A sliver of light appeared at the bottom of the Phoenix and worked its way up her rusting sides, highlighting the faded bird painted on her, the hawsepipe from which the anchor emerged and, finally, the little skiff, Wren, the small boat Ayla had arrived in, which was now hanging from Birdie’s winches, the gunwale and the crew. Toby stared ahead.
In front of them was the harbour. Rubbish floated on the waves but nothing like as much as they had sailed through. A line of lobster baskets bobbed ahead of them and on the pier he could see children lifting crab lines and mussel nets from brackish water.
“We’re here,” he murmured.
“It’s time to go below.” Polly nudged his cheek. “We need to anchor, so you’ll have to put the paddles into reverse.”
Toby patted her with his free hand, his fingers still hesitant over her metal body.
“You know you can’t bring Polly into the sanctuary.” Ayla tilted her head at him.
Polly squawked angrily and Toby stroked her head. “She’s right, Pol. The sun worshippers might decide to keep you, or worse, destroy you.”
Polly bobbed up and down crossly. “I thought I was going. You’ll need me in there.”
The captain’s heavy tread made them all jump. His hand descended on to Toby’s left shoulder.
“This is the point when we have to trust that we’ve taught Toby enough to survive without us. Do you think we’ve taught him enough, Polly?”
“Yes, but—”
“Then that’s that.” The captain lifted Polly from her perch and placed the parrot on his own shoulder. “Go below, Toby, there’s work to do before we dock.”
In the boiler room, Toby found Hiko filling the compressor with combustibles.
“I wondered where you were. Didn’t you want to watch us sail through the dam?” Toby approached the control panel, pulling his goggles over his eyes.
“This needed doing.” Hiko kept his head down, his back to Toby.
“It could have waited.” Toby pressed the lever that diverted steam from one delivery line to another. He felt the Phoenix judder, stop, then, slowly, begin to reverse. On deck he knew the captain was directing Rita to steer the Phoenix to a safe anchorage, close to the shore.
He rubbed away the sweat that threatened to drip into his eyes. Hiko was determinedly shovelling, still refusing to look up. The light from the porthole showed his shoulders hunched and tension in the lines of his arms and back.
“Are you all right?” Toby stepped closer.
“I’m fine.” Hiko’s shovel jammed against the hull with a clang and he shook the vibration out of his fingers before he returned to his work.
Toby moved closer. “Stop for a minute.”
Hiko shook his head. “I’m your assistant, so I’ll be engineer while you’re gone. I’m getting started, making sure everything works right…”
“Everything here is shipshape.” Toby caught Hiko’s shoulder and he jumped.
“Just talk to me. I’ll be leaving soon.”
“I know.” Hiko threw the spade down and it clattered across the floor.
“You’re angry?” Toby blinked.
“You’re going without me,” Hiko blurted, finally turning. His eyes were rimmed with red. “Remember last time you were on land. You can’t even walk straight.”
“I’ll have Ayla to watch my back.” Even as Toby said it, he realized that his words were probably no comfort to the boy who had been caged on the Banshee.
Hiko’s fists clenched at his side. “You don’t know everything, Toby,” he snapped. “You know the sea, but I know land better’n you. I should be going.” He pulled away and pointed to his own thick mop. “I have black hair. I could be your partner.” His voice dropped. “I’d have your back and I’m small. What if you need someone to crawl through a vent to get the inverters? Ayla can’t do that.”
Toby cleared his throat. “You’re right, you’d be a better partner.” He pulled Hiko to the floor and sat beside him, one arm around his shoulder. “But Ayla said it had to be a boy and girl.”
“Why? Two boys can be partners, so can two girls. I saw it in the slave market.”
“True.” Toby nodded. “But I think it’s a contrasts thing: sun, moon; light, dark; boy, girl. See?”
Hiko squirmed free. “I get it.” He kicked at a dried chunk of MDF. “What if you don’t come home?”
“I’ll be back,” Toby promised. “And knowing you’re here, doing my job for me means I’ll have one less thing to worry about.”
