It's Friday and here is the new chapter! The countdown to the end of this story has started, so I really hope you like what I have in store for them! See you on Tuesday!
Chapter 16
It was well into the night when guided by Tessa, Magnus, Raphael and Ragnor arrived to the island. That had been the last place where the mermaid had been able to locate Alec, so they had assumed that the island was the one they had been looking for for weeks. And their suspicions were confirmed when at the distance they could see the Danube, the magnificent ship was anchored on the East side of the piece of land.
"Ore Dei." Raphael said, as he looked at the island with his spy-glass.
"It appears to be," Magnus agreed, "but we have to move fast and avoid being spotted. If Valentine is on the East side that means the cave is there, so it's better if we run the boat aground a few miles West."
Ragnor immediately turned the helm and they skirted through the island until they reached the opposite side. It was very dark, but something in the water immediately caught their attention, making them all gasp in horror.
There, floating near the shore, were the remains of what seemed to be the Avenger.
"They are dead." Raphael voiced what they all were thinking.
The ship was completely destroyed, there was nothing left of what once had been the best ship in the entire fleet of the Clave.
Magnus stopped breathing. The shock of what he had before his eyes was clouding his senses. It was too late. Alexander was dead. He had failed to save him. He had arrived too late. He had lo-
"Wait here." Tessa said, as she swam away toward the wrecked ship.
Magnus saw her, but his eyes were fixed on the destruction before them. He wondered who had done it, the Clave or Valentine. They had seen a couple of vessels with the insignia of the Clave patrolling the Caribbean, so for once Magnus hoped it had been them and not Valentine, because maybe, just maybe, Alec would still be alive.
"Have some faith." Ragnor said, putting his arm around Magnus for support.
Magnus hadn't realized how much he needed to feel someone by his side until Ragnor approached. He felt as if he were about to faint. His head was spinning and every part of his body was shaking. He had arrived too late. He had really lost Alec forever.
"Why is she taking so long?" Raphael questioned. He was pacing around the small deck of the ship, fidgeting with his hands, clearly as affected by the situation as they all were.
After what seemed like years but were merely a couple of minutes, Tessa came back swimming as fast as she could. "There is no death in these waters...yet." She announced, and Magnus breathed again.
"Then, what happened here?" Raphael asked confused.
"I don't know." Tessa replied.
Magnus looked ahead. Now that he knew Alec was still alive, he could actually allow himself to observe the scene with analytical eyes. The ship was completely shattered, as if a storm had swept through it or they had been under attack, but there was no smoke, or traces of any battle. The crates with supplies and barrels of rum weren't floating in the water, nor the weapons, so that only meant that whatever this was, hadn't been an accident—it had been planned.
"He wrecked it on purpose." Magnus concluded. It was the most reasonable explanation.
"What for?" Raphael asked.
"I don't know yet, he must have something in mind." Magnus said.
"What? To die there and not have any ship to escape?" Raphael said in a mocking tone, as if the flaw in Alec's plan were too obvious.
But Raphael didn't know Alec as Magnus did. He didn't know how the boy's mind worked.
"He has a ship." Magnus said. He was already guessing Alec's plan. "He has the Danube."
"He's going to steal that one too!?" Both, Raphael and Ragnor asked at the same time.
"It's the smartest thing to do," Magnus said, "by sinking the Avenger he left the Danube as the only escape route, and if you ask me that's brilliant because-"
"-the Danube is the fastest ship in all Seven Seas." Ragnor completed the sentence.
"Exactly." Magnus agreed with a smile. He had always admired the way Alec's mind worked. He didn't seem to be aware of it, but he had a brilliant mind with which he could dominate the world if he wanted.
"Well," Raphael said, "I still think he's crazy. I mean, he can't really be expecting to make it out alive of this, right?"
"He's not." Magnus said. He knew Alec all too well to know that the boy wasn't counting on that. He was just securing a way for his brother to escape without being caught.
