Page 40 of Escaping Pirates (Legends of Neverland #4)

T yrone and Harsh had left Steele and retreated to the captain’s quarters, both talking in low, hurried voices.

It was now or never. My only hope was for the darkness to be on my side this time.

I didn’t waste time thinking or planning or anything that a calm, rational person would have done.

In several bounds, I sprang across the deck, crossed the gangplank, and just as Harlan had taught me, stepped into Steele’s space, attacking him by throwing the first punch then driving him back with two rapid throat punches.

He dropped the case, clutching at his neck, and fell to the deck.

I grabbed not just one, but all the flares then ran to the quarterdeck, snatching a lantern along the way.

There was no time to make this pretty.

I smashed the lantern to light all the wicks at once. Instantly, they fizzled and began to burn.

Shouts of alarm came from all the pirates, and both ship captains burst out of Harsh’s cabin at the same time as Gil came up from the brig door, Harlan hot on her heels.

There was no place to prop the flares up, so I looped my arms into a circle, trying to provide the necessary support so they shot straight into the air. Fuses burned at my arms, but I bit my lip against the pain.

BOOM.

The sky erupted in a thunderous burst of color.

One flare shot upward, then another and another, all in rapid succession and each exploding in a riot of red, gold, and blue.

They lit up the night, crackling, trailing sparks, and casting wild, pulsating flashes across the sails.

The sea illuminated in shimmering reflections, and for a heartbeat, it looked as though the stars themselves had dropped to the water.

Had the right eyes seen?

“It’s the girl!” Tyrone's voice ripped through the chaos like a blade.

I didn’t have the energy to answer. My hair and arms had been singed by the flares exploding, and my hands still bled from cutting through my bonds. I was covered head to toe in tar and blood. I couldn’t do any more.

Tyrone surged forward, hand raised, expression twisted in fury. His bootsteps thudding against the deck, then he lunged. I stumbled back against the helm. I was too slow and too exhausted to resist anymore. His hand closed around my neck like a vice and I choked for air.

“I’ll kill you for that,” he spat. “I’m done with you.”

Before I could react, Harlan’s voice cut in, sharp and defiant.

“Let her go!”

Harlan's shirt was torn, his tangled blond hair was longer than ever, and his wrists were red and raw from being shackled, but he looked ready for a fight to the death. He tackled Gavvet to the ground and wrestled the pirate’s cutlass from him.

He scrambled back up to his feet, panting for breath and pointing the weapon at Tyrone and Harsh.

Tyrone threw me to the ground, where I lay massaging my throat. Harlan looked ready to spit fire. “If either of you touch her ever again, make no mistake—I will kill you.”

Harsh gave a chuckle. “I’d love to see you try, boy. You’re grossly outnumbered.” He gestured at the double pirate crew, all of whom looked much too eager for the battle.

“This will be a fight to remember, boys!” Tyrone called. “Who’s ready for a spectacle?”

The bloodthirsty cheers turned my stomach.

Harsh moved to the left, circling around as if to flank Harlan, and reached for the sword buckled at his side.

Out of nowhere, Gil darted to one side. Whether she was looking for a weapon or an escape route, I’d never know. Her bright eyes flicked between Harlan and me, calculating and shrewd.

“Stay back,” Harlan warned Tyrone, his voice steady. But Tyrone and Harsh were positioning themselves so that no matter how Harlan turned, one would always be at his back. Harlan kept trying to move so they were both in his sight, but he was quickly running out of room.

“Daddy, what’s going on?” Sugar had flounced out of her quarters, right beside me, just as Tyrone lunged for Harlan.

Someone screamed. A crewmember shoved past. In the scuffle, a boot caught the edge of a coil of rope, and Gil was knocked sideways.

She tumbled toward the rail.

“Gil!” I shouted, lunging forward.

But it was too late.

She struck the edge hard, a dull crack sounding as her head hit the wooden balustrade, and then she disappeared over the side with a splash .

Harlan turned, momentarily distracted.

“No!”

Tyrone took the opening. He rushed forward, slamming into Harlan.

The sword clattered across the deck. I dove for it, but Harsh intercepted, kicking it aside.

Harlan hit the deck with a grunt and Tyrone stepped onto his chest. Harlan clutched at Tyrone’s ankle, and Tyrone pointed his sword tip at Harlan.

I couldn’t let him die. I grabbed Sugar firmly around the waist, pulled the shard of glass from my cuff, and held it to her throat. “Don’t touch him!”

“Daddy!” Sugar screeched.

Harsh froze when he saw me with the glass to Sugar’s throat. He immediately dropped his sword and raised his hands.

“Tyrone, drop it!” I shouted, pressing the glass harder. Gil had gone overboard and had hit her head. Was she drowning? Unconscious?

