The Pirate Raiders (21 page)

Chapter
18
:

Upon my return to the waist, I immediately began freeing my crew.  Once a few of the men were cut free to help me in the effort, things progressed much faster after that.  I knew the men were shaken and disturbed by what they’d seen the kraken do to Ricardo’s ship minutes before, but I couldn’t allow them time to dwell on it.  Trimble’s ship was already making a wide turn and probably getting in position for a broadside attack.  I ordered the men to hoist the anchor and get into their battle stations at once.  Not one man hesitated at the command.  Well, no one but Gordon who immediately questioned my strategy.

“He’ll turn the kraken loose on us, there’s no time to take that ship down,” he said anxiously.  “We should sail into shallow
er water.  That way the beast can’t get to us.”

“He’s not going to turn the kraken on us,” I replied.  “We’ve got something on board that he wants.  He’s not going to risk sinking this ship until he has it.”

“And what might that be?” he asked.  “Another bottle of rum?”

“Aye,” I replied.  “Andrea gave him the wrong one.  He’s figured it out and now he’s coming for the right one.  Gordon, I really don’t have time to explain.  What I need now is for you to take up Robert’s position and get those men and the guns ready.  Wait for my command.”

Gordon sighed and I could only imagine how ridiculous what I was telling him sounded.  I hoped against hope that for once in his life he’d trust me and do what I asked without any more bloody questions.  He stared at me a long moment before answering.  “Alright then,” he said, and he headed below deck toward the gun ports.

The
Sea Witch
was too badly damaged to rely on the wind for power.  The oars were all she had to get in position.  I was counting on the extra man power Trimble had to use for rowing to my advantage.  The men would be tired when they reached us and they wouldn’t be nearly as fresh on the guns as my men would be.  In addition to that, Trimble’s ship already had damage to the hull from the earlier battle with Ricardo.  If everything went as I had calculated, the battle would be short and the odds would be greatly in my favor. 

“Guns ready captain!” Gordon called from below deck. 

“Aye, await my order!” I shouted back. 

The
Sea Witch
had finally gotten into position.  The ship drifted toward us swiftly and I watched as Trimble’s men pulled the oars back into the ship.  Moments later, the black tips of their guns poked through the port holes.  They were obviously a well-trained lot, but I was certain they must be tired.  I also noticed that Trimble had made sure his attack would come from the starboard side of his ship.  There was almost no damage on that side, which told me he’d used the port side to battle Ricardo.  Our own guns were in position to fire from our port side. 

I wanted to make sure that we fired first, but to do so would require the most precise timing.  Both ships were now meeting at the bows and the anxiety I was feeling was unlike any I’d ever felt before.  Just before the ships were dead even alongside each other, I gave the order.

“Fire!”

The thunderous boom of cannon fire shook the deck beneath my feet and less than a second later the
Sea Witch
returned fire.  I had been standing on the stairs that led up to the quarterdeck, but part of them collapsed almost immediately below my feet.  I tumbled onto the waist of the ship and quickly regained my footing.  The men around me manned the swivel guns and miraculously none of them appeared to be wounded.  The
Sea Witch
had been drifting so swiftly, there was no time for another broadside attack.  I immediately ordered the men on the swivel guns to return fire.  Their cannons were much smaller than the cannons below deck...reloading them did not take a great deal of time.  They took aim and returned fire. I was pleased to see that every shot made contact with the stern of the
Sea Witch
. 

“Gordon, damage report!” I shouted down the stairs. 

“Most of the damage is minor, although there’s a pretty large hole near the stern…looks to be above the water line though.  I’ve got two men dead down here Redd…several more are injured!”

“Aye, how are the guns?”  I asked.

“All of the guns are still operational, but the two men I lost were manning one.  We could use some help down here.”

I looked around the deck to survey the damage around me.  There were quite a few men injured and bleeding.  Langley was one of them, but he was still on his feet, his bleeding hands on the helm.  I ordered the able-bodied men to man the canvas and get the ship in position for another broadside attack as soon as possible.  I saw Joe wandering around the deck doing what he could to tend to the wounded. 

“Joe, let someone else tend to those men.  Gordon needs you on a gun below deck.”

Joe’s eyes widened and he seemed surprised that I picked him for such an important job.  “Aye captain,” he replied.  “I’ll do my best.”

“I know you will,” I replied.  “When we make our next pass, be prepared for battle.  I want to board them this time.”

He nodded and immediately marched down below deck.  I then made my way to the poop deck to try and get an idea of what Trimble’s next move would be.  I was surprised to see that there were no oars protruding from the side.  Since the ship was unable to sail, it was now virtually dead in the water. 

“They’re plotting something,” Jolly Jack Porter said. 

“I don’t know,” I said.  “We inflicted quite a bit of damage.  I don’t even think they were able to get all of their guns to return fire.  We probably killed many of the men they had below deck.  There may not be enough men to row anymore.”

Neptune’s Castle
caught up quickly and I was unable to see any sign of life on the decks of the
Sea Witch
.  There were plenty of bodies, but they were all dead.  There were no signs of life below decks either.  I couldn’t detect any movement at all on the guns. 

“We’re almost in position again, Redd,” Gordon called out.  “What do we do?”

“Unload the guns into her hull again,” I answered.  “I’m not taking any chances.”

Again, the thunderous blasts of cannon fire erupted from below deck.  Trimble’s ship took every sh
ot without returning a single shot. 

“Drop the anchor and prepare to board the ship,” I ordered. 

