“I’m sorry.” Carter bowed his head, but he was getting tired of all the mystery. Why not just tell him where Mason was? But Carter knew the answer deep down. He knew it was all part of the challenge, and he’d obviously lost some points somewhere, because as Seyem had said, gifts could be taken away as easily as they were given. He now understood that quite clearly. The captain had his backpack with all of his gifts, and there was no telling if he’d ever get them back, and if he did, would everything be inside? He figured he’d better take Doc’s advice and trust that his brother was alive.
Doc handed him an outrageous outfit. It was a pig costume, complete with a long, curly tail.
“Oh no, nuh-uh.” Carter shook his head. “I’m not wearing that ridiculous thing.”
Doc nodded, and once again Carter read his mind. “You have to. There’s no alternative. The captain and the others will make you walk the plank, and then you might run into Sharp Jaw again. I’d take my chances in the pig suit, if I were you.”
Good point. Carter stood gingerly and put on the suit, turning back to face Doc when he was finished. He asked, “Why are you here? I mean if you’re a light-seeker, and these bozos obviously aren’t, why would you want to be a part of this?”
Doc appeared to be thinking about his answer before he “spoke.” “The most basic answer I can give you is, what better place to find light than in the dark? Maybe, through who I am and the actions I take, another pirate will seek the light of Boysen Land and not Queen Zamora and her need to control. And, if one sees, then maybe another will follow, and then another. Maybe this pirate ship at some point in time will become a beacon of light, rather than one filled with treachery. If Seyem hasn’t explained it to you, I will. Light-seekers have no need to control others, not like Queen Zamora and her followers. For we follow the rule of light. Let me say to you, if you follow the light, there are no rules, except to love yourself and not harm others. That is the direction the soul yearns to take.”
Carter interrupted, “Believe in yourself, believe in each other, and in the soul’s light.”
Doc nodded. “Exactly. Since I have no need for control, but hope my fellow pirates will change their ways, I abide by the rule of light.”
“But do they know? I mean, do the other pirates know about you being a light-seeker?”
“Maybe some suspect since I am a healer, being the ship’s doctor, but they do not want to harm me. I have job security and a chance to see some of Queen Zamora’s followers become light-seekers.”
Carter wasn’t sure he understood this, but he accepted it. He let out a loud sigh as both he and Doc heard the ruckus on the deck above them, and knew it was time for the entertainment to begin. Doc reached inside his pocket and handed him something cold and hard. It was a horseshoe.
“What’s this for, Doc?”
Doc smiled and sent the message, “You’ll know what it’s for when the time comes. A good friend gave it to me, one you know. You may not need it at all, but in case you do, it will come in quite handily.”
Carter put the horseshoe into the pocket of the pig suit, figuring it had to come from Isaac, and followed Doc out of the small quarters and up the ladder to the deck, where the party was in full swing. The sun had set and stars shone high in the sky. There were pirates playing guitars and fiddles, singing songs about mermaids and sea horses. On any other occasion, Carter would have enjoyed the song. He played the guitar himself and loved music, but tonight’s songs sounded threatening, and the laughter that went along with them was taunting.
He squeezed the horseshoe inside his pocket, trying to decide what it could possibly be useful for. Finally, he decided to just trust and so he smiled and waved to the crowd of drunken pirates. They cheered and jeered, and Carter wondered just what it was they had in mind for him.
CHAPTER TEN
A DIVE INTO THE DEEP END
The noise up on the deck grew louder by the minute. Mason figured this was as good a time as any to set his plan into motion. The pirates would be drunk from their beer, neither thinking nor seeing too clearly.
He pulled on the pirate’s outfit and for a moment, wondered why no one else had come back to this room for their clothes. After donning the costume, he looked into a small, dirty mirror, and rubbed off some of its dust with his elbow. He looked convincing—just like a real pirate—with a red, checked scarf tied around his head, baggy pants, and a torn, beige shirt. He stuck his chest out. He really liked this look. Maybe he’d be a pirate next Halloween.
