The Pirates of Moonlit Bay Read online

  I returned to Caroline and Christianne, feeling more dejected than ever.

  We talked into the evening, Christianne, Caroline, and I, and it was after dusk when we were finally interrupted.

  “Hello.”

  We had moved to the back of the group, and we sat against some large crates near the edge of the deck, huddled together for warmth.

  The voice came from the front of the group. I looked over the others’ heads. It was the guard who had intervened when we were being attacked. He was handing out bread to the prisoners. Reaching into a bag, he brought forth several waterskins, and we passed them around. I could see his eyes searching for, and finally finding, my face in the small crowd.

  Our eyes locked. We stared at each other, expressionless, and I felt a roaring in my ears. Then everything went quiet.

  “Miss, here: Drink.” Caroline was handing me a waterskin. The moment was over. The spell broken. I took the skin and drank deeply, closing my eyes in relief. Lowering it, I handed the bag back to Caroline and looked over at the man again.

  He was making his way through the crowd toward us, stepping over people carefully. When he finally got to us, he reached into his bag and handed us more dried apples as well as pieces of bread for each of us.

  “I’m not strictly allowed to give you these, so eat them fast.” He smiled.

  We took the fruit gratefully and sat eating it. He perched himself on one of the crates next to us.

  “I’m Tam. Tamerlane.” He reached into his bag and brought out the last of the bread he had, then handed it out and tucked the sack into his belt.

  Looking at me, he finally said, “You seem different than the rest.” He looked at me expectantly.

  Caroline brushed against my arm discretely and I shot a glance at her. She shook her head slightly in warning. I smiled at her and turned back to him.

  “Hello, Tam. Thank you for the food.” I wasn’t stupid. This man was still a pirate, still a member of the gang that had kidnapped us: No matter how kind he seemed, he was still the enemy.

  “What’s your name?” he asked.

  I just stared at him. He turned to Caroline and opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again after seeing the look on her face.

  Lastly, he turned to Christianne. She just buried her face in her hands.

  From over in the far corner there came the sound of a sob. It was Akim’s uncle. Akim still wasn’t back. The man looked miserable.

  “Do you know what’s wrong with him?” Tam asked.

  A sense of loathing came over me. To be so callous, I couldn’t believe it. I had to speak.

  “He is crying because his nephew was taken from him.”

  “What?” Tam looked at Akim’s uncle, then turned and gazed over at the door that led below-decks. His puzzled look turned to one of understanding. He faced us again. “I know a young prisoner was taken below-decks, to the captain’s cabin to clean.”

  “The boy’s name is Akim, and he’s only ten years old,” I said, angrily.

  He was silent for a minute, looking at Akim’s uncle. Then he spoke quietly. “I am sorry. These are strange times.” He looked back at us. “We have a new captain, and things haven’t settled down yet.”

  “So you’ll be more compassionate once ‘things have settled down,’ Tam? Look at him.” I pointed to Akim’s uncle. Misery dripped off the man. Turning back to Tam, I said, “How would you feel if it was your nephew? If it was you who were imprisoned on a raider’s ship?” I stood to confront him.

  The ship’s deck rolled suddenly, and I was thrown sideways. No, I thought. Oh, no.

  Tam caught me. I fell against him. His arm was against my face as he held me, in that brief moment. The muscles of the pirate bulged and the strong arm was like steel.

  “Are you all right?”

  I could feel his breath on my shoulder, his low voice close to my ear. It was a deep brown voice, dark and intimate.

  Oh hell, I thought. Hell. No. I pushed myself away from him and stood upright. Glaring at him, I pursed my lips and crossed my arms in front of my chest, and glowered at him.

  Remember, he is the enemy.

  He sighed and left.

  “What do you think he’s up to?” I asked Caroline.

  “Nothing good, Miss. He’s a pirate. Pirates are not to be trusted.”

  Christianne just looked troubled.

  “I don’t like the attention,” she said.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “I don’t like that he’s focused on us. He didn’t sit and talk with any of the others. It feels dangerous.”

  “Well, of course it’s dangerous, I mean, he’s a pirate. He’s part of the band that holds us captive.” I said.

  “He did give us food and water,” said Caroline.

  “He gave everyone food and water,” Christianne pointed out.

  I looked back over the place to where Tam had last stood. The deck was dark in the nighttime air, just a few spots illuminated by lanterns. A shiver ran up my spine.

  “I don’t trust him,” I said. “I don’t trust any of them.”

  Just then, I caught a snatch of another quiet conversation a few feet away. Looking over, I saw it was Akim’s uncle and two other men. One of them had just said something that set my heart to racing.

  A chill ran down my spine.

  I swung around to face Caroline and Christianne.

  “Why are we here?” I asked.

  “What do you mean?” Christianne sounded perplexed.

  “I don’t know,” Caroline said, as if she had read my mind. “We were snatched. Kidnapped.” She looked out at all the prisoners. “All of us, I think.” She turned back to me. “We were all kidnapped.”

  Christianne shivered. “And brought aboard this ship.”

