House of Secrets (34 page)

C
ordelia, Eleanor, and Will climbed back into the attic of Kristoff House. Two dozen people stood there, attempting to cover themselves, shouting in anger and confusion.

“What’s all this madness?” asked a pale fat man.

“My dress! My petticoat!” said a hysterical black-haired woman. “I’m exposed for all the world to see!”

The crowd—mostly men—appeared to hail from all over the world. Some of the gruffer ones had already picked up weapons.

“What’s goin’ on here, boy?” asked one, snarling at Brendan. He appeared to have come from a Polynesian island, complete with tattoos that had re-formed on his flesh. He held a sword in one hand and covered himself with the other.

“Y-Y-You . . . all of you have been brought back from the dead,” Brendan said.

“This don’t look like heaven!” laughed the pale fat man. He didn’t seem worried about exposing himself—a paunch hid his groin.

“People this savage and disgusting only exist on the third level of Hades!” said the black-haired woman.

“No, you’re still on earth,” said Brendan. “I mean, not earth, exactly, but—”

“Shut yer mouth!” the tattooed man warned. “This is some sort of magic trick. Last thing I remember, Captain Sangray had me chained to a table in his quarters, preparing to vivisect me—”

“That happened to me too!” said the woman.

“And me!” said the pale man. “Although I was on the floor; he said I was too big for the table—”

“I say these four are in league with Sangray. I say we cut their throats from ear to ear in exchange for Sangray’s treachery!” said the tattooed man, shaking his sword at Brendan.

“Quiet!”
ordered Will. “I am Captain Will Draper! And these are my trusted mates: Cordelia, Brendan, and Eleanor.”

“Power trip, here we come,” Cordelia whispered to her brother.

“You seem a little young to be a captain,” said the pale fat man.

“Yeah, captain o’
what
?” asked the tattooed one.

“Of the
Kristoff
, the vessel on which you stand,” said Will. He grabbed the cutlass back from Brendan and paced with it, cutting quite a figure. “Your memories do not deceive you, my friends. All of you were victims of Captain Sangray, and after your deaths you walked the earth in skeletal form. But the
Kristoff
is a magic ship shaped like a house, and using this attic that you stand in, which is activated by sunlight in this magical realm, we have restored your lives. We have also slain Captain Sangray. Now all we ask is for your help in taking back his ship, the
Moray
!”

The ex-skeletons looked at one another. The tattooed one asked, “Wait, we were dead and you brought us back to life?”

“Correct,” said Will.

“Well . . . ” He turned to the others. “We can all support that, can’t we?”

The ex-skeletons nodded and shrugged. “Long live Captain Draper!” “To Captain Draper!” “Huzzah!”

“Um, would any of you like clothes?” Brendan asked.

“Yes!” “Of course!” “Oh, please!” “Long live Captain Draper!”

“I’ll get them,” Brendan said, heading toward the hole in the floor. “There’s plenty in Mom and Dad’s closet. They’ll be wet, and salty, but at least it’s something.”

Brendan took a deep breath, jumped into the water, and breaststroked through the flooded hallway, surfacing in the master bedroom. He took a quick breath in the bubble of air that lined the ceiling and began grabbing things from his parents’ closet.

Meanwhile, back in the attic, the pale fat man held up one of the spell scrolls that Will had tossed on the floor. “What is this . . . Latin?”

“Give me that!” Will ordered, grabbing it. “None of you are to touch these scrolls. They contain confidential captain’s orders!”

Will hurriedly picked up the rest of the scrolls from the floor.

When Brendan returned with a bundle of sopping wet clothes, the ex-skeletons hurriedly got dressed, completely ignoring the gender of the clothing they were putting on. This resulted in some men wearing Mrs. Walker’s silk blouses or skirts—and some women stuffing themselves into Dr. Walker’s sports coats and checkered golf pants.

“Is there any food, perchance?” asked one of the men, who now wore Dr. Walker’s pajama pants and his gag-gift Bermuda shirt.

“There’s canned corn if you wanna swim for it,” said Brendan.

“There’s no fresh food here on the
Kristoff
,” said Will. “But back on the
Moray
there are plenty of things to eat. All we need to do is take the ship from Captain Sangray’s men.”

Will gave a knife to the black-haired woman, who now sported a pair of Dr. Walker’s slacks and one of his Izod shirts.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” she asked.

“Kill pirates,” said Will.

“I beg pardon, Captain Draper, but I’m an importer’s wife from Philadelphia. I’ve never held a dagger in my life. And I’ve certainly never killed anyone.”

“Well, you did just fine when you were a skeleton!” Brendan snapped.

“Look,” Will told the crowd, “you all took a long road to get here. Some of you were merchants, some sailors, some—”

“I was a pharmacist!” called a wizened old man in one of Mrs. Walker’s dresses.

“Exactly. A pharmacist. But now you’re a crew.
My
crew. And you have to be strong, and brave, and quick. Captain Sangray is dead, but his bloodthirsty pirates live on! Don’t you want to take revenge on the men who let your insides be torn out?”

A resounding cheer and several cries of
“Yes!”
went up.

“Then follow me!” Will went to the attic window—

Where Cordelia stopped him. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” she whispered.

“This house is still sinking,” Will answered. “Either we take over the
Moray
or we go in the drink. Do you have a better idea?”

Cordelia tried to come up with one—but Will’s solution was all she could think of. She stepped aside and let the pilot climb out the window. The ex-skeletons followed. Brendan and Eleanor brought up the rear . . . and stopped when they saw their sister. She was almost crying.

