Page 108 of The Secret of Drulea Cottage

Wet shoes squished nearby, and he turned only to come face-to-face with the last person he would have expected to see.

“What are you doing here?!” Santiago crossed his arms and scowled at the intruder on the other side of his cell.

Captain Costa rolled his eyes and shook a set of keys in his hand. “Rescuing you. What does it look like?”

Santiago scoffed and made no move toward the door. “You’re the one who wanted me to take the fall for you. Why would you help me escape?”

“You’re still asking too many questions.” Costa opened the door with a growl. “Just hurry up before I change my mind!”

When Santiago hesitated, Costa added, “Unless you’d prefer to go back to Portugal and be executed?”

Santiago narrowed his eyes. “Fine. Lead the way.” He forced his body forward, ignoring the pain in his ribs.

Captain Costa marched up the stairs, his pace so brisk that Santiago could barely keep up in his current state. “We have to get to theSão Nicolaubefore anyone notices you’re missing. Lucia is already aboard, along with the rest of the crew.”

“What about Senhorita Fairborn? Is she safe?”

The captain paused at the top of the stairs, considering Santiago’s question. He turned back with a look akin to sympathy. “You’ve got bigger things to worry about than that witch right now. I’m doing you a favor by getting you away from her.”

The captain turned to keep going, but Santiago took hold of his shoulder and pulled him back. “What do you mean? How dare you call her that!”

Costa sighed. “See for yourself.” He opened the door and stepped outside.

“What do you…” Santiago’s voice trailed off as he followed the captain out into a massive storm. The wind hit him with such force that he had to brace himself to keep from losing his balance. Torrents of rain fell from the sky, pelting his skin like tiny bullets. Meanwhile, lightning sought out anything it could destroy, shooting from the clouds in constant bursts.

“Is that smoke?” Santiago pointed toward the town, where two pillars of darkness were rising into the air.

Costa cast a cursory glance that direction, but his face betrayed no concern. “Aye, the villagers are dealing with the fire. Don’t worry about it. This is our chance to get out of here.”

“Where’s the commodore? And his men?”

“Don’t know. Once the storm hit, they ran into town. Probably holed up somewhere until everything’s over. They’re fools if they think they can be safe from this sorcery. The only way to be safe is to get as far away from here as possible.”

Santiago frowned. “There you go again, talking of witches. What are you trying to say?”

Costa waved his hand at the chaos around them. “Do you think this storm is normal? That it just happened to show up now right when you need to escape? All this, it’s thanks to her.Sheconjured it. For you.”

“What? You’re saying Bri—Senhorita Fairborn made the storm happen? Have you lost your mind?!”

The captain gave him a withering expression. “Don’t believe me if you wish, but just know that twenty minutes ago, these skies were completely clear. I seem to recall the tempest that brought us here was rather like that too, appearing without any warning. But what’s more important right now is getting to the ship before we miss our chance.”

Santiago watched Costa hurry across the deck and start going down the gangplank. He lifted a foot to follow him, but then—

CRACK!

Santiago fell backward in shock—the lightning had only missed him by a few feet!

Costa spun around and frowned when he saw that Santiago wasn’t directly behind him. The man gestured with both hands, and Santiago nervously rose again, taking a wary look at the scorch mark by his shoes.

He shifted his focus from the ship to the burning town.If I leave now, I can make sure Lucia is all right…

Suddenly, the storm began to calm down. The flashes of lightning started to become less frequent, and the rain softened—

Santiago’s eyes were drawn to several bright flashes at the top of the hill. While the weather in the rest of Everton was dying down, the storm near Drulea Cottage was stronger than ever. And angrier. All the lightning that had been spread across the town had shifted to that one area.

Santiago peered through the rain, trying to get a better look at the bizarre phenomenon. Costa had called it sorcery, and while Santiago didn’t believe that, he couldn’t explain what was going on. But the longer he stared, the more he could almost imagine someone controlling the storm and calling down the lightning—could almost see someone lifting a hand toward the heavens—

His breath caught. “Impossible…” Santiago shook his head, trying to remove the image from his vision, trying to remind himself of what was real.