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The island couldn’t be reached by sea. The jagged, crystalline spires rose into the sky like a spindle. It wasn’t that far from the waterside cliffs, but all boats that attempted to reach it sank, and all the men who swam there drowned.
Rouge hung from a dead tree that clung to the cliff’s edge, staring at the island through a spyglass. So near, yet so far. There was nothing stopping her from flying across, but she had yet to muster her courage. She’d ransacked libraries, pestered treasure hunters, and spoken to everyone in town, but if there was a guaranteed-to-be-safe way to reach the island, no one knew about it.
She took a deep breath, let go, unfurled her wings, and flew over the cliff’s edge. The burn of saltwater filled her lungs, and the spires rose ever higher. She couldn’t help but wonder if God – or a god – might strike her from the air if she got too close. But the sky remained cloudless and free of divine intervention, and she alit on a rough-hewn “dock” of sorts. The waves lapped at her feet, and she padded forward, eyes darting to and fro. Everything was strange yet familiar. There appeared to be stairs carved in the crystal, but as she ascended them, they rejected the hallmarks of being manmade. The crystal structures were too organic, and the breaks and fractures were too random. It was like this island was trying to appear as though it had been made by human hands.
A clawed metal hand grabbed her arm, and she sprang back. She clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a scream. A hulking, rusted automaton was trapped in the crystal, half-buried in it. Its red eyes glowed, and it struggled to reach her, unable to break free.
‘Do not hurt him.’ It glitched, and its fingers spasmed. ‘Do not.’
Rouge backed away, heading ever upwards. ’S-Sure.’ She didn’t know what this thing was or what it truly wanted, but she didn’t want to risk angering it. For all she knew, it might break free and kill her.
The automaton stopped struggling, and it watched her closely. ‘… If you find him, please tell me. I can no longer reach him. I can no longer help him.’
She broke out in a cold sweat, but she kept going, making her way through passages and caves, occasionally walking past natural windows that opened out into sheer drops. It felt as though the rocks were trying to suffocate her. As she squeezed through a narrow passage, her fingertips brushed against the crystal. Was it crystal? Or a precious stone? It seemed to hum, filling her ears with a strange pressure. She flattened her ears, dulling the sound, and kept going.
She emerged in a crystal hollow that was dimly lit. The barest traces of sunlight filtered through cracks above her head. The darkness shifted, roiling, and she shrank back.
She glimpsed a figure in the darkness – a torso, a head, and ears similar to her own. It watched in silence, observing her with ruby eyes. The crystal pulsed with a crimson glow, like a heartbeat.
Rouge remained motionless. She might as well be trapped like the automaton that she had passed earlier. She felt frozen. After what felt like an age, she took a cautious step forward. ‘Hello?’
A stronger pulse illuminated the cave, revealing the monster before her. It occupied every inch of darkness, and it was larger than some of the sunken boats that lay between the cliffs and the island. The half-silhouette she had glimpsed earlier rose from the top of the creature’s neck, like the figurehead of an unfathomably large sailing ship.
It occurred to Rouge that she might be about to perish. Even as her entire life flashed before her eyes, she risked a glance at the creature’s feet, wondering if it was hiding something. She’d come across other mythical creatures while hunting for treasure. This creature wasn’t a dragon guarding a stash of gold… but maybe it was similar.
It was then that she noticed the metal harpoon protruding from the creature’s wing, which was bent at an awkward angle. The creature tried to edge backwards, but it had no room to move.
‘Hey,’ Rouge said, using her most soothing voice as she cautiously approached. She felt like she was talking to a cat, and while the creature did seem somewhat feline in its movements, she was aware that it could kill her at any moment. But if she helped it, perhaps that would help her find any treasure or precious stones that it might be hiding. ‘Good kitty. Who’s a good boy?’
She cautiously unscrewed the attachment on the handle, and the creature watched her every move with narrowed eyes. It held one massive clawed talon above her head, ready to flatten her if she made a single mistake. The attachment came off, and she flew into the air, grabbing the harpoon by its point. As she pulled it free, the creature growled in pain. The sound was so loud that it made her grind her teeth. After an endless silence, broken only by the slither of sinew and the scrape of metal against bone, Rouge pulled the harpoon free and let it fall, nearly jumping out of her skin when it clattered on the ground.
The creature flexed its wing, nearly knocking her down, and its shoulders slumped. It seemed… relieved. Against her better judgment, she beat her wings and ascended, following the contours of a neck that rippled with tens of thousands of things that were neither feathers nor scales. She floated before the small half-silhouette that was not unlike her own.
He had so many eyes. Two of them resembled hers. They looked like rubies, glistening with pain and exhaustion. Numerous ruby sclera blinked and swirled within the outlines of the red markings on his fur. More sclera stared from the gaps between his ribs. And all of them were staring at her.
‘…Thank you.’
