Phoenix Burning (29 page)

“That’s all the time you’ll need?” Ayla sounded surprised.

“A boiler’s a delicate beast.” Toby grinned. “And I know where to stab it.”

Ayla stood at the door and closed her eyes. The hand that held her scalpel was trembling.

Toby touched her wrist with light fingers. “We don’t have to do this,” he murmured.

“Thirty seconds, right?”

“That’s all I need.”

“I can fight for that long.” Ayla exhaled. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

She slammed the door open and burst in like a whirlwind. Toby was right behind her.

There was one engineer standing at the control panel, one relaying messages from the comms pipe and a third cleaning out the constantly spitting blowers. They were all black with soot from their caps to their boots.

The Greymen stood frozen for precious seconds, giving Toby enough time to locate the delivery lines at the other side of the room. He shifted his grip on his blade, ducked and ran.

The engineer at the control panel turned. “Who’re you?”

Ayla’s foot slammed into his chin and he staggered. She spun as the second one ran towards her and her fist caught him in the throat. He choked and fell to his knees. The third, higher up, grabbed his broom as a weapon and leaped down. Fixated on Ayla, they had forgotten Toby.

The delivery lines snaked into the wall, just like on the
Phoenix
. Toby needed to identify the lines that were attached to the rudder, the paddles and the cannon.

“Ah, screw it!” He threw his arm over his face and started slashing.

Immediately the chief engineer gave a shout of horror. “My god – what are you
doing
? Stop!”

Superheated steam lashed Toby as it powered from the sliced lines, shrieking so loudly that the
Banshee
’s wail was drowned out. Blinded, he screamed and staggered back. He felt a hand grip his wrist and tried to twist free.

“It’s me,” Ayla yelled. She dragged him towards the door as the engineers scrambled for something to repair the lines with.

The chief ripped his coat off. “Put out the fire,” he yelled, “and stop the feed water.”

“Can’t, Chief!” The voice was filled with panic. “That’s the valve we were repairing before the commander called battle stations.”

As Ayla hauled him out of the door, Toby’s face paled.
“If feed water hits the empty drum there’ll be an explosion that’ll take out half the ship.”

“Then run!” Ayla shoved him.

They sprinted to the ladder and climbed as if the explosion was already at their backs. “Can they repair the valve before it explodes?” Ayla shouted.

“With that much steam filling the engine room, they won’t be able to see and the equipment will be scalding.”

“One more ladder to deck,” Ayla gasped. Her bare foot slipped on the rung, Toby caught her leg on his shoulder and shoved her upwards.

They burst on deck and looked around wildly. Greymen glowered at them, but no one stopped them as they skidded towards the gunwale.

The wailing
Banshee
was already firing grappling hooks towards the Grey ship and Toby ducked as cannon fire pounded the deck house.

The
Phoenix
was also within range now and he could see his father aiming a blunderbuss.

“They can’t come any closer,” he said, his breath ragged. “If there’s an explosion…”

“Don’t worry about them, worry about
us
,” Ayla yelled. “We’re trapped. There’s nowhere to go.”

Suddenly the
Banshee
’s wail cut off and Toby’s ears rang with the sudden silence.

“Judy Ford, I’m coming for you.” Nell’s voice rang across the waves and her entire crew started to yell and jeer.

Toby turned towards the bridge, where his mother was surrounded by Greymen.

“I didn’t know they would do it, Nell,” she replied, her words amplified through a loudspeaker.

“Liar,” Nell bawled. “Those men were under your command.”

Toby jerked. His mother had told him the Greymen had gone against her wishes – that she thought the authorities would simply help get her son back. Who was telling the truth?

Ayla clutched his arm as a bronze-winged bird glided down and clattered on the deck at his feet.

“Polly!” Toby scooped her up.

“Your father’s sending
Birdie
,” she squawked. “Can you get off the ship while Nell distracts Judy?”

It was Ayla’s turn to gasp. “You mean she really is holding off the attack until I’m safe?”

Polly’s eyes whirred around to her. “Of course, what did you think? Now can you get off the ship or not?”

Toby looked at the winch above the boat they had arrived in. Greymen stood around it with drawn weapons. “I-I…”

“I know what to do.” Ayla started towards the stern. “Stay low and follow me.”

Toby lifted Polly on to the gunwale. “I have to send you back to the captain. Tell him I’ve slashed the delivery lines in the engine room and I think the boiler’s going to explode. He and Nell have to stay back.”

Polly threw herself off the ship and dropped towards the waves. At the last minute her wings caught the wind and she began to glide in the direction of the
Banshee
. Toby’s heart slowed its frantic beat and he turned to find Ayla. She was climbing on to a rail at the ship’s stern.

