Beast of the Bay

by Pride, Mia

  Legend said that her grandmother Grace had once snuck aboard a ship in the middle of the day. Pining to go on an adventure with her father, he had told her the sea was no place for a lass and that her hair would get stuck in the ropes. Being just as stubborn at Kat was, Grace shaved her head that night, wore a lad’s clothing and a large brimmed hat to cover her features. It was not until the ship was far enough out to sea that she revealed her identity. So thoroughly pleased with the willfulness and determination of his daughter, her father simply laughed and allowed her to stay aboard. From that moment on, Grace O’Malley was aboard every ship and soon, was seen as a leader, even beyond that of her father.

  Inspired by her grandmother’s fierceness, Kat wanted to prove that she had the same spirit. Already, she preferred the clothing of a lad and though she was mildly vain about her hair, loving its long red waves and refusing to ever shave it, she could easily twist it up under her hat and sneak aboard the ship. She knew enough about how a man walked, talked, and acted to easily pass as one.

  When the sun disappeared beneath the horizon and the world grew dark, the wind blew rapidly, twining her hair around her face. Gathering it up, Kat twisted her hair and stuffed it beneath the brimmed hat she wore and breathed deeply, discomforted by the linen used to bind her breasts flat to her chest. They were not very large, but they were most certainly obvious beneath her tunic without being bound.

  It seemed most of the men had cleared off the docks, heading to the alehouse for a warm meal and entertainment. Kat hadn’t seen Juan since their earlier encounter and she wondered if he would not be on the ship until morning. She had no idea what the mysterious Spaniard did with his spare time when he was not serving her brother’s every need. It was odd that he refused to go back to Spain and more than once, Kat had wondered if the man harbored a dark secret. Her imagination ran away with her whenever she considered it. Mayhap he was a fugitive who would be hanged if he was caught. Mayhap he had been a spy for his king and was still gathering information before someday disappearing into the night. That was the most likely scenario. He was quiet, large, would not hesitate to kill a man as she had witnessed earlier, seemed intelligent, and was a well-trained fighter. He was no commoner. That was apparent.

  Standing from the rock, Kat trudged through the rocky shore of Clew Bay, a rough terrain that only captains familiar with its waters could navigate. Her boots crunching beneath the small wet stones was the only sound aside from the mild splashing of the waves against the sides of the ships.

  Just as she hopped onto the dock, a man came out of the ship bound for Scotland and she stopped in her tracks, standing still as the man approached. He was rather short in stature and rotund in girth, and when he came close enough, she could see some of his features in the moonlight. Pocks marked his round face and she did her best not to grimace.

  “Evenin’, lad,” he said, swerving a wee bit and hiccupping as he passed. He was clearly inebriated, yet he had thought her a man.

  Clearing her throat, she deepened her voice, deciding now was the perfect opportunity to test her new identity. “Evenin’. This is the ship bound for Scotland, aye?”

  “Aye, aye. Ye on the crew?”

  “I am now,” she said quietly, and the man nodded his head and began to precariously toddle past her once more.

  “Then I shall see ye in the morn. Captain says we leave at dawn.” The man waved as he walked away, his round arse the last bit she could make out of his form.

  “Who is the captain?” she hollered back at the man, but with the wind carrying her voice away, he must not have heard her. Very well. She would find out soon enough and in the end, it did not matter, for if she found her gold and departed quick enough, there was no need to worry over the captain. Juan would be out to sea before learning she had stolen her gold back.

  Smiling widely to herself, Kat approached the ship and climbed its rope ladders until reaching the rails and swung a leg over, reaching the empty deck. It was nearly full blackness outside now, with the moon’s dim glow the only light source she had. The entire ship appeared empty of its crew and Kat walked slowly, looking at the furled sails overheard and tall masts. She had been on many ships in her life, had practically grown up on them. Still, there was something majestic about a lonely ship without its crew wading in the water underneath the moon. The smell of salt floated on the wind and the clack of her boots hitting the deck guided her toward the stern.

