Betina Krahn by Passion's Ransom

Author:Passion's Ransom [Ransom, Passion's]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-03-08T04:42:22.913000+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

« ^ »

The lads of the Windraider had plenty of experience with the aftermath of battle and set to their grueling tasks with surprisingly light hearts and willing hands. They kept thinking of the Wool-witch's brave stand amongst them and grinned. They checked the wounded and were puzzled to learn there'd not been a life lost on either side, though there were injuries serious enough to take a few men out, if not tended carefully. They returned the Cherabim's wounded and set about their customary prize-taking, hauling stores, water, and some promising packets, crates, and bales back aboard the Windraider. They hadn't gotten far with their pillaging when a cry came from the rigging: " Sail ho! A'port!"

The Raider himself climbed into the rigging, and his glass confirmed his worst expectation: British Navy, three ships. Hearing his booming commands, the men were clambering up into the rigging by the time his own feet hit the deck. They knew well the drill of "strike and run"; often their lives had depended on it. In mere seconds they were heeling away from the Cherabim and shortly they had stretched every inch of canvas their lady Windraider would bear. The gray, brooding sky filled with whispers and murmurs that filled their sails and sent them slicing through the waves into the sheltering gray from which they'd come.

Two of the navy vessels gave chase, but the Windraider was designed for speed and had a good start. They fell off after a few hours hard running, and the lads could continue their cleaning and clearing and tending. The Cherabim had been small, but she'd stung like a wasp; two damaged tackles, ripped canvas, a bit of splintered railing. Fortunately, there was no structural damage. Strange, the lads shook their heads at the way of things; it was the little scuffles that sometimes inflicted the most damage. They'd taken whole merchantmen, on occasion, with no more than a few warning rounds fired over a bow.

Raider and Bastian had their hands full assessing the damage, overseeing the cleanup and the patching up, while monitoring their pursuers. Raider had little time to think about Blythe and her reluctant heroism in defense of his life, but there was a renewed energy in his step, a boldness in his eye that had everything to do with her… in ways he sensed but didn't fully comprehend. The lads took note of the change in him. The Raider was himself again, they murmured, grinning. His manner was full of that easy control they'd come to respect. A good fight could do that to a bloke, they sagely agreed.

Some hours later, when the unrelenting gray of the sky had become patched with brilliant sapphire blue and began sliding into purples, Blythe awoke in the sunlit glow of Raider's spacious cabin. The familiar scent of coconut made her bury her nose in the covers and breathe it in with a drawn sigh. All was quiet, except for the lulling creak of timbers, the droning sloosh of the Windraider's wake outside the window.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.