Our frantic search for the missing Jona was rather short-lived. There simply were not enough places for someone- even a young girl- to hide in Porth Llaffan. Opal's trip about the town the day before proved useful- she had learnt the names of everyone in town, as well as how the town was set up. However, no one could tell us where Jona was.
It was nearly eight o'clock when I spotted Bryson pacing back and forth behind his home. "Come," I said. "Perhaps he will know where Jona is!"
When we told him that Jona was missing, he exclaimed, "I knew it! Jona came by here and told Dad she didn't want to call Lleviathan any more! You should have seen Dad's face! Fierce beyond, it was! Then he took her off to Cuddiedig Cliff. I've got a terrible feelin' about all this. I think you should go after Dad and Jona."
"That's the plan," said Sydney. "Thanks, Bryson."
"Erm…" I said, "where exactly is Cuddiedig Cliff?"
Bryson pointed. "Out of the gate, southwest, and through the caverns on the west side of the beach."
I nodded. "Thank you!"
We ran out the gate. As we travelled along the path Bryson had told us, I heard Sydney rummaging through her bag. "What are you looking for?" I asked, looking over my shoulder.
"Food," Sydney said. "We need to be prepared for anything up there, and rushing into things on empty stomachs isn't the best plan there is!" She tossed each of us a small loaf of bread. We did not slow down as we ate, continuing to race down the path. A surprised cyclown spun to the side as we passed.
From what I noticed, the beach was nice enough. But I did not stand about to enjoy the view, but rather turned and ran into the cavern to the west. Once inside, I had to stop. My right side was sharply pained, and I was out of breath. While I recovered, I looked about.
I stood upon a small island of rock covered with wet and coral. Fairly large stepping-stones showed the paths to other islands dotting the cavern, which was otherwise filled with water. Several water-dwelling monsters prowled about.
When all of us were together and recovered, we continued through the cavern. Through a series of guesses, accidents, and one slip into the water (me, unfortunately), we made it to an area that was not inside the cavern, but rather above. On the other side of yet another expanse of water was a set of stairs, which I was certain would lead to the cliff.
I led the way down to the waterside. I hesitated more than earlier before leaping onto the first of the stepping-stones- my accident had made me wary- but then we continued without incident to the base of the stairs. We raced up, two stairs at a time.
To our right as we reached the top, there was a small wooden sign:
Cuddiedig Cliff
PRIVATE BEACH! KEEP OUT!
By order of Mayor Bryce of Porth Llaffan.
"He shares well," muttered Connor. I snorted. "There," said Opal, pointing ahead of us, "there's everyone."
Jona stood at the very tip of the cliff, looking out over the ocean. It seemed to me a rather precarious position. Bryce stood behind her and to the left. Behind and to the left of him was the black-haired man who had spoken to Jona the night before. Over to the right was a rather large man with blond hair.
As we approached, Bryce moved to stand beside Jona. "There's beautiful, eh, love?" he asked. "I fancy you'll be able to clear youer head a bit by here and then we can have a tidy little chat."
Jona looked down and said nothing. Bryce put a hand on her shoulder in what was evidently supposed to be a comforting manner. "You must be awful tired, what with all the summonin' we've had you doin' lately, eh, you pooer thing. Well, I wanted you to know that if you give youer Uncle Bryce the word, I'll see that the summonin' stops tomorrow. I'll just tell everyone in the village that you've lost the power to call Lleviathan. Simple, see?"
Something was wrong. Bryce would not be offering to stop the summoning after his outburst the night before! He was up to something, I was certain of it.
Jona looked up. "Mr Mayor, I…"
"And then you can pop down my here with me once in a while," continued Bryce, "and we can have a little summon in secret. There's all kinds of coral and pearls and such at the bottom of the ocean, see. And all that treasure in them sunken ships too. You could be askin' Lleviathan to bring the likes of that up for you now, couldn't you? Instead of borin' old fish, eh?"
I had known there would be a catch.
Jona pulled away from Bryce, seeming scandalised. "Pearls? Treasure? Mr Mayor! I can't believe I'm hearin' this! Outrageous, it is!"
