“Some of my friends never learn. It’s almost more than I can bear.”
Beezer looked across the fire at Joey. His eyes were sad. “You will learn, won’t you, Joey?” Three more bubbles burst and glowing dust floated down on both of them.
“What do you mean?”
“The map. You brought it didn’t you?”
Joey reached into his sodden shirt and pulled out the map. “It got wet,” Joey said, as he carefully unfolded it.
“It would take a lot more than a little rainwater to destroy that map. Can I see it?” Beezer reached through the flames and took the map from Joey. He studied it carefully.
“You made the map,” Joey said. “Don’t you know what’s on it?”
“I didn’t make the map,” Beezer said, not looking up. “You did.”
“But I didn’t draw anything.” Joey was confused.
“Maybe not with your hands, but you drew the map,” Beezer said. “The star dust reacted to the dreams and needs of your soul. This is what it came up with. I see pirates. I see a land of birds.” He hesitated a moment and then added, “Big, scary birds.”
Beezer quieted as his eyes shifted to another part of the map. Finally he spoke.
“I see a beautiful, uninhabited land.” Beezer looked troubled as he studied this last land. He looked as if he wanted to say something more. Thinking better of it he handed the map back to Joey. “You have your adventure cut out for you.”
Joey looked at the map. Once again he felt he was looking through an open window. He could feel the wind, taste salt on his lips, and smell the smells of unknown lands. The pirate ship he had seen earlier was there. Now it was doing battle with another ship. He could see cannon flashes and drifting smoke.
There was an island dense with jungle. Birds of varying sizes darted back and forth. A larger bird—much larger—flew alone. That must have been the “scary” bird Beezer referred to.
Joey turned his eyes to the larger land that looked like a continent. There was seashore followed by lowlands, lakes, and forests. Eventually, the land rose to snowcapped mountains then to sparsely detailed lands beyond.
Beezer must have been following his eyes, because as Joey looked at the uninhabited continent he nodded and said, “There will be your greatest test.”
Joey didn’t understand. The continent looked beautiful and far less dangerous than the other two places. Before he could ask, Beezer went on.
“What you are holding is not a toy, Joey. It’s a doorway into another world. The map is a wonderful tool if used wisely, but it doesn’t come without dangers.”
“Dangers?” asked Joey.
“The world this map will take you to is real, not a dream. If you fell off a cliff there you would . . .”
“. . . really die?” Joey finished.
Beezer nodded. “Just like in this world. I am allowed to give you some protection.” He rubbed his fingers together while mumbling something and then flicked his fingers at Joey. A white dust puffed out over Joey’s face. For a moment he glowed like Henrietta did, but then the glow disappeared.
“Now, every time you use the map to travel to a different land, you will be invisible to that land’s inhabitants. While you are invisible, you cannot be hurt.”
Beezer leaned forward. “Now listen closely, Joey. The moment you purposefully do something to interfere with what is going on in the land, you will lose your invisibility and your protection until you use the map again.”
Joey’s stomach tingled with excitement. Beezer’s warning would have frightened him except for the protection. He would have to interfere to be in real danger. Why would he interfere?
“There’s one more thing,” Beezer said, interrupting Joey’s thoughts. “When you decide to come home you must touch the home heart.”
Joey looked at the map. Down in the right hand corner was a big red heart with the word HOME written across it.
“That is the only way back. If you lose the map you lose your way home. Although I will be watching you from here, there will be little I can do for you.”
Beezer’s warning made Joey uneasy for a moment. What could go wrong? He would keep the map inside his shirt where it wouldn’t get lost. That mean, little voice inside escaped Joey’s efforts to suppress it and spoke again.
Maybe you won’t want to go home.
“Can I go now?” Joey asked.
Beezer met his eyes. There was tenderness in them. He nodded.
Joey didn’t hesitate. He pressed his finger against the pirate ship. All the shapes in the room became distorted and lost their color. He heard Beezer’s voice, now sounding quite distant, “Remember Joey, there’s always a way back to the ones you love.”
Joey wanted to ask Beezer what he meant by that, but he couldn’t speak—he felt like he was being squished into a quart jar. The shapes mashed together into a white haze. Suddenly the white haze shattered like an egg shell. The smell of salt water washed over him. Bright sunlight made him close his eyes.
Chapter 12
Joey became aware of the sound of creaking wood. He felt the wind on his face and the heat of sun beating down on him. Squinting against the light he found himself sitting on the deck of a ship surrounded by pirates—very smelly pirates. Joey wrinkled his nose at the stench. He was unprepared for the difference between reading about pirates on paper and suddenly finding himself amid their hot, sweaty bodies.
It would have been one thing to come among them while they swabbed the deck and ran up the rigging. Joey had arrived at a special moment for the pirates. They were gathered together in a crush at the side of the ship. They brandished swords and knives above their heads. The profanities and insults they shouted made him sick to his stomach.
Joey was terrified. Surely one would look down and see him any moment. He panicked and reached for the Home Heart. Before he touched it one of the pirates stepped right through him. Then he remembered Beezer had told him he could not be seen nor touched unless he interfered in their world.
