Ahab's Daughter Read online

  Ahab’s Daughter

  by Ron Vitale

  Book 1 in the Werewhale Saga

  To Becca and Gavin:

  See what happens when you let your creativity be free? Wonderful things can happen. Thank you for sharing your lives with me.

  Love, Dad

  Lost, book 1 in the Cinderella’s Secret Witch Diaries series, is now available. Read Lost now!

  Chapter 1

  I clenched my fist and took a deep breath. I could not turn back now. After all I had gone through, I had to face my fear no matter the cost. Exhaling slowly, I shook both my hands at my side and instinctively adjusted the wrap around my chest.

  “Boy, watch where you go!” A middle-aged man, dressed in his best finery, swung his walking stick at me and hit me on the back of my leg.

  I winced and moved out of the way, adjusting the knapsack slung over my shoulder. I pulled my cap over my eyes and turned away from the man, hiding the tears in my eyes. If I could not take a slap from a stick, then I might as well turn around, give up, and return home to my mother. But the thought of her spurred me on. I could still see her pained expression. The silent way she cried herself to sleep each night, cursing the sea and its siren-like charm.

  No more. I would do what no man had done in my family, and I would see my mother smile again. I made up my mind not to turn back and headed down the street, avoiding the people who had exited the church across the street. All in their pretty dresses and clean suits, I bet they were headed to brunch with a side of sweets to top off their morning. I would not be recognized, but I lowered my head as I passed them on the street, as any teenage boy would do.

  Up ahead I could see my destination was only a few more shops down the street. I hurried along and avoided any eye contact with people on the street. Bits of my disheveled hair peeked out from underneath my cap, and the mud stains on the back of my shirt made me look worse for wear. I needed a good bath and a warm plate of food, but I could have both later.

  I read the sign hanging out over the inn and knew that I had arrived. Now I would know if the information I had been given was true and if I would find him here. My heart beat fast, and I crossed the threshold before I lost my courage and wanted to turn back. Inside, a few patrons sat in shadowed tables in the far corner of the room. Behind the bar, a solitary man worked on stocking plates back onto a shelf. The door slammed shut behind me and I jumped. The man behind the bar turned around.

  “What is your business, boy?” His frown was still visible through his unkempt beard, and his long, curly hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Still in his prime, he moved with precision while he worked, and through his loose shirt, I could see the strength in his arms. He had strong hands, but I could not see if he had the telltale tattoo I sought on his upper left arm. His shirt covered the skin there. “Ho, stop staring and speak your business or leave this place.”

  “I have a message for Ishmael.” I crossed the room and stood at the bar. A door to the kitchen swung open, and an older man carried a bowl of soup to a table hidden half in shadow. The smell of clam chowder wafted by me, and my mouth watered. I had my last solid meal more than a day ago as I did not count the stale bread I had earlier this morning.

  “What’s your message?” He had stopped his work and faced me, placing his hands palm down on the bar.

  I lowered my voice, leaned toward him, and said, “I can only give the message to him.”

  “Then go ahead.” He rolled up his sleeves, and I caught a glimpse of ink on his upper left arm. A gruesome outline of a whale with the body left white as his skin.

  “You’re him!” The words came out before I could catch myself, and I stuttered with what to say next.

  “Yes, everyone knows that. Stop your yammering and follow me.” Before I could embarrass myself more, Ishmael came out from behind the bar and motioned for me to follow him. We went into a back room, and he shut the door behind us. An oil lantern lit the small room, and he sat at his desk. With no other chair in the room, I stood in front of him with my arms crossed before me. “What do you have for me?”

  After weeks of searching, I had lost my tongue. The words would not come out. I took my cap off, shook my hair out, and said in my normal voice, “I need your help to find my brother.”

  His eyes went wide. “You’re a girl.” He crossed his arms across his chest and saw me in a new light.

