The Pirate Daughter's Promise (Pirates & Faith)

  Kelley scoffed at his words. “I wouldn’t be worryin’ about them if I were you. Worry about makin’ sure you do your work well. If I’m not satisfied, I promise you there will be severe consequences, and Miss McHenry isn’t here to protect you this time.” Kelley shoved Will into the hands of one of the pirates. “Get ‘im to work.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Skye watched the Finder sail off until it was only a tiny speck on the horizon. When it had disappeared completely, she sank to her knees, all hope and strength gone. Putting her head in her hands, she sobbed miserably. Nearly everything she held dear was gone. Her promise was broken, Will had been taken, and she and the only ones she had left were abandoned to die on this island.

  Eyes on Skye, Matthew struggled to get his hands untied so he could comfort her.

  “Here, use this,” Kate said.

  Turning to her, Matthew watched Kate pull out a knife from her boot. Matthew held out his hands and Kate cut the rope. He took the knife to free Kate, but she shook her head.

  “Skye first.”

  Matthew walked over to Skye and knelt beside her. “Skye,” he said gently.

  She glanced at him through her tears. Seeing the knife, she held out her bound hands. When the ropes were severed, she let her hands fall into her lap, little caring that her wrists had been rubbed raw from the rough rope. Matthew tossed the knife to John and Kate so they could free themselves.

  He turned back to Skye and laid his hand on her shoulder, hoping to offer what little comfort he could. Skye looked out to sea, with tears still trickling down her cheeks, and prayed quietly, “Please, God, rescue us from this island and help us rescue Will. Don’t let Kelley hurt him. Protect him, especially on Isla de Gracia. Please let me see him again.”

  Matthew stayed at her side and prayed silently as well.

  Skye shook her head. “I should have told Kelley where the treasure was back in Puerto Seguro. Then none of this would have happened,” she cried in despair.

  “This is not your fault,” Matthew insisted. “Whether you told him or not, Kelley would have killed us regardless. You did the only thing you could do, and I am proud of you.”

  Still, it made Skye feel no better about her decision to continually resist Kelley. She felt as though she had hastened their fates and put Will in a dreadful position. The thought of never seeing him again tore at her heart as she remembered hearing his voice say the words she had longed to hear from him. Fresh tears rolled hotly down her cheeks as her eyes squeezed shut on the pain of it.

  Behind them, John walked up hesitantly. “We won’t be able to find fresh water on this island so I was thinkin’ that it’d be a good idea to get outta the sun.”

  Matthew nodded. “Skye, we should do as John said and get out of this sun.”

  Skye simply nodded and allowed Matthew to help her stand and guide her under the shade of the nearby palm trees. Once there, Kate looked at Matthew and John.

  “We should get a fire goin’ so that any passing ships will know we’re here.”

  John glanced around. “We’re gonna have to be sorta careful with what we burn. There ain’t much here.”

  Kate agreed, but said, “Any fire is better than none.”

  The two of them turned to search the island for firewood. Not wanting for John and Kate to be the only ones expending energy, Matthew said to Skye, “I’m going to help them. You can stay here.”

  Skye shook her head, trying to snap herself out of the terrible shock and despair she was in.

  “I want to help,” she replied. “I need to help.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Someone finding us may be Will’s only chance of being rescued,” Skye told him, her voice wavering.

  Matthew nodded in understanding, and they turned to catch up with John and Kate. They each gathered up armloads of dry driftwood that had been washed onto the island by storms. After a few minutes, Skye had just about as much as she could carry when she stepped around the side of a bush. She gasped upon seeing what lay at her feet and took a step back. John, who was the closest, hurried to her side.

  “What is . . . oh.”

  By this time, Matthew and Kate had joined them. The four stood looking down at what Skye had found. A human skeleton.

  “Looks like Kelley’s used this island before,” John said grimly.

  Skye closed her eyes and shook her head, two tears escaping. “What a horrible man,” she murmured. What was worse was that he had Will.

