Legends of the Vengeance : The First Adventure (9781310742866) (22 page)

“How far?” Nicolo asked as he led the man
from the room.

“Far. I almost didn’t come tell you because
I thought I was wrong, but it turned just enough so I could see all
four masts.” The man swallowed hard. “I won’t run this time. I
won’t.”

“We’re not giving chase, Hector. We are
almost to Trinidad, and you will have a new life. The ship can’t
handle much more weight.”

He ducked his head. “I hoped I’d have a
chance to redeem myself. I’m a coward, but—” Hector shrugged. “I
wanted another chance.”

Nicolo watched as Sebastian crept from the
room. Once the door shut, Hector sighed. “He’s a good boy. He
doesn’t like me, but he’s respectful.”

“He is a good boy,” Nicolo agreed. “You can
redeem yourself by living a good life again. This is why we brought
you onboard. We didn’t expect you to be a hardened pirate—just an
obedient one.”

“Eduardo did,” the man muttered
resentfully.

“Eduardo is loyal to me. You threatened
me—questioned my judgment. He doesn’t like a coward, but he hates a
bully.” The words sounded harsh, but the man must learn to control
himself. “Learn from this, Hector. You will be alone in a strange
place. People sense weakness, and they will take advantage of it.
If you allow rage to consume you, you weaken yourself.”

“How does it work for you then?”

At first, Nicolo didn’t understand what the
man meant, but then realization dawned. “I don’t allow rage into my
heart. This is why I seek revenge. People should not get away with
mistreating others. I seek to reverse that. I’m not the law; I
cannot dispense justice, but I can make people pay for their
misdeeds when the law won’t.”

Hector nodded. “Thank you. I am grateful. I
didn’t sound like it, I know, but I am.”

“Good, now get out there and do your job.
You’ll be rid of us in a few days, if the weather holds.”

The emptiness of the cabin was not unwelcome
as Hector closed the door behind him. Nicolo leaned against the
wall and surveyed all that surrounded him. He should have done this
years earlier. He’d competed with the Corsairs of the Mediterranean
for supremacy, and it had been lucrative. However, if he had moved
west to the Americas when he’d first heard of the occasional raid
on treasure ships, they might have been well enough settled to be
able to rest easy for the next ten or fifteen years.

The ship rocked, and a few coins spilled
from Hector’s open bag onto the floor. They’d never had such a
grand take. Usually, it took several attacks to have enough to set
someone up with a new life. This one would be all they needed,
provided they didn’t have trouble before they dropped him at
Trinidad.

Hector’s newfound gratitude and penitence
grated on the nerves. He wanted to despise the Spaniard, but a
small measure of respect hovered in his spirit. A man who could
admit wrong was rare. Gratitude was common—but usually before
boarding the ship or after holding a large bag of money. Receiving
thanks while still on the sea was something he’d rarely heard.

Sebastian pushed the door open. “Papa, can
we come in? We have the rest of the silver.”

“Come in. Let’s get this done. Jaime will
want to tell stories tonight.”

Jaime shook his head. “After we reach
Trinidad. I need to rest.”

“Jaime doesn’t trust Hector,” Sebastian
teased. “He knows his stories are good. He thinks Hector will write
them down and have them published—that he will become wealthy and
famous because of it.”

The others laughed, Jaime included, but
Nicolo knew what the young man wouldn’t say. Hector had heard
enough. There was time enough for stories when the crew no longer
shared their space with a stranger.

With the silver stored safely in the hold
once more, and Hector’s portion locked in his cabin, Nicolo
strolled to the galley, looking for something to eat, but a cry
stopped him.

“Land ahoy!”

Barbados

They pulled for shore. Sebastian quivered
with repressed excitement when his father called for him to join
them in the boat. That had never happened—never. Sebastian looked
before his grin exploded into verbal excitement but not before
Jaime winked at him.

Stroke by stroke, the men pulled, their
boats rocking over the waves and the ocean spray soaking their
shirts. He didn’t care. As the boat hit sand, the men jumped out
and even Sebastian helped pull it out of the tide.

