A Pirate's Revenge (Legends of the Soaring Phoenix) by M.L. Guida Read Free Book Online

was not going to risk her life for him. His wife, Sharon, had paid the price. “No. We’ve already one lass on board, Kane. And you want another?”
    “Superstitious, brother?”
    “Aye. And you should be to.”
    “I think Hannah has proven herself not to be curse once or twice. Even you have to admit this.”
    William avoided Kane’s accusatory eyes and refused to admit the truth. Hannah’s powers had helped them defeat Palmer, but she wasn’t a witch. Not only was Kane bringing another lass on board the bloody ship, but a witch? “We’ve been lucky so far, Kane. But another female?”
    “We do not have many choices, but bring another lass a board the Phoenix . Without the lass, we’ll not break the curse. Last night, Ronan said—”
    “I heard what Ronan said last night,” William grumbled.
    “You do? You remember what happens when you’re a dragon?”
    “Aye. You mean to have people gawk at me as if I was something straight out of hell, including you.”
    “I was not gawking at you. I’ve just never seen a real live dragon before. I wasn’t expecting it.”
    “And you think I was?”
    Kane stretched his arms over his head and yawned. “You’re not something straight out of hell, William. No more than we are.”
    William snorted. Kane could think all he wanted. The townspeople would differ. He was a dragon, powerful enough to destroy their town and gobble ten or more people at once. He rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. He had breathed fire, and it hadn’t burned his throat. ’Twas like exhaling warm air. But what he couldn’t get over was that he had actually flown. ’Twas the only ability that Kane possessed as a vampire that William ever envied. Now that he had the same ability, he had to admit, he liked flying—the air rustling around him, stretching out his wings. Freedom. 
    “Would you rather have been transformed into a vampire?”
    William jumped and opened his eyes. Kane leaned against the wall, staring at him earnestly as if he wanted William to say that being cursed as a vampire was better than being cursed as a dragon. William frowned and pondered the two choices. Each were predators, each ungodly, each condemned. “Hell, I don’t know. I honestly don’t.”
    “Did it hurt to change?”
    “’Twas like being stretched on the rack, then having someone sticking their hand inside me, ripping out bones and muscles.”
    “Hopefully, it will become easier.”
    “Easier?”
    “The first time I changed into a vampire…bloody hell, ’twas painful. The sun sizzled our skin. Everything we ate turned to ash in our mouths. Weeks went by. Our parched throats turned bloody, skin hung off our emaciated bodies. Then the Spanish Galleon came upon us.” His voice faltered as if he had drifted back in time. “When I clashed swords with that sailor and nicked his neck, the sweet smell of blood stroked my vampire powers, powers I couldn’t control. The poor bastard.” He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “The next time the full moon rose, I was surprised by how fast I transformed.” He dropped his hand and kicked a rock on the cave floor. “Almost too quickly. Blood satisfied the curse, sealed our fates. Now when we transform, we feel the thirst but ’tis not painful, and we’ve learned to feed without draining our human host.”
    “Grand.”
    “If you want to beat the curse, then we need the lass. Ronan said—”
    “Do you think I’m deaf? I heard you the first time, Kane. Ronan can go to the devil. The lass is not coming with us. ’Tis bad enough you’re putting Hannah at risk. You almost got her killed the last time we faced Palmer. She should be safe back in London, not on board a pirate ship where a demon is determined to kill her. You should be thinking of her safety, not your own lust.”
    Kane knotted his eyebrows, and his eyes were hard, his gaze steady and unblinking. “She’s safe enough.”
    William snorted at Kane’s watch-yourself