Patting him on the back, I complimented, “Well done, lad. I like the ending of that shitten story.”
“It isn’t over yet. Not till I get what I came for. See, he recently sobered up and attempted to make amends with me. After all the hell he has cast upon my mother, I have no interest in his apology, but I heard about his bounty money and figured if I answered his plea, I might be able to procure some of that wealth for my own. Then I could take better care of my mother. You know, give her the kind of life she deserves.”
Thoroughly impressed with the tale, I was sure the boy was worth more than a deck swab. “So you worked your way out to sea with an honorable twist of piracy.”
He nodded with pride. “I didn’t think of it that way but I guess you’re right. I like it out here on this open ocean. I’ve never left the island before, and hell, even mopping the deck is better than being stuck ashore.” Kasey looked up to the sky. “So, I hear you’re a notorious navigator. How long have you been sailing the seas?”
Mocking the voice of the weathered old sea dog I spoke with this afternoon, I responded, “Longer than you been living, I reckon.”
Thrilled that I got to use the saying so soon, I couldn’t help but chuckle. He laughed, too, and then stormed on with a hurricane of questions about navigation. I answered him and showed him some of the constellations as we sat on the deck. He was enthralled with the thought of knowing the skies and the seas, and I was pleased to share my knowledge with him in exchange for good company. Kasey Bolin reminded me of myself as a lad, and aside from my resentment regarding this ridiculous treasure hunt, I was pleased to know the final reward would allow him to help his mother. If I had a mother, I’d do the same thing for her.
X
It was still dark out when I awoke, and the placement of the stars assured me sunrise was still a while away. The mist in the air had dampened my face but the heavy baroque coat kept my body dry. The ship was peacefully swaying over the tide, but I was too uncomfortable to go back to sleep. It’s one thing to pass out on a wooden floor with a head full of rum, but being sober as a preacher enhanced the misery.
Hell, looking at my life through sober eyes enhanced the misery. I could see everything more clearly, and I could take things for what they truly were, but with the way I chose to live, that wasn’t a good thing. Between the shitten despair of going without and the brazen amounts of bloodshed required to attain anything, this lifestyle wasn’t for the faint of heart and hardly feasible for the sober of mind.
The liquid distraction abated the pain of fighting, cushioned the discomfort of hard wooden floors, and lightened the weight of the swamping humidity hovering over the Caribbean Sea. The jolly buzz made it easy to dodge the emotions that might otherwise distract me and helped me evade the torments of my past that might otherwise taunt me. Rum made it easier to focus on the moment at hand and helped me to move along without regrets.
I had gone this long without the spirituous brew before, and I could go longer if I needed to, but I’d rather not. Maybe it was an escape, or an easy way out, but no matter the root behind my desire for the heathen drink, it was simply more enjoyable to endure my lifestyle with a rum buzz.
After dreaming of rum and looking at the stars for a moment, I decided to do a set of pushups. With the cuffs on my hands it was harder, but that was fine. Feeling the muscles in my back strengthening and my abdomen beginning to burn, I pushed harder. With my hands closer together, the muscles around my collar stung as well. I loved the way it felt. My line of work was physically demanding so I liked to keep my body ready, ready to sail and ready to fight. Though I didn’t know how long it would be before I was free to sail again, I would most likely be fighting again very soon.
Reveling in the power of my elevated heartbeat, I jumped to my feet. The rush surging through me made me feel like I could break out of my chains. Exhilarating as the improbable thought was, there was no sense in taunting myself with such futile daydreams. Rather, I just looked out across the darkness of night. The dome of stars surrounded the blackened sea, and the night was ghostly silent. While enjoying the solitude, I heard an obscure rumble in the distance. It sounded like the keel of a ship slicing through the face of the sea.
I listened for a moment to be sure. Aye, the faint glow of sunlight rising in the east shone upon a set of sails. Anticipating the watchman’s notice, I did my best to observe the ship gliding in from the starboard stern. All the while, the image of Wind of Glory sitting on the southern horizon yesterday burned in my mind. I hoped it was Flynn.
