Bullets hissed past Sir Henry Torrent’s head like a swarm of angry flies. Some hit the floating prison’s quay, knocking splintered holes through the planks. Others vanished into the darkness, lost between a starless sky and the endless sea. At this range, he feared only a little for his life, the danger adding spice to an already glorious adventure.
‘Captain, they’re almost on us!’ Israel Pound turned, snapped off a pistol shot, and scurried on towards the ship, leaving a cloud of greasy, sulphurous smoke.
‘Pray don’t vex yourself, Pound.’ Sir Henry ushered their manacled guest towards the gangplank.
‘But Captain…’ Fresh yelling caused Pound to put his breath into speed, not speech.
‘Have faith,’ Sir Henry said. ‘I told you, I have a plan.’…
I have a new story out! Published online in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, “Racing the Headsman” is a fantasy alternate history story. In the 17th century, a vast flood has drowned half of Europe. Their Civil War interrupted, the English now fight each other on the high seas. Royalist Sir Henry Torrent is trying to restore King Charles to the throne, with a parliamentary fleet dogging his every move. When he meets the king himself, everything changes.
