Malice

by Gabriell Lord

  9:24 pm

  The car braked with a jolt. Rain lashed our faces as Curly opened the door and pulled me out. I pretended to stumble backwards, falling awkwardly on my side, and pushed my phone under some bushes near the back stairs of the house.

  ‘Come on, clumsy,’ he grumbled, and pulled me to my feet. He pushed me up a few steps and through the back door. Mud and water dripped from my jeans. Fierce growling terrified me, especially now that I had no hands to fend off any dog attack. But the Doberman was sitting, ears erect and ready to spring.

  Curly hauled me past the living room and into the room where Oriana de la Force sat. It was the first time I’d seen her since her appearance on television, furious about being arrested and about the cat’s whiskers that had been drawn on her cheeks. Now, thinner and meaner looking than I last remembered, she glared at me, her pencilled brows contracting in an angry frown under her spiky hair.

  ‘Look what the storm blew in,’ she drawled. ‘Winter Frey. You didn’t expect to see me again, did you?’

  ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ I demanded. ‘This is kidnapping. It’s a major crime. You’ll be back in jail.’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Oriana said menacingly. ‘Curly, make sure she hasn’t got a phone on her.’

  Roughly, Curly searched my pockets. ‘Nothing here, except some money.’

  ‘I’ll put that away somewhere safe,’ smirked Oriana. Curly handed her the notes. ‘Now, I want to know what you found in the secret passage.’

  ‘Some steps,’ I said, ‘going up into the third storey room at the front.’

  ‘Don’t play smart with me, missy,’ said Oriana, springing from her chair and walking around to stand with her face thrust into mine. I nearly passed out from the stink of the strong perfume surrounding her. She prodded me hard in the chest. ‘You know exactly what I’m talking about. A famous sea captain lived in that house and he left … indications concerning the whereabouts of a certain shipwreck. Ring any bells?’ I stared at her, playing dumb.

  ‘It’s no use lying. I know exactly what you and your friends are looking for. In fact, right now, your boyfriends are making preparations to go into the sea caves on the high tide. A friend of mine overheard some very helpful information being discussed at Perdita. We know about the metal box above the high tide mark and I’m pretty sure that in that box are the details of the Windraker’s exact location.’

  A friend of hers! The spy who was listening at the window! I looked suspiciously at Curly.

  ‘Your dumb friends are going to find it for me, and then I’m going to take it from them. I do love it when other people do the cold, dangerous, wet work for me.’ She chuckled in a very nasty way. ‘Even more dangerous than they know,’ she added.

  ‘What do you mean?’ I asked, now even more worried.

  ‘They’ll find out soon enough,’ Oriana sneered. On her desk, Oriana smoothed out a large sheet of paper. ‘I even have a complete diagram of Perdita. You’ve no idea how much information I’ve gathered over the last few weeks.’ She pushed the diagram into my face as if she wanted to rub my nose in it, and as she did, I noticed something about the cellar. There was something on the floor … a mark that could have been a smudge, but I had a feeling it was something more. If only I can get Oriana to keep talking, I thought.

  ‘If you know all that then,’ I said, ‘why have you kidnapped me?’

  ‘To get you out of the way, my dear. I don’t want any more interference.’ Oriana paused, but the gloating sneer shortly continued. ‘Your boyfriends don’t know what I know. The Windraker went down with a cargo of 10,000 pounds—gold coins—in mint condition. One came onto the market recently and do you know what it sold for? Over $4,000. That was for just one little coin. Can you do the maths, little girl? When I find all 10,000, I’ll be rich again. You destroyed my chances of recovering the Ormond Singularity. You will not ruin my plans this time.’

  She pushed her face right into mine, so that our noses were almost touching, and spoke with such hatred, drops of spittle seemed like venom dripping from her fangs. ‘You and your pathetic friends will never get in my way again. Those noisy cyclonic winds blowing outside have come on top of a king tide. That’s when the sun, the moon and the earth are all lined up at high tide, increasing the gravitational pull. So what does that mean? The water is much, much higher than normal. This monster tide rises way above its usual level. Only happens once or twice in a century.’

