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Screae swirled in the wind Wood cracked, and Jack turned to see one of Death’s wolves s and flail wildly as he fell into the ocean thirty feet away Jack prayed that Sabine and he would not be seen, that the olf could not swi the monster under

Jack hauled himself into the boat to find Sabine already there She smiled at hi therabbed one of the long oars and pushed them away from the hull He had to push hard because the sea still drove the tiny boat against the Larsen, but inch by inch he shifted the until the skiff slipped past the bow, and the sail caught the wind

He fell back and clutched the rudder, watching the sail to sense which way the anted to take theht now, that was the direction he would ai ships, the better

"Jack!" Sabine called, and she was staring past hiht on the rudder, he turned to see what had startled her so

On the Larsen, the conflict had spread across the deck There was a riot of activity at the bow--a pile of slashing, slavering bodies, tearing and gouging and biting--and in their nized Ghost He raged and roared, threolf overboard, and picked up another by its legs, swinging it around and using it to batter others aside Ghost was revealed at the heart of the onslaught, and he was a statue of blood and violence For a moment Jack was afraid that the captain washe had ever iined But then he fell, and other monstrous shapes fell upon him, murder their intent

Jack turned and met Sabine’s eyes He tweaked the rudder, and the wind filled their sails

"We’re away," he said, and she nodded

The skiff carried them into the heart of the store, bestial cries and the scrape of the ships’ hulls flitted like ghosts around the s waves As they sailed away, Jack’s fear of the wolves also began to vanish, replaced by a total focus on the task at hand--not dying at sea He gripped the tiller so hard his knuckles ached, and given the strength of the storm, it was all he could do to hold the sail in place The skiff leaped over the waves, and Jack and Sabine did their best to hang on

In minutes they were alone on the sea Yet Jack could feel Ghost’s rage following the after the last wolf’s cry had been sed by the wind

Sabine shouted so to him from where she sat in the bow

"What?" Jack called over the wind

She rose up on her knees, dress plastered to her body, da very much the sea witch that Ghost had called her Sabine pointed off to starboard and turned to hi to be heard

"To the northwest!" she cried "The nearest land is there, less than a day’s sail!"

Jack nodded, struggling to keep control of the boat as he adjusted their course A huge wave rolled beneath theht they would capsize, but then the wave tossed the The rain pounded at theusts of wind battered the sail, and the small mast creaked ominously

His muscles burned with effort, and he clenched his teeth and blinked away the rain Whatever happened, he would not release his hold His mind went back to the White Horse Rapids in the Yukon He had maneuvered to safety then and he would do the sa over the vast, wild ocean If that ht, he would do it Jack refused to allow hih began soft at first, then grew louder, and then Jack turned his face to the rain and let it coh she herself was grinning

"We’ve escaped him!" Jack said "Daainst each other, outsmarted them"

"You think a lot of yourself!"

Jack laughed at that as well "It’s true And I think a lot of you! But we’ve survived because we’re human In our hearts and souls, we’re human Not the mere animals that Ghost insisted we all were"

Jack had to fight a sudden gust, tearing his gaze away fro his heart and was glad of the forced interruption In all his life he had never irl or a woman who had made him feel so breathless, who had enchanted hih the storlee at their rush to freedom and this adventure they now shared, away from the constant threat of h, about the mutiny that had beco, and the questions would linger with him Who had survived that terrible, bloody battle? Did Ghost still live, and if not, had he been killed by his own crew or by his lunatic brother?

Salt spray stung Jack’s eyes, but he blinked it away and looked at Sabine again, realizing that these questions would not have to haunt hi She would know the answers, if he truly desired theht then, Jack decided he did not want to know

"I love you," he said quietly, expecting the words to be taken by the storm and swirled away

But in that sarew calentler, yet still firmly behind the skiff It happened so suddenly that he had not even time to notice before the words were out of his mouth, and the breeze carried them to Sabine

Yet her eyes were closed As raindrops slid down her face, she breathed deeply and evenly Jack studied her, nervous; she es of her lips

"There," she said softly "That should be a bit easier on us Keep on with the wind, and it will deliver us to the island"

Jack stared Island? Easier on the around to see the stor behind them Even off to either side of the boat, the sea re froth But directly ahead the ocean had calmed, the clouds parted to reveal blue, and the breeze breathed true

Sabine arched an eyebrow, her s flirtatious

"Is this you?" he asked "You’re doing this?"

She pushed wet strands of hair frohed in amazement "But how?"

"I’ed "I told you that I had other powers … gifts that I feared Ghost would inherit if he were to killof the weather is one of the?" Jack asked

"No, I didn’t create the fogbank But I called the storm to blind Ghost and Death and ht pursue us All the better to hide our escape"

Jack guided the little boat, settling down into an easy rhythuide them on their way

"Are you really a witch, then?"

"I need to rest, Jack" Sabine curled in the bow, and he could hear the weariness in her voice Much as he wanted to quiz her, he knehat she had been through

Soon, Sabine slept, and Jack steered them across the ocean

She woke after several hours, stretching stiffness from her limbs She ss had grown greater