‘And you are a monumentally bad liar,’ Isabella said. ‘Jeremiah Pain told you, but you ignored all his warnings, all the research, all the evidence.’
‘Jeremiah who? I simply don’t know what you are talking about.’
The wind caught in Isabella’s coat. Her fingers closed even tighter around the knives in her hands. ‘Oh, you remember. The scientist who threw the shoe in parliament?’
Sneddon hesitated momentarily. ‘Oh, him ... raving madman.’
‘Despite everything he and the other scientists said, you advised the Minister to vote against strengthening the city’s barriers.’
‘There’s no point getting yourself upset over–’
‘Despite what my father told you!’ she shouted.
‘Your father?’
‘Almaric Charm, the Head Controller of the Flood Barriers.’
Albert raised his head higher.
‘Ahhh.’ Sneddon pretended pity. ‘Terribly sorry about–’
‘You’re not sorry at all! You’re worth nothing after what you did.’
A wave splashed against the hull of the ship, exploding over them in an icy spray. The Aerotrope stumbled onto one wing. Sneddon calmly moved his soggy and slightly flattened bouffant from his eyes. ‘Which is just about how much you were worth to your father.’
‘You know nothing about my father.’
‘I know that if your father was so convinced about the city’s destruction, he mustn’t have thought much of you if he didn’t send you somewhere safe.’
The swell lifted the clipper so high that Isabella teetered across the deck. The Aerotrope skidded into the railing. Sneddon tried to reach for it but stumbled backwards when the ship descended down the wave, grabbing onto the mast for support. Albert tucked his head into the Captain’s coat.
‘He cared about this city and the people in it!’ Isabella cried.
Sneddon leant forward and smiled. ‘But not about you.’
Isabella charged at him, knives raised above her head, ready to bring them down, when her feet were snatched from beneath her. Her body smacked against the deck, and her knives went spinning away. Her head stung and her chest felt as if it had been crushed. With Mouse’s hands firmly around her ankles, Isabella’s body felt drained of all its energy. Her eyes grew heavy and the world blurred – everything went black.
‘Glad you could join us again, Mouse.’
The slightly groggy Mouse smiled, his broken nose swollen and out of shape. ‘My pleasure, Captain.’
CHAPTER THIRTY
A Poisonous Betrayal
‘Go faster!’ Griffin shouted over the wind.
Xavier pedalled, the muscles in his legs stinging with pain as the Velocraft crashed into waves that kept belting them back. Raven sat in the rear, his teeth clenched as he pulled harder on the oars.
Griffin held up the binoculars. ‘We’re almost there.’
Sneddon’s clipper swayed on the harbour, enveloped by a creeping mist.
‘Can you see Isabella?’ Xavier asked.
‘Not yet, all I can see is – wait, something’s happening.’
He watched as a gate flung open from the deck of Sneddon’s ship and a long wooden gangplank extended.
‘What can you see?’ Raven asked. ‘Is it Isabella?’
Griffin struggled to speak. ‘They’ve got her tied up and have forced her onto the plank.’ The ropes were wound tightly around Isabella’s body, digging into her arms and legs. She drew what breath she could into her lungs.
Another wave rose beneath the ship, sending it tipping and swaying. Isabella stumbled along the plank before finding her balance. She bent her knees, ducking with the movement to avoid being thrown into the water.
Tyran stood beside Sneddon within the safety of the ship’s railing.
A blast of thunder filled the skies.
‘Any last words?’ Sneddon stroked Albert.
‘You never knew any bounty hunters, did you?’ Isabella asked.
‘Only the ones who made the mistake of coming here and found themselves on the bottom of the river. Now we need to say our goodbyes so we can begin packing.’ Sneddon looked around. ‘I’m finally leaving this place – and not a miserable moment too soon.’
‘I’ll follow you inland and tell everyone what you did.’
Sneddon leapt onto the plank. Isabella staggered before regaining her balance.
‘You will lie on the bottom of this river like all the others who can’t speak. Including your father.’ He stood before her defiantly, the wind whipping through his hair.
