I jumped back up.
With my loss of breath and my throbbing face, I felt like I was going to die. I wanted to die. Shoving me again, Faron shouted, “Is this over?”
It was over.
I was done.
Standing with his arms spread out between me and that wolf of a lawyer, Captain Flynn roared, “That’s enough! You goddamn lover boys have been hacking at my patience for far too long. That little strumpet who stirs your nerves isn’t even on this ship and if you have any hopes of getting her back on here you both better pull your heads out of your arses. Now, stay the bloody hell away from each other. If there’s one more problem, I’ll maroon you together on the same tiny island.”
Shaking his head with disappointment, Faron looked at me and growled, “Get your wits about you, mate.”
Feeling as if my father had just put me in my place, I wiped the blood off my face and just stood there. I went from not being able to stop, to being unable to move. The world pulsated around me. Gathering my breath, I tried to slow the current of the whirlpool that was dragging me down.
Faron cursed the bewitching ways of women as he stormed up to the quarterdeck. In a sarcastic tone of pleasantry he addressed his crew, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Endless Horizon. Sail this beauty into the sunrise. Persuasion is our heading.”
Chapter 9
Ghosts
As Told By Sterling Bentley
Endless Horizon sailed swiftly across the darkened sea. As the sunlight began to illuminate the ghostly fog, the wall of mist thickened. Just as I began to fret over the lack of navigation in the crippling haze, a breezed wafted through, revealing the sight of a ship.
It was Persuasion.
The harrowing sight of her black flag flapping in the breeze seemed to mock my agony. I had seen flags with hourglasses; threatening the victims’ lack of time, and I had seen bleeding hearts; insinuating the blood that would soon be shed. But this bastard’s black flag had a bleeding heart squeezed into the top of an hourglass. Dripping red blood filled the bottom. If I was in a better mood, I’d have complimented his creativity, but in my current state of mind I just wanted to cut his heart out and shove it into a glass of my own.
There was another ship behind Persuasion. Though I couldn’t see the name through the fog, the haunting glimpses of her three masts proved that we were obviously outnumbered. Under any other circumstances, the skill and firepower of our small-handed crew would provide the confidence needed to overtake them, but with Charlie over there, this was no place for war. It’d be more like a game of chess, and I was about to find out who’s rules we were playing by.
Faron came over to ask me about my find. Mary followed right behind him with Pablo, the parrot, on her shoulder. She’d given her bird a Spanish name strictly to annoy the captain. The way he growled and showed his teeth to the bird clarified the success of her notion.
Mary shoved Faron’s shoulder. “Oh, bugger off, Flynn. What’s next? Are we going to be fighting?”
“What’s next is, Bentley’s going to row over there and see what’s next. The crew agreed to bring him this far, but that’s all.”
“Selfish louts,” Mary grumbled. “How about you, Captain? You are going with him, right? If you don’t I will.”
They bickered back and forth for a moment, but honestly, I didn’t give a shit who was or wasn’t going with me. I’d row to Singapore on my own to get her if I had to.
“Don’t worry about what I’m doing, Marty. And you aren’t going anywhere that I’m not sending you, mate.” The way he mocked her name proved they were still arguing about her place in the crew. Dressed as a man, and talking like a sailor, she wasn’t much of a woman to anyone. Hell, I don’t think the new recruits Flynn picked up saw her as anyone but a man named Marty Daley.
While Marty stood there with her jaw agape, Faron took off his black coat and tossed it at her. “Now, make yourself useful and go wash my coat.”
As Faron shooed them away, Pablo fluttered his colorful wings and squawked at him. Though Marty took the coat with her, she shouted some unladylike obscenities over her shoulder as she stormed off.
Faron hollered back, “Watch your mouth, laddie, or I’ll sell that damn birdie next time we get to port.”
Shaking his head clear of the nuisance, Faron huffed, “Lower the damned boat. I’ll go with you.”
“Thanks, mate.” I nodded to show my appreciation.
