The Voyage to Magical North Page 14

  Cassie let out a sigh that billowed white on the frozen air. “Well, everyone, this is it,” she said. “It’s time we let our friend out of the hold.”

  CHAPTER 21

  I had hoped that after crossing the Sea of Sighs the worst would be behind us, but it appears I may have been wrong. This morning we spied glistening coils in the distance: the body of an enormous monster made entirely of ice.

  (From ALDEBRAN BOSWELL’S JOURNAL OF STRANGE ADVENTURES IN THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY)

  Brine’s heart gave an involuntary leap as Marfak West walked out on deck. The magician’s hands were chained behind him, and Ewan Hughes prodded him along with a cutlass. Several others drew their swords, but Marfak West ignored them all as he passed. He nodded to Peter, who stared down at the deck, his expression blank.

  “We’re here,” said Cassie, tucking her hair back inside her hat. “What now?”

  Marfak West gave her a look that Brine could only have described as frozen. “Boswell’s monster. A beast made of ice and snow but perfectly capable of crushing this ship to splinters.” His smile showed exactly what he thought of the prospect. Brine edged closer to Peter and noticed that Tom was doing the same.

  “Don’t worry,” murmured Peter. “He can’t do anything while I have his starshell.” He didn’t sound too sure of himself.

  Marfak West walked to the rowing boats and gave one of them a kick. “If you try to take the Onion any farther, you’ll lose her,” he said. “A small boat, however, will be able to navigate between the ice floes. I know the way. I can guide you. The sun will be setting on Orion’s Day soon, so I suggest we leave now.”

  “No,” said Ewan. “He’s lying. He wants us to leave the Onion so he can steal her.”

  Marfak West stood like a statue. “How exactly am I supposed to steal the Onion if I’m in a rowing boat with you?”

  “You’ll think of something,” growled Ewan. In two steps, he was across the deck, his cutlass at the magician’s throat.

  Cassie grabbed Ewan’s wrist. “We didn’t bring him this far just so you could jab holes in him.”

  Ewan stood rigid. Brine held her breath, her heart pounding as the pirate scowled. Her palms were damp.

  Slowly, Ewan lowered his cutlass.

  Brine’s shoulders sagged, and she knew then from the sudden bitterness at the back of her throat that it wasn’t fear she’d felt—it was eagerness. She’d wanted Ewan to do it. She had wanted to see Marfak West die, and if Ewan had cut his throat, she’d have cheered. It wasn’t the nicest feeling to know you’d approve of a murder, even the murder of Marfak West. Brine didn’t dare look at him in case he guessed what was in her mind.

  Cassie, apparently oblivious to the turmoil inside Brine, turned to face the rest of the crew. “Here’s the plan,” she said. “Ewan will stay here and captain the Onion. I’m going to take one of the rowing boats and find Magical North. And you can stop gloating, Marfak West, because my sword will be at your back the whole time. If you even think about betraying us, I’ll cut your heart out. Any other volunteers?”

  The pirates looked at their feet, the ice, and the sky, anywhere but at one another. Brine wondered how many of them had wanted Ewan to kill Marfak West just then.

  “I’ll come,” said Peter, sounding as if there was nothing he wanted to do less.

  Brine raised her hand. “If Peter’s coming, so am I.”

  “And me,” said Tom. Brine shook her head at him, but Tom’s chin jutted stubbornly. “Why not? I’m almost as old as you, and I’m supposed to be writing all this down. Cassie, tell her.”

  Brine expected Cassie to say no. Instead, as Cassie looked at Tom, her expression changed from reluctance to acceptance. “We’re not going to find Magical North by force of arms,” she said.

  Brine’s mouth fell open. “He’s only a child!”

  “So are you,” said Cassie. “Do you want me to leave you behind?”

  Brine shut her mouth quickly. Cassie scanned the crew. “I’ll take one boat with Marfak West, Peter, and Brine. Bill, you’re in the second boat with Rob and Tom. We’ll take one of Tom’s messenger gulls with us. If the sun sets and you don’t hear from us, I order you to leave. If we don’t make it back, there’s no reason to assume a rescue party will do any better.” She smiled her bright sword-blade of a smile. “Now, come on. Get to it.”