Joey relaxed a little and dared look up at the shouting jeering faces around him. They were ugly faces, not so much from scars as from meanness. He had met mean kids at school and thought he knew what mean was. Looking at these faces he realized he had never met a truly mean person in his life before.
Feeling shaky, but with a little confidence, Joey got to his feet. He kept his map at the ready just in case. When no one noticed him he relaxed even more. He thought this might even be fun.
Joey folded his map and considered where to put it. It was too big for his pockets. He dropped the map down his t-shirt. His shirt was tucked in and held the map securely. The feel of the thick parchment next to his skin gave him comfort.
All set for his adventure Joey made his way through the pirates. He walked between some and through others until he reached the railing. From there he could see what had their attention. What he saw turned his adventure into a nightmare. His knees went weak and he nearly vomited.
“Beezer, where have you put me?” he said in a weak voice.
He thought he was looking at a monster. A tall, slim man stood on a plank facing the ship. His hands were tied behind his back. The man’s face was made monstrous because his ears and nose had been cut off. Blood flowed freely. Joey could hardly recognize the face as a man’s. The man had been wounded in the stomach also. His white shirt and tan breeches were soaked in scarlet.
In spite of his horrible condition and impending doom the man stood straight and proud. The man’s eyes, the only things not bloody on the man’s face, were dark and unafraid. It was this man’s courageous demeanor that kept Joey looking in spite of the dizzying sickness he felt.
A caustic, commanding voice rose above the rest. “Go ahead and jump, ya coward. You call yourself a Captain?”
Joey turned his eyes to the speaker and saw what had to be the ugliest pirate in the world. He was dressed better than the others with black breeches and a red jacket. His hair was long and stringy; his nose made
a sharp turn to the left just below the bridge, and none of his rotting teeth seemed to be growing the same direction. He was missing the little finger on his right hand.
“Why don’t you come out and make me,” the man on the plank called back with a calmness that belied his situation.
His reply was unexpected and the jeering quieted. The pirates were confused. They looked at each other, then their captain, to see what he would do.
The captain roared in anger, but made no move to come down and face the man. Joey saw the sea below, red with blood and frothing from the churning bodies of numerous sharks. He understood why the pirate captain didn’t want to meet the challenge in spite of the wounded condition of the prisoner.
“Twenty pieces of gold to the man who cuts out his tongue and then pushes him in,” shouted the pirate captain.
It seemed to Joey that only a fool would take up such an offer considering the precarious position where the prisoner stood. Two fools, apparently overcome by the thought of the gold, rushed to the plank. There they scuffled briefly before one took the lead. The loser, not willing to give up, brazenly pushed the leading pirate off the plank to the sharks below and started out on the plank himself. He was either drunk or too much in a hurry—on his second step he lost his balance and followed the first pirate into the water with a cry.
Joey was horrified. The water below boiled higher as the sharks fought for a bite. The rest of the crew thought it funny. They roared with laughter.
“Shut up! All of ye! Or I’ll lower ye down slow and ye can watch yoursel’s be eaten.”
The crew quieted immediately.
“As for ye, coward, join your crew and let’s be done with it.”
The pirate captain pulled out his musket, aimed at the prisoner, and fired. There was a dull boom and a puff of black smoke. The prisoner flinched, but did not fall.
“I do believe you missed,” said the prisoner calmly. “I think you couldn’t hit a wall with your fist if your nose were pressed against it.”
“JUST KILL HIM!” the pirate captain screamed.
Another pirate with a knife leaped onto the plank. Ignoring the feeding frenzy below, the pirate kept his eyes on the prisoner as he deftly slid one foot in front of the other. When he was within range he smiled vilely and prepared to jab with his knife.
The prisoner acted instantaneously. Instead of resisting as the pirate expected, he ignored the knife thrust and stepped into the pirate. It was his last act of battle. The pirate cursed as he lost his balance—they both fell into the churning water below.
The pirates were silent as they watched the sharks feast on their mate and their enemy. Then the pirate captain drew his sword and held it high in the air. The crew erupted into cheers and celebration. They gave each other bear hugs and danced in a rhythmless mass.
Joey sank to the deck with his back to the railing. He vomited on the deck between his legs. He read about such things in books and had even seen such scenes in the movies. They hadn’t prepared him for the reality of it. He pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his face against them.
One thing stopped his descent into shock. It was the wounded prisoner’s face. The pirates had made it ugly and monstrous, but they had left his eyes. The prisoner’s eyes had been proud and uncowed. He had stood there straight and calm in spite of what was happening to him. How could that be? This man was gone now, yet something about him remained. Joey could feel it.
The pirates continued their celebration. They drank and danced around Joey, sometimes right through him. Joey kept his hands over his face and ignored them hoping that he would find enough strength to pull the map from his shirt and leave.
Pirate ships had fascinated him his whole life. Here he was living his dream. This wasn’t a restored ship at a maritime museum with informative plaques, but a real pirate ship in action. What he had just seen was horrific. “Enough of pirate ships and pirates,” he thought. The ship was of no more interest to him now. It was a dark, ugly place and he wanted to leave. As soon as he got his stomach under control he would leave.
