Colin Well: The Wizard

Chapter 15-Stowaways

        Colin wasn't very good at walking on things he couldn’t see. Several times he tripped over ropes, rigging, and barrels. Finally, he stopped. A presence of Magyk overcame the air. Suddenly the whole ship was revealed as if someone had pulled off a huge blanket. The trio looked at their surroundings. They had sneaked right by a few crew members on deck. They were on the right side of the throne. Above them, the masts rose into the air, casting a small shadow onto the deck in the midday winter sun. The deck was cleared of snow and only a few crew members milled around. No one took any notice of the small woman who was at the helm. She had iron-gray hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. She gripped the spokes of the wheel tightly, guiding the large ship quickly upriver.
        Colin looked back at the captain's cabin. The doors were thin with translucent glass that blurred the shapes behind it. He turned to Marston and Eliza. Colin made a pointing gesture to the doors and nodded his head in their direction. They understood. Quietly, they made their way back to the thin doors.
        Colin gave them a tentative push, hoping no one was behind them. They swung back on their well-oiled hinges, revealing the room that Colin had just been in only a few days before. Now the room was lit up, sun glowing through the long windows at the back of the ship. The night that Colin had been in here, it was still dark outside. Now he could see the finer details. The table in the middle was still covered in papers. But he could now see finely carved wood making up the dark walls. Engravings of ship battles were carved and painted on the ceiling, popping out. They looked extremely realistic, the paint bright in the light.
        A loud bang sounded from below. Colin looked worriedly at Eliza. "Was that a gunshot?" she whispered, eyes wide.
        Colin shrugged and moved on. They walked over to the trapdoor set in the floor. He reached for the handle and heaved it up. It fell with a metallic clank back onto the floor. Eliza peered down into the darkness, wrinkling her nose.
        "I'm not going down there." she said. "It's disgusting."
        "Its the only place we can hide. Besides, look." Colin walked over to the table in the center of the room. Directly above it on the ceiling was a painting of a ship with green sails. Colin snatched the first piece of paper he could get a hold of and held it up. It showed a detailed drawing of Marwick. "If we want to help save the Castle—and the people in it—" Colin jabbed a finger at the drawing. "Then we need to get to the Castle first." He layed the paper back down on the table. Before he could get back, however, something caught his eye. On the table was another drawing. Colin picked it up and for a second, thought that it had some sort of Mirror spell on it. He looked at himself on the paper and gasped. It had his name on it. Colin sifted through the papers and found one of Marston, Tod, and Eliza.
        Deciding not to tell them, Colin stuffed the papers into his pocket and hurried back to the trapdoor. "Are you ready?" Marston asked him.
        "Are you?" said Colin.
        Marston and Eliza nodded. Throwing each other a confident glance, they stepped into the darkness.
        The smell of fish filled Eliza's nose as she went deeper into the ship. She hadn't thought it would be so terrible. Not only did it smell of fish, but dead fish. Her nostrils burned as the scent found its way up her nose. Suddenly, she drew back, about to sneeze.
        "No!" hissed Colin in the dark. His hand pinched Eliza's nose. The need to sneeze left her and she relaxed—or as much as she could in such a revolting place.
        The stairs became slippery with dampness and mold as they went deeper and deeper into the ship. Colin slipped in the mustiness and tried to grab the wall. His hand gripped something wet and it fell away from the wall. He sat up, feeling the back of his head, a few stairs below Eliza and Marston. In his hand he held bright green moss. He dropped it in disgust and looked up at his friends. He gasped. They weren't there.
        Colin told himself to stay calm. Then he realized—when he had fallen down the stairs, he had dropped his UnSeen.
        "Guys," whispered Colin as loudly as he dared. He didn't want anyone to hear and him falling down the stairs was already enough. Suddenly in the darkness a hand grabbed his and guided him down the stairs. Finally, he reached the bottom. It was wetter and slimier than any of the other landings they had passed.
        A few wooden posts held up the ceiling, dripping water—or something wet. Barrels were fastened against the walls by woven nets. Chests and trunks stacked up, hiding most of the room from view. Colin shuddered. He hoped the hand that had grabbed him was Marston or Eliza. But it wasn't.
        Colin had known that the hand hadn't felt entirely there. In front of him, a tall ghost Appeared to him swathed in black and blue faded robes. It was the first time that the ghost had Appeared to anyone in fourteen years. And it felt wonderful, but restraining, as if he wasn't quite free. His long black hair hung around his shoulders, capped with a red handkerchief that he had tied through his weave. His clothes layered away, revealing his bare chest. At his side he had a gun and a sword. But farther down, Colin noticed, the man was hovering. And he could just see through him.
        "What is your business here?" the ghost asked in a gruff voice. Colin was shocked. He had never seen a ghost before, and this one was his first. Colin only stared at him. "Are you deaf? What do you want?"
        "Oh, sorry." Colin thought fast. "I'm not doing anything. I was just coming down here to. . .check. . .something," said Colin suspiciously.
        "Why have I never seen you before on the crew?" the ghost asked.
        Colin felt relieved not to lie. "I'm not part of the crew."
        "Then who're you?" the ghost asked grumpily, crossing his arms.
        "I'm Colin. Um, Colin Well," Colin said.
        "Aye," said the ghost. "I be Captain Deppson. Previously Captain, actually. Of this ship in fact."
        "Oh," said Colin. "Do you know the man who's the Captain now?" asked Colin, hoping for information.
        "No, I only know he's a bad one. The worst, from what I saw."
       Colin nodded in agreement. The Captain was not a good one. Nor was he a very good person, either.
        "Are ye here alone, my boy?" Deppson asked, glancing around. He turned around and began walking—or floating, as his feet didn't actually move—away. Colin ran after him.
        "Wait!" Colin called. "He's planning an ambush on the Castle! I'm trying to stop him!" Colin finally told the truth.
        He caught up with Deppson. The ghost stared at him blankly. Colin hid a shiver as he noticed ghosts had no need to blink. "You never answered my question. . ." he said.
        "What's that?" Colin asked, confused.
        "I asked are ye here alone? You didn't answer," he said.
        "Oh, no. My friends are close. I just don't know where they're at. You see, we all had the same UnSeen and I dropped mine. That's how I ended up here."
        "Aye. Now they're gone?" Deppson asked as politely as his gruff voice allowed.
        "Yes," Colin said. "And—and I need them."
        "Aye, I see. I believe that I can assist you."
        Colin looked up hopefully. He had only thought that Marston and Eliza were still on the stairs looking for him. But, then again, they could be anywhere on this ship. They might have gotten off on the wrong deck. And also Colin had no idea how far he had fallen down the stairs.
        "Yes, thank you so much," said Colin.
        "Best you follow me," said Deppson, drifting away. Colin quickly followed. They went up the stairs and reached the first landing. This, Colin thought, was going to be much easier with the help of a ghost. With the help of a Captain.