Branded Ann by Merry Shannon

Author:Merry Shannon [Shannon, Merry]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: ! Yes
ISBN: 9781602820036
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2008-01-10T06:00:00+00:00

MERRY SHANNON

his shoulders until nearly every inch of the tattooed skin was raw and bleeding. Jenkins was driven to his knees in seconds as Ann Þ nally let loose the rage that had built up over the past few weeks. Once he was lying motionless on the deck she reined in her fury with a solid kick to his gut, then scowled at the rest of the crew. “Anyone else care to tell their captain what they think she ought to do?”

The pirates were completely silent, all eyes pinned on the blood that pooled beneath Jenkins’s prostrate body. Ann panted slightly as she turned, the whip gripped white-knuckled in her hand, to stare down at Violet and Charlie. “Tie them to the mainmast,” she ordered, and the crew leapt to obey.

Ann stood back and watched as the two of them were bound to the mast with thick ropes that pinned their arms to their sides. When the job was Þ nished, she moved to check that the knots were secure, and smiled humorlessly. “Three days.” She held up three Þ ngers to emphasize her words, then turned to address the crew. “No food. No water. If they survive, I will decide what is to be done with them upon their release.

No one,” she cast her gaze deliberately on Jenkins, “is to lay a hand on them, to help or harm them in any way. Am I clear?”

The pirates seemed to be collectively holding their breath. In many ways this was a far more terrible punishment than the cat. Three days in the sweltering sun without water? It would be torture of the worst kind, and it was very likely neither woman nor child would live through it.

They would likely have been better off in the unforgiving arms of the sea. Ann looked around to be sure her command was understood. “Now back to work, all of you!”

v

Violet had never imagined the sun could be so hot. Surely this was what the prophets had meant when they wrote of Hell, this slow agonizing feeling of being roasted alive. The Þ rst day hadn’t been so bad; she had been hot and thirsty and sunburned by nightfall, but it was the cool night air against her sweat-soaked clothing that had proven truly miserable. She grew so cold that her teeth chattered in her skull and it felt like her very bones were shivering. It was impossible to sleep, and so she and Charlie had done their best to entertain one

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