Queen Of My Nightmare (Uncharted Secrets, Book 2): Endless Horizon Pirate Stories (10 page)

“I’m fine.” I wiped the sweat off my forehead. “I just got hot. Too hot. That room has no ventilation.”

“The one on
Esmerelda
didn’t either.” He stated the obvious fact.

“I know, but I hated that room, too. I want a room with a porthole,” I deliriously rumbled the lofty request.

“Ah, you want a maid, a doorman, and a bathtub in there, too?” he teased.

“That would be nice. But for now some water will do.”

Mason quickly returned with water, but before giving me a drink, he took the black cloth off my head and wet my hair with it. Instantly feeling better, I chugged as much water as I could, and though I felt well enough to work again, Mason told the crew to lower the anchor with the setting sun.

X

Three days passed with a few similar spells, but not wanting to appear weak, I did my best to shield my sickness. At any time the island chain I was in search of would be showing up, and the crew was counting on me to get them there.

Despite my agony, I conquered the feat. Just before noon a cute little tree-covered island appeared, and upon comparing it to the charts in my rutter, I found that it was the first in the chain we had been seeking. The happy crew congratulated their sorcerer of a navigator.

Midnight drew and added fine details to the pages of the rutter as
Estrella de Plata
sailed passed the islands. Drawing the rocky peaks and the beautiful waterfall on the shore we were currently passing, I realized something. With my heart thumping in excitement, I ran over to Mason.

“Mason, uh, Captain, look. That’s it. This is the island on that secret map.”

“What? I’ve been here afore but I’ve never drawn that connection.” He looked it over with doubt. “What makes you think that?”

“Look at this inlet. And that bay.” I fumbled with the book, too excited to keep a professional poise. “But the most obvious thing is this.” Pointing to the swirly little X shape at the bottom corner of the page, I said, “This shape matches the flow of that waterfall flowing down the peak.”

“Well, blow me down, it does.” He laughed.

I shared the details with the crew. They easily altered their vote to make shore on this secret island. Once
Estrella de Plata
was heading in that direction, Mason smiled at me.
“Depending on what we find there I might have to up your pay, Midnight.”

Anchoring in the sunlit bay, we loaded our longboats with supplies and made our way ashore to scout out the area. Dreadfully terrified by Mason’s mentions of cannibal islanders, I did my best to stay near him without looking like a complete pansy as we trudged through the thick green ground coverage. The canopy trees overhead kept the sun off of our skin, but seemed to encase the heat of the day at the same time. Once again feeling sickened by the cursed weather, I did my best to maintain my composure as we made our way towards the clearing ahead.

Coming upon a pleasant lagoon with a waterfall sliding down the sheer rock face above it, I was tempted to jump right in to cool my body of the sickening heat. Most of the men did, stripping off every bit of their clothing while doing so. Looking away from the unexpected display of nudity, I knelt by the water to splash my face, and it was there that the debilitating nausea once again took hold. With nowhere to hide this time, I let loose my lunch into the lagoon, sending the naked men jumping and yelling to escape my floating pile of vomit.

While they scampered about wailing dramatically, a group of native islanders showed up. Looking at them through the tears in my eyes—sun blackened skin, feathered and beaded chest pieces and head dresses, and war painted faces like Ziare’s—I began fearing for our lives. But my fear was short-lived. The panic engulfing my body forced up another round of vomit, and there in between the armed islanders and the surrendered naked buccaneers, I continued to throw up until I blacked out completely.

Chapter 10

Secret Shore

W
akin
g
up in a palm-roofed hut, I sat up in a panic. My stomach hurt in a way it never had before.

“You lay down,” a dark skinned, round woman—wearing nothing but an animal pelt over her lower half—snipped without turning to face me. Standing at the wooden counter, she was mixing something in a coconut shell. Hurting like I was and being scared to death with no one I knew in sight, I easily followed her orders.

“Where is Mason?” I whispered, my voice cracking.

“He outside,” she answered without much concern.

As she handed me half of a coconut filled with a colorful juice, I took note of her full appearance. Her nose was pierced with a bone, her ears were pierced with shells and stones, her cheeks were painted with colorful stripes, and though her saggy breasts were on clear display, many different necklaces hung from her neck. “You sit up now. Drink. Feel better.” She smiled, showing what was left of her teeth.

Sitting up on the banana leaf bedding, I looked around the little hut. Multiple nets hung from the ceiling, some holding herbs, others fruit, and one had seashells in it. Chicken feet hung over the counter where she worked, and there was a bone of some sort hanging by the doorway. Though I hoped it wasn’t human, I couldn’t think of any other creature a bone of that size and shape would have come from.

