Blacksouls

by Nicole Castroman

  “You fear Webb more than the law?” Teach asked.

  “Of course I do. The law is hard, but at least it’s just on occasion. Webb has never been honorable or just.”

  Teach tightened his grip. “I’m afraid you have no choice.”

  “Do you really believe that Webb will send me back to London? If we go with you, we’ll die in Nassau.”

  “The law says you’re to be taken and tried in England,” Kitts said.

  Easton scoffed at him. “Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear. The law is a weapon Webb bandies around on the rare occasion it serves him. It’s like a dinner knife versus a dagger. Webb will always let you see him politely using his dinner knife, but you’ll be surprised every time when he sneaks up on you in an alley and stabs you with the dagger.”

  Kitts and Teach exchanged a confused look. Clearly this man had spent too much time in the sun.

  “In short,” Easton continued, “you’re a fool to trust Webb.”

  How often had Teach thought those very words? “Nevertheless, you’ll be taken to England and hanged for piracy.”

  “That’s not much of an incentive for me to go with you. You’ve already determined my guilt.”

  “Do you deny that you’re a pirate?”

  “Whether I deny it or not, what evidence do you have?” Easton asked.

  “I recognize your ship. You attacked me and my crew aboard the Deliverance. I believe that’s evidence enough.”

  Easton narrowed his eyes at Teach, any trace of his earlier nonchalance gone. “So you’re the one who nearly committed me and my men to the bottom of the ocean.”

  “No. You did that when you decided to attack us.”

  “Would you like to know who gave those orders?”

  “Who?” Even as Teach asked the question, he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

  “Governor Webb.”

  “That’s a lie,” Kitts sputtered, his hand shaking as he pointed his weapon at Easton. “The governor works for the Crown. It’s his job to uphold the laws of our country.”

  The pirate ignored Kitts, continuing to watch Teach as he said, “You forget, there were two ships that attacked the Deliverance that day. The captain of the second ship was every bit as bloodthirsty and ruthless as Webb. Nelson liked to see people suffer.”

  “Webb said you’re the one who likes to torture his victims.”

  “Of course he did. And do you believe everything that comes out of his mouth?”

  Teach hesitated, his confidence in Easton’s guilt shifting like the sand underfoot. “Where’s the other ship?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to your question. But don’t you find it interesting that Webb only sent you after me?”

  Kitt cleared his throat. Teach could feel the uncertainty of some of his men, because he felt the same doubt.

  Easton continued. “Surely you realize that as soon as we return to Nassau, your worth and usefulness to the governor will conclude. And you and anyone close to you is as good as dead. Webb doesn’t leave anything to chance.”

  “I’m not the one Webb is after. You are.”

  “True, but by taking me back to Nassau, you’ve spent time with me. I could tell you things about Webb that he doesn’t want you to know. You’re now a threat to him. Guilt by association.”

  Before Teach could respond, a shot rang out, followed closely by another. Several men ducked, desperately looking around to see where the shots had come from. Easton staggered back, clutching his right shoulder. Teach leapt forward to catch him as he collapsed to the ground. Two of Easton’s men tackled someone near the tree line.

  The fighting resumed, even as Teach yelled for his men to stand down. Turning to Easton, Teach pressed a hand to the wound, trying to stanch the flow of blood. “Stand down!” Teach yelled, but only a few of his men responded. They were too busy defending themselves from the pirates. “Call your crew back before we kill the lot of you!”

  After only a slight hesitation, Easton let out a sharp whistle. He had to repeat it several times to be heard over the sound of the fighting, but eventually his men obeyed.

  “Hillel, get over here,” Easton called out. A pirate approached Easton, the same one Teach and Kitts had encountered in the trees. Somehow he’d freed himself from his bonds. Teach traded places with Hillel, and the young man pressed a rag into Easton’s wound.

