Captain orange beard's Arc

Chapter 3 of 5

For two days the bone needle pulled east across open water. Captain Orange Beard stood at the wheel of his weathered ship, charts spread before him. The ink ran out at the edge of the paper. Past that line lay nothing but blank sea. The compass still pointed on, into water no map had ever named. Somewhere ahead, hidden rocks could rip the hull open. His crew watched him, waiting for the order to turn back. He held his course. By dusk the water changed color. Pale green streaks cut through the blue. A man in the crow's nest shouted. Shoals. Rock teeth lurked just under the surface, close enough to tear the keel. The ship drifted straight toward them, and Captain Orange Beard could not see a safe path through. Then light bloomed over the bow. Twinkles Starfall landed on the rail, her galaxy wings bright against the dark. She had followed his ship from the green island. He had not asked her to. Her eyes swept the shoals. "You sail blind," she said. "These rocks eat ships." "My map ends here," he said. "The needle does not." "Then trust the needle. Not the map." She lifted off the rail and flew ahead, a small spark skimming the waves. "Follow my light. Match my turns. Do not drift." Captain Orange Beard gripped the wheel. His crew worked the sails on his word. Twinkles darted left between two black rocks. He turned the wheel hard and the ship leaned after her. A reef scraped the hull and the whole deck shuddered. She cut right. He swung the other way. Water boiled white on both sides as rock teeth passed within arm's reach. For an hour she threaded him through the maze. His arms burned. Sweat stung his eyes. The faerie never slowed, and he never lost her glow. Then the green streaks faded. The water went deep blue again. Open sea opened wide ahead, clean and empty. The crew cheered. Twinkles returned to the rail, her wings dimmer now. "The shoals are behind you," she said. "The ship holds." "Why help me?" he asked. She looked east, past the ship, toward something he could not see. "There is a gap out there I need to reach." She stopped. Her mouth pressed shut. She said no more. Captain Orange Beard checked the bone compass. The needle still pulled east, steady and sure. He had crossed the edge of every chart he owned. No map could guide him now. Only the needle, and the faerie on his rail. But as the ship ran free, a shadow crossed the moon. Wide wings. A long body. High above the mast, the winged beast circled, watching the pirate who had wounded it. It had found him at last, far from any land, with nowhere left to hide.