by Kai Meyer
In the courtyard below, the door slammed behind the drunken pirate.
The second man, who’d been standing over in the darkness the entire time, was quiet again—in fact, it was hard to tell whether he was still there. He must have heard the crash of the tile but obviously connected the sound with the broken jug—just as Jolly planned. Her heart raced with relief.
Half the roof still lay ahead of her. Anyway, now she knew for sure that someone was in fact in the courtyard. She hadn’t been able to see him in the band of light that came through the opened door; he must therefore be on her side of the courtyard, directly beneath her. At least then she was also outside his field of vision.
She shivered. She was lucky the tile hadn’t fallen on his head.
Onward!
Even more carefully than before, her hands and feet sought holds on the fragile incline. Somewhere in the distance, in the tangle of streets east of the stone quarter, she could hear the sound of saber blades, wild cries, then a scream. There were peals of laughter, joined by others. Welcome to Port Nassau!
Jolly reached the other end of the slope. Here the roof of the annex met the wall of a building with more floors. It was the upper story of the main house. Somewhere in this part, she guessed, was Kendrick’s room.
A last look into the black chasm, then she pressed firmly against a window. It was bolted from the inside. She pulled her dagger, slipped it into the crack, and effortlessly lifted the latch. Silently the window swung inward.
Jolly slipped inside. When her eyes had adjusted to the pale moonlight coming from the opened window, she found herself in a small sleeping chamber. The bed was dirty and tousled; pieces of clothing lay on the floor everywhere. A small, ironbound chest stood next to the spotty washstand; the chest was secured by a chain to one of the roof beams. Two padlocks were supposed to keep someone from tampering with the pirates’ hoard. Jolly surmised that this room belonged to one of Kendrick’s close confidants.
The only door had no lock and could be opened easily. Through a crack Jolly looked out into a narrow passageway. There was no one to be seen.
She whisked out, pulled the door closed behind her, and listened. Down below there were steps on the staircase and the voices of a man and a woman. They were both coming nearer.
Jolly gasped, ran to the end of the passageway, and tried another door. She looked into a large room dominated by a four-poster bed with a silk canopy, decorated with a coat of arms in gold and silver. It probably came from the ship of a Spanish or English nobleman. Countless trunks, caskets, and chests stood all around the room, whose floor was covered with several layers of Oriental carpets. There were half a dozen candelabra, besides some wardrobes, some so full of expensive stuffs and articles of clothing that their doors would no longer shut.
Jolly wondered what the pirate emperor wanted with all this stuff. He could have gotten a pretty pile of gold for it from the traders out in the tent city at the edge of Port Nassau. But he probably had more than enough gold anyway. Furthermore, Kendrick was known for being a fashion-conscious peacock who placed great value on fine clothing, cleanliness, and an attractive appearance—in utter contrast to his wild followers. There were persistent rumors that he’d colored his hair black, although by nature it’d been fiery red.
She had no time to look around more carefully for the clattering steps and voices were coming nearer. At any moment they’d reach the upper landing.
Softly she closed the door behind her, ran to the window, and looked out. With a daring leap and some luck, she could reach one of the annex roofs—however, it would be in direct view of the courtyard guard. An unseen flight would not be possible this way.
The voices approached, a rough male one and the softer one of a young woman.
Jolly had hardly any time left to hunt for a hiding place. She quickly ran to one of the wardrobes and pushed inside, straight back into the soft, musty warmth of a silken mountain of clothing, A breathtaking, odorous mixture of eau de toilette, male sweat, and damp fabric enveloped her. She fought to turn around and, with the dagger in her hand, she pulled the door closed to a crack. From here she could look straight at the bed. Now she only had to wait for the right moment.
The door to the room flew open and struck the wall,
“And if the Spaniards really do attack?” asked the woman, who was the first to enter Jolly’s line of sight. She must have been in her early twenties and was very slender and pretty as a picture, even if she was too garishly made up. Long, dark red hair fell smooth over her shoulders. The dress she was wearing seemed to consist mainly of ribbons and thin strips of material and showed far more skin than it hid.
