6. Jasper

six

Jasper

Not wanting to risk having to play four hundred questions with Evie about what I was doing tomorrow, I decided it was best to get a head start on the hunt tonight. If I was as lucky as we'd been thus far, I would find the treasure, claiming it all for myself. I rubbed my hands together excitedly as I walked away from the cave. The treasure will be all mine, and nobody will even know about it.

Then I'll return to find Evie, and we'll figure out how to get off this island and put this awkward marriage play behind us. She really was a sweet lady, and I feel terrible she hit her head and all, but I had zero interest in being anybody's husband—real or pretend.

I pulled myself together, but didn't take my satchel. If by chance I wasn't back by the time she woke up, I wanted to leave something to show her I was coming back, and that's all I had. I could easily say I was out looking for berries or something. Besides, I wouldn't be able to read the map in the dark anyway. At this point I had it memorized. The X was on the beach on the other side of the island, which according to the scale shouldn't be more than a quick walk. I wasn't going to think about how I had already determined the map scale was off.

The best path would be to hang along the water's edge so I wouldn't lose my sense of direction. If I didn't fall in a hole or something, it would be a super simple trail. As I strolled along, I marveled as the whole island seemed to be wrapped in a peaceful vibe emanating from the waves crashing against jagged rocks and the rustle of trees swaying in a never-ending perfect breeze. The air was heavy with the scent of wildflowers, while exotic birds sang harmonious melodies. That was odd, because on the mainland, birds didn't sing at night. It was just another ridiculous thing about this island. It was paradise.

When the cave was no longer in my sight, and the first daylight broke the sky, I stumbled across something—let's call it a clue—that made me doubt I had thought this plan out as thoroughly as possible—pirates!

And not just any pirates.

The ones whose map I had stolen !

They crowded around me, like pigeons on breadcrumbs. Before I had time to think, it was too late to run.

"You know what we want." The burliest one stepped forward, putting his hands around my neck. "Give it back now, and we'll let you go free."

My hands flew to his massive-superhuman hands on my neck. I tried to pry them loose, but they didn't budge. He retaliated against my feeble attempt at defense and pulled upward, until only the tips of my toes touched the ground. It was a bit of a compromising position which left me struggling to breathe, but he must not have known who he was messing with.

If he thought I was going to hand this map over after everything I went through this week, he was nuts. He may be an ugly pirate with bad breath, but I was one of the most successful thieves. I never gave back my loot. "I don't know what you're talking about," I managed to choke out.

"Sure, you don't. Maybe this will help you remember?" He squeezed his hands tighter around my throat, draining out all the air I had in my windpipe. Just when I thought my neck would snap, he slammed me back until I fell against a tree. Despite having the wind knocked out of me, I scampered to my feet, ready to scram. One of the dwarf pirates flew in—yes, I said that correctly, he flew . I didn't see wings but I'm sure that was the correct action verb—and jabbed a machete at my throat.

"He said, give him his map." When he popped the p on the word map, he jabbed the tip of his blade into my throat, and it broke through my skin. Clearly, this guy had a patience problem. The piercing stung worse than any knife fight I'd ever been in. When my life started to flash before my eyes, I knew it was over.

Not my life, but this hunt. It wasn't worth getting beheaded.

Though, it would have been epic to have that treasure.

Was it greedy to think, just once, I would have a chance to get ahead in life?

I didn't have time to answer because he furled his lips, and snarled out, "Give me the map!"

"Okay." I held up my hands, and opened my mouth as wide as I could. "I don't actually have it on me, it's—" My words halted so fast my tongue got whiplash. I couldn't tell him the map was back at the cave, because that's where Evie was, and I couldn't risk them finding her!"

He leaned his face closer, his eyes glued to my lips as he waited for me to speak. It was a bit of a scary predicament, but thankfully, I had gotten better at lying, and I blurted out, "It was on the boat when it crashed!"

"You're lying." His breath was hot on my face, and he moved in even closer. Though I was scared out of my mind, I had a fantastic distraction from the fear. He had so many foul odors coming from him, his odors had odors. I was fighting hard not to vomit back in his face.

"You don't need it anyway," I snapped back, rushing to come up with a new plan. "I memorized it, and I can tell you exactly where to go." I couldn't believe I didn't think of this sooner, but it was perfect because the treasure was buried on the other side of the island, which meant they could go that way, and I could run back to Evie to help her escape before they got to her.

His beady eyes narrowed, but they never left my face. The first pirate who had bullied me stepped forward again, and I understood the meaning of the phrase "if looks could kill." Thankfully, they couldn't, and I was still alive.

For now.

"It's, ah, on the other side of the island. Remember the island is diamond shaped." I pointed to the water's edge. "Follow this path and when you get to the point on the other end, dig."

I didn't know if I was expecting him to let me run free immediately after I gave up my information—I mean, it would have been nice—but that's not how it went. Instead, he breathed on me for a while longer, and again he went with the machete—this time jamming it into my back. "Did you think we'd let you go?" He poked the tip of the weapon hard, breaking flesh again, forcing me to walk forward.

These pirates were so testy.

As I moved forward, leading them on the path I had planned for myself, a strange emotion washed over me. Instead of being scared for myself, or upset that I lost the treasure, I felt relieved I was able to lead them away from Evie.

What did that mean?