“Rubies?”
“Well, it’s more than that, really, but the rubies are what everyone else considers—”
“More than that?”
“Father, this might go faster if you stopped repeating everything I say.”
He shook his head again. “Let me get this straight. You, my daughter, are protecting a treasure—rubies, among other things—on this island. The pirates know about it, and they’re going to attack you. But first they’ve got to get my men out of the way.”
“Yes, that basically sums it up.”
He held up the lantern and looked at her closely, as if to determine whether she was lying. “So this is what your crew does?”
Scarlet shrugged. “Not usually. But that’s another story altogether. Right now you need to get your men ready for an attack. The pirates’ll probably be here soon.”
He heaved an enormous sigh. “Fine. Fine. I’ll tell the men. We’ll stage a counterattack, take prisoners, and be off tomorrow morning. And you’ll meet me here.”
Scarlet looked up. “Tomorrow? No. I told you, Father. I can’t go with you.”
His eyes narrowed. “Scarlet. I’m sure you feel you have to stay and protect this…this treasure. But it’s not worth it. A mountain of rubies wouldn’t be worth it.”
“It’s not just about the rubies,” she insisted. “The entire island needs protecting—the aras, the trees, the pigs, and…and…” She gulped. “The Islanders.”
“The who?”
She spoke slowly, hoping once again she’d made the right decision. “That’s why I asked you to teach me our old language yesterday. Two Islander children survived the fever, and now they’re helping us protect the treasure. At least, I hope they’ll stay and help…”
“Islanders?” Her father looked positively stunned.
“Islanders,” said Scarlet. “I thought you should know because…well, it gives us another reason for being here and protecting the island. It’s for them, too.” She bit her lip. “I can’t leave.”
After a long silence, she spoke again. “I have to go now, Father. And so do you. The pirates will be coming soon.”
Her father stood so still that she might have mistaken him for a statue.
“I have to go,” she said again. “Take care of yourself.”
And she extended a hand, just as Sina had done to her earlier. When she pressed Sina’s gift into his hand, his mouth opened in confusion. But before he could say anything, she was off again.
The jungle reverberated with nocturnal noises: buzzing insects, throaty toads, hissing…something-or-others. Scarlet tried not to think about all the strange creatures hanging over her head or slithering around her bare feet. The sky was now thoroughly dark, so she had to rely on her senses and memory to get back to the clearing.
She was deep in concentration when she heard a noise that most definitely didn’t belong to any insect, frog, or reptile. She paused and held her breath, hoping her ears had played a trick on her. Or perhaps some nocturnal bird had gotten very good at imitating—
“Would ye get off me foot, ye oaf?”
Scarlet spun around and saw them, not twenty yards to her left. A very dim lantern illuminated their shadows, but Scarlet didn’t need another speck of light to know with all certainty that these were the Dark Ranger pirates.
“Sorry. Didn’t see ye there.”
“Shut up, both of ye!”
What are they doing? she wondered. They’ve gone right past the King’s Men’s camp. Are they lost? Or are they…oh no.
Scarlet inched toward their light with a very bad feeling about what she was about to find.
The entire Dark Ranger crew clustered around a few lanterns. Voices drifted up from the middle, and Scarlet knew she’d have to get closer to hear what they were saying. She looked around and found the perfect tree, with long branches leaning out over the pirates’ huddle. She scaled it as quietly as she could, holding her breath when a few leaves drifted down, narrowly missing a pirate’s bare head. Scarlet lay on her stomach on the overhanging branch and pulled herself along it until she had the perfect view of the events unfolding below.
Captain Wallace stood in the center of the huddle with Pete and Lucas behind him. Every now and then one of his right-hand men would stick out his tongue or cross his eyes at the other behind the captain’s back.
“Oh, I know they’re only children,” the captain was saying, “but you never know what kind of beast will burst out of the trees to protect them. So be ready. Kill anything in your path.”
Blast, thought Scarlet. They are coming for us. But what about the King’s Men? Weren’t they supposed to be first?
“Think they know we’re comin’?” one pirate asked.
