Page 78 of Escaping Pirates
Harsh moved to the left, circling around as if to flank Harlan, and reached for the sword buckled at his side.
Out of nowhere, Gil darted to one side. Whether she was looking for a weapon or an escape route, I’d never know. Her bright eyes flicked between Harlan and me, calculating and shrewd.
“Stay back,” Harlan warned Tyrone, his voice steady. But Tyrone and Harsh were positioning themselves so that no matter how Harlan turned, one would always be at his back. Harlan kept trying to move so they were both in his sight, but he was quickly running out of room.
“Daddy, what’s going on?” Sugar had flounced out of her quarters, right beside me, just as Tyrone lunged for Harlan.
Someone screamed. A crewmember shoved past. In the scuffle, a boot caught the edge of a coil of rope, and Gil was knocked sideways.
She tumbled toward the rail.
“Gil!” I shouted, lunging forward.
But it was too late.
She struck the edge hard, a dullcracksounding as her head hit the wooden balustrade, and then she disappeared over the side with a splash.
Harlan turned, momentarily distracted.
“No!”
Tyrone took the opening. He rushed forward, slamming into Harlan. The sword clattered across the deck. I dove for it, but Harsh intercepted, kicking it aside. Harlan hit the deck with a grunt and Tyrone stepped onto his chest. Harlan clutched at Tyrone’s ankle, and Tyrone pointed his sword tip at Harlan.
I couldn’t let him die. I grabbed Sugar firmly around the waist, pulled the shard of glass from my cuff, and held it to her throat. “Don’t touch him!”
“Daddy!” Sugar screeched.
Harsh froze when he saw me with the glass to Sugar’s throat. He immediately dropped his sword and raised his hands.
“Tyrone, drop it!” I shouted, pressing the glass harder. Gil had gone overboard and had hit her head. Was she drowning? Unconscious?
A blur of motion caught my eye. Peter took a running start and jumped clean over the railings, plunging headfirst into the ocean below where Gil had disappeared.
Tyrone didn’t drop his sword.
Harsh glared at his brother. “Drop it.”
Tyrone didn’t obey. Instead, he sneered. “What, you think a pampered merchant’s daughter would kill anyone? She’s bluffing.”
“I won’t gamble my daughter’s life!”
“It isn’t a gamble. She’s in no danger. Besides, the most she could do with that is leave a scratch. She doesn’t have the strength or the will.”
“I do,” I lied. “Let Harlan go.”
Tyrone stepped harder onto Harlan’s chest so Harlan winced. “I told you I’d make you watch,” he hissed at me,then lifted his eyes to the pirates who were watching the fight and nodded.
Immediately, arms too strong to resist latched onto me, forcing me to release Sugar before shoving me to sprawl next to Harlan.
“I ought to gut you both and toss you to the sea.”
Harlan struggled, blood trickling from a cut above his eyebrow. “Better that than living one more day under your control. I welcome death as an alternative.”
A barrel, one of many near the supply crates, was nestled half-open at the base of the mast. A dark, sticky trail leaked from the side and glistened in the lantern light.
Lamp oil.
Fire, I thought, wild and breathless. I needed fire.
