Anne and the senior officers did their best to quell the squall of voices and calm the pirates, but theirs was also a futile endeavour. Anne and William attempted to reason with some, but it devolved into arguing. Pukuh took a more direct, forceful approach, but one against a mob did not work. Jack's and Herbert's soft-spoken natures were easily overpowered. Alexandre and Victor stood watching, merely observing the chaos.
Edward glanced back and forth at his crew descending into madness, and he'd had his fill. "Enough!" he roared, slamming his fist into the beam and shaking the ark to its core. In a matter of seconds, all eyes were on the captain. "If we die, we die with dignity." Edward stared his men in the eye, then sat down, facing the fire pits.
As Edward's men watched him sit, their hands, held high in defiance, lowered as well. They still had no hope, but they had regained their pride. The crew did not want to bring shame to their captain's name, nor disappoint the one who had given them Freedom. The crew gradually joined Edward in sitting.
Anne regarded the men who, so affected by their captain's simple resolve, changed their outlook completely. She joined Edward at the front of the crew.
Anne leaned over to Edward. "How is your hand?" she asked, peering down at the reddish hue forming on the side of his right palm where he'd hit the support beam.
"My hand is fine," Edward replied, pulling his hand close to his chest. Anne took it and wrapped it around hers.
Edward gazed into Anne's eyes, and she into his. Those green eyes of hers captured him as they always did, and, before Edward knew it, he was far away from the ark, and from the impending doom. Edward became lost in Anne's eyes, and she in his.
"I love you, Anne."
Anne smirked. "I know." Edward pushed her playfully. "I love you too, Edward."
The pit reached its destination. The flames grew and filled the alcove with light. In mere seconds the front of the ark was on fire. After overtaking the black pitch the inferno crawled across the floorboards and set the walls ablaze. Smoke filled the room, covering the glass panels of the ceiling. The wood cracked and let out a howl as moisture turned to steam and escaped. The heat intensified as the fire spread, feeding on the wood and air.
The heat and smoke seemed to rob the moisture from the surroundings, and some of the crew began coughing. Edward's throat was scratchy as well, as if he was swallowing ash.
Edward's ears heard all the sounds of the spreading fire, but one sound was missing now. Edward's head spun around to the back of the ship. The moving maze Christina and Nassir entered had stopped after near continuous movement the past hour. Edward glanced at the left corner, and noticed, despite all odds, the maze entrance back in its original position.
"Edward!" a voice sounded from inside the maze.
Edward stood, his brows furrowed. Christina ran out of the maze, followed by Nassir. She was holding something in the palm of her hand.
It cannot be. Edward's eyes opened wide in astonishment.
Christina ran, pushing through the crowd, towards Edward. She now held the object she had found outstretched above her head.
Edward moved back after recovering from his shock. "Hand it to Anne, quickly!" he yelled over the raging fire.
Christina shifted and jumped in front of Anne, shoving a piece of paper into her hands. Anne examined the paper, and soon her expression changed to awe.
"It is a list of years next to the names of animals," Anne said, as she worked everything out in her head. "Everyone on your feet! Lift those statues!"
The crew jumped to the closest statues not already assigned to animals, picking them up of the ground. Anne yelled out directions to each group, pointing as she did. In less than a minute the statues were set.
Edward couldn't hear another click, but he felt a rumbling below his feet. This time the rumbling moved to the back of the ark, towards the maze.
The maze cubes shifted of their own accord, rapidly moving the insides around to another configuration. Edward watched as the entrance moved from one end to the other, then stopped. The back of the ark stopped moving completely.
"Move!" Edward yelled, pointing to the entrance to the maze, or what could be the ship's exit, and their only hope, now.
Edward ran to the entrance, but didn't enter. He stood at the side, watching as his crew entered. Edward yelled for the men to hurry as he spurred them along with a hand on their backs.
When the crew were gone, Edward took one last glimpse at the ark. The roof collapsed at the front, sending wooden planks crashing down. Flames reached the support beam and started climbing.
