Wiki shook his head even more firmly. “Trust me. Something will go wrong. Look, let’s at least agree not to use Andy for the next few days, until we find out what happened to Blackbeard.”
Brady crossed her arms and nodded gruffly.
“Most importantly,” Wiki continued, “where’s the bell?”
Brady put on a proud smile. “It’s hidden where no one would ever find it. My treasure box, buried under a rock, under our deck. Grown-ups can’t even fit under the deck.”
Wiki whistled low. “Impressive.” Brady did a little curtsy.
“Any idea where Blackbeard is?” I asked Wiki.
Wiki sighed, took off his glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Well, it doesn’t matter where he is, because we all know where he’s going to end up.”
“Jail?” I asked.
“Your house,” Wiki said.
Brady and I sat up, and I gulped loudly. “Um, what?”
“Think about it, guys. Blackbeard isn’t a loner. He operates with a crew. At the height of his infamy, his crew numbered in the hundreds, and he terrorized the seas with them.”
“So he misses them and he wants to go home?” I asked.
“No, Javi. He’s going to try to use Andy to summon them. And terrorize our world.”
I felt like Brady had just punched me in the gut.
“So we need to figure out how we’re gonna kick Blackbeard’s bearded butt,” Brady said, cracking her knuckles.
“That’s where I’m stuck,” Wiki said. “I think—”
“Hello, friends,” a wicked, grizzled voice behind us said. A full shiver rode down my spine. We turned around slowly, because we recognized the voice.
Leaning on a tree was none other than our larger-than-life archnemesis, looking deadlier and creepier than ever. His beard could probably swallow us whole.
“Blackbeard!” I yelled, stating the obvious. “Where’d you come from?”
“Are you a ghost, a ninja, or a ninja-ghost?” Brady asked, wide-eyed.
Blackbeard chuckled darkly. “I followed you three here. I’ve been watching you.”
“No more talking! Run!” I screamed. We took off.
“Wait!” the pirate boomed. And his voice was so commanding, it was like he cast a spell—we froze in place, not even three steps away from him.
His voice softened. “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to thank you.”
“Uhh…what did he say?” I asked Wiki, as we turned around.
“You saved my life, after all,” Blackbeard said as he took a few steps closer.
Wiki gasped. “Robert Maynard. That’s why you threw the book to the ground. You read about—”
“My untimely and grisly death. Yes.” Blackbeard nodded. “A more violent death than I ever inflicted on any of my victims,” he muttered angrily.
“How does he die?” Brady whispered to Wiki.
“He gets his head cut off after getting shot five times and then stabbed twenty-six times. Oh, and then they mount his head on the front of a ship.”
“Yiiiiiiikes,” I whispered, rubbing my neck.
“I’m not going back to that dreadful fate,” Blackbeard said gruffly.
Awesome. Fantastic. We were stuck with him.
“Now, you have something which I require,” he said calmly as he rubbed his beard with one hand. “And because you’ve accidentally saved my life, I won’t take it the way I usually take things. Instead, I will merely ask.”
He took out a sword and we gasped—but then he pushed the tip into the ground and leaned on it like a cane.
“You have three days to bring me the bell.”
“The bell?!” Brady shrieked. “No way, José! You’re not—”
“Stop!” Blackbeard barked. Then he calmed back down. “Don’t say anything you’ll regret, future pirate queen. Three days is a generous amount of time. Think it over.” He chuckled. “You’ll find you have no choice.”
“Why three days?” I said, thinking out loud. “Why not just make us get it now?”
“Javi, shh!” Wiki whispered. “He’s a nefarious villain. He likes being dramatic. And he likely has a larger plan.”
Brady pushed her lips together and growled at Beardo.
“Now SHOO!” he snarled, slicing the air with his sword.
We practically flew.
12
The rest of that day was a blur. I’m sure teachers said stuff, and if they asked me questions I probably answered them, but I don’t remember it at all. Wiki, Brady, and I didn’t even say a word to each other as we walked home. Dinner was super quiet too, as much as Dad tried to get us to talk about our day. And when we finally went to bed, I just stared at the ceiling.
