Wild Bells to the Wild Sky (25 page)

"Let's 'ope 'e did, then."

Valentine stood staring into the darkness.

"You aren't going to wait until morning, are you?" Thomas Sandrick asked as he watched his friend impatiently cut the rope that bound him to the child.

"No," Valentine replied curtly as he tied the frayed end of the rope around a startled Thomas Sandrick's wrist. "I am leaving her in your care," he told him as he carefully placed Dulcie in Thomas's arms.

"B-but I don't know what to do with her," Thomas exclaimed, holding the child as if a burning coal had been placed in his palm instead. "What if I drop her?"

"She'll probably start to cry, so unless you want her to wake up, I'd hold her a little more firmly," Valentine advised his nervous friend as he drew his sword before turning away to take one of the torches Mustafa had lit from the fire.

Holding the fiery torches before them, Valentine and Mustafa started toward the tall grasses, most of the crew close behind, torches of their own lighting up the night sky with a smoky, reddish glow.

Liam O'Hara, belatedly realizing that the captain wouldn't wait until tomorrow to discover what lay beyond, was not about to share the glory. The kill was his. Jumping to his feet, he grabbed a burning log from the fire and ran after them. Pushing ahead of everyone, Liam O'Hara had the pleasure of being the first one to see the specter lunging out of the darkness.

His scream of terror effectively halted the others in their tracks. The assembled torches revealed to astonished eyes what had attacked Liam O'Hara, who was crouched on the ground, his head and face protectively covered by his arms as he waited for the wild creature to tear him apart.

The last thing Liam O'Hara expected to hear, however, was laughter. Uncontrollable laughter. Choking as he gasped for air, Liam O'Hara glanced up, disbelief replacing the horror that had robbed him of his senses.

The creature remained where he had first sighted it.
It had not moved at all. It could not move. It wasn't real. It was nothing more than a scarecrow dressed in a feathered cape and headdress, its face a mask of gold.

"Lookee 'ere! 'Tis the same critter that attacked the Turk! Reckon the Turk's got first claim on 'im. If'n 'e wants 'im, that is!" someone chortled.

"Reckon if Master O'Hara lines 'is cloak wi' these feather 'e might be able to fly. What a figure 'e'll be in London."

"When e'said 'e'd winged 'im, 'e weren't lyin'."

"Don't let 'im get away now, Master O'Hara."

" 'E's quick, I bet!"

Liam O'Hara's face was flaming, with anger and embarrassment. "It was the cat! I heard it! That is what I shot at, not
th
-this
.
.
.
th-this
.
.
.
thing!" he declared indignantly.

The Turk was walking around the area, holding his torch as close to the gently swaying grasses as he could without starting a brush fire. His own heart had pounded momentarily when seeing the creature so suddenly for a second time. The Turk breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cap'n! Blood!" Mustafa called out, a smile curving his lips, for the captain was right, and the creature was not supernatural.

Valentine hurried over to where the Turk was kneeling just beside the scarecrow. He held up his hand to the light, and there was blood staining two of his fingers where he had touched the ground.

"Damn!" Valentine said beneath his breath.

The Turk was dismayed. He had thought the captain would be pleased to know that the creature could be wounded, forgetting for the moment that the
captain
had never believed in the jinni.

Valentine stood up. He turned to face Liam O'Hara. "You had better pray that your shot just grazed the child, or you will wish that you'd never set sail aboard the
Madrigal
, because you will never see England again," he promised the startled man, the expression in his eyes leaving Liam O'Hara in little doubt of the deadly threat of the softly spoken words.

He tried to smile, but it was a sickly-looking grin. "How do you know that blood comes from one of the children? You all heard the cat. 'Twas the cat I wounded," he blustered.

"I suppose the cat stood up on his hind legs and made this scarecrow?" one of the other gentlemen adventurers in the group commented sarcastically. "I've always given you the benefit of the doubt, but
-
-"

Liam O'Hara was reaching for his sword when the man broke off the rest of his words, his attention caught by something pinned to the scarecrow's cape.

"What the devil's this, Valentine?" he said as he pulled the torn piece of paper free of the golden fishhook that had been hooked through it and the cape. "I believe 'tis addressed to you." he said with a look of curious surprise on his bearded face as he handed the note over to his captain.

Valentine unfolded the piece of paper. He began to smile as he read the words that had been scrawled across the page with little attention to neatness.

"What's it say, Cap'n?"

"It would seem as if I have been given an ultimatum," Valentine responded, his eyes scanning the surrounding darkness. "I am to release the child at dawn and leave the island. I may keep this mask of gold and the items I stole from the hut. And if I do exactly as I've been told, then I might expect a few doubloons as reward. They have obviously decided that we are a greedy lot and would do anything for gold."

"Why, the nerve o' the
-
-"

"To send us packin' like a bunch o'-
-
"

"They can't do that!"

"Who do they think they be anyways?"

"Gentlemen, I do not see that we have any other choice but to follow our instructions
.
At dawn, we leave the island," Valentine Whitelaw said, leaving his men speechless by his easy capitulation to the children's demands.

"Lily? Wake up! We've got to go now or it'll be to late," Tristram said. Pale light was already beginning to filter in through the window of the cave. It was almost dawn and they had to get across the cove and to the other side of the headland to discover if Valentine Whitelaw had done as he'd been told and had released Dulcie and left the island.

