AMBER WAKE: Gabriel Falling (The Razor's Adventures Pirate Tales)

by P. S. Bartlett

  Back aboard the Assurance, I was in my own clothes, in my own cabin, and thanking God under my breath for allowing me to see the coming dawn. Miles had joined me to go over our plans and as each moment passed, the energy in my body returned and with it, the world sped up to catch me.

  “What’s the plan, Gabriel?”

  “With the Admiral aboard the Stegman, we know she’ll not surrender without a fight.”

  “No chance at all.” Miles nodded.

  “It’s a war,” I said, slamming my palms down on my desk and raising my head to meet the concerned gaze of my friend. “At last, he’ll see at close range the monsters he makes of men.”

  I paused, standing erect and then paced about the cabin. “Chain-shot her rigging and in the panic, grapeshot anything that moves.”

  Miles stared at me. “Gabriel, are you certain this is the course you wish or are you speaking from rage?”

  My voice increased in volume and strength. “The Gabriel’s Wing will be doing the same to the Lancaster. If Gimby can take care of her rigging, then he joins us against the Stegman. If not, he continues to fire on the Lancaster until she’s useless.” I stopped pacing and turned to Miles, now at a safe distance from striking him. “Of course it’s rage! Rage brought us here, man! Rage has kept all our necks from breaking at the end of a rope and you, my friend, you…” I shouted, pointing into his face. “You shall ride on my back no longer! Give me your loyalty and I’ll give you your freedom from doubt!”

  Miles drew in a deep breath and began to laugh. “My friend! Ye shall have a fight the likes of which shall go down as legend from sea to ocean to river and bay! Let us ready the crew. It’s going to be a long day!”

  Twenty-Seven

  “Beat to quarters men!” I shouted as I raced to the helm at the first sign of light.

  “We have the Stegman in sight, sir,” Clarke said as he stood at the helm, staring over the sea that was glowing in the pre-dawn sunrise. He was no Gimby but he could do the job or Gimby would have never let him touch the wheel.

  “What’s the Buckingham’s position?” I shouted to the man in the nest.

  “She’s drifted out at what appears to be fifty or so yards, sir but here comes the sun!”

  I turned my attention back to our immediate mission and peered through one squinting eye at the great bounty I’d longed not to behold but to destroy. There she sat like some untouchable golden goose in the expanding dawn, awaiting me to pluck her feathers and clip her wings. Soon, I’d have my belly filled with satisfaction and my thirst quenched, as the sea licked clean her bones.

  “Cap’n?” Clarke’s voiced pulled me from my daydream feast.

  “Be ready, Mister Clarke. When it hits her that she’s under attack and the firing begins, your duty will be to keep us away from her guns.”

  “Aye, sir. Mister Gimby schooled me well.”

  “Good. Make our first pass around her stern and keep going and listen for my orders.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “Ready, Mister Jacobs?”

  “Give me until the count of ten to get below. May God have mercy on us all…and them.”

  I nodded. “Gimby awaits your first volley.” My eyes remained fixed on Miles until he disappeared from my sight.

  Just as the sun broke the horizon, the air crackled with shards of heat. Beams of light cut through the sails of the Stegman, waking her. She rose from her slumber as if she hadn’t a care in the world. Seconds later, my hands flew to my ears as her sleepy eyes blew open with the hot, whizzing sounds of chain shot tearing away her bedsheets and blankets. I jerked the spyglass to my eye. My sight met the sounds that were slowly reaching my ears from across the water, as the wind carried us out of the smoke. Wood shattering, men screaming and the sound of great guns rolling over the main deck came next, as Miles bellowed, “Hold, men!”

  My world fell quiet.

  “Two, four, six…fire!”

  Grapeshot flew as we came around her starboard side. Clarke was surpassing my expectations and keeping us on our circumference of our prey as if we were gliding on ice. Again, I pulled the glass to my eye. Men were scrambling to take cover but it was already too late. They blew backwards to their deaths upon impact, as the Stegman was pelted by raining iron. I turned away and raced to assess the Lancaster and what damage Gabriel’s Wing was inflicting upon her.

