The Magic of Hobson Jobson

by Soyna Owley

  Phineas smiled. ‘Soon.’ he said.

  The Merrows roared with approval. Shaitana looked around and nodded regally until the uproar had died down.

  BONGBABOOM! The sound broke through the faint hum of voices and pulsated in the air. In the crow’s nest, a thin masked Merrow beat on a drum, its throb increasing in pace. Several of the others pointed to the sky. The solar eclipse had begun. Floyd felt himself being lifted again, his shackles rubbing uncomfortably against his ankles, until he was dragged and placed face-to-face with Phineas and Shaitana, and positioned next to Revia, Shaitana’s sister. A murmur rippled through the watching Merrows crowding the deck. On the periphery, the children looked terrified as they watched on.

  Phineas held a hissing cobra over a stone table. The metal box Floyd had seen in the cavern also lay on the same table, but now it was open. Inside, on the purple satin lining, lay a figure with pale green skin. From the bony, broad shoulders and the Adam’s apple, Floyd realized that it was a boy about his own age. He felt a spasm of fear—there was something very wrong here.

  It was the most beautiful face he had ever seen. The boy’s cheekbones and nose were like sculpted jade, his lips were full and his chin dimpled. His braided, waist-length hair covered his chest and was knotted with purple ribbons. Except for a purple loincloth, he was naked. He looked vaguely familiar. Who was this? And why was he there? Was he dead?

  Floyd clapped his hand over his mouth as one of the Merrows pulled out a sparkling crystal knife and slit the snake’s throat. The thrashing serpent went still. Its beating heart was placed in a silver goblet and a black liquid was poured over it. Shaitana raised the glass and, forcing the boy’s lips open, poured the contents of the goblet with the pulsating heart into his mouth. Floyd’s stomach churned.

  Shaitana kissed the young boy on both cheeks and turned to the watching Merrows.

  ‘Greetings, brethren. I present to you my son, my only heir,’ she said. Her voice rang clear.

  Next to Floyd, Revia, Shaitana’s sister, took a sharp intake of breath.

  Shaitana continued, ‘I have watched him sleep for ten years, unable to thrive in our climate. Finally this sacrifice will end his slumber and he will be among us. A new prince will rise.’

  The Merrows looked at Shaitana in wonder as they pressed forward to get a look at the boy in the box. Shaitana wrung her wrists and then bent over the box. She lovingly lifted the thin body of the young boy. ‘My son, your mother begs you. Awake. Your blood is my blood, my blood is yours. When the moment comes, you will take your rightful place as my heir. Let the transformation begin.’

  Floyd shivered at the passion in her voice. So this is what she had meant when she told him the sacrifice was personal. She had a son who was somehow going to get better with this sacrifice. For a moment he understood perfectly. She was a mother, like his own, who loved her son. But this boy looked nothing like her, nothing like a Merrow, in fact.

  The boy shrieked and flailed as if possessed. His head shook and his back arched as his eyes opened in a sightless gaze. They were as green as peridots—just like Balsam’s eyes. Rose petals fell out of his mouth and his body was drenched in a fine green sweat.

  Rose petals?

  The realization dazzled him. This was Gulaab—the missing Ressuldar boy—Kusmati’s brother, Ela and Navin’s son, and Balsam’s nephew. It all made sense—the green skin, the flowery smell that surrounded the box and the rose petals that dropped from his mouth. He needed to be in that special box because he would have frozen in Chandi Mountain. But what did the Merrows want with a Ressuldar boy?

  This realization had dawned on the watching Merrows as well.

  ‘A Ressuldar!’ one of the Merrows shouted. ‘This is sacrilegious!’

  ‘You dare taint Merrow blood with Ressuldar sap?’ That was Revia, who had had enough of the spectacle. Floyd stared at the sisters, who looked like they were ready to claw at each other.

  Shaitana nodded calmly but her voice was tight with tension. ‘I understand your consternation, Revia, but unbeknownst to most of you, I have created a remedy—the pullutna potion—that will create a Merrow like never before. A Ressuldar whose sap will be replaced with the purest of white Merrow blood.’

  ‘But to consecrate a sap child?’ Revia said. ‘Blood is everything, and you choose one that belongs to our nemesis? When, I, your sister, am in line for the throne? Shaitana, even for you, you have gone too far. You ought to reconsider.’

