Chapter 47: Sweet Sorrow

Standing on the foredeck of the Redemption, holding back her tears, Charlisse watched as Merrick and his men scrambled to make the Hades' Revenge seaworthy. They gathered the scattered pieces of the mizzenmast and mainsail and stored them below, and then hoisted the fore- and aft sails to ensure they could still hold enough wind to propel the ship. A dark hole, outlined in charred, splintered wood, gaped at them from where one of Merrick's cannons had blasted through the hull, but since it was above the waterline, the pirates took little note of it.

When the preparations were done, Merrick selected twenty of his crew and made Sloane their captain. He gave them instructions on both course and conduct, and put Charlisse under Sloane's care, warning the others that if she were harmed in any way, they would answer to him.