His tail twitched. “Unlike you, I can swim out of danger.”
I returned my attention to the peeping glass and squinted. “That looks like it sails faster than you swim.”
“Let me see!” He jumped up and dropped onto my shoulder. “Scoot!”
I jerked away, and my distraction allowed him to shove one eye through the glass. His eyeball bulged, and his tail whipped so hard that it whacked the back of my head. Repeatedly. And hard.
I pushed his tail away. “Stop that! And let me see!”
“I’m seeing!” he snapped.
“And you’re on my shoulder,” I countered as I stepped to one side so I was positioned in front of the hole.
He thwacked me with one scaly claw. “Stupid woman! You don’t want to see what’s happening, anyway!”
I squinted into the hole and immediately understood what he meant. The ship had cut the distance between us by half, and the gap was still shrinking. The storm brought with it darkness, as well, as it blotted out the sun with its huge body. The world was cast in its shadow, and that shadow was getting closer.
The captain strolled to the bow, his men parting the way for him. He stopped a few feet from the edge and turned his head toward the port side. I glimpsed a crooked smile on his face, and there was a strange, soft blue glow over his face.
The ship lurched, sending me and my unwanted and rather ugly parrot to the floor. I could hear the waves crash against the sides of the vessel. The beams and boards groaned under the pressure.
I lifted my gaze to Ramaro, who had landed a few feet away from my face. And on his back. “What’s going on?”
He rocked to and fro, trying to right himself. “The captain’s trying to get us out of the Sea of Erebus! If we can get past its bounds, the ship won’t follow us!”
“How can he do that? Does he have a nuclear engine down in the hull or something?”
“A lot of magic and a lot of luck!” Ramaro explained as the ship lurched again, sending us sliding across the rough boards.
I crashed into the wall behind me and opened my arms. The lizard crashed into my chest, and I wrapped him in a tight hug.
“Let me go, human!” he snapped as he flailed about.
The ship shifted again, and we slid to the opposite side of the room. The lizard screamed as he slid with me. I rolled over at the last minute, and my back crashed into the wall.
“Don’t let me go, human!” Ramaro squeaked as he tried to burrow himself deeper into my grasp.
I wrapped an arm tight around him and eased myself onto my knees. The boat rocked to and fro, and sometimes the bow flew out of the water and crashed back down. I slapped my empty palm against the wall and stood, but I stayed hunkered low as I moved along the barrier toward the peeping glass. The magic was still working, and I was able to see the sea-soaked deck. The crew clung to the masts and the wheel that housed the anchor chain.
The only person not clinging on for dear life was the captain. He stood where I’d seen him last, like a rock against the storm. The ship rocked to and fro, but he stayed steady, always looking outward across the bow.
And then the danger ceased. Sunlight started from the bow and swept across the deck, enveloping everyone in its warm embrace. I started back as Ramaro wriggled in my hold.
“To the stern!” he shouted as he used his tail to point to the rear of the ship. “Look back!”
I raced to the windows and peered out. The storm that had pursued us had stopped fifty yards away, and the distance was widening. Lightning flashed again inside the cloud, allowing me one last glimpse of the eerie vessel before we moved too far to see anything.
We’d done it. We’d outraced a ghost ship.
Chapter 6
My legs suddenly felt very wobbly, and my knees buckled. I slid to the floor, my arm loosening enough for the lizard to drop out and land nearby. My heart pounded in my chest as I turned over and leaned my back against the wall. I stretched my legs out in front of me and cupped my face in my hands, into which I proceeded to bawl my eyeballs out.
I wish Tim were here.
Ramaro set his front claws on my right knee and cocked his head to one side. “Why are you crying now? The danger is over!”
I could only shake my head. My crying only ceased when the cabin door opened, and the captain took one step inside. His sharp eye took in the situation as I dropped my hands into my lap.
