Captain Black Shadow

by Janina Franck

  “But if I’m gonna do that, I’ll need a good lunch. A tasty one. And you’re the only one on board who can make that happen. So help me out here.” He winked.

  Griffin cracked a little smile.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  Without further hesitation, he began making a lunch for Ryo and Ayalon to take along. Meanwhile, Ryo went to tell Selene about his plan and, naturally, she agreed to it. A little while later, Griffin watched as Ayalon flew over the ocean with his best friend on his back, going to find an herb that would either kill or save his Aestiva, the closest thing to family he had left.

  Waiting for Ryo was hell. Griffin readied more warm saltwater baths for Aestiva regularly, even though he had to leave her to do so. Each time he feared that when he got back she wouldn’t be breathing anymore. But her coughing, sneezing and shallow breathing continued.

  At first, it looked as though the baths really did help. She actually opened her eyes and looked at Griffin through the watery, unfocused green and let out a silent mewl.

  It broke his heart.

  “We will save you,” he repeated quietly, rocking back and forth with her wrapped in a towel on his arm.

  “Ryo just has to come back and then you’ll get better.”

  Unfortunately, the other baths didn’t have the same effect. Aestiva went back to her delirious state of semi-consciousness.

  Every second seemed like eternity to Griffin. Every time he heard something stomp or land on the ship’s deck, he jumped up, thinking that it must surely have been Ayalon and Ryo. But every time he was disappointed. He wasn’t sure how quickly or slowly time was passing anymore. He stayed beneath deck caring for Aestiva, so he didn’t know when the sun set or rose. Whenever someone entered the room, he leapt to his feet with an ecstatic, hopeful expression, expecting Ryo with the herb, or even Joe with the completed medicine.

  But it never was.

  It was just someone bringing food, and someone asking how both of them were doing, and someone saying they were sorry and once, someone just being silent.

  Joe did come a few times to check up on Aestiva’s state, but he remained silent. When he caught Griffin’s anxious look, he grimly shook his head.

  Aestiva’s state had worsened again.

  “Comatose,” Joe called it.

  Then he sat down next to Griffin.

  “Back when I was a child, my mother and father did not condone me playing with other children. They imprisoned me in that house of theirs, a beauteous mansion near an important town. Nobility cannot have their offspring returning home covered in dirt, you understand.”

  Griffin wasn’t sure why Joe was telling him this story. He couldn’t see any relevance in it and this was certainly no time for pointless conversation. A life was at stake here!

  But he remained quiet, not saying anything, merely listening to his elder’s words.

  “And so I needed a means to sneak away. I eventually found one and journeyed into the town whenever the opportunity presented itself. There I befriended a servant’s child, Billy. We were inseparable. Together, we had a multitude of adventures; we even delivered a criminal to the authorities once.”

  Joe paused for a moment, reminiscing about old times. He stared wistfully into space.

  Maco entered the room to bring food, and then hurriedly left again, giving Griffin a slight nod. While Griffin fed Aestiva, Joe continued talking.

  “When I was about Selene’s age, Billy sickened. His condition worsened day by day and I worried and fretted the entire time. I begged my parents to call upon a doctor’s help since his mother had passed away and he was left alone in the world. Billy had no one aside from me. Yet my parents refused. They believed him to be a nuisance, a siren who had tempted their son toward the lower people. They thought it a happy coincidence to be rid of him without needing to take action. He was beneath them and therefore he was not worth their time.”

  Joe stopped once again. His eyes seemed angry now, remembering his past, his parents’ deeds – or rather, misdeeds. Griffin still remained silent. But inside, he was in turmoil. Joe couldn’t be trying to say that Billy had died, and so would Aestiva? Trying to console him with the fact that he, too, had gone through a similar experience?

  Griffin wanted the narration to stop, but he couldn’t say anything. So he stayed where he was and continued to listen.

