Telleo’s expression turned dark. “Be careful of him,” she said softly. “He’s not a bad person, but he’s playing a dangerous game.”
I walked for the door. “I’ll be careful. Good luck with these guys.”
She nodded. As soon as I left her and stepped out the door, Siry jumped me, grabbed my shirt and got right in my face.
“Did my father send you here?” he demanded. “Did he tell you to stop me?”
I could have dropped the guy in a heartbeat, but that wouldn’t do anything to earn his trust. I had to show strength, but not seem like a threat.
“No. To both questions.”
“Then why are you here? And don’t tell me it’s to battle some fantasy demon monster.”
He was making it tough. That’s exactly why I was there.
“What are you afraid of, Siry? What’s happening here?”
He pulled away from me. The guy was a mess of emotions, most of them negative. He was angry, distrustful, and scared. He started to speak, but stopped, as if the words were difficult. He was struggling to keep his emotions in check. The other Jakills were gone. We were alone. I didn’t think he’d have let his feelings show like that if the others had been around.
“Is it true?” he finally asked. “About my father?”
I nodded. Siry winced. The guy had a tough shell, but there was a heart in there somewhere.
“I didn’t know him,” I explained. “But I know a lot about him. Maybe I can help you understand him.”
“I know all I want to know,” he snapped viciously.
This wasn’t going well. I needed an ally on Ibara. I needed a Traveler, but all I had was an angry kid who had issues with his father. It wasn’t going to be easy to get him to accept his role as a Traveler and take on a whole bunch more.
“Your father was telling the truth,” I said. “I need your help.”
“You say that like I should care,” Siry shouted. “My father was on the tribunal. He was just as guilty as the rest of them.”
“Then help me understand,” I pleaded with him. “What is the tribunal guilty of?”
Siry stared at the ground. I felt as if he wanted to trust me, but didn’t know how.
“You said I was a target,” he said softly.
“We’re all targets. All Travelers. You don’t want to hear that, but it’s true. You’re going to find out soon enough. Better to hear it from me than—”
“Than Saint Dane?” he interrupted.
“I’m here to find the truth, Siry,” I said again. “Maybe I can help you get what you want too, but you have to trust me. I need to know about the tribunal and the Jakills and the Flighters.”
Siry looked at me as if I were from Mars. Or Second Earth.
“You really don’t know anything, do you?”
“What can I say? I’m from out of town.”
Siry gave me a look that actually chilled me. “If you do anything to hurt the Jakills, I’ll kill you.”
He meant it too.
Without another word, Siry walked toward the bay. He led me along the sandy path, down to the perfect white-powder beach and along the shore. The water was warm, like Cloral. It felt good to splash in it. Siry didn’t speak. I didn’t think he was used to opening up to anybody, especially a stranger, and I was about as strange a guy as he’d ever met. He was angry. Angry with the tribunal, with his father, and with life in general. He didn’t speak again until we were too far from the village to be overheard.
“We’re being lied to” was the first thing he said. “Everybody. Every last person in Rayne. Maybe everyone on Ibara.”
“Who’s lying? The tribunal?”
“It starts with them,” he answered. “They’re manipulating us all. They say they’re doing what’s best for everyone, but it’s not the truth.”
“What are they lying about?”
“Everything!” he snapped. “It’s about getting us to conform to their way of thinking. Their way of life. Living in this village is like being dead.”
“Really? Seems pretty sweet to me.”
“You don’t live here,” Siry snarled. “This is it. There’s nothing more. People live their boring little lives in their little huts doing little jobs. Every day. Everyone has his place. Nothing varies. When you turn seven, you’re evaluated and told what job you’ll do for the rest of your life. You have no choice. You know what job they’ve got for me? Farming. I’m supposed to grow food to feed the people who make the clothes that are worn by the people who catch the fish that are eaten by the people who build the huts for the people who pick up the trash of the people who repair the lights for the people who bring the water to the people who teach other people how to do all the boring jobs in the first place. It never ends. Every single day. That’s not living. It’s surviving.”
“So where does the lying come in?” I asked.
“There’s more to this world than that. To life. The tribunal is keeping it from us.”
“How?” I asked.
“They control information. There are plenty of books, but none talk about our history, or about anything that happens beyond our little world. Don’t even try to ask. You won’t get answers. Worse, if you ask too many questions, they put you away. It’s a crime to be curious.”
“I don’t get that.”
“People disappear. One day a guy might be heard openly wondering about why we aren’t allowed to move to other villages; the next day he’s gone. His whole family is gone. Nobody knows where or why. They’re just…gone, and never seen again.”
“So why don’t people just leave?” I asked.
“Because nobody is allowed off the island!” Siry shouted.
“This is an island?” I asked, surprised.
“Yes,” Siry answered. “Rayne is the largest village, but there are others. I’ve been to a few with my father, but traveling is discouraged. We’re conditioned from birth to live our lives in the little village where we were born and to be happy about it. I’m not. None of the Jakills are. We know there’s something more out there. The Jakills are going to find it.”
