A Distant Magic by Mary Jo Putney Page A

they were valuable. She was about to return to the dinghy when three of the remaining corsair fighters joined their captain, all of them hacking at Gregorio.
    Damnation, the
reis
was pulling a pistol out from under his flowing robe and aiming it point-blank at Gregorio! She shouldn't care, but every fiber of her being screamed that she couldn't let him die.
    She darted to the railing, knife in hand. The action of the battle seemed to slow, giving her all the time she needed to skid to a halt, take aim, and hurl her knife into the
reis
's throat.
    The
reis
crumbled, his pistol discharging harmlessly into the air. By the time his body hit the deck, three of Gregorio's sailors had reached their captain's side. Fighting in the narrow aisle between the rows of oars, they cut down the remaining corsairs.
    With his back protected, Gregorio spun around to look at the source of the knife. His gaze moved right to her, but that didn't mean he'd recognized her. She strengthened her don't-see spell and dropped to the deck of the
Justice,
out of the captain's sight. If she was to have any chance of escaping, she would have to move fast.
    With her knife gone, she would need some sort of a weapon. She passed a dead pirate and appropriated his sword. Slim and curving, it was light enough for her to handle. Not as good as her throwing knife, but a great deal better than nothing.
    Grimly she began hacking at the ropes that secured the dinghy.

Chapter

TEN
    W ho the devil? Nikolai's crew contained no one like the boy who had thrown the knife. Might the child have crossed over from the corsair?
    Then the small figure turned and vanished, and Nikolai realized that was no boy.
"Tano, take charge here!"
    The death of the corsair captain had ended the battle. Moulay Reis was an old enemy of Nikolai's, and he had wanted to take the man's life himself. Of course, their fight had almost gone the other way. Leave it to Moulay to cheat with a pistol.
    But why had the little witch saved him? Assuming the scruffy little urchin who had hurled that knife was her. The idea was incredible, but he'd seen her face, and the outlines of a slight but distinctly female form under her shapeless sailor's garments.
    Nikolai leaped back aboard his ship to find the Scottish witch. He found her at the dinghy, slashing at the lines that secured it to the deck. A thick red braid fell over her shoulder, and her small white hands wielded a corsair blade with unnerving expertise.
    "Don't waste your strength," he barked. "You're not leaving
this ship."
    She pivoted, sword in hand. It was a lovely
nimcha,
one he wouldn't mind owning. She hissed,
"Don't come near me!"
    He paused out of her reach, realizing that he was disinclined to move closer. She was using some kind of magical shield. He could overcome it, but he would have to use his own magic to do so.
    Reluctantly amused by the blazing red-haired hellion who confronted him with lethal menace, he asked,
"Where is that well-bred young lady I kidnapped in Marseilles?"
    "She existed mostly in your mind." Her crisp voice was as different as her demeanor and her garb.
"I'm no meek English virgin, Captain. I rode to battle against the king's army in the Rising of Forty-five. When my lover died, I led our men myself. After Culloden, I guided them home safely across country filled with pillaging English soldiers. You underestimated me, as most men do." Her eyes narrowed.
"I could have killed you. Instead, I saved your life. Surely that is worth my
freedom."
    "Why should I be fair when I hold all the power?" Thinking she was unlikely to attack him, he concentrated his power and reached out slowly to take the sword.
    She sliced the blade across his wrist with just enough pressure to draw blood, then danced back a step.
"Not all the power. There's a good chance that I can kill you before any of your men observe this little scene." She showed her teeth.
"We shall learn if your power of attack is greater than my ability to