Finally, that lazy watchman spotted the menacing ship. With a tremble in his voice, he announced to the crew that she was indeed Wind of Glory. She was charging at the Vera Rose with threatening speed. I was in the prime blast zone if she was planning to open fire. Goddamn, I hated being chained! While I scanned the deck for a tool to bust myself free, the crew flurried about, rushing to wake their captain so he could make a decision for them. Ha. The poor bastards were just as chained as I was while waiting for that lazy hog to rise.
The moment the beef-witted maumet rose from his chambers, he looked towards the charging Wind of Glory and shrieked the command to flee. Of course he did.
Faster than I ever thought they could move, those clay-brained crewmen scaled the ratlines and made sail. Though Vera Rose hit the tide with much more speed than I expected, she only seemed swift until I compared her to her upcoming antagonist. There was no way in hell this heavy bitch would outrun my Wind of Glory, especially with Captain Flynn commanding the crew. Aye, their hopes for escape were as futile as my daydream of busting out of these chains.
Wind of Glory was soaring close. So close, in fact, that in the ill-lit sky, I could see how tight the canvas was stretched. The tormenting sound of her hull lifting up and thrashing down over the wake intensified the fears of the men around me. But me, ah! I wanted to hoot in excitement. What a rush it was watching my beauty pounce like the wicked beast she was. As she drew near, I could hear Captain Flynn’s crew hollering like untamed animals. Their savage chanting reassured me as to why men cowered beneath this sort of might.
Coming to terms with the dreadful odds that they would soon be caught and boarded by pirates, Willard ordered his men to prepare for battle, then he ran to his room. He may have come off tough yesterday when he belittled the worries of his men, but now he was the one whose feathers were being ruffled as the pathetic old pirate ship soared up his arse. Flynn wouldn’t even need ammo to overtake him.
As Wind of Glory rode up on Vera Rose’s wake, Willard’s crewmen rushed around, humiliating themselves with their fearful shouts. The spray of the darkened sea misted over the deck as I braced myself for the upcoming broadside. Before a shot was fired, I saw Oliver Langston standing at Wind of Glory’s gunnel. He shot an arrow in my direction. The wooden spear flew silently through the chaos and landed in the mast next to me. I loved that stealthy weapon! Quickly yanking the arrow out of the wooden post, I shoved it up my coat sleeve to save it for the right opportunity.
Then I saw Kasey Bolin making his way over to me. Roughly grabbing my arm, he whispered, “The captain is coming to lock you below so your crew can’t get you. I will help you get loose if you take me with you once you’re free.”
Before I could answer, Wind of Glory came broadside, bringing Willard’s crewmen’s nightmares to life!
Like I knew he would, Flynn ordered his gunners to fire. His unholy shout was echoed by the fearsome thump of the thundering great guns. Yes! Chain shot ripped through the morning dew, screaming like a thousand bats as it sliced the rigging lines. “Again!” Flynn shouted, and again, the guns fired—tearing Vera Rose’s sails to worthless shreds.
As his ship came to a pathetic slow, Willard bumbled, “Fire back, you fools.” His voice was no more threatening than that of a mouse as he scampered across the trembling deck. He was headed in my direction. As he lumbered through the roaring crowd, the band of keys clanking on his belt seemed to glisten in the faint hi
nt of morning light. This was it. The moment he came near, I slipped the arrow out of my coat sleeve, wrapped my chain around Kasey’s neck, and held the arrow to his throat.
Pausing in mid-step, Willard halted his men around me.
Through clenched teeth I brashly demanded, “Unlock me or I’ll kill him.”
As Willard fumbled with his keys, his men finally fired at Wind of Glory.
With bits of Wind of Glory’s hull shattering behind him, Faron Flynn came swinging over on a line. Landing next to me—with no shirt on and gunpowder coating his face—Flynn brandished two swords. Pointing one at Willard, he demanded, “ For God sakes, tell your men to hold their fire.”
He did.