There were three thoughts going through my head (in fast-forward, on repeat) all day:
1. Welp, being alive was pretty awesome, and I had a good run for a solid twelve years, but adios, life! The most ferocious pirate of all time is hunting us down and is three days from killing us. Scarf down all the sandwiches you can, because you are done-zo!
2. Wait wait wait. Staying alive is easy, Javi. Just give that nice pirate the bell and you can live a full life, fulfill your goal of eating a nine-foot sub solo, and retire as a world-famous chef one day. Sure, Blackbeard and his crew might take over the world and we’d all have to sing sea chanteys instead of saying the Pledge of Allegiance, but is that so bad? Sea chanteys are kind of catchy!
3. Or…you could actually be brave for once and do what you know you’ve got to do: stop Blackbeard. Would this probably lead to an even worse death at the hands of a homicidal pirate? Most definitely! In fact, you’d probably have a 0.00000001 percent chance of coming out on top. But if you did it, you’d be a hero, and they’d shower you with tostones!
Most of the day, I was going with Option 2, then during dinner I was toying with Option 3, but quickly went back to Option 2.
The next morning I woke up with the best option of all: Option 4.
4. This whole thing was just a dream! Stop eating cheesesteaks at night, Javi—they give you the weirdest nightmares!
Ah, good old trusty Option 4. It made the morning a breeze. I whistled as I brushed my teeth, ate my breakfast sandwich while humming a tune, stepped outside to get the newspaper for Dad with a big smile on my face, nodded as I ignored the huge pirate flag draped across our lawn, whistled again as I put my books in my backpack, got ready for school.
WAIT.
A HUGE PIRATE FLAG DRAPED ACROSS OUR LAWN?
I ran to the front door and opened it again. There was a big, black-and-white, skull-and-crossbones-style flag lying a few feet in front of our welcome mat.
Okay, there went Option 4. It was nice while it lasted.
“So who’s excited to give Blackbeard his bell?” I asked, laughing nervously. “I know I am. Anyone else? Show of hands?”
Brady gave me a death glare and Wiki just shook his head. We were eating lunch in the corner of the cafeteria. I’d just told Wiki about the flag, then he told us that he didn’t have a plan for beating the pirate yet. So surrendering had to be the only option.
“Javi, we have three days,” Brady whispered loudly. “Wiki can concentrate on making a plan, I can train for the ultimate showdown, and you can…feed us.”
“Actually, I’ll need your help researching,” Wiki said. He looked like he hadn’t slept yet again. “I’ll be the first to admit that pirates are one of my most sizable knowledge gaps. I find them to be puerile.”
“Huh?”
“Childish and silly. Not worth serious research. But now that our lives depend on it…” Wiki sighed. “Well, we need to find something we can use against him.”
“Can’t we just call the cops? Or tell our teachers?” I asked. “Is that too easy an option for you?”
“I’ve given that
option a lot of thought, and it’s the most dangerous of all,” Wiki said. “Any adults who stop Blackbeard will find out about Andy, force us to give them the bell, and before you know it, we’ll have pirates and knights and who knows what else destroying the world.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Good point. Just like in the movies. Adults ruin everything.”
“News flash!” Brady said, waving her hands in Wiki’s face. “You know what would stop Blackbeard better than a bunch of cops and teachers? Heroes that we summon through Andy.”
Wiki shook his head quickly. “I thought we’d closed this line of discussion. We are NOT using Andy again. Do you know what would happen if we did? We’d probably end up summoning a monster.”
“Did somebody say monster?!”
Brady gasped, I jumped, and Wiki screamed. Standing in front of us, smiling his wickedest smile, was none other than Blackbeard! He was as terrifying as ever. And he was holding…a mop?
“Surprised to see me?” Blackbeard asked. “Thought I’d patiently wait in the woods until you rustled up that bell?”
