Page 109 of Devil In Boots

Clank! Clank! Pop!Our weapons sang loudly as we battered the circle forming around us, reducing the dozens of crew Gage had attack us. Yet it wasn’t enough. We were outnumbered.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a small, brown, furry object racing across the deck.

“Sprig!” I bellowed his name as a bullet pierced the wood where he just was, tossing his tiny body forward. “Nooooo!”

I reacted without thought. When I ran for him, a body rammed into mine, crashing us to the floor with a crunch. A fist slammed into my face, cracking across my cheek. “You deserve to die a horrible, slow death,” Zuri snarled, her fury bubbling up. She always had a temper, a bad one, but it had never been turned on me. “You should feel all they did to us.”

“Then go ahead,” I snapped back, blood trickling down my face. “You want to kill me, Zuri? I got you out of poverty, helped your family. Now I’m your enemy?” I felt like they had been brainwashed. How long before torture broke you? Where they built you back in their image. What level of hell had they suffered when I was gone?

“I watched them slowly, soinhumanely,brutalize and butcher Moses. And he never stopped calling your name… like you were some god coming to save him.” She spat on me. “I used to believe in you too, but now I see we were both fools. You should be the one in his place.” She yanked out the dagger she took from me. My father’s. How apropos to be killed by the very same dagger on the deck of a ship like he was. “You should die for what you did to us.”

With a cry, the blade headed for my heart.

This was it. My end. And the only thing I thought of wasn’t Moses or Zuri… it was Croygen.

Her body suddenly flew off mine, her head hitting the deck with a crack, her body going limp, the dagger falling onto the floor.

A huge blond man stood over me, his chest heaving, his expression stone, but his brown eyes were soft.

“Cane?” I gulped, sitting up and blinking at my savior.

He leaned over, offering his hand. I grabbed my father’s dagger as he yanked me back to my feet. He was the quieter one compared to Ty, but his silence made me feel safe.

“You-you saved me.” I blinked up at him.

“Of course. You are my captain.”

“I am?”

“Always.” He dipped his head, his voice low and deep. “Zuri and Gage let their minds be seduced. Let him poison them with words.” His eyes darted around, looking for any threat. “Ty and I are faithful to you. Moses never forgot that either.”

“Do you have her?” Ty ran up, his gaze taking me in, his shoulders lowering at seeing I was okay. He glanced down at Zuri’s unconscious form, frowning. “We have to get out of here.”

My gaze went back to searching for Croygen, finding him in the center. Just one shot, and he could be killed.

“Croygen!” I lurched for him.

“No!” Ty grabbed me. “You’ll be killed!”

“I won’t leave him to die!”

Pop! Pop!

Like fireworks, small explosions started to crackle and spurt from a group of barrels near the main mast. Dread sunk in my belly. Someone lit the gunpowder barrels. And I knew exactly who that someone was.

“I’d move it,bhean chait!” Sprig yelped, sprinting up my leg to my shoulder. “That thing is about to explode… like now.”

“Notagain…” I whined, spinning around. “Croygen!” I cried his name, feeling the twins on either side of me, taking their posts like they always did. “Croygen!” I bellowed, trying to find him through the throng of people. Everyone was running around the deck trying to get off the ship, causing bedlam, no longer caring who was friend or foe.

“Katrina!” Croygen’s body rammed into mine, his arm going around me, his hand grabbing Sprig, tucking him into his chest right as the fuse hit the powder.

Booooooom!

Our bodies flew in the air, catapulting into the bay like debris. Crashing into the salty water, I spun around like laundry. It took me a few moments to find which way was up, pushing for the surface. Sputtering, I broke through, gulping for air.

“Kat!” Croygen heaved in relief, swimming over to me. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “You? Where’s Sprig?”