Lintang and the Pirate Queen

by Tamara Moss

  The first row of panna trees appeared suddenly, springing from the forest in knobbly, unkempt rows. Weeds grew taller than her, and fallen pannas squished pulpy and yellow beneath her bare feet. The rainforest canopy opened to reveal storm clouds rolling overhead. The air was so dense now it felt as though she were swimming through it.

  She slowed and Bayani caught up to her, panting. ‘You can’t stop a story halfway.’

  ‘I thought you didn’t want to hear about Pero’s death.’

  ‘Well, you’ve started it now, haven’t you?’

  ‘All right.’ She found a healthy tree nearby and thumbed one of its wide leaves. Perfect. Mother would love it. ‘The warrior Pero was not afraid of the Goddess of Death. He had faced the harvest many times during his battles. And the propheseeds had spoken of the mother of monsters – Lanme Vanyan herself – who was someone Pero had always wanted to fight. So he packed his bag, said goodbye to his mother, kissed the barmaid and left.’

  Bayani narrowed his eyes. ‘He didn’t kiss the barmaid.’

  ‘Who’s telling the story here?’

  As they talked, they pulled off panna leaves and stuck them in Lintang’s sash so they sat like armour around her chest and back. The strange floral smell grew stronger.

  ‘I would’ve run away,’ said Bayani, repositioning the fronds so they didn’t tickle her chin. ‘If the propheseeds say Lanme Vanyan’s going to kill you, why would you go after her?’

  ‘You can’t run from a prophecy.’

  ‘You can try.’

  ‘No, you can’t. If Pero had stayed behind, Lanme Vanyan would’ve ruined his village. If he’d hid in a cave, it would’ve been the exact cave she happened to be in at that moment. It’s how prophecies work.’

  Rumbles of thunder echoed through the mountains. Under the thunder came a faint clicking.

  Bayani paused in the middle of pulling down another leaf. ‘What’s that noise?’

  ‘The sound of you being a sapling about Pero the warrior. Of course he’s not going to run away. He’s the bravest person in history. He dared to go up against Lanme Vanyan. Sure, she killed him, but that doesn’t mean –’

  ‘Frangipani,’ Bayani said suddenly.

  She blinked. ‘Huh?’

  ‘Can’t you smell it?’

  So that was the floral scent. She knew she’d recognised it. Merchants from the southern island wore the flowers in their dark, curly hair.

  ‘That’s strange,’ she said, looking around. ‘I didn’t know it grew here.’

  ‘It doesn’t.’

  Something rustled behind them. Whatever it was whipped out of sight too quickly, though Lintang caught a flash of white. Had someone from school found them?

  But no – it had looked more like a swishing dress than a sarong. Odd clothing for someone from the village.

  Bayani stepped back as lightning flickered across the sky. The sun was long gone now, the afternoon dim.

  ‘I think we should leave.’ When Lintang frowned at him, he added, ‘I can hear clicking.’

  The faint sound persisted, barely audible beneath the insects. Her brain struggled to catch up with the drowsy sense of danger.

  And then she remembered. The frangipani. The clicking. The panna trees.

  She swore beneath her breath. ‘I thought they only appeared in the southern island.’

  ‘Not always.’ Bayani was starting to look sick.

  This couldn’t be happening. It was so ridiculous; so unlikely.

  ‘It shouldn’t be out,’ she said, as if logic could make everything safe again. ‘It’s daytime!’

  Even as she said it, she knew it didn’t matter. With clouds overhead, there was no sunlight to protect them.

  The sweet floral smell turned rancid, like rotten meat. They stared at each other in panic.

  The malam rasha was about to attack.

  * * *

  THE MYTHIE GUIDEBOOK

  ENTRY #71: Night Terror (Twin Islands)

  The night terror (malam rasha) is a humanoid forest mythie under the predator category. It appears as a woman with wooden skin, long dark hair and a white dress. It has tree roots instead of arms, which are sharp enough to dig through flesh. It can be identified by the sound of its clicking wings and the smell of frangipani. When the night terror is about to attack, the sweet smell turns to one of rotten meat.

  Diet: Human organs.

