The Moon Child

by Cate Cain

  Madame de Chouette smiled. Jem flinched at her tiny, pointed yellow teeth. “You may be right. It is an old and special vintage, Captain. An … acquired taste.” Her golden eye flicked back to Jem. “I invited you to dine with me and you repaid my kindness by stealing. Master Grimscale, what would you do with thieves on board a ship of your own?”

  Grimscale planted his fat hands on the table and leaned forward, grinning from ear to ear. “I’d keelhaul them, ma’am. Both of them, one after the other.” Jem heard Tolly gasp. In a corner of the cabin Cleo cowered against the wall.

  “No!” Trevanion thumped the other end of the desk. “Not on a ship under my command. I’ll not allow such barbarity. The case isn’t even proven against the pair of them. The other boy, you found nothing hidden about his person, did you?”

  Madame de Chouette stared at Tolly for a long moment. She sighed deeply. “But how can we be sure he is not also guilty? They may have been working together. When the monkey frightened my poor nephew …” she glanced swiftly at Jem and just for a second her eye widened and darkened, “it was an opportunity, a diversion. I daresay that between them they have trained the creature to perform all manner of tricks to disguise their wickedness.”

  “That’s true right enough, ma’am. This boy,” Grimscale twisted Tolly’s ear and forced him forward, “made the beast do cartwheels on deck a couple of days ago, to cover while his friend went ferreting about down below.”

  “To the hold?” Madame de Chouette was suddenly very still. Jem now heard the ticking noise very clearly, faster than usual.

  “I don’t know where he went. Down to the mess deck for a good rummage is my guess. Not that he’d find much there. As I said to the Captain when they first came on board —”

  “I think we have heard enough.” Trevanion stepped forward and gripped Jem’s shoulder. “Did you take the ring, boy? The truth now.”

  “No. I’ve never seen it before. I swear on my mother’s life.”

  Trevanion’s clear grey eyes looked troubled. “And you.” He turned to Tolly. “What do you say?”

  Tolly shook his head. “I’ve never seen it before either, sir. We are not thieves.”

  Jem took a deep breath. “It was Master Grimscale who found it there, just now. Why shouldn’t it be him who took it? How can you be sure he didn’t place it in my pocket?”

  “Why you …” Grimscale released Tolly and lumbered around the table, but the captain blocked his path.

  “Enough, I say!” He turned quickly to Madame de Chouette. “I apologise for having brought these two aboard the Fortuna. They are my responsibility and I will deal with them. I will personally ensure that they are handed over to a justice when we make land.”

  “Begging your pardon, Captain.” Grimscale didn’t sound as if he was begging a pardon at all. “I think we should make an example of them now.”

  Trevanion shook his head. “Morale is low enough as it is. We have lost three members of the crew since we set sail. A keelhauling or a beating would do nothing to improve things. If these two really are thieves, we will leave it to the law of the land. You know as well as I do how they treat wrong-doers in the new colonies. If these boys are guilty, they will be punished.”

  “This ship is mine, Captain. I believe I should be the one to decide their fate.” There was a rustling sound as Madame de Chouette rose from the chair. “I think Grimscale may be right. An example must be set.”

  Jem felt Trevanion’s grip tighten on his shoulder. “I am master of this ship, ma’am. While we are at sea, I am the embodiment of the law. I think you’ll find that you agreed to this in our contract. All matters regarding the crew are my responsibility.”

  The woman walked round the desk and came to stand in front of Jem. He noticed that she was taller than both Grimscale and Trevanion. She tapped the jewelled velvet eye-patch and tilted her head to one side. She plucked Jem’s chin between her iron fingers again, forcing him to look into her golden, unblinking eye. Jem could feel the bones of his jaw crush together.

  She continued to stare at Jem as she spoke. “Do not worry, Captain. I remember all the terms of our contract, as I trust you do. I can only think that your anxiety for your own child has softened your heart. Still, as the owner of this vessel, there are some things I can demand. Firstly, I never want to see these boys again. For the duration of the voyage they will not set foot on deck or feel sunlight on their skin. Their rations will be kept to the barest minimum. They will be bound together and locked away.”