Edward entered the maze, running through the tunnel. Anne waited at the back, and when she saw him she started off again to the left. Edward turned the corner and saw stairs heading up for the length of two of the ten-foot squares. After Edward climbed the stairs, he flew down another hallway, and around another left turn at the end. The process was repeated around the perimeter of the maze and up.
A deafening crack resounded throughout the ark, stopping Edward in his tracks. In front of him was another set of stairs, but before he could climb, one of the support beams crashed through the nearby wall. The flaming beam broke the wood to splinters with thunder and screeching. It eventually settled in front of the stairs, blocking the way.
Anne appeared in the right corner at the top, the only spot left open in the wake of the beam. "Edward! Are you unharmed?"
"I'm fine, but soon I won't be," Edward replied, eyeing the hellfire through the hole made by the beam. The fire had nearly overtaken the whole ark, and the ship was quickly falling apart.
Anne tried to push herself through the small hole to join Edward, but even her slender body could not fit. Edward moved to the left side, but there wasn't any room to squeeze through either.
"Hang on Edward, I'll be right back." Anne called over some of the crew. "Now lift!" she commanded. "Edward, get ready. We'll attempt lifting the beam to let you through."
Edward positioned himself at the top of the stairs in front of the left side of the beam. He grabbed the side and lifted with all his might to help, but the beam didn't seem to move at all. Edward's body was still healing and weaker than normal.
"We need more bodies. Move in as best you can," Edward could hear Anne say.
Edward lay down on a step and planted his feet into the small opening as best he could. He could hear Anne yell "lift!" and he pushed his feet in tandem with his brothers. After a few seconds of no movement, Anne called for rest, then counted down from three.
"Three."
I will not die here.
"Two."
I'm not done yet.
"One."
"I won't let you win, you hear me you bastard?" Edward yelled.
"Lift!" Anne shouted.
Edward bellowed with rage, pushing the beam with all the strength in him. The pillar inched forward. Edward pushed with his back, the movement of the massive beam feeding him with strength. The pillar moved foot by foot, and with the extra room more people joined in lifting it to save their captain.
"Now, Edward!" Anne yelled.
Edward released his feet from the beam and crawled over to safety. When he was on the other side, the crew dropped the pillar and it fell with a thunderous boom as it smashed through more of the ark.
Anne grabbed Edward's hand and pulled him up. "Move!" Edward commanded between ragged breaths. "And thank you." Edward's afterthought compliment drew more than a few chuckles.
Edward, Anne, and the crew ran through the small hallway, then to another left turn, and up a longer flight of stairs. At the top was an opening to the outside.
Edward emerged from the ark to the bright sun and tropical wind. After his eyes adjusted to the new scenery, he could only see half his crew. He noticed the men descending off the side on rope ladders.
Edward guided the remaining crew to move ahead of himself. The crew swiftly descended the ladders while the fire moved closer like a tiger stalking prey. Edward gazed at the front of the ark,
the flames changing it into what could have been a funeral pyre.
Anne and Edward rushed down the hundred-foot ladder on the side of the ark. The heat of the flames licked at them as they moved. As soon as the fire was about to overtake their ladder, the two landed on solid ground. They ran forward, putting a safe distance between them and the death trap before collapsing on the grass.
Edward and Anne breathed heavily from exhaustion, and Edward could hear the crew resting from similar effort.
"I didn't think we would make it," he said.
"Our family is lucky. If any other crew had to face this, I don't think they would have survived."
Edward nodded with a grin. "You may be right… but the crew with a Pirate Priest for a captain probably would have done well, right?"
Anne laughed. "Yes, that crew might have fared better."
Edward scanned the crowd of two hundred before resting his eyes on Christina. "Christina!" he shouted, beckoning her over.
Christina turned to Edward's voice, and, after ensuring her brother was unharmed, walked over. "Yes?"
"First off, good job, my dear. You saved us." Christina smiled at the praise. "How did you make it back? The maze must have shifted over a hundred times."