  Fear gripped me, my blood ran icy. I thought of Ryan and Boges in that final cave with the high water mark a metre from the large cavern’s roof. If the tide rose much higher, there would be no airspace left near the cave’s ceiling. My friends would drown unless I got away in time to help them.

  ‘This monster tide has a special name,’ Oriana sneered.

  My body tensed up. I already knew the name of the monster tide! That torn piece of newsprint with the four words. It hadn’t been a threat after all. There wasn’t a serial killer in the city. Someone had tried to warn us, and it wasn’t Oriana. Someone had even told us how many days there were until the monster arrived.

  ‘A group of people in 1962 were exploring the cave system and no-one survived. The water flooded the town and even more people died. They’d forgotten how others had drowned fifty years before, when a similar combination of conditions collided. They’d forgotten the existence of—’ her sneer twisted into a snarl ‘—the Drowner.’

  She turned to Curly. ‘Take her away and lock her up. Don’t remove the wrist restraints!’

  The screeching of a powerful car braking outside took everyone’s attention. Someone came in through the front door. ‘Oriana! The waves have smashed some of the boulders out of the way,’ he called out. ‘Those kids will drown, and we’ll be able to get in and get the box from their bodies as the tide goes down!’

  Glistening in black all-weather gear, a tall man with close-cropped fair hair, and a tight, hard mouth in a gaunt face, lurched into the room. The dog wagged its tail and licked the water off the man’s boots.

  ‘What’s this?’ he said, jerking his head in my direction.

  ‘Just a little stickybeak. You can deal with her later, Dragan.’

  I didn’t like the thought of him dealing with me, and especially not the cold reference to my friends’ lifeless bodies. I felt terrible despair as I was dragged roughly upstairs by Curly and thrown into a room with the door locked firmly behind me.

  11:06 pm

  Trapped in the room my mind reeled as I tried to work out what to do. Being kidnapped by Curly—and everything Oriana had said, particularly about the Drowner, had left me in shock. And Dragan! His ruthlessness scared me. He must have been the one with the loud sports car. He’d been listening in on our conversations, lurking behind the curtain in Rose’s shop. No wonder Rose was so frightened!

  Now, Oriana, Curly and Dragan had all the information we had and even knew about the treasure on the shipwrecked Windraker. I thought of Boges and Ryan. I had to warn them about Dragan and Oriana, and about the building cyclone—the Drowner. If the cyclone surge had moved some of the heavy boulders near the caves’ entrance, there would be no protection from the deadly sea. The boys could be mashed up against the walls of the sea caves and cut to pieces on the rocks!

  As the minutes ticked by, I could feel my panic rising. I had to get away, but how? I had searched every corner of the room but could see no way out.

  Out the window I could see the semi-transparent roof of the wraparound verandah on the ground floor beneath. Rain pounded on it, making a terrible racket. But what did I think I was going to do? With my hands tied behind my back, I was helpless, useless.

  I slumped against the wall, slipping down, my bound hands scraping painfully against the wall. My hands … it would be so much better if they were in front of me, instead of behind. I wondered if the TV shows were true, and that it was possible to step through the hoop formed by my bound wrists.

  I got down on the floor and started t
rying the manoeuvre. I strained and heaved, stretching muscles I didn’t know I had, pulling my joints painfully, powerfully driven by the terrible danger confronting my two friends. I concentrated every ounce of energy on pulling my bound wrists down under my bottom. Then, feeling like I was going to be completely squished, I folded one leg at the knee as tight as I could, until my knee was hitting my forehead and I couldn’t breathe. I dragged the leg through the circle of my tied-up wrists. I repeated the same procedure, so much harder with my other leg taking up almost all the room. But finally, I unfolded my upper body and sat up straight, panting, aching all over. I’d done it! My hands were now in front of me. Even though they were bound, I could move my fingers and I was able to unlock the window. I used strength I didn’t know I had left as I forced the window open, pushing it up with my whole body. I looked down again and gulped. There was no other way. I was going to have to jump and just hope that the verandah roof would break my fall and that the pounding rain would cover the sound of my escape.

  OK, Winter, I told myself, jump!

  Crash!