  Shaitana glared at her. ‘The word “ought” is not to be used with empresses. I have chosen this child, and that is enough reason,’ she said imperiously. Revia fell silent, but her nostrils flared and her lips were a tight red slash on her white face. Phineas gave a slight nod of his head and suddenly two guards were escorting Revia away. They heard an outraged scream and then a splash. Revia had been unceremoniously dumped overboard.

  Shaitana continued as if nothing had happened. ‘This hybrid will give us future progeny that will be able to naturally divine the earth’s treasures, ensuring the survival of our race on land. Now I trust there are no more objections?’

  The crowd raised their hands and chanted, ‘Hail to the Merrows, the peerless race.’

  The Ressuldar boy opened his eyes. The lower half of his body began to change. Scales replaced the green skin, his toes clumped into talons and he screamed as if he was on fire.

  ‘He’s suffering,’ Floyd said.

  Phineas’s head shot up and he stared at Floyd with his bulbous eyes. ‘Replacing your foe’s blood. Turning them into one of you. The thought makes me giddy,’ he said.

  The boy was changing into a Merrow even as they watched. His head, neck and torso were Ressuldar; his lower half was Merrow. Floyd turned away. He couldn’t bear to look. To think that not only was Gulaab alive, but he was drugged and hidden away from his family, away from the fresh air and sunshine that was so vital to him …

  ‘Once the process is complete, he’ll retain only the instincts of a Ressuldar, which will be useful to us. He will turn against his previous life, his heritage, even his real parents,’ Phineas gloated. ‘He will prove immensely useful.’

  A hush broke out among the Merrows; the boy thrashed in his confines. Scales formed on his chest and his hands turned into talons. Only his shoulders and head and neck were still that of a Ressuldar.

  Phineas spoke, ‘To release us from the contract, one hundred children will give up their lives, as reckoned in the prophecy. We have one hour left, in which the sacrifice will be made, the transformation of the heir will be performed and the solar eclipse will be total.’ The Merrows looked at each other. A murmur started in the crowd and rose to a chant.

  ‘Hail to the Merrows!’ The chanting rose.

  The sun was already one quarter gone—when the eclipse was complete, the Merrows would be at their most powerful. Torches flared on the decks. In one hour, all the children, including Farook, would be thrown over, Floyd thought miserably. Although all Durjipore children were good swimmers, he wasn’t sure they had a fighting chance in these bewitched waters.

  A scream shattered the air. The Merrows continued to chant, and the drumbeat quickened. A girl struggled as a dark, hulking figure held her at the edge of the plank, just as in Floyd’s dream the night Farook disappeared. Tremors shook his body but he remained rooted as he watched helplessly.

  Tina was sobbing and begging a Merrow not to throw her over. He pushed her along the plank as she cried piteously for her father. ‘Abba,’ she screamed. ‘I want my abba.’

  No one knows this is happening, Floyd thought. People all over Durjipore are having dinner and laughing and talking about silly things and no one knows.

  ‘When orb of fire, sphere so bright,

  In an instant, is robbed of light.’

  The sky was darkening. The Merrows’ voices rose, reverberating through the air with the accompanying drumbeat.

  ‘And, century forfeited when day is night,

  Observed by the Yaksha in
full sight.’

  Another scream pierced the air. It was Farook. He fought the Merrow who held Tina. Farook tried to pry the girl from the Merrow’s grasp but it was futile. The Merrow hauled her on to the plank and pushed.

  ‘No. Please.’ Farook was screaming hoarsely. Two Merrows held him back.

  There was a sickening splash. The girl struggled in the water. Tina was on the swim team at school. Maybe she would stay afloat until the eclipse was over. The drumbeat quickened and the rhythmic chanting became louder. The shackles on Floyd’s ankles bit into his flesh as he strained against the tight bindings. More children were thrown in as he was forced to watch, unable to do anything. He felt his brain becoming numb as he counted miserably—twelve, thirteen and fourteen children. The sun was a semi-circle now. The eclipse was half complete and the sky a deep purple. The torches on the deck flared brighter.

  Thirty minutes left.

  ‘Ensured supreme will be their might!’ the Merrows sang.

