Ill Wind and Dead Reckoning: Caribbean Pirate Adventure (Valkyrie) (25 page)

‘They’ve strung something up over the deck, I can’t make out what it is – it looks like a jumble of rope,’ I reported.

‘Ah, that explains it lass, they’ve put boarding nets up – me shipmates can’t get on deck – but thee can be sure that crew don’t wanna stay trapped under nets on a sinking ship. As soon as she starts listing, they’ll pour out of them hatches like bees out of honeycomb. Thee mark me words, there ain’t nowt worse than being stuck below decks in a ship filling with water.’

‘Yes, here they come!’ I was getting swept up in the excitement of the fight. ‘Oh,
Freedom’s
firing at them!’

‘That’ll be the sharpshooters in the rigging – just a little encouragement for them to de-rig the nets. They’ll only hit the ones with weapons, there’s no point killing anyone we don’t have to.’

I shuddered at the casual way he said this, but was soon distracted again and searched through the glass for Leo. I could see ropes being flung into the rigging where their grapnel hooks had caught fast; more were thrown over the rail and the two ships drew closer together whilst men swung or leapt down across the gap to the smaller vessel, but I still couldn’t see him. The weight of the Freedom Fighters landing on the newly loosened netting brought it all down and they had the deck in seconds.

‘There’s Leo! What’s he doing?’ I handed the glass to Mr Gaunt, unable to watch the captain in danger.

‘He’s going below to flush out captain and rest of crew. There, that smoke’s a grenado – a fire bomb – that’s gone off down the hatch. Leo and a few others’ll follow it.’ Then he looked at me. ‘Don’t worry, lass, he’s a master at fighting close-quarters, he won’t take long.’

‘But why does
he
have to go below at all? Surely it’s the most dangerous place. He’s the captain, why isn’t he safe on
Freedom
telling the others what to do?’

‘
Because
he’s captain, that’s why. The men won’t accept a leader who’ll send them into dangers he wouldn’t face himself, not on a fighting ship. The only place for him to be is in the thick of it, the men respect him for it.’

I snatched the glass back, desperate to see him appear on deck again.

‘There he is! He’s done it, Mr Gaunt, he’s still alive!’

I heard Mr Gaunt laugh at my relief and saw it anew myself. I realized I’d as good as declared love for the pirate captain, but at that moment I didn’t care. I wanted to be over there with him, not stuck in this boat, an onlooker. I realized missed the excitement of a fight, and watching wasn’t enough. I wanted to be in the middle of it. I wanted to hear my blood pound through my body and I wanted to fight
with
my man – not against him.

‘Ha! There! The flag’s down, they’ve done it, they’ve taken her!’

I focused again on the ships and saw my new friends cheering their success – although they’d lose the prize if they didn’t get on with it. She looked low in the water, and smoke poured out of more holes than just the hatches.

‘Can we head back now, Mr Gaunt? If they’re on fire, they’re going to need all the help they can get.’

‘Aye, reckon thee’s right at that, lass. Does thee want to take her in? And show that captain of thine what thee can do?’

‘Aye, aye, Mr Gaunt.’ I smiled, and we changed places again – this time with hardly a wobble.

I chased after the tarry smoke billowing through the hull. Most of the crew had escaped topside, but I knew the captain was down here somewhere; I just didn’t know how many men he still had with him.

I’d been deafened by the cannon fire and could barely see in the dim light, but could tell from the stench that this was another blackbirder, a slaver, mercifully empty today, though still stinking from a recent cargo. That was good – he’d be loaded with the proceeds from the slave marts and I didn’t have the problem of deciding what to do with a cargo of defeated terrified people. My stinging, streaming eyes were useless, I had to go by feel. I knew the captain would head aft to his cabin, they always did, and he had the advantage of familiarity with his ship. He was used to fumbling about below these decks in the dark. My advantage was that I’d done this before. Often. Thomas and Phillippe would go forward to find anyone else moving down here, Rafael and Smith followed me, and I fired my first gun in the general direction of the stern, knowing that none of my men were further aft than I was. I was pleased to note that I could hear it – my ears were coming back to me. I heard shouts and curses and quietly celebrated – I’d hit someone. The captain?

‘You bloodthirsty murdering swine! You’ve killed one of my best men!’

Not the captain then
.

‘How many of my crew have you killed today? Have you no conscience?’

