“We have not come this far to fail, and we won’t! Pirates feed off of fear and they will find none on this deck. Keep her steady and ready the guns. This war is ours to take.”
Oliver continued to shout commands to his crew as they took their positions, and while empowering them to fight for their lives, he reminded them to spare the navigator. The replenished pride in the crew’s will to fight helped me to reassert my own bravery.
Over the sound of Oliver’s echoing commands and the crewmen’s thundering roars of conquer, I heard the harrowing growls of the buccaneers drawing near. Liberty Anne was too far behind to be of any help when Wind of Glory came broadside, and as my fearful instinct tempted me to hide below deck, the most fearsome sound I ever heard came ripping through the night.
Cannons. Great guns. Guns.
Whatever the hell they called them. The billowing thump of the explosion ignited my heart with a fire of fear, and it took all my will to keep from screaming like a woman as I felt the wooden hull accept the thrashing blow.
The blast continued between the two ships, firing and smoking, thumping and shattering, and amidst the chaos I saw men from both ships tumbling limp into the sea. Some of them were dead. Some of them were dying. Oh my Lord. What had I gotten myself into? I ran below deck to hide.
Sheltering myself from the fury, I noticed the ship was taking in more water than it could stay afloat with. If the shots continued to strike, I feared that we would sink. The dreadful thought of drowning drew me right back up to the deck, and on my way I hardly dodged a gun blast that shattered the bulkheads around me. The splintering shards of shrapnel that blasted against my body hurt more than anything I had ever experienced. I suddenly realized that I had never known physical pain. Awful as it was, the adrenaline blasting through my body made it easy enough to leave the agony behind me.
Rushing back up to the deck, I found everything in the world contrary to relief. Through the smoke filled air I saw bullets and grenades flying across the trembling deck. There was a fire raging near the foremast and worst of all, there were dead bodies haphazardly strung about the area. Vomit welled in my gut, and when I saw Clark Harold fall dead at my feet I leaned over a barrel and threw up.
I might have run back to the water filled hull to drown if the gangway hadn’t been shattered to bits, but there was no escaping the hell surrounding me. While trying to gather my tumbling guts, the flaming foremast began to topple over. Hardly dodging the blow of the wooden pole striking the deck, I hurdled over the mangle of sails, rigging lines, and splintered wood. Where I was running to I had no clue.
Oliver ordered the crew to secure their grappling hooks to the side of the opposing ship. They swung the heavy hooks aboard the Wind of Glory, using all their strength to pull their sinking and burning ship towards her solid hull. The pathetic remains of the Blue Tide clamored through the burst of more gun blast, and the feeble ledge of the collapsing ship glommed on to the strength of its strong standing opponent. As the sides of the ships collided, the wooden masses clambered together with a rowdy bash, causing some of the men to fall between and face the gruesome fate of being smashed to death. Grabbing onto the stair rail to keep my own balance, I choked on the bitter smoke that filled the night air.
Flames of the raging fire illuminated the battlefield with a hellish blaze, and through the daunting glow, I saw Sterling. Commanding his men to lay low with their muskets, he took base behind the gunnel before they fired a round. His conducted shot caused a few men aboard my ship to drop to their deaths.
Amongst all my menacing uncertainties, I heard Oliver Langston holler for his crew to invade the Wind of Glory. As much as I dreamed about being aboard the Wind of Glory, I had not imagined ending up on her deck by running head on into a firestorm of battle to escape a sinking ship. Among the charging men rushing across the deck, I saw Oliver tumble to the floor, rise to his feet, and stab a hairy shirtless man with one of his arrows. The longhaired man fell over gurgling in bloody pain before Oliver pulled his sword, stabbed him again, and disappeared into the raging battle.
I didn’t want to follow. Yet with Blue Tide sinking slowly into the sea and fire nearly consuming the entire deck, I had no choice but to abandon ship. Saying a silent prayer in my spiraling mind, I threw myself aboard the Wind of Glory.
Dipping and dodging the ghoulish sounds of slashing flesh, I manipulated my way through the surrounding battle. Having last seen Sterling on the quarterdeck, I headed in that direction. He would keep me safe. I had to get to him.
