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‘Go slow,’ Nix whispered to Tyson who was poling the boat along through the shallow waters in the dark. ‘Left a bit.’
‘If we can get past the inlet we’ll be safe on the river,’ Reah said. ‘It gets lighter as we go up the river and is in sight of the village so the big boats don’t dare to try to jump us there.’
The makeshift raft of wood behind them was banging against the rocks and Reah dragged it in as close to the boat as she could, with Drew and Melise helping to hold it steady.
Over to the right Nix could hear the water of the inlet lapping up against something. He glanced away from the rocks and dared a quick look. Sure enough the bulk of a bigger boat sat heavy in the water not too far away. It had no lights and sat waiting for its prey, but this time it would not get an easy load. Beyond the boat Nix could make out huge cliffs, stretching up into the sky. The inlet they were heading for was little more than a crack in the huge cliffs of rock.
‘Let it drift,’ Nix ordered in a low voice. He reached out and diverted the small boat off a rock just before it hit. He waited while the load of wood floated past the rock and then tapped Tyson on the shoulder to let him know to row again.
Several more rocks later, and a quite a few minutes of guiding the boat by hand, the sky above them became more of a dull grey than black. There were no more rocks ahead of them but they weren’t making any headway. The steep cliff faces were right up against them on both sides.
‘We’re in the river,’ Reah said, grinning through the dim gloom. ‘We have to pull it up river now.’
Nix was amazed at the efforts they were going to just to get some old wood that had been thrown away by the islanders above.
‘Father is going to be so happy,’ Tyson said, as he grabbed at outcrops on the cliff walls and hauled the boat forward with sheer force. Everyone in the boat did the same and soon it was making its way against the flow. Soon the cliffs weren’t as high and after what seemed like forever they were on a slow-flowing river with a rocky shoreline on either side.
‘This is the easy bit,’ Tyson said leaping onto the riverbank holding a rope. The river wasn’t very wide but the flow was enough to prevent them from making much headway with oars. Nix got out of the boat as well and took hold of the rope to help. Tyson let the boat float a little way out into the river until it got close to the other side.
Reah leapt ashore with another rope, followed by Drew. His injured arm seemed a lot better as he pulled the boat without favouring it. Melise was left in the boat, still shivering at the back with the dog.
‘That’s odd. Jaz likes to come ashore,’ Tyson commented and then shrugged and took the strain on the rope. The two teams towed the boat and its cargo up the river. ‘He must know Melise needs to keep warm.’
Nix glanced at the dog and didn’t believe that for a minute. Since the second he had called the birds to look for wood, the dog had stayed as far away from Nix as he could get. It was getting lighter with every step and soon they were in a semi-twilight that seemed almost bright after the darkness of a few minutes ago. It was, however, just as cold as it had been on the water, and a chill wind whipped through his damp shirt.
They had only gone a short way up the river when the sound of many footsteps ahead got Nix’s attention. ‘Someone’s coming,’ he told Tyson.
‘It’s the villagers,’ Tyson said. ‘The lookout will have seen we have a good load and they’ve come to help. There is more than enough wood to help everyone in the village.’
Seconds later a group of people appeared over a small hill and they cheered as they saw the wood. Soon Nix no longer had to help pull the boat upriver as there were more than a dozen willing hands to do the job.
Several people stared at the three new arrivals but kept pulling as they did so.
‘It’s against village rules to allow sunstealers in,’ one commented with a blunt stare at Drew and Nix.
‘They are the ones who found the wood,’ Reah replied. The villagers glared a little but no more objections were raised.
The boat was dragged ashore on a gravel beach and its cargo divided up amongst the villagers. Reah and Drew crossed the river over a small bridge that was built a short way upstream. By the time they reached the boat, Nix had helped Melise onto dry land. The dog leapt from the boat as soon as Nix came near, confirming his suspicions that the dog was scared of him.
The hostile villagers sent several more blankets down to wrap around Melise.
As they came over a small ridge the village came into view. Nix was surprised to see that the houses looked similar to those on March Island. There was one big difference though. More than half of the village was in darkness, shaded by the island above. Torches lit the streets ahead and only a few houses in the distance were bathed in sunlight.
‘We live at this end of town,’ Reah told them. She removed the dark cap and shook free her wavy golden hair. ‘It has been dark for more than a month now and the darkness is creeping over the entire village. The islands above are moving.’
Nix looked up at the bulk of rock above, surprised that he had almost forgotten that it was up there. He guessed that even in the darkness, a bulk of rock would be noticed as being lower.
‘I thought it was dark down here all the time,’ Nix said.
‘Only since the Sun Catchers broke,’ Reah replied with a shake of her head. ‘Now the only natural light we get is an hour or so at dawn and dusk.’
