Lintang and the Brightest Star

by Tamara Moss

  ‘No. I ran back to our hiding place and cowered like a sea snail.’ At Lintang’s expression, Yamini added, ‘At least I didn’t cry.’

  ‘You would’ve, if you’d seen it.’

  ‘I was beginning to think you weren’t afraid of anything.’

  ‘So was I.’

  Yamini showered Lintang with a string of blows, all which were easy to block. ‘Xiang’s right. How are you going to fight that thing if you’re so scared of it?’

  ‘Eire needs us. It’s the only way to get Captain Shafira back.’

  ‘Do you really think Eire will make the ultimate sacrifice to save her?’

  ‘Of course,’ Lintang said. ‘I know she wanted to be in charge, but not like this. She loves Captain Shafira as much as we do.’

  ‘Would you?’

  Lintang frowned. ‘Would I what?’

  ‘Make the ultimate sacrifice for Captain Shafira?’

  Lintang swiped again at Yamini’s feet. Yamini jumped, but Lintang was ready this time, and flicked her branch against Yamini’s ankle. Yamini tripped and landed on her back. Lintang held the branch at Yamini’s throat. ‘In a heartbeat.’

  Yamini blew her fringe from her eyes. ‘You say that now, but when you’re facing death you might change your mind.’

  ‘Never.’

  Lintang threw her branch away and offered Yamini a hand to help her up. After an appraising look, Yamini accepted it. She didn’t look like she entirely believed Lintang, but there was respect in her expression, and that was something Lintang had never expected from the cabin girl.

  The weather deteriorated the further inland they travelled. It seemed like the world was weeping for their captain’s lost star. Cold rain fell on them, soaking the wood so they had nothing to burn. They passed in and out of forests as they got closer to the mountains. Some forests were thick enough for the canopies to hold back the rain, and they sheltered beneath these during the night. Usually, though, the forests were sparse and did nothing to protect them.

  Eire didn’t leave much time for breaks. Lintang’s exhaustion, both from the long marches and from training with Yamini at night, was creeping into her brain.

  It felt as if she were always chasing after her captain, whether it be here, in Allay or in her dreams, where no matter how fast she ran, Captain Shafira was too far ahead to catch.

  Bayani looked like he was ready to pass out any day now. They were forced to go slower because of him, and it tore at Lintang’s heart. He was capable from his work on the farm, but he preferred reading books over outdoors activities, and had never been quite as strong since the time he’d caught a life-threatening fever.

  Even Pelita lost her energy. Kona ended up having to give her piggybacks.

  Their journey only got worse. The grassy hills became muddy and slippery. Lintang’s coat turned dirt brown. Time ate the days.

  The crew’s mood was as damp as the weather. Captain Shafira’s absence weighed heavily on each of them. Eire looked obsessively to the mountain, even when they were resting. Kona whittled sticks for Pelita whenever they stopped, as if trying to rid himself of restless energy. Once, during the evening when Lintang had woken from a nightmare, she’d caught Mei sobbing alone.

  Only Xiang held herself together. Strangely, she didn’t show any sign of distress. Lintang couldn’t understand how she managed it.

  They stopped for supper on the fifth day at a stream. Eire hunted for fish while the rest of them sank to the ground in the lashing rain, too exhausted to move. With no dry wood for a fire, they would have to eat the fish raw again. Lintang settled away from the group. There were moments her heart hurt so much she didn’t feel like socialising, even with Bayani. Her pulse throbbed through her aching limbs with its usual chant: Five days, five days, five days.

  She lay down and stared at the mountains. Hot tears touched her eyes but didn’t fall. ‘Hold on, Captain,’ she whispered. ‘We’re almost there.’

  Although how she was going to face a monster she was terrified of, she had no idea.

  ‘Lintang?’

  Xiang sat beside her. Lintang rolled to face the other way.

  Xiang touched Lintang’s leg. ‘Bayani’s worried about you.’

  ‘I’m fine.’

  A pause. ‘He’s worried you’re angry with him.’

  Lintang turned towards her again. ‘What? Why?’

  ‘Because he’s moving too slow.’

  ‘No!’ Lintang sat up fiercely. ‘He’s doing amazing. I can’t believe he hasn’t given up yet.’

