Journey to Rainbow Island (29 page)

Minkaro plummeted downward into the depths, and then turned his body upward; his angle was flat and gradual as he sought to maximize his speed. Yu-ning held her breath for what seemed like an eternity, and just when she began to feel dizzy, Minkaro burst through the surface of the water again. The maneuver had been impressive, and Minkaro had
put a bit more distance between himself and his pursuers, who now numbered more than half a dozen.

They raced forward, the grey ship now growing closer. Soon the details of a large vessel became visible—two large smokestacks, a huge mast, and a few lights blinking on deck. Once again, however, the Darq creatures were starting to close the gap—Minkaro just couldn't outrace them with Yu-ning and her gear on his back.

The ship was close now, and Minkaro believed they might have a chance to reach the vessel before they were overtaken. “When we get close, I will pull alongside the boat,” shouted Minkaro. “You will need to jump from my back. Look for a ladder or rope on the side of the ship!”

“All right, Minkaro—faster, though, they are almost upon us!” shouted Yu-ning, as two massive barracuda with wicked eyes and long yellow fangs appeared on their right.

“There, Yu-ning! There is a rope ladder hanging down on the starboard side,” Minkaro exclaimed. “You will need to jump from my back. Unhitch your belt, grab Lightcaster, but leave your pack lashed to the saddle. Once you are safely on the ship, I will try to lose the creatures and double back for you. Stay on the ship until I can return for you. If I don't return, you will need to get to the nearest land, and find your way to Farcara on your own. Whatever happens, hang onto Lightcaster!”

“You will be safe without me slowing you down, Minkaro! I will see you soon,” shouted Yu-ning. The great dolphin closed in on the bow of the ship, veered to the right side, and pulled alongside the vessel. “Go! Now, Yu-ning!”

Holding onto the loose leather straps of the saddle, Yu-ning carefully rose to her knees, then to her feet, with
Lightcaster slung over her shoulder. Just as she gathered herself to jump, one of the barracuda launched itself out of the water, hitting Minkaro just below the center of his body, knocking him sideways. Yu-ning fell and scrambled to grab hold of the saddle. She had the pommel, but it was slick, and she lost her hold. She fell over the saddle and began to slide down the length of Minkaro's body. She grabbed his enormous dorsal fin, but it was slippery, and she feared that she couldn't hold on for very long.

Minkaro peered behind to see Yu-ning's predicament just as the second barracuda flew all the way out of the water, directly toward Minkaro's head. With all his might, he pulled his head away, and then swiftly brought it back, making contact with the barracuda's snout. The fish was not expecting the blow, and Minkaro's massive head sent the fish tumbling end over end as it bounced against the side of the ship and disappeared under the waves. Minkaro could not see the second barracuda, but the two sharks were nearly upon him, and the rest of the Darq creatures were close behind them.

Yu-ning held onto Minkaro's dorsal fin with one hand, trying desperately with the other to grab hold of the leather strap dangling off the back of the saddle. There! She had the strap in her hand and quickly grabbed it with her second hand as well. Slowly she made her way back toward the saddle, hand over hand. She grabbed the saddle and slowly stood again, riding Minkaro, one hand on the leather strap, the other ready to grab hold of the rope ladder dangling down from the ship.

“Now, Yu-ning! GO!” Minkaro shouted, as one of the sharks closed the gap on the giant dolphin and was about to clamp its gaping jaws around his tail. Yu-ning jumped,
letting go of the leather strap in midair. She flew across the gap between the dolphin and the ship, desperately trying to grab the rope ladder. She had it—a rung of the ladder was in her hand! The momentum of her jump, however, was greater than she had anticipated, and she lost her grip on the rope. She found herself falling toward the water—upside down. As she braced herself to plunge headfirst into the icy depths, she was jerked upward.

