Then, silhouetted against that last grainy light of dusk, a giant mast and sails come into view and I realize it’s actually a ship. A big one, gliding right toward us. I frown, trying to figure out how it’s possible for them to approach considering they shouldn’t have any wind in their sails at all from that direction, yet they do.
The ship begins to fade before my eyes.
One by one, the lights on the ship go out until I can barely see it anymore.
“There’s a ship,” I say in surprise, pointing in the direction. “I saw a ship.”
“Where?” Ivan asks, and both he and the pilot come to my side, staring out at the darkness.
“It was there. Then it just went dark, as if all the lanterns were snuffed out one by one.” I look over at them. “Why would it do that? Don’t they want us to see them?”
The pilot’s eyes go wide and he shakes his head fearfully. “No,” he says, his accent heavy. “No. No, it can’t be, not now.”
“What?” Ivan asks brusquely. “Tell me now, who is it?”
“It is…the Brethren of the Blood.”
I exchange a look with Ivan. “The Brethren of the Blood?” I repeat. “You mean pirates?”
“Yes. Pirates!” the pilot cries out.
Ivan swallows hard and gives me a stern look. “Princess, I insist you go back inside at once. Tell the Prince to hide the valuables and hide yourselves.”
“But the Brethren are just tall tales, aren’t they?” I ask. “They aren’t really a ship of the undead and damned.”
“Whatever they may be, Princess, they are most definitely pirates,” he says gravely. His eyes focus over my shoulder, his jaw tightening. “Now get going!”
He grabs my arm and practically pushes me along toward the steps then yells at the rest of the crew. “Pirates! Pirates spotted, ghost ship at portside! All hands on deck! Get the captain!”
Every soul on deck starts panicking and yelling, running back and forth, and their energy is contagious. I find myself nearly slipping down the stairs and across the deck, trying to stay out of their way until I’m down below.
“Aerik!” I yell down the corridor. “Where’s Aerik!?”
“What is with the blasted yelling?” Aerik says, coming out of the galley, wiping his mouth on a cloth.
“Pirates!” I tell him. “Ivan said for us to hide ourselves and our valuables.”
He frowns. “Pirates? Are you sure?”
“Yes, yes, I saw them myself. They were sailing just out there and then all their lights went out as they approached.”
“Pirates don’t attack in the night like that.”
“The pilot says it’s the Brethren of the Blood.”
He snorts. “A fairy tale is all they are, straight from Brothers Grimm.”
“That’s what I thought too.” But I saw the fear in both Ivan’s eyes and the pilot’s. The Brethren were supposed to be a crew of vicious pirates rumored to be undead, their ship built in the bowels of hell. There have been countless stories of them attacking the Spanish galleon fleet coming in and out of Manila, the ships ransacked, treasures taken, and everyone on board either left for dead or kidnapped. At the heart of them is their leader, Captain Ramsay “Bones” Battista, a man deemed so evil that even the devil didn’t want him.
“Fairy tale or not, they might be coming aboard,” I add fearfully.
Aerik opens his mouth to say something, probably unkind, then there’s a loud BANG that seems to blow out my ears and I’m thrown to the ground.
“Cannon fire!” someone yells from above as I try to push myself up on my elbows. Aerik is leaning against the wall, making no motion to help me to my feet.
“What the heavens is happening?” Daphne cries out as she comes out of her room. “Princess Maren!”
She comes over and helps me up.
“Pirates,” I tell her, gripping her arms. “We have to hide.”
“Remember where the captain told us to go,” Daphne says quickly. “Down in the sailhold.”
She starts pulling me and Aerik along toward the steps leading to the decks below, but I manage to break away just as another cannon fires into the side of the ship, this time blasting all the way through to the galley where people scream in horror, shards of wood flying like shrapnel.
I’m thrown against the wall but I manage to regain my balance and start running for my cabin.
“Where are ye going!?” Daphne yells after me. “Do come back!”
“Don’t waste your life on her,” I hear Aerik say to her. “Your duty is to me first.”
“Go! Hide! I’ll follow!” I yell, the ship shuddering again, this time cannons are firing from our side. I manage to make it to my cabin and then throw back the mattress on my bed, grabbing the pouch with Nill’s tooth. I quickly take the necklace out, my hands shaking, and tie it around the strap of my stays underneath my bodice. I start heading back to the door when I hear more screams, this time from the top deck, and with a sinking sense of horror I realize the pirates have boarded.
I could go down into the sailhold with Aerik and Daphne and whatever royal servants are left, hide myself under a molding cover and hope that the pirates don’t find me. Perhaps Aerik and Daphne and I will be the only ones left alive on the ship.
But the idea of that is almost as worse as the idea of pirates, particularly a notoriously wicked man such as Captain Bones, killing us here with no mercy, or taking us on board their ship to torture us. And I’m sure what’s in store for me is much, much worse than I can imagine.
I pull the necklace out of my bodice. My fingers tighten around the shark tooth and I bring it to my trembling lips, kissing it. “Give me strength, Nill,” I say softly.
Then I tuck it back in and turn and grab the chair from the corner of the cabin. I pick it up, holding it above my head, then I throw it at the window with a yelp.
The chair shatters the stained-glass, rain and sea water spraying inside. I pick my way carefully along the floor, avoiding the broken shards, then grab the end of my dress, the petticoats providing enough padding as I wrap it around my fist. I punch out the remaining sharp shards stuck in the window’s frame until it’s relatively safe, then I stick my upper body out of the window. A few wayward spikes of glass stab my skin, but I manage to ignore it.
Above the wind and rain and waves I hear splashing, people falling or jumping overboard, plus the occasional scream or hollering for god and mercy. As I stare down at the surface of the water, lit only by the lone lantern above that hangs at the aftcastle, I realize Elephanten has stopped cruising. The pirates must have taken down the sails and mast, disabling the ship. If I jump, I have to make sure I swim as fast as possible to shore so I’m not detected. The pirates might not even know I exist, unless they targeted our ship on purpose.
I don’t have time to think about it.
I pull the rest of my body up, wiggling through the window, then turn around and slowly, carefully lower myself so that I’m dangling above the sea, my hands holding on to the windowsill as tight as they can.
I close my eyes and take in a deep breath.
Better to risk drowning and swim to shore than to spend a minute with whatever the men on this ship have in mind for me.