Daisy was looking over the side of the ship, down into the depths. She must have been concocting the same theory that was running through Sam's mind too. Erica was just staring around, confused, and threw her arms into the air in frustration.
“This is supposed to be it, isn't it? Well what are we supposed to do now!? The island should be here, right?”
“It should be, yes,” Aya called down from the wheel. “But it's not.”
“Obviously,” Erica groaned. “So this is the end of the line then. A dead end and we're back to square one.”
“Not necessarily,” Sam said wistfully, almost only to himself as he looked down at the water surrounding them.
Erica strolled over to him, her brow furrowed. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that Mr. Irving said that we wouldn't be able to get to the trident unless we had all three pearls.”
“Yeah, you need to put all three of the pearls in the trident. We already know that.”
“No, that's not what he said. He said we needed them to get there, not once we were there...” Sam thought of a plan but it wasn't much of one. It really depended on just how powerful these pearls were. He glanced down past Erica's confused face at the necklace hanging around her throat. “Erica...it's time to give me your pearl.”
“What? No! Why?” Erica looked like she had just been asked to commit some heinous crime. He imagined that a rich woman like her probably used to throw all kinds of tantrums when she was younger, probably when she didn't want to give away any of the many things she had. “We haven't even found the trident yet! I'm not giving it up until—”
“We found the trident!” Sam shot back and pointed down at the water. “We just need to get to it and there might be only one way we can do that.”
It took a minute for the implication to really click with Erica. She followed where Sam was pointing and looked down at the sea and frowned. “You can't be serious.”
“I am. This is it.”
Erica instinctively put a protective hand over her necklace. The tips of her fingers grazed the pearl like she was just trying to remember how it felt against her skin one last time. Part of him was worried that she was going to change her mind. It was too late to have to deal with something like that. If she did, they might have to resort to more aggressive means of getting the pearl. Hopefully one of Aya's crewmen would be more willing to rip the necklace off of Erica than Sam was. Desperate times called for desperate measures but hopefully, things won't escalate to that point. He would have preferred that they all would be on the same page and cooperate in getting the pearls back to the trident.
Sam held his hand out. “It's now or never, Erica. The only reason we let you come along is you said that you wanted to be the one to see that pearl to the end of the line. Well, we've arrived at the end of the line. Now we just need to get that pearl back where it belongs.”
“Just give me a minute, okay?” Erica stammered. “This isn't exactly easy for me. My father gave me this pearl...”
“I know it's not easy,” Sam said. “But this is how it has to be, I'm afraid. You have thirty seconds. Let's get this done, alright? We're so, so close.”
Sam took a few steps away from Erica, giving her a moment alone with her prized possession. He walked over to Daisy who was still looking down at the sea, like she was trying to catch a glimpse of an island down below.
“Do you think she's going to do it?” Daisy asked, but was still peering in to the depths. “And are you willing to take it from her if she doesn't hand it over? Because I understand if you don't. But if you don't want to get your hands dirty with this, Sam, then I will.”
“Hopefully we won't have to.”
“Hopefully,” Daisy repeated. “We can't turn back now, not after we got this far. Poseidon will be furious if we don't finish what we started.”
Sam thought of those whispers and shouts that came to him in the night, coming from the sea. He still wasn't entirely sure that the voice was Poseidon but if it was, then he knew Daisy was right. He had heard how volatile that voice was. Poseidon would be livid if they didn't return the pearls, especially now, when they probably got his hopes up that the pearls would be back to their proper place very soon. And if they angered Poseidon like that, then what they saw at the compound would probably be nothing in comparison to the punishment they would receive.
They had to get the job done, whether Poseidon was real or not, because whatever entity was demanding the pearls had proven that it really existed and that the damage it could create was very real and something they should be worried about.
The thirty seconds were up and Sam walked back over to Erica, holding his hand out again. “It's time.”
“I know that,” Erica said bitterly. She pulled the necklace over her head, keeping the rest of the pearls connected. She dropped the whole necklace into Sam's hand and it pooled into a clump in his palm. I’m putting what my family stole back. No one can say that I didn't try to do the right thing.”
“Thank you,” Sam said. “Really.”
Sam turned back to the waiting water and walked to the edge of the boat. Everyone else on Aya's ship gathered around to watch whatever was about to happen next. Sam knew what he had to do and he was going to make sure that it was done.
Sam took out the other two pearls and held all three pearls in his hands for the first time. The currents seemed to crash much more loudly than before, like the ocean itself was growing excited about the reunion of Poseidon's possessions and the end of Sam's journey. He had really done it; even after thinking this whole trip would just be a waste of time. All three of the pearls were real and now they were in his hands. Part of him wanted to just bring them right back to the deep vault as trophies of his victory now that they had the complete set. Some of the newer members of the Order of the Black Sun might have made that choice but Sam knew better. He didn't want that power to completely flood the compound again. He knew that in situations like this one, it was always safer to complete the task even if it meant losing something valuable. If returning the pearls was the only way that would satiate Poseidon or whatever that voice had been, then that was what needed to be done. They had plenty of other artifacts at headquarters. They could survive giving away just three—especially if it meant that they wouldn't be killed.
