Shipwreck Island

by Struan Murray

  The crowd cheered and Kate put a hand to her chest. ‘Though know that I do this with a heavy heart, my subjects,’ she said. ‘For if I destroy the Enemy, I will have no power left to perform the Festival of Life. I ask you to decide – would you rather have the Festival of Life, or would you prefer I destroy the foul god that has tormented humanity for millennia?’

  ‘THE ENEMY! DESTROY THE ENEMY!’

  Loren and his jailers surged from the hall, pursued by the remainder of the guests. The doors swung closed with a crash, leaving Ellie and Kate alone. Rats picked at the cake crumbs. Worms wriggled off the tablecloth. Kate reached under the table, and Ellie heard the tiny click of the gas stove being turned off.

  Kate sat down on her throne. She let out a long, satisfied sigh, stretching out her legs. Ellie watched her in astonishment.

  ‘There,’ Kate said. ‘That was a better story than his, don’t you think?’

  Leila’s Diary

  4,822 days aboard the Revival

  Huge waves rose around us and touched the sky, as the Ark cleaved through the sea.

  ‘Varu, you need to slow us down!’ I cried. If he didn’t, I worried we would smash straight into the island.

  But Varu was somewhere else. His eyes were blue all over and sounds were drifting out of his mouth, like the muffled screams of other people. I remembered what the Crone had said, how Varu could die if his mind got trapped inside the sea. I shook him but it did nothing.

  The people on the deck stared at Varu in horror.

  ‘It’s the Enemy!’

  ‘No!’ I cried. ‘Don’t you see? Look – he’s taking us to that island! We’ll be saved!’

  The island grew taller on the horizon every second, like a widening rip in the sky. The crowd gasped, and some began to cheer. Then the new Ark-Captain burst through them, swinging a big butcher’s cleaver, his face veiny with fury.

  ‘The Enemy must die!’ he howled.

  I jumped between him and Varu, but he bashed me aside. I fell across the deck and white blotches danced across my eyes. I looked up, and saw the cleaver fall.

  A tiny bundle of rags flew from the crowd and grabbed the Ark-Captain’s arm, and suddenly it wouldn’t move. He growled, baring what teeth he had left, then swung a punch with his free fist. The Crone grabbed this arm too. I didn’t know how she could be so strong. Varu moaned in pain. I tried to get to my feet to help him but the whole Ark shook and everyone fell to the deck.

  The Ark-Captain reached Varu first, lifting him up by his neck, carrying him to the rail. I screamed and ran at them, but there was a huge CRACK, like the world ending, and I fell over again. There were shards of wood everywhere and people were crying out for each other.

  The Ark-Captain still had Varu in his grip, ready to toss him overboard. There was a thick, wet thud, and the Ark-Captain dropped Varu, a confused look in his eyes. He tried to turn his head over his shoulder, like a dog searching for its own tail. The handle of the butcher’s cleaver was sticking out of his back.

  Then I saw the Crone, the countless lines on her face stretched in hatred. She leapt at him, snarling and wrestling him to the ground. He cried shrilly and pushed back at her and they both tumbled once, twice, and rolled over the side of the Ark.

  The New Enemy

  ‘You had this all planned,’ said Ellie, her tiny voice echoing through the hall. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

  Kate dabbed a finger in the cake crumbs on the table, unfazed by the worms wriggling by her plate. ‘Oh, Ellie,’ she said, ‘I needed to focus on making sure it worked.’

  ‘But I could have helped.’

  ‘Ellie, it’s fine. Loren is beaten, that’s all that matters.’ Kate grinned. ‘Now we can get back to fixing the farms, and making my island whole again.’

  Ellie stepped warily towards Kate, feeling strangely like she wasn’t allowed to be near her any longer. ‘You’re not really going to have Loren executed, are you?’

  Kate swung her legs over the arm of her throne, leaning back and closing her eyes. ‘We’ll see.’

  ‘Please don’t kill anyone.’

  Kate opened one eye. ‘Fine. If you insist. It was wonderful what I did, though, wasn’t it? With the Inquisitor, and Loren’s eyes, and the cake? I even sawed a square out of the table, so the stove would fit.’

  ‘I don’t know if wonderful is the word I’d use. It was certainly clever. I was so worried, though. I wish you’d told me what you were up to.’

  ‘Just like you told me how you came from the Enemy’s City?’