  They turned away from the gruesome sight and returned to the beach. Not long and they had a fire burning. The four of them sat down in the shade to watch and pray for a ship to pass by. All was silent as they thought sorrowfully of Will, each wishing he or she could have taken his place. It hurt Skye unbearably to know that Kelley would be just as demanding of Will as ever, and she would no longer be able to protect him from Kelley’s wrath.

  The day passed with an agonizing slowness, and the sea remained empty. The sun beat down on the island, making everyone hot despite the shade. At midday, they broke open what coconuts they could, trying not to exert themselves too much. They shared the sweet liquid inside and it quenched their thirst, but it would not be enough to keep them alive for very long.

  At last, the sun sank low on the horizon, relieving them of its scorching heat. They kept the fire burning well, knowing that it would be even easier to spot in the dark. Unfortunately, things were not in their favor. Skye had overheard Matthew ask John if many ships sailed in that area, and he had said there were few. Still, Skye had to keep telling herself that it did not matter how many ships sailed there, they were in God’s hands, and if He wanted a ship to sail past the island, one would.

  The sun sank into the watery horizon and the island grew dark. By now, Skye was exhausted. Her body and her mind were simply worn out. Matthew noticed her tiredness immediately and encouraged her to get some rest. Skye was reluctant, knowing sleep would not come easily, no matter how weary she was, but she did as he suggested and lay down. As she tried to sleep, she asked once again for God to save them and most of all to protect Will.

  * * *

  Morning arrived and Skye woke to the sound of the wind rustling the palm trees. Ordinarily it would have been a lovely sound, but she kept her eyes closed, dreading the thought of facing another terrible day of wondering what was happening to Will and whether or not they would escape their island prison. She tried to blot these thoughts out of her mind, but what came to her then were the words Will had spoken to her on the ship. They were the last words Skye had heard from him before Kelley had taken him from her. Skye squeezed her eyes shut even tighter and a warm tear trickled down from her eye and onto the ridge of her nose, but she did not bother to reach up and wipe it away.

  “Please, God . . . ” but the beginning of Skye’s whispered prayer trailed off. Something had reached her hearing, but what was it? A shout? Could it really be? Opening her eyes, she sat straight up and looked to the sea. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. A ship filled her sight and already a boat rowed toward shore. She looked at the others, who still slept soundly.

  “Wake up!” Skye called excitedly. “It’s a ship!”

  Her words were enough to rouse them instantly. They sat up, looking stunned and overjoyed when their eyes beheld such a welcome sight.

  “It can’t be!” Kate exclaimed in wonder. But by her tone she was not referring only to the amazing fact there was a ship at all. Everyone looked at her questioningly.

  “It’s the Half Moon!” she told them, thrilled beyond telling.

  Kate was the first to stand, and she ran headlong for the beach and the boat that had nearly reached shore.

  “Thank You, God. Thank You so much,” Skye breathed as she pushed to her feet. She and Matthew and John jogged after Kate.

  At the water’s edge, they waited anxiously. When the boat reached them, Skye looked over Kate’s crewmen. Something about them reminded her of her father’s crew. The first
one out of the boat was a middle-aged African man. He grinned at Kate who threw her arms around him, laughing joyfully.

  After a great hug, the man said, “It’s mighty good to see you, Captain. If we’da known it was you stuck here, we’d’ve rowed a little faster.”

  Kate grinned. “It’s wonderful to see you too, Riley.”

  The rest of the crewmen climbed out of the boat and greeted Kate merrily.

  “I hafta admit, Captain, we were beginnin’ to lose hope of ever findin’ you,” Riley confessed. “Kelley doesn’t leave many clues behind. Still, we were never gonna give up.”

  Kate smiled again. “I saw you behind us once just after I was taken.”

  “Yes, that storm blew us off course.” Riley shook his head ruefully. He glanced up and down the island’s beach. “Kelley maroon you here?”