Bryce leaned forward in a manner obviously meant to be comforting, like his shoulder touch earlier. "Now, now, love," he said. "Don't get all het up. I only meant every once in a while. Whenever youer feelin' up to it, like. Just think how much happier we'd all be. All rich and contented, like."
"Rich…?" Jona asked. "Contented…?"
"That's right bach," Bryce said. "And all you have to do is accept that youer father isn't comin' home and let me adopt you, see. Simple. I'll be youer new father, love. There's tidy, eh?"
I realised now why he was so keen to adopt Jona. Until she reached legal adulthood (sixteen years of age in the Protectorate), her possessions also belonged to her father. Any treasure Bryce convinced her to bring up would belong to him!
Jona was shaking her head. Had there been space on the cliff, I had no doubt that she would be backing away. "No!" she said. "Youer not my dad, and you never will be!" I gasped as the ground began to rumble beneath my feet. "My dad's-"
All of us looked out to sea as something under the water forced it to hump up. "Er…Zera…" said Stella uneasily, but she did not get the chance to say more. An enormous whale, purple-blue on the top, red on the bottom, with yellow eyes, burst out of the sea and landed with an earth-shaking crash on the tip of the cliff. Bryce was knocked nearly two metres back and landed on his rear; Jona was knocked down. I gaped as Bryce scrambled onto his knees before the thing and began bowing repeatedly.
"O mighty Lleviathan! Thank You! You heard ouer callin' and You've come to bless us with Youer help again!" He paused on his hands and his knees to look at Jona, who was staring at the whale with shock. "Come on, Jona, start prayin'. Ask Lleviathan to go and bring us some treasure by here!"
Lleviathan roared, and Bryce was blown backwards. "Aaaah!"
Then the whale reared up. "J-Jona!" cried Bryce. Lleviathan leapt into the air (quite a sight to see!), mouth opened- came down-
-And swallowed Jona whole! Bryce scrambled back, looking rather crab-like as he did. "Yikes!" exclaimed Stella. "That was a bite from the blue! Something seriously fishy's going on here…"
Ignoring the faerie's attempt at puns, I looked to my companions. And as one, we raced forward to engage the great whale.
Connor assumed an odd stance- balancing upon one foot, arms crossed in front of his chest. He brought his foot down then, just as he flung his arms apart, and a gust of wind blasted Lleviathan.
"How did you do that?" I asked, incredulous. Connor grinned. "Focus," he told me. "Lots and lots of focus."
Opal cast Crackle. I was surprised when Lleviathan did not roar, but then I realised that Jona must have been in its mouth. Perhaps it would not be difficult to get her out!
Sydney whacked the whale in the jaw with her staff. I then raced forward and sliced through the more delicate-looking skin on its underside.
Lleviathan reared up and crashed down atop Connor's left leg. "Augh!" he yelled. He yanked a half-crushed medicinal herb out of his pocket and rubbed it over the injured spot. As Opal cast Crackle once again, he stood unsteadily, tested his weight, and grinned. It seemed the herb had done its job.
"Try to make it open its mouth!" I called as Sydney raced forward. To my surprise, she did not use her staff to attack. Instead, she kicked Lleviathan on its underside, almost in the exact same place where I had sliced it. Now it roared, and Sydney shoved her staff into its mouth, forcing it to stay open.
"Jona!" we cried. The girl was hugging her knees inside the whale's enormous mouth, her eyes squeezed shut. When she heard us, she opened them, stood uncertainly, then raced out. She looked back as Sydney grabbed her staff and the Lleviathan's mouth closed. "I… I'm fine…" she murmured, seeming disbelieving. Then she looked around at us. "Youer not hurt, are you?"
"Of course not!" said Opal. Connor snorted quietly, but he smiled. We regrouped as Jona walked towards us. Then my stomach clenched as Lleviathan's eyes gleamed. It roared, and looked as though it intended to start after us. "Aaaaaah!" cried Jona, and to my shock she turned and flung her arms out to the side in front of us…protecting us?
