فصل 58

CHAPTER 58

THE ROAR IN THE SKY

FROM THE DECK OF THE De Vliegen—the name carved on the prow of the ship he and his mates had just commandeered—George watched helplessly as the three rowboats full of angry men drew closer. The nearest rowboat had almost reached the ship; by the light from the meteor-streaked sky George could clearly see the rage on the men’s faces.

Suddenly, the rage turned to fear. The men stopped rowing and pointed at something, shouting. George heard a roar in the sky and turned to see a rocket thundering toward the ship. It was spitting orange flames and billowing black smoke and seemed impossibly close to the water, so close that George was sure it would hit the ship. As it bore down on him, he saw what looked like a door flapping open.

In the next instant, the night turned to brilliant day as the rocket released a glowing mass of yellow-gold light, brighter than anything George or the others had ever seen. James, Slightly, and the other boys were hurled to the deck, thrown on their bellies against the rough wood as if a giant hand were pressing down on them.

George tried to hold on to the helm, but he was ripped away from it and thrown against the mizzenmast by what felt like a hurricane wind. Yet it wasn’t wind at all—not a line fluttered, and the mainsail still hung limply from the yard. And despite its terrifying force, the “wind” also had a strangely pleasant component, imparting a feeling of well-being that George recognized instantly, having felt it before.

“Starstuff!” he shouted to the others. “Stay down! Don’t look at it! Keep away from it!”

The glowing sphere sank slowly, like a giant balloon. George prayed it would land in the water, but it descended directly onto the De Vliegen. As the starstuff touched the ship, bolts of golden light raced down the masts and spread across the deck like melted wax. It washed over the cowering boys, whose fear turned to joy as they felt their aches and hunger disappear, felt their bodies grow lighter.

Then something rocked the ship, port to starboard, bow to stern. With their eyes pressed shut against the brilliant glare, the boys could not see what was happening, but the ship was now glowing—every sail, every plank, every line, cleat, pulley, and nail, shining with golden light. And then, as swiftly as the light had spread throughout the ship, it began to contract, reforming itself into a huge glowing orb, which rolled across the deck to the main cargo hold, whose hatch had been left open during the repairs. The sphere stopped on the brink, then plunged into the belly of the ship.

The glare was gone; the boys opened their eyes. The ship looked normal again, save for a column of golden light rising from the hold into the night sky.

George and James were the first back on their feet.

“Is it gone?” said James, blinking.

“I don’t think so,” said George, pointing toward the light column.

“Maybe we should close the hatch,” said James.

“No,” said George. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Not for us,” said Slightly, arriving on the quarterdeck. “These suits will protect us.” He, Curly, and Nibs went to the hatchway and heaved the doors closed. The intense light now escaped from the cracks of the hatch, reaching into the night sky. Then, as the boys stared in astonishment, the light began to change color, from gold to yellow, from yellow to orange, then to a feverish red, and then…nothing.

“Do you think it’s passed through the hull?” said James.

“I don’t know,” said George. “I don’t know where it is.”

“They’re coming!” shouted Thomas.

George spun around. He’d forgotten all about the attackers in the rowboats. They had retreated during the starstuff spectacle, but now that the ship appeared normal again, they were rowing toward it furiously.

“Prepare to be boarded!” George shouted. “Loose the nets, let fly the belaying pins!” He’d dreamed of being a sea captain and issuing these orders.

The other boys stood still, looking confused.

“Untie the nets!” shouted George. “And throw anything at them that isn’t tied down!”

The rowboats quickly closed the distance. One bumped up against the hull.

“Hurry with those nets!” George shouted. “James, climb the forward mast and give me more sail!”

James started running toward the mast, and then a wonderful thing happened: his feet left the ground. He was flying, like Peter! With a whoop of elation he swept up the mast and began untying the sails.

The other boys, seeing this, leapt from the deck and found, to their utter joy that they, too, could fly—at least for now. Prentiss, Thomas, and Tubby Ted began swooping around the deck, untying nets as quickly as they could. Slightly, Curly, Nibs, and the twins were scooping up wooden pins, empty barrels, and anything else they could find and dropping them on the first boatload of attackers, now climbing the nets. The missiles hit two of the men on the head, causing them to fall back into their boat, which tipped and capsized, throwing its occupants into the water. Prentiss and Ted joined Slightly and Curly. They flew up and dropped a heavy box of nails into the next rowboat from seventy-five feet in the air. The box went right through the bottom of the rowboat, sinking it immediately as the men dove into the sea. The boys cheered.

But more rowboats were nearing the ship, and still more were coming. George, with James’s help on the sails, had the ship moving now, but not fast enough. Two more rowboats banged into the ship. More men jumped onto the nets and started to climb. The boys swooped overhead, raining objects on them. But the men kept coming.

George felt the ship lurch. He looked up, but it wasn’t the wind—the sails were no fuller. Another lurch, and then a loud groaning noise rose from the ship’s bowels, as though its beams and planks were being torn apart. The masts shook; the sails shivered; the lines danced.

James, standing high on a yardarm on the forward mast, shouted something to George and pointed toward the water.

George, unable to hear over the groaning of the ship, assumed James was pointing out the attackers. “I know!” he shouted. “Just get us more sail!”

But it wasn’t that at all. James was gesturing frantically now. George looked, and his mouth fell open.

The De Vliegen was rising. George ran to the rail. The ship, its timbers groaning and creaking in protest, was lifting out of the water. The terrified attackers were letting go of the nets and dropping back into the harbor, then swimming frantically away from the dripping hull. The men still in rowboats were staring up at the rising ship in slack-jawed amazement.

George heard a whoop from James; the forward sail was free. He ran back to the wheel and gave it a spin; the ship answered, slowly turning. Its sails filled with wind, and it began to pick up speed. And still it was rising: now fifty feet above the water, now sixty. George put the ship into a long, slow turn to port, coming fully around, and ordered his flying crew to adjust the sails. The flying ship passed over the dry dock, its former attackers staring up at it helplessly.

George spun the wheel, straightening their course. He grinned.

The spires of Zarboff’s palace lay directly ahead.