  “Fire!” Miles roared again as another round of grapeshot sprayed the decks of the Stegman, sending screams and more shattering wood over the water towards my aching ears.

  I heard Gabriel’s Wing’s great guns in the distance and watched as the Lancaster’s masts fell with a loud crack. As she rounded the frigate, another round of shot blasted forth from her guns. I pulled my glass and watched as a large section of her stern just above the water line exploded into the air and the sea began to rush in. Gimby had fired the death shot. Something led him to end them this way, as I had distinctly told him not to sink her unless he had no other choice. I watched as what was left of her crew scrambled to lower the longboats and fought desperately to save themselves, as Gabriel’s Wing pulled off, headed our way.

  A loud bang from across the water brought my attention back to where I stood. A round from the Stegman broke the water just short of our hull. “She’s awake, Cap’n,” Clarke said, as ten-pound shot struck us astern, shattering the poop deck gunnels, giving us a hearty shake.

  “Get us out of range until we pass her portside, Mister Clarke! Mister Jacobs!” I shouted, calling out to Miles. “Finish it…now!”

  Clarke pulled us away until we passed her portside and then, as if he was born to take the wheel, he brought us around her bow like a sling shot, giving Miles the distance he needed to complete his bashing of her from nose to tail. He’d finish her by raking her from the bow.

  Another round of chain-shot tore into her foremast sails and took off part of the top-mast, followed by a second volley as we rounded her bow and came about her starboard.

  She returned fire from her rolling guns on the main deck, making a valiant effort, yet at our speed, her shots flew over our heads and only took out the spanker. Mister Clarke skillfully brought us out of range as we swung around, heading again for her stern.

  I heard Miles call for his gunners to fire as we crossed behind her, unloading a volley of round-shot through the hull of the Stegman, beneath the officer’s quarters, as we sailed around her. Unfortunately, she was ready for our next pass and released a round that found its mark, shattering our port gunnels on the main deck and taking several of our men with them.

  “I’m pulling her out of range, Cap’n.” Clarke’s words came just as I turned to order him to get us away from those guns.

  A loud blast came from behind me, causing me to duck for cover. When I raised my head and uncovered my ears, I saw a hole open up in the starboard side of the Stegman, sending wood, bits of men and smoke into the air. Gabriel’s Wing had joined in the fight.

  “She’s turning, sir!” Clarke shouted.

  We’d done our worst and she still sailed. Somehow, she’d managed to raise what canvas she had left, as her men clambered up the lines like spiders in a web to get her away. I ran to the gangway and down the passage and shouted, “Mister Jacobs, when we come around again broadside, unload on that beast with everything we’ve got!”

  “Aye! You heard the Captain! Get those guns loaded, men! More powder! Show me the biggest balls we got and I don’t just mean the iron ones, lads!”

  I ran back up to the deck through the thickening smoke, coughing and choking until I fell to my knees and crawled to reach the quarterdeck. At that height, I was able to appraise the actions of Gabriel’s Wing. Gimby was firing volley after volley, tearing the bloody hell out of Stegman’s remaining sails before they could catch the wind, taking every man the eye could see with them.

  Our repeated circling of our prey had caused a wake to form, rocking and jostling the Stegman, leaving the men on her swivel guns to fire aimlessly, barely striking
our sides. I ducked and scrambled back to the helm, as I knew Gimby’s course would soon bring him into range of her rear-port guns. Even if only for a moment, they could inflict massive damage at that angle.

  “Clarke, get us in firing range as quickly as possible…before they strike Gabriel’s Wing!”

  “Almost there, sir!”

  “Emerson! Get below and give Mister Jacobs my order to blow that hull to hell! Clarke! You’re coming in too close on the turn, man! We need more breathing room!”

  “Aye, Cap’n; she’s caught in the wake! I’m doing me best, sir!”

  Just then, we passed her at no more than twenty yards. There he was. The source of my every-frayed edge and the core of all of the carnage surrounding him—Chambers himself, in all his bloated, pompous glory. Something cocky and prideful swelled up in me. I removed my hat and swung it across my body with a bow, meeting his scowl as we crossed paths across the water.