Once the ships were roped together, I was the first to set foot on the deck of the
Sea Witch
.  All of my men, save the injured and dead, were right behind me.  All of us were armed to the teeth and ready for anything. 

“Keep an eye on those stairs leading below deck, mates,” I said as I made my way to the door of Trimble’s cabin. 

I kicked the door open and pointed my pistol in all directions, waiting for the old pirate to spring out of some darkened corner.  I grimaced at the ugly sight of what had to be at least fifty human skulls displayed on shelves as if they were trophies.  Alas, Trimble was nowhere to be found. 

“Captain! Come quick!” Gord
on yelled from the waist railing of the ship. 

When I emerged from the cabin I noticed most of my men were lookin
g over the side at something off the port side of the ship.  I made my way to the railing and my heart sank when I saw what had gotten their attention.  About a hundred yards in front of the ship, I spotted a longboat.  Captain Trimble stood at the bow of the boat waving, and he was surrounded by several of his surviving crew.  Trimble had apparently used his ailing ship to hide his escape.

“What a clever devil,” I thought aloud. 

“Why can’t we just blow him out of the water Cap’n?” Jolly Jack asked.

“A target that small
and that far out would be difficult to hit, especially since he’s directly ahead of us,” Langley answered. 

“Gentlemen,
I'd wager that I could hit him with the swivel gun…I'm a good shot.  But it wouldn’t do any good if we did…you can’t kill him that way.  He has a soul jar,” I said. 

All of the men slowly turned and looked my direction in unison.  They looked at me as if I had two heads. 

“Long story,” I said with a grin.

“Someone’s cut the lines free! We’re drifting away from our ship!” I heard a
panicked sailor shout out. 

I turned to see for myself and sure enough,
Neptune’s Castle
began to slowly drift away from us.  The ropes had been cut while we were distracted.  I scanned the deck of the
Sea Witch
.  I knew we’d looked the deck over for survivors and found none.  So how could—it was then that I spotted the culprit. 

Andrea, with a hatchet in her right hand, gazed coldly at me from the deck of my own ship. 

“You should’ve checked on me before you left the ship!” she shouted.  “After everything that’s happened between me and my father, isn’t it ironic that the cannon fire from his ship is what blew the door off my cell and ultimately freed me?  Maybe our relationship isn’t doomed after all.  Unfortunately, it seems that yours and mine is though.  It’s a shame…we could’ve been great together!”

I cursed under my breath and clenched my fist.  Somehow I knew all along that Andrea would cross me.  I just couldn’t allow myself to accept it.  Suddenly the sea below our ship began to boil and bubble angrily.  I knew what was coming and unfortunately so did the rest of my crew.  I turned and looked back toward Captain Trimble.  He was still standing in the
longboat; his arms stretched high above his head.  That bloody ring shined brightly in the noon sunlight as if it were taunting me.  Now that my ship, along with his soul jar, was drifting away from me, he was free to unleash the kraken on us.  I couldn’t believe the horrible turn things had taken.

My men began to panic as the slimy, gray tentacles of the kraken began to slither up the sides of the ship.  One of the tentacles whipped around quickly and snatched up an unsuspecting sailor.  The poor bloke barely had time to scream before he was crushed to death.

“Stay clear of those tentacles!” I shouted. 

I kept my sword in my hand although I knew it was useless.  The animal’s tentacles were m
uch too thick for me to cut through.  We were doomed, and just as I began to hear the ship’s timbers creak and wail their sad death moan, I spotted a slim chance to cheat death one more time. 

It was Andrea.  She was running and screaming wildly at her father toward the bow of
Neptune’s Castle
. 

“Father!  Please come back for me!  I have it, I have it!” she screamed to the top of her lungs. 

It was what she held in her hand that got my attention.  It was a bottle of rum…no doubt it was the bottle that contained her father’s soul jar.  I wasn’t happy about what I was about to attempt, but it was unfortunately necessary if my men and I had any chance of surviving.  I made my way to the swivel gun near the bow of the
Sea Witch
and spun it in the direction of Andrea.  The ship had drifted far enough to escape the danger of the kraken, but it hadn’t drifted anywhere close to escaping the range of a well-placed cannon shot. The gun was ready to fire and I carefully grabbed the lanyard that connected to the friction primer.  Although I could literally feel the ship beginning to break apart beneath me, I forced myself to take a moment and aim the breech sight to make sure my shot had a good chance.  Andrea stood in one spot as she continued to yell and wave at her father.  She clutched the bottle near her chest, obviously taking great care not to drop it.  I’d cheated death so much over the past few days; surely I hadn’t gotten this far for it to all end now.  I yanked the friction primer and the gun fired its deafening roar.  Andrea had just enough time to turn and look in my direction.  I was glad she had a moment to see that I was the one who killed her.  The shot ripped through her body like a hot knife through butter, no doubt destroying the bottle she clutched so tightly on the way.  I believed in my heart that she’d been lying to me all along.  She hadn’t changed.  She was just as evil as her father and she was using me to try and get her hands on the ring.  I had never been so sure of anything in my life, but I still hated that it had come to this.

The
Sea Witch
was literally falling apart now, but I managed to catch a glimpse of Captain Trimble’s longboat as I was falling with the ship.  He was no longer standing with his arm stretched above his head, he’d apparently fallen overboard and his men were struggling to find him.  There was no doubt in mind that he was dead, but it was my sincere hope that he sank quickly to the bottom of the sea with that dreadful ring still on his dead finger.  If it were up to me, it would never see the light of day again.