Queen Of My Nightmare (Uncharted Secrets, Book 2): Endless Horizon Pirate Stories Read Online Free PDF Page A

notice the enchantment of his tone, my soul certainly did.
    Dipping my own quill in the inkwell he offered, I signed my feather amongst the other symbols, initials, and blood marks that colored the page.
    Sink me. It was official. I was now a buccaneer. My blood raced in the strangest way. Before I could decipher if it was shame or pride blasting through my being, Mason patted me on the back. “Welcome to the crew, mate.”
    The gruff gesture annoyed me, but I was far more offended when Ziare and Perk did the same.
    “This ship won’t sail itself, boys.” Mason shooed us out of the room.
    “Won’t fill its own hold with gold, either!” Perk hooted before running up the gangway just as fast and happily as he’d descended it.
    Ziare and Mason talked about things I had no interest in as we made our way out to the deck, but even if I gave a shit, my own thoughts were far too loud to hear them. This was it. The lost young girl found a home among thieves, and her greatest fancy was in the bed of their king. What a turn my life had taken.
    The moment we reached the main deck, Mason took a stand before the crowd. With his absurdly loud voice he quickly roped in the stragglers. Pacing before us in his well-brushed coat, clean breeches, and feathered cavalier hat, he looked like an idol God among the hardly dressed savages awaiting his turn of the season announcement.
    “Good evening, men.” He said it so loudly, and so clearly, I was certain the men working at the market were going to respond. “It’s been a good couple months ashore, and our common whore is looking as pretty as the sea herself.” He motioned his hand around the refitted ship—that I indeed hardly recognized—and they applauded their own hard work. Easily taming their uproar with a simple movement of his hands, he continued. “Yet another job well done, mates. Now, I can only assume that not a one of you spindle-shank beef-witted maumets has but a pebble of wealth left in your holey pockets, so what say we go get ourselves another prize?”
    Though the rowdy hoots of enthusiasm surrounding me were nearly contagious, I did not join in their shouts. Not because I wasn’t excited, but because I simply did not know how I felt. The sound of the captain barking harsh commands, and the sight of the gangly men scampering about the yard like hellish monkeys intensified my insecurity. What had I gotten myself into? The heavy canvas sails dropping in the thick night air sounded like prison bars clamping down around my spirit, and the feel of the salty breeze which was filling them seemed to strangle my very soul. There was no turning back. This was it…And how I felt about it didn’t truly matter, for there was no other choice for me.
    Other than Mason, there was no one who loved me, and no one who knew me, and that was exactly why I had gone on account. Being a faceless, nameless feather drifting on a midnight breeze, this was my chance to make a new start. I left my mark on that code, and I’d soon be leaving it on my maps, which meant that this was my chance to make a mark on the world. Midnight was a blank canvas, and as the lights of Tortuga faded into the night sky, I realized that here, under Mason Bentley’s black flag, I was free to paint her however I pleased.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 3
    Hell on the Horizon
     

     
    N avigatio n proved to be an honorable, but solitary chore, and with Mason’s mentions of Midnight being just plain odd, I was as respected for my trade as I was ignored for my lack of good company. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better position among this crew of bawdy rogues who weren’t half as bad as I dreaded them to be. Yes, they smelled terrible and said plenty of awful things I wished I had never heard, but they worked together well and for the most part they got along. None of this made me want to befriend them, but at least I wasn’t living my days in constant fear.
    Most of my