BEYOND THE LOOKING-GLASS: Book One in the BEYOND Series by Gordon Rothwell Page B

slits filled with hate.
    Kellen broke free, swinging his blade like a club.
    Back off, you son-of-a-bitch. I won’t be defeated by you. I won’t fail my family this time.
    Kellen flailed away with chopping strokes never taught at any fencing school. They were brute force moves he’d seen old Jake Cardiff use to bludgeon opponents on that salvage ship.
    Anton was forced to give ground under such a constant rain of blows. Kellen kept it up. He could almost hear his heart pounding. He put his free hand to his chest. When he brought it up, he could see it was bright with blood.
    “You’re a loser, Marlowe,” Anton hissed. “You’ve always been one. Give up. At least you’ll leave this ship alive.”
    Kellen looked up at a spot above the agent’s head. A taut bunch of heavy ropes was connected to a small set of sails. Kellen jumped at the ropes, slashing at them with wild abandon. The sliced ropes gave way and the heavy canvas sail crashed down on Anton.
    Kellen ran to Anton’s fallen body. As the agent lay in a tangle of sail and severed ropes, Kellen leaned down and placed the point of his cutlass against Anton’s throat.
    “Do it, Marlowe,” Anton groaned. “Finish the job. If you’ve got the guts!”
    As Kellen prepared to plunge his cutlass down for the death blow, Aleeta touched his shoulder.
    “Don’t, Kel. You’re a better man than that.”
    Kellen looked up into Aleeta’s steady brown eyes. He hesitated for a brief moment.
    That was all Anton needed.
    In a catlike move, he pried himself loose and pounced. The two men became locked in a deadly struggle. But in the end, the policeman’s combat training won out. The agent wound up on top of Kellen’s chest.
    The tables had turned!
    It was Anton’s turn to deliver a death blow. He prepared to plunge his cutlass into Kellen’s naked throat.
    “Please,” a small voice wailed. “Please don’t kill my Daddy!” Tress. She stood a few feet away. Her blue eyes were bright with tears.
    Anton stared at the anguished child, and then down at the man lying beneath him. He looked into Kellen’s dark brown eyes.
    She has her father’s eyes. Aleeta’s voice echoed in Anton’s mind. Oh, my God . He let out a loud moan. He plunged the cutlass blade downward. It stuck, quivering, in the ship’s wooden deck.
    Anton slowly got to his feet. He approached Tress. She shrank away from him in fear. He reached out, pulled Tress into his arms, and wiped away her tears.
    “Don’t cry, little one. I wasn’t going to hurt your daddy. Fathers are important. They have to love their children, and do anything in the world to protect them and make them happy. Always remember that.”
    Kellen was up on his feet, looking relieved but wary. Anton released Tress and she ran to Kellen. He pulled her close.
    Anton’s face was impassive. “You two will be fine now. You’ve nothing more to fear from me.”
    “Is that true, Daddy?” Tress asked Kellen.
    He looked over at Aleeta. She nodded yes. Kellen scooped Tress up in his arms. She hugged him around the neck fiercely.
    “Don’t cry, sweet,” he said. “It’s all right now. We’re together. Daddy won’t ever leave you again. ”
    Anton looked over at young Jim Hawkins. The young boy grinned and held up a large brass key. Behind him, Long John Silver and his crew came pouring out of the hold onto the ship’s deck.
    The pirates scrambled across the deck to retrieve their weapons. They glowered at Anton. Shouts rang out.
    “Hang that lubber from the yard-arm!”
    “Keel-haul him!”
    “Make the scurvy rat walk the plank!”
    Long John Silver silenced them with a wave of his crutch.
    “Patience, shipmates. I think we’ve all spilled enough blood in our time. I say we puts this here constable ashore and set sail for the Isle of Treasure while we have a favorable wind.”
    Anton faced Aleeta’s family and the angry mob of pirates.
    “Gentlemen, I admit I made a grievous error this day. I sincerely apologize for my