He quietly opened the door to the cabin. The noise got louder with each step he took toward the top deck. He passed a couple of already drunk pirates, wrestling in the passageway.
“Hey matey, you going to see the boy? He’s a real hoot. We grabbed ourselves a real live ‘un. Squeals just like a dang pig, he do!” one chortled. A pipe hung from the corner of his mouth, and his shaggy hair fell down almost to his knees. He was the wildest looking character Mason had ever seen. And that was fairly amazing, considering all he and Carter had already seen on this adventure.
“Uh-hmm,” Mason said, trying to make his voice sound deeper than it was. “Squeals like a pig, hey? On my way up right now.”
“Should be a good show tonight. Martin is throwing knives,” the other said. This pirate had blonde dreadlocks tied into a ponytail and a nose that looked like it had been broken one too many times. When he spoke there was a nasal quality to his voice.
“Hope he doesn’t miss, like he did with that last kid. Right through the spleen. Ugly, bloody mess,” the other pirate added. “Didn’t ya think so, mate? I sent me underling up to clean it. Spent a good four hours scrubbing down the deck after that ‘un.” Both men laughed out loud.
Mason chuckled, trying to go along with them. He picked up his pace, as the pirates appeared to be growing curious by his lack of interest in their banter.
“Not feeling so good today, hey mate?”
“Nope.” And with that Mason skedaddled down the passageway towards the upper deck, not looking back at the two, even though he overheard one ask the other, “Have ye e’er seen that fella afore?”
“Can’t say I have. But ye know the captain. He’ll pick up every lost ‘un within a port if he thinks he’ll be of use. I think he might be Doc’s new assistant. Someone was sayin’ Doc needed a little extra help with all the sickness that’s been going around lately.”
“That’s probably it. I tell ye, mate, I worry some about Doc.”
“Ah, he’s all right. He’s a good man. Fixed me broken nose up real good the last time.”
“That’s what worries me, him being so good.”
“Back off Doc. We needs him around here.”
Mason walked even faster and it wasn’t long before he could hear the two of them knocking each other around again in their drunken stupor. It appeared they’d already forgotten about him.
When he reached the top deck, he took in a wild party scene. Men were everywhere, their beer spilling over tall mugs, making the deck quite slippery. Laughter and music filled the air, along with acrid tobacco smoke. Mason never looked up. He didn’t want anyone to realize he wasn’t a part of the crew. He grabbed a pitcher of ale, trying to fit in.
A shrill scream sounded high above the men’s laughter and music. Several of the men, their eyes focused on something towards the bow of the boat, whooped and hollered, clapping and making rude remarks about the pig boy. “Hey piggy, piggy! You sure is the ugliest piggy, ain’t ya? Is you scared, little piggy?”
Without actually seeing his brother, Mason knew that was who they were talking about. He pushed his way through the group to get to the front, to see what was going on.
Carter screamed again. Mason’s mouth dropped wide open, letting out a horrified gasp. He stifled his own scream, not wanting any attention drawn to him. There was Carter, tied to a wooden board. He was blindfolded and dressed in a pig’s costume. Twenty feet back stood a pirate dressed all in black, with a hood covering his head. His dark,
cold eyes stared out from the holes in the hood. He looked like the executioners Mason had seen in movies set in medieval times. The sight was quite hard to handle. Mason had to keep it together. Focus on Carter.
The menacing pirate continued throwing sharp knives at his brother. From what Mason could see, he’d made his way all around Mason’s feet, up his sides and arms, and was getting rather close to his neck and head. What if he knocked out an eye? Or worse? Mason had no time to waste.
Looking around for something to help him, he decided now might be a good time, by the light of the moon, to contact Seyem. But how could he do that without being seen? He watched another knife fly towards Carter, who screamed again.
