Sebastian Darke: Prince of Pirates (19 page)

'Somebody's attacking the
Marauder
,' gasped Sebastian. He realized he was stating the obvious, but he didn't know what else to say, and all he could think of was that Leonora was aboard and might be badly injured, even killed.

'They've caught them napping,' said Cornelius. 'Trencherman's crew haven't managed to fire a single shot in retaliation. Must have been too intent on watching us.'

'The other ship's flying the skull and crossbones,' observed Jenna, who was standing nearby, peering through her own spyglass. 'Looks like Captain Kid's schooner, the
Black Hand
. That makes sense. Trencherman has attacked the Kid's ship time and again. Seems to have a personal grudge against him.'

'Captain Kid?' Sebastian stared at her, aghast. 'The pirate?' He licked his lips anxiously. 'Well, we . . . we have to do something. We can't let the
Marauder
be attacked without trying to help.'

'Nonsense!' roared Cornelius. 'Let them send that evil witch to the bottom of the sea. Then you'll be free of the enchantment and we'll not have to risk sharing the treasure with others.'

'I've asked you before not to call her a witch,' snarled Sebastian. 'And we cannot leave the ship's crew to such a fate, just because you want to be rid of Leonora.'

'He's right,' admitted Captain Jenna. 'We'll have to go back and help.'

Now it was Cornelius's turn to stare. 'Have you taken leave of your senses? Why would you help this Captain Trencherman? You said yourself he was your greatest rival.'

Jenna nodded. 'I
did
say that. But there is a thing called the Code of the Sea, and it is considered unthinkable to leave your fellow sailors to the mercy of pirates, no matter how much you despise them. I would have thought, Captain Drummel, that men of the Golmiran army operated by a similar code.'

Cornelius glowered but his expression was somewhat sheepish. In the end he could only give a reluctant nod. 'I suppose you're right,' he admitted. He glanced at Sebastian. 'But let me warn you now, if Leonora comes within range of my sword, she'll need all her witch's arts to survive.'

'You'd use your sword on a defenceless woman!' asked Jenna, raising her eyebrows.

'You've never met her,' said Cornelius darkly. '
Defenceless
is the last word I'd use to describe her.'

Jenna moved to the centre of the deck and waved an arm at Lemuel, who stood at the tiller. 'Turn us round, Lem,' she cried. 'A good wide turn. We'll drop astern of those sea rats and come up on their port side.'

'Aye, aye, Captain.' Lemuel swung the tiller with practised ease, and crewmen ran to realign the sails.

'With any luck they'll be too busy with the
Marauder
to notice us,' said Jenna. She gazed around at her crew. 'Lads, make preparations to engage an enemy ship. Hurry now, there's not much time! Prime the cannons! Prepare grappling irons! Let's show them that it's the seamen of Ramalat who rule these waves!'

The well-drilled crew scurried to their positions, their bare feet thudding on the wooden boards. Jenna threw a sidelong glance at Sebastian and Cornelius.

'You gentlemen may want to take cover below,' she said. 'It's going to get quite nasty up here.'

Cornelius grinned. 'That's just how we like it,' he said.

'Isn't it, Sebastian?'

'Huh?' Sebastian stared at him. Once again he was experiencing a strange conflict of emotions. Part of him wanted to be rid of Leonora and her mysterious hold on him . . . But another part was quite ready to give his life in order to protect her.

'What's the matter with you?' Cornelius asked him.

Sebastian shook his head and tried to get a grip on his emotions. 'Nothing,' he said. 'I'm . . . I'm fine.' But he was far from fine. There was a thick film of sweat on his face and his heart seemed to be racing at twice its normal speed. Leonora was somewhere on that ship, the one being smashed to pieces by enemy fire. Soon he would be able to see her, speak to her . . .

Max's voice came bellowing up through the open hatch. 'Yoo-hoo! Hello? What's going on up there?'

Jenna grimaced and snapped a command at a couple of sailors. 'Batten down that hatch!' she yelled. 'I don't want that loud-mouthed beast alerting the pirates to our presence.' The men moved to obey her, swinging down and bolting the heavy wooden doors. Max's shouts were immediately muted. Jenna moved to the rail and stared at the two ships, which were now just a short distance off to port. 'OK, Lem, that's far enough. Let's turn her round.'

Those crewmen who were not manning the guns below deck ranged themselves along the starboard rail, grappling irons and ropes at the ready. The
Sea Witch
was closing in now, Lemuel swinging the ship round in a great arc so that she could come up on the
Black Hand
's port side and move into position alongside her. Sebastian could feel the impact of the pirate ship's cannon as they roared in unison, again and again. The shots were pulverizing the
Marauder
's hull, smashing great ragged holes in her port side and sending lethal fragments of wood flying in all directions. Captain Trencherman's crew had managed to get their gun hatches open and were struggling to bring the cannons to bear on their attacker, but they had paid a high price for being so unprepared and already looked to be in very bad shape.

Meanwhile Jenna's plan seemed to be working like a dream. The pirate crew were so intent on their attack, they had not even noticed the
Sea Witch
sliding into position, hatches open, cannons ready to fire.