  “Yes, my name’s Morgan.” I offered him my hand, but he didn’t take it. “You served with my father on the Pequod.” He stood up to leave, but I put out my hand to block him. “Please, I need your help.”

  “Whatever your troubles are, they’ll be none of mine. I want nothing to do with any of that.”

  He went to push past me, but I stood my ground. I braced my legs and used my training to use his force against him, putting him off balance into a pile of boxes. Caught off guard, he stumbled into the wall, knocking over a box. “I’ve searched too long to turn back now. Damn my father and his crazed obsession with the white whale, but I will not let my brother’s life be lost as well. Please!”

  He straightened himself up and brought himself up to his full height. “I’ve suffered long enough with that story, and it’s time for me to let that part of my life go. Years have passed and now it’s time for me to get back to work.”

  I took a step back and lowered my arm. “If I were you, I’d want to turn my back too. I understand. The stories and rumors that have come back to our family on my father’s death were unwholesome and have tarnished our family’s name. My father’s memory has become a warning to all whalers and their kin.” I faced him full on and would not back down. “But you already know this. Just like my brother, the curse still affects you too, doesn’t it?”

  Ishmael said not a word, but the surprised expression on his face spoke volumes to me.

  I pointed at him and said, “My brother is caught up with the curse as well. It called him in his sleep, he had dreams of whales and finally went off to sea like my father, searching for a mysterious island with the promise of mythical treasure. I told him that he had to fight it, but the call was too strong for him. You know what I speak of, don’t you?”

  He faced me then, and I could see his fear in his eyes. “Yes, I know of what you speak.”

  “Then come with me to end it all and help me get my brother back.”

  He scratched the back of his head, and I could see the beginnings of his hair prematurely turning to gray. I surmised that he had only five years more than me. “I cannot come with you.” He shook his head and covered his face with his callused hand. “I promised myself that I would leave it all behind. The madness, the unending quest and the depravity of it all. I barely survived, and though years later, I still bare marks of the journey. I cannot go. Please, leave me now so that I can get on with my life.”

  “I wish that I could get on with my life like you, but my father is dead, and my brother is now chasing after some crazy dream of finding treasure on a lost island. And my mother is at home mad with grief.” I slung my knapsack back onto my shoulder and turned to go. “I truly wish that I could let this all go, but the whales still call for my family, and I will see it stop. I will end the curse no matter if I need to go on my own.” I went to leave the room as quickly as I could.

  “Wait!” He caught my arm and tried to stop me. “Please, do not go like this. You do not know for what you search. The island of nightmares will consume you like it did your father.”

  “Is that what you call it? A place of nightmares?” I pulled away from him. “Well, that will have to do then. I see that I’ve wasted my time on you and lost weeks looking for the Ishmael of old, but instead I found a shell of a man. I’ll leave you now so that you can back to stacking up your dishes.”


  He let go of my arm, and I headed back to the bar. When I arrived, I noticed that all the patrons had cleared out of the room. In their place, three men blocked the entrance to the exit. Two large and burly men, with their arms crossed over their chests, stood on either side of a thinner man. They had the appearance of hired henchmen ready to do the unsavory task of breaking bones. The third man wore the clothes of a gentleman, but from the looks of him, he was anything but.

  Tall, thin, and a bit too pale, the man tipped his hat to me. “Good afternoon, dear boy. It looks like I’ve finally caught up with you.”

  “What do you want with me?” I held tight to my knapsack.

  Ishmael came out from the back room, read the room with quickness, and went behind the bar. I had hoped he would stand behind me but he did not. Instead, he faced the three men, ignored my question to them, and asked, “Clarence, back so soon? Did you not believe me when I said that I couldn’t help you?” He looked to the two henchmen guarding the door and asked, “Would you gentlemen like a drink?”

  Clarence picked at his teeth with the nail on his pinky finger. His blond hair caught a ray of sun from a window, and he somehow appeared even more seedier in the light of day. “Looks like I came back just in time. If you can’t help us, then we’ll take the boy and be on our way. Maybe he’ll give me the map that I want.”