  Ellie swallowed. ‘We’ve both kept secrets from each other.’

  ‘Yes, Ellie,’ said Kate, sitting up in her throne. ‘I kept secrets from you. Because I’m the Queen, and I will do whatever I must to keep my people safe.’

  Ellie looked down at the floor. ‘For a moment, I thought Hargrath was going to tell everyone that he was hunting me. I thought maybe that was part of your plan.’

  Kate’s face softened. ‘I’d never do anything to hurt you.’

  A rat sniffed Ellie’s bare ankle, while two others chased each other under the table, splashing through puddles of red wine.

  ‘Is that true?’ said Ellie.

  ‘Of course, Ellie,’ said Kate. ‘It’s my duty to protect my subjects.’

  A splinter of pain lodged in Ellie’s heart. A subject. Not a friend.

  ‘You know, we could still leave the island. Go somewhere else, and never come back.’

  Kate’s eyes widened. ‘What? After all we’ve done? Ellie, why would you say that?’

  ‘Because, I’m … I’m frightened,’ Ellie whispered.

  ‘I’ll be fine, Ellie. No need to worry about me.’ Kate folded her legs underneath her. ‘Now come on, let’s put all this behind us. I need you by my side.’

  Ellie chewed her lip. ‘Do you want me by your side?’

  ‘Of course I do. Now stop being so gloomy. Everything’s fine.’

  Kate squeezed Ellie’s hand and nuzzled her head into Ellie’s shoulder. Her hair smelled of honey. Ellie could feel her smile against her neck.

  But Ellie’s heart was empty. She stared at the ruin of the beautiful cake in front of her, and its rotten, worm-filled insides.

  ~

  That night, Ellie tossed and turned in bed, and was still awake when the sun rose. She should have been delighted – Loren had been defeated, and could never harm Kate again. But she couldn’t stop thinking of what Kate had said.

  I will do whatever I must to keep my people safe.

  ‘It’s fine,’ Ellie told herself. ‘She didn’t mean it.’

  ‘You okay?’ Seth mumbled from his bed by the window.

  ‘Oh, sorry – I woke you up,’ said Ellie.

  Seth turned over. ‘I wasn’t sleeping. What’s wrong?’

  ‘I’m worried about Kate. I feel … like everything’s not really finished.’

  High above them, a bell clanged, its deep peals shaking the branches of the Vile Oak.

  ‘What’s that?’ said Seth.

  Ellie pulled on her coat. The sound awoke horrible memories of being chased through the streets of the City by the Inquisition. She wedged her feet in her shoes and hurried for the door, grabbing her cane on the way.

  ‘Hold on – I’ll come with you,’ said Seth. ‘It might not be safe.’

  ‘No … no, it’s fine,’ she said. ‘Kate told me she was going to do this – she’s breaking the news about Loren to the rest of the island. But I need to be with her. To make sure she doesn’t actually have him executed.’

  There was a clatter along the branch outside and Viola hurtled through the door, clutching a trembling Archibald.

  ‘What’s all that ringing about?’ she said.

  Seth hopped over, putting a shoe on. ‘We’re going to the palace to see.’

  ‘No, I’m going,’ Ellie told him.

  ‘But –’ Seth protested.

  ‘She can look after herself, Seth,’ said Viola, with a glare.

 
‘Stay out of this,’ Seth snapped.

  ‘Don’t tell me what to do,’ Viola said. ‘Though I guess that comes naturally to your lot, doesn’t it?’

  ‘My lot?’

  ‘Yeah. Wanting to rule over people.’

  ‘I don’t want to rule over anyone! Why are you acting so weird?’

  Viola spun to face him. ‘Because you should have told me! How can I trust you when you kept this secret from me?’

  Seth blinked. ‘How I can trust you? You won’t even look me in the eye!’

  ‘Oh, STOP IT!’

  Ellie’s cry silenced them both and sent Archibald racing under Seth’s bed. She was surprised to find hot tears on her face.

  ‘This is stupid. The two of you were best friends – why are you acting like this? Viola, Seth’s the same person as before; he’s not pretending to be a boy, he is a boy. A wonderful, foolish boy who probably should have explained his powers to you before now.’

  ‘Ellie, are you okay?’ said Viola. They were both staring at her in shock.

  Ellie wiped the tears from her face. ‘Don’t give up on a good friendship. Please don’t.’

