Chapter 15

Snarks and Sparks

Being adrift in the Void was not how we imagined spending our time in Solandria. With each passing day, the mood on the ship became bleaker and bleaker. The food rations were immediately cut to minuscule portions that were hardly enough to keep a rodent alive.

At last, on the fifth day of our journey, Rob stumbled excitedly out of the deckhouse, clutching a book in his hands.

“I’ve got it!” Rob said triumphantly.

“Got what?” Trista asked.

“The reason we’re lost. It’s the snark’s fault!”

“Snark?” I questioned.

“Yeah, I’ve been studying the Author’s Writ to pass the time lately and I found this passage.”

Rob shoved the book under my nose. It was open to a page with the picture of a small furry creature with giant orbed eyes and a long furry tail.

“Hey, that looks like Boojum,” Trista said.

“Yeah, but wait till you read what it says,” said Rob, clearly proud of what he had found. I took the book and began to read aloud.

Snarks are small furry creatures with extremely healthy appetites. Their skin is highly sensitive to direct light, which can singe their bodies if exposed even temporarily. Fortunately, a snark’s blood carries the extraordinary ability to heal its wounds at an amazing rate. This trait has caused some to hunt snarks and harvest their blood for use in potions and medicines that speed the natural healing process and prolong life.

Snarks can be kept as pets, but only by those whom the snark chooses. These highly adorable creatures have a way of charming most anyone they choose into keeping them. Just remember, if you own a snark, it is only because it chose you as its master. Their sense of curiosity often leads them into trouble. They are fiercely loyal and determined creatures, though not always trustworthy.

A rare breed of snark, sometimes referred to as deviants, possesses an aura of negative energy that can distract or deter its owners. Deviants are physically indiscernible from other snarks—only time will tell if a snark is a deviant.

Snarks are neither good nor bad in and of themselves, so you are advised to carefully consider if a snark is beneficial to your lifestyle before making a decision to keep it. Getting rid of a snark once you have one can be difficult.

“See what I mean?” Rob said proudly.

“Not really,” Trista replied. “What does that have to do with us being lost?”

“Watch this,” he declared, motioning for us to follow him into the deckhouse where Boojum slept soundly in the corner. Then, quietly picking up the compass from the table, he held it close beside Boojum. As the compass neared the creature, it began to swing wildly in different directions.

“Well, I’ll be,” Stoney said. “It wasn’t broken after all.”

Boojum woke up slowly, surprised to see so many of us standing around him. He rubbed his eyes and walked to where I stood. All the way, the compass followed his every move.

Rob was excited. “See, it’s Boojum that got us here. His aura has been affecting our compass ever since we got on board. He’s the reason we’re lost out here—the reason we’re starving to death in the middle of nowhere.”

Even with the facts plainly before me, I felt a sudden urge to defend my furry friend.

“Quit blaming everything on Boojum. He’s done plenty of good things for us too!”

“Like what?” Rob challenged.

“Like retrieving the sword when we needed it in the Sky Cars, or…uh…saving me from Xaul. Doesn’t that count for something?”

“Sure, just don’t forget he also was the reason you had to lie to your mom about the mess, the reason you were in trouble with Xaul in the first place…and…oh yeah…the reason we’re probably all going to die out here,” Rob said.

“Hey now,” Stoney said, stepping in to break up the argument. “We don’t know that for sure…least not until we’re dead.”

His efforts to sidetrack the argument didn’t work—Rob cut right back into it.

“Face it, Hunter. He’s a deviant and you know it! You should get rid of him.”

“How do you expect me to do that? Throw him overboard?”

“Now that’s enough,” Stoney interrupted, commanding authority. “This is my ship, and so long as I’m captain there won’t be no talk of throwing nobody out nowhere, understand?”

I nodded weakly. Rob just glared back, muttering something under his breath about “pesky rodents” not qualifying for that rule.

“Look,” Stoney continued, “even if the compass was working now, it’d do me no good until we knew where we was. And the only way that’s going to happen is by a miracle. What we need is a sign—a stroke of mercy from the Author himself.”

As he spoke, a soft melody hummed through the air…very low and light. And in my head I thought I heard a voice—a voice not much louder than a whisper.

Hunter. Hunter.

“Yes, I’m here,” I answered.

Stoney’s good eye shifted from side to side nervously. “I’m sorry, you talking to me?” he said.

“No, not you!”

“Then who did you say it to, lad?”

“The voice,” I answered.

“Oh, I see,” Stoney nodded. Then, suddenly realizing what I’d said, he asked, “What in the blazes? You’re hearing voices?”

Just then a gentle wind began to blow through the deckhouse, accompanied by a steadily growing light. Boojum winced immediately and ran away to a darker part of the ship before it became too bright for him to bear. The medallion lifted itself away from my chest, and the Flame within emerged into the cabin with us. The four of us watched in wide-eyed wonder as the Flame formed itself over the desktop, turning from a low ember to a brilliant yellow.

Let me, the Flame said.

“Let you what?” I asked.

Let me lead the way.

“Of course, why didn’t I think of that before?” I said.

“Think of what?” Stoney said. “Is anyone else confused by this, or is it just me?”

“Hunter can hear the Flame speak,” Trista replied.

“The Flame?”

“Yeah, it was Petrov’s. He told us to protect it and carry it with us.”

“A boy that can talks to flames, eh?” Stoney said. “That’s a new one.”

The Flame floated out into the night sky. It hovered in place for a moment and then curved back to the right side of the ship, leaving a twinkling trail of light in its path.

“Captain Stoney!” I beamed. “We have our bearing…follow the Flame!”