It would all go away, her grandmother told her. But it didn't.
Was it possible? Could Zamora be right? Had she and Zach known one another in another place and time?
'If you refuse to accept what I have told you, you may never find each other again, not in this lifetime or any other'.
She had to get out of there. Somehow, she had to find him, she had to know.
She was stiff and sore from sitting in such a small space in the hold of the ship. The ropes had been removed, her feet bare except for the leather sandals she still wore, her hands free.
Had it only been two days since she'd been brought aboard the Sultana?
She stretched her arms and legs as she leaned against the hull of the ship, sea water washing over her feet. Something brushed against her ankles, then disappeared, her companions the rats that scurried about.
Her shoulder bumped into something—a box or crate? With only water to drink the past two days, she was weak, but managed to climb atop the crate, pulling her legs under her.
She tried to think, to try and find a way out of there. But where would she go?
The hull of the Sultana shuddered around her as several loud blasts rumbled overhead, followed by more blasts from some distance away. She clung to the ropes that bound the crate as theSultanalurched and began a slow turn. Another round of blasts followed her.
They were being fired on!
She frantically searched the surrounding darkness and finally found a sliver of light at an overhead hatch.
She had to feel her way around crates and barrels in the hold, losing her grip on a rope as the Sultana lurched, then moving again toward the hatch as more cannon-fire roared from the deck above, and was then answered once more by distant fire.
She reached the ladder and pulled herself up until her head brushed against the hatch.
As the ship shuddered, she fought to maintain her precarious hold. What would she find up on deck? Would El Barracuda's men throw her back down into the hold?
Another deafening blast exploded as she pushed against the hatch. It slowly lifted, and she slipped her hands into the opening. She peered out onto the deck. Another blast rocked the ship, a heavy cloud of smoke blinding her. She pushed again and raised the hatch enough for her to crawl out onto the deck and soon realized that the smoke wasn't from the cannons but from a fire that burned overhead where the main mast had been blown away.
The crew of the Sultana fought to cut the lines of the severed mast, while other men adjusted the remaining sails as the ship groaned and slowly came about once more, men scrambling below decks as more cannons appeared along the port side.
She took advantage of the confusion and chaos and ran to the railing. Out across the rolling blue-green water was another ship. TheRevengewas returning fire.
Was Zach aboard? How was it possible?
The schooner was lighter, faster, and more maneuverable than the bulkierSultana.Elyse watched as the gleaming ship cut across the course of the frigate, immediately trimming sail as she prepared to come back around. TheRevengewas also turning and bearing down on the Sultana. Cannon fire exploded from the deck of theRevenge.
The ship had sustained little damage that she could see, yet, as orders were shouted around her, she knew the danger. El Barracuda was in an almost perfect position with six cannons on each side.
Favoring his bandaged side, Zach moved to the helm. He looked to the center mast and checked the trim of the sails. He motioned to Tris to have extra line pulled in.
"They're coming into position, sir," Sandy called out.
Cannonballs burst overhead. Zach ordered the schooner brought about sharply, and then gave the command to return fire. The move unexpected, several well-placed shots caught theSultanabroadside and overhead at the mast.
He gave new orders, had the sails trimmed even more and heeled the schooner hard to port, bringing her sharply about to make another run. But theSultanahad maneuvered as well. Her starboard guns now had a clear target.
"Cut sharply," Zach gave the order. "Set her on a direct path across the bow of theSultana.
"They'll cut us to pieces, Cap'n." Sandy warned, but Zach was already yelling to his men to turn the guns.
"Look!" Tris shouted and pointed. Everyone aboardRevengeturned to stare at theSultana.
The lines at the mainsail sagged and the center mast had been blown in half. The crippled ship had begun to list badly as the churning sea rolled over her bow.
Zach gave the orders, and theRevengewas brought about, hard astern of the frigate. TheSultanawas hopelessly crippled, the prize El Barracuda had hoped for was lost as his crew fought to save themselves.
