jagged crack in a vast column of rock, the tip of a sea mountain range – a remnant from the Old World, Patches had told them – faded into the distance.
Katrina looked genuinely mournful, and Poppy found it hard to grasp why. As fascinating as it had been, it was dark, terrifying, depressing, and dangerous. She’d craved sunlight from the moment they had set foot in the place. Danny, too, looked strangely moved for a moment.
Russell, on the other hand, muttered a few words of relief and turned his back, embracing the sunlight with a vigour she had not seen in him for days.
Soaking in the warmth, they enjoyed their time on deck and were joined regularly by various crew members, who also seemed to be enjoying the light and the fresh sea air. Poppy was just musing on how the odd taste of the Pass was all but gone from her lungs when several birds arced out of the sky and landed in the Riana’s rigging. They were summoned down by a member of the crew and several tiny canisters removed from their legs.
‘What are they?’ Poppy asked Patches.
‘Razor Hawks,’ he replied, picking at a huge wedge of sponge cake that had presumably been liberated from the kitchen. ‘One of the fastest birds in the Lands. We use them for relaying messages, especially when communications aren’t that great, like in the Pass.’ They watched as Bayard ran up to the Captain on the helm and handed over the canisters.
A few minutes later, the Captain left Mineska at the helm and joined them at the side, leaning next to Patches and surveying the blue waves, which rolled to the edge of the horizon.
‘News?’ asked Patches.
‘Aye. Glaciattrox. The Lanterns lost to the Breakers.’ Patches made a noise of disgust. In his distracted state, Poppy was scandalised to see Danny sneak a hand across and twist off a piece from the bottom of the man’s cake.
‘That’s stealing,’ reprimanded Russell.
‘He stole it first. I call that fair game,’ said Danny, smothering his smug grin in cake.
‘And, we have to swing by Varron harbour first to pick someone up before we head to the Ridge. If we have time, we can also drop off some cargo.’
‘Oh?’ Patches said.
‘Yes, well, I …’ the Captain glanced at them and then out to sea, and then froze. On the horizon was a ship, but Poppy couldn’t make out much else.
‘Jal.’ The order was quiet but curt. Patches dumped the cake in Danny’s welcoming hands and ran to the foot of the mainmast and shouted up.
‘Watch?’
‘She’s a Javelin class.’
Patches relayed their shout to the Captain, whose attention snapped back out to sea. He whipped a small black leather-bound spyglass from his pocket and twisted it to his eye.
‘Fuck. Looks like Varron colours,’ he called back.
‘What now?’ Russell muttered. ‘Can’t we just have it easy? Why didn’t we get the train?’
‘Not just Varron, Captain. They’re flying a hunter/killer pennant. She’s moving fast – to intercept,’ Patches said, getting fed from the watch.
‘I see it. She’ll be a bounty hunter with a charter from Varron port authorities. Just what we need.’
‘You know, the last place we need to go now is straight into the middle of Varron harbour,’ said Patches, falling in beside the Captain.
‘Aye, but we’re doing it anyway.’ The Captain turned away, but Poppy plucked at his arm.
‘Wait, did you say hunter/killer? As in, it will sink us?’
‘Or worse,’ he replied.
‘Shouldn’t we be running?’ said Danny.
‘We’ve got an important package to pick up first. Then we have to get you to the Ridge. Don’t worry, this is nothing we haven’t dealt with before.’ The Captain raced to take back the helm, barking orders to the crew, who scrambled into action, the novelty of sunlight having well and truly worn off.
A pair of Razor Hawks took off from where Mineska stood on the upper deck and soared out over the water, vanishing into the distance.
Poppy looked out at the fast-moving ship, wondering if they would beat it to Varron and the Ridge before it caught or destroyed them. Suddenly, the sun went in and the good cheer with it, but in spite of that, no one, not even Russell, wanted to go below deck and miss out.
The Riana was faster, but the Varron ship dogged them across the waves, her scarlet and silver livery looking fierce, even authoritative. It was unnerving to watch, but compulsive.
The crew were remarkably calm, but there was a mantle of tension laying over the decks that hadn’t been there before, and it was hard not to let it soak in. They stood at the rail and talked for the next few hours, light conversation sliding over a more serious base. The sharp breeze pummelled their faces and hands, but they stayed and watched the port draw steadily closer as the Riana cut through the waves, keeping her distance from her pursuer.
The crooked port stretched around the bay of a curving coastline, spilling ships and boats over the blue water, while a tight fan of colourful buildings marched up the surrounding dark hills until they petered out among the thick shroud of trees.
Orders flew and the Riana picked up speed. The fact that the harbour was busy seemed not to matter. Poppy frowned. ‘Erm, we’re heading right for that cluster of ships,’ she said, hoping that there was some sort of mistake.