Nervously, the men roamed the beaches,
looking for some signs of life, but the island seemed deserted by
all but wild hogs. Nicolo and a few others had heard of an island,
Barbados, that had been captured and its inhabitants sold into
slavery. Wild hogs had been left so that fresh meat would be
available to anyone who stopped.
This must be that island,
Sebastian mused to himself as he followed the group across the
beach.

Eduardo stomped inland in search of a hog,
and soon a shot rang out. Horrible screaming followed, and the men
grinned at one another. They’d roast a pig that night. Sebastian
glanced at his father, eager for some sign that he could explore,
but Nicolo’s attention remained focused on his map to see where
they’d go next. “You could live here, Hector. You’d be king of your
own island!”

The Spaniard shook his head, grinning. “I
don’t think I am quite ready for such a solitary life.”

At last, Sebastian caught Jaime’s eye, and
the young man’s nod was all he needed. He ran down the beach,
stopping to examine a crab skittering along the sand. He saw two
eyes peering at him between bushes. His throat went dry, and he
jerked his head to see how far he’d wandered from the others. He
was too far away if the eyes—his laughter sailed out over the
water. Afraid of a hog.

He tried to charge the creature, but it
rushed at him. Horrified, he ran into the water, fighting through
the waves, and swam out as far as he could before turning. The
animal was gone, but the crew had seen it all, and their laughter
rang out over the waves.

“Of course I’d make a fool of myself,” he
muttered. “Papa will never let me come ashore like this again.
Disappointed, he swam back to the beach, avoiding the area where
the hog had been.

“Find yourself an angry native?” Hector
teased.

“One with a snout, anyway.” It would make
the others annoyed if he let himself sound too put out about it.
“He didn’t think me much of a threat when I charged. Now if Eduardo
had found him…”

“Eduardo would have the sense not to charge
a wild animal without a weapon,” the quartermaster admonished. “But
I think he might have at your age.”

The confession soothed his pride. Sebastian
didn’t have any special fondness for the burly man, but respect was
another matter. It was nice to know that someone he respected
hadn’t been so terribly different at his age.

“Did you see anything else interesting?”

Sebastian smiled up at his father. “Just a
crab. I thought I’d go down the other side of the beach.”

“Good idea,” Eduardo agreed. “Just don’t
charge any more hogs.”

“I won’t.”

The men were in good spirits—possibly due to
the coming removal of Hector but more likely, because it had been a
successful journey. They’d survived near starvation, battled a
storm that should have killed them, sailed across the ocean in a
ship that was much too small and too shallow-bottomed to make it,
and then reached this wonderful place where the air was warm and
the treasure to be won promised to be enormous. Even as much as
Sebastian protested their very existence at times, he couldn’t help
the well of excitement that slowly filled his heart.

Warm sand tickled his feet as he walked
along the shore. Never had he seen such incredibly blue water, such
strange trees. He’d heard of the skinny, pole-like trees with the
strange feathery tops, but he’d never seen them. Palm trees, his
father called them. Then again, he hadn’t seen many trees at all in
his lifetime. Whales, dolphins, great sharks and octopi, certainly,
but not many trees or flowers.

The warm water rippled over his toes. The
tide would turn soon. A glance behind him showed the rest of the
men very far down the beach—so far that they looked like specks on
the sand. Should he go back?

Something caught his eye a little further
down the beach. The water near the shore seemed different somehow.
He hurried to examine it and found a river flowing into the ocean.
The small cove would be a perfect place to live, if not for the
solitude. Hector was right about that; the novelty would become a
burden and quickly.

A fire down the beach told him they’d begun
the cooking process. Mac probably tried a dozen ways to ruin it,
but with Giorgio and Jaime, things couldn’t go wrong. It would be
delicious. Despite the men’s warnings, he crept further and further
inland, curious about the different sounds. There seemed to be few
animals but many birds.

Plants grew over the ground, spreading their
vines and pods everywhere. He saw strange plants with large white,
fluffy bolls on them—clusters of them. Curious, he plucked a few to
bring back to the men. Short trees with leaves that smelled almost
like pepper tempted him, but he resisted. They could be
poisonous.

