The Hunter's Pursuit

21. Seizing Control

Jacob pitched to his knees as a shudder wracked the ship. "Bloody hell!" Caspian spat. "That one hit something important." His cousin still clung to the ship's wheel, guiding them steadily into the storm. Despite their hopes, the Venatrix kept pace with them, her cannons firing constantly.

Jacob forced himself upright, doing his best to ignore the swaying motion beneath his feet and the way his stomach churned. After spending most of his life at sea, seasickness wasn't a regular affliction of his, but the current motion of the ship was far more violent than what he was used to. If this continued, he'd be hurling over the rails before long.

Jacob peered through the rain at the Venatrix to distract himself. "They're readying more ropes," he reported. "I doubt luck will spare us from them this time."

"Help the crew," Caspian replied. "I can handle things here. Oh, and get Jesp out of the crow's nest. I don't want him up there when we reach the rougher parts of the storm." Jacob nodded. He spared a glance at Viviane and beckoned for her to follow. She came without protest, blinking rapidly and wobbling on her feet.

"You all right?" Jacob asked, hurrying down the stairs to the main deck.

"Don't act as if you care," Viviane muttered. "We've got work to do."

Jacob bit back a sharp retort and made a beeline for the crow's nest. Jesp leaned over the side of it as he approached. Jacob waved, knowing his voice wouldn't carry through the wind. Jesp gave a curt nod and clambered out of the nest, making his way onto the shrouds.

"Here they come!" Prim hollered.

Jacob whirled, pistol already in hand. Several men pushed off the Venatrix and swung across the gap between the two ships. They landed on the Leviathan's deck, thunder masking the thump of their boots. They pushed their attack immediately, rounding on the crew who were manning the guns.

Jacob took aim and fired at the man closest to him. Smoke puffed from the muzzle of his pistol and the man staggered aside, howling with pain. Prim seized the opportunity and kicked him backwards. Arlen sang from its scabbard before Jacob buried the blade in the man's lower back.

The man's breath ended in a choked grunt. Jacob freed Arlen and the man crumpled to the deck. Prim gave him a grateful nod, then ducked beneath another attack. Further down the line, Lester and Theodore were narrowly dodging thrusts from swords. There was a bloody gaping hole in Theodore's left shoulder, and Lester bore a few cuts.

"Go!" Prim urged. "I can handle things here."

"I've got your back," Viviane said to her. She twisted to Prim's other side and fended off another attack. Jacob left without a word, sprinting towards Lester and Theodore. Archer's men weren't giving them a moment's respite. Where one man withdrew, another lunged. Lester and Theodore were flagging hard.

A pistol cracked and Jacob's eyes went wide as Theodore toppled to the deck. "Theo!" Lester cried. The elder man barely missed a swipe from a sword. Jacob slammed his shoulder into someone's back, sending the man careening forward. Lester's sword cleaved through his gut and the man let out a choking cough.

Jacob rounded on the next pirate, raising Arlen in time to parry a blow. He shoved the man backwards and dropped to the deck, sweeping his leg into his opponent's and knocking him down. A shot rang out and blood spurted from the man's chest. Jacob glanced back at Lester. He was already reloading his pistol. Jacob shoved his own into Lester's hands and crouched beside Theodore.

"There's no exit wound," Jacob noted. He pushed Theodore onto his side, then hissed and let him down. "The shot hit his sternum. It's still lodged there." He caught sight of Amos from the corner of his eye. Lester called him over. Amos broke past the man he was fighting and skidded to his knees beside Jacob and Theodore.