Chapter 19
Alister landed in a clash of fighting men.
Rifles belonging to Queen Mary Anne’s soldiers were lined up to shoot his men on the deck. That was, until more of his men came up behind them and cut the soldiers down before they could shoot.
The smell of fire and gunpowder pervaded the air.
There were more soldiers on the main deck than pirates, but he knew his men would have already blocked the hatch, stopping those below deck from coming up. For now, they only needed to concentrate on those on the surface.
Alister didn’t engage any nearby soldiers unless they targeted him. And then he simply cut them down with the brutal strength of his sword.
After swiftly killing a soldier in his way, he shifted his focus to the tall, thin man protecting the helm. This was the first time Alister had ever seen Theodore Briggs, but he knew by his fancy uniform of light blue and white that he was the man he needed to take down.
He wore a white curly wig to signal his status, along with emblems pinned to his fancy blue frock coat with gold trim.
Alister made his way to the commodore, slowly climbing the stairs and fighting off those trying to attack him on his ascent. A few of his men were protecting his back while also moving to the other staircase to stop low-ranking soldiers from climbing it.
“Argh!” Theodore grunted when Alister swung down on him, and he had to quickly block.
The force had been heavy enough that the commodore crumbled and stepped back, giving Alister the chance to slice the man at the helm across the back.
He fell against the wheel before collapsing to the ground.
Alister raised his cutlass to block Theodore’s second attack, and the clash of metal rang in his ears.
They pushed off from each other, beginning a complicated dance with the tips of their swords. One would step forward to swing while the other raised his sword to block and step back.
Considering the dark eyebrows above his eyes, he knew Theodore must have brown hair underneath that white curly wig.
He had a neat but full beard covering his face except for just his rounded, bald chin.
His cheeks, upper lip, and the sides next to his ears were covered in thick, bushy hair.
He was just as tall as Alister, but he could tell the man was a few years older than him.
“I know who you are,” Theodore sneered while pointing the tip of his thin sword at him. “Captain Alister ‘One Eye’ Paine. Bloody Storm of the Seas.”
“Aye, know my own name.”
He swung his sword downwards and forced the man to redirect his swing rather than block it.
“You’re a wanted man.”
Theodore swung sideways, forcing Alister to jump back so he didn’t get cut across the gut.
“Know that too.”
He swung down again, and Theodore skilfully stepped to the side to avoid it. They were circling each other, moving around the small platform.
He’s good. Alister had to give him that. Theodore had obviously earned his title as commodore, because even Alister was having a difficult time with him. I’m still better.
“You’re one of the most notorious pirates on the seven seas.” Alister hid behind the mizzenmast to dodge a swing as Theodore spoke. “I’m sure the queen will be pleased to hang you if I don’t kill you.”
Alister darted around the other side of the mast to sneak up behind him. Theodore spun around and blocked his attack just in time.
“You’re a little cocky.” Alister let his fist fly, punching the man in the face. He stumbled back with a slightly disorientated wobble. “And a bit slow.”
He pushed his sword forward in a stabbing motion, slicing the man’s arm. Theodore dropped his sword with a hiss of breath, and Alister kicked it away with a grin.
“You also have no weapon.”
“Not quite.” Theodore quickly reached into his coat to pull out a pistol hidden beneath it.
Alister’s eye widened. Shit.
The gun was kicked out of the man’s hand by someone swinging onto the deck to join them. Theodore gave a grunt, and Alister raised his cutlass while the man was distracted.
He knew the interloper was one of his own. Now Theodore went wide-eyed at Alister, putting his arms up to deflect the attack with his own body.
A sword blocked his swing, the metal blade tinging on impact before Alister slung it to the side. A glaring Rosetta had stopped his attack, her blue eyes narrowed on Alister.
She stopped my sword?
“Hey, lass!” he yelled in bewilderment. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You were supposed to stay on the ship!”
“Stay out of this, Alister,” she snapped, before swinging her sword... at him!
Alister narrowly blocked it while stepping back, his brows creasing.
“This wasn’t the plan!”
Hell, she was attacking him. He always knew there was a chance she’d come onto the ship, but never in his mind had he thought he would have to fight her!
“I have my own plan,” she told him with a determined glint to her eyes before she kicked him in the side – right where she’d only a week ago sewed him up.
