The Crescent Hour ✓

Chapter 4. Dark Shadows

Clara shook her head. She didn’t know what to make of the captain and his pirates. Was she truly in heaven or had she been saved by their lot? Pirates were ruthless, unforgiving and above all, immoral. They plundered fleets of ships and terrorized the high seas, spreading their evil corruption into the shores of isolated lands. That was what she'd been told by the servants in hushed whispers whenever she asked them about pirates. The servants had called them “savages”. Back then, she had been a child.

Now, as Clara met the steely eyes of the captain, she was not so certain anymore. They couldn’t possibly save a dying woman, much less one who had sunk several feet deep into the sea, could they?

The memory of the servants and her home brought back something else. She remembered her traveling bag and its contents. Her clothes, jewelry and money were still in Esperanza. Whatever had happened to the survivors was beyond her knowledge. She hoped they had survived.

My diary…gone!

She chocked silently for air and felt anguish leave the inner chambers of her heart dark and empty. Her mother’s gift was forever lost and so were the myriads of memories she had confided in the pages of the treasured book. Her fifth birthday when her mother was still alive, her father telling her bedtime stories on countless nights, Ms. Pauline teaching her how to read and write, her first meeting with Josephine, Timothy instructing her how to punch someone in the nose…all of those cherished memories were now gone. She felt empty inside as though a large part of her soul was missing. Without the diary, Clara would be unable to feel her mother’s holy presence watching over her.

Placing a hand over her chest, she thanked the heavens when her fingers grasped the metallic surface of the locket. The necklace was still there, safe and sound. She remembered the trails of light that had surrounded her when she was drowning and the ticking of a clock that had rhymed with the beating of her heart. If she was truly alive then the necklace must have saved her through some unnatural power. It was the only assumption she could raise. The captain’s voice pulled her out of the whirlpool of thoughts.

“I’ll tell you what happened. Me and me hearties were preparing the ship to sail under the surface when I saw a lass floating on a raft in the middle of the grand sea!” He adjusted his mask to a proper position. “My crew pulled you out and here you are.”

Swallowing a lump that had formed in her throat, Clara did not know how to respond other than acknowledging the captain’s words with a nod. He spoke of a raft and she couldn’t remember that. She had been drowning and there had been no raft in the vicinity, let alone a stray piece of wood. He didn’t make any sense. Nothing made sense anymore.

“So you tell me where you came from, aye? ‘Tis not everyday I be seeing a lass floating in the middle of the sea.”

For a moment she felt afraid and her fears heightened when the captain slid a hand over the hilt of his rapier holstered by the belt around his waist. He pointed the tip of the thin blade close to her neck, swung his head back and laughed raucously. His crew joined in the laughter, their malicious mirth ringing in her ears like the chimes of a devil’s bell. He stopped laughing, turned to his crew and glowered at them. Afraid of their captain's wrath, the pirates went back to work.

He bent down so that he was at eye level with her. Strands of silver hair fell down from his shoulders to the floor. He opened his mouth and was about to speak when something heavy bumped the bottom of the ship. Scowling, Saberlot straightened his back and listened. There it was again, a second thump that had a stronger force than the first one and it emanated from the right side of the ship. The pirates glanced at where the noise was coming from but like the captain, they were too bold to be startled.