Page 33 of A Pirate's Pleasure
“I think we’re way past the point where that matters,” Lief said, glancing back over his shoulder to check how close we were to the edge. “I’m hoping you have a few more tricks up your sleeve.”
I summoned a typhoon, bringing the funnel of wind down from the sky so quickly that Lucretius could only let out a strangled gasp of protest as it plucked him off his feet. I controlled it, carrying him to the cliff edge and then pitching him over it.
“Don’t release him yet,” Lief instructed. “Or he’ll just fly right back up here.”
“I know.” I was running out of magic, though, the throb of power that existed within me growing fainter, and once it was gone, it would take hours to recharge to a point where it would be of any use.
I carried Lucretius to the start of the cliff path at the bottom and held him there, still trapped in the swirling mass of wind. He was putting up quite a fight to free himself, but so far hadn’t been successful. “Now what?” I shouted. “I can’t hold him forever.”
Silence. Then Lief pointed to a rocky outcrop above Lucretius’ head. “Hit that with lightning. When it falls, turn off the wind. If we’re lucky, one will hit him and knock him out.”
The key part of that sentence was, if we’re lucky. I didn’t point that out, though. It would have been churlish when I didn’t have a better plan. The lightning was easy, cutting deeper into the cliff face than I’d anticipated, but then when had I ever had cause to aim at rock before? The result was large, jagged chunks of rock coming away, enough that as I cut off the typhoon, they buried Lucretius entirely, not an inch of him to be seen under the pile of rocks.
“Huh!” Lief said, with a note of surprise in his voice. “I guess that works as well.” Hurrying over to the opposite side of the cliff, he peered down at the sea. “Look,” he shouted, accompanying it with a point. “Over there.”
Keen to know what he’d seen, I joined him. A rowboat bobbed on the surface of the sea. Boden and Stafford, having presumably dropped off the supplies to The Navarino and oblivious to everything that had happened in the past hour, were on their way back to the island to pick us up.
“We should jump,” Lief said.
I stared down at the swirling waves, recalling the jagged rocks beneath the surface that we’d had to take great pains to avoid in the boat on the way here. “Or… we can walk down to the beach,” I said.
Lief snorted. “Past your little friend that wants to use my head for a lantern. No thanks. I’d rather take my chances with the rocks.”
He had a point. “He’s probably dead,” I said. “Or at the very least, trapped.”
“And if he’s not?” Lief questioned, casting a quick glance back over his shoulder as if he expected to find Lucretius lurking behind us. Thankfully, there was nothing but space.
I sighed at the inevitability of what Lief was suggesting. If he wasn’t dead, the best thing was to put as much distance between us and the harpy as we could. Going back down the cliff path would take too long. It would give Lucretius time to revive. Or to escape. Or to do something else that would stop us. The rowboat was close enough to the shore that even after years of playing lord of the manor, Lief should be capable of making the swim. “On three,” I said.
“Three,” Lief agreed, both of us stepping closer to the edge.
“One. Two.” I paused.
“Just say it,” Lief said. “Before common sense takes over and I change my mind.”
“Three.”
The leap into nothing had a sick feeling forming in my gut. It wasn’t the fall that would be the problem, though. It was the possibility of landing in the wrong place. As it was, I didn’t have to worry about that, something plucking me from the air before I ever reached the sea. Sharp nails dug into my shoulders as I craned my head back to work out what had just happened.
“Hello, my darling,” Lucretius said, his smile made more sadistic by those damn teeth of his. “Did you miss me?” Apart from a bloody gouge on his forehead, he didn’t seem to have suffered any ill effects from being buried under a pile of rocks.
I struggled to get free, figuring we were still above the sea and the fall would be less perilous now he’d carried me away from the shore. There was no loosening his grip on me, though, his sharp nails puncturing my shirt and embedding in my skin. “Let me go!”
“Now, now,” Lucretius said. “Lie still. Or I’ll have to make you.”
I didn’t lie still, struggling all the harder. Because what was the alternative? Let him carry me off to the middle of nowhere? Somewhere where no one would find me.
Magic.
I still had some left.
Lightning was out, attached as we were, and I was struggling to come up with anything else that might work.
Lucretius tutted, the sound only just audible over the beat of his powerful wings. “I warned you, Zephyr.”
What was that supposed to mean? I didn’t have to wait long to find out, the fist that came my way answering the question in dramatic fashion. The blow snapped my head back. I fought against the pull of unconsciousness for as long as I could. What would Lief do without me? Would he be alright? Would he make it back to the ship? Lief, who I’d kissed again. Lief, who I still loved. Lief, who it was doubtful I’d ever see again. And then there was no holding back the wave of darkness that swept over me.
Chapter Fourteen