"No!" she said. "P-Please! Don't hurt them!" And then I gasped as Lleviathan spoke in a man's voice: "But they're some of Mayor Bryce's stooges, aren't they?"
Jona stiffened, staring up at the whale. "Y-Youer voice…!" she exclaimed. A soft blue light materialised over Lleviathan's head, resolving into the figure of a muscular, ponytailed man with a moustache and short beard. "Da…Dad?" asked Jona disbelievingly. "Dad!"
She raced forward.
"Dylan!" exclaimed Bryce. "What in the name of…!"
"What is it?" asked Stella, who had most likely fled behind a rock when we engaged the whale. "What the flap's going on!"
Ignoring these outbursts, Dylan looked to Connor, Opal, Sydney, and me. "I'm sorry for what I've put you trav'llers through." He looked to Jona then, and his face softened. "And Jona, bach… I can't tell you 'ow sorry I am for all the pain I've caused you."
He looked up. "That night of the storm, I was thrown tidy from the boat, like. Then all of a sudden, this golden fruit drops down next to me." A fygg. Of course, I thought.
Dylan looked back to his daughter. "Fadin', I was, good an' fast, so I just grabbed hold of it, see. All I could think of was you, Jona, back there on the shore. I was thinkin' 'ow you'd get on without me, you bein' still such a young dab an' all…
"And out there that day, right in the middle of the ocean, I died. Only, next thing I know… I'm not dead at all, I'm swimmin' round lookin' like a big old whale. Shocked, I was, I don't afto tell you!"
"I…" Jona said. "I don't…"
"I was bringin' all those fish by the village there so's you wouldn't afto go without, love," Dylan said. "I never thought it would bring all the rest of those gannets runnin' like it did… I've kept out of it 'til now, but enough is enough. Come on, love, let's leave this greedy village and its rotter of a mayor behind. You won't afto worry about nothin' once we're away from by here. I'll take care of you from now on."
"Oh, Dad…" said Jona. I could not see much of her face, but she seemed sad. Shaking her head, she said, "I can't. I, I just can't do that. I want to stay by here and help with the fishin', see. I afto learn to stand on my own two feet. I've watched you workin' away all these years, and now it's my turn. I'll be the tidiest fisherman Porth Llaffan's ever known, just you wait and see. I'll make you proud, Dad. I can't go on relyin' on you forever. It's time I started makin' my own way in the world. You understand, don't you…?"
"J-Jona…" Dylan said, but whatever he planned to say was interrupted. "Joooonaaaaaa!"
Everyone turned. Bryson was racing up the stairs. He stopped only a short distance from Jona, breathing heavily. His bowl-cut hair was flung about from the run. "Bryson?" Jona asked, as surprised as the rest of us. "Whatever are you doin' out by here?"
"Are you alright?" asked Bryson, declining to answer. "I-I'm sorry about my dad… I was sick beyond worryin' about you, I was. I had to come after you."
It was only then that he seemed to notice Dylan. "That's… That's youer dad, isn't it?" Looking up to Dylan, he said, "You can rely on me, sir. I'm no flag. I'll look after youer daughter when I grow up."
A smile spread over Jona's face. "Bryson…" She looked to her father. "Thank you so much for becomin' Lleviathan so you could carry on lookin' after me, Dad. But I'm alright now, see…"
"Jona…" Dylan murmured. "I was so caught up worryin' about lookin' after my little girl that I never realised she'd grown into a fine young woman… If I'd only stopped to notice, I'd never afto 'ave caused you all so much trouble… I know you can do it, love, so I'm takin' you at youer word." He smiled. "I'll be watchin' over you every step of the way, mind. Good luck makin' youer own way in the world, bach." There was a bright gleam, and Dylan said more, but it was only for Jona. I did not hear it.
The bright light that was Dylan disappeared, leaving the cliff seeming oddly dark. Then, a fygg winked into existence in front of me. "Look, Zera! It's a fygg!" exclaimed Stella, as though I could not see it myself. I held out my hands, and the fygg floated down to land in them. I smiled.
Bryson ran over to us. "Thank you ever so much," he said. "You really helped everyone in the village out." He turned to look at Jona then. "Jona. D'you want to head back now?"