Her foot had caught in the rope ladder, about three feet above the waterline. She bounced against the waves, trying to reach upward and grab the ladder. Lightcaster dangled precariously from her shoulder, and she could feel it slipping over her head. Pain shot through her injured left arm as it slammed against a wave, and with her right arm she lunged upward. She had the rope. Slowly, she was able to raise herself up with her right arm, and as she did, Lightcaster slid safely back around her neck and shoulder. She was hanging on the lowest rung of the ladder. She looked wildly in Minkaro's direction, fearing the worst. The pink dolphin, however, had outmaneuvered the shark, and now that she was no longer weighing him down, he was racing away, beginning to put distance between himself and at least seven dark silhouettes visible just under the surface.

Yu-ning scrambled upward on the rope ladder, out of danger of any remaining Darq creatures. She stopped halfway up the side of the massive ship, in shock, but relatively unharmed. Her arm ached, but the pain was bearable. She was shaking and felt weak as she clutched the rope, waiting for her breathing to slow. As she looked out to sea, she could just make out the pink shape of Minkaro, racing ahead of his Darq pursuers.

Satisfied that Minkaro was safe, she carefully climbed the rest of the way up the rope ladder and swung first one leg, then the other over the wooden railing, landing upon the wet, wind-lashed deck. The ship was larger than she had thought: there must have been at least sixteen decks. The mast looked infinite as it jutted into the dark sky. The entire boat was painted gold—the exterior body as well as the interior walls and deck. The gold had faded, and in some areas the paint was dull and peeling. Was Yu-ning on a ghost ship, void of passengers? It seemed that the ship was cast at sea in the middle of nowhere.

Then, near the bow of the ship, through the wind and rain, she saw a boy who looked to be about sixteen years old. He wore a sailor's uniform and hat and had moved to the very front of the bow, where he was pulling on a rope with all his might.

“Where is everyone?” Yu-ning said to the boy as she approached. “It is so empty here. This is like a ghost ship.”

The boy looked at her and nodded. “You are right, little girl, this is a ship of ghosts. People disappear here,” he murmured.

“What do you mean, they disappear?” Yu-ning asked.

“You forget who you are here. You forget where you came from. You disappear. I don't know,” the boy said, trying to brush her off. He continued, “I don't have answers for you. I don't talk to anyone. They are probably shut in their rooms, or hiding somewhere.”

“Do you work on this boat?” Yu-ning asked.

“Yes, but there's no work to do anymore. I used to be a deckhand, but the crew either abandoned ship in the lifeboats, or . . .”

“Or what?” asked Yu-ning.

“The darkness came twenty days ago, and ever since, we have been wandering in this storm. All the passengers keep to their cabins. I haven't seen the captain in days. He's not on the bridge, so he is probably in the engine room—downstairs.”

“Yes, I know about the darkness,” Yu-ning said. “Did you see the dark creatures as well—the ones with dark scales and yellow eyes?”

“Like the ones that nearly ate you when you jumped from the back of the huge pink dolphin?” asked the young man. “That was impressive.” He said this with no emotion.

“Yes, those creatures. Listen, I need your help,” said Yu-ning, adjusting Lightcaster on her back. “I must get to Farcara—are you heading in that direction?”

“Farcara Island? No, we are heading for Tunzai, to the imperial capital. At least, that is where we were headed until we lost steam power. The skies turned grey, and they have remained that way ever since.” He said curtly, “I don't know why I am talking to you. Leave me alone.”

“There is an unnatural darkness creeping across the sea,” Yu-ning said. “It feeds off of fear—it sensed fear and sadness on this ship, and it took advantage of it. You must fight it. Everyone on the ship must fight the darkness. You saw those terrible creatures that almost killed my friend and me. We need your help!”

“Yes, of course I saw them—they've been swarming around the boat for days,” said the boy. “But still, I don't know what to do. All I know is, the storm is getting worse, I can't raise the captain, and much of the crew is gone. Perhaps the captain will listen to you . . .”

“What is your name?” asked Yu-ning.

