Fantastical Island (Old School Book 2)

by Jenny Schwartz

  Ever so slowly, with evident reluctance, Otis nodded.

  Oh dear God. The nengaal would begin its hunt with Roy and Janelle, but there was no surety it would stop with them. In Japan, bakus were recorded as keeping evil away from entire villages and towns. If a baku’s mercy extended so far, then a nengaal’s justice might, too.

  But was revenge ever justice?

  “Blood debt,” Iovanius said. “It reminds me of justice in the empire. It was not a man alone who suffered punishment, but all associated with him. His family, friends, and in serious cases, his whole town could be put to the sword or sold into slavery.” He nodded approvingly and looked at Corey. “Your baku will not be attacked, again.”

  Corey scowled at Iovanius’s congratulatory tone. “Uncle Otis, did Mrs. Lopez say anything more? Did she mention any way to stop, to appease, the nengaal?”

  “Not in Mom’s story of their meeting. The message was that we had a duty to protect Poppy. It always seemed to me an ordinary duty of friendship to a gentle, fantastical creature.” His old hands clenched and unclenched on the arms of his chair. “I never ever thought of the nengaal.”

  “You never believed anyone would be evil enough to hunt a baku,” Naomi comforted him.

  Iovanius picked up his gladius from the edge of the desk and stabbed the air in a mock-fight. Short enough to be used as a long knife, the gladius was lethal in its iron power. Slash-slash. Stab. “Evil is real. It is what I was trained to fight. The evil of men’s actions.” He lowered the point of the sword. “And the evil of their hearts. I had the best teachers. I was trained in rhetoric, trained to lead men into battle and to argue in the Senate.”

  He replaced the gladius on the desk. “The nengaal is right. When you are fighting evil, you cannot show mercy. Mercy is weakness.”

  “Mercy is what keeps us from being monsters,” Cait said.

  “Noooo.” Naomi pressed the heels of her palms into her eyes and groaned. “Do not tell me that after everything Janelle and Roy have done we must save them.”

  Corey crossed to the sofa and gripped her wrists, pulling her up.

  She raised her head and met the brilliant green of his eyes, reading the determination that overlaid the anger in him.

  “We can’t risk it,” he said. “If the nengaal’s justice only begins with Roy and Janelle…” Catalina Island could become a haunted island stalked by blood-sucking vengeance.

  Naomi sighed even as she shuddered. “You would go out to save Roy and Janelle from the nengaal even if they were to be its only victims.” It was a loving accusation. “You and Iovanius, both hell-bent on being heroes.”

  “I wouldn’t save my enemy!” Iovanius protested.

  Corey ignored the ghost, instead smiling at Naomi. “I wasn’t the one who took a dinghy out in the storm of the decade to attempt to bluff desperate kidnappers and rescue an idiot who got himself caught in his own home.” He smiled as he put an arm around her and drew her back to the map.

  “If you’re accusing me of being a hero, you’re wrong.”

  He kissed her temple rather than answer. Or perhaps that was his answer. It was a nice answer.

  She heaved another sigh, deeper and designed to communicate her reluctance, before leaning over the map. If he was intent on being a hero, he wasn’t going alone.

  “Bat-spiders, bat-spiders.” Naomi had collected all of her belongings from the boarding house and even ventured down to her rented lab room at the Institute to retrieve some of her reference books from the back of a locked cupboard. To protect her cover story, she didn’t want her scientific colleagues seeing her collection of beasteries, hence the lock. Corey had accompanied her in case they were wrong about the nengaal, and Janelle and Roy were roaming around looking for opportunities to use one of them to get Poppy.

  But they hadn’t encountered Janelle or Roy or news of them, so Naomi sat in the dining room of Bunyip House with her books spread out on the old mahogany table.

  Unlike the casual comfort that reigned in the rest of the house, this room had a formal air. A portrait of Rhoda and Carl, Otis’s parents, hung on the wall. Corey had evidently inherited his green eyes from Rhoda. She had been a striking woman with red hair and a mysterious smile. Carl appeared far more ordinary, if amused by the notion of posing for a portrait.

