Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 144411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
He sneers. “I invite your trouble, Battista,” he says. “It reminds me of how bad you are it. Once I got wind from my fleet that you were out here on your course to land, well, I had to set course for you. Knew you’d be coming to Acapulco, naturally, knew that with your tricky sails you cut straight across the ocean, the trade winds be damned. I just figured it was better to deal with you out here instead of closer to shore. Much tidier that way, isn’t it.”
He waves his pistols at my crew. “Honestly, I’m not even here to kill you, Battista. Eventually, yes, but I merely want to make you suffer first. You see, what you should have done after I killed your father was give up the ghost. Give up this immoral lifestyle. Hang up the jolly roger and call it a day.”
His eyes narrow. “And yet you didn’t. You saw what happened to your dear old father and yet you decided that you should become captain of the Nightwind. You made it even worse by having a wife, a daughter, on board. These ships are no place for children, don’t you have any decency? You know what you went through, you and your useless brother, seeing your own father executed at my hands, and yet you didn’t think about the risks in raising them here?”
His fingers twitch on the triggers and I’m staring into Henry’s eyes. They’re so open and full of fear and hope that I will save him and of course I will save him.
Of course I will save you, I think, before looking to Lucas, who is trying so hard to brave but his chin is trembling, and then to Sedge who shows no emotion on his face, only determination. I will save you all or die trying.
“They’re safer here than they ever are on land, and you know it,” I say, my voice hoarse with contempt. “Does your crew know what you are? Do you hide it? Do you keep one human to feed from? Is he sworn to your secret? Even you know that on the ship you have freedom you could never have on land. The high seas are very good at harboring secrets, that’s why we keep our secrets here.”
He scoffs, raising his chin and staring down his nose at me. “Spare me your sermon. Your words only exist to make yourself feel better. But mark me, you’ll only blame yourself after this, Captain. Their deaths are on you.”
I know what he’s about to do before he does it.
“No!” I scream and I launch myself through the air at him just as he pulls the triggers. Even though I’m flying at him as quick as a flash, everything slows down. I see the bullets both fire from the muzzle of the pistols, a burst of flames and gunpowder, one shot a second behind the other and going to the back of Lucas’s head. The delay has him leaning toward Sedge, the bullet just grazing the tip of his ear in a spurt of blood.
The other bullet fired quicker.
It went right in the back of Henry’s head.
A horrible burst of red sprays up.
I feel I am dead of a shattered heart before I even hit the ground.
In this case I hit Ed Smith, taking him down with my hands around his neck. We tumble backward and onto the balcony and I bite his neck, trying to tear him apart like a rabid animal.
“I can save him!” Nerissa yells from the cage. “Let me out before it’s too late!”
“Ramsay, the key!” Maren screams and I bring my jaws away from Smith to see her running to Henry’s side, collapsing to her knees beside him, tears of horror streaming down her face, while Sedge comforts Lucas who is screaming in pain and holding onto his head.
I reach into my pocket for the key and take it out, about to throw it at Maren, when Smith knocks it from my hand. I watch as the key goes sailing over the rail and down into the sea below.
God almighty. This can’t be it.
“I’ve got it!” Maren yells. She gets to her feet and runs at us and for a moment I think she’s going to attack Smith too, but she’s leaping over us and over the railing, diving over the edge to get the key.
I hear her splash below and in that distraction, Smith flips me over, nearly knocking over the railing, and strangling me with one hand while he reaches for his knife. “Let’s see how quickly I can remove your heart. As fast as I removed your father’s head?”
He holds the knife above my chest and I hate how equally strong we are, hate that I didn’t listen to Maren and take her blood earlier, hate how quickly my life just fell apart again, and I fear that perhaps he is going to end me here, that I’ll soon be joining my father in whatever place the mortal immortals rest.