The Mariner had watched both feeds, amazed that every time she allowed their chops near her fingers she never lost a single digit.
This morning was different, there was no more food to go around and the devils were beginning to gather expectantly.
“She has them well trained doesn’t she?”
McConnell appeared beside the Mariner, doing up his trousers from using the latrine. Both men watched the girl and beasts from the safety of the far side of the deck, having learnt from harsh experience that the devils liked to have priority when it came to breakfast.
“No, they have her well trained,” the Mariner said as he checked his Mauser. “You think they’re fluffy little dogs? They’re not. I’ve seen those things strip a person to the bone. She thinks she’s the master because when they’re fed they don’t kill her, but they’re the ones holding the power. They’re the ones that choose not to kill.”
“But she’s got no more food to give!”
The Mariner looked at McConnell gravely and raised his pistol, ready for the first sign of aggression.
“Right listen up you lot!” Grace called the devils to attention, clapping her hands as if addressing a classroom. “We’re going to be arriving at the zoo soon and I want you to be on your best behaviour!”
A dozen small heads cocked to the side as they tried to understand why this monkey was chattering instead of dishing out grub.
“There are lots of other animals there and you’re not to hurt any of them. You can play, but you can’t bite.”
One eager devil, having grown impatient hopped out of the crowd towards Grace’s bare leg.
The Mariner tensed his finger on the trigger.
“Bluuuurg—”
“No!” Grace swatted the devil on the nose. The beast’s eyes widened with dumb shock, its trap slapping shut in confusion. “That’s a bad Vivian! Very naughty! No tummy rubs for you.”
Fully chastised, Vivian the devil grumbled and laid down, nestling his snout between dainty paws.
“There’s no more food, I’m all out.” Grace held her hands out, palms open like a magician performing a magic trick. A dozen faces turned to look at them and then back to the girl’s face, trying to understand the complex concept. “But when we get to the zoo I will find you some breakfast, and then we’ll all eat together. Won’t that be nice?”
For a moment, the Mariner was sure they’d all break rank and savage her, but then the girl clapped hands and, as if dismissed, the beasts meandered away.
“She’s broken them,” the Mariner huffed, holstering his Mauser and refusing to look McConnell in the eye. Basil walked up to the two men to see if the responsibility of dispensing food had simply passed from one monkey to another. “Some guards you are!” he growled, lightly kicking at the beast, though avoiding actual contact. Grace would probably swat him on the nose too if he wasn’t careful.
As the sun climbed into the sky, all three human passengers watched as the island grew closer. Unlike Sighisoara, the zoo had little height, instead its mass was broad and flat, nestled with trees and strange skeletal structures.
“What are those?” he asked, pointing and squinting.
“They’re cages,” Grace explained as an absolute authority on the matter. “They used to hold all the animals in them, but now the animals just roam about. It was cruel to keep them locked up.”
“What sort of animals?”
Grace shrugged. “Big ones, small ones.”
The Mariner scanned the shore for a suitable place to dock, but unlike Sighisoara there didn’t seem to be any formal point. Instead, the entire circumference was littered with small bays and scattered rocks, shallow waters and beds of sand. All far too shallow to bring the Neptune anywhere near.
“We’ll drop anchor here.” The Mariner was stern and resolute. “I’ll take a row-boat out to see if it’s safe and then return to collect the pair of you.”
“How long will you be?” Grace frowned and stuck out her bottom lip. Having no experience with children, the Mariner looked to McConnell for assistance.
The reverend however was more concerned about being left alone with the devils. He glanced nervously at the pack whose collective bellies were creating a steady rumbling hum. “Perhaps it would be best if we all went together? It’s just a zoo after-all.”
“Yeah, plus we’ve been there before, and you haven’t!” This seemed to settle the debate for Grace. The Mariner shook his head, outmanoeuvred and more than slightly annoyed.
Dropping anchor, lowering the sails and preparing the row-boat took more time than anticipated. Already irritated, the Mariner was vexed by how stubborn the ship was behaving. Tasks that had previously been performed so easily, as if the ship chose to do them herself, now proved a chore; long, almost back-breaking work. And even once they were completed an additional delay presented itself: persuading Grace they couldn’t take all of the devils with them.
“They are the guardians of the Neptune. They can’t come with us.”
“But I promised!”
Is this what it’s like, wondered the Mariner, to live with other human beings? Them putting up resistance to every sane suggestion you make?
“Okay, okay. You can take four with you this time. Perhaps others later.”
Grace spent some time calculating which devils to bring along, seemingly by tallying up various small indiscretions in her head and grading each animal on its good behaviour. “Holly! Basil! Percy! Hedgehog!”
Much to the Mariner’s increasing frustration the four beasts responded to her call instantly and allowed themselves to be picked up and placed in the boat. Each in turn snuggled down obediently, looking up at the sour Mariner with a smug expression on their fox-like features. “Bloody stupid names.”
“Arf!”
“How do you think it came back?” McConnell was asking questions again as the small row-boat finally hit the shore. It came to a jarring halt as it slid up the short beach, a generous portion of wave spilling over the stern.
The Mariner shook his head at the reverend’s question, professing ignorance.
“But you brought it didn’t you?” McConnell’s eyes searched the Mariner’s face for an answer. “Grace said you remembered and then it appeared?”
“I didn’t—,” the Mariner stopped, not wanting to share the revelations he’d felt, yet wanting the conversation to end. “I was remembering something else. I’ve never been to a zoo before.”
What could he say? In that moment, standing upon the dock of Sighisoara, back turned to the burning remains of his one chance at rehabilitation, he had not remembered the zoo at all. He’d been remembering… what? Intimacy? Love? Whatever it was, he struggled to recall it now.
“You’ve never been to a zoo?!” Grace exclaimed, listening despite running up the beach. She shook her head disapprovingly. “Oh dear, oh deary me.”
The four accompanying devils each hopped out of the boat and began sniffing about the sand, leaving criss-crossing tracks as they scouted. McConnell helped the Mariner drag the boat further up the bank to a spot where it would be safe from the tide. The reverend fell silent, worried and disappointed by the Mariner’s lack of clarity.
“Let’s go! Let’s go!”
“Grace!” the Mariner snapped, his anxiety once again surfacing as irritation. He lifted a finger to his mouth. Shhh.
The island was quiet, but not silent. A constant chatter of birds filled the canopy, their light chirping disarming, and although the young girl’s plea had been startlingly loud, she’d failed to interrupt the chorus. High above, a parrot dressed in glorious reds and greens glided lazily, totally unperturbed by the island’s new guests.