The Demon Collector

by Jon Mayhew

  A cold wind slapped Edgy’s cheek and brought tears to his eye. The sky hung low and grey, stretched over the leaden water. The sails snapped and cracked. Edgy felt his stomach clench as the flat horizon swayed up and down. Now the sea surrounded them. He shuffled in a stumbling circle across the deck and fought the urge to vomit.

  ‘Not found your sea legs yet then, Mr Taylor?’ Captain Boyd called down to him from the poop deck, his red face screwed up against the spray. ‘Don’t worry, a few days at sea and you’ll be fine.’

  Edgy staggered past the bustling crew towards the captain and clambered up the stairs. He tried to smile but a sudden swell brought his stomach up into his chest. He spun round and retched on to the deck. Straight on to a pair of fine black shoes. Edgy looked up into the unimpressed gaze of Lord Mauldeth. His pointed features twisted into a grimace of disgust.

  ‘I can tell you’re going to be such an asset on this expedition, Taylor,’ Mauldeth snapped. ‘I’ll have these dropped by your room later. You can make sure they’re clean.’

  ‘Sorry, your lordship,’ Edgy gasped, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

  ‘It still puzzles me why my little brother was so insistent that you come,’ Mauldeth continued. ‘Mind you, you’re not the only one whose presence I’d question on this voyage . . .’ Edgy followed his gaze across the deck to where Sokket swayed and stared off into the horizon, slowly rubbing his hands and muttering to himself. ‘Let’s just hope no ill befalls you.’

  He doesn’t sound very sincere, Edgy thought.

  Captain Boyd handed Edgy a scrap of paper, an amused twinkle in his eye. ‘Take these bearings to Mr Janus, Edgy, then find yourself some food,’ he said. ‘A full stomach makes it easier.’

  A full stomach? Edgy took the paper from Boyd and crept around Mauldeth, avoiding his icy glare. He slipped and stumbled down the steps and back below deck. Janus’s cabin and those of the other governors lay beneath the poop deck at the stern of the ship. Edgy found his door in the gloom and knocked hard. There was no answer. Edgy waited and then knocked again. Taking a deep breath, he lifted the latch and pushed on the door. It opened with a creak.

  Janus’s cabin was much bigger than Edgy’s but still cramped. An oil lamp swung from the low beams of the ceiling. A small pallet bed lay in one corner, a trunk was open and spilling clothes across the floor, and a writing desk was piled with books all huddled together, making the floorboards almost impossible to see. Janus wasn’t there.

  Edgy was about to leave but something caught his eye. A book lay open on the desk – the book Janus had bought from Scrabsnitch. The Legends of Moloch. Curiosity drew Edgy back into the room. He knew the basic story of Moloch but what were the other legends? What else might the book tell them?

  Edgy stepped carefully over the discarded clothes, and settled himself on the stool in front of the desk. An engraving of Moloch filled the left-hand page. Hatred burned in his feline eyes, horns spiralled above his frowning, wrinkled brow. He bared his teeth in a fierce snarl that emphasised the pointed features, the sharp nose, the goatee beard. Bat-like wings held him aloft in a boiling black sky and he brandished a cruel spear that seemed to point out of the page. Edgy tried not to look at the furious glare of the picture but read the caption: My counsel is war.

  ‘Edgy, what are you doing?’ Janus’s voice made him start and slam the book shut with a thump.

  ‘Nothing, Mr Janus. I mean, I saw the book – it was open.’

  Janus stepped forward. ‘What did you read?’ he asked, his voice low. Edgy had never seen him like this – almost threatening.

  ‘Nothin’ much, sir, just somethin’ about Moloch wantin’ war,’ Edgy said, his words running together as Janus snatched the book up from the desk.

  ‘Yes, well. Isn’t that why we’re stopping Salomé from placing his heart back in his body?’ Janus seemed to relax but he kept the book hugged to his chest. ‘You mustn’t handle this book again, Edgy, do you understand? It’s very old and . . . fragile. If it were damaged, who knows what valuable information might be lost to the world.’

  ‘Yes, Mr Janus. Sorry, sir,’ Edgy said, looking down at the cluttered floor. How could he have been so bad-mannered?

  ‘That’s all right, Edgy, no harm done.’ Janus gave a tight smile. ‘Curiosity isn’t a bad trait after all. It’s what makes us go and find out about the world.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘In fact, your demon-spotting skills are needed right away,’ Janus said, placing the book on the bed, clapping his hands together and marching out of the cabin.