"Loyalty and devotion lead to bravery." Tessa said, joining the conversation. "Bravery leads to the spirit of self-sacrifice. The spirit of self-sacrifice creates trust in the power of love."
"So, he's planning on dying there with his brother or what?" Raphael asked.
"No." Magnus said, taking a deep breath. For some reason, Tessa's words had touched him deeply and now he understood everything. "He's sacrificing himself so that Jesse and the crew can take the Danube and flee."
"You think?" Ragnor inquired.
"I'm sure." Magnus said with a sigh.
o-o-o-o-o
After days of watching Valentine and his people, Alec's plan was in motion. The first thing he had noticed was that the crew was divided into two. There was a group of men still aboard the Danube, probably taking care of the prisoners; and another, with Valentine among them, that was in a camp near a cliff where Alec assumed the entrance of the cave was. So he had come up with a very thoughtful five-stages plan.
The first stage had been quite easy, they had sunk the Avenger to leave Valentine and his people with no ship to use but the Danube, and also to guarantee them a free pass in case the second stage went wrong.
The second stage consisted of sneaking into the Danube to alert Jace of his presence and share with him the rest of the plan, which incidentally was the real problem, since stages three and four would take place simultaneously, and these would require a lot of coordination.
In the morning when Valentine and the crew entered the cave to lift the curse, Alec and Elias would enter as well to distract them and allow the rest of the crew to take over the Danube and set it ready to sail. With help from Jace and the rest of the crew who could return in time for the battle, they would fight against Valentine, and when things got to the point that Alec was expecting, he would put stage five in motion and reveal his true identity. He would make a deal with the crazy pirate and ensure that his brother and his crew could sail away.
It was risky, he knew it. A lot of things could go wrong, but that had been the best plan he had been able to come up with in these past few days.
"Captain, are you sure about this?" Elias asked. They were near the shore, hiding behind some bushes, observing the Danube.
"Yes," Alec said, "if I don't warn Jace about our plan, he could ruin everything. We need him to know that we will try to sabotage Valentine's plans tomorrow."
"Alright then, all men are in position, captain." Elias said.
It was way past midnight and they had sent some men to explore the area and ensure that Alec could sneak into the Danube without being caught.
"Great." Alec said. "If things go wrong and I get caught, I will say that my ship wrecked and I'm the only survivor...that way I will avoid execution. But if that happens, I want you to follow the plan we agreed to, okay? In a few hours, when Valentine and his crew enter the cave, take the Danube and sail away. After a couple of days try to come back to see if anyone survived, if so, take them to the Spiral and tell them to ask Catarina Loss for help, she's the owner of the tavern."
"Aye, captain."
"Also, when you're there give this to Magnus Bane." Alec said, handing Elias a letter that he had written the night before when he had found it impossible to close his eyes. "The Danube is his ship, so let him take it back and if you're smart enough, join his crew again. As you've seen these weeks...he's a great captain."
Elias just nodded.
"Well, hopefully I'll see you in a couple of hours." Alec said, getting into the cold water. "Wish me luck." He added, swimming away beneath the surface.
Alec had always been an excellent swimmer, so he had no trouble covering the few miles that separated the Blue Danube from the shore.
As soon as he reached the back of the ship, where he knew Valentine couldn't see him, Alec started to climb using the anchor chain, trying not to draw much attention. He had to get to a safe area as fast as possible. He knew there were at least four men on board the ship. The man in the crow's nest, the other one patrolling the decks and finally the two other that they had seen come out a couple of times. Alec and his crew had assumed they were the only men aboard, but he still had to be very careful. There was a great chance that there were more.
Taking advantage of his physical ability, Alec used the same structure of the ship to get to the gun ports and sneak through there.
Fortunately for him, the gun deck was empty, so he just fastened a rope to be able to escape later and walked silently to the ship's hold, where prisoners were usually held. It was a very small area with no sunlight and no sanitation whatsoever, and it was usually located next to the ballast.