  She paused for a moment as if listening to something. Jem thought he saw her nod. “I think … the hold might be just the place.” She ran her tongue over the tips of her little teeth.

  “Secondly, you will deliver them to the justice of Port Melas … after my nephew and I have left the ship for our estates. I will provide written evidence for their trial. And I trust poor Master Grimscale here, who has been so foully abused by this treacherous boy, will be eager to appear on my behalf. I understand a boy may be hanged in the new colonies for the theft of a loaf of bread.”

  She loosened her grip on Jem’s aching jaw and held up her hand so that the ruby glowed. The ticking was slower now.

  “This ring is worth ten thousand loaves.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The wide double doors in the Fortuna’s deck closed and everything went black.

  Jem felt Tolly’s shoulders stiffen. The boys were lashed together, bound back to back by the greasy ropes Grimscale had taken much pleasure in tightening round their bodies. Their arms were crushed against their sides beneath the thick cords. They had fallen, twelve, perhaps fifteen, feet, Jem guessed, but their landing had been cushioned by sacks of grain.

  Grimscale’s voice came down to them. “The rats will welcome your company, my lads. They’re always looking for a bite to eat.” Jem heard the man’s heavy tread on the deck above. “And that’s the last we’ll be seeing of those two for the duration. Remember – no one is to speak to them or take them food. You, Spider, will be moving out from the bilge box tonight and the hatch will be locked. Can’t have you near them when they cry out for their mothers, can we?”

  Tolly’s breathing was fast and ragged. The hold echoed mournfully as huge waves thrashed against the wooden sides. Around them Jem could hear the packages and barrels creak and judder with the motion of the ship as they strained beneath their own ropes. The Fortuna rolled violently and the boys could do nothing as they toppled together from the sacking to the wet timbers below. The smell of tar, stagnant water and mildewed cloth filled Jem’s lungs and the booming of the ocean filled his ears.

  As they lay there locked together, shivering in a thin layer of stinking bilge water, Jem heard another noise – deep, soul-wracking sobs.

  He felt Tolly’s shoulders heave against his own. He didn’t know what to do. He felt utterly useless. He knew that nothing he could say would make Tolly’s misery go away. He wished Cleo was here with them. Tolly had said she was the only thing that kept him sane when Cazalon had brought them both as baggage on a ship from Alexandria to London.

  “I don’t know what I would have done without her company during that voyage.”

  He wondered what would happen to Cleo. He’d seen the way she cowered from Madame de Chouette in the captain’s cabin and he was grateful that at the end of their interrogation, just before Grimscale bundled them across the deck and pushed them down into the hold, Trevanion had called for Mingan to take her. But Tolly needed her now.

  Jem clenched his hands tightly beneath the ropes. “You’re not alone.”

  His voice sounded feeble against the hollow booming of the waves. He tried to sit up, but Tolly didn’t move so Jem was forced to lie there. He knew his friend was paralysed by fear.

  “Please try, Tolly. If we could sit up that would make it better. The water’s freezing. I … I know how you feel.”

  Jem felt a great shudder ripple through his friend’s back and heard Tolly fight to muffle another huge so
b.

  “You’re … you’re thinking about your parents and your sister and the time on the barge? It was terrible, and I know you only told me half of what happened to you all. No wonder this stinking place reminds you of that time. But I … I think I know how you feel down here … a little bit. It’s like me with heights, but it’s in reverse, isn’t it? It eats away at your mind. You can’t think about anything else. Your head is just full of … panic and darkness. You feel like you’re going mad, losing control – and you feel utterly, miserably alone. But you’re not alone. I’m here too.”

  Jem tried to wriggle his hand beneath the ropes so that he could reach Tolly’s. He managed to link his little finger with his friend’s.

  “Remember the time you guided me down the wall at Ludlow House? I couldn’t move because of the height, but you and Cleo helped me every step of the way. You were so calm and encouraging. It’s a bit like that now, only it’s my turn to help you. I can’t guide you down exactly because … well, for one thing we can’t go any lower, can we?”

