by Perrin Briar
The majority of the crew would be up on the main deck, but there might be a few completing tasks below deck too. He listened intently, straining for even the slightest noise. They couldn’t creep past all those sailors above. How were they going to get out?
The Revenge was large and would take a while for it to get moving at a fair clip, even longer for it to get to full speed. They needed to escape immediately. They would still be in the dock and could jump into the shallows and swim to shore, but they needed to do it from below deck.
Voices.
The family froze. They were approaching an intersection. The voices appeared to be coming from the starboard side. They turned around and ran back the way they had come, turning down another corridor. They stood there, waiting, listening.
The voices became louder as they entered the intersection, and then louder still as they headed in the family’s direction.
Bryan’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. He gestured for them all to turn and head farther down the corridor. They turned another corner, just as the voices took the preceding turn. Wherever the sailors were heading, it was in the same direction the family were going.
“Here!” Cassie hissed.
She stood before a large door. She gripped the handle and began to slide it aside. It was heavy and took all three of them. They stepped inside the room and pulled the door closed behind them.
They pressed their backs to the door and waited as the voices approached. They waited with bated breath as the voices passed, the words indistinguishable, and continued on down the corridor.
The family breathed a sigh of relief.
“They’re gone,” Zoe said.
Her voice had a faint echo quality to it. They turned to face the room they now found themselves occupying. Light filtered in from porthole windows along the back of the room. It was the largest room Bryan had ever seen on a boat. It was empty, save for a large crate in the center. There was a large lock on it and several sliding bars. Whatever was inside must have been valuable.
“This whole room looks like it’s designed to be submerged,” Zoe said.
As Bryan looked closer, he was surprised to find Zoe was right. It was not the kind of room you’d expect to find in a galleon. There were rust marks along the walls, creases and joins, and several levers in each corner. What their purpose was, Bryan couldn’t say, but they looked complicated.
But there was something he did recognize. He moved to a small manhole cover-like door in the floor. He fingered the latches and handles.
“What is it?” Zoe said.
“It’s a hatch,” Bryan said. “I think we can escape through them.”
He pulled on the handles and twisted them so they were at a right angle to the lock. The lock hissed, and water rushed out from the rim. Bryan reached down and pulled the hatch up. The water bubbled, spitting at him, but it did not rush up through the hatch.
“You first,” Bryan said.
“Wait,” Zoe said. “We don’t know where these hatches lead to, if they even lead anywhere.”
“No,” Bryan said. “But we have no other choice. It’s either we go through this hatch or we hand ourselves over to the British soldiers.”
Cassie looked at the gurgling, burbling water. She didn’t look sure about going through the hatch. Bryan couldn’t blame her, but there was little else for it. They had to go through. They were out of time.
Cassie sighed and climbed into the hole. She hissed through her teeth.
“Cold!” she said as she lowered herself into the sea’s icy embrace.
She held her breath and ducked her head beneath the water’s surface.
“You next,” Bryan said to Zoe.
Zoe gasped at the cold water. Bryan followed, taking a deep gulping breath. He was embraced on every side by the cold darkness of the sea. Looking up, he saw The Revenge’s underside passing overhead. He couldn’t make out Zoe nor Cassie. He had to hope they were kicking their way up to the surface.
34
BOATSWAIN (pronounced with a cheeky inflection) couldn’t stand guard duty. It was so boring. Nothing interesting ever happened. That was the problem with serving on the biggest, most powerful ship in the British fleet. There was no other ship to challenge you.
It was Boatswain’s duty to just stand there and wait for the next sailor to come. Dull, dull, dull. But there was a rumor there were a couple of ladies among the prisoners, so at least he would have something nice to look at for a change.
Boatswain pushed at the prisoners’ door. It was stiff and opened just a couple of inches, causing the sailor to headbutt the door. Boatswain rubbed his head. A lump was going to form for sure.
No doubt First Mate was standing in front of it. He would give it a hard push to dislodge him and teach him a lesson. He took two steps back and shunted the door with his shoulder. The obstruction gave way.
When Boatswain rounded the door to look First Mate in the eye, he was surprised to find no one to meet his triumphant grin.
He looked down. First Mate’s body lay crumpled on the floor, a dirty rag in his mouth, his face red from anger, a red mark on his forehead from where the door had struck him forcefully.
Oh no, Boatswain thought. On second thought, he much preferred a boring shift. There was no chance of punishment.
His day had only just begun, and it was shaping up to be the worst he’d ever had.
35
BRYAN, ZOE AND CASSIE crawled from the sea on weak shaking limbs, falling flat on their faces. The Revenge was peeling away from shore and heading out to sea.
Good riddance, Zoe thought.
After ten minutes of rest, and near catatonic sleep, the figures began to stir, pushing themselves up onto their feet.
“What time is it?” Zoe said.
Bryan turned to look in the direction of the docklands. A tall clock tower stood proudly in the center of the town square.
“Two o’clock,” Bryan said. “If we hurry we can still make it.”
“What difference does it make?” Cassie said. “You told Cartographer’s son everything we’re going to do, where we’ll be. They’ll find us at Hollow Cove.”
