Read Phoenix Rising Online

Authors: Bryony Pearce

Phoenix Rising (11 page)

“You did that?” The captain stared at his son. “I’m not sure whether to hug you or kill you right now.” His wrinkles drew into a frown. “You have no idea how it felt hearing that you had been taken to the
Banshee
, so I’m leaning towards murder.” Then he glared at Polly. “As for you, you bloody useless parrot. You’re supposed to be able to predict his behaviour. Why do I need you, if you’re going to let him do things like this?”

“Hormones,” Polly muttered, ducking her head. “He’s becoming unpredictable.”

“You’re the most advanced AI there has ever been.”
The captain leaned closer and spoke in a low voice. “Factor them in.”

He turned to Toby. “Get down to the mess hall and take Hiko with you. You’d better hope Uma gives you a clean bill of health or I’ll give you a few injuries myself.”

Toby clutched Polly and backed away from his father. Then he caught Crocker’s furious glower.

“That’s right, Crocker,” Toby said, his eyes narrowed. “I went off the
Phoenix
. I sabotaged the
Banshee
and I rescued Hiko. What do you think of that?”

Hounded by the captain’s final growl, Toby and Hiko sped towards the mess hall.

“I didn’t think anyone would come,” Hiko said, as they jogged past the galley. “Thank you.”

Toby stopped. “Of course I came. You’re a member of the
Phoenix
’s crew. We’re family.”

“My family left me before,” Hiko muttered.

Toby stared down at him. “Really?”

“My father died and the man my mother was travelling with sold me at the bazaar. She tried to stop him, but he beat her. That was the last sight I have of my mother – it’s how I remember her.” His eyes filled with pain.

“I’m so sorry.” Toby squeezed Hiko’s hand. “I don’t remember much about my own mother.” He shuffled his feet. “All I know is that she didn’t come on board the
Phoenix
with us. We waited for her, but she never showed. We never found out what happened to her.”

Hiko’s brows came together. “She was caught by Greymen?”

Toby shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe she just didn’t want to sail with us. The captain doesn’t talk about her.”

Hiko wrapped his thin arms around his stomach. “Have you looked for her? I’d look for my mother if I could.”

“I think the captain did, at first.” Toby sighed. “But I’ve never been off the ship.”

Hiko gaped. “Never?”

“Not since we left St George ten years ago. Today was the first time.” Toby rubbed his eyes and Polly crooned in his ear. “Yes, Polly, we need to get checked over. My leg needs bandaging.” He glanced at his ankle. Blood had dripped on to the top of his foot and dried into a red sock. His rib ached, his back throbbed, his chin was tender and his head hurt. “I need to lie down,” Toby mumbled.

Hiko reached up to wrap an arm around Toby’s shoulder and pulled him towards the mess hall.

Toby limped into the makeshift hospital and all eyes turned to face him. Uma was bent over Theo, wrapping a bandage around his leg. When Toby entered the room, she dropped the dressing.

“You devil.” Uma rushed across the room, the relief in her voice undermining her angry words. “Where are you hurt? Let me see.”

She sat him on an empty table and pulled his leg up. “This needs stitches. Hiko, bring me my case.”

Hiko hurried away and Toby sagged. “I hurt everywhere,” he groaned. Polly shuffled miserably on his shoulder.

“Get off him, you flea-bitten budgie.” Uma flapped at Polly. “He doesn’t need your weight on his bruises.”

“Polly want a cracker!” Polly snapped, but she hopped off Toby to perch on the table by his side.

Uma eased Toby’s old shirt over his head and unbuckled his tool belt. She winced when she saw his mottled skin.

“You’re black and blue, Toby.” Big Pad was watching closely.

“I don’t think I can lift my arms.” Toby tried to raise them to his shoulders and flinched.

Uma’s cool hands pressed his back and ribs. She shook her head. “It’s only bruising, but you’ll ache for a few days. I’m going to get you some ibuprofen, it should ease the swelling. You should have been resting, not running around the
Banshee
.” She tutted. “You could have been killed. I can’t even imagine how the captain is feeling right now.”

