by Tamara Moss
So he pointed at Lintang instead.
‘You! I was going to just let it kill you, but you’ve driven me to this. Your star belongs in Hallaxa with that filthy pirate queen. I name you my enemy, Lintang of Desa!’
The monster lifted its head to Lintang once more, and this time when it opened its jaws, air churned in a darkened whirlpool, the same one that had taken Captain Shafira. Lintang clung to the rocks as a strong wind yanked at her. The ends of her coat flapped, and strands of her hair whipped around her in a frenzy.
‘Bailosai!’ Bayani said. It wasn’t a cry of panic. It was an order.
The wind didn’t slow.
‘I created your star,’ Bayani said. ‘And so I can free you. You are no longer tethered to Karnezis of the Twin Islands.’
The whirlpool died abruptly. Lintang’s hair fluttered down again. She felt storm-tossed. It took several heartbeats for her fingers to loosen their grip on the rocks. She lifted her head in amazement.
‘No!’ Karnezis yelled.
The monster turned to Bayani, but before it could do anything, it began to glow. It glowed and glowed, so bright it was like the sun, and with a final burst, the beast was gone.
Karnezis let out a scream and collapsed to the ground.
Lintang gathered her bearings. She swiped dust from her face and scrambled down to the plateau, panting. It was over. They had done it.
As the thought came to her, the feeling of shika flowed like a tide out to sea. She thought she heard a voice in her head – See you again, Lintang of Desa – before she collapsed to the ground. Her body felt sluggish and clumsy. Her muscles were weak compared to what they had briefly been. She blinked away the sudden change to her vision – she hadn’t realised how acutely she was seeing the world until she no longer could. Her other senses dimmed. The things she had known, about life, about the world, about Ytzuam, were wiped clean from her mind.
She grieved her loss.
‘Lintang!’ Bayani raced over and dived to his knees, hugging her. ‘Are you all right?’
She stared at him. She felt she had known things about him while in her shika state, but they were gone now.
‘You took a big risk, provoking the monster like that,’ she said. Her voice trembled. ‘How did you know it would work?’
‘Honestly, I didn’t.’
Lintang whacked him on the shoulder. ‘You didn’t know if it would work? What if it had eaten you?’
‘I figured you’d save me.’
Lintang groaned. ‘You’re a gnome.’
Bayani didn’t answer. Instead he stared past her, his face changing. She turned.
There were people slumped on the plateau who hadn’t been there before. They surrounded Alis, Yamini and Pelita, looking confused and exhausted. They were all Kanekonese.
Except one.
‘Captain Shafira!’
The name was joy in her mouth. It was rain and song and birds and the ocean.
Captain Shafira was home.
Lintang scrambled to get up, but she had barely taken a step when the world swum around her. There was no chance to regain her balance.
She fell into darkness.
Lintang woke in her cabin on the Winda and at first assumed she must be dreaming. She rubbed her fingers against the thick blankets, her scrunchy pillow, the threads of her hammock. The light around her was soft, the lantern turned to low. Timber creaked with the rocking of the ship. It smelled of euco oil. She was really back.
She thought of the trek up the mountain, the hard walk across Jafir, the rowing from Sunsunwun Cove. How long had she been asleep, to have missed the entire return journey?
She got up. Her legs shook as she drank from her silver pitcher and splashed cool water on her face from the copper basin. She was in her old, stinky clothes. Swamp mud stuck stubbornly to her blue coat. She changed into her sarong and headed out, still in a daze. There was chatter from the mess, so she headed in that direction.
The walls shimmered golden as they had always done, like the reflection of unseen water. Lintang ran her fingers along the bumpy wood, then stopped as it sank in.
One day, this ship would be hers. This wonderful, impossible ship.
She faced the wall and pressed both palms against it. ‘Hi,’ she whispered in newfound awe.
‘Hi!’
Lintang blinked, briefly wondering how the ship had talked back and why it sounded so much like Pelita, before she realised Pelita was standing next to her.
‘What are you doing?’ Pelita said.
Lintang smiled. ‘Appreciating the ship.’
