Phoenix Rising (14 page)

“My metal’s cooling.” Toby held the spitting metal curl up for Peel to see and the fat man took a step back.

“You’re going to fix that steering?” he sneered. “And Crocker tells me you’re making clockwork engines. So you’re an inventor like the captain? Lot of good that did
him
. You watch out, little boy – there’s better to do than invent things that’ll get you noticed by governments. You should listen to Crocker and me. Better to be a pirate.”

“I am a pirate,” Toby snapped.

“You’re a boy. An inventor maybe, an engineer perhaps, but you’re no pirate.”

Toby tossed the pliers and the cooling metal on to the deck, where it smouldered.

“You’re a kid and, as long as the captain molly-coddles you, you’ll always be a kid. Young’un over there has lived more’n you.” He tilted his head towards Hiko, who was now sitting on a coil of rope clutching a tuna steak in one
hand and blowing on a potato clenched in the other. “I’ve seen you train with Callum, seen him go easy on you.”

Toby reared to his feet. “Callum does not go easy on me.”

“Course he does. I’m the only one trying to toughen you up. No son of mine would be pathetic like you. Saw you when those dock hands turned up – scared as a mouse in a room of cats.”

“Well, you don’t
have
a son, do you? And you never will. No one would have you. You’re bitter and twisted and … and disgusting.”

Peel ducked under the guardrail. “You’ve been off ship once so you think you can take me on, little boy?”

Toby tore Nix from his belt and held her in front of his face. He was pleased to find that he was barely trembling. “I can if I have to.”

“No, you can’t.” Peel shook his head. “No proper training in fighting, only in fixing things. My son would’ve been able to take on three at a time by now.” Peel stopped so close to Toby that he could smell the squid ink he used on his hair. “I don’t have a son, little Toby, that’s true. I wanted to. And you’re wrong that no one would have me. Remember Carla?”

Toby shook his head.

“Well, she was one of your dad’s original ten. She left the year you turned nine – wanted a life on land and a family.
I couldn’t go with her. I can’t live on land again – I’m what you might call a fugitive. Nowhere left to go.”

“So we’re stuck with you on the
Phoenix
.”

Peel snorted. “I’m the one who’s stuck. I don’t get to pair up, like those others.” He tilted his head at Nisha, who was watching the castle walls as she ate, as though she could see Rahul through the stone. “I don’t get to have a son, or teach him to fight, but I do get to see
you
every day, the captain’s spoiled brat, reminding me that I could have had a son who would have been everything you’re not.”

His foot shot out and the brazier wobbled and fell. Toby gasped as burning wood toppled out and flames licked at the deck.

Peel stepped back, a twisted smile on his face.

“Peel, you fool.” Toby dropped Nix and tore off his shirt, frantically throwing it over the hungry, spreading flames.

Peel continued to retreat. “Do come and get some lunch when you’re finished,” he called.

Toby stamped on the fire, bare feet blistering as his shirt began to char. The brazier still smouldered, but now it lay on its side, branding the deck with a stinking mark.

Toby was about to call for help, when he clamped his mouth closed. If he shouted, Peel would have even more reason to think him a spoiled child. He clenched his fists
and continued to stamp on the flames until the fire went out.

As soon as the last flame died, Toby grabbed two spanners and used them to lift the brazier back into place. He stood for a moment, ribs heaving, glaring furiously at Peel’s back. Then he sheathed Nix, gathered charcoaled wood in his leathered hands and shoved it back into the brazier.

When the deck was cleared he painstakingly relit the fire, picked up the metal patch and began to shape it once more.

Toby spun the wheel. The steering mechanism wasn’t as smooth as it had been, and it was covered in patches and protruding wires, but it would work better than the secondary rudder which had brought them in. He looked up, wincing as his skin stretched over his sunburnt shoulders. The sun was high in the sky – mid-afternoon.

“Marcus,” he yelled.

Marcus was tying the sail back on.

“Any sign of more trade goods?” Toby rubbed his aching back.

Marcus looked over the dock and frowned. “Nothing.” He caught some rigging and dropped to the deck. “You’re right. We should have seen something else by now. The captain must have been bartering all morning. We should at least have some building materials.” He rubbed his red hair so that it stood up like a deck brush.

“So, where are they?”

Marcus shook his head and worry slashed deep lines around his mouth and eyes.

“Do we send someone after them to see what’s going on?” Toby frowned.

Marcus bit his lip. “If there’s a problem, what can one person do? We wait.”

“For how long?”

“You heard the captain, Toby. If they don’t come back, we’re to sail at dusk.”

Toby froze. “You’re seriously talking about leaving them … leaving Dee?”

Marcus stood firm. “We have our orders. In the meantime, pray they come back. There’s a few hours left, maybe they’re drinking in the castle and lost track of time – honest trader stuff, I don’t know.”

“Ship ahoy.” Arnav was in the crow’s nest as usual, his bright eyes trained on the ocean.

“What do we care?” Toby shouted up. “We’re in port.”