Hoping the drink she gave me wouldn’t kill me, I took a sip, figuring it could be my arm bone hanging next to her doorway if I didn’t.

The taste was exceptional. Sweet and refreshing. The flavor as much as the texture instantly helped my exhausted body to feel revived. As the liquid coated my empty stomach, I sighed in relief.

“Do you have any more of this?” I asked as I handed her the empty shell.

She smiled. “Yes. I knew you’d love it. I made more. My name is Selah. Who you?” She handed me the other half of the coconut.

“My name is Midnight. Where am I?”

“My people treat you well, you no worry. You must take care of your baby.”

“Baby?!” I shrieked, nearly dropping my coconut.

“Yes.” She laughed. “You don’t know?”

“No. I don’t. I can’t.” The thought of having a child in my womb caused me to become unnerved. Sickened to the core, I started breathing roughly. My gut tightened as I did.

“Stop it. You stupid English girl. You must care for child, not destroy it. You calm yourself and drink.”

Slowing my breath, I took another drink and asked, “Does Mason know?”

“No one know but me and you. They think you witch man. I witch woman. They probably think we make baby in here. But we friends. That’s all. Is Fat Mouth the father?”

“Fat Mouth?”

“You call him Mason, I call him Fat Mouth. He good to look at but rude and loud.” She opened the vine-covered curtain blocking her arched doorway and pointed at Mason.

“That is him.” Sink me, Mason Bentley was the father of this child growing in my womb.

“You two make pretty baby. I know it.”

Pretty babies were the farthest thing from my mind. “Please don’t tell him.”

“Why you no tell him? Does he scare you? Is he bad man?”

“No. Not at all. I just, uh, I will tell him soon.”

“Maybe he will be angry if you don’t tell him. That baby is his, too.”

That baby. Our baby. I couldn’t get over it. A child? I laid my face in my hands. During all the sex we’d had, this outcome had never crossed my mind. I suppose I was a stupid English girl after all. What in the world would happen now?”

X

I spent the next two weeks hiding in Selah’s hut. Caring greatly for the health of my baby, she fed us well and kept me and my secret safe. Of course, Fat Mouth Mason came to see me from time to time and slept outside my hiding place every night, but as far as I could tell, he had not caught on to the secret I was keeping.

“You cannot hide it much longer, girl,” Selah curtly stated while mixing me another fruit drink. I told her my name was Midnight five hundred times but she always called me girl. Or English girl.

“I know.” I rubbed the little round bump that protruded. Selah told me I was about three months along. That meant this baby was made during the sex we had on the chart table. Over the blood covered maps. Oh, Lord. How petty and insignificant those moments of pleasure now seemed in comparison to this lifelong struggle I would now be facing.

Drinking the coconut juice flavored with lime, I wondered about my future. It was nice here with Selah taking care of me. Feeding me, making me drinks, and telling me all the things I needed to do for my baby’s health. But eventually we’d be leaving. To God knows where, and the horrors that were most likely ahead seemed unbearable.

I just wanted to stay in this little hut with Selah until this baby was born. Maybe even after. Hell, the human skull on the shelf behind me didn’t even scare me anymore. This was a wonderful place and I never wanted to leave.

As he usually did in the evenings, Mason called from behind the leafy curtain. He had plenty well learned to knock on Selah’s door since she threatened to cut off his fingers and wear them on a necklace if he didn’t.

“What you want, Fat Mouth?” she called out from her counter.

Certain that he was a bad man who I did not want to share my happy news with, she was always so mean to him. I might have felt bad about this had his reactions to her attitude not been so funny.

“I need to talk to Midnight,” he growled, already sounding annoyed.

After accepting my nod of approval, Selah huffed in irritation and pulled back the drape. Though she shooed Mason in before anyone else could see me, I caught a quick glimpse of the burning orange firelight behind him and saw the tribe gathering around the flame. Once Mason was secured in the room with us, Selah went back to chopping her herbs. Driving the blade into the cutting board much harder than usual, she seemed to be keeping beat with the drummers nightly rhythm. The overbearing volume of her humming made it hard for Mason to talk to me.

“Come with me tonight, Midnight.” He leaned in close and took my hand.

Feeling well enough to do so, and being ever so enticed by the sight of him wearing his waistcoat open with no shirt beneath it, I jumped up to join him.

“Where you take her?” Selah barked at Mason as she grabbed the rat she pulled from under the loose woven basket. Mason let out a dramatic gag when she chopped the rat’s head off. But simply because he seemed to enjoy arguing with her, he gained his composure well enough to snap, “I’m taking my lady for a walk in the moonlight, if you must know.”

Pointing the rat blood-splattered knife at him, she threatened, “You hurt her and I cut your foot off. Keep it to kill flies with.” She grabbed a buzzing fly with her bare hand.

