Chapter Nine

How is it that a man loses himself to that which is known as madness? Is it caused by what he has or is it what he desires? Does he recognize that he is mad, but if so, would that recognition make him sane? Can one man's madness even bring about the sanity of others? To all of these things, there can be no answers, for one can only think oneself in circles until he becomes mad from questioning his own madness.

And yet upon that evening I found myself pacing the floor of my study with my brow troubled in having such thoughts. I often did this as my mind was burdened with so many necessary things, yet never before had I felt so anxious as if to believe that whatever my enemy, they would come for me as soon as I allowed myself to sleep. Not only this troubled me, however, for though I had not thought of the man in quite some time, his face seemed to haunt me each time I closed my eyes. Even to blink caused me to see him, and so I could find no peace.

Kai Viento... the Woman's Keeper... the Bastard of Spain.

Yes, even in the eyes of his own countrymen, he was a man of scorn, and had it not been the fluidity with which he spoke the language, they may have been blessed to rid themselves of him forever. After all, he flew no Spanish flags unless it was the best means to gain his plunder, and even then, he would do the same with the colors of England, France, and Portugal. It was one of the myriad of ways he had eluded capture for so long as, aside from such flags, the Encantador de Soltera looked the same as any merchant's vessel.

Closing my eyes once again, I saw him. He was grinning, just as he had always done, but though I knew it well enough, it seemed to me that there was much more cruelness in it than I remembered. Almost as if he could be scheming something. The only question was just want he may be plotting...

"Lord Admiral, may I come in?" I glanced back at the opened door, my eyes straining in the light of the flickering candles, and it was then that I found enough reassurance to offer the man a smile. "Forgive me, sir. I did not me to intrude upon you I would hope?"

"You are more than welcome here, Vice Admiral," I assured him, "but let us refrain from speaking so formally to one another. Though we are to be on duty at all times, I would hate to think that we are nothing but fellows in arms." My companion said nothing in return, but merely nodded while I went about setting myself by the fire. I beckoned him to join me, and though he hesitated for a moment, he came soon enough. However, I could get help but observe the grave way in which his face appeared to me. "What is it you have come to tell me then?"

"I fear we are being hunted, Richard," he warned, his voice grave. "The men are as restless as we, and though I am not a superstitious man by any means as you yourself are well aware, the wind seems to bode with an ill will towards us." He leaned forward then, his eyes piercing in their intensity, and so I continued to listen as intently as I could manage while bringing myself even closer so as to hear him more clearly.

"The Woman's Keeper is looming just beyond the horizon... I am sure of it. Word has just come that yet another two merchant vessels have fallen in the past month. Both were left unscathed and their men aboard unharmed, yet there was not so much as a drink or a biscuit to be had."

"And what of their cargo?"

"Tobacco," he replied, "and yet not a crate had gone amiss. Is that not a mysterious thing? To board a ship and only plunder her of her bare necessities?" I had to admit it was rather curious... yet it was certainly not unheard of. After all, spending so many weeks at sea with no port willing to shelter them, a pirate crew would at times strike a ship simply and of the need to surprise. "There is more if you are well enough to hear."

Leaning back in my chair, I sighed and cast my gaze down to the glowing embers that had been left to die in the hearth. "Continue," I ordered though my heart was not truly in it. "It is much better for us to know just what it is we are up against than to deny what may be true."

"Very well," he agreed, closing his eyes and drawing in a deep breath to ready himself. "It would seem that he has taken possession of the Dove." He waited for a moment to witness my reaction to the name of the fine vessel, but I said nothing on the matter. After all, what had happened to William was beyond my control at the time, and so I had no reason to allow myself to feel guilty for the man's death. A great man though he may have been. "I know it is not my business to know such things... I must admit that I still have to wonder just why you decided to end the search for her. Would it not have prevented this?"

"My friend, if it were not the Dove, it would have been another," I reminded him with a bitter smile. "When it comes to a man such as Viento, I can assure you that nothing but death itself will be able to stop him."

"Then there is no question as to what needs to be done."

"And is that not what we have been striving to achieve all this time?" I countered with a sigh. "Surely one cannot say that we have been idle in our pursuit of him, and yet he has continued to evade us in our efforts. I can only wonder what manner of gods would bless a man such as he... and yet one can also not deny that it would seem he has found some favor beyond that which we know."

"Richard." My companion's voice was firm, yet I knew he meant no harm by me when he said it. A truth which made itself all the more well known in the way in which his tone softer as he continued. "Though I have admitted that I am not a man who puts much faith in such things, I assure you there is no power on this earth nor the heaven above that would align itself with the likes of such a heathen. I shall see to it myself that that man hangs for-"

"Kaelin, that is enough." He was quick to silence himself, and it was then that I closed my eyes for the last time as I began to lay back in my chair to rest. When I did, however, Kai had begun to laugh. A sickening sound that rang in my ears, and yet I could not escape it. For all was madness...

A madness I could not escape.