  ‘They are?’ Edgy said, scurrying after Janus.

  ‘Indeed, Edgy. Follow me.’ Janus was out on the deck and heading towards the bow of the ship. Throwing a glance over his shoulder every now and then, he continued, ‘Of course, the ship employs a lookout at all times. Have to watch for obstacles, whales, other ships, all kinds of things really. But they don’t have your talent for seeing demons.’

  ‘Are there demons at sea, Mr Janus?’ Edgy said.

  ‘There are demons in all parts of the world.’ Janus’s voice had dropped as a couple of sailors had glanced up at him from their work. ‘Sea demons are even more of a rarity than your regular demons. Not as many people to tempt, I suppose, but you never know.’

  ‘So you want me to keep watch, sir?’ Edgy asked, staring out across the grey sea.

  ‘Exactly,’ Janus beamed. ‘If you see anything untoward, just let me know first.’

  ‘Leave it with me, Mr Janus,’ Edgy said, glad to see him smiling again.

  ‘Excellent, young man,’ Janus said and clapped Edgy hard on the back.

  Edgy stood in the grey twilight. It hadn’t occurred to him that standing at the front of the ship watching the sea would be hard work. The pounding of the steam engine and the rocking of the waves worked on his head and stomach. In the excitement of reading the book and being caught by Janus, Edgy had forgotten his nausea, but now it returned. Standing still for so long proved difficult. Edgy leaned on the side of the ship, wriggling and shifting position, stamping his numb feet in the cold. His cheeks and the end of his nose had lost all feeling too. The distant horizon stretched on, featureless, colourless in the winter evening. It was so big. Edgy wasn’t sure where to look.

  The decks were largely empty as most of the crew had gone below in search of food from the galley. A smell of gravy and stew tormented him. How long should he stay up here? Janus hadn’t really said. But Edgy couldn’t stand watch all night. He sighed and then froze.

  Something shining and black slithered up out of the water in the distance. It was hard to make out and it vanished in an instant. A seal? No, it’s too big. A whale then? Edgy leaned over the edge of the ship and craned his neck, squinting to see. If only Janus had given him a telescope. He stepped back and turned to run to Janus’s cabin.

  A dark figure flitted across the deck and Edgy heard a rushing of air as something heavy swung towards him. Silky McFarland appeared from nowhere, snarling and running towards him. Edgy gasped, the air blasted from his lungs as McFarland launched into him, knocking him to one side. The deck was a tangle of wood and rope crashing down on to them. A stab of pain lanced through Edgy’s temple as he tumbled back under McFarland’s weight.

  They hanged my old father,

  They hanged my old mother,

  They say I hanged for money,

  But I never hanged nobody.

  And they call me Hangin’ Johnny.

  So hang, boys, hang!

  ‘Hanging Johnny’, traditional sea shanty

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The Mermaid Inn

  Edgy lay wheezing, trying to catch his breath. His back ached where he had hit the deck. Silky McFarland staggered to his feet, shrugging off a coil of rope.

  ‘Edgy, are you all right?’ Janus cried, dashing forward through the crowd that had gathered.

  ‘He’s fine. Just shaken, that’s all,’ Mauldeth sneered, staring at him down his pointed
nose.

  ‘What happened?’ Edgy groaned. He lay on the deck staring up at the crowd of faces that surrounded him.

  ‘Some of the rigging fell, Edgy,’ Janus said, steadying him as he tried to stand. ‘Mr McFarland here saved your life – you would have been crushed if he hadn’t pushed you out of the way.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Edgy said, giving a weak smile. Had he misjudged this man?

  The scrawny sailor grinned at him. ‘You’re welcome, son. Though I wonder what you’ve done to make someone want to kill ye.’

  ‘Are you saying someone sent that lot crashing down deliberately?’ Mauldeth snapped.

  ‘That’s a serious allegation, Mr McFarland,’ Captain Boyd said. ‘What makes you think it?’

  McFarland held up the end of a rope. ‘It’s been cut, captain. Not that you’d allow such shoddy seamanship on board, captain, sir, but if it had frayed, then the strands of the rope would be different lengths. Look – these are cut off square.’ He triumphantly handed the rope to Boyd. ‘Aye, someone’s took an axe to that for sure.’

  ‘By Gad, you’re right,’ Boyd murmured, twirling the rope in his thick fingers.

