Page 51 of Enchanted By a Pirate
"Damn bunch! Like I wanted to run into him now, of all times."
Other pirates? Torn between excitement and apprehension, Anna sat up on the ropes and looked at Chris. Judging by the expression on his face, it wasn't a social call.
"Blackbeard? He's probably not one of the gentler pirates…"
"Aye. Go below deck so he doesn't see you."
What? She was supposed to hide? "Why?"
"Because he put a bounty on your head."
Anna paled. Shocked, she stared at Chris. "He what?"
"Let’s just say he's the bad sort of villain and leave it at that. Now go hide. It'll be bad if we have to fight him and I don't want him and his crew coming after us — which he would if he saw you."
Her thoughts were racing. A pirate captain had put a bounty on her head? Why? For how long? Who knew about it? Her questions finally found their way to her lips. "Why…?"
"Later, Ani, get to safety." Chris swung out of the ropes, held out his hand, and she quickly took it. "For heaven's sake, keep your head down!"
Shoot. This sounded truly serious. Crouching, she followed the captain, who didn't take her to his cabin but below deck with the tied-up mutineers. Great. "Is there no other place to hide?"
"I may not be able to prevent him from peeking in my cabin. He knows I keep my most precious treasures there. If his menmake it onto the Fortuna, they'll try to search that room first. So you have to be somewhere else, understand?"
"Sure, but I'm not going to wait down here for someone to attack me. I need a weapon to defend myself."
"Damn, that's right, you can't transform. Once we get rid of that cursed Blackbeard, we must try to awaken your powers. Until then, take my knife." He pulled the weapon out of his boot and handed it to her. As she took it, their hands touched. Pausing momentarily, she looked at him. Everything inside her wanted to protest. She wanted to help, to take part, and defend herself, but obviously he was right and she had to be sensible.
She swiftly fled below deck. As Chris closed the hatch, he gave her one last look. "Don't do anything stupid, Ani. Promise me."
"I promise."
He smiled as he leaned down and caressed her cheek before slamming the hatch shut. She heard his firm footfalls stomping away. Mixed in was the thunder of other boots rushing across the deck as the men took defensive positions. Chris barked one order after another, shouting out words likecannon, fuses, swords, andport. She had no idea what he planned to do, but she had to trust him. Him and his abilities. He hadn't been a feared captain for so long that he would be defeated by just one attack.
Pirates fighting pirates — and she was in the middle of it. Thinking about it gave her goosebumps. She took a few steps into the dark hallway. The light barely made its way through the planks, casting everything in shadows. Farther back, she discovered the door secured by numerous locks. Luckily, it was quiet behind it. Still, she stayed away from the room and the men trapped within.
Before she could look around below deck, she heard bellowing. Were those the other pirates? Why hadn't Chris chased them off with the cannons?
"Well, old friend? Is everything all right on your cutter?"
The loud voice was deep and dripping with mockery. That had to be Blackbeard. His ship was obviously near the Fortuna. The captain was probably trying to prevent a skirmish. Cannon fire would have been suspicious.
Chris's voice interrupted her thoughts. "We're fine, but you should take a look at your rigging. It doesn't look particularly stable to me."
"My rigging is none of your damn business."
She heard the pirates grumbling, but Chris seemed to calm them down. "What do you want?" he asked the other captain.
"They say your little girlfriend is back."
"I have many girlfriends. Which one do you mean?"
The captain spoke naturally, his voice resonating with arrogance. Even though she knew it was merely an act, it wounded her.
Blackbeard laughed. "You know exactly who I'm talking about. That damned little fairy who has been turning our world upside-down. They say you two escaped from Linnenberg."
"Whoever said that must be blind. I haven't seen that fairy in years. But if you have a tip for me…?"
Anna shuddered. So the pirates were after her. But why? Did she have something that was of interest to them? Or was it because she was supposedly the main culprit? The person truly responsible must have been clever and thought through their plan two or three times, because otherwise, they wouldn't have managed to lead everyone in circles. But how had the pirates found out so quickly that Anna was back? Had word spread quickly, or were they conspiring with the mutineers?
