Jyp nodded in judicious agreement. ‘Let’s amscray. See if anyone else’s turned up anything yet.’
But, as we both expected, nobody had. The ship looked bare – not stripped, ready for sea, but bare. And all her boats were gone. That had one obvious answer. Jyp’s sharp order sent our boat’s crew streaming back over the side. ‘Might as well have your boys finish the search,’ he told Mall as we clambered onto the ladder. ‘Follow on in when you’re done. But signal the ship, will you, and have ’em cover us?’
‘Aye, at once!’ she said. ‘But have a care of yourselves!’
She wasted no time. As we pulled away from the shot-scarred flank the Defiance, drawn by her spring cables, was already swinging ponderously at her mooring. It was under the comforting cover of her guns that we rowed for the long crescent of beach. The curtain of jungle-like forest overhanging the dunes was unnerving. It could have hidden an army of snipers, and I expected it to erupt any moment. The moment our keel crunched in the pale sand we flung ourselves into the shallows and streamed up the beach, dropping down behind sandhills, rocks, palm roots, any cover that offered. But nothing came from beneath the ominous darkness of the trees except an amazing chatter of bird-calls.
Jyp lifted his head and peered anxiously up and down the beach. ‘Course, there’s no guaranteeing they did come ashore here; might’ve rowed round to the next bay, or the last. But Stryge, he – hey! See there!’
All I could make out was an odd fan-shaped patch in the dampish sand just above the tideline.
‘Yeah, that’s what I meant! They landed here, okay – then tried to brush out their tracks and keelmarks; nearly always leave a trace if you try that in a hurry. They’ll have stowed the boats somewhere near. Okay, boys!’ he snapped. ‘Up, and get looking! Their boats, their tracks, anything! Before we lose the light!’
We found the boats quickly enough, sunk in the wide pool of a creek at the forest’s edge, with stones and sand providing both weight and camouflage. From there our trackers followed faint traces to an impenetrable-looking thicket of wild maguey and aloes. Trouble had been taken not to disturb it, but close to the ground bent twigs and bruised leaves still bled sap, enough to show that a whole party had passed through only a few hours since. And beyond it you could see the beginnings of a narrow trail, leading away uphill.
Jyp looked at me. ‘Uphill, eh? Never does to ignore that old bastard.’ He plucked out his pocket telescope, and we scanned the slopes above. From here they looked immense, and full of folds and convolutions. High on the hills sunlight still lingered, but it was faint and uncertain.
‘I can’t see a damn thing except treetops,’ I complained.
‘Me neither,’ admitted Jyp. ‘Unless – what d’you make of that?’ He passed me the telescope. ‘Not on this slope, the one beyond, just on this side of the hill. Wouldn’t see it from the ship. Where there’s a sort of shelf before the crest.’
Tropical twilights are short. It took me almost too long to spot it. But a gust of wind ruffled the trees apart just long enough to show a flash of white, and after that the outlines were clear. ‘Got it!’
‘Yeah. Quite something, ain’t it?’
It was a castle. Or rather it was a mansion in unmistakeably Spanish style, a huge relic of the old colonial days; but the elegant white-walled terraces around it were topped with crenellations and embrasures for cannon. ‘Somebody must’ve been afraid of something.’
‘You bet! Way they treated the blacks, those Spaniards, they were always scared crazy ’bout revolt. Wasn’t a wall high enough to save ’em when it came, though.’
‘What d’you make of it?’
‘A day and a night’s march is what I make of it.’
‘That much? It’s not so far.’
‘On foot? Up this hill, down into the next valley or two, then up that slope – and through heavy forest, near as dammit jungle. Far enough, huh? We’ll need supplies. Look, you better hotfoot it back to the beach and meet Mall and her boys. Have ’em fetch up all the boat rations.’
‘How about reinforcements? They’ve emptied their ship. Our sixty against their three hundred or more?’
‘Better odds than we had in the boarding. Even if we stripped Defiance – which we don’t dare do – we still couldn’t match them man for man.’
‘Stryge, then! No, he’s half-dead. But his creatures –’
‘No! We’ve better Wolfbane along. You haven’t seen Mall in action yet, not really. She’s … an experience. But it’s not a thing she can summon up to order, not often.’ He smiled wryly. ‘Yet. A moment back there, I thought you’d maybe found the trick. Anyhow, there isn’t time to fetch more men. Our main hope’s surprise – and speed. Remember, it was only hours back they passed that bush. They may be heading for the castle, sure – but they’re not there yet!’
Night fell, and most of the wind with it; the air hung hot and breathless. The surf’s soft roar grew muted. In the rippling sky the stars danced around an angry moon. Mall’s boat was heading in; I strolled along the shore to meet it, enjoying the darting antics of the fiddler crabs that scuttled around the tideline. I noticed a disturbance in the sand, and squatted down beside the sagging crater of a turtle’s nest, now mostly hatched. Looking around, I saw only one of the tiny hatchlings, coated in sand, struggling gamely almost down to the water. I stood up and went to help him, but a crab dashed in ahead of me, snapped up the little creature in its oversized claw and bore him off flapping to a burrow. I kicked sand into it, feeling futile, but stopped myself; all part of the process of nature, wasn’t it? Great. Tell that to the turtle.
The incoming boat left a wake of cool fire in the still waters; phosphoresence dripped from the oars, swirled around our ankles as we pulled it in. Mall sprang out, and I touched her arm as she stalked past me. ‘Listen – I’m sorry if I offended you! Really sorry! But … Let people think that was just horseplay, Mall. It meant something to me. To you, too.’
She smouldered and walked quickly away from the others. ‘Then let something stand for all, for there’ll be no more! Go, follow me not, go brag of your manhood among your fellow-men! None will doubt it now! But I pray you, pick some other to practise ’t on!’
It was my turn to be stung. ‘That’s bloody unfair! Just what in hell gives you the right to assume I’d show off like that? Any more than you would! I like you! I admire you – I owe you my life! Can’t I even love you a little?’
She sat down in the sand with a bump. ‘Five centuries!’ she said hoarsely, and laughed a little. It sent shivers down my spine; it didn’t sound like human laughter at all. ‘And still I drag the chains! Ah, a nice irony – loved by one I daren’t rebuff, lest I kill what shreds of feeling he’s left himself.’ I was about to reach out; I didn’t realize it, but she did. ‘Nay, never paw me! I’ve scant use for stallions!’ Then, relenting a little, she rubbed her hand awkwardly on my knee. ‘Even ones of some mettle. Come, sirrah!’ she said softly. ‘I’ll not lie with you; but an I live another thousand year I’ll not forget you.’ Her finger and thumb tweaked the sensitive leg nerves with a force that shot me yelping to my feet. ‘Not altogether. Will thus much serve?’