The Voyage to Magical North (18 page)

Tom reached for the inkpot.

“Are you writing this conversation down?” asked Peter.

Tom's cheeks colored. “I'm supposed to be composing a firsthand account. I want to record everything.”

“It's all right. Write what you like.” Peter looked around and saw Brine standing on her own at the front of the ship. Once, he'd thought she was only Tallis Magus's servant. How could he have thought Brine was only an anything? He stood up. “I just need to…” He wasn't sure what he needed to do, but Tom was already engrossed in writing again.

Brine was watching the sea through a telescope. She lowered it when Peter joined her and gave him a curious look, halfway between a smile and a frown, as if she wasn't sure what he was going to say or whether she was going to like it.

“The crew gave me a present,” said Peter, holding up the box for her to see.

Brine nodded. “I saw. Are you all right? You don't look well.”

“I think so. I…” He took a breath. “I wanted to say sorry.”

Brine's face filled up with surprise so fast that Peter almost laughed. He tucked the starshell box under his arm and pushed his hands in his pockets. “I should have been nicer to you. I never thought before what it must have been like not knowing where you came from, and then ending up as Magus's servant. I could have helped more.” He gave a rueful grin. “Though you weren't the easiest person to live with. Remember when you used to throw things at me?”

“You deserved it.” Brine returned his smile. “On the other hand, I do keep dragging you into trouble, and you've never thrown anything at me for that. Truce?”

“Truce,” he agreed.

They shook hands. Peter heaved a sigh. “I hope the crew aren't too disappointed when they find out what a bad magician I am.”

“They won't find out,” said Brine. “Because you're not a bad magician. You're a lot better than you think. Tallis Magus never let you do anything. All you did was copy out boring spellshapes. And how many spellshapes did Tallis know by heart, anyway?”

“I don't know. Twenty or thirty, I guess. He usually got me to look them up.”

“There you are, then. He was, what, fifty years old, and he knew thirty spellshapes? That's less than one a year. It's no wonder you weren't learning a lot. You had a useless teacher.”

That was exactly what Marfak West had said, but when Brine said it, it sounded true. “I'm still only an apprentice, though,” he said, “and now I have no one to teach me.”

“I'm not sure you need anyone.” Brine frowned. “You know that doctor on Minutes who painted seascapes? He didn't have to think about every tiny movement the brush was making—he just knew how he wanted the waves to look, and he made it happen. Back in the storm, when you were guiding the ship, you looked like an artist painting with magic. Like you knew exactly what you were doing.”

If he had, it had been thanks to Marfak West, Peter thought, but he felt lighter, as if some weight he'd been carrying around had just lifted. “Marfak West isn't looking for Magical North,” he said. “There's something else there that he wants.”

Brine's frown deepened. “Does Cassie know?”

“Yes, I told her. She thinks we'll be able to beat him when the time comes.”

“If Cassie thinks so, I'm sure it'll be all right. We can trust her.”

Cassie was standing at the helm. She waved when she saw Peter looking. Peter waved back. The fact that she'd first tried to sell him and then to use him to spy on Marfak West didn't seem to matter so much now. Blaming Cassie for anything was a bit like blaming the wind for blowing.

“We'll find Magical North,” said Peter. “We'll find your parents, we'll defeat Marfak West, and people will sing songs about us all over the eight oceans.”

“According to Boswell, we have to get past the sea monster first,” Brine said.

Peter grinned. “After the ghost storm? It'll be easy.”

“Ice ahoy!” shouted Ewan Hughes.

*   *   *

The sea couldn't freeze—it was impossible. Peter knew it for a fact. There was too much water, and it was full of salt, which melted ice. But, possible or not, the way ahead was busy with jags of pure white, taller than mountains. Peter stood and watched them move. They swayed like the coils of a great sea monster, a thousand times more terrible than the Dreaded Great Sea Beast of the South.

Tom leafed through Boswell's book. “Boswell talked about ice. First the Sea of Sighs, which we've done. Then you have to find your way past the sea monster. Then there's a tunnel leading up to a cavern. He must mean down to a cavern.” He looked up. “I guess this is the sea monster.”

“How can ice be a monster?” asked Trudi.

Flat plates of ice floated all around, gently drifting out of the way as the
Onion
nosed by. A black-and-white bird popped out of the water and scrambled onto one of them, staring at the ship with orange eyes. Peter stared back. If birds could shrug, this one did—dismissively.

“
The northern seas are home to many strange creatures,
” read Tom. “
Some of them are said to taste like chicken, although most of them will eat you first. Beware the birds, and look out for invisible bears.
”

“Invisible bears,” said Cassie. “We've fought bears before. It could be worse.”

Peter wished everyone would be quiet so he could think. With every second that passed, the
Onion
was taking them closer to Magical North. The end of the voyage for Cassie and the start of Marfak West's plans. Peter had a nasty feeling that when Cassie and Marfak West clashed, he was going to be caught right in the middle. He took his starshell out of its box and held it up. The three pieces glowed with amber magic.

“Can you put that away?” asked Brine, sneezing. Peter did, but he could still feel the pieces prickling impatiently. He watched the ice draw closer. Great lumps of it bobbed up to the
Onion
as if they were curious about the unexpected presence of a ship. No one spoke, and now Peter wished someone would, just to break the silence. Cassie stood with a rigid frown of concentration on her face as she eased the
Onion
into the spaces that still contained water.

Another black-and-white bird slid off the ice into the sea with a little plop. It was followed by a bigger splash that could have been anything. Peter looked back and saw a tail break the surface of the water in the distance. If whales and birds could survive in this sea, it couldn't be too bad. But the ice was now closing in behind them. Peter watched it drift into the ship's wake. Any one of the pieces was big enough to crush the
Onion
.

“You do know that very soon we won't be able to turn back,” he said. “Even if we wanted to.”

Cassie stared straight ahead. “The
Onion
never turns back. The stars will fall out of the sky before we accept defeat.”

“Stars can't fall,” said Tom. “They're balls of burning gas and rock, thousands of miles across. If one of them fell, we'd all know about it.” He looked up, caught Cassie's gaze, and blushed. “Though not for long,” he added.

Eventually, the ship came to a halt against a semicircle of sparkling, frozen pillars. The only way on was through a corridor of green water barely wider than a rowing boat.

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.”

 

C
HAPTER
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.