  * * *

  They prepared quickly. Cassie loaded a few supplies into a bag. Tim Burre found a wooden box and lined it with fur so there was just enough room for one of Tom’s messenger gulls to sit inside. Brine didn’t take anything. There didn’t seem much point. If they succeeded, they wouldn’t need it. And if they failed … but no, she wasn’t going to think about that.

  “Good luck,” whispered Trudi. She pressed a spare bottle of ink into Tom’s hand and a piece of dried haddock into Brine’s. “In case the gull gets hungry.”

  Ewan Hughes’s face was grim. “Cassie, this is madness. I say lock the magician back in his cage, and you and me take a boat to have a look around.”

  “And how will you and me on our own find Magical North?” Cassie asked him.

  Ewan scowled and turned away.

  Cassie sighed. “Then we’re all set. One last thing—Peter, give Ewan the starshell.”

  Ewan swung back around. Peter gaped.

  “Marfak West is only dangerous if he can do magic,” said Cassie. “If he can’t get his hands on starshell, he can’t do magic, and therefore it’s a lot safer to be around him.”

  She sounded like she’d been thinking about this for a long time and, actually, Brine thought, it wasn’t a bad idea.

  “But without starshell, I can’t do magic, either,” Peter pointed out.

  Cassie put a hand on his shoulder. “And what magic will you use to stop Marfak West if he steals your starshell?”

  Marfak West cleared his throat. “Technically, it’s my starshell. You stole the pieces from me.”

  “Shut up,” said Cassie. “Peter, I’m sorry, but the starshell stays here. You can stay with it or leave it behind.”

  For a moment, Brine thought Peter was going to stay, but he sighed and handed the box of starshell pieces to Ewan Hughes. “Look after it,” he said.

  Ewan nodded, glowering. He was still glowering as the pirates let down the boats and climbed into them. As far as Brine could tell, he was still glowering when they moved away and the towers of ice hid the Onion from her sight.

  * * *

  No matter where you were on the eight oceans, sitting in a boat always felt the same, Brine thought. The scenery might vary, and the weather, but the creak and splash of oars, the gentle rocking of wood beneath your legs, the knowledge that this thin shell of wood was the only thing between you and drowning—these were always the same.

  Cassie rowed steadily, keeping her eyes on the Onion for as long as they could see it. Brine watched her and wished she knew what Cassie was thinking. She also wished that Marfak West would sit still. He kept wriggling on the narrow bench, and every time he moved, he made all his chains rattle. It was starting to get on Brine’s nerves.

  “Go straight on,” said the magician as Cassie veered to one side. “There’s a gap just behind you.”

  The ice glided past. From a distance, it had all looked very much the same shade of white. Close up, it glittered, and the colors varied from pure, brilliant silver through shades of green and turquoise and even patches of muddy yellow. And it creaked. Louder than the creaking of timber in a storm, and with the added excitement of sudden, sharp cracks that made Brine jump, expecting vast sheets of ice to come crashing down on top of them at any moment.

  “Look,” said Peter, pointing as a black-and-white bird stuck its head out of the water. It blinked its round orange eyes at them. Brine wished she had some fish to throw.

  “Keep away from it,” snapped Marfak West. If Brine hadn’t known better, she’d have said the magician sounded afraid.

  “There’s another one,” said Peter.

/>   “And another,” added Cassie.

  Three birds hopped onto the ice and began to sway. A faint humming filled Brine’s ears. Cassie sang as she rowed, and Brine sang along. It was strange: They were surrounded by ice, she could see her breath freezing, and yet she felt warm. A bead of sweat trickled down her back. Her gaze slid to the water. Cool, inviting.

  Marfak West threw the bailing cup. The birds gave a surprised squawk and vanished. In an instant, the pressure fell from Brine’s mind. She sagged forward. “What was that?”

  Cassie turned her head. “Whatever they are, they’re back. And—how sweet—they’ve brought friends.”

  “Row!” yelled Marfak West. His voice startled Cassie into action. She hauled at the oars. The boat moved sluggishly. Brine saw bird-shaped specks sliding across the ice. She was ready for the humming this time, but not for the volume of it. The force almost threw her out of the boat. Through the ache in her ears, she was vaguely aware that Cassie had stopped rowing and was mopping her face; Peter was undoing his coat. Brine looked across to the other boat and saw Bill Lightning standing up. Tom grabbed him round the knees.

