The Guardians of Island X

by Rachelle Delaney

  “Thanks.” He blushed. “So I guess their house can’t be far away…”

  They spun slowly, surveying the jungle around them.

  Scarlet gasped. “Would you look at that?”

  Jem gaped. “Sink me! Now there’s a tree house.”

  A small, sturdy hut perched in the branches of an enormous tree some fifteen yards off the ground. Its roof was covered in big, flat leaves that helped it blend into its surroundings.

  “That is exactly what we need,” said Jem. “I wonder if they’re home.”

  He didn’t have to wonder long. A face soon appeared in the doorway, then the little boy popped out. After looking around cautiously, he grinned at Scarlet and Jem and unrolled a swinging ladder made of vines. He scrambled down the ladder to the jungle floor and trotted over to see them.

  “Well, that’s one warm welcome,” Scarlet said. “Now I wonder where…”

  “Kapu!” A shrill voice reverberated through the trees, and suddenly the boy’s sister was sprinting their way, looking as if she might slay them on the spot. Scarlet and Jem threw their arms in the air. The boy slowed to a stop and looked nervously between them and his sister.

  “Oh!” Scarlet cried, for suddenly her brain was flooded with the strongest, clearest feeling of distress—one she’d felt only once before. “Shivers,” she whispered as she looked at the girl. “That was you I felt when the pig was killed! But how…?”

  The girl’s fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. Scarlet could practically hear her heart thudding.

  I can’t believe it, she thought. I can channel the Islanders even more clearly than the animals. Then maybe this means…

  Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried her best to reach the children through her thoughts. We’re not here to hurt you, she told them silently. Please. We’re here to help.

  The boy and girl looked startled. They looked at each other, then at Scarlet. Then the boy said something to his sister, whose fists slowly unclenched.

  “What just happened?” Jem whispered. Scarlet didn’t answer; she was holding her breath.

  The boy said something else, and the girl shook her head. They spoke some more, then fell silent, staring hard at each other. It was as fierce a staring contest as Scarlet had ever seen—even worse than the ones she used to have with Lucas. After a minute or two, the girl broke first, looking away from her brother and Scarlet and Jem.

  The boy turned to Scarlet and Jem with a satisfied smile, poked himself in the chest, and said, “Kapu.” Then he poked his sister in the ribs and said, “Sina.”

  “Ow!” the girl cried. She nailed her brother in the arm.

  “Sina and Kapu.” Scarlet said their names out loud, hoping that they’d trigger a memory. But nothing came to mind.

  “This tree house”—Jem pointed—“is amazing!”

  Kapu nodded, grabbed Jem’s sleeve, and led him toward it. Sina stepped forward as if to protest, then sighed and let the boys go. She folded her arms across her chest and glowered.

  Upon reaching the big tree, Kapu scaled the swinging ladder and motioned for Jem to follow.

  Jem hooted. “Can you believe this?” he called back to Scarlet, then he grabbed the ladder and climbed up after Kapu.

  Scarlet felt relieved. He was a good sort, this Kapu. She wanted to go, too, but Sina wasn’t moving, so she stayed put.

  A warm breeze wove through the trees, bringing with it a waft of spice. Scarlet sniffed deeply. “That’s jolly,” she said for the sake of conversation, even if Sina couldn’t understand.

  Sina only grunted.

  “Right.” Scarlet looked around for something else to talk about, and her eyes settled on some sticks leaning against a tree trunk. Each one was forked about halfway up, and Scarlet studied them for a moment before it suddenly came to her. “Stilts!”

  Sina looked at her sharply.

  “Stilts!” Scarlet repeated, gesturing toward them. “You walk on them, right?” She attempted to mime what that would look like. Sina only stared until Scarlet began to feel rather ridiculous and stopped miming.

  Suddenly, Sina grasped Scarlet’s wrist and yanked her toward the stilts. She grabbed a six-foot-long pair for herself and thrust a similar pair at Scarlet. Steadying herself against a tree, she settled her feet into the footholds halfway up the stick.

  Thinking that this would be a rather inconvenient time to break her neck, Scarlet followed suit. She secured her feet, said a quick prayer to whichever Islander spirits were watching, then let go of the tree.