He leaned down, got right up in my face, and whispered in his slowest, nastiest whisper, “Now, save me a few days and kindly give me what I seek.” He looked at each of us in turn. I was pretty sure I was going to wet my pants, and Wiki looked like he already had. Brady just crossed her arms and gave him a stubborn look. Blackbeard then shot one hand up like he was about to grab my collar, when he was interrupted by a loud pat on his back.
“Ah, Mr. Teach, I see you’re introducing yourselves to the students,” Principal Gale said kindly but firmly.
Principal Gale is our fearless leader—the head of the whole school. She’s been at Finistere forever (seriously, no one remembers the school without her), but she still doesn’t look any older than Dad. She’s one of those super-principals who knows every student’s name and birthday and hangs out in the library after school to help kids out with their homework. Parents love her, teachers think she’s rad, and kids wish she was less awesome so we could make fun of her. (It’s deeply unsettling to actually love your principal.) She’s sunny and smiley and always fair, but you get the feeling that you don’t ever want to get on her bad side. Plus, there are rumors that she keeps mythical beasts in the dungeon. And no one wants to meet a bloodthirsty dragon face-to-face down there.
“Yes, just doing my best to meet all of these wonderful students,” Blackbeard said with an awkward, forced smile. “Such sweet lads. Delighted to meet you three. Er…study hard, chaps!”
“Kids, meet our new groundskeeper, Mr. Teach. He’ll be helping to make our school a cleaner, better environment for learning.” We nodded nervously, trying to be polite, screaming on the inside. “We’re honored to have such a passionate new member of our community. He’s already planning on building new facilities for students. Wait until you hear about his plans for a puppy-petting room!” Blackbeard and puppies in the same sentence? “Now come with me for a bit, Edward—something’s wrong with the toilets in the teachers’ bathroom.” Blackbeard frowned to himself, then smiled weakly at the principal and nodded. As they walked off, Blackbeard turned to us and held up one finger. “Day one,” he mouthed. Then he gave us a menacing smile. The fact that some of his teeth were black or missing made it way more menacing.
13
We spent the rest of the school day on high alert. Twice during math class, Wiki and I noticed Blackbeard peeking through the hall window into our classroom as he mopped. Then, during science, he was sweeping the playground outside our classroom, and every time I looked out he met my eyes with a dark smile.
We were in gym class playing kickball and Wiki pointed subtly to the bleachers at the other side of the gym. There was Blackbeard sitting with a shovel across his lap and staring at us like we had targets on our foreheads.
“I can’t take much more of this, Wiki,” I whispered while we waited in line to kick the ball.
He nodded. “Is he going to give us three days? He’s clearly not a patient man. And pirates weren’t known for their honesty.”
“Also, how are we going to make a plan if he’s always around the corner watching us?”
“He might follow us home,” Wiki whispered. “Clearly he remembers where we live.”
“Oh right!” I whispered back. “Ugh, I don’t want to see him standing in the middle of my backyard at night. That’s nightmare fuel for life.”
I looked over at Piratey McPirateFace and he was still staring straight at us. “By the way, I hope pirates can’t read lips.”
“We’re as good as dead,” Wiki said.
“We’re as good as dead,” I repeated.
“JAVIER SANTIAGO. BRADY SANTIAGO. WILL GREEN. PLEASE REPORT TO THE OFFICE!” the intercom blared.
“Oooooooh,” chanted the class. “Someone’s in trouble…”
More like someone just got their life saved! I’ve never been happier about having to report to the principal. Wiki and I practically skipped all the way to the high school. And you know who didn’t follow us? His name rhymes with “Frackbleard.”
“Have a seat, children,” Principal Gale said as we walked into her office.