There were whores like this by the hundreds in New Providence, women who engaged in emptying pirates’ purses with utmost artfulness and whole-body attack. Jolly hadn’t much use for them, but also she didn’t look down on them—like all the outlaws of the Caribbean, they worked hard for their living.
The girl sank down onto the edge of the bed with a feigned sigh.
“The Spaniards?” Kendrick made a scornful sound and now appeared directly in front of Jolly’s door crack. “They haven’t a chance of getting close enough to the island. I have men posted everywhere on the mountains keeping a lookout for an armada. As soon as more than three ships together approach, they give the alarm.”
Kendrick was big and powerful and was wearing a richly embroidered frock coat, knee breeches with gold threads, and boots polished to a mirror shine. His curly hair was long and a little disheveled. One golden earring dangled from his left ear; the right ear was missing—it had been shot off in a duel, and only a scar remained, which in his vanity he usually covered with his abundant locks. But now Jolly could clearly see the rose-colored remains of the ear pinna.
“You have great trust in your men,” said the young woman, and she stretched, “Aren’t you worried they can be bribed by the Spaniards?”
“My people are men of honor” Kendrick removed his frock coat and slung it over a trunk, “I can depend on every single one of them … like a brother.”
For the first time Jolly noticed that Kendrick’s voice wavered. He was drunk, although it was said that he hardly touched alcohol—unusual for a pirate. His movements were erratic, his step uncertain,
“Don’t you feel well?” purred the girl, baring her knees as if casually.
Good Lord, not that, too. Jolly thought. Do I really have to watch? That’s really revolting.
Kendrick approached the bed with a crooked grin. “Only a little … dizzy, I wonder why, I didn’t drink any rum.” He stopped for a minute before he planted himself straddlelegged in front of the girl, “If I didn’t know better, I’d bet someone had mixed something into my food,”
The young woman raised her eyebrows, “Who would dare do something like that?”
The pirate emperor laughed maliciously, “Hah, not one single one! Their hearts all drop to their boots if I so much as look at them crosswise, those cowards.”
“No wonder, with such big, strong muscles.”
Jolly rolled her eyes.
Kendrick grinned. “Come, pull off my boots.”
He set one foot on the edge of the bed beside the girl. She looked at it for a moment as if hesitating, then grabbed the boot and tried to pull it off.
Kendrick kept laughing, but then he suddenly lost his balance and promptly clattered onto his backside. Dazed, he remained sitting on the floor.
Now! thought Jolly.
She pushed open the wardrobe door, sprang at Kendrick from behind, and pressed her dagger blade against his throat.
“Be quiet!” She sent a threatening look toward the young woman on the bed. “Not a peep and nothing will happen to you.”
She was aware how crazy this situation was: a fourteenyear-old girl threatening the emperor of the Caribbean pirates and at the same time trying to hold a grown woman in check.
Kendrick tried to spring up, but Jolly brought the knife blade ever tighter against h
is throat until his resistance flagged.
“Who are you?” asked the pirate. “Do I know you?”
“Jolly,” she said. “We’ve met a few times. I belong to Bannon’s crew.”
“Jolly … of course. The little polliwog. Damn it, girl, stop this nonsense or I’ll throw you to my dogs.”
“To the ones with four legs or two?”
“What do you want?”
“Only for you to take the wax out of your ears’oh, well, the one ear, anyway.” That slipped out before she could stop it. She hadn’t come to make fun of Kendrick.
The young woman sat on the edge of the bed and didn’t move. She didn’t act the least bit frightened, more astonished.
“I’d let you go,” Jolly said to her, “if I were sure you wouldn’t alarm the entire pigpen downstairs right away.”
A smile stole across the woman’s face. She really was stunningly beautiful, in spite of the small scar that ran down her left cheek. But then her expression suddenly turned serious, almost angry. Still she kept silent, listened, and watched.