“Toby!” Uma was at the bow staring out over the water. “It’s
Birdie
.”

The crew lined the gunwale, watching as whoever was in
Birdie
tacked through the straits, the metal-bright hull
bouncing from wave to wave, the dolphin swimming alongside.

“Who is it?” asked Hiko, clutching the railing at his side.

Toby murmured, “Someone from the
Banshee
, it has to be.”

Rapidly
Birdie
drew closer, pushed by a following wind.

The sailor on
Birdie
wore the uniform that Toby had seen on the
Banshee
, a black jacket and a hat pulled down low over their eyes.

As soon as
Birdie
reached hailing distance, the call came. “Hi, the
Phoenix
.” The sailor stood with one hand on the jib.

Toby could make out long dark hair escaping from the bottom of her hat. He swore he could see her green eyes sparkling like the sea. “Ayla,” he whispered.

“A hand?” Ayla drew
Birdie
to the port side of the
Phoenix
and allowed the boat to bump against the paddle.

The crew stared at her and then Marcus waved. “Send down the winches, at least we’ve got
Birdie
back.”

Toby watched, incredulous, as
Birdie
swung over the deck. Ayla stood in the prow of the boat, but despite her straight back, Toby could see she was exhausted. Her legs shook, her eyes were shadowed and her skin was ashen.

Automatically he reached to help her down. She glared at him with utter disdain and then put one hand on
Birdie
’s prow to somersault perfectly from the side of the boat. Her hat fell to the deck and her hair and coat flew in a wild black tangle.

Immediately she was flanked by Amit and Ajay, weapons in hand.

“What do you want?” Marcus glared.

“Thanks for bringing our boat back, you mean.” Ayla curled her lip as she looked around. “I see you’ve started your repairs. Funnily enough we’ve been doing repairs of our own.” She turned to Toby. “It was you, wasn’t it? Very good, ‘chief engineer’. But it’s got you into trouble.”

“With the
Banshee
, I’m so scared.
Not
.” Toby put his hands on his hips and Polly squawked derisively.

Ayla whistled. “Captain Nell wants your body on a spike for our new figurehead. But we’re not what you want to be worrying about, right now. You need to weigh anchor and get the hell out of here.”

“What?” Toby looked at Marcus, whose sun-bleached freckles suddenly stood out, livid against the paleness of his cheeks.

“That’s why I’m here – Captain Nell sent me to protect her investment. She still wants those solar panels. The
Banshee
couldn’t follow fast enough, thanks to you, so
she sent me in
Birdie
. I was meant to catch up with you before you entered Tarifa, but I couldn’t – not in that.” She gestured towards
Birdie
and shook out her arms. “Tell me your captain is below deck.”

“Why?” Toby rasped.

“Because if he’s already gone into port, he’s lost.”

The crew looked towards the castle nervously.

“Stop this.” Uma stamped forward. “This girl is from the
Banshee
. They’re our enemy and they want our panels. Of course they don’t want us to stay docked. If we get repaired first, we’ll outrun them.”

Uma glowered at Ayla, who stood watching the pirates panic, her arched brows raised.

“The captain has gone in with a team of ten,” Uma snapped. “As honest traders, not pirates. There’s no reason for them to be in trouble.”

“When are they due back?” Ayla looked around.

Toby opened his mouth.

“Don’t answer her, Toby.” Uma closed her hand on his arm. “She’s the enemy.”

Marcus leaned in. “We’ve already been given a new mast.” He gestured. “What makes you think we’re in trouble here? What do you know?”

Ayla exhaled. “Put it this way, Tarifa is on our ‘stay the crap away from there at all costs’ list.”

“You have a ‘stay the crap away from there at all costs’ list?” Toby stared.

“Yeah, it’s on the noticeboard next to our ‘people who will one day end up on spikes’ list,” Ayla growled. “Look, Tarifa is bad news.
Very
bad news. The one time we tried to dock here, we barely escaped. If you think it’s possible the captain is still trading, send someone down there with an urgent message to bring him back on board. Then get out of here.”

Toby looked at Marcus, who finally nodded. “We’ve got a mast and some food in storage, the rest of the repairs can wait till the next friendly port. Peel, take that Banshee to the sleeping quarters and watch her, we can’t risk sabotage. Theo, go and find the captain. Tell him the team is needed on board urgently. Tell him … tell him Toby’s had an accident.”

“Is that necessary?” Toby shot.

“Yes.” Marcus scrubbed his red hair up again. His freckles were standing out like painted dots. “It’s the only news that’ll make him drop everything and leave. We’ll tell him the truth as soon as he boards.”

Toby hung his head. “Fine.”

Ayla stood beside Peel. His hand was already closed around her bicep.

“I still don’t believe you,” Toby muttered.

“As long as Captain Ford gets to safety, I’ve completed my misson.” Ayla tossed her head again. “That’s all Nell wants … for now.”

“She wants the captain safe?” Nisha cocked her head.