“Ah, I know you’d do the same for me,” Faron said, then headed off to gather his weapons.
As I worked to lower a dinghy, Law Dog met me at the gunnel. Looking at me through the black eye I gave him, he said, “I’m going with you.”
“I don’t need a bloody servant helping me along.”
To my relief he easily agreed. “You’re right.”
I shook my head in relief as he walked away, but to my greatest surprise, that son of a bitch grabbed a dagger off of a sleeping man’s belt, sliced his palm with it and then charged over to the mainmast. Lawrence Braddock, the lawyer, then stamped his blood on Captain Flynn’s Articles of Agreement.
Faron saw him make his mark so he handed him a cutlass and a pistol before he roughly patted him on the back. “Welcome to our crew, mate. Looks like you got this, so I’ll just stay back here and keep an eye on the rum. It’ll give you boys sometime to make friendly.”
Law Dog shook his head in irritation before he rushed over to me and my lowered boat. “Now you have a pirate helping you along. Don’t try to stop me.”
His determination annoyed me as much as it impressed me, but above all my own contradicting thoughts, I knew I could use the help. If anyone else was going to fight to the death for Charlie, it would indeed be the other man who loved her.
Though we got in the boat together, we rowed to Persuasion without saying a word to each other. There was an eerie hue of daylight wafting through the mist as the sound of our oars sweeping through the salty water sliced the deadly silence between us.
Reaching Persuasion’s massive hull, the men standing at the gunnel were hardly visible through the wall of fog. The cursing and hollering of their brash welcoming reverberated through the thick, misty air with a dull murmur. But there was nothing dull about the intensity of my hatred. Dreading the condition Charlie would be in within the clutches of this gangly bunch, I cursed them back with the force of great gunshots—wishing the power of my words could kill them all.
Noticing that fat little puke Gordy among them, my worries heightened. He was a nasty little slug, who had been known to do gut-wrenching things to women. Why did he have to be the one who had taken her? Good God, how much worse could this get? With my head spiraling with panic and my gut churning with dread, I shouted over their obscenities, “Where is she? Where the hell is she?”
Nobody would answer my question—which worried me more.
Just as I thought I would lose my final grip on sanity, I noticed Kasey Bolin standing amongst the awful group. The brave little bastard had gone with her. He nodded at me in a way that assured me she was all right. Feeling a rush of relief flow through my body, I gathered my wits about me just in time to hear Gordy announce the arrival of the captain.
The moment I laid eyes on the well-dressed man who was gracefully sauntering through the crowd, my moment of calm fired right back up to a boiling point. “It’s you! You black-spotted hell-hearted son of a bitch, give her back to me!”
Smiling politely, Derouex Baudin calmly responded with his ridiculous French accent. “Good to see you again as well, Monsieur Bentley.”
Looking around in the fog, he smirked. “I thought you would have a much bigger boat by this point in your life.”
“And I thought you would’ve been stabbed in the throat by now. Now where the hell’s my woman, you greedy rotten whelp?”
Law Dog winced at me. “You know these awful people?”
Somewhat ashamed of my association, I growled at Lawrence as Baudin responded, “Now, now, Bentley, it will not he
lp your case to be so foul.”
Law Dog said, “We would like to see that she is well before we continue with this case of which you speak, Captain.”
Baudin smiled at him. “Much better, kind sir. Manners like that will get you much further along. What is your name?”
Lawrence stated his name but I interrupted their courtesies with a wild outburst, “Go get her!”
Gordy snorted, “Oh, he’s going to get her. We’re all going to get her.” He vulgarly bumped his hips. The rest of them started hooting along with their savagely sexual animations.
Standing up in the boat, I threw my arms out at my sides. “Shut your mouth, Gordy. I’ll cut your limp little dick off and feed the pieces to your crew!”