“Huh.” Hiko looked towards the porthole. “I won’t know if you need help. Polly won’t even be watching.”
“I’ll have to rely on Ayla.” Hiko sneered at that. Toby touched his arm. “She was great in Tarifa, wasn’t she?”
Hiko sighed. “I’m going to keep translating that map. Maybe I’ll have it done by the time you get back.”
“That would be great.” Toby grinned.
“Don’t tell Ayla,” Hiko begged suddenly.
Toby shook his head. “I’m telling her you can’t do it. Just in case.”
“So you don’t trust her…” Hiko’s eyes glittered in the dim light.
Toby sighed. “She’s promised not to betray me while we’re inside the sanctuary.”
“Do you trust her to bring you home?” Hiko leaned close, looking for a lie in Toby’s face.
Toby shook his head. “I’ll bring myself home.”
For the first time in his life, Toby placed his foot on the gangplank of the Phoenix.
“What are you waiting for?” The plank shook as Ayla loped past.
The captain waited until Ayla had left the ship. “It’s not too late to change your mind.”
Toby shook his head. “I’m doing this.” He took a step. The Phoenix tilted beneath him.
“Another adventure for us,” D’von lisped; then he put his arm through Toby’s and they walked down the plank together. The captain followed but his face was grim.
As soon as his toes touched rock, Toby stumbled, feeling disoriented as the land failed to move beneath him. He took his time to get his land-legs, stepping across the rocks and using D’von to help him balance. Ayla was already striding smoothly on to a short stone pier, her hair shining in the glow of the bronze sun that hung above the cathedral.
Rahul jumped on to the shore behind the captain. “I’m coming with you,” he called. “At least to the gates. Uma insisted.”
As the captain nodded his agreement, Toby followed Ayla on to the pier and looked around.
To his left another two teenagers were clambering over the rocks; a girl with shoulder-length blond waves and a boy whose hair was almost exactly the same length and texture, but black. At the same moment the pair looked up and Toby blinked at the matching blue stares. Their chins were tilted at the exact same angle, their narrow forearms raised to protect their eyes from the sun.
“A matching pair,” Ayla lowered her voice as she scoped them out. A small rowing boat rocked behind them, tied up against the jetty. Inside a woman with eyes like chips of blue topaz was waving at the twins.
Toby caught up with Ayla. “How can we compete with twins? They’ve got to be who the sun worshippers are looking for. What could be more perfect?”
A shadow passed over Ayla’s eyes.
The captain caught up with them. “We knew there would be other candidates arriving today. They look good, but you and Ayla look good, too. And if they choose based on hair colour alone, Rita’s blond is brighter than the girl’s. Don’t second-guess.”
“And if we’re not picked?” Toby clenched his fists. Until now, he hadn’t entertained the thought that they might not even get past the first hurdle.
“We think of something else,” the captain replied.
Rahul put an arm around Toby’s shoulder. “Let’s find out where you have to go.” He nodded upwards. Ahead of them, standing at the end of the pier, a single brother stood. The light bounced from his bowed head and a pendant showing what looked like t
he Solaris logo dangled in front of long grey robes. He looked up as they approached.
“Benvenuto. Welcome.” He raised one hand as if to prevent them from coming nearer. “You are here for the festival?” He looked particularly at Rita and Toby and offered a thin smile. “You are quite late. The choosing begins in two hours – when the sun is at its highest.”
Ayla stepped to Toby’s side. “That’s why we’re here.” The beads in her hair clattered and the brother blinked.
“Two couples then.” The brother glanced at D’von who was standing next to Rita, obviously unsure whether or not to take her arm.
“Trois.” As one, the twins marched in front of Toby and Ayla.
“Three,” the girl corrected her brother. “English, Adrien.”
“Yes, Adele.” He looked sideways at Toby. “We are here to be chosen.” He nodded at the man’s pendant. “Praise Soleil.”
The man’s head dipped in acknowledgement and Ayla stiffened.