“Wait, go back. This is an island that nobody has ever left?”
“Yes.”
“So who are the Flighters? People trying to leave?”
“No, they come from somewhere else. That’s why the tribunal is afraid of them. They’re worried the Flighters will poison our way of life. The security force usually keeps them away, but sometimes a few make land, like today.”
“Where do they come from?”
“That’s just it. Nobody knows! If the tribunal knows, they’re not saying. The tough thing is, the Flighters are savages. If they were friendly, there might be a way to learn from them, but they aren’t. They’re scavengers who raid farms and steal whatever they can carry. They’ve attacked villagers and destroyed huts. They’re all about random violence. Now they’re going after the tribunal.”
“So it looks like the tribunal has more to worry about than whether they’ll poison Rayne’s way of life.”
Siry nodded.
“If you hate the place so much, why did you protect the tribunal from the Flighters?”
Siry chuckled and shook his head, as if I were an idiot. “We don’t want to destroy Rayne, Pendragon. If people are happy with their lives, that’s their choice. We just want everyone to know the truth and live their lives the way they want. We aren’t heartless. The Jakills have families. We want change, not destruction. We want to help the people of Rayne, not hurt them. That’s why we fight the Flighters.”
Good answer.
“So that’s what brought the Jakills together? You want to change your lives?”
“Most of us are the sons and daughters of village leaders,” Siry answered. “We all heard things, growing up. Little things our parents let slip. It got each of us thinking on our own. Once we started pooling our information, the questions kept coming. Who are we? Why are we stuck here? Why can’t we learn about the rest of our world?”
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“What did your father tell you?” I asked.
Siry laughed. “He was the worst of all. He wanted nothing to do with the outside world. I have a hard time believing he was some kind of ‘Traveler.’ That wasn’t him. I’m sorry he’s dead. I really am. He was a good guy when I was little. But once I started having opinions of my own, we stopped getting along.”
“What about your mother?” I asked.
“I didn’t know her. Remudi adopted me when I was a baby.”
No surprise there. That’s how it worked with Travelers. I was getting a better picture of Ibara. Remudi was a Traveler. I couldn’t help but think that if he had a hand in the kind of disinformation policy that Siry was talking about, it might have something to do with the future of Ibara. The turning point. I felt I was on the right track. Not close, but at least on the right track.
“We just want the truth,” Siry said. “You saw the Jakill clearing in the jungle. You saw the things we have. None of that came from any village on the island. Over the years things have washed up on shore. What wasn’t confiscated and destroyed by the security force has been secretly passed around and hidden. It may all be junk, but it means a lot more to us. Each piece is a clue to what exists beyond the shores of this island. We want to know what it is.”
“You might not like it,” I cautioned.
“Maybe. We want the chance to find out for ourselves.”
I nodded in understanding.
“I’ve been honest with you. It’s your turn. What do you really want here?”
It was a critical moment. Siry didn’t trust me, but he’d opened up. It made me think there was hope for an alliance.
“I think you’re right,” I began. “The tribunal is keeping secrets. Your father was keeping secrets. I want to know what they are.”
“Why?” he pressed. “Why do you care?”
“I know you didn’t agree with your father or anything he stood for. I do. He was a Traveler, which means there’s more going on here than even the tribunal realizes.”
That made Siry perk up. He liked the idea that there might be secrets being kept from the tribunal.
I continued, “I know you don’t care about being a Traveler, but I think that what you want, what the Jakills want, is exactly what I want. We may have different reasons, but we’re on the same side. We both want the truth. Let me help you find it.”
Siry stared deep into my eyes, as if he were trying to read my mind and gauge whether or not I could be trusted. He was a passionate guy. That was good. He was also a thief and a brawler who hated authority. Not so good. But I agreed with his philosophy. People should be in charge of their own destinies. And he was loyal. He cared about his friends and wanted what was right for them. Maybe he had the makings of a Traveler after all.
“All right,” he finally said. “But I meant what I said. If you betray us, I’ll kill you.”
I had been cautious with Siry till then, but I was tired of playing games. I got right into his face and said, “Whether you believe it or not, you are way over your head. I’ve asked for your help, but pretty soon you’re going to need me as much as I need you. Don’t threaten me, Siry.”
Siry blinked. I called his bluff. He was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a killer.
“You want to help us?” he asked. “You really want to help us?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Then come with me.”
He took off running down the beach. I hoped this wasn’t going to be a long trip. The adrenaline from the fight had worn off and I was feeling kind of worked. I wanted a nap, not a tour. But this was Siry’s show. If he was going to show me something important, I had to go along. He led me along the shore of the cove, ducking into the dense jungle near the outer limits of Rayne. He seemed to pick a random spot to enter the jungle, but I soon realized we were on a small path. Back in Stony Brook I knew every twist, turn, rock, path, tree, and ditch in the woods behind my house. It was the same for Siry. He knew exactly where he was going. We shot along the narrow, twisting path for several minutes. The foliage was thick, making the jungle seem darker than it was. The path rose gradually and soon became so steep I thought about using my hands to scramble up. We were climbing, high. It was tough going. I knew we were coming to the end of our trip when the path became lighter again. Siry climbed on to a rock outcropping at the edge of the jungle and turned back to me. I could see the excitement in his eyes.
