The Pirate Raiders (8 page)

  “Joe, as I said in the beginning.  This is a perilous mission we are about to embark upon.  A pirate’s life is not an easy one and you will have much to learn.  I will not lie to you; there is a strong possibility of death almost every day,” I paused a moment to let the weight of the words sink in.  “Are you sure this is the life you would choose for yourself?”

Joe sat quietly and thought hard about what I’d said.  He finally looked me in the eyes and gave me an answer I’d never forget.

  “If the pirate life is a free one, then it is the one for me,” he said.

I grinned and shook his hand again.

  “Welcome to the crew, Joe.”

I followed him as he exited the cabin and watched him gather the other slaves to tell them of the opportunity I’d laid before them.  After much deliberation, half of the men made their way to the gangplank and returned to the city of Port Royal.  The others approached and made their allegiance known to me. 

I called upon Robert Lynch to take the remaining nine men below deck and gain each one’s signature upon the Articles for pirate service.  Most of the men were unable to write, but with great patience Robert and Joe managed to get each man to scrawl out a single letter or symbol to solidify their allegiance.

While they were below deck, I peered out at the numerous ships in the harbor in search of one in particular. 

  “The governor said that Gordon would be taken in the morning on a ship called
Neptune’s Castle
,” I murmured to Langley and Andrea standing nearby.

Andrea’s face lit up and she grabbed my arm. 

  “I know of that ship!” she said.

Langley and I looked at her inquisitively and awaited an explanation.

  “That is the ship that picked me up from the island my father marooned me on,” she explained.  “It’s a massive English galleon; it’s truly a beautiful ship.”

  “It’s a galleon?” I asked, disheartened by the news.

  “Yes, she bear’s no less than 40 guns and a crew of at least 150,” she replied. 

  “Do you see the ship in this harbor,” I asked, waving an outstretched hand in the direction of the array of various ships that blanketed the calm waters of the day.

She pulled the brim of her hat down to shield the piercing sunlight from her eyes and squinted as she peered in the direction in which many of the Royal Navy’s ships were anchored. 

  “Yes, I think that one is it,” she said pointing.

  “I need to bring’er near, Langley,” I said, squinting against the glint of the sun sparkled waters.

Langley disappeared a moment and promptly returned with a brass telescope.  I took aim for the vessel and looked her over the best I could.

  “She is a fine vessel,” I said, tossing the scope back to Langley.  “Though I was hoping for a smaller ship indeed.”

Andrea looked at me at first with confusion, but then her expression turned to shock as she realized what I’d been plotting.

  “You can’t be serious!” she snapped.

I glanced at her and said nothing.

  “Look at the ship you’re standing on, Captain,” she pleaded, her blonde hair blowing wildly in a sudden, misty breeze.  “This ship is only a sloop and is incapable of defeating a ship the caliber of
Neptune’s Castle
.  You must rethink this.  One man is not worth the countless deaths your crew will suffer!”

I leaned toward the ship’s rail and grabbed it tightly.  I looked around and noticed many of the crew watching and listening to our exchange.  I grabbed Andrea by the arm, and rather forcefully led her away and into my cabin so we could continue the conversation in private.  I shoved her toward a chair and she reluctantly sat down; I could tell she could see the obvious anger in my expression.

  “I’m a pirate captain, Andrea—

  “And a rather stupid one, it would seem,” she interrupted.  “We should keep our current heading of New Providence.  Every day you wait, my father will grow more comfortable with the signet ring and his boldness will grow as well.  It’s only a matter of time before he will have both the English a
nd Spanish Navies at their knees.”

  “I will not let that happen!”

  “Then do as I say and forget this folly with Mr. Littleton!”

I felt my face redden with rage and it was fortunate for Andrea that she was a woman, as I would have struck her had she been a man.

  “Andrea, you asked me to look at the ship I’m standing on, did you not?”

  “Yes,” she replied.

  “Then I would ask you to do the same.”

  “What is the point of this ridiculous exercise?”

  “You said yourself that this ship is incapable of bring down
Neptune’s Castle.
So I ask you now if you feel that it
is
capable of bringing down your father’s flagship the
Sea Witch
.”

  “Well of course not,” she replied.  “I planned to seek out a proper ship in New Providence.”

  “I had the same ideas,” I admitted.  “However, I now have a plan that would allow us to kill two birds with one stone.”

She eyed me suspiciously and it was obvious she knew exactly what I was planning.

  “Are you saying you plan on rescuing Gordon and taking
Neptune’s Castle
?”

I nodded.

She seemed to relax in the chair and I could tell her interest had peaked.

