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Authors: Joseph Delaney
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wish to be your
master.'
' For now? Do you mean that I'll be his apprentice
again one day?'
'It could happen but it's far from certain.'
A silence fell between us, and we could hear the
shouts of the crew as they brought the Celeste through
the mouth of the harbour and out into the estuary,
heading for the open sea. She was beginning to roll
again, and squawking seagulls followed in our wake.
'Why do you think he changed his mind, Mam?'
'John Gregory is a brave man who always puts duty
above personal needs and wishes. And that is exactly
what he's done on this occasion. He's seen what his
higher duty is and placed it above his own beliefs. But
he's been forced to sacrifice some of his principles, and
for a man like him, that's very hard.'
Despite what Mam said, I wasn't totally convinced
that it was only that. The Spook had always maintained
that you couldn't make alliances with servants
of the dark. Something else must have changed his
mind – I felt sure of it.
CHAPTER
8
T HE YOUNG LADIE S
The days passed and we continued south, always
keeping the coast in sight. Once a storm
threatened and we put into port for shelter, but mainly
the weather was sunny, with a good following wind.
Then, as we sailed away from the cliffs of our homeland,
preparing to cross the Channel, I could hear what
sounded like thunder in the distance.
'Another storm?' I asked.
Bill Arkwright shook his head and frowned. 'No,
Master Ward, those are big guns. Eighteen-pounders if
I'm not mistaken. There's a big battle taking place close
to the sea. Let's hope it's going our way.'
The invader came from an alliance of countries to
the east and southeast of our island. It was strange to
be so close to the battlefront yet be sailing beyond it
into open sea.
After completing our crossing of the Channel, we
sailed straight into a big storm in the Bay of Biscay.
Thunder cracked and boomed overhead like the
cannon-shot we'd heard previously, and forked
lightning rent the sky, the ship tossed hither and
thither upon the furious foam-flecked sea. I wasn't
the only one who feared that we would drown, but the
crew took it in their stride and we sailed on into calmer
waters, the air growing warmer by the day.
Eventually, moving through a strait that Mam called
the Pillars of Herakles, we entered the Mediterranean,
a vast inland sea.
'Who was Herakles?' I asked Mam. 'Was he a Greek?'
'That he was, son – a hero and man of great
strength,' she answered. 'The strongest man in the
whole world. See that huge rock to the north? It's
called Gibraltar, and it's one of the two pillars.
Herakles picked it up and threw it there!'
I laughed. It was preposterous! How big would he
have to be to do that?
'You can laugh, son,' Mam chided, 'but Greece is a
land of many strange stories – more are true than you
might believe.'
'But not throwing the rock!'
Mam didn't reply; she simply smiled mysteriously
and turned away. But before she'd taken half a dozen
paces she beckoned me, so I followed her down to her
cabin. She hadn't invited me in before so I wondered
what she wanted. It had to be something she needed to
say to me in private.
Mam led the way into the gloom of her cabin, lit a
lantern and placed it in the middle of the table, motioning
for me to sit down opposite her.
'Now, I think this is the time to tell you a little more
of what we face in Greece,' Mam said.
'Thank you,' I replied. 'It's been troubling me that I
don't know much about it.'
'I know, son, but I'm afraid there's lots that I don't
know either. I'm worried that the Ordeen might pass
through the portal before we arrive. As I said, she visits
every seven years, but not on exactly the same day.'
'So we have no way of knowing for certain when
she'll come?'
'No, but close to the time there'll be unmistakable
signs. First birds and animals will flee the area. Then
the sky will turn yellow and whirlwinds will sweep
away from the point where the portal opens. It has
always been so. Three days
master.'
' For now? Do you mean that I'll be his apprentice
again one day?'
'It could happen but it's far from certain.'
A silence fell between us, and we could hear the
shouts of the crew as they brought the Celeste through
the mouth of the harbour and out into the estuary,
heading for the open sea. She was beginning to roll
again, and squawking seagulls followed in our wake.
'Why do you think he changed his mind, Mam?'
'John Gregory is a brave man who always puts duty
above personal needs and wishes. And that is exactly
what he's done on this occasion. He's seen what his
higher duty is and placed it above his own beliefs. But
he's been forced to sacrifice some of his principles, and
for a man like him, that's very hard.'
Despite what Mam said, I wasn't totally convinced
that it was only that. The Spook had always maintained
that you couldn't make alliances with servants
of the dark. Something else must have changed his
mind – I felt sure of it.
CHAPTER
8
T HE YOUNG LADIE S
The days passed and we continued south, always
keeping the coast in sight. Once a storm
threatened and we put into port for shelter, but mainly
the weather was sunny, with a good following wind.
Then, as we sailed away from the cliffs of our homeland,
preparing to cross the Channel, I could hear what
sounded like thunder in the distance.
'Another storm?' I asked.
Bill Arkwright shook his head and frowned. 'No,
Master Ward, those are big guns. Eighteen-pounders if
I'm not mistaken. There's a big battle taking place close
to the sea. Let's hope it's going our way.'
The invader came from an alliance of countries to
the east and southeast of our island. It was strange to
be so close to the battlefront yet be sailing beyond it
into open sea.
After completing our crossing of the Channel, we
sailed straight into a big storm in the Bay of Biscay.
Thunder cracked and boomed overhead like the
cannon-shot we'd heard previously, and forked
lightning rent the sky, the ship tossed hither and
thither upon the furious foam-flecked sea. I wasn't
the only one who feared that we would drown, but the
crew took it in their stride and we sailed on into calmer
waters, the air growing warmer by the day.
Eventually, moving through a strait that Mam called
the Pillars of Herakles, we entered the Mediterranean,
a vast inland sea.
'Who was Herakles?' I asked Mam. 'Was he a Greek?'
'That he was, son – a hero and man of great
strength,' she answered. 'The strongest man in the
whole world. See that huge rock to the north? It's
called Gibraltar, and it's one of the two pillars.
Herakles picked it up and threw it there!'
I laughed. It was preposterous! How big would he
have to be to do that?
'You can laugh, son,' Mam chided, 'but Greece is a
land of many strange stories – more are true than you
might believe.'
'But not throwing the rock!'
Mam didn't reply; she simply smiled mysteriously
and turned away. But before she'd taken half a dozen
paces she beckoned me, so I followed her down to her
cabin. She hadn't invited me in before so I wondered
what she wanted. It had to be something she needed to
say to me in private.
Mam led the way into the gloom of her cabin, lit a
lantern and placed it in the middle of the table, motioning
for me to sit down opposite her.
'Now, I think this is the time to tell you a little more
of what we face in Greece,' Mam said.
'Thank you,' I replied. 'It's been troubling me that I
don't know much about it.'
'I know, son, but I'm afraid there's lots that I don't
know either. I'm worried that the Ordeen might pass
through the portal before we arrive. As I said, she visits
every seven years, but not on exactly the same day.'
'So we have no way of knowing for certain when
she'll come?'
'No, but close to the time there'll be unmistakable
signs. First birds and animals will flee the area. Then
the sky will turn yellow and whirlwinds will sweep
away from the point where the portal opens. It has
always been so. Three days
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