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Merrick stood on the foredeck of the Redemption, arms crossed over his chest, and watched the Hades’ Revenge come closer into view. It had been no easy task to find Edward in the vast waters of the Caribbean, but he had two things on his side—the wisdom of God and familiarity with Edward’s favorite hunting grounds. Even so, he had been surprised when the wicked ship suddenly appeared on his eastern horizon.
After almost a year of searching these treacherous waters for Edward the Terror, why had God allowed Merrick to find him now—now when Charlisse, the woman Merrick loved, was on board? His jaw clenched as he imagined what Edward—or Kent—might have done to her. Renewed fury toward Edward threatened to blast through the hull of Merrick’s restraint, releasing a monstrous rage that would be appeased only by the man’s death.
Despite Edward’s murderous atrocities at sea and his barbarous slaughter of the Arawak villagers, Merrick had vowed to God not to harm him, but to turn him over to the British authorities for justice to be served. But now, after Edward had nearly gotten Merrick hanged, and had captured the woman he loved, Merrick feared, vow or no vow, he would not be able to stop himself from taking up his sword and thrashing Edward to pieces.
As Merrick stared at Hades’ Revenge, the empty ache left in his heart by Charlisse’s absence was beginning to heal at the thought she was near. He prayed she was still alive. Surely God had not saved Merrick from hanging only to allow Charlisse to suffer a far worse death.
Sloane came up beside him. “The Hades’ Revenge. Now there be a worthy prize fer sure, Cap’n.”
“Aye, ’tis true, but my interests lie in a different treasure altogether.” Merrick clasped the railing. He had regained the strength lost during his time in prison, and his muscles twitched in anticipation of a fight.
“Aye, that they do.” Sloane chuckled. “An’ who’s to blame ye; who’s to blame ye.” The pirate rested his hand on the hilt of his cutlass, taking a deep breath of the sea air. “But I have to say, Cap’n, ’tis good to be on the hunt agin, even if it be fer Edward the Terror.”
Merrick gave his friend a curious look. “Does he frighten you?”
“Me? Naw, Cap’n.” Sloane gave him a sideways glance and scratched his gray beard. “But some o’ the men be a bit feared o’ him, ’tis all.”
“Are there any who cannot be trusted?”
Sloane looked out toward the Hades’ Revenge. “Naw, Cap’n, they’s all with ye, ye may lay to it. Leastways, there’s not one o’ them who’d rather sail under Edward than ye.”
Merrick had noticed the tension aboard the ship. It was more than the usual nervous excitement before a conquest. Edward had a reputation for cruelty, not only toward his victims, but toward other pirates who dared cross him. He gave no quarter to anyone who defied him. It was what had made him one of the most feared pirates in the Caribbean. But Merrick knew that those who ruled by fear and brutality often died by the same. Perhaps it was time for Edward to fall under the same vicious sword he’d been wielding.
The Hades’ Revenge began a slow turn toward the Redemption’s larboard side as the distance between the ships diminished. Merrick chuckled. He knew Edward. The vile captain won more battles by outmaneuvering his opponent than by courage or firing skill. But Merrick had no intention of allowing him take the advantage that was already his. He ordered Jackson to put the helm down, keep close to the wind, and steer the Redemption on a course that would bring them upon Edward’s quarter.
For the next hour, the two ships engaged in a playful dalliance. Edward, using his exquisite skill with sail and wind, attempted every sly move possible to gain the windward advantage over the Redemption. Merrick foresaw each advance and managed to keep the upper hand each time while slowly closing the gap between them.
“Hard to starboard!” Merrick bellowed then turned to Jackson. “Run out the guns, and on my order, put a warning volley over his bow.” He glanced at Sloane. “Maybe he’s in no mood for a fight.”
The old pirate chuckled. “Ye sound a mite disappointed in that, Cap’n.”
Merrick grinned, grabbed the glass, and scanned his enemy. After several minutes, he made out Edward standing on the foredeck with glass held to his own eye. Merrick lowered the scope. “By now Edward should have no doubt who his troublesome predator is. That ought to put a flutter in his belly, I should think.”
♥♥♥
“’Tis Merrick for sure. The audacity of that dawcock!” Edward spat, heat radiating up his face. “I should’ve known it was him.” Turning, he slammed into Kent. “And ye. Ye dare show yer face to me now when not twenty minutes ago ye near put me to challenge for both me and me daughter!”
