Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE Jackal at the Door

IN A HEARTBEAT, the jackal was at the front of the room. His sharp, pointed teeth closed around the staff.

Seeing my chance, I launched the wand.

It whirled unevenly across the short distance (thank goodness most of the officers between me and von Braggenschnott were still sitting or they would have stopped it with their heads) and struck von Braggenschnott's hand with a muffled crack.

Unable to help himself, von Braggenschnott let go of the staff. The jackal stumbled backwards, almost going end over teakettle, the staff still clutched in his teeth. Realizing he was free of a struggle, he darted out of the room. "Nein! Nicht der zauberstab!" von Braggenschnott yelled.

Pandemonium exploded.

"Get that jackal!" Admiral Sopcoate bellowed.

"The high priest is speaking German!" Captain Bacon exclaimed.

Thwack! Another piece of coal took out the Frenchman kneeling next to Bollingsworth, who had collapsed to the ground.

"Get the girl!" von Braggenschnott yelled.

"Now he's speaking the Queen's English!" someone said.

My eyes sought out Will. "Go back out the way you came and make sure the jackal escapes."

Will threw me a puzzled look. "But 'e's got yer staff!"

"I know, but he'll take it back to the museum. Now go!"

Will gave a quick nod, and then he and Ratsy disappeared into the pantry.

Four Chaos agents were down. Unfortunately, that still left four more.

Hiding behind the officers' legs, I crawled over to where Bollingsworth had fallen and slipped Snuffles's guinea into his pocket. Then, using a group of officers as cover, I duck-walked over to the door and slipped into the passageway. I tried to remember which way we'd come. From the left, I thought.

As I headed for the hatchway, a number of sailors were hurrying to the upper deck, intent on obeying Admiral Sopcoate's order to stop the jackal. When I reached the ladder, I saw one sailor coming down. Unlike the others, he didn't look confused—he looked purposeful and had a rather ruthless air about him. When he caught sight of me, he quickened his pace.

Bother. I'd forgotten they had agents hidden onboard. I whirled around and began running in the opposite direction, looking for a ladder that led up so I wouldn't be cornered in the bowels of the ship.

Not giving my knickers a second thought this time, I scrambled up the first ladder I came to.

As I emerged on deck, I took great heaping gulps of air, grateful to be outside at last. To my left lay the bow. Nothing there but anchor chains and vents. Certainly no means of escape.

I charged right, toward where the sailors had been lining up for inspection. Safety in numbers, I hoped.

The deck between the forward gun turret and the edge of the ship was relatively narrow, so I crept carefully, hugging the base of the tower as I went.

Once clear, I raced toward the bridge. As I ran, I glanced up at the chart house. Was that a flicker of movement I saw? I blinked against the bright sky, bringing my vision into sharper focus, but no, it had just been wishful thinking. There was no help from that quarter. All the officers who normally served on the bridge were down in the wardroom.

There was a shout behind me as Admiral Sopcoate and von Braggenschnott emerged on the upper deck.

I scrambled down the ladder that led to the level below. In front of me, two burly sailors were headed my way. My first thought was of rescue, until I heard Admiral Sopcoate shout out, "Squidge! Farley! Seize her!"

There was no place left to go. The smooth steel wall of the ship loomed on my left, the railing and the river on my right.

I glanced back at von Braggenschnott and Sopcoate, who were now coming down the ladder. Squidge and Farley were seconds away.

I decided I'd take my chances overboard.

Holding on to the top railing, I put my feet onto the bottom rail. It was wobbly and precarious, and I'd be lucky if I didn't end up going into the river headfirst. But surely the dark, foul water of the Thames was better than capture? Especially since I'd foiled Chaos's plans twice now. As Bollingsworth had said, they had a debt to settle.

I lifted my right foot to the top rail. I would have to push off hard to avoid hitting the side of the boat on the way down. I took a deep breath.

There was a flutter of blackness off to my right—between Sopcoate and me—as a great black shape swooped out of the sky in my direction.

An arm came around my middle, knocking a gasp of surprise out of me. My feet left the railing, and my heart, which had been lodged up in my throat, took a nosedive down toward my toes as the deck swayed sickeningly beneath me.

We landed with a bone-jarring thud (of which the cloaked figure took the brunt, I might add). My rescuer released me and I stumbled, then bent over to catch my breath. "You've simply got to find a better way to—you!"

The sight of Clive Fagenbush had me gaping in shock. "What are you doing here?" Honestly! Is no one who they seem anymore?

"Run, you little fool." He whipped a pair of pistols out from under his cape.

Shouts and yells from the officers' mess let me know that Chaos would be following, so even though I loathed doing anything Fagenbush told me to, I hightailed it out of there. With Fagenbush watching my back, I made my way aft, where, by the shouts I heard, the jackal had been spotted.

When I arrived, all the sailors were standing on the dockside, shouting encouragement to a handful of men who were chasing the jackal down the boarding plank. I breathed a sigh of relief. The staff would be out of Chaos's reach, at least for now.

Fagenbush was right on my heels. "What happened to the others?" I asked.

"They changed their minds and returned to the front of the ship," he said.

"But that means they're escaping!" I said in dismay. I started to run back, but Fagenbush reached out and grabbed my arm.

"No! We've got to get off this ship before Chaos decides they'd rather have revenge than a clean getaway. Besides, I was ordered to rescue you, not chase them down."

"Ordered?" I asked, momentarily distracted by this revelation. "Who ordered you to rescue me?"

"Wigmere," he said. "Now move."