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  Bloody Bill Crenshaw smiled as he noted sails on the horizon. The rumors had been

  true. A treasure ship headed for Spain was on the sea.

  He didn’t know if that was the same ship as the one he wanted, but it was sailing in

  the right direction.

  And his ship was fast enough to catch any other ship on the open water. He knew it.

  His crew knew it. Now that he had a boat sighted, all he had to do was lay out sail and

  run it down.

  “Ready the cannons, Henry.” Crenshaw took a sighting with his telescope. “I want to

  be ready to shoot the sails as soon as we close. Then we should ready a broadside, for

  our second shot once we have what we want.”

  Henry shouted orders for the crew as he advanced down the deck from his captain.

  Boarding actions would be bloody. The men had to be ready with flintlocks and

  swords to do away with their victims.

  The captain believed in no survivors. Anyone captured would be thrown overboard

  to any shark that followed the blood trail across the Atlantic. They would sail to a

  friendly port and offload the cargo for as much as they could get for it.

  Henry had seen a number of actions under Captain Bloody Bill Crenshaw. He had no

  doubt this one would run exactly as all the others. The captain’s reputation had spread

  far and wide. Once they ran the colors, the Spanish would probably give up and beg

  for mercy.

  Crenshaw wouldn’t give them any except a blade to the neck, or a swim with the fish.

  He tended to keep the women longer, but eventually they also were killed.

  Henry watched as the men performed their tasks. They also knew what would happen

  if they didn’t perform as well as the captain wanted. A blade in the guts was the least

  horrible thing he might do.

  “We’re ready to shoot with three of the cannons, Mr. Henry,” said Boynton, the

  cannon master. “They’re loaded with grape. The other six are ready to shoot through

  the keel on the Captain’s order.”

  “Right, Bob.” Henry nodded. “I have to make sure the boarding crew is ready. As

  soon as we get close enough, tear the sails down.”

  “We’ll be ready.” Boynton nodded. “You have my word on that.”

  Henry nodded before gathering a gang of sailors that weren’t needed doing anything

  else as the Cloud Shark closed on its intended victim. They were already measuring

  out lengths of rope and securing grapnels. Two men were loading flintlocks and

  handing them out. They were single shot, but a volley might be enough to overwhelm

  a defense long enough for blades to be used.

  The rest depended on luck and skills.

  Once they were on the other ship, they would either secure it, or lose. They had no

  choice. The captain would be behind them, ready to shoot anyone who tried to retreat

  from a bigger force.

  Bloody Bill had earned his nom de guerre handily. And his reputation was such that

  he could inspire men to walk to their own execution rather than face him in a duel.

  Henry readied his boarders at the rails. Once they were side by side, the hooks had

  to be thrown to secure both ships together. Then they would jump the rails to board.

  “Run the colors,” shouted the Captain. He stood in the bow, telescope to his eye.

  The Cloud Shark’s black flag ran up the mast. A white shark smiled on it with jagged

  teeth.

  Anyone who saw that flag knew they weren’t long for this world. The banner was as

  famous as the Captain. Crenshaw spread stories when he was in port to build its

  reputation.

  Scaring people so they made mistakes was better than letting them think they could

  fight back. Henry had been a part of a few boarding actions that had not gone the way

  they should have. Losing an ear had caused him to be more cautious than the average

  outlaw they had onboard.

  “Ready the cannons!,” ordered the Captain. His shout was relayed to Boynton down

  in the hold. “Ready the lines!”

  Henry stood at the rail. This should be an easy raid. He held a flintlock in his hand.

  He liked to shoot the enemy captain before the man could rally his sailors to repulse

  the boarders.

  The Cloud Shark closed on the ship. Henry waited patiently for the two ships to get

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  close enough so he could get started with his part of the job. The Maria Santos

  glowed on the stern. A man stood in the stern watching the approaching pirates.

  Henry didn’t like the way he seemed to be smiling at them as they closed together.

  What did the man think was going to happen when they got close enough to board?

  He would be the first man fed to the sharks.

  The Spaniard pulled a length of rope from his belt. He had a hook tied to one end. He

  started spinning the hook as he watched the pirates close. Then he flung the hook

  directly at the bow of the Shark. It hooked to the rail with that one throw.

  Henry ran toward the bow. They had planned to board the other boat, but it looked

  like their prey planned to board them first. One shot should fix that problem.

  The other man swung from his boat toward the Shark. He pulled himself up the line

  as he flew through the air. He landed against the hull with both feet planted. Then he

  punched through the hull with his fist.

  Henry paused. Wood fell into the ocean as the Spaniard plunged into the hold of the

  ship. Then he heard screaming from below. This was wrong. What should he do?

  “What was that?” Crenshaw headed for the ladder to the hold. He held a brace of

  pistols in his hands as he ran across the deck. He couldn’t allow his reputation to be

  ruined by one man.