A blur of motion caught my eye. Peter took a running start and jumped clean over the railings, plunging headfirst into the ocean below where Gil had disappeared.

Tyrone didn’t drop his sword.

Harsh glared at his brother. “Drop it.”

Tyrone didn’t obey. Instead, he sneered. “What, you think a pampered merchant’s daughter would kill anyone? She’s bluffing.”

“I won’t gamble my daughter’s life!”

“It isn’t a gamble. She’s in no danger. Besides, the most she could do with that is leave a scratch. She doesn’t have the strength or the will.”

“I do,” I lied. “Let Harlan go.”

Tyrone stepped harder onto Harlan’s chest so Harlan winced. “I told you I’d make you watch,” he hissed at me, then lifted his eyes to the pirates who were watching the fight and nodded.

Immediately, arms too strong to resist latched onto me, forcing me to release Sugar before shoving me to sprawl next to Harlan.

“I ought to gut you both and toss you to the sea.”

Harlan struggled, blood trickling from a cut above his eyebrow. “Better that than living one more day under your control. I welcome death as an alternative.”

A barrel, one of many near the supply crates, was nestled half-open at the base of the mast. A dark, sticky trail leaked from the side and glistened in the lantern light.

Lamp oil.

Fire , I thought, wild and breathless. I needed fire.

A crewman on the upper deck yelled, “Ships on the horizon! Four—no, five!”

I gave a sharp inhale. Korth had seen the flares. He was coming.

Panic surged across the crew. Shouts rang out. Men scrambled, unsure whether to ready the cannons or try to outrun the other ships.

They were distracted.

And that was all I needed.

A lantern swung above, still bracketed near the quarterdeck railing. It rocked on its hook, the flame inside flickering in the wind. A single good hit, and it would fall.

I rolled out of Tyrone’s reach, ignoring the sting in my ribs. Harsh shouted, lunging toward me, but I grabbed the nearest piece of wood, a splintered pole from a broken spar, and heaved it upward.

Clang.

The lantern snapped free.

It hit the deck with a clatter and then the oil ignited .

Flames burst into life, hungry and fast. They raced across the deck toward the mast, licking up the ropes and catching on stray bits of sailcloth. Smoke billowed up in black coils.

Tyrone leapt back with a shout. “What have you done?!”

I didn’t answer. The fire between us blazed, its heat scorching my cheeks.

“Douse it!” Tyrone screamed.

Harlan and I were forgotten as the crew rushed to put out the fire that was spreading faster than it could be contained. In the confusion, I looked over the edge of the ship.

Illuminated from the blaze, Peter was keeping Gil’s head above the water and trying to stay afloat while dodging some of the ashes arcing down into the water.

A small explosion rocked the aft deck. One of the smaller powder stores must have caught.

The blast flung debris into the air and scattered crew in all directions.

Harsh swore and vanished into the smoke, barking orders.

“We’re losing the ship!” someone screamed.

Harlan scrambled to his feet, coughing. I grabbed his arm. The flames surged higher, dancing up the rigging like they belonged there.

“We’ll never make it back onboard once we jump,” he said.

Across the deck, Tyrone was already rushing back to the Fortune Hunter and trying to loosen the gangplank so he could move his ship out of harm’s way.

Many pirates were abandoning the Kraken’s Revenge , fleeing over to the Fortune Hunter , and I saw Sugar and Blossom in their midst, shrieking and trying to heave some of their possessions along with them.

Harlan and I backed as far as possible from the roaring flames and the heat that was quickly becoming unbearable. The sea below was chaos. Waves lashed, the water churned with debris, and somewhere in the mess, there were splashes of Peter trying to keep Gil aloft.

“Go!” Harlan urged me. “I’ll come in a minute! Go!”

I leapt.

The plunge sent me plummeting into the dark depths, and once I broke surface, I gasped. The salt water stung at the cuts marking my hands, and the temperature was much lower in the ocean at night. I kicked hard, determined to stay afloat.

Still aboard, Harlan was throwing crates and barrels into the water, anything to help us float, then shouted in pain as a burning sail fell and caught him on the shoulder.

“Hold on,” I called to Peter, who had struggled closer, still holding Gil by crooking his arm around her neck so her face was angled up to the sky. She was regaining consciousness, stirring back to life and coughing. She was alive.

I turned, treading water just long enough to watch the Kraken’s Revenge fully erupt into flames. Harlan was still on deck, silhouetted against the fire.

“Jump!” I shouted, clawing my way over to hang onto a crate. “Harlan, jump!”

Harlan obeyed, leaping into the water near me. Once he was up, he threw one arm around some splintered boards and wrapped his other arm protectively around my waist. “I’ve got you,” he panted. We both looked back at the ship blazing like a funeral pyre.