  “I’m listening,” she said.

I pulled up a chair and sat in it backwards, facing her.  I leaned against the back and began to reveal my scheme.

  “This ship is obviously a sloop and what are sloops known for?” I asked.

  “Speed, of course,” she replied.

  “Yes, that’s right,” I agreed.  “We will set sail tonight as planned, but instead of heading to New Providence we will set a course for Tortuga.”

  “Tortuga?” she asked with disgust in her tone. 

  “I have a friend in Tortuga that owes me a favor.  He has a large enough vessel with enough men and cannons to take
Neptune’s Castle. 
I’ll bet we can make enough speed with this sloop to make it there in under a day’s time.  The head start is all we need to put a plan in place and intercept
Neptune’s Castle
on its way back to England.”

  “Wait a minute,” Andrea interrupted.  “I thought this plan would involve you taking
Neptune’s Castle
for your own.  She won’t be of any use to you if you blow holes in her hull.”

  “Of course she wouldn’t,” I agreed.  “The main goal is to get Gordon back.  If I have to blow the ship apart to get him, then I will.”  As her face began to turn red, it was quite obvious that those were not the words she wanted to hear.  “However,” I continued.  “It’s in our best interest to try and get Gordon back without damaging the ship.  Ricardo is an intelligent man and is notorious for using trickery to overtake another ship.  I’m sure between the two of us we’ll be able to come up with a good plan.”

  “I assume that Ricardo is the friend you speak of in Tortuga,” she replied.

  “Aye, he’s been an ally of mine for a long time.  Our crews have raided at least a dozen treasure galleons across the Caribbean side by side.  Five days ago, when the Ro
yal Navy captured me and my men, Ricardo and his crew were briefly in the fight but managed to escape.  It seems that the Royal Navy wasn’t nearly as interested in capturing Ricardo as they were me.  While the redcoats were busy slaughtering my crew, Ricardo slipped away.”

  “So this is where the favor you speak of comes into the picture,” Andrea said.  “How do you even know he is in Tortuga?”

  “That was our last heading before the battle with the Royal Navy,” I explained.  “There is a woman in Tortuga that Ricardo has grown quite fond of and he’s taken up permanent residence there.  Last we spoke, he was looking forward to seeing her again and once he arrives there he’s not going to set sail again right way.  Not after seeing me captured, anyway.  He’ll hide out for at least a week, maybe two.”

Andrea pursed her lips and glanced out to sea as she considered my plan.

  “Alright,” she said finally.  “Tortuga is only slightly off course from New Providence.  Are you sure we can trust this man?”

  “Ricardo?” I asked, trying to sound offended that she’d even question me.  “He is the epitome of a cutthroat and has a far darker side than I.”

  “Yes, that’s exactly why I’d like to know if we can trust him,” she quipped.

  “I think so,” I answered.  “But, he
did
slip away while my crew was being slaughtered by the red coats.”

She crossed her arms and cocked her head sideways, smiling. 

  “Exactly!” she said.  “You
can’t
trust him.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

  “Okay, I admit that it’s a tiny gamble.”

  “
Tiny
?” she squealed in an exaggerated tone of disbelief.

  “Well, it’s a more thought out plan than anything you’ve offered up so far,” I countered.

She remained still, arms crossed.  She didn’t bother arguing my point, most likely because she knew my mind was already made up.  An hour later, we were sailing on a north-easterly course for Tortuga.

Chapter 7
:

The voyage to Tortuga was swift and uneventful. 
Henrietta
glided into the island’s port shortly after noon with a very drunk Oliver Langley at the helm.  As soon as we’d lost sight of Jamaica, I made the announcement of Robert’s promotion as boatswain.  As expected, the crew was supportive of my choice but did not shy away from taking a few japes at the well-liked lad as well.  They would test him, I knew, but I believed he would rise to be the leader I envisioned him to be.

The next order of business was to fill the men in on the circumstances surrounding their release. 
This was a topic I knew I’d have to handle delicately, and although I’d have been fine with just avoiding it altogether, I owed them and promised them an explanation.  I cut to the chase and quickly disclosed the deal I’d made with the governor.  The men’s expressions turned from eager anticipation to shock and dread as soon as the part about pursuing Captain Trimble was revealed. 

Once again, I decided to keep the details regarding King Solomon’s signet ring to myself just as I had done with Langley and Gordon.  Again, I felt guilt, but I did my best to squash those feelings by telling my
self there was no need to get the men any more horrified that they already were.  Trimble was frightening enough without a magical ring in the mix.  Andrea glared at me suspiciously as she realized that I was keeping the tale of the ring and King Solomon from the crew.  For a moment, I feared that she would expose my deception, but fortunately she held her tongue. 

