The Blackhope Enigma (20 page)

Sunni squinted. “One’s got a panther on its flag, but I can’t make out the other. It’s too far away.”

“A panther — that’s our boy!” Angus yanked his hands out of his pockets, and something dropped to the floor.

“That’s Blaise?” Dean punched the air.

Behind their backs Sunni picked up the scrap of paper. It was a torn-off corner with nine little figures of people and animals drawn above what looked like a group of islands. She studied the figures carefully but couldn’t work out what they were.

Angus wheeled around suddenly.

“Did you drop this?” Sunni asked, holding the paper out.

“Yes.” He smiled as he stuffed the scrap back into his pocket. “Thanks.”

Sunni excused herself and went to find a quiet place to dry out the damp pages of her sketchbook.

A raven hovered above the three ships, which now formed a triangle in the sea. Farthest north sat Marin’s ship, the
Mars
, blocking a narrow strait between two islands — the only safe route to the northernmost islands, where Blaise was heading.

Southwest of the
Mars
was the
Venus
, moving cautiously. Patchy had convinced Blaise to go carefully, though he was all for overtaking Marin’s ship and demanding Sunni and Dean back.

Sailing after him was the
Luna
, carrying Sunni, Dean, Angus, and Lady Ishbel, who were all hoping that their galley would overtake Blaise’s ship immediately — but for different reasons.

“Fetch Angus,” said Lady Ishbel to Sunni. “He should be on deck with us.”

Sunni found the painter in the cabin, lounging on the bunk.

“Lady Ishbel wants you on deck. We’re getting closer to the other ships. The first one is Blaise’s, and the second is Marin’s. We recognized the dragon flag.”

“Actually, I’m glad you’re here, because I need to tell you something.” Angus sat up.

Sunni waited, curious.

“I don’t think Ishbel intends to help us at all once she has the map,” said Angus. “So I’m going to take charge of it.”

“Excuse me?”

“The new plan is for you to get the map and bring it back to me, secretly.”

“Me? Why me?”

“Blaise knows and trusts you.”

“You want
me
to board Blaise’s ship and bring him and the map back?” asked Sunni skeptically.

“That’s right. Though whether Blaise comes with you or not, I don’t care,” said Angus. “But you’ll give me the map for safekeeping either way. And you’ll tell Lady Ishbel that Blaise lost it.”

“I still don’t see why —”

“I suppose I will have to spell it out.” Angus stood up and flexed his hands. “This is how it works: you get the map for me and nothing bad happens to Dean.”

“What kind of rescuer are you? You’d hurt Dean if I don’t get the map for you?” Sunni backed away, wondering where Dean was and how quickly she could find him.

“It would be
nicer
for everyone if you just did as I asked.”

“But Lady Ishbel —” Sunni started, her skin crawling with nervous sweat. “I’ll tell her you’re going to take the map —”

“Not if you want to see Dean again, you won’t. And anyway, why would she believe you?”

“There’s no way you can keep that map for yourself if she orders the crew to take it off you.” She took another step toward the doorway.

Angus darted forward and caught her wrist hard in his grip. “If you want to go home, just do it.”

Sunni could hardly breathe. Angus’s fingers dug deeper into her skin.

“What will it be, Sunni?”

She glared at the floor because she couldn’t bear his hard eyes. “All right, I’ll do it.”

As the ship’s boy rang eight bells, Sunni stood with Dean on the main deck of the
Luna
. She had tied her hair back into a tight ponytail, and her face was grave.

She watched Angus make his way toward them from the prow, where Lady Ishbel was surveying them.

“It’ll be OK,” Sunni whispered to Dean. “Just do what I tell you.”

He looked up at her, full of questions, but she shook her head.

Angus stood before them, arms crossed. “Now, when I say so, both of you wave and smile for Blaise. I’ll be right here, so no messing around.”

As their ship grew closer to Blaise’s, Angus crouched down so he could not be seen and gestured for them to start.

On the
Venus
, Patchy pointed the waving figures out to Blaise.

“A girl and boy on the ship, Captain.”

Blaise cried, “Sunni and Dean! Finally.”

