Page 167 of In the Pursuit of Haven
“That fire’s going to destroy everything!” Luther shook me. He’d found his way to the crow’s nest. My elbow ran into him as I scrambled back. The old man’s face was red—more from rage than exertion. He confronted Hunter next. “We can’t just lose the treasure when we’re so close!”
None of us cared about that now. We wanted to survive, and our friends below us were in danger. Zak beckoned my grandfather to follow him up the rigging; Luther’s nephew had more humanity in him than any of his family before him. Somehow we’d all gained a love that too many of our ancestors hadn’t known.
Zak held out his hand to Robert.
My grandfather tripped and fell, his shoulder upending a bag of jewels. I let out a warning, watching in horror as I expected the deck to suck him up, but it didn’t.
Why hadn’t it?
The treasure was no longer locked down. The traps were all disconnected. I wasn’t the only one who noticed. “Look at that!” Luther shouted at Hunter. “Get down there and let’s grab what we can!” He pawed at the straps of Hunter’s bag. “Fill that up with gold. What am I paying you for?”
“Not to die.”
Luther shoved him. “Move.” Hunter didn’t. The deceitful old man kicked him, and Hunter punched that rat in the face.
Luther toppled over me. The rings on his knuckles scraped down my back. My eyes squeezed shut at the stinging pain, even while he pitched off the side.
He snatched at me, and we both plummeted over the ledge.
I fell, screaming and grabbing at what rigging I could find to stop my fall. My hands burned against the cords as I came to a stop, seconds before Luther yanked me away from my hold.
We skidded down the rigging again. I’d never felt so helpless.
My hands were scraped raw. Each time I found a rope to halt my descent, he used me as his human anchor.
“Roxy!” Jessie shouted.
I grappled with another piece of rigging. Luther let out a gasp. His stinky body fell against mine, and he clawed at me again. I kicked him. He grabbed my leg and we both fell and slammed against the main deck.
Luckily for me, we hadn’t been as high as when we’d first started out. Unluckily for me, the breath had been knocked clean from my lungs. It was all I could do to lie there and try to get whatever air I could. The heat of the blaze rushed closer. So far, it hadn’t reached the deck, but I could see it on every side of us as if we sailed on an ocean of fire.
Was this truly happening or was this another trick from those pirates?
I tried to move. Luther’s hands found my shirt and he ripped me up, catching me to him. The fire was coming for us. “What are you doing?” I screamed. “You want at this treasure, go get it! Leave me out of this.”
“Jessie!” Luther called up to him. “Hunter? Figure out how to stop this fire from taking out this treasure or watch her die in it.”
So, that was his game? He was a fool to think anyone could stop flames this big and out of control. Smoke swirled around us, so that I couldn’t see much on either side of us, though someone was walking our way. My heart leaped out of my chest when I saw Zak. He’d stalled his escape to come back for me.
Luther stiffened when he saw him too. “Get over here and gather up some of this treasure, boy.”
“Oh this?” Zak leaned down to pick up a gold coin. “Yeah, it’ll be worth the same melted down, Uncle Luther. What are you so worried about?”
My sudden hope died a brutal death. Uncle Luther! I’d forgotten they were family.Please don’t say that Zak and Luther work together.
Zak tossed the gold coin off the side of the ship. “C’mon, Luther… our family doesn’t need this. You had a good life for yourself and you throw it away for… for nothing? Let her go. We’ll figure this out later.”
I sagged in relief.Thank you, Zak! You’re as honest and reckless as I thought you are!
Luther’s sweaty cheek quaked over mine like the skin on Jell-O. “You’re as blind as your father; you’d rather slave your days away running a failing business that you’ll lose to the bank in the end? C’mon, work with me here. This could change everything!”
Zak’s shoulder lifted. “I’ve found a few other things that make my life worth living.”
“Stop gabbing and start collecting!” Luther’s scream blasted against my ear. “You hear me?”
“Loud and clear.” A boot landed into the old rat’s face. Jessie jumped from the rigging and tackled Luther. The cursing man fell against me and I tripped over more useless treasure cluttered at my feet. I rolled downward, scraping my arm against a sharp edge. Broken wood sliced jaggedly through my skin.
The next instant, I was falling through a gaping hole that had been left by Hunter’s men when they’d met their deaths.