  Teach stood and walked over to the man who’d been tackled by two pirates. He recognized Nathan from his stocky build and dark brown hair. He was one of the soldiers who’d come with Kitts. A musket lay by Nathan’s side and a crimson stream spurted from a gaping wound in his stomach. It took Teach a moment to realize that Nathan had shot Easton, but the acrid smoke of gunpowder lingered in the air. Who had shot Nathan? And who had shot first?

  The ball had entered Nathan’s back, and judging by the amount of blood spilling onto the white sand at his feet, he wouldn’t make it. Teach yelled for Kitts to scour the nearby forest.

  A short laugh burst through Easton’s lips, only to end in a coughing fit. “Don’t quite know who to trust, do you?”

  Teach ignored him, unwilling to let the pirate know just how accurate his statement was. He had never had any reason to suspect Nathan would do something like this. The young man always stayed in the background, going about his work quietly.

  But he wasn’t quiet now. In shock, Nathan’s body shook violently from the loss of blood.

  “Why did you shoot Easton?” Teach demanded.

  Nathan spit a stream of blood at Teach’s feet. “Webb’s coming for you. All of you.” He looked at Teach with cold and flinty eyes, his skin already turning the color of ash.

  Teach crouched low, his pistol pointed at the man’s face. “What do you mean, he’s coming for us? What do you know?”

  Nathan cringed and stiffened, before releasing a drawn out breath. “I know you’re all dead men.”

  Teach wondered if the threat was the sailor’s pathetic attempt to strike one last hefty blow. Perhaps Webb wasn’t coming after them. “I’m afraid you’ll be the first to die.” Teach stood and turned away.

  “I saw—what you’re hiding in your cabin.”

  Teach whirled around, his eyes narrowed.

  “Don’t worry, Captain. I already took my share.”

  With a roaring in his ears, Teach’s vision clouded. His rage, held so long in check, drove deeper and spread wider than ever before in his life. Nathan’s voice erupted in an anguished scream as Teach dug his boot into the man’s wound. Ignoring the blood spilling over the worn leather and the agonized cries of the man at his feet, Teach felt more like a raging beast than a civilized man. And to his surprise, he embraced that feeling of power.

  Easton laughed as several men pointed off toward the trees. Teach looked, recognizing a familiar figure, wearing a floppy hat, a baldric, and a pistolman’s pouch, striding from the brush, escorted at sword point by Kitts and his men.

  CHAPTER 33

  Anne

  Although Anne wasn’t close enough to see the fury in Teach’s eyes, she could certainly feel it rolling in waves toward her. He marched purposefully across the beach, and she noticed the white sand stuck to his right boot, with the occasional glint of red. Blood.

  Her gaze darted to the man lying on his back, surrounded by a crimson stain. She’d just shot a man with what appeared to be a deathly blow. Her hands shook. Her ears rang. And only after a few deep breaths did her pulse begin beating at a normal pace.

  She should have felt remorse at shooting another human being. After all, this was the second time she’d done it. In England, she would never have considered owning a weapon, let alone actually using it. But when she saw the man who’d threatened her, who’d raised his musket to shoot Teach, Anne could only feel a sense of relief as he bled out. She no longer feared him.

  “Lower your weapons,” Teach called out.

  The man beside Anne stiffened. “But we caught—”

  “I said lower
your weapons!”

  The rage in Teach’s voice surprised Anne. He stopped in front of her, the air charged between them. “What the devil are you doing here?” Teach growled, his eyes scanning her from head to toe. “Are you all right?”

  “You know her?” The sailor who’d captured Anne snapped, his face twisted in shock.

  Anne and Teach both looked at him. Anne recognized him as the same soldier who’d guarded her at the fort. Right after Beth’s death. Anne had been as astonished to see him as he was to see her.

  Anne let out a swift, shallow breath. “I’m fine.”

  “Then why did you come?”

  “To save your life!” she retorted, glaring at him.

  “By risking your own? I told you to stay on board—”

  “You know her?”

  “Yes!” Anne and Teach shouted simultaneously.

