“To the salt,” Rita said slowly. “Like we do?”
“There’s a low cliff behind the sanctuary. The dead get wrapped up and put over the edge. They land on the beach and the next tide takes them. The order thinks of it like going over the horizon, towards the sun. Really they just get eaten by acid and buried in junk.”
“So what happens when you get dumped over this cliff?”
“Easy.” Ayla grinned. “Birdie picks us up.”
“This plan depends on far too many things we don’t know.” The captain gestured for Ayla to get down from the table. “I agree, if there’re inverters anywhere they’re most likely to be on Gozo, but you haven’t any actual proof. There may not be any, or there may be only one. If that’s the case who gets it, the Phoenix or the Banshee?”
Marcus stepped forward. “You don’t know if you’ll be able to find the inverters, let alone steal them without being caught.”
“That’s right,” Peel growled. “I already saved the boy once. Me an’ Crocker ain’t going to get ’im outta Gozo for no good reason.”
Crocker hawked and spat. “You could be so closely guarded in there, you won’t get to do nothin’ but pray.”
“Or we could be left completely alone.” Ayla folded her arms. “They’re blind remember!”
The captain glowered at her. “They’re not all blind, Ayla, in fact I’m sure most of them aren’t. The best way to fail a con is to underestimate your mark. You should know that.”
“And then there’s your exit.” It was Uma’s turn to fold her arms. “What if you can’t escape and have to rely on that suicide pill? I haven’t tested this ‘Tuinal’ you’re talking about. What if it doesn’t work? What if the order realizes you aren’t dead? You’ll be completely helpless – asleep probably – when they deal with you.”
Toby shuddered.
“And all of that depends on the pair of you being chosen as the Sun and Moon, among a number of others.” Uma nodded, satisfied that her case had been made. “It’s not worth the risk.”
Ayla opened her mouth and the captain raised his hand to silence her, but she ignored his gesture. “It’s the best plan we’ve got,” she snapped.
Rita stood. “Not worth the risk? Without the inverter we might as well toss the solar panels back in the salt where we found them.”
“We ain’t tossin’ nothing back in no salt,” Crocker shrieked.
“Without the inverters, they’re good for nothing but cluttering up the deck.” Rita frowned. “If the sun worshippers have the only inverters, then we have to at least try and steal them, otherwise we’re back where we began.”
“Would that be so bad?” Ajay asked and his brother nodded agreement.
Oats slammed his hook on the tabletop and the sound of metal on metal rang through the room. “Of course it would,” he shouted. “If we hadn’t been going for those solar panels, the Banshee would never have attacked; we’d have outrun that storm and never needed to be in Tarifa seeking repairs.” He dragged the point of his hook along the surface. “We lost more than just my hand in Tarifa. What would Carson say if he knew we’d got nothing out of it? No panels, no chance to find the island. He’d bloody turn in his grave. If he had one. Which he doesn’t. We’re bloody pirates! Our whole lives are a risk, or have you forgotten that?”
“There’s taking risks and then there’s sending Toby in on a con,” Uma retorted.
“Why’s Toby so special?” Crocker sneered, squaring up to her. “Would we be ’avin’ this discussion if we were talkin’ about sendin’ someone else in? How about Delgado or Alvarez?” He pointed to the group of Spaniards standing at the back of the mess hall.
“So you’re saying we should send Toby into the sanctuary with the traitor?” Uma asked. “With only some of the information we need.”
“And a half-baked exit strategy,” Marcus supplied.
“It’s a sound enough plan.” Oats was defensive. “Send ’em in. If Toby and the girl don’t get picked as the couple, it’s no skin off our noses, they just come back. If they get in and can’t find the inverters, they sneak out, come back, we’ve still lost nothing. But if they find the inverters and get them to us, we’ve gained everything. They don’t have to wait till the festival – get in, get the inverters, get out.”
“The Banshee sent someone in already.” Dee looked up. “He never came out.”
Oats fell silent.