While passing the narrow hall by the captain’s quarters, I saw Faron Flynn fighting with a man I found to be eerily familiar. I recognized his bearded face to match that of the man who had been haunting my dreams since I saw him on that Wanted poster. Captain Dedrick Morley. Thinking that he was overthrown in the mutiny, I was startled to see him free, and apparently so was Faron. After Faron punched him in the face he huffed, “How the blimey hell did ye get out of yer cage, dog?” He punched him again.
Morley slammed Faron against the bulkhead and hissed a wicked laugh. “Lucky gun blast through the brig wall set me loose. Now I be free to kill ye on the deck of me ship ye tried to steal from me.”
For whatever reason, Faron was unarmed, but after evading the swing of Morley’s dagger, Faron continued to hold his own by the might of his brute force. The fight took a harsh turn when Morley tackled Faron to the ground and raised his already bloody dagger to stab him.
The dreadful sight sent a flurry of God awful visuals racing through my mind. First I saw him bashing Maureen’s beautiful face, and then I imagined the way he threatened Sterling’s life for protecting her. And Faron, good heavens he was Sterling’s only friend and Mary Daley loved him so. In fact, he was the only man she ever loved and she’d be heartbroken to hear that he was murdered right in front of me.
I heard a gunshot.
It was so close and so loud I thought someone else had fired it, but the gun in my hand was smoking and through the sulfur biting at my eyes, I saw Dedrick Morley drop to his death. Before I had a chance to register what I had done, Faron looked at me with wide-eyed shock. “Charlotte?”
“Yes. But I’m Charlie for now. These men wanted him dead or alive. They want Sterling alive. I have to find him.”
I ran up the stairs to continue on my mission.
The battle raged on below, but the quarterdeck was nearly empty. Hiding myself behind a barrel, I reloaded my pistol with trembling hands. My heart was beating out of my chest, and blood was flowing through my veins like raging river rapids. I struggled to keep focus. I had to keep my mind straight if I wanted to survive.
Once my gun was ready, I looked up to see Sterling fighting two men with his one sword. He was wearing a Spanish coat, and his long hair was tied back, but I could see his ponytail flailing under his hat as he moved around the dead men on the ground. Only one of them was of his own crew. Holy shipwreck, how many men had he killed?
Sterling dodged a blow from one of the men he fought with and used the momentum of his evasion to slash the other man across his side. As the man fell dead, I was glad I had not taken the time to associate with my crew. I had seen him, but we never spoke and I didn’t even know his name, yet it still pained my heart to watch him die by the hand of the man I loved. I didn’t want to see anyone else die.
Sterling continued to fight with the other man, and the violence that flurried between them assured how futile was my hope.
After Sterling feint a move against his opponent, the firelight from the Blue Tide illuminated his face and he seemed completely unfamiliar in his ferocity. I had imagined the day that I would see him in action, but the strength that he fought with was more intimidating than I expected. His force was savage, yet his footwork was precise. His arms were powerful around the core of his bodily strength, and he swung his sword with swift and steady blows, blocking the oncoming swings with a solid blade. His fight showed me the raw power of man, and I was equally terrified and entranced b
y his might.
Sterling clearly had the upper hand, and the man he fought was backing up against his blows. Then a second man charged up the stairs and ran towards Sterling’s back with a bloody blade. Without a moment to panic, I raised my pistol and shot the charging man. Sterling used the distraction to get his final swing in at his opponent, stabbing him in the gut and guiding him to the deck with a terribly hateful scowl on his face.
I jumped out of my hiding spot, and Sterling removed his blade from the dead man’s gut, intending to use it on me. Raising my hands in fearful surrender I yelped, “Don’t stab me. No. Oh, it’s me, Charlotte.”
Removing my hat to reveal myself, hoping my short hair wouldn’t detour him from my identity, his dumbstruck expression clearly showed he recognized me. I had never seen anyone look more stunned. Ever. I ran towards him and hugged him with all my might but he didn’t respond to my gesture. The way his chest was heaving, I realized he must have been too elevated in the heat of battle to accept my dumbfounded attempt of affection. As I backed away from him he pointed at the man I shot, and then pointed back at me with the most obscure look of inquiry.
