Page 30 of Hooked By a Hero
Without hesitation, Caspian shot up toward the surface. Elias needed him. TheFortunecould be in serious danger. And with half the able seamen aboard drunk on rum, it was as likely as not that chaos reigned on the deck.
The advantage of the mast breaking was that numerous bits of rope and wood dangled into the water, giving Caspian several options for climbing aboard again. He untied his trousers and clumsily donned them again before grabbing hold of a thick rope that dragged near the stern to pull himself up with his arms at first, then with his restored legs. Still, it took all of his unnatural strength and dexterity to pull himself up onto the rolling deck.
“You!” the seaman who had pressed Tumbrill to see to the ship instead of drunkenly making Caspian walk the plank said as soon as the two of them were face to face. “But you’re dead.”
“Not yet, I’m not,” Caspian said with a mischievous smile. He grew serious a moment later when a crashing wave tipped the ship dangerously to the side where half the main mast swung sickeningly over the side of the deck, only held in place by rope and sails. “What happened?”
The seaman stared at him in shock for a few more seconds before shaking his head and saying, “The main mast was struck by lightning and snapped. If you ask me, it was the sails as much as the storm that caused the damage.”
Caspian nodded. “Are the passengers safe?”
The seaman gaped at him. “In this storm?”
“It’s not as fierce as the other one,” Caspian said.
It was true, the storm theFortunelimped through now was half the power of the one around the Cape of Good Hope. The disadvantage they faced now was that the ship had been grossly mishandled, the sails were still full and caught the wind at the wrong angle, and too few of the crew were sober enough to manage what should have been simple tasks to keep them safe. But strangely enough, there was a chance that could work to their advantage.
“Are you truly a navigator?” the seaman asked Caspian, looking at him with desperate hope, as if he could singlehandedly save the ship.
“I know these seas like the back of my hand,” he answered. “Take the wheel and bring the ship about. Point it that way.” He pointed toward the starboard bow.
The seaman nodded and scrambled for the wheel, dodging a wave as it rushed across the deck, carrying rope and debris with it. Several other members of the crew who had watched the exchange looked to Caspian as if he had suddenly been made captain as well.
“Forget the sails,” Caspian called out. “It’s too late to save them and too dangerous to send men up into the rigging. Release the lifeboats instead.”
“The lifeboats?” one of the men balked. “In seas like this?”
“Release them,” Caspian said, marching past the men toward the hatch. There was no telling if theFortunewould survive the storm or not, but sanctuary was closer than the others could see.
The scene on the middeck was as frantic as on the main deck. People staggered every which way with the pitching of the ship, half of them tossing up the contents of their stomachs as they did. The air reeked of alcohol and sick, and Caspian slipped in apatch of something as he marched down the length of the ship, searching for Elias.
He was stopped halfway as Dick propelled himself up from the pile of crates he’d been wedged between. “You!” he wheezed, eyes narrowed. “Tumbrill sent you to your death.”
“Not this time,” Caspian said, pushing Dick aside so he could pass.
“You’re a ghost, you are!” Dick called after him. “You caused this storm! You’re a vengeful spirit, here to take revenge on the man who killed you. It wasn’t me! Tumbrill did it! He insisted!”
Caspian frowned, ignoring the man. He was still drunk, which would lower his chances of surviving what had to happen next.
“Elias!” he called out, continuing down the swaying, creaking deck, searching for his love. “Elias, where are you!”
A few of the cabin doors flew opened as Caspian passed, revealing terrified passengers. All of them looked much worse for wear, and even though, as he’d told the seaman, this storm was not half as bad as the first one, they looked as though their lives were all about to end.
“Elias!” Caspian finally spotted his love at the base of the fore hatch, Hunt and Ruby with him. The three of them huddled in a corner off to one side of the stairs. It looked as though Hunt and Ruby were trying to console Elias.
As soon as Elias heard Caspian’s voice, he snapped his head up so quickly Caspian feared he might hurt himself. “Caspian?” he gasped, eyes going wide with disbelief. “Caspian!”
As if nothing else in the world mattered, Elias leapt to his feet and practically flew down the narrow space between the cabins and the cargo to throw himself at Caspian. Caspian caught him with a grunt. The force of Elias’s impact in his arms knocked the wind out of both of them.
“You’re alive! You’re alive! It is impossible, but you are alive!” Elias sobbed as he threw his arms around Caspian’s neck and buried his face against Caspian’s shoulder.
“I am alive,” Caspian said, squeezing Elias tightly in return. “Did I not tell you that I was well and that all I needed was to bathe in the sea?”
Elias made a sound that was half laughter, half sobbing and clutched Caspian tighter. For his part, Caspian didn’t ever want to let him go. He knew full well that he would be safe in the sea, but that did not mean he hadn’t worried about whether he’d ever get to hold Elias so close again.
“I love you,” he blurted, determined that Elias should hear those words before anything else could happen to them. “Whatever becomes of us next, I want you to know that I love you with my entire soul.”
Elias pulled back, eyes still wide and frantic, but with a wild mix of emotions, only some of which were fear. “I love you, too,” he said, grasping Caspian’s face. “I cannot believe you are truly here, that I can see you and touch you once more, but I love you so much that none of it matters.”