“Maybe he was a fool an’ got caught doin’ something stupid,” Crocker rasped. “Maybe he decided life in the sanctuary was better than on that stinking tub they call a ship. Our Toby’s bright, he mightn’t get caught.” Crocker turned, sharp as a ferret. “I don’t know about you lot, but I want to find that island. Fink about it – our own place, all shiny an’ new, away from Greymen and their laws and taxes. We’re so close, I can smell it. I ain’t givin’ up on that. What d’you fink, boy? Can you do this?”
The eyes of the whole crew turned to Toby, but he only saw Ayla. Her head was cocked to one side and her eyes sparkled with challenge.
“Is there no other way in?” Toby asked finally.
Ayla shook her head. “Not according to Sebastiane.”
“Rubbish.” Dee slashed her hand across her body. “They must get deliveries. We could pretend to bring supplies or we could bring them some of the solar panels, say we found them and wanted to hand them over. That would get us in.”
“To the inner sanctum?” Ayla sneered. “Did you get in when you dropped off your crew?”
Uma groaned and shook her head. “We left them at the outer wall.”
“They’re even more paranoid now. They send missionaries out into the world, into communities to make converts, but the only time their worshippers get to see inside the actual sanctuary is at the summer solstice. The only other way in would be as an attendant – a sister or brother-in-training, but the Banshee already tried that. It has to be more than one person working together. People they’ll trust.”
“They won’t suspect kids of trying to steal equipment,” Rita said thoughtfully.
“And if we get caught where we shouldn’t be, we can say we got lost, or were playing a game, or looking for some privacy.”
Ayla twitched her eyebrows. “Toby – we’ll be fine.”
As she looked his way, Toby’s stomach flipped. “I don’t want to go back to where we started.” He turned to the captain. “We can’t ask the crew to give up on the island. If we don’t go for the inverters, that’s what we’re doing.” He wiped his forehead. “All right. I’m in.”
FIVE
Immediately the crew started to push and shove, yelling over one another to be heard. Toby winced and glanced at Ayla as Crocker threw a punch at Marcus. Ayla leaned on a table away from the melee, with her right arm tightly folded over her broken one.
“Stop this!” the captain roared.
A table crashed to the floor. Hiko hid behind Toby and D’von moved to his side.
Rahul hauled Nisha to safety and Rita burst from the pack to stand with them. “If you want to do this, Captain, it doesn’t have to be Toby!” she panted, “D’von’s the right age and I’ve passed for sixteen – remember Kabul?”
D’von’s face lit up and Ayla looked away from the fight, offering what seemed to Toby to be a genuine, gentle expression. “It’s a good offer, D’von, but there’s too much risk of you being rejected by the order if they realize that Rita’s not a teenager. Toby and I stand a better chance of being accepted as the Sun and Moon.”
The captain sucked air through his teeth. “Rita, could you work with D’von?”
Rita nodded swiftly.
“All right then,” he roared. “This isn’t a democracy. Settle down or you’ll all be on a charge.”
The battling crew fell silent.
“I’ve made my decision. Rita and D’von are going to Gozo. Ayla – you’ll give them the pills and if we retrieve two inverters, well … I’ll make sure you get one.”
Fury darkened Ayl
a’s green eyes. “You can’t cut me out of my own plan!” She poked him in the chest, looking as if she wished she was using a knife and not her fingernail. “She’s too old. It won’t work!”
When the captain ignored her, Ayla appealed to Toby. “They won’t get picked. If they’re turned away, we’ll have to wait another year for a second chance. And by then we’ll be too old to try ourselves. You may as well throw those panels away.”
Toby looked at D’von. Yes, there was a chance he’d be picked by the order and get inside the sanctuary. But would he be able to sneak around and steal the inverters without being caught? D’von was not as slow as he looked; there was a deeper well of cunning inside him that had surprised both Toby and Ayla in Tarifa, but he was honest, open and did as he was told.
Hiko gripped Toby’s hand. “You can’t let him go,” Hiko whispered. “He’ll be caught.”
Polly glared down at him. “Be quiet, you,” she squawked.
Toby turned to the captain. “So … are you planning to keep Ayla prisoner on the Phoenix until the heist is over?”
