But at least he’d put his gun away, right? A sword, I had a chance against.
Well, I supposed I’d asked for this, didn’t I?
Maneater and Hunter came up on either side of me, swords drawn.
Three against one.
Three very skilled, very experienced pirates who knew how to fight dirty.
Against me.
Just me.
Holy goblin claws, I was gonna die.
“Reaper!” Ariella screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Shut up,” Jimmy growled at her. “Or I’ll slice your pretty throat.”
Ariella’s face turned red with anger. She wasn’t scared in the least. She was pissed. “You’ll all get what’s coming to you.”
I didn’t have time to help her or Willy when these scumbags were coming at me.
Butcher attacked, and I parried, then had to deflect a blow from Maneater. I felt the air move behind me, so I ducked, just as Hunter attacked, trying to stab me in the back.
When I straightened, Butcher was already there, swinging at me. I grunted at the impact of his sword hitting mine—the man wasa lotbigger than me and made of muscle—but I still managed to push him off, just in time for Maneater to run at me.
I went to slice him with my sword, but Hunter was behind me again, and I had to jump to the side to avoid his blade. Hunter immediately swung his sword at me again, and I stumbled back, getting my sword up, just in time. The sound reverberated from the sword to my hand and right through me, and I couldn’t contain my gasp at the hard hit.
But then Butcher attacked at the same time, and I had to deflect his sword, then Hunter’s again, then Butcher’s, and I losttrack of whose sword was swinging at me. All I cared about was blocking the swings.
And I did. I blocked and hit and ducked and rolled, all the while the three of them kept up a constant attack. The sound of clanking swords filled the air, even as others cheered and jeered.
Butcher swung at me, and I hit his sword, but I didn’t expect the fist that came flying. He punched me with his non-sword hand right in the chin. My teeth clanked, and blood filled my mouth when I bit my tongue. Hot liquid dripped from my lip—blood.Great. My lip was going to swell.
I didn’t have time to worry about that because my three enemies didn’t let up on their attack. I got a lucky swing in and sliced right through Maneater’s vest. His linen shirt beneath it stained red as blood seeped from the shallow wound. But the injury did nothing to stop him. It was as if he didn’t even notice it. If only I’d been able to cut deeper.
A few of my other friends started to step in to help me, but from my peripheral vision, Viper came out of his cabin. It looked as if he was a snake in a sea of mongooses. He moved through the crowd with ease, everyone parting quickly to let him pass as if they were afraid he’d strike them down without pause—to be fair, he probably would.
“Don’t interfere,” he yelled to my friends. “Or I’ll take your head myself.”
I didn’t think that was an idle threat, so I was glad no one else jumped in. But still, he was such a goddesses-damned bastard.
“Butcher,” Viper called out. “Get this done. Now.” I had no doubt what he meant. He was ready to plug me in.
Holy phoenix tails.
Holy… holy fuck.
I ducked another swing from Butcher, and the three of them seemed to have renewed energy, like hearing Viper hadinvigorated them, made them more determined. I was in trouble.
I was already getting tired. I had no idea how much longer I could keep this up.
When Hunter and Maneater both attacked at once, I pushed my fluxweaver magic into the rocks cradled in my palm, then threw them straight at Hunter. The rocks burst in his face, and he cried out in pain, dropping to one knee, hands clutching at his bleeding face. Some of the debris blew into Maneater’s face, making him flinch.
That was all the distraction I needed to swing my sword at him. He tried to move away, but he wasn’t quite fast enough, and I managed to get another slice across his chest. This time, the cut went deeper, the blood seeping into his linen shirt at a faster pace. He yelled and backed off, but didn’t go down. I’d hurt him, but he wouldn’t be down for long.
Ariella and Willy were both yelling outReaperat the top of their lungs, but I didn’t have much hope of him hearing them over the commotion. But maybe he’d come to see what all the fuss was about.
