by Tamara Moss
‘Many years ago, I escaped Allay on nothing but a rowboat. If it hadn’t been for the lightning bird, the trip would’ve killed me.’ Captain Shafira drew a breath. ‘And if it hadn’t been for Dee – Delilah of Jalakta, daughter of Ambassador Farah – I wouldn’t have recovered. The whole family took care of me. They were going to help me spread the word about the Zulttania being dead.’
‘What happened?’ Lintang whispered as the black sails unfolded and caught a sudden gust of wind.
Captain Shafira’s form disappeared momentarily in flickering shadows. ‘The Zulttania’s counsel must’ve found out where I was staying. They sent people to kill Farah’s family and burn the place down. I tried to save them …’ She trailed off, then cleared her throat and said, ‘I managed to drag Dee out, but she’d already been through too much. She lost her mind.’
There were so many things Lintang wanted to say, and when they all crowded in her mouth, the one that escaped was, ‘She really thinks that clam shell is her mother.’
‘I don’t know how she’ll react if I break that fantasy,’ Captain Shafira said softly. ‘And I’m not willing to try.’
Lintang stared at the hatch where Dee had disappeared. Loud, friendly, mad, wonderful Dee – how could this have happened to her?
Captain Shafira shook her head. ‘I shouldn’t have kept Farah’s identity tag. It was a stupid mistake on my part, but I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away. That’s what sentimentality gets you.’
Lintang thought of Governor Karnezis, of how he had been negotiating with the Zulttania’s counsel. Of how he had talked about trade and peace and all that nonsense, when he was siding with a group of people who had slaughtered Dee’s family and blamed Captain Shafira.
‘Captain,’ she said finally, ‘I don’t think the governors care that you’re innocent.’
‘No,’ said Captain Shafira as the wind caught a sail and cast her in deep shadow. ‘I don’t think they do, either.’
Once a course had been set and the helm had been secured, the rest of the crew went down for dinner. Thanks to the party who had gone ashore, they were able to have succulent slices of red meat, roasted vegetables topped with gravy, a side of herb puddings and piping hot tea.
Despite their conversation on the top deck, Captain Shafira made an effort to be cheerful. She told the rest of the crew how the dragon cage was made from a real dragon ribcage. She’d escaped by blowing up the bones, using bahatsi powder packed inside the hollow jewels in her hair. Lintang had never heard of bahatsi powder, and Mei explained it was a natural explosive, like a volcano or lightning. It was hard not to be jealous of Bayani, who had seen it all firsthand.
‘I’m sorry you didn’t get a chance to convince the governors that the mythies were human,’ Lintang said to him as she soaked up the last of her dinner with a slice of bread.
‘It’s all right. Captain Shafira believes me.’ He nudged her. ‘You believe me. I trust both of you to pass the message on.’
She sucked at her soggy bread. ‘Why can’t you keep trying? That wasn’t your only chance, you know.’
‘Right,’ he said, looking away. ‘Of course.’
When plates had been licked clean, a cry for rouls went up and Quahah helped Yamini set up the game.
‘Want to play?’ Captain Shafira said to Bayani.
He tore his gaze away from Pelita, who was teasing Twip with a nut hanging from a thread. ‘Shouldn’t I be locked up?’
‘We won’t reach the reef until tomorrow night. You’ll be fine.’
‘What if they move closer to us?’ Lintang said.
‘Sirens always live near a reef, and they never make nests this close to each other. We’ll be safe for now.’ Captain Shafira gestured towards the vertical rouls boards. ‘Come on, Bayani, have a go.’
‘No, thank you,’ he said. ‘I just want to go to bed.’
Captain Shafira hesitated a beat before saying, ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’
‘There’ll be plenty of time to sleep … later. Stay up with us.’
Bayani shook his head. ‘Let me rest. Please.’
‘All right.’ Captain Shafira stood. ‘You can have my bed.’
Xiang and Mei, who were closest, turned to her.
‘No, that’s fine –’ Bayani started, but Captain Shafira spoke over him.
‘Don’t be silly. Tomorrow you’ll be in the cage. The least I can do is offer you my cabin. Don’t worry,’ she said over Bayani’s protests, ‘there are plenty of empty cabins I can sleep in tonight.’
