Devil of the Sea

An X-Men Evolution Fanfic by Quill N. Inque

I do not own X-Men.

Chapter 10: Quickening

The days and nights that followed the sacking of the San Cristobal were among the darkest the Caribbean had ever experienced.

Kurt and his men plundered every class of ship from every country. They tore up all of creation, broke it into bits they did, from the Carolinas to New Spain and back again. Frigates, galleons, sloops and brigantines were all devoured by the Sally Anne's insatiable appetite for plunder. Wherever the renegades sailed, they left a trail of blazing, burning wrecks and hulks in their wake. No vessel was safe from Captain Wagner, whose infamy and notoriety grew with each audacious attack. His sheer nerve was his greatest trademark, and many an "impregnable" or "invulnerable" city or vessel fell merely with the shock of being attacked in the first place.

Nothing, it seemed, could stop the Sally Anne's captain. Kurt Wagner was now, by far, the most famous and feared pirate in the world.

The folks on dry land fared no better. When the pirates tired of plundering the ocean, they took their trade ashore, to ransack and hold for ransom any town or settlement within spitting distance of the sea. Kurt was even-handed in his crimes, as the wealthy hamlets were pillaged just as thoroughly as the poor fishing towns and whaling ports. The entire region was paralyzed with fear, and every merchant sailor lived in fear of the appearance of a sail. Kurt's flag was by far the most dreaded sight on the wind and waves.

But to his credit, Kurt made an effort to avoid unnecessary bloodshed whenever possible. Any ship or port that surrendered without resisting could expect to be treated rather reasonably. Many of the poor souls who had resigned themselves to an orgy of rape and pillage were instead surprised when the pirates departed with most of the town's structures still standing. An amusing incident occurred when Kurt sailed right into Nevis and sacked every ship at anchor there. Those ships belonged to foreign merchants, who, not understanding what was going on, demanded receipts so as to prove to their investors what had happened. A thoroughly amused Kurt was only too happy to comply.

That is not to say that the pirates didn't have their share of violence. A full-scale, pitched battle was fought on the Guatemalan coast with a certain town's militia. The fighting lasted for two days before the pirates routed their foes, and Kurt then made an example of this particular colony by burning it to the ground before the Sally Anne departed.

The navies of the great European nations were stunned by the complete suddenness of the biggest pirate onslaught in living memory. No buccaneer since the legendary Henry Morgan had so thoroughly devastated the Spanish Main, and so the great warships of Spain, Holland, France and England flooded into the Caribbean to apprehend the man the London Times called, "that man of such cunning and wickedness, the pirate Kurt."

For his part, Kurt Wagner delighted in running rings around the men-o-war sent to kill him. It never failed to provide him and his hearties with glee to thumb their noses at the law.

The Sally Anne was packed with spoils from stem to stern, and the sheer magnitude of Kurt's wealth would almost certainly boggle the mind. Gilded swords and daggers, each a beautiful work of art, stood upright between mounds of gold and silver coins, their hilts encrusted with precious stones. Huge bags of gold dust jostled for space with the bolts of silk and lace and fine woolens, and these provided a cushion for many exquisite pieces of china and glassware. The tiny cups and teapots were themselves used to contain the gemstones that were as many as leaves on the trees. Rubies, emeralds, turquoise, and amethyst were mixed indiscriminately with golden chalices, brooches with diamonds the size of a pigeon's egg, and rings of every size and shape. There were so many coins from so many countries that it would be impossible to recount them all. Brazils and guineas made a wondrous noise as they ran through Kurt's fingers like a shining fountain of fabulous wealth, and ducats and rix dollars lay scattered about willy-nilly. For once in Kurt's impoverished life, he was riding the gravy train.

But not everyone aboard the Sally Anne was willing to follow Kurt's orders. The mutinous carpenter, Mr. Terrence, secretly burned with anger and jealousy against his captain. He hated Kurt for accumulating the glory and fame that Terrence desired for himself, and the mutant's more civilized methods made Terrence and his followers see him as a weakling.

