Island of Secrets

by Janni Nell

  Casper and I exchanged a glance. Once a pirate always a pirate. But neither of us said a word.

  We’d barely gotten underway when Queenie yelled, “Stop,” and pointed at the gray waves.

  At first I couldn’t see what she was pointing at. The storm-light made everything monotone and shadowy. Then I saw something bob up between the waves. At first it looked like a human head. Then I saw the shells woven through her hair and realized it was Coral.

  “She can’t keep up with us,” yelled Queenie. “You have to stop.”

  Casper was already giving the command. The yacht screeched to a halt. Despite the waves roiling around us, the boat stayed absolutely still. Casper spread his wings and launched himself off the deck. Swooping down, he plucked Coral from the sea and brought her aboard. When they landed on deck, he clapped up a pair of legs for her so she wouldn’t be flapping around like a dying fish. Dressed in a pair of shorts to cover her sudden nakedness, she clung to the railing clicking anxiously as she struggled to balance on her new legs.

  Queenie translated. “The ambush will happen soon. The mers have taken the dark-haired man’s yacht. They plan to wreck it on the reef.”

  Dylan’s yacht? Oh, that was just priceless. This was so not his lucky day. I chuckled softly until I noticed that Coral was staring ahead as if she was willing the yacht to go faster. Suddenly I was ashamed about enjoying Dylan’s downfall. This wasn’t about Dylan and me. It was about saving Coral’s son and all the young mers and Tikini-kai who’d die if we didn’t stop the war.

  Coral was the first to see Tikini Island. She pointed and whistled. The island was hard to see against the gray backdrop, but the slash of white that was Dylan’s yacht stood out like a—well, like a yacht running aground on a reef.

  “Casper,” I yelled. “Binoculars. Quick.”

  He clapped me up a pair and handed them over. I couldn’t see any mers, but the anchor chain was stretched taut, as though there was a team of them pulling the vessel. On deck, Dylan’s crew of Luc and his wife, Marie, huddled together as the waves broke on the jagged reef. I could almost see their minds working. Should they stay on board or take their chances in the roiling sea? They threw their arms around one another and kissed deeply. One last kiss before they battled the wind to the side of the yacht and, holding hands, jumped overboard.

  Casper had been standing beside me. Even without binoculars, he’d seen what I had. “Looks like I’ll have to get wet again.” He sighed and spread his wings.

  I watched Luc and Marie slide up and down the waves in bright orange life jackets until Casper scooped them out of the water, one under each arm, and flew them back to Heavenly. As first they were too glad to be rescued to realize who had rescued them, but soon they were asking difficult questions. Where did the wings come from? Is he an alien?

  I answered in a whisper, “He wore an experimental flying device. Top secret government project. Best to forget you saw it.”

  I’m not sure they believed me, but before they could ask any other questions, Queenie hurried them inside and gave them some dry clothes courtesy of the yacht. I made a mental note to remind them to change into their own clothes before they disembarked.

  Outside, Casper and I scanned the channel near the reef. We could see outriggers on the beach, but there were no Tikini-kai nearby.

  “They’re still in the village,” I guessed. “Fly us over there.”

  Once again Queenie and I clung to Casper as he soared over the island and set us down near the clearing with its cooking pit and cobbled-together huts. After giving Queenie the treasure box, Casper said that he wouldn’t come into the clearing with us. I guessed it was best to keep my big guns out of sight unless I needed them.

  As Queenie and I approached the clearing, I told her to keep an eye out for goblins hiding in the trees. Despite our vigilance, we saw no one. Just like last time, the clearing was deserted.

  I whispered to Queenie, “If they attack us, I’ll fight. You take the treasure and run back to Casper.”

  “Right you are, ducks.”

  “Okay, let’s go.” We walked into the clearing. Queenie carried the box easily, bouncing along as though it got lighter with every step. When we reached the center, we stopped. Thunder rumbled like a giant on a hunger strike.

  I yelled in Goblin, “I have come to return Princess Melani’s dowry and the Star of Light.”

