The Curse of Blackbane - Chapter 6
Revenge
A shorter chapter this week.
Chapter 6
Bingham briefly grinned while he glanced at his friend, who kept observing the movements on the ship. Blackbane’s eyelids narrowed at the sight of only a single person on deck. The watch wore the turban of a Turk.
“Still, no matter who the men of the Diano Marina follow, we’re not going far without my maps and sextant,” Blackbane decided with a growl.
~~~
Ishak bin Yaqoob, known as Hamidu to the English sailors on the ship, lay next to his latest harem acquisition. A young woman lay on her side, facing away from him. Captured during a raid of a small village in Sardinia a few months before, he allowed her to stay after properly serving her master. The one beside him was a blond beauty. Druda was her name. While an infidel, she bore noble blood. The man intended to give upon her the title of umm walad to his concubine when she sired his first child.
The undisputed leader of the Tunis pirates, Hamidu, always sought additional wives and concubines. Slaves were a leading commodity, and the number of wives was a symbol of status for the Muslim rulers along the Barbary Coast of North Africa. Young girls brought in by the raiders of the coasts fetched top prices in the market, and he had the gold to pay. And Hamidu had every intention of becoming a ruler over the land. His growing number of ships proved his ability.
Thinking of his next voyage, the bearded man tried to drift back into his restless sleep. Such nights always happened before he set sail on another razzia into the infidel lands. The raids into Spain and Italy meant the enslavement of Christians for the Ottoman slave trade. It was as the Prophet desired, and it also brought him fame and fortune. Eventually, his exploits would give him the title of Beylik of Tunis.
As he rolled over in bed, he heard footsteps on the deck above his cabin. The sailors on watch must be making their rounds, he decided. Only his most loyal servants remained aboard. Most of his pirate crewmembers were onshore, whoring in the taverns. The pirates were a mix of religions and backgrounds. And they remained pirates first and foremost. Their skills with sails and weapons suited Hamidu, for he knew they would accept their new captain if treasure came into their hands after a raid. It was how he overcame his rival, Blackbane. Hamidu ensured his Muslim servants remained aboard. His servants would never betray him, like many of the pirates did for a few gold coins. Such men were valuable and temperamental, but there was little need to beat them into submission like a slave. All it took was a little extra gold.
In some ways, pirates were easier to handle than slaves.
With his rival out of the way, Hamidu vowed that his renamed ship would remain the terror of the Mediterranean. The sailing vessel with thirty guns struck fear into the slow merchant ships trading in the waters. Unlike Hamidu’s galley crew, which required many slaves to man the oars, the sailing ship’s crew held skills that a slave seldom carried. Plus, they were fearsome when boarding. Now, Hamidu had control of a vessel with the speed and sufficient cannon to dominate the trade routes coming through the area. As long as the infidel kings remained content to pay their ransoms, he would cut a bloody swatch across the coasts. When the sun rose in the morning, a new era would begin. A smile crossed his lips as he drifted off to sleep.
Hamidu drifted out of his pleasant thoughts when he heard footsteps outside the cabin door. The noise roused him. A moment later, there was a startled muffled cry which immediately turned into a gurgling noise. As the man grabbed his sword, which hung from the bulkhead, he pulled out his dagger as well. The door opened slowly. The dark outline of Hamidu’s guard stood at the entrance. He entered the room, holding his throat. Suddenly, the guard fell to his knees as the blood spilled through his fingers. The man toppled onto the deck. A large, familiar shadow stood in the entrance with a short broadsword.
Blackbane!
Hamidu roared out curses in Turkish as he charged. The two large men met in the center of the cabin. Their swords struck together with a loud clang while the woman tried to escape from the room. Neither man noticed as they backed away a half-step. Each was looking for an advantage. Blackbane attacked, swinging his sword as he sidestepped closer to the bed. He already noticed his rapier hanging on the bulkhead. Hamidu displayed it there like a trophy.
The Turk countered his opponent’s swing, stepping over the body of his guard. His dark eyes carefully followed the movements of Blackbane, recognizing his opponent was a skilled swordsman. But Hamidu had Allah on his side.
He attacked, thrusting his sword forward. Blackbane stepped aside, but the blade passed through his robe and embedded into the wood behind him. Ensnarled by the man’s weapon, Blackbane swung his sword up. Hamidu expected his move. He blocked the swing with his long blade dagger. Hamidu closed in on the pirate, who tried to pull away. The sound of ripping fabric mixed with the heavy breathing of the two men.
The cloth gave way just in time as Hamidu swiped his blade at Blackbane’s face. He followed up by swinging his sword at Blackbane. This time, Blackbane expected the move. Hamidu’s strike missed its mark as his opponent parried the blade away. In a fluid motion, Blackbane sliced down with his right hand. The thick sword blade cut through Hamidu’s arm, and he cried out as he fell back against the bulkhead. Blackbane grabbed his rapier from the hook on the wall. He continued his attack. While the Turk rolled away, he extended his arm for the fallen sword. The pirate thrust forward with the razor-sharp blade of his sword, catching his enemy in the belly.
Hamidu pulled away in pain, then stared down in disbelief at the massive opening. He reached for his entrails as they slid out with the blood from his abdomen.
His back fell against the bulkhead, and the Turk slid down. Looking looked up at Blackbane, Hamidu’s eyes glazed over. His corpse toppled to the deck. Blackbane slid his sword into his scabbard, once more the master of the Diano Marina.
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