starboard side and starboard cannons exposed to the oncoming ships. To the captains of these mercenary vessels and the few of Mordred’s navy which had managed to get into open water and take up the pursuit, it made the Maelstrom a much bigger target to shoot for. Unfortunately, the bulk of their cannons were located on the sides of their ships.
Captain Bonifast gave his gunnery crews the order as the pursuing ships tried to slow and correct their headings. “FIRE!”
All of the Maelstrom’s starboard guns lit up with puffs of gray smoke and flame. Multiple shells, including many of Bonifast’s special variety, hurtled into the hulls of the oncoming ships. The advance of the enemy ships all but halted now as they attempted to get out of range of the Maelstrom’s guns. She was still the largest ship in the harbor…at least until Mordred’s Man-O-Wars rounded the white cliffs of granite below the king’s palace.
Ethan looked to the sky and saw a terrible battle raging between hordes of demons and the heavenly warriors from Shaddai. Though the angels were greatly outnumbered, none of them suffered defeat. The angels are keeping the demons occupied while we fight down here! Ethan realized.
But with the larger warships approaching from the port side of the Maelstrom, at the other end of the harbor, the outcome began to look bleak for success. They had managed to cripple Mordred’s ships in the harbor, but many more ships had been missing. Mordred had baited them with a few dozen choice targets while using the others to spring the trap.
Bonifast called through the ship’s internal megaphone system. “Portside gunners, Fire!”
Another tremendous volley of cannon fire erupted from the Maelstrom toward the approaching Man-O- Wars, five in all. But the Man-O-Wars returned fire against the bare broadside of Bonifast’s ship. Cannon balls streaked through the air, leading trails of smoke.
A wave of shells smashed into the side of the Maelstrom with tremendous force. “Hit the deck!” cried Bonifast as another wave of cannon shot tore across the deck. Ethan immediately realm shifted out of harm’s way. He stood there, watching as Captain Bonifast and Gideon threw themselves to the deck.
Wood from the railings, masts, and other equipment shattered, spraying in every direction. The bodies of men from the gunnery crews on deck flew into the air or were smashed by iron balls traveling at high velocity.
For Ethan, everything slowed down. He tracked the iron cannon balls through the air, like birds riding the wind on a summer’s day. His sight penetrated the smoke to find the enemy ships now surrounding the Maelstrom. They would soon attempt to board her.
Ethan looked to the sky where the fight between angels and demons still raged. Ethan did not know what to do. The cannons continued to pound into the side of the Maelstrom. The enemy intended to clear their way of any resistance before boarding the old pirate ship. Ethan whipped his blade at a shot that would have killed Gideon and Bonifast, deflecting it into the sea. The sword reappeared in his hand a moment later.
Most of the deck crew was dead or missing by now. Mordred’s Man-O-Wars glided in to take their prize. Their crews hurled grappling hooks across the span of sea between ships in order to pull alongside and get across. Ethan ran to Gideon and Captain Bonifast. They were both dazed and confused, lying face down on the deck.
The air filled with smoke around the battered Maelstrom, but it did not prevent Ethan’s preternatural eyes from seeing the boarding party from the closest Man-O-War. Within moments, the enemy would cross over to the Maelstrom.
Ethan, still in the spirit, grabbed the clothing of both men and hoisted them up onto his shoulders. He did not know how he had the strength to do so, but he was certainly glad for it. Ethan took his friends and ran down the stairs, taking them below deck.
The hallways down below had filled with smoke and the floors and walls were stained with fresh blood. In some places, the walls had burst out from explosions caused by cannon fire. Ethan set Gideon and Captain Bonifast down on the floor and materialized in the physical world again.
He shook them, shouting, “Wake up!”
Groggy, the men began to recover. “Captain, we must escape!” Ethan hissed, hoping the boarders wouldn’t hear him.
Gideon started to stand on his own. Captain Bonifast shook himself and said, “What’s happened, lad? Where are we?”
“The crew on deck is dead. I’ve pulled you both down below. We have to find a way off the Maelstrom before it’s too late,” Ethan said.
Just then, all three heard the heavy thump of boots pounding the deck above them. Hearts raced. “We’ve been boarded,” Bonifast whispered.
SELF DESTRUCT
Captain Levi Bonifast patted the wall where they were standing. “They’ll not have you my beauty,” he said to the ship as if consoling the glorious old girl over their predicament. Then the captain turned to Ethan and Gideon there in the half-light and said, “Come on, boys, we’ve got a job to do before we leave.”
Normally, Ethan would have been smiling at the thought of doing a job of nearly any sort with Captain Bonifast-he was such an interesting fellow to be around. But the wild look on the captain’s face had transformed to one of desperation.
It was the kind of expression that one might find on a mother whose children she is about to defend to the death in the face of overwhelming odds. It was the same face Ethan saw in nightmares when his mother pulled him and his sister from their beds-the same grim resolve to look death in the eye, then run headlong toward it.
“What are we going to do?” Gideon whispered as the boys followed the captain down into the depths of the ship. Ethan followed, suspecting it would be terrible whatever it was. Captain Bonifast did not answer Gideon’s question.
The captain had chosen a course of action. Nothing would deter him from what was about to take place. He grabbed two oil lanterns from the wall as they descended almost as far as was possible. The captain handed one lantern to Gideon, then with the other, he pushed through the door at the end of the hall.
Gideon asked again, “where are we-”
He stopped in mid-sentence as the door Bonifast had gone through swung closed before him. It read, Powder Room. Gideon turned with the lamp in his hand to look at Ethan. Ethan swallowed big, but the lump held firm in his throat. He hunched his shoulders at Gideon and waited for the warrior-priest to follow the captain. Gideon turned back to the door and proceeded through cautiously, his grip tightening on the lamp handle as he did so. It would not do for fire to drop in this room.
When Ethan and Gideon went inside, they were struck by how many barrels sat stacked inside. “There must be a few hundred of them,” Ethan said.
Gideon put another hand on the handle of the lamp he was holding. They saw the glow of Captain Bonifast’s lamp down a corridor through the barrels. It bobbed back and forth carelessly. Then the captain slowly crept back toward them and the door. Under his arm, he carried one of the smaller barrels. Bonifast poured a steady line of black powder onto the floor.
“Back out the door, boys,” he said. They complied quickly. It was a bad idea to argue with a man holding twenty pounds of uncorked black powder under his arm and holding a glass oil lamp in the other.
Captain Bonifast followed them out the door. He continued to pour the black powder line on the floor, over the threshold, and down the hall beyond. When they reached the end of the hall at the stairwell, Bonifast emptied the rest of the powder in a small pile and set the barrel down. “Listen, men, when we head up the stairs we’ll be going for the galley on the next deck. There’s a large window of stained glass coming out the rear of the ship. We’re going through it before this blows.”
They heard the thump of boot steps above them again. “We’ve got to hurry, lads,” Bonifast said.
Ethan and Gideon knew where the galley was. They ran ahead of Bonifast, leaving him on the stairs with his lantern in his hand. Levi Bonifast slid his palm over the wooden planks one last time, as though caressing the
