The Yarnsworld Collection: A fantasy boxset

by Benedict Patrick

  Then, they were alone. Kaimana turned and could not see any land behind her. The Atoll had disappeared. She looked to the front again, searching for the tips of peaks, or gulls flying overhead, or anything that would give her the clue of islands close by. Nothing. They were alone in a world of blue. Kaimana felt dizzy, and gripped the moss on Rakau’s back.

  “I trust you,” she whispered to the monster. He grunted in response.

  Midday came and went, and still no sign of land could be seen. Kaimana did what she could to doze on Rakau’s back as he carried them onward, but part of her brain would not allow herself to fall asleep completely, and she kept waking in small jumps and starts, never fully getting the rest she needed.

  It was during one of these waking moments that Kaimana realised Rakau was no longer moving. Her eyes narrowed and scanned the horizon on all sides, but she could see nothing.

  “What is it?” she asked. “Why’ve we stopped?”

  The taniwha remained silent, but kept moving his head from side to side, scanning the water ahead of them.

  Kaimana felt her friend’s doubt. “I’m sure it is out there, the island. Leinani had no reason to lie to us, we just have to trust her word a little bit longer.”

  Rakau gave a grunt. No, Kaimana had not touched upon the real reason for them stopping. Rakau was not concerned that land had not appeared yet. Something else was the matter.

  “Is… is there something out there?”

  Rakau grunted again. Yes.

  Kaimana held her breath and sat up, pulse quickening. She was not used to looking into waters as dark as these. Normally on the Atoll she was able to pick out creatures moving underwater long before they were close to her, but she realised that catching movements out here on the open sea was going to be a lot more difficult. She felt blind, trapped.

  There.

  A large ripple broke through the waves just north of where Rakau was paddling, and indeed that was where the taniwha’s attention was now fully focussed. Kaimana was not certain, but she may also have seen a fin dipping back under the surface.

  “Sharks?” she whispered.

  Another grunt. No.

  “…another taniwha?”

  Rakau did not respond. Despite the heat of the sun above them, Kaimana shivered, a dread chill running through her.

  Then it attacked, thrusting up out of the water in front of them.

  Kaimana had almost been correct in her initial question about sharks. The creature diving towards them - a creature just as colossal as Rakau - did indeed have a shark’s fin, as well as the fish’s grey skin and large teeth. However, the taniwha that dove out of the sea in front of them also had two shark-grey human arms on the front of its body, and pointed these towards Rakau and Kaimana, outstretched and grabbing.

  Rakau was only able to save them by throwing himself to the side, barrelling both him and Kaimana under the water. Not expecting the sudden impact, and her reactions deadened by the shock of the attack, Kaimana had no chance of holding on to her friend. Suddenly, she found herself rushing about under the water, sunlight glinting in all directions, with no idea about which way she should swim to get to the surface. A large body, or possibly two of them, shoved into her, battering her further, causing Kaimana to lose all control of her senses. She opened her mouth to scream and sea water flooded her lungs.

  As she choked in panic, Kaimana found herself looking down, her eyes pointed in the direction of the depths below her. Even here, under the surface, looking downward without the distraction of the sunlight and ripples of the waves, Kaimana could not find the seabed. Presented with this bottomless drop before her, her lungs filling with water, Kaimana’s eyes began to roll and darkness threatened.

  Before she lost consciousness, she was jolted wide awake by a tremendous blow to her leg. Kaimana was thrown above the surface of the water, expelling the liquid in her lungs violently as she coughed in desperation to breathe air again. She smacked back down into the water with a crash, coughing, spluttering, flapping her arms and legs to stay above the surface. Of Rakau and the other taniwha there was no sign, and Kaimana did not dare look down again for fear of her vertigo returning.

  It was Rakau who returned to the surface first. Kaimana could tell her friend had been wounded, one of his eyes closed due to a new half-circle of teeth marks on his face. There was no sign of the other creature. Rakau did not move as confidently as before, suggesting there might be more unseen injuries, and he slowly made his way back to Kaimana and nudged her onto his back.