Sam clasped the pearls in a fist and then held that hand out over the sea. The other pearls on the necklace hung out through his fingers but he made sure all three of the actual pearls of Poseidon were safe in his clasp. He closed his eyes and pictured the bottom of the ocean. He pictured the sand, the rocks, and the seaweed down there gently swaying in the tides. He thought of an island rising from the depths to reclaim its place on the surface. He thought about land rising and as he thought about it, the sea around them started to stir and tumble.
The boat rocked hard but Sam ignored the worried murmurs of the people behind him. He just kept mentally commanding the sea to pull the island up from its bowels and for the sea floor to ascend, to find air once again. Sam opened his eyes and stared down into the depths, trying to see what he was trying to control. He thought of the island coming up to meet him and his desire to see the island seemed to transfer from his mind through the pearls in his hands. His desire to raise that island up from the depths was being made into reality.
The surface of the water started to bubble, gently at first but then quickly turning much more erratic as the water rippled and slashed around, trying to make way for what was coming from down below.
“Pull the ship back!” Aya yelled somewhere behind him.
Sure enough, the boat seemed to be right on top of where the island would be when it got to the surface. A minute later, Sam felt the vessel start to move backward in reverse but he did his best to not let the movement distract him too much. He just kept his thoughts and his gaze on the sea. Water helped push the ship back as the force of the rising island sent the surrounding water into hysterics. Rocks erupted from the water as the isl
and poked out, breaching through to the surface. Sam didn't want to stop until he knew the island was exposed enough to be able to explore properly. It would be no good returning the pearls if they couldn't reach the actual resting place. He needed the majority of that island not to be submerged anymore.
Most sailors on the sea were trying to reel in much smaller catches from the water. Even the biggest creatures they could catch didn't compare to Sam's prize. The island would put every fish to shame, but then again, he was using something much more effective than a net or a fishing rod. He doubted that he could reel in an island with a fish hook but he was sure the fishermen could pull up hundreds of fish with his pearls. It was all about what kind of equipment you used and it balanced itself out in the end.
Water splashed wildly all around them as the trembling island continued to rise from the sea until it came to a slow halt. Sam withdrew his hand and let out a long exhale.
The pitchfork-shaped island had risen. The trident was in front of them, waiting for its pearls to be returned. It was a very small strip of land that split into three sections where one end split into three sections, just like the map had shown. This had to be the right place. He hoped it wasn't some other random piece of land that he heaved out of the ocean. That would just be a horrid waste of time and energy.
“Look at that!” Daisy exclaimed with a large grin. “Poseidon's trident.”
While Aya stayed back with her crew on the boat, Sam, Erica, and Daisy took a rowboat out to the shore of the trident island. They were all feeling so excited to see what was next. That rising island was like something out of a dream. Who knew what other wonders lie ahead of them. The island wasn't very large so it wouldn't take long to get the pearls back.
“The pearls needed to be returned to the prongs of the trident,” Daisy said, as if recalling some old text she had read throughout her research. “Then Poseidon will be able to wield his weapon again.”
Sam wasn't sure he liked the sound of that, since they would probably be that weapon's first victims if they weren't careful.
Something caught his eye on the shore—a single large horse. That shouldn't have been possible for it to be walking on an island that just came from the bottom of the ocean. Where had the horse been when the island was submerged? How did it get there? Was it even real or just some figment of Sam's imagination after such a long journey?
Sam blinked and that large steed vanished.
He pushed the sight of it aside. Maybe it was really all just in his head, conjuring things that weren't really there.
“We each take one of the proverbial blades then,” Sam said. “We get this done and we can finally put this to rest.”
Sam realized it wasn't going to be as easy as it sounded. He saw something approaching out from the horizon—another ship. He knew in his gut who it was. It was Dajuan, on his way to finish what he started. Whatever he had done to track Aya before was obviously still in effect. Maybe there was a rat on the crew who was feeding Dajuan their location.
They had to hurry and get the pearls back, before Dajuan came for them.
INTERLUDE – THE WHARF MAN'S LEGACY
The last time Dajuan had spoken to the Wharf Man, his boss told him that he had a lot of big plans for the future and he wanted Dajuan to help with them. The enormous man looked so excited to rise even higher in the world, to perhaps even spread his influence past the shores of Jamaica and expand into other lands. It was what he had always wanted. Despite being the real power on the island, the Wharf Man felt somewhat isolated and trapped. The ocean was like a barrier, not letting him press on to newer things. But now, he was going to reach out and take even more. The only thing that was standing in his way was his unsettled business with the man called David Purdue.
