Shore of Graves (Underwater Island Series Book 1)

by Miranda Hardy

  I slather the ointment on Leslu’s sting. “Give it a few minutes, and the pain should ease.”

  His pained face softens and his shoulders relax. “It feels better already.”

  “Good.”

  He jumps down from the bed and hops out of the healing center. The older man leaves, too.

  Grandmother picks up fallen rags. It’s as if she’s avoiding my eyes. I save her the trouble, and say, “I’m going to do a few things before tonight’s dinner.”

  “Go do what you have to. I can manage here.”

  “Thanks.” I cross the room and kiss her cheek, knowing I’ll never be able to confide in her again. “I’ll see you later.”

  The village bustles with excitement. It isn’t very often we have guests from Launi. The party is in a few hours. Fires blaze with skewers of meats and vegetables roasting over them. Fresh picked flowers and orchids hang between the branches. Conch shells line the path to the entrance where the celebration will take place. My heart beats faster, a nervousness boiling inside of me. I glance around in hopes of seeing Tao or Keyon, and almost run straight into my fiancé.

  “Oh, I-I’m sorry.”

  Makoa holds me tight to him. “As close as our lips are, I’m just happy it was me you ran into.” As his hand on my back slides lowers, I slide away. At a loss for words, I offer a smile I feel no joy in. “I’m looking forward to this evening,” he says.

  “Me, too.” We weren’t even married yet, and already I’m lying. For me, the dinner could not come quickly enough, nor its conclusion.

  Hurrying past him, I walk home. The minutes slither by as slow as a slug. I wash and take extra care with my hair. A knock at the door startles me. Hope of it being Tao blossoms inside me. I wrap the cloth tighter around me and open the door. Inoa beams.

  “Aren’t you excited?” she asks.

  If I say how I’m really feeling, it’ll spoil her mood. So, for the second time today, I lie. “Yes.”

  “Let’s get you dressed and your hair done.”

  Inoa waddles in and sits on the bed.

  I put on the dress she made me. It’s beautiful and bright pink. I tie the thin-knotted cord around my waist. Inoa gasps when she sees me.

  “You look stunning.”

  “Thanks to you.”

  “Makoa isn’t going to be able to resist you.”

  That was the least of my concerns.

  My brother comes over soon after, and he escorts Inoa and me to the party. Torches line the path. The music grows louder the closer we come. Makoa stands in the corner on the other side of the tent, speaking to Tori. She is known as the village’s tart. She gives herself freely to whomever will take her. It irritates me that she’d huddle in a corner with another woman’s fiancé, but I feel no jealousy. Wasn’t I supposed to fall instantly in love, and live happily ever after like Jes and Baila? They were my friends who had turned eighteen a few months ago. They were beaming when they met their match, and eager to start their new lives. What is wrong with me?

  The music stops, and Haku introduces our guests. Then, with a rise of the torch, he commences dinner. Out of respect, I sit next to Makoa when I would have rather sat with my Inoa and my brother. I put a few slices of meat and vegetables on my plate even though I have no intention of eating. My appetite has waned since the disappearance of the twins and the news I’m merely a trade has me seething from within. I’m surrounded only by notions of people I thought cared about me. The more I stew, the more furious I am until I filled with utter rage. I want to run, escape to another place; another place of my choosing, not any one else’s.

  “You’re not hungry, my love?” Makoa asks.

  My love? Bile rises in my throat. “Just nerves.”

  His hand settles on my thigh and slowly rises, pulling my dress up with it. “I have ways of relaxing you.”

  The need to escape overwhelms me. Apela leaves the party early to walk Inoa to her mother’s. Her plans to stay there were made after Apela insisted that he stay with me tonight. Little does he know I won’t need his protective services. I excuse myself and hope no one, other than Makoa notices my absence. More so, I hope he doesn’t follow me. I am already not enjoying his company. And, he is the man I am to spend the rest of my days with, to love and honor until we die. I want to cry.