Kent offered him an icy smile. “I’m still your first mate, Captain, and you’ll need my expertise.” Glancing toward the approaching ship, Kent’s gaze turned troubled. “How could Merrick have escaped?”
“How should I know, you mutinous barracuda!” Edward’s rage threatened to explode, whether at this loathsome carp standing before him or at the rapid approach of Merrick he didn’t know. He thrust his face to within inches of Kent’s. “Methinks I won’t be trustin’ ye just now, or ever agin, for that matter. So be gone with ye! Get yer deceivin’ face from me sight and—”
“Captain—”
“Quiet your insolent tongue! Off with ye this instant, or I’ll do what every inch of me yearns to do—hang ye up by yer toes on the crosstrees until yer fat head pops open!”
Kent’s face blanched. The arrogance faded from his eyes. Turning, he jumped down onto the main deck, and out of sight.
Edward followed him down the steps, calling for Hawkins to replace Kent as first mate.
“They’re comin’ hard about, Cap’n.” Perkins shouted from above. “Shots fired!”
Two thunderous booms broke through the silent Caribbean breeze, one right after the other. Edward swung about, furious he’d allowed his anger with Kent to distract him. He marched to the bow for a better look and saw two puffs of gray smoke hovering over the Redemption. The four-pounders sliced through the air so close he could feel the thrust of them as they zipped past his head. One splashed harmlessly into the sea beyond the port quarter, and the other shattered a section of the bulwark before joining its companion over the side.
“That insolent English mongrel!”
Edward bellowed for Hawkins to turn her to larboard, ready the gun crew, and run out the starboard guns. They were warning shots, to be sure, but he would show them just what he thought of their warning.
The blasts from the Redemption sent Edward’s pirates into a frenzy. They were not used to being fired upon—especially by a fellow pirate. Scrambling across the deck, they gathered arms for the battle ahead, grunting and cursing at the audacity of their enemy.
♥♥♥
Dark clouds moved in and hovered over the battle scene like ominous spectators. The wind picked up. Tying his hair behind him, Merrick donned his captain’s hat. Thankful for the cooling breeze, he hoped it wasn’t cool enough to calm the heightened temper of his opponent. If Edward had any weaknesses in battle, they were his pride and his temper. Often he allowed them free reign when reason demanded otherwise.
It appeared from the activity aboard the Hades’ Revenge that the warning shots had accomplished their purpose—to stir the tempers of Edward’s crew. Now all Merrick had to do was goad Edward into making a reckless mistake. Jackson approached. Merrick lowered his glass.
“Turn her to larboard, bearing our guns loaded and ready,” he ordered. “But keep three hundred yards’ distance from her. Let’s see if she’ll take the bait.”
Merrick lifted his glass again. Oh, for a glance of Charlisse, but she was nowhere in sight. He could only assume she was below, either locked in the hold or in the captain’s cabin. The latter made his skin crawl with possessive rage. Either way, he must be extremely careful not to damage the main body of the ship for fear of blasting through an area where Charlisse might be hit.
&n
bsp; The Redemption sailed teasingly across the starboard side of the Hades’ Revenge—just within range of her guns, her sails flapping in a tempting display. As expected, Edward the Terror loosed a broadside upon her, spewing forth successive thunderous booms that bounced across the darkening clouds. The shots, however, blasted forth in impotence, landing just short of their target. Billowing smoke obscured the view between the two ships.
Merrick shouted orders to turn the helm hard over on a direct course for the Hades’ Revenge. Judging both the distance and position of his enemy amidst the haze from the cannon blasts, he ordered a swift turn to larboard and loosed his starboard battery in the direction of Edward’s main and foremast. Explosions filled the air, along with the sharp crack of splitting wood and the shrieks of wounded men. With spyglass to his eye, Merrick waited for a clear view. When the veil of charred mist dissipated, two smoking, ebony holes glared at him from the hull of the Hades’ Revenge.
“Jackson!” Merrick raged. “I told you to position the guns above deck to the masts and sails!” He jumped to the main deck, as terror and fury waged a war of their own inside him. Lifting the glass again, he searched the deck for any sign of Charlisse.
