by Tamara Moss
‘That explains why the Kanekonese we saw tonight looked so scared,’ Yamini said.
Qourees tipped a mug of water on her teapot plant. ‘The rebellion is quashed. We are defeated. No one is willing to risk their star to stand up against the Vierzans.’
Mei stood. ‘We need to get out of here.’
‘Yes, good.’ Qourees stood too, and ushered them to the door. ‘Sail away. Don’t turn back.’
Lintang didn’t move. ‘What about allies for the Zulttania?’
Mei gave a faint laugh. ‘Didn’t you hear? No one’s going to stand up against the Vierzans when the lo fali-air is around.’
It made sense. It also made sense for them to get out of Kaneko Brown as quickly as they could.
But Captain Shafira had asked Lintang to be her ears and voice. They had been given this duty from the Zulttania herself. They couldn’t just walk away. The fewer people the Zulttania had with her at the summit, the weaker she’d appear against the mighty force of the UR. And if Kaneko Brown didn’t have the rebels standing up for it, the Vierzans wouldn’t have any reason to leave.
‘We need help,’ Lintang said to Qourees.
‘The captain’s going to end up in Hallaxa,’ Yamini said through her teeth.
‘If the prophecy’s going to come true, it’s going to come true, no matter where we are,’ Lintang said. ‘Trust me. The captain would want us to make an agreement.’
Qourees, who had been listening with a frown, said, ‘What sort of agreement?’
‘If we medicate the lo fali-air, will you send messages to the Scorpalla asking them to come to the summit?’
‘Lintang!’ Mei said.
‘I’m not afraid,’ Lintang said. ‘We’ve faced mythies before.’
‘Not with a prophecy at our backs,’ Yamini said with a snarl. She turned to Qourees. ‘Do you know when Marjin’s day is?’
‘Of course,’ Qourees said, glancing in alarm from Yamini to Mei to Lintang. ‘Five days from now.’
Lintang’s stomach jolted. That was hardly any time at all.
‘Did you say something about a prophecy?’ Qourees said, but Lintang shook her head.
‘We’ll handle it. It won’t stop us from medicating the lo fali-air. It’s just another mythie, after all.’
Qourees gathered her breath. ‘This is no ordinary mythie. This thing … it’s a monster.’
‘No, the Vierzan controlling the lo fali-air is the monster,’ Lintang said.
‘That’s the governor of military and mythies, Governor Karnezis.’ Qourees didn’t meet any of their gazes. ‘And believe me, he knows your captain’s name.’
Yes, he did, Lintang realised in alarm. And he knew hers too.
‘We will run,’ Eire said as soon as Mei had related to the crew what had happened in Nuliata. ‘It is smartest option.’
‘I agree with Eire,’ Xiang said.
Captain Shafira was solemn. ‘We’re not running.’
There was a mutter of uncertainty among the others.
‘If the prophecy’s going to come true, it’s going to come true,’ Captain Shafira said, and Lintang was pleased to hear her earlier words echoed, despite the meaning behind them. ‘There’s nothing any of you can do to stop it.’
‘What of us?’ Eire gestured at the crew. ‘If you are not caring about yourself, we are still in danger of mythie.’
‘It’ll be fine,’ Captain Shafira said. ‘Karnezis doesn’t even know we’re here.’
‘But if he finds out …’ Kona said.
‘He won’t find out. We’ll keep a low profile – go straight to the mountain and hit the lo fali-air with Curall before the governor can even open his mouth.’ Captain Shafira turned to Lintang. ‘Thank you for making the agreement with Qourees. You did the right thing.’
Considering most of the crew were shooting Lintang angry looks, it seemed like Captain Shafira was the only one who thought so. But had they forgotten about the unless part of the prophecy? There was a way to save Captain Shafira from Hallaxa.
‘What makes a star grow in Kaneko Brown?’ Zazi said. ‘Everywhere has variations of the lore on how to make your star shine bright, and as we’re dealing with a mythie, not a real God, the legends matter.’
‘The Kanekonese value courage,’ Mei said. ‘Sacrifice. Loyalty. Non-materialistic views.’
‘What does non-materialistic mean?’ Lintang said.
