Read Online Sky Pirates by Liesel Schwarz - Free Book Online Page A

shooting started in earnest as more pirates than Elle and Gertrude could take aim at dropped through the hatch. Chaos ensued as the pirates boarded the
Water Lily
.
    Elle ducked behind the flight console as bullets pinged all around her, at that moment feeling deeply grateful for the solid-oak paneling of the
Water Lily
. The noise and smell of gunfire left her deaf and almost blind but she had to keep fighting. With fingers that were slippery with fear sweat, she reloaded the Colt and took aim.
    The pirates who stole through the hatch looked a raggedy lot, and judging by the way they moved, they were quite used to fighting in close quarters. They easily avoided her shots, which grew more urgent and less accurate as the cabin filled with invaders.
    “Gertrude, take cover!” she yelled, but it was too late.She watched in horror as one of the pirates raised his pistol to take proper aim at her shotgun-wielding friend.
    Elle saw the man’s face draw into a satisfied grin as he pulled the trigger. “Gertrude! No!” Elle shouted as the shot hit the older woman squarely in the stomach. Elle raised her Colt and shot the pirate in the face. His head exploded like a melon, with bright red gore splattering against the wood paneling behind him.
    Dr. Bell gasped and let go of the shotgun as she slumped against the woodwork.
    “Stop!” Elle shouted. “Please stop shooting. We surrender!” She stepped out from behind her hiding place and held out her revolver to signal surrender.
    One of the pirates grabbed Elle by the collar. He pressed the muzzle of his pistol against her temple.
    “Enough with the shooting, little girl,” he sneered through tobacco-yellowed teeth. “Drop the gun.”
    Elle felt the cold of true terror as her Colt was wrenched from her grip.
    Someone grabbed her arms and dragged her hands up over her head. She flinched as they tied her wrists together. The rough rope bit into the delicate scarred skin of her wrists. The pirate pushed her to the floor and she landed heavily on her knees next to where Dr. Bell lay.
    “Gertrude,” Elle gasped.
    The older woman lay back with her hand on her belly. She looked pale. Deep red blood seeped through her fingers and onto the wood of the deck. “Oh dear, I seem to have gotten myself in a spot of bother,” she muttered.
    “Hold on,” Elle whispered as she dragged herself onto her knees. “We need to keep pressure on the wound. She pressed down with her bound hands, but dark red blood kept seeping through her fingers. “They must have a doctor on board who can help. Pirates always have medics on their crew.” She did her best to stop her voice from trembling.
    “Oh, I don’t think we’ll have time for that, my dear,” said Dr. Bell. “I think the bullet has gone right through me, quite possibly severing my spine. You see, I can’t feel or move my legs at the minute.”
    “There has got to be something we can do,” Elle said. “I am not letting you die. Not like this.”
    “Stay alive,” Dr. Bell whispered. “Do what you must, but stay alive,” she added before she closed her eyes.
    “No, please,” Elle said. She felt a sudden, unbidden tear trickle down her cheek.
    The pirates had evidently found what they were looking for: Loud whoops of excitement along with the violent crunch of crowbars on wooden crates rose up from the freight hold.
    The big pirate with the beard and the yellow teeth came striding into the cockpit with his huge fist clamped round a jeweled goblet. “Nubian gold,” he sneered. “The Cap’n is going to be pleased.”
    “Take whatever you want. Just please could you get my companion to a doctor? She needs help,” Elle pleaded.
    The pirate laughed. “Then she shouldn’t ’ave been shooting at us in the first place. The Cap’n did warn you there’d be trouble if you did that.”
    “Please,” Elle said again. “She’s going to die if you don’t help us.”
    The pirate strode over to them and cast an eye over Dr. Bell.