  Habitat: Panna plantations on Thelkin, the southern half of the Twin Islands.

  Frequency: Rare.

  Behaviour: When there is no sunlight, night terrors root their legs in a secret spot while their upper half searches for victims. They are impossible to outrun or to wound, as any injuries will heal. If you have your eyes open, it will suck them out of your head.

  Eradication: The only way to kill these mythies is to smear ash or salt on the stump of their lower half, which keeps them from rejoining. If they are not whole when sunlight hits them, they will burn.

  Did you know? Night terrors will not harm their home in any way.

  Danger level: 4

  * * *

  Sword and Shield

  Something moved behind them. Lintang twisted, drawing her wooden sword, but she only saw a tendril of dark hair streaming behind a tree. ‘What do we do?’

  She didn’t dare blink. Bayani stood perfectly still beside her.

  ‘Bayani,’ she said, throat tight. ‘What do we do?’

  ‘I’m trying to remember what it said in the guidebook,’ he whispered. ‘But my brain is stuck …’

  Lightning flashed again, momentarily blinding Lintang. When her eyes readjusted, she thought she saw another whip of white, but she couldn’t be sure whether it was just spots from the flash.

  ‘Where did it go?’ Bayani said. ‘Did you see it move?’

  Lintang glanced up and down the row of trees. The stench of rotten meat was so strong she wanted to gag. ‘I don’t know. I couldn’t –’

  She stopped. Out of the corner of her eye, right behind Bayani, was a dark shape.

  Goosebumps erupted across her skin. She couldn’t inhale. She couldn’t turn to look at it properly.

  Her lungs were bursting. She gasped and said, ‘I think it’s behind you.’

  Bayani spun. His movement jolted Lintang from her panic. She turned too, lifting her sword as the mythie loomed before them. Its leathery wings clicked with each beat. Its long black hair flowed around its wooden face. Its dress hung empty below its waist, where its legs should’ve been.

  Before it could attack, a white ball of light zipped in front of its face. The malam rasha recoiled, snarling.

  ‘Pelita!’ Bayani cried.

  Lintang used the malam rasha’s distraction to grab his hand and drag him towards the rainforest.

  Bayani glanced back, slowing their pace as he called for the pixie. Lintang checked over her shoulder too, but the panna leaves around her body constricted her movement.

  The malam rasha batted Pelita away and flew down the row after them. It was fast, much faster than them. There’s no outrunning a malam rasha, the guidebook had said.

  Well, then. If they couldn’t run, they would have to fight.

  Lintang whirled around and lifted her sword. ‘Get back!’

  The malam rasha reared up. It moved to strike with its arm of tree roots, but she stabbed forward and it retreated. Stab – Dodge – Stab – Dodge –

  She let out a scream – not a scream of fear, but of fury – as she continued to swing her sword, forcing the malam rasha back. She had to protect Bayani. She had to get this monster away somehow.

  Pelita returned, buzzing around the malam rasha’s face. Bayani yelled something. Why was the silly gnome not running to safety?

  And then she heard what he was saying.

  ‘Your sword – it’s made of panna wood! Panna wood!’

  Night terrors will not harm their home in any way.

  She looked down at the leaves tucked into her sash and gasped. While Pelita was still di
stracting the malam rasha, Lintang ran to Bayani, shoved him to the ground and threw herself over him. His cry was squashed from his lungs as she landed on his back. Her sword hit the grass beside them.

  ‘Close your eyes!’ she said, squeezing her own eyes shut.

  Thunder crashed across the mountain and rumbled through the ground. There was a whoosh as the malam rasha descended upon them. Lintang cringed, praying to the Three Gods that her plan would work, and felt a spark of hope when nothing happened right away. The malam rasha hadn’t attacked; maybe they were safe …

  Something raked the panna leaves in the back of her sash. Tree roots, sharp enough to pierce flesh. They clattered against the veiny ridges of the leaves, the sound in harmony with the faint clicking noise of the creature’s wings.

  Lintang bit back a scream. It was trying to rip out her organs … but couldn’t. The panna leaves protected them, just like she’d planned.

