by David Wood
Kidd saw no way other than to face the problem and work his way out of it.
“Very well, sailor. Let us go.”
The wounded captain sat propped up on the bed in his cabin. His quarters were austere, not at all befitting a man of his rank, Kidd thought. Blood soaked through the heavy bandages wrapped around his abdomen, and loss of blood had drained him of any color he might have had. He forced a smile as Kidd came through the door.
“Be welcome, Captain.” His voice was as thin as old parchment. “Please, close the door.”
Puzzled by this courteous reception, Kidd complied.
“I understand you wish to see me.”
The man’s gray eyes, glassy with shock, locked on his.
“Are you a man of God, Captain Kidd?”
It was not a question he would have expected, considering the circumstances.
“Of course,” Kidd replied.
“You are needed to do God’s work.” A series of painful coughs racked the captain’s body, and red froth oozed from the corners of his mouth. “I need you to deliver something to England. It must not be lost or fall into the wrong hands.” He handed Kidd a canvas bag. Inside was an ivory document case, very old and ornately carved. Bound to it was a sheet of parchment with instructions on where and to whom to deliver it.
Kidd frowned. The man’s urgency indicated this was something of great value. Perhaps he could profit from this transaction.
“Captain Kidd, please listen to me.” The man could scarcely manage a whisper now. His time was short. “Do not think to circumvent God’s will. That way leads to ruin.”
Kidd nodded. He was above such superstitious nonsense, but no harm in humoring a dying man.
“Believe me.” He pulled down the neck of his shirt, revealing a brand on his left breast. He was a hairy man, and the brand was now a pale scar, but Kidd recognized the symbol immediately.
Surprised, he took an involuntary step backward, his head swimming, and clutched the wall for support.
“It can’t be,” he gasped. “They are all dead!”
The dying captain managed a weak smile.
“Not quite. Not yet.”
Chapter 1
It was like walking on Swiss cheese. Avery chose her steps with care as she wound between sinkholes and abandoned shafts. Damn treasure hunters. They’d torn the island apart over the last two centuries and for what? A legend. Then again, she wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t a believer.
She paused, straining to listen for any sound that would tell her where work was going on. She didn’t know exactly where the crew would be, probably somewhere near the reputed location of the famous Money Pit.
It had been a long hike from the causeway. Not so long ago, you could drive onto and around the island, but no longer. The local government had taken it over and shut it down, citing safety concerns. Now, no choice remained other than hoofing it. One hundred forty acres sounded small until you had to walk across it in the blistering sun, all the while worrying that your next step would send you plunging down into darkness and whatever lay beneath.
She brushed a stray lock of hair back from her face, feeling the damp sheen of sweat and humidity that clung there. Good old Nova Scotia summer heat. She knew she should have made an appointment, but when she’d heard the news about the new crew undertaking the search, she couldn’t wait, knowing she might not get a chance like this again. Now, if she could only make him listen.
Passing through a dense stand of the oak trees that gave the island its name, she looked out across an open space where workmen had, over the years, stripped away the native forest. There! Far across the clearing, workers milled about, setting up equipment and surveying the area. Pleased that she’d been correct about their likely starting point, she picked up the pace. She thought she saw one of the workers, a tall, dark man with long hair, turn and look her way.
Avery felt the ground give way beneath her feet. She sprang back a moment too late. Her scream didn’t quite drown out the muffled snap of rotten wood shattering. She reached out, her fingers digging furrows in the soft earth as she struggled in vain to hold on to the edge of the abandoned treasure pit. She caught hold of a thick tuft of grass and, for one blessed moment, hung motionless over the void.
And then, with a tortured, ripping sound, her lifeline tore free. She battered the inside of the shaft as she slid downward, grasping for a handhold. Sharp pain lanced through her as jagged rocks sliced her palms and pummeled her legs. Her ankle caught on a thick root, turning painfully beneath her, but the protrusion slowed her fall enough that she was able to grab hold and loop one arm around it.
Frozen with shock, she could only gasp for breath as she gazed up at the circle of light far above her. She could have sworn she’d fallen a hundred feet, but it was more like twenty. It might as well have been a mile for all the hope she had of climbing back out. She thought of the man who had looked her way. Might he have seen her fall? Maybe, but she couldn’t count on it.
“Help!” Her scream was not one of panic, but more a matter of hedging her bets. She didn’t know if anyone at the work site could hear her from so far away, but it couldn’t hurt to try. She considered adding, “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up,” but even her morbid sense of humor wouldn’t permit it. She shouted again, this time loud enough to send a sharp, stabbing pain through her vocal cords. “I fell in a shaft! I need help.”
She tried to calculate how long it would take for someone to run from the work site to the place she’d fallen. Not long. If the guy didn’t show soon, she had to figure he hadn’t noticed her.
Her elbow burned and her shoulder felt like it was about to be wrenched from its socket as she struggled to hang on. She managed to take hold of the root with her other arm, giving her a measure of relief. The toes of her shoes slid across the rocky wall of the pit until she found purchase on a tiny protrusion. It wasn’t much, but it eased the pain in her shoulder.
