“Firro, you great lout, hush up!” the captain said.
“No,” Firro answered. “I have been silent for years. I will do it no longer.” He looked at King Herrick with pleading eyes. “Please, I speak the truth. We discovered this place many years ago, when I was just a lad. Our ship was lost at sea, and we discovered it by accident. It was the captain’s idea to gather the items and invent the stories of his many great voyages—”
“Firro!” the captain yelled, but the crewman ignored him.
“I speak the truth!” Firro finished.
King Herrick turned to Firro. “And… that is the reason you burned your own boats—to keep us from your treasures?”
Firro nodded.
The wind picked up, carrying with it the brimstone scent from the volcano. A cloud of ash obscured the sun, making chills prickle my skin. Although Firro’s explanation revealed part of the truth, I wasn’t convinced he told the whole story.
“Captain Tobin,” I said, “were you aware of an infiltrator on the ship?”
He raised a bushy eyebrow. “Infiltrator?”
“Yes, a goblin has disguised himself and boarded the boat. I felt his magic while putting out the fire, and he stole my scarf—which had been spellcasted—where I also found goblin magic. Who do you think it could be?” I asked.
“I don’t bloody know who, nor do I care. If I could, I’d burn the whole boat, with every last Wult on it!”
“Bold words,” said King Herrick, “for a man who is most likely the infiltrator.”
Captain Tobin spat at the king’s feet. “I knew I never should have taken your kind on my boat. Wult scum—nothing but murderers who think they’re above all others. You’ll pay for what you’ve done today. Mark my words!”
“Then,” I said, “do you admit to being the infiltrator?”
“Why in the name of Faythander would I infiltrate my own ship?”
“Please,” a crewman spoke up. I recognized the young kid as the shaggy-haired fellow I’d seen in the wheelhouse with the captain. “My father is not the infiltrator. He means no harm to anyone. Please, let him go.”
Father? This complicated things a bit.
As I stared at the captain, I couldn’t decide whether he was a goblin in disguise or a man looking to make a quick buck. Either way, I couldn’t trust him. But if he wasn’t the goblin, then who was?
The ship lurched, then tilted to its side. Without thinking, I grabbed whatever I could find to keep from slipping, holding tight to a coil of rope surrounding a bulkhead. The flaxen cord burned my fingers as the ship pitched and the sound of splitting wood filled the air. Several crewmen fell off the deck and into the violent sea.
I realized they would never survive in those frigid waters.
Panic overrode my thoughts as I watched a wall of water tower over us. A sea serpent appeared in the waves, its loopy coils, black with golden bands, surrounded what remained of the ship.
Chapter 28
I gasped as the frigid water stung my face and splashed over the Sea Ghost’s deck. Still clinging to the rope, I knew it was only a matter of minutes before I would be thrust into the sea. The boat heaved as the serpent tightened its coils. Its head rose above the water, causing my panic to increase.
The giant serpent’s head was diamond-shaped, with pits under its slitted, yellow eyes. It opened its mouth to reveal fangs dripping with saliva. Each drop sizzled as it hit the deck.
I clung to the rope until my fingers burned, but the deck continued to tilt at a steeper angle and I lost my grip. My own screams filled my ears as I slid off the deck and into the water. Thousands of icy needles punched through my skin and into my nerve endings, stealing my breath.
Muffled voices reverberated through the sea, and a dense blanket of dark turquoise filled my vision.
My thoughts weren’t right. I couldn’t think—couldn’t concentrate. My mind refused to control my body. I flailed, panicking again as I choked on the salty seawater burning my nasal passages.
Something inside finally seemed to click, and I focused.
Get to the surface!
I coordinated the movements of my arms and legs, slowly and painfully making my way toward the small, distorted ball of sunlight overhead. Finally, after what felt like hours, I broke the surface, gulping in oxygen, coughing and choking until tears mingled with the saltwater in my eyes.
A strong arm grabbed mine and hauled me into a boat. Shivering, I lay on the vessel’s floorboards, thanking the Almighty I was alive.
Sounds of whooshing waves finally broke through the fog in my brain, and with numb fingers, I grabbed the edges of the swaying boat and sat up, trying to get my bearings.
We were floating in the midst of a war zone. The serpent had surrounded what was left of the ship, dragging it under the surface until it disappeared. Huge hunks of broken wood floated in the churning waters surrounding us. I spotted several other longboats trying their best to stay afloat in the agitated waters, too. Turning, I found a seat on a wooden bench near the back and crawled onto it.
Rolf and Brodnik were the only people I recognized in the boat with me. Where were Kull and Heidel? Where were my father and Ket and the princess? My knuckles turned white as I held to the bench seat. Somehow, I’d managed to keep my pack with me. It was soaked through, and I was sure everything inside was a mess, but it was a miracle that it hadn’t fallen off.
A crewman grabbed a pair of oars and rowed toward shore. We scraped past jagged volcanic rocks peeking from the water’s surface. Other boats rowed alongside ours, but still I saw no sign of Kull or the others. Where were they?
The ocean surged, flecking sea foam into our boat. Sea mist tingled on my cheeks and exposed hands. I glanced below the boat and found I
