For a minute there’s only silence. We both stand there looking at the dead body on the floor, eyes round, tension thick in the air. Finally Jasper breathes,

“What happened? What could do this?”

I walk over to him, and he actually takes a step backwards, like he thinks I’m the one who touched the captain and infected his flesh with rot. Just with a brush of my finger. When I bend down to pick up the jewel I only touch the chain, even though I know it won’t hurt me, I can’t bear to touch the surface of the black diamond right now. I just can’t let it touch my bare hand. Not after seeing what it did, even if the captain did deserve it.

Jasper’s eyes are round, glued to the diamond in my hand, “That did it to him? That’s what made him…like that.” He gestures at the blackened corpse on the floor. When I turn towards him he backs up so fast he smacks into the wall, “don’t let it near me. Why do you have that thing? It’s black magic, isn’t it?”

I stare at the jewel, my mind in turmoil. Yes, I suppose it is black magic. But why the hell doesn’t it affect me? The copper wasn’t lying, his crazy tale was true. That means I’m some kind of magic blocking device. It’s all too much, and I can feel a throbbing headache start behind my eyes.

“It’s hard to explain,” is all I manage to croak out, “but I need to get this to Bristol, I think…I think there’s someone there who’s going to take care of this thing.”

Jasper is staring at the jewel like it might leap off the chain and try to bite him, “What, destroy it?”

I shrug, “I would wager so. I don’t know much more than you do. All I have is the garbled story of a dying man who told me I needed to get this to Bristol.” I recall his words about taking it to Josephine Rosedale, but as far as I'm concerned, Jasper doesn't need that bit of information, “look, if you can get us to London…I’ll…I’ll take it from there.”

I’ll take it from there. Right, I guess that’s it then. I’m really committing to this, for some bizarre, half mad reason, I’m taking up this demented quest and I’m going to try to get the killer jewel to the woman in Bristol. Not the best decision I’ve ever made.

Jasper is biting his thumbnail, looking at the black diamond, then back up at my face, then at the diamond, “Right,” he finally says, “we’re going to London anyways. But let me make one thing clear,” he points one finger at the necklace, “you keep that thing away from me and my crew. I don’t want anyone…” he trails off, gesturing at the remains of the captain, “and how do we get rid of this body anyways?”

“Like you would a plague victim,” I say firmly, “whatever this magical sickness is, I’m fairly sure it’s contagious. Cover your face if you go near it, make sure you wrap up the corpse and burn it.”

“Shit,” he growls, “right, alright, we’ll have to set down somewhere and have a bonfire. I’m not burning whatever that thing is on my ship.”

His ship. He keeps talking like he’s in charge now, “You taking over?” I gesture at the cabin around us, “you second in line for the throne or whatever?”

His mouth curls slightly on one side, “second mate, so yeah, that makes me next in line for the job,” he shoots another look at the corpse, “nasty old bastard, didn’t like him anyways. Got what he deserved.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more,” I take a deep breath and shove the diamond into my pocket again, “What now?”

“Now I tell the crew,” Jasper turns and marches for the door, “and tell them we’re going to have a funeral service.”

When we emerge out onto the deck I breath in a deep lungful of fresh air, relieved to be outside again. Gus and Ellie are sitting on the deck under the watchful eye of a tall, skinny pirate with a handkerchief over his greasy hair. They both sit up straighter as Jasper and I emerged from below, and their guard looks surprised. In fact, for the first time all of the pirates on deck stop their work and actually acknowledged that I’m there, staring at Jasper and I as if waiting for a proclamation.

            “Show them the necklace,” Jasper says in a low voice.

I hesitate, hand halfway into my pocket, torn between guarding the jewel and not wanting to touch it. Why does he want me to show the jewel to a dirty bunch of pirates? Does he want them all to try and grab it? They’ll drop dead.

“Trust me,” Jasper’s voice is an insistent rumble in my ear.

My gut twists, wondering if I’ve misjudged his character and he’s just as bad as the captain. Maybe he’ll just gloat over the jewel, and get me to carry it around for him. Slowly I draw my hand out of my pocket, the heavy diamond swinging free on the chain as I raise my arm. It’s like a magnet. Every set of eyes is drawn to it. Greed twists the pirate’s faces, and a few even take a step forward, grinning savagely, teeth black and rotten.

Jasper says loudly, “the captain is dead.”

The pirates hesitate, greed becomes confusion. One of them, a short, pudgy man with a dirty mustache, calls out, “Wot happened?”

Jasper’s face is devoid of emotion, and his voice is hard, uncaring, “he touched something he shouldn’t have touched. He tried to take that.”

Now all eyes are fixed on me. Doubt flickers across the pirate crew’s face, and one or two of them snort with laughter. They look from the diamond, and then back at my face. I can see disbelief clearly on their features.

“Try to take it, if you like,” Jasper says, shrugging carelessly, “if you want to chance it. But first, you may want to have a peek down in the cabin, see what’s left of the captain.” He holds up one hand in warning, “don’t go near the remains though. Hold your breath. We’re setting down now, and we’re going to give him a decent funeral,” again his mouth curls at one side, this time in a scornful sneer, “as much as he deserved.”

It’s totally quiet now, save for feet thumping on the deck as about half of the pirates move past us, making their way downstairs to see for themselves. The rest of them stand on deck, looking confused and uncertain. Probably wondering if Jasper is playing some kind of joke on them.

Jasper turns to the man at the helm and calls out, “take her down, Harold. Anywhere, doesn’t need to be fancy. Just find us a flat space with nobody in it.”

