Raven Quest (15 page)

Rory tugged away and fisted her hands on her waist as she glared at them. “I don't belong to either of you!”

“Listen, you Spanish dog!” The scar on Yellow Hal's cheek was vivid as he advanced on Guillermo, who did not move. “This is my ship. What I want, I will take.”

“Try your heavy-handed techniques,” Guillermo said with a superior smile, “and you will get nothing from her. I know Rory far better than you.” He ran his hand through her hair, but she pulled away another step. His smile became more frigid. “Leave her with me, and I will get the information from her. For that information, I get Rory and a quarter-share of the gold.”

“You're wasting your time arguing,” she said, edging away from both of them and around the table in the middle of the room, which was twice the size of Nathan's quarters. She glanced toward the one window, but it was too small to scramble through. Even if she could, where could she go? “I don't know anything about any gold.”

Guillermo ignored her as he sneered at the pirate. “She has been helping Lawler because she believes he cares for her. She is only a woman, Captain Warwick. Treat her well, and she will give you what you want.”

“Did you just figure that out?” she fired back. “You didn't know that last night.”

“Last night?” Yellow Hal scowled. “She's sleeping with you and Lawler? She's a whore like her mother.”

She bristled. “My mother—”

He continued, drowning out her protest. “She won't refuse me if I question her.”

“No, she will die without saying a word.” Guillermo flicked his fingers at his immaculate coat. She never guessed he would be her ally.… But he was
not
her ally. He only wanted to use her, too. “Kill her, and your last chance of recovering the gold is gone.”

Yellow Hal cursed and stormed out of the room.

Rory swallowed roughly. She had not expected him to give up without more of a fight. Then she realized he wanted the
Raven's
gold so much he would let even Guillermo give him orders … for a while.

She glanced at Guillermo. When he stepped toward her, she backed away.

“Don't worry,” he said. “I will not let Captain Warwick near you, for I have convinced him you are willing to help us.”

“Help you with what?”

He reached for her, but she held her arms in front of her to halt him. With a laugh, he batted them aside. Grasping her shoulders, he slid his mouth across hers.

Viciously, she slapped him. He released her, and she scowled as she straightened her disheveled and filthy gown. “Do not touch me again!”

“It isn't like before. You don't give me orders. You need me.”

“I don't need you, Guillermo Herrera y Fallas. Nathan will make you sorry you kidnapped me.”

“Don't be stupid, Rory. Lawler doesn't love you. All he wants is the
Raven's
treasure.”

“
Raven?
I don't know what you're talking about.”

“No? You mentioned the ship when you were lying to my great-uncle.”

She tried to laugh, but the sound was brittle. “Ernest gave me the names of several ships, so we could persuade your great-uncle to let us stay at his house while we visited Havana.”

Pinching her face in his long fingers, he said, “Your lies won't work,
mi querida.
I know it's your father's ship, Aurora Raven Powell.”

“My name is Rory Mullins.”

“So you are Powell's bastard? I wonder how many half-brothers and -sisters you have throughout the Caribbean.”

Her chin raised as she realized lying was futile. “My father loved my mother and me, Guillermo.”

“Obviously, he loved your mother at least once.”

Rory's lips clamped closed.

“Do not answer, if you wish,
mi querida.
”

“I have nothing to say to you!”

“I have much for you to hear. Let me tell you why I am interested in the
Raven.
It's more than the gold. My father was an honorable man, dedicated to his king and his country. His ship was called
La Madre Maria.
” When she choked back a gasp, he smiled. “I see you recognize the name.”

She remembered the map from her mother's Bible.
La Madre Maria
was a galleon targeted by her father on his final voyage. Sickness ate at her. Guillermo wanted more than gold. He wanted to avenge his father by stealing back the treasure.

Crossing the room, he gripped her shoulders. “Your father murdered mine. Isn't it ironic that I am the only one standing between you and death? I'll get my revenge by watching you betray the man you love. You will tell me what we need to know to find the
Raven.
We will take the gold, and when the
Vengeance
arrives, Lawler will be as dead as your father.”

“Guillermo, this is insane.”

His lips pressed painfully into hers. She tried to push him away, but he picked her up and dropped her on the bed. He leaned over her. “Too bad Nicte could not tell you how I treat those who don't do as I wish. You might be more willing to obey me. I grew bored with her lack of enthusiasm in my bed, but I won't tire of so you quickly.”

“You beast!”

“Your choice is me or Warwick.”

She struck him with her elbow and sat. “You are not going to force me to choose between a beast and a savage.”

He laughed again. “I will be back for your answer in an hour,
mi querida.
” He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, then groped for her breast.

She pushed his fingers away. “Don't ever touch me again!”

Holding her shoulders, he pushed them back against the mattress. She screamed as he bent toward her. “I told you I would not force you, Rory, but you must comply with my wishes soon, or …” He did not finish. It was not necessary. As he walked to the door, he added, “The things you brought from the
Vengeance
are on top of the sea chest over there.” His nose wrinkled. “You might want to clean yourself. You smell like bilge.”

She did not move until he had left. Staring at the wall, she thought of what he had said. From Port Royal, she had run directly into the arms of the man she was trying to escape. Yellow Hal had vowed he would have her in his bed.

Jumping off it, she shivered. She must think. She must be prepared for when they returned. She could not betray Nathan to Yellow Hal Warwick. Even if she did, she would get nothing but death. And Guillermo's certain death—didn't he realize that as soon as she gave him the answers to the first three lines of her father's poem, Yellow Hal would kill him?

She shuddered again. Panic taunted her, but she fought to ignore it. The
Vengeance
must be in pursuit. Otherwise, Guillermo would not be so confident she would see Nathan die. Why had she never told Nathan that she loved him? Last night when she slept in his arms, she should have told him. That he could not say the same to her no longer mattered.