  Kate nodded. “Yes, but it’s a long story, and we have to get back to the ship. There’s somethin’ important we have to do.”

  “What would that be, Captain?” Riley wanted to know.

  “We have to go after Kelley,” Kate answered, surprising him and the other men. “He has a captive we must rescue.”

  Riley nodded. “Aye, Captain, whatever you say.”

  His response left John frowning at the memory of his own crew.

  No one wasted any time getting into the boat, and as they rowed toward the ship, Riley remarked to Kate, “I see you’ve made new friends.”

  Kate nodded. John, of course, was already well known to Riley and the rest of the crew, but to Skye and Matthew she introduced Riley as her first mate, and to Riley and the rest she took great pleasure in introducing Skye and Matthew. Riley and the others were very pleased to meet them and seemed to have a very high regard for Skye’s father.

  “So who exactly are we needin’ to rescue from Kelley?” Riley asked.

  “A young man named William James. He’s very close to Skye,” Kate answered. “Kelley’s keepin’ ‘im as a slave.”

  “Do you have any idea as to where Kelley’s headed?”

  Kate nodded. “We know exactly where he’s going.”

  “Where?”

  “Isla de Gracia.”

  Kate told them briefly what had happened in the past three weeks. At the end, Riley looked at Skye and promised, “Don’t worry, Miss McHenry. You can count on us to do whatever we can to rescue Mr. James.”

  The rest of the crewmen backed him up.

  “Thank you,” Skye replied, touched and incredibly thankful for their willingness to help Will.

  Very shortly, they reached the Half Moon and climbed aboard. The rest of the crew gathered round joyously when they saw Kate. She greeted them all warmly and then Riley spoke.

  “Listen up, men. I’m sure the captain will share her story with everyone soon, but we need to set sail. Kelley’s taken a young man prisoner, and we need to save ‘im.”

  “What’s our course, Captain?” one of the men asked, not showing any hesitation about going after Kelley.

  “Set course for Isla de Gracia and don’t spare any canvas. We need the Half Moon to get us there as fast as she’s able,” Kate ordered.

  “Aye, Captain,” the men replied.

  Immediately, they hurried to pull up anchor and unfurl all sails. Once they were on their way, Kate motioned for Skye to follow her to her cabin. Inside, they changed into new pairs of clothing since the ones they had been wearing were worn and filthy from working on the Finder.

  When both were dressed, Kate opened a trunk and pulled out a sword and scabbard. She handed it to Skye.

  “You won’t need it ‘til we reach Isla de Gracia, but you can practice with it in the meantime.”

  Skye smiled and took the sword. She slid it part of the way out of the scabbard and her eyes rested on the shining steel blade.

  “Thank you, Kate,” she said. Her eyes rose to meet her friend’s as she continued in a slightly lower voice, “for everything.”

  Kate smiled gently in return. “You’re welcome.”

  Once back on deck, they walked toward the helm where John and Matthew stood with Riley.

  “Wind’s dead astern, Captain,” Riley reported. “She’s carryin’ every sail.”

  Kate nodded in approval. “Good.”

  They had not been on deck for long before the crew gathered, wanting to know what Kate had been through. Again, she recounted the tale, but in much more depth this time. When finally she had finished, she looked at one of the crewmen, a heavier set man who turned out to be the cook.

  “Bailey, the four of us could use a good meal. Kelley isn’t generous when it comes to feedin’ his prisoners.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Bailey replied. “I’ll cook up the best.”

  He hurried below deck to the galley, and the rest of the men returned to their work. When they were gone, Kate turned her attention to Riley.

  “It’s a miracle you found us on that island,” she said. “What were you doin’ in this area?”

  “We knew Kelley was around here,” Riley told her.

  “How?”

  “We stopped in Puerto Seguro five days ago and talked to Abe Foley. He told us you had been there and that he saw Kelley show up not too long after you did. We learned what had happened to the Fortune and realized Kelley had likely captured you again. When we found there were no supplies, we figured Kelley was headed for Malvado so we sailed there.”