  “I read every book on the medical arts I could lay my eyes on, but nothing I read and attempted could save my friend. Billy left less than six months later. I could never forgive my parents’ inactivity, so when my only friend died, I decided to become a doctor. I wanted to treat wealthy and poor equally, whether they had money to pay for my services or not, so that no one else would have to go through the same pain I did. And that is why, Griffin, I will do everything in my power to save your Aestiva.”

  Joe looked straight at Griffin. The boy nodded gratefully.

  “I know,” he said, glancing at Aestiva. Her chest was still expanding and contracting evenly. Nothing was changing, for better or worse. “Tell me, how did you end up on a pirate ship then?”

  He had to ask. He wanted to know.

  “I eventually fled to open a practice in a small fishing community. The people there were kindhearted and simple. They did not care how much money or power you possessed. They aided each other and strangers equally, and that, I adored. I stayed there for many years unpestered. My parents did not know where I had gone.

  “One day, a stranger came to see me and asked me to follow him to his ship, for his wife was about to give birth. I heeded his request and delivered a gorgeous little baby girl. He asked how he could ever repay me, but I was overjoyed just to have brought new life into the world, so I would not hear of it.

  “I returned to the village, but a few days later, I was summoned to visit a sick woman who lived a day’s journey away. Her neighbor, who had called for me, insisted I should stay the night. But upon returning to the village the next day, I could not find it.

  “The space it had once occupied was now nothing more than a field of ashes. A messenger awaited me holding a letter, sealed with my family’s crest. I never read it. I didn’t need to. I knew what was written inside and I refused to bow to the corruption of the aristocracy. I remained where the village had been, building a memorial to all the good people who had lost their lives because of my – and my parents’ – selfishness.

  “A day later, I was joined by the man whose daughter’s birth I had aided. We worked in silence. He knew what had happened and why; I could see it on his face. But he did not blame me. Once we had finished, he said to me: ‘What happened here was terrible. I want to stop things like this. How about you? If you do, I would be more than happy to welcome you onto our ship as a doctor who treats all creatures and people equally. However, before you answer: a pirate’s life does not just entail helping people. If you want to make a difference, you will have to take drastic actions at times and shed blood you may not wish to.’

  “This man was Karim, of course. So I joined him. I had seen what my parents could do with the blessing of the Marine, and I did not wish to be part of their world anymore.”

  “Karim sounds like he was one hell of a guy,” mumbled Griffin.

  Joe nodded.

  The boy leaned over Aestiva, stroking her head. One thing the baths definitely helped with was her heavy breathing. But now her fur was covered in salt crystals, making it look pale, as though she were losing her color.

  “You ought to get some rest,” Joe suggested.

  Griffin shook his head.

  “I can’t. Not as long as Aestiva’s still not okay. I can’t risk it. Not again.”

  Joe slipped out of the room, only to return a few minutes later with some tea, which he pressed into Griffin’s hands.

  “Drink,” he ordered.

  Griffin obeyed without resistance and gulped down the warm, sweet liquid. Within a few minutes he was getting drowsy,
and before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

  When he awoke again after some dreamless sleep, Joe was still sitting there, watching Aestiva. Once he noticed Griffin had woken, the man turned to him apologetically. “I prepared tea to render you asleep. I am and have been thoroughly convinced rest is what you ought to have for your sake as well as Aestiva’s.”

  Griffin would have been angry if it weren’t for the part of him that knew Joe was right. It would not help Aestiva get better if he exhausted himself and became sick as well. All they could do was wait. He hated every second of it.

  “Thank you,” he said. “How long was I out?”

  “A handful of hours.”

  “Any change?”

  Joe shook his head. “Neither worsened, nor improved.”

  “Do you think Ryo reached Ignya in time?” Griffin voiced his utmost concerns.

  Joe didn’t reply immediately. He remained silent for a moment, thinking about how to answer the question. Then he carefully replied, “It is possible. Though whether or not he found the herb in time, alas, I do not dare to wager.”

