She caught him in the cheek. A thin stream of blood appeared against his flesh. He paused, wiping it away with the back of his sleeve, then staring at the blood that stained his sleeve. His eyes shot back to Skye’s with undimmed hatred.
“Little girl, you play rough. But I will play however you want, and lady, you will wish that you were dead!” He thrust toward her hard and she screamed, ducking. His sword sliced into the masthead, dropping rigging, and Skye screamed again, rushing over to the side of the boat. Blackbeard was coming. He would be there any second.
She could not believe that she was waiting for the infamous Blackbeard to save her, but she was. If he would just arrive while she still held her own, the pirates could all engage in battle, and she would be free.
But her father would not. Where was he? Somewhere aboard the ship? She prayed that she could help him, but she could hardly help herself.
“Hold her, seize her, take her!” Logan ordered, and suddenly they were all coming after her again.
She held her own. She fought valiantly, and she fought well, and she was certain that no lad could have lasted longer. But the sailors were already upon her. While she parried the one, the next was striking. She was forced further and further along the deck to the stern, and then she parried and turned to leap but found that her way was blocked. Logan was there, and his sword was ready this time. He cast the point hard against her throat.
“Drop the sword,” he ordered her.
“I’d—I’d rather die!” she managed to cry, even though she shivered and quaked with the fear of it. She wanted so desperately to live!
“Fine. Drop the sword, or I will slice you from head to toe. And when I am done, I will drag the old man up here on deck, and while you bleed slowly to death, I will hack him into little pieces before you.”
“And you will never have the Hawk.”
“One day I will have him. It is inevitable.”
“You will never have the treasure.”
“Is there a treasure, my dear?”
“Of course!”
“I think not.”
“There is—”
“Drop the sword.”
“Logan! Captain Logan!”
The call came from the longboats, far below the railing. It was Blackbeard’s voice. The pirate had arrived at last. Too late.
“Drop it!”
Skye did not respond, and Logan surged forward with a fury. He caught her blade with his, and it fell flat to the deck. He wrenched her to him by her hands, hurrying over the fallen rigging to reach the portside of his ship and the new arrivals. “Blackbeard, you common traitor! Get away!” Logan roared.
“Now, Captain Logan, that’s not atall nice, sir, not atall nice! Now I’ve come in good faith—”
“You’ve come for more treasure, you greedy viper, and that’s that. You’d kill me, you’d kill the Hawk, you’d kill your own mother’s every living son or daughter for more treasure!”
“Yer hurtin’ me, Logan, yer hurtin’ me deep!” Blackbeard called out sarcastically.
Slammed against the railing with Logan behind her, Skye could see that longboats were arriving with men by the dozen. Her heart caught in her throat, then suddenly soared. Against the lantern glare and the darkness, she could see Robert Arrowsmith. The Hawk’s own men had arrived. There would be a mighty battle here, indeed.
“Where’s the Hawk?” Logan raged.
“Not with me!” Blackbeard called.
“He’d best be. It’s the Hawk I want. If I don’t get him, I kill the girl, and that’s that. Stay out of it, Blackbeard. This is no business of yours.”
“Now Logan—”
“Shut up!”
