“Howdare you!” he bellowed.
“Howdare I?” I choked out. “I just saved your life. Alfred was tryingto poison you!”
The group ofpirates appeared confused but turned to their trusted cook foranswers.
“Thewoman is clearly deranged, captain,” he told them. “Why would I dosuch a thing?”
“It’strue! I watched him pour a small vial of something into yourporridge.”
Alfrednarrowed his beady eyes at me. “She’s lying, captain.”
Devil Eyesdrew his sword and held the tip to my neck. “Prove it.”
“Proveit? How am I supposed to do that?”
Just then, tworats came scuttling out from underneath the tables. I watched asthey sniffed around the spilled slop and one of them began to eatit.
“Ha!There!” I blurted out like a crazy person. But the pointy tip ofthe sword pressed harder against my skin, so I told myself to calmdown. “The rats. They’re eating it. Just wait. If they die, thenyou’ll know.”
The menlooked down at the rodents feasting on the poisoned food, unawarethat the cook began to back away toward the ladder. Where did hethink he could run? Within a few seconds, the one that took thefirst nibble began acting strange, a coughing sound eruptingfrom its belly. Itkeeled over, its death quick and swift, and a resounding gasp madeits way around the room. Captain Barrett looked toAlfred.
“Alfred,” he said, sadness in his eyes. “Why?” The cook saidnothing in reply and turned to scamper up the ladder. “Seizehim!”
Finn leapedacross the room like a redheaded giant and grabbed a hold of theman, yanking him down from the ladder and pinning him to the floor.“What do we do with him, captain?”
Devil Eyeslooked to me, a strange mix of emotions shimmered across his face.Regret. Anger. Something else. “Death is the only answer for thistreason. Tie him up and bring him on deck.”
Everythinghappened so fast, I’d barely had a chance to process my thoughts. Isaved a man’s life, but I damned another one to death and stilldidn’t save myself. The crew of The Devil’s Heart was still oncourse to find the Cobhams and kill them, inadvertently ending myentire lineage and sentencing me to a death I had no idea how toimagine.
I hung my headlow while the men led me up on deck and stood around as Alfred,bound and tied, was made to stand near the side of the ship. DevilEyes pulled a clunky pistol from the opposite side his sword hungfrom and pointed it at the former cook. Everyone stared at Alfred,but I looked at the expression of the captain’s face. He appearedtormented. Like it pained him to have to take this man’s life, eventhough the man tried to kill him.
“AlfredCummings,” Captain Barrett spoke loudly, “For your treason againstyour captain, you are sentenced to death. Do you have any finalwords?”
Could no oneelse see the hesitation in their captain’s actions? I stood and sawa man who clearly didn’t want to take a life, the internal battleplain across his face. But, one quick glance around at the crew,hungry for blood to be spilled, told me all I needed to know. Theywanted justice, and Devil Eyes had to provide it. No matter thecost.
The man heldhis head high and grinned evilly. “May you all be met with theflame of The Burning Ghost.” Everyone gasped at the mention of thecursed ship. “And never–”
A loudexplosion pierced the air and rang in my ears. I let out a screamas I watched Alfred’s body go rigid, stumble back, and then fall tothe ocean below. The crew, oblivious to their captain, erupted witha loud cheer and danced about, but my eyes were fixated on the manwho appeared as frozen as I was. His glossed eyes met mine and, fora brief moment in time, I felt his pain. It shot through me like ablunt sword and filled my body. How could this man be the monsterdepicted in Henry’s journal?
He turned awayfrom the crew and walked toward his quarters, stopping at my sidefirst. He said nothing, but his furious eyes locked onto mine andheld a warning within them. He left me there, adrenaline and fearcoursing through my body as I listened to his footsteps nearing hisdoor. I was beginning to think I had Captain Devil Eyed Barrett allwrong. And now I wanted nothing more to figure out what wasright.
Chapter Eight
I wandered the ship for a while, waiting for thecaptain and his two right hands to discuss some things. It wasn’t ahuge vessel, but a decent enough size for the dozen or so crewmembers. Everything was dank and musty, which was to be expected ona ship, I guess. A salty film had crusted over the surface ofcertain areas, and each deck harbored a dreadful stench, gettingmore concentrated the deeper I went. I finally decided that the topdeck was where I liked it best, open and breezy. I stood at theside near the bow and gazed down at the hypnotizing waterbelow.
How did thishappen? How did my mother come to own enchanted things and neverknow? She would have loved this, minus the life-threateningsituation. Just then, one of the crew members found me andapproached slowly. A young man with a sweet face.
“You’renot thinkin’ about jumping, are you?” he asked mejokingly.
“Oh, Godno,” I replied. “I can’t imagine how cold that wateris.”
We bothlaughed awkwardly, and he sidled up next me, leaning his forearmson the ledge. “Are you really who they say you are?”
“I don’tknow,” I answered, confused. “Who do they say I am?”
“Partof her crew.”
“Youmean Maria?”
His eyesbulged, and he glanced around. “Jesus, watch what you say.”
“Is shereally that terrifying?” I asked. “And, to answer your question,no. I’m not with her, from her crew, or associated with her in anyway.” I swallowed hard as I realized that was a lie. We shared thesame blood, after all.
“Somesay she was a plague sent down to Earth to torture the men of thesea. Others say she was an abomination, something… not human. Whenshe disappeared, there was a strange calmness that cast over thesea.”
I nodded, mygut toiling. “And now I’ve let her loose again.”
The boyfrowned.