  “Kitts, go and see if you can get a confession out of Nathan as to why he shot Easton and why he searched my cabin. He didn’t respond well to my interrogation. Now!” Teach added when the man continued to stare blankly at the two of them.

  Kitts stalked off, as did the men who’d accompanied him. Only Benjamin stayed nearby, his expression watchful and wary.

  Anne shook her head at Benjamin, and Teach followed her gaze. Pointing an accusing finger at the young man, Teach’s eyes narrowed. “You disobeyed a direct order.”

  “She was not to be stopped.”

  “You left John shorthanded.”

  Anne rolled her eyes and sighed. “Don’t be ridiculous, Teach. John has plenty of men.” Anne had been so focused on getting to Teach that she hadn’t given much thought to what would come after. She hadn’t a clue now as to how to proceed.

  “When I see him, I’m going to wring his neck. What you did was . . .”

  “Brave?” Anne offered.

  “Foolish!”

  Scowling, she bit her lip. “I saved your life.”

  Shaking his head, Teach grasped Anne’s hand in his and marched her over to the assembled crowd.

  “Do you mean to tell us what she’s doing here?” Kitts demanded from where he stood.

  Teach responded with an immediate, “No.”

  “She shot and killed a man,” Kitts barked.

  Anne dared another glance at the man she shot. He stared sightlessly up at the sun, his mouth partly open. The air reeked with the coppery scent of blood. Her stomach churned at the sight of the bullet wound and she turned away.

  “In case you’ve forgotten, that man shot me, so I’m obliged to her.”

  Teach pointed a finger at the pirate. “Nobody asked you, Easton.”

  So this was Easton. He didn’t appear that intimidating. Anne met Easton’s eyes and he nodded at her in thanks. He wasn’t exactly handsome, with his narrow forehead and strong chin. His eyes were bright with sharp hollows beneath. There was an irreverence about him, with his thin lips tilted up slightly at the corners, as if he was always secretly laughing at someone or something. Still, he wasn’t unpleasant to look at. Anne guessed he was in his twenties.

  “Where’s your medicine chest?”

  Easton motioned toward the water. “On the Kelly Killorn.”

  “Then we need to get you to your ship.”

  “My men will take me. You can stay here.”

  “And have you fire a cannon at us? I don’t believe that’s a good idea,” Teach said. “Besides, I have more questions for you about Webb.”

  “There isn’t enough room in the skiffs for all of us.”

  “Then you’ll have to trust me. And I’ll have to trust you. Truce?”

  Anne waited, her pulse pounding as each man sized the other up. Her two pistols were primed and loaded.

  “Truce,” Easton said. He nodded at his men. “Stand down. The first person to raise their weapon will answer to me. Understood?”

  “The same goes for my men. Ten of you will come with me. The rest of you stay here.” Teach turned to Easton. “Can you walk?”

  “Of course.” Easton stood, only to sway precariously on his feet. It appeared he’d lost more blood than anyone realized.

  Teach spread out one of the sails lying on the ground. He and a handful of Easton’s men lifted the pirate up and placed him carefully on top. They carried him slowly down to one of the waiting skiffs. Anne and Benjamin followed.

  “I demand an explanation,” Kitts sputtered, striding down to the edge of the water.

  Teach turned, the gentle waves washing his boots clean. “About what?”

  “Her!”

  Startled, Anne stumbled backward as Kitts pointed a shaking finger in her direction.

  “The last time I saw this woman, she was being questioned for the charges she brought against the governor’s wife.”

  “No, she was being held against her will while she was trying to save the governor’s life. Not that he deserved it,” Teach said.

  “What is she doing here?”

  “She’s coming with me.”

  Kitts’s face flashed a bright red. “This is outrageous. There are laws to be—”

  “Look around you, man! This isn’t England and it isn’t even Nassau. There are no laws or rules out here.” A vein pulsed at Teach’s temple. Anne knew the tether on his anger was about to break.

