The Dreamer (23 page)

It was chaos, men shouting, men running, the clashing of swords. Muskets exploded, the blasts deafening. There were cries of pain, low moaning, and the splashing of water where bodies were thrown overboard.

I put my hand to my mouth and stared in horror at the carnage, bitter tears stinging my eyes. “Heaven help us,” I whispered.

I stood up, went to the pistol still lying on the bed, and picked it up. The cold steel felt heavy in my hands. I clutched it close and drew it against my breast in a movement that was almost affectionate.

I took it to the window and I reached up and touched the scalding tears running down my face. I looked at my damp fingertips.

I peeked out again. I saw the captain. My heart swelled at the sight of him. I stood and watched as he battled three men at once with his sword. He was a good fighter, strong and quick. He stabbed one man in the abdomen, pushed him off his sword with his boot, and then concentrated on the last two men. One more enemy quickly entered in, however, and the captain was fighting three again.

My heart leapt and sank as he parried and thrust with those men. It was impossible. There was no hope for us.

I looked down at the pistol and gingerly fingered it.

I had told him I would be brave and wise.

I was hardly afraid when it came down to those last seconds. It was almost a relief to finally know what would happen, what I would have to do. The waiting and anxiety were over. Men fell, cried out in pain and anguish. There was no hope, and I knew what I had to do.

I carefully turned the loaded gun so that it was facing me, that dark, vacant barrel.

And I waited.

*** *** ***

I looked out the window again. I watched the captain fighting. Still, there were three men he was fighting off single handedly.

And then I froze.

A man passed in front of the window, a pistol in his hand. He was moving quietly and with caution, sneaking up behind Mallory to take him by surprise.

One shot.

A single shot.

It was all I had.

I glanced down at the gun in my hand, and then back up at the villain pirate as he made his way behind my Captain to shoot him in the back.

Feeling suddenly faint, I closed my eyes. A flash came of those long hours in the dark, terrible cage, the clomp, clomp, clomp of men’s boots above me, the stench of the slime and mold, and that lone chair with the long, clinging ropes.

One shot.

Only one.

Men’s voices sounded outside my door. The doorknob rattled, and then there was pounding, nearly shaking the door from its hinges.

“Ye be thinkin’ ye can hide from us, lassie?”

“Ey matie! They ain’t be loosin’, they’s lost! Ye be ours now, wench!”

I looked down the barrel of my escape. So long and thin. It held all the answers, and it beckoned to me.

And I answered.

Suddenly I was falling, falling, falling, as I had done in my dream. I soared through the air with ease, sure of my destiny. It
was
destiny. The universe suddenly had order and perspicuity, and it thrilled my mind. It wasn’t arbitrary earth and space. I came for a purpose. And it was this.

I have no recollection of opening the window and scrambling out of it. I have no recollection of plunging out into the chaos. I do, however, remember the sting in my watery eyes as I ran through the smoke, and I remember how my hands trembled as I leveled the gun before me.

And lastly, seared into my recollection with horrifying clarity is the powerful explosion of the weapon when I pressed on that slender slice of metal. Smoke filled the air, and I saw nothing. Not even the pirate’s body falling to its death.

Then there was a shape, a face in the distance. It was Mallory. He turned and saw me, the gun still held before me, smoking and fiery hot. His eyes grew wide and disbelieving, registering the fallen man who also held a gun in his hands, facing him.

He seemed to be saying “Rachel” but I couldn’t hear him, and his mouth moved very slowly. Everything was slow. Everything was deliberate and full of purpose.

“The woman!”

The words were screamed. Men turned and saw me standing there. Those who had been attacking Mallory now switched their target and came for me.

Mallory snapped into action and went after them. Hands gripped me from behind, and I could see anguish in his gaze as he fought the swarming enemy.

“Captain!” I cried, reaching for him as I was pulled away. A plank of wood connected the ships like a bridge, and I was dragged towards it. I tried to fight them, but it was useless. “I’m sorry!” I sobbed. “I’m sorry! Forgive me!”

“Rachel!”

A cannon ball soared between us and exploded in a ball of smoke and fire. The captain disappeared from my view.

“Rachel!” I heard him call again. And then the clash of swords.

“We be havin’ her. We got that deceivin’ dirty wench. Pull back!”

“Pull back, men!”

The
Nine Sisters
groaned heavily and slowly began to lean to one side. “She’s going under!” someone cried.

More hands gripped me, pulling me away. I fought with every breath, sobbing and clinging to anything I could grab hold of, all the while begging for forgiveness.

They dragged me across the narrow plank, and below me floated the bodies of the dead and dying. “Forgive me! Forgive me!” I begged all of them.

They got me to the
Thrasher
, but I was able to hold onto the railings to prevent them from pulling me down below deck.

