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He paced the hold, thinking of those who had been in here so recently Their scents still hung in the air It was the smell of desperation He wondered why Ghost wanted Sabine with him no the attack would unfold, and what the results would be Over a hundred people on that ship, Sabine had said Soon this rooain

At last Jack sat down, heart heavy with the knowledge that there was nothing he could do Fate had brought these two ships together--fate, and Sabine’s unnatural skills--and all that was left was for their encounter to play out

It was several hours until they drew close to the other ship, and then there was shouting, and the thu that, a strange kind of calm for a while--casual footsteps on the deck above him, the hush of the sea forced between hulls, and once or twice Jack was sure he heard laughter Down in the dark hold, he stood in silence and tried to i He knew that the quiet was

The first tiht his breath and pressed his ear to the door, feeling the cool draft where door ain Crack … crack crack! He’d heard enough shooting in his life to recognize the sound, and now he knew for sure that the attack was on

Where’s Sabine, where’s Ghost, what is he having her do, is he keeping her safe? These ideas tumbled, stirred by confusion and concern He paced the roo into the door It rattled in its frame but held fast He kicked at where he knew the bolts to be, but though the wood creaked, they were firm He knew that the room was built to keep people in, sometimes for many days, but there was little else for hietting the better of hi "Da, and then a low, deep booh the ship and seeainst the wall and felt the echo of the noise passing away through the wood

With a crash, one of the doors leading into the hold gangas thrown open Here they coainst the wall beside the door

A terrible idea settled in him then, and it took his breath away that he had not considered it before: prisoners from the Weyden would be thrown inside, and he would be left with the that was to come, but powerless to resist … because what if Ghost had tired of hiripped hiain than froht and run, he listened for voices outside but heard only two sets of footsteps

The door opened and a huge ar hiithout even looking at hi of flour Kelly was there to catch him

"Fun’s almost over, Cooky," Kelly said "Captain says you can come out now"

Jack blinked in confusion, and then the truth struck him hard The full moon had just passed They took prisoners so that they had soe, when they were so bestial that they could not think clearly andone another if they didn’t have huo before the next fulland crying for an entire

Which meant there would be no survivors from the Weyden today

Jack felt sick He wanted to kill Ghost there and then Kelly sre saw the look of fury and hatred in Jack’s eyes and backhanded hiainst the wall again, hauling hiht only a foot from Kelly There was a knife in the pirate’s belt If he was quick, if he moved silently, and if he didn’t hesitate for one instant, maybe--

"Don’t be stupid," Kelly said "You think you’re faster thanat Jack, and there was blood streaking the man’s shoulder and chest His shirt was holed, and he held his arht it almost certain that Kelly had been shot

"I hope it hurt," Jack said, stepping out into the gangway

"What’s pain?" Kelly asked Then he slaain, and he and Ogre walked aithout sparing Jack another glance

Jack fled in the other direction, back toward the alley He plucked up a knife and tucked it into his belt He paused for a hts There were priorities here, and he had to ensure he kept theht in his head Otherwise--

Another booh the ship, carried on the air and conducted through the Larsen’s structure, and Jack’s ears ached with its afterh thesure his loose shirt covered the knife’s handle

Sunlight struck hiht and war

The ship was not as large as the Uher than the Larsen’s Smoke billowed from its stern, and he could see that the vessel sat low in the water One of the twins--he could not tell if it was Huginn or Muninn--appeared for a moment, tilted back his head to scent the air, and then slipped toward a doorway and vanished within A huge wolf shape dashed across the deck, and ht Jack ducked down and heard laughter fro lead, Cooky?" It was Louis, standing close to the Larsen’s locked wheel with a rifle in his hands

Jack didn’t answer Instead, he walked along the deck toward the forecastle, keeping to starboard, away from where the ship was tied portside to the Weyden He passed the place where the skiff had been ripped away by the store, and leather bags, one of the jewelry and coins Tree hoisted one of the trunks and went into the forecastle, headed for the hold, and Jack realized that the food store down below must also hold the riches the pirates had stolen from the Umatilla and other vessels Treasure, every piece stained with the blood of its original owners

Ogre and Kelly eed froht they would carry more of the looted valuables below Instead, they cla a glance for Jack For such a race, dropping onto the slightly higher deck in a crouch Kelly stood beside hiunshot wound as if it were an insect bite He clapped Ogre on the shoulder, and they disappeared through a door into the other ship’s superstructure

There was no sign of Sabine or Ghost, and the Larsen felt deserted Everything was happening on the stea back toward Louis, Jackand waited for the wolf to call hi across his arht, and he stored that knowledge away