storm. The sound came again and Roland recognised it: it was Alicia screaming for help somewhere in the ship.
*
The ten metres Max had to climb up the mast to the deck of the Orpheus felt more like a hundred. The wood had practically rotted away and was so splintered that when he finally reached the gunwale his arms and legs were covered in small stinging cuts. He decided it was better not to stop and examine his wounds and stretched out a hand to grasp the metal rail.
Once he’d got a good grip, he launched himself over it and fell onto the deck. A dark shadow passed before him and Max looked up, hoping to see Roland. It was Cain. The magician opened his cloak to show Max a silver object hanging on the end of a chain. The boy recognised the watch he’d lost in Jacob Fleischmann’s tomb.
‘Were you looking for this?’ asked Cain, kneeling next to the boy and dangling the watch in front of him.
‘Where’s Jacob?’ Max demanded, ignoring the mocking expression on Cain’s face, which resembled a wax mask.
‘That’s the question of the day,’ replied the magician, ‘and you’re going to help me answer it.’
Cain closed his hand around the watch and Max heard the crunch of metal. When the magician opened his palm again, all that remained of his father’s present was an unrecognisable tangle of squashed cogs and screws.
‘Time, dear Max, doesn’t exist; it’s an illusion. Even your friend Copernicus would have guessed the truth if he’d had precisely that – time. Ironic, isn’t it?’
Max was busy calculating whether or not it was possible to jump overboard and escape from the magician, but Cain’s white glove closed round his neck before he could take another breath.
‘What are you going to do with me?’ Max groaned.
‘What would you do with yourself if you were in my place?’
Max felt Cain’s lethal grip cut off his breathing and the blood to his head.
‘It’s a good question, isn’t it?’
The magician let go of Max, dropping him onto the deck. The impact of the rusty metal clouded Max’s vision momentarily and he was overwhelmed by sudden nausea.
‘Why are you pursuing Jacob?’ Max stammered, trying to gain time for Roland.
‘Business is business, Max; I carried out my part of the deal.’
‘But what can the life of one child mean to you?’ Max pleaded. ‘You’ve already had your revenge by killing Dr Fleischmann, haven’t you?’
Cain’s face lit up, as if Max had just asked him the very question he’d been waiting to hear since the start of their conversation.
‘When a debt is not settled, it gathers interest. But that does not cancel the original debt. That is my rule,’ hissed the magician. ‘And it’s what I feed on – Jacob’s life and the lives of others like him. Do you know how many years I’ve been roaming around the world, Max? Do you know how many names I’ve had?’
Max shook his head, giving thanks for every second the magician lost by talking to him.
‘Tell me,’ he replied in a tiny voice, feigning admiration.
Cain smiled triumphantly. At that moment the thing Max had feared, happened. Through the noise of the storm came the sound of Roland’s voice, calling Alicia’s name. Max and the magician looked at one another; they had both heard it. The smile left Cain’s face and was immediately replaced by the expression of a bloodthirsty predator.
‘Very clever,’ he whispered.
Max gulped, preparing for the worst.
The magician opened a hand in front of him and Max watched in horror as each of his fingers melted into a long needle. Only a few metres away, Roland shouted again. When Cain turned to look behind him, Max made a dash for the side of the ship, but the magician’s claw seized him by the scruff of his neck, turning him slowly until he was standing face to face with the Prince of Mist.
‘A shame your friend isn’t half as clever as you are. Perhaps I should make the deal with you. Oh well… some other time,’ the magician spat. ‘See you later, Max. I hope you’ve learned to dive since our last encounter.’
With brutal force, the magician flung Max into the air and back into the sea. The boy’s body sailed over ten metres through the sky then landed in the midst of the waves, sinking into the freezing cold water. Max struggled to rise to the surface, thrashing his arms and legs, trying to escape from the deadly current that seemed to be dragging him down into the darkness. Feeling as if his lungs were about to burst he swam blindly until finally he surfaced a few metres from the rocks. He took in some air and, in an effort to stay afloat, let the waves carry him towards the the rocky wall, where he managed to cling on to a ledge, then clamber up to safety. The sharp stones bit into his skin and Max was aware of them scraping his arms and legs, but he was so numb with cold he could barely feel the pain. Trying not to faint, he climbed up until he reached a recess among the rocks where the waves couldn’t reach him. Only then was he able to rest on the hard stone, still so frightened he couldn’t allow himself to believe he’d saved his own life.
17
The cabin door opened slowly. Alicia, curled up in a dark corner, held her breath and didn’t move. The Prince of Mist was outlined in the doorway and his eyes, flashing like hot coals, changed from gold to a deep crimson. Cain entered the cabin and strode over to her. Trying hard to hide the trembling that had seized hold of her, Alicia faced her visitor defiantly. The magician grinned like a dog at her show of arrogance.
‘It must run in the family. You’re all born heroes,’ the magician said softly. ‘I’m beginning to like you.’
‘What is it you want?’ asked Alicia, filling her shaky voice with all the contempt she could muster.
Cain seemed to consider the question. Alicia noticed that his nails were long and sharp, like the tips of daggers. Cain pointed at her.
‘That depends. What do you suggest?’ he asked sweetly, his eyes fixed on her face.
‘I have nothing to give you,’ she replied, stealing a glance at the open door.
Cain wagged a finger, guessing her intentions.
‘That would not be a good idea,’ he stated. ‘Let’s go back to our conversation. Why don’t we make a deal? An understanding between adults, if you see what I mean.’
‘What deal?’ Alicia replied, trying to avoid Cain’s hypnotic eyes, which seemed to be sucking away her willpower, a parasite feeding on her soul.
‘That’s what I like, so let’s talk business. Tell me, Alicia, would you like to save Jacob – sorry, I mean Roland? He’s a good-looking boy,’ said the magician, savouring every last word of his offer.
‘What would you want in exchange? My life?’ Alicia replied. The words came out of her mouth before she’d even had time to think.
The magician crossed his arms and frowned, looking pensive. Alicia noticed that he never blinked.
‘I was thinking of something else, my dear,’ Cain explained, stroking his lower lip with the tip of his forefinger. ‘How about the life of your firstborn?’
Cain moved towards Alicia and brought his face up close to hers, so that she could smell the sweet, nauseating stench of his breath. Looking straight into his eyes, she spat in the magician’s face.
‘Go to hell,’ she said, reining in her anger.
The drops of saliva evaporated as if she’d spat onto a burning metal plate.
‘My dear girl, that’s exactly where I’ve come from.’
Slowly, the magician stretched out his bare hand towards Alicia’s face. She closed her eyes and felt the icy touch of his fingers as the long sharp nails rested on her forehead. The wait seemed endless. At last, Alicia heard his footsteps moving away and the heavy metal door of the cabin closing behind him. An odour of decay seeped through the cracks around the door like steam hissing from a pressure cooker. Alicia felt like weeping, like banging on the walls to relieve her anger, but she needed to stay in control and keep her mind clear. She had to get out of there and she didn’t have much time.
She walked to the door and felt around the edges in search of a gap or chink that she could use to force it