  Bayani trembled beneath her. She dredged up a memory of a prayer from temple. ‘Hear me, Niti, Patiki, Mratzi – Gods of Ytzuam, givers of life, guardians of stars. Please protect us, please don’t let the malam rasha eat us. Please protect us, please protect us, please protect us …’

  Footsteps thumped on the grass. Were the malam rasha’s legs coming to rejoin its body?

  She tucked her head down tight, expecting the final blow at any moment. But the reek of rotten meat vanished. Instead, she found herself inhaling the scent of squashed pannas and the clean smell of Bayani’s hair. The clicking sound was gone, too.

  Bayani didn’t move. Lintang turned her face to one side and cracked open an eye as a fat drop of rain landed on her nose. The plantation was empty. She turned the other way. Nothing.

  Thunder rumbled again as she climbed to her feet. Bayani glanced up. ‘Is it gone?’

  ‘I think so,’ she said, helping him stand.

  ‘I thought we were going to die.’

  She picked up her sword. ‘Me too.’

  They headed towards the forest, keeping an eye out for movement between the panna trees. She strained her ears for any noise, but all she could hear was the insect commotion, which had swelled as the rain started.

  ‘Did Pelita chase it away?’ Bayani said when they reached the fringe of the forest.

  ‘A malam rasha isn’t afraid of a pixie.’ Lintang scanned the plantation one last time. ‘Didn’t you hear the footsteps? I thought it was the malam rasha’s legs at first, but now I think it was a person. Someone saved us.’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Lintang!’ Elder Wulan hurried out of the rain forest with the rest of the class trailing behind. ‘What are you doing here? We heard you screaming from the orchard!’

  Nimuel was behind her, biting into a mao. Orange, watery juice trickled down his chin. ‘Hi, Lintang,’ he said through his mouthful.

  ‘I can explain,’ Lintang said, but Elder Wulan shook her head.

  ‘I don’t want to hear your stories. What are those panna leaves doing in your sash? And what are you doing with that sword? I confiscated it!’

  ‘There was a malam rasha! It was lucky I had the sword; we almost died –’

  ‘Bayani, I’m disappointed in you.’ Elder Wulan grabbed Lintang’s arm and marched her through the forest. Above them, howlers swung from branch to branch with their long, hairy arms, hooting and cackling as they sent showers of rain through the canopy. The other children followed Elder Wulan, chattering eagerly about their bulging sacks of fruit. They were used to Lintang getting into trouble.

  Bayani rushed to keep up. ‘She’s telling the truth.’

  ‘Oh, Bayani, not you too. Your parents will be furious if you start telling stories.’

  How could Elder Wulan think that Bayani, of all people, was lying? Did she really distrust Lintang that much?

  ‘It’s not a story!’ Lintang said. ‘There was a malam rasha, but someone chased it away.’

  ‘Oh? Who?’

  ‘I … I don’t know.’

  The thrill of the attack started to ebb. Even to her, the explanation seemed far-fetched. Who would’ve been brave enough to chase away a malam rasha and not come back for the glory?

  Elder Wulan gave Bayani an exasperated look.

  ‘It sounds made up,’ he said, ‘but she’s telling the truth. You have to warn the warriors’ guild there’s a predator mythie nearby.’

  Lintang glanced at Nimuel, who was sharing extra fruit with his best friend. They were all in danger if she couldn’t convince Elder Wulan she was telling the truth. There had to be a way to prove it. ‘I’ll go to the feast tonight and ask the other villagers. Whoever saved us will come forward.’

  ‘Oh, no.’ Elder Wulan pulled her up short. ‘I know what this is now. You made up a story so you could see the pirate queen. I’m sorry, Lintang, but your mother’s word is final.’

  ‘What? No, that’s not why I –’

  ‘Stop arguing. You are to go straight home and stay inside. And, Bayani, if you don’t want to be banned from the feast too, I suggest you stop playing along with her silly games.’

  Lintang and Bayani exchanged alarmed looks. How were the villagers supposed to defend themselves against one of the most vicious mythies on the Twin Islands if no one believed it existed?