  Xiang gave a small smile. ‘Then why do you keep leaving him behind?’

  If only the rain would let up, even just for a little while. Lintang scrubbed her face. She couldn’t deny that she’d lost patience with him every now and then and hurried to keep pace with Eire instead. But all it took was a memory of the monster and she’d slow again, falling to the back of the group. How could she be so desperate to get to the mountain and so desperate not to at the same time?

  She moaned. ‘I don’t know what to do.’

  ‘About the lo fali-air?’

  ‘That. The prophecy. Everything.’ Her eyelids were heavy. It was starting to feel like she was stuck in some endless nightmare. ‘Why didn’t she know, Xiang? Why didn’t she figure it out?’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Captain Shafira. Why didn’t she realise the children were a trap? She has the best instincts. It’s one of the reasons Keelee chose her.’

  Pain sparked at the thought of the lightning bird. This wouldn’t have happened if they still had their protector.

  ‘She probably did realise,’ Xiang said thoughtfully. ‘But you know her. She was always going to free those children, whether it was a trap or not. Just like she was always going to come to Kaneko Brown, even with the prophecy.’

  Lintang dropped her gaze. Xiang was right. Captain Shafira had the brightest star of them all, and she had ended up in Hallaxa because of it.

  ‘Come now if you want to eat!’ yelled Eire.

  Xiang jumped to her feet and offered a hand to help Lintang. They returned to the others as Eire used a hunting knife to scale and gut the fish. She passed around an equal amount to everyone. With eight people to share between, the portions were very small.

  Pelita scrunched up her face, but ate the raw meat she was given.

  ‘I’m still hungry,’ she whined when she was done.

  ‘I know, pippit,’ Mei said. ‘I’m sorry.’

  Lintang’s stomach felt empty too. It was like she’d eaten nothing.

  ‘Here. I’m done with this.’ Kona handed the rest of his meat to Pelita, and she crammed it greedily into her mouth.

  Mei sighed. ‘Kona …’

  ‘I’m fine,’ he said. ‘I’ve lived on less than this before.’

  Lintang doubted it. And even if he had, he likely wouldn’t have been pushing himself with hard walks every day as well.

  She looked again at the mountain. The weaker they were, the slower they’d go, and their pace was already falling. The sand was running, too fast for them to keep up.

  They weren’t going to make it to the lo fali-air in time.

  The next day, the rain finally stopped, and the ground flattened out. Large puddles appeared, dotted with leafless trees and long reeds. There was a horrible stench of old water and rotten eggs.

  ‘This is a swamp,’ Xiang said. ‘And it looks like it goes on for a while.’ She picked her way between puddles. ‘It’ll slow us down, unfortunately.’

  Lintang resisted the urge to groan.

  ‘We move faster when we get out. Make up lost time,’ Eire said.

  Pelita waved a hand in front of her nose. ‘It’s stinky.’

  ‘I’m afraid you’ll have to get used to it,’ Mei said. ‘The whole place will smell like this.’

  The puddles got bigger until there was more water than dry land. They used Yamini’s walking staff to find safe paths. Animals splashed beneath the surface, but the water was too murky to se
e them properly. Eire caught a thick-legged reptile for a meal. Once again, they had to eat dinner raw.

  The next day Pelita fell waist-deep into a muddy section. It took a branch and all their strength combined to help pull her free. Now she was covered in mud from her stomach down and squelched when she walked. She thought the whole thing was hil-ar-i-ous, but everyone else was extra careful where they walked after that.

  The bugs were the worst. They buzzed and creaked and chirruped all day and night, and stung every uncovered piece of skin until the group was covered in red welts all over their faces, necks and hands. Pelita begged for stories about Pero the warrior, and everyone was so miserable that Lintang agreed, even though she wasn’t in the mood. Despite having heard all the legends before, Pelita listened with rapt attention. Yamini scoffed through each tale.

  ‘He’s not real, you know,’ she said when Lintang had finished the story of Pero and the sea serpent.

  Lintang frowned. ‘Of course he is.’

  ‘He was supposed to have lived before the mythie infestation, but he’s fighting sea monsters? How is that possible? There weren’t any sea monsters around when he was alive.’ Yamini swivelled to face the other way. ‘He’s just another stupid myth.’