  “Is that him? Is that the Admiral?” Adam asked. I gasped and turned to find Adam at my side.

  “Get below!” I screamed above the continuous cannon blasts and gunfire.

  “There’s nowhere safe, sir! The blast we took astern was too close, so I ran!”

  “Get over there behind those barrels! I won’t have you getting your head blown off!”

  The Assurance fired as I’d ordered and the Stegman answered in kind but her rounds went wide. Her last several shots had no aim, as if she were desperately just firing at will in hopes of hitting something. Her next shot, however, landed dangerously close to Gabriel’s Wing’s hull, sending a spray over her side and onto the deck.

  “Come on, Miles,” I growled aloud to myself. As if he’d heard me, he opened the doors of hell and unleashed a volley of rounds that slammed through what remained of the Stegman’s starboard side. The only thing saving us all from choking to death on the smoke was our continuous movement in the water but even so, there wasn’t enough wind on the open sea to clear the air.

  The ship fell silent as we waited for our own breeze to take the smoke. Then, I heard it; a loud crunching and then the snapping and popping sound of breaking lines. It seemed an eternity that we waited, covering our noses and mouths and waving our arms about trying to see. We didn’t need to see after all, once we heard the creaking moan and the screams of those scrambling to move out of the way. It was the unmistakable sound of a main mast crashing to the deck.

  At last, as we passed her bow, we saw it. The Stegman was beginning to list, yet a lone shot fired from her deck.

  “Captain!” I heard Adam’s voice. I looked and he was pointing skyward. He stood, frozen, as the ball arced through the air. I dove from where I stood, hitting the boy and driving him backwards onto the deck as the hot ball of lead struck the boards no more than a foot away, sending splintering wood in every direction as I shielded him.

  “Gabriel!” Miles was by my side before I could stand.

  “Back to your station, Mister Jacobs,” I groaned, climbing to my feet, while Emerson assisted Adam to his. “I want that ship turned to kindling if she does not surrender. Clarke! Take us alongside. Prepare for boarding, men.” The blood coursed so hard through my body, I could feel it passing through every vein as it travelled to and from my pounding heart. It was also leaving a trail from my bottom lip down my chin.

  “Sir, you’re bleeding,” Adam said, handing me his filthy handkerchief.

  “You’re still alive.” No sooner had the words left my mouth than I fell to my knees and then to the deck, as the waves of pain went through my skull.

  “Let me at least get you some water!”

  “Help me up and get my tricorn. That’s an order, Adam.”

  Once getting me back on my feet and leaning me against the gunnel, he raced across the deck to retrieve my hat. The Assurance was almost in position for boarding.

  “Sir, don’t go,” he said, placing my hat in my hands.

  “Adam,” I said, patting him on the shoulder. “Need I remind you, I always come back?”

  I turned and glanced up at our still-standing masts. The black flag waved in the smoky air.

  Twenty-Eight

  “Admiral, hold or die,” I stated as Admiral Chambers looked into the barrel of my pistol.

  “You’re a disgrace.” He scowled, looking me up and down.

  My big right fist landed squarely on his nose, breaking it before he fell backwards into a deep sleep. I turned to my left and addressed his remaining officers and found my old friend, Jonathan Antone. I felt nothing. “Do you wish to join your Admiral in slumber or would you rather be locked away until we’re finished?”

  Miles was at my side and looked over at me, restraining a smile. “Allow me to manage this for you, sir. Emerson, gather some men and get the Admiral and the rest of this lot secured below. And round up the rest of the survivors before your Captain does it himself.”

  Once all were secure, Miles and I began our journey into the hold of the ship. Mitton was the first one down the cavernous hole.

  “Shit! Cap’n, stop!” he cried out just before he fell dead at my feet. Another shot quickly followed from my side as Ryan raised his weapon and fired, killing the shooter.

  “Damn it to hell! Come out now and save yourself!” I called down. “Drop your weapons and surrender or I assure you, I will kill you with my bare hands!”