Stunned by the horrifying reality of my action, I defended, “He would have killed you if I didn’t. I shot Morley too so he wouldn’t kill Faron.”
His jaw could have hit the floor when it fell agape.
Just then an arrow flew between us and sharply landed in the wooden post of the mizzenmast. Sterling looked over at the arrow and raised an eyebrow with a curious look of surprise. I chuckled at his funny face and then remembered the seriousness of the moment. Pulling him behind the mast I pushed him up against it and resumed my rush of panic. “Listen to me, Sterling. They want you alive. They want you to take them to that treasure, and you have to surrender.”
He looked at me as if I was insane for suggesting such a thing, but of course he didn’t say a word. His insistent silence was annoying me to no end. Before I got to force a response out of him, that blaggard ol’ Liberty Anne finally pulled up to help with the fight. She broadsided the portside brim with a crash and the raging crew began a swift second wind of invasion.
Sterling’s blank gaze lit up with a hellish wrath, and I watched his body flinch between his will to run and fight and his notion to stay near me. The fearsome rumble that invaded the deck reminded me I needed to reload my pistol, and as I did so Sterling’s eyes widened in disbelief.
A slew of men charged the stairs toward where we stood and Sterling shoved me behind him while raising his bloody blade to fight. I knew the men couldn’t see me fighting on behalf of the buccaneer, but there was no way in hell I would leave him to fight them alone.
Then it all came clear.
Kicking over a small wooden crate to stand on, I pulled out the dagger that Mary gave me, wrapped my arm around Sterling’s neck, and held the blade to his throat. As the charging men hit the top of the stairs, I hollered in my man voice, “This is him. I have the navigator.”
Oliver was one of the men in the raging group, and he simmered their roar to hear me out. The men had their blades and pistols aimed, while Oliver had his arrow drawn. I jumped off the crate, but kept the knife at my lover’s throat and grabbed the collar of his fancy Spanish coat. Sterling rolled his eyes as I sliced down the front of his coat with my razor sharp dagger.
As I pulled the sliced seam away from Sterling’s chest to reveal his compass rose tattoo, I heard him inhale through his teeth. “Pirate.”
I was sure no one else heard his saucy whisper, but the look on his face caused the lowest part of my belly to light up like the flames that were ravaging the Blue Tide.
Oliver nodded and ordered to his men, “Lock him in the brig.”
They dragged Sterling down the stairs with an unnecessary roughness, and watching him walk away hurt more than the damn shrapnel that peppered my body earlier.
By now, the battle had been mostly tamed with the surviving members of the Wind of Glory bound in rope, but there was one small fight remaining. Following the violent sounds, I found a group of men surrounding Faron Flynn. He was batting at them with an oar and throwing them like ragdolls. Their swords were no match for his tirade, and as the herd of them fumbled off he yelled like a beast in the wild. “This is my ship.”
Oliver led a group of armed men to surround the raging leader, and as they encroached upon his space, Faron Flynn slowly stepped backwards. His chest was heaving with heavy threat and he clung to the wooden oar as if it was his own life breath. I knew it would have been easy for Oliver to kill him, and while I prayed he wouldn’t, I heard Oliver mitigate. “I would rather keep you alive, Captain Flynn. I respect your bravery, but you have clearly lost this battle. ”
Faron must have taken place as captain after the mutiny. My face lifted with an untimely smile. There was obviously a long story to be told.
Working my way towards the controversy, I winked at Captain Flynn to assure him I was on his side. Quickly looking away from me to eye the remains of his captured and battered crew, he appeared to be weighing the darkness of his options. To my greatest relief, he let his sense get the better of his rage and lowered his oar.
Oliver’s men cuffed his hands, and he looked to be more pained by his release of power than by any bodily damage he had received during the fight.
