The navigator, p.8
The Navigator, page 8
"Can you tell where we are now?"
"No, but I can make more things with these shells and some rope - like a drift line to see where the current is going."
Petal didn't say anything.
Quill admired her creation. She was proud that she'd been able to quell her panic and do something constructive. The activity had taken her mind off how uncomfortable she was. Her legs twitched. Her bladder tingled.
"What are you doing?" Petal watched Quill lower herself over the side of the boat, into the sea.
"I've had to pee, and I want to cool off for a second." Quill began treading.
"You should hold it in if you're so thirsty."
Although the water was refreshing, swimming in the ocean made Quill nervous. Her muscles tensed. She imagined Petal gunning the engine and sailing away like Naris. She wanted to get out immediately. She clung to the boat side.
The waves made her shudder. She tried to relax.
As Quill floated in place, something brushed against her foot. She ignored it at first, figuring it was just a clump of seaweed. She had finally started to pee and didn't want to stop.
"Uh!" Her leg kicked something under the surface. It felt slick and massive. Quill stared down and saw a dark shape glide under the boat.
"Shark! SHAARK!" Quill kicked her legs wildly. She clawed at the boat, trying to pull herself aboard.
Petal went to look over the side of the boat, but Quill's frantic movement was about to make it capsize.
"Calm down! Go slowly or you'll tip us over!"
"There's a shark!"
Even with the rush of adrenaline, Quill's arms were too weak for her to pull her bodyweight. She clung to the right side of the boat, kicking like a maniac, as the other side of the boat began to rise out of the water.
"Let go and come around the back! You're going to tip us over!" Petal shouted. She tried to put all of her weight onto the other side of the boat to even it out.
"Help! Help me!" Quill was crying. She finally got enough momentum from kicking to fling herself halfway aboard.
Petal grabbed Quill's raggedy top and hauled her the rest of the way in.
Quill lay still, flat on her back, panting.
"You almost capsized us!"
"There's a shark!" Quill tried to stop hyperventilating. "AHH!" She felt something knock into the boat.
Petal was jarred as well. She grabbed her oar and looked over the side of the boat, into the sea.
The dark creature was circling them. It was at least twelve feet long. Its white-tipped dorsal fin cut through the ocean like a knife.
Quill curled up into a tight ball on the boat bottom.
"What – what do we do? Kill it! Shoot it!"
Petal raised her oar and smacked it down flat onto the surface of the ocean. It sent up a splash with a loud bang. She raised it and struck it against the water over and over again.
After a few bangs, the shark left, heading out toward the shearwaters.
Petal watched the shark disappear under the mass of birds. She could now see a red slick in the foam.
"The sharks made a kill. When they smell it, they frenzy." Petal glanced down at Quill. "When birds are circling you should stay out of the water."
Quill was still cuddled into a pathetic ball. She wiped her face.
"You didn't say anything."
"You're supposed to be smart. You're an adult. You're supposed to be able to help me. You're supposed to be a navigator. Why did I even take you? You're like a baby."
Quill slowly sat up. She was about to curse Petal but instead grit her teeth at the humiliation of being told off by a child.
"I'm sorry, okay? I'm not used to this. I – I can get us to Tinian. We'll be okay. Give me until evening. I'm good at finding my way by the stars. . .not the sun."
- 17 -
The sky glowed with stars in the early evening. The darkness and cooling that came with night had been a blessing to Quill. She didn't feel she could have withstood another second of sunlight. When the stars became visible, she jumped on top of the bow, scanning the sky to fix her location.
Over the course of the day, Quill had fashioned a crude sextant out of some twine and a large scallop shell. Its ridges were set in perfect ten-degree angles. She'd also turned the boat side into a chalkboard. Now, she buzzed between the jury-rigged instruments, constantly checking and re-checking her calculations.
Petal watched her, fascinated, having no idea what she was drawing or doing. Quill looked funny to her, like a crazy woman, holding a seashell up to her eye and then furiously scribbling down line after line of gibberish.
After a little while, their boat drifted into an odd patch of ocean that glowed green. Just below the surface were millions of bioluminescent squid, coming up to feed. While Quill traced the Dancing Serpent's spine across the arc of the Milky Way, Petal plunged her arms down into the sea, trying to snag a squid for a quick meal.
"We got really lucky with the wind. We're close now. Just a few more miles." Quill turned back to Petal.
Petal ripped her hands out of the water with a loud splash. She was clinging to what looked like a rod of quivering, green jello. She clutched the glowing squid with an iron fist, and bit down on the slimy mass, jerking her head from side to side, until she was able to rip off a rubbery chunk.
Quill gagged. "Disgusting. . ."
Petal chewed on a cheek full of raw squid. She tried to hand the rest of the creature to Quill.
"Eww." Quill leaned back. "There's no way I'm eating that."