  Griffin looked down at Aestiva once again. She was suffering, but she kept on fighting. He should trust in his friend. Ryo would make it. He had to. If there was anyone Griffin could rely on to do his best, it was Ryo for sure.

  “The time may have come to prepare another bath,” Joe interrupted his thoughts.

  While the doctor walked out, Griffin gently stroked Aestiva’s head. His little Stiva…

  Ference stormed in, waving a book.

  “I have the solution! Thank me later, but here’s the herb that might save your little demon. I’ve seen it before and we should be able to find it on that island, Ignya, but it’ll have to be picked under only the light of the green moon, it says here. Joe should be able to make a medicine from it! So get that hopeless expression off your face and pick yourself up. Research is what you need to do, boy. Reading books. Knowledge is the only power you’ll ever need.”

  The old man pushed a book under Griffin’s nose, opened to the page featuring the herb Ryo had gone off to look for two days ago. Tiredly, Griffin looked at Ference’s triumphant face.

  “I know,” he said. “We’ve sent Ryo off to look for it. He should be back any time now.”

  Ference’s face shifted to his usual grumpy expression.

  “And here I was sifting through books to find a solution, and not even a simple thank you is what I get. You could have told me that the big dumb guy wasn’t around. But then who’s cooking?” The old man mumbled to himself as he walked out again, slamming the door behind him.

  Griffin sighed. He appreciated Ference having tried to look for a solution, but even so, by now that solution would have come too late. The blue moon had already risen. It was unlikely that Aestiva would make it to see another without medicine.

  But Ference was right about one thing: Who was cooking? Griffin couldn’t think of anyone. Did he even dare to find out? But really, it wasn’t important. Aestiva was all that mattered. He wrapped her in a warm towel and carried her on deck for the bath. Fresh air would be good for her.

  When Griffin reached the deck, the ship was actually moving at a decent speed. A stiff breeze tousled his hair. Selene was on the bridge beside Maco, shouting orders, while the rest of the crew handled the sails. Joe was coming out of the galley with a steaming basin. He prepared the bath on deck, and they repeated the same treatment as usual, only this time they needed to shield the cat from the wind. From above, Skip shouted that he could see something approaching in the air. And, a few minutes later, he cried, “It’s Ayalon! I can see Ayalon! They’re back!”

  Indeed, after only a short while, the dragon dropped on deck, completely exhausted. Ryo leapt off his back and bounded over to Joe and Griffin, handing over a little satchel full of herbs, grinning triumphantly, though there were dark rings under his eyes.

  “I need some sleep,” he declared and disappeared. Ayalon went to sleep right where he had landed, curling up into a ball of scales. Joe excused himself as well to start working on the medicine. Selene ordered the remaining crew to anchor the ship for the day.

  Griffin was certain that her decision was out of consideration for Aestiva’s situation, but of course, Selene would never admit to that.

  After he had finished Aestiva’s bath, Griffin carefully wrapped her in the towel once more and carried her back under deck to keep her warm. Hope filled his heart, making him almost want to skip. Ryo had brought the herbs; Aestiva would be alright. She would be saved.

  The contrary little whisper in the back of his head told him that she would probably be alright. But it might also kill her, as Joe had warned. Griffin chose to have faith in the doctor’s abilities. It wouldn’t be long until Aestiva was better.

  The boy wondered when the medicine would be ready. He imagined it might take a few hours, so he installed himself and the cat comfortably.

  Ryo’s roaring snore could be heard through the walls. Griffin smiled. His friend must have been awake the entire time since he had left. Ayalon had likely slept a little once they had reached Ignya, but Ryo must have searched and searched, and once he had found the herbs, he must have come straight back. He couldn’t have slept on the dragon’s back without falling off. Griffin was incredibly thankful. To have a friend like Ryo was something truly special.

  Griffin swam in thoughts of gratefulness, hope, and worry, until Joe arrived at last with a cup filled to the brim with a golden liquid.

