The Book of Wonders (15 page)

“We'll need to make a proper survey of this island and see if we can find the right materials first,” Musty replied. “As far as we can tell, the island has no inhabitants, but we must go forward with care.”

Zardi turned her head and looked into the depths of the forest that bordered the beach. A spark of excitement flared inside her despite her anxiety. This island was so different from anything she'd seen before. She spotted a cluster of trees with golden, spiral-shaped leaves and bark that looked like bubbles on mud. She couldn't wait to explore further.

“What do you mean by the right materials?” Rhidan asked.

Musty rubbed his chin. “Well, we don't even begin to have enough nails or bolts to repair the ship, so we need rope. Lots of it, so that we can sew the planks of the deck back into position.”

“That doesn't sound too bad,” Sinbad said cheerfully. “I have no doubt we'll be off this island by the next full moon.”

Musty looked at Sinbad with exasperation. “Of course we'll need to make the rope first, which we'll have to make from the green coconut husks that we still need to gather. Then we have to soak the husk fibers in salt water for several weeks to make them strong enough before twining them into rope to bind the boards together. Oh, and let's not forget the husks we'll need to pack into the seams of the hull to make the
Falcon
watertight.”

“I'm guessing that's a lot of coconuts,” Sinbad said, scratching his head.

“Yes, Captain, it is an awful lot of coconuts. Hundreds in fact.”

Sinbad narrowed his eyes. “It's a shame we can't magic up a few nails, eh, Rhidan? Or even a whirlwind to take us back to Arribitha.”

“My magic is gone,” Rhidan murmured, tugging on his amulet. “I told you.”

“Yes, you did,” Sinbad said. “You told me that you have no magic, but you haven't told me who you really are or why the sultan is so eager to catch you.” He folded his arms and looked at them intently.

Musty coughed politely. “Captain, I think I should go so you three can talk in private.”

Zardi shook her head. “No, stay, Musty. I want you to hear this. Your crewmates are shipwrecked on this island and that is due to me and Rhidan.”

Musty looked at her with kind brown eyes. “Guilt is such a useless emotion, Zee. You learn that by the time you get to be my age. Besides, if I remember correctly, we were the ones that kidnapped you. Our fates were tied to yours the day we made that choice.” The shipmaster looked at Sinbad disapprovingly, and the captain's cheeks became ruddy with color.

Zardi gave Musty a grateful smile and began her story. She started with why she'd left Taraket and explained about the image of the Windrose that Rhidan had conjured up on Sula's table.

At the end of her extraordinary tale, Sinbad let out a low whistle of astonishment. “If you'd told me, even two hours ago, that you were waiting for my mother to introduce you to a djinni who was shackled to a golden lamp I'd have called you a liar.” He studied Zardi and Rhidan. “As it is, I saw the purple fire on the boat, and if Sula says you have a destiny then I will help you fulfill it.” He slapped a hand on Rhidan's shoulder. “The days to come will not be easy. Some of the sailors will be scared of you—many would have just been children themselves when magic was scoured from our lives. But Shahryār is evil, not magic.”

Sinbad turned to face his wrecked vessel. “It will take time and patience, but we can make the
Falcon
fly again. We'll get back to Arribitha.”

Zardi
gazed
at Sinbad's ship. She'd work until her hands bled to get it fixed as quickly as she could. She looked over at Rhidan. He was staring down at the back of his amulet. She felt a flash of annoyance. His focus should be on getting back to Arribitha, not on studying the amulet.

She was about to say so when a high-pitched sound froze them all for an instant. It came from deep in the forest. Metal screeching against metal. Zardi had heard something like it at the blacksmith's forge. The ground beneath her feet shuddered, and there was an awful pounding noise as if the whole of the sultan's battalion was galloping toward them.

“What's that?” Mo cried from farther up the beach.

“Trouble,” Sinbad replied. “And it's heading straight for us.”

W
ith a roar, a giant metal man, as tall as Taraket's highest watchtower, came out of the forest. The sun glinted off his highly polished body and he rode on a giant steed made from the same shiny metal. Hexagonal emerald eyes glinted fiercely in his masklike face and he gripped a metal club. Zardi had seen this metal before; her grandmother's favorite tea set was made out of it: brass.

