Voyage of Slaves Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  BOOK ONE - LORD OF THE BARBARY COAST

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  BOOK TWO - A DANGEROUS FREEDOM

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  BOOK THREE - ISTRANI WOLVES

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  PRAISE FOR The Angel’s Command

  “This jam-packed adventure is a swashbuckling tale of pirates on the high seas. It has all the elements that make Jacques’s books sing—terrific description, wonderful characters, and the power to transport you to an unforgettable place.” —Detroit Free Press

  “Action-packed and filled to the brim with colorful characters.”

  —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

  “Fast-paced action.” —The Indianapolis Star

  “Swashbuckling.” —The Columbus Dispatch

  “[A] big, sprawling adventure . . . the story delivers nonstop action, pithy dialogue, and esoteric sea lore.”

  —The Horn Book Magazine

  “Rousing . . . vivid language, larger-than-life characters, and multiple story lines yield a sprawling, epic tale. Anyone, young and old, who enjoys being immersed in big, romantic adventures will love this series. Readers hooked by Jacques’s storytelling magic in Castaways and the Redwall series are destined to be readers for life. May his readers be legion.” —Kirkus Reviews

  “Once again, Jacques spins a rousing yarn that fairly bursts at the seams with exciting escapades, exotic locations, poems, shanties, treachery, and derring-do . . . The sheer storytelling vigor is hard to resist. [Jacques] conjures a colorful, fully realized world and injects the pages with plenty of snappy repartee.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “The plot is almost nonstop action, with lots of swordplay.”

  —School Library Journal

  “There’s lots of swashbuckling adventure, suspense, intrigue, and some humor, much like Jacques’s beloved Redwall sagas. This new story will appeal to the same audience.” —KLIATT

  “High adventure with memorable characters.” —Locus

  “Another page-turner. Readers who enjoyed the first book will find this sequel even more exciting.” —Booklist

  PRAISE FOR Castaways of the Flying Dutchman

  “Well-known for his Redwall books, Jacques here turns his attention to the human world, and his fans will not be disappointed.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “In Castaways of the Flying Dutchman, Brian Jacques takes a bold and brilliant creative step. Using the legend of a never-ending voyage, he enriches, deepens, and gives new meaning to it . . . [Jacques] combines ample measures of suspense, fantasy, and mystery . . . and the emotional impact is powerful and unforgettable. It’s exciting to see a front-rank author rise to a new challenge—and his readers are the fortunate beneficiaries.”

  —Lloyd Alexander, Newbery Medal-winner

  “Jacques is a master storyteller who knows just when to boost a book’s drama, suspense, or humor to move a tale along . . . It’s a rare reader who won’t race through the pages, trying to see what happens next.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

  “Jacques captures the details of nineteenth-century, small-town England and its people with great panache . . . Readers will come to care about the good-hearted immortal boy and his faithful black Lab.” —The Horn Book Magazine

  “Vivid . . . haunting . . . will undoubtedly be loved by Redwall fans.” —Kirkus Reviews

  “The swashbuckling language brims with color and melodrama; the villains are dastardly and stupid; and buried treasure, mysterious clues, and luscious culinary descriptions keep the pages turning . . . Older readers who enjoy Jacques will like this, too.”

  —Booklist

  “Rousing.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

  “Colorful . . . engrossing.” —The Daily Telegraph (London)

  “An appealing tale.” —Children’s Literature

  PRAISE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING REDWALL SERIES

  “Wonderfully imaginative.” —The New York Times Book Review

  “The medieval world of Redwall Abbey—where gallant mouse warriors triumph over evil invaders—has truly become the stuff of legend.” —Seattle Post-Intelligencer

  “Readers will rejoice.” —Los Angeles Times

  “Children are privileged to enter the rich world of Redwall and Mossflower. So are the parents who get to come along.”

  —The Boston Phoenix

  “A grand adventure story. Once the reader is hooked, there is no peace until the final page.” —Chicago Sun-Times

  “Old-fashioned swashbuckling adventure.” —Locus

  “The Redwall books . . . add a touch of chivalry and adventure reminiscent of the King Arthur stories.”

