Free Ghosts on Board by Fleur Hitchcock Page B

SS
Devlin
?’
    â€˜Jacob’s dad’s boat? Why?’
    â€˜I think they’ve called Jacob’s father on the mobile communication machine. He’s coming to get them. Him and Victor.’
    â€˜Do you mean – not us? Not the rest of us?’
    Both Flora Rose and Billy nod their heads vigorously.
    â€˜I’m struggling to understand this,’ says Eric.
    I’m about to ask her how she knows when Tilly screams behind us. ‘But you can’t do that – you can’t just abandon us!’
    I turn to listen, staring with horror at Eric’s shocked face staring back at me.
    â€˜You beast, Jacob Devlin! I’ll get you for that! I’ll never forget – Tilly Perks never forgets!’
    There’s the distant sound of a motorboat.
    â€˜YOU RAT! YOU COMPLETE SEWER RAT! How could you do THIS to ME!’ Tilly’s voice slides from angry to tears.
    â€˜Oh dear,’ says Flora Rose. ‘I think we may be slightly too late.’

Chapter 16
    â€˜They’ve gone!’ shouts Tilly, crashing back along the track, ignoring the ghastly sound of screaming trees as my axe bites into the first trunk. ‘Jacob’s left us here! It’s outrageous!’
    â€˜So is this Victor’s work?’ asks Eric, pulling on a branch which springs back, thwacking him in the face. ‘Ow!’ he protests and rubs his nose.
    The purple figure that must be Billy scrapes a YES on a nearby rock.
    â€˜I knew it,’ I say.
    â€˜What?’ says Tilly.
    â€˜That Victor was trouble. I could see it from the moment we found him.’
    â€˜Well, why didn’t you tell me?’ says Tilly, flaring her nostrils and doing a passable impression of a hayfevered horse before stopping to wipe something from her shoe.
    I ignore her.
    â€˜Well, I’m cross,’ says Eric. ‘Really, quite cross.’ He shakes his head and his curls flop over his face. ‘I feel let down. Yes, that’s it. Betrayed.’ He holds his finger up, making a point. ‘Betrayed by both of them. Victor said he could help – and we’ve just rescued Jacob.’ He kicks the ground. ‘Actually, I feel foolish. Taken in. An absolute mug.’
    Flora Rose sighs. ‘Victor isn’t terribly nice, actually.’ She smiles, and the lilac water over her face smiles too. ‘In fact, he’s pretty beastly.’ She wanders over to a pool of black, brackish water and gazes at her purple reflection.
    â€˜So when you say that – do you mean that we should be worrying about what happens to Jacob?’ I ask.
    â€˜Well  … ’ She swishes her ghostly skirt back and forth, and pulls an angry face at her reflection. ‘He’s clever, he’s selfish, and he’s greedy. Does that answer your question?’
    â€˜What’s he greedy for?’ I ask, managing to slice through the first tree trunk after hitting it about a billion times.
    â€˜POWER,’ Billy scratches in the sand at our feet.
    â€˜Power?’ I say, watching a white balloon-shaped thing rise from the timber and float into the sky.
    â€˜That’s one of the spirits,’ says Flora Rose. ‘You’ve actually managed to release one – brilliant. Anyway  … ’ She tears herself away from the pool. ‘I think he wants your powers. I know it sounds silly but it’s so that he can take over the world. He loves what Jacob can do with the sparks.’
    â€˜Take over the world?’ says Tilly, panting to a halt next to Flora Rose. ‘Who wants to take over the world?’
    â€˜Victor,’ says Eric, wrinkling his face in pain. ‘Oh dear. We had better do something. We can’t just leave Jacob with a power-hungry ghoul. We are supposed to be his friends.’
    He doesn’t look convinced.
    â€˜Well, you’d better hurry up then, Tom,’ says Tilly, sitting down on the felled tree trunk. ‘And if