‘Busier the harbour, the better it is for us,’ said Wake, who had paused beside them for a moment. ‘Trust him,’ he nodded up at the Captain, tipped them a cheeky wink, and was gone, scuttling below deck with Ivy and several others.
Before Poppy had time to wonder where they had gone, the Riana changed course to
bring her almost directly into the path of a number of fishing boats and larger ships, several of which were anchored.
‘Reflectors down,’ barked the Captain. From up in the rigging, several large trains of fabric were dropped, while the crew at the aft of the vessel unfurled a number of similar, stiffer panels. Poppy caught a flash of coated silvery material and winced and shielded her eyes before the panels were angled and secured to catch the sunlight and throw it out behind the Riana.
Moments later, they passed between two anchored ships, and a slow-moving vessel eased across their wake and blocked their pursuer’s view. Poppy looked back to see the crew on the slow-moving ship dropping their own blinding reflector panels from sides and sails, and smiled.
‘Nice.’
‘Now what, though?’ said Katrina, seeing the Captain give a wave of thanks to his colleagues in the nearby vessels.
‘Now we switch,’ said Patches, grinning and snapping orders. The black and silver livery of the Riana began to melt away and was replaced with green and gold. Pennants and flags were lowered and replaced in a flash, sails adjusted, and lookouts recalled.
Nets were half cast over the side or bundled over the deck weapons, and crew who had been on deck switched with others or donned cloaks and jackets. Wake tugged a black hat over his green hair and slipped on a dark waistcoat before hanging out on a rope to fiddle with the ship’s nameplates, which magically switched from ‘Riana’ to March’s Revenge.
They stared around with fascination as they were swiftly ushered to the shelter of the small store cabin, out of sight, and scrambled onto boxes and barrels to peer out of the porthole window in case they missed anything. Poppy quickly tired of vying for a prime spot, so cracked the door open a little to get a better view.
The well-rehearsed operation took brief minutes, and then they were out from the shelter of the masking vessels and easing away from the cluster at a more casual pace toward the far end of the port.
Poppy swapped an excited grin with Katrina, and even Russell was biting his lip and twisting his hands around the hem of his shirt.
The crew ambled around, hoisting nets, coiling ropes, and chatting. No spyglasses, no hanging over the side, no glancing back. ‘Did they guess? Do they know? Are they still following?’ Poppy bombarded Mineska (now with blonde hair, thanks to a magical hat) with questions as she passed the door, and got a huge grin.
‘The Scott and the Blue Star kept their reflectors up for a nice length of time, and a few decoy ships have passed off in different directions.’
‘You planned all this,’ said Russell. ‘When?’
‘Thanks to the Razor Hawks. We stick together,’ she said, looking serious. ‘They help us; we help them. You look after your own out here. Besides, The Scott owed us a favour or two.’
‘Captain, we’re approaching the Kern Berths,’ Tab’s call drifted in through the door.
‘We’ll pick up what we need, offload what we can, and get the fuck out of here,’ replied the Captain from somewhere above them. ‘Be ready with the urgent cargo; we’ll leave the rest for a night visit.’
‘Aye, sir,’ said Tab and was away.
‘What’s so important that we risk that ship rather than head straight for the Ridge?’ moaned Danny.
Poppy narrowed her eyes and shook her head. ‘Haven’t they dropped enough for us? They do have stuff of their own to do.’
‘I know that,’ Danny snapped.
Poppy and Katrina traded glances. Russell sighed.
*
The ship swept across the bay to a quiet nook where the traffic was much thinner. Ropes arced through the air to crew that had already dropped down, and terse orders were given by the Captain and Patches as cargo was ferried from the hold to the dockside.
They slipped from the cabin and watched for a while. Danny bounced on his heels, irritated that they were there, wasting time.
‘So you reckon this package is jewels or something?’ wondered Poppy.
‘Or a gold-encrusted pirate hat?’ Danny jibed, with a snort.
‘Piss off, Danny,’ she snapped.
‘Long time no see,’ came a voice as the Captain moved to the gangplank with a huge, uncharacteristic grin on his face. Danny’s head turned so quickly he almost pulled a muscle in his neck.
‘Dad?’
Peter Stone finished embracing the Captain and looked over at Danny, who threw himself across the deck.
Bringing himself to meet his father’s eyes was one of the hardest things Danny had ever had to do. The caution-to-the-wind, don’t-care attitude had crumbled away and the reality of what he had done – and what he had likely put his father through – ate through him.
The grey eyes, the tousled hair, the blue-and-black-stripy top clinging to his short but lean body, the dark canvas messenger bag slung over his shoulder. It was his dad. Here.
