In a Pirate's Debt by Elva Cobb Martin

Author:Elva Cobb Martin [Martin, Elva Cobb]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781946016188
Publisher: Smitten Historical Romance
Published: 2017-05-30T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

Lucas fought his way up through a dark tunnel. Gusts of fire licked at him when he pushed too hard. Something wrapped around his head tightened and pained him. He tried to move his hand to his head but couldn’t. At times, he became aware of light and the sound of birds chattering and their wings flapping. How long he’d been in this strange state, he didn’t know. Times of light and darkness passed over him in waves. Then the throbbing in his head became softer. And finally, during a time of light, a wonderful smell assailed his nose.

Light flickered across his eyelids. He heard sounds of someone busy about a fire. Warmth touched his face. He managed to barely open his eyes. At first, he squinted at the light. Then he saw Sinbad cooking over a fire with Thorpe close by. The savory smell of fish cooking stirred his memory. He tried to make a sound.

His two friends began to eat the fish. Finally, a groan escaped his parched lips. The two men dropped their food and rushed to his pallet.

Sinbad stooped down and looked at him, uttering a sort of happy grunt. He gently lifted Lucas’ head and placed a split coconut to his lips. Lucas opened his mouth and received a sip of the sweet liquid. Sinbad smiled. Lucas took more sips, then opened both his gritty eyes and looked at the huge dark man.

“You gonna make it, Captain. You gonna make it. Just keep taking them sips.” Sinbad’s gruff voice sounded wonderful to Lucas’ ears.

Thorpe leaned down closer. “Wonderful to see you back with us, Captain. We believed you would make it.” His voice cracked.

Lucas tried to sit up but fell back on the sand, groaning.

Thorpe touched his shoulder. “Now don’t you try to get up yet, Captain. You have been down for almost a week, and you got to take it real easy. We’ve kept you alive by pouring coconut juice into your mouth.”

A smile started on Lucas’ dry, cracked lips. “You are a hard taskmaster, my friend.” The voice hardly sounded like his own, but before his heavy lids closed, he noted the happiness on the faces of his two friends.

The next day, Lucas was able to sit up. He gingerly touched the cloth wrapped around his head.

“You got a mean hit from a plank of the ship before you went under the water, Cap’n.”

Lucas looked at Sinbad as the memories came back. The battle with the Spanish ship that was attacking an English merchant. Then their own ship exploding.

He winced as he remembered flying through the air and hitting the water like he’d hit a rock wall.

“I don’t remember a thing after I hit the water, except feeling as if my very life were being sucked down into a dark hole.” He glanced around and saw the blue Caribbean lapping a white sandy shore. How had the two men gotten him here on what appeared to be an island?

Thorpe sat down on the palm leaves beside him.

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