Captain Wallace turned to Lucas for the answer. Unfortunately, he turned just in time to see Lucas pulling his lips apart with his fingers to bare all his teeth at Pete. The captain jumped at the sight of Lucas’s yellow teeth, and Lucas snapped his mouth shut. Pete grinned.
“Pay attention, stupid,” the captain snarled. “Do the Lost Souls know we’re coming?”
Lucas cleared his throat. “I told Gil we’d raid the King’s Men’s camp first. So they won’t be expecting us yet, anyway. We’ll take ’em by surprise.”
Now it was Scarlet’s turn to snarl. What she would give for a big, long stick to bean him with. The King’s Men weren’t going to be attacked after all—at least, not until after the pirates had the treasure. And here she was, so far from her crew. Cursed Lucas Lawrence!
“And you think the child believed you?” Pete challenged him.
Lucas grinned. “Gil was stupid enough to trust me in the first place. And stupid enough not to realize that we had what he was looking for.”
Captain Wallace looked at Lucas like a proud father. “Good work, boy.”
Lucas puffed out his chest and shouted, “Bring forth the prisoners!”
The captain cackled, then stopped. “Wait, that’s my line.”
The crowd parted, and two men were shoved into the center. One was very tall with enormous shoulders, and the other much shorter and rounder.
“Uncle Finn and Thomas!” Scarlet hissed, then bit her knuckles. She almost hadn’t recognized them because…she squinted into the lantern light. Because both men had sprouted abundant heads of hair! Thomas’s was long and brown and silky, while Uncle Finn had thick, unruly curls. “Sink me!” Scarlet whispered. “The cure for andro-alo-whatsit!”
Their hands and feet were bound, and each was gagged with a dirty handkerchief. Pirates walked behind them, daring them to run with the prick points of their cutlasses.
“If the Lost Souls make one false move, the hostages will die!” Lucas yelled. The pirates cheered.
“Stop that! You’re stealing all the good lines!” Captain Wallace whined.
Scarlet took that as her cue to slip back down to the ground. This was no time to sit and watch. She had to get home and prepare her crew for battle.
She’d expected to find them all asleep when she burst out of the jungle and into the clearing. It was, after all, the middle of the night. But instead she found them sitting near the pool, whittling arrows and stringing bows by the light of a few jars of fireflies.
“Scarlet!” Ronagh cried when she saw her captain approaching. “She’s back!”
The other Lost Souls turned to greet her as well, but without the usual panic she’d lately come to expect. They looked more determined and focused than they had since leaving the Hop.
Scarlet found Jem at the center of the crowd with Sina and Kapu on either side of him. He grinned at her. Good old Fitz! She knew he could do it.
“Where were you?” Elmo asked when Scarlet reached them.
She paused for a moment, then decided she’d tell them the whole truth later. “I was…out scouting. And I found the Dark Ranger pirates.”
“Attacking the King’s Men?” Tim asked.
Scarlet shook her head. “They aren’t attacking them fir
st after all. Lucas told Gil that to make us think we had time to spare.”
“What?” Gil cried. “Why that big—”
“Wait. It gets worse,” said Scarlet. “Not only are they on their way here, they’ve got hostages.”
“Hostages?”
Jem jumped to his feet. “Uncle Finn!”
“And Thomas!” Smitty leaped up beside him.
Scarlet nodded grimly. “So now we’ve got to protect the treasure and fight off the pirates without putting Uncle Finn and Thomas in any more danger.”
“But Thomas is a giant,” said Smitty. “He can fight back.”
“I don’t know if even Thomas can take on forty pirates at once,” said Scarlet. “He needs our help.”
“Blimey,” Jem said shakily. Then he cleared his throat. “Well, at least we’re prepared. Sina’s been teaching archery, and a bunch of us made really good bows and arrows. And other people set traps around the edge of the clearing. Kapu and I tried to build the tree house, but it got dark before we could finish it. So it’s just a platform, and I’m not sure how sturdy—”
“I bet it’s great, Fitz. Excellent work. So we’re ready?”
“Ready as we’ll ever be,” Jem replied. “I even went and spoke to the smelly wild pig chief—”
“You did? You asked him for help?” Scarlet could only imagine how badly that conversation had gone.