The captain’s deep voice replied, “Of course. Praise the Sun.” He slid swiftly between Ayla and the twins. “Where is it our couples need to go?”
The brother gestured in the direction of a narrow path that led up the cliff edge that bisected the island.
“Let’s go then.” The captain hustled them towards the path, Rahul dropped back to shadow them. Once more the brother raised his hand.
“The applicants go alone.”
The captain looked back at the French mother sitting in her boat. His lips pressed together. She had already known.
Adele and Adrien marched on with their eyes fixed on the sunlit belfry.
“It’s all right,” Toby said as the captain pulled him to one side.
“I thought I’d be saying goodbye up there.” Barnaby tilted his head to indicate the main entrance.
“Either way it’s the same,” Ayla said.
The captain ignored her. “Be careful, Toby.” He gave him a swift, tight hug. Then he looked at Rita and D’von. “You, too.” He stared at Ayla for a long moment. “You remember your cover stories?”
“Of course.” Ayla looked insulted.
“Then look after each other,” he said.
Rahul shook Toby’s hand. “Good luck.” He clapped D’von on the shoulder.
“We won’t set sail until tomorrow,” the captain started back towards the ship. “Just in case.”
“You mean in case we don’t get in,” Rita muttered.
The captain nodded. “Assuming you do get in I’ll send Rahul with the little boat, Wren, to watch the northernmost point of the island – just in case you get out early. We’ll have to anchor the Phoenix off Malta first, and Rahul has to sneak into position without being spotted, so it’ll be a day or two before he’s looking for you. Until then you’re on your own. If Rahul doesn’t pick you up, the Phoenix will be back for the festival.”
Toby smiled. “We’ll be fine.” He moved to Ayla’s side. “We’ll be eating good food, relaxing in the sun and looking for the inverters when everyone else is asleep. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“I’m going to enjoy the break.” Rita stretched. “Come on, D’von.” She shoved the big teen ahead of her towards the pathway.
Toby squeezed his father’s hand. “See you in three weeks.”
The captain pounded up the gangplank and Toby looked one last time at the Phoenix. The giant ship rose and fell on the tide, her rusting orange hull like a piece of evening sunlight that rested on the sea.
He turned back to the pathway; Rita and D’von were racing ahead. He fell into step with Ayla and together they followed their crewmates, only swaying slightly now with the stillness of the land.
EIGHT
The path they climbed wound along the jagged cliff. At first Toby’s bare toes kicked up sand as he walked, but the sand gradually turned to dust. When he looked over the cliff edge he could see houses, like teeth, submerged beneath the waves. Gaping roofs and landslides of tile and brick were revealed and then hidden by salt spray and clumps of rubbish that had passed through the dam. Through one unbroken window he could see a drowned living room: children’s toys floating against the pane – a doll with her arm outstretched, as if pleading for rescue.
He shuddered and turned to Ayla; she faced the sanctuary. Now that he was closer, Toby could see patterns cut into the grey concrete wall. Sunbursts covered the stone; some of them carved deeply, others mere scratches. Some of the images glittered with shining stones, had glass embedded in the centre, or long rays made from chains of beads. Directly ahead the path forked; one way – their way – headed into a low archway that bisected the wall, the other led into a formation of houses.
The properties were squat, with no chimneys; what would be the point in a world where combustibles had all but vanished?
The walls were whitewashed and there were no trees planted in the wide streets. Everything was designed to reflect the sun.
The streets remained silent as they passed the fork; no voices greeted them, no eyes followed their path.
“Where is everybody?” Toby whispered.
“When you get past the ports and go inland, this is what most land is like,” Ayla replied. “Almost everyone died from wars, disease or starvation. You reckon there’re a lot of people on land because you’ve only seen the docks, but that’s just where most people ended up. Inland it’s like this almost everywhere.”
“But there must be people here somewhere, you said—”
“They’re all sun worshippers and today’s a big day. They’ll be up there.” Ayla pointed. “Waiting for us.”
Toby exhaled. “Do you think we’re the last to arrive? How many couples do you think are up there?”
