Page 56 of Vengeance of the Pirate Queen

I try to make out figures on the enemy ship, but all I see are heavy coats and gear, just like we wear, though in different colors and styles. And whoever wears them is definitely human, not that I really took Enwen’s fears into consideration.

“Return fire!” I shout.

Philoria sets the first cannon off, and it just barely skims the ship, as it’s not quite lined up with the cannon’s sight. Visylla’s shot goes wide, but Bayla’s strikes true. She takes out one of the enemy’s cannons at the fore, striking right through the gunport and destroying both the weapon and whoever was manning it.

There’s a small cheer on our side as we see the enemy scrabble out of the way and take longer to reload their weapons for the next bout.

But when it comes, it comes hard. Their cannons go off in rapid succession. There are still at least three at the fore, andVengeancejolts from the hits she takes.

There’s a breathless, silent moment as both sides refill their cannons before firing once more. The ship finally comes within musket distance, though just barely. Shots ring out on our side, and crossbow bolts and gunshots answer from the enemy.

Another cannon hits us low, and the sound of rushing water is all I can hear for a moment.

Until another shatteringboomsounds, and a cannonball streaks to us, skimming too high to hit the ship, dodging the mast.

It hits Bayla square in the chest and carries her off the ship.

She’s dead before she even hits the water.

I stare at the spot where she disappeared in stunned silence.

Radita is shrieking at me from below, and I barely make out her words.

I don’t want to believe what is happening. I want to go back in time, retrace my steps in such a way as to save the four—five now—we’ve lost on this journey.

I would have attacked the beastie the first time we saw bubbles in the water. I would never have left the ship to explore the shore until I was certain the crew I was leaving behind was safe.

But it’s too late for any of that, and regret will not save the souls who remain within my care. The truth strikes my heart like a physical blow.

We’re not going to win this fight.

Perhaps if we’d had the whole crew on deck. If we hadn’t anchored. If we’d had our weapons ready.

But it didn’t happen that way, and I know we’ve already lost.

“Dimella!” I shout. “Get the rest of the rowboats lowered. Now! Jadine!” I find the head cook somewhere in the bedlam, loading a musket for another shot.

“Captain?”

“Get as much food as you possibly can loaded into the boats.”

“We’re abandoning ship?”

“Preparing for the worst. Now go!”

Philoria gets her cannon reloaded and takes another shot. It strikes true, but the behemoth doesn’t slow.

I go belowdecks and call for Radita.

“Forget about patching the holes,” I tell her. “Have your workers haul up what supplies they can from the hold before it’s all below water. Anything we might need to survive on land.”

“Aye-aye.”

I return up top. Girls are firing muskets at the approaching ship, but the enemy’s volley is three times as large as ours, and my crew constantly has to duck out of sight to avoid being shot themselves.

The enemy vessel puts another hole in us. All three of our shots make contact with the ship now, but we can’t spread out the holes to do the most damage with just the fore pointed at us.

“Philoria,” I bark out. “Slow that ship down.”

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