Pirate By Blood

Chapter 19: Trapped

CHAPTER 19

Trapped

Maleen stared into each of their eyes; fear building up in her own.

She was trapped.

The three men had managed to get her to back up against the wall of a building and now they were advancing on her as if they were some kind of wild cat stalking its prey.

Maleen felt like a lost child again; except this time she was in real danger.

But she knew it would do no good calling to her mother or father – because they weren’t around.

She was alone.

When the thought struck her, Maleen’s thoughts made her turn immediately to Fido. He was being so quiet recently that she was having difficulty remembering about him. But he wasn’t going to be much help. The dog was quivering against the wall, just like Maleen was – his brown eyes wide with fear as he tried to figure out an escape route.

There was none, of course. There were three thugs in front of them and if Maleen tried to make a run for it, one of them would notice. She was who they were after – Fido could run and save himself if he wanted to.

But, obviously, he was too stupid to do something like that. He’d never leave Maleen standing by herself. If Fido was the only family Maleen had, then he had no one else but her either.

Finally, Maleen felt her muscles were able to move. She felt a surge of power pulse through her veins as her adrenaline rush finally kicked in. She had been waiting for it to come, but had been severely disappointed when it hadn’t. Now she knew the secret.

She had to have a reason to need it.

To begin with it had just been her life on the line – Maleen, someone that nobody really knew about, and so therefore, wouldn’t really care about either. It had just been her; alone, with no one else around her, no one to protect her, look after her, love her. And she had no one to love in return. She was practically an orphan until her father was found – and that could take years.

So her subconscious had just presumed that there was no point in fighting. She had supposed that there was no real reason to stay alive, and so therefore hadn’t let her reach for the sword at her belt.

But then she had thought of Fido.

Dearest Fido who had stuck by her for so long...Fido, who had been there for her after her mother’s death – been nothing more than something to hold on to; something to love and cherish. But it had been enough. It had been comfort.

And who would look after him if she were no longer around? He wasn’t very old and probably had no idea how to fend for himself.

If Maleen let this happen, Fido would be the one to suffer.

Fido would be the one who really was alone.

And so, Maleen reached for her sword.

She did it quickly, efficiently, and lashed out with it as soon as she got a good grip on the handle. She pictured it slicing the skin of one of them men who were about to attack her; smearing blood across the blade. She imagined hearing a grunt of pain and then a roar of anger that she would be prepared for – prepared to knock whoever came running at her to the ground.

But that didn’t happen.

Instead of making no louder a sound than a swish as it flew through the air, her sword made a horrible clang and then a screeching of metal-on-metal.

“Nice move, missy,” Gregg hissed in her face; his foul breath forcing her to stifle a gag, “but not nice enough.”

Maleen’s eyes widened but she wasn’t quick enough to dodge the blow to the stomach she got; making her double over in pain, instinctively.