Read The Ship of Lost Souls 1 for Free Online Page B

beside him, and he trembled, too, despite the logical side of his brain that was still scoffing at the notion of ghosts and magic. “But now, I can’t stay and chat. Cap’n told me to hide all the pieces of eight we got down below. Just raided a man-o’-war last week, we did. And—” Thomas stopped and clapped his great hand to his mouth. “Whoops. Forget I said that. My big yap, it gets me into all sorts of trouble. But ye won’t tell, will you? Ye’re pretty well one of us now.”
    With that, Thomas hauled his giant frame out of their hiding space. He paused before closing the trapdoor. “Stay here until I come back for you.” And then he was gone.
    â€œStay here,” Jem repeated for the second time that night. “Not likely.” For Thomas had just reminded him of the greatest danger he faced, far worse than whatever fiends were prancing about the ship. Jem was now expected to join the
Dark Ranger
pirates, prisoner on the dark seas, so far from home, and without his uncle. He had to escape. He had to get home. But for once, he couldn’t think of anything resembling a logical plan.
    He opened the trapdoor and clambered back into the cool night air. Shouts and shuffles drifted over from the poop deck, near the stern. Jem crept in the opposite direction to the fo’c’sle and peered over at the waves. Swimming was out; he could only dog-paddle, and there was no land in sight. Maybe he could find another good spot to hide until they docked in some port. But who knew when that might be? And where would he hide? The pirates would scour the schooner as soon as they realized he was missing.
    Then he saw a small ship, perhaps one-third the size of the
Dark Ranger
, rocking against its starboard side and tied to the pirates’ ship by a thick rope and a grappling iron. It had a single mast but looked sturdy. At first Jem assumed it belonged to the pirates who used it perhaps for sneak attacks on other ships. But then a beam of moonlight illuminated a name scrawled in chipped white paint on its side.
Margaret’s Hop
. The final
e
must have eroded over the years thanks to the salty waves. It was the Ship of Lost Souls. Somehow Jem had pictured it veiled in eerie mist. But the Ship of Lost Souls was just a normal ship—although tiny and in need of a good cleaning.
    A scuffle behind him made Jem turn. Three Lost Souls had surrounded Captain Wallace, pressing him against the mainmast. They were playing “monkey in the middle” with the captain’s spectacles, dancing in circles around him.
    â€œStop it. Leave me alone,” Captain Wallace whined, squinting at the ghouls who mimicked him with glee.
    â€œBoy!” Thomas came running across the deck, straight for Jem. “I told ye to stay put. Get back down below!” His shouts drew the captain’s attention, and Captain Wallace squinted in Jem’s direction.
    â€œThe boy? Bliss’s nephew?” For a moment he ignored the devils pirouetting around him. “Grab him, Thomas! Tie him back up!”
    Jem ducked out of Thomas’s reach and took off running toward the stern. Now he was in for it. There was nowhere to hide out here. Those churning waves were looking rather inviting.
    Just then, two big hands seized Jem’s shoulders and stopped him in his tracks. To his surprise, they weren’t Thomas’s arms pulling him back, but arms cloaked in black. The arms of a Lost Soul! Jem yelped and tried to wrench himself free, but the thing held fast.
    â€œStop struggling.” It spoke! Jem tried to shove it away, but the Lost Soul was much stronger than he was. It threw a long arm around his waist and pulled him toward the grappling iron that attached the
Margaret’s Hop
to the
Dark Ranger
. The other two spirits joined them, and four more appeared out of the shadows. Together they backed away from the pirates, who watched, helpless, as more and more Lost Souls