  She could not very well get her coins back from Juan if he was not on the ship. Perhaps if she went below deck to the steerage, she could find a place to wait it out until the dawn, when the men would be preparing to leave. She could prove that she was not to be underestimated, then leave before they set sail.

  Stopping in her steps, Kat arched forward and froze when she heard voices coming from the captain’s quarters. She had been wondering who the captain was and, with the door cracked open, she stepped forward carefully on her tiptoes, praying the boards beneath her did not creak and give her away.

  “Is that why we must sail to Scotland?” Kat leaned forward and squinted into the cabin, recognizing the voice of her brother’s father, Lawrence. He must be captain of this ship. Though he worked for England, secretly he was a member of the Devils of the Deep, working between English, Scotland, and Ireland.

  “Si.” That had to be Juan. No other man on Clew Bay spoke the Spanish language. Shifting slightly, she was finally able to make out their figures. Juan’s face was lit up with shadows from the candle flames dancing around on what looked like a large desk. He truly looked like the beast everyone described him as, looming in the shadows, full of dark secrets and mysteries that made Kat’s imagination go wild.

  “And ye are prepared to captain this ship? If Tomas trusts ye, ye ken I do as well.”

  “Si. I have spent many years aboard a ship. Once we arrive, we will find out what the Spanish galleon was doing in Scottish waters, though it is important I am not seen. That is why I need you. I cannot say why, but I cannot be seen. I cannot stress this enough.”

  “I will not ask. Ye have yer secrets, as I have mine. Ye have never given us reason to doubt yer loyalty. I would be more concerned if ye planned on jumping on their ship and going home,” Lawrence said wryly, causing Juan to cross his huge arms and chuckle.

  “That is not a concern, mi amigo. I assure you. There is nothing for me in Spain.”

  “So ye have said on numerous occasions. Good. I will be back at dawn. I look forward to this. I admit it will be nice to be first mate rather than captain for a change.” Lawrence smacked Juan in the arm and began walking toward the door.

  Panicking, mind reeling with all she had just overheard, Kat sprung backward like a feline sprayed with water and looked around wildly for an escape. Seeing the stairs leading down to the crew’s sleeping quarters, Kat made an immediate decision to find a place to hide out until the coast was clear.

  Crinkling her nose at the smell of mold and musk as she descended, she looked around and saw straw pallets littering the floor, as well as hammocks hanging from the rafters. Something scurried past her boot and Kat slapped a hand over her mouth to prevent from screaming. Fecking rats. She was not afraid of them, but the diseases they were known to carry. Shuddering, Kat hopped up on one of the hammocks and curled into a ball, praying nothing climbed any posts and crawled across her.

  Staring up at the wooden-beamed ceiling, Kat pondered all she had heard. Her brother had made Juan a captain of this ship, and they were sailing to Scotland because a Spanish galleon had been taken prisoner. It all seemed well and good except… why did Juan wish to avoid any of his countrymen so much? He had been but a crew member upon a ship. A commoner. Not even that. He had been a servant. Surely nobody would recognize a mere servant from one of the dozens of Spanish ships that had crashed over a year ago. Something did not sit right. There was more to Juan than he let on, and Kat was suddenly determined to discover what it was.

  Forget her coins. He could keep them. She
had a stash of gold from all the Primero games she had won recently. Nay, Kat was staying aboard this ship. She would work as a crew member if she had to, play the role of a young lad. She could pull it off, she was certain. Tomas would be gone long enough to never know she had even left and, she doubted her Pirate Queen grandmother would even notice she was missing.

  Crossing her legs and putting her hands behind her head, Kat’s hat tipped down over her face as she yawned. She was staying aboard and was going to Scotland, to Castle Dheomhan where the most notorious of pirates resided. Most importantly, she was going on an adventure that would lead her to discover who Juan Alejandro Sanchez truly was and what secrets he harbored.