  “What nice birds,” said Cassie dreamily, getting to her feet. “I think I shall go for a swim.”

  Marfak West shouted a stream of words Brine didn’t understand. Her mind filled with harsh shrieks, then sudden, wonderful silence. She slid down into the bottom of the boat. A pair of large weights landed on top of her. After a few seconds, she realized they were Cassie and Peter.

  They all sat up. The birds had gone. Tom gave them a wave from the other boat. Brine rubbed her head and groaned.

  Cassie drew her sword and put it to Marfak West’s chest. “What did you do?” she demanded.

  He gazed back calmly. “You really must stop thinking I’m trying to kill you. It is quite tiresome. I talked to the birds. I explained how we would turn them all into casserole if they didn’t leave us alone, and I sent them away. You don’t need magic for that, just the right words.”

  Brine remembered the sea creatures he’d summoned at Morning. Her mouth was dry. “You sent them away? Where to?”

  A thin smile crawled across the magician’s face.

  CHAPTER 22

  She fought giant bats and an island of rats,

  And slew the dread beast in its lair.

  She conquered the plague, saved us all from the grave,

  The buccaneer extraordinaire.

  (From THE BALLAD OF CASSIE O’PIA, Verse 200, Author Unknown)

  Ewan Hughes had been worried ever since Cassie and the others had left the Onion. Now, having had nothing but ice to look at for nearly an hour, he was bored as well. It was not his favorite combination. He sat below the mainsail, listening to the ice creak and trying not to think about what might be happening to the rowing boats.

  Zen wound around his ankles, mewing, then tried to climb his leg. Ewan bent down. “Something you don’t like, puss?” The cat purred and wriggled up inside his coat.

  “Come and look at this,” called Trudi.

  Holding Zen steady, Ewan strode across the frosty deck. A little man in a dinner suit loitered on a nearby plate of ice. Ewan blinked, and it turned into one of the black-and-white birds. “What’s it doing?” asked Ewan. “And why don’t its feet freeze?”

  Trudi scratched her head. “Maybe they’re pretend feet.” She leaned over the deck rail. “It swims like a fish but it’s got feathers like a bird. Who’s a cute fish-bird, then?”

  The fish-bird slipped and almost fell, flapping its arms in comic circles to stay on its feet. A collective “awww…” rose from the deck.

  “There’s another one,” said Tim Burre, pointing. The crew all turned. Sure enough, another black-and-white figure was making its laborious way across the ice. Ewan Hughes saw another one bobbing in the water. All three of the birds—no, all four of them, all six of them, all eight … all lots of them—turned to face the Onion, watching intently with round orange eyes.

  “It’s almost as if they’re trying to tell us something,” said Tim wonderingly. “Does anyone have any fish I can throw?”

  * * *

  Peter’s whole body ached with cold. Marfak West sat cross-legged opposite him. His face looked sharp and eager, honed by the wind and the cold until he seemed more like an ice statue than a man. Magical North is just the beginning, Peter thought. His hands felt wrong without starshell to hold. His fingers kept clutching at nothing.

  A lone fish-bird ducked under the boats and emerged beyond them. Something white lumbered by on the ice high above, but when Peter blinked, it vanished. He scraped his hair back out of his eyes. This was ridiculous. He didn’t even know why Cassie had brought him along—he should have stayed behind on the Onion, where he could at least do something. He hadn’t liked Cassie’s assumption, either, that Marfak West could steal the starshell from him any time he wanted. Although she was probably right, which made it worse.

  “Stop!” shouted Marfak West.

  Cassie hauled on the oars as a whole section of ice crumbled away and slid into the sea right ahead of them. Tom’s rowing boat bumped into theirs, sending them dipping and lurching before they steadied. Peter clutched the edge of the boat, gasping for breath. For a moment, he thought he was going to fall into the freezing sea. Brine pulled him back.

  “I don’t like this,” she said. “What if the ice isn’t the sea monster after all? What if there’s a real, actual sea monster waiting just around the next corner?”

