The Guardians of Island X (22 page)

Don’t think about it now,
Scarlet told herself.
Get to your meeting, then get home to the crew.

Dodging a pair of pirates stumbling toward her, she continued on, looking for the tiny clapboard house her father had described.

Admiral McCray insisted on holding each of their meetings in a secret location—someplace the other King’s Men would never think to look for him. Last time they’d met in the cellar of a tavern, which was freezing cold and crawling with spiders. This time, however, he’d chosen someplace he insisted would be better: Voodoo Miranda’s house.

It stood near the end of the street, squeezed between two ramshackle brick buildings. Scarlet paused out front and swallowed hard. Every window was dark, but that didn’t mean the voodoo queen wasn’t home. She was probably cooking up some potion that would turn an unsuspecting person into a two-headed lizard.

Stop thinking,
Scarlet told herself again.
Just do.
She gathered all the courage she could find, stepped up to the rotting door, and knocked twice.

Even though she’d seen Voodoo Miranda several times over the years, she still jumped when the front door swung open and the woman peered out, baring her crooked teeth. Easily six feet tall, Voodoo Miranda wore a long green dress that glimmered in the light of the twisted black candle she held. She had long, matted black hair that hung down to her waist, and her lips were painted a deep purple.

But that wasn’t the worst of it. Coiled around her left wrist, like a big poisonous bracelet, was a shiny green python. Another snake, this one a striped viper, was nestled in her enormous hair, watching Scarlet closely.

Scarlet took a hasty step back, wiping her sweaty palms on her trousers. She hated snakes, especially the small ones that looked harmless but could kill you with one bite. “Um. Hello.”

Voodoo Miranda squinted at her for a moment. Then her mouth spread into a wide purple smile. “Come in.”

She stepped aside, and Scarlet darted past into a room full of dusty furniture that probably hadn’t been used for years. There were black candles everywhere, and the loose floorboards creaked underfoot. Scarlet couldn’t help but wonder if Voodoo Miranda hid something underneath them. Or someone…

Stop!
she told herself. “Um, where am I meeting him?”

“In the kitchen,” said Miranda. “This way.” She
led Scarlet down a pitch-dark hallway into another room—this one lit by a single lantern. The kitchen was cluttered with bottles and jars of every size and color, and it smelled like long-dead flowers that had never been tossed out.

“Don’t mind my work,” Voodoo Miranda said, gesturing at some mounds of wax on the table.

“Work?” Scarlet stepped closer. One of the mounds had a distinctly human shape.
A voodoo doll,
she realized, just as Miranda snatched it up and tucked it into her pocket. She’d heard sailors whisper that if you ever needed to get revenge, Voodoo Miranda could help. She’d whip up a little wax doll that looked just like your enemy in the time it took you to say “scalawag.” Then she’d stick little pins in the doll’s back and ears, and the unfortunate person would be keeling over in pain in no time.

“Sit.” Miranda pointed to a chair, and Scarlet obeyed, finding herself staring into the eyes of a long-dead frog, floating wide-eyed in a jar of yellow liquid. When Miranda wasn’t looking, she quickly turned the jar so the creature was facing away from her.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Miranda said.

“Thanks,” Scarlet said weakly.

“Ah. Think I hear your father,” said Miranda.

“Really? I didn’t hear anything,” Scarlet replied, but Miranda had already slipped back out the door.

“Huh,” Scarlet muttered, peering into a jar on the counter, which appeared to hold several hundred small, green beetles. “What does a voodoo queen eat, anyway?”

Fortunately, before she could find the answer to
that question, the door swung open again, and Admiral McCray walked into the room.

“Scarlet!” He stopped and took off his blue cap, a wide smile spreading across his face. She stood up and let him pull her into a warm hug. For the tiniest moment, she even let herself relax, enjoying the feeling of having someone around to take care of her. But then she felt Miranda’s eyes on her back, and she wiggled out of her father’s arms. The voodoo queen was watching them intently, stroking her python’s head.

“Thank you, Miranda,” said the admiral. “We won’t be long.”

Miranda nodded. “There are cookies on the counter if you get hungry.” She narrowed her eyes at Scarlet. “Looks like you could use a good meal.”

“I just ate,” Scarlet said quickly, although it had been several hours since she’d snacked on the nuts Jem had packed. If the jars around the kitchen were any indication of the ingredients Miranda baked with, she’d rather pass.

Miranda shrugged and slipped away again, leaving Scarlet and her father alone.

Even now, it still surprised her to see him. Not that he’d changed much in their time apart; she’d known him the moment she saw him on Island X, about a month before. He’d arrived with his men, scouting the island for untouched resources, and she’d quickly realized that he’d completely forgotten everything about the island—he didn’t even recognize it as the place he’d called home for years.

“Please, sit down.” He gestured to her chair, and she sat
again. He picked up his cap, then set it back down on the table. “So.”

“So,” she said.

“Are the tree houses finished now?”

“Almost,” she replied. “They look jolly—Fitz did a great job.”

“And the garden?”

“Done. Gil took a real shine to weeding and planting. Sina thinks we’ll have squash in a month or so.”

The admiral nodded and fiddled with his cap. “And no sign of that pirate captain…what’s his name again?”

Scarlet shook her head. The Dread Pirate Captain Wallace Hammerstein-Jones led the
Dark Ranger
, the ship Lucas Lawrence defected to. He was just as treasure hungry as Lucas himself, which meant more trouble for the Lost Souls since Lucas had Uncle Finn’s treasure map. Scarlet tapped her feet on the floor, her thoughts flitting back to her crew. Hopefully her father wouldn’t keep her long.