Then, for a small moment, it looked like his resolve might weaken. ‘It didn’t have to be like this. You could have simply given me the machine and–’ He turned away. ‘Close the gate, Tyran, and finish her.’
Tyran nodded. He locked the gate and took an oar from the deck, slowly extending it towards her. He tried to give Isabella a small push. She swerved, avoiding the jab, and kept her feet firmly planted. He pushed harder. This time she stumbled back – a little. He sniggered and came at her again so that inch by inch she was forced along the plank until, with her last step, she felt nothing beneath her heel. She was poised on the edge, leaving very little between her and the frenzied waves.
‘Bye bye, now,’ Tyran said. ‘I hope you enjoy the – aaahhhh!’
The oar spilled from Tyran’s hand, smacking onto the plank and tumbling into the harbour. He fell back, crashing against the deck, clutching his leg, his face twisted in pain. A spear attached to a rope stuck out from his thigh.
Sneddon spun to face the quarterdeck, where Xavier stood holding the spear gun and Raven a large sword with a gold hilt.
‘Walk the plank?’ Xavier reloaded the gun and pointed it straight at Sneddon. ‘Isn’t that a bit Captain Hook?’
‘Mouse!’ Sneddon yelled. ‘Get them!’
‘I’ll deal with the big guy,’ Raven said to Xavier.
‘Do your worst.’ Xavier released the first spear and reloaded.
The ship swayed as the wind picked up and the waves pounded the hull. Isabella jostled forward, her toes poised over the edge of the plank, her breathing panicked as she managed to inch back to the centre.
Raven leapt from the railing of the quarterdeck and landed squarely in front of Mouse. He held up his sword. ‘Bet you thought you’d seen the last of me.’
Mouse growled and tried to grab him, but Raven jumped back and swung his sword, cutting the hulking man’s arm. Mouse winced and his face twisted into a poisonous scowl.
Xavier stepped down the stairs to the main deck, edging towards Isabella, the whole time aiming the spear gun at Sneddon. ‘Don’t make any sudden moves.’
Another gust of wind rushed across the deck. Sneddon toppled forward and Albert was thrown from his neck to the floor where he slithered away to safety.
‘Albert!’
Mouse snapped a rigging pole and, grabbing it with both hands, swung it at Raven who blocked it with his sword. Mouse came at him with renewed force. Raven parried again and again but was slowly forced backwards. Mouse swung lower but Raven jumped, pulling his knees to his chest.
‘You’ll have to do better than that.’
Mouse swung the pole harder and faster. Raven dodged and blocked, the force of each blow vibrating through his arms, until his back smacked into the railing and he lost the grip of the sword.
It clanged to the ground just out of his reach.
Mouse swooped on it with glee. ‘Look what I found.’
Xavier stopped. His attention flicked between Raven, Mouse and Sneddon, whose eyes were searching the deck.
Mouse whisked the sword above him and brought it tearing down. Raven jerked his body aside and watched as the sword hacked into the wooden railing. Mouse tugged a few times, but it wouldn’t budge.
‘Shame.’ Raven shook his head and dived under Mouse’s legs, racing across the deck followed by the giant.
When Xavier looked back, Sneddon was gone. He scanned the ship. There we
re barrels, cabins and manholes leading down into the hull. But there was also Isabella. He leapt across the deck.
Raven easily outran Mouse, leaping over piles of coiled rope and between strands of rigging. He sprang up stairs to the upper deck and, pulling his knife from his belt, cut through a rope attached to the topmast. He swung out Tarzan-style and, with his legs outstretched, rammed into Mouse’s chest, sending him sliding backwards along the floor, head slamming into the bottom of the mast, knocking him out.
‘That took a little longer than I expected,’ Raven cried. ‘I’m all yours, Xavier.’
He hurried towards Xavier, who had reached the gate leading to the gangplank.
‘Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner,’ he threw down the spear gun.
‘I’ll forgive you,’ Isabella smiled.