"Ooo er starving." Petal tried to talk with her mouth full. "Ight?"
Quill crinkled her nose and snatched what was left of the squid. She closed her eyes and put its tentacles into her mouth. A tiny sucker clasped onto her tongue and she tried to saw it off with her teeth. It tasted like salty rubber.
"It's awful." Quill nearly spit it out.
"It's food." Petal swallowed her mouthful. She then fished around in the water, trying to catch another.
Quill wiped the slime off her mouth and returned to navigating. She saw one odd star twinkling very close to the horizon. She studied it for several minutes. It seemed artificial. It flashed in a definite pattern as if it were bouncing up and down on the waves.
Petal stopped trying to catch squid and stared at what had Quill transfixed. She also saw the flashing light. It was growing brighter, coming toward them.
"What is that?" Petal crept up behind Quill.
"I don't know. Looks like a spotlight."
Petal hopped back to the rear of the boat. She started the engine.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting away from it."
"We should see what it is. Tinian probably has patrols. If we try to avoid them, they'll think we're dangerous."
"I want to stay hidden."
The light began to flash in a sequence.
"We should go up to it." Quill put down her crude sextant. "It's flashing a signal code. It wants us to come over."
Petal ran her fingers across the choke chain. "They could steal our boat. Shoot us."
"We can't land on Tinian unannounced like Kudu Kommandos. I'm sure they'll be friendly. Tinian is supposed to be a friendly place. At least that's what they taught us at the Academy."
"What were you taught about Smaaland?"
Quill sucked in her cheeks. "Nothing. . .that it was underwater."
Quill's confidence gradually calmed Petal. She allowed the boat to drift toward the light.
The light was mounted on top of a raft. As the black, rubber craft came closer, Quill saw that there were several armed men huddled inside it. They shone the spotlight into Petal's boat. Its glare was blinding.
"Who are you?" A man's voice crackled through an old megaphone.
"Help us!" Quill waved her arms. "We're adrift! We're trying to get to Tinian!"
Petal took cover, wedging herself between her seat and the engine. She nervously clutched her pistol, aiming it at the raft. Her heat thumped against her chest. Her whole body was tense, ready for a fight.
Quill could see the silhouettes of the men in the boat, backlit by the spotlight. She heard the distorted sound of static, like that of a radio.
"Yup, adrift. Over. . . beep. . .currrshshshs. . .two of them, females. Over. . .beep. . . currrshshshs. . . .what?. . . beep. . . currrshshshs. . . I don't know; they don't look it. Over. . .beep. . . currrshshshs. . .how am I supposed to answer that? Over. . .beep. . .. currrshshshs. . .. isn't that in the eye of the beholder?"
Quill tried to piece together the garbled conversation. The patrol boat swiveled the spotlight away so its light was no longer in her face.
"Roger that. . .beep. . . currrshshshs. . .over and out."
One of the men in the raft threw a rope to Petal's boat.
"Secure that line to your craft and kill your engine. We're towing you into Tinian!"
Quill grabbed the rope and went to tie off. She glanced back at Petal. The little girl was still trying to hide. She looked terrified.
"We'll be fine. Don't worry."
- 18 -
It took less than twenty minutes for the girls to be towed into Tinian. Though the beach was dark, the island was dotted with little floodlights. Quill could see a sprawling compound on the island's northern side. It looked like a mansion. In front of it was a well-manicured lawn, swaying palm trees, and flowery gardens, giving it the appearance of a country club back in Kudu.
The southern side of the island was rocky and hilly. Quill could barely see any of it, except for a long fence of razor wire that seemed to bisect the island.
The men in the raft helped the girls out of their boat. One of them, dressed in desert-style military camo, gestured for Quill and Petal to wait in place while the others dragged their craft in.
"Got any weapons on you?"
The lead man shone a flashlight onto Quill's face. He had long brown hair, pulled into a tight ponytail.
Quill eyed Petal, trying to tell her to give up her pistol.
"I do." Petal nervously tapped her foot.
"Give it to me, I'll return it when you leave. No weapons are allowed in Tarquin's palace."
Petal glared at Quill and reluctantly handed it over.
Tinian didn't seem to have any natural vegetation, just planted flowers and tall palm trees. The mansion off in the distance was made of peachy stucco. Its red, terra cotta roof twinkled from the floodlights.
A little golf cart bounded along the beach, from the direction of the mansion. It came to an abrupt stop behind the guard.
"This way." He sat down in the passenger seat and motioned for Quill and Petal to hop in. "Tarquin wants to see you."
Quill plopped into the backseat. It was made of old vinyl, like a seat on a school bus.
Petal hesitated, but then slunk down next to her.
"My name's Hugo. I'm Tarquin's chief of security. Welcome to Tinian."