  Chapter Three

  Sleep had eluded him all night. It was not the thought of being a captain, nor the journey. No Spanish ships had been seen since the last armada and those had been washed away by a massive storm, his ship being one of the many blown off course. Although they had been fortunate enough to make it to Irish shores where they were not considered an enemy, an English Governor of Connacht who happened to be Katherine’s father, blew up the ship when it had been gifted to Tomas by his grandmother. Seeing Juan struggling to survive in the water as debris fell all around him from the explosion, Tomas risked his own life to jump in headfirst and drag Juan back to the Pirate Queen’s ship. He would be dead if not for Tomas. And now, he was here, captain of his ship and facing the only thing that could still frighten Juan… being recognized by his people and forced home to face the King of Spain.

  Nightmares of his wife and daughter had also continued to plague him, feeling fresh in his mind with the prospect of return home looming if he were to be seen. He wished for one moment of his life, he could close his eyes and not see the corpse of his wife or hear the weak voice of his dying daughter.

  A knock on his cabin door thankfully pulled him away from the darkness consuming his mind. He had things to do. Ruminating on the past would not help his present and as of now, he had dozens of men loading his ship, preparing to sail with him to Castle Dheomhan, which shouldn’t be more than a few days’ travel. “Enter.”

  “The men are all aboard, Captain,” Lawrence said with a dramatic flourish. “I am not used to saying that to another man,” he grinned.

  “Very good. We can prepare to set sail.” Juan stood up from his seat and pushed aside his maps, rolling up a few important missives.

  “There is just one thing…”

  Juan quirked a brow as two men dragged in a third, much smaller lad between them. His face was streaked with what appeared to be ash and, based on his size, he had to be no older than ten and five. “Who is this?”

  “Exactly my question. He was here asleep in a hammock when the men arrived. He somehow got his face all dirty by the time I was brought to him, yet nobody has ever seen him, nor knows his name and, he will not say.”

  Juan scratched his beard and looked the lad up and down. He was scrawny to be sure and beneath that ash were decidedly softer features and no sign of facial hair. “How old are you, lad?”

  He pursed his lips and struggled between the two burly men holding him hostage and Juan smiled slightly, liking his spirit. Clearing his throat, the lad finally spoke. “Ten and… four.”

  “Ye hesitated,” Lawrence said. “Ye dinnae ken yer age?”

  “I just said it. Are ye deaf or just daft?”

  Lawrence tilted his head and looked at the lad with amusement in his eyes. “Ye are a feisty one.”

  “You have a name, si?”

  “Ka—Carrick,” the lad’s voice squeaked.

  “All right, Ca—Carrick. Why are you on my ship? Where did you come from?”

  He saw the lad swallow and attempt to elbow one of the men again. “Up north. I ran away. I wished to be… a… member of a ship and sail the seas.”

  Juan knew the lad was about to say he wished to be a pirate, but calling out other pirates wasn’t always a good idea, especially when many, such as Lawrence, considered themselves privateers. At least the lad had some sense.

  “Come with me.” Juan stormed past the men and left his cabin, walking across the deck and down the stairs to the cargo hold. Picking up a sack of grain, he turned around and faced Carrick.

  “Here.” Hoisting the sack in the air, he watched as the lad caught it quickly, even if he did struggle to manage the weight. “Carry this up the stairs and across the deck.”

  The scowl Carrick sent him did not go unnoticed, yet the lad did as he was told, adjusting the sack in his arms before slowly wobbling up the stairs, looking as if his knees would give way. Yet, somehow with his sheer determination, Carrick managed to carry the grain and drop it with a thud on the deck, turning to look at Juan with a defiant grin.

  Juan scratched his beard once more and looked the lad up and down. He had no meat on his bones as if he had not eaten in a fortnight, yet he seemed almost feminine in the way he walked and if Juan didn’t know any better, he would say Carrick had the arse of a lass… but he shook his head and dismissed such a disturbing thought. He could continue to test him, but there was not enough time for this shite.

