The Stone of Kuromori. Jason Rohan
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I hear you say something about ruins?’ Charles said, ignoring Kenny’s outburst.
‘Yeah, I thought that’s why everyone came down here,’ Dwayne said.
‘They’re something special, man,’ Matt said. ‘You know these islands, right? They’re all part of the Ryukyu Island chain. Well, I googled all this stuff on Ryukyu, yeah, and you know what? Ryu means “precious stone”, as in archipelago of jewels. That’s what Ryukyu means.’
‘That’s a fair interpretation,’ Charles conceded.
‘But you know what ryu also means?’
Charles slipped into professor mode. ‘There are a number of meanings, depending on the kanji and the context in which –’
‘It means “dragon”,’ Matt interrupted. ‘The original name for these islands is Ryugu-jo – “Palace of the Dragon God”. Isn’t that nuts?’
‘Nuts I’d agree with,’ Charles said, sipping his beer and wondering how much the sailors had drunk already.
‘And this is where the ruins come in,’ Dwayne said, leaning closer. ‘There’s like this whole underwater city out there, bro, with walls, stairs, doorways, statues, temples – totally crazy. Some folks say it’s Atlantis, but I don’t buy that. It’s more like some kind of ancient civilisation that got swallowed up by the waves. Isn’t that, like, totally awesome?’
Charles sat back, his fingers linked behind his head. ‘I do seem to recall reading something . . .’
‘Dad, are you serious?’ Kenny said. ‘This has to be some kind of scam. How can you believe this stuff ?’
‘Because we’ve seen it,’ Dwayne said, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. ‘Me and Matt here have dived the site over fifty times.’
‘You don’t strike me as amateur archaeologists,’ Charles said, scrutinising them closely. ‘What’s so interesting about these ruins?’
‘Ah, that would be telling,’ Matt said, finishing his beer. ‘Heard you guys are going out tomorrow, right? Maybe we could hitch a ride in your boat – if you don’t mind, that is.’
‘And why would we agree to that?’
‘On account of we know the site. It’s about thirty metres down, which is no good for a beginner.’
‘There are dangerous currents too,’ Dwayne said. ‘It’s all open water with no reefs.’
‘And did we mention the sharks?’ Matt said. ‘Thousands of hammerheads at this time of year. Breeding season.’
‘Well,’ Charles said, draining his glass, ‘that’s a very generous offer and I thank you for the warnings. I’ll tell you what. Let me go have a chat with some people and, depending on what they say, we’ll see if we can work something out.’
‘Da-ad! ’ Kenny said, stretching it to two syllables. ‘How do you know we can even –?’
‘Sweet,’ Matt said, crushing Charles’s hand in his as he stood up. ‘Sounds like a plan to me.’
Kenny followed his father out to the lobby before he realised Kiyomi was still on the terrace. He strode back, hooked an arm through her elbow and tugged her away.
‘Did you see the arms on that Dwayne dude?’ she said, looking back. ‘I swear his bicep is bigger than my thigh.’
‘Who cares?’ Kenny grumbled. ‘It’s probably all steroids anyway.’
‘I have an idea,’ Charles said, when they caught up with him at the entrance. ‘Why don’t you two go burn off some steam with a hike up to Cape Irizaki, while I go talk to the guys at the diving shop?’ He pointed uphill, across the bay. ‘It’s only a kilometre. It marks the westernmost point of Japan, like Land’s End does back in England. You can use that lighthouse as a marker.’
‘OK,’ Kenny said, eager to put some distance between himself and the Americans. He stomped off, heading up the road.
Kiyomi caught up with him and grabbed his hand. ‘Ken-chan, you don’t have to be jealous of those meatheads.’
Kenny reddened. ‘Why would I be jealous of them?’
‘Exactly. There’s a big difference between admiring a nice set of pecs and liking the owner. Do you think either of those two would pull someone out of a burning building? Or suffocate a shark? Or bargain with a god?’
‘No . . . I guess . . . not if you put it like that.’ Kenny looked at Kiyomi’s smile and felt his annoyance melt away.
‘Or save millions of lives, including mine?’ Kiyomi took both his hands in hers and pulled him closer.
Kenny smiled and his pulse quickened. He brought his lips closer to hers, when THWAPPP! Something cold and heavy walloped the side of his head, knocking him to one knee.
‘Uh-uh, big fella. Stay right where ye are, if ye knows what’s good for ye,’ commanded a squeaky voice.
Peering round as he rubbed his head, Kenny saw five child-sized humanoids emerging from the tall grass. Naked, apart from grass skirts, they had shocks of bright red, waist-length hair and long pointed ears. Two carried short spears, two had arrows nocked against bowstrings and one was absently plucking the eye from a large fish.
‘Ken-chan, it’s OK, don’t hurt them,’ Kiyomi said, raising her hands and backing away. ‘Kijimunaa are harmless.’
Kenny stood up and almost tripped on a gleaming sea bream at his feet. ‘Did you just hit me with a fish?’ he accused the nearest creature.
‘We’s got no quarrels with ye, boy, but it’s the girly’s got to go,’ said the fish-thrower. He popped the freshly extracted eyeball into his mouth and chewed.
Kiyomi took another step back from the advancing creatures and felt the soil slip away from under her heel; she was at the cliff edge.
‘What’s she done?’ Kenny said, weighing his options.
‘Girly’s not clean,’ the kijimunaa said. ‘No oni on this island. Must get off – now !’
At this, the grass parted at Kiyomi’s side and two more creatures sprang up. One flung a length of rope with a stone tied at each end, while the other leapt into the air.
Kenny watched in horror as the cord spiralled round Kiyomi’s legs, ensnaring her long enough for the second creature to land a drop kick, launching her head first over the side of the cliff and down towards the rocks far below.
With no time to think, Kiyomi’s training kicked in. Her reflexes, honed by years of practice, made her tuck her knees into her chest and close her hand on the dagger in her boot as she fell. With a single upward stroke, she slashed the binding around her legs, grabbed the loose rope in her left hand and straightened her body.
Blue sky swam far below her feet and the rocky shore was a hundred metres overhead. The lapping waves were too far away for a splash landing – but she caught sight of a stubby, thick-trunked pine clinging to the face of the cliff.
Kiyomi slung out the weighted end of the rope. The stone glanced off the trunk, rebounded and snagged on a branch, looping over it. She braced herself for the sudden, wrenching stop. The rope snapped tight, a shooting pain lanced through her arms from wrist to elbow to shoulder, and her body jerked upright, whipping towards the craggy surface of the cliff. Twisting round to face it, Kiyomi drew her legs up, slamming both soles hard against the rock. She grimaced in pain before yelling, ‘Kenny! I’m OK. Don’t