A dorsal fin sailed below me in the water, and I stared at it with wide, horrified eyes. “Sharks!” I screamed, hardly recognizing the sound of my own voice. A man in the water screamed and tried to swim away, but he quickly disappeared in a swell, pulled below the water. And then a cloud of red. More dark shadows appeared below us.

“Sharks!” I heard men cry.

There was yelling in the distance and another groan from the ship. The sickening sound of splashes filled the air as men from the
Nine Sisters
fell overboard. “She’s going down! Every man for hisself!”

Just before the plank was taken down between the ships, I saw Finley being dragged behind another pirate.

“Look who I found,” he sneered.

The duke, whom I’d hadn’t noticed before, stood breathing heavily with blood dripping from his sword. He looked at Finley indifferently and commanded, “Bring him.”

There was an explosion of pain in the back of my head, and my hands were pried from the railings. I was dragged below deck, barely sensible of my feet knocking against the rails of the ladder on the way down.

*** *** ***

I was used roughly, hands shaking my shoulders and yanking at my arms and legs. I think I was even slapped. I hardly felt any of it.

“Wake up, wench!”

“Where be the great, grand treasure, wench?”

I was insensible to all of it, the words floating in and out as insignificant as flies in the air. I didn’t even bother trying to shoo them away. They didn’t matter. Nothing mattered now that the captain was gone.

“What thar be wrong with her?”

“Is she dead?”

“It looks that she be … cryin’.”

“Get Dubois.”

Footsteps faded into the distance, and it came as a surprise to me that I liked this place. It was cold and dark, but I was all alone, and I was utterly safe. No one could touch me here, no one could reach me no matter what they did. That’s all I wanted, to be left alone.

Time passed. It didn’t matter to me how long because, where I was, there was no time. No anger or fear or pain. If I didn’t miss the captain, it would have been perfect.

There were footsteps again, and I was gripped by rough hands. Somebody shouted insults and tried to hurt me, but he couldn’t because I was far away. He could not reach me, no matter how he tried.

Again the sound of boots stomping away. They were very silly to keep trying. Nothing could touch me anymore. Didn’t they know that?

I slept. I was cold, but I was calm. In my sleep I saw the captain across the deck and waved to him happily. But he simply looked at me, his face not registering recognition. He turned and walked away and didn’t look back. I didn’t go after him. I knew I couldn’t stop him from leaving.

There were hands on me. When would they stop? When would they give up already?

I was carried up the ladder and suddenly there was sunlight on my face. I turned away from it in annoyance. It disturbed my peace, and I did not like it.

I was taken inside and placed on a soft bed. Warm blankets covered me. I knew what they were doing, these fools. I didn’t care. I turned over and disappeared again. And just like that, I was alone once more.

Chapter Seventeen

Notes: If the captain could still be alive ….

“Rachel.”

The sound came from far away, and I stirred.

“Rachel, please.” There was gentle supplication in it.

I sighed and opened my eyes. I was in bed, the room dim. There was a man sitting nearby. “Captain?”

“No,
petite
.”

My eyes came into focus, and I saw the duke sitting near me, his brow creased with concern, his eyes unhappy.

Without a word I rolled over again and closed my eyes.

“
Petite
, you need to listen.” He touched my shoulder. “What happened to our deal? You said you’d help us find the treasure,
n’est pas
?”

It was easy to fall away again, hearing only fragments of his words.

“Last time you were here … down in the holding cell for your own protection … ran away … disappeared before I could bring you to shore … beautiful island … high cliffs ….”

I ignored him.

The captain was looking at me again, calling me a fool. It was very nice to see him.

There was a pause. A chair scraped against the floor. Like the time he’d pulled out my chair, dragging it along without complaint when I moved my plate closer to his ….

“The treasure … wouldn’t you like to see it? Touch it? Thousands of years of human history … your life’s ambition ...
Mon Dieu
, do you care no longer?”

He’d once called me his dear. That was very nice.

There were footsteps, and then the aroma of food filled my nostrils. My body urged me to respond, demanding sustenance. But my brain was a powerful organ that could not be penetrated by something as insignificant as nourishment. He’d even said I didn’t speak like a human. That I was studying them from a far off place. That was just before he called me masculine.

I will think about something else.

“Just lying there uselessly …. You know what the pirates will do if I cannot get you to help us? What are we going to tell Tucker when he comes looking for you,
petite
?”

Tucker?

I turned and looked at him. The duke looked back at me, his eyes registering relief.

“So that got your attention, did it? Well, it’s true. Is that what you’ve been thinking? That Tucker had drown,
petite
?”

I said nothing. I just looked at him.

“He didn’t drown. There were ships on their way from shore. All those men still aboard were most likely saved. Did you think I’d leave them there to drown? All of them?
Mon Dieu
, what kind of barbarian do you think I am?” he gently chided.

His words had merit. It was
possible
. We had been close to shore. I had forgotten just how close, the land looming ahead of us like a beacon.

“And they would have had the long boats, too,” I whispered.

He smiled. “
Oui.
You finally hear me.”