"I'm so tired," Lily said, pulling herself into a sitting position, but she would have fallen over if Tristram hadn't grabbed her.

"Are you sure you are all right, Lily?" Tristram asked for the thousandth time. "You don't look very good."

"I am fine. It is just a scratch," she said, lightly touching the tender spot on her head where the ball had grazed her. She took away her hand, swallowing her fear as she stared down at the sticky red blood staining her fingers.

"Oh, Lily!" Tristram breathed. " 'Tis blood."

"Prraaack!
Oh, Lily, 'tis blood," Cisco repeated, his giggling laughter filling the cave.

"I told you I am all right. It doesn't hurt nearly as bad as it did," Lily lied, for she had a horrible headache. "Now come on. We've got to rescue Dulcie," Lily told him as she struggled to her feet, ignoring Tristram's outstretched hand as she momentarily lost her balance. Capabells jumping into her arms gave her some comfort as she walked unsteadily toward the entrance to the cave.

Tristram grabbed the square of silk that they had wrapped the doubloons in, and which he would leave in place of Dulcie when they rescued her. "I wish we didn't have to give them any of our treasure," he said resentfully.

"A bargain is a bargain," Lily reminded him as they left the cave, Cisco flying down to perch on Lily's shoulder as Capabells leaped onto the sand to race ahead, his chattering disturbing the birds still asleep in the trees. "We aren't thieves. This way he won't have any reason to return. We will have kept our side of the bargain the way Basil always taught us gentlemen did."

When Lily and Tristram reached the edge of the forest bordering the bay, all was quiet.

"Look!" Tristram whispered, pointing to a spot near the headland, where a lone figure stood. " 'Tis Dulcie.
She’s
alone. I'll go get her," Tristram said, starting to step out from behind the palm. "I don't understand why she's just standing there."

"Wait!" Lily cautioned. "What is that around Dulcie's waist?"

"It looks like a rope. It's tied to something in the sand. It's a stake! They pounded it into the sand. I guess they knew she'd run off if they didn't," Tristram said.

"He's making certain he gets his blood money."

"Look, Lily!" Tristram cried, less softly now. "There's the boat! It's full of men. There!
Just beyond the reef. That's
Valentine Whitelaw. The one sitting in the stern, and look at the one sitting just in front of him. I'd recognize that funny-looking hat anywhere. That's the man who attacked me, Lily."

Lily blinked. She'd have to take Tristram's word for it. She couldn't focus her eyes. Everything was blurred and she felt sick to her stomach. Taking a deep breath, she stepped from behind the palm and started across the beach toward Dulcie.

"Lily! Lily!" Dulcie cried out as she saw her sister and Tristram approaching. "They left me here, Lily. He told me to be good, that nothing would hurt me. Why did he go, Lily? He was nice."

"As nice as a snapping turtle," Lily said, reaching Dulcie's side. "What's wrong?" she asked Tristram.

"I can't pull up the stake. It's in too deeply."

Lily fumbled with the knots around Dulcie's waist, but they wouldn't give. "Why are you crying, Dulcie?
I'll have
you free in just a minute."

Dulcie wiped the back of her hand across her nose. "You have blood on your face, Lily. Are you going to die?" she asked tearfully, her voice rising shrilly as she stared at her sister's pale face. "I don't want you to die! I don't want you to leave me like Mama and Pap!"

"Of course I'm not going to die. I bumped my head. That is all," Lily tried to reassure her. "Why didn't I think to bring the knife. You're going to have to go back to the hut and get it," Lily told Tristram, but he continued to stand
where
he was, staring at her as if she were crazy.

"Well?"

"Lily, don't you remember? They took everything from the hut. We don't have a knife anymore. They've taken everything. What are we going to do now?"

"You won't have to do anything," a voice spoke from the rocks near the headland.

Lily spun around, nearly falling to her knees as her head kept spinning. "You!"

"Hello, Lily," Valentine Whitelaw said softly. "Are you ready to go home now?"

"B-but you cheated! You're supposed to have left the island. I kept my side of the bargain.
You cheated!"
she yelled at him. "Run, Tristram!" she cried, trying to dodge past the man who had appeared out of thin air like magic.

Her escape cut off toward the headland, Lily started to race up the beach, but Tristram's yell of surprise halted her from the direction and she turned instead toward the surf. As she waded into it, she saw Tristram's kicking feet lifted clear off the sand by the same horrible man who had attacked him a day earlier, only this time he had caught him and was holding on tight
to his captive.

Lily dove into the clear waters, feeling the waves sweeping over her and carrying her high into the air. Surfacing, she took a deep gulp of air, but they sky and sea blended together and she found herself choking on salt water instead. She was underwater again. The sea was warm and soft and she was sleepy. But no, she couldn't sleep
.
Not yet. She had to escape
.
.
.
there was so much to do
.
.
.
Tristram
.
.
.
Dulcie
.
.
.
they needed her
.
.
.
they were her responsibility
.
.
.
Basil had trusted her
.
.
.
she couldn't sleep
.
.
.
not yet
.
.
.
not until they were safe...

She was floating. She felt the gentle movement of the sea around her. She opened her eyes and stared deep into the turquoise depths. So beautiful, the sunlight through clear water. She closed her eyes. She could sleep now.

Yet mark'd I where the bolt of Cupid fell;

It fell upon a little western flower,

Before milk-white, now purple with love's wound,

And maidens call it, Love-in-idleness.

S
hakespeare