Journey to Rainbow Island (17 page)

Grandma looked at Jacob and placed her right hand over his. “This is your new home, Jacob. Grandpa and I won't be here forever. You are meant to take over this home and continue our mission. You can have anything you want
in life if you only keep love in your heart. Find your life's love, and together build a community and make the world a brighter place.”

“You can make so many friends and have a beautiful life like Grandma and Grandpa!” Yu-ning said, filled with excitement.

Jacob looked down at the red tabletop. Tears continued to flow. “Right now? I can have this all right now? What about my punishment? I am guilty of such horrible acts. How can I be worthy of living in this world of color and love?” he asked, weeping freely.

“It will take some time for your heart to heal and for you to find forgiveness within yourself,” Grandpa said, nodding with understanding. “There are no punishments, only sacred lessons. You are a beloved child and the moment you accept that truth and honor yourself, your life of color and brightness will begin. This is your work.”

“Just like that?” Jacob asked in disbelief.

“Just like that,” Yu-ning, Grandma, and Grandpa said in unison.

“But I am all alone,” Jacob said, filled with regret.

“No longer. You have all of us! And you can go out and share your love with everyone you meet, and you will never feel lonely. You will see how beautiful your life can be when you share your love,” Grandpa said, smiling.

“You will never return to that dark cabin,” Yu-ning said. “It no longer exists. The light will transform it into a beautiful field in which the animals can roam safely. There is only this moment now and every moment to follow, and all of those moments are filled with color.” Yu-ning's words were powerful, and Jacob's eyes and heart were wide open to receive them.

Grandma exclaimed, “Oh, I just remembered, I made hot cocoa and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. Would you all like to have some?” She rose and started for the kitchen, her cheeks round and rosy from the fire. It was hard to believe she was almost 100 years old; in the light of the fire she looked like a young girl.

Yu-ning clapped. “Oooh, hot chocolate and warm chocolate chip cookies. My favorite! Thank you, Grandma, thank you!” she said, as she followed Grandma to the kitchen to help with the cookies and cocoa. When everyone had their fill of cookies, Jacob poured a little more cocoa into each of their mugs. Grandma and Grandpa walked to the living room to sit, bringing their mugs with them and gesturing for Yu-ning and Jacob to follow.

In the living room, Yu-ning saw a short pink and purple cabinet with flowers painted on each side. Next to it was a large colorful console with a thick photo album on top. “Oh, wow! It's a rainbow book!” Yu-ning exclaimed with excitement.

Grandma and Grandpa nodded together. In an animated tone, Grandma said, “Oh, yes! Those pictures are of our adventures together in our younger days. You can look through it if you wish,” she said.

Yu-ning opened the photo album carefully and started to turn the pages very slowly, and then returned to the first page, savoring each image. On the first page was a black and white photograph of the young couple holding hands in the back of the garden. They were planting trees and flowers and looked to be about twenty years old.

“Come see this!” Yu-ning said to Jacob, who walked over to Yu-ning and stood next to her, looking at the picture.
Page after page showed their life together. There were images of the two of them atop a mountain peak; laughing in the ocean; smiling by a cave with a black and brown bear; climbing a tall green mountain; feeding each other exotic fruit on a tropical island; sitting under a waterfall; making food in their kitchen; Grandpa giving Grandma a bouquet of tulips in a field.

The photos were numerous, and the album glowed with bright lights as she turned the pages. Jacob stood next to her, and they were both deeply moved. “You will have a life like this with your love one day,” Yu-ning whispered only to Jacob, smiling up at him.

“You saved my life, Yu-ning,” Jacob managed, thickness gathering in his throat.

Grandma approached, her arms wrapped around two bright, shining books. She gave a pink one to Yu-ning and a yellow one to Jacob.

“They are photo albums!” Yu-ning cried out, hugging hers to her chest. She and Jacob opened the albums. The pages were illuminated but blank.

“These are for your new lives; you can put anything inside,” Grandpa said lovingly. “Make your life; make it beautiful and make it colorful. It is our gift to you.”

“Thank you so much, Grandma and Grandpa. I will make it beautiful and colorful!” Yu-ning said, squeezing the pink photo album to her chest.

“I can't thank you enough for giving me another chance,” Jacob said quietly. “I will make my new life colorful. I will build a new home.” He looked wistful and vulnerable.

“You
are
home,” Grandpa said.

“This is your home,” Grandma added.

Tears filled Jacob's eyes. “How can I ever thank you?”

“You will thank us by making your life matter and by filling it with love and color,” Grandma said.

In that moment there was a loud rushing sound, like beating wings, just outside the cottage. Yu-ning gasped, ran to the front door, and quickly opened it. There before her was Suparna, who had landed in the small yard between the cottage, the forest, and the cliffs overlooking the sea. And hopping down from his back was Magic, smiling broadly and leaping thirty feet into the air, excited to see Yu-ning safe and sound. “Hello, Suparna! I am sorry I never returned to tell you where I went after I left you in the meadow this morning.”

“That's all right, Yu-ning. Magic and I decided to fly over the forest, and I was keeping my eye on you from a distance,” said Suparna, winking at her as a sly smile formed at the corners of his beak.

“Suparna, wait until you see what I have!” she said, hurrying back into the cabin to retrieve Lightcaster from where she had placed it along with her backpack when they arrived.

“Is that the bow, Yu-ning? Let me see it.” Yu-ning walked to Suparna and reverently placed Lightcaster at the great bird's feet. Suparna gazed at the bow in amazement and said, “It is a beautiful bow, even after all these years—you can see that it yet has power within it.”