"Mmm…" said Jona, who was staring out over the ocean. Slowly, she turned and walked towards. There was a slight smile upon her face.
And we returned to Porth Llaffan.
/\*/\
The rest of the day was uneventful in comparison to our morning. Bryce made a speech of ridiculous length after we had all returned. I missed at the least half of what was said, because after the first fifteen minutes, Connor and I left the crowd to walk down to the beach as we had the night before.
"Two fyggs down," he said, looking out over the waves. "How many are left?"
"Five," I told him. His lips pulled down slightly.
"What is the matter, Connor?"
It was a moment before he looked down to answer me. "There are only five fyggs left before you have to return to the Observatory." My shoulders drooped. I had been attempting to suppress that thought.
Trying to keep from becoming completely worn down with gloom, I said, "Five whole fyggs left for us to be together."
"It's not enough," Connor said. His chin was set in a stubborn manner. "I don't want five more fyggs with you. That could never come close to long enough."
"Oh, Connor." I moved closer to him, tried to put my arms around him, but he slipped away, deeper into the waves. "I can't do it," he said. "I don't want to even think about not seeing you again after we collect these stupid fyggs. I don't want to be away from you ever."
Strangely, I felt anger rising up in me. "Do you think it will not be just as difficult for me!" I asked hotly. "I do not wish to be apart from you, either! And what will you have to live through- seventy, eighty years? My life will extend for centuries more- during most of which I will be forced to endure with the knowledge that you are not even living upon the Protectorate! Do not even try to speak to me of how difficult it would be!"
Upon the end of my speech, I felt my eyes well up. I tried to wipe them away without Connor noticing, but I did not succeed. "I'm sorry," Connor said, returning to me. "I… I didn't think about that."
He put his arms around me, and I burrowed my face into his shirt. I could not remain mad any more. "No, I am sorry," I said. "I should not have exploded so." I put my arms around him. "I just do not wish to have you away from me."
Connor said nothing, but pulled me in slightly closer. After a moment, he whispered into my ear, "That's not how I meant any of that to sound, I swear. I didn't mean to make you mad…or make you cry."
"It was not your fault," I said. My words were slightly muffled by the cloth of his shirt. "I do not know what came over me."
"How about if we just forget that happened?" Connor asked. I smiled slightly. "That sounds like a good plan."
We stood there silently for several moments more. The depth of emotion I felt surprised me. There was sadness, yes, and longing- longing for more time with Connor, for that particular moment to never end; but there was something more, something I could not quite describe to myself. It was…a heat? No, it was another longing, but of a different sort. I was longing for Connor, all of him; his mind, his heart…and his lips, his arms about me, even tighter than now. It made my heart beat quickly and heat rise to my skin.
But I did not allow it to overtake me. My reserve had all but vanished, aye; but I could not let myself give in, to commit my all. I did not even dare to kiss him, for fear of what might happen next…and fear of the pain which would come when, inevitably, we would be forced to part. No pleasure could make up for that pain.
Eventually, the sounds of Bryce's speech faded away, and I heard people begin to chatter. The noise was moving towards us. I pulled away gently, looking up at Connor. "I suppose we ought to see what is going on," I said. Connor nodded in agreement, and we let go of one another. As we walked back onto the beach, though, I took his hand. That, at least, I could retain.
"What's going on?" Connor asked Sydney as she approached us. "There's going to be a big village celebration before everyone has to begin working again," she informed us. "I think Bryce is just trying to make up for making everyone listen to that horrible speech."
I laughed. "Will there be food at this celebration?"
Sydney smiled. "Of course! But we'd better go quick- Opal might eat all of it otherwise."
We joined the villagers beginning their merrymaking on the beach, and spent the rest of the day happily.
I awoke the next morning to bright sunshine streaming in one of the windows in Bryce's house. He had offered all four of us beds for the night- we joked that it was in apology for the speech. Connor and the others were already awake and eating with Bryson.
