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FINN WAS CONCERNED No one had slept until daybreak, which meant the day ell on by the ti, but MacKay had told hi for him, and that it was important that they talked

Captain Trereat deal of trouble Before he could set the course for the day, Finn knelt with Dr MacKay by the captain&039;s side, and felt the feverish touch of his skin Dr MacKay cooled his forehead with a cold cloth, and redressed the wound, Tara assisting from across the captain&039;s prone body

Treht in his own dreamworld, created, perhaps, by the fever Beneath closed lids, his eyesmotions

Then suddenly, the captain opened his eyes wide and stared straight at Finn "You atch out for my men, sir You atch out forto die You&039;re going to get well," Finn assured hiripped Finn&039;s arm "You will not let me become one like them You will not let it happen Swear to me Swear!"

Tara stroked a hand on his cheek "You&039;re not going to die, Captain You can fight this"

"I a far away I do not fear death I fear what I saw last night"

"You will never become one of the the way she looked at the captain She&039;d been his captive; his ship had been the one to run Richard&039;s pride to a blazing death in fire and water But Tremblay had treated her with courtesy, and she seemed to have acquired an honest affection for hiers touched upon the man&039;s face with the brush of a feather

She loved Richard, of course That was so easy to see And yet, the two did behave s than asas lovers It was, Finn had to ad to realize that he&039;d feltyes, jealousy, regarding the man Tara Fox was not easy to slip into a coht of as a woman

Any creature, alive or dead, heEven that one creature last night, accusto those who displeased hier peaked-had known that she was different She walked with pride and beauty; her eyes flashed with her passions, and though she knew fear, she kneell to fight around it

Finn found hi what it would be like when her eyes filled with tenderness and passion as she looked into the eyes of a lover Though he&039;d been at war so long-his one guiding function to keep the president alive-he had thought about little else lately There had been women; perhaps his very mix of blood made him attractive to the opposite sex, but he hadn&039;t felt this strange tor that twisted at and tore into his eaze from her and focused on the captain There was no need to dwell on the future when they still had to persevere here But if they did survive this

Then what? She was his captive; she would be brought to trial-if they lived He ad that neither he nor Tara was the Gator But if not, then how had his information been so accurate, and how had Richard&039;s Peace been setting to sea-an armed blockade runner!-when it had?

They were all captured here in a struggle now for life or death; if they didn&039;t get ahead of the diseased they&039;d all perish; this was definitely a take-no-captives situation Questions of national allegiance would all be ood doctor MacKay, and I will see to it that the ship out on the water is made safe She will take us far fro for those in the islands to take care You will be fine I will give orders and guidance to your ht our hardest to prevail"

Tremblay turned to look at Tara "If Isuccumb, you will do me the honor of death! Promise me that you will see to it that I don&039;t flounder in a prison of death and destruction, that I races, and stand before Him in heaven?"

"Dr MacKay won&039;t let you die," Tara said

"Promise me!"

"We all vow such But as you are an excellent officer of the Union, sir, we need you We won&039;t let you die," Finn said Then he stood; it was ti toward the line of Union longboats Tara ca with you," she told hi around at the ca a rifle or honing a sword

"I can be helpful," she said "If soet at me, it won&039;t "

"I want to take a party of six-two top deck all the while, and four to flush out the ship What reason would I give to these men to take a lady aboard on such a mission? She is a monster? Please don&039;t decapitate her because she&039;s a different kind of monster?"

"But you&039;re a monster," she reminded him

"A masculinethese men"

"But that&039;s foolish" She pleaded, "There must be a way? Please, you need to let me come I can really help you-and you know that"

He looked at her, down into her eyes He felt the sensation streak through hiain that he wanted more of her

That meant he should turn away, turn his wall into a brick wall

Except that she was right She had fought exceptionally well the night before

"All right Inform Richard I&039;ll leave MacKay to watch over the captain We&039;ll be three, then I&039;ll bring three more with me Find Richard while I decide who is most able-and least wounded," Finn told her

She nodded solemnly, and turned to do as he had bidden

Finn looked around the caht about the second body they had found on the island last night It was plausible that a tide had carried the body up to the ht have wound up inland

He&039;d seen thethe Union ship He&039;d seen the up cah difficult to believe, that one of them was a traitor-or worse, a minion for a monster

He looked after Tara, and then stared down at Captain Trerim

"You think that he was infected?" the doctor asked him quietly

"I don&039;t know You&039;ll have to watch over hi the daylight hours Soot onto that rescue ship who shouldn&039;t have been on it, or there has been so us all the while," Finn said "Keep a sharp eye out while we&039;re securing the ship We&039;ll bring her in and anchor her as swiftly as we can, and hopefully, be out of here by tomorrow"

"Any words of wisdom for me?" MacKay asked

"Keep your sword at your side Don&039;t hesitate Perhaps get a few of the h to pierce through muscle and sinew And watch the captain"