Alec made his way through the very impressive ship but had to stop dead in his track when he saw one of the guards walking toward him. It was very dark so he just ducked and hid behind some barrels, praying that the guard hadn't seen him.
The guard walked right past him and headed to the supplies store. Alec took a deep breath and continued his descent, trying to make as little noise as possible. Although it was a tall order since the ship was made entirely of wood and the floor creaked every time he took a step.
Alec knew he had reached the ship's hold when a smell of dirt and damp hit his nostrils. It was so intense that it made him gag.
He walked in silence, tiptoeing next to the guard who was sleeping there. He seemed to be fast asleep, as if he were drunk, and he was holding a set of keys. Alec was tempted to grab them and free his brother, but he restrained himself. If he freed Jace without taking care of Valentine first, they would have to run for the rest of their lives and that was not what Alec wanted, so he just took a deep breath and instead, grabbed the nearest oil lamp, walking into the cells.
Unlike the Avenger that had only two cells, the Danube had six and to Alec's surprise all of them were full. In the first two were enclosed a black man in his late thirties and a redheaded woman. She looked about the same age as Alec's mother. In the other two were two boys, one with platinum blond hair and the other with dark curly hair. They looked young, so it didn't take long for Alec to know why they were there.
And finally, in the last two cells Alec found his brother next to a girl with curly red hair, not the same red as the color of the woman in the first cells, but more carrot-like. They were leaned to each other through their respective cells and Alec couldn't help but notice that their hands were brushing.
"Jace...Jace..." Alec whispered, trying to wake his brother without alerting the others or the guard of his presence.
Jace opened his eyes a bit disoriented. "Alec?" He asked, looking at Alec with surprise evident on his face.
"Shhh." Alec shushed him. "Yes, it's me."
"What are you doing here!?" Jace exclaimed alarmed. "You have to go!"
"I'm here to rescue you!" Alec said with some anger in his voice. He had gone through hell for his brother, and this was how he greeted him? How dared he? He had been expecting a different reaction from him, perhaps not a teary-eyed, 'you came for me, brother,' but at least a, 'I'm so glad to see you.'
"No! Listen, Alec! This is wrong! You have to go!" Jace said desperately. "He can't see you here! Please go! He's dangerous!"
"Don't worry about me, okay? I have a plan."
"Alec, no!" Jace continued. "You don't understand. Please, go! There's so much going on here, there's so much you don't know. It's completely mental, but believe me, you can't be here! Go and hide, please! This man is out of his mind! Please Alec, go!" Jace practically implored him, and now Alec knew why.
Jace knew the truth and just like Alec was trying to do, his brother was also trying to protect him.
"I know about the curse. I know he needs my blood and not yours, Jace." Alec confessed. "I know everything there is to know, so no, I'm not going anywhere." He said firmly.
"Jace?" The redheaded girl asked, opening her eyes. Apparently their little conversation had awakened her. "What's happening? Who's this?" She asked in a very loud voice.
"Shhh!" Alec exclaimed. He couldn't believe her. Why did she have to be so loud? For a prisoner she wasn't very careful of her own safety.
"He's my...friend." Jace lied.
"No, I'm his brother." Alec corrected him.
"Is he the-" the girl gasped, covering her mouth. Alec saw recognition flashing through her eyes. Apparently she knew about the legend too and not only that, but that Jace wasn't a real Lightwood after all.
"I see you've shared more than enough with her." Alec told Jace.
Jace just rolled his eyes. "Alec, please, go back home, okay? I'm fine, don't worry about me."
"He's going to kill you Jace, you can't ask me to leave you here."
"And he's going to kill you too if you stay." Jace fought back.
"I don't care."
"But I do, and besides, if you go, he won't get what he wants and will eventually die. His time is near...he's sick." Jace informed him.
"Really?"
