Dead Tide (Blackmoore Sisters Romantic Cozy Mystery Series)

by Dobbs, Leighann

  “I figured out how the maps work together,” he said, except it came out all garbled around the flashlight.

  “How?” Celeste asked, taking the flashlight out of his mouth and aiming it toward the maps.

  “Remember how I told you that pirates used to set up booby traps to do away with other pirates that tried to steal their treasure?”

  “Like the one that exploded the cliff when the pirates captured me this summer?” Morgan asked.

  “Exactly,” Cal said. “The map Jolene found shows you how to navigate the maze. But the maze is booby trapped. The leather map shows you where those booby traps are.”

  “That explains why the poem called it a treacherous maze,” Morgan said.

  Celeste frowned at the maps. “But how do you use them together?”

  “That’s the tricky part. You overlay them, but our maps aren’t drawn to the same scale so you kind of have to wing it.” Cal pointed to a round section in the middle of the leather map. “See this part?”

  The girls nodded.

  “Well it coincides with the very middle of the maze here.” He pointed to an open space in the center of the maze. “So these X’s on the leather map must be the booby trapped spots.”

  “There’s a lot of them in the middle.” Celeste noticed.

  “Right, I think that’s where the treasure is so it makes sense he’d have them there. But there’s also some spots out here in the maze so we need to be on the lookout for those and make sure we avoid them … whatever they are.”

  Cal narrowed his eyes at Fiona, apparently noticing the moonstone for the first time. “What’s going on with that rock?”

  “It’s showing us the way. Lights up when we are heading in the right direction, then fades if we make a wrong turn.”

  Cal’s eyebrows raised a fraction of an inch.

  “Well, that’s handy,” he said matter-of-factly. Celeste figured he must be getting used to the sister’s strange powers.

  “So anyway,” he said, turning back to the maps and pointing to one section. “It looks like we are here on the maze map. If we follow the maze as the map indicates, I think we’ll need to be careful here … and here. The rest of the booby traps look like they are at the destination.”

  “What is the destination?” Jolene asked.

  “I don’t know, but it looks like it must be huge," Celeste replied.

  “I assumed it was the treasure,” Morgan added.

  “Well, heck, then lets get going,” Jolene said turning and starting to walk in the direction they had been going. “We may still be able to beat the pirates there before they realize they have the wrong map and figure out the way to the treasure.”

  They continued through the maze, the moonstone and Jolene’s memory showing them the way. Celeste turned off the flashlight to conserve the battery just in case. As they progressed Celeste could feel it get damper, cooler and saltier. They were nearing the ocean.

  “Hold on.” Cal held the maps out and Celeste clicked on the flashlight and aimed it at them.

  “If my theory is correct, there’s a booby trap up here to the left—we better be careful.”

  They all scooted to the right of the passage and Celeste pointed the flashlight to the left side. She noticed even Belladonna was keeping to the right. The flashlight hit on a sandy patch of floor.

  “There!” Cal said.

  “The sand?” Jolene asked.

  “Don’t step near it.” Cal picked up a stick that was lying on the side and poked it in the sand. It went in about a foot, then stood straight up and slowly sunk.

  “Quicksand!”

  Celeste’s stomach crunched thinking of what might have happened to them if Cal hadn’t figured out the two maps. The area of sand looked just like any other patch of sand and the passage was loaded with it. They could have walked right over it.

  They shuffled by it, each of them giving the area a wide birth. Belladonna trotted by with a quiet “mew”.

  A few more twists and turns and Cal raised the alarm again. “Watch out up ahead on the right.”

  They cautiously approached, Celeste’s heart skittering when the flashlight revealed old rusted animal traps set along the path. Easy to pick out with the flashlight, but for a pirate trying to navigate the dark passage in the 1700s not so much. She looked nervously for Belladonna but she needn’t have worried, the cat was staying far away from them.

  They carefully set the traps to the side and continued on their way. After a few more minutes the passage seemed to get wider and wider until they spilled out into a gigantic cavern. Fiona’s crystal glowed like someone had plugged it in, illuminating the entire chamber.