What to do now? Instinct told her no one was on the way to help her. Climbing up was out of the question. Could she climb deeper? It was a crazy idea, but maybe there was a place lower down where she could safely wait for help. Twisting her head around, she took a look down into the depths of the pit.
Big mistake.
“Oh God! Oh no!” Her head swam as she gazed down at the small circle of light reflected on the water far below her. There was nothing between her and the bottom that she could hope to stand on, and she’d never survive such a fall. She closed her eyes and took three deep, cleansing breaths. The whirlpool in her head slowed to an eddy and she opened her eyes again.
Cold, harsh reality slapped her back into focus. She’d set off for the island without letting anyone know where she was going or when she’d return, not to mention she hadn’t obtained permission to even be on the island in the first place. No one knew she was here.
Then she remembered her cell phone. How had she forgotten her lifeline to the rest of the world? If she could manage to get a signal down here, and she wasn’t that far below the surface, she could call for help.
She let go of the root with her right hand and her body slid downward for one sickening moment, but she kept her toehold and her grip with her other arm. Fishing into the pocket of her jeans, she worked her phone free and tried to position it so she could see the screen.
Damn! It was locked. Cursing her choice of phone, she balanced it on her palm and tapped in the numbers with her thumb. 1... 7... 0... 1... Unlocked! Still working one-handed, she began to tap in the number. 9... 1...
Her foothold suddenly gave way and she screamed as she fell, scarcely clinging to the root that was now the only link between her and survival. Her cries quickly melded into a stream of curses as her cell phone slipped from her grasp. She watched its luminescent screen as it tumbled through the air, landing with a pitiful splash in the water below.
Now, to quote her father, she was screwed like a Phillips head.
“Drop something?”
; The voice caught her off guard and she almost lost her grip. Down below, a diver smiled up at her. He had short, blond hair, blue eyes, and an easy smile. She recognized him immediately. So this was the famous Dane Maddock. It certainly wasn’t the way she’d planned on meeting up with him. Nothing like making a good first impression.
“What are you doing down there?” Despite her predicament, Avery couldn’t keep a tone of annoyance from her voice. Couldn’t he see she was holding on for dear life?
“My friend and I were exploring a channel under the island when this fell in front of me.” He held up her phone.
At that moment, another diver surfaced. This man had a shaved head and skin the color of dark chocolate. He looked at Maddock, who pointed up at her.
“Hey girl, what’s up?”
“Me, obviously,” she snapped.
“Well, you ought to know the water is only about five feet deep here and the bottom is solid rock. You definitely don’t want to let go.”
“No, really?”
“Sorry,” Maddock said. “Willis loves to state the obvious. How are you doing up there?”
“Hanging in there.” Just then, the root gave a little, dropping her a few inches. Her cocky façade dissolved in a girly shriek that, as soon as she realized she wasn’t plummeting to her death, at least not yet, turned her face scarlet.
“I’m coming up to help you,” Maddock said. “Don’t you let go.”
Avery gave her head a tiny shake, fearful that greater movement would dislodge her for good.
“You can’t climb that!” Willis protested.
“Sure I can. You just get back as quick as you can and bring Bones with some rope. I radioed as soon as I saw her, but I doubt they got the message.” Maddock had removed his air tank and was already feeling the wall for handholds as he gave instructions.
Avery wondered if “bones” was some sort of climbing gear or rescue device. She couldn’t think of any reason for Willis to bring actual bones, unless they were going to rescue her with some weird voodoo magic.
“Yeah, I heard it.” Willis tapped his mask. “Sweetheart!” he called up to her. “You know how to do a cannonball?”
“Yes.” Avery’s voice was so small she doubted he could hear her.
“Cool. If you slip, and I ain’t saying you’re going to, do a cannonball. Whatever you do, don’t straighten your body out. Got me?”
Avery nodded, not wanting to consider the possibility that she might fall, but grateful for the advice. She stole another glance down and saw that Maddock had already covered a good ten feet of the wall.
“What are you? Some kind of spider?”
“Nope, just a SEAL.” Through his wetsuit, cords of muscle stood out on his shoulders and arms, showing the strain of the climb, but his expression and voice were relaxed. “So, how does a nice girl like you find herself hanging around in a place like this?”
“I just felt like dropping in,” Avery grunted. It was crazy to be bandying words with this guy like they were clever college kids, but it kept the fear and discomfort at bay. Her muscles cramped and she was losing feeling in her hands. She couldn’t hang on much longer.
“Did Crazy Charlie hire you?” Maddock asked as he hooked his fingers in a cleft in the stone so shallow Avery couldn’t even see it.
“I don’t know anyone by that name. I was actually coming to...” The root slipped again, this time accompanied by a cracking sound. Avery was too frightened to cry out. She just hung there, gasping for breath. Her foot found a tiny fissure and she pressed her toe into it, more for the comfort it afforded her than the weight it bore.
“I’m almost there.” Maddock was maybe ten feet away now, but he looked like he was moving in slow motion. He was never going to get to her in time.
The sound of her rapidly beating heart pounded in Avery’s ears. She was keenly aware of the sensation of abraded flesh against smooth wood, cold sweat running down the back of her neck, the smell of brine in the damp pit, and the crack of the root giving way.