  She wobbled, but didn’t fall. “Okay,” she gasped, and took a shaky step forward. The next step felt steadier, and with the third she was practically a stilt master. “Hey!” she shouted to Sina, who stood a few yards away. “Hey, I can do this!”

  For the first time, Sina smiled. Then she produced a ball made of leaves wrapped in twine. And without a word of warning, she lobbed it straight at Scarlet.

  “Ack!” Scarlet caught it, wobbled dangerously, then straightened. “Ha-ha!” She tossed the ball back. Still grinning, Sina threw it again—harder this time.

  “Oh yeah?” Scarlet hurled it back. “You think you can beat me at—”

  And that’s when it came to her.

  “Tapo,” she said. The Islander word for their game.

  Sina dropped the ball and froze. After a long moment, she began to nod—slowly, then faster. Then she took two giant steps toward Scarlet, reached out, and grabbed her hand. “Tapo!”

  Scarlet searched every corner of her brain but couldn’t find any more words. She closed her eyes and tried her best to tell Sina that she couldn’t remember anything more.

  After a long moment, a response slipped into her brain and announced itself with amazing clarity.

  I’ll teach you.

  Scarlet opened her eyes. Smiling, the older girl pointed to a nearby tree and told Scarlet its name. Then she did the same with the garden and the tree house. Soon they were running around on their stilts, Sina pointing and shouting out words, and Scarlet shouting them back, slowly beginning to relearn her first language. Within minutes they had a language all their own—a curious, wonderful mixture of words and shared thoughts.

  They were so absorbed in it that they almost trampled Kapu and Jem, who’d descended from the tree house.

  Sina called something down to Kapu, and his eyes lit up. Scarlet could tell his response meant something along the lines of “I knew it all along.”

  Jem squinted up at Scarlet. “I didn’t know you could walk on stilts.”

  “Me neither, Fitz!” She laughed as she and Sina both climbed down. “I never would have guessed.”

  “Huh.” He looked puzzled. “Well, anyway, you really should see this tree house, Captain. The design is flawless. Do you think they’d come back to camp and show us how it’s done?”

  “Good question.” Scarlet smiled, eager to show off her new skill. “I’ll ask.” Through a mixture of words and thoughts, Scarlet asked the Islanders to accompany them back to camp.

  Jem jumped at the sound of the Islander words leaving Scarlet’s mouth. Then he shook his head. “I think I could be friends with you for a lifetime and never get used to your surprises.”

  The Islanders were deep in conversation. Kapu seemed eager to go, Sina less so.

  “Please?” Scarlet asked her. “You’ll really like the crew. And we sure could use your help.”

  Sina hesitated. “But they’re so…Old World.”

  “But they’re also children, and they’re jolly,” Scarlet assured her. “They won’t hurt you. If anything, they’ll adore you.” She hoped Smitty wouldn’t be wearing one of his island warrior getups when they arrived.

  Sina still looked uncertain, but she gave in when Kapu began to lead the way, bringing with him two sets of stilts to help build the tree houses.

  They recounted their stories on the way back to camp, and Scarlet did her best to translate for Jem, who still looked a bit stunned by her latest ta
lent. It turned out that Sina, Kapu, and a few of the elders had been immune to the Island Fever, surviving while all the others perished. The elders had passed on over the years, though, leaving the pair to fend for themselves.

  “So no other grown-ups survived?” Scarlet had to ask.

  Sina shook her head. “None.”

  “None,” Scarlet repeated slowly, swallowing her disappointment. She knew it had been unlikely, but hearing it for certain was harder than she’d thought it would be. To distract herself, she began to tell the Islanders about the Lost Souls’ mission as pirates and their new mission as guardians of Island X and the treasure everyone was after.

  “Treasure?” Kapu asked. “What treasure?”

  “Those rubies in the aras’ nests,” Scarlet replied.

  The Islanders burst out laughing. “Those old rocks?”

  Scarlet explained that Old Worlders thought rubies were precious and even traded them for other valuable things like ships and weapons.

  Sina and Kapu shook their heads in disbelief.

  “So all those men we’ve been spying on came for the red rocks?” Kapu asked.