“What are you doing?” Toby ducked and sprinted towards her.

“The hawespipe, remember?” Ayla gasped as the jacket pulled tight across her back. “I got on to the
Phoenix
by climbing the anchor chain – we can get off here the same way.”

Toby threw a leg overboard just as Judy screamed his name.

“It’s been great getting to know you,” he yelled, “but I’m not staying.”

Judy darted towards him. “
Stop him!
”

Three Greymen abandoned their posts and raced for Toby, but he spoke only to Judy. “I’m not your son any more. You have to let me go.”

“
Never!
”

Toby shook his head and swung overboard. The anchor chain was directly below him, creaking with Ayla’s weight. Theo and Marcus were frantically rowing
Birdie
into position below.

Toby looked up again as Judy slammed into the gunwale directly above him, chest first. “I’ll shoot you down,” she screamed.

Toby stared in horror as she pulled a gun from the belt of the Greyman next to her.

Desperately he dropped and caught the anchor chain – it was thick and pitted with the poison from the salt, making it easy to grip. He started to slither down as fast as he could.

Judy aimed her weapon. “You’re making me do this,” she yelled.

The ship rocked with a massive explosion. Judy fell
backwards and Ayla and Toby screamed as the anchor chain lifted and then slammed back into the hull.

Toby grunted and his hands almost opened, but somehow he managed to keep his grip. He looked down. Ayla was swinging below him one-handed.

“Hold on,” Marcus called. “You can make it.”

“Of course we can make it,” Ayla muttered, as she swung back to strengthen her grip.

Birdie
bumped against the hull as a second, smaller explosion rattled Toby’s bones and the whole ship tilted. “She’s sinking, we’ve got to hurry!”

“
Slide!
” Ayla loosened her grip and dropped down the chain with a cry.

Toby winced as he did the same, the corroded metal stripping the skin from his hands. His feet slapped down into
Birdie
seconds behind Ayla and he staggered towards Theo, who steadied him. He shoved his hands under his armpits – he didn’t dare look at them.

Theo sat him down and then he and Marcus grabbed the oars. They rowed as fast as they could from the sinking ship.

“We’ve got to get out of range, or it’ll drag us down, too,” Theo panted.

Toby looked back – the Grey ship sloped to one side then slid into the salt and disappeared beneath the surface. For a moment he thought he could see Judy clinging to
the mizzen mast, but his blurry eyes failed him and when he looked again, there was no sign of her. Now only debris bobbed on the surface. He could see no survivors.

Slowly
Birdie
drew level with the
Phoenix
. As the winches were lowered, Toby stared vacantly, with his hands dangling between his knees. Ayla leaned against him, her palms tucked between her thighs.

“Do you think Uma will be willing to treat me again?” Her voice was faint.

“I’ll order her to,” Toby said. “I just can’t believe this was all for nothing.”

“For nothing?” Marcus frowned as he attacked the winch cable. “What do you mean?”

“We lost both inverters,” Toby whispered, hardly able to say it out loud. “After everything we went through.”

A tremor shuddered through Ayla’s body and, with a shudder of his own, he realized that tears were running down her cheeks, leaving tracks in the soot that had daubed her in the boiler room.

Marcus cleared his throat. “You’re wrong,” he said. “You might have lost your inverter, but Ayla didn’t lose hers. Nell took it at the festival.”

“So the
Banshee
has operational solar panels.” There
was no triumph in Ayla’s tone, she sagged even further.

“Wrong again!” Marcus spread his arms as
Birdie
started to rise. “Why do you think Dee and I were coming for you? Nell didn’t keep the inverter any longer than you did. Dee and I stole it back.”

“You mean the
Phoenix
has working panels?” Toby’s eyes widened.

“Not yet,” Theo rumbled. “The captain wanted to wait for you to come home.”

As
Birdie
was lifted back on board, the whole crew was on deck waiting.

“Polly!” Toby’s parrot glided to his shoulder and suddenly he felt balanced again.

“It hasn’t been the same without you, boy.” Arnav helped Toby from the skiff.

The moment his bare feet touched the warm deck, he felt something shift inside him. Tension fled from his shoulders.

“You’re home!” D’von shoved through the cheering pirates and gripped his shoulder, making Polly squawk crossly. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” A smile touched Toby’s lips. “I’m
so
happy to be back.”

Theo carried Ayla from
Birdie
and Marcus hopped out to land beside them.

“I suppose you need
me
, now.” Uma grabbed his chin,
turning his face this way and that.

Toby nodded. “Ayla first.”

“Have you learned nothing?” she muttered, but then she saw Ayla’s bloodless face. “Get her to the mess hall, Theo. Hideaki’s already down there treating Hiko, I’ll follow right away.”