A few rough looking older teenagers were slinking along towards the village from another part of the shoreline. They glared at the wood that was being carried as if it should have been theirs. They were dressed in dark clothes similar to those worn by Tyson and Reah. It was obvious they were the ones who had hoped to ambush the load of wood.
Reah stopped at the brow of the hill and stared out across the village below. Nix could see she was worried and her eyes flicked up towards the bulk of March Island above them.
‘What’s wrong?’ Tyson asked as he joined his sister and followed her gaze. Nix could have told him.
‘The island is moving again. See, almost all the village is in darkness now.’ Reah pointed out across the darkened rooftops and only a dozen houses lay beyond the darkness. Even as Nix looked he was sure the shadow was spreading even further.
‘It’s getting lower than well,’ Tyson added in a worried voice. ‘Do you think it will fall on us?’
Nobody answered his question but all eyes rose towards the hulk of earth hanging above them.
‘Tyson! Reah!’ a voice called from the doorway of stone cottage. An older man could be seen by the light of the lantern he carried. He looked delighted to see them.
‘We found some wood, father,’ Tyson replied as they approached the cottage.
‘Bring your friend inside to get warm,’ Tyson’s father said, nodding in approval at the bundles of wood that everyone in the street carried. ‘Come and eat.’
Nix hadn’t thought about it for a while but it was a long time since he had eaten and now that food had been mentioned he was starving!
The meal consisted of thick soup and fresh bread that even rivalled Cook’s baking. Melise sat in a chair next to the fire and apart from flushed cheeks she seemed to have recovered.
There was a knock at the door and Tyson’s father rose to answer it. Only a few snatches of the conversation filtered through to the kitchen.
‘... want to thank your children for the wood..’
‘... crops won’t last much longer without sunlight...’
‘I think we should see if we can fix the Sun Catchers,’ Tyson said as they heard the front door shut. ‘We will starve if the crops fail.’
‘But the mayor said they couldn’t be fixed,’ Reah argued.
‘And his son has men guarding them while his father is gone,’ Tyson commented. ‘Why would you need to guard something that can’t be fixed?’
‘You think he’s stopping us having light on purpose?’ Reah asked in surprise. She frowned as she looked at her brother to see if he was serious.
‘It gives him more power and we have to pay him for all the wood we need. Even the amount of wood we found today won’t last more than a week. What will we do then?’
‘We should talk to father about it,’ Reah suggested.
‘You know he wouldn’t believe it. The mayor is a distant relative of ours,’ Tyson said with a snort.
Their father returned to the kitchen and the subject was dropped. Tyson’s expression warned Reah about discussing it while their father was around. After the meal was finished Tyson offered to show the visitors around the village.
‘Change out of those black clothes first and stay nearby,’ his father insisted. ‘And I want you back by dusk.’
Tyson nodded and he and his sister hurried off to change. When they came back they were dressed similar to the rest of the villagers. Simple, but comfortable clothing and a large warm jacket. They found extra jackets for the three visitors then Tyson led them down the torch-lit streets. As soon as they were out of sight of their cottage they turned towards the glowing sunlit end of the village.
Just as they reached the sun-drenched streets a young man stepped out of one of the houses and stood in the middle of the street. A dozen other youths came out of alleys and stood behind him.
Even though Nix had never met this young man he knew who he was. The arrogant tilt of his head and jutting chin shouted that he was Mayor Orlan’s son. He was a mini version of his father even down to the shocking red hair and pale skin. He wore golden chains that were smaller than his father’s but just as impressive.
‘You’re at the wrong end of the village,’ the mayor’s son said in a bored tone. He folded his arms across his chest and stared at them. ‘Leave, or we’ll help you leave.’
‘We’ve come to see if we can fix the Sun Catchers, Grenn,’ Tyson said, stepping forward.
‘They’re broken,’ Grenn replied with an amused arch of one eyebrow. ‘I can sell you some wood if you want.’
‘No thanks, we have enough to last for several months,’ Reah lied, moving to stand next to her brother. A look of doubt passed across Grenn’s face and Reah grinned. ‘A gift from a friend.’
Nix wasn’t sure if it was the sun beating down on his head after so long in the dark, or the heavy jacket he was wearing, but he was starting to feel dizzy. A few seconds later a buzz in his head and sweat on his forehead told him it wasn’t just being too hot. He was about to have another bout of Rock Fever. He shook his head and forced his vision into focus. He had to keep control.
‘We need the sunlight from the Light Makers for our crops to grow,’ Tyson stated. ‘We will fix the Sun Catchers.’
‘Again, I can sell you all the food you need,’ Grenn said with a smirk that said he had the upper hand again. When his offer brought no reply he shrugged and raised his hands in mock defeat. ‘Ah well, I guess there’s nothing I can do for you then.’
Nix wondered if they were going to battle their way through the mayor’s son and his thugs but Tyson seemed to find something funny about the whole thing. He began to laugh and Nix wasn’t the only one confused by his response. A few seconds later he stopped laughing and looked at Grenn.
