“Sorry, Captain. I’ve never driven one of these contraptions!” It was usually Brocco or the captain who drove the Vermillion, whatever it was.
Ruby dropped the phone. It slid across the bus, and Matt dove for it.
“Hello?” He could hear his mother’s voice on the other end.
“Mom!” shouted Matt. “Mom. It’s Matt!”
“Mateo? You’re breaking up . . . Where are you?”
“We’re on the Vermillion! We’re headed for the museum!”
“The museum? But—”
The captain kicked Matt’s hand, and the phone flew down the center of the aisle. He reached for the compass again, but Matt grabbed onto it, swinging from the chain as the bus tipped from side to side.
“Wiley, pull over! Pull over!” shouted the captain. Wiley jerked the wheel to the right, taking the bus up on the sidewalk, miraculously free of pedestrians. The bus was now bumping up the stairs of the museum, making all their teeth rattle.
“Wiley, stop! Stop!” the captain shouted.
“It won’t stop, Captain! It only goes faster!” He didn’t seem to know there was a brake pedal and continued to pump on the gas. The bus reached the top of the stairs and headed straight for the museum entrance. They were going to crash.
“Hold on!” Matt shouted. He braced himself on a metal pole just as the front of the bus met with the stone pillars. The bus groaned and screamed as if it were in pain, but it didn’t stop moving. The Vermillion, as if determined to keep going, began to shift. The sides of the bus pressed inward, the ceiling shrank, and the back end of the bus came forward like an accordion, pushing them all between the pillars. The crew was suddenly all mashed together in a glob of arms and hands and faces. Matt was still holding on to some kind of pole, but half his body was hanging outside of whatever the Vermillion was now. It seemed to have turned into a golf cart. Ruby was sandwiched between Corey and Brocco. The captain was pressed up against Wiley. He took the wheel into his own hands, but Wiley still had his foot on the pedal. The cart swerved to the left, narrowly missing the marble statue of Athena, then took a sharp turn to the right and headed for the grand staircase.
“Help!” cried a terrified voice. Matt looked backward and saw Albert clinging desperately to the back of the cart. He’d managed to get the electrical tape off his mouth, but he was still bound at the wrists and ankles. The cart swerved to the right of the grand staircase and zoomed down a corridor, zigzagging between sculptures, then took a sharp right into the Arms and Armor exhibit.
“Wiley, you fool,” said the captain. “Put your foot down on the other pedal!”
“Sorry, Cap, I’m trying, but it’s like she don’t want to stop!”
The captain growled. He held the wheel steady, heading straight for the large display of armored knights on metal horses, each of them holding up lances like they were ready to do battle. Matt braced himself as they drove right into them. The knights toppled over like bowling pins, and the Vermillion, as if sensing it had reached its destination, came to a sudden and violent stop. Matt was flung forward as though being shot out of a giant slingshot. He landed hard on the floor and rolled until he came to a stop at the bottom of a glass display case full of spears.
Matt lay on the floor, shocked, the wind knocked out of him. The chandelier overhead shook ever so slightly, as though frightened by their sudden and violent arrival.
There were several groans around him and the sounds of clanking metal. Apparently Matt hadn’t been the only one to be thrown from the cart. A flurry of footsteps came pounding down one of the corridors. There were a few clicking sounds and the museum was flooded with bright light. Matt lifted his head just enough to see his parents race into the exhibit. They were both in their pajamas and other random attire. Mrs. Hudson was wearing her thick leather combat boots over her plaid flannel pajama bottoms. They skidded to a stop as they surveyed the scene before them, their faces ashen and shocked.
“Mom!” Ruby cried. She picked herself up off the ground and ran to Mrs. Hudson, who caught her in her arms and hugged her fiercely. “Boys! Mateo! Corey!” she shouted in a panicky kind of shriek, searching the bodies strewn all over the floor.
“I’m here,” groaned Corey.
“Me too,” said Matt. He picked himself up off the floor gingerly, wincing at the sharp pain in his side. He gritted his teeth and limped to his parents. They were both there, holding out their arms to him. He’d never been so happy to see their faces. Matt got to them at the same time as Corey, and they crushed themselves against their parents. Matt ignored the searing pain. He wanted to glue himself right where he was.
