The Sea Wolves (32 page)

When Jack used an old, broken sword to crack open one of the barrels, he immediately recognized what it contained.

“Oh,” he said. He stared for a few heartbeats, then replaced the lid as best he could and set the barrel atop the others. As he continued in search of food, he wondered what use the gunpowder might be.

He moved farther into the trees, and as he started gathering fruit for breakfast, he was warmed by a background buzz of happiness.

“Mango,” he said, picking three of the fruits. He worked his way deeper, up the slope heading inland. “Papaya. Guava. A regular cocktail!” He gathered the fruits in his shirtfront, then returned to the beach to peel and prepare them.

Sabine had still not returned. He thought of calling out for her but decided against it.

As he settled next to the remains of the night's fire, she emerged from the trees at the far end of the beach at a run, and he could tell from her gait that it was a run driven by fear. He dropped the fruit and grabbed his knife, looking past Sabine, readying himself for whatever might emerge from the undergrowth in pursuit. The beach was short, curved around the small bay, and the pursuer would be on them in moments.

But nothing followed her. Sabine's face was slack with panic, but in her eyes Jack saw a desire to reach him, not a need to escape something.

“What is it?” he asked, and she ran into his embrace.

“Death,” she said, panting. “I was in the trees, sitting, exploring the island, and I felt Death closing in on me. On us. He's coming, Jack.”

“Death Nilsson,” Jack said, because for a moment he'd thought she had meant true death. Perhaps this was worse. “But how does he know of us? Did he torture the truth from Ghost? And even if he did, he can't know we came here.”

“No,” Sabine said, waving away everything he had said. She took deep breaths, calming herself. “He doesn't know of us, at least not yet. But I probed out as far as I could and touched on a mind I did not expect—Ghost's. He's still alive, along with some of his crew.”

“Death did not kill his brother,” Jack said.

“Not yet. But after he captured and sank the
Larsen
, he took Ghost and his crew prisoner. His own ship was badly damaged in the battle. They're sailing here for repairs, but Death has another intention. When they land, he means to finish Ghost here, on this island. Torture and kill him.”

“How long do we have?”

“They're perhaps eight miles out.”

Jack's mind was spinning, the good cheer he'd felt upon waking being rapidly abraded by old fears. But he and Sabine had already bested Ghost and his crew and escaped. And this time they were at an advantage—Death did not yet know of their presence, and they had time to plan. But escape wouldn't be enough; he knew that now. They would never have true peace unless they rid the world of the sea wolves forever.

“They'll sense us as soon as they arrive,” Sabine said. “Hear, smell. And Death's crew is larger. They will track and capture us, and then kill us.”

“You fear death?” Jack asked, instantly regretting the question.

“No,” Sabine said. “But I fear yours.”

Jack grinned. The fear slipped from Sabine's face, and her beautiful smile suddenly gave him hope.

“Neither of us is going to die,” he said. “I already have a plan.”

He sat down and started peeling fruit.

“Jack?”

“Breakfast,” he said. “We have time. And we
need
them to know we're here, and to think we're unaware of their approach. So we'll leave as much evidence of our presence as we can.”

Sabine sat beside Jack and ate, and for a while silence hung around them. Jack could smell Sabine's body, sense the heat of her where she almost, but not quite, touched his bare arm with hers, and her trust was comforting. As they ate, he thought through their situation. And as they finished their last piece of fruit, he knew what they had to do.

“We need to rescue Ghost. He's the only chance we have of surviving an encounter with his brother.”

“Yes,” Sabine said, and Jack was not surprised at her agreement.

“Prevent Death from murdering him, and free whatever might be left of the
Larsen
's crew.”

“Ghost will fight for me,” Sabine said softly. “Even after all this, I'm sure of that.”

“Precisely,” Jack said. “And we'll have to help him and his wolves defeat Death and his crew.”

Sabine frowned.
So beautiful, so old, so innocent
, Jack thought, and his heart swelled once again with the love he felt for this woman. The thought of losing her was so terrible, and the challenges facing them were almost insurmountable. But his concept of the future did not allow defeat. He was not afraid.

“But how can the two of us possibly do that?” she asked.

“That's where the previous tenants of this island can help,” he said. “Follow me. I have something to show you.”

It took them two hours to prepare. Two hours of hard, backbreaking work, during which time neither of them even entertained the possibility of failure. There could
be
no failure. Everything Jack now lived for, and everything he had found, depended on their plan succeeding.

When they had prepared as much as they could, they climbed the shoulder of land between the two beaches and looked out to sea. The
Charon
was clearly visible, perhaps three miles out and drifting toward them. Sabine tasted the air and told Jack that the engines were flooded, and that the big steamer was being driven by wind and wave power alone. Ghost and his crew were locked away belowdecks—she could not place them accurately—and Death himself rode the bow, watching as the island grew larger before them.

“He might see us up here,” Jack said.

“All the better if he does,” Sabine said.

They watched the ship together. It was close enough to see but too far away to make out any real detail. Jack stared at the vessel's bow. Death might be there, but from here he was a speck, a blur. If their plan held together, so he would remain forevermore.

“It'll work,” Jack said.

