“No, Daphne,” Charles says, then he snaps his fingers, and blue, shimmering ropes spring forth from his hands and tie me to a mast in his room. “Don’t.”
Peter stares over at me, eyes wide and worried like I’ve never seen them before. He looks around, trying to figure out what to do next. He dives for the shelf, grabbing one of the jars, knocking them off, trying to smash them on purpose, and Charles just laughs.
Peter grabs another, trying to open the jar himself.
I shake my head at him. “Only his hands can open them!” I call to Peter, and Charles moves in towards him, smiling.
And then it happens rather quickly. A silver glint and a flash of a smile from Peter, and his sword’s in his hand. With a swift flick of the wrist, he cuts Charles’s hand right off. It falls to the ground with a thud, and Charles cries out in pain, falling to his knees.
Peter grabs the hand, manoeuvres it to open the jar, and then pours it out.
“No!” cries Charles, trying to reach for it, but the shimmery gold spills onto the floor and evaporates.
Peter laughs, pleased he’s found a way to hurt him, then he grabs another and another and another, opening them all.
Charles scrambles after him as he tries to nurse his wound where his hand was severed.
Peter grabs a jar that’s dark green and swirling around. He opens it, tossing it at Charles, and for a moment, it seems he’s swallowed by this cloud of green.
Peter flies over to me, trying to untie my magic ropes, but he can’t.
“Are you okay?” He touches my face. “You’re bleeding.” He pulls out his knife and starts filing away at my binds. He frowns. “It’s not working.”
“Nor will it ever,” Charles tells us with a sneaky grin. “Blood magic. Ties that bind.”
I’m starting to hate magic, I think.
I look back at Peter, try to catch his busy eyes that are alive with the excitement of adventure. “Peter, you need to go. There are things he wants to take from you, really terrible things,” I tell him.
Peter shakes his head. “He’s not getting anything from me.”
“Peter, please.”
“Be quiet.” He gives me a look. “I’m saving you.” He pecks me on the lips, and I blink, stunned, then he flies back to the shelf. “Essence of lightning!” he reads from a jar out loud, beaming. He uses the hand to open it, then shakes the jar empty and onto the ground.
“No!” Charles yells but—
It feels like time and light crack open for a second. The sound of it is unparalleled. I’ve never heard a sound as loud as that. It feels warm. Like someone threw a cup of hot water at me.
When I can finally peel my eyes open, I see that the cabin’s been blown apart.
I’m still tied to the mast, but it’s fallen. One of the shelves fell in the explosion and is pinning me down.
“Peter!” I call for him.
I hear him crow. “Don’t worry, girl. I’ll kill them all and be back for you!”
Then—silence.
Well, not total silence, actually. I can hear something…
Rushing?
Something rushing.
Water?
Water. The ship’s sinking.
I breathe out this sigh that’s partly made of a cry and stare up at the ceiling that’s not there anymore.
It’s just a dark night sky and an impossibly bright moon.
A funny way to die, I suppose.
Magically tied to a sinking ship.
A bit of a metaphor for my last few months, I suppose.
The water’s rising now, rather a lot. I’m still pinned under the shelf.
“Peter!” I call for him.
Perhaps this is stupid to do, alerting or reminding Charles of my presence, but also, it’s my only chance.
Charles looks over at me, pinned with the water rising. He sniffs a little laugh. “I guess you’re drowning either way tonight.”
“Please, wait,” I call after him.
Deep from within the belly of the ship, I hear groans and cracks, and then Charles runs, holding what he can, which isn’t much.
He darts from the room, and I hear Peter crow a laugh from a distance.
The ship groans again and collapses in on itself a bit.
The shelf on top of me shifts but in a worse way, one of the shelves splintering off and driving through my arm.
I let out a cry of pain.
And then—a flash of shimmering light and the shelf flies off me, flung across to the other side of the room.
A tattered little Rune climbs up my chest and gives me a tired smile.
I sigh, relieved.