  Celeste’s heart forgot to beat as she looked around the chamber. Her mouth dropped open and she glanced sideways at her sisters, each of whom wore expressions similar to hers.

  For once, the Blackmoore sisters were all speechless.

  Chapter Thirty

  Dead Tide

  “Is that what I think it is?” Jolene asked, her eyes staring straight ahead.

  “Yep." Celeste gulped.

  The passage had opened up to a giant cavern … a cavern big enough to hold a three hundred year old pirate galleon. Which it did.

  “The Ocean’s Revenge—Isaiah Blackmoore’s ship.” Jolene pointed to the ship’s name burned into the wood on the front and Celeste felt an odd mixture of wonder and pride swell in her chest.

  The path had spilled them out just above the ships deck. Below them, Celeste could see the bottom of the cavern was filled with about twenty feet of seawater that was rushing out rapidly. When dead tide hit, the bottom would be dry offering easy access to the hold of the ship. And, if what she could see on the deck of the ship was any indication, the whole thing was loaded with treasure.

  Looking across the cavern, she could see openings from other passageways. One was almost directly across from them. Another was to the right and one level below. Celeste realized the maze must have more than one level.

  The ship was intact, almost perfectly preserved if not a little weathered from the centuries of being underwater.

  Jolene started off down the rocky slope that led to the ship, but Cal pulled her back.

  “Hold on. This place is booby trapped, remember?” He held out the two maps. “Let’s figure out where the traps are and then we can check out the ship.”

  Celeste walked around to the other side of the maps, orienting herself so that the maps faced the same way as the cavern. “This ‘X’, right here, looks like it’s right in front of the ship … at the bow.”

  Cal looked over at the ship. “You’re right. There’s water there now but we better be careful not to step there once it’s out … no telling what Isaiah put there.”

  “And over here to the right.” Morgan pointed to an area of rock.

  “Yes, and it looks like there is something over there … and there.” Cal pointed to spots on the map that looked like they were on either side of the ship, near the passage openings.

  “And what ever you do, don’t go near there.” Cal pointed his chin to the right where there was a tall outcropping of rock.

  “Why?” Jolene asked.

  Celeste stood on her tip-toes to get a better look. “Is that an underground cliff?”

  “Yep,” Cal said. "And from the looks of it, it’s pretty deep. You don’t want to fall over that by mistake.”

  Jolene shook her head, and then returned to looking at the maps. “That looks like all of the booby traps, right?”

  Cal nodded. “Near as I can tell.”

  “Good. Then let’s check it out.” Jolene picked her way down the steep rubble trail and everyone followed. The floor on this side of the cavern was higher than the rest and a wooden plank spanned the space from one section of the trail to the deck of the ship. They crossed the plank, Celeste’s stomach lurching as she looked at the icy water swirling below. The current was strong—if one of them fell in, they might be sucked out to sea.

&nb
sp; “This is amazing.” Morgan stood on the deck, looking up at the tall mast of the ship. She touched the age old wood, closing her eyes and smiling. Celeste thought she saw a swirly mist start to form next to Morgan but when she blinked it was gone.

  “I can’t believe this thing has survived almost intact down here all these years.” Celeste looked around at the wooden deck, brass ships wheel and hand carved ornamentation near the front of the ship. She felt like she had been transported into the middle of an Indiana Jones movie.

  Jolene was already across the deck and into the opening to the ship’s hold, which was practically glowing with gold and silver.

  “Look at this!” She held up a giant gold cross embedded with emerald green stones that glinted in the light. Celeste watched her run her fingers through the booty that was piled up inside the ship and realized it was loaded with jewelry, coins and artifacts worth more money than they could ever spend.

  Looking around she could see some of the treasure was strewn about the cavern which also held old casks and wooden sea chests.

  She squatted down beside Jolene and stared at the treasure. “How are we going to get this stuff out of here?”