On the
Luna
, Angus gave his next command. “Now make a sign that you want to come onto his ship.” Nodding, Sunni touched her chest and then pointed at Blaise.

“They want to come over!” Blaise paced up and down. “Right, have your best guys row the boat over and get them.”

The
Venus
’s skiff was lowered into the sea.

“They’re coming over to fetch me,” Sunni said tonelessly.

“Good,” said Angus. “Remember, Dean, you stay here with us for now.”

“Why can’t I go?” Dean whined.

Sunni watched the approaching skiff, her heart in her mouth.

“Because you can’t.”

“But why not? I thought we were all going to be together.”

“We will, but not just yet.” Angus’s voice was building into a growl.

The skiff slid up to the
Luna
, and its two oarsmen hailed the crew, waving for the children to be helped down.

“Actually, I think Dean
should
come with me.” Sunni grabbed her stepbrother’s hand and turned herself and Dean to face Angus. They shuffled tentatively toward the ladder and the waiting sailors.

“No, you don’t.” Angus called out to the crew, “Take hold of the boy.”

As men moved toward them, Sunni pulled a blade from her waistband and held it out straight in front of her.

“You let us
both
go!” she shouted.

The sailors shrank back and looked at Lady Ishbel for orders.

Angus burst out laughing at Sunni. “I don’t know what’s more amusing, you brandishing a dagger or grown men backing down at the sight of it.”

“This isn’t meant to be funny.” Sunni pushed Dean to the ladder. “Get in the boat, Dean.”

Lady Ishbel huffed, “Stop her!”

“I have this under control, my lady —”

Ignoring Angus, Lady Ishbel screeched at her crewmen, “Stop the girl!”

Two men lunged at Sunni, and she lashed out with the dagger, slicing one across the arm and the other in the shoulder.

“Don’t you come near me!” she shrieked. “Get away, or I’ll do worse than that!”

Suddenly one of Blaise’s burly oarsmen climbed up over the railing and jumped in front of her, sword in hand, ready to take on anyone who dared to stop Sunni.

“Get in boat now,” he grunted. “I kill anyone who stands in our way!”

The dagger shaking in her fist, Sunni hauled herself over the side and almost fell down the ladder in her haste.

Swinging his sword as he descended, the oarsman dropped back into the skiff. He and his mate pushed Sunni and Dean into safe positions and then took up their oars, speeding them back to the
Venus
.

“Mistress, we can stop them with crossbows!” yelled the
Luna
’s first mate to Lady Ishbel. “Give us orders!”

But by the time the crew had seized their weapons, the skiff was out of range. They grumbled among themselves.

“I want my map, and that girl was to get it for me.” Lady Ishbel was incensed.

Angus elbowed sailors out of his way as he strode across the deck to join her. “There are
other ways
, my lady, other ways to skin a cat.”

Blaise pushed in front of his crewmen to help Sunni and Dean climb the ladder.

“Sunni! Dean! You made it. Man, am I relieved to see you!” He almost hugged Sunni, but his nerve failed and all he could manage was a squeeze of her arm. “But what was going on over there? It looked like a fight was about to kick off. Did your sailors mutiny or something?”

“Get us away from here” was all Sunni managed to say. “Away from them!”

She was still trying to keep her dagger hand from quaking. Twice she’d drawn blood now, and it made her feel sick. She wouldn’t let go of Dean’s hand.

Blaise called for Patchy, who hurried to his side.

“Go now, full speed,” he ordered, his eyes trained on Lady Ishbel’s ship. “Stay on the same course to the island. And keep us away from that other ship.” He ushered Sunni and Dean along the deck. “Come on, let’s go below. And you can tell me the whole story.”

In his quarters, Blaise pulled the chair out for his friend and gestured for Dean to take the bunk. Before she sat down, Sunni took the bloody dagger from her belt and laid it on the table.

Blaise whistled. “Where did you get that? Man, it looks like you just used it, too.”

“It got us off that ship. I found it during a battle with a pirate ship.”

“Pretty gutsy.” He sat on the edge of the table. “So what happened back there?”

