“I think it goes right around the ship,” said Alice. “It’s how Dare spied on his men. That’s how he knew about the plot to kill him, even though they were hundreds of miles from Roanoke Island. His element doesn’t work any better than anyone else’s. He doesn’t need it to. He just eavesdrops on his men instead.”
I moved the candle around and caught a glimpse of something on the floor a couple yards away. I crawled in and retrieved it.
It was the missing journal from Kyte’s dune box—the one Rose had left on the beach at Hatteras, back when everything had started.
I flicked through it. It didn’t look the same as the others. Griffin had said that it probably worked in parallel with them, in which case he’d finally be able to complete the story that presently made so little sense. But where he’d feel the relief of having solved a mystery, I felt only panic.
Dare hadn’t delivered us at all. We’d delivered him.
CHAPTER 33
How did Dare survive?” muttered Alice. “It was a hurricane. We were lucky the ship didn’t capsize. Lucky we didn’t all drown.”
“What about the sailboats we tethered to the ship. They did capsize, remember? And I’m guessing he tied himself to one of them and rode out the storm that way.”
I replayed the night we’d endured the hurricane. How Dare had chosen to attack us during the eye of the storm. Why hadn’t it occurred to me that he never would’ve had time to capture us all, lock us up, and still return to Roanoke Island? Which meant he either knew we’d all survive the night, or he was willing to risk everything in order to keep us on board his ship. I’d assumed his main concern was to colonize Roanoke, but what if that was for his men’s benefit, not his own?
I gripped the desk. “The night that Kell came aboard, he wasn’t looking for signs of the Plague. He was looking for Dare.”
“Do you think he found him?”
“I don’t think so. Otherwise, Dare would’ve come ashore before last night.”
Alice stared at the journal. “So why did he stay on board?”
“I have no idea. But I’m sure there’s a reason. Seems like nothing Dare does is an accident.”
“This makes no sense.” She narrowed her eyes. “Your father said being a solution just means that you’re the first to show a new element. But elements don’t work as well here as they do on Roanoke Island. Dare would know that.”
“They still work a little, though. And I’m guessing there’s something in Sumter that Dare doesn’t have. Something that makes it worth taking the risk.”
There was a creak above us. We ran along the corridor, covering the candles to hide the flames. Nyla and Rose were still inside the cabin, but Jerren wasn’t there. He was walking down the stairs.
“Was that you up there?” snapped Alice.
“Yes,” he said. “I was preparing the ship.”
“We need to get to our families, not ready the ship.”
“Your families won’t be able to escape unless this ship is ready to sail. You think Chief is going to wait for us to get everything ready? No, he’ll come after us, and for once he won’t be afraid to waste bullets.”
While Jerren returned to the deck, Alice and I went into the cabin and inspected Nyla’s ankle. The bite mark was an angry red color. She winced as I touched the skin around it.
“I’m so sorry, Nyla,” I said. “When we come back, we’ll look at it again.”
She wouldn’t meet my eyes. “If you come back.”
I handed the candles to her. “Just remember, you have to stay on this side of the ship so that people on shore can’t see the light through the porthole.”
“I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere.” She frowned. “Please watch out for Jerren.”
“I will.”
I still had the journal in my left hand, so I placed it beside Rose. I hoped Griffin got the chance to read it one day.
Up on deck, the thunderstorm was almost upon us. Drops of rain spattered on the planks and lightning flashed faster and closer than before. In the glow of their torches, I saw a group of guards waiting at the entrance to the fort. I even detected the outline of other men on the battlements. So many men. They weren’t waiting for Kell anymore, that was certain.
Once we’d prepared the ship, we climbed down the rope ladder and onto one of the catamarans.
“We can’t sail over,” said Alice. “They’ll see us for sure, even if we head for the back of the island.”
“Then let’s swim around,” said Jerren. “We can hide behind the animal enclosures and see if that side has fewer guards.”
Without another word we dove off the boat and into the water. The swell was building, waves propelled by the stiffening wind. I counted every stroke, wondering if I was really getting closer or if we were caught in a tide that would keep us at arm’s length from the island.
Alice pulled away from Jerren and me with every stroke. Finally, she treaded water and waited for us. “We can’t make it all the way around,” she said, facing away from the fort so that her voice wouldn’t carry across the water. “It’ll take forever at this rate.”
Jerren stared at the battlements. His breathing was labored. “Maybe we can climb along the rocks at the bottom of the perimeter wall. It’ll be difficult for the guards to see straight down from the esplanade. We’ll be hidden.”
We headed straight for shore, pausing every dozen or so strokes because of movement on the battlements. Figures wandered back and forth along the top of the walls, but they seemed distracted, as if something far more important was going on elsewhere in the fort. I was certain it involved Griffin.
When we were less than twenty yards from the rocks that ran along the base of the wall, a couple of men took up positions directly in front of us. They were talking, words I couldn’t make out, and there was no way we could continue until they had passed. We treaded water again, waiting, while the rain that had fallen softly before finally came down in sheets. The initial burst of warmth I’d felt when I’d begun swimming was over, and as my muscles grew tired, a numb exhaustion took over instead.
Alice tapped me on the shoulder, startling me. “We have to move on.”
We continued swimming around the island. We were closer now than before and made faster progress, but there was also more risk of us being seen. I imagined there were dozens of armed men watching from the battlements, not a couple of men distracted by their own conversation.
Finally I made out the animal enclosures. Men were leaning against the coop, guns slung over their shoulders.
Alice and Jerren stopped swimming. “What now?” she asked.
Jerren shook his head. “They must realize this is where I got into the fort the other night.”
“So they know about the route up the wall?”
“Everyone knows about the route up the wall. They just don’t use it because it’s dangerous. One slip and you’ll break a leg. Or worse.”
“We need to get in,” pressed Alice. “Is there any other way?”
Jerren looked around him and his expression changed. He swam back a little ways and stopped. A moment later, he waved once and stood. Somehow he was only waist-deep in the water.
I felt something round, hard, and smooth knock against my legs as I joined him.
“The wastewater pipe,” he explained. “It leads into the fort’s sewer system.”
“How far does it run underwater?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve been in the sewer before, but never down as far as the water line. The pipe slopes slightly, but it could be completely underwater for several yards. Maybe twenty yards because of the tide.”
It was the only way into the fort. But what if the pipe was underwater for more than twenty yards? What if it was thirty? Or forty? What if we didn’t make it out the other end before our breath gave out?