  —Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

  “Filled with rousing adventure, strong characters, and vibrant settings.” —The Boston Sunday Globe

  “Packed with action and imbued with warmth . . . richly inventive.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “Jacques’s effortless, fast-paced narrative gets its readers quickly hooked. He clearly loves this other world he has created— there’s a genuine sense of involvement and care (lots of lovingly descriptive passages), as well as an overflowing, driving imagination.” —Birmingham Post

  “Great reading . . . entertaining. Classic confrontations between good and evil will never go out of style.” —Orlando Sentinel

  “A richly imagined world in which bloody battles vie for attention with copious feasting and tender romancing.”

  —The Cincinnati Enquirer

  Also by Brian Jacques

  The Redwall Chronicles

  REDWALL

  MOSSFLOWER

  MATTIMEO

  MARIEL OF REDWALL

  SALAMANDASTRON

  MARTIN THE WARRIOR

  THE BELLMAKER

  OUTCAST OF REDWALL

  PEARLS OF LUTRA

  THE LONG PATROL

  MARLFOX

  THE LEGEND OF LUKE

  LORD BROCKTREE

  TAGGERUNG

  TRISS

  LOAMHEDGE

  RAKKETY TAM

  HIGH RHULAIN

  Redwall Picture Books

  THE GREAT REDWALL FEAST

  A REDWALL WINTER’S TALE

  The Tribes of Redwall Series

  THE TRIBES OF REDWALL: BADGERS

  THE TRIBES OF REDWALL: OTTERS

  THE TRIBES OF REDWALL: MICE

  Other Redwall Books

  REDWALL MAP AND RIDDLER BUILD YOUR OWN REDWALL ABBEY REDWALL FRIEND AND FOE A REDWALL JOURNAL THE REDWALL COOKBOOK

  The Flying Dutchman Series

  CASTAWAYS OF THE FLYING DUTCHMAN

  THE ANGEL’S COMMAND

  VOYAGE OF SLAVES

  Other Books by Brian Jacques

  SEVEN STRANGE AND GHOSTLY TALES
/>   THE TALE OF URSO BRUNOV

  THE RIBBAJACK

  THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada

  (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

  Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  Penguin Group Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)

  Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia

  (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)

  Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, India

  Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0745, Auckland, New Zealand

  (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

  Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196,

  South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  VOYAGE OF SLAVES

  An Ace Book / published by arrangement with The Redwall Abbey Company Ltd.

  PRINTING HISTORY

  Philomel hardcover edition / September 2006

  Ace mass-market edition / September 2007

  Copyright © 2006 by The Redwall La Dita Co., Ltd.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form

  without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in

  violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  For information address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  ISBN: 978-0-441-01528-3

  ACE

  Ace Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,

  a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  ACE and the “A” design are trademarks belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  http://us.penguingroup.com

  To Nan Melia, always a pal!

  BOOK ONE

  LORD OF THE BARBARY COAST

  THE LEGEND OF THE FLYING DUTCHMAN is known to all men who follow the seafaring trade. Captain Vanderdecken and his ghostly crew,

  bound by heaven’s curse to sail the world’s vast oceans and seas for eternity! The curse was delivered by the angel of the Lord, who descended from the firmament to the very deck of the doomed vessel. Vanderdecken and his evil crew were bound, both living and dead, to an endless voyage. Only two were to escape the Flying Dutchman—a mute, ragged orphan boy, Ben, and his faithful dog, Ned. They were the only two aboard who were pure of heart, innocent of all wickedness.

  The angel had them both washed overboard in a storm off Cape Horn—castaways of the Flying Dutchman! Barely alive, they came ashore at Tierra del Fuego, the tip of South America. Unfortunately, they, too, were casualties of the angel’s curse, destined to live endlessly, without growing older by a single day. However, heaven, being merciful, decreed that Ben was granted the power of speech in any language. Additionally he could communicate with the dog by process of thought.

  Thus began a friendship that would last through many centuries. Their destiny was to wander the world, all its lands, seas, and oceans, never stopping in one place to watch mankind growing older before their eyes. Ever on the move before anybody could detect that the boy and his dog stayed eternally young. Haunted constantly by the spectre of Vanderdecken, seeking to bring them back amid the ghastly crew of that hellship, the Flying Dutchman, and having to travel constantly at the angel’s command.