As Xavier flicked aside the lock, Sneddon appeared from behind a barrel, holding a gun. ‘That’ll be as far as this little rescue is going to go.’ Sneddon stepped over a whimpering Tyran, still clutching his injured leg. He had Raven and Xavier in his sights. ‘I am leaving this ship, on that flying machine, and I am going to take my rightful place back in civilised society with, as you guessed Isabella, the jewels you’ve been collecting for me over the years.’ He took careful aim at her. ‘So sorry you won’t be able to join me.’ His finger tensed on the trigger.
Xavier’s eyes shot to the spear gun but, before he could move, a sudden wave lifted the ship, rolling it to the side. Isabella stumbled. Raven and Xavier were thrown hard against the railing.
Sneddon was tossed backwards, the gun flying from his hand, the weight of his body coming down heavily on the tail of a concealed Albert. The snake sprang round, sinking its fangs into his leg. Sneddon screamed as another wave quickly followed, this one bigger than the last.
The ship lurched sideways. Isabella tried to regain her balance, but her feet slipped and her body twisted. Bound by ropes, she plumme ted from the gangplank and hit the water with a stinging slap.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
A Watery Farewell
‘Isabella!’ From the Velocraft, Griffin saw Isabella’s torpedo-like dive.
Xavier jumped in after her.
With his life jacket firmly secured, Griffin tied a rope around his waist and the seat of the vessel. He’d slipped his arm through another jacket when Xavier emerged from the river.
‘Where is she?’ Xavier yelled.
Griffin searched each wave, churned even more violently by the bullish rearing of the ship. Then he saw her, poking out of the waves. She tried to kick with both legs to keep her head above water but, with her arms and legs tied, the waves easily dragged her down.
‘There!’ Griffin pointed to where she sank before launching himself into the harbour. The cold hit him, snatching the wind from his chest. He struggled to take in a deep breath and fought against the sickness that gripped his body.
‘Isabella!’
He swam harder, pulling himself through the squall, not stopping until he reached them. Xavier struggled to hold Isabella above the water while Griffin slipped his knife through her ropes.
‘Told you you were brave,’ Xavier cried.
‘I’m trying not to think about it.’ Griffin’s knife sliced through the last of the ropes.
Isabella had been weakened by her struggle and, as Xavier held her above the waves, Griffin helped her into the life jacket. He turned her on her back, tucked one arm under hers and dragged himself along the rope back to the Velocraft.
Xavier swam past them and, using the rope to prevent being washed offcourse, reached the boat and climbed inside. When Griff was almost there, Xavier leant down and lifted Isabella out of the water. Her skin was tinged with blue and her body shook.
Griffin scrambled in beside her. He threaded Isabella’s limp arms out of the life jacket and piled blankets around her.
Xavier settled into the Captain’s seat. ‘Next stop, the Palace.’ He plunged his feet into the pedals and steered the Velocraft away from the ship.
‘But what about Raven?’ Griffin asked.
‘He’ll be fine,’ Xavier said with a cheeky grin. ‘Trust me.’
Griffin rubbed his hands along Isabella’s arms to try to stop her trembling. ‘Bit cold for a swim, don’t you think?’
‘I’m sorry, Griff.’ Isabella’s words were broken by her shivering. ‘I know I promised you I wouldn’t go after him, but he’d hurt so many people and I–’
‘It’s okay.’ Griffin smiled. ‘You were only doing what you thought was right. That’s just one of the million things I like about you. I was so scared when I saw you on the plank.’
Isabella laughed. ‘Me too.’
Griffin paused. ‘I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. If I had to face a world without you, it would be too hard.’ He lifted his hand to her cheek. ‘You’re still so cold.’
And, without even thinking about it, Griffin leant in and kissed her.
Xavier turned and whispered to himself. ‘Braver than you think, Griffman.’ He flung the Velocraft’s cover aside and scanned the sky. ‘The Aerotrope has lift-off!’
Isabella and Griffin turned back to see Raven waving at them from the flying machine. ‘Looks like Sneddon won’t be going inland after all.’