Mason saw what he thought might be the ticket. He wormed his way back through the crowd, still with his head down and trying desperately to move quickly as he heard another yelp escape his brother’s mouth. He had nearly reached his destination when he felt strong hands grab his shoulders. He dropped the mug of ale he’d been carrying around. A couple of the other men took notice, but soon went back to the show that was getting better all the time, the closer the executioner got to Carter’s head. Afraid to look up at the man who held him by the shoulders, he knew he had to. This was probably going to be the demise of both his brother and himself. He looked up. What he saw looking back at him was the only pirate he’d noticed who was not wearing a patch over his eye. Regrettably, there hadn’t been one in the closet where he’d found the rest of his outfit, which was one of the reasons he’d been avoiding eye contact with the other pirates. It could be a dead giveaway that he wasn’t one of them.
The man continued squeezing his shoulders. He noticed a name stitched into the pirate’s shirt. It read “DOC.” He also noticed, looking up at Doc, that his eyes were a hue of pale green Mason didn’t think he’d ever seen before. They had a ring of turquoise just around each pupil. But the one thing that stood out, besides the intensity and color of these eyes, was that they were filled with a kindness he never would’ve imagined seeing in anyone’s eyes aboard this ship. He knew Doc was a light-seeker. Mason smiled, knowing there was some hope. “What is it, Doc?”
Doc didn’t speak, but a message came to Mason’s mind and he was pretty sure although Doc wasn’t speaking to him with his mouth, he was doing so with his mind. Crazier things had happened on this journey. Doc seemed to be telling him about something in Carter’s pocket.
“The pocket, Mason. Carter won’t be able to get to it tied up. But it may save your lives.”
“What is it?”
“Can’t go on. Someone is watching.”
Mason turned around to see that the two wrestling pirates had come back up to join the party. The one with the broken nose was staring at them. He too had something about his eyes. It wasn’t quite the kindness of a light-seeker, but they were also not as dark as what Mason could see in the others’ watching his brother’s terrifying dance of death.
“Act quickly,” was the last message Mason received, “And remember the pocket.”
Doc disappeared into the crowd. Mason knew he was right. It was time to get off this massive ship.
Mason headed for what he’d seen moments ago when Doc stopped him. He made it to a long rope that led to the crow’s nest, and climbed it without hesitation. The wind had a nice kick to it, and before he could think about what it was he was about to do, he jumped. He hoped the rope and wind would follow through for him and carry him all the way to Carter.
He had to keep his eyes open to direct the rope towards his brother. He felt hands trying to grab at him, pull him down off the rope. The wind had picked up in his favor. What seemed like forever was only a matter of seconds, as he hit Carter with full force and with all of his strength, pulled him into his arms. The board Carter was attached to slowed down their momentum. They were headed to the bow of the ship.
The pirates were screaming obscene words at the boys.
“Let go,” Mason yelled as they made it over the deck. If they didn’t let go, they’d swing back into the ship.
They fell nearly a hundred feet straight into the water with a huge splash. Carter was still attached to the board and in the heavy pig suit, but came up quickly, floating on the water’s surface. Mason popped his head up soon after him and grabbed onto the wooden plank.
The captain yelled down, “You ain’t got away with nothing, laddies. Look yonder and you’ll find your big fish friend hasn’t gone too far. No, indeedy! You are in a pickle, as they say. Good luck!” Laughter echoed from around the ship. The merriment hadn’t ended with their flight.
“Mason, is that you?”
“Of course it’s me, ding-dong. Who else would it be?”
“Well, since it’s you, do you mind taking off my blindfold, so I can at least see when we’re about to be eaten alive? Or better yet, just leave it on, so I don’t see him coming. Maybe it’ll hurt less that way.”
“Would you rather have stayed on board with those characters and have who-knows-what happen to you?”
“Well, who-knows-what’s gonna happen now!”
Mason didn’t answer. He pulled off Carter’s blindfold. No sooner had he done so than he heard a menacing swoosh through the water. They knew exactly what it was. Simultaneously, they thought of Doc’s gift in Carter’s pig suit.
“Uh Mason, there’s something you need to get since I’m all tied up, and I think it’s something we’re gonna need right about now.”
“I know.”
“You know. How?”
“I don’t think I have time to go into it.”
