The Following Sea (The Pirate Wolf series) (24 page)

Eva stood. "You can stay here with the boat if you're worried. I'm just going to climb up there—" she pointed. “I will stay in sight. If I see them returning, I'll hurry right back down."

"I don't know, Miss—"

"It will be fine," she said, pulling on her boots again. Before he could object she set off up the same incline the men had taken, picking her way carefully up the path to the top.

There, she had to steady herself again, and wait for her land legs to recover from the climb. She found a large boulder that gave her a clear view of the enormous blue pool below as well as the surrounding terrain, which was all rocks and trees and stubby vegetation. There was no sign of the small landing party, but there were higher rises and hillocks where they must have gone to get a better view of their surroundings.

The sun had cleared the peaks, however and it felt comforting on her face. There was a breeze as well, warm and dry, and it quickly started to shake the moisture out of her linen shirt. She waved down to Eduardo, who still looked dreadfully unhappy. From up high, the water hole was like a perfect blue circle. The channel leading to it was markedly shallow in comparison but because she was not altogether comfortable with heights, she did not get closer than a dozen paces from the edge of the cliff to see how or where it meandered through the rocks.

When on board, the mainmast of the
Endurance
seemed to tower over the deck, yet she could see no sign of it through the trees. She kept a sharp eye out for any sign of movement on the hillocks, but saw nothing other than the birds circling overhead and one tiny furry creature scuttling away behind a rock.

She tipped her face up and closed her eyes, letting the sun work its magic. Only then did she allow herself to think of her father, wondering if he was sitting somewhere close by enjoying the same wash of sunlight on his face. She had not allowed herself that hope. She had not even dared to allow herself to hope that Gabriel Dante might actually help her find him.

"Father," she whispered. "I am here. I am close. Please let me believe you are still alive."

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Half a mile away, Dante was studying the land and the surrounding sea with a practised eye. He and Stubs were standing on high ground, which gave them a clear view of the island extending several miles in all directions, including the broken scattering of atolls and islets that extended south and west. Stretching out to the east was the wide channel of the Tongue, the silvery surface glittering with the newly risen sunlight. Muertraigo’s galleons were there, looking close enough to keep Dante and Stubs tucked behind a copse of palm trees lest their silhouettes stand out against the clear sky. Two of the ships, Gabriel was pleased to note, showed heavy damage from the previous night. One of them was listing so badly he doubted it would see another sunrise.

The fourth ship had finally joined the others and appeared to be a merchantman. Her reticence in coming forward last night could be explained by the fact she only carried six guns. It was a light carrack, the type used by the Portuguese to trade in the islands, probably captured and taken in prize by Muertraigo without him having to fire a shot.

“Looks like he’s goin’ to lose the one for sure,” Stubs predicted. “She’s already taken on too much water to make it through the reef. We could finish her off and blow by without workin’ up a sweat.”

“We could,” Gabriel agreed quietly, his glass still trained on Muertraigo’s flagship, the
San Mateo
. The top fifteen feet of the main mast had been shot away and crews, looking like ants crawling up and down shrouds, were working feverishly to cut away the broken timber and bolt a replacement in place.

He moved the glass to follow the coastline, relieved to see that all four ships had drifted past the opening to the passage where the
Endurance
was currently trapped… or hidden, as he preferred to think of it. They were still alarmingly close and he made a mental note to warn the men against building any fires or, as the gun captains liked to do, clear the barrels of the cannon with gunpowder.

“It’ll take us at least a full day to turn the
Endurance
around and haul her out to open water again,” Stubs growled.

“After that, three days to the Cay, three days back.” Dante shook his head. “Once Muertraigo sails into that bight, we’ll lose him. Whether he goes straight through or tucks himself behind any one of a score of atolls and cays… we could lose him.”

Stubs glanced sidelong at his captain, suspecting he was not going to like what he was about to hear.

“Fifty men could cut inland and keep them in our sights. We could rig a system of signal fires showing which way we went, leaving a man at each post. Moreover, those repairs he’s making are temporary and won’t hold up in a high wind. He’ll have to pull in somewhere to seat a new mast, which could buy us extra time.”

Stubs squinted into the sunlight and removed his cap, scratching at the stubble starting to grow back on the left side of his head. “Sailors sail on account o’ they don’t like to march. And yer father might be pissed at ye takin’ it all on yerself.”

“Which is why I propose you take the
Endurance
to Cay and bring back reinforcements.”

“Take a hundred men, not fifty. Still leaves me enough to sail the sow to home port, an’ gives you enough to set up a warm reception. Take Giddings. He’s the best gunner we ‘ave, an’ he likes to blow things up.”

Dante nodded. “We’ll take as much powder and shot as we can carry, as well as food for several days.”

While his captain listed the supplies he would need, Stubs leaned over and spat. “Me mam wanted me to be a priest. I should’ve given it a try.”

“And deprive all your wives of your lusty attention?” Gabriel laughed. “You wouldn’t have had half as much fun.”

“Oh, aye. I’m laughin’ hard enough to piss my breeks every night.”

~~

A shadow passed across Eva’s face blocking out the sun. She opened her eyes and saw Dante standing over her, his hands on his hips, his broad-brimmed leather hat shielding his eyes from the glaring sun.

She looked around quickly as she straightened, but they were alone on the top of the cliff. The other men in the landing party had gone below already and were on the little beach with Eduardo.

"I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't see the harm and Eduardo did try to stop me so please don't punish him for my stubbornness."

Dante swept his hat off his head. He raked a hand through the tangled locks of his hair and sat on the rock beside her. "I think you'll feel punishment enough come sundown." He turned and let his gaze run across her cheeks and nose. "If you're not used to the tropical sun, it can blister your skin in under an hour."