When I say “principal’s office” you’re probably thinking gross vomit-green carpet, dumb posters of cats saying stuff like “Hang In There!” and boring office supplies all lined up neatly on an old desk. This was the opposite of that. Principal Gale’s office looked like it belonged to Merlin. It was in the castle, so the walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of stone. Two enormous torches lit the room, giving it the vibe of a haunted house when the curtains were drawn. There were all sorts of ornate tools and instruments hanging from the walls, some of which I’d never seen before in a museum or a book. In one corner there was a big cage covered by some fancy fabric. (Everyone had theories about what lived in the cage.) Principal Gale’s stone desk looked like it was right at home in a castle, and her chair was actually a throne that felt like it belonged to King Arthur. On her desk she had an emerald orb that matched the emerald necklace she always wore. All in all, it was almost impossible to pay attention to Principal Gale while you were in there, because your eyes kept wandering to all the awesome stuff everywhere.
“Thanks so much for heading over so quickly, and apologies for interrupting your classes,” the principal said sweetly. “How is your week going so far?”
“Um…great! Yeah, good, really good. Having a great week, thanks. Really, really top-notch. Weeks are awesome. I love weeks. Weeks.” The stupid words just kept plopping out of my mouth. Everyone gave me a weird look.
“It’s been pretty good,” Brady said, trying to save me from my own awkwardness.
“I would give it a solid eight, if one is dreadful and ten is superlative,” Wiki echoed, nodding.
Principal Gale kept her smile, but I could see the tiniest hint of suspicion forming at the edges of it.
“Excellent. Glad to hear it,” she continued. “I was curious about your thoughts on our new groundskeeper, Mr. Teach.”
Gulp.
“M-m-mister Teach? W-who is that?” Wiki squeaked, trying to play dumb but just looking dumb instead.
“He seems all right,” Brady said calmly. Why was Brady the master of staying cool under pressure? Did she go to spy school on the weekends?
“I see,” the principal said slowly.
Awkward silence.
“I must say, when I stumbled onto your conversation with him, it appeared to me that you’d met before. Have you? Perhaps he’s a neighbor or a family friend?”
“Blackbeard, a family friend? Hah! That’s hilarious!” I said, before realizing what had just come out of my mouth.
Brady and Wiki shot daggers at me with their eyes. I’d seen Brady’s look before. The way she squinted meant, “Are you really that stupid?”
“We’ve never met him before. Seems like a nice enough guy,”
Brady said blandly.
Another awkward silence. I couldn’t look Principal Gale in the eye, so I just stared at her necklace.
“Has anything strange happened to you three over the past week? Anything at all?”
I stopped myself from saying something dumb this time, but my eyes went super wide, which was maybe even dumber than all the other things I said before.
“Strange?” Brady looked over at me. “My brother’s a weirdo, so life is always strange with him around. But other than his extreme weirdness, nothing else strange.”
“Yes, I concur. Nothing odd about this week at all,” Wiki said, maybe a little too quickly.
The awkwardest silence of all. This one seemed to last forever.
“Well, all right then. I brought you up here because I thought you’d met Mr. Teach before, and I wanted you to know that our new groundskeeper is a bit rough around the edges. He had a difficult past. But he’s a changed man. He apologized for his past behavior and wants nothing more than to live a peaceful life with our community.”
Was that the lie Blackbeard fed her? I wanted to say something, but I’d already opened my mouth too many times, so I just stared blankly at Principal Gale. So did Brady and Wiki. More awkward silence.
“In any event, thanks so much for coming to see me. If you change your minds, or if something strange happens and you have no one you feel comfortable telling, please don’t hesitate to see me. My door is always open.”
“Th-th-thank you!” Wiki said as we all quickly got up and started making our way out the door.
“One more thing,” Gale said right before we were out the door.
We turned around nervously.
“Javi, that was a great essay you wrote for Ms. Vlad. It was so creative, but it felt so real. You deserved that A++.”
She read my essay? I nodded awkwardly, made a funny noise, and we stumbled out of the room.
I felt so confused, embarrassed, and dumb that I was dizzy and couldn’t say anything. Wiki was probably just feeling confused. But Brady snapped us out of it.
Time Villains Series, Book 1 Page 5