Rather than a look of fury, his dad wore a huge smile and it made Danny’s heart soar. He crashed into his arms. Danny felt relief wash over him and clung on, not wanting to let go, not wanting to face whatever would come when he did.
‘Cap’n!’ one of the crew shouted from the helm, and everyone turned. ‘Think that’s us, sir. They’ve sussed it – closing across the bay.’
‘Sorry to cut this short, Pete, but we need to move. Jal, we’re leaving.’ The Captain signalled Patches, who was supervising the unloading, and headed for the helm, calling orders, sending crew racing to handle sails, ropes, and obstructing cargo. The crew dockside scrambled back aboard and the ship peeled away from the dock.
‘Never a dull moment with you lot,’ Peter quipped.
‘Never is with you on board. And your son’s as much a food thief as you,’ the Captain shot back, grinning as he raced across the decks and up to the helm, followed by Peter’s laugh.
‘Looks like you get your wish now,’ Ivy said, clapping Russell on the back as he raced by and scaled the rigging to join the other lookouts.
Everyone took a breath and looked at Peter and then Danny, wondering who was going to explain all this. Danny looked down at his shoes and then up at his father.
‘C’mon, we’ve a lot to discuss and we’ll only get in the way here.’ His dad led Danny and his friends down to the crew room with a confidence that spoke of much time spent aboard, and he settled in a chair by the fire.
‘Right. Talk.’
‘I don’t know where to start,’ Danny muttered.
‘How about when you decided to disappear into an alien land by yourselves?’ Danny opened his mouth, but his father wasn’t finished. ‘Or worse, your fucking abject rudeness and disrespect to the Oracle.’ His tone was harsh and cutting, and Danny cringed.
He loathed letting his father down. He did it countless times and it always felt crippling inside, but this was one of the worst. Genuine anger flashed in his father’s eyes and he felt nothing but shame. He couldn’t defend what he had done. And now, with the Oracle gone, there was no way he could make up for it, either.
‘I was angry. I wanted so much to find Mum, to help. I want her back. I just …’ Danny trailed off. ‘I saw things. Saw her. It’s one of the reasons we’re here now.’
‘We came to save Isa,’ said Poppy. ‘Then pieces of Danny’s visions came up and he also saw his mother there at Darrant Ridge with that creature.’
His dad looked stunned. Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn’t been this. Danny had assumed that since he had found his way there, he knew what was going on.
Poppy paused and bit her lip. ‘Oh … I thought the Captain had told you.’
‘I’ve had pieces of whatever you’ve been doing. I heard that Isa is in danger and that some sort of attack is imminent at Darrant Ridge. It’s why Jack’s company has been diverted there as reinforcements. But … Niri? Your mother’s there?’
Danny half nodded. ‘Kind of. I’m not sure.’ He struggled to explain, but managed to get out what he could piece together from the dreams. His dad sat for several minutes digesting everything
. His long fingers twitched occasionally, eyes darting across the floor, chasing thoughts and emotions and memories like scattered beads.
Finally, he spoke. It was a whisper. ‘Danny, are you telling me the truth?’
‘Yes.’ Danny looked up, and his father’s eyes, swimming with tears, locked on Danny’s own.
‘This creature … the one that will kill Isa unless we stop it …’
‘I’ve never seen anything like it before,’ whispered Danny, looking to Russell for confirmation. He nodded.
‘Nor have I. I just know it was the most terrifying thing I have ever seen or heard,’ Russell said.
‘In her message, Niri mentioned a Reaper.’ Danny’s father drew a breath. ‘Did it look like this?’ He fished a piece of weathered paper from his jeans pocket and held it up.
Danny’s stomach flipped and rolled. Long needle teeth suspended in a roar; a triangular black head with orangey eyes; a flat, slitted nose; and black horns that curved backward. The scales were wet-looking and sinister. And then Danny’s head spun, and instead of the drawing, he was looking into the face of the real thing. His heart withered. His body pressed back against someone, pinning them to a wall while a clawed hand tightened on his throat. Hot breath warmed his face.
Someone shook him and he felt fingers on his arms. ‘Dan? Danny?’ His father’s voice was urgent, scared. Danny realised what had happened and swore, even as he felt the headache creeping up on him.
‘I’m okay, it’s just … It’s like I saw it up close, for real.’
His father looked terrified and clutched his hand so tightly he yelped.
‘Sorry. Sorry. Just … don’t ever say that.’ His dad stuffed the paper away after Russell had taken one look and nodded his confirmation.
‘Isa will die because of that creature if we don’t get her out. Why hasn’t anyone done anything?’ Russell said. ‘It’s like no one cares.’
‘Of course they do,’ Peter said. ‘Those of us who actually believe you.’ His voice was laced with bitterness.
‘But you said her father sent reinforcements,’ said Poppy, frowning.