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up again, lingering in all the wrong spots.
Gwen shivered.
 Did yer gentleman pirate regale ye with tall tales about me?
Gwen wished he had. She was hardly prepared for a man who took pleasure in the
torment of others.  Take your treasure and leave, she repeated. Her eyes stung with
fresh tears but she refused to shed them in front of this insufferable, sadistic pirate.
Stede s energy had made Roger s body attractive and refined. Blackbeard was
anything but. His accent was much more pronounced and his voice was not much more
than a guttural growl. He exuded the same sort of maniacal fascination as a cat toying
with fresh prey.
 Aye witch, in good time, he repeated but Gwen fiercely held his gaze as he came
toe-to-toe with her and chucked her under the chin. His leering smile was sickening.
 Tell me, witch. How did it feel having that jib-flapper, Bonnet, root up yer tight, wee
cunny knowing ye were sending him like a lamb to the slaughter?
She flinched. She d guessed he was cruel but what she hadn t grasped was that he
was downright evil.
 Ye ve got more gumption than I gave ye credit for having, he taunted.  Witch.
He said the word derisively.  Yer not a real witch.
Her chest heaved with panicked breaths. She was determined to outthink him.
 Aye, he snarled.  Ye know it too, don t ye?
It took every ounce of iron control Gwen possessed to stare him down. She hated
him. Her fists ached to punch him but she knew that would never be enough. She
wanted him dead for threatening her grandmother s soul and for taking Stede from
her.
 Ye hearkened ter witchcraft because ye was afeared o the alternative.
Gwen was livid. The worst part was that there was an ounce of truth to his words.
She made an attempt to swallow but her mouth was too dry. And yet, as if drawn
like a helpless moth to a flame, she asked,  What alternative? She instantly regretted it.
Triumph crackled in his dark leer. He looked like a man who was about to cut into
a succulent piece of steak.  Of bein powerless. He dragged out the last word like a
hissing snake.
 Control and power appeal ter ye, do they not, witch?
He had no idea how much.
The stun gun lay on the bedside table. She d never stunned anyone before but the
news was full of accounts of people being killed by them. She swallowed thickly. But
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Debra Glass
then, those were high voltage law enforcement stun guns, not purse-sized mugger
zappers.
Still, it would work well enough to keep him from raping her, which from the look
in his red-rimmed eyes, was only one of his heinous intentions.
Gwen inched toward the bedside table.
He pursued her.
Heart rioting, she lunged and seized the stun gun, switched it to stun and jabbed
his chest with the weapon.
At once, he jerked wildly and dropped to his knees.
Breathless, Gwen held the stunner in both hands and readied herself to stick him
again.
Blackbeard s expression was thunderous as he shot to his feet. Gwen dodged his
first swipe and attempted to stun him again but a swift wave of his arm knocked the
gun from her hand. He had her pinned against the bed before she could take her next
breath. She screamed and thrashed beneath him but he was too strong.
 I ll show ye power, witch! I ll show ye what a real man can do, he said, reaching
between them to wrestle with the zipper on his pants.  I ve got a raging hard in me
breeches that s just aching to crawl up yer cranny.
Terror consumed her but he grabbed her and roughly held her wrists with one
hand while the weight of his body pinned her legs down.
 Get off me, you pig! she wailed.
 Take the treasure and leave, Teach! a familiar voice boomed behind Blackbeard.
Blackbeard released her and spun.
Gwen gaped.
Standing between Blackbeard and the open bathroom door was her gentleman
pirate.
Instantly Gwen knew why he d earned that nickname, for Stede Bonnet was the
epitome of an early-eighteenth-century gentleman from head to toe.
She gasped as her gaze swept the nearly transparent sight of him, from his long,
curled black wig to his silver-buckled pumps.
Her heart soared at the sight of him only to come hurtling back down around her
with sickening force. Why hadn t he gone to the Other Side? The soul collectors would
be hungry and Stede s soul would be in danger as long as he remained on the earth
plane.
Blackbeard let out a hearty but humorless laugh.  Aye, Bonnet, I see ye ve
hearkened back to yer dandified self.
Stede s eyes narrowed menacingly. He jerked his head at the sea chest.  Take the
plunder and leave the witch be, Teach.
 Or what? Blackbeard shrugged.
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Watchkeeper
 She put your black soul in the body, Stede argued.  Is that not enough for you?
 Aye, but the witch gouged me with some infernal poker.
Stede s lips eased into a conspiratorial smile.  Teach, I spent a day in that body. I
saw what the world has come to in three hundred years.  Tis a fascinating place with
many willing women, especially for a handsome man of means. He gestured once more
toward the treasure chest.  Why would you bother with a woman who doesn t want
you when you can have all of Charles Towne groveling at your feet?
Blackbeard sighed audibly with exasperation.
Stede s face tightened.  She gave you life. She offers you the treasure. You made a
gentleman s agreement with her. Has it ever been said that Blackbeard is not a man of his
word?
A terrible silence descended.
Gwen s mind raced. If her grandmother was safe and Stede s spirit had not yet [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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