There is nothing worse for a pirate than dying on dry land. Except, maybe, swinging two feet above it.
When their captain is imprisoned, facing the gallows, the men and women of the Lady Lesya's crew will try everything to break him out--even if it...
The two men were not even holding her tightly, but the mere contact of their clammy hands around both her biceps was repulsive. Her muscles were tensed like cords and she was almost trembling from disgust and anger. Even if she needed them—at least a bit longer—she wanted to shake them off, get rid of their filthy touch. Despite the shackles around her wrists and ankles, it would be so easy.
And there were no witness. Past the ugly columns that ran all around it, the square was totally empty. The ruthless sun, freed from the clouds and closing in on his zenith, frightened all shadows away. The temperature had risen steadily during the past hour and the two guards started sweating as soon as they set foot outside the gallery. More used to hot weather—and her golden skin barely covered by diaphanous silk while the men were wearing full uniforms—Kali welcomed the caress of the sun. She could feel her captors hesitate between going faster, risking death from over sweating, and going slower, risking being cooked alive under their stupid hats. A vicious smile appeared furtively on Kali's otherwise closed face.
Nonetheless, their steps led them to the Watch headquarters. The fresh air coming from the underground levels made her captors sigh in relief. One of them broke out of character, removing his fluffy hat. Luckily, no one was inside. How odd...
A sudden draft, cold and smelling like dust and mold, made Kali shiver. Goosebumps rose on her arms. Hair stood on the back of her neck. And naturally, her nipples stiffened under the gauzy dark silk. She immediately felt the lustful stare of the sweaty pig on her right. The slimy, sticky, unbearable gaze. That was it! Never mind the plan. As no one was there to be lied to, it was pointless anyhow.
Kali shook off the shackles that falsely hindered her wrists. Before they hit the floor, she grasped her sharp katar from the folds of silk at her back and plunged it under the chin of the pig. The loud clang of metal on stone covered the thick bloodied gurgles he used as last words. The other man gasped. In a swift supple move, she pulled the blade out from the first man's jaw, twisted her hips, and thrust her dagger through his eye. He slowly raised one hand. To grab his own weapon or to remove the foreign body from his skull, no one would ever know for sure, as the hand stopped mid air, slightly trembling. Kali obliged him with option two and got her blade back. The man joined the shackles and his friend on the floor, shriveling down like a rag doll.
Kali restrained a victorious scream and spat on both of the dead bodies at her feet. Things weren't going exactly as planned, but the hired goons had done what she had paid them for. She was in. She took the time to replace her long dark braid between her shoulder blades before leaning down to open the shackles around her ankles. She grabbed one of the big furry hats and finally proved there was a utility to it when the gold and silver chasings of her dagger shone again. She tucked it back where it belonged before picking up the men's crude fire weapons. One heavy pistol in each hand, Kali stretched, making many of her joints crack, and went looking for the stairs leading to the cells.
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