  And I should be researching. Naomi stretched and yawned hugely. She and Corey had agreed a deadline of an hour. After that, no matter what they’d learned or prepared—or failed to learn or prepare—they were going after the nengaal.

  It would be useful if they knew how to appease it.

  “Damn,” she swore softly. Nothing in her books referenced anything even faintly akin to a bat-spider. Even searching online using a translation program to scan Japanese researchers’ efforts failed to find a mention of bakus’ fantastical companions.

  She abandoned her books and went looking for Corey.

  He was in the kitchen stuffing two backpacks with various supplies. “Find anything?”

  “Nope.” She picked up empty water bottles and filled them at the tap.

  “It was a longshot.”

  She screwed the top on one water bottle, watching him add a first aid kit to the larger of the two backpacks.

  “I’ve put together some supplies, things that deter bats and spiders.” He picked up a whistle and blew it.

  She heard nothing.

  “Supersonic dog whistle.” He tucked it into the front zipped pouch of the smaller backpack, along with a mirror. “Bats hate dancing reflected lights, like those from a mirror or aluminum foil.” He ripped off a sheet from a roll, folded it swiftly and added it to the pouch before zipping it closed. Flashlights waited on the table, solid ones that could also serve as lanterns—or weapons.

  “The spray bottles have a mixture of oils. Clove, lemon and eucalyptus.” They were lined up on the table beside firecrackers. Corey frowned at them. “I don’t know if we can reason with the nengaal. Our best hope is that it’s as intelligent and…reasonable as Poppy. If it’s not, we should at least be able to get out with these as deterrents.”

  Naomi brought the filled water bottles to the table. “Do you think the firecrackers…?”

  “I’m not risking you without them,” he said firmly. They’d agreed while fetching her belongings from the boarding house and lab that a creature defined by its ability to sense evil would be highly likely to resent weapons being brought into its lair. As much as bringing a gun with them sounded as if it would increase their safety, or at least their sense of being somewhat in control of the situation, the truth was that some fantastical creatures could survive or turn aside gunfire, and enraging the nengaal before they even opened negotiations would be a very bad idea.

  Their best weapons in this encounter were honesty and intelligence—and luck. It would have been comforting to have Poppy with them, but the baku hadn’t reappeared.

  Of course, if they ran into Janelle and Roy moving freely around the island, then Naomi and Corey’s decision not to pack a traditional weapon was going to bite them in the ass.

  “No one’s seen Roy or Janelle since the storm started.” Otis walked in. He’d gone down to the harbor and stopped in at the hotel where Janelle worked to check.

  Corey nodded. The information confirmed that they had to rescue his kidnappers. And it wouldn’t be a simple snatch and grab.

  Naomi absently unwrapped one of the chocolate bars Corey was packing and bit into it. Hopefully, on the drive to the valley they’d have a flash of inspiration as to how they were to appease the nengaal’s sense of justice. Bribe it with chocolate?

  Iovanius floated into the room with Cait, who carried his gladius.

  She passed it to Naomi. “Iovanius has volunteered to accompany you. He can’t carry his sword far, so one of you will have to hold it.”

  “And leave it outside the nengaal’s cave,” Otis warned. The same caution about bringing a gun with them to their meeting with the nengaal applied to the ancient sword. />
  Corey paused in zipping his backpack. He frowned at Iovanius. “You said Roy and Janelle deserve the nengaal’s justice, so why do you want to join the rescue mission?”

  “If something goes wrong, I shall rescue you,” Iovanius declared grandly.

  “Great.” Corey sounded resigned rather than thankful. He grabbed a couple of tea towels from a drawer, the gladius from Naomi, and wrapped the towels around it before inserting it into his backpack. The hilt prevented the zip from closing completely.

  “I will meet you at the cave.” Iovanius blinked out of sight.

  Naomi stared at the empty patch of kitchen where he’d been. “Where does a ghost go when he dematerializes?” she asked around a final bite of chocolate.

  No one answered. They exchanged quick hugs with Cait and Otis, who warned them to be careful, and then, Naomi and Corey climbed into his vintage pickup and drove off.