Jace nodded. "He's completely out of his mind. I've never seen a man so out of himself before. You see all these people?" He pointed to the other cells. "They all are his family and friends." Jace continued. "The guy over there was his Quartermaster after his first crew betrayed him, but he and Jocelyn, the woman next to him, Valentine's wife, fell in love and had an affair behind his back. Now he's planning on killing them both slowly. He's been torturing them since I got here. The two boys are the ones he needs to break the curse, their names are Jonathan and Jonathan, yeah, they have the same name, don't ask why. The blond boy is his son, and the other one is the son of his old Boatswain, some guy named Michael Wayland. Apparently he and dad were the two men in whom Valentine trusted more when all this first happened."
Alec looked at the redheaded girl next to Jace.
"And this is Clary...his daughter." Jace said. "So as you can see, he has no respect for anything or anyone. He's willing to kill his own son to get rid of that stupid curse. He's dangerous!"
Alec analyzed the information for a second. Apparently it was true that Valentine didn't care about anything or anyone anymore, and that the rumors about him were true. He had lost everything he had ever loved, including himself.
"Well, I don't care how dangerous he is." Alec said. "I won't let him kill you, or any of these people for that matter, so listen carefully because I'm going to need your help."
Alec's plan did not include saving five extra necks, but now that he had seen them and that he knew who they were, he couldn't just leave them at Valentine's mercy, so they would have to improvise a bit.
"Alec…" Jace said, sounding defeated, but mostly worried.
"Jace, no." Alec said, giving his brother a hard look. Like the ones they had shared all their lives when they tried to make the other understand that there was no argument on the matter. It was what it had to be done. Period. "We're going to do this, okay?"
"But-"
"But nothing." Alec said. "Everything will be fine, I promise."
"You promise?"
"Yes, now listen carefully because if we manage to pull this off, maybe this nightmare could end soon and you could go home."
"We." Jace added.
"Yeah, we could go home."
o-o-o-o-o
After saying goodbye to Tessa and watching her go, Magnus, Raphael and Ragnor proceeded to try to hide the small boat on the island. Magnus knew that in order to be able to save Alec, he had to first figure out the boy's plan. The last thing he wanted was to ruin everything and put him in even more danger.
"So...now what?" Raphael asked.
They were pushing the boat through the sand to hide it behind some palm trees and the other wild vegetation that covered the island.
"We try to see if Alexander left any trace as to what his plan is and then we make our own plan. The last thing I want do is to interfere with what he has in mind."
"And, what if he doesn't have a plan?" Ragnor inquired.
"Of course he has one. He never acts without having one in mind. You've seen how he is these past few weeks. He's smart. I'm sure he thought of something. He didn't sink the Avenger for fun."
"I agree," Raphael said, "if he decided to sink the only way he had to get out of this island, he must have something in mind. I suggest we wait to see what that is and act according to that. Maybe we don't even have to do anything in the end, but catch a ride on the Danube."
Magnus shook his head frantically, dismissing Raphael's idea immediately.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm sure his plan includes his own death and I can't allow that." Magnus said firmly.
"So, you don't want to interfere with his plan, but you do?" Raphael asked confused.
"Precisely, my friend. Now, let's go!"
They walked away from where they had left the boat and headed into the jungle. There was some kind of path marked there. The vegetation was less dense and it seemed to surround the cliff that separated them from where Valentine was.
"You think this is the route they took?" Ragnor asked.
"I don't know, but it's the one we're going to take." Magnus said, looking at his compass. If they wanted to make it on time to the East side of the island, they had no time to waste. "We will walk all night, okay? If we hurry we can get there and still have some hours to analyze the situation. If my calculations are correct is just past midnight."
They started to make their way through the jungle, making sure to erase any traces that could warn of their presence on the island. With the Clave breathing down their necks, taking extra precautions was never enough.
They walked and walked and walked, watching the minutes turn into hours. By the time they were completely out of breath, Magnus realized that dawn was near. The birds had started to sing and the sky was just beginning to clear.
