Page 48 of Captive of the Pirate King
I was a fool. I should have been working my way through them this whole time, killing them one by one. And now I might not get the chance, because Gorm is tugging at my shirt.
I’m fighting him so hard that he can’t get a proper grasp on the material. He loses patience, slaps me hard across the face, and then sinks a punch in my gut. Plain explodes through my stomach and ribs, and I go limp with the shock of it.
Gorm rips my shirt wide, buttons scattering. He and Tir drag it off me and throw it aside.
“Here now, what’s this?” Gorm touches the layers of binding across my upper chest.
With a muffled screech through the gag, I thrash again, but Tir grips my upper arms from behind and lifts me clean off the deck. Helpless I hang there while Gorm unwraps my bindings.
Pain rushes through my flesh as the cloth loosens and circulation returns to my breasts. They hang free, soft and exposed, nipples hardening in the chilly air. I hear a fainttingas my family ring falls out of the wrapping and rolls away somewhere—but Gorm and Tir don’t notice. They’re too busy staring at my chest.
“Gods’ bones,” says Gorm hoarsely. “Nick ain’t ahe. It’s a woman we’ve got here. A sneaky, conniving, interferingwoman.”
“I don’t believe it,” Tir says. “Those ain’t tits, they’re too small.”
“There’s one way to know for sure.” Gorm holds my legs so I can’t kick him and works my pants down. Finally he’s able to yank them off, and I hang in Tir’s grip, naked and exposed.
“Well, ain’t this a surprise,” Gorm chortles. “So Locke wasn’t lusting after some beardless boy. He knew what you was hiding between the legs, didn’t he?”
Go to hell, I seethe inwardly, glaring daggers at him.
“What are we gonna do?” Tir asks.
Gorm’s lip piercing flashes as he smiles. “We’re gonna tie her to the mast, like we planned. And then we’re gonna invite everyone to come have a look.”
They tie me to the foremast, stark naked. One set of ropes winds around my thighs, while another cinches across my ribcage right under my breasts. My arms are pinioned at my sides.
While Gorm and Tir were tying me up, a few more sailors on duty came to watch and to exclaim over the revelation of my gender. It’s boring honestly—the same salty curses, the same personal comments about the extent of the freckling on my body and the size of my breasts.
It’s revolting, having to hang there while they stare at me.
“Not much to look at, is she?” sneers one man.
I roll my eyes. I’ve seen all of these men shirtless—most of them are no treat for the eyes, either. Too dirty, too covered with hair and moles and scars. If they can judge my body, I can judge theirs.
Gorm goes below and rouses more sailors, who come trickling out on deck, rubbing their eyes. The sailors from theWending Willow, the ones who knew my identity, hang back in the shadows, looking guilty and nervous. They’re probably afraid they’ll get in trouble for keeping my secret.
Finally Gorm comes up from below, bringing a sleep-muddled Locke with him. As they cross the main deck and approach the forecastle, I can hear Locke muttering grumpily, “What is it you want me to see?” He rubs his uncovered eye and yawns. “Another ship? We’ve got plenty of swag in the hold.”
“Funny thing,” Gorm says. “Your little favorite, Nick? Well, we decided to teach him a lesson. Toughen him up a bit, you know—teach him to be a man. And you won’t believe what we found when we stripped him.”
Locke freezes mid-stride and looks up at the forecastle deck—at me, bare and bound and gagged.
Rage floods his eyes, and he spins, whipping a knife from his waistband, catching Gorm’s throat in his hand and tucking the tip of the blade under Gorm’s chin. “Cut her down and give her some clothes.”
“Hold up, now,” says Tir, striding forward. “Ye can’t be makin’ demands here, Locke. You’re in no such position, seeing as you knew there was a woman aboard and didn’t report it to the Captain.”
“That’s right,” another pirate chimes in. “Terrible bad luck, women—besides the fact of the Pirate King’s law.”
The others assent with grunts and nods.
“And those crewmen from theWending Willow,” cries a pirate. “They knew, and they didn’t warn us.”
“By the powers, you’ve got a point there!” Tir shouts. “Take ’em, boys!”
The pirates grab the survivors of theWillow, most of whom came up on deck weaponless. “Toss ’em overboard!” someone shouts.
“Too good for ’em! Keelhauling it is!” cries another.