"Oh, youer awake, are you?" asked Bryson, seeing me stretching. As I joined them at the table, he said, "I want to thank you again for everythin' you've done. Youer made of tough stuff, that's for shooer. When I grow up, I want to be just like you. I'll keep Jona safe. She'll never afto be lonely with me around. I mean, everyone says how tough she is, but, well… She's still a girl, like."
He pushed back from the table and turned to leave. "Oh, yeah!" he said then. "I almost forgot. As of today, the ferry's back up and runnin again. There's marvellous, eh?"
He smiled, then left. As I dug into my breakfast, Opal said, "All right! This means we can head off to the next port today!"
Sydney pulled her map onto the table. "The nearest port to us is Slurry Quay," she said, pointing. "Although it's not really a town- not even a village. Anyway, that's probably where we'll be sailing to."
"And it's right next to a fairly large town," I said, noticing the town symbol to the southwest. "Dourbridge."
I thought I saw something cross Sydney's face, but when I looked up, it was gone. She rolled up her map and smiled. "Well, let's eat!" she said. "We might as well get going as soon as we can."
Before we left, however, we stopped by the beach to say goodbye to Jona. She was mending one of the nets that had been lying on the sand when we had arrived in town.
"Oh, hello," she said when she saw us. "I, er… I want to thank you. I was worried beyond about how everyone'd take to me sayin' I wasn't goin' to call Lleviathan any more. But it's fine." She paused. "I still can hardly believe it, even though I saw it with my own eyes, like. To think that my dad was Lleviathan all along… When I saw him by there, I didn't care that he's changed into some sea monster, I just wanted to stay with him. To be together."
She sighed, then continued. "But it's hopeluss feelin' like that, isn't it? I mean, he's gone now. I do miss him somethin' chronic, though." Her shoulders went back then, and her chin up. "I'm gonna be strong, youell see! I've got my Mam and Dad watchin' over me, and Bryson's a tidy lad too."
"I am certain that you will be a great fisherwoman," I said. Jona smiled. "Thank you," she said. "I do hope I'll be able to see you all again someday. Goodbye."
We said our own goodbyes, and then we headed for the dock. A burly sailor in a blue bandana stood at the helm. "We're settin' sail for the mainland over to the east. You comin' aboard?"
"Aye," I said. The man smiled broadly. "Ah-ha! Right on time. Alright, then… Anchors aweigh!"
He and another man raised the mainsail and we set off from the port. The sun was warm on my skin, the breeze comfortably cool, and the waves gentle. The rocking motion of the boat felt quite nice. We moved to the stern to stay out of the sailors' way.
"Well," Stella said, facing out towards the sea, "if you'd ever told me I'd be using some mortal's ship to get about the place, I would have called you a bear-faced liar! Grr!"
She turned to look at us. "So it's off to new shores, eh? Keep up the good work rate, and you'll have those fyggs gathered in no time, Zera. And with a bit of luck, I'll find out where old fatguts has got to soon as well…"
Connor and I both tensed as she mentioned having all the fyggs gathered. But in the warmth and peace of the boat, it was difficult to remain worried. The breeze in my face and blowing my hair, the sound of the waves and the sails, made me feel incredibly free. I leaned over the side of the boat and dipped the hand that wasn't holding Connor's into the water. It was cool, and very clear. I couldn't help smiling.
About an hour after leaving Porth Llaffan, we reached port at Slurry Quay. It really was quite small- nothing but a dock, a small inn, and a pair of men selling their wares on a rug. As we docked, the man with the bandana said, "Well, here we are at Slurry Quay. This is as far as I can take you, I'm afraid. If youer lookin' to go sailin' all over, like, youell have to get a boat of youer own. Word in the taverns is there's a beauty of a vessel down in Bloomindale just sitting there with no one using her."
He gave us a knowing wink, and we disembarked. "He must have been talking about the Pride of Bloomingdale," Opal said, walking a little ahead of us- directly towards the men's small shop. I smiled. "It is always the store, is it not?"
"Yes," Opal replied, not breaking stride. I shook my head in amusement, but we followed her anyway.