  “You won’t need to worry about that.” Celeste jerked her head in the direction of the voice, her heartbeat pounding in her chest as she recognized the pirates from Skinner’s house. They were standing in the opening of one of the passages across the cavern and to the right. One of them still had the jagged scar on the side of his face. The other wore a “pirate-style” black eye patch held across the eye that had been skewered by the shard from Fiona’s necklace.

  She stood frozen, staring at the pirates, wondering how they had found there way here with the wrong map.

  Jolene stood up, facing them with her hands on her hip. “This treasure is ours … back off!”

  “I don’t think so Missy.” Scarface raised his gun pointing it directly at Jolene who barely even flinched. Celeste could see her sister’s fists clenching and unclenching. She remembered the lightning-like energy she’d branded Scarface with.

  “Wait, you idiot.” Eye Patch put his palm on the top of the barrel of Scarface’s gun. “You can’t shoot that in here, it could bring the whole cavern down on top of us.”

  Scarface looked disappointed, Jolene looked triumphant.

  “We’ll just have to take them the old fashioned way then,” Scarface growled. Celeste’s stomach sank as four more pirates appeared behind him and they started across the cavern toward them.

  “Hold it right there!” The voice came from the left, a level higher than where Celeste was now. She swiveled her head in that direction and relief swept over her when she saw Luke, Buzz and Gordy.

  Unfortunately, Luke had captured the pirates’ attention too.

  Eye Patch yelled, “Get them!” and changed course rushing up the boulders on the side of the cavern to get to the flat mouth of the passage that Luke was standing in. They split up with two of the new pirates following Eye Patch and the other two following Scarface who kept coming toward Jolene and Celeste.

  Celeste watched helplessly as the three pirates rush Luke, Buzz and Gordy. Eyepatch brandished a large oar trying to jab and hit Luke. Luke had a knife out, but Eyepatch was keeping him from getting near with the long oar. The other two had engaged Buzz and Gordy in a fist fight and the four of them were rolling around in the debris below the passage. It was impossible to tell who was winning.

  Celeste noticed the water was receding quickly. Scarface and his friends were sloshing their way toward the ship, the water now only waist deep.

  Over on the left, Luke was dodging Eye Patch’s oar, unsuccessfully trying to grab for it. Celeste saw a white mist materialize behind him. She squinted at it—it was the pirate ghost! The ghost was gesturing wildly at an old sea chest that sat just behind Luke.

  Was there something in there that could help them?

  “Luke,” she yelled across the cavern, pointing at the chest. “The chest! Look in the chest!”

  Luke risked a glance behind him and then pushed hard at Eye Patch, who lost his balance and fell back a few steps. Luke backed up, his attention still focused on Eye Patch, and flipped open the lid of the chest. Celeste saw his eyes widen as he quickly glanced back over his shoulder to look inside. Then he reached into the chest and came out with a long sword.

  Celeste watched in astonishment as he proceeded to wield the sword against Eye Patch’s oar in a choreography that was reminiscent of an old-fashioned sword fight. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one of the other pirates land a punishing blow to Gordy who collapsed in a heap.

  She didn’t have much time to feel bad for him though because Scarface and the two other pirates were getting close to the ship. Too close. She remembered the booby trap directly in front of the galleon.

  Could she lure them over there?

  Celeste ran to the front of the ship, a wooden plank hung out over the bow like a gangplank and she jumped on top of it, ignoring her sister’s pleas for her to stop.

  “You’ll never take us or our treasure!” she yelled, glaring down at Scarface and his companions.

  “Argghh!” One of them surged forward toward the front of the ship where she leaned over teasingly. The ship was a good twenty feet above the ground, and the fastest route to her was to climb a rope that was dangling over the front. The pirate saw the rope and ran forward to grab it, stepping directly in front of the ship, but instead of his feet hitting the solid ground of the cavern floor, he slid into the swirling water. From her vantage point above on the ship, Celeste noticed it was swirling around in a circle—a whirlpool.

  The pirate screamed and flailed his arms up in the air. His body spun in the current as it disappeared quickly under the water.

