WATERS OFF CUBA, NOVEMBER 1697
For Venegaza, it was business as usual. She and Moonlach had just taken a decent prize. A Spanish galleon loaded with Silver for the European continent. Needless to say, she was more than a bit grouchy about the pair of pirates raiding her. But she didn't object to Venegaza's offer of an escort to the Florida coast. And that went reasonably well, at least until Silent Mary appeared on the horizon.
Ignoring the merchant's smug taunts, the pair of pirates quickly pointed their bows in the opposite direction. Despite being loaded down with silver, Moonlach was still able to outrun Silent Mary with canvas to spare. Venegaza tried not to be envious of her apprentice's natural speed. The frigate was able to outrun her but only barely. Mary's bow chasers still managed to deliver a few parting shots to her stern before the man o'war broke off.
Moonlach rejoined Venegaza at that point, the two anchoring in a sheltered cove in what had to be one of the Bahamas Islands. Moonlach was worried about Venegaza's injuries despite how much the frigate kept telling her off. "For Ancient's sake Moonlach, I'm fine!" She snapped as the younger poked and prodded at the marks again.
"One of these is quite deep. Forgive me for being thorough." Moonlach replied a bit testily.
Venegaza merely huffed. Moonlach was bigger than her, and she couldn't hope to match the youth's strength. She sat there and waited for Moonlach to complete her inspections. As the younger ship did so, she noticed something on the shore nearby.
Moonlach grunted at the harsh nudge Venegaza gave her and was ready to tell her mentor off about getting her wounds checked when Venegaza gestured ahead of them. "See that?" She asked.
Moonlach noticed the wreck. A three master driven onto the shore by the strong tides. Wrecks littered the Caribbean as the shifting shoals and numerous reefs created hazards most vessels could not overcome. "Yeah, I do. Think she's got anything we could use?" Neither was opposed to raiding wrecks. What use did the dead have for trinkets after all?
But Venegaza was wary. There was a scent in the air she recognized but couldn't place. Nevertheless, it sent shivers through her keel. "Let me check it out." She told Moonlach and moved forward before the other could protest.
The wreck had been here for at least a week. Decay had only just started. Venegaza couldn't get close enough to see her bow. The water under the wreck's stern was barely deep enough for the frigate to move through. She swore she scraped bottom a few times. She put her nose to the wreck's rudder, trying to get a better read on that scent she kept getting wiffs of.
Unable to get anything from the hull line, Venegaza reared up. She couldn't hold that position for more than a few seconds but it was enough for her to see over the railings and onto the deck. The wreck was not as abandoned as Venegaza thought. This ship had died with her crew it seemed as their bodies lay strewn across the deck. But it was the color of those bodies that made Venegaza's blood run cold. "No..." She rasped. Yellow, unmistakably yellow. And that meant only one thing.
"Venegaza, what do you see?" Moonlach came forward. '
"STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" Venegaza rounded on her.
Moonlach stopped short instantly, alarmed at her mentor's tone. "What is it? What's wrong?" She did not sound afraid. If anything, she was more concerned for Venegaza's sake than anything.
The frigate was secretly touched but now was not the time to show it. She had more pressing issues. "Carefully, do you think you can maneuver upwind of me?" She asked.
"I think so yeah." Moonlach replied.
"Okay, then do so. Do your best to keep a distance of at least a thousand yards. At all times."
YOU ARE READING
The Founding Sisters #1 The Damned
General FictionRedoing my original and tying it in with the main series. We go back to the beginning, before the founding of the United States. Several ships were key players in this founding and this is their story.