Eva raised a hand and patted it across her cheeks, which were, indeed, feeling warm and tight. Dante snorted, reached over, and plopped his big hat on her head. "You're not curious about what we saw?"

"Of course I'm curious. I didn't think it was my place to ask, however. Not right away, at any rate."

He leaned back and stretched his long legs out, crossing them at the ankles. "We stand about a mile in from open water. The channel is curved enough to conceal us from view, and there are a dozen others just like it winding around the atolls like paths in a maze. The chances of our Spanish friends stumbling upon this particular one—if they are intent upon searching for us—are about ten to one. Fair enough odds in our favor."

"Then you saw the galleons?"

He studied her face, admiring the effect of his hat perched on a pale cloud of yellow hair. He glanced below and saw the other men in the landing party stripping down naked and diving into the water.

He stood and Eva followed as he led her along another rocky path. She saw crawly things scurrying away into the gorse, and stayed close to Dante. He helped her up the steeper inclines and held her hand as they covered the last twenty yards or so up toward the top of the highest point of solid rock. There he directed her to stand behind a boulder and handed her the spyglass.

The view, even without the benefit of the glass, was breathtaking. From this height, she could see the distinctly deeper blue of the channel and the paler turquoise stripe that indicated the treacherous shallows above the long and jagged line of the reef. The latter seemed altogether too close to the surface to have allowed a ship the size of the
Endurance
to pass across with only a few scrapes and bumps.

"High tide would have raised the level a few feet," Gabriel explained, seeing where she had the glass trained. "But as you can see it was sheer mermaid luck that led us through one of the gaps in the reef rather than into a solid bank of coral."

"I thought you said you were not a superstitious man, Captain, yet you believe in luck?"

He chuckled. "Not as much as I believe in a clever captain who sent extra jolly boats probing into the fog."

She had to tip her face up to see from under the brim of his hat. "A ship caught in gale force winds would not have had that luxury," she said softly.

"No. But the storm swells might have been high enough to carry her over."

Eva looked back at the ragged stretch of coastline extending miles in either direction. She found it difficult to believe a ship could pass over the wide ledge of the reef in a raging storm and not end up smashed to bits against the hostile shoreline.

Something else caught her attention and she directed the glass out into the Tongue. Two of the galleons had already passed through the reef and a third was making for the gap, leaving the damaged ship listing badly with sails reefed and no signs of activity on deck. She was about to compliment Gabriel for having destroyed one of Muertraigo’s ships when she sent the glass flying back to the two ships that had crossed the reef.

Her mouth dropped open on a sudden intake of air. Her knees gave way and the spyglass clattered onto the rocks.

Dante caught her around the waist. "Eva? What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's my father’s ship," she gasped. "It's the
Cormorant
."

"Your
father
?"

"No. No, not my father. But it is his ship. The one Lawrence Ross brought down to search for him."

"The hell you say." Dante steadied her against the boulder and took up the glass again, focussing on the carrack. "Are you absolutely certain?" He looked down when there was no immediate answer and saw that she was leaning forward, her head in her hands. "Eva! How can you be certain it's your father’s ship?"

"I know the
Cormorant
well enough," she said without looking up. "I've been on it a hundred times. Look closely at the figurehead in the bow and you will see two sets of wings on the bird. It was damaged and repaired in haste but my father thought the double wings made the creature look more mystical.” She lifted her head out of her hands. “It is his ship, the one Lawrence Ross took out of Portsmouth after sending his henchman to steal the coins and leave me for dead in a burning house.” Her face was hard, her lips were pressed into a thin, grim line. “You wondered how Muertraigo knew to search here, Captain? There is your answer. Lawrence Ross brought them here. He betrayed me and now he is intent upon betraying my father.”

“But how would he know Muertraigo?”

“He has been to the Indies several times. You said Muertraigo had been in command of the garrison in the port of Havana for many years before turning pirate. It is entirely possible their paths crossed back then. More than possible in fact,” she added, rubbing her temples as if to clarify a memory. “I remember hearing Lawrence and my father arguing over the enormous bribes they were forced to pay in order to get the Spanish to honor their letters of marque.”

She stopped rubbing and looked up. “The letters. He took my father’s letters along with the coins and the baker’s letter. Perhaps he made the connection to Spanish Wells sooner than we did.”

Dante nodded as more of the puzzle pieces fell into place. “Or with Muertraigo’s help.”

He peered through the spyglass again, aiming it west along the bight. There was still no way to be certain the
Nuestro Santisimo Victorio
had come this way, though the evidence was piling up in an ever-convincing array.

Gabriel rubbed a hand across the nape of his neck. His instincts were telling him Eva had been right all along. Her father had found
La Fantasma
, and the treasure galleon was somewhere in the maze of islets and atolls.

“Come,” he held out his hand. “We need to get back to the ship.”

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

He quickly outlined the plan he had discussed with Stubs and when he was finished, she planted her feet into the ground and forced him to stop.

“I’m coming with you,” Eva said.

“Back to the ship? Absolutely.”

“No. I’m coming with you when you follow Muertraigo.
”

“Like hell you are.”

“Like hell I’m not.”

Dante’s cheek twitched. The faintest hint of a breeze was lifting strands of silvery blonde hair and making them glitter against her throat; one strand in particular clung to her lower lip and drew his eye like a compass pointing the way to remembered pleasures.

“We are not going for a stroll in the park. We will be moving fast and hard over terrain as treacherous as anything I’ve ever seen before. We will be wading through swamps filled with snakes and leeches and there will be no time to worry about sore feet or aching backs.”