Chapter 26
The crowd of pirates backed away, forming a circle around Flint and Darrick. They chanted Flint’s name and cheered for the fight. All of them knew who the winner would be and all of them were prepared to celebrate.
Alissa stepped closer to Sam with a smile on her face as she watched two men preparing to fight to the death over a random girl. She lived for times such as that and the voices of her men and everyone around her made the scene even more exciting.
A long sword with an ivory hilt was thrown to the floor at Darrick’s feet. He stumbled back a step and the pirates laughed. He rolled his eyes, took a breath, and handed the pistol to Jonah. As he reached down to pick up the sword, his eyes met with Sam’s. She was terrified, yet seemed to stay strong as a large man held her in place. Her eyes were pleading with Darrick to win or try his damnedest to stay alive. His heart was pounding as he made a mental promise he wasn’t sure if he could keep.
Darrick clutched the handle of the sword, unsure of the correct way to hold it. He looked to some of the pirates standing near him and tightened his grip and angled it the way they had theirs. Next, he turned to Flint and took a nervous step forward.
Flint smiled and pulled the blade from the sheath at his waist. He sliced it through the air, twisting his wrist in a way no other man could dream of. He was very well skilled with a sword, never defeated in a fight. By the uncoordinated look on his opponent’s face, he knew he had this one in the bag as well.
He stepped closer to Darrick and said, “Say goodbye to my Sam while you’ve still got a tongue to speak with.”
His crewmen cheered and clanged their swords against each other’s. Darrick tried to ignore the threat, looking to Sam once again. His heart was pounding and his mind was frazzled.
Flint noticed that the boy was not paying attention. He took the opportunity to make the first move. He raised the sword high above his head, charged toward Darrick, and came down swinging at his head.
T. R. Justus 