Willard’s white flag rose in the morning light. The rest of Faron’s crew stormed the deck. With Willard’s men already standing still, the buccaneers only snarled and growled to uphold their intimidation. The moment I was unlocked, Jack Golding quickly grabbed Willard from behind and held his gun to his head. Jack growled, “I didn’t join this here crew because I liked you.”
While I laughed at his remark, Faron grabbed a random man and put his cutlass to his throat. The three of us buccaneers stood back to back surrounded by our wall of hostages, and as we made our way to the gangplank, Faron flashed his other sword at all the men we passed, just to remind them to behave.
Once we reached the boarding plank, Faron chuckled. “God blind me, Bentley, I was ready to die for the cause today and I haven’t even got a scratch. Good job, matey.”
The sun finally rose over the horizon line—a burning red glow illuminated the scene of the hold up with a haunting display of light. While standing before the gangplank, Willard trembled. “What do you want, Mister Bentley?”
“I just wanted to get the hell out of your slippery clutches, but Captain Flynn here may have a greater request. What do you want, Flynn?”
“Anything of value, but most of all, weapons and food,” he said. “We haven’t ate anything but mangos since we reclaimed our barren ship.”
I smirked about the desperate request. “And I was envious of your freedom.”
While the crewmen went to gather food and weapons, Captain Flynn glared at the gash on my face. “Not looking like you’ve been in the lap of luxury either, matey.”
“It hurts a lot worse than it looks,” I laughed. “You don’t ever want to get hit in the face with a musket butt.”
Willard’s crewmen were hardly amused by our humor while we held them still.
Throughout the next hour, our crewmen brought back a chest of loot and loads of weapons and food, including a crate of chickens and a dairy goat.
Throwing his hostage down, Flynn grabbed a handful of salted pork. As he chewed on the tough piece of meat, he used his cutlass to point at one of the men in the crowd. With his mouth full he mumbled, “You’ll be giving me that hat you’re wearing, matey.”
The man quickly passed Faron his cavalier hat.
I added, “And give me any loot you have in your pockets. I believe you bastards can pay me for my cooperative services. Oh, and Redding…Where is that dog?”
Nobody knew.
Faron patted my back. “Ah, with any luck he’s lying dead with a splintered timber stabbed through his good eye.”
Though I was tempted to go hunt him down myself, we were too close to escaping. Just before heading across the boarding plank, Jack Golding reminded me, “Don’t forget the key to the cave.”
Tired of the treasure that had caused all this trouble, it didn’t even cross my mind to ask about the stupid thing, but he was right. “So, Willard. I believe this is where you give my key back.”
Handing it over slowly, with great pain in his expression, he practically pouted, “Here you go.”
It seemed the action troubled him more than seeing the arrow at his son’s throat.
With all matters of business concluded, we began backing our hostages across the gangplank. With my arrow still pressed against Kasey’s throat, I asked, “Well, you helped me. Do you still want to join my crew?”
Fully expecting for him to flee from my grip, I was surprised by his yelp of excitement. “Yes! Take me with you. Just get that bloody arrow off me throat.”
Sending him across the gangway ahead of me, I thanked Willard’s sailors for the cruise and headed to my ship.
Making sail, the men hooted and hollered about the success of the mission. The puppy I watched Pete carry aboard the night they reclaimed this ship was howling along with the rowdy group. As Oliver assessed our losses, I heard Pete telling Shark that he had named the furry creature Marvelous, after his fallen comrade, Marv. Though Wind of Glory had suffered from the blasts, nobody was injured. We got away clean, carrying a bounty of supplies, a handful of able bodied crewmen, and most importantly, I was finally free!
Morning light beamed through the holes in the clouds—shining misty patches of light on the calm face of the sea. Beneath the jolly glow, I sifted through the crate of weapons. After situating my new embroidered baldric, two guns, a cutlass, and a dagger with a dragon carved into the handle, I rolled my arms around to relish in the expanse of reach without chains. “Unchained!” I hooted. “Where’s the rum?”