  “Did you get it?” she asked, weakly.

  Rakau made a noise that suggested he was not sure. Nevertheless, their attacker did not return, telling Kaimana that once again Rakau had saved her life.

  The taniwha continued to paddle east, casting his head about warily, looking for further dangers. Kaimana gripped him tight, doing what she could to stop shaking.

  That was almost it. I was so close to death, that time. He saved me again, but Rakau is hurt again. How many times is this going to happen to us? He needs somewhere safe to live.

  But is somewhere safe for him going to be safe for me? Why do I feel that the other taniwha wouldn’t have attacked Rakau if he had been by himself…?

  Then, finally, land broke the horizon. A large island came into view. Kaimana reckoned it was about three times the size of Nakoa’s home, based on what she could see at the moment, with a trio of large mountain peaks. The rest of the island appeared to be thick forest, so different from the Broken Island all those days ago. At sight of it, Rakau’s pace quickened.

  Kaimana grinned. “You remember this place, don’t you?” she said, rubbing Rakau’s side.

  They landed on an empty beach not long afterwards. When Rakau emerged from the water, pulling her canoe well away from the surf, Kaimana was able to see the damage the shark taniwha had caused - thick, angry teeth marks littered Rakau’s body, further marring the beautiful design on his hide.

  Aware of his injuries, and probably concerned about future attacks, Rakau became wary once again, smelling the air and taking a few steps at a time onto the beach.

  He’s scared. I should be too.

  Rakau plodded forward, sniffing the air warily.

  To the depths with being scared, Kaimana thought. This is the opportunity of a lifetime for a storyteller like me. I knew I’d be staring death in the face at least once on this trip - what story is worth telling if you don’t? I’ve survived this far already. Let’s see what a taniwha island can throw at me.

  She ran to a large series of boulders on the beach, and leapt onto them to climb to the top, to get a look at the surrounding beach and forest for any sign of threats. As soon as Kaimana put a foot onto the largest rock, she jumped off it again. The rock had moved.

  Scrambling in the sand, Kaimana sped back to Rakau, who was now tensed, ready to pounce. Kaimana got to her friend and hid behind him.

  The rock continued to move, shifting in the sand. It was covered in dry seaweed, but the dead plant started to fall off as the rock stood up. As Kaimana had by now guessed, this was indeed another taniwha. The rock stood tall, the creature’s head poking out from beneath it. This monster seemed to resemble a turtle, but most of it was hidden by its seaweed-covered rock shell. The turtle taniwha shook its head, eyes obscured by a mop of seaweed.

  Kaimana could feel Rakau’s tension, but her friend did not otherwise move or make a sound. He was waiting for the creature to attack.

  Then the turtle taniwha turned and walked into the forest, either oblivious to the intruders standing right in front of it, or just not caring.

  After a few tense seconds, Kaimana exhaled with a laugh. “Well, there you go then. Taniwha Island, home to the weirdest creatures you could hope to meet. And best of all? Not all of them are interested in killing us on sight.”

  Rakau grunted a laugh, but Kaimana could tell he was interested in pressing on. She allowed her friend to guide her, and together they made their way off the beach and into th
e jungle surrounding it.

  In the hours that passed as they explored the island, Kaimana saw many more taniwha. Most of them bore a passing resemblance to animals that Kaimana knew from her life on the Atoll - cats, dogs, rats, birds - but with unusual features that made them unique. At one point, a spider the size of a dog scuttled past them, and Kaimana fancied that it had black, hairy human toes on the end of its eight legs. They disturbed a clutch of three-winged parrots, each roughly Kaimana’s size, and the animals caused Rakau to bark in shock as they took off into the treetops, their unusual wings causing the birds to whirl around like spinning tops as they rose from the ground.

  Other taniwha, like Rakau himself, were more unusual. They passed a waterfall that was singing to them, the water within it clearly alive. A grove of purple-leaved trees bent their branches to stroke Rakau and Kaimana as they walked past, enquiring as to who they were and what their purpose was on the island.

