Page 107 of The Secret of Drulea Cottage

The cabin door flew open, bringing in a torrent of rain as the ship rebalanced and Costa, too, found his footing.

“Capitão! Senhor Mendes! Come quick!” A sailor appeared in the doorway, his eyes distraught. “Silva went overboard!”

“Show me!” Santiago followed the sailor out, not bothering to check if Costa was behind him.

A monstrous storm the likes of which Santiago had never seen was swirling directly above theSão Nicolau. Lightning descended in vicious bolts while giant black clouds blocked out all sunlight. Waves rocked the ship back and forth, making it almost impossible to stay upright. The mainmast started to bend; it wouldn’t be long before it collapsed.

Santiago gripped the side of the ship and made his way forward—

But something hit him from behind, propelling him toward the mast—

CRACK!

Santiago was on his back, trying to scramble out of the way, but he couldn’t move quite fast enough. The top half of the mast crashed down, landing on his right leg.

He cried out as pain tore through his body. It was so intense that he felt his mind swimming, drifting in and out of consciousness. He tried to pull his leg out, but it wouldn’t budge.

Santiago was trapped. “H-Help…”

All of a sudden, a silhouette appeared directly above him. Santiago’s heart leaped—

But then a pistol was in his face. With what was left of his strength, Santiago willed his eyelids to stay open.If this is to be my final moment, I’m going to make sure I look my killer in the eye.

Captain Costa stared down at him with a triumphant smirk and cocked his gun. “In regards to your previous question, I have no idea how Évora was last year. I had a previous engagement in Lisbon, and it would hardly have been gentlemanly to betray my associate’s trust. I’m sure you understand.”

“D-Don’t…” Santiago reached his hand out toward Andreas, hoping the friend he’d met years ago was in there somewhere.

“Goodbye, Santiago Mendes.”

Santiago slumped forward and fell into darkness.

*

When he woke later with Lucia hovering over him, he was in too much pain to tell her what had happened. The sailors had gotten the mast off him and lifted him onto a stretcher before he’d even opened his eyes. Lucia was weeping and asking him if he could hear her, but then Costa was beside her, wrapping an arm around the woman’s shoulders.

“Don’t cry, Lucia. Santiago will get through this. He’s strong, and luck has always favored him. Even more than you realize.” The captain made eye contact with Santiago as he said this, smiling as Santiago squirmed with wrath.

But the movement only made Santiago’s pain worse, and he soon passed out again.

For the next several hours, Santiago strayed down paths between waking and sleeping. He couldn’t tell what was dream and what was reality. He watched his parents die at the hands of his friend in one moment, and he felt the soft touch of a woman’s hands in the next. He saw Lucia trembling as Costa loomed in the shadows. Unfamiliar faces morphed into the faces of crew members before shifting back again. Everything was tangled in Santiago’s mind like thread, and no matter what he did, he couldn’t separate the scenes into individual pieces. Instead, his mind kept sliding among them, faster and faster, with no sign of stopping—

A voice broke through his thoughts, shattering the cascade of images he’d been swept up in. It was a woman’s voice, tender and sweet. “Yer going to be all right, you hear? The doctor and I won’ let you down.”

Santiago felt warm breath at his ear, just for the shortest of moments, and then he was asleep again, though this time, the dreams that filled his mind were peaceful…

Escape

Santiago smashed his fist against the ship’s hull, angry with himself for dredging up so many bad memories.I should be focusing on how to get Lucia away from Costa. I can’t trust him to keep his promise. And once we get back to Portugal, how can I keep her safe if I’m locked up?

But what can I do? Costa has me backed against a wall with a knife practically at my sister’s throat—

BOOM!

Santiago jumped a few feet into the air at the unexpected roll of thunder, which was swiftly followed by the sound of heavy rain.

A grin came onto the merchant’s face.A storm. Perfect. If it’s strong enough, it could delay our return and give me more time to come up with a plan.

The ship suddenly rocked to the side a bit before righting itself. More thunder roared, close enough for Santiago to wonder if lightning would strike the ship.