  “Yes,” I said. “And now we sail south,” I looked out into the night. I could not see any stars or the water, the fog was so thick. I looked back at my companions. “Where,” I asked quietly, my eyes unblinking, “are we being taken?”

  An older man sitting close by turned his head and looked at me. Several others did as well.

  I continued. “I think,” I swallowed hard, fear rising in my throat. “I think we are to be sold.”

  Chapter Three

  Wet and Miserable

  The next morning, we were roused at dawn.

  “Up! Get up!” The guard yelled as he splashed a bucket of freezing ocean water over our heads.

  Sputtering, I raised my head and sat up, spitting out grit and seawater, and drying my face with my sleeve.

  “I understand some of you are worried about my new cabin boy,” said a mocking voice.

  Akim’s uncle looked up sharply from where he’d been lying in abject misery all night.

  The figure before us was dressed all in black, with a large hat set atop wild hair. The hair was black as well, and framed a sharp, thin face with a mocking smile. An outfit of several layered shirts and a pair of black breeches was crowned with a wicked-looking scabbard hanging at her side. She stood with one foot on a crate, her hands on her waist.

  “I am Kinah,” she paused for effect, “… the captain of this vessel, and the leader of this band.” She turned and walked to the other side of the deck, and put her hand on the biggest pirate’s shoulder.

  “And this is my first mate, Seyyid.” She swung her piercing gaze across our faces. “You will obey both of us, without question.”

  I saw Tam standing on the edge of the deck, his hand on a thick rope leading up to a mast.

  Captain Kinah motioned behind her, and we all saw Akim walk out. He looked none the worse for wear.

  “Akim!” his uncle cried out.

  The guard nearest him motioned as if to backhand him across the face, but Captain Kinah stopped him.

  “No, do not strike him,” she said.

  The guard glowered at Akim’s uncle, his hand on his sword, and the man cowered back down, silent.

  “This is my new cabin boy.
He cleans and does work for me.” She looked down at Akim, then back up to us. “I have not harmed him.” She looked at us silently, daring anyone to speak.

  A rumble arose among the captives at this new development.

  Tam and the other guards called for silence, and the captain began speaking again.

  “I have not yet decided if I will keep him when we make port, but for now he does my bidding, and I feed him. That is our arrangement.” She looked down at the boy. “Tell your uncle and these people: Have you been mistreated?”

  Akim looked down at his feet and mumbled, “No.”

  “What was that?” Captain Kinah asked.

  “No, I have not been mistreated.”

  The captain smiled and was about to speak again.

  Then ...

  “I want to go home!” Akim wailed, beginning to cry.

  “Akim!” his uncle wailed.

  Cursing, Captain Kinah reached out and grabbed Akim’s thin arm and hustled him through the door below-decks again. She threw a look over her shoulder and mumbled instructions to one of the pirates, then they were gone. We could hear Akim’s crying through the door for several minutes, then it abruptly cut off.

  The guards began yelling again, pressing us back against the crates, back under the tarp set up on the far end of the ship. Akim’s uncle wept silently and mumbled, “What will I tell his mother?”

  The day wore on.

  The pirates forced a few of us to swab the ship, starting with the top deck. Voices could be heard from below, barked orders to clean the next decks. The prisoners were being forced to do their bidding down there, too.

  As the day ended, we approached a port that was shrouded in mist. Over a dozen ships of various sizes were docked or had dropped anchor nearby. Most of the sails were dark and flew flags I didn’t recognize.

  We watched through a hole in the tarp, the three of us huddled together for warmth. A cold wind blew right through my thin clothing.

  “What do you think we are doing here, Princ… I mean, Miss?” Caroline whispered.

  “Nothing good,” I mumbled.

  There was a murmuring at the edge of group, and I heard Tam’s voice. Glancing over, I saw he was handing out bread and water again.

  “I’ll go get our portions,” said Christianne, knowing I didn’t want to go near the ‘friendly’ pirate. I kept my eyes averted so he could not see my loathing. He and his brethren were responsible for turning all our lives upside-down, removing us from our homes and bringing us to an unknown land. At first, I had thought we were to be ransomed, but now … now the knot in my stomach grew with every passing hour. Looking out at the docks we were approaching, I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  “Miss, I couldn’t …” I turned at Christianne’s voice, and Tam was there instead. I blinked. Christianne crouched beside him holding bread and a waterskin.

  “Hello again, M’Lady,” he said quietly.

  I glanced sharply at Caroline. Had she said anything about my royal status? She met my eyes and gave a slight jerk of her head to indicate that, no, she hadn’t told. I looked at Tam again.

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  Tam studied me thoughtfully.

  “We have arrived at our destination. You’ll all be disembarking soon,” he said.

  Christianne had handed me a piece of bread, which I chewed, thinking.

  “Will Akim be coming with his uncle when we leave the ship?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” he replied.

  “What will happen to us?” I asked the question that had been on all of our minds.

  Tam sighed. “You’re to be sold at auction.” He looked at me for a moment.

  Caroline gasped beside me. Tears sprang to my eyes as I put my arm around her. Continuing to look at Tam, my lips thin, I tried to gather some words to offer.

  He just looked at me, waiting.