“Jonas.”

Yu-ning walked over to Jonas and folded her hand into his. He didn't pull away. She looked at him and nodded. “I'll go and see what I can find out.” She was about to go search the ship for the captain when she noticed a man and a woman walking up steel stairs onto the long, dark, weathered deck. They walked like ghosts, emotionless and silent. They looked at Jonas and Yu-ning with stoic, frozen expressions. Yu-ning noticed how grey they were. “Why are they grey, Jonas? Their faces and bodies are grey. Look, even their hands are grey. How could that be?”

Yu-ning saw more and more people walking on the deck now. There were dozens of them. They were all grey like the sky, walking like zombies, without life or purpose. Even as the rain drenched their clothing, they didn't seem to notice. Yu-ning was very concerned. “How come I don't feel their spirit? Where is everyone's light?” Yu-ning said, looking at them.

“This is how it is now; this is what I've been trying to tell you, Yu-ning.”

“We must get out of this dark storm,” Yu-ning said, shaking her head. “That will wake them up. We must move and change the direction of this ship.”

A man walked by Yu-ning and Jonas. He was looking down at the deck as he walked. Yu-ning noticed how everyone looked down as they walked; yet no one bumped into anything. Yu-ning approached a group of people drifting in one direction. “Hello. Sir? Ma'am? Hello? Do you hear me?” She gently reached out and tried to touch a few people's sleeves. Yu-ning stepped toward a man as he walked past her; she felt chilled to the bone standing next to him. He didn't respond and continued walking.

“They are all ghosts, Jonas,” Yu-ning whispered gravely.

“It's no use. I told you not to bother,” Jonas said.

“Look, Jonas, it's getting darker. The storm is growing worse, and I think I know what is causing it. The darkness is getting closer to us. We must navigate the ship out of the storm!” Yu-ning said in distress.

“The captain already has plans,” Jonas said with concern. “He sails this ship toward the clouds. That has been his navigation system for many days. He follows the storm clouds.”

Yu-ning had an idea. She reached around her neck for the familiar red cord of her crystal heart necklace and pulled the crystal out to show Jonas. It was glowing pink. She cupped it in both hands and looked at the boy. “Place your hands over mine, Jonas.”

“What? Why?” he asked. But without waiting for an answer, he slowly placed both of his hands over the pink crystal heart. As he did, he felt a tingling sensation move through his hands and up his arms, and shoot down into his heart. He felt as if the light of a thousand stars had exploded inside, shooting their light down to the tips of his toes and up to the top of his head.

“What is . . . ?” he whispered, closing his eyes as the light continued to bathe him in peace and warmth. As Jonas said this, the light of understanding dawned on him. He opened his eyes, which were now fully alert and locked onto Yu-ning's. “The captain has kept us in this holding pattern, and we have allowed it to happen. We have allowed the darkness to overtake us!” Jonas shouted, clarity flooding his mind and spirit.

Yu-ning nodded and hugged him as he removed his hands from hers. The pink heart necklace continued to glow
brightly. “We can't keep on following the dark clouds; we must get out. Where is the captain? I need to tell him to change direction,” Yu-ning said urgently.

“The captain is downstairs working on the engines,” said Jonas. “But I need to warn you: no one ever goes down to that section of the boat. He has become very dark recently, and he has a violent temper. He keeps the doors locked and bolted, so he will not listen to you.”

The clouds were producing an alchemical reaction in the sky; it was pure fury. “I must try, Jonas. I need to tell the captain,” Yu-ning said, as she pointed up to the sky. “It looks like three storms are colliding. We need to guide this boat to the light!” Yu-ning said as she started to run down the long deck toward the steel stairs. “Gather as many passengers as you can, Jonas, and tell them we need to sail out of this storm!”

“All right, I will try!” yelled Jonas.

“You have a job again,” she said smiling back at him.

He nodded, encouraged, and flashed her a smile as she disappeared into the stairwell.