Page 67 of Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm

“Hang on, everyone!” Scarlett cried as the plane swerved violently, throwing Shinji against the wall. His head struck the glass, and he slumped, dazed, to the floor, the world spinning around him. He tried getting up, but the plane was rocking wildly, pitching like a boat on the stormy sea. Shinji fell again, hitting his shoulder against the seat edge, and clenched his jaw around a gasp of pain.

Something grabbed his arm, pulling him upright. The plane swerved into the air and Shinji nearly fell again, but the grip on his shoulders tightened, keeping him on his feet.

“Come on, kiddo,” Oliver muttered overhead. He braced himself against the wall, keeping them both upright. “Stay with us.”

“It’s charging again!” Roux cried.

Shinji looked up. The cloud boar was coming at them, plowing straight through the lightning storm.

And then something bright red flashed by the window. A crimson umbrella, spinning almost lazily on the wind. It soared past the plane, driven by the gale, and hit the cloud boar in the face, covering its eyes. The boar squealed

and tossed its head, trying to throw it off, but the umbrella caught on its tusks, flapping wildly. Blinded, the boar veered to the side, barely missing the plane, and went charging past them into the storm. Shinji turned his head and saw the cloud Coatl lunge forward and wrap itself around the boar. Then lightning sizzled down, blinding him for a moment, and the two creatures were gone.

“Everyone, brace yourselves!” Scarlett cried, and banked hard to the left, causing the plane to nearly stand on a wing tip as it swerved to avoid the worst of the lightning strands. For a few seconds, the wind screamed in Shinji’s ears, the rain pounded the windows, and everything was chaos and madness and noise.

Then, quite suddenly, the noises stopped. Sunlight poured through the windows, the plane stopped pitching and rattling, and the sound of the wind ceased. Breathing hard, still bracing himself against the wall, Shinji peeked out the window, and his heart leaped to his throat.

A ring of clouds surrounded them, still swirling and flickering with lightning, but in the center of it all, the sky was clear. They were in the eye of the hurricane, and something waited for them, there at the heart of the storm.

The Storm Boar loomed in front of them, a massive white creature with electric-blue eyes, a bristling mane, and curved tusks that were longer than Shinji’s whole body. Not the pig-shaped cloud that had chased them through the storm; this was the real thing. The true form of the guardian

at the heart of the hurricane. Strands of lightning snapped from its hide and flickered over the clouds, as if the guardian itself was the core that held the storm together.

Shinji’s throat was dry, but he straightened and looked around the plane, heart pounding. “The idol,” he gasped. “Where’s the idol?”

“Here,” Roux answered, holding it out to Shinji. “I grabbed it when you decided to stand up on a moving airplane in the middle of a hurricane,” he explained. “Thought you probably didn’t want it flying out a window.”

Shinji took the statue, but the second he did, it pulsed in his hands. As they watched, the idol began to glow, becoming brighter and brighter by the second. The dead stone turned to rippling magma, not hot, but definitely warm, throbbing with a heartbeat that made it feel like it was alive.

“Oliver,” Phoebe said, “open the door.”

The ex-pirate gave her a dubious look but reached out and cranked the lever back, pulling the side door open with a grinding screech. Instantly, a blast of cold, damp wind rushed into the cabin, whipping at hair and clothes. Through the opening, Shinji saw the Storm Boar watching them, neon-blue eyes focused on the glowing statue in his hands.

Gripping the idol, he took a careful step toward the opening, deliberately not looking at the sheer plunge into the clouds below. Hoping Scarlett would keep the plane steady for once, he raised the idol in both hands and met the eyes of the Storm Boar through the opening.

“Guardian of the island,” he called, “we return your statue to the heart of the storm. Take it and be at peace.”

A gust of wind rushed into the cabin through the doorway, and Shinji released the idol. It floated in the air for a moment, still glowing brightly. Then the wind sucked it out the door and into empty space. It flew straight up, like a stray rocket into the storm, and disappeared into the clouds.

The great Storm Boar lowered his head, his blue eyes still fixed on Shinji.Human with the spirit of a guardian within,it rumbled.You have risked much to return what was stolen from the island. I will not forgive, and I will not forget. But I will accept your offering. And I will spare your city the wrath of the storm. This will be my final deal with humankind. The pact with the Natia, broken when the heart of the island was stolen, will not be restored. No mortal will set foot on the island again, and the font will be hidden from human eyes forever.

“Storm Boar,” Shinji went on. He knew he might be risking the boar’s wrath again, but the guardian seemed calm now with the return of his idol. “What happened to the Natia, the people who once lived on the island?”

They left,the Storm Boar said bluntly.After they sealed me from the font, they departed the land and sailed away over the horizon. I do not know what became of them. I do not know if they perished, or if their ancestors live still, somewhere hidden and far away.He tossed his shaggy head with a snort.I am done with humankind, but if you wish to preserve the Natia,

remember them. Their culture and their way of life. If they are remembered, they will never truly be gone.

“We will,” Shinji promised. “We won’t forget.”

Farewell, then, mortal. You, and the rest of mankind, will not see me again.

The Storm Boar tossed his head again. Bunching his muscles, he sprang into the air, threads of energy following him up into the clouds. Lightning flashed, turning everything white for a moment, and a boom of thunder rattled the plane. When the light cleared and the rumbles faded away, the Storm Boar was gone.

“Okay,” Roux breathed. “I’m never going to sleep through a thunderstorm ever again. What do we do now? Is it over?”

“Look,” Lucy whispered as they all gazed around in confusion. “The hurricane is waning. The storm is breaking up.”

Shinji peered out the window. Around them, the clouds were parting, dissolving on the wind. In a few minutes, the storm had disappeared, and a bright blue sky stretched before them over the ocean.

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