Free The Eye of Neptune by Jon Mayhew Page B

Gradually he slipped off the beam that had kept him afloat and into the welcoming waves.
     
    ‘Wake up!’
    Something struck him hard across the face.
    ‘ Wake up , boy, or do I have to smack you again?’ a voice snapped at him.
    Dakkar’s cheek stung. His clothes were still sodden with seawater and his black hair clung to his face. He opened his eyes and stared around at the unfamiliar surroundings. Except somehow he recognised exactly where he was.
    He could see the wooden walls of the Makara ’s lower cabin, the brass levers, wheels and handles. Fish drifted past huge portholes set into the polished sides of what could only be the Makara . Only it wasn’t the Makara . It was too big.
    A girl squatted in front of him. Freckles peppered her nose and cheeks. Her red, curly hair was tied in a wild ponytail, the fringe scraped back by a pair of goggles acting like a headband. She stared at him with sharp emerald eyes. Her long blue dress reminded Dakkar of the ladies bathing in the sea at Lyme Regis. But his eyes didn’t linger on the girl for long. Instead, he blinked at the scene behind her.
    Dakkar tried to sit up, only to find himself bound to the seat. ‘What happened?’ he groaned. ‘And who are you?’
    ‘I’ll ask the questions here, boy,’ the girl growled, an American accent giving her voice a nasal twang. ‘Now where’s my uncle?’
    ‘Your uncle?’ Dakkar spluttered. ‘How would I know where he is? I don’t even know who you are!’
    ‘Don’t make me slug you again!’ she snarled, raising an arm. ‘You were on that British ship. Now where’s Robert Fulton?’
    ‘Fulton?’ Dakkar felt the blood drain from his face. ‘What d’you mean, where’s Fulton?’
    The girl swung her hand, stinging Dakkar’s cheek. His eyes watered and he glowered at her.
    ‘I said, I’ll ask the questions,’ she hissed. ‘My uncle went for his usual constitutional walk in the evening, then I saw him being grabbed and dragged towards the sea.’
    Dakkar noticed a purple bruise on the girl’s temple. ‘And you tried to stop them,’ he guessed. ‘Only they were too strong.’
    ‘Too strong? Hah!’ she said, folding her arms. ‘One of them snuck up behind me and knocked me senseless. When I came to, I saw your ship on the horizon and launched the L –’ She closed her mouth suddenly, swallowing her words and blushing slightly as if she’d said too much.
    ‘This submersible,’ Dakkar finished, unable to stifle a grin at her shock.
    ‘How do you know that?’ she gasped. ‘You must be a spy. You have got my uncle.’ She launched forward, almost sitting in Dakkar’s lap, and started to bang his head against the back of the seat. ‘Give him back, you good-for-nothing savage!’ The craft rocked and tipped with the violence of her attack.
    ‘I’m not a savage,’ Dakkar yelled through gritted teeth. ‘I’m not a spy either. Just stop and let me explain!’
    Panting, the girl backed off and stared at him through narrow eyes. ‘Go ahead then,’ she murmured.
    ‘My name is Prince Dakkar,’ he said, catching his breath, ‘son of the Rajah of Bundelkhand, in the province of –’
    ‘I don’t have much time for princes,’ the girl snapped, raising her fist. ‘We got rid of one king and don’t need another.’
    ‘I was staying with Count Oginski,’ Dakkar added quickly.
    ‘Oginski?’ the girl repeated. ‘I’ve often heard Uncle talk of him but I thought he was Uncle’s friend.’ She froze and her face flushed again. ‘Wait a minute. You mean Oginski betrayed my uncle?’ She leaned towards him, fists clenched.
    ‘No, no!’ Dakkar yelled hurriedly. ‘Oginski has been taken too.’ Dakkar’s voice fell and tears stung his eyes again. ‘They came in the night, killed Mrs Evans, our housekeeper. Oginski was working on a craft just like this one. He shared his notes with Fulton.’ He gave a slight gasp as the realisation dawned on him. ‘Your uncle must have been making a