  The response was immediate, but this time it didn’t come in the form of bodyguards with a Terminator complex. An old goblin, leaning on a walking stick, shuffled out of King Kanu’s palace. As he moved toward us, goblin females and children peeped from their huts.

  “Can this be true?” asked the old goblin. “Is the war at an end?” Tears gathered in his faded red eyes as he reached out to touch the box.

  Queenie whipped it away from him. “Not so fast.”

  “Where is King Kanu?” I asked. “As ruler, the Star of Light must be given to him.”

  The old goblin said, “The king has gone to the reef to gather gifts from the sea.” But the old goblin didn’t know that King Kanu and his subjects were going into a trap.

  “We have to warn them,” I said to Queenie. When I yelled for Casper, he flew in from the jungle.

  As he lifted us into the air, the old goblin called, “You can wait here for King Kanu. He’ll return soon.”

  Not if the mers had anything to do with it.

  Back on Heavenly’s deck, I saw that Dylan’s yacht was in pieces and the sea littered with flotsam. A fleet of outriggers battled the waves to reach the spoils. I could see King Kanu with his bodyguards out in front. If I could reach him before the mers did, I would not only prevent a bloody ambush, I’d stop the war.

  I scrambled into Heavenly’s motorized dinghy. It wouldn’t work for me the way it did for Casper but, even without magic, it zipped through the water, dodging outriggers until I reached King Kanu’s vessel.

  I waved my arms and yelled, “Go back to shore. We’ve found the dowry and the Star of Light.”

  “What?” yelled King Kanu. “You’ve found the Star of Light?”

  I pointed to Queenie, who stood on Heavenly’s deck, holding up the box. I said, “When all your people are back on land, she’ll bring it ashore.”

  “This had better not be a trick.”

  “If it is, you can have us for dinner.”

  He nodded his agreement. Narfu, who was in the outrigger with him, licked his lips.

  The king said, “We’ll return to shore soon.”

  “Now. Go back now. Tell your males to leave reef.”

  “They won’t return without salvage.”

  Should I tell him about the ambush? It would mean betraying Coral’s confidence, but if I wanted everyone to survive, I had no choice.

  “The mers are waiting at the reef. Unless everyone turns back they’ll attack. There is no need for another battle. The treasure will be returned as soon as you’re on shore. The war will end.”

  King Kanu got it at last. He called for his subjects to return to the beach. The cry was taken up. The outriggers began to turn. They were heading for shore when the mers rose out of the waves and began to fire.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I scanned the sea for One-Shell, but I couldn’t see him. Like the other mers, he surfaced only to fire his spear gun and then dipped underwater again. It was impossible to know where any mer would surface next.

  I yelled at the Tikini-kai, “Go back to shore. You’ll be safe on land.” But they didn’t want safety. They wanted blood. Arrows filled the air. I crouched low in my dinghy. Two dead mers floated by. I glanced at their faces. Neither was One-Shell.

  I zipped between the outriggers, dodging projectiles as I searched for the young mer. More than once I thought I saw him break the surface and fire at a goblin, but he dive
d immediately.

  The first spatter of raindrops hit my cheek. One-Shell rose out of the water. His spear gun was aimed at Narfu.

  “You will die for killing my father.” But One-Shell took too long to savor his moment of revenge. Narfu calmly nocked an arrow and fired.

  “Get down,” I screamed at One-Shell, but Narfu’s arrow was already racing toward him. It pierced his shoulder knocking him backward. One-Shell disappeared beneath the surface and then rose again. He ripped the arrow out of his shoulder. Blood spewed down his chest. His expression was murderous.

  The wind dropped, but the rain came in hard, slashing the channel between the island and reef. The sea was awash with blood. One-Shell dived. I guessed he was headed to King Kanu’s vessel to get a better shot at Narfu, and I intended to get there first. As I gunned it across the water, an outrigger crashed into me. I was thrown sideways, losing control of the dinghy, which headed out to sea. By the time I’d regained control, I’d lost precious time.