The blaze of the burning Blue Tide had sunken lower into the sea, releasing a hiss of steam as the flames touched the rocking waters. The night seemed strangely calm after the wash of violence had cleared, but my heart was overcome by a somber haunting as the battle tally was totaled on the deck.
Through the daunting glow of lantern light, I scanned the scene of the dead. I wanted to hug somebody and cry, but in order to keep my cover, I had to act as tough as the men. By the pirates’ rugged attire and bodacious tattoos, it was easy enough to separate the losses between the groups, but I was confused by the sight of the thin and decrepit men that joined the Tally.
Then there, among the tragic scene, I saw Planky’s body lying face down. Knowing it was the last time he would hit the deck, I felt the need to vomit. While doing my best to swallow the urge, it struck me that I had killed two men myself and was equally a part of the bloody massacre that surrounded me. Even though I had save two lives by doing so, I fully expected to be haunted by the memory and punished by God for my murderous actions, but there was no time for such concerns tonight.
Amongst the dreadful wreckage, I noticed that Dedrick Morley’s lifeless body had been placed on the main deck, and I overheard the men saying the raging Captain Flynn used him as a shield. Aside from the morbid visual, I was impressed by the strength and ingenuity that left Faron as the last man standing in a battle where he hardly held an average weapon. He was certainly worthy of his new title as captain, and I was proud to be secretly siding with him.
Oliver Langston paced the deck before the crew. He had a black eye, his lip was bleeding, and his clothes were torn and bloodstained. Unhindered by his defeated look, he appeared to be in heavy thought. Suddenly, Captain Smith strolled out from hiding, and aside from a few smudges of soot, he was clean and unscathed. Not only did he have the audacity to congratulate his crew, but he also began to delegate commands.
Oliver quickly raised his bow to Captain Smith’s bulky chest and through clenched teeth he growled, “You hid like a spineless weasel while these men risked their lives, and I refuse to allow myself, or any one of these respectable men to take orders from a pompous coward like you. I think it is fair to say that this ship is under my command now, and unless you want an arrow through your chest, I suggest you get to mopping up this mess.”
Well aware of the brave stand that led the abandoned team to victory, the crewmen easily concurred to Oliver’s takeover. Willard Smith lowered his head and dwindled off to get the mop.
After the men congratulated Oliver for his bravery, one of them asked, “Captain Langston, what will we do with the prisoners?”
Looking over to the captive men who were cursing an
d kicking from their binds, I was relieved to see Pete and Marin the Marooner had survived. They were tied up next to a man with a long dark braid, the treasonous Doctor Harvey who had surrendered early on, a band of musicians who said they were taken by force, and a few other men that claimed to be taken prisoner from the governor’s Poseidon.
Captain Langston surveyed the grumbling group and answered, “They will be stowed away in the cells below, and their wounds will be mended after our own crew’s needs are met.”
Doctor Reedy clenched in disgust. It seemed that no matter where his life led him, he would be tending to the wounds of the blasted buccaneers. As for Doctor Harvey, he nearly whimpered while pleading his false case, “Captain, may I request to be untied to help with the mending? I am a doctor and these ravaging buccaneers took me as their hostage.”
Faron’s crew gawked at his tale, and Pete squirmed in his binds to kick at the doctor. “Ye bloody lying pirate.”
Captain Langston informed Doctor Harvey that Doctor Reedy had reported against his crimes, but out of necessity he allowed him to participate in the mending of the injured.
Paul Redding returned to report on his findings below deck and was jolly to account for the hefty ration of Spanish gold stored in the hold. Oliver offered to pay Captain Handlin a fair portion of the find. The buccaneers were delivered to the brig, while the captives from the Poseidon and the frightened musicians were kept chained on the deck in case they had been lying about their hostage situation like the doctor. The doctors got to work healing the injured men, and the rest of the crew cleaned the deck and wrapped the bodies.
Once the cleanup was completed, Captain Langston called for Charlie Bentley. What the hell did he want from me? With no other choice I walked in his direction, but my heart was beating so high in my throat, I thought I might choke on it.
Justified Treason (Endless Horizon Pirate Stories, Book 1) Page 19