“Take the damned knife away!” said Kendrick. “I’ll have you strung up on the highest gallows in the city. I’ll singlehandedly skin you and feed you to the animals. Your innards will—”
“Yes, yes, yes,” said Jolly, but secretly she shuddered. “Let’s get down to business.”
“What business?”
“I need your help.”
“And are you sure this is the best way to get it?” He sounded clearer now, as if the shock had diminished his stupefaction.
“Your life for your help, Kendrick. That’s the deal. I want your word.” She wasn’t sure if Kendrick’s word of honor was worth a tinker’s damn, but she had to begin somehow. “Do you know what happened to Bannon?”
“The Maddy sank,” he said. “Everyone’s talking about it. The Spanish killed him and his crew or took them prisoner, no one knows precisely. Why weren’t you with him?”
“Those weren’t any Spaniards,” said Jolly, without answering his question. “You’re powerful enough to find out the truth. You have ships you can send to look for Bannon.”
He laughed grimly. “You’re asking that of me? That I have Bannon searched for?”
“That’s why I’m here.”
“You could have spared yourself the trouble, girl. No one found any wreckage or bodies.”
Jolly remembered the poison spiders, but she threw the thought away again immediately. She mustn’t weaken now. After all, Kendrick himself had said it—no one had found the bodies.
“Then look for proof.”
“I’ll be damned if I will.”
The blade bit into his skin. A drop of blood beaded on the steel. But Kendrick tried once again to shake Jolly off—in vain.
“Good God,” sighed the young woman suddenly. “Shall I show you how to do that right?” She balled her right hand into a fist, looked at the white knuckles for a moment—then sprang like lightning and hit Kendrick in the face with all her might.
She grinned when Kendrick collapsed with a groan. “That’s how its done!” Blood poured out of his broken nose. She twisted her face and imitated Jolly’s voice: “Lets get down to business…. I need your help….” She laughed scornfully. “God in heaven! That’s what this toad understands!” And with that, she hauled off and kicked the pirate emperor between the legs. Kendrick gasped, blanched, and almost lost consciousness.
Jolly looked at the young woman, dumbfounded. “You’re no ordinary whore, are you?”
“Hmm, apparently my disguise wasn’t as perfect as I thought.” Full of loathing, she looked down at Kendrick. “In any case, it was good enough for this scum. I guess you can put your knife away now. He won’t defend himself so quickly anymore.”
“Hey, this is my affair! I decide what happens.”
“It was mine until you turned up.”
“And what do you want from him?”
The woman waved her away. “Certainly not his help.” She was about to hit him again, but Jolly cried, “Wait! If he’s unconscious he’s of no use to me.”
“What do I care? I want to see the swine die for what he did to my father. If you hadn’t gotten in the way—” She broke off, looked around, and grabbed a saber out of an open trunk. “It would be best if you disappeared now. This isn’t for children.”
Jolly clenched her fist around the dagger. “How about you disappearing? Without Kendrick I can’t wait a minute … your father, did you say?”
“Scarab. The true emperor of the pirates—who this bastard here murdered.”
“You’re Scarab’s daughter?” Jolly considered briefly, then remembered her name: “Soledad?”
The young woman nodded, but she didn’t for a moment take her hate-filled gaze from the semiconscious Kendrick. “I planned this for months. It wasn’t any child’s game to get through to him. The innkeeper down there is devilishly choosy when it comes to the girls he hires on!”
Jolly wrinkled her nose. “I climbed through a window—that works too!”
Soledad stared at her angrily. “Not through one of the windows on the courtyard?”
“Why not?”
“Nice going! How long have you been in here?” Soledad leaped over Kendrick, tore open the door to the passageway, and listened outside. “Well done! Absolutely magnificent! They’re already on the way!”
In fact, there was now the sound of many boots on the stairs, a noisy swirl of thundering steps, calls, and clinking steel.
