by Tamara Moss
‘I hope so,’ said Xiang, eyeing Lanme.
Lanme didn’t want to deal with these humans any longer. She liked the boy, and she liked the rope-haired woman. They were not her enemies.
A shadow passed overhead. A dragon swooped towards the ship.
Lanme bared her teeth in a sneer. The humans may not make good opponents, but a dragon certainly would.
Battle of Three
The dragon roared, rearing into the sky. Its long neck curved as it prepared to unleash its fire.
Lanme’s insides burned. She was the champion of monsters. No creature should dare challenge her.
She sprang, clamping her hands onto the dragon’s shoulders. It tried to toss her aside, but she held on and slashed at its wings. They twisted in the air like a whirlwind. The dragon snorted flames in her face. It was nothing but a warm breeze, but it was a threat, and she didn’t tolerate threats. She moved to sink her fangs into its neck.
‘Lintang! Lintang, please don’t kill it!’
She hesitated. The boy was calling her.
They were in the schoolroom, both of them barely six years old, heat rising from the earthen floor – they sat together, an insect chirruping nearby, her arm against his warm back as they drew crooked Vierzan letters on slates – she leaned over his shoulder to copy his work and he smelled of straw from the gaya farm –
She shook off the vision and used the momentum of her tail to fling the dragon away. It flew through the sky, past the metal ship and off into the distance. Her heart pounded rapidly as she recovered from the strange images. They had provoked things in her. Tender, delicate emotions that would not do for a warrior.
She needed to fight. Fortunately, there was still a challenger waiting below. She folded her wings and dropped into the ocean. The silky water embraced her.
The siren was trying to take hold of the ship again. Its long, glowing arms reached for the hull as its hair wafted around its face.
Lanme zipped towards it and bit it beneath the arm. The siren yanked back, its face twisting into a snarl. It turned, its movements slow in the deep ocean, and instead reached for her. She weaved easily out of its grasp.
It swatted hard at the water, causing a change of currents that spun her momentarily away. Sea debris and streams of sunlight whirled past her eyes.
While she was regaining her bearings, the siren reached for the ship again. Lanme reorientated herself with a sudden lurch of perplexing panic.
Not the Winda.
She sped towards the siren. With a flick, she wrapped her tail around the siren’s wrist and yanked it down. The siren tried to crush her with its free hand. She bit its fingers. Bubbles hissed from its mouth, but it didn’t pull back. Instead it pushed Lanme, down, down, against its arm as if it were going to squash her like a fly.
She strained the muscles in her tail to push back. One of her coils unwrapped from its wrist. Then another. And another. Soon she was free, and she slipped away just before being flattened.
A shadow rippled over them. The dragon had returned. Shouts echoed from the ship, dulled by the water, but enough to compel her to react. The crew needed her.
She dodged another swipe from the siren and spiralled up. The siren’s hand followed her out of the water. While its hand was still breached, the dragon veered around and breathed fire onto it.
The siren yanked back into the water. One challenger subdued, for now.
The dragon swooped towards Lanme. She sped to meet it. This time when they collided, she had less strength and dropped towards the water.
Impossible. She was Lanme Vanyan, the most ferocious creature to exist in this world. She could not be defeated, certainly not by a mere dragon.
And yet she had trouble holding her position. Her tail sank into the ocean.
What was happening?
‘Lintang, hold on! You’re about to turn back, but the dragon should too. Just keep going a little longer.’
The voice ignited another onslaught of images –
She stood alone in the mess after dinner, knife in hand, determined to hit the motionless rouls board, but the knife flew too far to the side – Captain Shafira emerged from the doorway, offering to show her how to aim, her braids smelling of unknown blossoms, her laugh like sunshine on water –
She pushed the vision away and strained to keep the dragon from shoving her deeper into the water.
She was losing. It was too strong. Why, why, why?
She put her head down and pushed as hard as she could. Her wings beat frantically.