Ayla’s eyes widened. “You can damn well try.”
Toby put his hands on his hips. “If she gets away she’ll go to Gozo and tell the order that Rita isn’t sixteen.”
The captain frowned and Toby carried on.
“Or she’ll get herself another partner and go in without the Phoenix.” He turned to the crew. “If that happens Ayla will get an inverter for the Banshee and the Phoenix will get nothing. Nell has the map, same as us. You want the Banshee getting to the island first? Even if we could translate our map, we can’t do a long sea voyage without those inverters. It may as well point us to the moon.”
Polly swayed from side to side. “I don’t like where this is going,” she murmured.
“If we don’t join Ayla, there’s no way to stop her cutting us out.”
“There is one way.” Peel ran his finger along the knife he kept at his belt.
“Peel!” Toby snapped. “We’re not murderers.”
“We’re pirates,” Crocker spat.
The captain rubbed his eyes. “We may be pirates, but we don’t murder little girls because it’s convenient.”
“Little girls!” Ayla bristled.
“Shut up, Ayla.” Toby spun round. “If we could trust you, we wouldn’t be having this problem.”
As Ayla smirked, Dee shoved her into a chair. “We should never have heard her out. You think she’s not planning a double-cross?”
“Toby’s right,” the captain groaned. “I don’t like it, but he is.” He twisted his compass. “I don’t trust the girl and nor should he, but he’s bright enough to keep an eye on her and make sure he gets an inverter for the Phoenix despite any hidden agendas.”
“I don’t have—” Ayla interjected.
“Enough,” the captain growled. “Toby is going. But Rita and D’von are going, too, as insurance. If they’re the ones to get picked, all the better.”
“They won’t,” Ayla stated confidently.
Dee slid her blade free and Ayla closed her mouth.
The captain sighed. “It’s not ideal, but I can’t think of any other way that doesn’t put a stain on our souls.”
“The stain doesn’t have to be yours.” With a terrifying suddenness Dee raised her knife.
Ayla was still seated. As she tried to get up, to protect herself, her foot caught on the chair leg.
“No!” Toby screamed.
Fast as a snake, the captain grabbed Dee’s wrist. The knife hovered above Ayla’s chest. She kicked backwards and the chair toppled, taking her away from the blade. She rolled from the seat and in one smooth movement moved into a crouch, flicking her long coat away from her face.
As it settled, Toby realized that she too had drawn a knife.
“Where’d she get that?” Crocker called into the shocked silence.
“That’s one a my kitchen knives. Get if offa her,” Peel roared.
Ayla lunged towards Dee and the captain swung his second in command behind him. Ayla froze as she came face to face with the captain. Her knife hand trembled.
“Drop it!” Marcus ran to disarm her and the captain raised a hand.
Toby could hear the harsh rasp of Dee’s breath even over the pirate’s muttering.
“No one is to harm our visitor.” The captain spun to Dee, putting his back to Ayla and her knife. “Do you understand?”
“It’s the only way.” Her face was pale, her scarf a livid slash of colour around her dark hair.
“It’s not our way.” The captain opened his hand and released her. “Toby’s right – if we let her go, she’ll sabotage our own attempt on the inverters and if we try and keep her prisoner she’ll do all she can to escape.”
“So you’ll allow your son to go with her on this crazy mission, to risk his life, just so you don’t have to take hers?”
“Careful, Dee,” the captain warned.
“I’m your second in command, why won’t you listen to me?” She spun to face Toby. “You’re a pirate, stop being a hero.”
Toby sighed. “It’s not heroism, Dee; it’s good sense. Rita’s too old. Yes, she and D’von might get into the sanctuary, but they might not. I have to go: it’s the best thing for the Phoenix.”
As Dee moved to object, the captain spoke first. “Toby, take Hiko and get the boiler running. It’s almost a week’s straight sailing to Gozo. We leave at first light.”
“No!” Dee shook her head. The captain caught her arm and lowered his voice. “You know better than to undermine me in front of my crew.”
Dee pulled free of the captain’s hold. “I’ve been on this ship as long as you have. I’ve supported every decision you’ve made, but not this one.” She shook her head.
