Samuel.

Dennis Lios backed against the rails and stared into the black eyes of the man he had never forgotten.

The passengers had disembarked, and all but two of his crew had been dismissed. Those two were nowhere in sight. There was no one else on board. He clutched the gris-gris amulet to his throat and uttered, "You killed Banuff."

"Yes. I did." Samuel pulled back the hood of his burnoose and took it from his shoulders so he stood in bare feet and a loin cloth. "I am going to kill you too. Just as I said I would."

"I knew I should never have agreed to take you on board all those years ago."

"Too late for that, I think?" Samuel drew his knife from its sheath and threw the belt to land on his pile of clothes. He studied the decorative design on the scimitar's handle. "I have been beaten, tortured and starved of water and food. I have been forced to kill people who didn't deserve to die, and now I am forced to sleep with their spirits."

Samuel took his eyes from the knife and looked over at the man cowering in the bow. "But you, Captain Lios, will never haunt me." Samuel sneered. "I want so much to rip out your eyes, to cut out your tongue, and take your cock off with my blade. My redeemer says this is not the way an honourable man kills another. He says if I was to do this, it would make me as sinful as you. I argued that the devil owned my soul already, so what did it matter?" Samuel chuckled and stepped forward. "Do you know what he said?"

Lios swallowed and shook his head.

"He said an honourable man has to do what he has to do." Samuel grabbed Lios by the throat and pressed the tip of his knife against the man's eye socket.

Lios struggled. Before he could fight fully Samuel kneed him in the groin. Lios buckled and fell to the deck. Samuel took him by the throat again, lifted his head, and then inserted the blade into the hollow of his left eye as he vowed, "I will do what I have to do. First one eye, then your tongue." Lios screamed so Samuel clamped his hand over his mouth, sat on him to keep him still, and then clamped his head between his knees. He tilted the blade and pushed it up behind Lios' eye and popped it from its socket. The man bucked in pain. Samuel caught the eye, cut the connecting veins and held it in front of Lios' remaining eye. "One," he said as he tossed the eye aside and grabbed the captain's tongue before he could scream.

The knife ran through it like butter. Blood streamed down the captain's face and burbled from his mouth. Samuel moved into a crouch and jerked Lios to sit. Blood splattered over Samuel's face and chest. He didn't seem to notice.

Lois clutched his amulet and could only stare at the demon in front of him.

"Now your cock." Samuel cut opened the man's trousers and seized his penis.

Lios gurgled and shook his head. He tried to shuffle backwards. He tried to scream but choked on more blood.

Samuel put his knee to the man's thigh, and then sliced off his penis. Lois tossed and jerked in pain. Samuel held up the member so Lios could see it, and then forced it into the man's mouth. "You are responsible for the deaths of men, women and children. You are the spawn of Satan and I am your deliverance. May you suffer in hell as you have made others suffer?" Samuel pushed the blade of his knife into Captain Lios' throat cutting his wind pipe, and then he lifted the man and tossed him into the Thames for the tide to take him to hades.

Omar watched Samuel breath heavily in and out with his head hung. His arms dangled loosely by his sides, blood dripped from his hands and fingers onto the timber deck. He had hoped Samuel would not take this path, but it didn't surprise him. "Here." He handed Samuel a bucket of water so he could wash, and then went to get another so he could flush the deck clean of blood. "We need to be a long way from here before morning." Omar sighed and looked around. It was pitch black, the two sailors who had been on watch were so drunk that they hadn't heard a thing. The distant sound of a dog barking, and the rush of the tide against the hull of the ship were the only things he could hear. "You need to get dressed." Omar lifted Samuels's djellaba and burnoose. "Hurry."

*

Mrs. Campbell didn't like foreigners. However, they had paid her more than she was asking for bed and breakfast. She put the plate of kippers in front of them and scooped scrambled eggs onto each of their plates. When she turned her back, she heard them speak in their strange language so she looked over at them.

The older one was pointing at the fish with his face screwed up speaking to the younger man. To her surprise the young one laughed. In the four days they had been with her, she had rarely seen his face, or heard him speak, and here he was laughing and saying something about her kippers.