"Welcome!" exclaimed a turbaned man, one of the two on the mat. "I'm sorry about the limited selection, but then we're a small place! So, have fun looking through our wares."
Opal took him at his word. Connor, Sydney, and I began looking through as well, though with less gusto. There was not much to choose from.
To my surprise, Opal chose nothing. I found a pair of silver arm bangles for myself. Sydney did not choose anything either, but Connor found something: a pair of galvanised geta. We paid for them, and we put them on- arms and feet, respectively. Then we went into the inn to look at Sydney's map and plan where we would go next.
"Well, it looks like Dourbridge is pretty close by," Connor said. Sydney coughed once. I looked up. "What is wrong?"
"Nothing," Sydney said. "I was just thinking that maybe we could go around to Bloomingdale."
Connor, Opal, and I looked at one another. "I'm all for going to Bloomingdale," Opal said, "but why not stop by Dourbridge first? I mean, it's fairly large; there's bound to be a store there, and I'm not sure there's a way to get to Bloomingdale without going through Dourbridge, unless you have a boat."
Sydney's lips pulled down for a second, but then her face went back to normal. She nodded. "All right…"
I looked at her askance as we left the inn and began southeast. I took my pen and notebook out of my bag and began to sketch out a purple, wolf-like creature on its hind legs that wore an odd red cloth. "I think that's a bewarewolf," Opal said. "Or…scarewolf? I don't remember exactly. They don't come around Bloomingdale much."
It was a wonderful morning. Though both of my hands were occupied by my drawing materials, Connor kept an arm around my waist. Sydney seemed a bit distracted, looking off into the distance. Opal was grinning broadly- as always- and flitting around the path, looking at everything.
About that time, one of the beware-scare-wolves- not the one I was drawing- decided to rush us. I slammed my notebook shut and shoved my things into my bag, and we readied ourselves to battle.
Opal cast Crackle, ripping into monster's underside. Sydney broke from her distraction to crack it over the head with her staff. Then it raced forward after Connor. Before he could dodge, it sliced into his arm. He clenched his teeth, and then I raced for the monster and slashed it.
Connor punched it in the gut, and it roared. Opal leapt forward and stabbed it in the arm. Sydney let the wind rip out of her staff, and the monster swiped at her front. Fortunately for her, it only caught part of her robe.
I sliced at its chest, and it stumbled backwards. Before anyone else could attack, it fell and dissolved into purple dust, which was blown away by the sea breeze.
I folded my fan up and stuck it back in my belt. "That was…fun," I said. "That's what you think," Connor said, sticking out his tongue. I had to laugh as I pulled out a medicinal herb and pressed it to the wound on his arm. He sighed, rolling his shoulder. "Thanks, Zera."
"No trouble," I said, dropping the spent herb to the ground. It would produce a new herb soon enough. I took Connor's hand as we proceeded along the path to Dourbridge.
As the town came into sight, Sydney's steps began flagging. I turned to look. "What is the matter?"
Sydney was fingering the rosary tied around her staff. "I, erm…well, Dourbridge isn't a really good town," she said. "I was thinking, perhaps it would be a good idea if we avoided it. I mean, it's populated by people who were thieves and on the run from the law…maybe it would be safer if we stayed out."
My brows drew together. "Syd, we can take care of ourselves!" Opal said. "We'll be fine. What are you so worried about?"
Sydney shifted uncomfortably. "I'm just saying, it's not a safe place. Some of the people were, you know, murderers and things, and…"
"That is not the problem," I said, narrowing my eyes. Sydney's courage was not brazen, but it was very solid. It would take more than a town of people avoiding the law to frighten her away. "Why do you not wish to enter Dourbridge, Sydney?"
She sighed and looked down. "I suppose you all ought to know," she murmured. Her fingering of her rosary increased rapidly.
"You see, I used to live there. I'm from Dourbridge."
So, here's Chapter Eight, where the few oddities about Sydney are explained and revealed: her hesitation when she said her hometown, her reluctance to go to Dourbridge. She was from there!
Why is that? Well, I know, but I'm afraid it'll have to wait for the next chapter. Until then, may all the bodies of the heavens watch over you!