Sebastian stared at his hands. He’d touched
the puffs of white. Why hadn’t he been cautious about them? Was it
the lack of scent? He must be more careful.

Another tree tempted him with golden fruit
that looked delicious. He hesitated over the oddly shaped pieces,
wondering if just touching them would be dangerous. He’d better
wait and show Jaime or his father. Not far away, another tree with
yellow fruit—pale this time—tempted him. This, he was certain must
be poisonous. It looked dull—lackluster. Surely, it was not a safe
thing.

As darkness fell, he heard faint calls for
him and hurried back the route he’d come, following the river to
where it met the sand and along the shore to the bonfire. His
father strolled out to meet him, thankfully, smiling. “Did you
enjoy your explorations?”

“Yes! I saw turtles, birds, another wild
hog, and trees with fruit.”

“You didn’t eat—”

“No, but I remember where they are. I
thought someone might know…”

“Very good. The men found quite a few
coconuts. We will have them for breakfast.”

The memory of the stories he’d heard of the
white-fleshed fruit reminded him of the strange plant he’d found.
“Look, I found this too. I picked it before I thought. I’ll wash my
hands, but…” Sebastian pulled out the fluffy bolls and passed them
to his father.

Nicolo called for Sam, a tall dark man with
a strange accent and a fierce loyalty to the crew. “What is this?
Is it cotton?”

“Yah… It is the cotton. Very nice. Was there
more?” The man’s deep rumbling voice belied the fierceness beneath
it if the right situation occurred.

“Quite a few plants scattered here and
there. I didn’t go all that far, so there could be even more, I
suppose…”

“Hector should stay here. Grow cotton. He be
rich.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The crew chose to stay on land, sleeping in
hammocks between trees, on the sand, or on beds of palm fronds.
Each man made himself comfortable and relaxed in the glow of the
great fire rings they built up and down the shore.

Grunts from within the shrubs and trees
unsettled some, but then Jaime began his story. He stood near the
fire, leaning against a palm tree, and allowed his voice to fill
the night air.

The Legend: Part Six

Calais was like a different world. Their
children lived in small houses with few servants. They worked in
counting rooms belonging to others. It bothered Joseph, but it was
wise. Build a reputation. Keep an ear out for gossip about the
locals. That gossip meant the difference between wealth and poverty
in their business. His son, Asher, however, found himself in
possession of a fledgling business in Italian wool. It seemed
possible that over time the business would be very successful.

“
I’m not a good moneylender, Papa. You
know this. I want to believe the best of people. You have to be a
good judge of character, not just one who looks for good in a
person’s character.”

Asher was honest with himself. This was a
good thing—wise. The other sons teased their brother about his lack
of killer instinct, but Joseph heard the hints of respect in their
voices. To know your limitations and work with them showed strength
of character.

The women, on the other hand, found Calais a
wonderful place. They didn’t feel like second-class citizens in the
Dutch-controlled city. Their lives were a little harder now, but
they seemed not to notice. His Rebekah spent her days helping her
daughters and daughters-in-law bake bread and train the
granddaughters how to keep a home. The boys all went to school to
learn the lessons they’d need for life in this new place.

A few months into their new life, Aaron
burst into their house late one evening, just before bed. “Papa
Joseph! Did you hear?”

“
Hear what?”

“
Come in, Aaron. Would you like something
to drink? Some bread? Have a seat.” This was his Rebekah’s way of
reminding their young son-in-law
that he should not burst
into a house without knocking.

“
I am sorry, Mama Rebekah. The news is so
terrible. Our friends, they are ruined.”

“
Ruined how? Joseph?” Rebekah’s question
came as she sank into the chair, her hand seeking the star she
often fondled while thinking or worried.

“
King Edward has issued a statute—Statute
of the Jewry—they call it. He has disallowed all usury by Jews!
Debts canceled, a tax on all Jews over twelve, and a yellow badge
for those over seven. There is more, but it became hard to hear
over the protests. Something about farmland and having to live in
certain places.”