‘There are riches beyond your wildest desires,’ interrupted Jack. ‘In the South Americas alone, you’ll find cities of gold, streets of silver, rivers of jewels. If you pirated the Spanish and Portuguese galleons sailing in those waters, you could fill this entire crater with treasure in less than a year.’

The Wind Demons gazed with avaricious eyes over the expanse of the lagoon. The image of it piled high with gold and jewels whet their piratical appetites.

‘Such a prize is very tempting, if not irresistible,’ said Tatsumaki. ‘Don’t you agree?’

The pirate captains nodded vigorously and Jack was relieved to have bought himself some more time.

‘Ahh, the main dish,’ announced Tatsumaki with delight as four servants brought in a tray and placed it before the Pirate Queen.

A large gelatinous blob sat in the middle of a huge plate. Tentacles spiralled out from the body, rows of suction cups pearly white and glistening in the lamplight.

The dish writhed and reeled over the tray.

‘Live octopus! My favourite!’ said Captain Kujira, licking his lips.

Jack stared at the quivering mass, unable to hide his disgust as each of the captains hacked off an arm.

‘Live octopus builds strength and stamina,’ pronounced Captain Wanizame, shoving the thrashing limb into her mouth and chewing appreciatively.

Captain Hebi dangled his in the air and, like a fish gobbling a wriggling worm, let it slide down his throat. Captain Kujira bit into his fleshy tentacle, its powerful suckers sticking to his chin so that he had to prise them off before swallowing each piece.

Tatsumaki caught the horrified expression on Jack’s face.

‘Before going into a sea battle, it’s customary to eat octopus,’ she explained, dipping her tentacle in soy sauce. ‘With its eight arms, the creature protects us against enemies from all directions.’

‘You’re going into battle then?’ asked Jack, struggling to keep the contents of his stomach down.

Nodding, Tatsumaki ripped off a quivering octopus leg and handed it to Jack. The tentacle continued to writhe in his grip.

‘All of us are – so eat up!’

37

The Life of a Pirate

It took every ounce of Jack’s willpower not to gag. The actual taste of the tentacle wasn’t a problem – the flavour was mildly pleasant. But, as he chewed the rubbery flesh, the octopus’s suckers stuck to his teeth, tongue and roof of his mouth, making it almost impossible to swallow. With continual grinding, however, he managed to take most of it down.

Li Ling wasn’t so successful. She started choking on her tentacle, a piece of octopus determinedly clinging to the back of her throat. Her face went blue as she gasped for air. Only a heavy-handed slap between the shoulder blades from Captain Wanizame saved her from suffocation.

‘I thought you said she was a promising recruit,’ sneered Captain Kujira to Tatsumaki.