by Ed Gorman
He said, "At dawn you can take me over to Benbow. I'll strike off for Villaine's settlement and you can wait just off shore for my return. If I'm not back in the prescribed five hours, leave this area at once. Your primary concern then is to see that my wife is returned to Port of St. Christopher's safely. That's all I ask."
The face of Anu peered at her from around Maycomb's collar. "No, sir, you won't be going anywhere."
"Pardon, Lady?"
"You'll be staying here aboard ship. I'll retrieve your daughter if I can, and only if she's willing to go. If not, I'll give her the diamonds as a precaution in case she ever changes her mind. She'll have enough to bribe guards if need be and find her own passage off Benbow."
"No," he said. "I want to see her myself."
"You'll only slow me down and increase our chances of being found out. I'm leaving now."
"What, tonight?"
"Don't let your love for your daughter ruin the opportunity to save her at this late hour."
"I thought you wished the visit to last only in daylight hours."
"I've changed my mind on that."
"But why?"
She didn't mean to tell him but found herself speaking anyway. "I've my own reckoning to fulfill beneath the moon."
With his mouth twisted into an angry sneer, Maycomb stepped forward about to argue further but his wife stopped him with a hand to his wrist. "Trevor, you hired this woman for a reason. She is capable and level-headed and principled. Stay with me and allow her to retrieve Daphna, if she can."
"I want you here in case the ship is attacked," Crimson said. She opened her satchel and took out three of the rowan tree stakes and four of the iron rings. "You know of what I speak. Use these if you must. A stake must pierce the heart with one thrust. The rings can be used to strangle the fiends, if need be. Iron is supposedly anathema to them."
"Assuming they exist at all."
"Yes, when making that presumption. Do you feel you're up to the task?"
"Yes."
"I'm convinced as well."
Maycomb took the proffered weapons and said, "Do you believe your husband is alive on Benbow?"
"No," she answered quickly. "No, I don't think that at all." She spun and grabbed the door latch, but before she could leave, Elaine Maycomb draped the silver chain and cross around Crimson's neck.
"Save her, child. Deliver our daughter and yourself."
5
The brazen three-quarter moon had started its lumbering climb into the sky. Two crewmen were on watch and they merely eyed her and kept silent, on the lookout for any activity in these pirate waters. The harpooner was still muttering about mermaids but nobody was listening anymore.
Welsh, wearing his darkest clothes, was already in the skiff when she reached it. Hedrick had placed in proper provisions, to be certain: a small cask of whiskey. Welsh had finished about half of it by the time she got in with her gear.
"Figured you'd want to make this journey at night."
"Goat, if you really knew me so well, you'd run for your worthless gray life."
"Someone's got to watch over you, lass, before you go findin' yourself in even greater troubles."
Together, they worked the pulleys hard and lowered the skiff into the water. They cast off, sat side by side, and rowed towards the island of Benbow through the glossy darkness.
"They're watching us fer sure. I can feel that spyglass on me handsome face now."
"Must be the native girls so impressed with your dashing looks."
"My thinkin' exactly."
"You keep your wits about you, old man."
He grimaced and said, "What's that hanging about yer neck? You haven't gone missionary now, have ye? The savages be sharpenin' their machetes for the likes of a nun spreadin' the gospel in the wrong place."
Crimson ignored him and kept rowing. They drew along the coastline and continued around towards the jungle side where the volcanic mountain rose with the village crouched at the top.
"No ships," Welsh said. "This here looks to be the best natural harbor for the island, but there's no vessels at all."
"Could they be hidden in some cove?"
"On volcanic rock like this? Not likely from what we've seen so far. Still, perhaps..."
Whenever Crimson looked up, the island soared towards the pagan moon, a craggy monolith reaching. "We've come all this way and Villaine's off plundering in Cuba?"
"Let's set about there," Welsh told her. "Watch the rocks. Lord in the heavens, what sort of heathen place of worship is this?"
"Look at the stairs. It's as if the upper crest of the village itself forms some sort of temple."
