Chapter Thirty-Eight

Jack had been watching the cove through his spyglass later on that afternoon and had decided on a change of plans. He had anchored Devil's Due behind the mountains outside of the cove and rowed over to the steep bluff alone making his way precariously around the base of the rocky bluff on foot until panting and sweating heavily he made it inside the cove. He found a well-forested area to crouch and hide in and opened up his spyglass. Getting comfortable, he made a meticulous study of the docks and the layout of the island and to his glee recognized Maura standing high atop a sheer cliff. He watched her until she disappeared from view and instead studied the quaint cottage. It appeared that she was housed apart from all the others and this was in Jack's favor. He studied the island until it became too dark to see then stumbled back to the boat and being on the other side of the cliffs, he was now able to light a lamp. He thought about his options as he rowed back to his ship and once aboard he let all his men know of the two choices they had. Go in quiet and kidnap Maura or go in loud and fighting. Many of his men lent towards loud and fighting but it was ultimately his decision and he chose quiet and stealthy. The men grumbled and started to become angry but he soothed them by telling them they would sail into the cove in the still of the early morning and a few of them would go ashore to kidnap the woman. The rest would remain on the ship but close enough to fight if things didn't go as expected and with the thought that they may still get their bloodshed the men were tied over. As soon as Jack and his men had taken Maura, they would hunt down Jane and catch her in her sleep, he could then take immense joy in torturing her aboard Devil's Due before leaving her still alive for the sharks. Hell he thought with mirth, he might even make Maura watch just for sport. With the plan settled, he picked out the men he wanted to go ashore with himself and then told them all to get themselves ready and to be well rested. They would strike at around two in the morning, the hour when sleep was deepest.

J&M

Jane awoke with a start early in the morning and clutched her pistol that was on her bedside table. She was sweating lightly and instinctively knew something wasn't right and she never went against her instincts when she sensed danger. But for the past few days now, her instincts had been clouded due to her anger and confusion over Maura. She had also been preoccupied with her new crew by watching them work aboard Spiritus to determine who was best at what task. Jane lay on her back and tuned out the sounds that were a normal part of the night and listened instead for sounds that did not belong. She heard nothing unusual however, the unease in her stomach continued to increase. She tossed back the covers quietly and stood up completely naked. Without lighting a lamp, she dressed quickly and quietly before grabbing her dagger. Jane went to the door and creaked it open silently to listen and watch for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing was amiss so she prowled outside and down the front steps of the veranda, ducking down behind the fountain to study what she could, but the light of the moon was obscured by heavy clouds. She grunted softly and remained at the fountain for some time and was about to move on into the village when she caught the faintest flicker of light up on the cliff from the corner of one dark eye. She snapped her head up and minutes passed but there was no more light, she was starting to believe she had imagined the light but the disquieting feeling in her stomach would not let up. Instead of going to the village, Jane made the decision to first check around the cottage. Quiet as a ghost she stalked across the gardens and up the incline staying in the darkest shadows she could find. She held her heavy pistol loaded and cocked in her right hand the entire time, and her left on the razor sharp dagger at her side. As she neared the top of the incline, she saw a flash of light from under the cottage door and dropped quietly to the dirt. Straining her ears, she listened for movement inside and heard quiet shuffling and then a muffled scream. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end immediately and a suffocating rage replaced the unease in her stomach. Someone was in the cottage with Maura and she had a pretty good idea it was one of the new crew members. Jane stood up, made her way onto the porch, and lent against the wall beside the door. She put her ear to the wall and upon hearing gruff muted voices, panic mixed with fury and she trembled from it. Jane straightened, stood in front of the door and with one hard, violent kick busted it in, gun pointed in front of her as she charged into the cottage. It was pitch black and a harsh voice filled the cabin, "Do nay come any closer or I will break th' lass`s arm."

Jane was momentarily stunned because she recognized the voice, before her rage came slamming back even stronger.

"Jack." She growled out.

He chuckled a wicked cackle and Jane heard Maura moaning in fear but her voice was still muffled.

"Aye glad t' be seein' ye haven`t forgotten me."

"What th' fuck do ye want?" She hissed angrily.