  A man screamed below decks. The sound made Henry pause as he tried to join his

  captain. Crenshaw hurried down the ladder after tucking one of the pistols away. He

  would deal with this boarder who didn’t know his place.

  Henry ran to the top of the ladder. He tucked his pistol away in his sash, and slid

  down the ladder. He waited for his vision to adjust to the dark before he did anything

  else. Boynton slammed into the deck beside him and lay there.

  The Spaniard appeared with a white sword in his hand. It glowed like lightning. He

  blocked Crenshaw’s blade while punching another man in the face. The sailor went

  down without a working jaw.

  Henry pulled his flintlock. He needed to get rid of this man so they could get back to

  raiding their victim. They would have to move the crew to the other boat with the

  hole in the bow.

  It was a miracle they hadn’t started taking on water yet. That wouldn’t last long if

  they ran into rough seas.

  Henry pulled the trigger on the flintlock. An explosion of smoke sent the ball at his

  enemy. The man stepped out of the way, slicing the captain across the chest as he

  moved. Crenshaw fell back from the slash, blood running down his shirt.

  “I have been looking for the famous Captain Crenshaw for some time.” The Spaniard

  advanced across the deck, sword glowing in his hand. “You have murdered many, and

  I can’t allow that to continue.”

  Henry pulled his sword and tried to slash this enemy. The captain could defend

  himself. What would happen to the first mate if he didn’t try to do something?

  “You are in my way.” The Spaniard blocked the cut, directing the blade away from

  his body. His other hand came up as he spun. Henry went down from the slap. “El

  Rey doesn’t have time for you today.”

  Crenshaw tried to stab his enemy in the back. That was the proper way of dealing

  with enemies. The Spaniard, El Rey, spun to let the point of the blade pass by. He

  kicked the pirate in the chest.

  Bloody Bill landed close to the hole in the bow. He looked out for a moment at the

  sea lapping at the edge of the hole. He scrabbled for his sword. He couldn’t lose now.

  “I have been looking for you for a long time, Capitan Crenshaw.” El Rey kicked the

  ladder from the upper deck. Some of the crew fell to the deck. He kicked them out of

  the way so he could keep advancing.

  “I don’t understand.” Crenshaw grasped his sword and levered himself to his feet. “I

  don’t know you. What’s this about?”

  “I have been commissioned to kill pirates.” El Rey flicked the white blade he carried.

  A scar on his forehead was a lightning bolt in reflected light. “You have been raiding

  for a time. Once I put a stop to you, I can move on to others.”

  “You think I will be beaten that easily?” Crenshaw drew his pistol and fired in one

  swift motion. He heard the ball ricochet, but hadn’t been able to follow its flight with

  his eyes.

  “I don’t see why not.” El Rey advanced. “I’ve killed so many. One more won’t matter

  to me now.”

  Crenshaw and El Rey exchanged blows with their swords slicing the air as they

  moved. The pirate tried to get away from the hole in the bow of his ship. He didn’t

  want to be pushed into the water. Fins were cruising the surface as he watched.

  Crenshaw charged forward, hoping to bull through his opponent. A fist stopped that.

  Then he felt the bones in his face twist slightly. Pain shot from the boot print on his

  face.

  “Adios, Capitan.” El Rey grabbed the pirate and slung him through the hole into the

  water beyond.

  The sharks outside went into a frenzy as Crenshaw fell into their midst. His blood

  from his wound attracted them to him. Then they began to bite and tear.

  El Rey pulled his sword down the deck as he walked to the rear of the hold. He had

  to get back above to the main deck before he went into the water with the pirates.

  Crenshaw’s disappearance would be a mystery to the rest of the world. Only he and

  his crew would know why the attacks had ceased.

  He climbed the ladder as the hull separated behind him. He leaped on the top deck

  and looked around. What remained of the crew looked at him in anger. His ship

  floated next to the soon to be scuttled pirate ship with riflemen on deck and cannon

  ready to fire.

  El Rey smiled at the pirates as he walked to the rail. He leaped over the gap to his

  own deck. He waved the man at the wheel to steer away from the Cloud Shark. His

  job was done, or soon would be thanks to the sharks in the water.

  He watched as the Cloud Shark slowly coasted under. The men went to dinghies and

  dropped them into the water. They unshipped oars and began rowing away from the

  sinking craft, and the Spanish ship.

  Maybe they could make it to a shore and live. It was a chance. Certain death was what

  waited for them if they stayed with the Shark. Fins followed the little boats as they

  made their way from the scene.

  “Should we sink them, sir?” Juan Hernandez, the first mate of the Maria Santos,

  looked at the escaping boats.

  “No. I want to see how many return to being pirates after this.” The King smiled.