Pirate Souls

II - Chapter 11 - Destruction

The first cannon shot destroys the poop deck. The shock makes me lose my balance. I have to hold on to the rail to stop myself from falling down. The cabin has been totally destroyed, from my bunk to my handsome desk.

"We shall have to find a new refuge for our wild nights," Florence whispers in my ear before rushing over to Leng to help him move the helm.

A few weeks ago, this woman was a noblewoman from French high society. Today, she is leading a pirate embarkation in the middle of a sea battle. If all this is possible then perhaps our situation is not as desperate as it seems.

Echoing my thoughts, a second salvo reaches us and hits the capstan. Segments of steel fly and embed themselves in everything around. Mast, canvas, deck, human bodies. A pirate falls. A mercenary from La Balise. The first.

More cannon balls hit us, high up again. Their aim is not to sink the ship, but to weaken us so that they can come abord and seize our gold. An idea flashes across my mind. Basselin's chest must be in the hiding place under the floor of my former quarters. That bloody silver. Fourteen thousand pieces of eight to be precise. Carpentier will not see the colour of it. I am ready to be rid of it.

I rush towards the stern when a heavy projectile hits our main mast. The wood groans above my head. It cracks. The canvasses take fire and collapse onto the deck, imprisoning me in a cloud of smoke. Blinded, I walk forwards in the opaque fog. I use the hole made by the first salvo to enter what is left of my cabin. The floor has been blown to pieces. Fortunately, it is not difficult to find the object I am looking for. Before I can lean down to pick it up, another detonation scores a direct hit. I fall backwards. The pain of the wound in my belly has awoken. A hot liquid runs down my left arm. I need several seconds to understand that it is my blood. A shard of wood has lodged itself near my shoulder. A mere splinter that I pull out before grabbing the burning chest. The flames are beginning to lick the floor of steerage. The brig is going down.

I cannot see a thing. The fumes seep into my mouth, nostrils, throat and lungs. I cough and spit out the black soot which paralyses me.

An explosion above my head saves me. It blows away the roof and the walls of my closet. The steps of the stairway hit me full on. I avoid thinking about the pain and concentrate on the pure air I can breathe once again.

I have no time to wait. In desperation, I hasten over to the port side and hurl the chest into the ocean. A smile lights up my face. Florence had once accused me of being a slave to gold. She was right. Today, I am breaking the chains of fear and neediness. I trust myself. I know that I am capable of rebuilding everything that Carpentier is trying to destroy.

Freed of my burden, I race on deck to analyse the situation. The muskets and pistols of the pirates are singing out a macabre din. The mast has broken in the middle and is floating nonchalantly to starboard, causing the ship to lean dangerously to one side.

The Vindicta is sailing around us. The privateers use grappling hooks to board us. The smoke prevents us from taking any action. Theirs is a clever tactic: to oblige our ship to heave to and to hinder us by keeping the crew busy as they strive to contain the fire. This cannot be Carpentier's strategy. He knows too little of the sea. It has to be Valentin, the pilot. I knew he was a good navigator.

The hulls of the two ships scrape together. I hear the pirates on the Anarkhia before I can see them. Their battle cries echo on the sea which is dark with the fragments of my vessel. That was all the pirates were waiting for. At last they retaliate. They emerge from the dust to confront their enemies. Energized by their cries, I throw myself into the skirmish, sabre in hand. Metal against metal. I watch Sirena from the corner of my eye with a view to protecting her. No need. Florence is fighting like a madwoman. She fires, slashes and repels her enemies. It is as if she has been doing this all her life. I am impressed by her agility and the aggressiveness she puts into the battle.