The Morning Star feigned anger but inside he continued to smile. Secretly, he had always liked Daniel’s spirit. But that would not keep him from killing Daniel when the time arrived. “Shall we fight or will you continue to wail as your mother did when the Romans ravished her?” the Morning Star asked.
The two continued back and forth for quite some time. As they did, the others watched in amusement.
Several times the insults became very personal and those present thought that battle was imminent. It came very close when the Morning Star referred to Eduardo as Juan’s toy that he bent over in the evenings.
Finally, terms were reached and the two parties went back to their armies. It was agreed that they would meet for combat as the sun rose on the Ma'adim Vallis of Mars.
“Baraqiel!” the Morning Star called out and the giant angel came forward. “They think we’re fools. They’re stalling. There are two men: Juan Ponce de Leon and Diego Columbus. You will go to them and you will kill them. Once they’re dead, there is nothing anyone else can do. We’ll be free to rule creation.”
Baraqiel nodded and vanished.
CHAPTER THIRTY
As they walked, Juan’s mind went back many years. Perhaps it was the nostalgia of it all.
He thought on his twelfth day in the newly discovered land, the island he had only recently named La Florida. They discovered footprints and as Juan was studying the prints, he heard a scream to his left.
He drew his sword and turned to see the leg of Ramirez, the eldest member of his crew, drenched in blood amid a protruding tibia. Juan ran to Ramirez and saw the leg was caught in a trap.
He was concerned. They had seen no signs of people outside of the footprints, yet someone had set the trap.
Juan surveyed the woods and had the feeling they were being watched. He saw no one and so turned his attention back to Ramirez.
The trap was removed and the bone reset and splinted. Ramirez cried out as the bone was pressed back into the gash and Juan continued to survey their surroundings anxiously. If their presence was unknown before, it certainly was now.
With the leg set, Juan praised Ramirez’s resilience in not passing out from the pain. The old man smiled weakly before passing out.
They built a stretcher and Juan walked next to Ramirez as they continued on. Every time the stretcher was jarred, the old man’s eyes flew open in excruciating pain. He had drunk half a bottle of rum but it only served to get him drunk, not deaden his agony.
“You’ll do anything to avoid work,” Juan joked.
Ramirez attempted to say something back but instead turned his head to the side and passed out again.
They finally made their way back to the beach where the ships were moored. They were weary and everyone looked forward to a hot meal on board their own ship. Instead, they looked to the seas in horror as their ships lay blackened in the bay.
The Santa Maria was scorched from fire, its burnt sails hanging in tatters. The San Cristobal was sunk completely with only its masts seen above the water. The hull of the Santiago was scarred from axe blows but was fortunately still afloat and seemed intact.
The ships, originally anchored a half mile out were now less than one hundred yards from the shore. They watched as a rowboat was set from the Santiago and approached the beach.
Juan ran to meet the rowboat as it landed and saw a grimed faced Eduardo at its head. “What happened?” he demanded.
“We were attacked by natives.”
The answer surprised Juan but also roused his curiosity. They had been on La Florida for two weeks and had seen no one; but it was obvious from the trap that had injured Ramirez that the island was inhabited.
“We were approached by man – a Taino who spoke Spanish.”
“Spanish?”
“Aye, sir. But he was definitely a Taino.”
“How can you be sure?” Juan asked.
“I know the Taino, sir.”
Juan assessed Eduardo. He was very tall, well over six feet. He was dark complexioned, dark eyed and had a large scar that ran down the left side of his face from the hairline of his dark hair to his chin. Juan nodded for Eduardo to continue.
“This man claimed he came on behalf of his High Chief who he said would like to meet with us. We agreed and waited.
“An hour later, twenty canoes came from the north. They attacked but,” he nodded at the ships, “we were able to repel them. We killed a slew of the bastards and captured three.”
“Who ordered the ships brought closer to shore?” Juan asked.
“I did, sir.”
As second in command of the flagship, Eduardo had been left in charge.
“They were ordered brought in on the third day for minor repairs,” Eduardo continued. “Then, the natives came back. There were more canoes than we could count. I ordered all men to the Santiago.
“First, they attacked with arrows. Then, they used axes to cut away at the Santiago but the hull was too thick. They climbed up the anchor line to the San Cristobal and they must have found the crates of lantern oil and used those to burn the ship.
“We pulled the anchor on the Santiago and backed away from the other ships. They lit the Santa Maria but the fire, other than scorching the ship and burning the sails did little damage to the hull. The hull is sound.”
Juan nodded; at least some good news.
“Finally we killed enough of them and they withdrew. If they are anything like the Taino, they believe in magic. I think they believed their magic was bad and they stopped attacking.”