“You will support me, or at least remain quiet—”
“Or?” Dee’s eyes blazed.
The captain sagged. “Stop forcing my hand.”
“I can’t stand here and watch you—”
“Then don’t!” the captain groaned. “Theo and Simeon will be back in a few days. If we leave at first light, they won’t know where we’ve gone. Someone needs to stay behind and tell them where the Phoenix is. I was going to ask Arnav, but…”
Dee’s mouth flattened into a line. “You’re ordering me off ship.”
“We both need to cool down.”
“You need me to make you see sense. And I’m not just your second – I’m navigator, too.”
“Rita can navigate, she’s spent enough time on Steerage. Toby can be Second.”
Toby paled. “What?”
“It’s about time, Toby.” The captain raised his voice. “Any of my crew disagree with the fact that Toby should be second in command while Dee’s off ship?”
There were a few mutterings, but the crew said nothing. Even Peel and Crocker kept their voices down.
“So, you don’t need me any more, is that it?” Dee slammed her knife back in her belt. “If you order me, I’ll go, but I won’t come back.”
Toby jolted forwards. “Don’t say that.”
“Of course you will,” the captain said.
“No. You don’t respect me or my opinion. You don’t need me any more so I’ll get another berth.” She looked at Ayla. “I hear the Banshee needs new crew members.”
Toby caught his breath. “You wouldn’t!”
“Well, Captain?” Dee’s eyes were hard and dark as steel.
“I’m ordering you off ship.” The captain’s voice almost trembled.
Dee swung round and stalked towards the mess door. She paused at Marcus’s side. “Marcus?”
“I’m with you,” Marcus said quietly. His freckles stood out against the paleness of his cheeks and sweat stuck his red curls to his forehead like bloody smears. He looked at Toby. “Toby, I—”
“I know,” Toby murmured.
“Take care. And don’t trust her.” Marcus tilted his head towards Ayla.
Dee too looked at Toby. “Keep Nix close
.” She called Marcus to her side. “Start packing our things, we have to be off the Phoenix by nightfall.”
SIX
It was cold on deck. The sun’s meagre heat had vanished when it dipped below the horizon; now only the residual red glow of its light remained. Peel had lit his barbecue but wasn’t cooking. Despite the chill, the whole crew remained on deck. Toby, D’von and Hiko were clustered around the salvage hooks. Toby was running a cloth up and down the length of Nix while Polly hunched on his shoulder. Other crew members pretended to swab the deck, repair rigging or coiled ropes. In an unspoken pact, they were waiting for Dee and Marcus to emerge.
The captain was below deck watching Ayla. Uma had checked her arm and announced it was healing well. Ayla had then, showing unusual sensitivity, retired to the sleeping quarters.
Finally the hatch leading to the storage area opened and Dee stepped on to the main deck with a bulging canvas bag over one shoulder. Her long curls were tied back into her red scarf and there was a smudge of soot on one cheek. Marcus followed behind her. The crew immediately stopped what they were pretending to do.
Toby clenched his fists as Dee walked among her friends, touching hands and faces, pounding shoulders, murmuring farewells. Tears pricked his eyes, but he refused to allow them to fall. He had known Dee his whole life.
“Toby?” Polly squawked low, so no one else could hear. He shook his head and passed her to Hiko.
Dee reached Nisha and put her arms around the other woman. Rahul pressed her upper arm, his own face drawn and miserable.
When Dee indicated that she would speak to him next, Toby felt something inside of him shatter. He ran towards the galley hatch, grabbed the wheel, turned it and dragged open the door.
“Toby…” Dee called.
“Just go.” He turned and found himself face to face with her.
“Tobes.” She held out a hand, but Toby jammed his arms straight down at his sides, his fists pressed against his thighs.
“Why are you doing this?” He forced the words out.
“You know why.” Dee sighed. “It’s the right time for me to move on. You’re Second now.” She gave a grim smirk. “Ayla’s given me a note of recommendation for Nell. I might try the Banshee after all.”
Phoenix Burning Page 4