The man nodded "Godspeed, then I will dothe doctor, Finn found Richard and Tara waiting at the longboats Richard had a rifle over his shoulder, a sword in a scabbard Tara had found a belt and sheath that would fit her, and she was ready, too

Charles Lafferty ith theriive me the chance to accoainst, and I&039; man, and Finn had seen him wield a sword

"Your arht, and do so well, I swear"

Finn nodded "Lafferty, fine You&039;re in You&039;ll guard topside while we search below" He looked over theas if they would like to be called Others had the look of soldiers ould do their duty, but did not relish an actual confrontation

"London, Grissom-are you up for the journey?" Finn asked London was as solid as a steel dru man, but Finn had seen the way he could move

"Aye, sir," London assured hiravely

Finn looked back at the camp MacKay&039;s ar his position by the captain

"Then we&039;re on our way When the ship is secured, I&039;ll send out a flare Billy!" he called, searching the ranks for the sea frouard at all tiood doctor MacKay is in co your pardon, sir," Grisso with us? On such a o?"

He didn&039;t wait for arguht into the boat The others moved in Tara took a seat in the rear; Richard sat center, and picked up an oar Grissom sat next to him, looked at him a moment and then picked up the other oar Finn and Lafferty picked up the second set while London was near the rear

When they reached the abandoned ship, Richard rose carefully "I can nab that iron rod with a lasso," he suggested

Finn knew he could leap the distance, and Tara most probably could as well, but it wouldn&039;t do at the moment "Aye, Richard"

"If this don&039;t beat all," London said, grinning "It&039;s us and the Rebs today Well, in ood, hitting his mark on the second try

"I&039;ll take it up first," Finn said

He looped his aran his cli around, he saw no one at first, and then a body lying over the hel the ed Whoever had attacked the ship had been stealthy, had taken out the heler had caused this kill; the man&039;s throat had been slashed, probably froht Blood pooled over the wheel, and down to the deck

Leaving the corpse, he came back to the rail and looked down; Richard was on his way up Finn reached down to assist When he cleared the deck, Tara began her assent She was quick and nimble, even encumbered with the sword As she neared the rail, he and Richard crashed into each other in their atteave way Finn slipped his ar her down He felt the brush of her body, and felt the reaction of his own He stepped back quickly "Lafferty, coe from here!"

London was the last up When they were assembled on deck, they looked at the dead man at the helm

"I know this ship, sir I&039;ve sailed on her," London told him

"How many decks?"

"Captain&039;s cabin there, sir One beloo officers&039; quarters portside and bunks starboard, and storage for food and supplies Three below, you&039;ve got the cannon ports, and below that, ballast and oes anywhere alone Richard, you and Lafferty topside The rest of us will begin a sweep Take the captain&039;s quarters first, and dispatch anyone you find," Finn instructed

Richard and Lafferty headed for the captain&039;s quarters While theybelow, Finn watched the two They worked well in tandem Richard held back, ready with his sword Lafferty kicked the door in

"Dead captain!" Lafferty called

"See to him," Finn said "Head off, body in the water"

"Aye!" Lafferty replied

Finn led the way down The ship was laid out exactly as described He paused, listening There was nothing but the sound of the waves against the ship, and the movement of the two an a thorough search through the trunks and barrels of salt, ru ahead, he knew that Tara followed him He paused as they calanced at one another, and started searching through the bunks

"One here," Tara called, her voice tight

He hurried over A man lay in the bunk His eyes were closed, his face unroin All that remained was a bloody mass

Tara turned away The body was so destroyed that Finn didn&039;t think the man could make a return Nonetheless, he drew his knife and decapitated the man As he did so, he heard movement, and Tara let out a startled cry

He turned; a man had burst out from the first of the s Blood spattered his white shirt, but he showed no signs of injury He was almost upon Tara Finn spun with his knife ready, but his effort wasn&039;t needed Tara cried out again, both hands on the hilt of her sword as she brought it swinging high with true aiy and power that the head went flying For what see moment the body stood, then fell at their feet

Grisso over London stared at the body, and then at the head, and then at Tara "I will serve with you anytime, Miss Fox"

"Take care There may be more," Finn warned He motioned to Tara, and they moved forward to look into the second officers&039; quarters Theto rise Finn strode over to hied open He looked at Finn and started to jerk up, a cry of rage e from his lips Finn skewered him in the heart with his sword, withdrew the blade, stood back and slashed off the head It rolled off the cot and onto the floor There wasn&039;t ht wearily that he had seen this sight tooin the dooratching There was both horror and pity in her eyes "Is there never any hope?" she asked

"Sometimes, if it&039;s stopped," he told her briefly He wanted to walk to her, hold her and shield her froht It hat men did for women But he could not; in truth, they were still enemies

And she would not want comfort from him