  I smashed through the roof, but the tough material stretched a little before it tore under the weight of my body. I fell heavily onto the cement, violently wrenching my left ankle. The scream of pain didn’t get past my gritted teeth and I rolled around on the hard surface, riding it out. For a few moments, all I knew was the awful pain and the noisy drumming of the rain.

  When the agony subsided a little, I started wondering whether anyone had heard my fall. I needed to get away as quickly as possible. I attempted to stand. I stumbled immediately. Oh no, I thought. My left ankle won’t hold me! What will I do? I have to get to Ryan and Boges! Holding onto the verandah railing, not caring that I was getting drenched, I hauled myself up.

  I tested how much weight I could put onto my left leg. Only a tiny bit. I couldn’t let that stop me. I pulled myself along the railing, arm over arm, until I was able to cautiously hop down some steps and onto the ground.

  I hobbled around to the back of the house, feeling around in the mud under the bushes for my phone. I seized it. Curly’s car was pulled up there still. Praying it was open, I tried the door. Yes! I hoped that no-one would hear the sound of the vehicle over this storm as I got in and started it up. Handicapped by my tied hands and afraid to turn on the headlights, I was barely able to see the road through the pouring rain as I coasted out, painstakingly slowly. I didn’t know how soon Oriana’s lackeys would realise I’d escaped and come after me.

  The car slid and slipped on the muddy road, but I waited until I was a fair distance from the house before I switched on the headlights so I could drive faster. It still took what seemed like forever to get near Perdita and the top of the cliff steps, where I skidded to a halt.

  I looked in the rear vision mirror. I could see a light shining in the distance behind me. Someone was coming after me!

  Perdita

  11:52 pm

  Somehow, despite the darkness and the furious storm, and my injured ankle, I had to help Boges and Ryan before I was captured again by my pursuers. As I stumbled and slid down the treacherous steps, I imagined the water rising higher and higher, Boges and Ryan trying to keep their mouths and noses above the level of the rising tide. I imagined the ceiling of the cave only centimetres above their heads.

  My left ankle had swollen up like a football. I was so slow, I could only go at a snail’s pace. I felt a terrible howl unfold from the depths of my being as I realised there was no way I was going to be able to make it down the cliff to save my friends in time. I was helpless—worse, I was useless. There was no hope. I wondered how I would ever be able to tell Cal.

  As I despaired, the light I had seen came towards me. Dragan was coming after me to ‘deal’ with me. Filthy, injured and scared, I stumbled under an overhanging bush and hid.

  The figure came closer, and I saw a kerosene lamp glowing. The yellow light reflected off Dragan’s raincoat and the hat he held down against the wind. He looked up, searching. It wasn’t Dragan! I scrambled painfully out from under the bush. ‘Harriet! Harriet!’ I screamed. ‘Help me!’

  ‘Winter? What are you doing out here?’ she shouted. ‘And what are your friends up to? I was out looking for my chickens and I saw them heading for the beach! They shouldn’t have gone down there—not in this weather. I yelled at them to stop, but they couldn’t hear me. So I ran back to get a lamp. But we can’t get down there now!’

  The words flowed out of me in a torrent as I stumbled towards her. ‘Help me. My wrists! Please!’ She caught my bound arms.

  ‘Who did this to you?’ she asked, cutting the nylon cuffs with a Swiss Army knife.

  A tiny hope flickered in my mind as I remembered the map Oriana showed me. The mark in the cellar. It wasn’t more than a hunch probably, but it was the only thing we had. If I was right, I now understood the strange rectangular rock carving near the cave’s roof.

  ‘Help me get back to Perdita!’ I yelled. ‘I’ll explain everything later. I’ve got to get down into the cellar. There might be a way to help the boys get out of the sea caves!’

  ‘That’s crazy!’ said Harriet as she grabbed my arm and I leaned on her, while we staggered to the house. ‘The sea caves would be a death trap right now! Please don’t tell me that’s where the boys were heading?’

  ‘That’s exactly where they are and there’s a Drowner tide coming!’ I shouted.

  DAY 30

  1 day to go …

  12:01 am

  We staggered into the hallway of Perdita.

