Shipwreck Island

by Struan Murray

  ‘Keep your voice down,’ Ellie said, nervously eyeing the door. ‘I’m okay.’

  Seth grabbed Ellie’s good wrist and pulled her towards the balcony. ‘We have to get out of here. They’re going to execute you, Ellie! It’s all anyone in the Vile Oak is talking about. Now come on, jump on my back. I’ll climb you down.’

  ‘Well … I’m not definitely getting executed,’ said Ellie, and Seth frowned. ‘They’ll only execute me if I can’t invent something impressive, and I think I’ve already done that.’

  Seth gave her a fierce look. ‘Ellie, they tortured you.’

  ‘They didn’t torture me.’

  ‘Look what they did to your arm! And your nose!’

  Ellie put one hand on her hip. ‘I’ve told you before, my nose has always done that! And nobody broke my arm – I set off a bomb and a stalactite fell on it.’

  Seth’s eyes widened. ‘That explosion in the mine. You caused it?’

  ‘I saved a man’s life.’

  ‘You could have been killed. And now you are going to be killed. Come on.’ He took her hand. ‘I’ll help you climb down.’

  ‘Seth, there’s no way you can climb back down.’ She prodded him gently and he nearly fell over. ‘See? You can sleep under the bed – nobody will find you. We can figure out how to sneak you out in the morning.’

  Seth frowned. ‘Sneak us out.’

  ‘Seth …’ Ellie let out a sigh. ‘I can’t go – I need to impress Kate,’ she said, then shook her head. She didn’t know why she’d said that. ‘I need to impress the Queen.’

  ‘Who’s Kate?’ Seth said suspiciously.

  ‘Besides, I think maybe I’m safer in the Ark. Seth … Hargrath followed us here.’

  ‘HARGRATH?’ Seth cried.

  ‘Shh!’ Ellie scolded. ‘Yes. He’s here on the island. And not doing a good job of hiding who he is, either.’

  Seth paced back and forth, rubbing at the scar on his arm that Hargrath had given him.

  ‘This is bad,’ he said.

  ‘I know.’ Ellie swallowed. ‘I hoped the City would never follow us here, but …’ The image of a child wrapped in bandages filled her mind. Her bad leg began to ache. ‘Seth, I’m worried the Enemy is getting stronger. I felt very lonely earlier and … and it spoke to me.’

  Seth’s face was grave. ‘It’s okay,’ he said, after a long pause. ‘Whatever it said – so long as you don’t make a wish, it can’t gain any power. But now we need to leave. If Hargrath gets caught, he might tell the Queen who you are. We can’t trust her.’

  ‘She needs my help, Seth. The island is running out of food.’

  ‘Ellie –’

  ‘Please, Seth, I’m really close to –’

  ‘No, I hear footsteps. Come on.’

  Seth dragged Ellie towards the window, but she pulled away from him.

  ‘Get under the bed,’ she said through gritted teeth. The bolt on the door slammed aside. The handle turned, and Seth dropped to the floor. Ellie leapt on to the bed.

  The door opened. ‘What’s going on?’ said a reedy voice.

  Ellie pretended to wake. ‘Huh? What?’

  ‘I heard voices.’

  ‘Sorry, sometimes I talk in my sleep,’ said Ellie.

  ‘I heard a boy’s voice.’

  Ellie blinked. ‘Sometimes I do impressions.’

  The voice sighed. Through the darkness, Ellie could see it belonged to the tortoise-like, bespectacled man who had fixed her arm.

  ‘Well, kindly don’t. Some of us are trying to sleep.’

  The door closed and Ellie waited until the footsteps had retreated along the corridor, then gathered up a pillow and the extra blanket from the end of her bed, sneaking them underneath. ‘Here you go.’

  The pillow was snatched from her hand. Ellie heard a snort. She lay back in bed.

  ‘Seth?’

  There was a rustle of fabric, then silence.

  ‘I’m really glad you came to rescue me.’

  There was another snort. Then, Seth’s hand reached up from below, holding a crushed parcel tied with string.

  ‘What’s this?’ Ellie asked.

  ‘Chocolate. In case you’re hungry. You always forget to eat when you’re inventing.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Ellie. She took the parcel and held it tight. And though she didn’t eat the chocolate, it filled her with warmth all the same.

