“Behind you, Al!” Samheed shouted.
Alex whirled around a second too late as a sword lashed into his side. He stumbled and cried out while Samheed rushed to his aid and took the pirate down. Samheed’s shirt was covered in blood.
“You okay?” Samheed huffed, going over to Alex.
Alex steadied himself on one knee. “I think so,” he said, gripping his sword like a cane and leaning on it. The ground swirled before his eyes, and he tried to breathe through it and focus. “Crow . . . ,” he said, breathing shallowly between phrases, “is coming . . . out of the rock . . . with the children . . . and taking them . . . to the mansion.” He dropped the sword and put one hand on the ground, checking the wound in his side with the other. It came away wet with blood. Was this how it would end? “Aaron,” he whispered.
“I’ll help you cover the children,” said Samheed, taking a moment to rest. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He waved Lani and Sean over.
Alex closed his eyes, feeling nauseous.
Samheed frowned. “You’d better go inside with the children, Alex. Have Henry patch you up and get yourself something to eat and drink.”
Alex nodded, pressing hard on his wound to stop the bleeding. He rallied, then told Lani and Sean to go to the cave’s mouth to help the children out and lead them to the mansion.
Moments later the rock’s mouth slowly opened. Crow peered out, looked around, and then jumped to the ground. He turned around and reached inside the rock’s mouth, pulling children out and handing them to Sean and Lani, who began running with them toward the mansion, the rest of the children following. Samheed stood halfway between, holding off the attackers. Crow pulled Thisbe and Fifer out last and hitched their legs around his waist while Kitten ran down the rock’s side to the ground and led the three around the fighting. Samheed had his hands full when another group of pirates rushed toward them.
“Keep going!” shouted Sean to the children. “Straight to the lounge!” He and Lani stopped to help fight off the attackers. The Warbler children ran for the mansion. Crow lagged behind with Thisbe and Fifer, trying to go as fast as he could, but he was weak with hunger like everyone else.
“Here comes Crow,” Samheed shouted over his shoulder to Alex, who was still on his knees trying to get his breath back. “Do you need help walking?”
“No, I’m okay,” said Alex. He opened his eyes and stumbled to his feet, then tripped and fell to his hands and knees.
“I’ll cover you,” said Samheed. “But get moving, will you?”
Alex got up once more, ran a few steps, and fell again.
“That’s their leader!” shouted Captain Baldhead, fighting his way over. “He’s down. Kill him!”
Five pirates nearby stopped what they were doing and surrounded Alex. Sean and Lani came running and blasted two of them out of the way, and Samheed slammed his sword over the top of one’s head.
“There go the Warbler children!” shouted a pirate. “They’re escaping inside the mansion!”
More and more pirates rushed toward the running children. Alex pushed through the chaos and got to his feet, his fear for the children giving him the renewed strength he desperately needed. He ran toward Crow, who was falling behind carrying the twins, and tried stopping Captain Baldhead by shoving his shoulder into the man’s chest.
Captain Baldhead swung his sword, hitting Alex in the arm, but then tripped over a body on the ground.
Alex absorbed the pain and continued on.
Captain Baldhead regained his footing and pushed forward, cutting off Crow and the girls and grabbing Crow by the neck with his hook hand. He whirled the children around to check their eyes, and laughed viciously. “Three for the price of one. I’ll take these two little black-eyed ones in exchange for the orange-eyed ones we don’t get,” he said. “Black-eyed children sell for a premium in the market.” His laughter rumbled.
White-hot with fury, Alex swung his sword, but the captain blocked it. He held Crow in front of him as a human shield and began moving toward the boats with his prisoners.
“Stop!” yelled Alex, pushing through dizziness and pain. He doggedly ran after them, trying to get a clean shot at the captain without endangering his sisters or Crow.
“Drop the girls!” Alex called to Crow, knowing the boy was completely terrorized with the hook at his throat and unable to think clearly. “Crow! Drop them! They’ll be fine!” Alex stumbled again and fell to one knee, feeling about to faint and fighting it with everything he had.