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His purpose rose higher
His gaze locked on de Torres and his old friend kneas next Sword in hand, de Torres pointed the blade at one of the three Spaniards, this rizzly face
“To your knees,” de Torres ordered as he relieved the man of his weapon
Two other crewmen raised their swords in support
The prisoner knelt
Columbus faced him “Did you think me so stupid?”
“Admiral—”
He raised a hand for silence “Four years ago they returned htfully mine Then, just as suddenly, it was restored” He paused “With but a feords, the king and queen pardoned norant?” He hesitated again “They did And that is the greatest insult of all Years I begged for funds to sail the ocean Years, I was refused Yet with one letter to the Crown, I was granted the e One request, and all was provided I knew then so”
Swords continued to be held close Nowhere for the captive to go
“You are a spy,” Columbus said “Sent here to report back on what I do”
The sight of this fool disgusted him The man represented all of the treachery and misery he’d been forced to endure at the hands of Spanish liars
“Ask the question that your benefactors want to know,” Columbus demanded
The man stayed silent
“Ask it, I say” His voice rose “I command you”
“Who are you to co?” the spy said “You are not a man of Christ”
He absorbed the insult with the patience that a hard life had provided But he saw that his co
He pointed to them “These men are not of Christ, either”
The prisoner spit on the ground
“Was your e? Were these crates we have here today their goal? Or is it siold they are after?”
“You have not been truthful”
He laughed “I have not been truthful?”
“The Holy Mother Church will see your eternal damnation in the fires of hell”
Then he realized This agent was from the Inquisition
The greatest enemy of all
A fire of self-preservation rose within hiht the concern in de Torres’ eyes He’d known since they’d left Spain, two years ago, of this problem But were there more eyes and ears? The Inquisition had burned people by the thousands He hated all that it represented
What he was coned solely to thwart that evil
De Torres had already told hi discovered by any Spanish exa to Europe He intended on settling in Cuba, aswords, younger, er, had likewise made their decisions to stay He should, too, but his place was not here, though he wished things could be different
He glared down
“The English and Dutch call uese, Colom Spaniards know me as Colón But none of those is my birth name Unfortunately, you will never knowa report to your benefactors waiting in Spain”
He ed his sword into the man’s chest
The prisoner had no time to react
The blade was y
anked free with a sickening sound and the body hinged forward at the knees, slaround
A growing pool of blood stained the earth
He spit on the corpse, as did the others
He hoped that would be the lastSince he would shortly return to his ship and leave this land forever, there would be no repercussions from the cacique for the six deaths Others would pay that price, but that was not his concern They were all ene but pain
He turned and finally studied where he stood, catching every detail that had been described
“You see, Admiral,” de Torres said “It is as if God Himself directed us here”
His old friend was right
It did seem that way
Be as courageous as a leopard, as light as an eagle, as fast as a deer, and as strong as a lion to do the will of your Father in heaven
Wise words
“Come,” he said to the others “Let us pray that the secret of this day will long stay hidden”
CHAPTER ONE
TOM SAGAN GRIPPED THE GUN HE’D THOUGHT ABOUT THIS MOMENT for the past year, debating the pros and cons, finally deciding that one pro outweighed all cons