  Silence fills the air outside. Most of the villagers stay at the feast. They gather around the fire for dancing and celebrating. I am in no mood for celebration. The village is still uneasy about having been lied to by the strangers. Their concern for the strangers returning is a waste. Keyon and Tao are gone. I’ve wondered a thousand times over where they really came from and if they returned to that place. The place Haku and Kahuna were familiar with. Water people. Why couldn’t they tell anyone? Why the secrets? I push away the hurt and feelings of loss.

  Without stopping, I pass my hut and keep walking down the shore. I remember I need more dandelions for our supply. It gives me something to do, and helps me avoid the loneliness that lingers. I’m sure Haku will be looking for me soon for the wedding ceremony. The longer I can delay, the better. They grow in a small patch a little ways beyond my hut. The sun reaches the waters edge, but there’s just enough light for me to pick a few and then head home.

  Straying away from the shore and into the thickening brush, I glance at something peeking out from under a bush. I pull away the frond to reveal a boat.

  7

  The brush rustles nearby, and before I let out a scream, a pair of hands cups my mouth.

  “Shhh. It’s only us,” Tao whispers in my ear.

  Keyon removes limbs that cover the odd-looking boat. It’s much bigger than our village’s fishing vessels. Then again, we only fish in the shallow waters. We never venture in the deep waters, where the dangerous creatures lurk.

  “What are you doing? I thought you’d left,” I whisper.

  Keyon places pouches of water and several bags into the boat. It dawns on me they needed supplies before leaving.

  Tao pulls me close and rubs my arms. “We knew we couldn’t stay when the other villagers showed up, but we needed time to gather food and water for our journey home.”

  “It’s time, Tao. We need to go.” Keyon pushes the boat down the bank, hitting the water.

  Sadness deepens inside me. “You don’t need to go. We can explain everything to the elders. I’m sure once they get to know you and your ways, things will calm down.”

  “Tao, do it already,” Keyon yells.

  Tao glares at him. “Come with us.” He leads me to the shore.

  I shake my head. “What? I—”

  “Why must you make everything so complicated?” Keyon asks. He walks to me. “Sorry, Alania, but we need one last thing for our journey. You.” He grabs my waist, lifts me up, and tosses me over his shoulder. He sets me in the boat next to the supplies. My mouth opens, but nothing comes out. My limbs fail me. I will them to move, but they don’t respond.

  “You don’t have to be so barbaric.” Tao scowls at him.

  “No.” I try to stand, but Keyon holds me down as Tao pushes the boat off and jumps in. The twins paddle quickly past the waves.

  A large pole juts up through the center of the vessel with strings blowing in the wind. A white cloth clings to it.

  “I’m sorry, Angel, but we need you more than Lanui village does.” Tao pulls on the strings, and the wind catches the cloth, pulling the boat faster into the darkened waters.

  “Tao, you need to bring me back to the shore.” I practically scream at him. I sit up and look toward the lighted village, the twinkling fires become smaller the further out we get. “I can’t go with you. I’m supposed to leave tomorrow. Apela is waiting for me in my hut.”

  “Tao, don’t even think about it. We’ve talked about this, and you know we need her more than they do.” Keyon’s brows furrow.

  “You talked about kidnapping me?” I ask, hurt filling my chest. It feels like I’m a pawn in everyone’s game. Haku and Kahanu are willing to t
rade me for silver, and Keyon and Tao kidnapping me to help their people. “I healed you. You were kind to me. You made me believe—”

  “That he was into you?” Keyon asks. “Tao knew we needed you from the moment he felt better. His approach differs from mine in many ways. Maybe that’s why he’s engaged to the most beautiful woman in Malalo.”

  I’d rather be stung by a thousand jellyfish. Tears threaten to escape. The rough water bounces the boat around, throwing me to the side.

  “Keyon!” Tao leaves the post and kneels near me. I smell his musky, woody scent. “What he said isn’t true.”

  “You’re not engaged?” I peek at him through my lashes.

  “I am, but—”

  “Then how did he lie?” I ask. “Keyon may be brash, but he speaks the truth.” Anger boils to the surface, replacing the stinging wound.