The shark was gaining speed. The boys could see his mouth wide open, sharp metal teeth shining in the moonlight. Mason reached into the pocket of the pig suit, grabbed the horseshoe, looked oddly at it, and said, “What the heck?”
“Press one of the nail holes on the shoe.”
Mason did so, and the horseshow grew three times its size. It also grew wings like that of an eagle. They were long with silver-tipped feathers and they fluttered in the wind faster than a hummingbird’s. As the wings moved quickly and then began to steady themselves into an even pace,, the boys found themselves propelled on top of the water. They were going even faster than the speedboat they’d ridden on when they went water skiing.
They whizzed right past the robotic shark and headed straight for what looked like the beach that led to the dark side. However, right now, the dark side seemed to be a better option than being eaten alive.
Closer and closer the beach came into view, until it became one huge blur as the boys flew from the water and crashed down onto the shore. Sand went everywhere—into their noses, mouths, and eyes. Carter fell unconscious as his head hit the board he was tied to.
“Carter, Carter!” Mason yelled, spitting sand out of his mouth and rubbing an arm he knew was either broken or badly bruised.
“What?”
They both turned to see the awesome display of Sharp Jaw landing on the beach and bursting into an assortment of tiny metal fragments. Even though they were sore, exhausted, and possibly had a broken bone or two, the boys couldn’t help but cheer loudly, filled with joy that this enemy had been beaten and totally demolished. They breathed a sigh of relief. Then they collapsed back into the sand, thankful to be alive.
“Uh, Mason, could you please help me?”
Mason looked over at Carter. Stifling his laughter, he got up and tried with his sore arm to untie the ropes that held Carter strapped to the board. It was a futile effort since the knots were too tight.
“C’mon, Mason, hurry up!”
Mason suddenly had an idea. He found the winged horseshoe, which had landed a few feet away from them, still buzzing but stuck in the sand, and brought it over to Carter.
“Oh no, you don’t. You might cut me.”
“Got a better suggestion?”
Carter didn’t answer, but closed his eyes tightly as Mason carefully cut him free. “Thank you, thank you,” Carter exclaimed standing up and shimmying out of his pi
g suit.
Mason could no longer contain himself. He burst out laughing.
“It’s not funny. I looked like a jack-ass.”
“No you didn’t. You looked like a pig.” This was enough for Mason to grab his waist and bend over laughing so hard he fell down and yelped, “Ouch, my arm.” In his fit of making fun of Carter, he’d briefly forgotten about his arm. “Ugh, I think I broke it on that crash landing.”
“Serves you right.”
“Serves me right? I just saved your piggy self.”
Then Carter remembered about the receiving and taking away of gifts. His pack was gone, and if they continued with their useless fighting, he was pretty certain they’d be down another gift. “I’m sorry,” Carter apologized.
Mason didn’t know how to respond. It wasn’t often that either boy apologized to each other, except when forced to by their mother.
. “It’s okay. Better get out the salve. Maybe that’ll work on broken bones.” He was now convinced that was what he had, because his forearm was twisted, facing a new direction.
“Mason, you lost the salve at the volcano, remember?”
“What about your pack?”
Carter didn’t know how to tell him, but decided straight out was the only way. “The captain of the pirate ship has it.”
“Oh no!” Mason brought his good arm and hand up to his forehead. “Okay, think. Well, maybe there’s something else in mine. Can you look?”
“Yep.” With his pig suit off, he now realized he didn’t have an extra pair of clothes with him.
Carter opened up his brother’s pack. To his surprise, not only did he find all of Mason’s gifts, minus the salve, he also found all of his own gifts. Doc’s face came to mind. He knew it was Doc who’d somehow smuggled the items into Mason’s pack; Carter wasn’t sure how, but he had.
“You won’t believe it, Mason, but it’s all here, including my stuff.”
“Doc,” Mason whispered.
“You met him?”
Mason nodded. “He’s the one who told me to look into your pocket. He’s a light-seeker.”
The Clover Siblings and the Evil of Desmal Page 7