His mom released him, though, as someone approached behind them. Matt turned to see Captain Vincent stumble to his feet, wincing. A gash in his eyebrow streamed blood down his face. The compass swung from his shirtsleeve. He looked around and then stopped cold when he saw the Hudsons all clasped together. Matt expected him to charge at them, to attack his dad, but to Matt’s surprise, the captain smiled as though greeting a long-lost friend, not at his dad, but at his mom. “Hello, Bel,” he purred.
Mrs. Hudson went rigid. “Children,” she said in a low voice. “Get behind your father.”
“Mom, what—” Matt began.
“Don’t argue. No questions. Just go.” Her voice was so sharp and quick, none of them dared to argue. They removed themselves from their mother and stood with their dad, who was looking at the captain with a mixture of fear and hatred.
Mrs. Hudson kicked a display case with the heel of her boot, shattering the glass. She pulled a sword from the metal hand of a suit of armor and pointed it at Captain Vincent.
“You,” Mrs. Hudson growled.
Captain Vincent’s smile broadened. “It is so good to see you, Bel, alive and well, beautiful and savage with a sword in hand, just as I have kept you in my memory these twenty years.”
With a sickening horror, Matt realized the thing their father had stolen from Captain Vincent was not any map or treasure. It was his mom.
22
The Fate of Captain Bonnaire
Mrs. Hudson stood like a statue, sword outstretched. She seemed very comfortable with it. “You kidnapped my children, you evil . . .” Matt had never seen his mother so angry. Her face contorted into a feral grimace, teeth bared, body tensed for attack. She was like a fierce lioness protecting her cubs.
None of it seemed to frighten Captain Vincent at all. “Actually, they came quite willingly,” he said. “In fact, they were practically starving when I picked them up and rather unsupervised or cared for. You never were the motherly type though. You were much better with swords, but I don’t imagine you’ve kept up your skills all these years?”
Mrs. Hudson roared and charged at Captain Vincent, slashing the sword across his body. The captain jumped back and only narrowly missed the blade. Mrs. Hudson made a sharp turn and pointed the sword at Captain Vincent again.
The captain smiled, completely delighted, then drew his own sword and struck, clashing against Mrs. Hudson’s blade. “You’ve no idea how much I’ve missed our duels.”
“Do you care to explain yourself?” said Mrs. Hudson, circling slowly around Captain Vincent.
“If anyone deserves an explanation, it’s me, don’t you think?” he said. “Imagine how I felt all those years, believing you were dead. It nearly destroyed me.”
“I daresay you recovered well enough,” said Mrs. Hudson. “You got the compass, which is what you really wanted all along.”
“True,” said the captain. “But it’s not nearly as fun without you, my Bel, my Bonbon.”
“Don’t call me that!” Mrs. Hudson snapped.
Captain Vincent flashed a roguish grin, clearly delighted by Mrs. Hudson’s anger. “But you always liked it when I called you Bonbon.”
Mrs. Hudson slashed her sword down. Metal clashed; they danced around each other, stepping over the broken glass and debris.
“Not up to your highest standard, Bel,” said Capta
in Vincent. “Such a pity to let your talent go to waste.”
“Don’t tell me about waste,” said Mrs. Hudson. “I assume your heart has blackened completely since last I saw you, or did you sell it for more power and treasure?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said the captain. “My heart always belonged to you. You stole it fair and square.”
“If that’s the case, you won’t think it foul play if I run it through with a blade.” Mrs. Hudson crashed her sword into the captain’s. The blades hit so hard they emitted sparks and seemed to strike a bit of fear into the captain.
“Get the children!” Captain Vincent shouted. “Get them back on board. Kill the father if you have to.”
“No!” shouted Mrs. Hudson. “Matthew, take the kids and run! Get out!”
Wiley and Brocco came toward them. Mr. Hudson backed away, his arms stretched out in an effort to shield his children, but he seemed to hesitate as to what to do under attack. He clearly was not a man of combat. Ruby, however, ducked underneath her father’s arm and charged Wiley.
“Ruby, no!” their father shouted. “Corey!” Corey had gone after her. Ruby grabbed the arm of a suit of armor, wrenched it off, and swung it full force at Wiley, hitting him hard in the stomach so he doubled over.
“Nice one, sis!” said Corey.
