Edward could not let go of his curiosity, and disbelief over the danger, so he peered through the opening in the door. He could see Cook being held up by the neck by another man dressed in black with slick, jet-black hair, and dark eyes. Edward felt something from those eyes. On the surface they lacked emotion, similar to William most of the time, but Edward could see something in them, deep and endless, like a bottomless well.
A brutal, ruthless corruption filled those eyes. Edward felt that he had seen those same eyes before, but couldn't recall where. Edward was gripped with fear, and he could not turn away.
"I will ask you once more. Tell me where the Blackbeard is and I will spare you pain," the man in black said.
"I told you, he's in Mexico. My sources never lie," Cook replied.
"No, your sources may be free of fraud, but your words are not free of contamination." The man in black pulled out a small needle, like a pin, from his belt. "You will clearly not provide assistance, and only death awaits." He flicked the pin into Cook's neck.
Cook pulled his cane up, pointed it against the man in black's chest, and pulled on a hidden trigger. The man in black pushed the cane to the side, but not swiftly enough. The cane shot a bullet through his shoulder. Blood spurted from the wound, and the man in black dropped Cook to the floor.
Cook tried to flee, but the strength left his legs before he could rise. He crawled on his hands and knees, but in a matter of seconds he fell to the ground. Cook futilely tried to pull himself forward, but then rolled over. Cook's eyes rolled up in his head, he foamed at the mouth, and convulsed in muscle spasms. The seizure gradually lessened until stopping completely. Within moments Cook had died from whatever poison was on the needle.
The man in black watched until the end, after which his eyes moved up to the slit where Edward was still watching.
John pulled Edward away by force. Together, Anne and William, Edward and John, left post haste. John and William agreed to split up and meet back at the ship. John pulled Edward to the right of the home.
The man in black emerged from the back door soon after they started running, and noticed Edward and John turning a corner. Edward glanced back, slowing them down, so John pulled him into a nearby abandoned house.
John took Edward up the decaying stairs to the second floor and then forced Edward to climb a ladder to the attic. John entered the attic, then pulled the ladder up so none could follow and covered the hole with a nearby wooden box.
John slapped Edward across the face. "This is no time to be afraid!" he reprimanded forcefully.
Edward returned from his stupor. "What? I'm not afraid of anything."
"Edward, I've been in enough battles during the war to know when a man is afraid. Whoever that man is, he caused you to feel fear, but fear is not something to be ashamed of."
Edward reflected on what he felt moments ago, and asked himself why he froze. He came to the conclusion that John was correct, and Edward was afraid of the man.
"Something about him screamed danger," Edward admitted.
"Good, good. Use your memory to help condition yourself to the feeling."
Edward closed his eyes and recalled the man in black's eyes, and what he'd said. He was after me, but who could he be? He was too… dark… to be a marine. An assassin? But who would have hired him? Even in the shadow of Edward's mind, those eyes held no less power.
John strained his ears to try to hear any noises in the old house. After a few seconds, John and Edward could both hear the sound of slow methodical footsteps marching up the stairs. The man in black had followed them, which neither John nor Edward doubted, and he wanted them to hear those footsteps. They became louder and louder with each step up the stairs.
When the assassin was at the top of the stairs, he searched the different rooms one by one. The sound of the footsteps as well as the not so subtle creaking of the old wood allowed Edward and John to know exactly where he was.
Suddenly, a sword thrust up from below with a thunk a few feet from where Edward and John were sitting. Edward was about to rise and move, but John stopped him.
The sword was removed slowly and Edward once more could hear the movement of the man in black. The sword was thrust into the attic through the floorboards once more, closer to Edward and John, then removed quickly. The footsteps moved into the room directly below them. The sword shot up with more frequency, closer and closer to hitting Edward and John.
The hideous sound of the metal scraping through the old wood sent shivers down Edward's spine. He could not release the image of those eyes from his haunted mind. Edward recalled others recoiling at his own glare. Are my eyes the same?
Edward wasn't able to dwell on the question for too long, as the man in black was still approaching. He thrust his sword into the box over the attic entrance and pushed it forward, opening the way.
Edward and John had nowhere left to run, so John rose silently with Edward doing the same. The sound of scraping furniture was heard below as the man in black moved something around for him to step on. He climbed up and jumped to the hole, pushing the box aside as he climbed into the attic.
When the man was halfway up, John rushed over and kicked the wooden box into his face. The box busted with the force and caused the man in black to lose his precarious grip on the opening to the attic. The man fell with a crash.
"Run!" John yelled as he jumped down the hole.
John landed on the lower floor and immediately began running. Edward did the same, landing right next to the man in black. The man grabbed Edward's leg with an iron grip, and he struggled to free himself as the fallen man rose to his feet.
John took a knife from his belt and stabbed the man in black on his forearm above the elbow. The iron grip released. The man himself seemed oblivious to the pain, like his body was deadened to it.
John grabbed Edward's arm and pulled him. "I said run, soldier!" John screamed.
Edward and John ran to the closest window and ploughed through. Glass shattered in their wake, the shards dancing in the light. John and Edward both rolled onto the dirt alleyway between the houses to break the fall and ran to the south, to the ship.