  Later that night, when everyone else was asleep, Lintang made sure to beat Yamini thoroughly as they trained.

  She kept her gaze on the horizon the next day. She could see the dark line of a forest ahead. There was an end to this swamp, and that was what she focused on. Not the monster on the mountain, not the insect bites, just the end of the swamp.

  It was around lunchtime when Bayani stopped abruptly. ‘What’s that?’

  Everyone turned to where he was pointing. There was a small collection of trees, these ones with leaves, but Lintang couldn’t see anything else.

  ‘There was something moving,’ Bayani said.

  Xiang squinted in the sun. ‘An animal?’

  Bayani hesitated. ‘It was walking like a person. But it was pale. And tall. Very tall.’

  ‘How tall?’

  ‘Too tall.’

  They stood in place, waiting to see if it would appear again. The insects continued to drone around them. Eire took her khwando out.

  ‘Maybe it was a trick of the light,’ Lintang said hopefully.

  ‘Or maybe these bites have a poison in them that makes you see things that aren’t there,’ Yamini said, scratching a welt on her cheek aggressively.

  Bayani continued to stare at the trees.

  ‘We keep going,’ Eire said. ‘If it attacks, we deal with it.’

  They continued walking until nightfall. Food was scarce that evening – a few swamp rats and some bird eggs. Lintang was shaking with hunger. Kona gave half his rations to Pelita again.

  Bayani kept glancing nervously behind him. The stars were out, and the moon was bright enough to see, but he jumped at every sound.

  ‘It’s all right, Bayani,’ Xiang said. ‘We’ll keep watch tonight.’

  Mei sniffed the air. ‘Something smells strange.’

  Yamini wrinkled her nose. ‘What are you talking about? The whole swamp stinks.’

  ‘It’s a different smell to the swamp.’ Mei sniffed again. ‘It smells like burning honif.’

  ‘What’s that?’ Lintang said.

  ‘A herb. We use it at funerals. A burning honif makes Mratzi’s path to the dead easier.’

  Xiang scanned their surroundings.

  ‘Does that mean someone’s dead around here?’ Yamini demanded.

  ‘I think we should be more worried about who burnt the honif,’ Lintang said.

  ‘They say the yomannai leaves a smell like that.’ Mei sounded worried. ‘It’s a legend across a few islands in this region. And it’s supposed to look like a tall, pale humanoid, like what you saw earlier, Bayani.’

  ‘Are you talking about the dead walker?’ Bayani said.

  ‘Is it a predator mythie?’ Lintang said.

  Xiang drew her sword.

  Lintang drew hers too. ‘I’ll take that as a yes.’

  Lintang had first watch with Eire while the others tried to get some sleep. There would be no sneaking off to train with Yamini tonight – everyone was on high alert, and with a predator mythie around, it wasn’t safe.

  The night was noisy with insects and creatures that splashed in the swamp waters. At least the moonlight meant they could see.

  Eire sharpened her axe while they waited. Lintang had already cared for her sword, so she used the time to practise shika. If her senses were heightened enough, maybe she could find the dead walker before it attacked them.

  She tried to quieten her mind and slow her breathing. It was difficult with the noises around her. Every rustle and whisper sounded sinister. She felt too vulnerable with her eyes closed.

  At last she gave up and watched Eire insead. ‘How come you don’t do shika?’

  It was some time before Eire answered. ‘I cannot.’

  ‘You could train. It’s hard, but Zazi could teach you.’

  ‘I cannot.’

  Lintang laughed. ‘Imagine if I told you I couldn’t do something during your endurance training. You’d throw me overboard!’

  She expected Eire to snap at her, but instead Eire said, ‘Some people do not have ability, no matter how hard they try. I am one.’

  ‘How do you know that?’

  Eire was quiet for so long, Lintang was sure she had gone back to ignoring her.

  ‘There is way to see Ytzuam without shika,’ Eire said at last. ‘My tribe has special ritual to visit ancestors.’

  Lintang swivelled to face her properly.

  ‘All of tribe go to Ytzuam. All of tribe speak with ancestors. When ritual does not work on child, child is sent out of sanctuary to defend against juvanya.’