By now most of the crew had stopped talking to listen to the conversation. If Captain Shafira noticed she had an audience, she pretended not to. ‘Let’s go. I’ll put you in the cage before sunrise tomorrow.’
Bayani got to his feet and followed the captain meekly from the room.
‘Did she just offer her room to the kid?’ Quahah said when they were gone. ‘Since when does the captain offer her room to anyone?’
Her question was met with silence at first. Then Pelita, bored with teasing Twip, jumped up and twirled on the spot. ‘It’s because Niti’s festival is tomorrow,’ she said, then skipped out of the mess. Her singing echoed down the corridor. ‘The water will call for you, and the harvester will come, on the day of Niti’s fest-i-val.’
‘What’s she on about?’ Quahah said.
Eire snorted and put the last rouls board into place. ‘Girl is crazy. Not even she knows what she is talking about.’
‘The water will call for you, and the harvester will come, on the day of Niti’s fest-i-val!’
The chatter started up again, drowning out Pelita’s voice, but Lintang continued to stare at the door, the words of the song echoing in her head long after Pelita was gone.
The Siren’s Call
Lintang opened her eyes to find a face blinking at her.
‘ARGH!’ She bolted up.
‘ARGH!’ Pelita scrambled back at the same time.
‘What are you doing?’ Lintang cried.
‘Waiting for you to wake up,’ Pelita said.
Lintang breathed through the zing ebbing from her nerves. ‘Well, don’t. Wait for me outside next time.’
Her arm throbbed, and she had to check she hadn’t broken the stitches again. Her circular hammock swayed from the violence of her movements. She’d been allowed to return to her original room last night.
‘Today is Niti’s festival,’ Pelita said.
Lintang had lost track of the days while on the Winda. Desa would be transformed, with dancing and singing and feasts and games. The adults would take their earthen jugs of water from the household shrines into the temple for a special blessing. A large fire would burn in the village centre, filled with thick branches of sweet-smelling mollowood to mark the end of Mratzi’s season and the beginning of Niti’s. She felt strange missing it.
‘Bayani, Bayani, Bayani,’ Pelita said. Her eyes were wide.
Lintang climbed out of her hammock. Bayani had slept in the captain’s cabin last night. What was his secret? Why had Captain Shafira given him such special treatment?
Lintang headed for the mess with Pelita trailing after. They ate a breakfast of last night’s meat, eggs and poppy-seed bread. Pelita sat up against her so they were hip to hip and continued to say Bayani’s name in sets of three between mouthfuls.
Xiang and Quahah slumped bleary-eyed into the mess. Quahah’s woolly octopus hat was askew, its tentacles slung haphazardly over each other. Xiang’s hair was coming out of its usual sleek bun. The two of them fell into the nearest chairs as Yamini served them breakfast and hot tea. The lanterns swayed above them.
Quahah moaned. ‘That light isn’t helping my headache.’
Xiang yawned and dropped her cheek to the palm of her hand, her eyes closed. ‘Maybe we should’ve picked up some merry lights while we were in Zaiben. At least they have a constant glow.’
‘Glow,’ said Pelita, interrupting her own chanting. ‘They glowed. Three of them. Bay
ani, Bayani, Bayani.’
Quahah and Xiang looked at her. Lintang finished her breakfast. ‘She’s been like this all morning.’
‘Three glows,’ Pelita said. ‘Three glowing seeds.’
Quahah straightened, squinting.
‘The water will call for you, and the harvester will come, on the day of Niti’s festival.’ Pelita got up and danced around the room. ‘Niti’s festival, Niti’s festival. Today, today, today.’
Xiang, who had raised her steaming mug to her lips, lowered it again. ‘Glowing seeds? Riddles? Has Pelita seen the propheseeds?’
Lintang stopped mid-chew.
‘Bayani, Bayani, Bayani,’ Pelita sang. ‘Bayani, Bayani, Bayani. Bayani, Bayani, Bayani –’
Lintang lurched to her feet and sprinted from the room as if Mratzi herself were after her.