“He threatened to murder us.” Hiko had returned with Uma’s bag.

“Seems reasonable.” Big Pad sighed. “I can’t keep my
eyes open, Uma.”

“Then sleep, Paddy.” She soothed his forehead with her wrist.

“I keep thinking I’ll not wake up.” Big Pad closed his eyes.

“Go to sleep. You need it.” Uma pressed her fingers on his forehead and the Irishman exhaled quietly. “I’ll keep checking on you.”

After a moment she lifted her fingers and Paddy’s eyes remained closed.

“They used to have the technology to fix what’s broken in Paddy’s spine,” Uma whispered. “I’d have had him back on his feet in a matter of weeks.”

“But not now.” Toby hung his head. “I feel awful. If I hadn’t landed on him…”

“Hush.” Uma admonished him with a gentle frown. “You won’t be blaming yourself for Big Pad. Imagine if it had been the other way around and he had landed on you.”

“You’d be flat as seaweed.” Hiko looked away, sheepish. “Sorry.”

“You’re right, Hiko, he would be. Hand me my bag.” Uma took it gently from the boy. “You’d better sit, too, and I’ll check you over. Goodness knows how long you’ve been living in the walls.”

Hiko shrugged, but he sat.

Uma pulled a needle and thread from her bag. “Let me see that leg, Toby.”

Toby raised his leg and looked away, while Uma pushed up his trouser leg. “A clean cut.” She pressed his knee. “This isn’t going to feel very nice, and I don’t want you waking Big Pad or Nisha. Bite down on your glove if you need to.”

“I’ll be fine.” Toby focused on the serving table across the wall where Nisha lay sleeping, one arm curled around her stomach, and Uma started to sew.

The combination of painful pricks and odd tugging swiftly began to make his head spin. Toby thought of the moment he received the injury. Ayla was clearly a trained fighter and Toby had never fought with Nix before. It was incredible that she hadn’t managed to inflict worse on him. He had to remember to thank Callum for his lessons in combat.

He pictured the girl cartwheeling on to the gangway, her hair swinging and her coat flying around her. Her eyes were a shade of green he had never seen before, and almond-shaped like Nell’s.

“I can’t believe she’s Nell’s daughter,” he muttered.

“Huh?” Hiko leaned closer.

“Nothing. The room’s going round.” Toby wobbled.

“Almost done, Toby, then you can find your bed.” Uma
was tying off the thread.

“Right.” Toby swayed again and Polly fluttered at his side. He closed his eyes and saw Ayla once more. “I’m never going to see her again, am I?” he whispered.

Ayla’s voice rang in his memory. “I don’t think so,
boy
,” she replied.

Toby was woken by Hiko shaking his shoulder. “The captain says Harry’s passed out and the engines are dry, so you need to get the paddles started. And the secondary rudder is a nightmare so you need to prioritize fixing the steering when we dock. And if I don’t get out of his way he’s going to use me as bait on the next fishing expedition.”

Toby groaned. His leg felt stiff and his back still ached.

“Uma says don’t I dare wake you up, sleep is doing you the world of good. But I’m more scared of the captain using me for bait, so you do have to get up really.” Hiko hesitated. “But not if you don’t want to.”

Toby rolled out of his hammock and clutched his bruised rib. His eyes were full of grit. He rubbed them and moaned again.

“Are you all right?” Hiko edged closer. “I expect I could get the paddles started by myself if I tried.”

“No.” Toby stretched and was surprised to find that
he did have movement in his arms after all. “I feel a lot better.” He yawned. “How long was I out?”

Hiko shrugged. “Hours. I’ve been sleeping, too.” He nodded at a little nest of blankets on the floor next to Toby’s berth.

Toby blinked as he looked at the porthole. “Is it nighttime?”

Hiko shook his head. “Day.”