Joe and his nine counterparts took to the sea better than I’d a
nticipated.  Only two of the former slaves became ill.  I wouldn’t have blamed them for requesting to be released upon our arrival in Tortuga, but neither man did anything of the sort.  They both took to their chores as if they felt they had to catch up on what they’d fallen behind on during the voyage due to sickness.  The rest of the crew seemed to embrace the former slaves much faster than I would have guessed.  Perhaps it was because they knew it was in their best interest to get their new shipmates accustomed to life on a pirate ship as soon as possible.  The men seemed to catch onto the fundamentals of sailing relatively quick.  My crew was a rough looking lot of scoundrels, but I would never question their intelligence. 

Once we dropped anchor, Langley immediately stumbled below deck and collapsed onto
the first hammock in his path.  Andrea eyed the somewhat comical spectacle with fascination.

  “I’ve been around men who drank worse than the largest fish in the sea,” she said.  “But I’ve never seen a man drink as much as Langley in such a short period of time and live to tell the tale.”

  “If that impresses you, wait and see how quickly he sleeps it off,” I replied.  “He’ll be sober as a baby in a few hours' time.”

She shook her head. 

  “I’ll have to see that one for myself before I believe it, Captain.”

Andrea
then gave a quick glance both directions and drew near to me. 

  “I couldn’t help but notice you left out a few details regarding my father and a certain piece of jewelry he possesses,” she whispered. 

I let out a sigh that could’ve been taken as an expression of shame.

  “I just don’t feel it’s anything they need to be burdened with right now,” I explained.  “I’ll tell them the who
le truth when the time is right.”

Andrea said nothing in response; she just turned her gaze toward the docks as
some of the crew began to file down the gangplank…her silence made me curious.

  “Do you disagree with my decision?” I asked.

She quickly turned back toward me, doe-eyed.

  “Oh no, of course not,” she
replied.  “It’s actually a smart move in my opinion.”

  “Really?”
I said, somewhat surprised.  “Do you mind explaining?”

  “My father is not a man one would chase after for the fun of it,” she said.  “He’s a monster, a blood-thirsty shark he is, and his men are just like him.  It’s going to be hard enough for your men to defeat the crew of the
Sea Witch
without having to worry about magic and sea monsters too.”

I crossed my arms and leaned my back against the railing next to her.

  “Tell me about your father,” I said.

Andrea
smiled and took a step away from me.

  “What would you like to know?” she asked, turning back to face me. 

  “What makes men fear him so much—I mean…before he got the ring.  After all, he is just a man, same as me,” I replied.

She stared at me for a moment and her eyes suddenly turned cold and deadly serious.

  “My father is no ordinary man,” she said bluntly.

  “
What do you mean?”

  “My father does not feel pain as you and I do.”

I snickered at her, and stood upright off the railing. 

  “
I bloody doubt that,” I argued.  “All men feel pain.”

  “Yes, of course he feels
some
pain, but it’s not the same as you and I,” she sneered.  “Have you ever seen my father?”

  “No, if I had one of us would probably be dead today,” I replied.

  “True…but if you had seen my father you’d know that the entire left side of his body is covered in hideous scars.”

  “I’ve heard he wears a patch over his left eye,” I said.

  “Yes, that is because when he was much younger—before he ever became a captain—a terrible event occurred that molded him into the monster you’ve heard stories about.  He was a young deck hand and already seasoned in the trade of piracy.  The ship he was on was attacked by another pirate ship and a violent battle occurred in which almost all of his crew was killed.  Their ship was destroyed and burned.  He’d been shot and left for dead on board the burning ship.  He told me that when he lost consciousness his body was on fire and he fully expected to wake up in hell.  To his surprise, this did not happen and he instead awoke several days later with almost his entire body wrapped in bandages.  He told me that he’d never endured pain like what he experienced the many weeks and months after he’d awakened.  As time passed, his body began to heal and terrible scars were left on half of his body.  He also lost the sight in his left eye and all feeling and sensation escaped that side of his body as well.  To this day he still feels nothing on the entire left side of his body.  You can bury the steel of your cutlass down to the bone in his left shoulder and he will not flinch.”

I stood there in awe as I listened to Andrea’s story, and I could feel the blood flood away from my face as I was stuck by an epiphany.  Andrea could tell by the look in my eyes that she’d struck a chord.

  “Captain, what’s wrong?” she asked softly.

I shook my head and paced past her as I replayed the events in my head.  She chased after me and I stopped suddenly to face her.