Lintang stopped at the foot of the steps in the carpentry room. Her lungs struggled for air.
‘What’s wrong?’ Bayani said from inside the cage.
She stepped inside. ‘Is it true?’ she said through gasps. ‘Did you see the propheseeds?’
He straightened. ‘How did you …?’
‘Pelita.’ The word wobbled. Her legs threatened to collapse beneath her. ‘So it’s true? You’re –’ She choked and swiped her eyes. ‘You’re going to die? For real this time?’
He didn’t answer.
She inhaled sharply. ‘When did you see them?’
‘When I was coming to convince you to go to the temple, the night Captain Shafira came to Desa.’ He gave a wry smile. ‘That was the same day you told the story of Pero and the propheseeds, remember? I couldn’t believe it when they appeared.’
‘But … the water will call for you? That’s the sirens! Why did you come aboard again?’
‘You know why. It doesn’t matter whether I’m here or in Zaiben. The prophecy will come true no matter what. I just …’ He trailed off and looked away. ‘I just wanted to spend my last day with you.’
She couldn’t swallow. Her throat felt as if it had been stuffed with cloth. ‘You shouldn’t have left the Twin Islands in the first place. You should’ve gone inland. You should’ve run.’
‘I wanted to. Believe me, I was tempted. But it was you who inspired me to be brave in the end. You and your story of Pero.’
‘You gnome. That’s just a legend! This is real. This is you.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Don’t be sorry. Think. What if we turn the propheseeds human again?’
‘We don’t have time. Niti’s festival is today.’
She gripped his cage bars. ‘There has to be something we can do.’
‘There’s not,’ Bayani said. ‘I’ve spoken about it with Captain Shafira. She’s been … kind, but truthful. I–I’m going to die today.’
Lintang’s forehead fell against the cold bars. ‘Why didn’t you tell me sooner? By the Gods, Bayani, why do you keep hiding things from me?’
He put his hand over hers and said, gently, ‘I don’t like to worry you.’
‘Oh, you stupid, useless –’ She sucked in a breath through her teeth and turned her hand to grip his fingers. ‘You owe me now, for keeping another secret. You can’t die. All right? Just … don’t.’
‘I don’t want to.’ His voice was very small.
She choked a sob and clung to his fingers as if her hold alone could keep him in this world.
He had bags under his eyes, his hair was tousled and slightly greasy, there was a rip in the shirt he’d borrowed from Avalon – maybe from his time in the Zaiben prison – and he looked so, so … weary. He’d been holding onto the secret of the mythies since he was sick in Sundriya. He’d been burdened by the weight of the prophecy since their last night in Desa. How had he managed not to buckle under the pressure? How had he carried it all, just so Lintang wouldn’t worry?
She thought of his cry when she’d fallen from the roof of Parliament House. She thought of how frantic he’d been afterwards. He’d kept secrets from her, yes, but he cared about her. He always had.
She shut her eyes and leaned her forehead against the bars. She would find a way to save him. No matter what.
Eventually Captain Shafira came down. ‘We’re about to board a ship called the Glory,’ she said. ‘That means we’re dealing with Captain Moon.’
‘Captain Moon?’ Lintang’s voice sounded old and tired as she lifted her head from the bars. It was hard to believe the day was still going, with other things left to do. ‘The one you fought on a volcano?’
‘Yes, but she’s a reasonable person.’
Bayani gave an incredulous laugh. ‘How can you say that?’
‘Because you didn’t hear how the fight ended. I explained my story to her, and she believed me. Well, I can’t be sure whether she actually believed me, but she let me go, in any case. If our mythie story wasn’t so incredible, I’d try to explain that to her, too.’
‘What will you do instead?’
‘What we’ve always planned to do – storm the ship, seize as much Curall as we can, and leave them adrift so we can get to the sirens first.’ She eyed their interlocked hands. ‘Is everything all right down here?’
‘Lintang found out about the prophecy,’ Bayani said.
‘Yes, Xiang and Quahah figured it out, too.’ Captain Shafira pursed her lips. ‘Many of the crew aren’t happy you’re on board right now. But you’re safest here. Wait by the cage, Lintang. This shouldn’t take long. When we return with the Curall and are far enough from the Glory, you can come back up.’ She turned to leave, then glanced over her shoulder. ‘Do not, under any circumstances, let Bayani out of the cage. Do I make myself clear?’
