Jocelyn flew low, marveling over the lake beneath her. She hoped the water’s glow was from a less disgusting source than the ceiling’s. Yet even if it wasn’t, such luminescence was beautiful to behold. The lake appeared to be very deep but was clear all the way to the bottom. She could see more of the crystal formations shining brightly on its floor. The treasure chamber was truly a wondrous sight.

She flew a circuit around the giant crystal “finger” growing out of the lake’s center, inspecting it carefully. Given the puzzles and traps her father had set thus far, she felt it unlikely the treasure itself would be free of hazards. The column was thick at the base and tapered to a narrow point, from which a long rope ladder dangled. On the finger’s pointed tip, a great wooden platform was precariously balanced. The treasure was even more precariously balanced atop it.

And what a treasure it was! Gold coins, bars, nuggets, and bullion; jewels raw and uncut as well as highly polished gems set into necklaces, rings, crowns, and scepters; statues, fine art, and other antiquities from throughout history; crates bearing such labels as PROPERTY OF THE ALEXANDRIA PUBLIC LIBRARY and IF FOUND, PLEASE RETURN TO ATLANTIS—and those were simply the things Jocelyn could see. There were treasures untold buried within the pile.

All of it was arranged with precision on the platform, the only space free of treasure being near the center. That area was several feet in diameter and surrounded an open hatch in the platform’s floor through which the ladder could be accessed. It was in that bare space that Jocelyn landed.

The platform tilted ever so slightly under her feet, and Jocelyn recognized genius in the design. If the weight atop it were to shift dramatically, the entire platform would tip, dumping the treasure into the lake. As a result, only small, carefully chosen amounts could be removed at once. Stealing the treasure would take weeks of painstaking effort.

She heard splashing from below. Krueger had arrived. She could see him, illuminated by the water, though she was certain he would be unable to see her in the dimmer light at the top of the platform. A second man pulled awkwardly on the oars. Jocelyn pulled her spyglass and brought it to her eye. It was her grandfather!

Jocelyn waited, impatiently. She tried to pass the time by thinking of what she would say when she met Krueger for what she hoped would be the last time. It seemed to take forever for Sir Charles to pilot the little boat, and longer still for Captain Krueger to scale the rope ladder. He was less than halfway up when she was suddenly overcome with doubts. What if she failed again?

A shadow crossed over the platform, interrupting her thoughts; then Roger was floating quietly beside her. He stooped, running his fingers gently through a pile of coins. The platform swayed a fraction of an inch. “Amazing,” he whispered. “Good thing you can fly.” He winked, then grew serious. “As soon as Krueger reaches the top, I’ll row your grandfather to safety.”

Jocelyn’s hands felt clammy. “He will never stop coming after us. Not unless I defeat him.”

“You will,” Roger said.

“I wish you had another bottle of courage on you. I could use a little extra belief in myself.”

He winked at her. “You can borrow some of mine. I believe in you.”

Jocelyn was about to reply in kind, when she saw Krueger’s hands grip the edge of the hatch. He had made it up the ladder. Silent as an owl, Roger dove toward the little boat, but Jocelyn did not watch. She kept her eyes trained on Krueger.

His head poked up through the hole, his ruined nose whistling with his exerted breathing. Though she stood mere feet from him, he did not notice the girl. He only had eyes for those mountains of gold. Jocelyn had never seen such a look of naked greed. He pulled himself through the hatch and gingerly approached the treasure, careful not to upset the balance of the platform. Krueger stooped and grabbed a coin, caressing it, before placing it in his pocket.

“Thief!” Jocelyn pointed her sword and took a tentative step toward him, the floor shifting slightly beneath their feet.

If Krueger was startled by her, he made no sign of it. He drew his sword and sneered.

Jocelyn gave her prepared speech. “The crocodile stole my father from me. You know what its reward was. You have stolen my grandfather and have attempted to steal this treasure, which is rightfully mine. Would you care to experience the same fate?”

