Chapter 5
“How is this possible?” Tempi demanded as she looked between the yellowed paper and the space in the wall. “What is going on?”
Mason reached for the paper and turned it over. He studied the faded ink for a long moment, then let out a low laugh. “I think Princess Muffin Top has actually discovered a real clue DuBois left behind.”
Everyone started talking at once.
“Are you serious?” Adeline grabbed Mason’s arm to get a better look at the clue.
“Let me see!” Emory crowded in from the other side.
“Obviously I did,” Princess Muffin Top said. “I don’t discover things frivolously.”
“How old do you think the paper is?” Ronin asked, moving closer to Mason.
Mason held the paper up to the light. “Old enough that it’s a miracle it survived.
The ink is faded, but you can still make out most of it.
” He squinted. “There’s a drawing of what looks like a compass rose, and beneath it...
” He tilted the paper. “It says, ‘Where my First Mate rests, so rests the captain’s confession.’”
Emory frowned. “This is about DuBois’ first mate?”
“Sounds like it,” Ronin said.
“Should we tell someone what we’ve found?” Adeline asked.
Mason shook his head. “No. We don’t want to cause a panic. It could be nothing.” He stared down at the paper. “But something tells me this is authentic.”
“I’d like everyone to remember who solved this,” Princess Muffin Top said from the top of the wall. “When they write the history books, I want my name spelled correctly. Princess. Muffin. Top.”
“Nobody solved anything yet,” Mason said.
Princess Muffin Top narrowed her eyes. “Jealousy is unattractive, Wolf Boy.”
Emory peered over Mason’s shoulder again. “So the clue is telling us to find where DuBois’ first mate is buried.”
Ronin frowned. “Why put the clue here in the cemetery?”
“Could be as simple as it was here,” Mason said.
“That’s true,” Adeline said. “Three hundred years ago, Moonlight Bay was just getting started as a town. It looked completely different, but I know from what my grandmother told me, the cemetery was one of the first things set up. Which makes sense. They’d have needed a place to bury the dead.”
Tempi held up a hand. “I vote we do some research and try to find out a little more about DuBois before we just go off searching for something.”
Ronin crossed his arms over his chest. “And I vote we follow the next clue on the paper.”
Princess Muffin Top nodded. “I agree. There will be no research done. We move forward.”
“Hang on,” Tempi said. “We can’t just run off chasing a three-hundred-year-old clue. We have a treasure hunt to manage.”
“Which is running itself,” Ronin said. “The clues are out, and the teams are moving. Lucinda’s got the Crystal Cove station covered. What exactly are we managing right now?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it. He had a point, and she hated that.
Mason cleared his throat. “What if we compromise? We have too many supernaturals running around town right now looking for fake clues to a fake treasure. I say we wait until the main hunt is winding down, and in the meantime, Tempi and Ronin can follow this clue. Most of the town is probably already heading toward Crystal Cove by now anyway.”
“And me,” Princess Muffin Top said. “I go with them.”
Mason rolled his eyes. “Fine. You go with Tempi and Ronin. When you guys find whatever the clue leads to, bring it back to the bakery. Adeline, Emory, and I will keep an eye on the treasure hunt from this end.”
Tempi frowned. “Won’t people notice we’re gone? Ronin and I were supposed to be co-chairing.”
Mason waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about that. We can deflect any questions.”
“Looks like we’re going on a treasure hunt,” Ronin said. “A real one.”
She took the clue from Mason. “Looks like it.”
* * *
After the others left the cemetery, Tempi stood with Ronin and Princess Muffin Top near the crumbling wall, the old paper spread carefully across the stone.
Ronin read the clue again. “Where my First Mate rests, so rests the captain’s confession.” He looked out over the water. “We need to find where DuBois’ first mate is buried.”
Tempi studied the compass rose drawn above the words. The compass pointed southeast, and beneath the directional marker was a small symbol she recognized. A wave overlapping a gust of wind.
“Look at this,” she said, pointing to the symbol. “Water and air. Those are elemental symbols.”
Ronin leaned in. “You’re right. Why would a pirate’s clue reference elemental magic?”
“Maybe his first mate was an elemental supernatural?”
Princess Muffin Top huffed. “Are we going to stand here theorizing all afternoon, or are we going to follow the compass and find me some jewels?”
Tempi pulled out her phone and checked the direction. Southeast from the cemetery led toward the coastal bluffs past Crystal Cove. “It’s pointing toward the bluffs.”
“Then let’s go,” Ronin said.
“It’s probably a good mile hike from here!” she exclaimed. “And I’m in a dress!”
Ronin laughed. “I have faith in you. But if you think we need to turn back and go back to town, we can do that.”
Tempi sighed. A part of her wanted to say yes, they needed to go back to town…but the other part of her was actually excited to go treasure hunting. Real treasure hunting. She glanced at Ronin, who was doing his best not to look excited. “Fine. We can keep going.”
“Finally!” Princess Muffin Top exclaimed. “Let’s go before I grow so old I lose one of my lives.”
They followed the dirt path, Princess Muffin Top trotting ahead of them. Below them, waves crashed against the rocks.