Jackson’s huge frame thudded across the deck. “Sorry, Cap’n. We caught the wrong side o’ a wave.”
Merrick scowled before returning his gaze to the Hades’ Revenge. Edward marched over the deck, issuing orders. The other shots from the Redemption had shattered the foredeck railing and left the bowsprit hanging in a tangle of cordage athwart the ship’s bow. The black fractures left by his round shots stood harmlessly above the waterline. Merrick was still searching for Charlisse when he noticed all sails hoisting and men flying up into the shrouds. The Hade’s Revenge made a rapid turn, its sails gorging with wind.
She was heading straight toward him.
Slamming the glass shut, Merrick turned on his heels. “All hands, make sail! Hard to starboard, Rusty. Jackson,” he yelled, and the colossal dark man sprang up from the companionway. “Ready the larboard battery. Prepare the swivel guns.”
“Aye, aye, Cap’n.” Jackson bellowed orders that sent the crew of the Redemption swarming to their tasks.
Soon the Redemption swung about, her sails trapping the wind, cutting a white trail through the blue waters on a collision course with the Hades’ Revenge. Merrick cursed himself for allowing his fear for Charlisse to distract him from his duties. After loosing his broadside cannons, he could have finished Edward off with a speedy turn and another battery of fire from his port side. Instead he had hesitated, allowing Edward to regroup and charge.
Sloane came and stood beside him.
“Edward’s got pluck. I’ll give him that,” Merrick said. “We have the wind in our favor, yet he barrels toward us at full speed.”
“Har, he be a reckless varmint, that be true, Cap’n.” Sloane scratched his beard and grabbed the hilt of his cutlass. “But that also may be the ruin o’ him too.”
A blaze of yellow light flashed from the bow of the Hades’ Revenge, followed by a thunderous boom.
“All hands down!” Merrick bellowed, sending his crew to their bellies on the deck.
The blast struck the starboard bow of the ship, rupturing the timbers of the hull with a splintering explosion. The Redemption rocked and staggered.
Jumping to his feet, Merrick peered over the side at the damage. He had not counted on Edward having a four-pounder at his bow. He looked toward his enemy, now only yards away. “Lower top and main. Hard to port.” The mighty ship bungled with shifting sails and sharp rudder, creaking and moaning to make the spiked turn. Within minutes, she would be alongside the Hades’ Revenge, presenting her larboard broadside.
♥♥♥
In his efforts to avoid a broadside from the Redemption, Edward forgot the chasers on her bow. As he played for a better position, he allowed the Redemption to close in on him. He realized this too late when he heard the guns blasting behind him and saw the shots rip holes though his mainsail.
Although Edward desperately tried to bring his ship about in order to bear her larboard guns upon the fast-approaching Redemption, with her mainsail damaged, the Hades’ Revenge floundered in her turn and could not pick up enough speed for the maneuver. All the while, the Redemption’s demi-cannons swept across her deck with crippling fire.
Edward answered from the chasers on his prow, but it was too late. The Redemption, at close quarters, followed up its attack with crossbar that cut and slashed mercilessly through the Hades’ Revenge’s rigging. The ship labored clumsily, powerless to maneuver.
“Grapnels ready! Prepare to board,” Merrick’s booming commands echoed across the water to the Hades’ Revenge. A torrent of musket fire from the top yards of the Redemption scattered Edward’s crew while Merrick’s ship crashed alongside the crippled vessel.
Chapter 40: Bloody Pirates
The blast of cannons echoed through the ship in a thunderous boom and threatened to rip apart her timbers. Charlisse dashed to her rattling window, but gray smoke obscured her view. Her father’s gruff bellowing sounded above, followed by the pounding of boots. Minutes later, the air was aquiver with the roar of guns and the horrified screams of Edward’s men. Face pressed against the window, Charlisse strained for a glimpse of the ship that dared attack Edward the Terror, but it remained out of sight. Was it the Redemption?
Was it Merrick?
Another cannon roared in the distance, and an explosion sent a tremor through the Hades’ Revenge. Something crashed behind her and she turned to see the door to the cabin had flown open. No one was there. As she approached it, the loud snap of cracking wood filled the air. A deafening silence followed, only broken by the twang of snapping cords. Something smashed into the ship sending it reeling to port. Charlisse nearly lost her footing. Then everything erupted into a barrage of shouting and musket fire.