‘That you don’t care about possessions.’
Yamini scoffed. ‘Have you seen your room recently, Mei? Or Qourees’s office? They’re full of useless stuff.’
‘That’s the point,’ Mei said. ‘We possess many things in order to appreciate their worthlessness.’
Quahah had unrolled a bunch of maps across several tables. ‘Jafir is here,’ she said, pointing to an island in the north with her unbandaged hand. ‘It’s small. There’s only one town on the whole thing, and a bunch of mountains in a semicircle around the edge.’
Mei helped hold the map open.
‘Thank you,’ Quahah said. ‘This is the mountain the lo fali-air is said to live on. Mount Railin. It has a dip in the eastern side.’
‘Can we skip the port and sail around the back of the mountains?’ Zazi said.
‘No, the sea is too rough,’ Mei said. ‘There’s a cove here we can hide the Winda in. Then we can send a rowboat to the port. If we go during early morning, when the fishing boats return from their dawn haul, we should be able to hide among the crowds.’
Kona was frowning at the map, but his brow smoothed and he looked at Mei. ‘Jafir. I knew that sounded familiar. It’s where you were born, wasn’t it? Where you lived before Qourees took you in?’
‘Yes, I have contacts there,’ Mei said. ‘At least, I used to. Hopefully they’re not too scared to help us.’
‘Lintang.’
Lintang turned away from the maps to find Bayani in the corner of the mess, beckoning. She joined him, Pelita skipping behind her. Mei continued explaining to the others about the Scorpalla she knew on Jafir.
‘Are you honestly going to go up against this monster?’ he whispered while the crew continued to plan.
‘It’s just a mythie, isn’t it?’
‘You don’t have the lightning bird protecting you anymore.’
Lintang’s smile faltered before she gave a broad grin. ‘I don’t need protection. You’ve seen me fight. I can handle anything.’ She knocked him playfully on the arm. ‘Besides, I have a real God by my side.’
‘Don’t lay your hopes on me,’ he said. ‘Just because I stopped a gnome –’
‘And a cloud beast. Kind of.’
‘– doesn’t mean I have control over all mythies.’
‘Can you fly?’ Pelita said.
Bayani raised his eyebrows questioningly.
‘Because you’re a God,’ Pelita said. ‘Can you fly?’
‘No, I can’t fly.’
‘When I was a pixie I could fly. Can you turn giant like the sea lady?’
‘No, Pelita.’
Pelita huffed. ‘Do you have any powers?’
Bayani shook his head.
‘Well, what good is that?’
‘Excellent question,’ Bayani muttered.
Lintang watched as Yamini slunk out the door, her glance darting to the captain as though she didn’t want to be caught leaving. ‘Where’s she going?’
‘I don’t know,’ Bayani said.
‘Maybe she’s going to eat supper,’ Pelita said. ‘I like supper!’
‘Captain.’ Quahah’s alarmed voice broke through the chatter. ‘I’ve just realised how long it’s going to take us to reach Jafir.’ She looked up from the map. ‘Five days,’ she said, her voice hoarse. ‘We’re going to get there on Marjin’s day.’
As they journeyed through the archipelago, the sea became peppered with long islands, tiny islands, islands with mountains, islands with inlets. The water itself ranged from the colour of rainforest leaves to the bright blue of the sky to turquoise and
aqua with swirls of yellow. When the landing parties rowed ashore, they returned with sweet fruit and plump dates, silver berries and chewy nuts. The red meat was tender and the fish had a zing to its flavour. Dee came up with something new and marvellous at every meal.
They had to be careful sailing in this area, because sometimes there were shallow sandbars. They passed several boats that had run ashore and been abandoned. The weather got colder the further north they travelled.
Yamini continued to vanish at odd times. Lintang took note of when she was gone, wondering what she was up to.
The crew counted down the turns of the timepiece, dreading each setting sun as the day of the prophecy drew nearer. If Captain Shafira was worried, she didn’t show it. They sailed into Sunsunwun, the cove Mei had told them about, the night before they were due to reach Jafir.
The night before Marjin’s day.
