Slave Of Destiny (5 page)

“It didn't take you long to replace me, did it?” he
whispered, his desperation and regret mixed with anger dripping from his every
word.

“I'm sure my sister Rani was there to comfort you, probably
the day after I left, and offer her sympathy” she retorted, disregarding his
last remark.

Sally’s words revealed an angry bitterness that Marcus
couldn’t understand. After all, it was her, not him, who had left and thrown
away their life together. Marcus didn't respond as he should have, because, in
truth, he had known of Rani’s desire for him from the very beginning. But it
hadn’t mattered until the day he returned to their home to find that Rani had
left him as well. Reflecting on the two sisters, Sauli and Rani, Marcus could
hardly believe they were actually sisters.

“You’ll come crawling back to me when your family becomes
outcasts” he said as he left the cabin and padlocked the door.

* * *

“Where are we, Captain Thomas?” Michael enquired the next
morning.

“We’re skirting around the edge of Malaysia, Michael” he
explained.

“How long will it take us to reach our destination?” he
asked.

“That’s a long way away. Are you becoming bored now that
Sally’s not here?” he surmised.

“No, not really!” he mumbled. “It’s…It’s because
The
Teresa
is barely moving.”

“Don’t let Horace on the helm hear you say that, because he
would be deeply offended and he would take that remark as an insult” he gaffed.

Captain Thomas had a deep, powerful laugh, which made you
feel happy as well.

“Why are you in such a rush” he asked me.

“What I really meant to ask is when are we going to stop and
lower the anchor again?” Michael explained.

“Look over there on the port side. What do you see?” he
asked.

“I can see some islands. Why aren’t we heading for one of
those?” he asked.

“We can’t land there because they’re teeming with pirates! Vijendra
is the most ferocious and merciless one of them all and he would slay us
without a second thought” he mentioned.

“What about the British and the Dutch, why haven’t they
stopped him?” he asked.

“Oh, they have tried to stop him by attacking his stronghold,
but he retaliated and attacked a few of their settlements in return. No one has
tried it since. I think your wish to speed up may come to reality. See those
dark clouds over there, they sure don’t mean we’re going to get more smooth
sailing” he said. “I have to get back to my navigation and plot our new
course.”

* * *

The captain hadn’t been wrong in assessing the dark clouds,
because, later that night the sea began to get restless again. That afternoon
the dark cloud mass grew larger and larger until it blotted out the setting
sun. Bolts of lightning traced jagged paths across the darkening sky and the
rumble of thunder grew louder.
The Teresa
was a magnificent three-mast
schooner and very heavily constructed, but the first gust of wind nearly lay her
over. The seas began to rage about them as the crew scuttled up the masts to
reef the sails. Horace held the wheel with all his strength, but he had little
control because the sea raged on, dragging them closer to the island and their
dangerous reefs.

An island,
silhouetted by the lightning, grew larger and larger
until its immense cliffs towered over the schooner. The waves grew into
mountains while the wind roared furiously through the rigging. Rain bucketed
down, washing the decks as if it were getting ready for another scrubbing.

“It must be a
cyclone” Michael overheard someone mention to his friend.

“All crew on deck.
The Captain’s going to try and tack” shouted Jack.

Pitching wildly,
the
Teresa
, battled bravely, but she constantly creaked and groaned with
every onslaught of the waves.

The
crew performed the tack marvelously, allowing the
Teresa
to escape
disaster. The lightning storm was beginning to pass, only a few flashes
appeared from time to time now; the darkness so black it was as if it was ink.
Suddenly, a menacing roar reached the captain’s ear.

“Look
off the bow!” he thundered, his voice booming over the wind and waves.

“Reefs!” yelled
another voice.

Though
it was inky black and the wind howled about them, the roar of waves braking was
unmistakable. There could be no doubt. The captain could see a pile of rocks
with every lightning flash and they were only a hundred feet away from his
ship.

“Get
ready to tack!” he cried.

Horace
gathered his wits and pulled with all his weakened strength on the wheel.
Almost simultaneously, the ship struck something and slowed down before it
picked up speed again. Despite the danger, the crew managed to maintain their
composure and perform the required manoeuvre. The
Teresa
came about and
tacked, escaping from perilous waters a second time.

“Cast
the sounding line” shouted Jack

Immediately it was
cast and measured a depth of ten fathoms off the bow
.
A good depth and
it should get deeper, but they would still need a lookout. At four in the
morning, the sky began to clear in the east. The sun rose rapidly; its arrival
heralded by a magnificent red and golden sky.

“We’re taking on
some water, Cap’ain” reported Alby. “We must have holed her when we hit the
reef last night.”

“How bad is it?” he
enquired.

“It’s just a seep
at the moment, but we’re gonna have to take a look” he said.

“The only place
that’s suitable for a beaching around this area is Pualu Nukaha. That’s right
in the heart of pirate territory. Do you think we can go on for a few more
days?” he asked, but already knowing his answer.

“It might not last
and we don’t want to go down in the open ocean” he mentioned.

“Well, it’s settled
then. Keep your eye on the damaged hull and report back to me if it gets worse”
he stressed.

“Aye Cap’ain” he said
as he left.

Captain Thomas
confirmed their position then consulted his charts with his First Mate, before
he and Jack climbed up to Horace on the helm.

“We’re taking on
some water, but it’s not too bad yet. We’re going to have to beach her on the
western side of Nukaha Island There are no reported reefs there and we will be
protected from the elements. Set a course for fifteen degrees, Horrie, and keep
a good lookout, Jack” he said grimly. “Our destination is 55 nautical miles
away.”

“We haven’t reached
the new moon yet. If we beach the
Teresa
we will be stuck there for at
least three days, until we can get off on the next higher tide” he stressed to
the captain.