  The Flying Machine

  The tiny, bespectacled man delivered a huge platter of cheese and bread for breakfast – more than enough to feed both Ellie and Seth.

  ‘I’m still hungry,’ said Seth, swallowing the last hunk of bread and dabbing his finger into the crumbs.

  ‘Well, you did climb all the way up the Ark. Now, we need a plan for how to get you out again.’

  ‘I’m not going anywhere,’ Seth said sternly. ‘What if the Queen tries to execute you?’

  ‘But you’ll miss work?’

  Seth shrugged. ‘Janssen’s not going to sack me – thanks to me, his boat is bringing in more fish than any on the island.’

  There was a knock at the door. Ellie looked meaningfully at Seth.

  ‘How I’ve missed hiding in tiny, spider-infested spaces,’ he growled, then crawled under the bed.

  ‘Just stay there. I’ll be back as soon as I can.’

  Seth’s mood aside, Ellie was in high spirits as she was marched back to the workshop. Kate was there already, slouching as usual and wearing a look of concern.

  The metal hand lay on the workbench, a piece of paper folded between its fingers. Ellie snapped the paper from its grip.

  I am disappointed. How is this any more useful than a hook for a hand? Also, if you need to use a hand to operate it, you still only have one usable hand! Try harder next time.

  ‘Try harder,’ said Ellie, her voice hollow. ‘Try harder?’

  She picked up the hand, glaring at it. She didn’t understand – what was there not to like? It was beautiful and complex and the way the fingers moved was almost lifelike. She gripped her cane tightly.

  ‘I’m sorry, Ellie,’ said Kate, then she shrugged. ‘Though the Queen does have a point.’

  Ellie’s head turned slowly in Kate’s direction. ‘What.’

  ‘Well, it’s not exactly useful to Her, is it? She has two hands already.’

  Ellie blinked. ‘You could have said something yesterday – I thought you liked it!’

  ‘It is very beautiful,’ Kate said, patting Ellie on the shoulder. Ellie was about to thank her, then realized Kate was patting her with the mechanical hand. Kate laughed.

  ‘This isn’t funny.’ Ellie scowled. ‘Have you forgotten she’ll execute me if I don’t give her something she likes?’

  Kate affected a dainty cough. ‘Sorry. So what are we going to do?’

  ‘I don’t know. You spend time with the Queen – what would impress her?’

  ‘Well, Her island is slowly dying, so something to stop that, probably.’

  ‘Oh, I’ve got lots of ideas already for that, but they’ll take time. I need something quick. And really spectacular.’

  Ellie paced back and forth, massaging her temples to help her think. She tried to imagine herself as the Queen, with the whole island stretching out beneath her. What was the thing Ellie would want most if she was stuck up in the Ark all the time?

  ‘Kate,’ Ellie said carefully. ‘The Queen … um … she doesn’t have wings, does she?’

  Kate blinked. ‘No, She doesn’t have wings.’

  ‘The mural on the front of the Ark shows a figure with wings.’

  ‘That’s not the Queen, that’s the god who lives inside Her.’

  ‘So it has wings?’

  ‘Of course!’ said Kate, in disbelief. ‘Are outer islanders so ignorant? When a Queen or a King gets too old, or uses their power too much, they undergo something called manifestation. They die, and the god takes a physical form and flies round the island for a few hours, making all the plant life bloom. Sometimes it lo
oks like a winged person, other times it’s the God-Bird – a giant purple bird bigger than a horse.’

  ‘Oh,’ said Ellie. This sounded a lot like what happened when the Enemy weakened its Vessel so much it could take a form of its own. ‘Then what happens?’

  Kate’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘The god takes a new Vessel. Usually it’s the previous Vessel’s child, but sometimes another person is picked, if the Queen or King doesn’t have a child of their own. The next Vessel is marked in the great Ritual of Succession – they really never taught you all this? The schools on your island must be appalling.’

  ‘Oh, they mostly just taught us about fish. That’s why I came here. So, um, the Queen can’t fly. But what …’ Ellie licked her lips. ‘What if she could?’

  Kate opened her mouth, blinking rapidly. ‘But She can’t.’

  ‘But what if she could?’

  ‘Ellie, I think you’ve broken.’

  ‘We’ll make her wings. So she can fly! She must have everything she’s ever wanted, being a Queen. But I bet she’d love to fly – everyone dreams of flying.’

