The Book of Wonders (16 page)

Sinbad looked down at Mirzani, his eyes dark with worry. “We'll just have to do our best,” Sinbad said gently.

Musty set the injured sailor's arm and bound Mirzani's chest to hold his broken ribs in place. Mo and Ali built a stretcher from two strong sticks and spare sail material, and Sinbad and Zain gently lifted Mirzani onto the makeshift bed and carried him farther up the beach.

Zardi and Rhidan climbed onto what was left of the
Falcon
and found some thick cotton material in one of the surviving chests. Remarkably, it was dry, and they brought it to Mirzani and tucked it around him. The rest of it was used to cover Dabis.

The injured sailor finally rewarded them all for their care by opening his eyes for a moment and looking at them with something like comprehension. “Is the metal monster gone, Capt'n?” he whispered.

Sinbad smiled down at him. “He is fish bait, Mirzani, rusty old fish bait.”

As night fell, they built a fire. Each man looked into the flames and seemed to be reliving the day; remembering how they'd put Dabis's body in the ground and said their good-byes. Zardi closed her eyes. Over the last few hours fear, despair, and hope had all churned in her stomach. But more than anything, she was grateful that she and the crew of the
Falcon
would be alive to see another sunrise.

They ate what fruit they could find near the beach, and before saying good night Sinbad chose a few sailors to help him keep watch over the camp. The rest of the crew settled into sleep, but Zardi could not find peace.

She lay still and listened, her eyes aching as she searched the darkness. Beside her she could hear Rhidan's gentle breathing, and she wondered how he could sleep so easily. There were so many questions unanswered. Why had his amulet come alive and why had it stopped again? When she'd asked Rhidan this he had refused to meet her eye and said that he didn't want to talk about it.

And then there was the brass rider.

Someone had made him. What was on Desolation Island that was so precious that it had to be guarded by such a creature?

In the distance, a low roar rumbled through the night and she shuddered. What else was out there? What else might come out of the forest?

Zardi squeezed her eyes shut. When she was little and got scared it was always her sister who comforted her. If Zardi woke screaming from a nightmare, it was Zubeyda who would press her cheek to hers and whisper that all was well and she would never leave. She would say it again and again until Zardi fell asleep.

A sob built up in Zardi's throat and she buried her head in the crook of her arm. Zubeyda was trapped in her own nightmare now, in a watchtower in Taraket, but Zardi would not leave her there. She would find a way to get off this island and back to her sister. Nothing was going to stop her.

A
t sunrise, Sinbad woke the camp. Zardi rubbed at her eyes. They felt as dry and rough as sand.

“Today we go to the forest to forage for food,” the captain declared.

There was a collective mew of distress. Zardi wasn't surprised. More than one man had experienced nightmares in the dark hours, and, if she had managed to sleep at all, she was sure the destroyer would have stalked her dreams.

“We need to eat,” Sinbad went on, “and find enough coconuts to begin making rope.”

The captain sorted them into pairs and Zardi was relieved to find herself with Rhidan.

Mo, Ali, and Nadeem were told to stay behind with the injured Mirzani and act as his protector if need be.

“Captain, I should go with you.” Nadeem stood a bit straighter, holding his crutch away from his body as if it had nothing to do with him.

“No,” Sinbad replied. “You aren't strong enough to go foraging.”

Nadeem's cheeks flushed angrily. “My ankle is much better.”

“You'll stay here with Mirzani.” Sinbad's voice did not abide argument. “You can start gathering jetsam. We need wood to repair the
Falcon
.”

“Yes, Captain.” Nadeem's voice was frosty, but Sinbad didn't seem to notice.

The paired-up sailors grabbed sacks from the
Falcon
and then fanned out through the forest.

Zardi and Rhidan soon found themselves alone, deep in the dappled green of the trees. Away from the sea, the air was heavy with humidity. Creepers hung from trees like pythons, brushing the tops of their heads, and wet soil squelched beneath their feet. As they walked on, the warm air filled with the sweet scent of honey. Zardi looked round at the trees. Yellow, waxy fruit with five cut edges dangled off thin branches. They were in a star fruit grove!