  ‘The cellar! It’s through there—let’s go!’ I said, leaning on Harriet as we crossed the big front room. We grabbed a couple of Ryan’s looped ropes that hung near the fireplace. I pressed hard against the acorn, waiting impatiently as the secret passage opened.

  ‘So you found the passages,’ Harriet murmured. ‘I wondered if the rumours were true. But who tied you up?’

  ‘A truly evil woman. I promise I’ll tell you—,’ I froze in fear as outside, over the sound of the storm, came the roar of a powerful engine. ‘Oh no!’ I cried. ‘Dragan!’

  I looked around, trying to find a weapon of some sort but it was too late. Harriet and I turned to face the intruder as their footsteps clumped down the hall. A masked figure pulled off a helmet. I could barely believe my eyes!

  As fast as my limp allowed, I ran to him. ‘Cal! Cal!’

  ‘I’ve been riding all night,’ he said. ‘I haven’t even been home yet. I just knew something was wrong, Winter. I knew it when we spoke on the phone. You promised you’d tell me if something was going on here!’

  I tried to describe what was happening as quickly as possible, knowing our friends’ lives depended on it. ‘Cal, Oriana’s in town, she has a thug coming after us and she’s after the map to the shipwreck holding 10,000 gold coins. Boges and Ryan are in the sea caves looking for the map too—it’s in a metal box tucked up at the top of one of the caves, but they don’t know about the cyclone and the king tide. They’re going to be smashed to pieces or drown down there, unless we can save them! And I think I know how. But you’ve got to trust me and we have to go down to the cellar right now.’

  Cal and Harriet stared, trying to comprehend what was going on. But I could see Cal understood there was no time for more explanations.

  ‘Right,’ he said, following me into the secret passage. ‘No time to call the cavalry, then. Let’s go get our boys! Oh, and it’s nice to meet you Harriet.’

  By the light of Harriet’s lamp, we made our way down the steps to the cellar. I ignored the pain in my ankle and pushed on as fast as I could, swearing under my breath at each throbbing step.

  We rushed into the damp, stone room and as Harriet held the lantern up high, I looked around for a telltale mark on the floor. ‘If there’s an opening into the sea cave through the stone floor, we might be able to help the boys!’

  ‘Like another trapdoor?’ Cal asked.

  ‘We’ll have to feel around for it. I jus
t know it’s here somewhere,’ I said. Our scrabbling fingers finally located two metal handles, and further digging revealed them to be attached to one particular flagstone. ‘Come on, Cal,’ I urged. ‘Help me lift this. You take this handle and I’ll take the other.’

  ‘Got it, you ready?’ Together, we slowly prised it open, while Harriet held the lamp over the opening to reveal heaving black water barely centimetres beneath the cellar floor. The terrifying roar of the angry sea filled the stone room.

  ‘Oh my God,’ Harriet breathed.

  Cal and I looked at each other, but we couldn’t let fear overtake us. We quickly looped one of Ryan’s ropes over the iron hook, tightening it into a climber’s knot, and pulled on it to make sure it was totally secure. ‘That should hold me,’ Cal said. ‘You two stay here and haul us up.’

  ‘Forget it,’ I said. ‘I’m coming too.’ I had no choice. I had to go down there, injured as I was. My friends’ lives were on the line.

  ‘You can’t go down into that!’ Cal yelled, above the growling ocean. He grabbed the rope from me. ‘No way, Winter.’

  But I insisted and payed out some slack, roping myself to him around my chest, securing it under my arms.

  ‘You’re injured,’ Harriet cried. ‘Let me go down there instead!’

  ‘We need you up here, Harriet,’ I said, touched by her bravery. ‘You make sure the rope remains attached to the hook. You might have to haul us in and my ankle just can’t take that strain. The water will buoy me up down there. I’ll give three tugs when I’m ready, OK?’

  I followed Cal, and put my head down into the hole in the floor, and immediately copped a mouthful of saltwater as a wave broke over my face.

  ‘Boges! Ryan!’ I screamed at the top of my voice. Over the crashing roar of the sea sweeping through the sea caves, I thought I heard a feeble voice calling my name. A dim, elfin light glowed in the blackness as I searched, desperate to locate their whereabouts.