Page 92 of The Secret of Drulea Cottage
“Captain, ’tis late to be out. I’m on my way home right now.” She pointed at the cottage and moved to leave, but the man’s next words made her stop cold.
“Earlier today, when that storm came up over the ships… I saw you on the cliffs up there. I know you were the one who caused it.”
“Wh-What are you talking about? Th-That does na make any sense, sir. How could I have done something like that? Yer mistaken.”
Captain Costa scoffed and shook his head. He took a step closer. “Howyou did it is a mystery, but I know what I saw.”
Briony backed up a few feet.Can I make a run fer it? Would he catch me before I got to the cottage?
She glanced up the hill again, but it seemed too risky.’Tis better to talk my way out o’ this and then leave casually.
“Nay, that’s na possible,” she said.
“And last night at the Johnsmas gathering—”
Briony gasped. “That was N—” But then she caught herself and clamped her mouth shut before she could say more.I should na mention Niall. ’Twould just complicate things further.
The captain raised an eyebrow. “Hmm? That waswhat?”
“’Twas na me.”
He sighed in frustration. “Deny it all you wish, but still listen to my proposition.”
Briony said nothing and waited for him to continue.
“You want to save Senhor Mendes. I want to save Senhor Mendes. You have the ability—somehow—to create storms. If we work together, we can both achieve our goal.”
“How?”
“Work your magic. Create chaos. While everyone is distracted, I can sneak onto the ship and free Senhor Mendes. I’ll make sure my men and Senhorita Mendes are aboard theSão Nicolau, and we’ll leave before the commodore can stop us. We’ll disappear forever, and Senhor Mendes will be safe.”
’Tis a good plan, she admitted to herself,better than any o’ my ideas, except fer the “disappear forever” part.
“IfI can create storms as you claim, then why would I want yer help? Why na just rescue him myself?”
The captain rolled his eyes with a snort. “Don’t try that on me. Why you need my help doesn’t matter. All that matters is you do. If you could do it on your own, then you would have already. The man’s life is in your hands. You can either help me, or you can let him return to Portugal for a mockery of a trial that will undoubtedly result in his execution.”
Briony pursed her lips, not wanting to seem too desperate.He needs me much more than I need him, but he’s acting like he has the advantage. He may think he has some hold over me because he knows my secret, but I know a secret o’ my own.
She gave Costa a hard look. “There’s still something I don’ understand: Why do you want to help Mr. Mendes now when you tried to kill him before?”
The captain’s face hardened until he resembled chiseled stone. All life fled from his eyes only to be replaced by something terrifying. And despite her powers, fear rose to the forefront of Briony’s mind.My stupid, impulsive mouth is about to cost me more than I want to give.
Briony was just about to sing the man into submission, but then Costa gripped her throat. “My reasons for helping Senhor Mendes are none of your concern. I wanted to do this the nice way, but apparently that’s not an option. Now, I don’t know what kind of witchcraft you possess, but it’s only thanks to mygenerositythat you’re still alive right now. I can end that at any point I wish. Do you understand?”
Briony couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe, could barely—
“Do you understand?”
She nodded even though she couldn’t remember what he was talking about. The edges of her vision started to blur, and her eyes began to get heavier—
But then Briony was gasping on the ground! She took giant gulps of air and touched a hand to her burning throat. She looked up into the captain’s baleful eyes and had to resist the urge to cower.
“If you tell anyone what youthinkyou know, I’ll make you regret it. You better get going now, and I’ll get my men ready to leave. I expect to see that storm in three hours’ time. Don’t disappoint me, or you’ll have missed your only opportunity to save Senhor Mendes.”
Briony rose to her feet without another word, giving the captain one final glance before stumbling back to Drulea Cottage’s door. Before she could open it, though, a voice grumbled, “I did na expect you to make me wait fer so long.”
She spun toward the voice with a gasp and found Niall leaning against the cool stone wall outside. “Niall! Why are you out here?”