Dajuan hadn't been present when the Wharf Man initially met Purdue. He wished that he had been but had been preoccupied with collecting some outstanding protection money. If he had been at the meeting, he probably would have advised his boss not to make any deals with this outsider. The Wharf Man, however, saw it as a prime opportunity to get even more finances. David Purdue was some world-renowned collector of artifacts and he just wanted the Wharf Man's help to find some pirate treasure. It seemed simple enough and the Wharf Man planned to murder Purdue and take all of the gold for himself. Unfortunately, David Purdue was smarter than he seemed and stopped the Wharf Man's men from enacting their mutiny. Dajuan had seen the Wharf Man angry before but never as angry as then. David Purdue had made off with the pirate gold, leaving the Wharf Man with nothing.
It was soon after that the Wharf Man set off to get his vengeance. He wasn't kidding around, either. He was going to take a submarine and blow David Purdue out of the water once he got the treasure back. It was a foolhardy, reactionary plan but the Wharf Man did have a very short and explosive temper. Dajuan couldn't counsel patience or convince him to reconsider when he was like that. It would be the last time that Dajuan ever saw his boss—and soon after, he learned that the Wharf Man was dead. He apparently died in his attempt to kill Purdue.
The criminal underground in Jamaica immediately turned into a twister of confusion, power struggles, and upstarts trying to fill the vacuum that had been left behind in the Wharf Man's death. They didn't know that there wasn't really a vacuum; that seat of power had already been filled by Dajuan. It was what the Wharf Man had prepared him for—it just came a lot sooner than expected. Most of the criminal network fell in line and respected the change in leadership. Some of the others didn't—but Dajuan quickly made sure that they realized their mistake. It was a bloody few weeks on the island but Dajuan carved his name into Jamaica's soil, to let them all know that he was now in charge.
But his predecessor's work had been left unfinished. If Dajuan was really going to take the Wharf Man's spot, he needed to settle all of his remaining affairs and get them in order. The one that needed to be put to rest was the one that had killed the Wharf Man—David Purdue needed to die, and all of his friends needed to die too. That was the only way Dajuan would feel he had earned his new position and could start looking to the future of the empire the Wharf Man had built.
He recalled a conversation he had with the Wharf Man when Dajuan was nothing more than a boy on the precipice of his teenage years, a street rat with nothing to lose and everything to steal. He had tried to steal from the Wharf Man, but that hadn't gone quite as planned. It ended with that enormous whale of a man towering over him, and Dajuan thought at the time that his life was going to end very early. Instead of removing his arm or putting a bullet in his head, the Wharf Man put those plump hands of his on Dajuan's shoulders and smiled.
“You have fire in you, boy. You know what that means? You know what that means to have a furnace in there? It means no one can touch you or they'll burn themselves unless they've got the same fire.” He tightened his grip on Dajuan's shoulders but it wasn't threatening, it was comforting. He had the same fire. “We have the same thing driving us, don't we, hmm? To everyone else though, your fire burns a little too hot. Your fire can spread real far...so far you could burn this whole island to the ground if you wanted. But unless that fire is maintained, it's going to go out. You want your fire to go out?”
Dajuan shook his head. “No.”
“Of course you don't, hmm?” The Wharf Man let out a bellowing cackle that reverberated through his big belly. “You want that fire to be big and bright, like the biggest fire that has ever been seen. People are going to be scared of that. They will try to dowse that flame at any chance they get, understand? But you can't let that happen, even when you're scared that you are setting the whole world alight.”
Dajuan had spent his whole life up to that point—his whole childhood—fighting for scraps, garbage, and anything he could get his hands on. He never expected that he would ever get a chance to have more than that. But in that moment, on their first meeting, the Wharf Man had come with words that made him feel like that fire inside really did exist, that he did have a chanc
e to be more than just some thief on the streets. He was being handed the opportunity to be so much more than he ever dreamed he could be.
The Wharf Man was famous and, even then, every Jamaican knew to fear that name. Dajuan had feared it for a long time but now, that name was taking a much more positive place in his mind. That huge man didn't seem like he would crush him if he got too close. He seemed like he would pull him into a hug, and assure him that everything was going to be okay. The Wharf Man was a dangerous man, but he was only dangerous to his enemies. If they shared the same fire, like he said, then Dajuan didn't have to fear him. They were connected, bonded by a shared power inside. That's what the Wharf Man said, and he believed him.
“You tired of being nothing?”
Dajuan nodded. “Yes.”
“Good,” the Wharf Man chuckled. “Time to be so much more then.”
Now here Dajuan was, mourning the loss of his mentor, but having seen the Wharf Man's promise fulfilled. Dajuan wasn't just a street urchin begging for trash on the streets anymore. His fire had just grown in its size and intensity thanks to the Wharf Man's care.
The Wharf Man's fire might have gone out—put out when he was drowned in the sea—but Dajuan shared that flame, and as long as his burned, then the Wharf Man's wasn't truly lost. He would make sure that the person responsible for ending his mentor felt the heat of that fire, and he would make sure David Purdue burned alive, and that the flames spread to anyone else he cared about.
15
THE HOOVES
Once they reached the island, Sam, Erica, and Daisy each took a pearl. Sam watched as Erica and Daisy started jogging away from him, each going toward one of the “blades” at the edge of the island. Sam looked back nervously and saw that their enemies were already closing in.
Poseidon's Secret Page 14