  Pirate Queen

  With darkness came rain that whooshed on the thatched roof. Lintang sat on the little bench by the shrine, watching the knobbly sticks of mollowood burn low in their clay holders. Scented smoke coiled around her. Lightning flashed between the unevenly boarded walls, illuminating the room with its four straw mattresses, shelf of bowls and the two trunks where the family kept their clothes. Her stomach growled between rumbles of thunder.

  The front door opened, bringing in a gust of wind that sent the hanging pots clattering.

  Bayani entered. His best red shirt and pants were soaking wet and mud-splattered. Pelita fluttered around his head like a luminous flutterbee. He shut the door, dripping all over the floorboards. He looked wretched. He must’ve gotten into lots of trouble for letting her sneak to the plantation.

  ‘Are you all right?’ she said.

  ‘Come on.’ His voice was thick, as though he was coming down with a cold. He took her hand to pull her up. ‘Everyone’s at the temple. We have to tell them about the malam rasha.’

  Lintang resisted. ‘Wait –’

  ‘No. The village is in danger. We have to do something.’

  Lintang studied him. His eyes were puffy in the flame light of the wooden torch. ‘What’s wrong?’

  He rubbed his nose with the back of his wrist. ‘Lintang, I … I saw …’

  ‘You saw what?’

  He looked away and swallowed hard. ‘Nothing.’

  Nothing, nothing, nothing. It was always nothing.

  He smiled weakly, as if sensing her frustration and trying – poorly – to reassure her. ‘It’s been a bad day, hasn’t it?’

  ‘You could say that.’ Lintang tugged her hand from his grip. ‘I’m not allowed to go to the feast, remember?’

  He swiped at his wet face with his equally wet palms. ‘Since when has not being allowed stopped you from doing anything?’

  Lintang returned her attention to the glowing mollowood. ‘Mother said if I go, she’ll pull me out of school early and send me to one of the mining communities.’

  Mother would probably follow through with the threat, too. Lintang had an uncle who lived on Malaki Mountain, spending all his days in dark tunnels digging out gemstones to be sent overseas. Mother had said it would do Lintang some good to learn what real hard work was.

  Bayani hesitated. ‘Lintang –’

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘I’ll take any punishment, but not that. If the village doesn’t want to know about the malam rasha, that’s their problem.’

  Pelita fluttered down and patted her knee. Bayani was silent for a long time.

  ‘What if someone dies?’ he said at last.

  ‘I don’t care,’ Lintang said, and at once was hit with a surge
of guilt. What if it was Nimuel who was attacked? Or Camelia the woodcutter, who’d crafted her wooden sword? Or Farmer Johan, who always gave her the biggest corn during the harvest? No – none of the villagers had done anything to deserve a horrible death.

  Bayani must’ve seen where her thoughts were, because he held out his hand again.

  She stared at it. ‘What if I get sent to a mining community? We’d never see each other again.’

  Pelita flew back to his shoulder. ‘Please,’ he said to Lintang. ‘Come with me.’

  She took his hand and stood. He led her to the door.

  ‘Where are your panna leaves?’

  Lintang huffed, finding her energy again. ‘Mother used them for her fish wraps. You’d think she might’ve been nicer, considering I risked my life to get them.’

  They headed down the porch steps and into the rain. Her sarong was instantly soaked. Mud squelched beneath her bare feet. It was hard to see through the darkness, but with Pelita’s glow they were able to make out their next few steps.

  They hurried towards the temple. Lintang listened for any signs of the clicking noise through the storm.

  ‘Thank you, by the way,’ Bayani said as they reached the centre of the village. ‘You saved my life at the plantation today. I never really appreciated it until now.’

  ‘I was the one wearing the panna leaves. I had to cover you.’

  ‘You didn’t have to.’

  ‘Sure I did.’ She frowned when she saw villagers in the market square hammering lids onto large barrels. ‘What are they doing?’

  ‘The welcome feast was cancelled. All food is being transported onto the ship. They’ve also taken a load of fresh water and cloth.’

  ‘So they were only here for supplies?’ She slowed. ‘Wait, does this mean you’ve seen Captain Shafira?’

  Bayani smiled. It was a slower response than usual, and it was only a small smile, but it was better than nothing. ‘I can’t believe it took you so long to ask about her.’