  ‘We won’t,’ said Viola, gripping her hand. ‘It’s good to argue sometimes. Gets it all out.’

  ‘Ellie, it’s okay,’ said Seth, his eyes wide. ‘It was just a stupid argument.’

  Ellie felt they were only placating her. She grabbed a chair and shoved Seth into it. ‘You two are going to sit and talk this through. I want to hear you laughing and joking by the time I get back.’

  She left the two of them, still staring at her, stunned, and closed the door. She waited a few moments, until she heard them cheerfully shouting at each other, then left the Vile Oak, her shoulders a little lighter than they’d been before.

  The morning sun painted the Shambles a pale blue. A man lay sprawled across the paving stones, an empty wine bottle in one hand. ‘Is that – are those the Festival bells?’

  ‘The Festival’s been cancelled, you drunken slob,’ said a woman from her doorstep. ‘Didn’t you hear? Loren is the Enemy’s Vessel.’

  The man’s eyes bulged. ‘The Enemy? Here on our island? Oh, God protect us.’

  ‘She did,’ the woman said proudly. ‘She’s imprisoned him.’

  The man sagged in relief. ‘Well, either way – I’m going to need more wine.’

  Ellie hurried up the winding streets towards the Ark. A young man burst into an alley full of anxious families in dressing gowns. ‘News from the palace! He’s escaped. Loren has escaped!’

  Men and women gasped and screamed, clutching babies protectively to their chests. ‘The Enemy is loose!’

  Ellie’s heart plummeted. Who knew what Loren might try now, what viciousness he might attempt in his desperation? She hobbled along Revelation Boulevard towards the doors of the palace, grateful when the Wardens opened them for her without question.

  ‘Kate?’ Ellie called, her voice echoing through the Grand Atrium. ‘Where is the Queen?’ she asked the first Warden she passed.

  Kate’s head appeared over the bannister, bright-faced and smiling for some reason, still wearing her clothes from the banquet. She waved cheerily.

  ‘Come on up!’

  Ellie followed Kate into the huge chamber of stuffed animals, empty of people but for two Sentinels guarding the door.

  ‘Why are you so calm?’ Ellie asked, gasping for breath. ‘Loren’s escaped!’

  Kate’s smile widened. ‘No he hasn’t. He’s still in the dungeons.’

  ‘Then why does everyone think he’s escaped?’

  Kate bit her lip, like a child caught in an act of mischief. ‘Because I’ve started a rumour that he has.’

  She walked over to a tall machine next to the snow leopard, which Ellie recognized as a printing press. Kate picked up a piece of paper, displaying it proudly.

  THE ENEMY, LOREN, IS LOOSE. THE QUEEN SAYS: ‘HIDE INDOORS WITH YOUR LOVED ONES.’

  Ellie sat down in a chair beneath the flying squirrel, her leg aching from the climb. Kate watched her with an expectant, excitable look.

  ‘I … don’t understand,’ said Ellie. ‘Why would you do this?’

  ‘Just imagine. If the people think the Enemy lurks among them, they’ll want someone to protect them. And who better than a God-Queen?’

  A sudden cold was born in the deepest part of Ellie’s chest. She rose from her chair.

  ‘No.’

  Kate frowned. ‘No?’

  ‘You can’t do that,’ said Ellie. ‘You don’t understand what fear of the Enemy can do – it’s almost as bad as the Enemy itself! It turns people against each other. It breeds suspicion and violence and hatred.’

  Kate stroked her chin. ‘Oh,’ she said disappointedly. ‘But don’t you see? If the people don’t need my protection, I’ll seem weak, and men like Loren will keep trying to steal my power from me.’

  ‘You can’t use fear to control people.’

  Kate scoffed. ‘It’s not like I’m really putting the Enemy among them.’

  ‘That’s not the point! If you do this, people will suffer.’

  ‘People have suffered, Ellie. And if Loren had got his way, even more people would have suffered.’

  Ellie took Kate’s hand. ‘Please, I’m begging you – don’t do this. We’ll find a better way. You and me.’

  ‘Ellie, you know the truth.’ Kate’s eyes flicked around the room. ‘I’m not really a Vessel,’ she whispered. ‘I don’t have any real power. This is all I can do. You’re making a fuss over nothing.’

  ‘No, I’m not,’ Ellie said, her hands clenching to fists. ‘Don’t you see you’re being STUPID!’