  “Sort of. The pirates—the scruffier ones—know about the rubies. They just don’t know where to find them. The King’s Men—the ones in blue coats—came for things like wood, spices, and maybe even aras. But we’re afraid they’ll find out about the rubies, too.”

  “Sina pegged one of the blue coats to the tree yesterday after the man killed the pig!” Kapu said proudly.

  Scarlet nodded. “That’s what we figured. Well, actually Jem figured it out himself. Excellent shot, by the way.”

  Sina shrugged as if trying to look modest.

  Scarlet translated the conversation for Jem, who didn’t bother trying to look modest about his discovery. Then she turned back to her new friends and said casually, “I can’t help but notice your clothes.” She pointed to Sina’s dress. “That must’ve been a jolly coat.”

  Sina blushed. “It was yours, wasn’t it? I’m sorry,” she said. Then she added slyly, “But if it makes it any better, we didn’t actually steal it.” She whistled, and a small black monkey with a kink in his tail and fur that stood up on one side of his head scampered up to them.

  “Hey!” Jem cried. “I know him!”

  “You!” Scarlet exclaimed. “Little scalawag!” The monkey gave her the same hopeful look that had convinced her to part with her boots to begin with. Scarlet had to laugh. “But wait. You can communicate with this monkey?”

  The Islanders nodded. The monkey scrambled up onto Kapu’s shoulder and began picking through the boy’s hair. Kapu swatted his fingers away.

  “You can feel what he’s feeling?” she asked.

  Sina nodded.

  “And talk back?”

  She nodded again.

  “But how?”

  Sina shrugged. “We talk to him in our language. He understands.”

  Scarlet walked in silence for a moment, digesting this. Then she turned to Jem and relayed the information.

  Jem jumped at the news. “Then my theory might be right!” he cried. “If the island animals have learned the Islander language, it only makes sense that the pigs learned Old World English! Scarlet, this is huge! It’s a groundbreaking discovery!”

  Scarlet only nodded. She’d had quite enough groundbreaking discoveries for one day.

  When they reached the edge of the clearing, Sina paused, her eyes darting around as if looking for an escape route. But Kapu marched right out of the jungle so his sister had no choice but to follow.

  “Captain!” Liam and Gil called as they came running across the grass.

  “We were wondering where you were,” Liam cried. “We need you to settle an—” He stopped short when he saw the two newcomers. “What the—?”

  “Liam and Gil, meet Sina and Kapu,” said Scarlet.

  “Are they…?” Gil stared down at Kapu, then up at Sina, and his lower lip trembled.

  “What’s wrong, Gil? You act like you’ve never seen an Islander before,” Jem said, brushing past the boy. “How very Old World of you.”

  Scarlet grinned. Beside her, Sina whispered something to Kapu.

  Within moments, they were surrounded by wide-eyed Lost Souls introducing themselves to the Islanders and apologizing to Jem. Finally, after she and Kapu had been thoroughly overwhelmed with all the new names, Sina pulled Scarlet aside.

  “So the pirates know about the treasure?” she asked.

  “Well, they know for sure now that it’s rubies,” Scarlet replied, “but they don’t know that they’re in the aras’ nests.”

  “You’re sure.”

  “Well, yes.” Scarlet looked into the girl’s eyes, which had turned wary once again. Kapu joined them, looking puzzled.

  “Then why,” said Sina, “is one of them here?”

  “Huh?”

  “One of the pirates,” Kapu joined in. “Right there.” He pointed behind her.

  Scarlet spun around. The rest of the Lost Souls did the same.

  “What?” Gil Jenkins cried. “Why are you all looking at me?”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Jem had seen Scarlet come close to throttling people before. Like Elmo, the time he dropped his dagger from the crow’s nest and it narrowly missed her head. And of course Lucas Lawrence when he defected to the Dark Ranger with the treasure map. But judging by the look on her face, he doubted she’d ever wanted to wring a person’s neck so badly than she did just then.

  Tim must have figured the same.

  “Captain, no!” he yelled as she surged through the crowd, straight for Gil Jenkins.

  And Gil must have seen it coming, too, for he immediately covered his throat. “They’re lying!” he cried. “Whatever they said, it’s a lie!”

