“Alfred,” I whispered, “Can you tell me what year itis?”
He appearedconfused but gave a slight shrug. “Of course, miss. The year be1707. August month.”
Theimpossibility of my situation sank in and my mind threatened tocheck-out. I’d somehow transported myself back in time, just nineyears after Henry was captured by Maria and Devil Eyed Barrett. Andnow… now I was aboard Devil Eyes’ ship. I reached through the barsand wrapped my hand around his thin wrist.
“Please,I beg of you. Let me out. Point me to a boat and you’ll never hearfrom me again.”
The sound ofheavy footsteps approached.
“I mustgo,” he said and fled away to the shadows of the ship.
Finn and Guscame toward me then. When comparing the two shipmen, Finn’s redhair and tall, broad figure towered over Gus who was shorter,stumpy, with a mess of brown curls that matched the scraggly beardthat hung from his face. Both the men had sheathed swords thatswung from their hips and Gus held a bundle of rope in one hand, nodoubt meant for me.
“G’marnin’,wench,” Finn greeted humorously as he slipped a key in the largemetal lock of my cell. He heaved on the door and it swung open witha screechy creek. “’Tistime for ye to meet the captain.”
I backed away,retreating further into my cell. “Why do I need to be tied up?”
The two menexchanged a cheeky grin and Gus replied, “Oh, for our protection,of course.”
“And myname isn’t wench,” I spat,“It’s Dianna.”
They threwthemselves into a fit of laughter.
“Ooo!I’m sorry, m’lady,” Finn mocked and then took a little bow. “ShallI prepare some tea and have a dress fluffed and ready for ye, aswell?”
Gus grabbed myarms and brought them together behind my back. “Your name meansnothing here on The Devil’s Heart. And a woman on the sea is a badomen. The sooner we get rid of ya, the sooner we can get back oncourse.”
He tied mywrists together and the rope burned my skin as he yanked it tight.Then the two men removed me from my cell, led me toward Devil EyedBarrett, and possibly to my death.
If I werelucky.
Chapter Six
I got a taste of what their ship really lookedlike as Gus and Finn hoisted me up the ladder and dragged me acrossit. It seemed as though my cell had been located on the deck nearthe center, surrounded by piles of rope and stacks of crate andbarrels. When I glanced back, I realized my cell wasn’t even a cellmeant to contain prisoners. It was a place to hold goods becausethree ship hands immediately began tossing the gear and items backinside it.
But there wasa message in their actions. They had no intentions of putting meback in there. I truly was going to die at the hands of ruthlesspirates. A cold sweat broke out all over my body and pooled inunsightly places. Days of being in the cell had taken a toll, myhair and skin smelled as bad as it looked. Not that any of itmattered.
We stopped infront of the large door of the ship’s stern, wooden and hand-carvedwith intricate details of vines and strange symbols. If any movieor TV show taught me anything, this is where the captain’s quartersusually were. Finn banged on the door and waited. My heart thumpedhard against the inside of my chest and then squeezed tight when avoice bellowed from the other side, telling us to enter.
Gus opened thedoor and Finn grabbed the knot that held my hands together, pushingme inside. The space was surprisingly large and far too tidy for apirate. A massive desk with wooden claw feet anchored the room, itssurface covered in scrolls, maps, and strange metals objects.
A bedcould be seen off to the right and nestled in a nook, redvelvet curtains hung downand were pinned off to the side. Book filled shelves towered aboveour heads, almost as tall as the large stern windows that lined theback of the room. My eyes then landed on a figure standing in thesunlight streaming in, facing the sea. Captain Devil Eyed Barrett,in the flesh.
“Captain,” Finn addressed, “We brought her, asrequested.”
The figure,still with his back to us, replied, “Very well. Leave us.” Thedeep, raspy sound of his voice raised every hair on my body. They’dbrought me to the devil’s den.
The two menturned to leave but I panicked. “Please!” I cried, “Don’t leave mehere. You can’t do this! I don’t deserve to die!”
They exchangeda glance and then burst into a fit of laughter before leaving me,closing the door behind them. I stood there, staring at the door,frozen stiff, my body refusing to do anything. My back was to theroom and I could hear Devil Eyes’ clunky boots walking toward me.Try as I might, my lungs wouldn’t inflate enough to take a deepbreath and my chest moved with short, tiny breaths. A hand touchedmy ratty hair and gently pulled some of it back before runningfingers down the sleeve of my jacket.
“Are youscared?” he asked with the smallest hint of a Britishaccent.
Of course Iwas scared, and I was betting he knew it. But now was the time toestablish where I stood.
“No,” Ianswered, my chin held high. “Should I be?”
The captainlet out a hoarse, guttural laugh and I nearly jumped out of myskin. The sound of his footsteps retreating gave me the courage toturn around and I found him leaning over his desk.
He was tall,much taller than Finn, even. An all-black leather ensemble dressedhim from head to toe, the only contrast was his long, white-blondehair that tied back at the nape of his neck, under the captain’shat. Finally, he revealed his face as he peered up at me from thedesk, and I understood why he was named Devil Eyes. His gazepierced through me like two black holes, threatening to suck meinto oblivion.
“Thatdepends,” he replied.
“On?”
I watched asthe captain picked up a metal device, no doubt used for readingmaps, examined it between his fingers and then pointed it at me.“What you did with the bottle.”
Crap. “I-Idon’t know what