Rouge stared at him. ‘You can talk?’
‘When I have occasion to.’
She faltered and looked away, sneaking a glance at the floor far below. Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness, and she hoped to see the gleam of precious metals or the shine of something other than the endless crystals.
The ‘scales’ and ‘feathers’ shifted. There were infinitesimal differences between them, and they blended together. The scales glittered like jewels, brighter than anything she had ever seen, and her heart raced at the sight of them. She was so enamoured that she almost didn’t see the eyes.
The feathers weren’t feathers. They were eyelashes.
Eyes were scattered across the monstrous part of his body, like stars in the night sky. They blinked and watched, always coming back to stare at her.
Her first thought was that they were hypnotising. The second was that if there was gold or treasure to be found here, there was no part of this cave that would be hidden from the creature’s eyes. Her quest had been doomed before it had begun.
Her shoulders slumped, and her gaze travelled upwards once more. It was only then that she noticed some of the eyes were unblinking. The pupils were framed by scar tissue and half-grown lashes. Now that she was straining her eyes to make out the details, she could see that several jewel-like scales were missing, ripped from his body. Unformed crystals were growing in their places.
Without warning, he grabbed her with one taloned foot, and her wings buckled beneath his grip. This was it, wasn’t it? He was going to break her wings and destroy her chances of escaping. There was no treasure, not in the traditional sense. His body – his scales – was the treasure, and he wasn’t willing to risk letting her attack him, let alone allow her leave and bring back more people to hunt him down.
Her ears unflattened, filled with that unbearable hum once again… and something else. The frightened pounding of a terrified heart.
‘Wait!’ She pulled one arm free and held out her hand, desperately reaching for him. ‘I’m not going to hurt you.’
‘Why should I believe you?’ His grip tightened. ‘What makes you different from the others?’
‘I…’ Rouge faltered. ‘I might be selfish, but I’m not cruel. If I can’t have your scales, then I’ll just have you instead.’
The creature blinked, every eye in unison. ‘What?’ His grip slackened, and she eased herself out, sitting on his hand.
‘All the world’s gems are mine to keep.’ She grinned at them. ‘I just let other people hang onto them sometimes.’
Pain flashed across his features, and he said, ‘People have tried to tame me before. It did not end well.’
‘Not like that. “Mine” in the same way that my hometown is mine. Not like a pet.’ She leaned forward, giving him a wide-eyed, inquiring look. ‘Forget belonging “to” someone. Wouldn’t you like to belong “with” someone?’
He shifted, and it felt like the cave walls shifted with him. She caught a glimpse of something reflective beneath his feet. It was a transmutation circle, inscribed in the crystal along with well-worn alchemical symbols. He caught a glimpse of it as well, and he looked torn.
‘You really are a selfish girl.’ He seemed ageless, but he also suddenly seemed much older than he appeared.
‘Yes, yes.’ She leaned forward, carefully placing one hand against him, and ran her fingertips along one of the jewelled scales. A nearby eye watched her closely.
He let out a long, deep breath, and the exhalation reverberated through his whole being. ‘…These scales lose their lustre when they’re removed.’
Rouge’s eyes widened, and everything fell into place. The treasure hunters and pirates who had come here in the past would have lured him out, harpooned him, and ravaged him to harvest the scales, damaging his eyes in the process… and it had all been in vain. He had sunk their ships, and they had drowned, falling to the ocean floor along with the now-colourless jewels that they had fought and died for.
He cleared his throat and said, ‘You’re the first person to come here who hasn’t tried to tear me apart.’
His words jogged her memory, and she tore her gaze away from the scales, looking him in the eye… or eyes. ‘Your friend is worried about you.’
His eyes flickered, and he seemed disoriented. ‘This place has a strange power. I’m sure you’ve sensed it. Time flows differently here. Things keep growing that ought not to.’ He winced, holding one hand to his chest as he looked down at the unending darkness of his form. ‘… Or maybe I can’t remember things properly. Maybe this is just what I am.’
‘Can you free him?’
He hesitated. ‘…I believe so. Though I don’t know if he’ll want to see me again after I neglected him for so long.’
‘You two can sort that out later.’ She took his hands, and the eyes between his ribs looked up at her. ‘No one is allowed to so much as put a single scratch on my jewels. If I’m going to protect you, then I’m going to need all the help I can get.’
He stared at her for so long that she thought she might have said something egregious. Then he took her in his arms and crushed her against him. ‘Thank you.’ He hugged her so tightly that she thought her ribs might break. ‘Thank you so much.’
Feather-soft lashes brushed her ribs, and as she looked over his shoulder at the countless eyes on his back, she finally realised what he was. He wasn’t a chimaera. He was an angel, and he had been waiting for someone to free him from hell.
‘You’re welcome,’ Rouge said, and she hugged him back. ‘Come on. Let’s get you out of here. After all… jewels are best admired in the sunlight.’