‘That man answers to your own conscience, Captain, not mine. You chose to fight, and he chose to fight with you. And what about
your
scruples? You sail about the Caribbees with a hundred men and women shackled in your holds to sell like beasts to the highest bidder, and you challenge
my
scruples! I should put
you
in irons and to work just as brutally as the people you sold!’

I sidestepped his ball – I knew he’d aim at my voice, but did he have another gun? I coughed, although the smoke was clearing now, and fired my second gun at the flash of his, or at least I tried to – nothing happened. My powder was wet.

I saw him then, outlined in front of a splash of daylight. He’d reached his cabin. I charged forward, my blade drawn and my defective gun held by the stubbornly cold barrel. Instead of using his own weapons he tried to shut the door on my charge, and it was easy enough to club his arm with the butt of my gun. He cried out, as much in rage as pain, and drew his sword with the other. He was a foolish man and a worse captain. He’d sacrificed his crew and his ship for his pride. If he’d carried a short blade or cutlass he could have put up a fight. Instead his long rapier clattered against the deckhead before he got anywhere near me. It was simple enough to disarm him with a quick slice to his swordarm, and he was lucky that was the only injury I inflicted, although he didn’t seem to appreciate it much.

‘You’re nothing but a yellow-livered Spanish mongrel! Anyone can make a profit with flint and steel! What went wrong? Couldn’t you prosper at honourable industry?’

‘Keep your mouth shut and your thoughts to yourself or you’ll discover just how skilled I am at
this
industry!’

I’d had enough of him now. It had promised to be a good fight, but I’d been able to cut
and
disarm him before he’d managed to get his blade anywhere near me. I saw some line on the chart table and used it to secure his wrists, then took him back on deck to show his crew and mine the fight was won.
Freedom
had added another ship’s colours to her tally. Now came the hard bit. The battle was over and the men celebrating, but all I could think of were the captain’s words – how many men
had
been injured? How many had been killed today because of my decisions?

*

I checked the sky first, no problems there; the fresh breeze that had been blowing when I went below was still blowing, and there were no presages of storm in the bright blue above.
Freedom
looked as if she’d come off lightly. There was some work for George to do, but a bit of sail repair was no problem, we could take more sailcloth from the prize. Her hull seemed sound; the Dutch ship’s captain had been no gunmaster and the only damage was high and easy to reach. I shouted over to Frazer aboard
Freedom,
and he confirmed she was still sound below the waterline.

‘Very well, cast off and send the boats over,’ I instructed. I didn’t want to take any chances now; the prize was listing and smoking, I didn’t want
Freedom
made fast to her or even be close in case she blew.

I made my way aft to check on the crew. ‘Did we lose anybody?’ I asked Blackman.

‘No. One of their’s dead, but all of
Freedom’s
fighters are still with us. Phillippe and Smith have nasty cuts, Jack’s lost a finger, and Alonso’s in danger of losing his eye, but everyone else is well. Ease yourself, enjoy your victory.’

I nodded, and allowed myself a smile; I had no one else to add to my conscience, no matter what the captain had said. The man that had died was the responsibility of my opposite number, and my injured would be well compensated. However, my crew wouldn’t be safe until we were off this foundering ship.

‘How many to join us, Blackman?’

‘Three. Butler, Thompson and Greenwoode.’

‘Make them welcome in the usual manner and put the rest in the smallest of the ship’s boats, we’ll be needing the other ones. Captain, lead the way please.’

He glared at me as he held his bloodied arm where my blade had sliced through his flesh, but there was nothing he could do now, and we both knew it. He led his men to the waiting boat.

I looked around the decks whilst Blackman got rid of their remaining crew. I had to get everyone off, but I wasn’t about to leave anything behind after the battle we’d fought to win it.

‘Jean-Claude, get those weapons ready to ferry across to
Freedom
. And Carlos – take Rafael and Lopez and scour the holds. Gold and silver first, then sailcloth and gunpowder, we’re running a bit short. Get on with it, all of you, I want us off this sinking tub and away.’