  Lintang remembered the story of the juvanya. They were vicious animals that lived in the forests of Phaize. Eire had spent her life fighting them. Most protectors were killed young, but Eire had managed to survive.

  ‘Are you saying the reason you had to defend your tribe against the juvanya was because you can’t visit Ytzuam?’

  Eire nodded.

  ‘That’s not fair!’

  Lintang’s voice had lifted, and the others stirred. Pelita rolled over, mumbling about goats.

  Lintang waited until the group had settled before saying in a quieter voice, ‘Why should you have to suffer, just because the ritual didn’t work?’

  ‘I am mabeler. Unworthy. The Gods want me out of sanctuary, fighting juvanya.’

  ‘Oh, please. The Gods want nothing of the sort.’

  Lintang knew for a fact that wasn’t how the Gods worked. Bayani had told her Niti, Patiki and Mratzi had no idea what was going on in this world. They couldn’t speak any languages, and they didn’t understand human culture. They just created, sowed and harvested immortal stars.

  Knowing this, it made Lintang angry when she heard people trying to use the Gods as an excuse. The Gods didn’t choose Eire to fight the juvanya. Her tribe did.

  ‘You deserved better than that,’ Lintang said.

  ‘Captain thought so too.’ Eire ran her fingers along the flat side of her axe. ‘She come to Phaize, after murder of Dee’s family. She want to do ritual to see ancestors in Ytzuam and ask about missing sister. Quahah took her into forest to find tribe.’

  ‘Wait, so she went to Ytzuam?’

  ‘No. She did not.’ Eire’s voice had turned uncharacteristically soft. ‘On way to sanctuary, juvanya attack. I save her. She hear my story and is angry like you. She ask to take me away. Tribe refuse. She take me anyway. Tribe not show her ritual.’

  ‘But I thought you would only go with her if she let you be first mate.’

  ‘Of course. I did not want to leave sacred duty. She made promise that it will be better on ship.’

  ‘And was it?’

  Eire’s fingers continued to trace patterns on her axe. ‘It is best thing for me. Best thing.’ Her voice was slightly clogged. �
�Captain must be saved. She does not deserve to be in Hallaxa. Yes?’

  ‘Yes,’ Lintang said.

  ‘No matter cost. We do anything to save her. Anything. Yes?’

  ‘Yes,’ Lintang said, her stomach clenching, both from determination and fear of what was to come.

  Eire let her fingers drift from the axe. ‘Good girl.’

  THE MYTHIE GUIDEBOOK ENTRY #22: Dead Walker (Kaneko Brown)

  Dead walkers (yomannai) are earth mythies under the predator category. They have elongated arms and legs and their faces are oval-shaped, with mouths opened in an eternal scream. The eye sockets are said to be empty. Beware their long fingers, which are used for strangling.

  Diet: Corpses.

  Habitat: Unknown.

  Frequency: Rare.

  Behaviour: Dead walkers are attracted to Kanekonese funerals. They will interrupt the burial process and consume the body of the deceased, then kill the mourners.

  Eradication: Leaving a circle of cut pollifruit around the burial repulses dead walkers. They can be killed by forcing burning hish sticks down their throats.

  Did you know? Dead walkers move without making a sound.

  Danger level: 4

  Lintang woke to a shriek. She blinked in the darkness, heart thundering. Clouds had slipped over the stars.

  She heard Xiang jump up. ‘Yamini?’

  There was a choking sound from where Yamini had been lying. Lintang scrambled to her feet, sword in hand.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Pelita said sleepily.

  ‘Kona, take Pelita somewhere safe,’ Mei said.

  Kona urged Pelita away as Mei and Xiang joined Lintang. Lintang was glad to have two people who could do shika beside her. She wished she could do it too – she’d be able to sense their attacker, no matter how dark it was. She tried to concentrate, imagining Zazi’s voice in her head.

  Breathe in. Breathe out.

  She heard Xiang move beside her, pulling her blowpipe from her hair. There was a grunt and a splash, and then Yamini was wheezing and coughing.

  ‘Got it,’ Xiang said triumphantly.

  Eire skulked nearby. ‘Good. Now we keep it busy until it turns back.’