The dragon snapped at her. She flinched. This time she could feel the heat from its jaws properly. It seemed to realise this and opened its mouth to roar at her.
A familiar screech echoed across the sky. In a brilliant flash, the black bird from before plummeted towards them. The dragon snapped at it. The bird weaved away, then came back to keep the dragon’s attention from Lanme.
But the dragon hadn’t forgotten to push her down. She was still sinking.
And she was glowing.
‘Yay, Lintang!’
A little girl burst from the body of a pixie –
‘Who are you?’ ‘P–Pelita.’
‘The mythies are humans.’
She was human.
Her entire tail was submerged now. The crew of the Winda shouted, but their words were a blur.
She sank to her belly. Her wings drooped. The dragon kept pushing her down, even as it snapped at the lightning bird. Every time it flapped its wings, it forced her a notch lower. She gasped, straining to hold on.
‘Lintang!’ Captain Shafira’s voice pierced through the haze. ‘Your captain is giving you an order. Win. Do you hear me? Win!’
Lanme screamed into the dragon’s face and pushed with more strength than she knew she had. With one final shove, she let go and flipped back into the ocean. She whipped her tail into the air, wrapped it around the dragon and slammed it onto the waves. The dragon shuddered from the impact then floated, stunned.
Her tail uncurled just as there was an explosion of pain in her chest, as if someone had shoved a hot steel rod through her. She burst to the surface and screamed and screamed. Saltwater splashed into her mouth. Her tiny, human mouth.
She was Lintang again.
People on the Winda called her name.
‘Bayani!’ she cried. ‘Captain Shafira! I’m here! I’m –’
Something wrapped around her waist. A glowing strand of hair from the siren.
Lintang didn’t even get a chance to cry out. The siren yanked her underwater. She went down, down, down.
This wasn’t like the time with the Caletromian mermaids. This was fast and violent and terrifying. The water became so cold it burned. The blue sky got further away, until it disappeared altogether, and still she went down.
She opened her mouth in a silent scream as a brilliant white light scorched her eyes and something sharp gripped her arm, then the white and the cold and the terror disappeared into nothing.
A familiar larder, lit by a flaming wooden torch. Lintang, almost five, stood before it with her mouth open. She had never been allowed to look in the larder before.
‘There are many rules about storing food, Lintang.’ Mother put a hand on her shoulder. ‘One day you’ll need to know that everything belongs in a certain place, just like the people of the village.’
Lintang wandered in and peered into a large pot filled with grains. She looked at the hanging meat, and smelled the dried herbs, and felt the soft flour.
‘There’s a lot of things in here, Mummy. I don’t think I can remember it all.’
Mother laughed. ‘I know you will. Do you know why?’
‘No. Why?’
Mother leaned down, her belly full with Lintang’s new brother or sister, and placed her hands on either side of Lintang’s face. Her grey-green eyes shone with promise. ‘Because you’re clever, and capable, and my little girl. My most precious thing.’
My most precious thing.
My most precious thing.
Home
For the second time in her life, Lintang opened her eyes to find herself in the captain’s cabin. This time, Captain Shafira was already there.
‘Finally.’ Captain Shafira got off her chair and sat on the end of the bed.
Lintang blinked at the morning sun streaming through the window. ‘What …?’
‘You’re safe now. And hopefully well-rested – you slept an entire day and night.’
Lintang moved to shield her eyes from the brightness, but a sharp stinging stopped her. Her shoulder was heavily bound, along with the bandages from her earlier stitches.
‘The price of being rescued,’ Captain Shafira said.
A chill drenched Lintang’s insides. It all came back to her: the dragon, the siren, the deep, deep ocean –
‘Who could have possibly dragged me back to the surface from so far down?’
Captain Shafira’s lips twitched. ‘I wonder whether you’d believe me.’
The rest of the day came back to Lintang, and she cried out. ‘The mythies! It’s not an infection – it’s a star. A second seed from Ytzuam. The stars are jumping from person to person each time a mythie dies –’
‘I know.’
