Plunder (The Pirate King Series, Book 1)

Chapter 4: Fire in the Hole

He's not going to tell the captain on me!

I smile back before he hands me a silver dagger. I take the light, sleek object and turn it in my hand. Although its hilt—covered in small, red stones interlaced with golden filigree—makes it a beautiful piece of art, the sharp, double-edged blade shows that it was meant to inflict serious damage.

"Thank you," I mouth to the boy who promptly scurries away. I certainly hope I won't have to use it, but having the weapon gives me a slight reassurance. Following the men's example, I tuck it into my leather belt and continue to wait.

We're still sailing ahead at a great speed, and I can now make out a silhouette in the distance getting bigger by the moment. It has to be the Dutch ship, and I begin to wonder about the captain's strategy. I have no knowledge of naval tactics, but he did say we're using the element of surprise. I'm assuming this means we'll sail up on them beforethey even know it. Under the cover of darkness, we'll most likely fire the cannons and disable their primary means of offense.

The more I think about it, the worse this plan seems. Taking out the Dutch cannons would severely damage their ship, thereby decreasing the bounty's value. If I had the choice, I'd try to get close enough for my men to board and bet on their hand-to-hand combat skills to take victory. Either way, there will be a potential loss of life, and I'm glad the battle plan's not my decision.

Until now, we've been approaching the vessel from directly behind. Suddenly, the wind puffs out the sails at a new angle, and our course changes. The captain must have silently instructed Taylor, the helmsman, to make the correction. From the looks of things, it's now taking us on a more parallel course to the Dutch.

I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I don't know what it is, but something doesn't feel right. From our current position, I can now see that the lanterns on the target ship are all lit. Although there isn't any activity above deck—no sailors taking a late night toilet break or just a breather to stretch their legs—we can't be sure they haven't seen us coming. In a few seconds, we'll be directly across from the enemy's cannons.

What if Luciana was here in my place, I wonder? Nodoubt she would have stayed in her room, locked away. She may have eveninsisted on extra men standing outside her door to keep her safe. Instead, shecould very well be dead right now, suffocated from the smoke or burned by the fire.And here I am risking my own life—saved thanks to impersonating her—just to geta glimpse of adventure.

I take a deep breath. The captain—if he is indeed the Pirate King—is supposedly a seasoned veteran famous for his military prowess. Surely he knows what he needs to do to win the battle. This is no time to panic. Everything will be well soon enough.

I'm starting to feel more confident again whenmultiple, fiery explosions appear on the side of the Dutch vessel. Shudderingat the thunderous sound of three sequential booms, I wait for impact. By somemiracle, however, the cannons miss their mark. The projectiles splash into theocean, both in front of and just short of our ship. 

They overestimated our speed!

The men jump to their feet, even before the captain shouts his next order. "Bear down and release the kedge! Prepare to fire!"

Whatever those instructions mean, our vessel responds by tilting right and slowing down. Soon, a splash from the stern results in an even more abrupt decrease inspeed, as the bow pivots toward the side of the enemy ship.

"Fire in the hole!" A blast from one of our own cannons comes after the warning. Four or five identical alerts and explosions follow it, sending wooden splinters from the other vessel flying into the air.