Pelita contemplated this for a heartbeat before copying her stance with her palms against the wall. ‘Thank you, ship!’ she said, and smooshed her face right up to the boards so her nose was squashed, then noisily kissed the wood.
When she pulled back, Lintang said curiously, ‘How did that taste?’
‘Sticky!’ Pelita’s little hand slipped into Lintang’s. ‘Come on, it’s dinner time.’
Lintang let herself be pulled into the mess. The chatter died when she entered. Most of the crew was there, half-finished meals on their plates. It was clear which of them had gone to the mountain – they were the ones covered in grazes and bruises and burn marks from the explosives.
‘Starflower!’ Dee cried, and leaped to her feet to wrap Lintang in a cuddle.
Yamini, who was in the middle of pouring Avalon a drink, hadn’t realised his cup was overflowing until Twip let out an angry chitter.
‘How are you?’ Xiang said as Dee pulled away.
‘Alive, somehow,’ Lintang said. ‘And dizzy.’
Mei moved her chair so Pelita could scramble onto her lap. Pelita wriggled her butt like an animal settling itself into a nest.
‘Shika takes some getting used to, pippit. You had the power of the stars course through you. It’s exhausting the first time, but it gets easier.’
‘How long was I out?’
‘It’s the same day you fought the Disgraced God,’ Bayani said. He shifted aside to give her room at his table. ‘Sit. I have plenty of food left.’
Lintang’s daze must’ve been worse than she thought. ‘How can it be the same day?’
‘The fyredragons took us back!’ Pelita said. ‘I went wheeeee! the whole way!’
‘It’s true, she did,’ Yamini said, and she didn’t sound pleased about it.
Lintang eased herself into the chair next to Bayani. ‘And Captain Shafira?’
‘She didn’t say wheeeee! once,’ Pelita said.
‘She’s in her cabin, recovering,’ Kona said. ‘None of us have spoken to her yet. Hewan’s caring for her. I imagine she’s very weak after spending ten days in Hallaxa.’
Lintang glanced at Xiang, who was unusually quiet. Of all of them, she looked the most battered, and Lintang knew it wasn’t the vigil, but Eire who had done that to her.
Eire was the other person who wasn’t present.
‘What happened?’ Lintang said.
While she ate, the rest of the crew filled her in on what she’d missed. Apparently, snapping the tether between Karnezis and the lo fali-air had been too much for the governor’s weakened star. He was dead. Lintang felt strange about this. He wasn’t a good man. But he was still an Islander, one of her people, and it felt wrong to be glad.
The crew had also discovered whisperers in the cage Lintang had seen in the cave and taken them to send messages.
Qourees and her circus people said they’d take care of the others who had been trapped in Hallaxa, as well as the man who had been the lo fali-air.
‘I also made Solasta promise to medicate the fyredragons as soon as everyone was back in Nuliata,’ Mei said. ‘Because I know how you feel about that.’
‘Thank you,’ Lintang said, though she couldn’t help wondering whether they would’ve won the battle without the mythies. These kinds of choices weren’t as easy as she’d once thought. She understood now why Captain Shafira had felt conflicted about medicating the ligh
tning bird.
She finished her dinner with a long draught of water. Throughout the story she had been almost inhaling her food. She’d never realised how awful it was to be constantly hungry before her journey across Jafir. She would never take her meals for granted again.
Quahah cleared her throat and stood. She scratched at her arm, which was still bandaged. ‘I’m not one for speeches or anything, but … Lintang. We all know what you did. And … I’d just like to thank you. For bringing back our captain.’
‘To Lintang!’ Farah-the-clam-shell squawked, and everyone lifted their cups towards Lintang and took a drink.
Lintang smiled ‘What now? Are we going back to Allay?’
‘Absolutely not.’ Quahah sounded strangely cheerful.
‘We’re going back to Nuliata,’ Mei said.
‘We are?’
‘Aren’t you wondering how we beat fifty vigil?’ Mei said. ‘We’re good, but we’re not that good. We were weak and near starvation after that trek.’
