A Distant Magic by Mary Jo Putney Page B

shield."
    "I doubt you have enough power to fight off me and my whole crew!"
    "It would be interesting to find out." She lowered the point of her sword.
"Promise me my life and freedom, and in return I shall spare your life and not
send any Guardian enforcers after you."
    "I have no intention of killing you, but your freedom is another matter." He muttered an oath as he wiped blood from his wrist. The wound wasn't dangerous, but it stung like Hades.
"What makes you think I would keep a promise made under duress?"
    She laughed wickedly. "Because you are a man of principles, even
though you are a kidnapping, bloodthirsty pirate."
    He swore again. This woman could read him like no one he'd ever known. Except, perhaps, his grandmother.
"You have little bargaining power. Kill me and my men will kill you."
    "A man who seeks vengeance with such passion surely has a sense of justice," she said flatly.
"Do you owe me nothing for saving your life?"
    He frowned, hating the fact that she was right. Moulay Reis had guessed that threatening a helpless slave would enrage Nikolai to the point where he would cast caution to the winds.
"I might have avoided Moulay Reis's musket ball, for I have survived many
battles such as this. But it's possible that he would have killed me, so I do
owe you something. Not your freedom, though. My life is too paltry a price for
that."
    Her mouth tightened. "At the least, you should release me from
that cabin before I go mad with boredom."
    So the Scottish witch was impatient. With that red hair, he wasn't surprised.
"If you give me your word that you will not injure anyone, you may have the key
to your cabin and the freedom of the ship."
    "You aren't asking me to promise not to escape?"
    "The ship will not call anywhere that will offer you freedom," he said bluntly.
    "Very well," she said, after considering. "But if saving your life
is worth so little, what would it take to win my freedom?"
    He guessed that the question was rhetorical, but he chose to answer it.
"Saving the entire ship and crew would do, I believe. Now give me that sword."
    She refused to hand it over, though he felt her relax her protective shield.
"Only if I get my own knife back. It was made for my hand."
    "Very well. Come and take it from Moulay Reis's throat."
    He was deliberately harsh in his words, but she didn't blink. As she started across the deck, she said,
"You knew the captain of the other ship?"
    "Oh, yes," he said softly. "I knew him well."
    She slanted a glance upward. "Sorry to have denied you the pleasure of killing him," she said with uncomfortable perception.
"Who was the attacker in this battle?"
    "He was. Exactly what I had wished for." They reached the railing. Though the two ships lay side by side, hulls grinding, it still took great care to jump to the deck of the galley. He timed the rise and fall of the ships before leaping down.
    He turned and saw Jean hesitating as she studied the shifting gap between the ships. For a petite woman, the risk was greater. He extended his hand to her.
"Come."
    "No need." Her muscles tensed as she prepared to jump.
    He said impatiently, "If you slip and fall, you'll be ground to
pieces between the hulls. Take my hand."
    Reluctantly she obeyed. When their hands clasped, there was a snap of energy, and he realized that the current between them ran both ways. She was much less cool than she appeared. Though she had experienced battle, she was no hardened warrior. Her determination to look fierce was curiously endearing.
    She leaped down to the deck of the galley and almost fell when the ship pitched. His grip held her steady until she regained her balance.
    "Thank you." She yanked her hand away. He stepped back, unnerved by their interaction. Maybe he should free her for his own peace of mind. Either that or feed her to the sharks. Though the sharks might not thank him for such a sharp-edged morsel.
    Nikolai's experienced crew was already cleaning up the debris of