Kurt, though ignorant of the conspiracy, made no effort to get on his carpenter's good side. Terrence challenged Kurt's orders and his plans at every opportunity in an attempt to prove himself, and the insubordination only served to heighten Kurt's disdain. He despised Terrance as much as Terrence despised him, and the antagonism they shared only increased with every haul Kurt brought on board his ship.

Now, in the darkness of the sloop's galley, Terrence and his conspirators spoke softly in the muted light of a tiny lantern.

A tar with an earring and a glass eye stabbed a knife into the tabletop. "How much longer are we supposed to wait?" he snarled. "The Cap'n grows more an' more popular with the men wid each passin' day!"

"Aye," a man with a red beard and a bald head growled in assent. "We're wantin' to move, now! What's the holdup?"

Terrence bowled the speaker onto the floor, and the blade of his dagger almost tickled his eyeball. "Lissen, greedyguts, I say when we move, an' not before, see? The time ain't right yet! Talk ter me dat way agin an' I'll make ye eat yer own tongue!"

"An' when will the time come?" A third mutineer asked. "How much longer are we to wait? The Cap'n still lives, no thanks to ye an' all yer schemin'!"

"Not for long," Terrence's eyes glittered wickedly. "I spoke true when I said the Cap'n 'ad gone soft, mates. We kin make 'im give up this ship widdout even firin' a shot!"

"How?" the first speaker's hand strayed to his dagger. "Ye seem very confident, Terrence."

"It's that girl." Terrence's voice was a sibilant hiss. "The Cap'n 'as fallen for 'er with a crash louder'n ship's timbers, even a blind man can see that! There ain't nothin' he wouldn't do to keep 'er safe, eh?"

Recognition dawned in the red-beard's face. "We take the girl," he whistled. "That'll make ol' Kurt see things our way, right enough! But 'ow'll we do dat? She's always wid the Cap'n!"

"Not always," Terrence corrected him. "She has a cabin adjacent to Kurt's. O' course, 'tis usually locked, an' only two men aboard have a key: the Cap'n and 'is loyal dog, Summers. We'll nab Summers when no one's lookin' and get 'is keys, see? An' when we 'old the wench…"

"We hold all the cards," another concluded. "But what 'appens after Kurt gives up the ship?"

Terrence cocked his head and looked at the speaker dubiously. "There's on'y one place fer Kurt an 'is cronies, mates, an' that's at the bottom of the sea. But mebbe we kin amuse ourselves a little wid da lass first, eh? No sense in being so wasteful, after all."

"What do you want us to do?" Red beard asked.

"Keep an eye on Summers, an' jump 'im as soon as he's vulnerable," Terrence ordered. "Be ready to move at a moment's notice, you lot, especially if the Cap'n starts sniffin' around."

"So you want us to kill 'im?"

Terrence cuffed the speaker soundly. "Not yet, idjit! Do what ye want wid the rest: kill 'em, flog 'em, keelhaul 'em, I don't care! But mark me: Wagner's mine, d'ye hear me? MINE!"

The tar looked away. "Aye…Captain."

A/N: I know this is a shorter chapter than what you are accustomed to, but I am unfortunately quite busy with end-of-semester final exams(grimaces). Needless to say, I might not be able to update as frequently as I'd like, but I give you my word that as soon as the exams are over, that situation will be rectified. I'll be damned before I leave my readers in the lurch, as such actions are not the trademark of a serious author. Anyway, I felt that since I might not be able to post new chapters as quickly as before, you all had a right to know why. I truly apologize for this, and I will try my hardest to have the next installment up as soon as time permits, because very soon the despicable Mr. Terrence will make his move. Will Kurt discover the conspiracy in time? What will happen to Catherine? And what has the mysterious Captain Logan been up to all this time? Find out in coming chapters! And, as always, PLEASE REVIEW! Readers' feedback is the lifeblood of authors! ^^

Your humble servant,

-Quill N. Inque