Some of them laughed and some of them growled as I continued to shout with my arms flailing, but Baudin hollered, “That is more than enough. You mangy bunch of brazen derelicts…” He huffed to himself about the unkempt disorder of the group as they calmed, and the moment they were still he assessed, “I see that you are just as vile as ever, Sterling Bentley. Quite fitting for this fireball of a woman you have fallen for. I will say, she has been quite the chore.”
Though I was glad to hear she was putting up a fight, I was worried they would hurt her for it. My worry intensified when he sent that sweaty little hog Gordy to go get her. I opened my mouth to threaten Gordy’s miserable existence, but Baudin silenced me with a vile snap. “Now listen here Bentley. When she arrives, I will have her blindfolded, and you will not say a word. If you say anything at all, or show any signs that you may be here for her, you will indeed be a sorry man. If you spoil my plans you’ll end up watching these savages have their fun with her. Oui, one at a time, they can each have their turn and once she’s nothing but a sore and sticky slut wallowing in her anguish, I will then kill her myself.”
His posture relaxed as he continued the chilling threat with his flamboyant demeanor. “But being that you love her as you do, I will be so generous as to let you choose; a quick slice to the throat? Or perhaps a meaty stab in the heart? What would you prefer, Monsieur?”
No words. Only hatred. Sick and churning hatred.
Then I heard her scream his name.
My nerves tautened. Why was she screaming? I wanted to save her. Why did she scream for him? What the hell kind of ghost ridden nightmare was I living?
That son of a bitch held his hand over his ear and taunted, “Oh, I believe I hear her screaming my name. I do like the sound of that. I am sure you remember what it was like when she used to call for you. I will be right back. And remember, not a word.”
I wanted to kill him. It crossed my mind to shoot him in his back as he turned around to get her. I’d never felt so trapped. So chained. There was nothing I could do but wait. I hated waiting. I hated everything.
Soon enough he came back out. That hell-hearted demon was carrying her in his arms. As he said, she was blindfolded, but she looked happy. What in God’s name was there to be happy about? She was giggling as she rubbed on his cheek. Vomit welled in my gut.
It took all my strength to refrain from yelling her name. I wanted to tell her I was there. I wanted to shout that I was sorry and let her know I loved her more than anything. But I knew that black-hearted man enough to know he would certainly live up to his coldblooded threat. Standing still, engulfed by the deadly silence surrounding me, the weight of all the ocean weighed on my heart and suffocated my very soul.
He pretended to lick her face while she was blindfolded. Then he walked away to his room. He was keeping her in his room. I never liked him, now I hated him. In fact, I never hated anybody more.
When he returned to the deck without her I was so sick to my stomach I could hardly speak. In my nauseated state of lightheaded guilt and heart throbbing aggression, I forced myself to ask, “What the hell will I be doing to get her back?”
“Aw, is that sadness I hear in your voice? I’ll say, you are far more tolerable when you are heartbroken.”
I stared at him without saying a word.
His lips curled with a surly smile. “You will be taking me to Le Trésor Des Amoureux.”
Of course that’s what he wanted. “Fine. Take me and give her back to my crew.”
“I am afraid this terrible game will not be played so smoothly. My sources have informed me that you are rather difficult to work with—as your foul mouth, alongside the fact that you killed a handful of my men have already proven. In order to keep this operation running smooth, I dread to inform you that I will be keeping your lover while your crew leads us to the trésor. This way you have a little more incentive to behave.”
Exhaling the sickness welling in my gut, I barked at Lawrence, “What now, Law Dog? What the bloody hell do we do about this?”
After taking a deep breath, he spoke to Baudin as if he was arraigning a plea bargain in court. “What if we give you a map with all the bearings and the key?”
Brushing the shoulder of his coat, Baudin finalized, “No. I will keep her and you will lead me. That is it.”
Law Dog also lost his temper. “There has to be something! I will pay you. I will serve you. Whatever you want, I will give!”
Baudin chuckled, “Might you be in love with her as well, Monsieur Braddock?”
Law Dog choked on the words jumbling in his mouth.