And then Maddock was there. He drew a sinister looking knife and jammed it into a crevice just as the root finally snapped.
Avery felt only a momentary lurch and then a strong arm had her around the waist. She looked into Maddock’s eyes, so like the sea, and her panic subsided.
“I’ve got you. But if you can get your fingers into that crack right there, it would help.”
She looked up and realized his knife bore most of their weight, though he still had small footholds. She couldn’t believe he’d made it up here, but time to marvel would come later.
She worked her left hand into a crevice, and draped her other arm around Maddock. She looked at him, uncertain what to say. She’d expected to dislike him, but now she wasn’t so sure.
“How are you holding up?” Maddock asked, his thickly muscled arms trembling and his knuckles white.
“That depends on how much longer you can hang on.” Avery struggled against the urge to look down.
“Are you kidding? I’m in this for the long haul.”
Avery forced a smile and felt herself slip a little bit. “I’m sorry about this. It’s not the way I intended for us to meet.”
“So you don’t spend your days hanging around pits with strange men?”
Her fingers slipped again and she wondered, for a moment, if she should just let go. This was all her fault and it wasn’t fair for Maddock to go down with her. Literally.
“Did somebody say hanging?” Just then, a rope with a looped end dropped down alongside them. “Don’t worry. It’s not a noose.”
“Bones!” Maddock exclaimed. “It’s about time you got here.”
“Talk about ungrateful. Now, how about you and your new friend take hold of this rope before you both fall?”
Avery reached out, slipped one arm through the loop, and grabbed hold of the rope.She started to riseand, next thing she knew, strong hands lifted her up and onto solid ground
Her rescuers were tough-looking men. One, a stocky man with short brown hair, introduced himself.
“I’m Matt,” he said. “This is Bones.”
Bones stood well over six feet tall, with striking Native American features, and a mischievous twinkle in his dark eyes. He wore his long, black hair pulled back in a ponytail, and his t-shirt displayed a giraffe with a speech bubble that read, “Moo! I’m a goat.”
“Maddock’s got to go back down for his air tank and other crap,” Bones said. “He’ll meet us back at headquarters, if you can call it that.”
“Okay.” Avery could barely find words. She was still freaked out about her near death experience and she was exhausted from the ordeal. “Are you part of Mister Maddock’s crew?”
“He’s my partner. Or I’m his. It gets a little confused at times. And don’t bother with the ‘Mister.’ He just goes by Maddock.” He raised an eyebrow. “You got a name?”
“Avery Halsey,” she replied. “Sorry, I’m usually much friendlier.”
“I hear you.” Bones took her by the arm and guided her toward the work site. “What are you doing out here anyway?”
“If you’re Maddock’s partner, then I have a business proposition for the two of you.”
Bones didn’t break his stride or even look at her, but threw his head back and laughed.
“Did I say something funny?”
“No,” he said. “It’s just, we get that all the time.”
A motley group awaited them at the work site. The two who stood out to her were both Native American. One was an attractive young woman with the body of an aerobics instructor. Avery wondered if she was Bones’ girlfriend, and found the thought raised a pang of jealousy. Whatever. She’d known the guy for all of two minutes.
The other was a man of about sixty. Unlike Bones, he wore his long, silver-streaked hair down, with a black leather headband holding it back. His weathered face was handsome and, like Bones, mischief danced in his eyes. He wore a coat and tie, blue jeans, and cowboy boots.
“Glad to see you’re okay,” Angel said. Her handshake was firm, almost manly in its strength, but the air about her was distinctly feminine, though with a touch of tomboy.
“We had no idea anyone was coming out to the site,” Crazy Charlie said, a touch of disapproval in his voice. “If we hadn’t gotten Willis’s call, we’d never have known.”
“I still can’t believe I fell. I’ve been coming to this island since I was a little girl. I know better than to let my mind wander.”
“So, what brings you here?” Charlie crossed his arms and waited for an answer. The transformation was immediate, as his expression went from warm and inviting to cold and calculating in a flash. Two men moved in to flank Avery on either side. What was going on?
“You need to chill, Uncle.” Bones stepped in between them. “She’s here to see me and Maddock.”
Charlie considered Bones’ words before dismissing his men with a jerk of his head. He looked at Avery a moment longer.
“All right, then. Just be sure to let us know before you visit the work site again. For safety reasons.”
Avery nodded. She doubted that safety was Charlie’s primary concern, but she couldn’t very well argue with him. After all, she’d just demonstrated the perils of wandering the island alone. Still, what was with the thugs? Just treasure hunter paranoia, she supposed.
“I understand. Sorry for coming unannounced.”
“I’ll leave you to the kids, then.” Charlie winked at Bones, patted Angel on the shoulder, and left.
“Gotta love old folks,” Bones said. “They never forget you were once five years old.”
“Maybe if you didn’t still act like you were five,” Angel said in a scornful tone. She turned to Avery. “Let me look at your hands.” She gave them a quick inspection before leading Avery to a nearby tent where she cleaned and bandaged them. Maddock arrived just as they were finishing up.