“That’s the plan,” Bryan said.
“Are you crazy?” Zoe said. “They’ll come and tear us to pieces.”
“Yes,” Bryan said. “They’ll go to Hollow Cove. But they won’t just find us there. Stoneheart and his crew will be there too. And who do you think Admiral will most want to destroy? An innocent family? Or the pirate legend Stoneheart and his crew aboard the Mary Celeste? We need a diversion, and if we’re lucky, it might be provided by the British navy.”
“What if the British arrive too early?” Zoe said. “Or too late?”
“You say it like we had lots of other options,” Bryan said. “It’s all or nothing from here on out. Either we all get out of this, or we all perish at the hands of the pirates, or the British navy. But at least this way we have a chance.”
Zoe inflated her cheeks and let out a deep puff of air.
“This is so dangerous,” she said. “If it works, you might well be a total genius.”
“Or a complete fool if it doesn’t work,” Cassie said.
“I know what my money’s on,” Zoe said.
“Mine too,” Cassie said.
“Then you both lose,” Bryan said. “There’s no need to pick and choose. The answer is both.”
“But how are we going to get to Hollow Cove now?” Zoe said. “Time’s almost up and we have no boat!”
“Wheeee!” a small boy said. “Faster faster!”
He was riding a horse on the beachfront and having a whale of a time. Beside him were two more boys. The two older boys rode full size horses. The youngest lad rode an ass.
“Dibs on a horse,” Cassie said.
“You can have it,” Bryan said. “The slower I go on horseback, the happier I’ll be.”
36
“THEY APPEAR to have escaped through the maintenance hatches,” First
Mate said, massaging his wrists.
How the family had managed to get the drop on First Mate while they were tied up was a mystery to Admiral. Why didn’t they kill First Mate? It was what Admiral would have done. They would have known First Mate would be discovered, and removing him would have given them a little more time to escape. He reminded himself they were civilians, and killing did not come easy.
“Did they get inside the crate?” Admiral said.
“No sir,” First Mate said. “The crate is firmly shut.”
“Good,” Admiral said.
So long as the crate’s contents remained a secret there was little to worry about.
“Do we know where the family went?” Admiral said.
“Yes,” First Mate said. “They mentioned something about Hollow Cove. They’re going to meet a pirate there.”
“Which pirate?” Admiral said.
“Stoneheart,” First Mate said. “And his crew aboard the Mary Celeste.”
Admiral’s eyes flickered up at First Mate and then away. The Mary Celeste wouldn’t be the first pirate ship he’d destroy using his contraption—he’d blown three other pirate ships from the water before now. There was no gunpowder storage error made by the pirates. It had been him all along. But destroying the Mary Celeste and its cretinous crew would prove the perfect opening salvo to his reign of fiery death on the rest of the sea rats.
“Plot a course for Hollow Cove,” Admiral said.
He knew the family were involved with the pirates somehow, but even he couldn’t have imagined they would have links to Stoneheart himself.
He would destroy the family—they would have been sentenced to death in any case—and were doing him the great favor of leading him to Stoneheart into the bargain.
Admiral had waited a long time for this moment, and now it was finally here.
37
PEG LEG picked the anchor up and tossed it over the side. It sank to the shallow depths of Hollow Cove, visible even from the deck of the Mary Celeste. It was a beautiful spot of pale blue water and white sandy beaches, not that many people ever came here.
Hollow Cove was famous for another reason: its bloody tale of the infamous pirate Stoneheart, who once used the spot to slay the former pirate lord council. It had been their intent to kill him, but Stoneheart had turned the tables and had them destroyed instead. It was a story old as time, one of many such Stoneheart legends.
Stoneheart slid a finger between his neck and collar and pulled at it to relieve his discomfort. How the Brits could fight in such a getup, he didn’t know. His men clearly felt the same. They looked about as comfortable as a gorilla in a dress. Frankly, gorillas would have looked better.
The Union Jack snapped in the wind, beckoning from Mary Celeste’s mast. Stoneheart appraised the sun and estimated the time to be almost four in the afternoon. Using the sun as a timepiece was more reliable than anything man could design because it never malfunctioned or needed upkeep.
Aaron stood at the bow of the Celeste, hands clutching the handrail, eyes fixed firmly on the cove’s narrow opening. Jim stood beside him.
The sun sank a little lower in the sky. The world was winding down. It was 4.00pm. The family’s time was up.
Stoneheart was a murderer, a pillager and a harbinger of doom, but one thing he most certainly was not was a man who broke his word.
“Time’s up, Aaron,” Stoneheart said. “Looks like your parents don’t care for you as much as you thought after all.”
“They’ll be here,” Aaron said, not removing his eyes from the cove’s open entrance.
Stoneheart moved up behind Aaron and placed his hands on his shoulders.
“I’m a man of my word,” he said. “I think you know what that means. I’m going to have to fulfill my side of the agreement.”
Stoneheart reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. It was blunt. It would be hard work to hack through the tough tendons in a human neck, even one as young as Aaron’s.