Ayla smiled. “At least trois.” She pointed as Adele and Adrien passed through the arch, D’von and Rita close behind them. “Are you ready for this?” She adjusted the collar of her jacket. “How do I look?”
Toby cleared his throat. “You look fine.” He stared at his filthy feet. “Me?”
Ayla used her palm to brush a rain of grit from his hair. “You look fine, too.”
“OK.” Toby held out his hand. “Let’s go.”
Ayla closed her fingers around his arm. “It’ll be like catching lobsters in a pot,” she said.
Inside the archway, Toby found himself facing another wall. As his eyes adjusted he saw a solid gate.
“This must be where deliveries are left.” Ayla indicated a hatch with a nod of her head. Toby nodded and she knocked.
The hatch creaked open and a second brother stared out at them. This one had blond hair, paler and shorter even than Toby’s. “State your business with the Solar Order,” he said in a Gozoan accent.
“We’re here for the festival.” Ayla gestured at Toby. “He’s the Sun.”
The brother cracked a lopsided smile. “Of course he is.” He vanished from the hatch and Toby heard the creak of bolts being drawn. Then the gate opened and Toby gasped. Ignoring the brother altogether, he stepped into a square as big as the deck of the Phoenix, drawn by the building that faced him.
The stone of the old Catholic cathedral was pale; golden in the noon sun and Toby could see watermarks halfway up each pillar where the building had stood against the battering of the sea.
A larger-than-life-size statue of the Virgin Mary raised her arms in an alcove above a vast vaulted door that would once have been made of wood, but was now a mish-mash of sun-burned metal. The iconic statue now sported a bright copper sunburst on her head. Covering half-seen coats of arms, more images of the sun surrounded the doors.
On the top of the building was the giant circle of bronze that they had seen from the Phoenix. Toby shaded his eyes with his free arm.
“There’re the people.” Ayla pulled Toby past a crowd of native Gozitans. Gathered behind a cordon, they leaned close to watch them pass; hollow-eyed and hungry-looking. When their murmuring rose, Toby edged further away and looked for Rita and D’von.
Rita’s bright hair stood
out even in the crowd of younger teens gathered around her.
“Did you expect so many?” Toby muttered under his breath.
Ayla swallowed. “Of course.” But she didn’t meet his eyes.
They walked over to the large group. Toby was taken aback by the differences in the shades of blond and dark that faced him. The variations ranged from a girl with dark blond, almost brown hair that was cut into a short mohawk, to a true white-haired albino boy whose pink eyes followed Toby as he came to a stop.
The youngest of their competitors, a delicate-looking doll of a girl, seemed no older than thirteen.
Toby looked at Rita, trying to view her with a critical eye. Was her age noticeable to the others? She was eight years older than Toby, but seemed younger than that. Toby wasn’t sure if she could pass for an old-looking sixteen, but she and D’von did make a good pair. Toby waited for a twinge of jealousy, but felt none. He was completely over his youthful crush. He looked sideways at Ayla, who stood next to him. “Now what?”
“We wait,” she replied. “They make their selection at midday, remember? There’s a sundial if you want to track it.”
Toby couldn’t take his eyes from the line of the sundial. He was not the only one. The crowd behind the cordon tracked the moving shadow, with pointing fingers and restless eyes. And as it drew nearer to the centre of the square, the murmuring of the other pairs quietened, enough for him to be able to make out individual conversations.
“Praise the Sun.” His chin jerked up at the almost defiantly angry tone. A boy with dark hair so fine that it stuck to his head in sweaty streaks stood before a swarthy teen whose crater-marked face told Toby he had suffered a pox and ignored anyone who had told him not to scratch.
The younger boy had clenched fists and, even though his words were prayerful, he spoke through gritted teeth.
“You’re such a dupe,” the older boy sneered. “You believe all this sun crap.”
“Why are you here?” the younger boy raged. “This is a festival for worshippers of the Sun, non-believers shouldn’t be here.”
Phoenix Burning Page 6