Charlisse crept to the deck of the Hades’ Revenge. Grappling hooks struck, clawing the wood like giant birds of prey, leaving long splintered trenches in the deck. They locked onto the railing, and the ships smashed together with a jolt that sent a shudder through the keel.
Anxiety clenched her heart as she scanned the huge ship that had rammed the Hades’ Revenge. It was the Redemption! Merrick’s colors flew from the mainmast, but was he aboard? She spotted Sloane and Jackson and excitement jittered through her. Running her gaze across the mob of pirates, hope dwindled into desperation. Perhaps he’d been hanged, after all.
Then she saw him. He leapt onto the bulwark of the Redemption, cutlass in hand, armed with pistols and boarding ax, ready to lead his men into battle. He looked her way and their gazes locked. A smile curved his lips. He turned and shouted an order to his men, sending the crew of the Redemption scrambling over the railings.
Edward’s men cursed the oncoming intruders as man met man in a clash of fury and hatred. Ducking behind the mainmast, Charlisse trembled in fear. Pistol and musket shots cracked like whips through the air, spewing smoke and the bitter smell of gunpowder. Steel clanged against steel. Strained groans and frenzied curses bombarded her from all directions. The pirates battled without fear, their assaults vicious and relentless.
One of Edward’s men clutched his chest and fell to the deck near Charlisse. His pleading eyes searched hers before a vacant stare sucked the life from them. She threw a hand to her mouth, suddenly queasy. Tears welled in her eyes. A piercing screech turned her about to see a man with a sword protruding from his belly. His attacker withdrew it and kicked the man backward over the rail. A hollow splash sounded as his body fell into the sea.
Her gaze found Merrick. He thrashed, cutlass to cutlass, with one of Edward’s men, moving swiftly as he parried his enemy’s thrusts. The pirate’s determination faded into weariness, yet Merrick continued his assault, finally knocking the man’s cutlass from his hand. Terror struck his face. Merrick smacked his head with the hilt of his cutlass. He crumpled to the deck.
A pistol shot exploded near Charlisse
’s head, ringing in her ears. She dropped, arms over her face. The sharp, bitter smell of blood filled her nose. When she looked up, Merrick was gone. Her gaze landed on her father battling one of Merrick’s men up on the quarterdeck.
Searching the crowd, she found Sloane in a knife fight with a much younger man. And Sloane was getting the best of him.
So much bloodshed, so much death. And she was the cause of it! Please Lord, stop it now. Let no more blood be spilled on my account! Tears slid down her cheeks.
Someone grabbed her from behind, squeezing the breath from her lungs. She twisted to see who it was. The crotchety face of the red-scarfed pirate who had brought her food when she was imprisoned below leered back at her.
“Yer not in a locked cage now, eh, missy?” She thought he was going to drag her down the ladder, but his grip tightened. She gasped for air. He intended to strangle her! He whispered something about women on ships bringing bad luck. But Charlisse couldn’t hear any more.
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Merrick hunted for Edward, the cause of all this madness, while trying to keep an eye on Charlisse. Why didn’t the silly girl go below, away from the battle? Though her clothes were tattered and she looked terribly thin, she was an angelic vision, and he thanked the Lord she appeared well.
He quickly disposed of his adversary and glanced toward her again. She was gone. He scanned the deck. Maybe she had finally come to her senses and gone below. A pirate charged him, grimacing through rotting teeth. Lifting his cutlass, Merrick met his blow, sending the man tumbling backward into the middle of another fight. A flash of golden hair caught the corner of Merrick’s eye, and he glanced over to see Charlisse struggling in the grip of a brown-haired pirate.
Merrick charged toward her. A young, skinny man jumped in front of him and pointed a pistol at Merrick’s head, grinning. Whipping out his boarding ax, Merrick launched it at the weapon, knocking it from the man’s grasp. Then barreling through him, he pushed him aside and headed toward Charlisse. The pirate had a tight grip on Charlisse’s throat. The color drained from her face. Merrick pummeled his way through the riotous crowd. The edge of a cutlass flew at his throat.
The Redemption (Legacy of the King's Pirates Book 1) Page 28