The Wicked Passage (A Blake Wyatt Adventure) (18 page)

“Water,” he said through white, cracked lips. “Please, water.
Barrel.”
He pointed with his chin.

She glanced at a wet, rotted barrel and watched a big, greasy guy finish a drink. He hung the cup on the side. She looked around, dashed to the barrel, and then filled the cup. She hurried to Columbus.

He tilted his head back and opened his mouth.

She poured in the water.

He gagged. “Thank you.”

A rough, sweaty hand clamped onto her wrist from behind.

“I thought you’d be a hunk of oak by now.”

Erica screamed as she struggled to break free.

“Leave her alone, Rat,” Columbus rasped.

He spat in Columbus’s face. “Nobody listens to you anymore, Admiral.”

She booted him in the shin. “Let go of me!”

Several guys looked over,
then
quickly turned away.

“Won’t get help from them. They fear demons.”

“Uncle Leopold!”

Rat lifted her off the deck. “A dead man hears no cries.” He laughed heartily as she kicked the air.

“Put me down!”

He tossed her over his shoulder and then climbed down the hatch.

Erica screeched as she pounded on his back and kicked his stomach.

At the bottom of the ladder, Rat threw her down.

She landed on her back in cold, stinky, ankle-deep water. A dark animal with a long tail swam past, brushing her arm. She jumped up.

“Don’t like rodents? They taste better than fish.”

She remembered the powerful stone in her pocket and how the electricity knocked Rat on his butt. Reaching in, she fumbled for the rock. “Where’s my brother?” she asked defiantly.

“Probably wishing he was dead.”

She punched him between the legs.

He doubled over.
“Stupid girl!”

She gripped the stone and waited. Nothing happened. She squeezed it tighter. “Come on, Rock.”

Rat straightened. He pulled over a large trunk and flipped the lid open.

Erica made a break for the ladder. She scrambled up several rungs before Rat snagged her ankle. Clinging to her escape, she tried kicking off his clutch.

He yanked her down and dragged her through the water. Shoving her in the box, he forced the top closed.

She heard the lock click. Screaming, she beat on the lid.

“Don’t anger the spiders,” he said. “They have a nasty bite.”

CHAPTER 20

ST. ELMO’S FIRE

Thunder cracked. Uncle Leopold opened his eyes. Lightning flashed through the cabin. “Erica?” He sat up.
“Oh, dear.”
Bracing himself against the bed, he struggled to his feet.

The ship pitched violently, hurling him into the wall.
“Great Caesar’s ghost!”
He slipped across the wet floor and plowed against the window frame. Rain pelted his face as he squinted in the howling wind.

Whack! Whack!

He stumbled to the banging door. Peering outside, he watched the crew hastily lowering sails--some of the canvases had shredded.

Leopold stepped onto the quarterdeck. Catching himself against the rail, he waited out a wave of dizziness. Through blurred vision he scanned the ship for his niece but was unable to make out faces. He faltered down the steps and then took another look. A drenched Christopher Columbus was chained to the center mast.

“Admiral?”

He didn’t respond.

The ship pitched hard, reeling Leopold into a large coil of rope. He braced himself before the next swell splattered him onto the deck.

“Rat!” someone shouted.

He noticed a round man, keys jingling from his belt, walking toward the hatchway and calling Rat’s name.

“Rat!” the man yelled again, now down the opening. “Where are those logbooks?”

A few seconds later, Rat emerged.
“In a safe place, Diego.”

Leopold maneuvered behind a barrel.

“How’s the hull?” Diego asked.

“Holding, for now.”

Leopold’s skin crawled.
If that Tolucan thug had harmed Erica?
He shuddered. Watching both men disappear beneath the forecastle deck, he shuffled to the hatch. Climbing clumsily down the ladder, he prayed he wasn’t too late. He missed the last rung and fell into the cold, swashing water. Using the ladder for leverage, he grimaced as he slowly pulled himself upright.

Thumping noises drummed from the back of the ship. He waded toward the sound. “Erica?”

“I’m over here!”

He went into the direction of her muffled voice and surveyed the cargo bay when lightning illuminated the space. Stacks of barrels and piles of trunks, some floating, most partially submerged, crammed the payload area. Packed burlap sacks lined both walls of the creaking hull. “Where are you?”

“In a box!
Spiders are crawling all over me!”

Plodding closer to the banging, he felt his nose hairs tingle. Through the stench of decomposing animal remains, he detected the sweet, irresistible aroma of coriane.
“How fortuitous!”
He clasped his hands in triumph. Dagonblud most certainly left this tea for Rat.

“Hurry!” she screamed. “They’re in my hair!”

“Patience, my dear.”
He choked back tears of relief. “I’m a bit slower these days.” Leopold braced himself against the hull as he limped from cask to cask--smelling each. One barrel stacked on another dripped liquid from the spigot. Angling his head under the tap, he twisted the lever. A surge of vigor empowered him as syrupy fluid coated his throat. He gulped down as much as he could and then gagged. “Better, indeed,” he said, wiping the runoff from his face with the back of his hand.
 

“They’re crawling under my shirt!”

High-stepping through the slop, he located the source of the pounding and then tapped on the trunk. “Erica?”

“Open this thing!” she shrieked. “They’re biting me!”