  Then Kaimana and Rakau came across logs that walked.

  Kaimana had heard of rakau tipua - enchanted logs - before, which is why she had not been completely shocked by Rakau’s appearance when she had first seen him. What had made him more acceptable to comprehend was probably the fact that Rakau bore a passing resemblance to a large, green-haired dog or otter. The same could not be said of the first rakau tipua that they came across on the island. It was when the jungle ended, when the trees gave way to wider plains just at the foot of one of the island’s mountains. Kaimana and Rakau were greeted by the sight of numerous taniwha living peacefully on this wide landscape. Giant birds soared through the sky, drifting on the breeze. In the distance, a herd of cats the size of horses grazed on some red flowers. But there, closest to them, as if by fate, were some more rakau tipua. These were not as animal-like as Rakau, not as well formed. Most of them were exactly how their name described them - logs with legs, and a vague collection of the right bumps and grooves for a face. However, there was no doubt that Rakau was among his own kind here. Some even bore the swirling engravings that he had on his skin, although theirs were not as intricate as Rakau’s.

  Rakau relaxed, his shoulders losing their tension, and from his panting breaths Kaimana could tell her friend was excited.

  “Is this somewhere you think you’ll be safe?” she asked.

  Rakau turned to look at her, and she found herself catching her own breath as she looked into his green eyes.

  I’m about to lose you, aren’t I? You’re going to be safe here, safe from Nakoa, and soon I’ll have to leave you.

  Her taniwha turned away from her and started to run towards the other rakau tipua.

  Kaimana sat on a fallen tree and watched her friend. Rakau reached the herd with some speed, but then slowed down upon approach, his ears drooping. He walked slowly up to them and raised his chin. Kaimana was surprised to hear a low howl come from her friend’s throat, a noise she had not heard from him before. She realised this noise echoed how she felt inside - a sadness was forming that she had not allowed herself to anticipate.

  Rakau’s howling attracted the attention of the herd and the other taniwha moved closer to investigate the newcomer. The largest of the monsters moved directly in front of Rakau, and Rakau bowed his head. The larger creature raised one of its legs - little more than tree stumps that had been taught how to walk - and it placed the leg on top of Rakau’s head.

  For one fearful moment, Kaimana thought Rakau was not going to be accepted, that the other taniwha would turn on him and attack. Kaimana was not certain if her friend could survive an onslaught from so many. Luckily, this was not to be - soon Rakau was mingling with others of his kind, rubbing up against them and communicating with growls and barks.

  They seem so familiar already, she thought jealously. Perhaps they already knew each other, from when he was here before. If he was here before.

  He’s forgotten me so quickly.

  Kaimana’s eyes wandered towards the edges of the plains that the taniwha were meeting each other on. There, she spied movement in the long grasses, but thought nothing unusual about it. More taniwha, she assumed, and certainly nothing that appeared to alarm any of the inhabitants of the island. If she, an invading human, had been able to spot the movement, then the monsters below would also be aware of it.

  Still, there was something unusual about the shapes that she could just about make out in those long grasses. There was more than one creature there, that much she could tell by the shadows she could spot behind the foliage. When Kaimana first caught a glimpse of the creatures, she could not help but gasp.

  For a start, the animal that these smaller taniwha most resembled was a fish, even though Kaimana had spotted no major bodies of water nearby. These fish taniwha were small for their kind - about the height of Kaimana - but numerous. They were a bright blue, which explained why Kaimana had been able to spot them so easily behind the green grass. When they started to peek out from behind the blades, Kaimana was able to spy how the creatures were moving around despite their heritage - they had long feelers, not unlike those of an ant or beetle, that they were using as legs, supporting their thick bodies on those tall, spindly stalks. What Kaimana also noticed were the sharp teeth in the creatures’ mouths, glinting in the midday sun.