“Think!” she whispered. “Think! What do you know to help you and the
Vengeance
?”

Yellow Hal must have left some trail for the
Vengeance
to follow. He intended to lead the ship and her crew into his deadly trap.

She had to prevent that. She only wished she knew how.

Twelve

Rory scanned the room. Yellow Hal had left her nothing but her own few possessions. Biting her lower lip, she walked to the battered sea chest. The answers for the first two lines of the poem had come from these things. Could the solution for the last line be here?

Collecting them, she set them on the table. She picked up her mother's Bible. Turning to the psalms, she touched the remnants of dried glue. Her father had found this way to get her the answer to the second line. He would have made sure she had some way of solving the whole poem. Had he left the final clue with her mother?

It was not in the Bible, but.… She lifted her mother's locket out of her gown. Tapping her finger against it, she heard it ring hollowly. Nothing inside. How else could he have planned for her to use it? She turned it over and stared at the sharp projection.

“Oh, my!” she whispered. The locket was not broken or poorly made, as she had always assumed. Something had been connected to it on purpose. Was this the key? But to what?

She looked at the table and smiled. The Blindman had given her the Bible and the box decorated with shells and coral. She turned the box upside down and noticed a hole in the bottom. The metal tab on the locket fit perfectly into it. The riddle had meant exactly what it said. Find the coral key.

Twisting it, she watched the top open. She pulled out three pieces of paper. She glanced at the door, then spread them across the table. There was no time to waste. She needed to know what they said, but she could not let Yellow Hal or Guillermo find them.

The top page was addressed to the Blindman, but she knew that he would not care if she read it.

Dear Captain Keller,

You have been my friend since the day I signed aboard your ship as a cabinboy. I have written you this letter, which Kassy will read to you, but the thoughts expressed here are mine.

Keep this little box for my child. It will contain all he or she needs to know to find my ship, if I don't return. With luck, Warwick will be dead and the
Raven
forgotten by the time my child is old enough to search for my ship.

Kassy will give you the locked box. Hold if for me. I hope all precautions are unnecessary, but I must think of my child's future. Many thanks.

I remain

your friend,

Stuart Powell

Rory smiled. She never had known the Blindman's true name. She would have to ask him more about his voyages with her father the next time she saw him. Then her smile faded. Would she ever return to Port Royal?

She wished her father's prediction that Warwick would be dead and the
Raven
forgotten had come true. Again, she looked at the door. She had to read the rest of this before Guillermo returned.

Lifting the next page, she smiled when she saw it was for her. She smoothed it out and bent close to read the words that had faded more than the ones hidden in the Bible.

Dear child,

This map shows where I will beach the
Raven
if I must. The treasure will be in the shallows among the coral, or, if we have time to take it to our cache, it will be on the high hill in a cave you will be able to find by following the river from the cove to its source.

Enjoy the gold, my child. I hope you have learned to live a wiser life than your foolish father. Remember to give a fair share of the gold to anyone who has helped you find it and deserves a share. A good captain rewards his loyal men.

Good-bye, my child. I would have liked to have held you once and told you aloud the words I must write only. I love you, little one. Never forget that.

Your father,

Stuart Powell

She whispered, “I love you, too, Father. I will make sure your treasure goes to those who should have it.”

She refolded the letter and the map beneath it. She could not risk studying it now. Until she escaped, the
Raven
's location was of less importance than hiding these papers from Yellow Hal.

Sitting, she pulled off her right shoe. She ripped the inner sole and placed the two pages under it and resealed it, hoping any crinkle would be swallowed by the sound of her footsteps.

She put the letter to the Blindman in the box and relocked it. When she needed something to placate her enemies, she would offer them this, not letting them know she had already opened it.

Going to the small window in the stern wall, she looked out. The ship was moving very slowly through the rain. Yellow Hall must be giving the
Vengeance
a chance to catch up. She wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she was in Nathan's arms. He would follow. For her or for the gold? Either way, he could die.

The door opened. Guillermo's face was pale as he entered. She suspected he was coming to regret linking his desire for revenge to Yellow Hal's greed.

“If you had asked me,” Rory said, “I would have told you you were a fool to trust Yellow Hal.”

“Be quiet! You don't know what you are talking about!”

“I used to work for him until he tried to rape me. I ran away to the
Vengeance
to escape him.”

“He did that to you?” He reached for the knife in his belt.

“It's too late to act like a hero, Guillermo.”

Grabbing her, he pulled her around the table. The chair fell to the floor with a crash. “Rory,
mi querida,
I do not intend to die for your silence. Give me what I want to know, or Yellow Hal will take his turn at you.”

“It will have to be that way, Guillermo,” she said softly. “I don't have what you want. You abducted the wrong person. This is Nathan's quest.” She peeled his hands off her and watched his face grow more wan. “I went with Nathan to escape Yellow Hal. He took me aboard the
Vengeance,
not to gain my aid in solving the mystery of the
Raven,
but to make me his mistress. I didn't know of this gold until I met Nathan.”

“You're lying!”

She sat on another chair and smoothed her skirts to hide her slippers. “I am telling the truth. I do not want to die, but I will. So shall you and Nathan, if he follows us.”

“He will.”

Closing her eyes, she whispered, “Are you sure?”

“Yes. A message was delivered to Lawler at my great-uncle's house. De Palma took it there.”

“The harbormaster?”

He nodded. “The plan is that he pretends to be Lawler's ally—”

“Nathan will never believe it.”

“Whether he believes it or not, he will take the information of where Yellow Hal is sailing
The Scourge of Spain.
”