"What's he saying?" She lifted the pan and sniffed. "Them is good kippers. Hasn't the man ever seen them before?"

"Oh, madam." Omar lifted his hands in defence. "Please do not take offence. My master says it has been a long time since he has eaten... ah... how do you say... kips."

"Kippers." Shelly Campbell put the pan back on the table and turned away. They couldn't even speak proper bloody English. "How many days did you say you were going to be here?"

"A week madam, perhaps ten days if needed."

"Right." Shelly rolled numbers through her head. "That'll be an extra shilling for three more days. There is two of you."

"Yes, madam. It will be no problem." Omar gave her the nicest smile he could muster, then glanced at Samuel and spoke in Arabic. "This woman needs to be put to work in the kitchens of Mawlay Abdul-Rahman's palace, so she learns how to cook properly."

Samuel grinned and stabbed at a kipper. He put it on his plate and cut a mouthful. It was good. He nodded and put his hand on Omar's shoulder. "Eat it. You might find you'll like it my friend." He chuckled. "If you don't, I'm afraid you will die of starvation." Samuel took another kipper and put it on Omar's plate.

Omar sighed and looked from the dead fish and at Samuel's contented face. "Better to die of starvation than poisoning." He grinned and cut into the fish. He had never seen Samuel this happy. Killing Captain Lios seem to have lifted a weight from his shoulders. Today they were going to go to Samuel's family home in London to speak with his brother. Omar would go to the door and ask for him, and then make an arrangement to meet in private somewhere. Samuel felt this was the safest way. He didn't want George Somersby to find out about his return, before he was ready to face him.

*

The houses stood altogether, joined one to the other. Omar searched for number twelve. It looked much like the others, white with ornate columns and double hung windows. The difference with this house was the large portico. Omar climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. He had left Samuel sitting in St James Square. If his brother Frederick was home, he wanted Omar to convince him to meet there.

"Yes." A stiff lipped butler looked down at him. "If you are here looking for work there is none, and just so you know, in this country you should approach the back entrance." He stepped back and made to shut the door.

Omar jumped forward and put his hand on it. "No." He bowed his head. "I am sorry for my intrusion. I am not looking for work. Instead, I would like an audience with the Duke of Irvine, Frederick Denyer."

Marvin looked the man up and down. He was dressed like a Bedawee. He felt he should send him away, but something made him ask, "In what regard do you need to speak with him?"

"It is a private matter, sir." Omar wasn't sure how to address a butler but felt sir covered every angle.

"I see." Marvin couldn't for the life of him think why this strange man would be asking for the duke. His stomach muscles clenched. If he was asking for money, he was at the wrong house. No money would be had from the House of Irvine. No money at all. Not through slander or blackmail, bribery or other. He stepped out onto the portico and pulled the door to behind him. "I do not know what your game is, sir. However, I must inform you that the duke, Frederick Denyer, does not reside here any longer. He is dead, sir, and has been for many months. His successor is a child, whose trust is being looked after by his... ah... uncle."

Omar stepped back. He didn't know how Samuel was going to take this news. "Can I ask how he died?"

"He had been ill for nearly a year. The physicians could not come to a conclusion. They thought it was consumption, but he did not have the usual cough that comes with the disease. The duke wasted away slowly." Marvin tilted his head. "I am sorry to have had to tell you this, and hope it does not distress you. Now if you'll excuse me." He stepped back and closed the door, leaving Omar to wonder if the man had really died of natural causes.

*

"What?" Samuel put his hands on his head and squatted on the ground. He closed his eyes and breathed heavily in and out to control his emotions. Frederick didn't deserve this. He was a good man. Quiet and easy going. George Somersby had done this. Samuel just knew it. He stood up, wrapped his arms around his chest to ease the pain there, and turned his back on Omar. He had to think. After a few minutes he looked back at his friend. "Can you please go back and ask if the young duke's uncle is in residence at the moment?"

"I can do this but, tell me what your plans are."

Samuel looked straight into Omar's eyes. "I plan to kill him."

