Forbidden Island

13 - Island of Gold

The island was a small dot on the endless horizon, growing larger and larger. The three stars we had been following were directly above it, pointing straight down toward it. It was undoubtedly the island of gold.

I stepped up beside Louis as he continued staring straight ahead and shouting orders to his crew. The pirates were running around hollering and cheering in excitement, but I hardly heard them. The words of the prophecy came into my mind and my palms turned sweaty.

The lass's blood must be shed to enter the island's center.

Was I going to die?

"I led you right to it." I murmured, frowning at the realization that was slowly dawning on me. I could very well be killed by these pirates once we got to the island.

"What?" Louis glanced at me briefly before looking ahead again.

"I led you right to it. Why would I do that?" I said to myself, cursing myself for not thinking this through earlier. I was helping the pirates who had kidnapped me.

Louis' eyes met mine as he noticed my distress and probably knew what was worrying me. He reached toward me and to my surprise, grasped my hand.

"I'm not going to kill you like the prophecy suggests. We'll need a bit of your blood for something, but I doubt we'll need it all. There's no need for you to be afraid," he told me. "Come."

He kept his grip tight on my hand and pulled me toward the bow of the ship. The wind was strong, pushing the ship toward the island at a fast pace. I watched him as his gaze remained fastened on the horizon and the small piece of land that had appeared. His face held so many emotions; excitement, relief, anticipation.

"If there's as much gold as we think there will be, I'd be happy to give a share to you." Louis spoke up.

"Really?"

"But don't tell anyone I said that." He warned.

"It would be useful for when you let me go. I'd have a way to provide for myself." I hinted. I wanted to know what they were going to do with me after they were done using me, but I had asked before and gotten no response.

Louis pretended not to hear me, as expected, and started calling out orders to his crew. Everyone was hurrying to make preparations for the moment we arrived on the island. We couldn't make out any details yet, but from this distance miles away, I kept thinking I saw a small flash of bright light.

"I've spent years searching for this place. Ever since I first set foot on this ship I wanted to find it. And now it's finally in front of me." Louis murmured to himself.

"Are you sure that's it? Perhaps it's simply another island along the way." I suggested.

He gave me an irritated sideways glance. "This is it. I know it is. But, now that you mention it, let's go take another look at the map to make sure."

He rushed off and I followed after him, weaving in and out of the excited pirates on deck. They looked happier than I'd ever seen them and they all kept looking ahead in anticipation. Louis grabbed Niall and pulled him toward the chart room. Valentine flew over and perched on Louis' shoulder, squawking loudly. All three of us went inside and I went straight to the map on the round table, touching it lightly with my fingers.

It sprang to life and we saw our ship sailing smoothly along toward the three stars. Then an island appeared on the side of the map and moved closer toward the ship, right below the stars. The island was painted gold and had a red X through it, marking our destination.

"That's it! That finalizes everything. That island out there on the horizon is the one and we're almost there." Louis exclaimed joyfully.

"I can't believe we actually made it!" Niall cheered, grinning from ear to ear.