"Well, Nassir and I were running most of the time, but we moved methodically. Each time the maze shifted I memorised where we were, and then if we reached a dead end we went back and tried another route. Eventually we found the paper, and retraced our steps." Christina explained.
Edward was dumbfounded at the explanation. "How could you remember?"
Christina laughed. "I trained myself to remember things. It used to be a game I and my brother would play. We used to see who could remember the most numbers in a random sequence." Christina smirked. "I don't enjoy losing."
"Impressive," Anne remarked. "She is a prodigy." Anne whispered to Edward. "Perhaps we should be training her mind too."
Edward simply nodded in agreement with Anne, he was still in awe of Christina's abilities.
Now that they were out of harm's way, Edward stood and observed the area. The crew was in a field similar to the one before they entered the ark, but surrounded by wooden stakes. Edward could find no discernible exit. Some time had passed since the trial was made, as vegetation had grown over the wood, and the grass was long.
On the left side, the side closest to Bartholomew's group, the wooden stakes appeared different, so Edward examined them.
At the wall, Edward noticed a pedestal similar to the ones they had seen many times before here. Edward noticed no writing, only a switch.
This must to open the way to the next area.
Edward pressed the switch. The ground rumbled and he could feel movement beneath his feet spreading to the wall to his left and in front of him. Suddenly the walls dropped down revealing a whole other area, along with a new danger.
To Edward's left, he could see the crew of the Fortune fighting an unknown enemy. The sight made him jump, and he immediately drew his golden blade. His crew were shocked and drew their weapons as well.
Edward's gaze was drawn to an altar in the middle of the two fields. Standing on the altar in the middle of Edward's and Bartholomew's crews, was an accursed man with slicked-back hair and black clothing. He was holding a bloodied Bartholomew by the neck, and he glanced nonchalantly over his shoulder and smiled.
It was Plague.
36. From Hell
Blood dripped from Plague's hand onto the grey marbled stone of the altar. The blood of the faithful Bartholomew dripped onto the stone and pooled at his feet.
Edward, his cutlass drawn, ran to the altar and jumped atop. The crew of the Freedom rushed to the aid of Fortune's crew. The sounds and smells of battle quickly filled Edward's senses.
"Fitting, is it not? Bartholomew, the Pirate Priest, sacrificed in a place such as this."
"Release him, Plague, it's me you want," Edward commanded as he circled the large surface of the altar.
Edward Russell, known by many names, laughed, sending a chill down Edward's spine. "You know nothing, boy." He dropped Bartholomew, and the Pirate Priest fell in a heap on the marble. Plague slowly drew his weapon, a small dagger. Normally innocuous in the wrong hands, the dagger took on the form of deadly claws in Plague's.
Edward leapt forward and slashed. Plague parried the strike, then punched Edward in the nose. Edward fell backwards, but stayed on his feet. Plague thrust his blade at his abdomen, but Edward smashed his elbow into Plague's hand, nearly knocking the dagger from the assassin's grip.
Plague stopped his advance and adopted a more defensive posture. "You've improved, but methinks you stretched yourself too thin."
Edward breathed heavily, staring intently into Plague's eyes. He pulled his sword close to his chest and held it in both hands. He's right. I'm not yet fully recovered.
Pukuh and William both jumped atop the altar beside Edward. "Worry not, Edward, we will handle this. We have business with him."
Pukuh flashed his spear forward in his left hand. "This one owes me an arm."
Plague stood up straight. "You act as if I am the only one here, gentlemen." The man with the slick black hair put his fingers between his teeth and whistled loudly. After a second's delay, two people with masks on joined Plague on the altar. "Leave the one in the middle for me, the other two are yours. If you cannot kill them, at least make yourselves useful and keep them busy."
Without a word, the masked people pulled out Katar, stylised Indian daggers. The daggers had horizontal handles to allow the blade to rest just above the knuckle so they could be punched into the victim. The two rushed Pukuh and William, pushing them back and off the altar, away from Edward.
