"I know it's crooked. But it's the only game in town." –Canada Bill Jones
"So you want to go to the ends of the world?" the Captain of the Windraker said. The three boys nodded their heads glumly. "The Princess says this is for your benefit. Tell me… what makes you three so important? Why would Her Royal Highness commission a ship for three boys? Who are you?" He stroked his mustache as he looked each one of them in the eye. His own eyes were terrible—cold and cruel, and as black as the villain's heart.
"We—we're from another world," Jess said lamely.
"So you've said—but I know of no other world and I have sailed every inch of the sea. Where is this world?"
"It's not here, in this world," Cruz said. "It's in another place. Somewhere else. We were sailing to the end of the world to see if there was a way back to our world."
"I have seen strange things at the ends of the world," the Captain said pacing, his peg leg thumping across the planks. "But never have I seen another world. Tell me what you are really after."
"That is what we're really after," Tom whined. "We want to go home."
"You say home is at the end of the world? Impossible. What are you after?"
"A way home," Jess reiterated. "We swear."
"Impossible," the Captain informed him. He thumped over to the door of the cabin. "Bring the brat," he told the sailor waiting there. "Clearly you have never been to the ends of the world or you would know of what I speak. It is impossible." The sailor returned leading the Princess in front of him. She looked surprised to see them. Her eyes searched for Matt among them, but he wasn't there. They had not seen him, but expected he was somewhere above them on deck. The Pirate Captain bowed sarcastically as she entered. "Good evening, your Highness," he said. "I was talking with your, ah, guardians here. They still refuse to tell me what you are up to."
"I have told you the truth, Captain Agelmar," the Princess said angrily.
"I am to take your word as truth, Princess?"
"I do not lie!" Roses bloomed in her checks and fire danced in her eyes.
"As I was telling these boys, your tale is impossible." He folded his arms. "There are no other worlds."
"There are," she practically growled. "These boys have come from one. From where else could they have come?"
"Your imagination, perhaps?" He smiled, revealing a few golden teeth. "To be fair, they are passing strange of manner and speech. But that, I am afraid, is not enough to convince me."
"We have given you what we meant to do," she replied levelly. "Suppose you give us what you intend to do with us."
"Ransom seems the obvious choice, my Lady," the villain grinned. "Though, for that, we need only you." He shrugged noncommittally. "I suppose we will toss the others over the side."
"You wouldn't," she said, eyes wide.
"What are they to me? Another mouth to feed, and that I can do without. Better to end their lives now than wait till food and drink run low."
"You mustn't," she pleaded. "Please, my father will pay anything."
"Again, it would appear these boys are important to you. You are not telling me something, Princess, and that vexes me no end."
"I have told you everything. I am here on a voyage to the end of the world to see if there is a way home for these boys."
"Why send a Princess when a simple crew will do?" He stroked his mustache again, thinking. "These boys, I will allow, are here for something, though I am not sure what. But why is the Daughter-heir of Berelain here, exposed to the dangers of the high sea? Why would the High King of Berelain allow it?"
The Princess drew herself up and squared her shapely shoulders. Her ice blue eyes stared calmly into the Pirate Captain's black ones. "Prophecy," she said in a firm voice.
"Prophecy?" the Captain scowled. It broke into a grin after a few moments. "And what did this prophecy tell of our ill-fated meeting?" He twirled a mustache. "Or has my intervention been unforeseen? By the look on your face that may be so."
"What will be will be," the Princess said. "We are to find something at the edge of the world. How we will return home is unknown to me. But we will return, pirates or no. Myself and these boys. The prophecy has held true thus far."
"Except for the part where you are captured by pirates." The Captain grinned horribly. He turned to face Jess. "Tell me, boy: what do you know of this prophecy?"
"They know nothing of it," the Princess said as Jess opened his mouth. "I have told them nothing of it. They need know nothing, only that I am to aid them." Agelmar laughed, then. "Why do you laugh?" the Princess demanded angrily.
"Because it is ever thus that royalty sees its subjects. Merely pawns to serve the needs of a Princess." He stood up straight as she glared at him. "Your prophecy indeed says that they will all return to Berelain?"
"Yes," she replied confidently.
"This is what I think of your prophecy," he said and drew the dirk from his belt. He grabbed a handful of Tom's shirt and held the blade to his throat. "This one will not return."
Everything slowed down at that moment. The blade had only just begun to move across the boy's throat, a few beads of blood appearing where the blade met flesh.
Then, outside the cabin, on deck, the pirates began to yell, their footfalls echoing in every direction. The door to the cabin was thrown open and a one-eyed pirate leaned in, distress clear on his unshaven face.
"Captain!" the pirate yelled. "There's something happening on deck! The dragonsinger has been knocked overboard!" The pirate left the door open and scrambled back toward the deck and whatever was unfolding there. The Captain released Tom, shoving him back onto the bench and sheathing his dirk in one swift move. He thumped past them and out the door, roaring commands.
Momentarily forgotten, Tom wiped at his throat, eyes wide with shock. "He's going to kill us," he squeaked, voice cracking.
