Isle of Fire
BOOKS BY WAYNE THOMAS BATSON
THE DOOR WITHIN TRILOGY
THE DOOR WITHIN
THE RISE OF THE WYRM LORD
THE FINAL STORM
PIRATE ADVENTURES
ISLE OF SWORDS
ISLE OF FIRE
Wayne Thomas Batson
is the author of five best-selling novels:
Isle of Swords
,
Isle of Fire
, and The Door Within Trilogy. His books have earned awards and nominations including: Silver Moonbeam, Mom's Choice® Silver, Cybil, Lamplighter, and American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year. A middle school reading teacher in Maryland for eighteen years, Wayne tailors his stories to meet the needs of young people, whom he cares so deeply about. Wayne writes adventures set in imaginative locales because he believes that on a deep level we all dream of doing something that matters and long for another world. When last seen, Wayne was tromping around the Westfarthing with his beautiful wife and four adventurous children.
© 2008 by Wayne Thomas Batson
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansâelectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherâexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Scripture references are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected]
Interior art and layout by Casey Hooper.
Map by Peter Glöege.
ISBN 978-1-4003-1512-3 (trade paper)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Batson, Wayne Thomas, 1968â
          Isle of fire / Wayne Thomas Batson.
        p. cm.
     Summary: With eighteen-year-old Anne Ross at this side, Cat takes over as captain of the monks' fleet to find the legendary villain known as the Merchant, but they, the pirate hunters, monks, and Commodore Blake, have been betrayed by King George and a once-trusted advisor.
     ISBN 978-1-4003-1216-0 (hardback)
     [1. StowawaysâFiction. 2. PiratesâFiction. 3. VikingsâFiction. 4. Buried treasureâFiction. 5. Christian lifeâFiction. 6. George I, King of Great Britain, 1660â1727âFiction. 7. Spanish MainâFiction.] I. Title.
     PZ7.B3238Isf 2008
     [Fic]âdc22
2008010533
Printed in the United States of America
09 10 11 12 13 RRD 5 4 3 2 1
MY CAPTAIN, THANK YOU FOR GUIDING ME . . .
EVEN ON DARK AND MOONLESS NIGHTS
WHEN THE SHIP'S BELL STRIKES A LONELY TOLL,
AND THE WIND AND WAVE BUFFETS.
AND MAY ALL WHO SAIL THIS LONELY SEA REALIZE
YOU ARE THE REAL TREASURE . . . AND THAT
YOU ARE WITHIN REACH OF ALL.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 2 THE SEA WOLF GOES HUNTING
CHAPTER 4 THE WHISPERING GALLERY
CHAPTER 7 THE JUDGMENTS OF COMMODORE BLAKE
CHAPTER 16 TREASURE IN THE SPIDER'S DEN
CHAPTER 17 COMMODORE BLAKE STANDS ACCUSED
CHAPTER 18 LA ISLA DESVANECENTE
CHAPTER 20 MUTINY ON THE OXFORD
CHAPTER 21 WHEN ALL BECOMES DARKNESS
CHAPTER 22 ONSLAUGHT OF THE BERSERKERS
CHAPTER 24 TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCE
CHAPTER 25 CLUES AND COLD TRAILS
CHAPTER 29 SIEGE OF THE CITADEL
CHAPTER 30 THROUGH THE SPYGLASS
CHAPTER 32 THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH
CHAPTER 33 THE HURRICANE'S EYE
ANNE
Declan Ross's adventurous daughter.
Anne has hazel eyes, red hair, and a fiery temper.
She longs to captain a ship of her own.
BARTHOLOMEW THORNE
The former captain of the
Raven
and an evil pirate; lost and presumed dead after the New Providence tsunami.
BJORN INGALAD
A champion Raukar warrior known for his deadly prowess in battle. He wears a triple necklace of sharp bear teeth.
CAT
Griffin Lejon Thorne, the son of Bartholomew Thorne.
His memory is just beginning to return.
He goes by his nickname “Cat.”
COMMODORE BRANDON BLAKE
The leader of the British naval forces in the Caribbean;
commissioned to lead the pirate-hunting Wolf fleet.
CUTLASS JACK BONNET
A renowned pirate and captain of the
Banshee
.
DECLAN ROSS
A Scottish pirate-hunter; captain of the
Robert Bruce
;
often called the Sea Wolf due to his notorious pirate past.
DMITRI
A dark-skinned Brethren monk. He is mischievous,
clever, and wields a weapon with lethal precision.
DOLPHIN BLAKE
The wife of Commodore Blake. She desperately wants to solve
the mysteries surrounding her parents and her birth.
EDWARD TEACH
The young quartermaster aboard the
Raven's Revenge
; a beardless,
tall, broad-shouldered man who longs for a command of his own.
EDMUND SCULLY
A spy formerly for Bartholomew Thorne and now for the Merchant.
EZEKIEL JORDAN
A friend of Commodore Blake and
new quartermaster on the HMS
Oxford
.
FATHER BRUN
The abbot of the Brethren Order. He has built a fleet
to go after the Merchant.
GUTHRUM
The door warden and right-hand man for Hrothgar, king of the Raukar.
HEATHER
Thorne's first wife who died in a fire but still haunts his mind.
HROTHGAR
The steward of the Raukar, who longs to resurrect Viking glory.
JACQUES ST. PIERRE
The chief gunner and blacksmith aboard the
Robert Bruce
;
has a penchant for explosives, fire, and business.
JULES
The massive, barrel-chested security officer and deck hand aboard the
Robert Bruce
.
KING GEORGE
The German-speaking king of England who speaks very little English. Later known as King George I, one of the greediest kings ever to reign in Britain.
LADY FLEUR
The wife of Hrothgar and queen of the Raukar.
NATHANIEL HOPPER
Left orphaned by the New Providence tsunami, he dreams of returning to England.
NUBBY
The cook and doctor on the
Robert Bruce
.
RED EYE
A powder monkey on the
Robert Bruce
who is blind in one eye.
SIR NIGEL WETHERBY
An English naval officer. He disappeared after the tsunami at New Providence and is presumed dead.
STEDE
Ross's quartermaster on the
Robert Bruce
.
He is from the West Indies. Stede is Declan Ross's closest friend and most loyal crewman.
THE MERCHANT
A legendary villain sought by the Brethren.
ULF
Lady Fleur's brother. After becoming a Christian, he left the Raukar and moved to Västervik, Sweden, where he and his family built a church. Soon many of the Raukar followed him, and they established a Christian community.
Aft:
the back of the ship.
Bow:
front of the ship.
Bowsprit:
long pole extending forward from the bow of the ship.
Crow's-nest:
a small lookout platform usually high on the mainmast of a ship.
Forecastle:
the front of the ship, often where the crew's quarters are located.
Halyard:
rope used to pull a sail up.
Hull:
the body of a boat or ship.
Jib-rigged:
ship's sails that are triangular in shape.
Keel:
the structural spine that runs along the bottom of the ship.
Mast:
tall pole that supports all the ship's sails.
Poop Deck:
rearmost deck of the ship.
Port:
if standing on the deck and facing the front of the ship, port is left.
Quarterdeck:
raised deck behind the mainmast where the ship's wheel is found.