Lintang cut off. ‘You know? How could you know?’
‘Bayani told me.’
Someone knocked on the door, and Bayani poked his head in. ‘Is she –? Oh. Awake. Hello.’
Lintang propped herself up on her non-sore arm and stared at him. He was here.
Alive.
‘Bayani?’
Pelita peeked in from behind him. ‘I’m here too!’
Lintang glanced at Captain Shafira. ‘You said I slept all night. Does that mean …?’
‘That Niti’s festival is over? Why yes, it does.’
‘But … but … how?’
‘Good question,’ Captain Shafira said. ‘Come in, you two, and close the door.’
Bayani and Pelita did as they were told and moved closer to the bed. Pelita skipped right up to Lintang and kissed her on the cheek, but Bayani hovered by the desk, looking uncertain.
Lintang sat up. She was wrapped in her golden sarong from Desa. A vague memory captured her, of her pretty velvet dress tearing as Lanme Vanyan burst from her body.
She stared at Bayani. ‘The propheseeds … They said you would die.’
‘No, they said the harvester would come, not that she would take me.’
‘So you saw her?’
He hesitated. ‘She was there, yes.’
‘What happened?’
‘I–I asked her to let me live, and she said I could.’
Lintang’s eyes widened. ‘You convinced the Goddess of Death to let you live? How did you do that?’
‘I don’t know.’ He didn’t look at her. ‘I just asked.’
Lintang and Captain Shafira shared a glance. Lintang had the feeling they were thinking the same thing.
‘Almost everyone must ask Mratzi for more time,’ she said. ‘Why are you getting such special treatment?’
‘Maybe it was because you saved me in time.’ A grin tugged at his lips. ‘Even as Lanme Vanyan, you were a hero.’
‘You mean I was dangerous,’ Lintang said, her stomach growing cold. ‘Is everyone else safe? Xiang, Mei, Eire – they all fought me …’
‘They’ll be fine,’ Captain Shafira said.
Lintang fingered the blanket, remembering her battle with the first mate. ‘Eire almost beat me.’
‘When it comes to fighting beasts, Eire’s the best,’ Captain Shafira said. ‘That’s why we need her.’
‘You don’t need her anymore. You can just cure mythies now.’
‘No, Lintang. I still stand by my agreement with her.’ At Lintang’s groan, Captain Shafira added, ‘I live in a world where most people think I’m a criminal and a liar. My promises are the only thing I have. I respect Eire as my first mate, and so should you.’
Obviously Captain Shafira didn’t know how Eire treated Avalon.
Wait – Avalon.
Lintang gasped. ‘Is Avalon all right?’
‘He’ll be fine,’ Captain Shafira said. ‘He’s suffering from a headache, but he’ll heal.’
Lintang sagged, the abrupt surge of panic ebbing from her body. ‘Thank the Gods.’ To think he’d given the others permission to kill him if he got too dangerous! She was going to have to have a word with that boy.
‘And what about Captain Moon?’ she said.
‘She’s sent a message to Kaneko Brown for help. Someone will be picking her up soon. She’s promised to explain everything to the governors when she returns to Zaiben.’
Pelita danced over to the desk and pawed through one of the jars of gems. Bayani watched her warily.
‘Did you manage to save the dragon and the siren?’ Lintang said.
‘Yes, thanks to you. The Glory’s medic is taking care of them.’
Lintang stared out the window at the endless ocean. ‘So … where are we going?’
‘Back to the Twin Islands. I have to return you to your family.’ Captain Shafira frowned at Lintang’s bandages. ‘Your mother will be furious with me for not bringing you back in one piece.’
Lintang drew an unsteady breath. She had disobeyed Captain Shafira’s orders by diving in after Bayani. Did this mean she was no longer invited to be a crew member?
‘Are you all right?’ Bayani said.
Lintang didn’t know how to answer. She had turned into Lanme Vanyan, faced a Kanekonese siren, fought a dragon, almost drowned twice, been attacked by a sea serpent, worked as a cabin girl … and yet even after all that, the thought of leaving the Winda forever was impossible to bear.