"Your prophecy didn't say anything about this?" Jess asked the stunned Princess curiously. The Princess blinked at him and shook her head. "What should we do?"
"Better get up on deck," Cruz said nearest the door. "They're yelling about a lizard-man who threw somebody overboard." He pointed at the still open door. "Could be Matt."
The deck was in an uproar. Pirates ran to and fro, securing broken lines and seeing to injured fellows. Near the bow of the ship, a group of pirates armed with gaffing hooks and pikes were fending off an eight-foot lizard man that was grabbing men and hurling them overboard. Another group of pirates was near the stern throwing ropes to their fallen comrades. Captain Agelmar was near the men surrounding the creature, yelling orders over the startled cries of the other pirates. The moon had just risen above the horizon and the rest of the sky had grown dark in the oncoming night.
In the water below, pirates were screaming as the sea drakes darted in and pulled them under. No longer tightly controlled by the dragonsinger, the creatures turned on whatever was thrashing about in the water.
"It's all chaos!" Jess said excitedly. He picked up a discarded cutlass and made his way toward the front of the boat. "Come on," he yelled at Cruz and Tom, "We can't let them kill Matt!"
"What can we do?" Cruz said following, pausing only to pick up a hand axe embedded in the mast. "We can't fight all these pirates!"
"The Captain," Tom said grabbing a gaffing hook. "We just need to get the Captain!"
"Stop!" the Princess said, hanging back. "We must escape! There's a boat!" She pointed off to one side where a rowboat was lashed to the side of the ship. The boys turned their heads to look at it.
"We can't leave Matt," Tom told her, casting a nervous glance in the direction of his brother at the front of the ship.
"And what about Galina and Carlinya?" Cruz reminded her. "We can't just leave them behind."
"On the ocean in a rowboat?" Jess said. "I don't think so. Let's capture the Captain and take over his ship."
"How can we do that?" the Princess said biting her lip.
"No idea," Jess admitted. "But if we don't, he's going to kill us—he said he would."
"No—the prophecy—"she started, but Jess cut her off.
"I don't know anything about any prophecy—we heard you hint at it a couple of times but you don't seem to want to tell us anything about it. All I know is that guy tried to kill Tom—wants to kill all of us—and we have to do something about that. Right now he's trying to kill Matt and I don't really know what to do about it except maybe knock him over the head with this sword." Cruz nodded his head vigorously beside him in agreement. "If you have any better ideas, let's hear them."
"No, you are right," she replied. "We will win. We must."
"Everybody's paying attention to Matt," Cruz said. "Nobody's watching the Captain."
"What's the plan?" Tom asked brandishing his hook. "Knock him over the head?"
"And take him hostage," Jess told him. They all watched the scene at the bow for a minute to get their bearings. One pirate got in a lucky jab, scoring a wound across the lizard-thing's chest. The wound existed only for a moment, beginning to heal over almost immediately. Of course! The pirate's weapons were not made of silver and caused little harm to the were-creature. Jess breathed a sigh of relief and nodded at Cruz and Tom. They returned the nod and fell into step beside him.
Captain Agelmar was directing a cluster of pirates armed with clubs to flank the creature. He was in mid-shout as Jess's sword slipped up to his neck. Cruz and Tom quickly grabbed an arm each and twisted it behind him. The Princess slipped a length of rope around his wrists to bind him. He roared in protest, but quieted when Jess pressed the blade firmly against his throat. A few pirates turned to see the reason their Captain had had stopped in mid-shout and stopped in their tracks when they saw the boys threatening the Captain with their pilfered weapons. The creature used the pause to toss a few more pirates overboard.
"Drop your weapons!" Jess yelled over the creature's roaring. "Do it! Or we'll kill your Captain!"
"You little snots," the Captain hissed, his arms pulled behind him at an uncomfortable angle.
"Be quiet," the Princess said angrily and slapped his face. His eyes narrowed to slits as he fixed his angry gaze on her face. "Tell your men to drop their weapons." To Jess she said: "If he doesn't do it, cut his throat." Jess nodded and increased the pressure.
"Drop your weapons," the Captain said immediately. The pirates looked at each other and started to put whatever they had in their hands down on the deck. No longer threatened by the pirates, the were-lizard quieted and looked toward them expectantly.
"Tell your men to do as I say," the Princess hissed.
"If I don't," the Captain rasped, "what will you do? Kill me? Do this thing and my men will rush you. It won't save you and it won't save these boys. Release me and the boys will live. I will return you to Berelain for a decent sum, and the boys as well."
"You're—you can't bargain!" Cruz said. "We've got you hostage!"
"We want to go to the end of the world," the Princess said simply. "Take us there and return us—and we let you live."
"Are you crazy?" Jess said looking at her. "We can't trust a pirate!"
"If he places any value on his life, we can trust him," she growled. "Can we trust you, Captain Agelmar?"
"I do value my life," he replied. "Release me and I will take you to World's End."
"As guests, not prisoners. My father would pay handsomely for the safe return of his daughter. Especially after the problems we had at sea. Do you agree?"
"That can be arranged," he said after a moment's thought. "Prepare the ship!" he yelled to his men surrounding them, still looking unsure. "We make for World's End!"