"No wonder the dead here can't get any rest."
There were perhaps fifty yards of clear beach before the base of the stone steps. ”Be ready for anything."
"I always am, with the help of a bit of whiskey." He gulped another mouthful down and smacked his lips. "All right, then, let's see what sort of ghosts haunt this damnable place. Perhaps some pretty ones, eh?"
They beached the skiff but there was no point in dragging it too far up the shore. None of the vegetation was close enough for them to put to use in hiding the boat. Crimson watched for lamplight or reflections off weapons, expecting someone to come at them down those stone works. An unearthly quiet settled over the area and even the lapping waves didn't break as hard as they should. The dark waters seemed to be moving in all the wrong directions.
"Lass?"
"What?"
"Did you not hear me? I asked if you'd taken your pouch of gunpowder. Is it in your satchel there?"
"Yes," she lied. She'd been foolish and had packed poorly, she now realized, caring more about spirits than cutthroat corsairs. The iron rings clanked together quietly as she carried her pack to the towering obelisk of steps. "How many do you figure there are?"
"I've heard of tribes doing such things as this in the South Pacific. With the heads of idols that reach a hundred feet high, built at the rim of the volcano. They use 'em for human sacrifices. A foolish waste of virgins, if any would ask me. Sometimes there's as many as five thousand stairs."
"Impossible."
"It's true, so I've been told."
"Your knees up for it?"
"If not, it's a long way back down to the arms of the earth."
"Let's be off then."
They checked their weapons and mounted the stairs, climbing steadily but without rushing. In this darkness, even with the moon bright above, all it would take was one misstep to send their skulls cracking. The night itself seemed to pluck and draw at them as they rose. She estimated the ascent at a good quarter of a mile at least. She was amazed by how smooth the stonework was. It must have taken a thousand men ten years to chisel it all to completion. The steep angle winded both of them, and twice while looking out at the silhouette of the San Muy Malo anchored in the gleaming sea, she suffered a brief bout of vertigo. Welsh's strong hand steadied her each time even while he clutched at the cold rugged rock for purchase.
"I suppose they don't frolic in the ocean much, these lovers," she said. "It'd take them a week to get to the beach."
"There's bound to be other passages through the volcanic channels," Welsh told her. "Escape tunnels and burrows, plenty of nooks fer loot. A rope and winch system so he can draw up his plunder though deep-cut shafts."
"Let's hope, leastways. It'd be much easier for us to find one of those routes than having to walk all the way back down."
"Maybe he's got some of those virgins tucked away as well."
"You live on hope, old man."
"One needs to at my age."
Nearing the top of this bizarre temple—if that's what it truly was—they heard the first sounds of night birds and smelled rich soil and flowers in bloom. The fronds and palms caught the wind and cool air wafted through Crimson's hair. She hadn't realized how sweaty she'd grown on the ascent. Moon-traced darkness offered a hint of movement in the jungle. They sat and rested for a handful of m
inutes. No sign of the two armed guards supposedly on watch.
"Look out for traps," Welsh whispered.
They hurried forward along a thinly-cut trail, drawing their cutlasses and listening for any human sound. The jungle growth stoppered the moonlight and occasionally they were forced to feel their way blindly, slashing at vines and brush. Crimson heard the chitter of monkeys and felt a pang under her heart. Tyree had kept a capuchin for a time, named Mendicantino—little beggar. She opened the satchel wider and felt the ash wood on top within easy reach.
"Shhh," Welsh said.
"What?"
"A noise. Stand ready, girl."
"Always."
She almost spoke her husband's name. And then they heard a cry: human and horrified, straight ahead.
"Faster, goat."
"Towards that, yer thinkin'?"
"I've not come this far to meet up with only a corpse."
He let out a grunt. "Haven't you now?" he asked.
"Follow me and fasten your gob."
Lashed and slapped by the heavy undergrowth, they followed the sparse path that vanished in places. They had to keep chopping through bush and branch until they found their way again. Crimson pushed on through clouds of mosquitoes, trying not to slip in spots still muddy from recent rains. Welsh wheezed and huffed behind her. He'd replaced his cutlass and held only his dagger now. Good, he was better with a short blade, and it wouldn't tire him so much to carry it through the jungle.