At the same time Brocco came after Matt and Mr. Hudson. Mr. Hudson was holding tightly to Matt while Brocco drew a gun and pointed it right at Mr. Hudson’s chest. “Give me the boy,” he said.
Mr. Hudson was breathing very hard, clearly terrified, but he shook his head and said in a resolute voice, “No.”
“Very well, if you insist.” Brocco cocked the gun.
“Brocco, heads up!” Corey was swinging a metal ball and chain over his head. He released it and it soared right at Brocco, who yelped and crouched down, covering his head with his arms. It was just enough of a distraction for Mr. Hudson to charge Brocco and knock him to the ground. The gun flew out of Brocco’s hand and disappeared in the piled-up armor in the middle of the room. Matt made eye contact with Albert. He was standing about the same distance as him from the gun, removing the last bit of tape from his wrists and ankles. They both made a mad dash for it, climbing and stumbling over metal arms and legs. Matt tossed aside a helmet, but just as Matt reached for the gun, Albert yanked him by the hair. Matt tried to grab him by the boots, but Albert kicked him in the mouth. Matt fell back. He tasted blood, and when he looked up, Albert was standing above him, pointing the gun right at him.
“You’re actually going to shoot me?” said Matt. “I could have let the captain drop you, you know.”
“I never asked you to save me,” said Albert. “I don’t owe you anything. I’m loyal to the captain. You’re the traitor.” He cocked the gun.
“You wouldn’t da—”
There was an explosion and a cloud of black smoke. Matt threw his arms over his face, certain he’d just been shot, but when the smoke cleared and he took stock of himself, he was unharmed. He looked over to where Albert had stood. He was in the driver’s seat of the golf cart, his face blackened by gunpowder and his arm bleeding. The gun had backfired. Albert groaned a little. Matt quickly stood, surveying the chaos all around him.
Mrs. Hudson was still fighting the captain. She was incredible with a sword, but Matt could tell it was a strain. Her T-shirt was soaked with sweat, and she grimaced with each stroke of her sword. Still, she fought Captain Vincent with everything she had. Her feet danced around him, her sword clashed powerfully against the captain’s. They were very evenly matched.
Mr. Hudson was still fighting Brocco, hand to hand. Brocco wasn’t much without a gun, and Mr. Hudson was a good head taller than him, but he was also gentle by nature. He didn’t strike Brocco so much as simply try to restrain him. Brocco in turn was trying everything he could to get himself free, including biting Mr. Hudson’s nose.
Corey and Ruby were still fighting Wiley, Ruby with a sword in hand and Corey with the dismembered arm of armor. Wiley was defending himself with a copper pot, blocking and dodging Corey and Ruby’s attacks.
“Hey now, there’s no need for violence,” he said. “We can work this out peaceably, can’t we? We were always friends, weren’t we?”
“Not if you’re going to try and kidnap us again!” said Ruby, swiping the sword at him. Wiley blocked it with the pot and moved backward. He was clearly not trained in combat. It was also clear he was reluctant to strike back at Corey and Ruby. They would be fine, Matt determined. It was his dad who seemed to need the most help at this moment.
Matt moved to assist Mr. Hudson, when a metal horse suddenly tipped over and fell onto him, pinning him by the leg. He looked up to see Albert sneering down at him.
“Mateo!” Mrs. Hudson shouted and lunged for Matt, momentarily forgetting that she was supposed to be fighting Captain Vincent.
“Mom! Look out!”
Mrs. Hudson turned back, but it was too late. The captain struck Mrs. Hudson in her upper arm. Mrs. Hudson gasped and dropped her sword. It clattered to the floor, landing only feet from Matt.
“Mom!” Matt shouted. Mrs. Hudson clutched at the wound now flowing blood. Matt struggled to get free of the metal horse, but hot pain shot up his leg. He couldn’t move it.
Corey dropped the metal arm he’d been using against Wiley, and Ruby lowered her sword. Mr. Hudson paused with Brocco in a headlock, the skin of his nose bleeding from Brocco’s bite. “Belamie.” He shoved Brocco to the ground, knocking his head on the hard marble, which probably hurt more than anything else he’d done. Mr. Hudson rushed to his wife.
