Page 70 of Devil of the High Seas
They had to go, but first Gavin sprinted to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Two figures were swimming toward the rocky coastline below. “Sheridan has the boy. We’ll come back for them.”
Gavin faced the clearing and saw that all the pirates were dead and a few of his own sailors lay dead or dying. The gruesome sight and the cost of lives were a heavy toll on his soul. He wanted to stop and retrieve their wounded men and return them to the ship, but there wasn’t time. Griffin stood there watching him, breathing hard, his face splattered with blood.
“I’ll stay with ’em, cap’n,” one of the uninjured sailors from thePixievolunteered. “I know a little about tending to the wounded.”
“Thank you,” Gavin said and clapped the man on the shoulder. “We’ll be back for you. Tell Sheridan that as well.” Every head turned at the sound of cannons firing again.
“Back to the ship!” Gavin shouted.
* * *
Josephine was shovedagainst the foremast of theSirenby one of Beauchamp’s men. Wind whipped through the unfurling sails above her head as the pirate circled her and the mast with rope. She pulled at the ropes, but the pirate backhanded her the moment she tried. The pain made her dizzy as she slumped against her bindings.
She didn’t dare look toward Beauchamp, who was prowling the deck. It had become frighteningly clear in the last few days how much he suffered from gold madness. It consumed him to the point that he’d ordered his men to fire on the other pirate ships in the cove... and to slaughter the crews and the villagers. That would haunt her the most... hearing the screams of innocent people being murdered by a madman. She was terrified for Sam since he’d been left on shore with a small group of pirates.
Most of Beauchamp’s crew hid nearby in the woods with a quick route back to the cove, while a small group of men had taken Sam away as bait. Beauchamp had fully expected these men to be slaughtered by Gavin, but he’d told her that it was a reasonable price to pay for the ransom he could collect for her. Then Beauchamp had given the signal and his men had slunk back aboard theSirenlike rats climbing mooring lines. They’d only been spotted once they’d reached the deck and weighed anchor.
The ship that had come into the cove hadn’t been theCornish Pixie, like she’d expected. It was a larger ship, one that had a dragon for a figurehead. She recognized it as Brianna’s ship that she’d seen from the docks in St. Ives Bay in Cornwall. If theSerpentwas here... it meant her family might have come for her. Was Gavin with them? She could only pray he was. How else would her family know where to find them?
Brianna’s ship had opened fire, but theSirenwas closer to the cove’s entrance and at just the right angle for most of the shots to fall short of theSiren’s stern. The bright flashes of cannon fire broke through the mists while their percussive booms ricocheted off the dense jungle hills that wrapped around the cove. Josephine wanted to cover her ears, but her hands were trapped.
TheSirenhad fled the cove, despite theSeaSerpent’s cannons firing at her. The last few hours had felt like an eternity, and now everything had become a blur of furious fighting and terror.
The pirate who was tying her to the mast tugged hard on the rope, which pressed hard against her ribs, causing her to scream.
“Shut yer mouth!” The man struck her hard enough this time that black dots clouded her vision. The mist surrounding the ship began to clear as theSirencaught a strong wind in her sails and began to fly out to sea, leaving the island behind.
Beauchamp stood on the stern, watching the island grow smaller and smaller before he turned with an evil grin on his face. His plan was working. He’d told her the previous night what he intended to do. He’d made her dine with him while he bragged about his grand, devious plan: to use the boy to keep Gavin on the island while Beauchamp escaped by sea and took her far away. Then he could arrange a ransom from her family for her safe return at his leisure. Her plan to distract him with more gold had worked a little too well, unfortunately.
She bit her lip to hold in a sob as the pain from her bruised ribs and the blow to her face made her ill. Beauchamp walked down the deck toward her, with that evil grin still stretching his lips. He’d wanted her tied to the mast where the crew of theSerpentcould see her. It would make them hesitate to fire upon the upper decks or the masts.
“They won’t catch us. Castleton will have gone to the far end of the island looking for you, and he won’t be able to reach the ship in time, not once we’re out to open sea. No one can catch theSirenon open water.”
No one but theSerpent, she thought silently. Gavin had told her about Brianna’s ship, how it had once belonged to Thomas Buck, her adopted father and the previous Shadow King of the West Indies. Gavin had once said that a fast ship could still be beaten if the ship chasing it had a better captain and the right wind. And according to him, Brianna was one of the best captains alive. It had filled Josephine with pride to think that a woman pirate was one of the best captains on the high seas.
She’ll catch you, Beauchamp. She’s fast enough.
From her position on the deck facing the island, Josephine focused on the distant shape of theSerpentas it appeared. It helped distract her from the pain in her ribs and her shortness of breath.
“Cap’n! Sail!” the lookout cried.
Beauchamp paced the deck, flummoxed by this turn of events. “Jettison the cargo!” he ordered. The crew rushed to throw what wasn’t necessary over the side of the ship to increase their speed. Josephine feared that it would give theSirenthe advantage in the race across the water.
Beauchamp then pointed to her. “Billy! Pour the oil!”
The large mute pirate named Billy grabbed an unlit oil lamp and approached Josephine. He poured the oil in a large circle around her and the foremast. Then he stared at her with a dark toothy grin before he walked away. She looked down at the circle of oil around her and then up at Beauchamp. The madman must plan to burn her alive if he thought he couldn’t outrun theSerpent. She struggled even harder against the ropes, but she’d been bound too tight to even move. Her hands already felt numb.
“Run out the guns!” The cry was relayed across the deck, and sailors rushed to prepare the guns.
The pirates on theSirenscrambled across the decks and up the rigging to unfurl the sails, but it was no use. The weather had suddenly turned against Beauchamp. Despite the pain she was in, Josephine managed a smile. It was as she’d always believed: the sea and the wind were female, and they wanted revenge.
TheSeaSerpentnow chased them across the open water. Josephine knew that Brianna would be at the helm. The ship was barely even touching the water as it flew toward them like a peregrine falcon diving toward its prey. Even though her life was in terrible danger, Josephine cheered on theSerpent.
When the other ship caught up with them, the deck of theSirenfilled with pirates ready for a fight. A gunner shouted commands to ready the guns in response to the other ship. Josephine stared in horror at the black barrels of theSerpent’s guns, which were now aimed at theSiren... and her.
TheSirenunleashed a salvo of fire at the same moment as theSerpent. Grapeshot ammunition tore through the bodies of men at the stern, far away from her on the foremast. Screams mixed with shouts as the gunner ordered the next round readied. Josephine tried to see through the thick smoke to the other ship. Was Gavin there? Had he made it back to the ship before theSerpentgave chase?
The ships were close now,tooclose, in fact. With a chilling rush, Josephine watched as theSerpentcrashed into theSiren. Both vessels groaned on impact, though neither hull broke. Through the haze of smoke, she saw men swinging on ropes through the vaporous clouds and dropping onto the deck of theSiren. She shouted Gavin’s name, hoping he could hear her.