“This is incredible,” Rhidan said as they started to pick the sunny yellow fruit and fill their sacks. “Can you believe how many are here?”

Zardi felt a smile tug at her lips. In Taraket, you would see the occasional star fruit, but they were rare and expensive. Here on Desolation Island they would be able to have as many as they liked.

Rhidan rubbed the back of his neck. “If I wasn't so scared that something was about to come crashing out of the undergrowth and attack us, I'd be thinking how pretty this forest is.” He looked up at the dense canopy.

Zardi frowned. “It might have star fruit, but this place doesn't feel right. It's too quiet. Like a graveyard. I can't hear any animals around here, and I haven't seen any either.”

“I think that's a good thing,” Rhidan said. “Did you hear that roaring last night from the other side of the island? Who knows what type of creatures live here?”

“I heard it.” Zardi chewed the inside of her cheek. “The sooner we get off this island and back to Sula the better. It's the only way we are going to find the Windrose and its guardian.”

“But if the sorcerers of the Black Isle don't help us, then the Windrose isn't the key to saving Zubeyda.” Rhidan's face was pulled inward with worry. “Maybe we should look for the Varish instead.”

Zardi stared at him questioningly. Her friend looked vulnerable, wounded somehow.

Taking a deep breath, Rhidan lifted the amulet and flipped it round. Zardi's eyes widened as she saw words in tiny script etched onto the amulet's surface. The words spun round on the disc, only slowing as Zardi began to read.

Know me. I am Iridial
—
your father. If you are reading this, then you have come searching for me. Stop looking
. I
do not want to be found. Take what magic is in this amulet and go home
.

“This message never used to be here,” she gasped.

“I think it must have appeared as soon as I landed on the island,” Rhidan replied softly. “But I only noticed it just before the brass rider attacked.” He raked a hand through his silver hair. “The amulet has felt heavier ever since we landed here, but it was only when I read the inscription that I realized the amulet had magic inside it.”

“And that's what you used against the brass rider?”

Rhidan nodded miserably. “I've still got no magic of my own, and there wasn't much power in the amulet and now that's gone too.”

Zardi scowled at him. “Why didn't you tell me about this yesterday?”

“Because my father sounds vile.” Rhidan plucked the amulet from her grasp. “If we find him, is he really going to help us save Zubeyda or teach me how to get my magic back? I mean, even if we get the Windrose and it guides us to the Black Isle, it could all be for nothing.” He looked down at his feet. “I don't want to let you down. I want to save Zubeyda and your father.”

“You could never let me down.” Zardi's annoyance fled as she thought about how Rhidan must have felt when he read the message. “Our plan is a good one, I promise. Once we get back to Arribitha, we'll find Sula and get that djinni to help us find the Windrose.” She put her hands on his shoulders and held his gaze. “It will guide us to the Black Isle, and when we get there your father will have a lot of explaining to do.”

Rhidan touched the amulet again. “What if he doesn't want to explain?”

“You're his son, Rhidan. He owes you that at the very least.”

“You're right, he does owe me.” Rhidan's eyes glittered with tears and determination. “I'll make him tell me why he got rid of me, and then he can help us get rid of the sultan.”

Zardi smiled, imagining an Arribitha without Shahryār. Unbidden, the image of herself dressed in white came to mind. Her destiny … or so Sula had said.

“Hey, look.” Rhidan pointed to a tree. “There're some more star fruit up there, right at the top. Give me a leg up and I'll knock a few down.”

Their sacks bulging with fruit, Zardi and Rhidan headed toward camp.

“This fruit weighs a ton,” Rhidan complained.

Zardi blew a lock of hair out of her eye. “I know, but think how excited everyone will be when they see these star fruit.”

“True. And it would be nice to make them smile,” Rhidan said. “Especially after what happened to Dabis.”

Zardi felt a knot of sadness pull tightly in her chest and she walked a bit faster.

As they neared the edge of the trees and smelled the salt on the air, they heard the flap of many massive wings overhead and high, screeching noises. They both looked up but couldn't see anything through the canopy.