  “Bien. You may stay if you wish. You can use manual labor and a reality check. This is hard work. By the end of the journey, you just may be a man, no?”

  It appeared Carrick flinched at those last words, but it was hard to tell through all the ash covering the lad’s face. “We may be… seamen… but we value cleanliness. Go wash up your face then meet us back on deck.”

  Walking away, Juan sighed, wondering what other surprises he was in for on this journey. But, he remembered once being an eager lad wanting to prove himself. It was only one year ago he could prove himself once more to Tomas. If he could give Carrick a chance to do the same, then he was at least allowing the wheel of fortune to continue its turning.

  “Men!” he shouted, standing in the middle of the deck, staring at the burly, rough group surrounding him. “Raise the anchor and ready the sails! We head for Scotland! Any enemy ships we come across along the way are yours for the taking!”

  The men cheered and began to pull on the ropes, letting the large sails rise to the top of the masts, wind whipping through them with a familiar and calming sound. Taking a deep breath, Juan looked around and felt a bit of pride for the first time in his life. Despite having a family he had lost to the plague, there were few things Juan could feel accomplished over in his life. He had been content to simply serve by Tomas’ side, but to be honored as a captain and to set sail to Scotland in his stead, Juan truly felt as if mayhap his future was more than darkness and secrets.

  The ship maneuvered through the rocky shores of Clew Bay, slowly making its way into the choppy waters of the frigid Atlantic. Clouds blew across the sky as the wind steadily picked up the further away from land they traveled.

  The seasoned crew fell into place with little direction, knowing their way around a ship, having traveled many times with Tomas in the past. Juan knew most of the men and was certain he shared a mutual respect with them. Many may find him mysterious or unnerving, but none of them would attempt a mutiny… all except the one scrawny lad who still seemed a bit off to Juan. Something was not what it appeared, but he knew the young man was no physical threat to him and appeared determined to stay on the ship. As long as he did as commanded and pulled his weight, Carrick was free to stay.

  After taking time to see that all was well on the ship, Juan decided to head to his cabin and read the missives Tomas had left him from the queen, ones he would be responsible to reply to once he had more answers.

  The cabin was dark and small but after lighting a few wall sconces, it felt rather comfortable. It was a temporary home, a small space just for him, and it was all he truly needed. One small bed rested against the back, taking up most of the space and built into the wall to prevent it from moving, as were the shelves lined with books and the desk where all his maps laid.

  Sitting down, Juan unrolled the missive from the queen, frantically demanding Toma
s to go to Scotland with his men and find out why they held a Spanish galleon. Juan grunted and stroked his beard. He could not understand why Elizabeth I, a Tudor Queen, was so threatened by his now-impoverished country. He did not know why a galleon was in these waters and he would find out, but it was most assuredly not another armada, for King Philip had used up all he had on the final attempt.

  Boredom burdened his mind. Juan was a man of action, used to using his body for labor. Sitting behind a desk, looking at maps and reading missives were proving to cause his mind to wander.

  Thinking of the night before, Juan considered Kat and the men she had been fighting with. Shaking his head, Juan made a note to speak to Tomas once they were both back at Clew Bay. Juan had no trouble helping her out, but she was becoming more of a handful, causing trouble and requiring help to get out of her scrapes. He had no care if she played cards, but if she did not have the ability to defend herself, she needed to consider that before angering a group of large men. Juan would not always be around to save her stubborn Irish backside.

  Remembering the coins he had… temporarily borrowed from her, Juan opened the drawer of his desk. He was one of the best pickpockets in the world, he was certain of that, and he could not pretend that he had not thieved his fair share of gold since becoming wrapped up with Tomas and the pirates at Clew Bay, yet he had every intention of giving Kat back her hard-won coins. He simply wished to teach the woman a lesson. She was smart and had a lot of fine features, he would give her that, but she was reckless and believed herself above the consequences of her actions. If Kat believed she could take on three large men in an alehouse fight and walk away with gold at a pirate stronghold, hopefully, she had learned her lesson.