They’re coming for us.
Figures in dark coats swung across the ravine, their boots landing on the deck with hard thuds. And that’s when I knew: these truly were not merchantsorpirates.
They were assassins. The men with dark coats wore bandannas over their noses and mouths to mask their identities, and they carried swords, immediately inflicting death to any in their path. I did a quick glance around to find the twins.
Nowhere in sight. Hopefully they stayed below deck.
“Boarders!” I exclaimed. “To arms! Repel them!”
Chaos ensued. Steel clashed against steel. Men screamed.
Fighting.
Cannons exploding.
Awhooshsounded in the air and suddenly, a lick of flames consumed the whale oil that spilled on the deck. And despite all the commotion, one assassin fixed his attention on me.
He was the tallest and leanest of the bunch, with a harpoon strapped to his back.
My expression hardened.We’ve met before.
And then I was running towards him, sword drawn. It was almost as if time reversed and an event from a few years ago resurfaced. I had been young, but my future was promising. I was quickly growing in esteem, power, and wealth, and I had just sealed a deal to own a fleet of old ships being sold by a retiring whaler.
It was then that this same assassin had tried to knife me while I walked alone at the port.
He would’ve succeeded had Destin and Thatcher not come to my aid.
I’d never learned the man’s name, nor his motives. But I did learn one thing: I had enemies, people who wanted me dead.
It didn’t matter to me who it was.
I had made many enemies on my path to owning this empire. People coveted my wealth, my power. I’d been cruel to many men, and many men walked away in bitterness and anger.
But this assassin… there was something about him that felt off.
Desperation.
Desperation clung to him like salt after a long voyage. Couldn’t explain it, but he moved like a man possessed by something.
Another cannon exploded, and the ship made a cracking sound while tipping dangerously starboard. It was the sound and movement that meant only one thing: the ship was sinking.
We can still salvage it,I thought. If Corallure was close enough, the men could board the damage. We could drag her to port and get the repairs it needed…
The assassin started towards me, but then something caught his attention.
He froze.
It was then I noticed the twins standing by the hatch that led below deck, their faces white with fear. The ship lurched to the side again, and I grasped the railing, not giving it a second thought.
I made a promise to deliver them safely to Corallure.
The man had already started making his way towards them. Why? I leaped off the helm and blocked him, our swords clashing.
More cannons fired. The stench of burning whale oil filled the air, and it finally lit.
“Get out of here!” I yelled at the kids.
Now that I was on deck, it was like being enveloped in a battlefield.
