I chose you for such a time as this.
The words from the book of Esther rang in her ears as theSummonsjerked to starboard, nearly dipping into the sea.
“God can defeat this!” she shouted over the wind.Help me, Lord. Grant me courage and Your power!
No one argued with her declaration. No one laughed. But no one agreed.
With one hand clenching the railing, she raised the other to heaven. “In the mighty name of Jesus, be still.” She knew not what else to say, but then again, surely God knew what she meant.
Chapter 30
F
ear did strange things to people. Meeting one’s fate in such a gruesome way caused even the bravest of men to cry—as evidenced by Blake’s sobbing crew behind him. Apparently, it also had the effect of driving some people mad. For Emeline’s declaration was precisely that. Reaching for her, he drew her close, wanting to be beside her when he breathed his last, hating that he’d been unable to save her and bring her home as he’d promised.
There was no defeating the power of the Ring. Which was precisely why he sought it for himself. Now all his efforts, all his wealth, his island and mansion, the little power he brandished was all for naught. Yet better to have tried than to remain an impotent serf, always yielding to the rules and dictates of overlords.
His only regret stood beside him, wrapping her arm around his waist and burying her face in his shirt. “I’m sorry, Emeline,” he whispered in her ear.
Charlie merely stared over the sea, a numbness covering her eyes. Pedro gripped Blake’s side. Tight. Blake wrapped his other arm around the lad. Finn and Layton forsook their tirades of curses and began to pray. Odd, that. He’d never expected to hear such pleadings to the Almighty from the likes of them.
The wind shifted. The mad rush of the sea softened. TheSummonsrighted itself. Blake glanced over the railing to see the dark hole at the center of the funnel growing smaller and smaller as the frenzied spin of the waters diminished.
“Look!” His shout drew everyone’s gazes, including Emeline, who lifted her head from his chest.
The last dark spot of the funnel disappeared. Completely. Replaced by the normal rise and fall of the Caribbean swells glittering in bright sunlight.
“Huzzah!” His crew broke into cheers and laughter, louder and more joyful than when they’d captured a prize full of gold. Charlie bowed her head, breathing heavily. Finn drew out his pipe and stuffed it in his mouth. Layton didn’t move, just stared over the sea in disbelief. Pedro yipped and hollered and began dancing with Bandit, who had leapt into his arms.
In the distance, no more than one hundred yards away, theGuerrieri Della Crocehad raised her remaining sails and was slowly drifting away, tilting beneath the blows she’d received and heading toward a spit of land in the distance.
Surely Blake was dreaming. TheSummonsand all on board had no doubt been sucked into the funnel and were now at the bottom of the sea. Though the look of shock and relief on Emeline’s angelic face and her sweet smell told him ’twas no dream. “What just happened?”
Smiling, she gazed up at him, her eyes sparkling with delight. “God happened. He saved us, Blake!” She blew out a sigh and scanned the sea. “The funnel was evil, demonic.” She glanced back at him. “You said there was no power greater, but I knew there was. God’s power is greater than anything!”
Blake shook his head. How could he deny what he’d seen with his own eyes? The funnel had been real and about to devour them, but with one prayer from this dear lady, her God rescued them.
Excitement lit her face. “Do you not see how powerful He is and how much He loves you? He sent His Son to die for you.”
A spark lit in his soul, a light, a hope that what Emeline said could be true. That there was, indeed, a Creator who loved Blake, whose power was unmatchable. Yet…wasn’t that what his mother used to tell him—before she threw him, penniless, onto the streets? Regardless of what just happened, Jo and Della Morte were getting away. And he couldn’t live with himself if he allowed that.
He turned to issue orders for the chase when she grabbed his arm and squeezed it tight. “Let them go. They deserve each other and that bedeviled Ring.”
He placed his hand atop hers, gently, and with his other eased a strand of hair the wind had blown across her cheek. “I cannot, Emeline. Not when it is within my grasp. Besides, with such power, think of the evil they could do in this world.”
Moisture filled her eyes. “Yet you have seen there is a power much greater than theirs.”
He eased the back of his fingers against her cheek. “’Tis your power, your God’s power, not mine.”
“It could be, if you give your life to Him.” She gazed up at him with such affection, such pleading, that he almost bowed his knee to her God then and there just to see her smile. But Blake could never relinquish his power and freedom to another. He’d been betrayed too many times to trust anyone again, God or not.
He stiffened his jaw. “I’m not ready for that. I may never be, Emeline.”
The pain that crossed her face nearly crushed him.
“They still have the Ring,” she said. “They can still evoke its power.”
“But I have you.” Winking, he leaned in for a kiss on her cheek before marching away.