Soledad slammed the door and shoved a trunk in front of it. “All the windows are secured with strings. If one is opened, it rings a bell in the kitchen. Kendrick’s idea. If someone breaks in, he only knows he’s been detected when he’s already surrounded. You’re lucky they’re all drunk and stupid or they’d have had you long ago.”
Jolly felt the blood rush into her face. “I couldn’t know that.”
“Do you think I put this rubbish on for fun?” Soledad indicated the wanton dress. “I spent weeks hanging around here in order to know such things. It’s not as simple as you think to dupe Kendrick.”
“Right,” groaned the pirate emperor, who was gradually regaining consciousness. Jolly’s dagger was immediately back at his throat. “You’re done for,” he said, “both of you.”
Soledad grinned mockingly at him. “What do you suggest? That we give up?”
“No,” he said, unmoved. “You’ll die one way or the other”
The pirate princess snorted scornfully, then began reinforcing the barricade in front of the door. With strength that Jolly wouldn’t have expected from her slender body, she put a second trunk on top of the first. Then she started to shift a commode.
Suddenly Kendrick’s fist shot upward. The blow was aimed at Jolly’s chin, despite the knife blade—perhaps he thought she wouldn’t stab him anyway. But Jolly wasn’t so easy to outwit. She ducked swiftly, and the blow missed by a hairsbreadth. Instinctively, her own hand shot forward, curled into Kendrick’s hair, and snatched his head back. He cried out. His throat now lay bared before her. She could have used the dagger as any other pirate would have, but she hesitated.
Kendrick was her only chance. If anyone could find out something about the trap that had been set for Bannon, it would be the pirate emperor.
“You owe me something. I just saved your life,” she whispered.
“Pah!” was all he said.
“You heard her just now.” Jolly pointed to Soledad. “She was going to kill you tonight, if I hadn’t gotten in the way.”
Soledad’s eyes blazed. “Don’t count on it, little one. I’m not finished with him yet.”
Jolly paid no attention to her. Her gaze bored into Kendrick’s brown eyes. “I did save you from her, didn’t I?”
“No,” he said coolly. “My men are going to do that now.”
Something cracked loudly against the door. Outside in the passageway there was high excitement. Numerous voices bellowed back and forth, boots thumped on the attic
floor. Then a shot cracked and the barrier trembled. The bullet must have remained stuck in one of the trunks or in the commode.
“How long do you think you can hold them off?” Kendrick grinned triumphantly. “You’re already dead.”
Soledad raised her saber and leaped toward her father’s murderer. “You first!”
Once more Jolly leaped in. Sparks showered when she parried Soledad’s saber blow with the dagger, only a few inches away from Kendrick’s chest.
The man froze, as a silent battle of strength blazed over him. Jolly held as well as she could, but gradually Soledad succeeded in pressing the knife lower and lower with her saber.
“Stop it!” Jolly got out with difficulty. “He’s of no use to us if he’s dead.”
“He’s useful to me that way or not at all.” The pressure of her blade did not slacken. Soledad’s eyes spit poison. “I want to see him die.”
Jolly’s left foot shot forward and kicked the pirate princess in the knee with all her might. Soledad screamed in surprise, then fell to her knees.
“You dumb little weasel!”
“We have to get out of here! And I know how, too.”
“Oh, yes?”
“But it will only work if he stays alive.”
“Funny—I don’t think.”
Jolly sighed “You have to help me.”
Soledad held her painful knee. “First him, now me—can’t you do anything on your own?” She didn’t wait for an answer but stood up again and glanced toward the door, which was now trembling under rhythmic blows. The pirates outside were ramming something against it. It was only because of the narrowness of the corridor that they hadn’t already overcome the barrier: More than two men couldn’t get at the door at once.
Jolly aimed the dagger at Kendrick. He was still white in the face, but he tried to get up. “You lie there!” she ordered him. “Soledad, we have to tie him up. But he has to remain conscious.”
An impatient pirate fired at the door again. This time the ball went through the back wall of the commode, whistled past Soledad, and smashed a carafe beside Kendrick’s four-poster bed.