"How?"

"The same way I killed Captain Lios. I need to know if he is here, or at Denbury Hall."

"As you wish." Omar headed back to the house. The butler gave him an even stranger look, but he confirmed George Somersby was in residence. He was at his club and wouldn't be back until midnight. Omar bowed once more and headed back to find Samuel.

Marvin closed the door quietly. This was very curious.

"Who was that at the door?"

Marvin looked up to see the duchess coming down the stairs. "It was a mistake, My Lady. The wrong address." Again, Marvin asked himself why, for the second time that day, he had gone against the norm, and now this time lied. "Is there something I can do for you, duchess?"

"Yes. I would like tea brought to my room. I'm not feeling very well. When Master Somersby returns, can you please tell him I have retired."

"Very well, My Lady." Marvin bowed and headed to the kitchen. The lady would retire because she did not want to receive her brother, this evening, or any evening when he returned from his club. Though they had tried to hide it, the whole household knew he abused her in some way, they suspected he had sex with his sister, though she never seemed to resist him. Marvin hated the man, and he wasn't any fonder of the duchess, she had a very evil streak. As he made his way down the hall, he wondered if this was the reason, he had kept the strange man's visits a secret, just as he had kept the letter that the late duke, Frederick Denyer, had given him in secret. His instructions were clear. If Frederick died, on the first anniversary of his death, Marvin was to give the letter to his uncle, Leopold Denyer. That time, would be upon them very soon.

Samuel and Omar made their way back to Whitechapel Road. Omar remained silent. He had given Samuel the information, and knew he'd find out what his plans were, when Samuel was ready to disclose them. He just hoped the death of his brother wasn't going to push him backwards. The tension Samuel transmitted, as they rounded the corner into Plumber's Row, could have been cut with a knife.

Frederick is dead!! Do you think he died of natural causes?

And how will Samuel cope with the death of his brother? :(

I wonder what the letter Marvin has for Leopold Denyer says?

The Barbary Coast Slave Trade - 1530 to 1830.

This is a period of history that doesn't get much airtime. You can find more in-depth information on Google if you would like to learn more.

The Barbary slave trade involved slave markets in the Barbary States. European slaves were acquired by Barbary pirates in slave raids on ships and by raids on coastal towns from Italy to the Netherlands, Ireland and the southwest of Britain, as far north as Iceland and into the Eastern Mediterranean.

Robert Davis estimates that slave traders from Tunis, Algiers, and Tripoli enslaved 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans in North Africa, from the beginning of the 16th century to the middle of the 18th (these numbers do not include the European people who were enslaved by Morocco and by other raiders and traders of the coast). To extrapolate his numbers, Davis assumes the number of European slaves captured by Barbary pirates remained roughly constant for a 250-year period, stating: There are no records of how many men, women and children were enslaved, but it is possible to calculate roughly the number of fresh captives that would have been needed to keep populations steady and replace those slaves who died, escaped, were ransomed, or converted to Islam. On this basis it is thought that around 8,500 new slaves were needed annually to replenish numbers - about 850,000 captives over the century from 1580 to 1680. By extension, for the 250 years between 1530 and 1780, the figure could easily have been as high as 1,250,000.

As slaves aged or their owner's fortunes changed, slaves were resold, often repeatedly. The most unlucky ended up stuck and forgotten out in the desert, in some sleepy town such as Suez, or in the Turkish sultan's galleys, where some slaves rowed for decades without ever setting foot on shore.

The Ottoman Eastern Mediterranean was the scene of intense piracy. As late as the 18th century, piracy continued to be a consistent threat to maritime traffic in the Aegean.

The End of White Slavery - Following the Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna in 1814-15, European powers agreed upon the need to suppress the Barbary corsairs entirely. The threat was finally subdued by the French conquest of Algeria in 1830 and subsequent pacification by the French during the mid-to-late 19th century.

Above taken from various sites on Google.

Top photo taken from Shutterstock.

2nd photo taken from The Barbary Pirates of Torbay.

3rd photo taken from White slaves of Africa.