  The storm damage of torn branches and flooding was evidence of yesterday’s violent weather. Corey drove with due care for the state of the road once they’d left town. “At least they haven’t closed it.”

  If the road had been closed, they’d have had to sail around and anchor out by the beach where the Second Chance had wrecked, taking their dinghy in to the dangerously rocky beach. Naomi was glad that the condition of the road, at least, was in their favor.

  After fine weather through the middle of the day, clouds were massing again on the horizon. The wind gusted and spitting rain smeared the windscreen. The pickup’s old engine roared up a steep, slippery incline. Other people might have preferred a modern all-terrain vehicle, but the pickup was reassuring in its age. It had endured many storms and survived.

  Surviving was exactly what Naomi planned to do—with Corey. Only…the chocolate she’d eaten churned sickly sweet in her stomach. She was scared. Years of studying fantastical creatures had given her a huge array of dangerous tales to terrify herself with.

  Nor had inspiration struck as to how they were to appease the nengaal. They were going to have to go with Plan A, and play it by ear.

  “We’ll have to leave the pickup.” Corey studied the narrow track they were on. “That looks solid.” He parked on a higher patch of ground, one where rock showed through the grass. Whatever happened, getting the pickup stuck in roadside mud wouldn’t help.

  Naomi jumped out, adjusted her waterproof coat so that the hood protected her from the increasing rain, then shrugged on the smaller of the two backpacks. She joined Corey at the front of the pickup.

  “Do you have your key?”

  “Yes.” She tapped the secure inner pocket of her jacket that held the spare key for the pickup. If something happened, if they got separated, Corey was determined that she have a way of escaping.

  “If we get separated and you make it back to the pickup, don’t wait more than thirty minutes for me,” he reminded her.

  She nodded, but in acknowledgement that she’d heard him, not in agreement. She’d do what she thought best, and leaving him behind wasn’t best for anyone.

  “Iovanius!” Corey called.

  “The valley is this way.” Iovanius materialized to the south east of them.

  From their study of the map, they knew where the valley lay and the cave within it. The ghost’s directions were unnecessary, but they followed his shimmering, translucent form. It was odd to watch the rain fall through him.

  The valley started shallow and wide before abruptly deepening to a narrow gorge. Bison grazed on the far side of the shallow section, backs to the wind, ignoring Naomi and Corey; possibly not even seeing Iovanius as he flitted over the tussocks of grass.

  The cave was on the southern side in the deepest part of the valley.

  I hope it’s not flooded. Naomi tramped beside Corey. She tried to think ahead, but they simply didn’t have enough information. The cave could be flooded. Being a bat-spider, the nengaal could fly over water that would block humans’ entrance. But if the nengaal could carry Roy and Janelle while it flew, how big was it?

  Speculation wasn’t helpful. Paying attention to her footing was. The wet grass was slippery as they descended into the valley, but being out of the wind helped and soon there were low trees and shrubs to grab onto. A jackalope shot away from the undergrowth and Naomi’s heart froze, then thundered.

  “Okay?” Corey had apparently heard her gasp.

  “Wasn’t expecting it.” Although there had been a jackalope burrow marked on the map as existing in the valley. “At least we know some of this burrow’s jackalopes escaped Roy’s traps.”

  “I hope the ones on the Second Chance got out when it wrecked,” Corey said grimly.

  Naomi kept her eyes on her feet. The ground was too treacherous to look around while moving. “They must have. The people who found the boat would have mentioned it if they found fantastical creatures. Even if they were glamoured, the set up in the hold that you described would have warranted some comment.”

  “Roy must have released the cages and crates.” Tension eased from Corey’s voice. “I hated leaving them in there but I couldn’t carry them out.

  “If he opened the tank, the sea serpents would have swum out once the boat wrecked. The jackalopes and ourobui must have scrambled and slithered onto the rocks and inland.” She took in a sharp breath. “I have to stop a minute.”

  He swung back and reached for her. “What’s wrong?”

  “She senses the nengaal,” Iovanius answered for her. “There is the cave.” He pointed a ghostly arm. “Hide my gladius here, under the tree.”

  Corey ignored the ghost’s command to stow his sword away safely and studied Naomi’s face, instead. “How do you feel?”