‘A whisperer arrived while we were fighting,’ Kona said at Lintang’s confused expression. ‘It gave a message to the commander of the vigil unit. We don’t know exactly what it said, but it was from Governor Jani, demanding we go to Nuliata. The vigil were forced to let us go.’
‘Governor Jani? How did she know where we were?’
‘Someone from the town in Jafir must’ve recognised me and sent word to her that I was here, and she realised we’d be going up the mountain.’ Kona tapped his finger on the table thoughtfully. ‘That message saved our lives. I guess my mother doesn’t want me dead, after all.’
‘Maybe not, but why does she want us in Nuliata? It’s not a trap, is it?’
‘No,’ Mei said. ‘The summit date’s been set, and the governors have agreed to meet. As part of the truce, the Zulttania said everyone from the Winda must be present. We’re going to join her there in ten days’ time.’
Before Lintang could answer, Hewan thumped through the door. She was looking solemn.
Xiang’s chair scraped against the ground as she stood hopefully. Hewan shook her head and turned to Lintang instead.
‘Lintang,’ she said. ‘The captain wants you.’
Captain Shafira was propped up in bed when Lintang entered. Starlight shone onto her face from the tall windows. The only other illumination came from a small candle in its frosted glass ball.
Lintang had never seen her captain look so weak, and yet she appeared much stronger than anyone could expect.
The captain smiled through cracked lips. ‘Hello, Lintang.’ She sounded tired but happy.
Lintang fought the urge to throw herself into the captain’s arms. She was home. It was a blessing from the Gods.
‘Don’t let her talk too much,’ Hewan said quietly. ‘She’s supposed to be resting, but she wanted me to fetch you as soon as you were awake.’
Lintang thought her star might burst from happiness. She pulled a chair next to Captain Shafira’s bed. Hewan left them and closed the door behind her.
‘I’m so glad you’re safe,’ Lintang said.
‘Thanks to you.’ Captain Shafira’s voice became soft. ‘I’m sorry I had to put you through that. It was the biggest risk I’d ever taken.’
Lintang’s heart lurched as she remembered. ‘You went into Jafir knowing the Vierzans were waiting for you.’ She hesitated. ‘Why?’
‘Because of the prophecy.’
Lintang bit down a frustrated noise. ‘But maybe if you had sent the rest of us instead –’
‘No, Lintang. The second prophecy.’
A silence fell over the cabin, except for the sound of sand through the timepiece.
‘The one where I had to sacrifice myself,’ Lintang said at last.
‘You weren’t listening properly. Remember the exact lines? Ten days from grief, your second pays the price, and is willing to make, the greatest sacrifice.’ Captain Shafira’s lips twitched wryly. ‘I know how prophecies work. As soon as I heard it, I realised it wouldn’t require a death. You only had to be willing to die. But you had to believe in the sacrifice, which means I couldn’t tell you it would be all right.’ She smoothed her blanket. ‘It was the cruellest thing I’ve ever had to do. I’m so sorry.’
‘Did … did anyone know? Xiang? Eire?’
‘I don’t think so. I needed it to be real for you, which means it had to be real for them too.’
‘I didn’t even know the prophecy was talking about me until the end.’
‘Which is how I planned it. I didn’t want a death sentence hanging over your head for ten days, even if it was only a fake one. I ordered everyone to tell you the second was Eire.’
‘You also ordered us to go back to the Winda if the lo fali-air took you.’
‘Yes, but I know my crew well. I know Eire is loyal to me to the detriment of everyone else. I know Xiang would’ve fought her at first, but wouldn’t be able to resist the possibility of getting me back.’ She grinned at Lintang. ‘And I know if someone tells you no, it only makes you more determined. Besides,’ she added as Lintang’s face went warm, ‘I trusted you. My moral gorata.’
‘I still don’t understand why you did it in the first place,’ Lintang said, trying to hide an unexpected bashfulness. She usually basked in praise. ‘You couldn’t be sure the prophecy would come true. Why were you so willing to let the lo fali-air take you?’