Harold tips his pointed hat at Jasper, shooting him a grin, and I watch sun glint off the golden tooth set in the middle of his mouth, “You got it, captain. My sincere congratulations on your promotion!”

Jasper throws back his head and roars with laughter, then he turns on his heel, boots thunking on the boards as he strides over to Gus and Ellie, waving one hand at their guard, “leave ‘em be, Skully. They’re not going anywhere. Get back to work.”

Skully shoots him a grateful look and heads towards the stairs, obviously burning with curiosity, since the clear sound of men yelling can be heard from downstairs. Pirates push past one another on the stairs, trying to get up onto the deck. A few run over to the side, and I try to block out the sound of people being sick, “Gus, Ellie, are you okay?”

“We’re fine,” Gus’ eyes are wide, “what happened down there? Did he hurt you?”

I snort, shake my head, “he didn’t get a chance. He found the jewel and went for it and…” I grimace, trying to push the mental images out of my head, stomach roiling, “anyways, the copper was right. This thing is deadly.” Finally I drop the jewel back into my pocket, feeling better when it’s hidden away, “it’s bad news. He was right. After….after seeing what it did…”

“We’re going to Bristol, aren’t we?” Gus says.

“I think…I think I am,” I hesitate, crouching down beside them, eyes darting from Ellie to Gus, “look, you don’t have to go with me. I’m not asking that. It wouldn’t be fair.”

Ellie is shaking her head, “Molly, without you, I’d probably have been ridgeback food, or died of thirst in the desert…or…” she trailed off, still shaking her head emphatically, “I’m going with you.”

We both look at Gus now, and he shrugs, “Well, I’m in. What else have we got to do, really? And I’ve never been to Bristol. Could be nice.”

I grin at both of them, secretly relieved that I won’t be alone once Jasper and his crew drop us off in London, “thanks.”

“Setting down!” Harold calls from the helm, and Jasper grabs one of the nearby ropes and calls out cheerfully, “brace yourself, my darlings!”

The ship’s landing isn’t exactly graceful, and the jolt sends me flying forward. Luckily I catch the railing just on time, preventing myself from flying overboard. I see Ellie tumble across the deck, and Gus catch hold of her hand, both their faces full of shock. Jasper recovers ridiculously fast, striding across the deck to clap one firm hand onto my shoulder, “alright there?”

My face goes bright red, “I’m fine.”

For some reason the thought of making a fool in front of him makes me cross, and I yank away from his grip and stagger over to Ellie and Gus, offering them each a hand and hauling them off the deck.

“Alright?” I say, and they both nod.

Jasper laughs, but lucky for him, doesn’t say anything else. Around us the crew starts hauling the sails down and tucking them together, tying them neatly to the masts. I tip my head back and watch Jasper climb the highest one like a monkey. He’s astonishingly fast as he hauls himself up hand over hand, even dangling from the top for one dangerous second as he grabs a rope that’s come loose. I can see the muscles in his arms and back working through his thin white shirt. When I glance to the side I see Ellie in the exact same position as me, head tilted back, eyes wide. Behind us Gus snorts,

“Really, I mean come on…”

I jerk back to look at him, “What?”

“I mean, he’s completely ridiculous, hoping from post to post like a jumping bug,” he mutters, “probably break his neck.”

Ellie doesn’t tear her eyes away, “he seems to have a handle on it, Gus.”

Gus only makes a disgusted noise and crosses his arms over his chest, staring up at Jasper sullenly.

Finally, after the sails are tucked away, Harold powers down the engines and the ship is quiet. The silence is almost eerie after hearing the thrum of the engines for so long. When I look over the railing of the ship I see we’ve come out of the desert and things are green once more. We’ve landed in a field just north of a thick forest range, and if I strain my ears I can just make out the bubbling sound of a nearby stream. The idea of bathing in cold, clear river water hits me almost immediately, and it’s the only thing I can think of. It’s been nothing but hot sand and sweat and dust, we could all use a bath. Maybe Ellie and I could sneak away while they were having their “funeral” for the captain.

            Loud thumping and banging proceeds a number of men dragging his body up the stairs. They’ve wrapped him in the blankets from his bed, which is almost a shame, since they're silk, and probably fairly new. Then again, he’d slept in them, so probably just as well they burn.

            “We’ll set up camp here for the night,” Jasper instructs the men, “someone can hunt for deer in the forest and we’ll all enjoy a night on steady land for once,” he waves at the men carrying the body, “be sure you take him far away from where we set up the camp. We don’t want the smoke drifting anywhere near us. The stench will be something awful.”

            Ellie wrinkles her nose, “Oh, that’s horrid.”

            I smirk at her, “Trust me, he was just as smelly when he lived.”

            As ordered, the men set up the camp far away from the funeral pyre they make for the captain. I 'm extremely thankful they’ve decided to pitch the canvas tents near the river. It means I'll  probably get my bath soon enough. Jasper sends a few men into the forest, and they come back with armfuls of dry branches for a fire, and the hunters he’d sent out come back dragging a deer between them.

            “We’ll have meat tonight,” Jasper throws his hands up, “fresh cooked!”

            A few of the pirates cheer, and the hunters set to work skinning the deer. I try to keep from laughing while Ellie makes terrible faces and turns away, covering her eyes with the brim of her hat.

            I grab her hand, “come on, let’s make a trip to the river. I’m drying to take a swim.”

            “Don’t suppose…” Gus begins, and Ellie and I both turn around and shoot him a look, “right. No boys invited. Got it.”