"We will not escape this man by simply running," John asserted.
"What do we do?" Edward asked, glancing behind him. Though he could not see the man in black, he could feel his presence. Edward knew he was still chasing them.
"Stay focused," John commanded.
"Right."
"We'll need a distraction. We need to start a riot," John suggested.
"How do we do that?"
"Start hitting people," John answered as he levelled a large man with a haymaker as he ran.
Edward and John both began punching and kicking the townspeople as they ran. John led Edward to the town square full of people. The townspeople who were hit ran after the two, pushing and forcing more people aside in their wake, causing fights to start in the streets.
In the square, Edward and John indiscriminately hit people standing about. Edward threw one man into a group of other people, and John used some people as shields, causing scraps not even involving him to start.
Before long, the whole square erupted in an all-out brawl of pirates, thugs, and drunken revellers. Edward and John didn't check for the man in black, and continued to run through the streets to the gates of the city.
"John, look!" Edward pointed to the gates.
The merchant guards were closing the gates, and Edward could see Anne and William behind the gates with four horses. Anne was arguing with the gatekeepers, trying to get them to stop closing the gates, but they wouldn't listen. The wooden gates were closed and locked before Edward and John reached the wall.
"This way," John ordered, not stopping.
John went to the side of the wooden wall close to the gate and ran up a set of stairs to a walkway around the perimeter of the city wall.
Guards rushed after them and one man threw a punch at John. John blocked the punch, took a musket from behind the g
uard's back, and smashed the butt against the guard's face. The guard fell over the side of the walkway to the ground below.
Edward scanned for a way they could jump over the wall safely. "There!" He pointed to a large haystack on the east side. "We can climb the watchtower and jump into the hay."
"Lead the way, Captain," John offered as he fired the musket at a guard.
Edward ran along the walkway. Guards attacked him as he ran and he used his broad shoulder to plough through the men blocking his way. Near the base of the watchtower, one guard gripped him by the shoulders from behind while another attacked with a sword from the front. Edward flipped the guard holding him over his back. The man flew through the air and knocked down the one with the sword.
Edward entered the open watchtower. The inside had four wooden pillars with crossbeams on the ends and a perch at the top for the guards. The walkway was completely open and one had to climb up a ladder to reach the top.
Edward climbed the ladder as John followed behind. Edward switched to the other side of the ladder and stepped onto the crossbeams. He jumped, dropping twenty feet and into the middle of the haystack, softening his fall.
Anne and William had noticed the skirmish and Edward jumping down from the watchtower. They rushed over with the horses and shot at the guards outside the walls of Tortuga with pistols.
John reached the crossbeams and was readying himself to jump when a guard shot at him. He started to jump and was shot through his side. The bullet caused John's jump to turn into a fall.
"John!" Edward yelled as he ran forward. John fell onto Edward, and the two dropped to the ground together. "Are you well, John?"
"S-sorry, Captain. I didn't quite make the jump."
Edward helped John rise. "Will you still be able to ride?"
"I believe so. We don't have time to waste anyway, that man is surely on our tail."
Edward, John, Anne and William all mounted their horses and travelled south. The sounds of fighting slowly diminished as they got closer to the harbour.
"William, you saw the man. Who was he?" Edward asked while they were riding.
"Edward Russell. I believe he is the man who killed William III— your uncle, Anne—and framed me for the murder. If I were to speculate, he was sent by Queen Anne."
"Well, I am the target this time. Anne, I know you were not able to see his face, but do you think what William said is true?"
"I was never involved in my mother's affairs, nor did I wish to be, so I cannot say if she has used an assassin." Anne turned away in disgust. "However, sending an assassin after you is consistent with something she would do. You took her heir away from her and humiliated her, twice. First she sent over a hundred naval ships, and now a covert assassin. She won't stop there, I'm afraid."
"It will take more than one man to stop us," Edward declared, full of bravado, but the feeling the man in black gave him was still affecting him.
Anne smiled at his reassurance, but Edward could tell that she didn't believe him by the look in her eyes.
The four riders reached the harbour in no time, and they rushed to the ship immediately. The crew were conducting menial tasks aboard Freedom until they saw Edward and company come in with all urgency. The crew dropped what they were doing to see what the commotion was, but Edward stopped them.
"Prepare to set sail, we must leave now!" he yelled for all to hear.
Edward ran up to the quarterdeck where Herbert was at the helm with Christina at his side. Christina had crutches to help her move around as her leg was still healing. Her wolf Tala was lying at her feet.
"What's wrong, Edward?" Christina asked.
Herbert turned his wheelchair around to face Edward. "Did something happen in town?"
"We met with an assassin. He killed our source of information before he was able to find out where Daniel Richardson is," Edward answered.
Herbert adjusted his glasses. "What do we do now?"
William took over explaining. "We were able to find out where Richardson has been: Calabar, NiTalaa."
Herbert and Christina glanced at each other, eyes wide. "But, that's where…" Christina didn't finish her sentence.
