the small wooden ladder and stepped into the ship. He noticed it did not give even an inch under his weight as he boarded. He glanced up at Luno, who nodded reassuringly. James quickly untied the ropes they’d used to lower the ship into the water. He grasped a third line and tossed it up to William. James took his position behind the wheel as the three men began to pull the rope along the pier. Slowly, it began to move. It took but a moment before the bow passed the last pylon. James noticed a crowd had gathered to witness this epic event. Once the stern cleared the pier, James began pulling the lines and raising the sail.
The water was calm and the wind negligible. By the time the sail was up and secured, he’d come to a dead stop. He could hear the voices from the crowd behind him on the pier before he quieted his mind. Luno had gone over the wind incantation with James until he had finally gotten it. The language of the land was a mystery to all the residents except for three words, which had been found written on a piece of dry hide along the northern coast. Even after the hide was discovered, it took years of experimentation to discern the correct pronunciation and function of each word.
After much patience, two of the three words could be used in an incantation. The third simply swirled water as if it were being mixed with a spoon. Even now, after all his practice, he found himself ready to use the words he would have back home. He thought of the island, The Never. Alive and aware.
He extended his hand and said, “ Poikelo.” Immediately the sail filled with air. He grasped the wheel, turning the ship to the east. The plan was to head east inside the harbor until reaching the leg of the eastern horseshoe. He would then come about and return to the pier. As the ship picked up speed, his apprehension began to dissipate.
James was amazed at how quietly the ship moved across the water. He could hear faint cheering from the pier, but he didn’t take his eyes off his destination, the distant cliffs on the eastern shore. The water beneath him was more green than blue and visibility, as always, was limited to only a few inches below the surface. He extended his hand and repeated the word “ poikelo,” and was nearly thrown from the boat as it lurched forward at amazing speed. He righted himself and grasped the wheel, relieved that the ship hadn’t gone off course. He was so close to the shore that running aground was a very real concern.
Just as he was about to slow his progress he began to feel a sense of euphoria. The wind in his hair and the smell of the sea reminded him of his childhood. His father had taken him on several sea voyages when he was younger. They were among his fondest memories. James only discovered later that they were actually fleeing their pursuers. This made the adventures all the more special because his father had gone to such great lengths to make James believe they were going on holiday.
The ship drew closer and closer to the eastern cliffs, and James began to make the turn back toward the pier. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure standing on the cliffs waving its arms. Despite not being able to make out her face, he knew it was Kilani. He smiled, and his heart warmed. Once he had lined the bow up with the distant side of the western harbor, he looked back over his shoulder. She was gone. Slightly disheartened, James focused on keeping the ship on the proper heading and marveled at how infatuation could have such an immediate impact over his moods.
Off to his left, he saw movement. At first he thought it was one of the purple seabirds. As the object began to move past, actually overtaking the speeding ship, James realized it was Kilani soaring by on her glider. She moved parallel to the ship’s path just over the beach. James smiled. She let out a yell as she passed and continued down the beach toward the pier.
“ Poikelo,” James said, asking the wind to push harder against the sails, and the wind acquiesced, helping him quickly bridge the gap and then finally pull ahead of Kilani. James let out a yell as he passed. Because nobody knew the antithesis to the wind command, the only way to slow the speeding boat was to drop sail. James released the halyard, allowing the sail to fall over the boom as the gust of wind blew past and out to sea. The ship’s speed decreased as he approached the pier. It looked as if every resident of Harbor Town crowded the dock. Some cheered, and all smiled.
James realized that his brief journey across the harbor had given these people something they hadn’t felt in years: hope. He knew what Luno had expected of him. The pressure of living up to someone else’s expectations wasn’t foreign to James. His entire life people had expected him to be special. As he grew older and understood what exactly that meant, it began to eat away at him. Some days, his overwhelming desire to be normal consumed his every thought. Eventually, he realized all the sacrifices people had made. More than a few had given their lives, and he was determined not to turn his back on their memories. He pushed away his anxieties and insecurities and continued.
James eased the ship to the pier. William and Roger were there to toss him the mooring lines. Both were smiling. He could hear Luno barking at everyone to back away from the ladder. When James stepped onto the pier, the crowd erupted into cheers. Smiling, he tried to find Kilani’s face among the crowd, but he didn’t see her. Luno put his arm around James and quickly escorted him down the pier to his house.
The pair stood, once again, in front of the map wall. Luno paced in front of it excitedly. James watched and waited.
“Well, my boy, it looks as though a new adventure begins today. Finally, I will complete my map and hopefully we will unlock some of the island’s secrets in the process. I think our first destination is obvious,” Luno said, pointing to the three small islands off the northeastern part of the main island. “The three widows.”
“We?” James asked.
“Well of course, we. You didn’t expect me to let you do this all on your own, did you?”
James looked at Luno as a parent might after his child had proposed something utterly ridiculous.
“My boy, we cannot spend our lives in a state of inaction simply because there is risk involved in action. Where would we be then? Besides, I have a plan, a theory, as it were. We shall test it before we embark on our voyage. Now stop interrupting me and let us continue plotting our journey.”
“Once we’ve visited the Three Widows, I think our next stop should be the Severed Heart.” Luno now pointed to a large landmass off the northwest coast of island. “After that, we will move south along the coast and around the cape to Prey Island.” He pointed to the island that lay inside South Harbor. “Then to the Resting Man,” he said, pointing to the smaller island just to the east of Prey Island. “Then… then, we have a go at the black castle,” he said, with a smile on his face.
“Kilani has procured everything we need. Now it is simply a matter of testing my theory and setting your ever-cautious mind at ease.
James sat in a small rowboat barely wider than his shoulders. He looked up nervously as Luno descended the ladder. Cautiously, Luno stepped inside the boat as James hugged the closest pylon for stabilization. Luno quickly sat, giving James a “told you so” smile as the tiny boat found its equilibrium. Luno tossed off the mooring line and gave James a nod. Both men were glad they had decided to wait until the crowds had dissipated before setting out.
James pushed off and began to row. With each stroke, he became more and more nervous. Luno sat facing him with a relaxed expression. James thought he could hear him humming a quiet tune.
The boat lurched violently in the water. James quickly lifted the oars and looked behind him to see what they had hit. He saw only a few bubbles just off the bow. He looked back at Luno who nodded at him. Slowly, James dipped the oars into the water and pulled. Less than a minute later the small boat lurched again. This time James saw something breech the water just off the starboard side. Its skin was grey and sparkled in the sun like nothing James had ever seen. He only caught a glimpse before it disappeared beneath the surface.
“Something is beneath us,” James said.
“Continue,” Luno said sternly. “If it hits us again, do not stop rowing.”
“Do you know what it is?” James asked.
“I have my suspicions.”
“Care to share?”
“Be silent, boy, and row the bloody boat! Our destination is not far, and if I am correct, we have nothing to fear.”
James, once again, nervously dipped the oars into the water and began to pull. After a moment, he looked over his shoulder to make sure they were on course. He could see the large boulder Luno had spoken of, which marked the entrance to the cave beneath the cliffs on the western side of the harbor. He increased his pace.
Off the stern of the boat, behind Luno’s left shoulder, James saw a rapidly expanding circle of bubbles on the surface. Luno could tell by the expression on James’s face that something was happening behind. He turned slowly.
