Page 103 of Stilettos & Secrets on the 7 Seas

Ace was right. “What would make a sixteen-year-old boy want to leave his home and join the WTF?”

“Girls?” Ace suggested.

“No. The crew have introduced him to the tavern and all it has to offer, but he’s not interested. His mother taught him good manners.”

“What about video games?”

“I don’t think he’d understand the concept.” I closed the medicine bag and bent over to place it in the chest. A carved object was wedged in the leather straps lining the inside of the chest. I thought about all the wooden figurines Max whittled. I picked it up and left the medicine bag. I ran my hand over the square block of wood and along the curved top.

“Is that some sort of box?” Ace examined the item in my hand.

It wasn’t a box, it looked like… a car. Max’s mother had told him about more than how to be respectful to women.

“Cars. If Max saw Marco’s vessel, he’d love it.” Was it possible Max’s mother had told him about cars like she’d taught him the Elton John song? Possibly preparing him to return to her time?

“Unless we remove the extra rowboats, there’s not enough room on the bow of theSea Storm.” Ace pointed out.

“If we get off the ship at Bone Island, we might have a chance there.”

“Bone Island sounds delightful.”

Yeah, delightfully deadly.

Thirty-Three

After Ace left, I spent the remainder of the day thumbing through a few books on the shelves. Rowan surprised me with copies of Shakespeare and Cervantes. I didn’t peg him as a romantic but more of a trolls and sea monsters type.

Shrug continued guarding my door as if I might turn into smoke and creep out under his nose. Every few hours, he’d escort me to the deck and walk me around like a trained monkey.

Vane’s sails loomed in the distance, keeping us in his line of sight, as promised. I caught up with Rowan on deck and asked if Max had recovered from the jump. I received a dismissive grunt.

Ace brought me a slice of the pig, promising it was from the best section, not the part the flies landed on. I ate a few bites only because my stomach rumbled, but I mainly stuck to the fruit, dried meats, and biscuits.

I paced the room, racking my brain for a plan until moonlight streamed in through my window. My giant shadow, cast on the walls by candlelight and moonbeams, followed me like an agitated bird flapping her wings in distress.

I was wasting time trapped in this floating box. Vane had a map. Sasha knew how to get it but lacked the muscle needed to fight her way out if she got caught. Maybe I could bash Shrug over the head with the empty bottle of rum.

I ran my fingers over the books in the bookcase and stopped onA Cruising Voyage Round the Worldby Woodes Rogers. And then, like the flip of a light switch, Gertie’s voice rang so loud in my head that I thought she was standing next to me. “It happens here. If you can change this, you’ll change the timeline and Marco’s fate.”

I yanked the book off the shelf and opened it. “Thank you, Gertie. I have to find a way to stall Vane until the time is right.”

A thud sounded in the hall. I put thoughts of my imaginative insurgence on hold as my door rattled and the lock tumbled. It swung open and a man stood in the shadows. I stepped backward, stifling a scream.

Caiyan stepped over the threshold. His hair had gone all dark and wild, like Medusa impersonating a serial killer from a B-rated Halloween movie.

“Jen, are ye all right?”

“Jeez, what happened to your hair?” I lowered my hand from my chest. “It looks like a nest of snakes.”

He paused, the worried look on his face quickly replaced by two forked lines between his eyes. He ran a hand over his dreadlocks, smoothing the braids.

He clicked the door shut. “I came as soon as I could. The guards dinnae give me much chance to escape unnoticed.”

“Where’s my guard dog, Shrug?”

“I allowed him to take a nap. Most of the crew is asleep. A good time for me to slip oot.” Caiyan took in my cabin and the open book on the table.

“Are ye reading?” His tone hinted he’d never seen me read a book before.

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