"We know," Edward confirmed. "All the more reason why we need to return there as soon as possible. And, did we mention the assassin? Is the whole crew here, or did some men go ashore?"
"Some did, but all crew members have returned," Herbert reported.
"Good, then get us out of here, helmsman!"
19. Calabar Revisited
After a brief stop in Port-de-Paix south of Tortuga, to send a letter to the Bodden Brothers about what happened to their friend Aaron Cook, the crew of the Freedom set off for Calabar. The journey would take at least seven weeks, so they stocked up before leaving.
Along the journey, the daily routine of maintaining the ship and training kept everyone busy. Without a fully-fledged carpenter, the Freedom needed more time for maintenance, so the long trips served her well.
After a few weeks, Christina was up and about without her crutches and back into training. One day Anne proposed a team fight to promote group dynamics. To demonstrate, she and William showed what they were capable of doing together.
Specific manoeuvres, when performed as one, not only helped cover each other's backs, but also increased their effectiveness. Anne would jump off William's back as he was kneeling down to fire a musket. In the air she would land with a double kick using the downward momentum for additional power. William helped Anne jump higher using his hands to vault her up, and then she would latch onto something and pull him up. They worked beautifully together because of their experience.
"Why can't we train together?" Edward asked Anne after one of the demonstrations. There was a twinge of anger in his voice.
"I wish we could, but the difference in our skill levels is too great. If you wish to train with someone, maybe Christina would be better. Your power and her speed would make a good combination."
"I don't think we should team up, Edward would slow me down." Christina spoke loudly enough for Edward and Anne to hear. Anne could see Christina, and at Anne's questioning expression, Christina winked, to which Anne smiled back.
"Slow you down?" Edward questioned as he turned around.
"Maybe she's right, Edward, you are quite a bit taller, and slow. Christina learns very quickly, so I'm not sure you can keep up," Anne asserted, folding her arms and inspecting Edward up and down.
Edward gritted his teeth. "I can run circles around you, little one."
"Oh yeah, see what happens when you try," Christina challenged.
"We will train together then, and we'll see who is better."
"Yay! Thanks, Captain." Christina smiled with genuine mirth, to Edward's confusion. She thanked Anne and talked with her a bit.
"Why do I feel as if I was tricked?" Edward asked to no one in particular.
Sam was passing by on his way to spar with William. "Cause you wus, mate. Cause you wus." He sauntered off with a laugh.
Anne clapped to grab everyone's attention. "Alright, how about we start a duel then? What about Henry and Pukuh against Edward and Christina?"
Henry and Pukuh walked over at hearing their names. After explaining, the four combatants were more than eager to have a good scrap. They stood on the forecastle deck with the crew watching on the railings or on ratlines.
"Watch out, Ed, I'm going to get payback for before," Henry said. He was in a fighting stance, his massive arms flexed.
"We'll see about that," Edward replied.
"I do not wish to hurt you, girl, so I will ease my blows," Pukuh teased Christina.
"Don't mock me."
The groups fought with everything they had, each working together to defeat the other group. Being the first time working with each other, Edward and Christina were less than graceful, and tempers flared, but they were able to turn things around.
Together Edward and Christina managed to throw Henry overboard and forced Pukuh into the corne
r of the bow. The crew moved away when the three drew close. Christina whispered something in Edward's ear and he nodded. Edward and Christina backed up a few steps and locked hands. Edward pulled her and swung her towards Pukuh. She kicked Pukuh in the chest and he was pushed to the edge of the deck. Edward put Christina down, ran to Pukuh, lifted his legs, and tossed him over the side. The Mayan fell over into the sea like Henry.
Rope ladders were lowered for Henry and Pukuh while Christina and Edward celebrated. Henry and Pukuh climbed up, and dried off.
"How does being beaten feel?" Christina boasted.
Henry and Pukuh eyed each other and laughed. "We went easy on you two," Henry claimed.
"Oh yea? Round two, right now. We'll show you who the best team is," Edward said.
"We are ready to battle when you are," Pukuh confirmed.
The four fought again, laughing as they bonded. Anne watched from the poop deck, joyful over the smiles on their faces.
"Dangerous, leavin them two together," Sam warned, walking over to Anne.
"What do you mean?" Anne said curtly with arms folded.
"Christina an' the capt'n. She admires him, could turn ta infatuation."
"I see what you are trying to do, but it won't work. Jealousy is not part of my vocabulary. I trust Edward and Christina both."
Sam laughed. "I wusn't trying ta make you jealous, jus' a warning. Love is blind, they say." Sam laughed again and strolled away.
Anne watched Edward, Christina, Henry, and Pukuh all laughing. I trust Edward.
…
The Freedom landed on the almost non-existent harbour of Calabar at dusk. The harbour was deserted, save for a few small fishing boats, and the only sounds were the subtle knocking of the boats against the pier and the lapping of the waves.
Edward stepped onto the harbour and scanned the horizon. He was joined by other crew members as the sails were furled and the Freedom moored.
"What happened here?" Henry thought out loud.
"Daniel Richardson happened," Edward answered.
Blackbeard's Revenge (Voyages Of Queen Anne's Revenge Book 2) Page 21