  “I’m not coming with you.” The words left my mouth before I could stop them. My heart beat fast, and I wanted to run, but they still blocked the door.

  “No need to get so dramatic. Just tell me what you know about the island your father discovered before he went missing, and we’ll be on our way.” He put out his hand and smiled. He had yellow teeth with receded gums, making him look like a jackal ready to pounce.

  Ishmael placed two glasses on the bar and poured some whiskey in it. “There’s no need to get all agitated so early on a Sunday afternoon. Come on, have a drink and all of this can be solved without any trouble.” He turned toward me and asked, “Right?”

  “I’m willing to listen to reason.” I moved closer to the bar but to the end farthest from the door.

  “Good.” Ishmael slid the drink closer to Clarence. “Let’s all settle down, and we can come to an agreement.”

  Clarence took his hat off and slicked back his hair with his hand. “Like always, you’re a reasonable man.” He walked over to the bar and put the drink in his hand.

  His two henchmen stayed by the door and did not take their eyes off me. I had hoped to run, but I could not get past them. I needed to wait and see what Ishmael had planned.

  “I do not wish to get involved in a business dispute between the two of you, and I hope that this can be solved without much of a problem.” Ishmael looked to Clarence and asked, “Do you just want information from the boy or a map to the fabled island? Is that it?”

  Ignoring Ishmael’s questions, Clarence fired back the drink all in one shot and then pounded the bar with his hand. “Excellent.” He grimaced and shook his head as the whiskey burned down his throat. Taking a few moments to clear his throat, Clarence replied, “Like I said, the boy’s father was rumored to know the location of an island that had some items of interest for me. His father promised to give me a map before he died, but alas, he drowned fighting the white whale.”

  “That’s not true. My father never would have given a map to him. He lies!” I put both my hands on the strap to the knapsack to keep it safe by me.

  Ishmael turned toward me, and if someone could exude fire from his eyes, he would have done that. His fierce gaze silenced me, and then he turned back to Clarence. “If the boy gives you the knapsack, you’ll be on your way with your men?”

  “No, I won’t give it up to him!” I clutched the bag close against me.

  Clarence ignored my outburst and addressed Ishmael. “On my word as a gentleman.”

  The one brute, closer to me, smiled, and I could see he waited only to be given the word to pounce on me. I would be flattened and turned into a plaything for him and his friend once they realized I was a girl. And I would have none of that. I had come too far and would see my brother home safe.

  Ishmael nodded and put out his hand. “Then, as gentlemen, let us shake on it.”

  Clarence paused for a moment, expecting a trap, but he had set himself up for the agreement. He took Ishmael’s hand and regretted it immediately.

  Using all the force he could muster, Ishmael crushed Clarence’s hand, and with his left hand, he pulled a pistol out from beneath the bar and held it to Clarence’s head. “You two, if you want to see your friend’s head remain intact, then I ask you to politely leave the inn.”

  Clarence fell forward and his body crashed against the bar. “Listen to him. Go!” Both men hesitated until he waved them away with his free hand. “I said go!”

  Without turning around, they backed out the front door, and on their leaving, it slammed shut behind them.

  Ishmael crushed Clarence’s right hand, and I could hear bones cracking. He pulled Clarence toward him and kept his pistol in place against Clarence’s ear. “Now you don’t want to make any sudden movements because I might get jumpy, and I don’t think that would be too good for you.”

  “If you’re going to kill me, just do it.” Clarence clenched his teeth and bit back a scream as Ishmael squeezed his hand harder.

  “I’m no murderer,” Ishmael replied.

  “Then if I get away, I will never stop chasing after you. I will hunt you to the ends of the earth for what you’ve done today.” Clarence struggled to look Ishmael in the eye and said, “We had a gentleman’s agreement.”