  “Can you please stop talking about monsters?” said Peter, his stomach still lurching. He hated that they had to rely on Marfak West to guide them. Marfak West, who had plans they knew nothing about.

  A low growl made Peter jump. Just the ice. The sound died away with a final snarl, and silence returned. Peter sat on his hands to keep them still and pretended to enjoy the view.

  It was hard to keep track of time when everything looked so much the same, but he reckoned they must have rowed for another hour, taking it in turns while Marfak West gave directions. Then, ahead of them, the sea narrowed into a point. A few large flakes of ice broke away as Cassie bumped against a snowy ridge, and that was it. No more water. The ice was a single, unbroken sheet.

  Bill Lightning pulled up alongside them. His broken nose was covered in a thin layer of frost. “What’s happening now?”

  “Nothing.” Marfak West stepped out of the boat. “We’ve run out of sea. Now we walk.”

  * * *

  Ewan Hughes had a headache. A throbbing pressure behind his eyes that felt like his brain was slowly expanding. He rubbed his forehead. The pressure increased.

  Fish-birds surrounded the Onion on all sides. They stood in rows on the ice and bobbed in the water, their orange eyes fixed on the ship. As Ewan watched, another one joined the crowd, sliding in silently at the back. Ewan turned his head, blinking. His eyes stung with shards of ice. And either the Onion was swaying from side to side or the birds were.

  “Go … away…,” muttered Trudi. Her lips barely moved. Ewan waved a hand in front of her face, and she didn’t even blink. The fish-birds all rattled their flippers, making a sound like icicles in a high wind. A subtle tremor ran through the hull of the Onion.

  No one moved. No one was going to, either, thought Ewan. His vision blurred.

  “What a lovely day,” said Trudi beside him. “I think I shall take a bath.” Something inside Ewan’s head echoed that he really should consider joining her.

  Then Zen stuck his claws in Ewan’s earlobe. The shock of pain splintered the pressure on his mind. He gasped, seeing for the first time the fully massed ranks of fish-birds. They stood on every piece of ice, motionless apart from an occasional flap of a black flipper, all staring.

  One of the crew climbed up onto the deck rail and launched himself off with a shout. Ewan yelled and grabbed a rope, too late. Fifty black-and-white birds slid into the water. A scream rose up, then the sound of fifty sharp beaks tearing at flesh. Ewan’s stomach turned over. Trudi st
aggered past him, her arms waving. Ewan grabbed her and shook her until her eyes cleared. Two other pirates were trying to escape overboard. He leaped for them and hauled them back by the legs.

  “Tie yourself to the mast!” he shouted at Trudi. “Tie everyone else as well. Masts, rail, anything that won’t move.” He grabbed a piece of rope and looped it around his own waist. The birds all turned in his direction. The urge to fling himself off the Onion would have been overwhelming were it not for Zen’s claws raking his face. Ewan wrestled his gloves off and managed to tie the rope to the mast before his hands went numb. Another pirate was poised to jump. Ewan took a couple of running steps and brought his fists together on the man’s head, knocking him unconscious.

  “Fine!” Ewan yelled at the birds. “You want me to go mad, I’ll go mad. But you’re not going to like it.”

  * * *

  Seven people stood in a place where people had probably never stood before. Peter felt he should have more of a sense of achievement at the fact. It wasn’t that long ago, after all, that he was Tallis Magus’s apprentice and had never left the islands of Minutes. Yes, and he would happily go back there and be a nobody for the rest of his life if it meant getting out of this place. He shielded his eyes from the never-ending sunshine and looked around for landmarks. There were none.

  Marfak West eased his shoulders in a circle. “I suppose you wouldn’t care to unchain my hands now?”

  Cassie drew her sword. “Correct. I wouldn’t care to. This is where you start earning your keep. Which way?”

  Marfak West couldn’t possibly know, Peter thought. Even if he’d memorized the location of Magical North as he’d claimed, he had nothing to guide them by. The ground sloped away, gently rising until it merged into the sky. Every direction looked the same to Peter.

  Tom and Brine huddled beside him. Tom clutched the box holding the messenger gull under his coat. The bird hadn’t made a sound since they’d gotten into the rowing boat. Peter hoped it was all right.

  Marfak West surveyed the ice, his expression unchanging. “This way,” he said after a moment.