  A rustling of wings made all of them look up. A Ridgeback, its wings spread, hovered above the deck, elegantly silhouetted against the purple sky. It had a red collar. Chutney!

  ‘Vile beast! It dare sully this sacred moment?’ Shaitana screamed.

  ‘It’s come for the Yaksha. Kill it,’ Phineas’s terse voice grated.

  Now a swarm of canines, like a dark cloud, were descending on the deck of the Merrow ship.

  Floyd felt a thrill course through him. ‘CHUTNEY, here boy!’ he yelled.

  ‘They’re everywhere,’ Shaitana screeched, looking around wildly. The dogs snarled and barked at the Merrows holding the struggling children. There must have been a dog for every child. Some Merrows rapidly hurled the children overboard and others threw spears that the flying canines dodged deftly.

  ‘Hurry. Throw the brats in! All of them, you hear me?’ Phineas shouted.

  Screams, barks and growls echoed in all directions. Chutney was fast approaching the deck, making a beeline towards Floyd.

  ‘Get the poison arrows. Kill the beasts,’ Shaitana snapped.

  ‘CHUTNEY! GOOD BOY!’ Floyd yelled hoarsely.

  Shaitana slapped Floyd across the face. Chutney snarled, whipped towards her and swiped at her face with his paw. A long scratch appeared on her cheek, oozing a white fluid.

  ‘I’ll kill you,’ she screamed at Chutney who hovered just out of reach, barking triumphantly.

  Something whizzed by Floyd’s head. Arrows—they flew everywhere and the dogs were retreating. He whirled around. Shaitana had a bow and arrow in her hands. She was flexing her long carbuncle-crusted arms, aiming at a Ridgeback, the red collar around his neck visible even in the dim light. Chutney was right in the line of fire.

  ‘No, Chutney, follow the others!’ Floyd felt the panic cut off his voice.

  Chutney ignored him and instead prepared to attack Shaitana again. Floyd’s scream died in his throat as the arrow whined and hit Chutney’s back—square in the middle of his ridge.

  Chutney paused in mid-air, staggered and howled. His wings crumpled and he fell into the still water with a soft splash. Floyd sank to the deck floor, his head swimming, his entire body shaking, Chutney’s horrible wail still echoing in his ears. His stomach felt as if it had been cut into ribbons. His sweet Chutney … gone into the depths of the ocean, where he would bleed to certain death.

  19

  Full of Promise

  Floyd sat on the wet deck, curling his knees into his chest, wincing as the metal bracelets rubbed against his blistering ankles. The scene of Chutney falling into the water played over and over in his mind. One by one, flailing, screaming figures went over the rail. He raised his head to scan the deck. There were only a dozen or so children left. The drumbeat became louder. The Merrows had regained their momentary lapse in confidence. They smiled as they milled around.

  ‘FLOYD!’

  Every hair on Floyd’s body stood up. Farook stood on the plank—he was supposed to be the last one. That meant ninety-nine children had gone over. Floyd could still hear the screams.

  ‘NO!’ Floyd screamed. ‘Please—’ He lunged towards his twin but was pulled back.

  ‘Don’t worry about me,’ Farook yelled. ‘Stop them, Floyd. You can do it.’

  Floyd stared motionless. His cut and swollen lip seared.

  Farook struggled briefly in his tormentor’s grasp, then he was gone. His scream ended in a splash.

  Floyd’s chest imploded and darkness closed around his heart. This was all because of him. He was useless. He couldn’t do anything to stop this horror.

  In the trunk, Gulaab thrashed as scales continued to move upward on his neck. Shaitana kissed him and murmured into his ear, all the while stroking his braided hair.

  Phineas walked between the Merrows on the deck, his bulging gaze taking everything in, screaming orders.

  Farook was in the water, a hundred children had been thrown overboard and Chutney was probably dead. Floyd’s knees buckled as he sank to the deck. He heard a soft clink. The test tube—with sunlight—of course! He cursed his stupidity.

  The third task will be the most difficult and also the most rewarding. It involves using a gift at the correct time.

  If he was to get light in the water, it meant the tube had to be opened under water; he couldn’t just throw it overboard. How would he do this with his hands and feet shackled? Think, Floyd, think.