  As I steered my dinghy back into the melee, I saw One-Shell surface. He launched himself out of the water and onto King Kanu’s vessel. He clung to the side as though he was trying to overturn it, but his attempt failed. Instead of tossing Narfu into the ocean, where One-Shell would have the advantage, he was hauled aboard the vessel. Narfu grinned with homicidal glee as he dug his thumb into One-Shell’s shoulder wound.

  One-Shell made a piercing sound like nails on a chalkboard, but no amount of pain could stop him wrapping his hands around Narfu’s throat. The goblin’s eyes opened wide in surprise. One-Shell held on tight, but, out of water, he was no match for Narfu. His tail flapped around, unbalancing him. Narfu brought his thickly muscled arms up between One-Shell’s, slashing outward to break the merman’s hold on his throat. As One-Shell flailed, Narfu’s meaty fist slammed into his jaw knocking him backward. Narfu drew his knife.

  Nearby, Coral’s voice rose in a frenzy of whistles and squeaks. I didn’t need to understand her language to know she was begging someone to save her son. I brought my dinghy in close and jumped onto the outrigger. Narfu had his knife raised ready to slash One-Shell’s throat. I landed on Narfu’s back, interrupting him mid-slash. He fell sideways. His knife missed One-Shell’s neck but opened a gash on the merman’s chest. I had no time to attend to One-Shell’s wound. I laced my fingers in Narfu’s hair and yanked hard. He tried to throw me off, but I clung on tight. If he’d been human, I’d have gone for a pressure point to make him drop the knife, but goblins don’t have pressure points. However, they are ticklish.

  Yep, I was going to have to fight dirty. Slipping my fingers beneath his armpits, I tickled for all I was worth. The knife fell from his hand. I kidney-punched him, knocking him out of the vessel and into the sea. The other bodyguard grabbed me, but I twisted away and flipped him overboard. He dragged me with him and we hit the water together. I kicked away from him, surfacing on the other side of King Kanu’s vessel. On board, the king had picked up Narfu’s knife. Lying in the bottom of the outrigger, One-Shell didn’t have a chance. King Kanu plunged the knife into One-Shell’s chest and tossed him overboard. When the body sank, I dived after it.

  The underwater world was filled with blood and arrows and bodies from both sides. I swam through the horrible debris searching for One-Shell, hoping I’d find him before my air ran out. I had to surface more than once, sucking in air, knowing each time that my chance of finding him was diminishing.

  I dived deeper, deeper than I should have. The pressure built in my ears as I followed a trail of fresh blood. I was near the ocean floor when I saw the merman’s body and the single shell in his hair. Taking hold of his wrist, I dragged him upward, hardly aware of what I was doing. My brain was foggy from lack of air. Keep going. Keep going. Up and up. I crested the surface and sucked in a breath while arrows flew around us. Then I dived again, but I wasn’t strong enough to keep One-Shell under and out of harm’s way. We kept floating to the surface. I ploughed on, dodging outriggers and avoiding the ever-falling arrows, unaware whether he was alive or dead.

  A hand grabbed my shoulder. I turned to see Coral, who gently took her son from me and dived. Great—now I can swim out of here. Probably best to go underwater. But before I could even take a breath, another hand grabbed my shoulder. Hoping it was a friendly mer wanting to take me to safety, I turned.

  Uh-oh. It was Narfu. Blood oozed from a cut on his head. His eyes glowed an angry red.

  “Good-bye, human.” He grabbed my throat.

  I stabbed my fingers at his eyes, but I missed, scratching his cheek instead. He growled and tightened his grip on my throat. I started to panic. I clawed my nails along his arms, collecting skin and blood. When that didn’t work, I kicked, hoping to connect with his groin. But kicking underwater is real slow. By the time my foot connected with his groin, it had the power of a caress. Narfu opened his eyes wide, grinned and pushed himself against me. Then he tightened his grip on my throat. He began to look kind of blurry. My mind spun away and I was in a misty place that felt warm and safe. Maybe it was Cloud 9.

  “Let her go!”

  I zoomed back to reality to see Casper landing a punch on Narfu’s cheek. The goblin’s head swung sideways. His fingers fell from my neck. As air rushed painfully down my throat, Casper lifted me out of the water, protecting me with his body as we flew back to Heavenly.