  ‘But who’d want to do something like that?’ Sokket muttered, staring intently at Edgy and rubbing his hands as if he couldn’t get warm. He shook his head, whispering under his breath, ‘I knew no good would come of this, no good at all . . .’

  ‘With respect, sir,’ Edgy croaked. His head pounded and he could feel his throat tightening with the roll of the ship again. ‘Someone has tried twice before, back at the Society –’

  ‘Yes, yes, yes. So you said,’ Mauldeth cut in, dismissing the comment with a backward wave of his hand. ‘I suggest that you get some rest, young man. The captain and I will conduct a thorough investigation in the morning –’

  ‘You?’ Janus interrupted, frowning. ‘Why should you investigate?’

  Mauldeth’s heavy eyelids half closed in disdain at his younger brother. ‘Because I am chancellor of the Royal Society and therefore leader of this expedition.’

  Edgy winced as their voices rose, cutting into his head as keenly as the cold wind. Janus’s face had reddened. ‘You aren’t the leader. This is my expedition.’

  ‘Are you challenging my authority as chancellor?’ Mauldeth snapped.

  ‘You just want all the glory,’ Janus shouted, stamping his foot. ‘You’ve been desperate from the outset to stop me from making a greater discovery than you.’

  ‘Gentlemen, please!’ Captain Boyd said, taking a step forward. ‘The boy is fit to pass out. Get him below and we’ll discuss this further tomorrow.’ He turned to the gaggle of sailors who had drifted up from below on hearing the commotion. ‘Men, back to your duties or finish your supper. This ship won’t sail itself, y’know. Seaman McFarland, well done. Your quick thinking saved the boy’s life and I’ll see you’re amply rewarded. Now, everyone, back to what you were doing!’

  Janus gave Mauldeth a cold stare and then turned to Edgy, shepherding him to his cabin. Edgy’s head throbbed in time with the engines as he stumbled through the dark passages of the ship’s hull. Sailors murmured and stopped to stare as he passed them. Janus got Edgy to his bed and sat him down.

  ‘Don’t worry, you’re safe here. I’ll have Captain Boyd put a man at the door,’ he said.

  ‘I saw somethin’, Mr Janus,’ Edgy groaned, laying his head on the pillow. ‘On the sea, just before the rigging came down.’

  ‘What was it?’ Janus asked, frowning.

  ‘I’m not sure, sir. Somethin’ black. I don’t know if the lookout saw it too.’ Edgy’s eyelids felt heavy. ‘It could’ve been a whale or a porpoise . . .’

  ‘Don’t worry, Edgy, I’ll check. You rest for now,’ Janus said, pulling the rough blankets over his ­shoulders. ‘We need you fighting fit for this adventure, young man.’

  Janus was right – he needed to sleep. He felt safe with the sprightly professor there, watching over him. Edgy smiled as sleep slowly drifted over him.

  The following morning found Edgy pacing the deck with Captain Boyd. Silence had awoken him and at first he wondered what was missing as he had eased himself up in bed. The engines were still. No pounding pistons vibrated through the hull of the ship. All he could hear was the occasional cry of a sailor and the creak of the ship’s planks as it rolled in the waves.

  Clambering up on to deck, Edgy had met the captain.

  ‘More problems, young Edgy,’ Boyd said. ‘Engine trouble. Not good.’

  ‘Can it be fixed?’ Edgy asked. This whole ship confused him with its tangle of rigging. And the language the men used was foreign to him with its ports and starboards, its mizzens and yardarms.

  ‘Not sure yet,’ Boyd sniffed. ‘My men are checking it now. It’s almost as if someone somewhere doesn’t want this expedition to go ahead.’

  ‘D’you think someone’s done it on purpose? Broke the engine, I mean?’ Edgy gasped.

  Captain Boyd shook his head. ‘I’m not certain, Edgy,’ he replied. ‘But that rigging was badly damaged when it was cut. Maybe whoever did it didn’t mean to get you. Just wanted to slow us down. Without the back-up of the sails we can’t move as quickly. One thing’s certain – we’re going to have to put in at the next available port.’

  A sailor appeared from one of the hatches at the centre of the deck. He held a bent, flat piece of metal.

  ‘It’s one of the rods, cap’n,’ he called, his face grim. ‘We’ll need some time to hammer it out.’

  ‘As I thought,’ the captain muttered. He turned from Edgy, bawling commands down the ship. The crew scurried about, heaving ropes and preparing to turn the ship for shore.

  Edgy scanned the deck, looking at the sailors as they worked. It could be any one of them. He shook his head and clambered down to his cabin.