“What’s happened to Hiko?” Toby asked.

“Nothing serious,” Uma soothed. “He cut his arm in the boiler room.”

“Toby.” The captain swept towards him with tears shining in his damaged eyes. “Judy’s gone.” He caught his shoulders. “Are you all right?”

Toby nodded, too exhausted to speak.

“I’m so sorry about your eyes.” His father squinted at him. “I’ve spoken to Dee already. She says the sight-loss is likely permanent – we’re lucky to have any vision left at all. But at least we have this.” His father held up the inverter. “Marcus and Dee worked hard to get it.” The captain nodded at Marcus. “We should all be grateful, but I thought
you
should get to do the honours.” He looked at Toby’s bleeding palms. “Are you up to it?”

Toby reached for it and the captain smiled. “The hook-up is exactly as you left it.”

Toby closed his fingers around the inverter and turned to the rest of the crew. His eyes met Peel’s and the old
chef nodded. “Finish it, Toby.”

Polly spread her wings to retain her perch as Toby limped towards the bridge. To his right the solar array was clear of the tarpaulins that had hidden it from view. The last of the setting sun gleamed from the black glass panels.

Inside the bridge, he ran his fingers over the loose wires that lay almost exactly where he had left them, feeling like a stranger trying to slip back into his own skin. He had changed – would he ever be able to tell them what he had gone through?

Outside they were waiting for the solar panels to power up. He looked up as the door banged.

“You know what to do?” the captain asked.

Toby picked up the wires that fitted into the inverter’s sockets and clicked the components together.

For a moment nothing happened, then a blinking red dot appeared and turned green as they watched. There was a shout from the deck.

The captain propelled his son out of the door. “Let’s see.”

The solar array seemed to be buzzing very gently.

“It’s working,” Toby said wonderingly.

Nisha shrieked. “Rahul – it’s working!”

The pirates cheered, grabbing one another in celebration.

“Now, Toby,” the captain said gently. “Go and find Uma.”

Wearily Toby sloped towards the mess hall, allowing the blurriness of his vision to take over. He could picture the Grey ship vanishing under the waves. He had met his mother and now he had lost her.

Had she loved him, or had he just been a possession to win back, a way to punish his father for turning traitor to his country? He would never know.

He thought of her hard grey eyes. Life for Toby on the Grey ship would have been no better than life for Ayla on the
Banshee
. She had been as icy cold as Nell.

He paused outside the mess door and took a deep breath. His pulse raced at the thought of seeing Ayla.

He couldn’t forget that she had betrayed him again, but she had taken a flogging for him, fought to help him sink the Grey ship and got them to safety before it sank. He owed her. He pressed his fist to his forehead – he was fooling himself. It wasn’t gratitude he felt towards his fellow pirate. He had been falling in love with her on Gozo and, despite everything, the seed that had taken root hadn’t died.

Still, Ayla had made her own views clear – her loyalty to Nell was more important than ‘
stupid feelings
’. Once Uma had treated her, Ayla would go back to the
Banshee
.
Toby would remain on the
Phoenix
. They had no future.

He opened the mess door and walked inside.

On his right Ayla was sitting hunched over her knees while Uma’s fingers patted lightly over her back. Her face was pinched and pale.

To his left was Hiko, his shirt pushed up to his shoulder. Hideaki was stitching a jagged wound. “Toby!” Hiko cried.

“Hiko, what happened?”

“Just a slip in the boiler room.” His face was black with soot and the whites of his eyes shone through the dirt. “You did it! You got the inverter!”

“It’s working.” Toby grinned.

Ayla nodded, sighed and looked back down.

“Sit still, Hiko.” Hideaki sounded exasperated. He refused to look at Ayla.

Uma pointed to a chair beside Hiko. “Sit there, Toby. Hideaki’s almost done with Hiko and then he can start looking at you.”

Toby slumped into the chair, but his eyes kept sliding towards Ayla. She looked defeated.

“The Grey ship sunk,” Toby said at last. “Your mother will be pleased about that.”

Ayla jerked her head up. “Are you kidding? We stole her vengeance. She’s got no inverter and no way to punish Judy
Ford herself. We’re only lucky she hasn’t already attacked the
Phoenix
.”

“She wouldn’t,” Toby said.

Ayla groaned as Uma tightened the bandage around her back.

Hideaki took a wet cloth and began to clean the blood from Hiko’s arm.

“Thought so,” he said with a smile. Hideaki held up Hiko’s arm and grinned.

“Twenty thousand, one hundred and forty,” he said. “I was always good at those. Why is that number inked on your arm?”