“I’ve hiked out here before,” Tempi said, “but I’ve never gone much past the overlook.”
“How far does the path go?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure. It eventually connects to the old lighthouse trail.”
They rounded a bend and Tempi stopped. Cut into the rock face ahead was a narrow opening, barely wide enough for a person to squeeze through.
Vines had grown across it, but the opening was too precise to be natural.
Someone had carved this, she was sure of it.
And above the opening, chiseled deep into the rock, was the same symbol from the old paper… the wave overlapping the gust of wind.
“There,” she said, pointing to the symbol.
Ronin stepped forward and pulled the vines aside. “It’s dark.”
Using her magic, Tempi conjured up a light orb and sent it inside the cave. “Let’s go.”
The three of them stepped inside the cave. It wasn’t very deep. At the back of the cave, a large flat stone covered an opening in the rock wall. Centuries of mineral buildup had formed around its edges, sealing it in place.
“The clue said, ‘Where my First Mate rests,’” Ronin said. “I guess this could be a burial site. Although, it doesn’t look very big, does it?” He shuddered. “I can’t see a body being back there. Thankfully.”
Tempi examined the sealed stone. A thick crust of calcium and salt had fused it to the surrounding rock. No amount of pulling would budge it. “This stone isn’t going anywhere.”
Ronin touched the edge of the seal. “I can feel the water trapped inside the mineral layer.”
Tempi looked at him. “If you can pull the water out, then I could try to blast the stone free.”
“Good idea.” He positioned his hands against the sealed edge. “On three.”
Tempi raised her hand and focused her air magic. “One. Two. Three.”
Ronin’s hands shook as he drew the moisture out. The calcium layer cracked and crumbled as the water was pulled away. The moment the seal weakened, Tempi sent a gust of compressed air into the gap. The flat stone groaned, shifted, and fell forward onto the cave floor with a heavy thud.
They both bent and peered inside the gap.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Tempi said.
“What?” Princess Muffin Top demanded. “What did you find? It’s not fair I’m so short. Someone either tell me what’s going on, or lift me up so I can see for myself.”
“It’s an iron box.” Ronin reached in and lifted the box out.
“The hinges are rusted.” He pressed on the latch, and to Tempi’s surprise, it opened.
“Would you look at that.” Ronin flipped the edges of the oiled cloth aside to reveal another piece of paper.
Tempi leaned over his shoulder as he unfolded it.
“More faded ink, and another compass rose.”
“What does it say?” Princess Muffin Top demanded as she paced back and forth across the cave.
“To my beloved wife and First Mate,” Tempi read aloud.
“I leave this trail so that two worthy souls can finish what we could not. I found it too late, after you were gone. Without you, the stone means nothing. You are my heart. I miss you every day. Until we meet again.” She looked at Ronin in astonishment. “DuBois was married?”
“More importantly,” Princess Muffin Top snapped, “he found the stone! Hurry! Tell me the next clue!”
Ronin tilted the paper toward the light orb.
Beneath the message was another clue, partially obscured by age.
He squinted as he read aloud. “Where only pirates rest beneath hallowed ground, and the dead keep watch over what was found. May good luck and fortune be in your cards. For only the worthy will get past the guards.”
“Another cemetery?” Tempi mused. “A pirate cemetery? I don’t remember ever hearing of a cemetery just for pirates, and I’ve lived here my entire life.”
Ronin chuckled. “Why does everything seem to center around cemeteries?”
Princess Muffin Top snorted. “Because pirates are dramatic, even in death.”
Tempi carefully took the paper from Ronin and folded it. “We need to get this back to the group at the bakery. I’m sure they’re pacing the floor wondering what we’ve found.”
Ronin nudged her with his elbow. “You’re having fun. Admit it.”
She pressed her lips together because she didn’t want to admit he was right. “I’m solving a puzzle.”
“While having fun.”
She laughed. “Okay. I’m having fun.”
They stepped out of the cave and back onto the coastal path. Tempi was reaching for her phone to text Adeline when Ronin’s cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen, and his grin faded.
“I need to get this,” he said. “Sorry. It’s my brother. I shouldn’t be long.”
He stepped a few feet away and swiped his finger over the icon.
Tempi couldn’t hear the conversation, but she could tell Ronin was getting worked up by his body language.
She also knew this was the second call in two days.
She hoped whatever was going on wasn’t serious.
Ronin hung up and slid the phone back into his pocket.
He didn’t offer an explanation, just started walking again.
“Is your brother okay?” Tempi asked.
“He’s fine.” He turned back to look at her. “He’s my younger brother. Much younger. And he’s still finding his way.”
Seeing as how she’d spent three years silently resenting him and pushing his offer of friendship away, she didn’t think she had a right to ask more questions.
She and Princess Muffin Top fell into step beside him, and they all walked in silence for a few seconds before she held up the old paper, hoping to distract him.
“A haunted pirate cemetery. Any idea where that might be?”
He chuckled. “Nope. But aren’t you and your girlfriends the cemetery experts here?”
She smiled. “I don’t know where the pirate cemetery is, but I know someone who might.”