“Want to go see if we can find some first-years to walk the plank?” he asked. “Or raid Jafar’s Junk Shop?”
Uma shook her head. “Not today. Today I need a ship.”
“A ship! What do you need a ship for?” he asked.
“We’re pirates, Harry. What kind of pirates don’t have a pirate ship?” she said.
Uma had a point. A pirate’s life on the Isle of the Lost was a bit limited. There were no rich galleons loaded with gold to attack, no merchant ships to hold hostage, no ports to raid. If they had a ship, their pirating would still be restricted, true, but the invisible dome that kept the island apart from the mainland fell a little beyond the immediate shores, which meant a ship could still sail from one end of the island to the other, maybe even to the Isle of the Doomed, the haunted island that nobody visited.
“Think of all the awful things we could do if we had a set of sails,” said Uma. “Especially if we ever got out of the Isle of the Lost. We’d have the freedom to do bad deeds everywhere!”
That did sound promising, thought Harry. Freedom to rampage and adventure—explore the world and steal its finest treasures. “All right, we need a ship, but where would we get—?” he said, just as he remembered a flyer he’d ripped from the school bulletin board earlier that morning. He unfurled it from his pocket, studying it carefully. “Look at this,” he said, nudging Uma.
It was a ship, or more accurately, a drawing of a ship. A pirate ship with black sails, flying the Jolly Roger and everything. A real beauty.
“The Lost Revenge,” read Uma.
“Good name for a pirate ship,” said Harry approvingly.
They read the rest of the text together.
PIRATE RACE
FIRST MAN TO REACH DEAD MAN’S COVE FROM THE GOBLIN WHARF WINS THE LOST REVENGE FROM THE ONE AND ONLY CAPTAIN HOOK
IF IT FLOATS, USE IT AS A BOAT!
TO ENTER: BRING TREASURE!
“This is it!” said Uma, eyes alight. “I’m winning that ship!”
“You?!” said Harry, almost choking on the word and falling off his chair. “This is a ship from my dad’s fleet! That ship should be mine!” Of course his father couldn’t just give him the ship, could he? Instead Captain Hook was using it to amass more bounty. “And you’ll need a crew to sail that thing!”
“I’ll get a crew!” howled Uma, slamming her palm on his desk. “Isle of the Lost? This is more like Isle of the Lemmings! Everyone here is just looking for someone to follow, someone to look up to, someone to fear! Now that Maleficent’s a lizard, there’s no one in charge! Why not me? I’ll have a crew faster than you can say octopus!”
“But you don’t even know how to sail!” Harry protested.
“And you do?” sneered Uma.
“Of course I do!” yelled Harry. “I’m a pirate! You’re just a sea witch!”
“I don’t care! That ship is mine!” said Uma.
“No, it’s mine!” said Harry, as they each took hold of the paper’s edge and pulled it toward him- or herself.
Uma let go of the flyer, taking Harry by surprise, and he lost hold of his hook, which rolled to the floor. Quick as Lucifer, Uma pounced on it and held it high. “It’s mine!” she said triumphantly.
“Give it back,” growled Harry, seething.
“Oh, I’ll give it back…if.” Uma said, a dangerous smile creeping on her face. She looked so much like her mother at the moment that it gave Harry chills.
“If?” he squeaked.
“If you or I win this pirate race, I’ll give you your hook back,” said Uma.
“And if we don’t?”
“If neither of us win, your hook is gone forever. I’ll throw it in the ocean. And if I win, you work for me as first mate. I can’t sail a ship, but you can,” said Uma.