  “I wasn’t pretending to be nice to you to win you over. It wasn’t like Keyon said.” Tao reaches out to me.

  I swat his hand away. “Stay away from me.” I scoot back, grabbing a blanket that was kept under shelter at the front of the boat. I curl up in a ball under the blanket and the wooden roof that protects the water and the food.

  “Let her be, and help me navigate in the wind. The waves are rough.” Keyon bellows.

  The coarse surf bounces me around, but I grip tightly to a side rail. The tears come freely now, and I think about Apela, and Inoa... the two people who will undoubtedly miss me. How long will they look for me? Once I thought Kahanu would miss me, too, but doubt sets in. My heart aches, but it’s more battered by the cruelty shown by Tao. His touch as he grabbed my hand on our walk... his gentle manner in the way he told me the truth... how he smelled my hair. All of those attentions were for winning me over to help his people, while his fiancé waits for him to return. He’s no better than Kahanu and Haku trading me for silver.

  Darkness surrounds us, and the waves become less angry the further we get. My thoughts turn to the creatures in the water below, and how they could gulp us all down like the story Haku told about the great killer whale who swallowed men one by one.

  My mind takes the tall tales and weaves them into my nightmares. I scream and pop up, hitting my head on the wooden plank above me.

  Light shines through the tiny holes in the blanket, and I struggle to get it off.

  “It’s me.” Tao pulls the blanket away from me. “You had a nightmare.”

  “And it’s still continuing.” I glower. “Take me home this instant.”

  “I can’t do that.” Tao bites his lower lip. “I’m sorry.”

  A light rain falls. I sit up to see the sun above the ocean, clouds blocking out the brightness, leaving strands of light escaping through the pockets where the billows break. With no land in sight, panic takes hold of my chest.

  “She’s going to lose it.” Keyon moves a lever attached to the rear of the boat.

  “She’s not going to lose it.” Tao leans down toward me. “We’re okay. We know where we’re going.”

  “How?” I ask, seeing endless water in all directions. The raindrops become bigger, plopping into the ocean. Panic seizes my insides and squeezes.

  Tao holds up a round device with a moving arrow. “This is a compass. It keeps us on course. We will be there in two days.”

  “If we’re lucky.” Keyon rolls his eyes.

  Tao ignores him. “Would you like something to eat or drink?” Tao asks.

  I shake my head and pull the blanket between us, frowning. The anger calms the panic brewing in my gut. If I had a coconut, I’d bash him over the head with it.

  Keyon laughs. “She’s not going to forgive you for this.”

  Tao throws a bag at him and moves to the side, sitting on a wooden bench.

  Keyon pulls bread out of the bag and chomps into it. He wiggles his eyebrows at me and grins.

  The rain subsides an hour later, and the sun moves higher in the sky. When it’s completely over us, the heat becomes unbearable on the water. I move the blanket aside and sit on the wooden planks at the front of the boat.

  “Keep the blanket over your head.” Tao purses his lips together. “You’ll be hot, but it’s better than being burnt.”

  “I know how to treat a sunburn,” I say through gritted teeth.

  “Yeah, but do you have what you need to treat one?” Tao asks. He and Keyon have blankets draped over them as well.

  He’s right, and I wrap the blanket over me, turning away from him so I can’t see his face.

  The hours seem to drag on the water, and I refuse to eat. I only take the water when offered.

  The evening approaches, and gray clouds roll in.

  Tao moves to sit by me. “You need to eat something to keep your strength up.” He hands me a piece of bread, along with a banana.

  I throw them overboard. “If I die of starvation, I’ll be free of you.”

  Keyon groans. “She wasted perfectly good food. Don’t give her anything else.”

  “We can get fish when we need it.” Tao grimaces. “Look, Alania, our people are dying. You’ve seen the coffins, and you know it’s happening often. They are dying from the same sickness you healed me of.”

  The rain plummets us, a heavy blanket of drops. The clouds bring the night early this evening.

  His explanation sparks a tinge of guilt in me for being so callous. Apela would be proud of this stubbornness, but then I remember the baby coffins. Those were the worst. “I could’ve told you what to do.”

