The shot splashed into the sea, and only then did she allow herself to breathe. They had missed. Or perhaps ’twas merely a warning shot.
Growls along with cheers blared from the pirates as Emeline struggled to rise. She’d been in ship battles before but always with the assurance of her father’s expert skill. She had no idea if Captain Keene knew what he was doing. Especially against two such mighty ships.
“They are separatin’, Cap’n,” Finn said. “Comin’ along either side o’ us.”
“Mon dieu! We don’t stand a chance against both of them!” Maston raged. “They’ll sink us for sure.”
Captain Keene gazed toward the enemy ships, only then noticing Emeline. At first, he seemed surprised to see her above deck, but then he fished something out of his pocket and held it up to the lantern light. “We shall see,” is all he said as he gripped the Ring, marched to the railing, and lifted it up toward the sky. His lips moved, but she could not hear what he was saying.
Regardless, she remembered how the Ring had mysteriously glowed. Did this madman believe the ancient fables that told of its powers?
“Orders,Capitaine?” the dandy with the French accent asked, spite in his tone.
Pounding his fists on the railing, the captain returned to the helm and began issuing orders, “Shake out the reefs! Hoist the stays! Set royals and topgallants!”
The brig veered to larboard, sails flapping and blocks creaking, and Emeline clung to the railing as the deck tilted. A spray of sea water misted over her. Blinking it away, she gazed back at the ships heading straight for them. Should they be allowed to surround the brig and loose a broadside from both sides, they would be done for.
Mist. A puff of white smoke appeared over the water. So small at first, she barely noticed it. As she watched, it grew rapidly into a cloud that began rolling over the sea like a curtain, ending the act of this heinous war play.
But where had it come from? Emeline had seen no clouds, and ’twas far too warm a night for fog.
She glanced back at the captain, who only now noticed it, a slow grin forming on his lips.
“Wha’? I ne’er seen the likes o’ that,” the one-armed helmsman exclaimed, slurring his words.
All the pirates, in fact, stopped their battle preparations and stared at the odd sight.
Odd indeed, as the cloud continued growing larger and thicker until it formed a moving, undulating wall of white between them and their pursuers.
Captain Keene chuckled and slapped his helmsman on the back, then issued orders to trim sails and adjust course north by northwest.
Though shock still froze many of their faces, the pirates obeyed their captain, and soon the brigantine sailed through the dark waters without a care in the world. Within minutes, no signof eitherthe cloud or the ships could be seen over the dark expanse of the sea.
“Stoke the galley fire. Have Cook prepare a feast in my cabin,” Captain Keene ordered before making his way toward her.
Emeline’s nerves tightened.
He gestured behind him to the companionway. “To my cabin, Miss. We have much to celebrate this night.”
Celebrate? Her tightened nerves knotted. “You may celebrate without me.”
“Scads! Without the woman who gave me such power? You saw it!” he whispered as he gestured toward the sea. “The Ring caused that cloud.”
“Ludicrous. Surely, you can’t believe such nonsense.” Even as she said it, she recalled seeing far greater miracles than that in her life. But those had been wrought by the hand of God, not by a trinket in the hands of a madman.
“How can you deny it?” He studied her, shifting his stance on the heaving deck.
Still clinging to the railing, Emeline flattened her lips. “What are you going to do with me, Captain?”
He huffed. “I haven’t decided. Though for tonight, I wish you to be my guest. ’Tis been a long time since a lady graced my dinner table.”
She would wager it had been an eternity. “And if I don’t wish to come?”
He grinned. “Then you may stay here on deck with my crew.”
Emeline glanced at the slovenly, rapacious men going about their duties, some casting her hungry grins.
She gave a dainty smile. “I believe I will accept your invitation, Captain.”