‘Yes, Captain.’
‘Captain!’ Avalon thundered down the stairs, looking determined. ‘You need to put me in the cage too.’
‘Avalon –’
‘Please, Captain.’
‘You can’t both be in the cage. You might kill each other if we cross the sirens.’ Captain Shafira’s voice softened at Avalon’s expression. ‘It’s only a precaution, anyway. We’re nowhere near the reef. And our agreement still stands, doesn’t it?’
Avalon set his jaw. ‘It does.’
‘What agreement?’ Lintang said.
‘One I’m not making with Bayani,’ Captain Shafira said. To Avalon, she said, ‘Come with us to the Glory. We’ll tie you up when we head for the reef. All right?’
Avalon nodded reluctantly, his gaze flicking to the cage before he followed her up the steps.
When they were gone, Lintang squeezed Bayani’s hand. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘A little strange, actually.’
‘Strange? Strange how?’
‘I don’t know. I –’ He cut off.
She studied him. ‘Bayani?’
He shook his head as if clearing his thoughts. ‘Sorry. I’m all right. Don’t leave, please.’
‘I won’t. I’m staying right here.’
They stood in silence, but not for long. He shifted his weight.
‘Are you uncomfortable?’ she said as he released her hand.
He shook out his fingers. ‘Just cramped.’ But then he lurched, clutching at his chest.
She stiffened. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘I –’ he said through gasps, ‘I think – the sirens –’
‘But the captain said we’re not near the reef.’
He lurched again, then moaned and clawed at his hair.
‘All right.’ She breathed through a surge of panic. ‘All right, maybe we’re nearer than we thought. That’s fine. I’ll stay here with you.’
‘Run.’ The word sounded as if it had been ripped from somewhere deep inside him.
‘It’ll be fine,’ she said. ‘I won’t let you trick me into opening the cage or anything –’
He lunged at the bars of his cage and pulled.
‘Just calm down,’ she said. ‘When the siren is medicated, you’ll stop feeling … however you’re feeling.’
H
e tugged harder at the bars. A shadow passed across his face, as though the lantern flame had flickered.
She frowned. ‘Do you really think you’re going to be able to –’
The metal groaned. A satisfied sigh escaped his lips. When he pulled again, the bars bent slightly.
‘Oh,’ she said, backing away. ‘Oh, you shouldn’t be able to do that. You can’t – oh my –’ She spun and ran for the steps. ‘Captain Shafira! We need you!’
* * *
THE MYTHIE GUIDEBOOK
ENTRY #96: Siren (Kaneko Brown)
The Kanekonese siren (kijo) is a sea mythie under the predator category. It is the second-largest humanoid, with seaweed-like hair and fingers, and glows bluish-green beneath the surface of the water.
Diet: Meat of any kind.
Habitat: Throughout the five seas.
Frequency: Extremely rare.
Behaviour: These mythies are capable of submerging ships and killing the crew without the need for a reef. Like the common siren, it calls for males, but unlike the common siren it gives power to its victims, making them strong and violent, unable to think of anything but getting close to the mythie. If you come across a male under the thrall of a Kanekonese siren, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SUBDUE. Step aside and allow him to continue past. Any attempt to stop him or slow his progress will trigger him to destroy all obstacles, including shipmates or loved ones.
Eradication: Unknown.
Did you know? There has only been one recorded sighting of a Kanekonese siren since the Infestation.
Danger level:
5 for males.
4 for females.
* * *
The Glory
The Glory loomed over the Winda like a steel monster. Sunlight glistened on bronze wheels that churned through the water. Steam rose from pipes in thick, smelly plumes.
A plank of wood bridged the two ships and ropes weaved between railings so that the Winda looked like a younger sibling clinging to its proud elder.
There was no one around. Lintang glanced at the hatch leading down to the galley and mess, then to the bridge that would take her to the Glory. If she went downstairs, she would only find Hewan, and the medic probably wouldn’t be able to help against a super-strong Bayani.