  Jem dove between them just in time, blocking Scarlet’s path. “Wait, Captain! At least tell us what’s wrong before you kill him.”

  “Let’s let Gil tell us, shall we?” Scarlet ducked past him and grabbed Gil by the collar. “What did you do?” She lifted the boy a few inches off the ground.

  Gil squirmed and kicked, but Scarlet held tight. “Erm…what’d they say I did?”

  Scarlet spoke through clenched teeth. “Gil, have you been meeting with Lucas Lawrence?”

  The Lost Souls gasped.

  Jem smacked his forehead. “I knew something was going on! I kept seeing him in the jungle by himself!”

  Scarlet tightened her grip on Gil’s collar. “Tell me.”

  For a moment Gil looked frightened. Then he pressed his lips together, narrowed his eyes, and said nothing.

  “What were you doing out there alone?”

  Gil spat out of the corner of his mouth. “Can’t a pirate go off by himself to do his business?”

  “Not if your business is being a traitor!” Jem yelled. He could have kicked himself for not tackling Gil the first time he saw him in the jungle alone.

  “Smitty,” Scarlet called, “what’s the island warrior equivalent of a keelhaul?”

  Smitty leaned over her shoulder, grinning wickedly. “I’m glad you asked, Cap’n. I was just going to suggest that very method of torture, reserved for prisoners who’ve committed the very worst crimes.”

  “And what would that be?” Scarlet asked without taking her eyes off Gil. He avoided her gaze.

  “I call it ‘target practice.’ It’s for the good of Island X, of course. I mean, we have to practice our archery skills before taking aim at the pirates and King’s Men. Practice makes perfect, they say.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard that, too,” said Scarlet.

  “So we strap the prisoner to a tree, nice and tight, and put, say, a papaya on his head. Then, all together, we let our arrows fly right at that big, juicy fruit.”

  Gil’s pale face took on a shade of green.

  “But, Smit,” Scarlet growled, her eyes still on Gil, “the Lost Souls have terrible aim. What if we miss?”

  Smitty leaned in closer. “It’s a chance we�
��ve got to take, isn’t it? But I’m sure the prisoner won’t mind losing his nose or maybe an eye or two for the good of Island X.” He reached over Scarlet’s shoulder to poke Gil Jenkins hard, right between the eyes.

  Gil looked as if he might spew. Scarlet lifted him an inch higher. “What. Did. You. Do?”

  The boy’s face crumpled like a wrinkly piece of fruit. “He lied to me,” he muttered.

  “Who lied?” asked Jem.

  “Lucas,” Gil whispered. “I hate him.”

  “Join the crew.” Scarlet dropped Gil onto his rear end but didn’t let go of his collar. “Explain yourself.”

  Gil looked up at Scarlet, then back to the ground. “I…I met with Lucas,” he said.

  “Speak up!” someone called from the back of the group.

  “I met with Lucas!” Gil shouted, still not looking up from the ground. A few Lost Souls gasped. Others groaned. “But here’s the thing: I wasn’t going to. I didn’t want any more to do with him than any of you. I didn’t.” Finally he looked up at them. “But none of you would trust me. You didn’t let me go on any missions, you gave me the worst jobs, you accused me of stealing when I hadn’t done anything!” He looked at Jem. “I didn’t steal your knife, Fitz. And I was just doing my business in the jungle the other day. I mean, come on, mate. All we eat is fruit!”

  “Oh,” was all Jem could think of to say to that.

  Gil chewed on his lip and studied his dirty fingernails. “So, since you didn’t pick me to go spying, I figured I’d go by myself and maybe discover something that would…help us, you know…make people respect me.”

  Jem bit his lip, too. That he could understand.

  “And early yesterday morning I decided to go find Uncle Finn and Thomas.”

  “Uncle Finn and Thomas!” Jem echoed. In all the commotion, he’d completely forgotten about the missing explorers. “Did you really?”

  Gil nodded. “But I guess I got too close to the pirates’ camp, and a few of ’em found me. Those swabs were threatening to boil me alive, but then Lucas showed up and told them to shove off. Then he said that if I told him what and where the treasure was, he’d give me a sack of doubloons and let me join the Dark Ranger pirates and share in the booty.”