With Pukuh and William gone, Plague resumed his defensive stance, but pulled out another dagger for his other hand.
Edward assessed his opponent. Knees bent, low to the ground. No way to unbalance him. One dagger near his face, one around his torso. No way past his defence. If I can distract him, I could gain the upper hand.
Edward peered over Plague's shoulder, widened his eyes a touch, and nodded. Plague glanced over his shoulder, but no one was there. Edward thrust his cutlass towards Plague's face and the man threw his arms up. Edward changed direction mid-way and swiped at Plague's legs. Edward's double-feint worked and he sliced Plague's thigh open.
Plague ignored the injury, but his eyes flashed with anger. Edward could feel the pressure of those eyes, but he would not run this time. He stared straight into the face of fear.
Plague ran forward, his blades dancing in the air. Edward took each thrust, lunge, slash, and cut and returned them in kind. Plague parried Edward's blows, but every so often he slipped and was sliced on the hands, face, and stomach. Edward was nicked in the forehead, hand, bicep, legs. The two men traded jab for jab, neither one cutting deeper than the surface.
Edward jumped backwards to catch his breath. The blood from his forehead seeped into his left eye, blocking his vision. He wiped away the blood and noticed Plague was also short on breath.
"Maybe you are stretched too thin, Plague. Did Bartholomew take the fight out of you?"
Plague stifled his heavy breathing and stood up straight. "Hmph. You are nothing before me." Plague postured with bravado.
The Royal Assassin with a penchant for poison pulled a vial from his pocket. Edward tensed and raised his guard. Plague popped the cork from the vial and took a large sniff from its contents before throwing it to the ground and breaking the bottle.
Edward didn't understand what was happening, but he didn't like it. Plague breathed rapidly, but not from fatigue this time, his eyes widened, and his pupils grew large. Plague threw his daggers away and changed to hand to hand combat.
Whatever had been in the vial changed Plague completely, and with the metamorphosis he regained speed and strength before Edward's eyes.
Plague lowered his body and moved inches in front of Edward, and he didn't have time to react. Plague landed an uppercut and Edward's ch
in flew up. Plague struck him in the stomach. Edward tensed his stomach and took the blow, then slammed the butt of his cutlass into Plague's head.
Plague punched Edward's right hand and he dropped his cutlass, and the assassin took the drop in his guard to kick him in the side of the knee. Edward dropped to the stone uncontrollably, but twisted and struck Plague in the midsection. Plague doubled over, but dropped his elbow on Edward's head.
Edward was pushed down further to the ground, still on his knee. He gritted his bloodied teeth together and balled his fist. Edward jumped upwards, delivering an uppercut square on Plague's jaw. The man's head whipped backwards, and his eyes went foggy as he began losing consciousness.
Plague forced himself back from the brink, his eyes shooting wide open. The assassin clinched Edward's midsection, fell backwards, and slammed Edward's face into the stone altar.
Edward fell to the ground, his head and body aching. He couldn't rise back up; he was so tired. Disoriented too. He pulled his body around as he searched for Plague.
Edward could see the two crews fighting against Plague's crew. First, he noticed Alexandre and Victor fighting back to back. Alexandre used a rapier to cut and thrust into his opponents' vital organs with precision only he could pull off. Victor used a small round shield and curved double-edged blade to parry and slice his opponents.
Next, Edward noticed Nassir and Christina fighting together, and Jack and Herbert attacking from long range. Working together, the two groups were dropping enemies left and right.
In those few flickering seconds of movement, Edward's eyes finally found Plague. He too was overlooking the battlefield, searching for something while he caught his breath. Edward followed Plague's gaze to Anne.
Anne was fighting against Plague's men on the side where the ark was still burning fifty feet away. She directed the crew of the Freedom during the battle while firing her favourite rifle and engaging in the occasional swordplay.
Blackbeard's Revenge (Voyages Of Queen Anne's Revenge Book 2) Page 40