I headed back to the captain’s cabin; I was sure there’d be gold hidden away in there. I noticed there was less smoke than before and realized the incoming water had put the fires out – good. I knew that meant the gunpowder would most likely be wet, but I’d rather go through the laborious process of drying and remixing it than have it explode with any of my men still aboard. I rifled the cabin quickly and found the logbook. The smell hadn’t lied: the
Adelheid
was a slaver and sailed under van Ecken’s colours. She’d put out of Sayba three months ago with a full load of a hundred slaves, and island-hopped, visiting a string of slave-marts. We’d attacked her on her way back north with the profits. I took the logbook and charts, as well as the small seachest I found, and headed topside again.

Back atop, the decks were clearing. The boarding nets had been bundled up against the windward bulwark and there were small piles of bloody sand on the deck, but the men who had bled there were gone. Evidently the injured had elected to stay with their captain – he must have quite a hold on them, very few merchantmen gave berths to anyone not fully able. If their wounds didn’t heal, I knew they’d be reduced to begging in one of the many sailortowns about the Caribbees. The other boats started back for another load, and I reminded Thomas not to forget the grapnel hooks tangled in the rigging. We were heavy in the water now – too heavy. I jumped down the after-hatch again to hurry everyone up.

‘Just what you can carry, men – and fast. Vamos!
Come on, get a move on! Up, up, up!’

Men rushed past, arms full; there was enough water swirling at their ankles now that they didn’t need the encouragement. I checked to make sure I was alone, then headed back up to safety myself.

We were nearly there; I could see fully laden boats rowing back to
Freedom,
and only three of us were left behind. I looked at the men, then back at the boats. They’d given preference to the safe carriage of plunder over themselves. I smiled, amused, despite my frustration that they prized gold over their lives.

My smile didn’t last long though, sending
Freedom
off had proved a mistake. The Dutch prize hadn’t blown, and
Freedom
was ‘safely’ too far away; the boats wouldn’t make it back for us until we were up to our necks in brine. At least Thomas and Gibson could swim, although neither enjoyed it and both would rather avoid it. Truth be told, I didn’t fancy being turned into flotsam myself.

‘Captain! The pinnace!’

I turned from my study of
Freedom
at Thomas’s shout. I’d almost forgotten about Gabriella. I’d pushed her out of mind during the fight, not wanting her involved in any way, but now she was involving herself, and I watched in amazement as she beat towards us. After only one lesson her tacks were clumsy, but they were effective and I was impressed, as were the two experienced sailors with me. I felt a grin spread over my face as I watched her sail to my rescue.

‘She’ll not get here in time,’ said Gibson. ‘But she’ll beat the longboat at least.’

I nodded, smiling. This was not a woman who wanted to be steered and cosseted through life; this was a woman who wanted to take the helm herself, to be in command of herself. A woman I could admire and who had already found a place in my heart, and I recognized that this was only the beginning. If I tried to rush her she’d run from me as she’d fled from her husband and I resolved to give her the time she needed to throw off the shadows of her old life. She had to decide to come to me of her own accord, and I had to be patient – this was one prize that couldn’t be won by force.

‘What’s she luffing up for?’ Thomas exclaimed as she steered closer to the wind. ‘Can’t she see we’re sinking?’ He waved his arms about over his head to try and signal the urgency of our situation.

I was puzzled too and went for my glass, it wasn’t there. Of course – I’d left it with Gabriella. I cursed and squinted to try and see – it looked like a fourth person was climbing aboard. Fear gripped my heart. I knew that none of my men were in the water. That meant we’d missed one of the Dutchman’s crew.
What would he do with Gabriella, and why had Gaunt not shown more caution?

They sheeted the main in again and moved closer, but not as tidily as before. The sail was shivering slightly, and I didn’t need to see their wake to know it was far from straight. A light flashed, and I knew my fear was justified. Their passenger had drawn a blade.

‘Make your blades handy, but keep them hidden,’ I told my crewmen. ‘He probably wants to look for more survivors. Either that or he’s planning to take us hostage!’ I managed to laugh, but as soon as the words were out of my mouth I realized it wasn’t a joke and Gabriella was already his captive. I knew I’d do whatever I needed to keep her safe.

‘Does anybody have a loaded pistol or dry powder?’

They shook their heads. El infierno, I was out too.

‘Do not let her get hurt.’ I was serious again.

‘There’s four of us, including Gaunt,’ Gibson said. ‘He’s a fool to take us on, does he think we’ll surrender for a couple of women?’

He looked at me and saw the wisdom in shutting his mouth.

‘They do not get hurt,’ I repeated.

‘What do you want us to do then?’