SHIT. Bethany cast a frantic eye at the distance between her father’s ship and the one she was on. She had to do something to buy them some time. Something to distract Hayreddin and Len so they couldn’t order the kraken to attack Alexei.
Swiveling, she grabbed the gaff in both hands, still tied in front of her, and swung it as hard as she could toward Red’s face. The hook on the end caught his pipe and tossed it through the air to land in a pile of cleaning rags someone had left sitting against the hull. The rags immediately burst into flames, which in turn ignited the container of cleaning fluid, which went up with a surprisingly loud whoosh.
The blaze ran up some nearby ropes and suddenly that side of the boat was engulfed in flames.
“Son of a bitch!” Len yelled. “My boat! She set my boat on fire!” He grabbed a nearby bucket, but the rope he would have used to lower it into the ocean was currently burning merrily.
“You can do magic,” he shouted at Red. “Do something!”
The light of the flames seemed to be reflected in Hayreddin’s eyes. “I am actually much better at starting fires than at putting them out,” he said with something that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. “You deal with it. I, on the other hand, will deal with our unwelcome guests.”
He turned his back on the conflagration and on Len, glaring out toward the other side of the boat where The Flora MacDonald was rapidly closing in on them. “And I’ll deal with you, my pretty little troublemaker,” Red said to Bethany as he drew his sword. “Permanently.”
*
As they stood in the bow, they could hear Calum yelling into the radio as he steered The Flora MacDonald toward Len’s boat. Alexei had carried him up to the captain’s chair so Calum could drive while Alexei and Beka fought; a reasonable division of labor that had the side benefit of hopefully keeping Calum out of harm’s way. Alexei didn’t want to have to explain it to Bethany if anything happened to her father.
Alexei didn’t even want to consider the possibility that he might not have the chance to explain anything to Bethany at all. Being too late was simply not an option. He’d already lost so much. He couldn’t stand it if he lost her as well.
“If he’s harmed one hair on her head…” he said through gritted teeth.
Beka patted him on the arm, trying to hide the worry she clearly shared.
“Bethany’s tiny, but she’s tough,” Beka said. “I’m sure she’s fine.”
“But Humans are so fragile,” Alexei said. He leaned forward, as if he could make the boat move faster through sheer force of will. He’d been standing in the front of the boat since a pod of helpful dolphins had pointed them in this direction; if he’d thought it would get him there any quicker, he would have jumped in the water and swum the rest of the way.
“You’re nearly Human yourself these days, barring a strange gift or two and some enhanced endurance. You need to start giving Humans a little bit more credit,” Chewie said from where he stood next to Beka. The dragon-dog was so large, his head was high enough to look over the side.
Chudo-Yudos were supposed to guard their Baba Yaga’s supply of the rare Water of Life and Death, created in the Otherworld by the queen herself. The last time Chewie had broken that rule to aid Beka, her supply of the Water had been stolen, so this time he’d brought it with them, tucked safely into a cask tied around his neck. Alexei had mixed feelings about the stuff, since it had saved his life and that of his brothers, but not his immortality. And the huge doses it took to do so might have been at least partially responsible for the strange gifts they’d all developed since.
“Ha,” Alexei said. “Not close enough to Human to be with one. Not with my history.”
“She seems to have done a pretty good job of dealing with all the weird stuff we’ve thrown at her so far,” Beka noted.
“That’s because she’s amazing,” Alexei said. “And smart. And brave. And beautiful. And amazing.” He strained his eyes as the ship in front of them grew closer.
“I think you said that one already,” Chewie said. “Maybe you should tell her, not us.”
“I hope I get the chance,” Alexei said. Alexei stared at the vessel they were rapidly approaching. “Is that boat on fire?” he asked no one in particular.
Beka laughed. “It looks like your girlfriend got tired of waiting to be rescued and decided to rescue herself.” She tested the edge of her sword on a strand of long blonde hair and grinned when it sliced through cleanly.
“I am not so sure that setting the ship you’re on ablaze is the best way to rescue yourself,” Chewie rumbled. “All things considered.”
“That’s my girl,” Alexei said proudly, ignoring the dragon-dog. He hauled himself up onto a precarious perch atop the front edge of the bow, ready to leap onto the kidnappers’ boat as soon as Calum brought them in close enough. “Let’s go kick some pirate booty.”
*
A wild sight awaited him and Beka as they made the almost-impossible leap from The Flora MacDonald to the deck of the other ship. Two burly men and one skinnier one battled a conflagration that threatened to take over half the port side. The odd-looking yet still imposing fellow with the gold earrings who had tried to cause a fight in the bar was waiting for them with a huge curved sword raised over his head and a fiery glint in his eyes.
Alexei swallowed hard when he saw Bethany lying in a heap on the ground near a trio of barrels, a broken gaff near one limp hand.
Damn it. Too late after all. Well, if nothing else, he’d make the bastard pay.
“You killed the woman I love,” Alexei bellowed, and raised his own sword high as he ran across the deck. “Prepare to die!”
Their swords clashed with the sound of ringing fury as they danced back and forth across the deck, dodging obstacles and each other. Alexei saw Beka race toward an object that lay on the worn boards, gleaming dully, but Blackbeard - or whoever he was - spotted her movement and changed course to intercept her.
For a moment, he fought them both, sword weaving effortlessly and darting out to land a glancing blow on Beka’s left bicep. A thin slice appeared in her shirt sleeve and blood flowed down her arm.
“Beka!” Alexei yelled.
“It’s nothing,” she yelled back. “I’ve got this!”
“Call the damned kraken, Len, you useless twit!” Blackbeard bellowed at the skinny man. “Order it to sink their boat to the bottom of the ocean. Let’s see how they like that!”
The scruffy man turned from where he was frantically trying to empty a fire extinguisher at the flames. “You call it, Red,” he suggested with a hint of hysteria. “My fucking boat is on fire, in case you hadn’t noticed. I’m a little busy here.”
“I cannot call the kraken. It breaks the one rule I dare not cross,” Red sputtered. “If I could, I would never have had to put up with your idiocy. Now focus and command it to do your will. Focus, damn you!”