  Ishmael smiled back at him and pushed him to the floor. “Neither of us are gentleman.” He turned to me. “Go back to my room now. I’ll be there in a moment. Be ready.”

  I watched him leap over the bar and point the gun at Clarence’s heart. There would be no time for me to stay and watch, but part of me wanted to do just that. I exited the room and took one last look back. Ishmael grabbed Clarence by his neck. “You crossed the wrong path today. You shouldn’t have come back here.”

  “Do you think that I didn’t talk to people before I came here?” Clarence sneered at Ishmael. “No matter what you do to me, they’ll hunt you down. You’ll never be free.”

  Ishmael shook Clarence hard, flattening him to the ground, and aimed the pistol at his heart. “If you come after us, I will kill you next time.” He pulled the trigger and Clarence flinched. It took him a few seconds to realize he had not been shot. In his pants, a dark, wet spot began to form by his groin. “Remember that.” With a powerful swat from his hand, he cracked Clarence on the side of the head with his pistol and knocked him senseless to the floor. Without taking a pause, he turned to run, and I knew I had to go.

  Soon more men would be back to come get us. I rushed into the back room and searched for a door but found none. Ishmael came in right behind me, locked the door, and jumped up on his desk. He reached up and pushed up at the ceiling, and a false ceiling popped away.

  “Leave the map.” He ripped the knapsack off my shoulder.

  “No, I need it and don’t want to give it to them!”

  Ishmael threw the knapsack onto his desk. “It just might stop them from chasing us.”

  “I can’t…”

  He ripped open his shirt and pointed to a tattoo on his chest. “I have the map. Now come on, get up there now!” He pulled me up on his desk and handed me the lowest rung of a rope ladder from the ceiling. “Go, go!”

  “Thank you.” I squeezed his hand and looked him in the eye. I could see his concern there. Maybe he would help me find my brother now. We would see.

  “We have to go up through the roof, and we’ll cross over to the end of the block and climb down that way. We don’t have much time.” He pushed me up through the ceiling, and I climbed as fast as I could.

  He came behind me and, once at the top, unlocked the ladder so no one could follow us. The attic we stood in was dark with only bits of light s
treaming in from tiny gaps between the bricks. I could hear a horse and carriage outside and the normal bustle of Sunday afternoon traffic. It seemed no commotion waited for us outside.

  “This way.” Ishmael crossed the attic on a board and bent low to not hit any of the beams above us. I followed his lead, and at the far wall, he stopped and ran his hands against the bricks until he found a latch and opened a door to the next building. Once through the doorway, he climbed up a set of stairs to the roof, and we walked toward the end of the block. “Stay in the middle of the roof. No one will notice us if we stay in the middle. We’re almost there.”

  I glanced behind me, but no one followed us. Ahead the last building loomed and Ishmael sped up to a fire escape. He started to climb down first and at the bottom waited for me. I jumped the last few steps, and he put out his hand. “Come on, I’ll help you down.”

  “No.” I jumped down, hitting the ground hard, but stood up on my own and dusted off my knees.

  We headed off down the next block together but quickly switched streets to avoid anyone who might try to follow us. “I don’t look much like a young sailor, do I?”

  “I’ve seen others greener than you.” He crossed his large arms across his chest as he walked and eyed me up. “You’ll have a lot to learn on the sea, and there aren’t many captains I know who will take on a girl as crew.”

  “I am unlike any girl you’ve ever met.” I stood to my full height and clenched my fists at my side.

  “I’m sure you are.” He uncrossed his arms and lowered his voice. “But no man or woman should ever go back to the island of nightmares. It’s named that for a reason.”

  “I have to go find my brother and bring him home. I owe it to my mother and to my father’s memory. I have to try.”

  “I’ll head off to sea, and you’re going to give me that picture of your brother that you’re carrying in your shirt so that I can find him for you and bring him back.” He turned down another block and headed toward another inn I had checked a few days ago.