“All we have in life is our reputation,” Stoneheart said. “So I hope you understand that when I do this, I do it for something greater than just us.”
He placed the knife to Aaron’s throat. The metal was cold, but Aaron’s mood was colder still. Aaron shut his eyes and a tear ran down his cheek.
Jim had been right. And Smithy. All of them. He had been forgotten by his parents. Maybe they failed to find the map, or simply failed to get back in time. It was all the same to Aaron now.
Jim stepped forward and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a shout that came from the crow’s nest.
Stoneheart looked up to see a trio of people on horseback round the long cove bend. They pulled up sharp and climbed down. They moved to the edge of the cove, waving their arms.
Aaron beamed. At a glance he could tell it was his family. He waved his arms to get their attention. The blade was still at his throat, but he seemed unaware of it. Stoneheart removed it, putting it back in his pocket.
“Well, well,” Stoneheart said. “It appears they came for you after all.”
He turned to Jim.
“Deploy a ship’s boat to welcome our guests,” he said.
Jim chose four men: two to work the ropes, two to row to the coast. It took ten minutes before the family were scaling the ladder up to the deck.
“Aaron!” Zoe said, the first to appear on deck. “Aaron!”
She had tears in her eyes and ran forward to hug him, but Stoneheart was quick to stand between them.
“Nice to see you again,” Stoneheart said. “I trust you’re well.”
The family looked worn and tired, like they’d been through the wringer. But now here they were. They were tougher than Stoneheart gave them credit.
“Are you all right?” Zoe said to Aaron. “Have they been treating you well?”
“He’s fine,” Stoneheart said. “Treated like a prince.”
“We have the map,” Bryan said, appearing beside Zoe.
“And I have your boy,” Stoneheart said.
“Aaron, come here baby,” Zoe said, reaching for him.
Aaron stepped forward, but Stoneheart held him with a hand around the back of his neck, pinning him in place. Tears spilled down Aaron’s cheeks. Stoneheart ruffled his hair.
“This little scamp has enjoyed every moment he’s spent with us,” he said. “Haven’t you, Aaron?”
Aaron nodded, but there wasn’t much mirth on his face.
“You see?” Stoneheart said.
“Give him to us, and we’ll give you the map,” Zoe said.
“You’ll give me the map, and then you’ll get Aaron,” Stoneheart said. “My ship, my rules I’m afraid. Business before pleasure.”
Bryan crossed the short space between them and held the map out. Stoneheart didn’t take it, and seemed somewhat bemused by the prospect. Finally, he took the map.
“At last!” Stoneheart said.
He removed his hand from Aaron’s neck. Aaron sprinted forward, running into his mother’s arms.
Stoneheart got to his hands and knees and spread the British map on the deck. Jim took the second half of the map out—the pirate half—and put the two maps together. They matched up well as there was a wide stretch of blue sea that separated the two landmasses.
Stoneheart ran his fingers over the British map and began to memorize every line, mountain, hill and contour.
“And where on this map is the treasure meant to be located?” Stoneheart said.
“In the Misty Mountains,” Bryan said. “In the valley between the two largest mountains.”
“The Misty Mountains,” Stoneheart said. “I’ve never heard of them.”
“There’s a good reason for that,” Bryan said. “It’s because the British didn’t want you to know about them.”
Stoneheart smiled.
“Yes,” he said. “Of course. Though I’ve never known the British to be so successful at hiding something like this before.”
“There has to be
a first time for everything,” Bryan said.
“Yes,” Stoneheart said, that same icy smile fixed to his lips. “Lucky for them it happened to be this time though, don’t you think? Beggars belief.”
“Unless they were determined to make sure it worked out the way he has,” Bryan said. “Anything is possible if you try hard enough.”
“Perhaps,” Stoneheart said. “Though I’ve been attempting to discover the location of the treasure for quite some time, and I never managed to achieve it.”
“Till today,” Bryan said.
“Quite,” Stoneheart said.
The family edged across the deck toward the waiting ship’s boat.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Stoneheart said without looking up.
“We’re done,” Bryan said. “You have the map, we have Aaron. There’s nothing more to discuss.”
“Would you care to check to make sure Aaron is the same Aaron you left behind?” Stoneheart said.
Bryan frowned, looking first at Aaron, and then back at Stoneheart.
“I don’t understand what you mean,” he said.
“I mean, I fully intend on checking this map is genuine before letting you go off into the sunset,” Stoneheart said. “It’s just good business.”
“But the treasure is in the Misty Mountains,” Bryan said.
“It may be,” Stoneheart said. “Or it may not. So you see my quandary.”
The crew stepped between the family and ship’s boats stored on the deck.
“Of course,” Bryan said with a forced smile. “We will accompany you until the treasure is safely in your possession.”
“Good,” Stoneheart said. “Take them to the cells.”
“The cells?” Bryan said.
“I have no intention of letting you wander the ship as you did before,” Stoneheart said. “We’re not in the same situation as before. And you’re not the same people. You may attempt to escape again.”
“We won’t try to escape,” Bryan said. “We want-”