Sebastian Darke: Prince of Pirates (31 page)

'No, from Lemora! But I know Ramalat well enough – sure, haven't I sunk many a merchant ship out of that port?' The man sat up, cross-legged, still grinning. 'Aye, a Lemoran born and bred. But I been here on this stinking island for . . . for . . . I dunno how long. See, I was a captain too. My ship was—'

For the first time his gaze fell on the Kid, who was still staring at the watch he was holding. The thin man seemed to freeze again. His jaw fell open and he stared at the boy for a very long time. Then a big fat teardrop slipped from the corner of his eye and rolled down his thin face.

'Beverly?' he whispered. 'Is it really you? Or have I gone mad?'

There was a long, deep silence. Sebastian looked at the Kid and saw that the answer was only just beginning to dawn on him.

'M-my dad had a watch like this,' the boy whispered. 'It had the same picture on the front of it. I used to play with it when I was little.'

'Beverly?' The man spoke again, his voice firmer now. 'Don'tcha know me?' he said. 'Don'tcha recognize me?'

The Kid stared at him for a long time. Then: 'D-Dad?' he said.

And the man was nodding, grinning, holding out his arms to the boy. 'Aye, 'tis me, Beverly, though I don't doubt you stare at me so. Reckon I'm a changed man since you last saw me! And you! How you've grown! I wouldn't hardly have recognized you!'

'
Dad!'
yelled the Kid, and he ran forward and threw himself into his father's arms, while the others looked on in delight.

'Will somebody please tell me what's going on here!' cried Max. 'Why is the boy calling that weird-looking fellow
Dad
?'

Jenna gave him a weary look. 'Take a wild guess,' she said.

Max continued to look at her blankly. 'Is it some kind of father figure the boy's looking for?' he asked.

'That
is
his father, you idiot! Captain Jack Donovan. He went missing during a sea battle . . . must be over two summers ago.'

'Is that how long it is?' gasped the wild man. 'Two summers? You can't tell in this accursed place – the weather's always the same. Seems a lifetime. I tried scratching a record on a tree, one notch fer every day in this miserable hole. But one night a big storm came and blew that tree clear into the ocean, and after that I . . .' His eyes were full of tears and he was hugging the Kid as though his life depended on it.

'Everyone thought you were dead,' said Jenna.

'That ain't no surprise,' said Donovan. 'I very nearly was. It was those two bilge rats, Bones and Sully, who did for me. Flung me over the side in the middle of a fight, they did, and left me to drown. But I spotted this island on the horizon. Just a dot it was, but I swam for it. Nearly didn't make it.' He gave that strange, deranged giggle and pulled aside his crudely made jacket to display a fearsome long-healed scar across his ribs. 'A kelfer did that to me. It would have finished me too if I hadn't stuck my knife into it.' He jabbed wildly at an imaginary beast with an equally imaginary knife. 'Great big beast, it was, the biggest kelfer you ever saw!'

Sebastian and Cornelius exchanged looks.

'He's still out there, you know!' continued Donovan. 'You'll recognize him by the scar I put across his side. Cruises by the beach every day, hoping that I'll venture out. That's how come I ain't as well fed as I might be. Any time I try and wade out into deeper water, it comes a-lookin' fer me. Holds a grudge, see. Twice now it's nearly had me in its jaws. Twice!'

'I think we saw your kelfer,' said Cornelius. 'When we were coming in to shore, a huge white fellow—'

'Aye, that's the lad! Kelfers are not just pure evil, they're cunning with it – they've got it all goin' on up here.' Donovan tapped his sun-blasted head with a shrivelled forefinger and Sebastian felt a shiver go through him. Clearly the long years of loneliness had taken their toll on Jack Donovan.

'So you made it to shore and . . .'

'I very near died from loss of blood, but 'twas hunger for revenge kept me alive. And the thought of seeing my boy again.' He pulled away from his son, placed his hands on the Kid's shoulders and gave him a fierce look. 'Bones and Sully,' he said. 'Tell me those two aren't still aboard my ship.'

The Kid looked very uncomfortable. 'It's a pity they're not,' he said, 'for the
Black Hand
is at the bottom of the ocean, Father, sunk in a battle only a few days ago.' He hung his head in shame. 'I'm sorry,' he said.

But Donovan shook his head and stroked the boy's hair. 'Tell me, son, did she go down fightin'?'

The Kid nodded and wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

'Then that's all that matters. And who sank the ship?'

There was a brief uncomfortable silence. Then Jenna took a step forward.

'That would be me, Captain Donovan,' she said. 'I took your ship on in a fair fight and sent her to the bottom of the sea.' She reached out a hand and put it on the Kid's shoulder. 'Your son put on a brave show, but in the end he was overcome. We took him aboard rather than leave him to his fate. If we could have saved your ship, we would have, but she was too badly damaged in the battle.'