"Torches," he said.
"I see no light."
"I smell the tallow."
He was right. As they crept through the brush they came to a clearing of land where the village itself lay like a growth upon the granite face of an unknown god. Two dying torches illuminated the area. Huts made of bamboo, stone, vine, foliage and fronds ringed a huge spit where, Crimson guessed, communal meetings were held. Rain barrels of drinking water were lined up on the south side of the semi-circle while two rusted cannons resided on the north. There must have been hidden tunnels with hoists of some kind for Villaine's men to bring up the large guns.
"Not much stench from any latrine," Welsh told her. "If Villaine has either buccaneers or savages with him, they're not many."
"A lazy lot. No one's scraped the cannons down to keep them clean. Hedrick said they were probably bunglers."
"No sadder sight than a shiftless pirate resting on his treasure chest. I'm thinkin' we ought to lighten some of their load."
The village appeared deserted. No movement or sound of any kind within. But still there persisted a sinister sense that something unspeakable had happened here—a plague or slaughter. She could almost feel Tyree's chilled lips on hers and she fought to keep her concentration. "Let's check the huts."
"Careful."
The first seven bungalows were empty. The pirates had apparently shacked with some of the native women—pots, blankets, seashell combs and colorful cloths sat out in the open upon beddings and warped wood furniture. Gunpowder too wet to be of any use lay in uncapped barrels. Some haughty jewelry and wooden boxes of coins were in plain sight. Villaine's crew was treated so well they didn't even bother to hide their spoils from one another.
"Odd company, these privateers," Welsh said.
"Agreed."
"If it's a battle they had, they weren't expectin' it."
"Not most of them, leastways."
They were leaving the seventh but when they heard the unmistakable sound of a woman weeping. It seemed to come from a bungalow on the far side of the circle. Crimson quickly strode across the common area but Welsh tugged at her sleeve. "Caution, girl."
"Hush."
She jerked free and yanked her flintlock from her sash. With a deep breath, she used the edge of her sword to toss back the piece of dark cotton cloth used as a curtain in the doorway. Her eyes had no time to focus before a shot exploded and Welsh's forceful arm smacked her to the ground even as he flung himself aside.
Another wail rose, this time one of immense and undying remorse.
Crimson scrambled to her feet and dove forward, slashing with her cutlass. If she'd been hit she didn't feel it yet.
The silver cross was heavy around her neck and she let loose with a groan that broke free from somewhere deep inside her chest. If this was Daemonia Wampyros, she knew she had to slice through the neck with one blow, or so the myths went. She had to believe in something. If it was some other unhappy spirit or shape-shifter, then who the hell knew what to do next.
The aroma of recently cooked meat filled her nostrils. A small fire flared near the back of the spacious hut. Twisting shadows played upon the walls and ceiling, like talons scratching out for her.
Firelight bronzed the face of a young woman cradling a dead man's head.
"Daphna Maycomb?" Crimson asked.
The girl glanced up without expression. She held a smoking pistol pointed directly at Crimson, the finger on the trigger still holding tight. Her dark hair was tangled and dirty, filled with dust and rotted leaves. Her taste in clothing ran in the same vein as her mother's: her dress was a bright blue peignoir made of Merino and trimmed in velvet. She must be wildly uncomfortable in this moist heat. There were bruises about her neck, and her hands were so white they appeared almost transparent.
The corpse, too, was filthy, and from his chest rose the handle of a stake made from bamboo. In the corner were a pile of other sharpened sticks. They'd been prepared for a hunt, it looked like. His once-white shirt bloomed red and the blood glistened in the firelight. He'd not only been handsome but almost pretty. Even though he was dead, she could see the strange marriage of nobility and piracy in his bearing. The harsh rugged lines of his jaw and the seamless skin around his eyes. His clothes were ragged now but once they'd been refined, and his lengthy hair—almost as long as Tyree's—remained tied back in a ponytail with a black silk ribbon.