"Now, now be that any way t' speak t' me? I think nay."

Jack had just finished speaking before Jane felt the slightest breeze whoosh across her face and in an instant, she dropped to the floor barely escaping a meaty fist that would have knocked her out cold. She kicked out violently, her booted foot hit something bony, and man shrieked deeply before falling to the floor. Jane knew where everything in the cottage was situated even though it was dark and she crawled across the floor to crouch beside the bed when she heard Maura moan in pain sending chills down her spine.

"Fuck! Jane that wasn`t very smart o' ye. Ever' fuckin' time ye do somethin' stupid I shall be havin' t' hurt th' woman."

The man Jane had dropped continued to moan on the floor and Jack snarled at him to shut up.

"She broke me goddamn knee." He gritted through clenched teeth.

"Fuckin' put up wi' it." Jack snarled.

Jane had been listening to the direction of Jack's voice and knew he was beside the desk close to Maura, and suspected she was pinned up against him with his hand over her mouth, it was clear to Jane now the bastard wanted Maura and she was confident he would not kill her. A different voice spoke up close to Jane and she tensed even more.

"Go ahead captain, take th' lass ou' o' th' cottage, Jane won`t be goin' anywhere." That was all Jane needed to hear, she knew the man would come for her, so she sprawled on the floorboards and rolled under the bed but wasn't quick enough and a dagger sliced deeply through the side of her thigh and she hissed in pain. But she kept rolling across the floor until she was on the other side of the bed and crashed solidly into Maura's legs pushing her and Jack off balance and into the back wall. Jack was stunned for a second and let go of Maura but that was all the time Jane needed and she reached for Maura. Finding a handhold in her nightgown she pulled her roughly to the floor and whispered to her so she would know whom it was before Jane lunged for the spot she knew Jack would be. Her muscled body collided heavily with his and drove the wind out of him. It had only taken Jane about thirty seconds but that was plenty of time for the other pirate to come charging from the other side of the cottage. Jane dropped once more to the floor, and he unintentionally hit Jack square in the jaw, and Jack howled in rage. Jane pulled her dagger from her waist and lunged up sending it clean through jack's windpipe to the hilt, She pulled it out and his warm blood sprayed all over her enraged face. She heard the other pirate running from the cottage and her anger only increased.

"Stay here Maura," She whispered fiercely before she stabbed the pirate with the broken knee in the neck viciously and bolted after the other. The pain in her thigh was savage but she did her best to ignore it as she stumbled down the incline after the sound of the pirate's feet hitting the ground. She saw a large dark shadow in front of her and increased her pace, her thigh burned in pain and she groaned with the effort it took to keep running but she got within a good range, stopped and hurled her dagger at the pirates back. It hit directly between his shoulder blades with a thwacking sound and the man cried out before stumbling and falling to his knees. Jane ran to him as he began to get up and she tore the dagger from his back, pulled his head back and slit his throat from ear to ear. His blood flowed over her hands, she let him go, and he gagged and choked on his blood, falling face first to the dirt. Jane took a large gulp of air before turning and sprinting in pain back up to the cottage. She charged through the door sucking in as much air as she could as she went to where she had left Maura, the panic in her stomach settled a little as she heard Maura crying and knew she was alive but her rage just kept building.

"Maura," She rasped and heard her cry's stop before a grasping hand found the front of her shirt and Maura hurled herself at Jane's strong body. She wrapped her arms around Jane's lean waist and held tight and without having to think about it, Jane did the same.

"'Tis okay lass," She whispered gruffly into Maura's soft hair.

She let go of Maura and she whimpered in fright.

"I be havin' t' get me pistol."

Maura let Jane's warm body go reluctantly and Jane went to the drawers and lit the lamps atop them. She turned back to Maura and grunted at her pasty white skin as Maura gasped at the blood that covered Jane's face and body; she looked like a wild savage with the rage that distorted her features. After she collected her pistol, she limped back to Maura and picked her up in her arms without any resistance.

"You've been hurt," Maura whispered frightened, "Let me look please."

"There be nay time, thar be other pirates here."

