CHAPTER EIGHT: The Pirate's Fate

When the many-tentacled monster from the deep seized her by the ankle, Arwen Evenstar reacted purely out of instinct.

"Ling Kray, help me!" Her shrill scream pierced the thick mists of the swamp. Arwen didn't care that her only hope was the wicked pirate she had been running from just moments ago. She didn't care if her escape was foiled. Instead she held on to the thick roots of the flowering bushes with all her strength, praying that her grip would hold until help arrived. Better to be a pirate's slave than a meal for a monster from the dawn of time!

"Release your hold, foul beast!" Ling Kray's curved blade flashed bluish-silver in the misty morning light. He knew he couldn't actually kill the giant all-devouring squid. But he lashed about with his sword, lopping off tentacle after tentacle, hoping he could convince the creature to surrender its prey. It didn't matter that the foolish elf-maiden had been running away when the beast attacked. Arwen was his slave. He would do anything to protect her.

Arwen only saw the final part of the battle. When she turned her head, the nightmare beast was sinking out of sight and the victorious pirate was rising from the waves. His chest was covered with cuts and bruises, round red marks from the beast's sucking tentacles. His sword was dripping with the horrible monster's gruesome green blood. His eyes were black and fearless, but they were also flashing with rage.

"You!" Ling Kray tossed his sword aside. He hauled Arwen to her feet, holding her in a very firm grip. "If you ever do this again, I will make you very sorry. You are my slave, Arwen. You must give me your complete and total obedience."

"You're hurt." Arwen reached out to touch the circular welt on the pirate's sun-bronzed cheek. She hated being called a slave. But she also realized that Ling Kray had risked his life to protect her. Confusing emotions surged within her. She battled the strange desire to kiss the tiny bruises on his face.

"Captain, you are a brave fighter and a skilled navigator," she said at last, her voice unsteady and rather hoarse. "Why do you not let me go? You do not need to be a pirate. A dozen navies would be proud to have a captain like you." And a certain elven queen would want you as well – were it not pure disgrace even to think such a thing, she added silently to herself.

Anger left his exotic, chiseled face. Sadness filled it. Yet his hold on her never slackened. "You understand nothing, Arwen. I am a pirate. I will never let you go."

Arwen felt like tilting her chin and insisting that she did understand the difference between right and wrong. Between honor and dishonor. Between passion and love. But all these worthy thoughts vanished like smoke the moment Ling Kray kissed her lips.

At first she wanted to push him away. Arwen had been kissed before, but Aragorn's kisses were always gentle, almost worshipful in a way, as though she were a crystal ornament sitting on her father's shelf. Ling Kray's kiss was different. He plundered her lips hungrily, as though he wanted both her sweetness and her strength. As though he needed her and would never get enough. Being kissed that way by a man she hardly knew was more than shameful. It was obscene. But Arwen couldn't stop the wild elation, the exhilarating pleasure. She couldn't stop wanting him . . . or needing him . . . or kissing him back with equal passion.

"Well, well, looks like the famous Captain Ling Kray has a taste for swamp rats."

"Huh?" Arwen was so caught up in the pirate's kiss that she never even saw the two mail-clad warriors. Both were female, and both were looking at her with absolute disdain. One had an arrow ready to shoot, while the other held a sword to the back of her companion's neck.

"I've broken no laws," Ling Kray said smoothly, without any sign of panic. He turned around slowly and raised his hands. "My name is Ling Chan, not Ling Kray. I am a respectable trader, and this elven lady is my wife. You Border Guards must have mistaken me for someone else."

"It's not true!" After standing there dazed for far too long, Arwen finally regained her senses. "I'm not his wife. I'm an ambassador from the elven kingdoms. Ling Kray took my ship! He captured me and then forced me to be his slave."

"He wasn't forcing you just now," the tall, blonde female with the sword said, in a chilly voice. Her meaning was plain.

Arwen blushed. "I'm a diplomat, and I was journeying to the city of Zin Zaraboob to meet with Zuleika, ruler of the city. Can you take me there?"

"We can take both of you there," the blonde said grimly. "And we can hang your heads on the city gates. Pirates who raid our shipping always meet the same fate."

"Gwenna, I'm not sure this girl really is a pirate," said the other Border Guard. She was just as tall and lithe and strong as pale blonde Gwenna, but her hair was black and her skin a rich dark brown. She lowered her bow just a fraction.

That was when Ling Kray made his move. He lunged for the sword he had carelessly dropped by the water's edge just moments before. The black girl raised her bow. But without quite knowing why, Arwen shoved her off balance so the shot went wide. Cool blonde Gwenna promptly hit Arwen from behind, using the hilt of her sword to send her sprawling in the mud. Then the battered elf-maid saw something horrible.

Ling Kray was slowly being dragged off the muddy bank. The deadly beast from before time began had returned. This time its long, whip-like tentacles had caught the pirate instead of Arwen.

"Save him!" Arwen's anguish made no sense. Yet her slim white hands reached out, catching the pirate's in a firm grip. Ling Kray squeezed hard. Their eyes met for one last time.

"Don't waste tears . . . on me," he gasped, as the creature took him under.

"Beware the pirate's fate," said Gwenna, as the last few bubbles disappeared. Her snide voice made Arwen weep. She might have held on, if the two guardswomen had helped her!

"Maybe he's not dead," said the other girl. "After all, those Frog Creatures have saved other humans in these swamps."

"Saved them or eaten them?" Gwenn asked, with a cruel laugh. "Come on, Tamara. We've still got one prisoner. Let's get her back with the others. It's time we were moving on."

Arwen didn't know where they were taking her. And she didn't care. When she looked back the water was very still.