  “How did you get in and out alive?” Kate asked in disbelief.

  Riley shrugged. “We told ‘em we were friends of Kelley. We said we had somethin’ real important to tell him and that he’d be angry if he learned we were hindered. It worked and after askin’ around, we figured he came this way.”

  Kate and John were both amazed and could not imagine how it had been done, but Skye and Matthew knew with great thankfulness that God had made it possible for Riley and the others to make it in and out of Malvado and then to find the island.

  An hour later, Bailey finished preparing the meal and brought it to Kate’s cabin. Kate and John and Skye and Matthew took seats around the table, mouths watering at the sight of food. They dished up and ate heartily. Skye, however, did not find it as enjoyable as everyone else. She could not help but think of Will and that he would not be eating much of anything for the next several days. The thought put a knot in her stomach, and she ate little.

  When everyone but Skye had eaten their fill, they left the cabin. Kate took over at the helm, very happy to resume her role as captain, and John and Matthew helped out with the crew. Skye, on the other hand, found little to be done, so she wandered up to the bow of the ship and stared off into the horizon towards Isla de Gracia. She did not know how long she stood alone, but a voice came from behind. She turned as John walked up beside her.

  “Will give that to you?” he asked.

  Skye frowned in confusion for a moment until she realized he spoke of her necklace. She had been fiddling with it.

  “Yes,” Skye answered. “How did you know?”

  “Just guessed. I saw he had one too and since he was a blacksmith for a while, I figured he probably made ‘em.”

  Skye nodded. She looked back out to sea with a mournful expression on her face. John watched her for a moment before speaking again.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll rescue ‘im,” he said. “None of us are gonna let Kelley keep ‘im.”

  A wide smile came to Skye’s face. “Thank you, John.”

  John shook his head with a return smile. “There’s no need to thank me.” He paused. “In the meantime, you need to start eatin’ more. There’s no reason for you not to eat just ‘cause Will ain’t. Trust me—he’d want you to.”

  It surprised Skye that he had noticed her lack of appetite and understood the reason for it.

  “I know.”

  Before either of them could speak again, Kate joined them.

  Walking up to Skye, she held out a Bible. “I remembered what you told me on the Finder, and I thought you’d want this. I knew we had on
e stashed somewhere, and I had Riley find it for you.”

  A couple of tears sparkled in her eyes as she reached for it and a smile spread across her face.

  “Thank you so much, Kate,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. “This means a lot to me.”

  Kate smiled. “I also wanted to tell you that whenever you wanna be alone, feel free to use my cabin. It’ll be yours now too while you’re here.”

  With those words, she returned to the helm. John left as well knowing that Skye would want to read. After they were gone, Skye took up Kate’s offer and went to her cabin. She sat down at the table and opened the Bible. It had been weeks since the last time she had read it. Flipping through the delicate pages, Skye read all of the verses that had always comforted her most during the difficult times of her life.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Skye raised the spyglass to get a better look at the tiny speck of land growing in the distance. Isla de Gracia. This was the first time she had laid eyes on it in eleven years, and it brought back a flood of memories. Still, Skye’s mind centered more on Will than the memories of past visits to the island with her father. At last, after the seven days of sailing, they were so close to being able to rescue him. All they needed now was a plan. Skye lowered the spyglass and looked at Kate, who stood beside her.

  “We should anchor on the west side of the island. Kelley won’t know we’re there if he’s in the bay on the south side.”

  Kate nodded and went up to the helm to instruct Riley.

  Another forty minutes passed before they reached the island and dropped anchor. By this time, the late afternoon sun had dipped low in the sky. Standing at the railing of the ship, Skye looked out at the dense jungle of trees and undergrowth on the island. Colorful, exotic birds sang from the treetops, and monkeys swung playfully from the vines and branches. Skye briefly remembered how the island had fascinated her when she was little. She even remembered asking her father if they could catch one of the rainbow-colored birds for a pet.