Alister keeled forward, his free hand coming up to his side at the sharp sting. A gasp tore through him as agony spread across his torso. He was still far from being fully healed.
“Hello, Theodore,” he heard her say, just as Alister turned his head up to her back.
“Rosetta?” Theodore’s brows furrowed as he looked at her.
The commodore shook his head from side to side, as if he was trying to clear his vision. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing, couldn’t believe she was there in front of him.
They know each other?
Alister wanted to jump in, but she was currently in his way.
“I have waited three years to see you again.” She pointed her sword at him with her shoulders rolled back tight. “Did you miss me?”
“This is where you’ve been?” His face twisted in fury, flushing red. His yellow-stained teeth gritted as his expression bunched into an ugly snarl. “You ran off to become a fucking pirate?!”
“Yes,” she freely admitted, the bored tone and expression she wore around Alister set in her features. Then it faded into a scrunched-up nose and twisted mouth. “Just so I could one day find you and cut your damn head off!”
She swung her sword forward with a scream and the man dived to the side. “Let’s talk about this!”
He started backing away from her, worry and concern etched on his face. She gave a guttural shout every time she swung her sword. They were starting to circle the mast and Alister was too stunned watching them to move, especially since he’d already tried to, and she’d swung at him!
“You don’t want to make me do anything I would regret,” Theodore warned in a dark tone.
“Oh, I’m sure you would try.”
He eyed his weapon on the ground and Alister swiftly shot forward to kick it behind him, away from Theodore and as far across the deck as possible.
His eyes shot to Alister, and he flashed him a glare before turning his gaze back to Rosetta when she screamed and ran forward, her sword raised, causing him to retreat.
One problem solved – now he just had to get Rosetta out of the fucking way. Right now, she was a liability, foolishly chasing him without thought.
“You don’t want to do this, Rosie.” Theodore had his hands raised, pushing them downwards, as if he was trying to coax her to lower her sword.
Rosie? His brows knotted together. Alister vaguely remembered her shouting at Pierre about calling her that.
She swung her sword, and Theodore dodged it. It lodged into the mizzenmast instead, sticking firmly. As she was trying to tug it free, Theodore raised his fist and punched her in the face. The hit was so hard, spittle flung from her mouth.
Alister stepped forward to catch her, careful of his cutlass, but she only stumbled a step before she righted herself. Unfortunately, her sword was gone, still embedded in the mast.
She wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand before spitting a glob of it to the ground.
“I’ve learned to stay on my feet, Theo.”
“What the hell is going on?” Alister finally shouted, disgusted by watching this pathetic fight. It could barely be called a fight at all with the way Theodore was easily dodging and Rosetta was losing. She was completely at a disadvantage in skill and strength.
Now that Rosetta no longer had a sword in her hand, Theodore’s worry once more turned into anger. He shifted his gaze to Alister with a sneer, his nose crinkling so tight it made him appear older and uglier.
“You better not have fucked this pirate, Rosetta.”
“I can do what I want,” she answered, turning her nose up at him. “And you bet I did. He wasn’t the only one, either.”
Theodore’s eyes widened at her brash words.
“You are my wife!” He swung his arm to the side, stomping his foot forward with a loud thud.
Alister almost dropped his cutlass. His wife...
“You’re married?”
She turned her head back to give him a dull, bored expression. “Aye, lad,” she said mockingly.
He was too speechless to realise Theodore had moved.
He backhanded Rosetta so hard she fell against the wheel of the helm. She put the back of her wrist against her mouth when she pushed off it and unsteadily got to her feet. She checked the back of her wrist to find blood before pressing it to her mouth again.
“I must say, I haven’t missed that.”
He hit her... Alister had seen him do it twice now, and her comment only furthered his belief in the words that came from him next. He stepped forward, reaching out to grab the front of Theodore’s uniform to yank him closer.
“You hit your wife?”
Alister hated men like this. Noblemen who married noblewomen and then abused them.
‘No matter what you do in your life, Alister, fight the strong and protect the weak.’ His mother’s words echoed in his mind.
Alister may have never met Theodore Briggs, but he knew of the commodore of the Laughing Siren and the two ships that usually sailed behind her.
He was a duke. He’d spent time with the queen, sat at her table, was one of her noble servants.