think,’ Blizzard said, pacing the deck. ‘You live in a castle where the locals tell stories of strange sea monsters, of peculiar noises in the night. And Oginski is a brilliant inventor – did you know he tried to sell the navy plans for a manned balloon before the Montgolfier brothers flew? His was far better but my short-sighted superiors couldn’t think of a use for it.’
‘I was being sarcastic when I said I flew,’ Dakkar sneered.
‘You can laugh but I’d almost believe you. Oginski is a genius,’ Blizzard replied. ‘And then, just as we leave Britain, we see a strange sight approaching us. My lookout said we were nearly rammed by some kind of whale.’
‘I wish it had rammed you,’ Dakkar muttered.
‘Oginski was working with Fulton on an underwater boat, wasn’t he?’ Blizzard said suddenly. ‘You took it thinking Oginski was on board my ship.’
‘No,’ Dakkar said, his cheeks reddening.
‘Fulton developed a fully functional submersible over ten years ago,’ Blizzard said. ‘He tried to sell the design to the French and to us, but again people were short-sighted. I think he continued working on it, refining it, with Oginski’s help.’
‘I don’t know anything about this!’ Dakkar yelled, tears streaming down his face. ‘Someone has taken Oginski. I just want to find him!’
‘So you had nothing to do with the sudden and mysterious destruction of the pirate ship’s rudder?’ Blizzard said in a low voice. ‘Take him back down below.’
Dakkar remained silent as Slater and Finch led him back to the hold and the pirates. They opened the door and threw him in.
The pirates all stared at him as he stumbled through the door. He squatted on the ground, his head bowed. If they knew I’d sunk their ship, they’d kill me! he thought.
‘So he threw you back, did he?’ the one-eyed pirate cackled. His long beak-like nose made Dakkar think of an old crow. ‘You were pulled out of the water, weren’t you?’
‘What of it?’ Dakkar said, shrugging and eyeing the pirate.
‘So where’d you come from then? Stowaway? Fall from the sky?’ His one good eye glittered in the gloom.
‘Stowaway,’ Dakkar muttered. ‘I fell in when they lowered the lifeboats.’
‘Really?’ The pirate grinned. Dakkar shuddered. ‘When you was out for the count before, you was doin’ a lot o’ talkin’ an’ mutterin’ in your sleep, like.’
‘I have bad dreams.’ Dakkar blushed.
‘I’ll bet you do, if they involve Oginski,’ the pirate said, and sniggered as Dakkar’s head snapped up.
‘What d’you mean?’ Dakkar asked, glaring at the man.
‘That’s a cursed name,’ said a pirate close by. His golden earrings sparkled against his ebony skin. ‘Oginski is a name to fear.’
‘He don’t know the story,’ One-eye said. ‘Albie, you tell it well.’
An old man, with a straggly, grey beard and a scar across his neck, shuffled forward and took a deep breath.
‘Once, a long time ago – not in your lifetime, but in mine – there lived a count and a countess, and they were very happy. God had blessed them with a castle, rich vineyards and a land of such beauty that it could barely be imagined.
‘But their crowning glory, their true blessing, was their seven sons. Each was handsome, each was clever and each had a particular skill. One was a great soldier, another could coax animals from the trees, while another built inventions that would baffle dukes and ladies across the land with their ingenuity and craft. These boys were always competing with each other to see who could ride the fastest, jump the highest, drink the most, sing the loudest. They were so full of life.
‘Sad to say, nothing lasts for ever, be it good or bad, and such was the case for the count and countess. All seven sons fell in love. With the same woman. Her name was Celina, a wondrous beauty; her hair was like spun gold and her lips like roses. When she sang, it put the nightingale to shame.
‘As
‘I was being sarcastic when I said I flew,’ Dakkar sneered.
‘You can laugh but I’d almost believe you. Oginski is a genius,’ Blizzard replied. ‘And then, just as we leave Britain, we see a strange sight approaching us. My lookout said we were nearly rammed by some kind of whale.’
‘I wish it had rammed you,’ Dakkar muttered.
‘Oginski was working with Fulton on an underwater boat, wasn’t he?’ Blizzard said suddenly. ‘You took it thinking Oginski was on board my ship.’
‘No,’ Dakkar said, his cheeks reddening.
‘Fulton developed a fully functional submersible over ten years ago,’ Blizzard said. ‘He tried to sell the design to the French and to us, but again people were short-sighted. I think he continued working on it, refining it, with Oginski’s help.’
‘I don’t know anything about this!’ Dakkar yelled, tears streaming down his face. ‘Someone has taken Oginski. I just want to find him!’
‘So you had nothing to do with the sudden and mysterious destruction of the pirate ship’s rudder?’ Blizzard said in a low voice. ‘Take him back down below.’
Dakkar remained silent as Slater and Finch led him back to the hold and the pirates. They opened the door and threw him in.
The pirates all stared at him as he stumbled through the door. He squatted on the ground, his head bowed. If they knew I’d sunk their ship, they’d kill me! he thought.
‘So he threw you back, did he?’ the one-eyed pirate cackled. His long beak-like nose made Dakkar think of an old crow. ‘You were pulled out of the water, weren’t you?’
‘What of it?’ Dakkar said, shrugging and eyeing the pirate.
‘So where’d you come from then? Stowaway? Fall from the sky?’ His one good eye glittered in the gloom.
‘Stowaway,’ Dakkar muttered. ‘I fell in when they lowered the lifeboats.’
‘Really?’ The pirate grinned. Dakkar shuddered. ‘When you was out for the count before, you was doin’ a lot o’ talkin’ an’ mutterin’ in your sleep, like.’
‘I have bad dreams.’ Dakkar blushed.
‘I’ll bet you do, if they involve Oginski,’ the pirate said, and sniggered as Dakkar’s head snapped up.
‘What d’you mean?’ Dakkar asked, glaring at the man.
‘That’s a cursed name,’ said a pirate close by. His golden earrings sparkled against his ebony skin. ‘Oginski is a name to fear.’
‘He don’t know the story,’ One-eye said. ‘Albie, you tell it well.’
An old man, with a straggly, grey beard and a scar across his neck, shuffled forward and took a deep breath.
‘Once, a long time ago – not in your lifetime, but in mine – there lived a count and a countess, and they were very happy. God had blessed them with a castle, rich vineyards and a land of such beauty that it could barely be imagined.
‘But their crowning glory, their true blessing, was their seven sons. Each was handsome, each was clever and each had a particular skill. One was a great soldier, another could coax animals from the trees, while another built inventions that would baffle dukes and ladies across the land with their ingenuity and craft. These boys were always competing with each other to see who could ride the fastest, jump the highest, drink the most, sing the loudest. They were so full of life.
‘Sad to say, nothing lasts for ever, be it good or bad, and such was the case for the count and countess. All seven sons fell in love. With the same woman. Her name was Celina, a wondrous beauty; her hair was like spun gold and her lips like roses. When she sang, it put the nightingale to shame.
‘As
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