Maura gasped and Jane looked down to her terrified face, "You`ll be okay, they won`t get you."

She said it with such conviction that Maura nearly believed her, but she was too terrified.

Jane walked down to the house as quick as she could on her bleeding leg and Maura protested most of the way saying she could walk but Jane would not let her down, she took Maura inside her dark house, into the ship room, and down the stairs into her cavern. She kept a torch burning each night and set Maura on her feet before pulling it off the wall.

"Come wi' me."

Maura followed Jane in the gloomy cavern down the stairs and to the left, behind a pile of stacked furniture.

"Sit down here an' dasn't leave till I come fer you."

"You're leaving me? Please don't go!" Out of fright, Maura grasped the front of Jane's shirt and wrapped her hands in the light material.

Jane tiled her head up, "I be havin' t', th' village be in danger. Sit down an' stay quiet, I be back." Jane put a large hand on Maura's shoulder and gently pushed her down to the cave floor. Quickly she grabbed a blanket off a stack and shook it out before placing it on Maura and on second thought gave her the dagger before limping away leaving her in complete darkness.

J&M

Jane grunted in pain as she tied a piece of material around her thigh, pulling it tightly, she then hastily put on her ammunition belts, grabbed another pistol and two cutlasses before walking as fast as she could outside and down into the village keeping her ears tuned for anything suspicious. She made it to Barry's house and went around the back to knock quietly on the door in a series of taps that let Barry know who it was. After a few moments he opened the door bare chested and blurry eyed but sobered quickly when he saw Jane's appearance.

"Good god, what th' hell be goin' on?"

"Quiet an' listen t' me. Thar be other pirates on th' island, Jack Thatch an' his men. I don't know how they found us but they be after Maura. Jacks dead as be two others an' sure as hell all his other men aren`t far away. We need t' get th' men awake an' round up. I'll go get th' new crew, ye th' old. Tell Anna t' take th' kids t' me house an' down into th' cavern if 't gets worse." She rasped before leaving Barry to get himself ready and get the others awake. Jane crept silently down through the village staying in the shadows of buildings and trees until she reached the dock and saw a monstrous shadow of a ship that was not hers sitting not far offshore. There were no lanterns lit and it appeared they had not been alerted to anything yet but Jane made her way warily and quietly to Spiritus first, then Orpheus to alert her men. Although they had stripped Orpheus they had yet got around to taking the cannons and shot from her and Jane was grateful and she told them to man the cannons, because they were going to make good use of them. She was just climbing down Orpheus's ladder to the dock when she heard wild shouting and cursing coming from the enemy ship. She jumped down, hissed from the pain, and turned to find the ships lanterns aglow. Silhouettes of angry pirates brandishing their cutlasses filled her vision as they began jumping over board and she roared as loud as she could, "Fire th' cannons now, fire god damn ye`s fire!"

Slews of pirates were jumping overboard and Jane pulled out her cutlass as the first round of cannon fire bellowed from the hull of Spiritus deafening her instantly. The cannon fire hit true and Orpheus was next to fire her cannon balls into the black enemy hull. The ship caught fire and it spread rapidly through the inner hull but they were too late, as most of the pirates had already jumped from the ship. Jane watched from the dock as they came out of the sea and rushed towards her men running down from the village.

"Men get ou' here now! Enemy pirates ashore!" She yelled to her men aboard the ships before charging along the dock and into the tangle of enraged men. She deflected and stabbed a pirate through the chest and did the same to another before she heard Barry yell her name above the roar of angry men and her now weak hearing. She looked up and saw a bunch of pirates running up the beach and into the grass, intent on getting into the village and she fought her way out of the press and raced after them. She did not feel the pain in her leg anymore and shot a look to her side to see Barry and Frankie running with her. They reached the path that lead to her house and they saw the dozen or so pirates torching the houses, women and children ran screaming in fear and a pirate aimed his pistol at a young boy and was about to pull the trigger before Jane sent her dagger flying, hitting him in the back of the neck. His pistol discharged from reflex but the aim was off and the bullet flew harmlessly into the forest. The three of them roared in unison and charged the pirates savagely, all the while Jane was unaware two had gone up to her house.