Yu-ning pondered this thoughtfully as the elderly couple emerged from the cottage, smiling and waving at Suparna. “It's wonderful to see you again, Suparna. It's been a long time,” said Grandpa.

“You know Suparna?” said Yu-ning, turning toward Grandpa.

“Yes, my dear. Suparna has been a good friend to us over the years,” answered Grandma.

“And you must be the hunter,” Suparna said, turning his gaze toward Jacob.

“Yes—I am Jacob. You probably don't remember me, Suparna, but I grew up on Rainbow Island. I left when I turned eighteen. That was more than twenty years ago, though . . .” Jacob's voice trailed off, his mind filled with distant memories.

Suparna nodded at Jacob. “It is very good to see you again, Jacob. It's been many years.” Suparna shifted his attention back to Lightcaster. “But I have not seen Lightcaster in many decades. I knew its owner.” As Suparna said this, he looked again at Jacob. “If this is Lightcaster, and you have had it all these years,” Suparna said, “then you must be Corain's grandson . . .”

“Yes, Corain was my grandfather . . . how did you know?” said Jacob, amazed.

“I knew many of the Darq Renders and was a scout for the Darq Render army. Your grandfather was legendary, Jacob. He was known as the greatest archer in Darqendia. All those years you spent as a child on Rainbow Island, but I never knew you were Corain's kin. This day is most certainly full of surprises,” he added. With that, Suparna bowed solemnly toward Jacob, in honor of the hunter's grandfather.

Suparna turned toward Yu-ning, with Magic on her shoulder. “Night is upon us, Yu-ning, and there is much to do. I am afraid we must leave now and return to Rainbow Island with Lightcaster. Metatron will be anxious to see you, and to hear about the events of these past weeks.”

Yu-ning hugged Grandma and Grandpa and thanked them for their help. She turned to Jacob, whose eyes sparkled; he gave Yu-ning a long, strong hug. “I can never repay you, Yu-ning,” he whispered in her ear. “You believed in a stranger, and that stranger is now your friend for life. If you ever need anything, you know where to find me.”

“Won't you come back with us, Jacob? I know that Metatron would love to see you again after all these years.”

“No, Yu-ning, not now. My place is here—it's time that I started to give back to Palova, as I have taken much from it over these past years. But I promise to visit you someday soon,” Jacob added.

She walked to Suparna, placed Magic gently inside the outer pocket of her backpack, lashed it to the harness, and tied Lightcaster crossways behind the saddle. “Goodbye, everyone!” croaked Magic, who smiled from ear to ear.

As Suparna, Yu-ning, and Magic lifted off from the grassy knoll next to the cabin, the moon began to rise over the ocean. Its light cast a beam across the glassy sea, which Suparna followed into the night—a gleaming beacon that led them safely back to the familiar shores of Rainbow Island.

T
HE WARLOCK RAN HIS HAND ALONG
the top of the razor-sharp wing of the obsidigon. The hard obsidian scales made a
click click click
sound as they hit against one another under the sweep of the warlock's bony fingers. The dragon lowered its enormous head in submission at the touch of its master. “You have done very, very well, my friend,” said Hobaling, continuing to stroke along the top of the creature's scales.

It was dusk, and the wind and rain that had earlier been swirling around Baggul Island had eased considerably. As the winds died, the cold rain turned to silent drizzle, falling straight from the sky—a quiet, muffled mist clothing the island in a grey shroud. The sea was dark grey, blending seamlessly with the granite rocks jutting from the sea like long, thin fingers grasping upward. The sea cliffs revealed no signs of life—no trees or grass, just the orange glow of a single fire flickering from a cave high above the desolate waters.

Inside Hobaling's grotto, the conjurer stood before the obsidigon, admiring his creation by the light of the large fire blazing near the entrance of the cavern. The past several days had been fruitful. The dragon had successfully attacked villages on many islands, including Rainbow Island, which had suffered the most of all. It was more than Hobaling had hoped for: he had thought the Seven Sacred Crystals would be heavily guarded, and was shocked to learn that the dragon had only had to break through the protective glass to reach the large, gleaming gems. But even better, the obsidigon was able to bring back another prize: the boy.

“I sense the light in that boy, which means that his companions from Rainbow Island will come for him,” Hobaling said. “And when they do, we will kill them all—and destroy the light's best chance of defeating us.” The warlock understood that without the crystals the rainbow could not exist and that the power of light and love would slowly drain from Rainbow Island and the world; and as the light faded, Darq power—and Hobaling—would rise.

The dragon opened and closed its massive jaws and shook its head, causing the scales to click together—the sound of sea pebbles tumbling against one another. The obsidigon slowly walked away from Hobaling to the far end of the cave. As the cavern receded into the mountain, it narrowed to a tight passage. At the end of the passage was a heavy, rusted metal gate with massive bars, secured with a heavy chain and ancient lock. Inside was the boy. The obisidigon pressed its head against the bars to peer inside, turning its head, one yellow eye scanning the darkness for signs of life.

Behind the gate, the tunnel made a sharp left turn and opened up into a huge, cavernous hall. When Hobaling had Christie Hsiao thrown him in this prison, Romeo had stumbled, half conscious, deeper into the cave, away from the gated entrance, and collapsed from exhaustion. He now slept in a corner of the cave where a bed of sand had collected over the years, making the hard floor of the alcove at least a bit more tolerable.