  Jem was grateful to hear a grunt that he hoped was a laugh. “But we are going to get out, I promise. We just have to work together and that means you must fight it – the fear, I mean. It’s like Master Jalbert always says: never drop your guard. That’s how the enemy wins. They find your weak spot and make it work to their advantage. Don’t let it happen.”

  Jem felt Tolly’s finger tighten around his own. Encouraged, he spoke again, more confidently now. “Look, Tolly, I think our strength has always come from being together, being a team. You have amazing mind skills and you’re clever, and I am …” Jem paused, wondering what to say next.

  “You are the bravest, most loyal and most honest person I know.” Tolly spoke quietly in the darkness. Jem was pulled to one side as the other boy struggled upright. The pair were now sitting back to back. Tolly took a deep breath. “Everything you say about fear is right. I know it’s irrational, but after what happened to my family …”

  Jem heard a muffled gulp and felt Tolly shift position.

  “It’s hard not to remember them when I’m in this place. It was terrible, Jem – the darkness, the stench of humans trapped together. The reek of fear – it’s something so real you could trap it in a bottle. The memories fill my head. They make it difficult for me to think straight or remember to breathe.” Tolly swallowed hard. “It was the last time I was with my father. He was such a fine man. He was …” His voice dwindled.

  “A king! He was a king, just like mine,” Jem continued for him. “That’s how we beat Cazalon, wasn’t it? We are the same, you and I, but he didn’t know it. Don’t you see, together we were able to defeat him. And we can defeat her – Madame de Chouette.”

  “It was the three of us together,” Tolly corrected him gently.

  “Exactly. We have to get Ann away from that woman. I don’t know how we are going to do that, but we have to try. I know it’s hard for you down here, Tolly – and believe me, I’m not happy either – but we need all our wits about us. Don’t let the fear win.”

  There was a long pause in the darkness before Tolly spoke again. Jem was relieved that his voice was firmer now, more controlled.

  “So, what are we going to do?”

  Now it was Jem’s turn to fall silent. He shook his head and a strand of greasy hair got stuck across his eyes.

  He blinked. “I … I … don’t know.”

  Jem felt a tremor behind him and thought Tolly was trying to stifle another sob, but then realised he was laughing.

  “You see. I said you were honest.”

  Jem smiled grimly in the dark. “All I know for sure is that we have to free Ann from the talons of that harpy. Why does she want her and why is she taking her to the new colonies? You’re right that she must want … no – need her to be alive, otherwise she’d have …” He didn’t want to finish the sentence.

  Tolly straightened behind him. “Madame de Chouette is someone like Cazalon. She is incredibly powerful. But Ann is too. Since we left Malfurneaux Place her … gifts have been getting stronger and stronger. Sometimes I think they frighten even her. I don’t understand why she hasn’t used her powers to break free. I think it must be something to do with this ship. If the Fortuna has clouded my mind, then it’s likely blocked Ann’s powers too.”

  Somewhere in the depths of Jem’s mind a memory glimmered like a silvery fish leaping from a pool. He tried to catch it, but it disappeared into the murky waters. Then he caught another flash – it was something Tolly had just said, something about Ann using her powers.

  He thought back to the time when Cazalon had led him along the gallery at Malfurneaux Place. As well as seeing a painting of Madame de Chouette, there had been the portrait of Ann’s mother, Elizabeth Metcalf, as a girl. She had looked exactly like her daughter. Jem closed his eyes and fished deep into his memory. What had Cazalon said back then? It was something important …

  “This portrait was commissioned on the eve of her thirteenth birthday – a very significant age for Metcalf girls, as it marked the time when they came into their …”

  “Inheritance!” Jem shouted the word. “That’s it, it must be! Cazalon told me that Ann will come into her inheritance on her thirteenth birthday.”

  “But there’s nothing left for her to inherit. When he became her guardian he took everything her family, the Metcalfs, owned.” Tolly tried to turn as he spoke and Jem winced as the ropes dug into his arm.