  He carefully lifted Aestiva’s head and made her drink from it. Then, he produced some sort of brown, acrid-smelling paste to rub into the back of her neck. Joe told Griffin he would need to apply the paste repeatedly for a few days, but if everything went well, Aestiva ought to be alright.

  Griffin still didn’t leave the cat’s side, but by that evening there were already considerable improvements to be seen. Aestiva opened her eyes and regained her appetite. She snuggled close to Griffin, even though she was still weak. She even purred a little.

  It was during a peaceful moment, when Griffin finally felt at ease and happy again, when it happened. He heard, no, felt the voice from his dream. It spoke to him while he was awake, projecting gratefulness and love, of being together with Griffin.

  He looked down at the cat. No, it couldn’t be, could it?

  “Stiva,” he said quietly. “I know this is going to sound stupid, but… Is that you talking to me?”

  She purred loudly for a moment before she had to sneeze.

  A sensation of confirmation flooded through Griffin’s mind.

  “So, you… You’re psychic or something?”

  Confirmation again, and the image of Aestiva purring.

  “Huh.”

  Ryo was the next person to find out about Aestiva’s new abilities. When he finally woke up the next morning, he stormed into the room, crashing through the door in a panic.

  “Cat! Dreams! In my dreams! She talks, Griff. She actually talks! Infiltrating dreams! She was like ‘thank you’ and all! Griffin, Aestiva, she… She…” Ryo drifted off, panting, wide eyes darting between Griffin and Aestiva. Griffin noted guiltily how pale he looked.

  “I know,” he said, trying to stay calm. “Aestiva can… talk. I guess.”

  He felt a lot more confident, knowing that he wasn’t alone in his discovery, that it wasn’t just his imagination. He’d begun to worry a little.

  Aestiva purred, and Ryo came into the room fully, gently closing the door behind him with a serious expression.

  “We’ve gotta talk,” he declared, taking a seat beside them.

  They sat quietly for a few moments, the air heavy with unspoken questions. Eventually, Ryo broke the silence.

  “So why can you suddenly do that?” he asked nervously.

  An image of Aestiva’s sickness; many cats like Aestiva.

  “So you’re saying it runs in your family or something?” Griffin continued.

  Confir
mation. She purred.

  “Did you know about it before it happened?” Ryo then asked.

  A feeling of wrongness – negation; the feeling of tiring.

  “We’re sorry, you must be exhausted. You don’t need to do it if it tires you out. We can just be the way we were before. I think we communicated pretty well then, too.” Griffin smiled.

  “Mew.”

  Aestiva snuggled into Griffin’s lap. Ryo and Griffin exchanged glances, half disbelieving, half feeling they were truly gifted to have been allowed to witness something incredible.

  “Do you think we should tell Selene?” Ryo asked quietly. “I guess we should,” he responded to his own question. “This cat is just full of surprises, isn’t she?”

  He grinned.

  Griffin joined in with a slight giggle.

  “Yeah, she sure is.”

  CHAPTER 15

  The next day, the wind picked up, allowing them to reach Ignya before nightfall.

  Aestiva improved steadily and Ryo made sure everyone knew about her newly emerged ability. None of them could believe it until she demonstrated it. They then tumbled over each other, asking questions and trying to talk with her in her strange mind-language, which she soon had to refuse, having grown tired. Selene was the only one who neither commented nor showed any sign of surprise.

  Griffin became less tense and anxious once he saw Aestiva’s significant improvements. He took up his duties in the kitchen again, much to everyone’s delight.

  “Finally sssssomesssing tasssty again,” the Klabauter-mann exclaimed, his eyes gleaming. He looked scary when he was happy. Like a demon about to descend on its prey. Back when his mother had read him fairy tales, the look the evil creatures had had on their faces in Griffin’s imagination were frighteningly close to the Klabautermann’s right now. Luckily, he kept his joy to himself most of the time.

  But he was not the only one who approved of Griffin’s cooking: even Robert Ference sighed in delight when he spotted what Griffin had made.