Read Online The Pirates and the Nightmaker by James Norcliffe - Free Book Online Page B

with a great fort defending the Spanish territory of New Granada. It is probably the greatest stronghold in the whole Spanish Main.’
    ‘So?’
    ‘If the admiral had been successful, as he had been in Portobelo, we Englishmen would have commanded this entire sea.’
    There was silence for some time, and then I said softly, ‘Mr Wicker, did you know that before she recognised you in the bow of the jolly-boat, Mistress Blade was considering blowing the boat out of the water?’
    Mr Wicker gave a short laugh. ‘Was she now?’
    ‘You don’t seem surprised?’
    ‘I’m surprised she didn’t!’
    ‘Why?’
    There was another long silence and I thought that once again he would not deign to respond to my question. However this time he did. ‘I’m surprised she didn’t, little Loblolly Boy, because I’m quite certain that the vessel that attacked the
Firefly
was none other than the
Medusa
, and that it was the commander of the
Medusa
who threw the
Firefly
’s captain and a few others upon the dubious mercy of the ocean.’
    I looked at him in disbelief. ‘But she knew you!’
    ‘I’m prepared to believe that, in the darkness, she did not realise that one of her acquaintance was on board.’
    ‘But the other men? The men who stayed on board?’
    ‘I suspect most had signed on to the arrangement even before we left Portsmouth.’
    I stared at him in the darkness. Jenny Blade was suddenly a much more alarming creature than I’d imagined, more ruthless and more powerful.
    And her daughter? Sophie? Sophie claimed not to have known Mr Wicker, and I believed her, but Sophie could surely not have been unaware of the capture of the
Firefly
? Had I been too trusting, too callow and inexperienced a little loblolly boy to swim in these dark, mysterious waters?
    ‘But where is the
Firefly
now?’
    Mr Wicker shrugged in the darkness. ‘Who knows? I expect it is moored off some pirate town somewhere. This sea is full of islands and coastlines given to shelter these raiders and to ease them of their booty.’
    ‘What will happen to us?’
    For some reason I was still counting myself among the crew of the
Firefly
.
    ‘For the moment that is out of our hands … Mistress Blade and Mr Griff will no doubt have some thoughts. We must bow to those.’
    ‘So Jamaica?’
    ‘I doubt it, especially with Lightower on board. He is no fool and possibly already suspects. The loss of the
Firefly
has stung him deeply and he could well be cashiered for it. His best hope is to discover who stole it and bring the perpetrator to justice.’
    ‘That won’t be easy …’
    Mr Wicker gave a dry laugh. ‘Not easy at all … Mistress Blade is no fool either and I imagine she will have more than the measure of Lightower. Just as he suspects her, she will suspect him and right now she has the upper hand.’
    ‘She did not want complications,’ I said.
    ‘Indeed,’ said Mr Wicker meaningfully, ‘and if onecomplication puts you in danger of hanging, then it must be addressed and urgently.’
    Again, there was a silence and in that silence I was trying to build up the courage to ask Mr Wicker what must be asked. Eventually, somehow, I found the words I needed to say.
    ‘Sir,’ I began.
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘We have now been rescued from the jolly-boat.’
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘I mean, there is now no need …’
    ‘What do you mean, little Loblolly Boy?’
    ‘I mean that there is no longer any need for me to remain invisible, to wear these strange garments, no need for these wings …’
    He was quiet for some time and then he said, ‘So you would once more be the little loblolly boy who would have been a meal on the jolly-boat?’
    ‘I would, sir.’
    ‘And not fly?’
    ‘I would like to be me again.’
    Mr Wicker sighed. ‘I see two problems,’ he said. ‘The first is whether I
could
change you back into what you were, and the second is whether I
would
, even if I could …’
    With growing horror, I was able to comprehend what Mr Wicker was