“I’ve considered
all this, but it’s better than going down in the middle of the ocean. We’ve got
everything to repair her on board, so we just need a little luck and then we’ll
be back on our way” he said, leaving Jack up there with Horrie.

“We’re only doing
about three knots and there’s a slight current against us, but we should still
make it for the high tide later this afternoon” suggested Jack.

Captain Thomas
paused when he saw Michael swabbing the decks, so he approached him.

“It looks like
you’re going to get your wish, m’lad. The
Teresa’s
been holed, so we
have to stop off at an island and repair her” he said solemnly.

“What about
Vijendra, the pirate?” Michael asked,
becoming worried.

“We’re going to have to take our chances and hope he doesn’t
find us, because we’re going to be like a beached whale; totally helpless” he
admitted before he walked away.

The seas were calm again after the violent storm, but an hour
later Michael overheard two sailors talking about the notorious pirate.

“He’s
around here, I tell you. Eight months ago, he attacked the
Offspray
, but
she just barely escaped after a grueling battle” mentioned a sailor, who had
fought against the bloody pirate once before.

“Look,
Captain! Look over there!” shouted the lookout from the crow’s nest.

“
Vijendra
!” yelled another voice
from the helm.

The
captain cast his eyes aft and back the way they had come and sighted a large
three mast schooner rounding the cape, just five miles astern of them.

It
looked Light and built for speed, their large sails filled with wind. The
captain immediately recognized the schooner for what they were: pirates! He
quickly informed the crew of the new danger; which they had no hope of
outrunning. Unfortunately, the Teresa carried very little arms; it was not well
stocked. There weren’t any cannons, and although they carried enough muskets to
arm the crew, most hadn’t been used in years. There were, however, several
swords and a number of axes as well. The captain and the crew armed themselves
as best they could, but they knew the weapons they had wouldn’t be enough. The
Portuguese flag fluttered majestically on the stern. They would have to fight
to the death.
Vijendra’s schooner
continued to advance rapidly, because it was much faster in the light breeze.

The
schooner wasn’t any more than a mile away now, so everyone but the two women,
prepared to attack their foe with all their might. The sun was high in the sky
and it was clear there were a great number of them to contend with. As they
came closer, about six hundred feet, the legion of well-built men, naked to the
waist and drawn from the various Asian and Chinese-Asian tribes waved their
weapons menacingly. Their shiny muskets, sabres and swords, along with their
ferocious war cries, sent chilling reminders to one and all. A cannon blast
thundered from
Mabuhay
and its ball smashed into the side of
The Teresa
,
splinters flying everywhere.

“Just
wait for them to come aboard, men,” thundered Captain Thomas. “Just wait, so we
can save our lead!”

Ferocious
cries of excitement emanated from those aboard the
Mabuhay
; the pirates
had begun their attack. Another cannon blast thundered, smashing into a mast
and felling it. When the
Mabuhay
came within one hundred feet, Captain
Thomas shouted “Fire!”

Several
pirates collapsed lifelessly on the deck as the
Teresa
unleashed all the
firepower they had. The pirates retaliated and, in less than an instant, four
of the
Teresa’s
crew lay lifelessly on deck. The severed foremast had
already killed two of the crew. Out of the original fourteen crew only nine
were left, if Michael counted the death of Mad Wayne. Retaliation was nearly
impossible, but some of the remaining sailors emptied their muskets and fled
towards starboard, attempting to jump into the sea. Many had been hit and cries
of agony filled the air as blood poured from their wounds. Captain Thomas and
two other men immediately rushed to stop the intruders from boarding, but a
volley of musket fire stopped all three in their tracks and they fell
lifelessly to the deck. Martha rushed to her husband’s body, crying. Quickly
she scooped up two muskets, reloaded them and fired at the intruders, killing
one. She too fell under a hail of lead as the pirates retaliated.

A terrible
cry filled the air as Michael stood there with his dagger, “Hurrah for
Vijendra!
”

The
pirates began to board, grabbing onto the bulwarks, side stays and ratlines.
Michael was the only person remained alive, standing on the deck and he was only
armed with a small dagger. Michael stood there defending himself with the
courage of a tiger, striking out in all directions at the volley of men
surrounding him.

He heard
one man cry with agony as his dagger sliced through the pirate’s jugular vein.
The remaining four men raised their sabers, ready to cut Michael to ribbons.

“Stop!”
thundered a voice. “That boy acts like a warrior.”

The man
that had shouted those life-saving words appeared to be about forty years of
age. He was tall, with skin lightly tanned by the sun, long blond hair, and
light blue eyes. A light brown beard covered his face. He gestured to his men
to make way for him and then he advanced towards Michael. He looked him over
for several minutes, carefully taking in every detail.

“So,
what are you going to say?” he asked.

“W…W…What?”
Michael stuttered, surprised by his soft voice.

“Surprised
to be alive?” he asked.

“I
don’t know how or why I’m still standing here.” Michael replied truthfully.
“Why did you spare me,
Vijendra
?”

“Because
you fight like a warrior, and, I admire warriors.” He said simply.

“I have
an offer for you; care to join us young warrior?” he asked.

“You…You
want me to become a pirate?” Michael asked, very surprised.

“Yes!
You really don’t have much choice in the matter” he said.

“Leave
me alone you mongrels” a woman shouted.

“What
about this woman? She’s really feisty” someone asked, laughing.

“Bring
her along as well. The crew will be very happy to play with her” he suggested.

“I’ll
die first before I become your concubine” she spat.

“Well
that can be arranged” he suggested smugly.

“Constance
is a great cook” Michael butted in.

“A
great cook! That’s something we don’t have” he said. “Bring them both with us.
I want the rest of you to ransack this vessel and burn it to the waterline” he ordered,
walking away.