  “For your information, I was never questioned about my involvement. The governor’s wife killed a woman in cold blood. I was found guilty of that murder without the benefit of a trial. Now, if you will excuse us,” Anne pointed to Easton, his wound bleeding out, “we have to see to this man’s injuries.”

  “What exactly do you expect me to do?” Kitts demanded.

  “Wait here.” Anne allowed Teach to assist her into one of the skiffs.

  Benjamin placed a hand on Kitts’s chest as the outraged soldier stepped forward. A group of men moved to the other skiff, leaving Kitts standing in the sand.

  They rowed toward the pirate ship. Anne sat in the longboat facing the beach, with Easton stretched out in front of her. Kitts stared after them, his mouth open. Anne almost felt sorry for him. The day had clearly been full of surprises.

  “How did you do it?” Easton asked.

  “Do what?” The pungent smell of blood filled the air and Anne tried to hold her breath, but that only increased her light-headedness. The ringing in her ears had finally stopped. I shot and killed a man.

  “How did you get close enough to shoot the man who shot me?”

  Anne forced herself to focus. “You all made it very easy, actually. With the three of you arguing, nobody paid us any attention. Benjamin and I crept through the trees. As soon as I recognized him, I moved in from behind,” she said.

  Teach looked over at her sharply. “Did you shoot first?”

  “No. I saw him raise the musket. I thought he was aiming for you, but he shot him instead.” If she hadn’t suspected Teach was in danger, would she have fired the weapon? It was too late to second-guess herself. If faced with the same choice, Anne didn’t think she would have done anything differently.

  “We were standing side by side. It is possible he meant to shoot you,” Easton said.

  “Why would Webb want me killed? He gave me the task of bringing you back to Nassau.”

  “I told you, you’re a threat to him. You recognized one of the ships that attacked the Deliverance.”

  Anne looked up to the sky. “Does it really matter who he meant to kill? He said Webb was coming for us. Do you think there is any truth to his words?”

  “Absolutely,” Easton said. “If not here, then when you get back to Nassau. The minute you agreed to work for him, you signed your death warrant.”

  “I had no other choice. Part of my men from the Deliverance are still locked up in the fort.”

  “And so are some of our friends,” Anne said.

  Easton grimaced. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I wouldn’t hold out much hope for your crewmates or your friends. If you were smart, you’d sail from here and never return.”
>
  Refusing to give credence to his words, Anne turned away, trying to breathe around the tightness in her chest. She would not give up on saving any of them, regardless of how difficult it might be. Looking over her shoulder, she watched as they approached the ship. It was a three-masted vessel, and Anne counted twelve guns plus twenty oars to maneuver it in calm winds. The mainmast was in the process of being repaired, and some roughly patched holes in the side were testament to its most recent battle.

  “Admiring your handiwork?” Easton asked Teach.

  “My first mate told me we’d ruined your looks. It appears he was right.”

  “Ah, but that’s merely on the surface. Her true beauty lies within.”

  “Why did you name it the Kelly Killorn?” Anne asked.

  “I was sweet on a girl when I was a lad. But she married another.”

  The men on board the Killorn threw down a Jacob’s ladder and Benjamin went up first. Anne and Teach followed behind, while Easton and his men came up last. The pirate captain threw one leg over the railing at a time, but it was clear it took considerable effort on his part to remain upright.

  “Welcome aboard,” Easton said. “You’ll forgive me a proper tour of the ship, but I’m a little under the weather at the moment.”

  Beneath Easton’s bravado, Anne could see he was in considerable pain. His shoulder blades protruded through the back of his shirt and his skin was wan, sweat glistening on his forehead in the late afternoon sun. He was clearly undernourished.

  The other skiff with Teach’s men arrived and they boarded as well. Anne wasn’t sure if Teach had made the right decision to trust the pirate so easily, but she supposed it was better than staying behind and possibly having a cannon fired at them.

  “Take him to the captain’s cabin,” Teach said. Easton’s men led their captain down the stairs. Teach took Anne’s hand in his and they followed behind, into the belly of the ship.