Captain Shafira glanced at Bayani and Pelita. ‘Give us a grain. I need to speak to Lintang alone. And tell Yamini to bring up some food and water.’
‘Stay close,’ Lintang said as Bayani opened the door.
Pelita grinned over her shoulder. ‘We’re on a ship. We can’t go very far.’ Then she twirled out onto the deck, humming.
Bayani smiled at Lintang and closed the door behind them.
‘He’s still hiding something from us,’ Captain Shafira said, voice low. ‘How many secrets does that boy have?’
‘Enough to fill the sky,’ Lintang muttered. She didn’t care about Bayani’s secrets right now. She wanted to know what her punishment was.
Captain Shafira must’ve figured out what Lintang was thinking, because she returned to her chair and said, ‘I meant what I told you before. I want you to be a crew member.’
Lintang glanced up. ‘Really?’
‘You think I didn’t notice what you did yesterday? You were everything I could have hoped for and more.’
‘But I disobeyed your orders. Again. I jumped in after Bayani. And on the Glory you said –’
‘I know what I said.’ Captain Shafira leaned forward, elbows on knees. ‘My exact words were: don’t give up your life to save him. And you didn’t. You let the day play out how it was supposed to. You were brave, and loyal, and selfless.’ She shrugged. ‘How could I not offer you a place here?’
Lintang’s insides shone as bright as merry lights. She couldn’t keep from smiling.
‘So the plan is to return you to Desa, pick up my necklace, repair the ship and then we can go again. Sound good?’
Lintang hesitated. Captain Shafira noticed at once.
‘What’s the matter?’
‘When you say go …’
Hollowness swallowed the rest of her sentence. She would see Desa for one fleeting breath, and then … was that it? Would Captain Shafira take her away forever?
She had dreamed of her mother while sleeping. It had left an ache in her, that same empty feeling as before, and this time it hadn’t quite gone away. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to leave home without knowing if she’d never see her family again.
Captain Shafira studied her thoughtfully. ‘How about you spend some time in Desa before I take you away
? I’ll come back on Patiki’s festival – that will give you over half a season with your family.’
‘So you’ll go without me?’ Panic clawed at Lintang’s chest. She didn’t want to leave her family behind, but she didn’t want to miss out on travelling with Captain Shafira, either. It was like being torn between two homes. ‘You’ll definitely come back, won’t you?’
‘I promise,’ Captain Shafira said.
Lintang squeezed the blanket. A promise from Captain Shafira was as good as a promise from the Gods.
She breathed deep. All these conflicting emotions were making her insides jittery.
‘What about Governor Karnezis?’ she said. ‘Will he try to find me?’
‘I doubt it. He won’t bother looking for you when he could be sending ships after the Winda.’
Lintang released the blanket. ‘I think he wants your Zulttania’s counsel to stay in power. He said they’ve agreed to trade on an island in the Biabi Sea. He wants them to join the UR.’
Captain Shafira nodded. It was some time before she said, ‘I’m going to have to go back to Allay. I have to tell my people the truth.’
Allay. The forbidden island. Lintang had never in her wildest fantasies imagined she’d have the opportunity to see it.
‘Can I come?’
Captain Shafira smiled. ‘I wouldn’t dream of going without you.’ She leaned over and dug something out from beneath the desk. ‘By the way, I fished this out for you. I don’t suppose it’s any good now, but all the same …’
She dropped two pieces of wood on Lintang’s lap. The remains of Lintang’s sword.
Lintang picked up the hilt and snapped blade to inspect them under the sunlight. They looked like nothing but a broken child’s toy.
The thought made her eyes prickle.
‘You were pretty good with that thing,’ Captain Shafira said. ‘Xiang was impressed. She wants to teach you with real swords next time you’re on board.’
Lintang tore her gaze away from the three carved moons on the hilt to stare at her. ‘Really?’