“Of course.” Ayla smiled. “Once she’s got the coordinates for the solar panels, she plans to kill him herself.”

“No one is killing the captain,” Marcus growled. “Take her below.”

“Marcus…” Theo’s voice was an octave lower than usual.

The crew followed the direction of his gaze. Even Peel stood still, holding Ayla stiffly to his side.

Dee was crawling up the metal gangplank, her face bloodless. At the first sight of her Marcus started running.

Dee’s hand closed over the gunwale and she pulled herself to the deck, her legs dragging behind her, useless. She clutched one hand to her side. With a sort of sluggish horror, Toby realized that she had left a crimson trail up the gangplank behind her.

“Pull the plank,” Big Pad cried hoarsely. His table was angled so that he could see the dock. “Pull it
now
.”

Amit and Ajay moved as one, Toby on their heels.

They reached the entryway as Dee toppled into Marcus’s arms. On the pier a squad of soldiers raced for the
Phoenix
. Dee’s blood stained the hand and grey sleeve of the piggish front runner.

Amit and Ajay were already grabbing the gangplank, but the first of the soldiers reached it before they could pull, and held it in place. His fellows grinned and put their feet on the slope. Theo and the twins heaved, trying to shift the plank against the weight at the other end.

Toby ran to his brazier and grabbed the metal bowl. His leather gloves didn’t protect his hands completely, but it was enough. The soldiers were already a quarter of the way up.

“Out of the way, Theo.” With a yell Toby tossed the contents of the brazier downwards. The soldiers howled and batted at their faces and chests. They dove off the plank and retreated.

“Destroy the gangplank,” Toby gasped, dropping the brazier. Theo nodded and Amit grabbed a sledgehammer while Ajay wedged a fishing hook under the hinges. Ajay levered the plank upwards and Amit smashed the connectors holding the plank to the
Phoenix
.

Angry shouts from below intensified as, with a furious heave, Amit and Ajay managed to toss the gangplank away from the deck. It clattered down the hull and splashed into the sea by the pier.

For long seconds the crew of the
Phoenix
was suspended between relief and the horror-struck realization that Ayla was right – the landing party were in deep trouble.

“Oh gods, Dee.” Marcus was on deck, cradling his partner.

Uma shoved her way through the pirates. “Let me by, you idiots.” She crouched beside Dee and pulled her clenched hand from the injury. “It’s all right, Dee. I can fix this,” she hissed. But Toby saw the lie in her face. “Lay her down, Marcus, and for the gods’ sake, get pressure on that wound.” She pulled her own scarf from her eyes and pressed it into his hands. “Make that into a pad, put it on and press, hard. Hiko, get my black bag from the mess hall, fast as you can.”

Hiko sprinted for the hatch. Stunned and unable to move, Toby watched him go and realized that Ayla still stood on the deck. At least she had the grace to remain quiet.

“They’ll be trying to get on board,” Toby rasped. “We need lookouts on the bow and stern.”

“I’ll watch port side.” Big Pad’s voice was thick with grief. “I’m already here and not going anywhere.” He shifted his gaze to watch Amit and Ajay separate, heading to opposite ends of the ship.

“What happened?” Nisha stood behind Toby, her whole body vibrating with her fear. “Is Rahul all right?”

Toby dropped to his knees and squeezed Dee’s bloody hand in his own. Dee opened her eyes.

“Toby…” After saying his name she fell quiet, her chest labouring painfully with each breath.

“It’s all right, Dee, you don’t have to talk.” Marcus stroked her face and Dee closed her eyes.

Nisha’s eyes flashed. “Yes, she does,” she snapped. “I’m sorry, Dee, but it
isn
’t all right. We need to know what happened down there.”

Toby squeezed her fingers once more. “Can you hear us, Dee? Nisha’s right.”

Dee forced her eyes open. Toby could see how much effort that simple movement cost her. She sought Marcus with her gaze and then shifted to look at Toby. When she spoke her voice was barely a whisper.

“They played us.” She swallowed and blood flecked her lips. “They were trading with us, trading honestly – we got the mast and they seemed to be agreeing to the other items we need.”

Toby’s vision blurred and quickly he dashed tears from his eyes, jumping ahead in his mind.

Dee’s head rolled back and Marcus caught it. Uma took the pad from him and pressed it on the wound herself. Arnav rushed over with a cup of water. Uma nodded her permission and Marcus held it to her lips.

“Cadiz is a front,” Dee choked eventually. “The governor is in the pocket of St George. The portmaster knew who
we were the whole time. His men attacked us when we were toasting a deal.”

“But you escaped,” Marcus murmured.

“What happened to the others?” Nisha pleaded.

“Carson and Dobbs are dead,” Dee managed, and the crew drew together. “Last I saw, Rita and Harry were injured, but moving. Rahul, Callum, Simeon and Oats were protecting the captain, but they were all being herded into the dungeons below the castle.” Her bloodshot eyes pinned Toby’s. “I tried, Toby, but the captain ordered me back here to warn you. I would have fought for him, but he made me leave.”