D. MacHale - The Pilgrims of Rayne

“It would be Dimond,” Dodger answered, his accent getting worse. “Mark Dimond. He’s an inventor, he is! Going back to Merry Old to make his fortune!”

The officer scanned his clipboard. Courtney bit her lip nervously. She wished Dodger had just spoken normally. Was the lie going to work? Was Mark even on the passenger list? Dodger gave her a sideways look. He may have been putting on a confident air, but he was just as nervous as she was.

“Right!” the officer finally announced. “Mark Dimond.”

“Has he boarded yet?” Courtney asked excitedly, with no British accent.

“Yes, he has. You’ve just enough time to wish him well.”

“What’s his cabin, guvna?” Dodger asked.

“Afraid I don’t have that information, lad. You might want to check with the purser’s office on board.”

“That we will! Thank ya, guvna!” Dodger tipped his cap and pulled Courtney on to the gangway. The two ran quickly up the incline.

The officer yelled after them, “Be quick about it! We sail in twenty!”

“Will do, guvna!” Dodger yelled back.

“What is this ‘guvna’?” Courtney asked sarcastically.

“Hey, no complainin’. It got us on, didn’t it?”

The two boarded the ship and found themselves on a deck called “Promenade.” It was even busier than the pier. Between the excited passengers, the porters, the crew, the band, the family members and friends wishing a bon voyage, it was a jammed madhouse.

Dodger grabbed one of the ship’s officers by the arm and asked, “We’re looking for our brother to say good-bye. How do we find his cabin?” Courtney was relieved that he had dropped the lousy accent.

“Try the purser’s office,” the officer said. “Forward on this deck to the Regent Street shops. From there take the lift down one level and you’ll find it.”

The two bolted without taking time to thank him. They needed every possible second. It was like trying to fight their way through a 1930s version of a rave. People were dressed elegantly, as if attending a grand ball, not an ocean cruise. Everyone had excited smiles and spoke a bit too loud. They found the place called “Regent Street,” which was lined with elegant shops and was already teeming with people. The shops sold jewelry and crystal and knickknacks of all sorts. Courtney had never been aboard a luxury ship of any kind and couldn’t believe these stores actually existed on a ship.

Chimes sounded.

“What’s that?” Courtney asked.

“Don’t know, don’t care,” Dodger declared. He was on a mission, but getting through the mass of people was nearly impossible. They ran into an elderly woman who was coming out of a jewelry shop. She had a small white poodle on a leash who looked every bit as anxious as Courtney and Dodger.

“Oh!” the old woman screamed as if they had just knocked her down and beaten her.

Instantly her little dog started barking. And barking. And barking.

“Sorry, sorry!” Courtney apologized.

The woman looked at them as though they were prison escapees.

“This is not an area for hooligans!” the woman bellowed. “Officer!”

She raised her hand, summoning one of the ship’s officers as if he were her personal servant.

“What’s the problem, mum?” he asked, tipping his uniform cap.

“These ruffians should be escorted to… to… somewhere else,” she bellowed haughtily.

Courtney froze. She squeezed Dodger’s hand.

“We’ve got to get out of here,” she said under her breath.

“Not yet,” Dodger said. He turned to the officer and said with his most polite voice, “Sorry for the disturbance, sir, but we’re looking for our brother, who’s sailing with you today. Perhaps we don’t belong on this deck, but we’re sure that our brother does and OWWW!”

Courtney squeezed Dodger’s hand again. “Now!” she hissed under her breath.

“Too late to see him off now, I’m afraid,” the officer said. “All ashore that’s going ashore. Please make your way back to the gangway.”

“Yes,” the elderly woman added. “Sooner rather than later.”

“No problem!” Courtney said, and pulled Dodger away. She didn’t pull him toward the gangway. She brought him deeper into the ship.

“What are you doin’?” he complained. “We gotta get off the ship.” “We can’t!” Courtney squealed. “Why not?” Dodger asked.

Courtney lifted her hand. Her ring was glowing. In seconds it would be shooting out light and music for the hundreds of people around them to see.

Dodger didn’t hesitate. He grabbed her hand and the two quickly made their way through the mass of excited people, making no friends as they slammed into most every person they passed. Dodger kept glancing around, looking for a place to go. Any place to go.

“There!” Courtney shouted.

They were in a lounge area. Near them was an open door leading to somewhere. It didn’t matter where. They had to get away from the crowd. They blasted through the door to find themselves in a pantry where white-smocked waiters hurried through with drinks for the passengers.

Courtney clamped her hand over the ring to try and keep the light from leaking out. They ran to the end of the pantry and into a small kitchen. The crew was too busy to notice them or care. Courtney knew that in a few seconds they’d see a show that would make them notice and care a whole lot. Dodger pulled Courtney to a door on the far end of the kitchen that had a heavy, metal handle.

“Cold storage, just like at the hotel,” Dodger said. “We might get lucky.”

They did. He pulled the door open. Nobody was inside. Courtney jumped in and yanked on an overhead chain. A single bulb burned to life. Dodger closed the door behind them. A quick look around showed they were in a vegetable locker. There were hundreds of heads of lettuce, piles of carrots, and bags of onions-enough to prepare thousands of meals for the passengers and crew of the floating hotel. While Dodger stood at the door, ready to throw out anybody who came in looking for a potato, Courtney took off the ring and placed it on the deck. It had already grown to three times its size and was shooting out light that flooded the small space. The music grew louder. Courtney hoped the refrigerator door was soundproof. Lightproof, too. They covered their eyes as the ring performed its familiar task. Moments later it was over. Dodger and Courtney looked at the deck to see the ring had returned to normal. Another watertight pouch lay next to it. Bobby’s next journal from Ibara had arrived.

“Get it!” Dodger said as he went for the door. “Let’s go!”

“No,” Courtney said calmly.

“Wadda you mean no? The ships gonna shove off!” “We haven’t found Mark yet.”

“I know, but-” He stopped himself. “You’re not thinking…?”

“Yeah, I am,” Courtney answered. She calmly bent down and picked up Bobby’s journal, along with her ring. “I’m going on a cruise. I’d understand if you took off, but I can’t.”

“We’d be stowaways!” Dodger complained. “They’ll arrest us and… and… I don’t know what they’ll do, but I’d lose my job at the hotel for sure.”

“Probably,” Courtney said. “But if this ship sails without me, it means Mark will die, history will be changed, and the dados will infest the territories. I don’t want you to lose your job, but if Saint Dane has his way and the Earth territories are changed, I can’t guarantee you’d find yourself in a world where the Manhattan Tower Hotel even exists.”

Dodger had to think about that one. He frowned. “I gotta tell ya, when Gunny asked me to help the guy who showed up with that ring, I wasn’t expecting this.”

Courtney shrugged.

Dodger exhaled and nodded in resignation. He leaned against a shelf and slid down to the deck. “Might as well get comfortable.”