‘Because to save me, you had to medicate the mythie, which means you could save everyone. All the people Qourees had been forced to turn in, all the people who had rebelled against the Vierzans. You could get them out of Hallaxa.’
Lintang took a moment to absorb this. She thought she’d been clever, figuring it out on the mountaintop, but Captain Shafira had already figured it out long ago and had put her star in danger to rescue everyone else.
And people called her a pirate.
‘Now,’ Captain Shafira said, ‘tell me everything that happened after the lo fali-air took me. I want to hear your side.’
So Lintang told her story. She spoke of the hard trek, of the hills and the swamp and the guardian earth in the forest. Of Eire pushing them onward, of Xiang trying to stop her. She even told the captain how she had trained Yamini to fight every night, only to discover Yamini was actually learning how to stop Lintang from sacrificing herself.
Captain Shafira listened silently. The only time she spoke was when Lintang struggled to remember what had happened during shika state.
‘Don’t worry,’ Captain Shafira said. ‘No one remembers the secrets they learn from shika. We believe the knowledge is too big for our minds to comprehend.’
‘I know I fought the monster,’ Lintang said, scrunching her face as she struggled to dredge up the memories. ‘And I know I learned things about Bayani, but I …’ She trailed off. ‘I’ve forgotten. Sorry.’
‘Don’t be sorry. I’m surprised you managed to reach shika state at all. Last I saw, you were a long way from it.’
Lintang hesitated. ‘I think the Gods had something to do with it. Just before, I heard Bayani call for Mratzi to help me. She might’ve given me a boost or something to Ytzuam.’
‘A boost?’ Captain Shafira seemed to find this quite amusing.
‘You know what I mean. She might’ve helped me.’ It was horrible saying it out loud. ‘I just … I don’t think I did it on my own.’
‘So what? This isn’t a Vierzan school. You don’t have to do things on your own. In real life, there are always people around to help.’
‘True,’ Lintang admitted. Then, before she could help herself, she added, ‘So maybe next time, you’ll take your own advice and tell someone the whole plan before you get sucked into some other world.’
She slammed her mouth shut. For a heartbeat she’d forgotten she was speaking to her captain, not her classmate. She cringed, waiting for the rebuke, but to her immense surprise, Captain Shafira laughed. ‘Thanks for the feedback, Lintang.’
Lintang tried to imagine Mother or Elder W
ulan reacting that way to the same comment, and couldn’t. She realised in awe that something had changed in the relationship between herself and her captain. They weren’t just elder and mahpyalo anymore.
They were friends.
Over the next few days, Captain Shafira called for everyone who had been in Jafir, one by one, to tell their version of events. Bayani and Pelita went together, seeing Pelita tended to make up things that had nothing to do with what actually happened. Only Eire didn’t share what she and the captain had talked about. She spent most of her time skulking around the lower decks while they sailed towards Nuliata.
Meanwhile, Lintang found out more about the summit as redbells and whisperers continued to speed back and forth from the ship. The Zulttania of Allay had managed to gather many leaders from UR countries who were willing to stand with her. Kona’s brother Chess had convinced the Tsar of Caletrom to lend them his army. Zinto, the Wandering Bird, would also be attending with many of the Scorpalla, including the circus people … and Qourees. Qourees would testify against the vigil who had been threatening her against the rules of the UR. Zinto would speak on behalf of the rebel group and those who had been imprisoned in Jafir. He would make their demands clear – the Vierzans would immediately cease experimenting on people, and were to depart from Kaneko Brown, along with any other country that voted them out.
The Zulttania would have a lot of allies on her side.
But the best news was that because Karnezis, governor of military and mythies, was dead, Admiral Moon would take his place at the summit. Admiral Moon, who had helped them, who knew the pirate queen was innocent, would have the authority to speak in favour of Captain Shafira. And, with written testimonies from the Zulttania’s ex-counsel saying they were the ones who had murdered Dee’s family, Admiral Moon would be allowed to absolve Captain Shafira and the rest of the Winda’s crew for the crimes they’d been falsely accused of.
The bounty would be lifted. Captain Shafira would be free.