  Relief washed over Edgy as he set foot on the quayside. The ship had anchored off a small fishing village and a party was sent ashore in the ship’s tender.

  ‘It’s still England, Edgy,’ Captain Boyd had said. ‘Though a far cry from the busy streets of London, I dare say.’

  If Edgy had found the swell on the ship sickening, he was green by the time he reached the shore in the smaller rowing boat. He clambered up on to the small stone jetty, almost standing on Lord Mauldeth’s fingers on the gunwale of the boat.

  ‘Careful, you stupid boy,’ Mauldeth snapped. ‘You’ll have us all in the water!’

  ‘Eager for dry land,’ chuckled Silky McFarland. ‘You not a lover of the sea then, eh, Edgy?’

  ‘Not really.’ He shook his head and twitched a little. McFarland still made him nervous, despite the fact he’d saved Edgy’s life.

  He glanced around at the scatter of nets and lobster pots that cluttered the jetty and the path that led steeply up to a village that seemed to cling to the side of the rocky cliff. Small cottages huddled together against the wind that moaned across the rumbling sea. The crew had taken most of the day getting to their mooring and preparing the tender. Now it was evening and a few lights shone in the tiny windows. It was a dismal place but better than the sea.

  Boyd had suggested they spend a night onshore. Mauldeth jumped at the chance but Janus had been reluctant. Sokket wouldn’t come out of his cabin, so Edgy had been sent to knock on his door.

  ‘Away, boy!’ came the muffled cry from inside. ‘Leave me alone. You can all go ashore and never come back!’

  Now Janus shook himself and stamped a foot on the quayside. ‘Mauldeth might be glad of a night back on dry land, but I’m not pleased about this delay at all,’ he muttered, clambering out of the rowing boat after Mauldeth. ‘Timing is everything with this expedition. February the fourteenth. We must be at our destination by then or all will be lost.’

  Edgy frowned. February the fourteenth? Why is that date so familiar?

  ‘There isn’t much we can do,’ Mauldeth sniffed, cutting through Edgy’s thoughts. ‘Anyway, a mug of good ale and a warm fire will be welcome after that damp ship. Capta
in Boyd said the Mermaid Inn was basic but comfortable.’

  ‘If you wanted comfort, you could have stayed in London,’ Janus spat and stalked off towards the village.

  ‘Mr McFarland, you’re to take the engine part to the smithy and find lodgings there for the night,’ Boyd ordered. ‘We’ll meet on the quayside at dawn.’

  ‘Aye, sir. We’ll buy some rope too,’ McFarland smiled, tugging his forelock. He turned to the other men who had rowed the boat ashore. ‘Come along, gents, let’s get this ship fixed.’

  Edgy watched the sailors saunter off along the quay, then he grabbed Janus’s bags, panting as he marched up the steep cobbled lane after him.

  A faded sign swung above the inn door, showing a mermaid holding a tankard. The paint flaked from it and part of her tail was missing. Janus pushed on the heavy wooden door and the familiar smells of woodsmoke, tobacco and ale welcomed Edgy in.

  The tiny room inside lay empty apart from a few thick-legged tables and chairs. A barrel filled one corner and bottles lined the shelves on the wall. An old man in a faded black jacket and trousers sat smoking a long-stemmed pipe by the fire. He looked up and nodded at them.

  ‘Welcome to the Mermaid. Rooms are ready,’ he wheezed, spitting into the flames. ‘Saw t’ ship heaving to. Reckoned there’d be some gents aboard. The name’s Absalom, Christopher Absalom.’ The fire flickered, reflected in his pale-blue, watery eyes. ‘Landlord o’ this ’ere pub.’

  ‘Lord Mauldeth,’ Mauldeth said, giving the slightest of nods. ‘This is Professor Envry Janus and his servant.’

  Absalom nodded back slowly and solemnly. ‘There are two upstairs guest rooms with some good ale and beef waiting, y’lordship,’ he said, looking up at the ceiling. ‘The boy can sleep down here by t’ fire.’

  Edgy glanced around. The fire twisted their shadows on the walls of the tiny room, making tables and chairs appear to move and dance.

  ‘Don’t worry, young feller,’ Absalom said, giving a brief smile that showed his few remaining yellow teeth. ‘You’ll be quite snug down ’ere. I’ve some thick blankets y’can borrow. There, in the trunk under the bench.’ He pointed to a corner of the room. ‘And there’s some bread and cheese on the table – help yerself.’