  ‘People can’t fly,’ said Kate.

  ‘But birds can, so it must be possible.’

  ‘Birds are much smaller than people.’

  ‘You just said the god can be a bird bigger than a horse, and it can fly!’

  ‘That’s because it’s a god.’

  ‘There are laws governing all things, even gods, I bet. What goes up, must come down, right?’ Ellie pointed at the crushed shards of the bird’s egg she’d dropped the day before. ‘Unless …’ She picked up one of the intact eggs. ‘Something pushes it up with enough force to counterbalance its own weight.’

  Kate cocked her head to one side. ‘The people on your island only learn about fish, do they?’

  ‘I need some lightweight fabrics,’ Ellie announced. ‘And some very big, hollow tubes. Bird bones are hollow, you know. And if the wings are big enough, and can push with enough force, then the person can fly!’

  Ellie threw her hand into the air, forgetting she was still holding the egg. It flew up and smashed against the ceiling.

  Kate looked at the trail of yolk dripping to the floor, then at Ellie. A smile spread across her face.

  ‘You’re insane, Ellie Stonewall. Let’s do it.’

  ~

  Ellie set to work bending bits of copper into tubes, and Kate hurried up into the palace, returning half an hour later with a pile of sumptuous silk dresses.

  ‘Where did you get these?’ Ellie asked.

  ‘They’re old cast-offs,’ Kate said carelessly, placing the pile on the largest workbench. They were the colour of bright jewels, as gauzy as spider’s web, trimmed with lace and with buttons made from seashells. Ellie peered at them, noticing how long they were – obviously meant for someone very tall. Her eyes grew wide.

  ‘These belonged to the Queen?’

  Kate hesitated, then nodded.

  Ellie scrunched one of the dresses in her hands. It was pale purple, soft as butter, and it seemed a crime to tear it into pieces.

  ‘Um, Ellie,’ said Kate, as the sound of ripping fabric filled the workshop. ‘If people could fly simply by wearing a big pair of wings, wouldn’t they have done it already?’

  ‘Well, actually, I thought we’d just give her wings that will let her glide, instead of fly – like wearing a big kite. Although, now you mention it, if we strapped a mechanism to her back, and some kind of engine that burned oil, then perhaps …’

  An hour later, Ellie and Kate were frantically trying to put out a small fire in the centre of the workshop.

  ‘I’m sorry!’ Ellie cried, as she rushed from the sink with another bucketful of water. ‘I didn’t think it would explode like that!’

  Kate ripped another dress at the seams, flinging it over the burning heap of metal and wood, stamping on the pile.

  ‘Excellent idea!’ said Ellie.

  Kate yelped, swiping an ember from her wrist.

  ‘Oh no, are you okay?’ Ellie cried, rushing to Kate’s aid. ‘Let’s run cold water on that.’

  Kate pulled away. ‘It’s fine,’ she said. ‘Just a tiny burn.’

  Ellie reached for Kate’s hand, where an angry welt had blossomed. ‘No, I really think we should –’

  ‘Don’t touch me!’

  Kate straightened up to her full height and slapped Ellie’s hand away, fixing her with a ferocious glare. Ellie stared in shock.

  ‘I’m – I’m sorry.’

  ‘No, no,’ Kate stammered, slouching again and staring at her feet. ‘I’m sorry. It just hurt, that’s all.’

  But Ellie couldn’t forget what she’d seen in her eyes. She looked down at Kate’s hands, noticing for the first time how clean and smooth they were. On every finger was a band of pale skin, like tan lines left by heavy rings. Ellie examined her own hands. They were scratched and blistered, the nails bitten to nubs. Kate’s nails were immaculate. Her arms were strong, her eyes sharp. Every part of her had been well nourished and well cared for.

  ‘Straighten up,’ said Ellie, without really thinking. Slowly, Kate obliged. Now that she wasn’t slouching, Ellie realized how tall Kate was. Ellie lifted one of the unburnt dresses and held it out in front of her. It would have fitted perfectly.

  Ellie dropped the dress to the ground.

  Kate looked at Ellie, her gaze unwavering. Her lips were small, her ears a little large, so the tops of them poked out through her hair. And her eyes. Her eyes bored into Ellie, almost golden in colour. Looking at them was like staring into the sun.