“Excuse me.”
A gentlemanly voice made its way through the confusion in Joey’s mind. It stood out from the raucous voices of the sailors.
“You don’t appear to be a part of the crew?”
Joey raised his eyes. In front of him stood a tall man in fine dress. He wore tan breeches and a white shirt with a fine blue jacket. A captain’s hat sat on his head. His face was very pleasant even if his nose and ears were on the large side. He certainly was not one of the pirate crew. There was none of their meanness or ugliness about him. When two pirates carrying cups of rum, their arms around each other, staggered right through him Joey realized who this man was.
“You . . . you just died!”
“Oh my, does it show?” the man asked looking down at himself.
When the man smiled Joey realized he was teasing him.
“You appear to be dead, too,” said the man. “But you were not on my crew.”
“I . . . I’m not dead,” Joey said. “I’m . . . ,” he thought for a moment and then finished, “just visiting.”
The man wrinkled his brow as he thought about this. He turned to watch the pirates celebrate. Finally he spoke again. “I must say, you picked an ugly place to visit, or, maybe you just came to see my execution? Is that it? Did you come to mock me?”
Joey didn’t understand. “I just wanted to see a pirate ship. I didn’t want to see anyone killed. I just happened to get here when you were out on the plank.” Tears spilled out of Joey’s eyes. “It was horrible.”
The man stared at Joey, the hard look on his face slowly softening. He turned and sat down next to Joey.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I can see now that you are of far higher quality than these savages.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes while Joey got control of himself. With this man near him the darkness of the ship lessened somewhat.
“Tell me, what is your age?” asked the man.
“I’m twelve.” Joey voice was weak.
“My sister has a son your age. A fine boy.”
“He’s probably braver than me,” said Joey, trying to wipe the last of the tears from his face.
“If by brave you mean he wouldn’t have been horrified by what he just saw, no, I hope not. I am Richard Call, by the way,” said the man. More quietly he repeated, “Captain Richard Call.” He seemed to be thinking about those words. Then he turned to Joey and asked, “To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”
“Joey Johanaby,” Joey said, reaching out to take the captain’s offered hand. Their hands moved through each other disconcerting them both.
“This will take some getting used to,” said the captain. “How came you to visit here?”
Joey wondered where to begin. He reached into his shirt and pulled out the map. He heard the captain take in a breath as he unfolded it and its magical properties became apparent.
“Where would a boy like yourself get such a powerful item?” asked the captain.
“Beezer,” Joey said. “Beezer gave it to me.”
“This Beezer is a witch?” asked the captain suspiciously.
“No, no, Beezer is good. He helps people.” Joey wanted to make sure the captain understood this.
“This Beezer is helping you by sending you to a ship of such horror and tragedy?” The captain’s voice shook with emotion.
“I don’t understand either,” Joey said. “Actually, Beezer didn’t make the map.” Joey didn’t want Captain Call thinking badly of Beezer. “I can’t really explain it, but Beezer said it was me who made the map; something about my dreams and desires. Whatever it is I don’t like it. I just want to leave now.”
When the captain didn’t answer Joey looked up at him. He was staring intently at the map. “What is this?” He pointed to a second ship that had just appeared on the map coming toward the pirate ship.
“I don’t know,” Joey said. “I know just
before I came here I saw two ships fighting. This ship looks different than those two.”
“This ship here,” the captain pointed to the new ship, “is a sloop. The other is the ship we are on. It is an armed merchant ship. The fighting ships must have been this ship and mine.” Now it was the captain’s turn to rest his face in his hands. “Ohhhh,” he moaned. He sounded so pitiful that Joey almost moaned with him.
“What is it, Captain?” Joey liked the way it felt to say “captain.”
“Ohhhh,” the captain moaned again, “How will I ever be forgiven? I fear I cannot be. I am guilty of the murder of my men.”
“No,” Joey said, not believing it.
“YES,” shouted the captain. He sprang to his feet the way only a ghost could and swung his fists at one pirate than another. His fists passed through as if the pirates were fog. Pacing the deck he said, “I fed my men to these vermin like a boy feeds baby mice to a pet snake.”
Joey got to his feet and followed the captain at a distance.
“Ragulet, the pirate captain, is smarter than he looks.” Captain Call motioned toward the place they had last seen him. He was gone now. “This is not the ship he was last seen on. This must be one he captured. He lured me in with a distress signal. Look how his sails are ripped and hanging. See how the ship leans to one side. It is all a ruse. He has good sails ready to be hoisted. The ship lists only because he has shifted all the cargo to one side. And he had men dressed as women and dwarf pirates like children.”
The captain turned to face Joey and looked him right in the eye for his final confession. “I sailed my ship right up next to this one in complete confidence that I was helping a merchant ship in distress.”
The captain walked past Joey stopping at the railing where he looked into the water. A red tint remained.
“My men were fine, fighting men. They didn’t have a chance when caught so off-guard. I watched Ragulet feed each of them to the sharks.” The captain closed his eyes as he relived the scene.
Joey and the Magic Map Page 16