  “Tao!” Keyon points in front of us. Mountains of black masses emerge from the water several feet in front of us, one right after another. The waves become bigger, rocking the boat higher.

  “What is that?” My mouth falls open. The monsters are real, and they are huge.

  “Steer to the south. They move north,” Tao yells. “Alania, get down to the floor.”

  I do what he says, covering myself with the blanket and cowering below the planks at the front of the boat.

  Tao joins Keyon in the rear of the boat, pulling the white sheet down with the ropes. The rain falls faster, making the twins become blurs in the distance.

  I grab onto the rail, and the boat bumps into something. I scream.

  “It’s okay, Angel,” Tao yells in the distance.

  My stomach rumbles. The boat feels like it’s flying in the air and crashing down on the hard water, bumping me upward each time. Dizziness forms, and I become nauseous. Salt water splashes inside the boat, soaking me and the blanket I’m wrapped in. I squeeze the railing tighter as the boat lifts up again. It crashes into the water, and my body slams onto the deck.

  The wood scratches against my skin, and I know I’ll have scrapes and bruises all over my body. If I live, I won’t care.

  The boat feels as if it’ll break apart at any moment. I can’t ignore the rising bile in my throat, and I vomit the water I’d been drinking all day.

  I lose my grasp on the rail and slide to the other side of the boat as it rocks to the right. Another splash of seawater sprays me. I find the rail on the opposite side and grab it. The food bags slide down the boat as it rises further into the air. Tao and Keyon struggle to grab everything so it doesn’t go overboard.

  The front of the boat is dragged into the water. Something long and slick wraps around my leg and jerks me. I scream and hold on to the rail. The boat bobs above the water, and the black mass squeezing my leg pulls harder.

  I scream louder than I ever have before.

  Tao falls next to me, with a blade in one hand. He stabs the dark blob-like thing wrapped around my leg until it releases me and slithers back into the water. My leg stings as the feeling returns to it. It happened so fast I didn’t realize it was squeezing so hard to cut off my circulation.

  Tao pulls me into his arm, cradling me while holding on to the railing. I curl up into the tightest ball I can, wrapping my arms around him. Our faces are close. He blinks through the deluge and kisses my forehead. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

 
; I choke up and let my tears mix with the rain.

  The storm breaks before morning. Exhaustion plays on our faces. A big bump forms on Keyon’s forehead. Bloody scratches line my limbs, and purplish bruises surface on my upper legs, as well as bluish circles forming on the lower leg where the creature grabbed me.

  Tao limps as he helps Keyon scoop the water out of the boat and rearrange the bags they were able to save. Cuts line his foot.

  “Are we on course?” Keyon asks.

  Tao takes out the compass and shows Keyon. They stare at one another as if they speak with their minds, not allowing me to be in on the conversation.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “The compass is smashed.” Tao throws it overboard. Creases line his brow. “We have to rely on the sun and stars.”

  The rest of the day, we sit in silence. The twins take turns napping as I cower under the blanket, wondering if I’ll die in this boat.

  “WE’VE MADE IT.” Tao nudges me awake.

  “What?” I rub my eyes, focusing on Tao’s expression. He smiles.

  “We followed the stars, and we made it.” He points ahead of the boat.

  Trees cover a distant shoreline. Mountains taller than I’ve ever imagined jut up in the distance. We don’t have mountains on our island. My mouth hangs open.

  The closer we get, I squint to see strange waves pop up all over the place.

  Tao and Keyon begin paddling.

  The waves aren’t waves at all. They are people. Heads slowly break the water’s surface and surround our boat.

  8

  “Welcome to Malalo.” Keyon grabs my wrist and wrenches me from the boat before we even have a chance to dock. I have no time to protest or grasp onto anything to fight or keep me on the boat. I splash into the water. The thought passes too quickly to realize how absurd that sounds. I’ve wanted off this boat since the second they forced me onto it.

  Tao rushes behind us. Keyon pulls me onto the beach.