‘Not yet,’ said Isabel sorrowfully. ‘But almost.’
She stepped around Creesjie, addressing the passengers. ‘Old Tom delivered us to this island thinking to doom us,’ she said. ‘But while it was the demon’s evil that steered our ship on to these rocks, it was God’s hand that spared us.’
Arent staggered, then fell. Some of the other passengers were moaning, the ground spinning beneath them.
‘What have you done?’ cried out Creesjie, as Marcus and Osbert crumpled on to the shoal.
‘Old Tom can shelter in any soul that has bargained with it,’ she said, as Sara collapsed. ‘But I can’t be sure which of you that is.’
Creesjie’s vision was becoming blurry.
‘The daemonologica taught me how to make holy fire,’ continued Isabel, smiling the smile of martyrs. ‘I’m going to cleanse your souls one by one until there’s no hiding place left. I’m going to put an end to the tyranny of Old Tom once and for all.’
Creesjie woke with a groan.
She’d been tied to a piece of the
‘Marcus! Osbert!’ she called out.
They were nowhere to be seen, though Sara and Lia were tied up nearby. She called to them, watching them stir slowly, blinking away their confusion as they whipped their heads from left to right, trying to make sense of what was happening.
‘Marcus! Osbert!’ cried Creesjie. ‘God, please answer me!’
Slowly, more people began to wake up. Creesjie couldn’t tell how many of them believed in Old Tom or not, but she knew they were afraid. An hour ago, they’d been convinced they would be raped or murdered by the musketeers. Now they were about to be burnt to death by a zealot.
It was a bargain worthy of Old Tom himself.
‘Isabel!’ screamed Sara, whose head was turned towards something Creesjie couldn’t see. ‘Isabel, stop this!’
A fire roared into life behind them, an agonising scream rolling up the beach. Creesjie craned her neck trying to see who it was, but she couldn’t twist far enough. All she could do was listen to Isabel’s strange chanting.
‘Mama,’ cried out Lia, terrified. ‘Don’t let her do this, please.’
‘Be brave, dear heart,’ called Sara, straining against her ropes. ‘Remember the courage you had on the docks when we comforted the leper. Close your eyes and pray with me. Pray with me!’
The scream cut off and Isabel emerged out of the gloom, wreathed in firelight. She’d made a torch from a tree branch and sailcloth, and it burnt in her hand, dripping flame on to the shoal.
‘Isabel, you don’t have to do this,’ cried Creesjie desperately, tears staining her cheeks. ‘Please, please, please, my friends are innocent, my sons are innocent. Let them go!’
‘Old Tom can hide anywhere,’ replied Isabel in that flat, broken voice. ‘This is our only chance to banish him.’
Going to Lia, she knelt down in front of her. ‘You may be innocent, and, if so, I’m sorry for what I must do.’ Her eyes were empty. ‘If it comforts you, know that the mercy God shows you in heaven, will be equal to the torment visited upon me in hell.’
Using her fingertip, Isabel drew a mark in dirt upon Lia’s forehead.
‘Isabel, please, she’s just a girl,’ screamed Sara hoarsely.
Isabel ignored her, lowering the burning torch towards the hem of Lia’s dress. ‘I am truly sorry.’
Lia screamed for mercy, as Sara cried out for Isabel to stop.
‘There’s no such thing as Old Tom,’ yelled Creesjie at the top of her lungs.
Silence fell upon them, as all eyes turned towards her. The burning torch paused on its way to Lia’s dress, confusion clear on Isabel’s face.
‘I made it all up,’ cried out Creesjie desperately. ‘I did it all. I wanted to kill the governor general and this was the only way. Lia’s not a devil. Don’t hurt her, please!’
The mania dropped from Isabel’s face. She peered at Sara winsomely.
‘How was that?’ she asked.
‘You did wonderfully,’ said Sara, pulling her hands out of the loose ropes and helping Lia to her feet.
Creesjie blinked at them in confusion. ‘Sara, what’s happening?’
‘It was a farce,’ said Sara coldly. ‘The same farce you performed on us. There couldn’t be any doubt. I had to know you were guilty.’
82
The charade at an end, Lia and Dorothea immediately set about untying the other passengers, while gently explaining what had happened. It was quite a story, and most took it in open-mouthed.
‘Where are my boys?’ asked Creesjie, straining to find them.
‘With Arent,’ explained Sara. ‘We didn’t want them to see this.’ She whistled into the dark, receiving one back. ‘They’re coming now.’
Creesjie sagged, looking suddenly exhausted. ‘Thank you, Sara.’
‘Don’t thank me. This isn’t over.’
‘And when will it be over?’
The light of the Eighth Lantern burst into life, then immediately exploded. Flaming pieces dropped into the ocean.
‘When that happens,’ said Sara.