  One by one, we heard the clunks and thuds of weapons hitting the floor. Out of the darkness emerged five terrified and filthy faces, as Ryan reloaded his musket. “This nice fellow will escort you to the deck. Try anything, anything, and he has my orders to blow your brains out.”

  Lighting a lantern, I turned to Miles and lead the way through the hold. It was stocked from floor to ceiling with crates, bursting at the seams. I swallowed hard and began pulling the lids off them in a frenzy, exposing the treasures within. The amount of gold and jewels in the hold of the Stegman was almost sickening. I sank my hand into one and pulled out long strands of pearls, gold chains and loose stones in every color of the rainbow.

  “I wasn’t expecting this much,” Miles said.

  I slammed the handful of misbegotten loot back into the crate and said, “Divide it up as we agreed earlier. I don’t approve of any amount, but I agreed to your division and I have no desire to argue about it any longer. I want us away from here as quickly as possible.”

  I lifted Mitton’s lifeless body from the floor and carried him over my shoulder as we climbed out of the hold.

  “Mister Ryan,” I said.

  “Sir,” the marine replied, visibly shaken by the sight of his deceased friend.

  “Have as many guns and as much powder and ammunition as can be carried, moved from the Stegman to the Gabriel’s Wing.”

  “Yes, sir. And Mitton?”

  I laid the man’s body carefully down on the deck. “His murderer is dead. Have two men move his body to the Assurance for burial tonight. I’m sorry, Ryan. I know he was your friend.”

  A roar came from captain’s quarters below the quarterdeck. Emerson and another large sailor stood guard at the door.

  “That’s the Admiral,” Emerson said, thumbing towards the door.

  “Open it.”

  “Sir, they’re all in there.”

  I was in no mood for his concerns for my safety. The other man unlocked the door and they both quickly aimed their muskets into the room.

  The Chambers of Hell bled.

  The cabin of the Admiral was in shadows but for the gaping hole in the starboard bulkhead.

  “You traitorous bastard!” Admiral Chambers grasped the edges of a desk. His arms shook with anger.

  “Me? You are the one working against the Crown.” The lieutenants surrounding the Admiral glanced with caution at their leader.

  “Boy, my business does not concern you!”

  I stood in quiet satisfaction, watching the blood dribbling over his lips and down his chin. His arrogance was still intact in his belief he would remain the Admiral, regardless of the day�
�s events. The glance from the officers was enough to tell me their true thoughts.

  “Did it make you feel powerful when you beat an innocent boy and burned my family home?” I asked with quiet menace. “Did you think me a fool who’d simply run off like a kicked mutt with my tail between my legs?”

  “No, I’d hoped you’d be dead by now. You can imagine my disappointment when you and that mongrel brother of yours weren’t found charred in the rubble.”

  “Gabriel Wallace died when he realized his dream of someday being an Admiral himself was a farce and that he’d have to get on his knees and tow your line. That wasn’t something he was willing to do. So, I suppose you did kill him after all. However, before he died, he was quite busy in London while he awaited his court-martial.”

  “I don’t give a damn what you were—”

  “He was asking questions. He was visiting old friends of his father.” Chambers became quiet. “Do you remember his father, Chambers?”

  He stood, glaring at me in silent indignation and seething with anger. “Must I endure this dramatic exploration of some transition of identity you’re portraying? Why don’t you just kill me and get it over with?”

  “My father’s friends are mine as well. Although I rarely made it to the sessions, I was still kept abreast of things and I maintained a good relationship with them. After all, I needed to know how to vote.” The mere mention of my father, whom I hadn’t given thought to over the past several months, brought me a sense of calm and resolve.

  “As I learned more and more,” I continued, “I realized that I was put in your courtroom for a reason. I was then set upon this path for a purpose.”

  “You are insane, Wallace. Your father was a buffoon, as are you. He was merely humored out of pity after you…”

  Before anyone could react, I tossed his desk and snatched him by his throat, forcing him into his chair. The lieutenants stared wide-eyed and too stunned to move. My hand loosened and I stepped away when he choked and his filthy mug turned red.