Oddly, the red jewel at the center began to glow even as his father’s words rang in his ears.
Son, I entrust you with this Ring.It hails from the underworld.You must never use it, never invoke its powers.For it brings disaster and destruction to all who wear it.
But what choice did he have?If that ship following them wasn’t friendly, how could he fight them off with rats swarming his crew?
Pocketing the Ring, he struggled through a sea of squirming, screeching rodents, squashing as many as he could until he finally popped above deck.One lone rat scampered across the planks only to be smashed beneath a pirate’s boot.
“Rourke, Haines, Edwin!”Caleb shouted to the three nearest men.“Light torches and keep the rats below deck!”Ignoring the pain throbbing over his legs and arms from bites, Caleb darted up to the helm and leveled the spyglass once again to his eye.A set of bloated sails skimmed the dark waters like diamonds on black velvet, heading straight for them.
“Colors?”he shouted aloft.
“Can’t see in the dark, Cap’n!”
What ship would dare risk an attack at night?A desperate one.He lowered the scope.Odd.He had no treasure aboard, nothing anyone would want.The Ring.But no one knew he possessed it, save Alden.Andthe woman.He cast a suspicious glance her way, but she had her back turned to him, watching the advancing ship with the rest of them.
He had no time to ponder it when a roar split the raging waters.
♥
TheSentinelknifed through the dark sea, her sails whispering in the night breeze.Desi leaned on the quarterdeck rail, the air thick with the scent of salt and tar.
Boom!
The sound tore the night apart.In the distance, a flare of fire lit the outline of a ship—dark, looming, sails like shrouds against the stars.The ball hissed past and smacked harmlessly into the sea.
Before she could catch her breath, the captain’s voice rang out, deep and commanding.
“Shorty, hard-a-lee!Larboard your helm.Bring her up to the wind!”
The deck heeled sharply.Desi clung to the rail as theSentinelswung, rigging groaning overhead.Her mind spun.Was she really once again in the middle of a ship battle in 1718?Where she could be blown to bits and never be heard from again?
“Keg!”The captain stood at the quarterdeck, hands fisted at his waist.“Run out the larboard battery!Double-shot the bow chasers.Be lively, lads!”
Men pounded toward their guns, bare feet thudding on planks.The rasp of iron wheels on wood carried on the wind.
“Liam, beat to quarters!Hands to stations, now!”
“Aye, Cap’n!”the Irishman’s voice barked back, already bellowing orders into the blackness.
“Broadside to the fore!”Caleb called after Keg.“Take down her rigging before she can turn!”
Alden appeared at his side, long glass in hand.
“See if she wears colors!”Caleb ordered.“And mind the wounded if we take a hit!”
Wind snapped through the rigging as theSentinelcame about, swinging her broadside toward the phantom vessel.
Desi glanced back at the captain.Caleb’s stance was solid as an oak, one hand braced on the quarterdeck rail, the other cutting through the air as he directed the fight.
Then, chaos erupted at their feet.
A black tide spilled from the forehatch—rats, great slick-backed brutes, eyes blood red, teeth flashing.They swarmed over boots and up rigging, tails whipping, claws scratching.One sailor went down thrashing, two more stamping and cursing as they beat the creatures back with belaying pins.
“Liam, clear the cursed deck!”Caleb bellowed without glancing at the chaos.“Shorty, steady her!Hold her there!”
The enemy loomed out of the dark again.Caleb’s voice was iron.
Somehow, he was everywhere, steering them out of the enemy’s line of fire, directing the guns, and yet still keeping the crew’s fear in check.He leapt down to the main deck, kicking rats aside and halted beside Keg and his gun crew hovering around one of the cannons.The glow of a gun’s slow match caught the sharp planes of his face, and Desi’s chest tightened.