  ‘You’re … you’re the …’ Ellie stammered.

  ‘Yes,’ said the Queen. ‘I am.’

  Leila’s Diary

  4,762 days aboard the Revival

  I tied Varu to a chair so he wouldn’t run off again, but he didn’t wake up until the next day.

  I pushed a mug of water to his lips. ‘Drink.’

  ‘Where am I?’ Varu said, looking round the torchlit garden. The Ark creaked and groaned.

  ‘You’re on the Revival,’ I told him. ‘It’s a really big ship.’

  He tried to raise his hands to his head.

  ‘I’ll cut those ropes,’ I said, kneeling with my knife. ‘But if you try anything, I’ll throw you overboard.’

  I sliced the cords binding Varu’s wrists, and he clutched his head. ‘The sea … it’s … it’s everywhere.’

  ‘It’s all that’s left,’ I said. ‘Nothing but sea, and more sea, and this Ark. There were three others, but nobody knows if they survived. They all got separated during the Drowning.’

  ‘The Drowning?’

  ‘When the seas got raised,’ I said. ‘Years ago, before I was born, there was a big war. Like the biggest you can imagine. One of the gods started it, but it was people who fought. And it got so bad that the only way to stop it was to flood the whole world.’

  Varu looked at me, blinking. ‘What’s a god?’

  I frowned. ‘You really don’t remember anything, do you? A god is like a …’ I stopped, realizing I wasn’t even sure how to describe one. ‘They’re like, the most powerful things in the world. Spirits that float about until they find someone, like a person or an animal, that they can live inside, until eventually they can take a form of their own. That’s the way it’s always been.’

  ‘So where are they?’

  I rubbed the back of my head. ‘Er, the Crone has one god inside her, and, um …’ I looked at Varu, feeling guilty for being the one to tell him. ‘She says you’re another.’

  The boy was quiet for ages. ‘So what about the rest?’ he said eventually. He sounded calm, but his hands were gripping his chair really tight. ‘Where are my brothers and sisters?’

  ‘Look, it’s okay,’ I said, trying to speak softly. ‘Me and the Crone will look after you. I don’t care that you killed my whale.’

  The Ark creaked louder than I’d ever heard it; the seas must have been very angry.

  ‘Where are they?’ Va
ru said, his eyes big and fierce.

  I swallowed. ‘Well, the gods thought they could survive the Drowning, but something went wrong. I’m really sorry.’ I put my hand on his. ‘They’re all gone.’

  The Queen

  Ellie’s body was rigid. It was like she’d glanced away from Kate a moment, then looked back to find a snarling wolf in her place. She was afraid to even move.

  ‘I … I don’t understand,’ she managed. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

  Kate smiled sadly. ‘Because look how you’re acting now. You’re terrified.’

  ‘You said you’d have me executed,’ said Ellie.

  ‘And I imprisoned you so we could spend time together, and said your mechanical hand was worthless so you’d have to stay longer. I told you I couldn’t be trusted.’

  Ellie took three deep breaths. ‘So … are you going to execute me now?’

  ‘What?’ Kate’s eyes widened in shock. ‘I was never going to execute you, Ellie. I just wanted you to take this seriously.’

  Ellie’s fists clenched so tightly her nails dug into her palms. ‘That’s the cruellest thing I’ve ever heard.’

  ‘I have to appear strong in front of my court. Especially Loren, he’s a snake. Speaking of which …’ She glanced at the clock. ‘I’m supposed to be meeting them now.’

  She clapped her hands twice, and the doors swung open. Eight handmaidens in purple dresses entered the workshop.

  ‘Were they outside this whole time?’ said Ellie.

  Kate nodded. ‘You’re surprisingly unobservant for an inventor,’ she said, raising her arms.

  The handmaidens crowded round Kate, pulling her dress off over her head so she was just in her underclothes. Ellie glanced away, though Kate didn’t seem the slightest bit embarrassed. The handmaidens attended to her like fastidious doll-makers. One applied a file to her left hand, another to her right. One rubbed a white paste into her cheek; another drew a line of gold across her collarbone. One spread an amber-coloured ointment across the burn on her wrist, another to a cut on her knee. Two more stood upon chairs and drew combs made from bone through her hair, smoothing it to gleaming sheets of darkness. It was only with so many handmaidens around her that Ellie realized just how tall Kate was.