  “That ship that attacked the vessel your father was on…”

  “Yes?”

  “Do you know the name of it?”

I closed my eyes and tensed up as I anticipated her response.

  “No,” she replied.  “I’m sorry, but I do not know the name of the ship.”

I released a sigh of relief and my whole body seemed to relax.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, apparently misinterpreting my body language as an indication of disappointment.

  “No, no—you don’t understand,”
I said.  “It’s nothing to apologize for.”

She suddenly perked up and it seemed she’d suddenly experienced an epiphany of her own.

  “I remember hearing the name of the ship’s captain if that will help,” she offered a tad too cheerfully.

The tension suddenly returned and I felt a headache coming on.

  “What was his name?” I asked reluctantly.

  “Captain Douglas Bloodbane,” she replied.

I suddenly felt weak in the knees, but I kept my composure.  I wasn’t about to let Andrea see me rattled.

  “Have you heard of him?” she asked.

I laughed nervously.

  “Oh yes, I bloody well knew him,” I said.  “
I sailed under the scurvy bastard.”

Andrea’s eyes widened as she began to process what I’d said.  She grabbed me by both shoulders as if she were about to shake me.
 

  “
Well I’ll be blown,” she said in awe.  “You were on the ship that attacked my father, weren’t you?”

  “I was just a
cabin boy and had been pretty much forced into piracy just a few months before it happened,” I began, solemnly.  “The name of the ship was
Dawn Breaker. 
She was a magnificent ship and, at the time, the largest vessel I’d ever seen. 

  I remember scrubbing the floors below deck when I suddenly heard the thunder of a cannon off in the distance.  The next thing I knew, I was on my back—my ears ringing—and covered in splinters.  There was a gaping hole in the starboard side of the hull only a few feet from where I’d been scrubbing.”

  “So Bloodbane was attacked first?” Andrea asked.

  “It certainly seemed that way,” I answered.  “All I know is that Bloodbane’s voice boomed orders from the deck above me and men began scurrying into their battle stations to prepare for a fight to the death.
  I was told to stay out of the way and only assist when asked.  I knelt next to the ragged hole in the side of our ship and got my first glimpse at our attacker.  It was an impressive brigantine with at least ten guns on each side.  She had large, red square-rigged sales on the foremast and white triangular sails on the mainmast.  The ship looked relatively new with it’s freshly painted hull and I can only assume her crew was as young and fresh as she was.”

  “What do you mean?” Andrea asked.

  “I just mean that the crew of that ship seemed inexperienced and fought as if they had no clue as to what they were doing.   They made a ton of mistakes and Captain Bloodbane took advantage of them all. 
Dawn Breaker
was a slightly larger ship—a galleon—and boasted fifteen guns on each side.  Bloodbane veered his ship sharply to eliminate the opportunity for our attacker to get a broadside shot at us again. 
Dawn Breaker
had a heading straight for the port side of the other ship.  If the enemy wanted to take a shot at us now, they’d have to hit us in the bow, a much smaller target.  Captain Bloodbane also had the wind to his advantage and before the other ship knew it, we were in position to unload all fifteen of
Dawn Breaker’s
starboard cannons into the port side of the other ship.”

  “Surely the other ship had time to return fire,”
Andrea assumed. 

  “Aye, they did,” I confirmed. “But as I said, this crew seemed young and green.  They’re timing was off.  We struck first, and most of their gunners must have been killed or injured pretty severely
because I only remember three of their cannon’s returning fire.  To make matters worse, Bloodbane had his men pelt the deck of their ship with grenadoes filled with bits of metal and glass at the same time the cannons fired.  Many of the men on deck were swept off their feet as the explosions sent shrapnel tearing through flesh and bone.

  By t
he time
Dawn Breaker
sailed around for a broadside attack on our enemy’s starboard side, its crew was so flustered and bloody, they were unable to fire a single cannon.  Their ship was turned to kindling by another barrage of cannon fire.”

  “What about my father?” Andrea said abruptly.  “Where was he in all of this?”

I shook my head.

  “I truly don’t know, Andrea,” I replied.  “I remained on the ship with a small group of men while the Captain and the majority of the crew boarded their wounded adversary.  I heard the typical sounds associated with fighting and the screams of death and agony soon followed.  Bloodbane ordered the ship to be set fire and
any survivors were left on the ship to burn.  Even if I’d have caught a glimpse of Trimble, I wouldn’t have known the man from Adam’s housecat.”

Andrea crossed her arms and let out a sigh. 

  “Thank you for telling me that,” she said.