Jiggling the latch, he detected movement in the rotted wood. “I’ll have you out in no time.” He twisted and ripped off the lock.

Erica flung the lid open, jumped out, and frantically swatted her hair. “Get ’em off! Get ’em off!” She cried, shaking her arms and legs while tugging at her clothes.

“They’re just spiders, my dear.” Leopold brushed a few off her back.

“Are they all off?” Erica slowed her spastic dance.

“I believe so.” He picked a straggler from her shoulder. “We’ve got much bigger problems at present.”

She twitched and then looked at the back of her arm. “Are you sure you got all of them?”

“I certainly hope so.” He glanced into the trunk. “Did Rat do this to you?”

She nodded. “I was looking for Blake. I know I shouldn’t have left the--”

“Did he hurt you?”

“A little.”
She pulled a glowing stone from her pocket and opened her palm. “I tried zapping him like last time, but it didn’t work.”

He took the nugget, and it instantly burned out. “To harness its extraordinary powers, you must maintain contact with the membrane rock and a jewel from the chronicle.” He gave it back to her. The brilliance returned.

“It did do something weird in the cabin.” She stared at the gleaming stone.

His heart skipped a beat. “What happened?”

“These rocks made a window that wasn’t there before. I looked out and saw two bulldogs trying to cover up holes in purple grass. They had really weird sparkly fur--like glitter. ”

“The Parabulls!
Did they say anything?”

“One said she needed help.” Erica pocketed the stone.

“Dear heaven!” He steadied himself on the trunk. “The membrane’s collapsing faster than they can repair it!”

“Does that mean we’re going to die?” she asked quietly.

He turned to her. “Not yet.” A fierce thunderbolt illuminated and rocked the belly of the ship. Leopold smiled, feeling hope blaze up in his chest. “I believe the future just knocked on our door.” He plowed through the water toward the mainmast.

“That Rat guy said I should be wood by now.”

“Rat can’t turn anyone into wood.” He ran his hands up and down the pole. “Only the imperial regent can do that.”

“Oh, now I feel better.”

“We have to hurry. Columbus doesn’t have much time.”

“But what about Blake?”
Erica started to sob. “I saw bones in that dungeon.”

Leopold walked back to his niece and held her. “The only way to help your brother is first to save the admiral. This nasty storm has given me a rather brilliant idea.”

“What if Blake’s dead?” She wept, rubbing her eyes with her balled hands.

He clutched her shoulders. “Listen to me, Erica. You must stay strong. I need your help for this plan to work.”

She sniffled, her head down.

“I know this is not easy.” He hugged her. “When the Tolucan captured your father, my world shattered into a million pieces. I grieved for months before I decided to do something.”

“My brother can’t die,” she said, crying into his arm.

“You must find the strength if you want to help him. The most difficult decision of my life was to cross through the membrane and become one of them.”

She stepped back, her eyes widened. “You became a Tolucan?”

“Yes, an unfortunate but necessary evil.” The ship lurched sideways, flinging them into a heap of barrels. Leopold dug her out of the pile. “Are you all right, my dear?”

“I’m fine.” She glanced at her arms and legs. “Now tell me what to do to help Blake.”

“Did you happen to see a rather stout fellow with keys on his belt wandering the ship?”

She nodded.

“His name is Diego. He’s the master-at-arms, like a policeman. He has the key that will unlock the admiral’s chains.”

“How do we get it?”

“Science!”

“Like, this boat doesn’t even have a motor.”

“The people of the fifteenth century were quite superstitious. Anything out of the ordinary terrified them.”

“So that's our big plan? We're going to scare them?”

“Precisely.”
He sploshed back to the mainmast and looked up. “We need something that can conduct a strong electrical current.”

“You’re kidding me, right? I don’t exactly see any place to plug in anything.”

“That depends on what we’re plugging into.” He ran his hands along the damp wood. “Come here, my dear.”

Erica trudged over. “How’s this going to help my brother?”

“I need one of the membrane rocks.”

“You’re not thinking that I’m going to--”

“Indeed I am. You’re well acquainted with the stone’s power.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“Now you do.”

The ship rolled in the raging seas, plastering Erica against the portside planks. “You said I needed one of the jewels from the chronicle to make it work,” she said, struggling to move back to the mast.

“Mother Nature will be your jewel!” he yelled over the booming thunder as he reached out to snare her. “This horrific weather has turned the odds in our favor!”

She grabbed his hand. “Like a gazillion to one.”

“Put the stone in your hand and wrap your arms around this mast. It goes all the way up to that basket at the top of the ship. Don’t let go, no matter what!”

She clutched a rock and hugged the pole. “What’s going to happen?”

“St. Elmo’s Fire.
It’s a corona discharge. Lightning will be attracted to the pole because of the stone’s energy. When it hits this mast, it’ll light up like a purple neon tower.”

“What about me?” She readjusted her hands.

“The stone will protect you. Just hang on.”

“Now I’m scared.”

A loud thunderclap cracked.

“Erica! It’s working.”

She looked up. “Wow! I can’t believe I’m doing that!”

“Don’t let go! I’m going to get the keys from Diego. He must be petrified.”

“Don’t leave me!”

“Your brother and Columbus are depending on us.” He looked back at her and then climbed into the storm.