Page 27

Twenty

Benny

Present Day

“The last clue,” Zara whispered as the rain came, pounding the roof. “Evelyn said this is the final riddle.”

“One riddle left,” Benny whispered, almost to herself. “And one day left to play the game.” Her heart was pounding now. “We have time to finish this.”

I can still win this.

Another crack of thunder made them both jump.

“Benny! Zara! My dad is freaking out! We have to go!” Ryan called up to them.

“Coming!” Zara shouted. “Quick, let’s put the figurehead back. Hopefully my grandmother won’t notice it’s broken till after the gala.”

Benny pocketed the letter in her raincoat and placed the velvet pouch in her pocket. Then she helped Zara move the wooden figure back just as Earl descended the steps.

“Oh good, you two are still here. I’m leaving with you. This weather is wild!” Earl said. “Feels like we ticked off some gods or something.”

Zara and Benny knew what the other was thinking. Or something. Like a Blood Orange Moon.

“Come on, Earl,” Zara said, offering the older man her arm. “Let’s get to the boat.”

The boat was idling as they walked down the dock with Earl and helped him aboard.

“I’m sorry,” Benny said when she saw Harris. “We were helping Earl with something that couldn’t wait.”

“Apologize when we make it out of this storm. Get inside with the others,” Harris directed as Ryan untied the rope from the small deck. They pulled away from the dock quickly, the boat tilting and swaying in the waves.

Benny was sure she was going to be sick as Ryan held open the door to the large cabin and Earl made himself comfortable on a bed on the lower level. The older man immediately fell asleep, fears of capsizing in a storm obviously far from his mind.

“Did you find it?” Ryan asked hopefully. “Because if you didn’t, I just pretended to faint for nothing.”

“We got it,” Benny said breathlessly, and pulled the satchel out of her pocket. She was desperate to see what was inside the pouch. Ryan and Zara watched as she opened the dusty pouch and a small round compact tumbled into her hand. The top of the compact was gold, burnished and tarnished from years inside a bag. Engraved on the top was a symbol that looked like a fancy star. “What is it?”

“I’m going to bet that’s a compass rose,” Zara said excitedly, gently picking it up and holding it up to the light.

“Compass! That was in the riddle,” Benny exclaimed.

“It’s a nautical symbol,” Ryan added. “They’re also called compass stars. They were used by captains to find their way on the high seas. Everyone owned one of these in the eighteen hundreds, whether they were seamen or not.”

Benny took it back and looked at it closely, noticing a lever on the left side. She pressed it, and the compact popped open, revealing a glass dome and roman numerals. A magnetic needle under the glass held steady with the arrows up and down. “How does this work?” She tapped the glass and the needle started to spin. “Is this supposed to point north? Like it’s directional?”

“Let me see,” Ryan said and took it again, trying to stay steady in the bumpy cabin. He frowned. “Maybe you just thought the dial moved. This seems to be broken.”

“Let me try,” Zara said, taking it next. “Maybe you’re doing it wrong.”

“How can you do it wrong? You hold a compass, and the dial moves,” Ryan said. “North, south, east, west. It’s not hard.”

Zara gave him a look. “Unlike working with sodium metal.”

They hit a bump and collided.

“You are not bringing that up again, are you?” Ryan grumbled.

Benny reached over and took the compass from Zara again while they continued to bicker. Her fingers seemed to spark as she touched the warm metal. The needle immediately started to whir again, spinning lightning fast in circles in the palm of her hand. “Look!”

Zara and Ryan stopped arguing and looked over.

“Whoa. Let me see that,” Ryan said, grabbing the compass again. The needle stopped again. “Okay, that’s weird.”

Zara plucked it back. The compass was turning into a game of hot potato. When Zara held it, the needle didn’t move.

Zara looked at Benny quizzically. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think this thing only works when you’re holding it.”

“That’s impossible,” Benny sputtered, even though a little voice in her head was telling her the same thing. She took the compass back and moved around the cabin, trying to keep her feet steady as the boat rocked. The needle started to spin again, moving in her hand. She felt her whole body tingling, whispers and voices invading her head. Is this really happening? she wondered. Benny felt both nervous and excited, and her pulse was racing. “I think it’s trying to give me the location of the island.”

“Ryan!” Harris’s voice came from above deck as the boat started to slow down. “I need your help up here.”

“I’ll be back,” Ryan told them, rushing out of the cabin. “Don’t figure anything else out without me.”

“Maybe the letter explains what the compass is for,” Zara guessed.

“Yes, the letter,” Benny said, having almost forgotten about it. She removed the thick envelope from her pocket and carefully broke the seal. Inside were numerous journal entries, another riddle, and thankfully, this time Evelyn had included a letter. It was dated 1850 like the other letters. She read it aloud, not waiting for Ryan, her hands shaking as she spoke.

Everly Benedict,

You’re so close to winning the game now.

Can you feel the island calling to you?

Have you maybe even seen it?

I picture a girl, my blood, staring out at my island and wondering what to make of such a fantastical place. I myself did the same. The choices I made on the island are not necessarily the ones you will make, but I hope these new journal entries enclosed will explain what led to my decision.

Some have called me rash. There are those who loathe me for what happened that day. I’ve made my peace with all of it. I know in my heart I did what I had to do to save my friends—-Aggy, Gil, Thomas, and Laurel. My hope is, once you read these new journal entries, you’ll understand why I’d go to such lengths, including leaving my inheritance and creating a game for a girl not even born yet as of this writing.

One journal entry remains. When you figure out the final riddle, you’ll receive the final pages. As I’ve said before, everything written in my journal is true, as hard as it is to believe. I’ve hidden entries separately for fear they’ll fall into the wrong hands, but now that you are so close to the end, I suspect you’ll understand my reasoning.

The island’s treasure is both valuable and dangerous. In the wrong hands, it could be exploited. Lives have been ruined because of it. But now you have the chance to right my wrongs. The last riddle will see you through to the end. Get to the island and save my friends. I beg of you.

One more thing…if you meet Captain Kimble at the end of this journey, please help free him too. We’ve made our peace, and he’s a good man who deserves not only to live, but to age, as I have. There is beauty in growing older. I see that now.

Godspeed, Everly Benedict, and thank you. For everything.

Your final riddle:

Underwater is the final piece

Needed for the curse to cease.

In order to find it, down you’ll go

To somewhere Jonas Kimble knows,

Through a tunnel with no way out

Until it’s time to take the route,

And find the place where I once roamed,

So you may lead my dear friends home.