Jem shook his head. “Just to advise him to hide his band and tell him that we’ve got this all under control.”
Scarlet marveled at Jem’s new confidence. She hoped he was right.
“We also decided we don’t really need elaborate costumes,” Smitty added, stealing a glance at Sina. He held up the leafy hat he’d been weaving. “Just some simple camouflage will do.”
“She laughed at the Deadly Parrot of Death,” Ronagh whispered to Scarlet.
Despite their situation, Scarlet grinned. “Camouflage,” she said. “Always a good idea. Too bad we can’t use it to protect the…” Her voice trailed off as an idea suddenly popped into her mind. She stared at Smitty’s handiwork, wondering if she’d gone completely loony or if it just might work.
“Captain?” Jem said. “What’s up?”
“I think…I’ve got an idea,” Scarlet said. “It’s worth a shot. We’ve only got a few minutes. Fitz, get those bromeli-whatsit samples from Uncle Finn’s pile. Not the ones that erased Thomas’s memory. Then meet me under the aras’ nests.”
“Okay.” Jem sounded uncertain.
Scarlet gestured for Sina and Kapu to come with her. “The rest of you, get ready. The pirates’ll come from that way.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder.
Jem ran off across the clearing, and Sina and Kapu followed her toward the aras.
“If this works,” Scarlet told them, “it could save the treasure. Maybe even all of Island X!” She explained the plan, then instructed Kapu to fetch the stilts he’d brought. Then Jem arrived with the plant samples.
“You sure about this?” he asked.
“Not a bit,” Scarlet said. “But sometimes it’s the crazy ideas that work best.”
Jem saluted and ran back to the clearing.
Scarlet scrambled up the closest tree until she reached the spot where she usually sat to watch the birds. None of the feathered bodies moved, but she could tell they were aware of her presence. And that they trusted her.
“Let’s hope this works,” she muttered, then she called upon all the Islander words she’d learned that day, hoping the aras wouldn’t be too confused if she forgot a few.
She began to explain the plan: “Now this is very important. My friends are going to visit each of your nests and give you a snack. And while you eat, they’re going to redecorate your nests. Trust them, and no biting. We’re doing this to keep you safe.”
She signaled to Sina and Kapu on their stilts, and the pair moved in closer, handing out bromeliad snacks and moving the rubies inside each nest. The birds looked baffled but pleased with the late-night snack.
Once they were finished, the trio met on the jungle floor. Scarlet gave each of her friends a hug and told them they were brilliant.
“How soon will it work?” Sina asked.
Scarlet looked over her shoulder at the rookery, then to the east where the sky was growing light. “No idea. Fingers crossed for right away.”
And then she felt a tremble deep inside her, and although she couldn’t tell which animal or reptile or insect or Islander it came from, she knew without a doubt what it meant.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Tim snuffed out their lantern, leaving the Lost Souls in the half darkness of the hour before dawn. Scarlet stuck a fist in the middle of their huddle, and two dozen fists piled on top of it.
“No prey, no pay, mateys.”
“No prey, no pay.”
“And may you die peacefully rather than be tossed in the Boiling Lake by that dog Lucas.”
“Die peacefully!”
“Everybody in their places. And be quiet!”
The Lost Souls and Islanders dove every which way into the jungle, rustled around for a few moments, then settled into perfect stillness. From her perch in a tree, Scarlet could make out Liam and Ronagh armed with slingshots below, and Smitty and Sina behind them, bows and arrows at the ready. The Islander girl looked up and gave her a nervous smile, and Scarlet mouthed a heartfelt thank-you. Then she closed her eyes and tuned in to Island X’s wildlife. The creatures were obviously upset. She guessed that meant the pirates were making their way across the clearing. Her heart began to thump. What if the bromeliad needed more time?
But there was no time to wonder, for now she could hear and see them herself. The Dread Pirate Captain Wallace Hammerstein-Jones walked out front, sniffling as though he had a runny nose. Then came Lucas, tromping in his big boots. Then Pete, shuffling reluctantly. And finally forty or so more pirates.
As they neared the edge of the clearing, just to the left of the Lost Souls’ hiding spot, Lucas paused and turned. “Would you quit stepping on my heels?” he hissed.