“So I slept all night.” Toby rose on shaky legs. “Have you eaten breakfast?”

“I didn’t dare. The fat man knows I’ve been stealing food. He doesn’t like me.”

“Right.” Toby pulled on a fresh shirt, wincing as he had to raise his arms. “Let me sort out the boiler room, then we can find something to eat.”

Toby exhaled as he entered the boiler room, immediately feeling less tense. The heat soothed his bruises and he stretched. Polly had joined him in the passageway.

“Where’ve you been?” Toby muttered

“Uploading the captain’s log.” Polly flew to the top of the attemperator, head cocked to one side.

The
Phoenix
hummed through his feet and Toby nodded. “The captain’s right, those engines are about to
run dry.” Swiftly he switched them off. “It was good while it lasted though, wasn’t it, old girl?”

The
Phoenix
grew quiet and Toby yawned once more. “What’s the water level?” he asked.

Hiko ran to check. “Over half full.” He tapped the gauge.

“All right, let’s get some power in those paddles. Give me a hand with the lever.” Together Toby and Hiko pulled the lever to divert power from the heating array to the paddles. Steam rushed along the delivery lines and Toby grinned. “Fill the combustion chamber and let’s get some more fuel compressed.”

They worked quietly until Hiko started humming. Toby listened at first, then started tapping his toes against the fuel compressor.

“I think we’ve got enough,” he said eventually. “Thank goodness the
Banshee
never fired that weapon, or we’d be in real trouble.”

Hiko nodded. “They were bad pirates.”

“Not like us. We’re good pirates, right?”

“Right.” Hiko giggled and then threw his hand over his mouth, to hold it in.

“It’s OK, Hiko, you’re allowed to laugh,” Toby said.

Hiko released his mouth slowly. “Never was before,” he mumbled.

Toby and Hiko entered the mess hall, their faces and hands grey with soot. All patients had been moved into the sleeping quarters and the room had been returned to its original purpose. Most of the crew were gathered, eating a quiet breakfast.

Toby grabbed two bowls and dragged Hiko to the counter. A vat of watery porridge stood on the bench. Toby sighed and ladled out spoons of the congealing grey mass.

“What’s wrong with breakfast?” Rahul stood beside him, looking horrified.

“No oven, is there.” Crocker slammed a platter of salt herring down. “Peel soaked the oats in water overnight, it was the best he could do. Cold food till
that
thieving sod gets it fixed.” He indicated Toby with a tilt of his head.

“Don’t worry about it, Toby.” Rahul dangled raw herring from his fingertips, as if it would look better in mid-air. “Better cold breakfast than dead in the water, and we all know what you did yesterday.”

“Yeah, well I say we should’ve left him on the
Banshee
,” Crocker sneered. “Would’ve made a man of him.”

“Be quiet, Crocker.” Rahul spooned oats into a bowl on top of his fish.

“You gonna
make
me, Rahul?”

“I’ll make you,” Toby growled.

Crocker laughed. “You and whose army, little boy?”

Glowering fiercely, Hiko stepped smartly up to the smirking Crocker and sunk his teeth into the pirate’s wrist.

“Ow, gerrim off,” Crocker shouted and tried to cuff Hiko around the ear.

Toby blocked his descending arm. “Let him go, Hiko,” he said quietly.

Immediately Hiko stepped back and wiped his mouth.

Toby released Crocker.

“I see you got yourself a dog to look after you, as well as a bird, little boy.” Crocker stepped back, holding his arm. “I’ll get you for this, just you wait an’ see. It ain’t over.”

Crocker retreated towards the galley and Rahul remained beside Toby and Hiko until he was out of the mess hall.

Then Rahul turned to Toby. “Can’t you prioritize that oven, Tobes? Peel’s a genius in the kitchen, but there’s only so much he can do. If it’s raw seagull for lunch, I’ll spew.”

Toby grimaced. “We don’t have the part. The captain is going to trade for it in the next port.”

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