Northern Lights Trilogy (32 page)

Suddenly strong arms gripped him from behind. Karl winced as the unseen assailant forcefully pulled his arms back. Another man came around in front of him and punched him in quick succession in the stomach then under the chin. His breath flew from him; his teeth rattled. Still he found the strength to raise his legs and kick away the man before him. Karl was gasping for breath when a shot rang in his ears, and the arms around him suddenly dropped away. He turned and saw that Peder had downed his attacker with a shot to the head. The sound still rang in Karl’s ears, and he wondered if he would ever hear again.

He looked around. The fires were out, and the men were back to hand-to-hand combat. Their chances were better now, at least, and the
Sunrise
was all right for the moment. Peder tripped, and Dutton advanced on him with a sword. Karl tackled the intruding captain to the deck. He punched the man’s perfect chin before he could rise. Dutton’s first mate advanced on Karl, and he jumped away as the man slashed at him with a huge bowie knife. Distantly he felt the slash as it cut him across the chest, but felt no pain.

His attention was on two sailors, who pointed out toward the bay as if they had spotted something.
Elsa
. They had seen her in the light of the moon, he was sure of it. Ripping off their shoes, they dove in after her.

D
esperately weary, Elsa was almost ashore when she felt a hand on her calf. In terror, she dragged herself out of the water but was hampered by her clinging skirts. She focused on the tree line not forty feet from her, thinking that if she could just make it there, she could hide. But she would have to fight off the man who held her first.

Large hands gripped her leg, and she heard heavy panting that echoed hers from the effort of swimming so far. Desperately she cast about as he dragged her back toward the sea. Her hands closed around a large scallop shell as he turned her over. “Thought you were gettin’ away from me, missy?” Another man stood behind him, grinning in the moonlight.

She slashed at the immediate man’s face, but only nicked his shoulder, making him bellow in anger. Quick blood spotted the gash as Elsa turned and ran, struggling to get up the beach. Terror gripped her heart as the man caught up with her and pulled her to a stop.

Dear God
, her heart cried out.
Deliver me!

He shoved her to the ground, holding her by the hair. Before she
could move, he was on top of her, reaching, pulling, forcing his mouth on hers. She bit and screamed and kicked, but the man was large and agile, easily fending off her blows. Elsa felt defeated and worn. What good would it do to resist? Even if she escaped, there was another nearby. Still, her heart told her to fight, and she made one last effort.

Suddenly, the man was pulled off of her. She distantly watched as Karl punched him until he was out cold. Dimly she realized she still screamed, but could not seem to stop herself.

Karl came toward her, arms outstretched as if trying to soothe a caged animal. “Elsa, it’s all right. He can’t hurt you.”

“No! There’s another one!” She looked about wildly, certain the other man would attack from the waters or tropical foliage behind them. Where had he gone?

“No, Elsa,” Karl said in a low voice, his hair dripping onto his soaked shirt. “There were two. I got both of them.”

“No, no! There will be more. We must hide!”

“Come,” he said soothingly. “We’ll go into the forest and hide.”

She nodded and ran through the dense underbrush, ignoring thorns that lashed at her legs, and through a bank of palms that shielded them from the harbor. There in a tiny clearing, she felt safer. But she trembled so much that she wondered if she could remain standing a moment longer.

Karl reached her just in time. As soon as she was in his arms, she sank, and Karl crouched, lifted her in his arms then sat down with her. With his back against a palm tree, he held her against his chest. “Shhh,” he said, stroking her wet hair. “You’re safe now. The
Sunrise
crew will see to the rest of them.”

“What about Peder?”

“He’s fine. I saw him before I went in after you.” He caressed her head, waiting for her to stop trembling. “It was awful, Elsa. But the worst is over. You’re safe, sweetheart. You’re safe.”

For a moment it was as if no one else existed. In her relief and
gratitude, Elsa wanted nothing more than to be close to this dear friend who had saved her. To concentrate on his loving eyes, not the evil beyond. He was her strength, her shield. She turned her head and looked up at him in the soft moonlight. “Thank you, Karl.”

His eyes closed for a moment, then he opened them to look at her from under heavy lids. “Elsa, Elsa,” he groaned. She frowned at his tone, wondering if he was hurt. Then, cradling her head in the crook of one arm, Karl laid her down on the forest floor and kissed her before she could say a word.

Peder sensed that the fight was waning. They were slowly gaining the upper hand over the marauders, and it was a good thing. Many of his crew were injured or dead, and the
Sunrise
had sustained damage from the fire and the melee. The thing that concerned him most, however, was that he had not seen Elsa since she emerged from the smoky cabin. He had tried to get to her, but was unable to free himself. After Karl had tackled Dutton, Peder had glimpsed his friend diving over the edge. Had Elsa escaped? Was Karl going after her? Was she all right? His hands grew damp with fear. It infuriated him that he could not free himself long enough to see to her safety himself.