  Scarface and the other pirate stopped in their tracks, watching as their cohort was sucked under, into the icy dark water. They quickly changed direction, heading to the side of the ship. Celeste noticed with a tinge of panic that, other than the whirlpool, only a trickle of water was left on the bottom of the cavern. It was dead tide and soon the tide would start rushing in again. If they didn’t hurry, they’d all be trapped in here with all the exits under water.

  Celeste stole a glance over at Gordy. He lay still on the rocks. The pirate who had knocked him out was making his way up to join Eye Patch in the sword fight. Buzz was holding his ground against the other pirate.

  “Luke!” Cal caught Luke’s attention, and pointed to Luke’s right. Celeste knew he was trying to tell Luke a booby trap lay there, but would Luke know what he meant?

  Celeste ran off the ship and onto a large boulder so she could get a better look. She held her breath as Luke backed the pirates up, advancing slowly as he jabbed at them with the sword. His sword ripped the sleeve of Eye Patch and Celeste saw a line of blood.

  “Bastard!” Eye Patch paused to look at his arm which was a fatal mistake. Luke took the opportunity to ram the sword into his midsection, causing Eye Patch to stumble back into the other pirate. They both staggered backward a couple of feet, stopping abruptly as if stuck in mud. Celeste looked down at their feet … not mud … quicksand.

  They were wide eyed with panic as their attempts to pull their feet out only served to get them sucked in deeper. She watched them struggle as they sunk to their ankles. Then their knees. Then their waist.

  “Help us!” Eye Patch pleaded, holding his arms out to Luke. But Luke was already rushing over to the passage opening he’d come in through. Celeste saw him pick up a spear gun and aim it in the direction of Buzz and the pirate he was still trying to fight off.

  He shot it and the spear flew out.

  “Ahhhh!” The pirate whipped around, grabbing for the spear as it connected with his shoulder blade. That gave Buzz the opening he needed to knock the pirate out cold, and then he headed in the direction of Gordy, presumably to pull him out of the way of the raising water.

  Celeste didn’t have time to watch Gordy’s rescue though because she was too bu
sy watching Scarface’s ugly mug appear over the side of the ship.

  “Look out!” She yelled to Jolene, who was still standing on the deck with Fiona.

  Below Fiona the burlap bag glowed red. Belladonna sat beside the bag, pawing at it and meowing.

  “The bag!” Celeste pointed to the bag as Scarface pushed himself up onto the end of the plank that hung over the front of the ship, a triumphant snarl on his face.

  Jolene bent down, opened the bag and took out the glowing crystal. The crystal brightened when she touched it arcing out energy in vibrant reds and oranges.

  Scarface lunged toward Jolene.

  Jolene hurled the crystal at him, sparks flying out of her hand as the glowing ball left it.

  Scarface stopped short, realizing the ball was coming straight for him. He tried to back up the plank, but the ball exploded in front of him knocking him off the ship. Celeste heard his yell and then the splash as he was swallowed by the whirlpool.

  Sparks from the crystal rained down on the ship like fireworks. No one spoke. What was there to say?

  Celeste saw Buzz and Luke wading through the water with Gordy’s body. She hoped he wasn’t dead.

  Had they killed all the pirates?

  Celeste did a mental headcount … there was one pirate left. She scanned the cavern. Where was he?

  She got her answer seconds later when she felt strong hands grabbed her around the waist and the cold steel of a blade press against her throat.

  “Get away from the treasure or I’ll kill her.” Celeste’s heart pounded against her ribs as the gravely voice yelled against her ear.

  She saw the alarm in her sister’s eyes as they turned toward her. Jolene glanced down at the crystals. None of them glowed.

  “Let her go!” Jolene pushed her palm out toward the pirate but nothing happened.

  Fiona started toward them and the pirate jerked on Celeste’s hair, pulling her head to the side and jabbing the pointy edge of the blade into her neck, just under her chin. Celeste flinched and Fiona stopped.

  “What do you want?” Morgan asked.

  “All the treasure I can carry and safe passage out of here the way you came in.” The pirate jerked his head toward the passage the girls had arrived through. Celeste cut her eyes toward the other side, where the pirates had come and noticed it was already starting to fill with water. His exit route was probably cut off.