"Valentine." Ragnor whispered, stopping Magnus and Raphael in their tracks. The crazy pirate was in front of them.
"Hide." Magnus said, ducking behind some bushes to see what the pirate was doing.
It was clear that they had set up some sort of camp next to the cliff and ahead of them, anchored in the bay, was the Blue Danube.
"What do you think he's going to do?" Ragnor asked.
Magnus shrugged because he had no idea.
They observed Valentine for some minutes. The man was talking with some of his men, who after receiving instruction climbed into a longboat and headed to the Danube. Magnus didn't need to hear the conversation to know what was happening. The time had come. Valentine had asked for the boys.
"I think it's time." Magnus whispered. "Look, they are picking up the camp." He pointed out. Valentine's men were dismantling the tents in seconds.
"Aye, I think you're right." Ragnor agreed. "What's the plan then?"
Magnus took a deep breath before speaking. The time had come.
"As soon as Valentine enters the cave, I want both of you to go to the Danube. If Alec's men are there, as I suppose they will be, then join them, okay? The Danube is the only way out now."
"What about Catarina's boat?" Raphael asked.
"Forget about it, that boat isn't fast enough. Catarina will understand."
"Okay...and what about you?" Ragnor asked.
"I'm going in. I can't let Valentine kill Alexander." Magnus said.
"But how?"
"I don't know yet, I'll improvise something. I'm good at that."
"Well, then we'll wait for you here and then we all can go to the Danube." Ragnor said.
Magnus shook his head. "That's not going to happen, my dear Prince."
"Why not?"
"Because he's not coming back." Raphael said. Magnus knew that the pirate had understood the plan even before he had shared it completely.
"That's not true, he can't-" Ragnor looked at Magnus straight in the eye. "You're not coming back?"
Magnus shook his head very slowly just to affirm what had already been said.
"You can't do that!" Ragnor exclaimed as loud as he could given their current circumstances. "We can help you fight that man, right, my love? We can all go and kill that lunatic and save Alec and-"
"Ragnor, mate...stop." Magnus said, placing a hand on Ragnor's shoulder. "It's fine. I'm fine, I promise. I can't let you die for nothing. I promised that nothing bad would happen to any of you and this is me fulfilling that promise. If I let you come with me in the first place was because I needed you here to ask you something."
"What?" Raphael asked.
"I need you to take care of my Alexander for me and make sure he gets safely back to Alicante. You know how much he means to me, so I wouldn't trust this to anyone but you two."
"No, no, no, no, no." Ragnor said, shaking his head vigorously. "If you want to make sure that he gets safely back home, you'll have to do it yourself."
"Ragnor, please…hear me out."
"No, you hear me out, stupid pirate. You can't die. You can't, okay? If you're so worried about Alec then you'll have to make it out alive. We won't babysit him for you, so you only have one option here, mate? Don't die. Did you hear me?"
Magnus nodded and gave Ragnor a hug. He knew his harsh words had been just his way of telling him how worried he was about him.
"Thanks for everything, mate." Magnus whispered into his ear.
"Don't." Ragnor said, stepping back. "I don't want goodbyes."
Magnus nodded and hugged Raphael too. "Take care of Ragnor for me too, alright? And don't let what Tessa said about him go to his head."
Raphael chuckled. "Magnus, I…"
"I know, you don't have to say anything." Magnus said, giving them both a smile. "Now go and stay safe, okay?"
"Okay, but we'll see you later." Ragnor said sure of himself.
Magnus just nodded, not wanting to argue any further. This was painful enough as it was. "Take care, my friends."
Ragnor and Raphael nodded and walked away. Magnus watched them go and disappear into the jungle. It was a relief to know that even after all the mistakes he had made in his life, he still had friends who cared about him and for whom he would die without hesitation.
"Goodbye." He whispered, turning around and heading towards the cave.
He didn't know what was going to happen next, but he knew that whatever it was, he was doing the right thing.