Replacing his dagger, Welsh said, "It's Villaine she holds." He turned and kept watch from the door in case the cries or sound of the shot aroused anyone in hiding. The prevalent, consuming silence continued.
With her free hand, Daphna Maycomb gently stroked her lover's face as if she were trying to get a child to sleep. His lips were curled back but not far enough that Crimson could see his teeth. The need to know if he had a mouth full of fangs caused her to kneel beside the body and reach out, but Daphna let loose with a soft bitter sound and Crimson drew back.
"Put up your flintlock, Daphna."
"What's that?"
"Your parents sent me here to find you."
"Yes," the young woman said, stunned and staring through Crimson. "So like them to send someone else and not come themselves."
"They're here, off shore, and they paid a good deal in diamonds so that you'd be found."
"Why didn't they come for me before? Why didn't they stop me?"
The girl was caught somewhere between petulance and shock. "Here now, we'll soon have you home again."
Daphna's mouth drew into a ghastly and scornful grin. "Too late, you see, far too late.”
“What happened to Villaine?"
The girl again began to sob, mewling, and her knuckles were white as bone, still unable to release the trigger. "I killed him," she said, "but the misery on this island does not know how to die."
"We've company," Welsh said from the doorway, staring into darkness. "And these here aren't pretty ghosts."
6
A strange calm settled over Crimson as she stepped forward and looked out past Welsh's shoulder. The nimbus of the moon ignited the roiling clouds, and the entire sky glowered down like the fiery scowls of madmen.
Four of them out there at the edge of the jungle, with the torch light barely reaching their forms.
They wore only wet trousers that dripped and left puddles at their feet, and their ashen skin gleamed and glowed with sea water. Jaundiced eyes blazed. The warm night winds swept low and snapped against flesh as hard as bone.
"Who are they?" Crimson asked. Her heart thudded
against her ribs as some delighted child's voice inside her skull cried, At last! He's here!
"Dead men," Daphna answered. "They come out of the water."
Welsh said, "Well, if it's true, then those savages actually had call to pass them rumors."
Crimson handed him a sharpened piece of ash wood and the iron pike. "Listen to me, goat, you're about to get an earful and you'd better take heed."
"I already know the wives’ tales, lass, and better than you, I'd wager. One fell swoop of a cutlass ought to do the job right, so I hear. I'll take a bloke's head off, if need be."
"A stake through the unbeating heart. One blow, don't miss your chance. And iron is a bane to them as well."
He held the heavy metal pike up. "To us all, I'm thinkin'."
She grabbed the iron rings. "These are supposed to work around the throat, keeps them from biting, it's said. Strangles them."
"You've been talkin' to the wrong kind of people, lass."
"Be glad that I have been or we might have no chance at surviving this night."
"A sad waste of diamonds that'd be.”
“Are they coming yet?"
"No."
She scanned the outlying jungle as that child inside her, giddy with delight, searched for Tyree in the shadows. The murdered men stood unmoving and cracks in the stones sipped at the ocean water trickling from their ragged cuffs.
"Why aren't they attacking?" She turned to Daphna. "Tell me, girl, what you know of this, and be quick."
Daphna spoke with no inflection. She continued caressing Villaine's cheek as if he might awaken at any moment. Crimson kneeled beside her and patted her shoulder, taking a new tack. "Help us, Daphna. Explain what you can."
With a languid motion the girl started gently rocking. The jutting piece of wood in her lover's chest vibrated and new pulses of blood throbbed loose. "They said the tide brings in strange beings from the lower depths. They said these creatures come up in certain seasons, on special nights, and feed. Slowly at first, and then more often."
"Is that what happened?"
"Villaine's men became ill, one after the other. They lost all appetite for food and water. Their eyes and skin could not stand the searing light of tropical day. God, how I prayed. They grew hungry, and that unholy appetite drove them insane. The sight and smell of blood sent them into frenzy. Animal blood at first, and then, soon after, human blood."