Observing our battered faces, Baudin laughed. “Oh, good heavens did you two have a fight over her?”
When neither of us offered a valid response, Baudin rubbed his hands together. “She must be more of a prize than I had anticipated. Oui, le puissance is all mine, we will certainly be doing things my way.” Then he looked at me with lust hungry eyes. “Perhaps I will have to try her out for myself and see what all the fuss is about. It would be quite the change of scenery to have my own personal whore onboard.”
Standing up again, I pointed my useless sword at him. “Keep your hands off of her you lacy dog! If you leave her alone I’ll take you to that godforsaken heap of a treasure. And you better keep your ghastly crew off of her, too. If anybody hurts her and I’ll cut your pretty head off and string it from my bowsprit.”
“Calm yourself, Bentley. Do you honestly think I would want that alley harlot on my lap? I have no interest in penetrating a woman who would open her legs to a filthy pirate such as yourself. She is nothing but the rusty old key to my trésor.
But if you do foul on our agreement…” His expression softened as if he was fantasizing, “Then I will gladly chain her to my bed and make her scream my name again…”
Grabbing my hair, I roared with beast-like frustration, but that clot-poling bat-slapping demon from hell smiled as he calmly stated, “Please don’t be so rude, Monsieur Bentley. I am not finished.” Being that he had all the power, I shut my mouth and clenched my teeth as he went on. “I might kiss Charlotte on her neck, I may even tell her I adore her, but I will certainly run the cold steel of my blade across her tender throat. Hmm, ever so slowly. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to take my time. The candles will be lit and she will be wearing beautiful jewels. Can you imagine the sight of her warm blood running down that ever so enticing bosom? Oh, and the way she will whimper. He rolled his head back as if he was relishing the morbid scene he was painting. “I’ll whisper in her ear to assure her that she is dying and it will be my smiling face she last sees before she leaves this world for good.”
He closed his eyes and inhaled with a satisfied smile, but I was frozen stiff. My blood frosted over and the icicles sliced my veins as they coursed through my pounding heart.
His blue eyes blackened as he hissed, “Or you can get me to my precious gold and have your trashy little boucanier putain back. The choice is yours, but I can only assume that we have an accord?”
Law dog looked at me to clarify but we both knew there was no other choice. We reluctantly agreed to his black-spotted accord.
“Good.” Baudin quickly stated, “Then lower your black flag and keep a safe distance. If she recognizes you, I will ki
ll her. And do hurry along.”
He commanded his men to sail closer to his consort so he could inform them of the news. They spit at me with snide remarks and mocking laughter as they sailed away.
Charlie was on that heinous ship that was sailing away from me in the fog. There was nothing I could do. I hated myself. I hated everything. Roaring up a tidal wave of senseless curse words, I chucked my oar at the ornate hull of the departing ship.
Sick to my stomach, I leaned over the ledge and threw up. Staring into the darkened water, feeling the boat bobbing beneath me, I lost a bit of consciousness. Unsure if I had passed out or not, I sat back up feeling even more worthless in my tumbling state of illness. As my vision came clear, I realized the fog had thickened. Endless Horizon was nowhere in sight.
“Have you any idea which way to go?” Law Dog asked.
Without responding to him, I took out my compass and forced myself to analyze the surroundings. While my chest heaved over the bile churning in my gut, I took in the flow of the tide, watched the way the fog wafted through the air, and pointed southwest.
Grabbing one of the extra oars, I helped Law Dog row through the fog. Along the way, I cursed myself for getting Charlie tangled up in this audacious web of sin. I didn’t realize I was grumbling out loud until I noticed Law Dog was looking at me. “What? What the hell are you looking at, old man?”
Without any mind for my threat, he responded like a concerned old father figure. “I have to confess, Sterling. I am rather impressed by your honest admiration for Charlotte. I never would have imagined you to truly care about her.”
Tarnished Persuasion (Justified Treason, Book 2): Endless Horizon Pirate Stories Page 17