“We’re not just a bunch of angry kids,” he declared. “We mean what we say, and we’re going to do something about it.”
He motioned for me to take a look. I climbed up next to him to find we were on a rock ledge, high above the shore. We were facing the ocean that bordered the large protected bay. Looking out, I saw nothing but green sea. Down below was a curious sight. This wasn’t a sandy beach. It was a rocky, rugged coastline. Jutting out from the shore were five long, wooden piers. Tied up to either side of each pier was a sailing ship. Ten in all. Each was identical. They looked to me like old-fashioned pirate ships, complete with double wooden masts.
I’m guessing they were about a hundred feet long, with a structure at the stern. They were identical, except for their colors. Each was painted a different bright, tropical color. There were vibrant greens, brilliant blues, and a few deep corals. It was an awesome sight. The ships gleamed in the sun. Their brilliant colors made them look more like amusement park rides than practical ships. I’d seen old-fashioned sailing ships at the Mystic Seaport back home, but I’d never seen so many in one place. It was a small fleet.
“They look new,” I observed.
“They are,” Siry answered. “They’ve only been out for short test sails.”
“Is this the fishing fleet?” I asked.
“No,” Siry answered. “They’re way bigger than any fishing boat. Officially, the tribunal says they’re to replace the older fishing boats, but people who’ve been aboard say they aren’t outfitted for fishing.”
“What do you think they’re for?” I asked.
Siry looked down at the colorful fleet. He thought for a moment, then said, “I don’t know. I don’t care. When I look at these ships I only think of one thing.”
“What’s that?”
Siry looked at me with dead seriousness and said, “Escape.”
“What?”
“Many of the Jakills have been on ships since they could walk. They know how to sail. They’ll have no trouble handling one of those.”
“Whoa, wait,” I said. “You’re not thinking of—”
“Yeah, we are,” Siry said. “We’re going to steal one of those ships and leave the island.”
“What about the security force? Aren’t they guarding the ships?”
“They’re more worried about Flighters coming from the sea. They won’t expect a threat from Rayne. That’s part of the problem, Pendragon. The people here have given up. No, worse, it’s like the spirit of adventure has been bred out of them. They go along, living on the beach, catching their fish, picking fruit, and singing songs. There’s no life here. No excitement. It’s a dead culture. The Jakills are going to change that.”
“No offense but I’ve seen you guys fight,” I said vehemently. “If the security force jumps in, you’ll never set foot on one of those ships, let alone sail it away.”
Siry stepped in front of me, folded his arms, and smiled. “I agree. It was the one thing that kept us from going forward with our plans. I think we’ve solved that.”
He gave me a wide, Cheshire cat grin. It didn’t take long to understand what he was thinking.
“You’re kidding, right?” I said quickly.
“You said you wanted to help us.”
“Yeah but, we’re talking about piracy!”
“There was one thing my father said that stuck with me, Pendragon. He said that Ibara was getting close to a turning point. He said the future of our home depended on how that turning point went. I think he was right, and I think the Jakills are that turnin
g point. We want to get out from under this controlling society and explore Ibara. We want to make this a better place. You said you wanted to help? Get us onto one of those ships. I think that’s what my father would have wanted you to do.”
I stepped past Siry and looked down on the brightly colored sailing fleet. This territory was an enigma. It seemed the people who lived on this island were being sheltered from the bigger world beyond. But why? What was out there? Did the tribunal know? Were they protecting their people? Or keeping them prisoner? There was a big fat truth lying out there, somewhere across the ocean. I had no doubt that whatever it was, it had something to do with the overall destiny of Ibara, which meant it had to do with Saint Dane. I needed to know what was out there, not for the same reasons as Siry and the Jakills, but for the sake of the whole territory.
How could I do that? I could go to the tribunal and try to learn from them. But in spite of my loose connection to Remudi, I was an outsider. If the tribunal totally controlled the lives of everyone in Rayne, what chance did I have of getting them to be truthful with me? Unfortunately, the answer was clear. There was zero chance of that. It was looking as though my best hope of learning the truth about Ibara was in joining up with a renegade band of kids who were hungry for adventure.
“When do we leave?” I asked.
This is where I’m going to end this journal and send it to you, Courtney. Like I said, I’m about to become an outlaw. I’ve decided to put in with Siry and the Jakills and help them hijack one of the sailing ships. The flumes have always put us where we needed to be, when we needed to be there. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I’ve landed on Ibara when the next Traveler is about to make such a bold move. Something is about to happen on this island. Change is coming. The Jakills are at the leading edge. Their disenchantment with the status quo feels like a revolution. Things are definitely coming to a head. By all accounts the strange Flighters have become more aggressive. Just as strange is the mystery fleet of sailing ships that the tribunal constructed. What are they for? Why are they being so secretive about them?