'Here we go,' said Cornelius with grim good humour. He pulled his sword from its scabbard and winked at Sebastian, who unsheathed his own sword, though the last thing he felt like doing now was engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

Jenna was armed with her longbow and she raised it so every member of the crew could see. 'Right, lads,' she said. 'Let's show them how we deal with pirates on these waters.' Then she took a deep breath to yell at the top of her voice, '
Fire!
'

And the battle began.

The impact of the big guns discharging below them seemed to make the deck leap beneath Sebastian's feet. Clouds of smoke billowed up from the open gun hatches, and through the haze he saw the pirate ship's hull being blasted open by a series of impacts.

The pirate crew reeled in shocked surprise as they realized that the tables had unexpectedly been turned: now it was the
Black Hand
that was under attack. They hadn't even opened the gun hatches on their port side. One man ran towards the shattered rails and Jenna sent an arrow flying across the intervening space, straight into his chest, dropping his lifeless body onto the deck.

'Fire at will!' roared Jenna.

'Which one's Will?' asked Sebastian, peering at the pirates on the other ship. Cornelius opened his mouth to say something, but then another volley blasted out, the shots shredding the
Black Hand
's rails and bringing the foremast crashing down onto the deck, scattering crewmen in all directions and in some cases burying them under piles of heavy canvas.

'Cease firing!' yelled Jenna. 'Grappling irons ready . . .' The crew took up their positions, arms lifted ready to throw. '
Now!
' she screamed, and the heavy irons were flung in a series of arcs, trailing lengths of rope behind them, to thud down behind the ruined rails of the
Black Hand
. 'Take up the slack,' commanded Jenna; and for a moment Sebastian forgot about his apprehension and watched her in admiration: she really was rather magnificent in the heat of battle. 'Now
heave
!' she cried; and muscular arms began to pull on the ropes, drawing the two ships closer and closer together.

Some of the pirate crew saw what was happening and, snatching up axes, ran to the port rail to try to sever the ropes, but Jenna's arrows dropped three of them in their tracks before they ever reached the side. As the ships drew closer, a couple of hatches on the
Black Hand
opened. There was a muffled roar of cannon fire and thick clouds of smoke billowed up from the gap.

Then there was a heavy impact as the
Sea Witch
's hull thudded against that of the
Black Hand
and, exchanging her bow for a sword, Jenna raised the weapon high and waved her crew forward. She was the first to leap across the rails, through the clouds of smoke and onto the pirate ship. Sebastian was instantly scrambling after her, and then he had little time to see what was going on around him because he was too busy trying to stay alive.

He came through the thick, choking smoke and dropped onto the deck. Immediately a huge, shaven-headed pirate came lunging at him with a heavy broadsword, unleashing a powerful swing that was designed to take Sebastian's head clean off his shoulders. He ducked and was horribly aware of the mighty blade scything a chunk of material from the top of his tricorn. There was no time for hesitation. He immediately struck, slashing his own curved blade across the pirate's chest. The man cried out and spun sideways, rolling over and over on the deck.

Sebastian was just telling himself that now he really was a vanquisher of pirates when two other men immediately took his first opponent's place, dirty bearded fellows, one tall and thin, the other short and squat. They advanced on Sebastian, swords raised, and he squared up to them, unsure which of them to take on first. The squat man lunged, aiming a straight stabbing thrust at Sebastian's chest. He tried to retreat, tripped over a prone figure behind him and fell backwards. The little man was unbalanced too and couldn't stop himself from falling forward with the impetus of his blow. Sebastian grabbed his wrist, pulled him forward and whipped his own blade up into the man's stomach, impaling him as he fell; but the man's body was heavy and Sebastian realized that he was trapped, his sword stuck.

The thin man was still coming at him, a gleeful expression on his smoke-blackened face. Sebastian started to grope frantically around for another weapon but found nothing. The thin man lifted his sword to strike but then his expression changed to one of pain. He stood there for a moment, mouth open, eyes staring straight ahead; and then he dropped to his knees, revealing Jenna standing behind him, a bloodied sword in her hand. She stepped over the fallen man, pulled the dead pirate off Sebastian and helped him to his feet.

'Come along, jester,' she said. 'This is no time to take a nap.'

'I wasn't napping!' protested Sebastian. 'And I already told you, I'm not a jester any more, I'm a—'

He broke off in alarm as yet another pirate came leaping at them. Jenna calmly parried the man's blade with her sword, then ducked under his guard and punched him in the face with her free hand. The man went flailing backwards, hit the shattered rail and tipped over the edge out of sight. An instant later there was the sound of a body splashing into the water.

'Some people,' muttered Jenna, looking ruefully at her knuckles. 'Any excuse to go for a swim.' She and Sebastian exchanged grins and then Sebastian retrieved his sword and the two of them looked quickly around the crowded deck. It was apparent at a glance that the pirates were already as good as beaten. The crew of the
Sea Witch
were now streaming onto the deck, and sailors from the
Marauder
had taken the opportunity to start boarding from the starboard side.