“Strangers are forbidden on Desolation Island,” the brass rider said, bringing his massive horse to a thundering halt. “You will be destroyed.” His voice reverberated like the clang of a bell.

Sinbad held up his hands and cautiously approached the brass giant. Zardi and the rest of the
Falcon's
crew followed him. “We've been shipwrecked on your island. Let us fix our vessel and we'll leave,” the captain said.

“My instructions are clear,” the brass rider replied. “Strangers are forbidden on Desolation Island. You will be destroyed.”

“Hang on there,” Sinbad said calmly. “Who gave you these instructions? Can we speak to your master?”

The brass rider looked confused. “I know not who made me. Strangers are forbidden on Desolation Island. You will be destroyed.” The brass rider lifted his club and the horse reared up on its hind legs. Sharp metal hooves glimmered like knives in the sunlight. Fear charged through Zardi. Those hooves could slice flesh, shatter bone.

“Stop right there.” Rhidan ran in front of Sinbad. “Take another step and you'll be sorry.”

The brass rider roared in rage at the threat and galloped forward. But Rhidan stood his ground.

Zardi dashed to Rhidan's side even as everybody else fell back toward the shore. “What are you doing?” she screamed over the pounding of the horse's metal hooves. But Rhidan didn't reply. Instead his face scrunched up in concentration and she saw the amulet around his neck throb with purple light. The snakes around the amethyst stone began to writhe and twist.

Zardi gasped. She had never seen the amulet do anything like that in the past.

“I think the boy is going to use magic on him!” Zardi heard the cook exclaim from behind her.

Hope filled Zardi up. She didn't understand how it'd happened, but Rhidan was getting power from the amulet! She watched as her friend gripped the writhing snakes for a moment and then held his palms out. A stream of purple light flew from them, hitting the brass rider squarely in his chest. The metal giant flew out of his saddle and fell to earth with a ground-shuddering thud. Spooked, the brass horse reared up on its hind legs, let out a screeching, tinny cry, and then galloped away up the beach and into the forest.

The crew cheered. “That's it, Rhidan!” Zain yelled. “Show him what you're made of.”

The brass destroyer staggered to his feet.

“Go on, boy,” Sinbad said, and Zardi turned to see the captain dancing on the spot jubilantly. “Give the giant another blast of that purple fire.”

Rhidan let rip with another flash of light, and Zardi got ready to cheer but it died in her throat. The purple bolt of magic was much fainter than the last and, although it hit the brass giant directly on his chest again, it only halted him for a moment.

Rhidan's face fell and he desperately gripped the amulet. “It's not working,” he wailed. “I think it's run out of power.”

The brass giant was only a few strides away now, and behind her Zardi could hear the pounding footsteps of the crew as they scattered like frightened geese to the left and right.

Rhidan was still grasping at the amulet, his face set determinedly.

“We need to get out of here,” Zardi bellowed, trying to pull at her friend. Rocks and planks of wood suddenly flew above her head and rained down on the giant. Sinbad's men hadn't deserted them. They were throwing anything they could find at their attacker, but the missiles didn't even leave a dent.

The destroyer was on top of them now and still Rhidan did not move. The faintest of purple light was gathering around his fingertips.

The giant lifted his club above his head.

Zardi dived at her friend's legs, pushing him out of the way of the descending weapon. Her tackle flung Rhidan's arm high and an almost translucent streak of purple left his fingertips and soared upward, striking out the giant's emerald eye. Zardi and Rhidan watched as the gem flew from its socket and landed in the sand next to them.

The brass rider gave a screeching cry as he dropped to his knees and covered his eye socket with a hand. Black oil ran from the wound, leaving a tear's track.

“We've got to get that other eye out,” Zardi said as the giant got to his feet with a howl of rage. “It's the only thing that hurts him.”

“There's nothing left in the amulet,” Rhidan panted as they both scrambled to stand. “It came alive to help us but it's dead now.”

The brass giant, still howling, swung his club wildly above his head.

“Head for the forest!” Zardi heard Mirzani yell from behind her.

