Page 51 of Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm

Shinji felt a chill slide up his back as she started reading.

The Storm Boar has awakened, and we are lost. Its wrath is terrible, and the very ocean has turned on us. I do not know what has become of the strangers who took the idol. I do not know what became of their ships. I only know the skies have turned violent, the wind is unbearable, and the rain is flooding our crops. We have tried appeasing the Storm Boar, but our offerings have been ignored. The Boar

wants only one thing: the sacred idol that we were supposed to protect. The pact between us and the guardian. The pact was broken when we allowed the idol to leave these shores, and the storm is the result.

This cannot go on. I fear we must abandon the island; it is a cursed place now. But we cannot leave while the sea rages around us. Our ships would sink in the storm. There is only one course of action left to us, though I tremble to even put it into words. May the gods forgive us, but…

We must seal away the Storm Boar.

Our elders know the ancient ritual. And the magic of the font will grant us the power needed to do such a thing. Once this is done, we will leave the island and never return. Even if the Storm Boar is sealed away, the island will not forgive us for this blasphemy. The horizon beckons, and we will seek our new lives beyond it. And if the Boar ever escapes, gods help the ones who set him free.

Silence fell as Phoebe looked up from the journal, a somber air descending on the room.

“So, the people sealed away the guardian,” Lucy ventured in a quiet voice. “And now that he’s free, he wants his idol back.” She observed the storm raging over the island and wrinkled her nose. “Is he really just going to throw a giant temper tantrum until the statue is returned?”

“Well, on the bright side,” Oliver said, “at least the boar isn’t chasing the idol down itself. So, we have a little time.

Don’t worry, kid,” he went on, giving Shinji an encouraging grin. “We’ll go back to headquarters, let Priya know what happened, and she’ll be able to call on some Storm Boar expert who will know what to do. I’m sure the Society has one of those.”

“I hope so,” Shinji muttered. Guilt and shame ate at his insides. He had released a vengeful guardian on a peaceful island. He had nearly gotten everyone killed. All because he had ignored Lucy’s and Roux’s warnings and had tried to do everything himself.

“Once we’re farther away from the island, I’ll contact Priya,” Mano announced. “And don’t worry, Ocean, I’ll explain everything that happened. Better that she hears it from me and not you.”

“Uh, yeah.” Oliver grimaced. “Probably for the best. She still hasn’t forgotten that whole debacle in Cambodia.”

“Hey, guys?” Roux said. Standing at a window, he stared back toward the island, his gaze pointed toward the sky. “Not to freak anyone out, but I think the hurricane is moving.”

“What?” They all turned. The ominous mass of darkness hovered over the volcano. Shinji watched the clouds swirl and the lightning flash, but the storm was so massive, he couldn’t tell if it was staying in one place or not.

Suddenly there was a blinding flash of lightning that lit up the whole sky. In that flash, Shinji could see the split-second outline of a huge boar in the clouds, eyes blazing electric blue as he raised his head and roared with thunder.

And the storm began to move.

“It’s coming,” Mano breathed, taking a step back. “The hurricane is coming. Step aside, Ocean,” he said, moving in front of Oliver and putting a hand on the wheel. “You’ve done your part, but I need to get my ship out of here. If that storm catches up, this boat is sunk.”

“Is the Storm Boar afterus?” Lucy asked, staring out the window with wide eyes as Oliver relinquished the wheel to the captain. “Why is it chasing us? We don’t have the idol.”

“Hmm, I don’t think the Storm Boar is coming for us necessarily,” Phoebe said, also gazing out the window at the approaching hurricane. “But I do think he is looking for the idol. The question is, where is the idol now? We know the soldiers took it from the island. Where did they go? How far away did they get? Is it on another island? Oh dear.” She blinked, as if just realizing something. “That could be a problem if whatever island it’s on is inhabited.”

“To put it lightly,” Mano said. “There are dozens of islands scattered through the South Pacific, many of them inhabited. If they get hit by a hurricane, the damage will be catastrophic.”

“Yeah,” Oliver agreed with a sigh. “Looks like we’re going to have to find that idol ourselves, before the big angry sky pig wrecks every island he comes to. Shinji? You’re our resident guardian. Any ideas?”

“I don’t know,” Shinji said in frustration. “It’s not like the Coatl has given me any clues.” There was a sick feeling

in the pit of his stomach. He remembered the Coatl’s statue, and the quest to return it to the font in the guardian’s temple. This felt the same, except the Storm Boar wasn’t waiting around for someone to return the idol to him. He was going to get it himself, and destroy anything that got in his way. “The idol could be anywhere,” he said, “and there’s no way to track it down.”

“Hmm…” Phoebe tapped her finger against her chin, looking thoughtful. “Maybe there is,” she mused. “Everyone, follow me.”

They trailed Phoebe back inside the ship, down into the library, where she had first tried to help Shinji tap into his powers. Where Shinji had gotten his first glimpse of the Storm Boar. As they entered the room, Shinji felt the ship starting to rock a little more beneath them. As if the waters outside were becoming choppy from the approaching storm.

“All right, Shinji, have a seat,” Phoebe said, pointing to the same spot on the floor as last time. There was no cushion, but Shinji sat cross-legged with Lucy and Roux to either side. Phoebe settled herself in front of him, and Oliver hovered in the corner, watching.

“What are you trying to have the kid do exactly?” the ex-pirate asked.

“The guardians are connected to one another through the magic of the fonts,” Phoebe replied. “If Shinji can tap into the power of the Coatl, we might be able to learn…something.Something about the Storm Boar, and maybe how to stop it.”

Oliver’s jaw tightened, his fingers nervously rubbing his parrot cane. “Messing around with magic isn’t a good idea,” he said. “Messing around with magic on a ship is, to paraphrase Mano, especially bad luck. You can’t control it, and if anything goes wrong, it goesverywrong. The Mystics know that better than anyone.”

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