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eat. When he did go outside, the sea lashed the deck and the horizon pitched up and down. Dakkar imagined being trapped in the Makara on the mountainous waves that surrounded them and shuddered. All the time he wondered how he would get off the ship and find Oginski.
    ‘Fulton’s the key,’ Blizzard said one day, making Dakkar jump as he scrubbed at the decking with a stiff brush. ‘If you want to find Oginski, I mean.’
    The weather had calmed and, although the sky hung sullen and grey, the winds had dropped.
    ‘With respect, sir,’ Dakkar said, looking at his feet, ‘Oginski barely knew Mr Fulton.’
    ‘Whatever you say,’ Blizzard sighed, clamping his hands behind his back. ‘Once we’ve destroyed this steam battery of Fulton’s, we’ll be returning to England and then it’s the gallows for you, boy.’
    ‘You won’t be claiming the reward my father is said to have offered?’ Dakkar asked, looking up at Blizzard.
    The commander laughed. ‘If a court finds you guilty of piracy – and you were caught in the company of pirates – then, prince or no, you will hang. I have no interest in money or wealth. I live only to serve my country.’
    And you’re well paid for it into the bargain , Dakkar thought, eyeing Blizzard’s fine coat and breeches.
    ‘And why exactly did my father offer such a reward?’ Dakkar said, unable to keep the contempt from leeching into his voice.
    ‘Why, because you vanished, young man,’ Blizzard said with a short laugh. ‘Presumed kidnapped. But no ransom was demanded – some thought you dead.’
    A scream cut Dakkar’s next question short. He turned and stared in horror at the thing that was crawling on to the ship.

Chapter Nine
    The Creature from the Depths
    A huge red tentacle gripped a sailor and whisked him from the deck. Dakkar caught the look of horror in his staring eyes as he vanished, dragged over the side and into the sea. Water rained down on the deck as more tentacles squirmed their way across the deck or through the rigging. Men’s shouts of anger or terror mingled with the odd gunshot.
    Dakkar hurried over to the railings and saw a giant eye staring up from the sea, the huge bulk of the body tapering off into the depths.
    ‘A giant squid,’ he gasped. ‘I saw one off the coast the day before –’
    ‘Quickly, Dakkar – down below,’ Blizzard yelled. He took a step forward but a tentacle reached up over the side and curled round his leg.
    Blizzard gave a howl as the fabric of his breeches tore under its grip. Dakkar could see the serrated suckers on the tentacle drawing blood.
    Snatching up an axe, Dakkar leapt forward and hacked into the rubbery flesh of the squid. The creature quivered but continued to drag Blizzard along the deck to the side of the ship. Dakkar hacked and hacked again. Another tentacle swooped down, swatting at Dakkar. He dodged to one side, feeling the thick arm swish just above his head. With a yell, he brought the axe down on the creature’s twitching limb. The axe struck through flesh and bit into the hard deck, numbing Dakkar’s arm with the impact. Blizzard collapsed, gripping his injured leg as the severed tentacle writhed and twisted close by.
    More tentacles squirmed towards Dakkar, tipping a rowing boat over and spilling its contents on to the deck. Dakkar snatched up a long boat hook that rolled to his feet and he stabbed it at the flailing arms.
    Finch swirled past, bellowing obscenities from the end of a snaking squid arm. Dakkar hurled the boat hook and smiled with grim satisfaction as it pierced the arm. Finch gave a strangled cry and plummeted on to the deck with a thud.
    The crew had rallied now and Blizzard’s marines in their red coats hurried forward, firing musket shot after musket shot until the squid blew a fountain of black ink into the air and slid back into the water.
    Dakkar scurried across the slimy deck to where Blizzard lay. His leg looked torn and bloodied but he managed a grin at Dakkar.
    ‘Thank