‘Do you think we can expose him?’ Isabella asked.
‘We have all those papers and, if Jeremiah came with us too, we’d have a great chance,’ Griffin said.
‘Unless he doesn’t make it.’ Xavier watched the ship list dramatically to and fro.
‘The sea isn’t that rough.’ Griffin scowled. ‘What could be ... oh.’
Alongside the ship, the long emerald-green neck of a sea beast rose from the water.
‘The Skelene,’ Isabella breathed.
‘And it looks like he’s brought a friend.’ Xavier watched another beast rise to the surface, only this one was bigger.
‘There are more.’ Griffin’s voice faltered.
The two creatures circled the boat, creating a whirlpool that tossed it about in its centre until the swirling slowed to a quiet ripple.
‘Do you think they’ve gone?’ Isabella searched the water.
‘Do we have to stay and find out?’ Griffin asked.
It was quiet, apart from the drizzling patter of rain.
Xavier grabbed the binoculars. ‘There!’
The larger sea creature erupted out of the water. Her neck snaked up beside the hull, her winged arms unfurled and her long, curved talons clung on to the edge of the ship. She let out a piercing screech. The younger one mimicked with a smaller cry before it latched itself beside her, and both creatures rocked the ship from side to side.
The Velocraft rolled in the wake of the waves.
Griffin held onto Isabella tight.
‘What are they doing?’
‘I’m not sure, but I think they might be standing up for you.’
The larger Skelene’s head snapped back and she let loose another cry. Huge waves spread out with each tilt until, in one great splash, the ship rolled onto its side. An explosion of foam wash burst from the ship as it began to take on water. The smaller Skelene stepped on the mast and it snapped like it was a toy. The ship bobbed upwards, but only slightly, before it took on more and more water. In one great, drawling moment, The Sea Serpent slid into the sea, leaving a bubbling cauldron on the surface of the harbour.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
There’s No Place Like Home
‘If you please,’ said the girl, ‘may I ask how I am to get home?’
‘Why, Dorothy,’ Glinda said, ‘you have had the power to go home to your Aunt Em and Uncle Henry since the very first day that you arrived here. You can command your silver shoes to take you anywhere you wish to go.’
‘I’m glad that you didn’t go home right away,’ said the Scarecrow. ‘If you had, I never would have gotten my brains.’
‘And I never would have gotten my heart,’ said the Tin Woodman.
‘And I never would have
gotten my courage,’ said the Lion.
(From The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum)
‘Maybe she should stay with her new friends.’ Raffy sat with his hands squeezed between his knees. ‘What if she gets home and finds everything was destroyed by the tornado and Aunt Em and Uncle Henry aren’t there and she has to live with people who will make her eat cold porridge and scrub floors and–’
‘You know none of that is true,’ Bea reminded him. ‘We’ve read the story about a hundred times.’
‘Will we be okay?’
‘We’ll be fine, and Jeremiah has promised he’ll do everything to make sure that happens.’
‘Me too, Raf.’ Xavier sat on the end of the lounge. ‘And if anyone gives you any trouble, I’ll come round and personally sort them out.’
‘Still playing the hero.’ Griffin raised an eyebrow.
‘Can’t help what comes naturally.’
‘You sure you don’t want to come with us, Raven?’ Isabella asked.
‘I don’t belong inland. I didn’t even belong when I lived there. And a whole bunch of kids would rely on me to run the Haggle. They’re noisy but I like them.’
‘You can always use the Aerotrope to visit us,’ Isabella said.
‘Just might do that. Promise no knives?’
‘Promise.’
‘I better go before your rescue party arrives.’ He hugged Isabella and whispered, ‘I know now why Xavier wanted to be part of you all.’
Raven and Xavier went through their complicated routine of shaking hands, clicking fingers, entwining arms and bumping fists and chests.
‘Be careful with my machine,’ Xavier warned. ‘It’s a work of genius.’
‘Which is why it’s about time she had a great pilot.’
Raven gave a final wave and disappeared up the stairs to the roof, leaving behind a heavy silence.
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