“Don't run, fight,” Sinbad shouted back. “Can't you see that the giant is hurt?”

But his men paid him no heed. Mirzani, Dabis, Syed, Zain, and Tariq ran toward the trees.

The destroyer spotted them and, with terrifying speed, turned and chased down the fleeing men. Under the swing of his mighty club, Mirzani fell to the ground. The trees with the golden spiral leaves were knocked down as the giant barreled into the forest, and Zardi yelled out a warning as she saw one of them fall toward Dabis.

The sailor screamed as he tried to dive out of the way but he was not quick enough. The tree smashed on top of him, his shout of terror snuffed out like a flame.

Scalding tears streamed down Zardi's face. There could be no doubt about it: Dabis was dead. As the sound of crunching bone and more screams pierced the air, Zardi unclipped her bow and grabbed an arrow.

“Rhidan.” Her voice was hoarse. “I need you to get the giant's attention. I'm going to shoot out that other eye.”

Her friend nodded, his face as pale as bone. He reached into his pocket and produced the giant's emerald eye.
“I
picked it up after you tackled me.”

“Perfect. You know what to do.”

Rhidan stepped forward. “Hey, you,” he yelled over to the giant, waving the emerald in the air. “I've got something that belongs to you. Want it back?”

The brass rider swung round and spotted his eye. He pounded toward them. Rhidan stumbled back to stand next to Zardi. She nocked an arrow.

“What are you doing?” Sinbad asked, arriving at their side with Mo, Ali, Nadeem, and Musty. His eyes were wild. “I will not lose another today.”

“Don't worry, you won't,” Rhidan said, looking at Zardi.

“Shoot straight and true, Zee,” Musty whispered. “Do it for Dabis.”

Zardi raised her bow arm, waiting for the destroyer to come closer. She drew the string back until her thumb was against her jawbone and let the arrow fly. It soared in an arc toward the brass giant's face but dipped before it reached his remaining eye.

How did I miss?
Zardi felt rising panic. I
never miss
.

Rhidan turned to her. “Your arrows are still wet; they're heavier than usual. Adjust your aim. You can do this.”

Zardi nocked another arrow, tilted her bow ever so slightly upward, and then released it. She watched as it hurtled through the air and knew that this time its path was true. The arrow embedded itself between the giant's eye and socket, flicking the emerald out.

Blinded, the brass rider ground to a halt, his club swinging about crazily. “Where are you?” the giant bellowed in his strange metallic voice. “You will be destroyed.”

Sinbad put a finger to his lips and silently urged them all to step back toward the sea.

The captain then bent down and picked up a heavy rock. Zardi expected him to throw it at the giant, but instead the captain turned and threw the rock into the sea. It made a loud splash and the destroyer's head flicked toward the water. His eye sockets gaping black chasms, the giant lifted his club above his head and lumbered toward the sound, swinging his weapon.

Still treading quietly, Zardi and Rhidan followed the other sailors out of the way of the thundering giant. They watched as he charged into the sea, still swinging his club. When his massive foot caught on the edge of one of the silver rocks, he toppled into the water like a tree felled by a woodcutter's axe. Before he could recover, his body was dragged onto the rocks by the waves. The waves then pushed him toward the shore only to draw him back and dash him onto the rocks again. The sound of metal on stone rung through the air and soon the destroyer was smashed into pieces.

Zardi sucked in a mouthful of cool air. Her throat hurt from her screamed warning to Dabis.

Turning away from the sea that was littered with fragments of brass, she looked into the forest. Sailors started walking out of the trees, cautiously at first and then in a flood. Zain held Dabis in his arms. Nadeem stared at them, his face a mask of grief. Tariq, with the help of Syed, managed to stagger forward, blood trickling from a gash on his forehead. Everyone else was safe.

No, not everyone
.

An unmoving body lay on the ground, just a little distance away from the forest. It was Mirzani.

Zardi ran to his side. The sailor's eyes were closed and his mouselike face was pale. His arm lay at a strange angle.

The rest of the crew joined her and looked down at their fellow crewman.

“I wish we had a doctor,” the cook said mournfully.