“Listen to that,” Rhidan said. “There
is
wildlife on this island.” He gave a low whistle. “And they sound big. Actually, they sound big and annoyed.”

Zardi strained to make out the sounds.

“I'd love to know what they are screeching about. I bet—” She stopped as the blue stone around her neck began to vibrate and give out an azure light. As the gleam grew, the squawks became words she could understand. They filled her head.

Kill them
,

Squash them
,

Stop them dead
.

Punish them
,

Hurt them
,

Flatten their heads
.

“I can understand,” Zardi said in a hushed voice. “I-I think it must be the stone Sula gave me—it's chosen its gift. It's translating what they're saying, and they're angry, really angry!”

The creatures continued to chant, their voices sounding more and more enraged. Zardi and Rhidan tried again to peer up through the canopy but the winged creatures could still not be seen. Zardi stopped, fear spreading through her as she realized that they were flying right toward the
Falcon's
camp.

She turned to Rhidan. “RUN!”

T
hey broke into a sprint. Reaching the line of trees, they stopped to survey their camp.

In the middle of the beach, a huge fire was blazing. Beside it rested a barrel-sized gray speckled egg. Mo and Ali were laughing and rubbing their stomachs, while Tariq and Syed were getting ready to lever the egg into the fire. Nadeem was hobbling toward them with more firewood in his arms, and Mirzani, who was propped up on a makeshift chair, looked on with interest.

Kill them
…

Punish them
…

Flatten their heads
.

The squawks were at a fevered pitch now, the flap of wings like the snap of a ship's sail. Zardi and Rhidan looked up to see five massive birds, each as big as a fishing boat, break the cover of the trees. Sinbad's men screamed as their eyes turned skyward.

The birds hovered in the air just above the sailors. Their feathers were the colors of oil on water—purple, green, and yellow—and their beaks were slashes of crimson. They fell into a V-shaped formation, their wings stirring up a whirlwind of sand. In their sharp, golden talons they each held a white boulder.

Rhidan grabbed Zardi's arm and pulled her deeper into the shelter of the trees.

“What are you doing?” she hissed. “We need to do something.”

“I know, but we stay here until we work out a plan,” Rhidan explained. “Those birds are here to do damage.”

The bird at the front of the formation let out a screech and Zardi understood it as one single command:
“Attack
.”

Then the leader of the birds swooped toward the sailors and opened its clutches, letting the boulder fall.

Zardi cried out a warning as the huge rock fell through the sky. It missed Nadeem by a hair's breadth.

The birds' leader returned to the point of the V and gave another battle cry.

The second of the birds swooped toward Tariq and Syed, who were both scrambling away from the fire. The giant bird released the boulder, and the two men just managed to dive out of the way.

“Get to the forest,” Rhidan yelled to the sailors. “They can't see you in here.” Tariq and Syed dashed toward the trees.

Mo and Ali scurried to Mirzani's side, struggling to lift him out of the chair. “We've got to help them,” Zardi said. “They'll never get here in time.”

Rhidan nodded. They left the cover of the trees and raced toward the twins. Zardi frowned as Nadeem hobbled over to help the injured sailor too. Why hadn't he taken cover in the forest like the others?

The birds continued to shriek, but as Zardi reached Mirzani's side she sensed a quieter, more mournful presence. A single bird who repeated just one phrase:

“Save my baby. Save my baby. Save my baby
.”

“The egg,” Zardi said, suddenly understanding the giant birds' rage. “We've got to give it back. It's one of their babies.”

“That egg is our lunch. Tariq and Syed brought it back,” Nadeem protested.

“We'll do what she says,” Mirzani said firmly. The effort of talking left him pale.

Zardi looked up and saw that the birds were reconfiguring, ready to attack.

“I can't believe you, Mirzani!” Nadeem's jaw worked furiously and he glared at Rhidan and Zardi. “Why should we listen to what she says? Dabis is dead because of her, because of both of them.”

Zardi felt guilt lash at her. Nadeem was right. She and Rhidan had only brought tragedy to the
Falcon
.