“I know,” Sabine replied. They were comforting each other and striving to convince themselves.

There were eventualities that could not be planned for in such a short time, but their scheme had enough fluidity to allow for these. Partly with subtlety and the element of surprise, but mostly with something that the monsters sailing toward them would understand only too well.

Brute force.

C
ouldn't they have made landfall in the dark?
Jack thought, grumbling to himself as he picked his way through a copse of prickly trees. He paused to test the breeze to make certain he remained downwind of the slightly listing steamship and its crew as they disembarked from the rowboats. As quietly as possible, he slid the last of the wooden barrels off from his shoulder and set it down with the four others that had remained intact enough to move. He could feel his pulse from his temples to the tips of his fingers. His throat had gone dry. He and Sabine were going to get only one opportunity at this, and failure would mean death.

For me
, he thought. She might survive. And it was true, he wasn't completely certain of the extent of Sabine's powers. She could influence the weather, but could she lift herself up on the wind? It seemed impossible, but that word had become flexible of late.

Still, Jack knew that she would have told him about any abilities that would aid them against the sea wolves.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, picturing the camp where he had left her. Even now she would be stoking the flames of the fire they had built outside the ruin of that old encampment. The smoke had to continue to rise in order to lead Death's crew away from their ship. Sabine had made herself bait.

Can you really do this, Sabine?
Jack had asked her.
Even with the ability to hex their minds and senses, can you elude them long enough to stay alive?

She had insisted that she could do it. She had once beguiled Ghost and his crew on board the
Larsen
, but Ghost had kept such close guard of her when they were at anchor that she had not been able to escape. Jack could only hope that her abilities were as subtle and effective as she claimed.

Hidden among those prickly trees, Jack watched the werewolves come ashore. He did not recognize any of them, but in the lead boat was a huge, muscular man with a thick beard and grizzled features. With his obvious pride, and his air of command and utter ruthlessness, there could be no mistaking him—this was Death Nilsson.

Jack took a long breath and let it out, feeling the breeze and listening to the trees rustling around him. If Sabine lost her concentration and the wind reversed itself, carrying Jack's scent to the wolves, their plan would end in blood and death.

Dragging their boats onto the rocky beach, Death Nilsson and eleven members of his crew came ashore. The captain would have left some of his pack on board to guard Ghost and his remaining crew, no doubt, but though it was a steamship, the crew wouldn't be much larger than twenty. At most there were eight of Death's men on board.

Eight is too many
, Jack thought.
I can't…

But he refused to let the thought go any further. There was no room for hesitation in their plan. Hesitation would kill them just as surely as claws or fangs.

With gestures, nods, and quietly growled commands, Death spread his pack out along the beach. Two of them dropped to their knees and snuffled along the rocks and sand until they reached the first of the jungle plants. The others simply waited. Death laid his head back and sniffed at the air, searching for a scent. They could all see the smoke rising from the fire beyond the rocks and on the next beach, and they would have picked up the scents that Jack and Sabine had left since their arrival … and perhaps the scent of Sabine herself, waiting for them right now, an easy target.

Come on
, he thought,
what are you waiting for? You know
you have to at least go have a look. Might be someone good to eat
.

The thought, so full of cynical levity, horrified him, but his frustration had an edge he could not control. Fully half a minute went by as Death considered the island. Several of his wolves walked toward the shoulder of rock jutting out between the beaches, and they climbed with a grace and agility that made Jack gasp, pulling themselves up using trees, rocks, and undergrowth. Once at the top, they peered down at the beach beyond, but still did not hurry in the direction of the campfire.

Then, at last, Death glanced out at his steamship—its entire hull was painted black, save where it had rammed the
Larsen
. When he turned back toward the beach, he wore a smile that chilled the blood in Jack's veins. He uttered a command that seemed more bark than words, and the remaining werewolves ran toward the spit of land and the beach. They climbed as quickly as their companions, then disappeared beyond, Death among them.

Jack swallowed. They would be on the beach by now, and in the camp where Sabine had kept the fire burning. Jack's deception had begun, and the clock was ticking.

He took a deep breath, looking at the rowboats on the beach and the steamship listing slightly just offshore—a great black behemoth—and then ran, hoisting one of the wooden barrels up onto his shoulder again.

As quietly as possible, relying on the crash of the surf to mask his steps from any wolf that might have remained out of sight nearby, he made it to the rowboats. He set the barrel down in one of them and pushed it off the beach, shoving it a short way out into the waves before he climbed in and began rowing.

The
Charon
loomed large and dark as the gates of Hades as he approached, throwing its cold shadow over him. His life might end at any moment with discovery by the wolves who must have remained on board, but all he could think about was Sabine. Would she be hiding in the trees? No, she was not Lesya. That was not where the strength of her magic lay. Though she had given him precious few details, Jack knew she would have slid into the ocean to evade the wolves. She would let them have her scent, and lead them on a chase across and around the island, keeping them occupied as long as she was able. Though she did not sing like the sirens of myth, she claimed that she could muddle the minds of men and wolves alike, and blind them to her presence. But until he saw her again—until he held her in his arms and felt her kiss upon his lips—he would fear for her, and grieve the life he dreamed they might have together.