“Matthew, stay back!” Mrs. Hudson shouted. Mr. Hudson paused, unsure what to do. Captain Vincent pointed his sword at Mrs. Hudson’s heart. Her chest rose and fell with fast, heavy breaths.
“You can’t have them,” said Mrs. Hudson. “You can steal the compass and do whatever you wish, but they’re my children and you can’t have them.”
“They should have been our children, Bel, not just yours.”
Mrs. Hudson let out a short laugh. “You may think my maternal instincts are lacking, Vince, but as poor a mother as I may be, you’d make a far worse father. What would our children have ever learned from you except to lie, steal, and cheat?”
“You always said the world was ours for the taking, Bel. How can you steal what already belongs to you? Your children show great promise as time pirates. Ruby is quite impressive with the sword. Corey is well on his way to becoming a master of explosives, and Mateo . . .” Captain Vincent smiled wryly. “Why, Mateo is a genius, a true time pirate in the making. Who knows what wonders he’ll perform?”
Mrs. Hudson glanced at her daughter, then Corey, and finally Matt. She seemed to be looking at them in a new light, suddenly noticing that they were different than the last time she’d seen them tucked in their beds, asleep. They’d traveled and seen and done many things without her, including lie, steal, and cheat. It seemed to terrify her that her children could have been so far outside her control and protection for so long without her even knowing.
“You see, Bel, your children are destined. They belong on the Vermillion. And they know it too.”
“Just go,” Mrs. Hudson said in a raspy voice. “Please just go and leave us alone.”
“You know I can’t do that, Bel,” said the captain. “But I’ll give you a choice. I’ll let you come with us if you wish. Come be a time pirate once more. Relive old times. What do you say?”
Mrs. Hudson was shaking now. Matt couldn’t bear to see it, his strong, fierce mother, trembling and bleeding. It churned something inside him, a heated rage that made him forget any pain or weakness or doubt. Matt shouted and wrenched his leg with all his might, freeing himself from beneath the armored horse. He stumbled to his feet and grabbed his mother’s sword. Before the captain could react, Matt slashed toward the captain. “Get away from my mom!” he shouted.
The captain stumbled back, hand cupping his cheek. When he brough
t it away it was soaked in blood. Matt dropped the sword, shocked by what he had done, but it also seemed to shock Mrs. Hudson into action and give her the opening she needed. She picked up her sword and swiped at the captain, only narrowly missing his neck.
“My children do not belong to you!” Mrs. Hudson shouted, thrusting her blade toward the captain’s chest. He barely had time to block it. “I never belonged to you! We are not treasures for you to steal and collect!” She swung again and again. Captain Vincent blocked and parried until Corey and Ruby came charging. Corey swung the metal arm at the captain’s legs, and Ruby thrust her sword at his chest. The captain was barely able to block all the blows. “Wiley, start the ship!”
Wiley dropped the copper pot and ran for the golf cart. Brocco crawled on hands and knees toward the cart as it sputtered to life.
Jia, Matt thought. She couldn’t stay on the Vermillion. He needed to get her off. Matt limped toward the cart. “Jia!” he called. He saw her. She was pulling herself up, looking disoriented. She met eyes with him.
“Jia! Get off! Get out now!”
But it was too late. Captain Vincent dropped his sword and leaped for the cart, and Wiley pressed on the gas. Captain Vincent pulled the compass out from his sleeve and began to move the dials. Mrs. Hudson dropped her sword and lunged for him, readying to leap on to the cart. “Belamie, no!” Mr. Hudson grabbed his wife from behind.
“The compass!” she shouted. “We have to get the compass from him or he’ll never leave us alone!” She wrenched herself free, but the cart was out of reach now, driving away through the wreckage of the armory. Mrs. Hudson ran after it, and Mr. Hudson ran after her. Matt tried to run after both of them, after Jia, but he stumbled and fell.
Corey and Ruby each got under one of Matt’s arms and supported him while they ran together. They reached the foyer just as the cart went out the doors, screeching as it squeezed between the pillars. It bounced down the steps of the museum. When it reached the bottom, it suddenly stopped. Matt thought maybe the Vermillion had broken down, but then he saw someone running down the sidewalk toward the cart. It was Pike. Her white hair bounced up and down as she ran toward the cart as fast as her little legs could carry her. Where had she been in all the commotion? There was a bulge in her pillowcase dress. She was carrying something.