The little golf cart sped forward. It took a meandering path through the grounds, following an asphalt trail that snaked its way up to the palace.
Tarquin's palace was the largest house Quill or Petal had ever seen. It looked like an entirely self-sufficient compound. It had its own set of electrical generators, a greenhouse full of fruit and citrus trees, and two enormous water storage tanks on the roof. Next to the palace was a pristine, private beach. Its sides were lined with sculpted hedges, tall palms, and gnarled bushes. Surrounding the perimeter was a sea of soft, pink gravel.
After several minutes, the golf cart came to a stop under a stucco carport.
"Here we are." Hugo hopped out of the golf cart and opened a large central door.
Golden light cascaded out of the palace.
Quill went in first. She nearly had a heart attack.
Tarquin's palace was a shrine to antediluvian decadence. The foyer had a marble fountain in its center, surrounded by topless granite cherubs. Ferns and paradise palms lined the hallways. Terra cotta sculptures and bronze statuettes filled up every corner. The floor was polished hardwood, overlaid with finely woven carpet.
Everything was electrically powered. Soft, soothing music radiated out from several speakers mounted inside the walls. An actual refrigerator hummed somewhere in the kitchen. Air conditioning blew down from the ceiling. The furniture was shiny and swanky.
Hugo led the girls down to the living room. An enormous flat screen TV was mounted on the wall with a plush sofa sitting opposite it.
Quill wanted to dive onto the sofa. She was ecstatic at her sudden good fortune. All of the modern appliances and amenities made her feel like she was back in Kudu.
"Wait here while I get the prince." Hugo disappeared down the hallway.
"Prince?" Quill's eyes lit up. She could hear the clank of wine glasses and muffled women's laughter carry out of another room.
"What is this place?" Petal was awestruck by her surroundings. She had no idea what anything in the palace was for. The TV, the wall-mounted stereo, the various decorative knick-knacks - everything mystified her.
"I-"
A man walked into the living room. He was wearing an absolutely obnoxious shirt, covered in neon pastel colors and red, sparkling paisleys. His hair was black, but the top half had been dyed a tacky, golden blond. He had a cowry shell necklace with a pair of sunglasses clipped to it. His short cargo jeans brushed against his hairy legs. His leather flip flops smacked against his feet with each step.
He looked like a Hesperian tourist.
"Hello." The man clutched a half empty beer bottle, picking its label off with his fingernails. "Welcome to Tinian."
Quill returned the man's smile and fluttered over to him, shaking his hand.
"Hi, I'm Quill. That's Petal."
"Absolutely charmed. I'm Prince Tarquin." Tarquin shot an impish smile to Hugo. "You didn't tell me they were so beautiful."
"Wanted you to see for yourself."
"Well please, take a seat. You look exhausted." Tarquin gestured to the sofa. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"Yes!" Quill collapsed into the couch's plush cushioning.
Petal remained standing.
"Hugo, a stiff drink for the woman and a soft drink for the girl." Tarquin chuckled. "Oh, and get them some water."
Hugo walked out of the room.
"Don't mind Hugo. He's always so worried about my safety."
"He's nice," Quill chimed, still coming to grips with her surroundings.
Petal walked up to Tarquin. "Has a ship stopped here? The Kowaka Adon?"
Tarquin ignored her, plopping down onto the sofa, next to Quill. "You have a definite Hesperian accent. You're from Kudu I'm guessing?"
"Yes."
"Which province?" Tarquin killed his beer.
"Dhaj Njang."
"Dhaj Njang." Tarquin scratched his stubbly chin. "That's way inland - next to the Kingdom of Roc if I remember. Couldn't be farther from home. What brings you all the way out here, to the other side of Ea?"
Hugo returned. He handed a pinkish mixed drink to Quill, along with a glass of water. Quill gulped down both before he'd even gotten to Petal.
Hugo gave Petal some orange juice. She stared at it like it was poison.
"We're looking for a ship called the Kowaka Adon," Petal repeated, now irritated at Tarquin's inattentiveness.
"Is she your sister?" Tarquin smiled at Petal for the first time. He stood up and ruffled her matted hair like a doting uncle.
Petal glared at him, speechless.
"No, she's a. . .I found her. She's looking for her sister. Her name is Petal." Quill tried to divert Tarquin's attention.
"Aww, what a cute name." Tarquin winked, either too drunk or disinterested to notice Petal's growing ire.
Petal turned red, seconds away from punching the ridiculous-looking prince in the mouth.
Tarquin sat back down, next to Quill, his eyes running up and down her body.
"So what are you two doing together?" He brushed back his dyed hair and leaned in closer to Quill. His body smelled like pleasant, citrusy cologne, but his breath reeked of alcohol.
"Petal helped me escape from Smaaland-"
"From that schizoid, Sejanus?"