Shaking his head, Oliver handed me a flask. Surprised to see that he had a bottle on him, I nudged him with my elbow. “Have you taken interest in the Devil’s drink, Langston?”
He confirmed, “It is Quartermaster Langston, now. Yes, these brine-soggy hugger-muggers have elected me as one of their leaders. And even though I do not indulge myself in the heathen brew, I am becoming accustomed to their desire for it. It is far more time effective to have it on hand than to have to run to the hold every time someone important finds themselves in need.”
“No wonder they voted for you.” I winked.
Showing up with a full bottle, Flynn handed it to me. “Believe it or not, Bentley, Langston makes for a mighty fine pirate. I couldn’t have saved this crew without the help of his sharp mind and skinny little arms.”
Stiffening his posture, Oliver huffed, “I refuse to be called a pirate, Captain Flynn. This was my only means for survival. I am an Englishman and a survivor.”
My interest in the discussion was detoured when I laid eyes on Mary Daley. Shit. I’d forgotten that she was indeed a part of the seizing of this lovely ship. Wearing Flynn’s battered black coat over a pair of filthy white breeches, that blue-eyed beauty was reminding the men to slow down on their eating. Slapping Pete’s paw as he reached for a handful of salted pork, she said, “I know we haven’t eaten in days, but we’ll just end up starved again if you hog everything up so quickly.”
I could tell Pete wanted to say something crude but he bit his tongue as Mary handed out small rations to all the men. “If you dogs can hold yourselves together for a moment, I will cook you some eggs and make you biscuits.”
They all seemed to be just as satisfied by her suggestion as I was pleased by the look of her. Even wearing dirty men’s clothing, she looked pretty as could be, especially in comparison to the mangy hounds surrounding her. The desire she struck in my blood clarified the troubles of having a woman on board. Tapping Faron’s arm, I quietly asked, “How the hell are you keeping your men off of her?”
Crossing his arms over his bare chest, Flynn shook his head. “Day one I had to kill a man for getting rough with her. Wefound a bunch of vagabonds sleeping in the hold when we stole this bitch from the harbor and the one named Geo Relando thought he’d make a move on her along with trying to stir the minds of my hungry men for mutiny. He’d be hanging from the yards as an example if’n it was up to me, but Mary said the beating I gave him should stand strong enough. I suppose it worked, because no one has tampered with her or questioned my care for my crew since.”
“Shit, Flynn. Sounds like you could write a book about the last few days.”
“If only I could write.” He grinned.
Thinking back on the night I saw Mary distracting the guards on the dock while Faron’
s men snuck onto the ship, I asked, “So, how the hell did you bust out of jail, anyhow?”
Looking in her direction, Flynn ran his hand through his short, sloppy black hair. “Ah, so it seems Miss Mary has been dreaming of me since she was a wee lass, and coming to find that my big ol’ head was going to have a noose sliding over it, she talked a prison guard into turning us loose. He was all for the notion when she had her pretty lips on him, but he got wiggly at the gate, so she held him up with his own gun and took the keys herself. She wouldn’t let me kill him.” He shook his head in irritation. “Leaving a damn witness to our crime ashore, she ended up having to run to the sea with me. So here we are.”
“Here we are.” I glanced at the saucy woman who was now walking in our direction.
Taking her stand next to Faron, she said hello to me, then asked how we wanted our eggs cooked.
Never before being asked how I wanted anything served from the ship’s galley, I laughed, “Cooked.”
Flynn smiled. “You’re too sweet, Mary. Just feed us and we’ll be pleased. But I’ll take mine scrambled since you’re asking.”
As she took Oliver’s order, I asked Flynn, “Was it by chance that you happened upon the ship I was chained to, or did you know I was there?”
“We knew.” Faron grinned. “Between Oliver and Mary’s combined intelligence, we figured you were on Vera Rose. Assuming that’d you’d be plotting an escape of your own, it seemed suiting to have an inside man on the ship of the cowardly captain we planned to plunder our goods from.”
Tarnished Persuasion (Justified Treason, Book 2): Endless Horizon Pirate Stories Page 3