After dinner, Mei told the crew the story of how Marjin’s day came to be. It was the day when the seven hundred islands of Kaneko Brown were at last joined as one country, thanks to the heroic efforts of Kaneko Brown’s own legendary warriors, and treaties between regions.
Lintang was only half-listening. She’d just realised she’d left her precious sunstone in the carpentry room. She rarely took it off, but she’d been doing woodwork with Avalon when Eire had demanded to take her for some last-grain training before they reached Jafir. It was always risky wearing her necklace when training – sometimes she ended upside down on the rigging, or even in the ocean – so she’d slipped it into Avalon’s chest of clothes to fetch later.
She ducked out of her chair while Mei was telling her story and dashed up the stairs to the top deck. The night was clear and still, the stars shimmering above her.
A chirrup caught her attention when she reached the bridge, and she stopped. One of the red birds from the circus – a redbell – sat on the helm.
‘Hello,’ Lintang said. ‘What are you doing here?’
The bird fluffed its feathers, looking even fatter than normal, then chirruped once more and flew away. Lintang watched it disappear into the night.
She dismissed the strangeness and hurried down the hatch. When she reached Avalon’s chest of clothes, it took her a while of frantic fumbling before she found her necklace. She snapped it open. The sunstone gleamed in the lantern light.
Lintang had barely breathed a sigh of relief when there was a voice behind her.
‘You’d better be careful.’
She whirled to find Yamini by the cage with a mop. Lintang’s fingers curled around her necklace. Yamini saw the action and nodded towards the gemstone.
‘That’ll get you into trouble.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Lintang snapped. She hoped Yamini hadn’t seen exactly what was in the wooden casing. If she had, it would mean Lintang would have to make extra sure to keep the sunstone safe.
Yamini seemed to know what she was thinking, because she smirked. ‘I thought you didn’t care about shiny rocks?’
‘I don’t.’
‘Then why are you clinging to that gemstone so hard?’ Yamini strolled forward, sweeping the dry mop casually across the floor. ‘That’s how it starts, you know. The lust for wealth. The need to hoard, and spend, and hoard, and spend. The way you’re going, you’ll end up more like a dragon than a person.’
Lintang slipped her necklace over her head and tucked it beneath her shirt. ‘I’m not greedy like you. This is my payment for being part of the Zulttania’s counsel. I’m keeping it safe because my family might need it one day, if things become bad in Desa and we have to leave.’
‘Desa?’ Yamini said, eyebrows raised. ‘You think you’re going back to Desa? You’re being hunted now, like the rest of us. You’ll never be able to return home.’
‘Yes, I will! As soon as we get the UR out of the Twin Islands, their laws won’t matter to my people.’
‘Ah.’ Yamini rested her chin against the top of the mop’s handle. ‘That’s why you’re willing to sacrifice Captain Shafira’s star for allies.’
‘The whole world will be better off if we can bring down the UR, not just my country. And I’m not sacrificing anything. Even if the prophecy comes true, there’s a second prophecy to stop it.’
Yamini leaned forward. ‘But the captain doesn’t want the second prophecy to come true.’
Before Lintang could answer, Bayani headed down the steps, followed by Pelita. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I forgot something.’
Bayani’s attention fell to Yamini. She bristled. ‘I’m cleaning.’
‘Where’s your bucket?’
Yamini’s superior expression faded. ‘What?’
‘If you’re mopping,’ Bayani said, ‘where’s your bucket of water?’
Pelita laughed. ‘Hil-ar-i-ous.’
‘He’s right,’ Lintang said. She clutched at her necklace beneath her shirt. ‘What in the name of Patiki were you doing down here?’
Yamini looked like she was about to bolt, but Bayani was still at the foot of the staircase, and Lintang braced to grab her if necessary.
At last Yamini shrugged and muttered, ‘I’m training.’
‘You’re what?’
‘Training,’ Yamini said louder. She waved the mop around. ‘I’m forbidden to touch the weapons on the ship, and Xiang isn’t allowed to teach me, so I’m training to fight by myself.’
‘Why?’
‘Why do you think? The captain insists on going to Jafir, even though Marjin’s day is tomorrow, and if Eire’s going to take over, I have to be ready.’