‘And who will you buy food from when the islands cover all the land?’ Tyson looked from the mayor’s son to the hanging bulk of rock high above them. ‘I would say you have about another month before you’re in the dark as well. Even your father has run off to a sunnier island.’
Grenn pressed his lips together and glared at Tyson. A flicker of doubt broke his gaze, and he looked up at March Island. When he looked back at Tyson it was with a hard, angry expression. ‘My father will return soon. The Sun Catchers are broken. Go back to your dark slums.’
The buzzing in the back of Nix’s head grew stronger, refusing to be ignored. He knew he had about ten seconds before he would fall to the ground. With sweat dripping down his face and knowing he must look deathly pale, he clutched at Melise as he sank to the cobbles.
‘What’s wrong with him?’ Grenn snapped and took several steps backwards, forcing his thugs to make way for him.
Nix fought the waves of pain that coursed through him. Why did this have to happen right now?
‘I heard about this kind of sickness,’ one of the thugs said with a look of horror. ‘It’s Rock Fever.’
‘You’ve brought Rock Fever here?’ Grenn had gone almost as pale as Nix.
The last thing Nix saw was a dozen feet running away down the cobbled street. He sank into the oblivion of pain and blackness, sure that this time it would be the end of him.
It seemed only a few seconds later that his eyes flickered open and he blinked against the strong sunlight. His head was still buzzing slightly but he knew the worst was over. A quick glance around him told him that he had been moved to rest against a wall and Melise was sitting next to him.
‘You’re awake,’ she commented in what Nix considered an obvious statement. ‘How do you feel?’
‘Tired.’ Nix scowled. He saw that they weren’t in the same street where he had collapsed. They were at the edge of the village, looking out onto a rocky outcrop that hung over the ocean.
‘Can you walk?’ Melise prompted. ‘The others have gone ahead without us.’
‘Gone ahead?’ Nix knew he sounded simple, parroting her words like that but his head was still fuzzy.
Melise smiled. ‘Your little fit cleared the streets. They won’t come out for hours. We carried you this far but Tyson, Drew and Reah have gone to the Sun Catchers.’
‘You’re not afraid of catching Rock Fever?’ Nix asked, pushing himself into a more upright position.
‘I’ve been with you for this long now. I’d say it’s a bit late to be worrying about that,’ Melise pointed out with a shrug. ‘Besides, nobody ever proved it was contagious.’
Nix tensed himself to stand and leaned on the wall for support as he rose. The world spun a little but cleared after a few seconds. ‘I’ll be fine now.’
‘I’ll help you anyway,’ Melise said. Her expression said she didn’t think he looked fine. ‘Tyson thought you faked it to scare Grenn. They’re over by the Sun Catchers.’
Nix looked around for what could be considered a Sun Catcher. Up ahead he saw half a dozen bowl-shaped objects lying face down on the jagged rocks. They were as large as several grown men across and twice as tall. Most of them seemed to be in several pieces, but one looked unbroken. Tyson, Drew and Reah were pushing it upright.
‘I guess that’s where we’re going,’ Nix commented as he tried to work out how they would catch the sun.
As they caught up with the others Drew turned and saw them. ‘Are you feeling better?’
Nix nodded, a little embarrassed that everyone had seen. His embarrassment was quickly forgotten as he examined the huge bowl that they were turning over. The inside of it was lined with small squares of flattened metal that glinted as they caught the sunlight.
‘Fix it onto the platform,’ Tyson shouted from the other side of the bowl. A lot of rushing around and hammering went on before they all stood back.
‘What does it do?’ Melise asked as two of them began to tilt it backwards and forwards.
‘Watch,’ Reah said, pointing to the darkened village and crop lands in the distance.
All of a sudden the bowl filled with sunlight and shot a beam of light across the top of the village. A few more twists of the bowl and the beam shone onto what looked like the back of a huge bent spoon.
As the sunlight struck the bulbous head of the spoon the village below was bathed in light.
‘I guess this one’s not broken after all,’ Reah said with a grin. ‘One won’t be enough to keep us warm, but it will provide some light.’
Nix walked around the Sun Catcher and looked with interest as Tyson and Drew turned a small wheel at the base of it. It was attached to several ropes that ran under the bowl.
‘It will unwind and follow the path of the sun,’ Tyson explained. He pointed up onto the hill where a dozen Light Makers stood in a row. ‘If they are set up right the light will move from one to the next, giving us at least five hours of light each day.’
‘You can walk up front with us,’ Drew said with a small grin, as the group were ready to leave. ‘It will keep the streets clear.’
‘Thanks,’ Nix replied, a little offended, but Tyson and Reah looked so happy to have light that he let it pass. All his life he had sunlight whenever he wanted it – he could help them out by looking sick as they passed back through the village if they wanted.
