Ahoy mateys!
I have needed to rework my writing schedule, and so I apologize for the late post.
For the remaining chapters, I will be posting every other week. I didn’t write this story ahead of time, which means I am writing/posting it as I go! In hindsight this might not have been the smartest move while querying, ha! But I love interacting with you all, and this story has been so much fun, I don’t want to leave you all in the lurch.
I hope you are all having a wondrous Tuesday, wherever you are! The day began at 5:30 for me (and I am not a morning person in the slightest) and so I am looking forward to bedtime and oh-so-thankful for whoever invented the crockpot.
But enough of that :) Here we go!
Little experience though he had in Port Royal, Henry knew something was amiss as soon as he set foot back on dry land. A buzz of nervous excitement filled the air as pirates, buccaneers, tavern wenches and the like hurried to and fro along the harbor. As Henry scanned the various ships moored at the docks, there could be no question as to the cause of the change.
A great ship stood out from the rest like an enormous black dragon amongst sparrows.
“What ship is that?” Henry asked Tsunamina, who walked more rigidly than before.
“That, lad, is Loveday’s Revenge.”
Henry’s eyes widened. “My grandmother’s name was Loveday.”
“Was it now?” Tsunamina inhaled deeply and muttered under her breath, but Henry was too enthralled with the gigantic ship to notice.
Henry squinted as the turquoise glass of the captain’s quarters glinted in the sunlight, through which he could have sworn was the faintest shadow of a man. A gold mermaid figure head graced the bow, while an enormous black flag bearing the skull and crossbones flickered in the wind at the rear of the ship. Henry gulped. All across the many decks dozens of pirates attended to their tasks. Organizing ropes, climbing the masts, swabbing the decks, and securing the cannons.
“You three wait there,” Tsunamina instructed as she pointed to a narrow alleyway across the crowded Main Street. “I need to make a few inquiries.”
Henry and Grandfather (who held a less-than-jovial Rembrandt) hurried across the road, careful to dodge a few steaming piles of donkey dung, and waited in the shaded alley. From there, Henry had a clear view of Tsunamina who walked right up the gangway of Loveday’s Revenge as if she owned the place. A couple of the men whistled as she passed. Another attempted to swat her rear-end, but Tsunamina met him with a quick slap to the face and a colorful verbal lashing.
Rembrandt chuckled. “It always gives me a thrill to see neanderthals put in their place.”
Henry peered down at the bird. For years the bronze door stopper had terrified him, but now, Henry found himself feeling sorry for the bird.
“So, just how terrible is she?” Henry asked. “The Whaler Witch?”
Grandfather set the bronze pelican on the ground and stretched his back. Rembrandt sighed and ruffled his metallic feathers.
“She was always perfectly amiable to me, truth be told,” explained Rembrandt. “But I cannot deny she has a darkness to her. A meanness a scarce few possess. As far as I know the only person to ever make her nervous is Captain Bluebeard. If it comes down to a tête-a-tête between those two over your sister…I cannot imagine Bluebeard will allow himself to lose.”
“But I still don’t get why he would want her,” said Henry. “Why would Captain Bluebeard want anything to do with Agnes? Is it because she’s from the future?”
Rembrandt’s bronze face hardened. “I am afraid that is not my story to tell, Master Henry. Though, truth be told, I for one believe you are owed an explanation in full.”
Grandfather placed a hand on Henry’s shoulder. “I’ll tell you everything Henry. You have my word. As soon as Tsunamina gets back to us with the official plan.”
Henry gazed up into Grandfather’s eyes and nodded. Eyes Henry had always trusted, and trusted still. While he didn’t know the whole of Grandfather’s life, Henry knew enough to believe that people could change. His mother had once been a quiet woman. Too quiet. But now, she stood up for herself and spoke her mind when she needed to. Even if she was still milder than most. There was a time, Henry hated to admit, when he himself wasn’t very kind to Agnes. But that changed after his father left.
Whatever kind of man Grandfather had been the last time he’d been in Port Royal, Henry knew Grandfather wasn’t the same. He was kind and patient. Loyal and honest. Grandmother had been too.
“Oh dear, oh dear. The man himself,” Rembrandt sighed. Henry lifted his gaze back to the ship. Tsunamina stood at the top of the gangway talking to a man who could be none other than Captain Bluebeard.
The man towered over her, as tall and thick as a tree trunk. His muscled arms strained against his shabby black jacket. A thick leather belt cinched around his middle, securing a flintlock pistol against his stomach. Flappy leather boots and a weather-worn tricorne hat completed the man’s pirate ensemble. But what made the already frightening captain even more alarming was his hair. Long, ratty locks of electric blue hair spilled down over his shoulders, as did a considerably thick blue beard.
“Captain Bluebeard and the Ne’er Do-well’s,” Henry whispered. “Loveday’s Revenge is his ship?”
“Stay out of sight, Henry,” Grandfather instructed.
Henry leaned against the shaded wall of the building, but kept his eyes on Captain Bluebeard. He couldn’t understand why history books had never mentioned the man. Why Grandmother, with all her pirate knowledge and enthusiasm, had never mentioned him. The captain’s size alone should have made him legendary. If Henry didn’t know any better, he would suspect the man to be half Giant.
Tsunamina made her way back to them, but didn’t stop to talk.
“Just walk and do not look back.” She urged Henry on with a firm hand against his arm. “Do not stop until I say so.”
They walked on for what felt like eternity and a day. As Henry followed Tsunamina through the endless zigs and zags of the narrow alleyways of Port Royal, the sun continued to move across the sky. In a matter of hours it would be nightfall, and what then? They didn’t seem to be any closer to getting Agnes and if they didn’t find her by 11:43 tomorrow morning, Agnes was as good as dead.
But something else was pressing against his heart. Why would Captain Bluebeard want Agnes, and why was his ship called Loveday’s Revenge? Loveday wasn’t a common name, and yet, it had been his grandmother’s.
At last they left the outskirts of Port Royal and found themselves on a dirt path which took them deep into the muggy jungle. Strange bird calls and the snapping of twigs did little to calm Henry’s nerves. The canopy of trees blocked most of the sunlight, and the buzzing of insects nearly drove him to distraction.
“Not much longer, laddie,” Tsunamina assured him.
A small cave came into view, nearly hidden beneath tendrils of greenery. Tsunamina stopped before the dark entrance and pulled back the vines. “In we go.”
Henry peered into the darkened space and gasped. The floor of the cave wasn’t a floor at all, but a wide open hole. Cold air permeated out of it, and far below, Henry heard a sound like rushing wind.
Tsunamina cupped Henry’s chin. “Your sister awaits, laddie. Don’t be afraid.”
“Rembrandt and I will go first,” Grandfather said as he stepped up to the hole’s edge. “We’ll wait for you in the grotto.”
Without a backwards glance, Grandfather and Rembrandt leapt into the horrifying hole. Henry waited for a crash, splash, or groan, but there was nothing. Just the continued rush of wind and stinging cold air.
Henry could only hope this was the last leap of faith he’d be forced to take on this wild goose chase. He gathered his courage, and just as he sprung away from solid ground, the explosion of gunfire rang through the air.
Thanks for reading along! Stay tuned for the next installment of Henry and the Ne’er Do-well’s!
Read up, me hearties!
Ali |Periwinkle Twist
Totally intrigued!! Can't wait for the rest!