“Oh, was I?” an innocent-sounding Pete answered. “I had no idea. How rude of me.”
“Shut up, you twits.” The captain wiped his nose on his sleeve. “Where are those little brats? You don’t suppose they left?”
“No way,” said Lucas. “They’ve got to be hiding.”
“They could be anywheres!” a pirate piped up from the rear of the group. His mates cast fearful glances up at the trees.
“They’re only children, you lily-livers,” Captain Wallace snapped. “Lucas, which way to the treasure?”
“Dead ahead, Cap’n.” Lucas peered at the map. “Should be just in these trees.”
Scarlet held her breath as they waded into the bushes, passing the Lost Souls on the right. Stay together now, she warned the pirates silently. If one of you swabs strays this way, we’re all fish food.
Fortunately, the pirates looked too frightened to leave their pack. A few days on Island X had apparently done nothing to ease their fear of the jungle.
Scarlet turned her head slowly, trying to spot the aras behind her. She couldn’t see anything, and she prayed that this meant the bromeliad had taken effect. She also prayed that Sina and Kapu hadn’t overlooked a single ruby. Just one glint of red in the morning light would spell the end of them, and the end of Island X as they knew it.
“Um, Cap’n,” Lucas spoke up after a few minutes. “I…think we’re here.”
“Here?” Captain Wallace stopped and looked around. “Where?”
“Well, the map says the treasure’s”—he spread his big arms—“right here.”
Scarlet’s heart began to pound. Lucas, Pete, and Captain Wallace were standing right in front of the ara rookery. She stared at it until she saw a green head pop up, then duck back into its nest. The bromeliad had taken effect!
Please don’t move, she tried to tell the aras. Don’t even rustle a feather. And for goodness’ sake don’t touch those rubies!
“I don’t see anything,” one pirate commented. “’Cept a few green parroty-things up there.”
“Me neither,” said another. “Sure this is the right place?”
“Let me see that map.” Pete reached for the paper, but Lucas held it away from him. “Oh, give it to someone who can actually read it, you numskull!”
Scarlet signaled to the ground crew to start surrounding the pirates while they were distracted. She inched forward on her branch for a better view and spotted a familiar figure—enormous, like Thomas, but with that radiant head of hair. Beside him, Uncle Finn stared at the ground. Both men were still gagged with handkerchiefs, their hands bound behind their backs.
She must have moved too quickly, for suddenly Thomas looked up and saw her. Startled, he quickly looked away, but not before his captor noticed. The extraordinarily hairy pirate behind him had followed Thomas’s gaze to Scarlet’s tree and was now staring right at her. After a moment’s pause, he jumped as if he’d just realized that she wasn’t, in fact, a very large monkey.
“Here we go,” Scarlet muttered. Before the pirate could shout to his mates, she raised two fingers to her lips and blasted a signal.
The Lost Souls burst out of their hiding places, their hollers startling the pirates so badly that a few actually dropped their cutlasses and ran. The few dozen remaining fumbled for their weapons, only to find themselves ambushed by arrows and stones from all sides. Sina and Smitty each pinned two pirates to the same big tree. Liam and Ronagh whipped rocks at Uncle Finn’s and Thomas’s captors until they covered their heads and ran off, whimpering.
Scarlet jumped down from her perch and slashed the ropes that bound the captives’ hands. The men wasted no time ripping off their gags.
“Oh no ye don’t!” A pirate with a face full of scars was running straight for them, cutlass drawn.
“Uncle Finn!” Jem yelled. He pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it to his uncle, who stared at it for a second before his face lit up.
“Cover your ears!” Uncle Finn ordered, then raised the pipe to his lips and blew with all his might.
Scarlet managed to cover her ears just in time, but Scarface and about five of his comrades weren’t so lucky. Instantly deafened, they keeled over, giving Thomas a chance to sweep them all up under his arm and toss them into the clearing. Tim, Edwin, and Emmett chased a half dozen more after him, cracking vine-whips above their heads. Shouts thundered and cutlasses clanged throughout the jungle.
The Guardians of Island X Page 13