  Kate straightened up. ‘Ellie, please. I know it’s a lie, but it’s the only way to keep things peaceful and settled.’

  Ellie closed her eyes. Her mind raced for ideas: anything to convince Kate that she was wrong. Instead, she remembered Seth’s offer from two nights before, as he’d stood in the workshop doorway in his green cardigan.

  Maybe you should tell Kate about me … maybe then she won’t feel so powerless?

  ‘You do have power,’ she said.

  ‘No, Ellie, I don’t.’

  Ellie took a step towards her. ‘If you want it, you do. You have Seth.’

  Kate narrowed her eyes. ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘He’s a god.’

  Kate opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again.

  ‘Not a Vessel,’ Ellie continued. ‘He’s a true god in physical form. The same god from Leila’s diary. Varu. With him by your side, you can perform divine acts, and no one will ever doubt that you’re a god. You don’t need to spread rumours about the Enemy for people to trust you.’

  Ellie’s nails dug into her palms. She imagined a future in which Seth and Kate were friends, bonded by their powers, whether real or not. She imagined the three of them sitting at a table together in the palace gardens, a gentle breeze rustling the bushes and flowers around them. Viola and Molworth were there, and Anna too, and they ate pancakes Kate had made and Ellie drank in their laughter and it curled up warm and snug by her heart.

  But the real Kate was silent, staring up at the ceiling. Beyond the flying squirrel was a purple bird made of amethyst, a miniature of the God-Bird in her bedchamber. She frowned at it.

  ‘So all those tales about the sea behaving strangely lately were true? And that’s why those whales rescued us from Loren’s men. Seth … is Varu?’

  Kate clenched her teeth, and Ellie realized she wasn’t picturing the same happy scene as Ellie had been. She was not picturing anything like it at all.

  ‘Well, we don’t know for sure,’ Ellie said, her stomach twisting. ‘He’s not, I mean, he’s …’

  ‘I … I think I would like you to bring him here,’ said Kate, and the hairs on Ellie’s neck stood up; Kate hadn’t used her normal voice, but her deep, queenly one. ‘Would you please do that for me, Ellie?’

  Ellie stepped back towards the door. ‘Actually, I don
’t think it’s a good idea for him to get involved in all this. Forget I said anything. He’s happy just fishing, really.’

  ‘Bring him. We will …’ Kate gave her a tight smile. ‘We will discuss how I can use his power. For the good of the island.’

  Ellie and Kate stared at each other for some time. ‘Please?’ Kate said, using her soft, real voice this time. ‘He’ll be safe.’

  ‘Okay,’ Ellie managed at last, and forced a cheerful expression on to her face. ‘Yes, I will bring him here. I’ll go and get him now. I’ll be back as soon as I can.’

  Kate smiled again, and Ellie stepped carefully from the room. She turned and offered a friendly wave. And as the door closed behind her, she tore down the staircase as fast as her leg would allow.

  Seth

  For a third time, Ellie checked over her shoulder to see if one of the Sentinels was following her. She snuck through the servants’ quarters, hurried along cramped passageways, and stopped by her workshop door. She lingered there a moment, wondering if she had enough time, then rushed inside, pulling off her lilac coat. It was light as a shadow.

  She threw it aside and picked up her mother’s old coat from the workbench, running a finger along the new stitches in the lining. She pulled it on, its weight comforting upon her shoulders. She stuffed the pockets with smoke bombs and flash-bangs, then released Molworth’s mice, noticing with a stab of pain the smear of spilled jam on the floor, from when she and Kate had eaten pancakes. She ran from the workshop and up the servants’ staircase, out of the palace and into daylight.

  ‘Ellie!’

  She heard a stifled cough and saw Seth waiting at the corner of an alleyway, wearing his green cardigan and a look of caring concern.

  ‘Seth!’ she cried, feeling a wave of relief followed swiftly by panic. She glanced nervously back at the palace. ‘We need to leave – we need to get away from the island, right now.’ A sob rose in her throat and she gritted her teeth, pushing it back down. ‘Come on!’

  They bolted through empty streets. The colourful window shutters had all been fastened shut, and several washing lines had come untied, laundry fluttering forgotten against the brickwork. The Azalea Markets had been abandoned in a hurry – a seagull pecked at a pearl necklace, while a cat licked a puddle of melting cheese. The only sounds were dogs barking in the distance, and the palace bell, which would not stop ringing.