Under the cover of night, I guided The Avenger through the mouth of the cove. I wanted to catch James by surprise. Hopefully, he and Victor would be together, so I could finish this tonight.

"I want the ship in complete blackout until I return."

I ghosted through the town, reading minds until I found Victor. He and many of James' men were in the taverns and grog shops. James was not on the island. I was angry that James had slipped through my fingers again. I was tempted to go after him, but I had an opportunity to kill Victor and destroy most of James' assets. He could run, but he can't hide.

I waited in the shadows for Victor. The images flooding my mind disgusted me. Most of James' men were monsters. Besides pillaging and plundering ships, they had indulged in the baser side of human nature, like the conquerors of old. There wasn't one shred of humanity in them. I wanted to destroy them all. I tried to escape their putrid thoughts, so I thought of my parents, Carlisle, Esme and Isabella.

Finally, Victor staggered out of the tavern. I intercepted him, knocked him unconscious and took him to a warehouse where James stored his pirated goods. I tied him to a pillar and gagged him. There were barrels of rum in the building, so I used some to splash in his face. He came to, spluttering and cursing. He was shocked. He was scared. He was furious. I was tempted to untie him to let him try some of the things running through his mind, but this was not the time or place. Instead, I answered one of his unspoken questions.

"Yes, I'm the bastard who's been killing your friends. I've appointed myself as judge, jury and executioner for you Laurent and James. I killed Laurent, Alex and John a week ago."

I pulled a long knife from my boot. His eyes bugged out. He began to struggle, but there was no way he could free himself. His heart started beating like a drum.

"I will kill you tonight, then I'll go after James. I'd plan the Chinese torture, Death of 1000 Cuts for James, but he's not here." With that, I made the first cut, then another and another. His screams were muffled, but sounded animalistic. His anguish was palpable. If he'd been an animal, I would have shot him in the head to put him out of his misery, but he was a monster. After an hour, he blacked out. I splashed a jug of rum in his face. The rum added more torture as it stung the multiple cuts covering him arms, legs and chest. It took hours, and he passed out again. He didn't live long enough for 1000 cuts. I ripped him apart and made a pile with his body parts. I decided to burn down the warehouse.

An alarm was sounded, when the fire was spotted. In minutes, men, women and children stood shoulder to shoulder with soldiers, sailors and slaves. Everyone was abuzz with speculations, but no one had seen anything suspicious.

~~~~~VITC~~~~~

"Edward, did you set the town on fire?" Jasper asked after I climbed onboard.

"No, only James' warehouse. James wasn't on the island, but I killed Victor. New Moon and three other ships are taking on water as we speak. James has two ships left - the battered remains of Eclipse and Breaking Dawn."

"I'd like to see his face when he gets this news." Emmett said.

"Me too." I answered.

"Where're we headed now?"

Should I follow James? Until I had a full crew, I'll be putting my men in a perilous situation if we engaged James or anyone else in battle. That's why I hadn't sailed into the harbor blazing my cannons or waited to attack my enemies on the open sea. Although we sustained our share of damages, injuries and deaths, the crew thought the God Neptune was smiling on us. I wanted to say, I win because I cheat. I never flaunted my superhuman abilities, but I used them to gain the advantage over my enemies, instead I let them hold on to their beliefs. I wish I had something to believe in.

"Emmett, take us home." If I had to, I'd leave them behind and track James on my own.