  Kaimana jumped when she heard a rustling in the jungle behind her. She turned to look, suddenly very conscious of how far away Rakau was at this moment. She studied the dark greenery behind, and then spotted a shock of bright blue. More flashes of blue were visible along the length of the jungle, connecting the monster behind her to those that she had spied in the distance. This was all Kaimana required to will her legs to run.

  “Rakau!” she shouted, bursting into full speed. As she dashed over a large boulder, she turned to look behind her. Sure enough, the fish taniwha were giving chase. At least five had emerged from the nearby jungle, their thin feeler-legs moving them silently across the grass, their teeth-filled mouths opening and closing as if gulping for air. They were fast. Kaimana had no chance of outrunning them.

  “Rakau! Help me!”

  The rakau tipua below - all of them - had already begun to move. Rakau was speeding towards Kaimana, accompanied by two of his new friends. The rest of the herd were manoeuvring themselves into a protective circle. Dimly, Kaimana realised they were circling the smallest of their kind, protecting the weak, or possibly even their offspring. Rakau had not forgotten her, but Kaimana was certain he would be far too late to save her.

  She eyed some more of the fish monsters dashing towards her from her left, where the tall grasses lay. If not for the menace that they posed to her right now, the sight would be almost comical. Instead, Kaimana became more aware of how many of them there were, and began to imagine how sharp those rows of teeth would feel.

  Realising she had no hope of outrunning them, Kaimana immediately changed the direction of her run, twisting off to the left, heading directly towards the closest fish. She hoped this sudden movement would confuse her attackers, giving them a few moments pause, allowing Rakau to catch to her. Instead, the fish responded quickly, almost seeming to increase their pace as they realised their prey was making things easier for them.

  Inside, Kaimana’s spark dimmed again, but she did not feel the blind panic from it that she had in the past. Instead, it was cautiously curious. It wanted to see what would happen next, to see if these dangers would add to its song.

  Kaimana reached the first fish within seconds. The animals moved with speed across the plains, but other than their long feelers and sharp teeth they had nothing to grab a hold of her with. She leapt at the monster with her feet first, aiming for its thin legs. She was rewarded with a dry snap, like the breaking of small twigs, and the creature fell to the ground unsupported, flopping about like a regular fish, gasping for air.

  Not giving herself time to savour the victory, Kaimana swivelled to face where she judged the next attack to come from. This second monster was almost on her, giving her no time to prepare another kick to its legs. Thi
s time, she ducked to the side, moving her face away from the reaching teeth and stabbing with her fingers at the large, bulbous eye on the side of the fish’s head. As she had hoped, the thin flesh of the eye gave way, causing the juice inside to burst out.

  Unfortunately, the taniwha did not appear to suffer any pain from this mauling, and instead batted her away with the flat of its face, stunning her with the shock of the attack. Worse still was the stabbing pain from her shoulder - the taniwha that had been chasing her from behind had caught up with her.

  With horror, Kaimana felt needles digging into her skin, followed by an excruciatingly painful ripping sensation as the taniwha tried to rip her flesh from her body. Panicked, she tried to swat at the monster, but found her blows to be ineffectual. A similar stabbing on her leg told her that another monster found its mark, although in the pain and confusion she could not gain sight of it. And then she was on the ground, battered by multiple impacts from around her. The rest of the monsters, the hunting party, had arrived, breaking upon their brethren who were already feeding on her. Kaimana fell to the grass floor, finding herself being pressed under the weight of the gang of taniwha, their mouths searching for her skin, desperate to find their own place to grab hold and rip some of her free.

  A roar told Kaimana that Rakau had arrived. She screamed as the monster latched to her shoulder was ripped away, taking a chunk of flesh with it. The rest of the beasts scattered as Rakau and his companions bit and snapped at them. Another of the rakau tipua killed the fish monster that was attached to Kaimana’s leg, causing its grip on her limb to loosen. From the edges of her vision, Kaimana could see her attackers doing their best to attach themselves to the larger taniwha, with little success. Within minutes the fish were nowhere to be found, except for the carcasses that the two rakau tipua were dragging back to their herd.