“It is all right, Selah.” I set my hand on her shoulder. “He has never hurt me and he never will. I am going to join him on this walk and I promise to return tonight.”

“Tomorrow morning,” Mason barked in defiance. “Maybe even later in the afternoon.”

Selah rolled her eyes and went back to chopping and singing all too loudly as I dressed in my Midnight attire.

With most of the villagers and buccaneers dancing and drumming around the fire, Mason and I slipped away without anyone noticing us.

Since I had no recollection of getting here, I had no idea how far we were from the ship and was surprised to see
Estrella de Plata
sitting in the moonlit bay right outside of the village. “Oh my,
Estrella
looks beautiful from here.”

“Aye, she’s a pretty one. Looking at the captain’s log, I learned that this was her inaugural run, so everything was new as could be. The keel was pristine, and the sails and rigging are in perfect shape. Now, we are just working to mount the old guns. Even with the new weight, she’ll be fast enough to make
Esmerelda
look like a slow lazy heifer, and we’ll have enough firepower to make Hell look pretty. Things keep getting better in my world.” He put his arm over my shoulder.

“Are you sure it’s safe to do that here?” I looked around nervously.

“It’s fine. Everyone’s busy and happy back there, and we’re all alone out here.”

We had traveled a ways down the beach, but I felt much better after we rounded the curve of the coast. Walking along a narrow stretch of sand between the shoreline and a cliff side, Mason kissed my cheek. “I like having you to myself again. That ol’ grandmother’s been hogging you up.”

“I know she has, but it is all in good cause. She has been very helpful and kind to me.”

“So, what’s the matter with you?” He veered off towards a sandy path sprinkled with loose rocks. Instantly feeling like I should not be climbing such a surface with a baby in my belly, I thought that I should tell him right then. But I didn’t.

“Whatever it was, I am fine now. I just like hiding away. You know that.”

“I know you do. I’m fine with that. I just don’t like you hiding where I can’t be near you when I want to be.” He helped me over a fallen tree trunk.

Relieved that I had made it to the top of the trail without falling face first and popping my bubble of a belly, I stopped for a moment to catch my breath. “Have you found out anything about that map?” I had been dying to explore the area and ask questions but had not been up to doing either. Nor had I been able to ask Mason about his research in front of Selah.

“In fact, I have. You’re going to love this. So, the man who made the map, he lives here. I met him. He’s an Englishman. Once was a preacher, but he was coerced into service on a buccaneer crew. They had him doing their Sunday sermons, but—”

“They forced a preacher into service?” I interrupted, stunned by the irony.

“Aye, even us sea rogues like to get our dose of the good word,” he casually answered. “But anyhow, kind of like you, he happened upon the work of navigation and eventually joined the crew as an equal. After a year of loyal service to his captain and crew, he ended up finding his fancy in the arms of one of the island girls from this village. Coming and going from this place over the years, he gifted her with the treasures he’d acquired. Eventually they ended up making a little family together. So, you see, the map that has been driving men mad is nothing more than that lover boy’s way home to his sweetheart.”

“Aww. That is so sweet. I think that is a much better treasure than a bunker filled with weapons.”

“I definitely do not agree with you there. And no, you do not get that extra pay I mentioned.” He laughed and took my hand, leading me along a moonlit trail overlooking the ocean.

Before long, we reached a flat clearing between the trees where he asked, “How’s this?”

Looking across the sparkling ocean and listening to the roar of the sea, while feeling the salty breeze brush through the palms behind us, I smiled. “Couldn’t be much better.”

He laid out a sheet for me to sit on and gave me some mangos to eat while he gathered firewood. Watching him chop up the kindling with his boarding axe was a treat as tasty as the mangos. I would never get enough of his arms.

We talked and talked as he prepared the fire and talked some more once he sat beside me in the amber glow. He drank rum, I ate mangos—lots of them—and the hours passed without a quiet moment between us. I loved him so much. Everything about him. His looks, his accent, the funny things he said, and the way he loved me…but would he still love me if I told him? Would he still want to call me his own? How would he feel about raising a child? Would he even want to? He said retirement never crossed his mind, and he still hadn’t mentioned a damn thing about marriage. Oh, bother. Back to thinking that he’d just drop me off in port, I decided not to tell him, yet.

“Hannah,” his sultry hum awoke me from my tormented trance. He was kissing on my neck.

“Yes, my love?” I tangled my fingers in his hair.

“What are you thinking about?” He laid me down, but before he could lay his heavy body on top of my secret, I squirmed out from under him.

“What the hell, woman? Do I smell that bad?” He sniffed his arm pits.

His humor over the matter eased my awkward panic. “No, you smell good. I just, well…” I twiddled with my braids.