The Map

The Heron

Nell kept her eyes fixed firmly on the robes at the base of his neck. 

"Leave us be, please!" she begged, the cross still held out in front of her. The cabin was growing darker as the light from outside faded; dark shadows had formed in the cabin and the monk stood in front of her was partially hidden in the shadows that seemed to be part of him.

She heard the Governor moving beside her and gave a startled cry when a rasping sound accompanied a bright flare of light; and then the lantern on the table glowed brightly. He gripped the lantern and held it up before him, more to banish the shadows then defence but the effect on the monk was interesting; he flinched back slightly and Nell's eyes widened with hope.

"See that!" she cried, but the Governor was in sync with her thoughts and he took a shaky step forwards waving the lantern towards him; the flame danced with the motion and the monk shrank back again.

"Is it the light?" asked the Governor excitedly.

"No, the fire! It's the fire!" Nell cried. "How did you light the lantern?"

"There's a tinder box on the table, what do you propose?" He waved the lantern at the monk again sending it further back into the corner of the cabin but only for a few seconds and then it began moving towards them again.

"Go back!" he shouted at the monk. "Go back I say!" he cried and again he waved the lantern wildly towards the monk.

The monk shrank back but only slightly; his empty hand rose as if in defence from the fire inside the glass lantern.

"The fire!" Nell shrieked. "He's definitely afraid of the fire!" Turning she grabbed the only other lantern she could reach without getting too close to the monk and using the tinderbox lit the wick. She thrust it forwards and felt a glimmer of triumph when the monk shrank back further; but it was short lived when the monk lifted his sword and in a swinging arc sent the lantern flying from the Governor's grasp. It sailed through the air and smashed against the glass of the mullioned windows; fire exploded upwards instantly catching the curtains and the fabric of the cushioned seats alight. The monk gave a cry of outraged anger and thrust towards Nell, catching the point of the blade into the upper part of her arm. She screamed in pain and threw the lantern towards him; it connected solidly with his chest and smashed on impact. The effect was instant as flames licked upwards catching his robes on fire; he screamed an unearthly agonised scream that echoed through Nell's head. Staggering forwards, his sword clattered to the floor and he began ricocheting around the cabin, banging into the drapes of the bed, against the mast and the tables; all the while flames flickered and danced until the entire cabin was ablaze with hot burning fire.

"We have to leave!" Nell cried and together they ran for the doors; flinging them open they staggered out onto the deck, becoming suddenly aware that the burning monk was not the only monk on board. The few remaining crew were fighting a growing number of monks with anything they could lay there hands on. Nell looked in shock as the Governor dragged her sideways away from where the burning monk staggered through the door colliding with two fighting monks and sailors. Fire licked from one to the other and the screams of the monks were joined with screams of agony from the sailors.

"Oh dear God!" Nell cried as they were backed up against the railings trying to stay out of the way.

"We'll burn to death if we stay here!" the Governor used his good arm to point to where the fire had crept up the mast to the rigging and the sails above. "We must jump!"

"I can't swim!" Nell cried and looked wildly around her. "Here, take this!" She grabbed two stout pieces of wood from the deck and handed one to the Governor. "Jack can't be far behind us, he must be able to see the fire by now. He'll come for us!"