“It’s a long story. That wasn’t our ship. We were kidnapped by this guy Marin —”

“If he thinks someone’s a spy, he draws their picture and traps them inside it!” Dean broke in. “And he’s got one of me half finished!”

“He thinks you’re a spy? I heard about him — supposedly he was Corvo’s apprentice. So he learned a few magic tricks, huh?” Blaise said. “Talk about capturing a likeness. But he can’t finish it if you’re not around, Dean.”

“Yeah.” Dean perked up slightly.

“So he kidnapped you?”

“Yes. And we got dragged through the arch and the maze. Then we got to the sea, and when a ship came, Marin took it over. Then pirates attacked, we went overboard and got rescued by Sir Innes’s niece, Lady Ishbel.” Sunni scowled. She downed water from a pottery jug and handed it to Dean. “That’s her ship we just escaped from.”

“Sir Innes’s niece is here? That’s something —”

“She’s a stuck-up cow. She’s out for herself, Blaise,” Sunni interrupted. “And she’s just
part
of our problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“You found a map, right?”

Blaise looked surprised. “How do you know that?”

“From Angus Bellini. He’s on that boat.”

“No way, not again! I thought I’d lost him.” He flushed with anger. “He said Mr. Bell sent him to rescue us, but I don’t believe that. I’ve been trying to ditch him for ages. Oh, man, Sunni, he’s big trouble.”

“We worked that out quickly, too,” she said grimly. “You’re right: all this stuff about him rescuing us is garbage. He wanted me to steal your map and give it to him behind Lady Ishbel’s back — or else he said he would hurt Dean.”

“No surprises there. So you fought back!”

“Sunni saved me,” Dean murmured from the bunk. “Again.”

Blaise looked admiringly at Sunni. “Very cool.” Then he moved the dagger aside and unrolled his map on the chart table. “Here’s the map I found stuck to the white wall between the maze and the sea. I didn’t get all of it, though. Angus was on my tail at the time.”

Dean hobbled over to look. “He wants it pretty badly.”

“Then he either knows something we don’t or he’s guessing it’s important.”

Sunni examined the top corner. “I think he has the missing piece.” She found her sketchbook, warped from its previous soaking, and opened it to a page of nine small sketches. “Angus dropped a scrap of paper with drawings on it. I memorized them as best I could and drew these.”

“You drew that from memory? Wow.” Blaise lined the map up with Sunni’s sketch. “These are definitely connected. That line there finishes the outline of this island on the map, and those little drawings look like they go with the others.”

“I haven’t a clue what they mean.”

“Well, see this rectangle? Doesn’t it look like the labyrinth in the Mariner’s Chamber?” He hoped Sunni and Dean saw what he did.

“Yeah, it does, actually.”

“It could be the symbol for a labyrinth. It might be the way out. That’s why I set a course for the island. We’re not that far from it now.” Blaise rolled up the map.

Sunni brightened. “We came in on a labyrinth, so maybe we have to go out on one.”

“Yep, that’s my guess.”

“Angus and Ishbel will come after the map, though.”

“They’ll have to catch us first. No way is Angus getting this! I bet he thinks it’ll show him where Corvo’s lost paintings are. That’s all he really wants, and he’ll do anything to get them.”

“You know about the lost paintings?” Sunni said. “Hugo told us about them.”

“Hugo.” Blaise lowered his head. “You haven’t heard about him and Inko yet. . . .” His voice trailed off.

“What?” asked Sunni and Dean in alarm.

“Hugo probably died in the maze, and Inko got swallowed up by thornbushes near Marin’s cave,” Blaise said quietly.

“Because of Angus?” Sunni swallowed hard.

Blaise nodded. “He doesn’t care who he hurts — or kills.”

Dean’s face was ashen. He crawled back into the bunk and curled up with his back to them. “It’ll be our turn next. We’ve got no chance.”

Blaise crouched down on the floor next to him. “It’ll be OK, Dean. We’ve just got to keep going.”

“That’s what Sunni keeps saying.”

“She’s right. You want to know why?” Blaise rattled off a list of advantages they had over Angus and Marin and any other monsters they might come across. He thought Dean was listening until the boy let out a snore.