  What’s the use? I thought. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of begging for our freedom, and I didn’t think it would do any good. My eyes steely, my mouth set, I remained silent.

  He finally spoke. “I wish … I wish there was something I could do. The Captain just started raiding last month.” He looked down, then into my eyes again. “Some of us have tried to reason with her, get her to go into smuggling or …” He sighed. “She cut the throat of the sailor who spoke the strongest.”

  My brow furrowed. Maybe everything wasn’t so cut and dry.

  He continued. “I just wanted to say, I’m sorry.” His gaze held mine, and I could not look away from the piercing dark eyes.

  “Can’t you help us at all?” I pleaded softly, realizing I was asking a stranger to risk his life.

  “I wish I could,” he answered softly, looking down again.

  After a few minutes of this, he left.

  I looked down at the half-eaten piece of bread in my mouth, and forced myself to finish it. My stomach was roiling, but I didn’t know when I’d see another scrap of food again, and it seemed foolish to waste it. Christianne handed me a waterskin, and I drank as much as I could.

  I turned to look out the hole in the tarp once again, studying the terrain in an effort to glean any scrap of information that might help us escape.

  Christianne and Caroline talked quietly among themselves as I looked out over the water. A tear rolled down my cheek, despite my resolve to remain brave. The food sat in my stomach like a cold ball of lead. My eyes never left the dock.

  It was dark by the time we dropped anchor. Numerous lights twinkled on the dock and from the hillside beyond. I could faintly hear voices rising and receding as their owners moved back and forth between land and ship, and directions being given. We were much closer to land than we’d been when the ship was off the coast where I’d boarded. This must be a large, well-traveled port.

  An hour later we were led to the edge of the deck and down the ladder to the waiting rowboat below, and an hour after that, we found ourselves crowded into a filthy hut in the town. They’d poured buckets of water over our heads on the docks, and we shivered now, wet and miserable, and waited for our fate.

  Chapter Four

  Vision Turned to Black

  “I can’t take this anymore.” I was hunched over in the corner, it was the morning after we’d been dumped in this hut, and I was into my second hour of vomiting. At this point, it was dry heaves. At any moment I expected to see my feet come out of my mouth.

  “Miss.” Caroline held my sides as I retched. “Do you want some water?”

  “I don’t think I could hold it down, Carrie,” I mumbled, sitting back up. I felt weak as a kitten.

  Caroline bent over and looked at the mess that had come out of my belly.

  “Miss, there’s worms in the sick.” Caroline turned to look into my eyes, worried.

  “Oh, great,” I stood and looked over her shoulder. “Ugh. This is not good. Not good at all.” The worms must have come from the food our captors had given us. They couldn’t come from our own provisions: Our chef had been the best available in the northlands, and she had always traveled with us and prepared our food.

  I looked at Caroline and Christianne, wondering if they were similarly infected, then down at my tunic, which I had soiled during the vomit episode.

  I tried to stay busy cleaning myself, but it was a lost cause. The others gave us a wide berth, the smell alone enough to keep them away.

  “Someone’s coming.” The whisper was transmitted through our small crowd, and we all looked expectantly at the doorway.

  It was true. Someone was unlocking the door. It opened slowly, and everyone began to file out.

  Caroline and I were last, and as my eyes hit the bright sun, I squinted.

  “Here they are,” someone said. “Get the one in the back.”

  Before I knew what was happening, I was pulled aside and water was poured over my head.

  “Wash,” a harsh voice whispered.

  Sputtering, I opened my eyes to see a woman n
ot much older than myself being passed a second bucket of water.

  “Clean yourself,” she said. “You have just a few minutes.”

  “What’s happening?” I asked.

  “The auction is about to begin,” she answered.

  I cleaned myself up with Caroline’s help. I had never been more grateful for water in my life. I worried about being sick and the worms inside my belly, but there was little I could do about it.

  “Come on, come on, you’re holding everything up!” Came a hard voice. I stumbled to the edge of the crowd of prisoners.

  “Excuse me, sir,” I turned toward the guard. “I would like to speak to whomever’s in charge.” I was hoping that by telling them who I was, I might be treated better, or even ransomed back to my parents.

  The man laughed. “I’m in charge in this here yard, Missy. Me and nobody else. Now get moving!” He prodded me with the tip of a wicked-looking staff, with sharp bits of rough metal embedded up and down its length.

  We were herded up a long, rickety staircase attached to the side of a square three-story building, and into a room through the back door. A cacophony of sounds came from beyond the door, with voices and an auctioneer’s chant rising above them. Fear surged in my belly. Was this really happening? There was a sense of unreality about the whole thing, as if it were some elaborate practical joke someone was playing on us.

  We sat for an hour in the hot room before the door opened and the nearest of us was grabbed and pulled through. A new chorus of voices began, and, listening through the wall, my fears were confirmed.

  “They are auctioning him off,” I said grimly to the others in the dimly lit room. “I hear an auctioneer pointing out his attributes. ‘Strong worker’ – ‘good teeth’ – ‘young and healthy’.” I turned to Caroline and Christianne. “Oh, this is not good at all,” I whispered. “We need to get out of here immediately.”