  Ben and Ned shared many thrilling adventures on their travels. From the tip of Cape Horn, up to Cartagena and the Caribbean Sea. Shipping with French buccaneers, pursued by Spanish pirates and an English privateer, in a sea chase across the vast Atlantic. Wrecked and cast ashore, straight into another drama, across France, and into the Pyrenees, pitted this time against evil kidnappers. Their adventure culminated in the Bay of Biscay.

  From there, Ben and Ned, castaways once more in a small open boat, ventured into Mediterranean waters. Waifs of fate, they coasted the shores, living on their wits, always awaiting the decree of heaven, that they should drift into yet more dangers and perils—with the spectre of the Dutchman ever looming over them.

  1

  CIRCA 1703. THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA. SOMEWHERE BETWEEN ALEXANDRIA AND THE ISLAND OF CYPRUS.

  FROM CLOUDLESS, AZURE VAULTS, THE great golden eye of the sun shone down on the sea below. Its pitiless glare took in the boat, a small, weather-beaten craft. With no zephyr of breeze to stir it, a tattered gamboge sail hung uselessly over the prone figures of the boy and his dog, lying side by side. The big black Labrador’s tongue lolled out, its flanks rising and falling as it panted against the relentless noontide heat. The boy raised his head, brushing thick, tow-coloured hair from his vision. With an effort, he hauled himself up, his strange blue-grey eyes scanning the horizon. Running a swollen tongue across his cracked lips, he groaned. Nowhere in any direction was there a hint of land, only endless expanses of limpid turquoise-and-aquamarine sea. He lay back down, shielding his eyes as he sought the oblivion of sleep.

  Totally becalmed, the little vessel floated in the doldrums, moving neither back nor forth on the shimmering surface. There was no respite from the searing heat; the sun’s blazing orb presided over all in flaming splendour.

  As languid day tapered slowly into evening, the sky bled crimson with the sun’s death into the western horizon. Darkness fell over the tired waters, bringing in its wake the realm of nightmare. Both imprisoned by their dreams, Ben and Ned—the boy and his dog—whimpered and shivered uncontrollably, trapped in the memories of blood-chilling times, almost a century ago. They were aboard that heaven-cursed ship, the Flying Dutchman. Ploughing the storm-ravaged oceans at the world’s end, off the coast of Tierra del Fuego, southernmost tip of the vast Americas. Sounds of roaring seas thundering upon rock and reef assailed their minds. Ice hung thick from the shattered masts and torn sails. Dead men danced aloft, their bodies swaying as they dangled amid the tangled rigging. Like a thunderbolt, a fearsome visage confronted them. Vanderdecken, the mad captain of the doomed vessel! Hellfire blazed from his bloodshot eyes, salt crusted his frozen beard and wild locks. Baring frostbitten lips, he exposed yellowed, tombstone-like teeth, bellowing at Ben and Ned.

  “Ye will sail with me into eternity! Forever, across the mighty wastes of seas and oceans! Never will ye know rest, peace, or happiness with me and my fated crew! I am Vanderdecken, chased by the Hounds of Hell! Driven endlessly by the Almighty God, whom I cursed in my wrath! Condemned by His angel’s command!”

  His heavy hand slapped Ben’s face, again and again. The boy woke to find not an apparition, but a man, striking his cheeks. Ben understood his words, he was shouting in Arabic.

  “This one is alive, see! Cast that black beast into the se
a, Mahmud. Shaitan1 himself dwells in such creatures!”

  As weak as he was, Ben strove upward, hitting out at the fellow and shouting, “Leave the dog alone, he is mine!”

  However, he got no further. Wielding an oar, the one called Mahmud hit Ben from behind, laying him out senseless. Ned was flung, snapping and biting, into the sea. The two men left Ben lying in the small boat. Scrambling back aboard their own larger craft, they tied the little vessel in tow and rowed off into the night, shouting insults at the dog floundering in their wake.

  “Drown, ye beast of ill fortune! See, Nassar, that thing almost bit off my thumb!”

  Nassar spat in the direction of Ned. “May the sharks feed from its accursed body! Look at my chest, I’m scratched almost to the bone!”

  The black Labrador trod water, frantically sending out mental communications to the boy. “Ben! Have they hurt you, are you injured, Ben?”

  Unfortunately, Ben was lost in the black pit of unconsciousness, unable to answer his faithful friend.

  Both boats were soon lost in the Mediterranean darkness, but Ned swam stubbornly on, still trying to reach his master.