“What’s wrong, Deal?” asked Brendan.

“It looks like the
Moray
’s going to be our new home,” Cordelia said. “I’m going to miss this place.”

“Why?” Brendan asked. “Think of everything it’s put us through! Kristoff House sucks!”

“True,” said Cordelia, “but when the going got tough, Kristoff House really stuck together.”

“Like us,” said Eleanor.

“And . . . being here,” Cordelia, said, her voice cracking, “it feels like we’re closer to Mom and Dad.”

“But we’re only gonna see Mom and Dad if we move on,” said Brendan.

Silence held the trio for a moment. Then they clasped hands and climbed out onto the roof.

The tears that had been welling in Cordelia’s eyes were instantly blasted away by the wind. The Walkers could feel salt spray on their cheeks. Will was leading the ex-skeletons across the rope to the
Moray
, hanging underneath it, toughing out the pain in his shoulder. A dozen men and women trailed him and the next dozen waited their turn. The ex-skeletons looked a lot less intimidating now that they weren’t made of bone—and that some of the men were dressed in ladies’ clothes.

Suddenly, a pirate called from the
Moray
’s stern: “
Eh!
What in blazes is this?”

Will tried to sound tough.
“I am Captain Draper and I order you to stand down! I sent Sangray straight to hell and I’ll do the same to you!”

“
Bah,
you’re nothing but a boy with a bunch o’ funny-dressed prancers at your back,” said the pirate, aiming a gun at Will. “Killed Captain Sangray—a likely story!”

The pirate cocked his pistol, seconds from putting a bullet into Will’s skull—

But a spinning knife thumped into his shoulder. The pirate lost his balance and went tumbling into the sea. Will whipped around and saw the tattooed man grinning as he clung to the rope. He might have been wearing a blue dress, but he was deadly with a blade.

More pirates gathered at the
Moray
’s stern. “What’s them on the rope?” “Basil’s gone over!” “Shoot ’em!”

The pirates took aim. The black-haired woman couldn’t stand it; she let go of the rope and plopped into the sea, screaming as she was carried away by a current. The pirates watched her with amusement, giving Will a chance to bargain. He began,
“I am Captain Draper—”

“No,” said a pirate from behind his gun, “you are fish food.”

“Please!” “No!” “You can’t!”
yelled the Walkers, back on the roof. They were in absolute terror. They knew they couldn’t survive without Will. And he was their friend. They couldn’t imagine him dropped into the water as a lifeless hunk of flesh—

“Stop!”
a voice called.

Tranquebar stood on the deck of the
Moray
with his chin up and his good eye glinting.

“Stay your weapons!” Tranquebar ordered. “You’re all to let them on board.”

Grumbling, the pirates holstered their guns. Will opened his eyes; he had shut them tightly in anticipation of his death, although he would never admit that to anyone.

“Who are you, sir?” Will asked. “To whom do we owe our lives?”

“The name’s Tranquebar,” said the pirate. “First mate on this vessel. I served Captain Sangray—and now, it appears, I serve you.”

I
n short order, under Tranquebar’s direction Will, the Walkers, and the ex-skeletons were brought aboard the
Moray.
Tranquebar took “Captain Draper” and his mates into his quarters and explained the situation from his point of view.

“I’ve had a very eventful morning. Not five minutes ago I was going to speak with the captain, to deliver my daily report, when I found him missing and his quarters completely destroyed. But what caught my attention most of all . . . was a huge burned spot on the wall. And I found that very strange.”

“Why’s that?” asked Will.

“There wasn’t a single piece of ash on the floor,” said Tranquebar. “How could that happen? I suspected magic. Then I heard shouting, and I saw all of you, climbing across the ropes with your . . . crew.” He looked at Will. “Do you really think you’re captain material?”

“I do,” said Will. “I defeated the last captain, with my mates here. And being the oldest of them and the most experienced, I deserve the honor of commanding this ship.”

Cordelia rolled her eyes. Will’s ego was growing by the minute.

“The ancient laws of the sea say you’re correct,” said Tranquebar. “He who kills a captain takes the captain’s place.”

“Brilliant,” said Will.

“Pending a vote,” added Tranquebar.

“A vote?”

“Just a formality. All you need to do is make a speech: Promise the men a lifetime supply of rum, treasure, and women. Then they’ll swear undying loyalty to you. But before I can allow that to happen . . . explain something to me.”

“Yes?”

“How
did
you burn that wall without starting a fire? Magic?”

“Uh . . . ” Will hesitated.

“Yes,” Cordelia said. “
Captain Draper
possesses magical spell scrolls. He used one of them to create a fireball that burned the wall.”

Will glared at her angrily. “I don’t know what she’s on about—”

“The scrolls from Captain Sangray’s trunk?” pressed Tranquebar.

“How do you know about those?” Will asked quickly, before realizing he’d revealed himself.

“Captain Draper,” Tranquebar said with a knowing smile, “I know everything about this ship. I was here before Sangray . . . and I expect I’ll be here after you. Sangray stole those scrolls years ago, on a raid in the East; luckily, he never learned to read them. I made sure of that. Any time he started talking about learning to read the scrolls, I’d distract him with whiskey or women.”

“Why is that?” asked Will.

“Sangray was an evil, sadistic man,” said Tranquebar. “He was horrible enough with his hatred of failing out of medical school, his twisted hobbies, and his vivisection . . . he didn’t need to learn magic as well. I did it for the safety of our crew.”