Donovan stared at her for a moment with those mad blue eyes, as though deliberating what his response should be. Then he nodded. 'There's no shame in losing a fair fight,' he said. 'And no blame to be apportioned. You have rescued me, and for that I will be for ever grateful.' He looked at his son. 'Bones and Sully?' he asked.

'They're still around. We had a run-in with them in Lemora. Gave them a right good kicking, we did.'

Donovan's eyes widened. 'But . . . you didn't kill either of 'em?'

The Kid shook his head.

'Good! That's for me to do. It's all I've lived for these last two years.'

'There's more, Father,' said the Kid. 'There was somebody who paid Bones and Sully to do their dirty work. A captain out of Ramalat called Trencherman. He wanted the
Black
Hand
for himself and he didn't care how he went about getting her.'

Donovan looked grim. 'Then he too is my mortal enemy,' he said. 'And I'll settle with him when I meet him face to face.' He released the boy and sat back. His mood changed abruptly: now he was grinning happily and rocking backwards and forwards where he sat. 'Hoop dee doo!' he cackled. 'This is a good day. One I thought I'd never live to see!' He looked around at the others. 'So what brings you good people to this island?' he asked.

'They've come seeking treasure, Father!' said the Kid excitedly. 'They have a map and everything.'

Captain Donovan gazed at them and then gave a lopsided grin. 'Treasure?' he said. 'You mean to tell me that I've been sitting on a fortune all these years and never even knew it?'

'If my chart is correct, yes,' said Cornelius. 'It is our belief that the fabled treasure of Captain Callinestra is hidden somewhere on this island.'

Donovan stared at Cornelius for a moment and then burst into a laugh that was only just on the right side of sanity. The sound of it made Sebastian shiver.

'Captain Callinestra? Hoop dee doo! Not one of those fake treasure maps they've been selling for years in every port in the land, is it? You wouldn't fall for a story like that, would you, sir? Why, if I had a croat for every time I'd been offered one of those things, I'd be a wealthy man today!'

Cornelius looked uncomfortable. 'I have no reason to doubt the map's authenticity,' he said.

Donovan managed to calm himself a little. 'Well, how did you come by it?' he asked.

'It was given to me—' began Cornelius.

'
Sold
to you,' Sebastian corrected him.

'Er . . . quite so. Sold to me by an old dying sailor in a military hospital.'

'Sold to you?' cried Jenna. 'You never mentioned that before!'

'I always said it sounded funny,' muttered Sebastian. 'A dying man selling a map – what's that all about?'

Cornelius made a small gesture of irritation. 'It's been right so far, hasn't it?' he snapped. '
The two sisters dressed in
grey . . .
' He frowned and shook his head. 'Anyway, we've come this far; we may as well follow it to the end and see. If the map turns out to be wrong, then you may ridicule me as much as you like.' He smiled at Captain Donovan. 'Of course, Captain, since you are already here, you are most welcome to join us in our quest; and should we be successful, and provided my partners agree, I am prepared to offer you a share of whatever we find.'

Captain Donovan looked at him for a moment and then slipped an arm around his son's shoulder. 'I've just found my treasure,' he said. 'And to be honest, I wouldn't be much use to you. I'm weak from not eatin' proper. So if it's all the same to you, Beverly and I will sit this one out.'

The Kid looked at his father in dismay. 'Oh, but Dad—' he began.

'No arguments, son. We've got some catchin' up to do.' He looked at Jenna hopefully. 'I hope you do not think me rude,' he said, 'and I 'preciate I'm a former pirate who was a sworn enemy of ships like yours, but I would relish the opportunity to rest aboard your ship. And if your cook would have a bit of grub to spare . . . I've kept myself alive on whatever bits of fish and meat I could hunt for myself, but I've never had what you might call an abundance of food.'

Jenna looked doubtful at first; she was obviously wondering about the members of Donovan's old crew, still caged below decks; but then she studied the skinny, almost cadaverous figure in front of her and realized that he was barely capable of lifting a sword, let alone using one. She seemed to relax a little.

'Kid, help your father down to the beach and hail the longboat. Tell Lemuel that Captain Donovan is my guest and that they are to give him whatever he wants to eat and drink. And tell Lem to break open the best rum.'

'Aye, aye, Captain,' said the Kid. He reached out a hand and helped his father to his feet.

Suddenly Donovan seemed to remember something. 'If your route takes you inland, I should warn you . . .' he said. 'There are creatures in there. Yarkles . . .'

Cornelius raised his eyebrows. 'Yarkles?' he said. 'What manner of beast are they?'

'Something from the lowest reaches of hell. I named them that for the noise they make when they call to each other. Some kind of upright lizard, I'd say, but bigger than three men standing on each other's shoulders. It's one reason why I haven't explored inland much. Any time I've tried it, they've come a-calling and I've had to run for my life.' He giggled as though the notion struck him as funny. 'Teeth like razors, they have,' he said. 'And they seem to hunt in pairs. Luckily they don't venture into the deep jungle. They prefer to stay in the long grass around that peak.' He pointed through the treetops to the crest of a hill in the middle distance.