“You silly, stupid child. Pirates are thieves! That’s what we do. You cannot fault me for that any more than you can fault a fish for swimming. Do you expect to punish every one of them?” He lunged with his sword, causing the platform to tip. He quickly stepped back to balance it.

“No,” Jocelyn said. “Just you. And not all pirates turn thief. I have not.” Jocelyn leaped toward him, but instead of retreating, or parrying the blow, Krueger stepped into it, clearly more concerned with keeping the platform balanced than with his own life. Jocelyn’s sword grazed his cheek, adding a new cut to his already disfigured face.

He wiped the blood with the back of his hand. “Then you are no pirate! Refusing to steal goes against the Code.”

“I get to decide what I will be! I make my own code. Now throw down your weapons or I will dump this treasure to the bottom of the lake, where it will live, forever in sight of anyone who comes to this chamber, yet impossible to recover.” She took a step away from the man, the floor tilting in her direction.

Krueger took a hurried step back as well, balancing the platform once more. “You miserable brat. If only I had killed you when I had the chance!” He pulled his flintlock pistol and leveled it at her.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jocelyn chided.

He didn’t answer, but neither did he fire.

“What’s the matter? You’re not curious as to why?” Jocelyn took another step backward, forcing him to do the same. “You don’t have to ask. I’ll tell you anyway. First, firearms are inelegant. Any pirate worth his salt depends on blade over bullet. Second, if you shoot me, I could fall off the platform. Do you think you can make it back to the center in time?”

“How about we try and see?” He cocked the pistol.

“All right then, if you want to be stranded up here. You see, I might not fall off the platform. I might fall where I stand. If I do that, your only options are to stay where you are and hope one of your men will be smart enough to figure out how to rescue you, or run for the hatch and lose all the gold.”

The pistol shook in his trembling hand. He gnashed his foul, pointy teeth so hard he injured his gums. Blood ran from his mouth, mingling with what still flowed from his cheek, before dripping off his chin. He did not notice. “This gold is mine!” he raged. “Mine!”

Jocelyn chanced a glance toward the shore. It was too far for her to see her crew. She hoped they had been able to subdue Krueger’s men. She was able to make out the dark silhouette of a small boat rowing rapidly away from the finger. Her grandfather was safe. It was time to end this. “Never mind. As I can see that Sir Charles is no longer your captive, I think you shan’t have the gold after all.”

Jocelyn did not know how unwise it was to taunt a man who had just discovered he had nothing to lose. He pulled the trigger. The ball raced toward the girl, but Krueger’s aim was off by a fraction of an inch. The bullet crashed into a golden statue of a young satyr that stood near her. The figure fell as if killed by the pirate’s gun, upsetting the balance of the platform again.

Krueger shuffled backward, all the way to the edge of the platform, but it still tilted in Jocelyn’s direction. The treasure shifted, and a delicate balance was held, but one small move by either Krueger or Jocelyn would send the entire hoard plummeting. The pair locked eyes. Krueger’s were filled with rage and defeat.

“Jocelyn!” Roger flew toward them. “I heard a shot. Are you all right?”

Krueger aimed again, this time at Roger. No treasure was worth the lives of those she cared for. Jocelyn lifted from the platform in flight. It tilted sharply in Krueger’s direction; he had no time to balance it again. The pirate dropped his flintlock and fell, barely catching the edge of the platform as he went over. A waterfall of treasure cascaded past him, slowly at first, then faster, plummeting to the lake below.

Jocelyn took pity on him. “Roger, help me!” she shouted.

They hovered above the man, reaching for him. “Give me your hand,” she said. “We’ll fly you to the shore!”

Krueger locked his dark, soulless eyes on Jocelyn. They were filled with inhuman rage. Jocelyn recoiled. The man turned his head toward the shower of gold running past him. A strangled howl burst from his throat. He gave the girl one last hateful look, then simply let go.

Even as he fell, Captain Krueger reached for the gold, snatching a handful of coins from midair and clutching them to his chest. A look of peace came over him just before he hit the water.

Captain Krueger would lie forevermore in a watery tomb, buried under the greatest treasure ever amassed.