  I closed my eyes and muttered, “Fucking goblins.”

  When we landed on deck, he insisted on carrying me to a cabin and laying me gently on the bed. “Rest now.”

  I struggled to sit up. “Unless this is a seduction, there’s no way I’m staying in bed.”

  “It would be best. I’ll call you when this battle is over and the treasure can be safely returned.”

  But I refused to stay in bed. I hadn’t been badly hurt. Just a few bruises and a croaky voice.

  “I want to see One-Shell,” I said.

  In silence Casper took me to another cabin. Coral, whose tail had once again made way for legs, was wiping blood from her son’s body. His lips had a bluish tinge and he didn’t appear to be breathing.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said. “I tried to save him.”

  Coral clicked at me, but I couldn’t understand what she was saying. She wiped blood from the ugly gash in One-Shell’s chest. Blood welled again and flowed over the jagged edges of skin. He was bleeding? That meant he was alive, didn’t it? One-Shell moaned softly. Yep, definitely alive, but at the rate he was losing blood, I didn’t think it would be for long.

  Casper moved to the other side of the bed. He clapped his hands and ordered the yacht to heal One-Shell. Immediately the gash in One-Shell’s chest disappeared along with the arrow wound in his shoulder.

  I glanced at Casper, knowing the wounds would open again the moment One-Shell left Heavenly. But Casper didn’t look worried. “I won’t let him leave Heavenly until a mer healer is standing by. He’ll be okay.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  The battle was over. We waited aboard Heavenly until both sides had collected their dead and injured. The mers departed quickly, diving beneath the red water and swimming away. On shore we could see a convoy of stretchers being carried up to the village.

  When all the casualties had been taken away, King Kanu sent a messenger in an outrigger to inform us it was time to hand over the treasure. Only Casper, Queenie and I went to the beach. But King Kanu had his entourage and most of the villagers, as well. Narfu was there too, bruised, battered and bloody, but still standing. How unfortunate.

  It was Queenie’s duty to return the stolen treasures. Leaving behind the image of the music hall singer, she approached King Kanu with all the solemnity he could’ve wished for. When she offered the box, he opened it. He had never seen the Star of Light and he couldn’t suppress a gasp. “The symbol of kingship,” he whispered, holding up the diamond. Rays of sunlight shot through th
e facets, so bright the Tikini-kai shielded their eyes. All except King Kanu, who slid the diamond into the pouch hanging from his neck. He ordered two guards to take the box from Queenie, but he seemed to have little interest in the other jewels.

  When the dowry was safely on its way to the village, King Kanu raised his hands. “The war is over.”

  Everyone applauded. Hands were shaken. Cheeks were kissed. Even Narfu stepped up to offer me his hand. I didn’t really want to take it, but in the interest of peace I did. Bad move. Sharp nails dug into my skin leaving bloody half-moons. I retaliated by giving his wrist a savage twist. He didn’t even wince, just grinned at me. Nasty.

  “You’re lucky this is the end of the war,” I said. “Better pray we never meet again.”

  He kept grinning and dug his nails deeper. Casper stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder. One glance from my angel had Narfu backing away.

  “Take care of Queenie,” Casper said to me.

  She had moved away from the celebrations. Standing all alone, she looked kind of sad.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “The war is over, but I’m still ’ere,” she murmured. “Seems like I should’ve moved on, but I ’aven’t.” She hunched her shoulders and folded her arms as though she was hugging herself. She shot me a miserable glance. “Got any gin, ducks?”

  I was wondering what had gone wrong, when I heard the first notes of Queenie’s favorite song. A rich baritone filled the air.

  “‘For I am a Pirate King,

  “Hurrah for the Pirate King,

  “And it is, it is a glorious thing

  “To be a Pirate King.’”

  Queenie whispered, “Dickie?”

  On a nearby cliff stood a tall, dark-haired man. His open shirt revealed a broad tanned chest. His slim hips were encased in dark pants that disappeared into scuffed leather boots. I couldn’t see his face clearly, but Queenie had told me he was handsome and I had no reason to doubt her.