The Pirate's Legacy: New Horizons

Chapter 9: Godless

The whisper in her ear was so taut that to raise its volume possibly would make it shatter. "Em, get up. Get up now."

Groaning, Em turned away from Michael's voice. Her face scrunched up as the back of her eyelids glowed red. The rude git had opened her window shutters before waking her. Em protested when his hands began shaking her roughly.

"Em, dammit." Michael's low voice revealed its urgency now. "Wake up, we're being attacked."

Em's dark brown eyes flew open. She shot up in her bed, her head missing Michael's by centimeters. "Why the bloody hell didn't you say so in the first place?" Em threw the covers off her body. A hiss forced its way through her clenched teeth when her bare feet touched the cold wooden floor.

Ignoring her ire, Michael said, "Just dress up and head downstairs. Be as quiet as possible." Before Em could extract anymore information out of him, Michael slipped out her door. Cursing underneath her breath, Em began to pick up her scattered articles of clothing off the floor.

All the pirate captains present in the hideout were gathered on the first floor of the inn. Every piece of furniture except a lone round table at the center had been pushed back against the walls to accommodate the group's size, numbering at around three dozen. Dread Pirate Robin, Moonscar Bill, and Red-Handed Jill were a few of the veteran pirate captains standing directly at the table. Outside the inn were the sounds of a hundred running feet and many slamming doors and window shutters, but inside the inn was only Dread Robin's deep and muffled voice breaking the tension-fraught silence. Above the round table, a messenger bird was perched on the chandelier. In the Pirate King's pale hands was an open letter written by Wilks, and he was reading it aloud.

Herd canen. Gone up cowst under cover of towers. Draco estimayte bot 9 ships.

"Get me a map of Pirata," ordered the Pirate King when he'd finished. As someone hurried to do his bidding, he placed the letter inside his black overcoat before facing Moonscar Bill. "Suppose Port Harbor falls. What say you how long the food supply lasts?"

Moonscar Bill exhaled slowly, allowing him time to think. "I'd say the supply will last us 'bout a year or so," was his verdict. "We have the two last ports to keep us goin'. If Port Harbor be taken over, we'll survive."

When the map came, Dread Robin placed it on the table. The dagger that the island of Pirata resembled was illustrated in its entirety, including every minute detail the mapmaker had given it. The map was the latest version; even the hideout had been marked. Across the island from Port Harbor was Port Erasure. At the business end of the dagger lay the third port, aptly named Tipping Point Harbor. Many red Xs along parts of the coasts marked already fallen or destroyed ports.

The front door flew open with a bang. A scraggly man burst through, waving a telescope in the air. His mouth was wide open, but words died at its threshold as he faced various assortments of swords and firearms pointed at him.

Dread Robin put his pistol back in its holster. To the pirate captains, he said, "Stand down." To the lookout, he demanded, "What is it?"

"All three ports are under attack," the lookout announced. His voice rose near shouting level as the pirate captains surrounding Dread Robin raised their voices in alarm. "They came for the other two ports soon after firing upon Port Harbor! The Black Panther leads Port Erasure's—"

The Pirate King ordered in a deadly voice, each individual word shooting out of the corner of his mouth like bullets, "Get back to your post!"

Silence descended like a curtain. Not wanting to be told twice, the lookout ran out the front door, slamming it shut behind him. All eyes flew to Dread Robin as his attention went back to the map. Everyone, even those standing on the far perimeter of the crowd, could see the fire that had been lit in his black eyes. It was burning for Black Death Mewbaran's blood. Without looking up, Dread Robin asked Moonscar Bill, "How long could this place hold if the ports are taken?"