“We need the key to the cuffs before we can use it,” Maurice said, and Celestine nodded along with him.
My heart pounded harder and my knees went wobbly. I swore I could feel the boat rocking as thunder rumbled and it got darker in the cabin. Overhead, candlelight whooshed to life, but when I glanced up, I realized the glow radiated from electric bulbs in a chandelier that was oddly behind a cube of glass. There was one jar hanging down below the light on a rope and something glittered inside.
“Oh, there!” Maurice jumped up and down in excitement, and I forced a chuckle for him, even though I felt three steps away from death. “Do you see it? The key’s in the jar.”
“How will we get it down?” I groaned because it seemed impossible.
Maurice nudged me with his elbow. “Come here. I saw something over here.” He led me to the wall where a decorative oar full of carvings hung, which reminded me of an old-world map. Together we were able to knock the oar down with our elbows, but it took both of us to keep it from falling to the floor, and we had to put our backs to each other and work the oar between us in an upright position.
Lacey and Celestine laughed their asses off at us as we awkwardly walked over to where the jar was hanging, and I thought maybe there was more than one way to get the key down, but the oar must’ve been a good suspect and that was why the chandelier was protected. It took us a few swings to tip the jar on its side, and the metallictingof the key hitting the floor had joy leaping in my chest.
“Wow, you’re good at this. I see why you’re dating. You’re a great team.” Celestine shot us a smile and it made me feel a bit better about the situation.
Immediately I spotted the key on the floor and dove for it. I scrabbled around blindly, my fingers scraping the wood, and let out a sigh when I picked up the key in my right hand. The cool metal sent relief rushing through my veins. I tried to unlock my shackles, but the key was too long for that. I growled in frustration.
“Maurice, come over here. I can unlock you but not me.”
He hummed as I stood, and we moved around until we were back-to-back again. Celestine whispered something to Lacey, and my stomach jolted as Maurice’s warm fingers brushed mine.
“Hold on. Let me have the key,” Maurice said in a firm, steady tone that had my heart slowing down a bit.
“All right.” I passed the key to him, and my face heated as he easily slid the key into my shackles and turned the lock. Both cuffs opened at once and the metal clinked to the floor. I let out a moan as I rubbed my wrists.
“Hurry!” Celestine said, and I was surprised to see how into this he and Lacey were, but I rushed to get the key and unlock Maurice, and then he went around and freed everyone else.
Lacey scrambled over to the book mess on the floor and retrieved the second clue, holding the piece of paper with a wax seal on it in front of her at arm’s length like it was a bomb. We all leaned closer as she broke the red seal and opened the note.
The second key, ye will find, below a knot of pine.
“Well, that isn’t very good pirate poetry,” I grumped.
“Just look at all the wood!” Celestine shouted as he scampered off to gawk at every wooden thing in the whole place, running around like a chicken with his head cut off. Lacey was more systematic, starting at the bookcase.
“We don’t need to look at all the wood, we need to find aknot. And pine is a light wood. Let’s search for that.” Maurice patted my back.
“Youaregood at this,” I said.
The happy little smile he blasted me with made me want to take his hand, but we were rushing around to follow his orders before I could do it, and besides, Celestine wasn’t paying any attention to us, so I didn’t have much of an excuse to touch him now.
Not long later Maurice let out a happy noise and dropped to a knee as he pried up a pale pine board that indeed had a knot in it, then peeled up several more loose floorboards. We hustled over to gather around him, but we all stared, flummoxed, when he pulled up a wall sconce. The bottom looked like it would fit into something heart shaped.
“How is that a key?” Celestine asked.
“A key only has to fit into a lock,” I said, glancing around. “It doesn’t have to be a small one.”
“Oh! Oh! It doesn’t have to be a key like with the cuffs!” Lacey grabbed the sconce out of Maurice’s hands and ran toward the bookcase, and we all bolted after her. I could almost taste freedom and wanted out of here now. The thunder was starting to pierce my brain. On the wall to the left was a heart-shaped hole that could’ve been easily overlooked, and she fit the sconce there and we all cheered—but nothing happened.
“Well, what do we do now?” Maurice poked at the sconce.
“Generally, you have to turn a key,” I murmured. “Thank God we’re getting out of here. I don’t enjoy being locked in.” I twisted the sconce to the right. Nothing happened. “Fuck.”
“Shh.” Maurice rubbed my back, and I swallowed hard.
I turned the sconce to the left. A loudclicksounded in the room, and the bookcase swung inward. Beyond was darkness.
“Ah! How cool is this!” Lacey grabbed my shoulder and Maurice’s, then used all her weight to shake us, which added to the queasiness already sloshing around in my stomach. Lacey and Celestine dashed inside, and Maurice followed them. I hesitated, but Maurice reached back and grabbed my hand, dragging me ahead and into the room. I clung too tightly but couldn’t help it.
“It’s pitch black.”