  There was only one way—he would have to jump in with the tube. But he was being watched carefully. He looked down at the coffin and whispered, ‘Gulaab, I’m a friend. If you can hear me, please help. I want you to create a diversion, so I can stop the Merrows.’

  Gulaab’s eyes shot open. They were still Ressuldar eyes, as green as peridots. The rest of him had almost completely turned Merrow. He grimaced and his tongue came out—white and forked. He had three layers of teeth. Only his hair and eyes remained green. The final part of the transformation seemed to be the most difficult.

  He looked at Floyd with a pleading stare and whispered, ‘Stop them.’ Then without warning, he screamed loudly, ‘HELP ME, MOTHER!’ Shaitana whirled around.

  ‘Get away from him,’ she snarled at Floyd.

  The Merrows’ attention had been diverted. Floyd inched away as they crowded around Gulaab, all of them exclaiming in wonder.

  Floyd inched his way through and put his back against the deck rail. He shifted his weight, his head swimming. The cold air swirled around him and the thin rail creaked dangerously. The solar eclipse was complete. Stars glimmered in the dark purple sky like pinheads in a velvet pincushion. The only light on the deck was from the torches. He had seconds before it ended and the sun came out. He put his shackled hands in his pocket and pulled out the tube. He placed it in his mouth firmly, between his teeth. Balsam’s words flashed in his head. Sometimes there’s no one to ask but your own heart. The truth shone in his mind, bright as a Varengan’s feather.

  He gripped the rail with his hands and swung his body over. He was now hanging from the rail, the still water below him. His arms trembled.

  He swayed. A surge of fresh pain pulsed through his heart. Farook had been here, not more than two minutes ago, looking at him for the last time. There was nothing else for him. He trembled as he looked below.

  At least thirty feet below him was the calm circle of water surrounding the Merrow ship, the water that would soon fill his lungs and press the breath out of him. Chandi Mountain glowed in the distance.

  He heard shouts from the deck. ‘He’s gone!’ That was Phineas’s voice. He sucked the cold soggy air through his nostrils and let go. Above him he saw the horrified face of Phineas Puddleton.

  For a brief moment he stood on air, then dropped towards the water, his cloak billowing behind him. A strange calm came over him. As the water drew closer, memories flashed through his mind.

  Farook smiling. You’re my bestie, Floyd.

  Jaadu floating in a trance. The summoned one must complete the tasks.

  Ma taking the
pins out of her hair as her tresses thundered down her back. ‘It’s Hobson-Jobson, Regent.’

  Main duniya mein akela hoon … I’m alone in this world.

  As the still circle of water rushed up, Papa’s voice stabbed his thoughts. Floyd beta, make us proud. Do the right thing.

  His body cut into the glassy surface like a jack-knife. The water pummelled him with a thousand fists as he sank into its warm depths. He was at the very edge of the circle of water. Waving fronds of algae surrounded him, cushioning his fall.

  So this is how it would end.

  He gripped the tube between his teeth. Its soft light penetrated the green darkness.

  Around him, children flailed; some were terrifyingly motionless, their arms and legs entwined in long ribbons of algae. He couldn’t see Farook anywhere. His chest felt squeezed flat. He didn’t have much time before his lungs would be waterlogged. It was time to finish things. There was only one way to release the light.

  He squeezed his eyes shut and bit hard through the glass tube. It cracked in his mouth and he felt a searing sensation, as if he had swallowed a flame. Then he inhaled water and choked, spots swimming in front of his eyes. A few sticky dark red threads swirled around him. It was his own blood; his gums burned. He spat shards of glass out of his mouth. A large golden bubble burst to the surface of the water about six feet above him and popped loudly. Then, in an instant, there was light—glorious, streaming golden light rippling through the water in pulses. Suddenly the algae tightened around him. Some of the children were struggling to the surface.

  Floyd’s ears rang and his limbs throbbed in pain. Through a cloud of algae, he saw Farook. The algae started to clump around Floyd’s neck, his shoulders and his arms.

  Balsam’s voice echoed in his mind. Death is full of promise.

  He thrashed about and struggled, his chest burning. He gritted his teeth and pushed until his eyes felt like they would burst out of his skull, but the algae around him gripped him tighter and tighter until everything went black.