  “No, don’t you see? It’s not just money or possessions.” Jem was excited to be one step ahead of his friend for once. The words came in a rush. “It’s her powers. On her thirteenth birthday Ann will come into her full powers as a sorceress. When Cazalon showed me a painting of her mother, Elizabeth, at Malfurneaux Place, he told me that it was painted on the eve of her thirteenth birthday. He said that was when Metcalf girls …” he tried to remember the count’s odd words, “inherited a … a wisdom that most people would never possess in their entire lifetime. But he meant power. I’m sure of it.”

  Tolly was quiet for a moment before he replied. “We know from what happened to you under St Paul’s that thirteen was an important number to him.”

  Jem nodded, shuddering as Cazalon’s words echoed again in his mind. “A number of power, a number of magic, a number of completion … The point of balance between the light and the dark, between life and death.”

  “Ann is thirteen this year, isn’t she?”

  “On the first day of May.” Tolly sat bolt upright, jerking Jem upward with him. “You’re right. I didn’t believe anyone could survive what happened to Cazalon under St Paul’s. At least, I didn’t want to believe it … but what if … what if a … part of him lived on? If Cazalon really is behind all this, he must want her very badly. There must be a reason. And I think I know what it is. You’re right – he needs her power. And he needs to take it before she can fully control it. Do you remember what he said about the cavern beneath St Paul’s being special?”

  Jem nodded slowly. “He … he said it was a place where the powers of the earth could be harnessed?”

  “Exactly!” Jem felt Tolly try to turn his head. “He said it was a place of power, not the only one. What if he has found another on the far side of the ocean? I was wrong. This isn’t a trap at all – we were never meant to be here. No, it’s a cargo ship … and the cargo is Ann.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Jem yelped. Something had touched the tips of his fingers – something damp and furry. He flinched as wire-like whiskers brushed his flesh. There was a snuffling sound. He shunted to the side, pulling Tolly with him.

  “Did you feel that?”

  “And heard it. We have to free ourselves from these ropes, Jem. Remember what Grimscale said about the rats down here being hungry? Can you move either of your hands? I think I can move the left one a bit.” Jem felt the side of Tolly’s hand bump up against his.

  “I’ll try, but he’s bound us together so tightly there’s hardly any room to
move my fingers.”

  The boys sat in silent concentration as they wriggled their fingers and hands beneath the bonds. The skin of Jem’s wrist felt scraped raw as he struggled. He tried hard not to think about the starving rats scenting fresh blood. The bones in his right shoulder cracked loudly as he twisted his wrist and forced his hand down.

  “There! I’ve got my right hand out. I can move all my fingers now, Tolly, how about you?”

  “It’s no good. Both my hands are caught. Can you pick at a knot like that?”

  “I can try.” Jem flexed his freed hand and tried to catch at the rope. His injured palm stung as he curled and wriggled his fingers. Tolly shuffled around to make it easier, but after a minute of scrabbling they gave up.

  “What we need is something sharp to cut it with. If we could just find a nail or something poking out from the boards.” Jem stared blindly into the darkness, trying to picture the layout of the hold. Beyond the grain sacks that had cushioned their fall there was a jumble of boxes, stacks of sail cloth, a pyramid of barrels lashed together and then the mirror.

  The mirror!

  “Tolly, stand up!” Jem pushed his shoulder against the grain sacks and struggled to rise.

  “Ouch!” Tolly jerked upright and scuffled to his feet. “What are we doing?”

  “Remember I told you about the mirror? That I kicked it and broke the glass? Some shards must be on the floor of the hold. I’m sure I could use it to cut the ropes. I can move this hand, so I could hold the glass like a knife. It’s this way – I’ll lead, but we need to walk together. Are you ready? One, two, three …”

  They bumped along the edge of the grain stacks and Jem turned cautiously to the left. After three or four steps Jem tripped over something and they clattered to the boards. “Sorry. It’s a leather trunk, I think. Are you all right there?”