Emily Rodda - Isle of the Dead

Lief felt a thrill of horror. So the final fate of the unlucky gamblers who borrowed from Laughing Jack had been even more terrible than he had imagined. They had manned the oars of his ship for a time, certainly. But they had ended their lives as slaves in the Shadowlands.

‘How dare you question my orders!’ Laughing Jack barked. ‘The ship is becalmed, you fool! If we are to move, you must row. Get below!’

Beef slowly shook his massive head. ‘Too many have died down there, Captain,’ he grunted. ‘It is unwholesome.’

Laughing Jack bared his teeth in fury. ‘We—must—get—to—the—Tor!’ he hissed. ‘Or at least, for now, away from this cursed Point, with its rocks and shallows, to a safe harbour further south.’

When the men still did not move, he stabbed a bony finger at the eastern horizon.

‘A great storm is coming!’ he almost screamed. ‘Do you not see it?’

‘We see it, right enough,’ called the man with crooked teeth. ‘And whoever summoned it—the redheaded witch now tied to the prow or the sorcerer you call your master—we will never outrun it.’

He turned to the rest of the crew. ‘I say this ship is finished! This ship, and its captain too.’

‘Mutiny!’ shouted Laughing Jack. ‘You will hang for this, Coffin!’

The man called Coffin made no sign that he had heard.

‘We owe James Gant no loyalty,’ he roared. ‘You all know what he is! He supplies slaves to the Shadowlands, and in return he has this ship, fine food and drink, and some of the sorcerer’s powers he craves. But is this all he has? Oh, no!’

He bared his peg-like teeth. ‘With my own eyes I have seen his treasure chest in the gaming room. It overflows with the gold he cheats from his victims before sending them to the oars. But has he ever offered to share this bounty with us? No! He has become as rich as a king, while we toil for a pittance!’

‘So why should we risk our lives for him?’ grunted Beef.

‘Indeed!’ Coffin shouted. ‘I say we take the lifeboat and make for the shore—take the girl with us, and release her. Perhaps then the sea’s vengeance will fall where it deserves—on our brave captain! Let him use his magic to save himself—if he can!’

10 – Deadly Bargain

Most of the men roared agreement. Those nearest to Laughing Jack drew their swords and daggers. His face twitching horribly with fear and anger, Laughing Jack took a step back.

‘Wait!’ he cried, his voice cracking. ‘Wait! I will make a bargain with you.’

The men hesitated.

‘Do not listen to him!’ shouted Coffin. ‘He lies as easily as he breathes!’

‘No! Hear me!’ shrieked Laughing Jack, clasping his hands. ‘I have treated you unfairly—I see that now. But I will make it up to you, if only you will help me.’

Coffin scowled and shook his head. The other men looked uncertainly at one another, then at the storm clouds rushing towards them from the east.

‘Beware!’ cried Verity. ‘Whatever you swear here will bind you. I cannot prevent it.’

‘What is your offer, Gant?’ Scrawn snapped, ignoring her.

‘I do not want to lose my ship!’ quavered Laughing Jack. ‘ The Lady Luck is all that is important to me. So I promise you this: all the treasure will be yours to share if you will man the oars until others are found to replace you!’

He cast his eyes down humbly, but Lief saw that he was peeping at the men beneath his eyelashes, and that his thin mouth twitched at the corners as their faces brightened with greed.

Scrawn wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

‘How do we know you will keep to your bargain, Captain?’ he asked gruffly. ‘How do we know that once the ship is safe you will not break your word?’

Laughing Jack looked up and solemnly placed his hand on his heart.

‘All the gold is yours, my loyal crew,’ he said in a trembling voice. ‘If I take one piece of it for my own, I myself will take to the oars. I swear it on my soul!’

‘I hear your words, James Gant, and they will bind you!’ cried Verity from the prow, her voice as shrill as a sea-bird’s call.

Laughing Jack’s eyes widened for an instant, then he sneered.

‘So!’ he said. ‘According to the witch, my oath cannot be broken. Now, what of you, men? Do not fear, your time at the oars will not be long. Your replacements will soon be found.’

He grinned evilly. ‘You know that the gaming room is a web. You know that human flies blunder into it gladly, and often. And you know that never, unless I will it, do they struggle free. Sooner or later the fools borrow, then cannot repay their debt.’

‘That is because for every coin they borrow they must pay back three, Captain,’ sniggered Scrawn. ‘But that lying sign on the treasure chest says no such thing.’

Lief’s stomach turned over. He heard Barda give a low groan.

‘Why, Scrawn, my little sign does not lie!’ said Laughing Jack, raising his eyebrows in mock innocence. ‘It says plainly, “Take what you need—pay what you owe before you depart.” It is not my fault if my guests mistake its meaning, and assume that the two sums are the same.’

The crew laughed uproariously.

‘You twist the truth for gain, James Gant!’ Verity called. ‘You use the powers granted to you to revel in lies and wickedness. But I will set my mark upon this ship. I may die, but the truth will live for those who wish to see it, and the truth will set them free.’

Laughing Jack’s grin did not falter. He paid no more attention to Verity’s words than to the shrieks of the swooping birds. His eyes were fixed on his men, willing them to listen only to him.

‘So!’ he said heartily. ‘Do we have a bargain?’

The men were grinning, nodding, rubbing their hands. Plainly they were convinced—dazzled by the promise of riches beyond their wildest dreams.

‘No!’ screamed Coffin. ‘You fools! You will doom us all!’

Beef’s lip curled. His dagger hand jerked forward.

With a low groan, Coffin crumpled and fell lifeless to the deck, blood oozing from the deep wound in his back.

‘Very well, Captain,’ Scrawn said softly, as Beef wiped his blade clean on his jacket. ‘We will take the places of the slaves until others are found to replace us. Agreed, mates?’

‘Agreed!’ the men around him bellowed.

‘I hear your words, crewmen, and they will bind you!’ cried Verity.

And in the blink of an eye, Laughing Jack stood alone on the deck with the captive girl and the sprawled body of Coffin, while from below came the hideous sounds of sliding chains and men shrieking in terror.

Laughing Jack stood dumbfounded, his wide mouth gaping.

Look! See! This is the truth of it! The truth…

‘Your men are at their oars, James Gant,’ whispered Verity. ‘They have taken the places of the slaves indeed, and the chains the slaves bore are their chains now. They are bound by their oath, as you are bound by yours. I warned—’

Her voice broke off in a choking gasp. With a hiss of rage, Laughing Jack had spun around and stabbed her to the heart.

Lief heard himself cry out in horror. Through a scarlet mist he watched as Laughing Jack pulled his dripping knife free.

Sea-birds wheeled and screamed above the dying girl’s head as her life’s blood drained away, flowing down, down over her white nightdress, over her bare feet, down to the sea.

And as the first gleaming red drops touched the water, the sea heaved as though in anguish.

Cool, foaming water sprayed on Verity’s twisted body. The healing, loving tide flowed over her. And when it fell back all that remained on the prow was a wooden figurehead, its hands clasped to its breast.