William, too, stayed behind as Christina, Pukuh, Victoria, and Alexandre all entered the battle. Jack wasn't far behind, a drum in hand, playing a rousing beat for the fight.
And so, the two waited as they listened to the sounds of the battle growing once more. William seemed content to remain in silence with Anne, but after a few minutes, Anne became restless.
"Do you think less of me for this?" she asked.
William, silent for a moment as he looked at Anne and then back at the town, replied with a simple "No." After another moment, he elaborated. "Alexandre may be upset, but he was making no progress in freeing those people. With time, perhaps he could have undone the trance put upon them, but we don't have such time. We couldn't have taken them with us either. This will ensure victory and the least casualties for us. You made the right decision."
Anne had expected him to say as much, but it disappointed her still. He had objected to the plan before; there was no way he wholeheartedly agreed with her decision. He was trying to ease her mind at that moment.
She knew deep down that she would regret the decision, she could feel it. At the moment, it was as Victoria said: her anger shielded her, protecting her from the guilt which would weigh on her later.
More time passed, and again the sounds of battle waned. Anne decided then to enter the town with William and the few crewmates who had stayed behind with her. With her still on crutches, it took some time to reach the town.
Bodies littered the roadway, the fronts of buildings, and the alleyways. It wasn't a large town by any means, and so between the hundred and twenty villagers they had gathered, and however many of Silver Eyes' men had been left, you couldn't make it five steps before encountering one of the dead.
Thankfully, it hadn't been long, and so the stench of death was light. It smelled of fresh blood and gunpowder as smoke still whirled around the town.
The only activity was from their crewmates keeping watch nearby, and the sound of shouts from farther off. Some of their enemies appeared to still be alive and making a last stand.
Anne recognized a woman, one of the villagers, reaching a bloodied hand towards them. Her legs had been cut or torn off during the fight, and her hair was matted with blood. She was still, even in that state, entranced and trying to reach them to attack.
"I'll handle this," William said. He pulled out his sword and put the woman out of her misery.
Her eyes stayed open, staring at Anne. Those hollow eyes from the trance remained unchanged in death. Whether under Silver Eyes' spell or free from their mortal coil, their eyes were the same.
Christina ran over to them as they walked through the maze of bodies. "We have Silver Eyes surrounded. He's holed himself up in a fancy house. Come, I'll show you the way," she said.
Anne, William, and the other crewmates went through the small town, around all the dead bodies, and to a small but opulent house near the centre of town. It was located beside the bell tower, and it appeared as though the two buildings were joined.
Jack was outside the home catching his breath. He had a weapon drawn, and his fiddle slung across his back. He waved as they approached.
They entered the home, and Christina took them to the back where Alexandre, Victoria, and Pukuh were standing guard next to a door.
"Let's end this," Anne said. "Kick down the door, but be wary."
Pukuh grinned and nodded, then did as Anne ordered. In one swift kick, the door busted in, swinging wildly. Pukuh rolled off to the side, away from the entrance.
Nothing happened. No one ran outside to face them. No pistols fired off into the air. No traps sprang. Only the sound of the door swinging back from hitting against a wall.
"Enter," a voice called from inside.
The lot waiting outside the door glanced at each other, unsure of just what game Silver Eyes was playing.
"I can assure you this is not a trick. I know when I am defeated."
Anne motioned for the others to enter, and one after the other they went into the room. Anne was last, taking her time to stay steady in her crutches. Each step forward sent her heart racing a mite faster, to the point that she could feel it pounding in her ears by the time she came up beside William.
Inside the simple room, a study with a large window overlooking the sea, their enemy, Lance Nhil, sat leisurely in a chair facing them. He was of a darker complexion, close to Pukuh, and looked to be from the Near East with thick and short brown hair and a full beard. He would not have looked out of place in an Ottoman palace in Constantinople, or perhaps as a refined captain of a Barbary corsair vessel.
His eyes shone from the sunlight streaming through the great window behind him and made them appear a solid silver. There was something strange about the colour that Anne couldn't place, an otherworldly quality about his eyes that made him look, for lack of a better word, inhuman. They were as beautiful as they were haunting.
"That's him," Christina seethed. "He's the one who came aboard the ship."
Lance looked at Christina, and he appeared to recognize her. "Ah, yes, the pretty girl from the ship. I am surprised you survived," he said with a smile that sent shivers down Anne's spine. "Alqamar," Lance said—the Arabic word for moon.
Christina's hands dropped to her sides, and her face lost all emotion.
"William, get Christina out of here!" Anne shouted.
William