  “My skin is crawling, my chest is tight with panic and that’s making my breathing shallow, which is giving me a stitch in my side, and I’m cold. Really cold.”

  He clasped her hands. His skin felt hot compared to her frozen fingers.

  “I feel it, too,” Iovanius said. “Except I find it exciting. The energy tastes of vengeance and death.” He zoomed into a shadowed entrance on the valley side and vanished.

  “Damned poltergeist.” Corey rubbed Naomi’s hands between his. “I can’t feel anything. Well, worry for you and uncertainty about what we’re doing, but nothing unnatural.”

  “Maybe your connection with Poppy protects you.” She forced her breathing to steady. “I’m okay. Let’s keep going.”

  He didn’t move. “You could wait out here.”

  She pulled her hands out of his hold. “I’m going with you.”

  He smiled then, ruefully. “All right.” He swung his backpack off and took out the gladius. He put it beneath the tree where Iovanius had ordered, but shoved the tea towels into his backpack.

  Then, hand in hand, they squelched across the muddy valley floor, skirting pools of water inches deep, and ducked into the hidden cave entrance.

  Chapter 11

  Corey entered the cave first. “It goes up,” he said thankfully. The thought of wading through water that had run in from the storm did not appeal. He shone the flashlight around trying to estimate the size of the tunnel with its upward-sloping floor. Once through the entrance he could stand side by side with Naomi.

  She crawled in after him and accepted his help to stand. Her flashlight beam joined his, scanning the tunnel floor, roof and sides before flicking to and away from the darkness before them. It appeared to be a natural cave rather than quarried.

  They lacked safety helmets, which wasn’t a good thing for spelunkers, but he was relieved by the absence of loose rocks on the uneven floor. Rubble would have worried him. However, it seemed this cave system might be stable.

  Although it was possible for Naomi to walk beside him, he gestured that he’d take the lead. Flashlight in one hand and bat-spider deterrent spray bottle in his pocket, he started forward.

  Twelve paces in, the tunnel curved.

  He glanced back at Naomi. They’d both directed their flashlights at the floor. That meant the l
ight lit her face from below.

  Her mouth was set in a tight line.

  He touched her face gently, asking without words if she was okay to continue.

  She nodded abruptly, her mouth compressing further.

  He had the uncomfortable thought that it wasn’t so much the need for silence that kept her mouth closed, as an attempt to stop her teeth from chattering. He wanted to send her back outside, away to safety, but the look in her eyes, defiant and determined, prevented him. He kissed her briefly, instead.

  He’d meant the kiss to be no more than a brief touch of their lips, a salute to her courage, but when her breath trembled from her mouth to his and her lips warmed, he lingered. He put his free hand to the side of her waist and urged her close despite their bulky jackets and backpacks. Her mouth opened to him. Their tongues touched. They kissed as lovers, giving and taking pleasure and comfort.

  “The shakiness is gone,” she whispered. “I’m just scared, now.”

  “I’m scared, too.” He ran his thumb along her right cheekbone, then turned away. Scared for her. But scared or not, they were committed to finding the nengaal. He ventured warily along the curving tunnel that now slanted downward.

  Naomi trod nearly silently behind him. It was the acoustics of the tunnel that magnified their breathing and cautious progress, sending the sounds back to them as a murmuring vibration in the air. If the nengaal was part bat, part spider, it would sense their approach.

  “Hurry up!” Iovanius popped into view in front of him.

  Shock tilted up Corey’s flashlight, sending the beam darting over the tunnel roof and ahead. Naomi jolted forward and into his backpack, bouncing against him. He absorbed the impact of her stumble, reached around and pulled her into his side.

  “You don’t want to miss this.” Iovanius was unrepentant. “And don’t worry about being quiet. The nengaal knows you’re here.”

  Great. Just great.

  Naomi clutched his arm.

  The curving tunnel opened abruptly to a chamber as big as his Los Angeles studio. With a cave this big, glamour had to hide it or it would have become a known tourist attraction on the island. It stretched back into darkness, with rocky walls bulging and the floor jaggedly interrupted by stalagmites and stalactites that looked like jaws snapping shut.