Lintang was about to answer when Bayani made a sound and jumped aside. Water was spilling steadily down the staircase, into the room. It wasn’t like someone had tipped over a bucket. It was a heavy flow, like the beginning of a river.
‘How is this possible?’ Bayani said, peering up the staircase. ‘I closed the hatch behind me.’
‘Is there a leak?’ Lintang said.
‘We’re sinking!’ Pelita threw her arms up and ran in circles around the room, shrieking in delight.
‘Yuck,’ Yamini said as the water washed over her bare feet.
Bayani’s face changed.
‘What?’ Lintang said. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘There’s someone coming down,’ Bayani whispered.
‘Who?’
‘I don’t know.’ He sounded scared. ‘But it’s definitely not a crew member.’
THE MYTHIE GUIDEBOOK ENTRY #29: Drowning Man (Kaneko Brown)
The drowning man (uzo) is a humanoid sea mythie under the predator category. It is made from shadow.
Diet: Unknown.
Habitat: The waters around Kaneko Brown.
Frequency: Common.
Behaviour: The drowning man boards ships under the cover of night. It sneaks into the lowest hold and expels an unstoppable stream of water from its mouth until the ship sinks.
Eradication: To defeat a drowning man, bind its legs with olani twine and throw it overboard.
Did you know? During the Kaneko Brown war, these mythies were responsible for sinking Vierzan ships on three separate occasions.
Danger level: 2
The intruder reached the foot of the stairs. It was peculiar – despite the light from the lanterns, the figure seemed to be overly shadowed, as if it were a spot of darkness cut from the world. It was the shape of a person, but had no features except for a gaping mouth, which was vomiting water.
‘What is that?’ Yamini said.
The thing moved towards them, neither floating nor walking, but a strange combination of both. Pelita hid behind Lintang.
‘It’s a mythie,’ Bayani said. ‘A drowning man.’
Yamini slashed out with her mop. The handle went straight through the mythie’s body. It continued towards them. Water gushed from its mouth at such speed that the entire floor of the carpentry room was already puddling.
‘We need Curall before it sinks the ship,’ Lintang said. ‘Bayani, take Pelita
and get Xiang. Tell her we need the spray – I don’t think injecting it will work.’
Bayani grabbed Pelita’s hand. Lintang shouted for the mythie’s attention so it wouldn’t stop them running up the stairs.
‘Any ideas?’ Yamini said, swinging her mop at the drowning man again. It passed through the gushing water like normal, but still didn’t affect the mythie.
‘We need to stop the flow.’ Lintang didn’t get to say anything else – the drowning man lifted its face and aimed water at her. She yelped as the spray sent her flying backwards. She landed hard against the wall. A shout and a splash told her Yamini had also been attacked.
Lintang had barely recovered by the time Yamini was climbing to her feet, sopping wet, and charging once more at the mythie with her mop. Her face was twisted in determination. She swung at the drowning man, hitting it in the face several times and forcing it sideways with the impact of her mop against the water. When it tried to spray her again, she used the mop head to protect herself.
Her skills weren’t bad. Her technique was sloppy, but her stance was identical to the one Xiang used. Her creativity could’ve used a bit of work. Lintang lunged to grab the mop off her and shoved it straight at the drowning man’s mouth, blocking the water like a plug. The drowning man’s cheeks began to swell.
Lintang spun to Yamini, her wet hair dripping against her face, breathing hard like she’d run a hundred laps around the top deck. ‘I’ll train you.’
‘What?’ Yamini said.
‘I’ll train you to fight. It’s not technically against the rules – we won’t use weapons, and Xiang doesn’t need to be involved.’
Yamini stared at Lintang from beneath her soaked fringe. ‘Why would you do that for me?’
Lintang’s answer was cut off as Xiang barrelled down the stairs with a vial of Curall. She sprayed the mythie in the face. Its cheeks were still swelling, along with the rest of its body.
‘Is this thing going to explode before it can turn human again?’ Xiang said.
Lintang wrenched the mop out of its mouth and water burst everywhere, pummelling into all three of them. Lintang slipped and landed backwards in the puddle, which was starting to look like a pool. Water continued to gush from the drowning man’s mouth.