“Speaking of captains,” her father continued, “do you have a plan to stop this new one from getting the treasure?”

Scarlet started. “What new one?”

The admiral looked down at the frog in the jar and noticed it for the first time. He grimaced and turned it so it faced the wall.

“The new pirate captain,” he repeated. “Surely you’ve heard of him.”

Scarlet leaned forward. This sounded serious. “Fill me in.”

The admiral frowned. “Everyone’s talking about him, though, I have yet to meet anyone who has actually met
him. Apparently a new pirate is rising to power, and he’s gathering a crew of the filthiest and fiercest pirates around. Rumor has it he aims to be the most powerful pirate in all the tropics.”

“What?” Scarlet cried, then lowered her voice. “What does that mean?”

The admiral frowned. “Well, he wants the most powerful crew, the fastest and biggest ship, and control of all the treasure around.”

“Shivers!” Scarlet tried to imagine it. Then she started as another thought came to mind. “What if Lucas decides to join him? He’s got the map!”

“My thoughts exactly,” said her father. “He’s just the type to—”

Voodoo Miranda poked her head into the kitchen. “Hungry yet?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at Scarlet.

“Oh no!” Scarlet said. “I’m full.” She patted her stomach, which proceeded to growl.

“Just as I thought,” Miranda insisted, sweeping through the door. The striped viper was still nestled in her hair, but the snake on her wrist was nowhere to be seen. Scarlet glanced around nervously. “Baked them last week.” Miranda grabbed a plate piled high with small gray lumps off the counter and thrust them at Scarlet.

“Oh, I couldn’t—”

“Try them!” Miranda pushed the plate toward her.

Scarlet snatched up a gray lump and took a nibble. It tasted salty and a bit like the hardtack the Lost Souls used to eat on board the
Hop
. But there was something else…some flavor she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“Um…what kind of cookies are they?”

Miranda wiggled her eyebrows. “I call them ‘rodent surprises.’ The snakes love them.”

Scarlet’s mouth fell open and she looked down at her half-eaten cookie. Sure enough, she could make out the tip of a tiny, hairless tail sticking out. She gagged and sputtered. Miranda was watching her closely, as was the viper in Miranda’s hair. It took all her willpower to swallow.

“It’s good,” Scarlet told them weakly.

Miranda straightened and gave her a crooked smile. “I know,” she said, and slipped back out the door.

Scarlet swallowed hard again and turned back to her father. “Look, I can’t stay much longer. I’ve got to get back to my crew, especially now that I know about this captain. We’ll need another plan now to protect the island.” She stood and pushed back her chair.

The admiral checked his pocket watch. “Wait,” he said. “There’s one more thing I have to tell you.”

“About the captain?”

“Well, no. This is…something different.”

Scarlet sat back down and watched him fiddle with his cap again. A pit began to grow in her stomach. Could there be even
worse
news?

“Your uncle Daniel is coming for a visit. From the Old World.”

Scarlet cocked her head to the side. “My what?”

“Your uncle Daniel,” he repeated. “My older brother. You’ve never met him.”

“Oh,” Scarlet said, wondering what the flotsam this had to do with her.

“He won’t be staying long. Three weeks at most, and he’ll be bringing his daughter, who’s your age. Her name is Josephine.”

Oh.
Scarlet stayed quiet, hoping this wasn’t leading where she suspected it might be.

“Daniel is a very high-ranking King’s Man. In fact, he’s a deputy advisor to King Aberhard himself.”

“Mmm-hmm,” said Scarlet.

“When we moved away from the Island after the fever, he used his power to get me a position again. They would have never taken me back otherwise.”

“Because God forbid you’d gone off and married an Islander,” Scarlet finished, rolling her eyes. She despised the King’s Men and all their Old World ideas.

The admiral paused. “Daniel means well,” he said carefully. “He doesn’t understand the tropics. He’s only ever advised from afar. But he’s my brother, and he’s always taken care of me. So when you disappeared, I…I didn’t tell him. I knew he’d be on the first ship over to search for you. It would have turned my family upside-down.”

This only went to prove Scarlet’s theory that grown-ups made no sense. If you couldn’t call them for help because they’ll only make more trouble, what good are they? But she stayed quiet, the pit in her stomach growing bigger.

“The point is, I need you to stay in port with me,” he finished.

Scarlet’s mouth fell open. “You want…what?”

The admiral nodded. “It’ll be about three weeks. A deputy advisor couldn’t be away from the king for any longer than a few months.”

“
Three weeks?”
Scarlet couldn’t believe her ears. “Father, you’ve got to be joking! I can’t leave the island for three
weeks
.”

The admiral frowned. “Believe me, Scarlet, I’ve thought this through. We have no choice here. I cannot have my brother finding out that you live by yourself on another island. He wouldn’t understand.”

“But—”

“And what’s more, it could be dangerous. Daniel’s loyalty lies first and foremost with the king, and if he were to find out about Island X and its treasure—the very treasure King Aberhard is looking for—I’d hate to think what he’d have to do.”

Scarlet swallowed hard. “Can’t you tell him I’m at boarding school?”

Her father shook his head. “He’d insist we go visit you. Trust me, Scarlet, there is no way around this.”

Scarlet fought the rising panic in her throat by swallowing hard. “When are they coming?”

“Their ship docks tomorrow.”

“
Tomorrow?
” she cried. “You’ve got to be joking! My crew—”

“Will survive without you for three weeks,” he finished. “They’re smart and strong and nothing will go wrong in your absence.”

“But—”

“Scarlet.” This time his voice was heavy, and she knew there was no use arguing any more. “Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do. Sometimes that’s what having a family is all about.”

And that just absolutely scuttled.