When the fury evolved into energy and renewed vigor, he turned toward Dutton, who was once again on his feet. Peder picked up a saber from a fallen sailor and, although he was no fencer, went after the rogue captain like a madman on the warpath. Dutton backed off, warding off his clumsy blows with a surprised look on his face. He managed to hold Peder off at swords’ points for a moment.

“You think you can eat my food, ogle my ship?” Peder said, tense with waiting for Dutton’s next move. They each panted, chests heaving, worn from the effort of sustained battle. “You think you can burn her to the waterline and pillage my cargo?”

Dutton moved left, returning his gaze but saying nothing, breathing hard.

“But above all that, you think I will simply disregard the way you looked at my wife, the way you spoke to her?”

“I will make you a bargain.”

“What?” Peder asked with a laugh. “What can you possibly offer me?”

“Let me go, and your wife will live.”

Peder froze. “What are you talking about? Elsa is safely ashore, hidden from you and your scurvy crew.”

“No. If they value their lives, my men have taken your Elsa and hauled her aboard the
Lark
for safekeeping. She is valuable, you know.”

Peder gritted his teeth and, moving suddenly, shoved Dutton’s rapier aside and broad-shouldered him to the ground. They ended up on the deck, Peder on top, his saber against Dutton’s neck. He battled against the urge to slit the man’s throat right then. He leaned closer to the pirate. “You had better pray that she is unhurt.”

“Isn’t that your prayer?” Dutton asked insolently.

In a rage, Peder hit him. Dutton quieted as he cradled his head.

Peder looked up to see several of his men surrounding them. “All clear?” he growled.

“They’ve turned tail and run, Cap’n,” Stefan said.

“And the first mate?” he asked.

“Over the side, Cap’n,” put in another. “He went after the two louts who were chasing Mrs. Ramstad.”

Peder swallowed hard. So Elsa
had
gone overboard, chased by Dutton’s men. Was she all right? Had Karl gotten to her in time?

“You there, tie up Dutton and make sure he does not leave,” Peder ordered. “Stefan, come with me. You’re unhurt?”

Stefan nodded. The second mate was not overly tall, but stocky and broad-shouldered. If Elsa and Karl were still in danger, Peder would need someone by his side. “You are an able swimmer?”

“Aye, Cap’n, one of the first in this afternoon.”

“Good enough. Let’s make sure my wife and first mate are safe
and sound.” Peder did not wait for Stefan’s agreement. He picked up a large bowie knife from another fallen sailor, placed it in his clenched teeth, and dove overboard.

The salt water stung against Peder’s cuts and grazes as he hit the surface and began swimming, but its sting served to revive him.
O God
, he prayed silently as his arms and legs propelled him smoothly and swiftly through the water.
Let them be all right. Please don’t let me be too late
.

Two shots rang out from the
Sunrise
, and Peder grimaced as shouts carried over the water.

“Cap’n!” Stefan shouted. “It’s Dutton and his men! They’re getting away!”

“Let them go,” Peder grumbled, treading water. “First things first.” He had to see to his wife, then quickly get back to his ship.

Before long he and Stefan were stealthily walking ashore, wanting to gauge the situation before making their presence known. He nodded to the two bodies on the beach, and Stefan went to ascertain their condition. Looking one way then the other, Peder moved closer to the tropical forest. The
Lark
was a good quarter mile from shore. Were the two sailors lying prone on the sand the only marauders who had given chase? Maybe Karl had killed them and hidden Elsa away! He knelt as Stefan joined him, listening for anything more than the breeze in the palms. Nothing.

“Elsa!” he whispered loudly. Before him, visible in the moonlight, he could see where someone had trampled their way into the underbrush … or where someone had been chased
…

“Elsa!” he tried a bit louder, his heart pounding in fear. “Karl!”

It was a long moment before Karl realized that Elsa was pushing him away. He was so convinced that her feelings were similar to his, so carried away by the closeness of the moment, the sensual pull of damp, cool fabric over warm bodies, that he ignored all else. All thoughts of Alicia Hall … of Peder … flew from his mind. When he came to his
senses, he leaned back, and Elsa used the moment to push him away. Stunned, he watched as she stood and shook her head, as if to erase what had just transpired. Through the shadows and shafts of moonlight, Elsa backed away, looking at him as if he were one of the pirates.

He hopped to his feet, his hands out, beseeching her to understand. “Elsa, Elsa, forgive me! It was just too much! You could have been killed! I’m sorry I kissed you. I wasn’t thinking. I was only so glad that you were alive, unhurt
…
” He shook his head and studied her. They were making no progress, just advancing across the small clearing in a desperate dance. Elsa still looked stunned. Surely she had suspected! Surely she had wanted the kiss as much as he had wanted to kiss her!

“Elsa, you must understand by now. Surely you’ve known. I’ve tried to forget it, to shove it away. But each time you come near, I can’t, Elsa. I’m in love with you!”

“No—”

“Yes! I’ve been in love with you since we returned to Bergen last year and I saw you waiting high on the hill. But you never looked my way. It was always Peder, Peder. Why? Was it his money?”